“Humanist”
--Dog tag worn by Pfc. Bradley Manning while on duty in Iraq; image from
“You know I, for one, always try to keep a level head, but even I am enraged by this Bradley Manning trial. First of all, that he had a trial. Those prisoners in Gitmo must be dying to know how he wrangled that sweet deal.”
--TV personality Stephen Colbert; cited at Bulletin News, LLC (August 1)
SITE OF INTEREST
Smith-Mundt Confront Propaganda. Via TL on facebook
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
Shadows of the Past, Doubts of the Present - Quinn Rask, contendersmagazine.com: "Clearly, the US government and its embassies in Cairo, Amman, Baghdad, and elsewhere must take a step back in order to reevaluate how to best promote American interests and national security, but the answers they’re searching for may prove to be surprisingly simple. After 9/11 the US government correctly shifted a significant amount of its diplomatic efforts in Egypt and across the region towards engaging directly with the public, rather than through traditional intergovernmental channels alone. The government created dozens of embassy and exchange programs aimed at stemming the tide of anti-Americanism in the region. These programs have successfully brought hundreds and thousands of Arab students to the United States to study and introduced youth throughout the Middle East to new aspects of American culture. While some good has come of these efforts, overall this post-9/11 shift has failed for two key reasons. First, the State Department has relied on a declarative approach without taking into account that the conspiracy culture endemic to the region makes individuals instantly suspicious of anything an embassy or spokesperson might say, release, or organize a meeting about. Second, programs that allow students to study or come to the United States have failed to create a trickle-down effect: they touch only those who were already most amenable to American policy goals in the first place. Those Egyptians who were catalysts for the 2011 revolution and the July 3rd coup–those economically disenfranchised youth who are still struggling to find jobs– had no chance of reaping the benefits.
The Egyptian street, not the political or economic elite, form the foundation of the country’s conspiracy culture, and their unprecedented vocal protests and participation in political life give the prevailing whims of the conspiracy culture more influence than ever in government policy. Addressing this disparity between those who have access to American programs aimed at fostering pro-American views and those who act as the standard bearers for anti-American thinking requires re-imagining American public diplomacy. In a region where relationships are more valuable than gold, any pro-American campaign must come not through the embassy, but through thought leaders in Egyptian society. While this backhanded approach to dealing directly with the Egyptian people may at first seem to come out of the playbook of the intelligence community, going through third party intermediaries will bypass the inherent suspicion of the populace, allowing the message to reach members of the community who otherwise would turn a deaf ear to it. Success in mitigating decades of anti-American sentiment will take longer than many hoped when shifting the focus towards interaction directly with the populace, but this grassroots model will be able to address the root of the problem, building trust between two groups who have long had deep-seated mutual distrust." Image from entry: U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson
Sen. Rob Portman says tax dollars went down the drain to buy Facebook fans - politifact.com: "Money can’t buy you love, as the Beatles sang, but money can buy you 'like.' Sen. Rob Portman thinks the price can be more than it’s worth. The Ohio Republican made the point in his monthly statement for July ‘highlighting
Despite West’s Efforts, Afghan Youths Cling to Traditional Ways - Azam Ahmed and Habib Zahorii, New York Times: "Interviews with dozens of Afghan youth paint a picture of a new generation bound to their society’s conservative ways, especially when it comes to women’s rights, one of the West’s single most important efforts here.
Attempts to alter women’s roles in society remain controversial among the younger generation, perhaps the starkest example of the West’s limited influence as coalition forces prepare to withdraw next year. ... Even in Kabul, one of the most liberal cities in Afghanistan, many young men and women express beliefs that fly in the face of the messages coming from American Embassy outreach efforts. Censorship, particularly when it comes to religious offenses, summons little ire. Many consider democracy a tool of the West. And the vast majority of Afghans still rely on tribal justice, viewing the courts as little more than venues of extortion." Image from article, with caption: A rock show partly sponsored by the American Embassy in Kabul provided a rare chance for young Afghan men and women to socialize together.
Women as a Force for Change - Nicolas D. Kristof, New York Times: "The
Good Day:Ramadan Kareem, US Embassy at Khartoum! - Mekki Elmograbi, sudanvisiondaily.com: "Me and the honorable guests of the US Embassy at Khartoum had our Ramadan Iftar on 29th of July 2013 with His Excellency Christophe Rowan, the Deputy Chief of US Diplomatic Mission at Khartoum.
Really, it was generous and kind invitation and we listened to a very short and 'to the point' speech delivered by His Excellency. The public 'diplomacy activities and initiatives' that launched by US Embassy at Khartoum is really amazing and can make breakthrough in the US – Sudanese relations." Elmograbi image from entry
4 Ways Education Fosters World Peace - Whitney Cox, mpopost.com: "A recent poll from the Media and Public Opinion Research Group asked Americans to weigh in on a tremendous topic: world peace.
When asked what would most help make the world a more peaceful place, a plurality answered with ‘more education and literacy’. ... Education has also been used as an element of public diplomacy, in the form of international educational exchanges. Programs like Fulbright grants and Rotary scholarships give students and professors the opportunity to spend time immersed in another country. Not only do these students and teachers act as ambassadors, they gain valuable knowledge and understanding of another culture that they will then bring home. The programs have been so well-received that educational exchanges are considered to be one of the main pillars of public diplomacy." Image from entry
BD among 20 countries to take part in USDS' EMPOWER Programme - thefinancialexpress-bd.com: "Sixty disability and civil society organisations from 20 countries including Bangladesh along with the United States have been selected to participate in the Professional Fellows EMPOWER Programme of the US Department of State (USDS). This two-way exchange programme will expand the capacity of organisations in the US and overseas to promote inclusive communities and advance disability rights around the world, a key theme of US public diplomacy efforts globally, said a USDS press release." See also.
From A Whisper to A Shout: Promoting Women in Zimbabwean Newsrooms - Sharon Hudson-Dean, PD News–CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "I served there as U.S. Embassy press attaché from 2007-10 and knew many powerful, brilliant women journalists and editors. Coming to Zimbabwe and seeing not a single woman editor was striking. After one year on the ground, I pulled my team together to create a Women Journalists Mentoring (WJM) program. ... My team is now working with the main Zimbabwean media associations and advocacy groups to map out the institutional changes that must occur in parallel to this professional development to enact long-term change.
One initiative that has really blossomed is our series of monthly Ladies Nights at the Harare Quill Press Club. The Quill has been an all-male bastion since the days of Ian Smith, scaring away women journalists and giving great advantage to the men who share tips and contacts there. Our Ladies Nights alter the focus (at least for a few hours) from drinking back to the profession. Each one features a panel discussion on topics related to women in the media and coverage of women by the media. Over a year old, they are now a popular, regular fixture of the club’s calendar, and women are starting to feel more comfortable and familiar in the Quill." Image from article, with caption: September 2012 graduation ceremony for the 1st year of the WJM
"Big Dog That Can Hunt In The Tall Grass" - Winnowing Fan: "I don't know Matthew Barzun or his service as the U.S. Ambassador to
Time to Rethink the CLO Position - Edward Walsh, PD News–CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy: "For over 30 years, the Community Liaison Office (CLO) Program has provided key family services support to Foreign Service Officers and their families abroad. The program is now present in over 200 embassies and consulates, including unaccompanied hardship posts such as Baghdad, Kabul, and Islamabad. ... Unfortunately, it is hard to understand how CLO Coordinators can effectively liaise with the local community to provide 'programming, information, resources, and referrals about off-post activities and on-the-economy services when they are not required to be fluent in the local language. ... One approach would be to recognize: 1) CLO Coordinators are critical to the operations of our diplomatic missions abroad; 2) CLO Coordinators must be fluent in the local language to successfully carry out their duties.
This would enable Human Resources to limit their solicitations to those applicants who are already fluent in the host country language(s). A less radical alternative would be to fill this gap with training. If the recruitment of CLO Coordinators could start long before applicants arrived at post, they could receive the foreign language training required for the job before they ever arrived on post. Assuming that their background investigation and Top Secret Security clearance adjudication was ongoing, it could even continue once the spouse arrived on post until they were able to pass a language fluency test. If we are serious about fulfilling our diplomatic objectives abroad, we must prioritize minimizing the social impact of our embassies, consulates, and military bases on the local community. Clearly, this means that we need to refrain from activities that reinforce negative stereotypes and neo-colonialist discourses. This does not mean just devoting more resources to public diplomacy. We also need to invest more in the people who serve as one of the primary interfaces between our diplomatic community and their hosts." Uncaptioned image from article
United States Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy homepage - "On January 3, 2013, the ACPD was reauthorized and signed into law under H.R. 4310, Section 1280; the authorization is retroactive to October 1, 2010, and continues through to October 1, 2015. After a 19-month suspension, the ACPD officially resumed operations on July 15, 2013."
Obama nominates Dr. Kenneth R. Weinstein to serve on Broadcasting Board of Governors - BBG Watcher, usgbroadcasts.com: "BBG Watch welcomes the nomination of a prominent scholar and expert on the Middle East Dr. Kenneth R. Weinstein to serve as a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). Dr. Weinstein is President and CEO of the Hudson Institute."
Two cheers for Congress: the end of a b(3) - The Sunshine in Government Blog: "Buried in the middle of the FY2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was a pleasant surprise for us: Section 1078, rescinding a statutory exemption to the Freedom of Information Act (or, as we call it, a 'b(3)' – after the section of FOIA permitting them), repealed much of the 'Smith-Mundt Act'. And earlier this month, this b(3) officially expired. ... Let’s be clear, especially in the middle of high-profile debate about the limits of NSA surveillance. Congress did not authorize the U.S. government to spread propaganda masquerading as news. Congress only changed the status of the Voice of America and other existing programming paid for with the State Department’s public diplomacy funds, such as Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. Re-examining an anachronistic ban on disclosure – in this case, letting this programming reach audiences in the U.S. – is a great example of what agencies and Congress should do with hundreds of statutory exemptions to FOIA, called (b)(3) exemptions after the section of FOIA that recognizes them, that sit on the law books today. Federal agencies that use them and Congress ought to reconsider these laws periodically. Congress ought to put sunsets on new ones, if nothing else to force agencies and Congress to reconsider. Those who would keep secrets should periodically reconsider the need for them, justify them publicly and articulate the harm that could arise without them."
Beginning of the End | Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012 - anewwe.wordpress.com: “In a recent post about propaganda, mainstream media, and the Smith-Mundt Modernization Act of 2012, I described it’s [sic] importance and how it will affecτ our lives… or so I thought. From what I understand this law will allow the government to force feed mainstream media with what they should say, cannot say, should report, cannot report — a.k.a Propaganda. The Smith-Mundt Modernization Act does not stop at local news, it expands to all sources offering ‘information.’”
Middle America newspapers call for restoring ‘Big Brother’ domestic propaganda ban for BBG - BBGWatcher, usgbroadcasts.com
Smart Power – varldsinbordeskriget.wordpress.com: "A Smarter and More Secure America - The US Center for Strategic and International Studies was founded in 1962 by David M. Abshire and Admiral Arleigh Burke. In 2007 its Commission on Smart Power published a report. In it was claimed that America’s image was in decline around the world. Below are excerpts from the report’s executive summary. ... Specifically, the United States should focus on five critical areas: ... Public diplomacy: Bringing foreign populations to our side depends on building long-term, people-to-people relationships, particularly among youth. ... Implementing a smart power strategy will require a strategic reassessment of how the U.S. government is organized, coordinated, and budgeted. Comment: Especially public diplomacy and in the Middle East political warfare are important tools in the arsenal. There are already a number of instruments available like the International Republican Institute, National Endowment for Democracy, Radio Free Europe, National Democratic Institute, Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia. In 2013 a new agency is needed to apply all the means at national command, short of war, to achieve national objectives."
Shortwave radio still has a role in reaching closed and poor nations, BBG employee union said - BBGWatcher, usgbroadcasts.com: "In an article posted on the Broadcasting Board of Governors’ (BBG) employee union website, American Federation of Government Employees, AFGE Local 1812, argues that shortwave radio is an important and effective tool for reaching audiences in war zones, closed societies, nations where Internet is censored, and in areas of the world where impoverished populations lack access to modern media options or can’t afford them."
North Korean media make an odd claim about Panama - Max Fisher, Washington Post: "Two weeks after Panama detained a North Korean ship for illegally transporting hidden military equipment, apparently taken out of Cuba, North Korea’s state news agency put out a very strange article that refers to Panama but does not mention the detained ship. The Korean Central News Agency says that, as part of ongoing national celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the Korean War, some sailors from a Panamanian ship spontaneously decided to join the festivities.
The sailors, it says, 'paid tribute' to national founder Kim Il Sung and joined a local 'meeting' where people in attendance 'said that under the wise leadership of Kim Il Sung the Korean people defeated the U.S. imperialists, protecting the sovereignty and dignity of the country and the nation and encouraging the struggle of the world revolutionary people.' ... The timing of North Korea’s story about Kim-loving Panamanian sailors might be a coincidence. And it’s entirely possible that Pyongyang’s English-language coverage of the ship detention only seems mild because we’re accustomed to much more overheated rhetoric about the United States. But it’s tempting to see some hints of North Korean public diplomacy at work here, if only because something that rare would be too good to be missed." Image from article, with caption: View of North Korean vessel Chong Chong Gang at Manzanillo harbour in Colon, 90 km from Panama City
Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in top three of best connected on Twitter - linktopoland.com: "Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in top three of best connected on Twitter - The Polish foreign service ranked third in the world in the Top 50 Best Connected World Leaders category of the Twiplomacy 2013 report . ... The report, which covers the
Twitter activity of 505 heads of state and government, foreign ministers, and their institutions in 153 countries, was prepared by Burson-Marsteller. ... Research published in April 2013 by the US Institute for Public Diplomacy and Global Communication at
Sweden’s foreign minister to Egyptian ambassador: Are protesters shooting themselves? - twitchy.com: "'Ines Mergel @InesMergel Public diplomacy on Twitter by Sweden's foreign minister RT @carlbildt: @Osama_Elmagdoub So they all shoot themselves? Try another one… 7:24 PM - 27 Jul 2013' ... A Health Ministry official in
A thorny case for Sherlock Holmes: UK and USA - Jonathan Daniel, blogs.fco.gov.uk: "On the first day of August for the last 45 years, the British Consulate General in Chicago has received six red roses from an anonymous sender. The bouquet’s accompanying card always carries the same message – not one of unrequited love, but rather a moving tribute to the six British infantry regiments that helped defeat the heavily favoured French on 1 August 1759 in the Battle of Minden, a decisive encounter in the Seven Years’ War. Legend has it that the British soldiers picked wild roses and wore them on their uniforms as they marched to engage their enemy at
Commemorations of that day – Minden Day – have largely fallen out of fashion over the centuries, but not to the unknown enthusiast whose annual gift of roses to the Consulate in
Shomron leaders wage PR War in Congress with Success! - shemittahrediscovered.blogspot.com: "The leaders of the Shomron, Gershon Mesika - Mayor; Yossi Dagan - Deputy Mayor and David HaIvri - Director of Public Diplomacy and Communications, have met with some 25 members of Congress, including Ted Cruz, Michele Bachmann, Trent Franks, John Fleming and Louie Gohmert. Most of the Congress members, noted the Shomron Regional Council, were surprised to find out that almost 700,000 Jews reside in Judea and Samaria and that Samaria was literally in the heart of the State of Israel."
Confronting Israel’s Precarious Future: An Interview With Dr. Martin Sherman: Part One -
inquisitr.com: Sherman: "While some of the animosity towards Israel can certainly be attributed to visceral hate of Jews and all things Jewish this is only part of the story. Much of the anti-Israel sentiment prevalent in the international arena is a product of incompetence and impotence of Israel’s public diplomacy and the vigor (or lack thereof ) in how it presents its case to the world. The failure of Israel to defend its image—never mind, advance—its image abroad has given its detractors virtually free hand in attacking it and in undermining its international legitimacy. This has the inevitable result of allowing the animosity towards Israel to grow unchecked, leaving its supporters abandoned without adequate arguments to defend it – or themselves – against the unfounded defamation and slander.
This diplomatic debacle is in fact a grave dereliction of duty by the Jewish state and its official organs. For it has not only made it far more difficult to publicly support, defend and identify with Israel and Zionism. It has made it considerably more dangerous. Indeed, Israel’s anemic efforts to explain its policies and the constraints and imperatives that mold it–reflected, among other things, by the miserly budgets it allots its public diplomacy–are putting Jewish communities across the world increasingly at risk. For through their association with Israel, they have become surrogate targets for the anger the distorted portrayal of the country has aroused among numerous sectors across the globe. ... While I would certainly agree as to the virulent anti-Israel animus that pervades the UN and many of its associated institutions and organizations such as the absurd UNHRC (UNHuman Rights Council), Israel’s beleaguerment at the UN and elsewhere such as the EU cannot be seen as disconnected to ... Israel’s abysmal performance in its public diplomacy efforts." Sherman image from entry
Israel privatises public diplomacy - Shir Hever, alternativenews.org: "Right-wing non-governmental organizations (NGOs) receive large amounts of foreign funding, especially from American donors. These organizations wield great influence over the Israeli political discourse. By attacking human-rights and left-wing NGOs operating in Israel, these organizations affect the agenda of the Israeli parliament (Knesset).
Furthermore, the Israeli government allows these organizations to represent it in diplomatic capacities, to produce content used by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to organize meetings and events and to undertake projects with far-reaching political consequences. As such, the right-wing NGOs demonstrate the policy of privatization which the Israeli government pursues regarding its public diplomacy ('hasbara') efforts." Image from entry, with caption: Wealthy American Sheldon Adelson (above) is a prominent funder of right-wing ideology in Israel.
Israel – second time around - jwire.com.au: "Onward Israel is an exciting new six-week Israel advocacy program organised by the Zionist Federation of Australia for young Australian and South African adults aged 19-30 who want to return to Israel for a second program experience. The program will provide professional training with Israel’s leading advocacy organisation, Stand With Us.
Participants will also gain hands-on experience through interning with an Israeli – advocacy or public diplomacy organisation. The December 1 – January 15 program will open with an intensive orientation session which will focus on group building, reorientation to Israel and an overview of the key issues facing Israel today." Image from entry
A government of bookworms - Lahav Harkov, Jerusalem Post: "Voting on the state budget is not fun for MKs, to say the least. ... So, how do MKs pass the time in the plenum?
Some of the government's most senior ministers brought books to read. ... Finance Minister Yair Lapid chose a book by a fellow MK, Labor's Nachman Shai. Earlier this year, Shai published Media War: Reaching for Hearts and Minds, a book, about Israeli public diplomacy in times of conflict." Image from article, with caption: Photo Morguefile
The Security of Cyberspace - thoughteconomics.blogspot.com: "Ambassador Gábor Iklódy has a distinguished record of public service. ... In 1996 he headed the Foreign Ministry’s Security Policy and Arms Control Department and later, from 1997 through 1999 its NATO and WEU Department. This latter coordinated work on Hungary’s NATO accession talks and ran, on behalf of the Government, a large public diplomacy campaign that led to a successful referendum on NATO membership in 1997."
Egypt: The New Great Game and Global Arms Race - Karl Naylor, karl-naylor.blogspot.com: "'The EU's top diplomat...Lady Ashton ( a Labour Peer ) is in Cairo to try to negotiate an unlikely settlement between Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood and the army, but demands and recent behaviour from both sides mean reconciliation is far from likely.' So reports the Guardian's Patrick Kingsley. Lady Ashton has reported
from an undisclosed location after having been escorted there by the Egyptian army that ex-president Morsi is doing 'well', knows what is going on in the world and that she would not comment on her visit as 'I was not going to represent his views'. It is hard to see what bargaining power Ashton actually has and whether this is mere 'public diplomacy' to make it appear as though the EU is in the business of 'democracy promotion' as opposed to promoting its business interests over democracy in the name of 'stability'." Uncaptioned image from article
Bring it back where it belongs - Vivek Katju: "Formidable challenges await Sujatha Singh as she takes over as Foreign Secretary. The most difficult of these is to restore to the Foreign Office its place of primacy in the formulation and execution of India’s foreign policy. Since many years the perception has grown — stronger by the year — in the country’s foreign policy establishment as well as among India’s interlocutors that the foreign office’s contribution to critical foreign policy decisions has been substantially eroded. ... Some initiatives have been taken in the past few years.
The intake of officers has been heavily increased to address manpower shortages. There is a greater emphasis on in-house training. A Public Diplomacy Division has been set up to coordinate the projection of India’s soft power. A Development Partnership Administration (DPA) has been established to coordinate and execute India’s assistance programmes. ... More has to be done. One priority area is to make maximum use of the pool of experience available at the Secretary level in the foreign office through a reordering of work among Secretaries, including the Foreign Secretary, who is first among equals. ... The Foreign Secretary is the administrator of the foreign office and also handles critical bilateral relationships as well as multilateral work. He is also responsible for media relations, public diplomacy, assistance programmes (a recent addition), consular work and coordination among the Secretaries. All this work leaves him no time to plan and execute a vision for the foreign office." Image from article, with caption: Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh takes over at a time when her office is perceived to have lost its sheen.
Spain’s Position In The World In 2013 – Analysis - Ignacio Molina, eurasiareview.com: "The creation in 2012 of the post of High Commissioner and of the Brand Spain Council marked the consolidation of a government project for external action stemming directly from the economic crisis and the subsequent loss of prestige that Spain has experienced in recent years. The idea, pioneered personally by the Foreign Minister, José Manuel García-Margallo, involves using Spanish diplomatic activity to improve Spain’s image and enhance its position in the political, economic-business and scientific-cultural areas. Although the Brand Spain project is designed to have a strategic and long-term character, 2013 is an important year for two reasons. On the one hand, because the project will be fully operational over the course of the year and will require the design of the so-called Annual External Action Plan, including the identification for the first time of short-term goals. On the other hand, and to the extent that Spain’s image aboard continues to deteriorate –since the foreign press is giving negative coverage to issues such as unemployment, corruption, social unrest and pro-independence sentiment in Catalonia– the government will see its still-weak tools of public diplomacy put to the test, precisely those which this project is at least in theory supposed to strengthen. In the current crisis, the main thrust of Brand Spain is to help Spanish companies go international through what the Foreign Ministry calls economic diplomacy. ... Along with this internationalisation that mainly targets businesses, the other major component of Spain’s overseas projection –cultural, educational and scientific activity– is also facing the economic crisis and spending cuts. The Cervantes Institute, which has seen its budget slashed by 14% this year, will have to find self-financing in order to prevent the closure of some of its 67 centres or a reduction in staff numbers. Budgetary austerity is offset by the healthy demand from those wishing to learn Spanish, especially in Asia –and the increasing use of the language on the Internet and in the social media, where it is now the world’s second most frequently-used language–. It is also difficult to continue to lure foreign students to the Spanish university system because tuition fees have been raised and government contributions to scholarship programmes and the Fundación Carolina have been cut. Finally, with regard to research and technological development, the impact of austerity will perhaps not be noticed so much this year –there will still be good news on the innovative capacity of some Spanish projects, especially in the areas of engineering, wind power, biotechnology, desalinisation and certain areas of medicine–. But the spending cuts that have been approved will definitely have negative effects over the medium term."
yet again - bezdomny ex patria: ramblings of an expat Kiwi living in one small corner of Beijing:
Come on, New Zealand, when the Herad’s Christopher Adams writes: ‘New Zealand’s lucrative reputation for high-quality dairy produce continues to get a battering from the Chinese media, despite efforts by this country’s government to reassure consumers in the world’s second-biggest economy that Kiwi milk products are safe.’ [h]e’s not making stuff up.
It’s not just coming out of thin air or the product of a fevered imagination. Although relying on China Daily doesn’t really cut it. That rag is published in English for a non-Chinese audience, really little more than a public diplomacy effort, just trying to push the official Chinese point of view. But still, looking at media published in Chinese for a Chinese audience, yes,Adams is right." Image from
It’s not just coming out of thin air or the product of a fevered imagination. Although relying on China Daily doesn’t really cut it. That rag is published in English for a non-Chinese audience, really little more than a public diplomacy effort, just trying to push the official Chinese point of view. But still, looking at media published in Chinese for a Chinese audience, yes,
Arms to non-state actors - Noor ul Haq, thefrontierpost.com: "There is a proliferation of non-state actors in the post-Cold War era. Generally, their loyalties are directed towards their own objectives and group interests. They can be both helpful and harmful. When they are used for peaceful purposes, such as, in public diplomacy, as civil society or as NGO they perform productive and humanitarian assignments. Amnesty International, OXFAM, international campaign to ban landmines are pertinent examples. The violent non-state actors, such as private militias, insurgents, terrorist or criminal organizations, are harmful for their illegal violence to achieve their goals. Globalization and modern technology has facilitated their work and has strengthened them."
A Post-Mugabe Zimbabwe – Strategic Communication Overview - Alex Laverty, "To anticipate the eventual change of leadership in Zimbabwe this document has been created for communicators and foreign policy analysts as a predictive tool for how the different external stakeholders will go about using strategic communication to complement their diplomatic missions in Zimbabwe. A document based on prognostication means there are certainly gaps in understanding and predicting how humans will drive interactions. However, using a theoretical framework from the discipline of International Relations will provide guidance on constructing this forecast. ... The document has been divided in three different possible scenarios that could see Robert Mugabe leave office: an election, a military coup, and his death.
Each scenario is broken into the actions taken by each external actor engaged with Zimbabwe: the African Union, China, the European Union, South Africa, and the United States. For each scenario the goals, strategies, and tactics for each country are outlined, leading to where each country would target their message. Some focus on the people of Zimbabwe, the military, or the other countries in the region. For each target, the message is determined by the set of objectives each country is trying to achieve in the post-Mugabe Zimbabwe. While some covert or diplomatic action is specified, the aim of this document is to predict the public diplomacy or overt strategic communication each actor takes towards its targets. The last piece of each country’s communication plan is the way the actor will engage or react to the actions of the other 5 international entities. This is to account for the fact that no communication plan exists in a vacuum and that the best laid plans will need revising based on the actions and counter-actions of the other players on the scene. ... About Alex Laverty [:] Recent graduate from USC's Master of Public Diplomacy and UCLA's Master of Africa Studies programs." Image from article
Reza Aslan’s new book on the historical Jesus gets celebrated by left-wing media - winteryknight.wordpress.com: "Fox News reports. (H/T Melissa P.M.) ... Here is his faculty page at UC Riverside: Professor Aslan joins UCR from the
Chief of the Australian Defence Force, General Hurley to visit PNG 1-3 August 2013 - masalai.wordpress.com: "The Australian Chief of the Defence Force (CDF), General David Hurley, AC, DSC, and his wife Mrs Linda Hurley will be visiting Papua New Guinea (PNG) from 1 to 3 August in support of our enduring PNG‑Australia defence partnership. ... Media Enquiries: Contact Lorraine Ponifasio, Public Diplomacy Manager."
RELATED ITEMS
Pentagon propaganda websites under fire - Tom Vanden Brook, USA Today: Pentagon propaganda websites aimed at countering terrorism in foreign countries would be shut down under a Senate measure sponsored by the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, according to his office. The Pentagon's Trans Regional Web Initiative (TRWI), a U.S. Special Operations Command initiative, operates 10 websites around the globe. Sen. Carl Levin's committee voted to eliminate its $19.7 million in funding in the National Defense Authorization Act. The committee "believes that the costs to operate the websites developed under TRWI are excessive. The effectiveness of the websites is questionable and the performance metrics do not justify the expense," according to the defense authorization bill, which will be taken up by the full Senate this fall. It recommended other government agencies, particularly the State Department, take the lead in efforts to shape the opinion of foreign audiences.
Kerry’s big-bang Mideast diplomacy - David Ignatius, Washington Post: How can Secretary of State John Kerry succeed in the “mission impossible” of negotiating an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement when he faces the same intractable issues that have derailed so many previous peacemaking efforts? Skepticism about Kerry’s project is nearly universal, and it’s understandable when you look at the graveyard of past negotiations. But some interesting dynamics beneath the surface should make observers cautious about premature burial announcements. One way to think about these negotiations is that they’re a kind of benign trap. Once the prey have been lured inside, it’s difficult for them to escape without either accomplishing the great work of peace or damaging themselves.
Afghanistan, U.S. near agreement on post-2014 force - Jim Michaels, USA Today: "The United States and Afghanistan have resolved most issues and are nearing completion of an agreement that paves the way for an American military presence after 2014 that will include a limited U.S. counterterrorism force and military advisers.
"We're at the point now where we concluded the text," said a senior State Department official familiar with the negotiations. "We're in a period of endgame." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal is not official. Without the so-called bilateral security agreement, the United States would be unable to remain beyond 2014, jeopardizing Afghan's government and its armed forces.
How President Obama lost the Iraq War - Rich Stowell, Washington Times: After one of the greatest military comebacks in generations for the United States, Iraq is now on its way to becoming more dangerous than it was before the American-led invasion. Iraq’s descent into terror and chaos is the unfortunate result of President Obama’s ideologically driven war policy. In fact, on the verge of victory, the US under Obama has now lost all the hard-earned gains in Iraq. While the US military has its share of problems, it is undeniably the most effective and well-armed military in the world, and knows a things or two about urban, counter-insurgency warfare. Iraq could use some of America’s help.
‘Classification inflation’ at Pentagon under investigation: GAO - Shaun Waterman, Washington Times: Congressional auditors said Wednesday they are launching a first-of-its-kind review of the system for safeguarding national security secrets, with a view to measuring the scale of a widely understood but unquantified problem — “classification inflation.” “There’s a real problem with over-classification in the national security arena,” said Rep. Duncan Hunter, California Republican and a member of the House Committee on Armed Services. Mr. Hunter, who requested the review by the Government Accountability Office
, Congress‘ investigative arm, said classification inflation keeps secret “information that should be available to the public” and makes the system less secure by needlessly expanding the number of people who need clearances to do their jobs.Revealed: The shadowy lobbyists waging a propaganda war to keep Britain in Europe - Andrew Pierce, dailymail.co.uk: A group of businessmen and retired mandarins are waging a behind-the-scenes propaganda war aimed at derailing moves to take Britain out of the EU.
Appalled by the prospect of a vote to withdraw, they have formed ‘Business For New Europe’ to fight a public and private campaign to keep Britain in the union. They are raising a multi-million-pound war chest to secure support from international leaders in the run-up to the vote which they now suspect is inevitable. Image from article, with caption: Campaign: A group of businessmen and retired mandarins are waging a propaganda war aimed at derailing moves to take Britain out of the EU. Roland Rudd, right, pictured with Lord Peter Mandelson, is the driving force behind the group.
‘We Are Not Talking About Propaganda’: New TV Network Will Tell Israel’s Side Of The Story - TheBlaze/AP: State-of-the-art TV studios above an ancient Mideast port signal Israel’s arrival in a modern media landscape in which countries increasingly seek to broadcast their own perspective to the world. Israel advocates have long alleged that their country is portrayed in an unfair and one-dimensional way by the international media, largely as an occupier of the Palestinians. Now the answer has arrived in the form of i24news — the first international channel dedicated to reporting the news from an Israeli point of view. Its goal is to tell the rest of the Israel story in English, Arabic and French. The new station’s founders insist they are not an Israeli version of the Qatar-funded Al-Jazeera pan-Arab channel. They receive no government funding, hold no political affiliation and pledge to cover the news dispassionately and objectively. Image from entry, with caption: In this Sunday, July 28, 2013 photo, journalists works inside a studio of the new television channel I24news in Tel Aviv, Israel. The station’s founders insist they are not an Israeli version of Al-Jazeera, the powerful broadcaster from the Gulf. They say they receive no government funding, hold no political affiliation and pledge to cover the news dispassionately and objectively.
Syrian president recruits Instagram in ongoing propaganda war: Bashar al-Assad puts his best face forward as civil war death toll eclipses 100,000 - Amar Toor, theverge.com: Embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad launched an official Instagram account earlier this month, marking his latest efforts to control the propaganda war being waged in parallel with bloody civil conflict. The Assad regime published its first photo to the account on July 24th and has since posted 68 others. The longtime president already has a presence on both Facebook and Twitter, and at the time of this writing, has garnered more than 3,000 followers on Instagram. As the Washington Post reports, many of Assad's Instagram photos appear to be re-posts from his Facebook and Twitter accounts, and they all cast him in a favorable light. In one shot, a smiling Assad is surrounded by a throng of supporters. In another, he's seen shaking the hand of a young girl. His wife, Asma, is featured just as prominently on the account, appearing in several photos alongside children, senior citizens, and hospital patients. See also.
Pastry propaganda: Aleppo bans 'colonial' croissants - albawaba.com: A sharia committee in a rebel-held area of Aleppo issued a fatwa deeming croissants ‘haram’ (forbidden in Islamic law) because of their “colonial” significance, pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat reported on Tuesday.
Croissants’ crescent shape celebrates European victory over Muslims, according to the fatwa (religious ruling). Rebel-controlled areas of the Syrian city have experienced several strict fatwas recently from Islamic sharia committees. Image from entry, with caption: The source of all evil: the croissant.
So What Happens When You Make a Fake North Korean Propaganda Film? - Bruce Renninger, indiewire.com: From consumerism to Columbus Day to celebrity culture, the film "Propaganda" (available to watch in whole online) slices open contemporary Western culture for its rewriting of history and its imperialist and corporatist policies.
The film was released in ten parts last year, uploaded bit by bit with the title "North Korean film exposes Western propaganda," and was eventually accompanied by this statement, by Sabine, the woman who translated the film. The film was made by a group of New Zealanders; it was written and directed by Slavko Martinov. And, in fact, now the film's crew and a brief history can be found on the film's website. Uncaptioned image from entry
Old stories from the new China: Communist Party leaders conjure up an acceptable present by riffing on the past - Jeffrey Wasserstrom, latimes.com: A major challenge China's leaders face is how to keep the people believing the stories they tell to justify their rule.
Swaziland: Beware Reed Dance Propaganda -allafrica.com: As
“We Steal Secrets”: A Masterclass in Propaganda. The Assassination of Julian Assange - Jonathan Cook, Global Research: "I have just watched We Steal Secrets, Alex Gibney’s documentary about Wikileaks and Julian Assange. One useful thing I learnt is the difference between a hatchet job and character assassination. Gibney is too clever for a hatchet job, and his propaganda is all the more effective for it.
The film’s contention is that Assange is a natural-born egotist and, however noble his initial project, Wikileaks ended up not only feeding his vanity but also accentuating in him the very qualities — secretiveness, manipulativeness, dishonesty and a hunger for power — he so despises in the global forces he has taken on. This could have made for an intriguing, and possibly plausible, thesis had Gibney approached the subject-matter more honestly and fairly." Assange image from article
Russian Author Releases Gay-Themed Children’s Book Despite Putin’s “Homosexual Propaganda” Law - Graham Gremore, queerty.com: Homophobia is running rampant in Russia. Earlier this summer, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a new law making it illegal for adults to discuss LGBT issues with minors, calling it “homosexual propaganda.” So basically, a parent can no longer say to their child “It’s okay to be gay” without the threat of being fined and jailed.
Lovely. Still, there’s no stopping Russian author Daria Wilke from releasing her gay-themed children’s book. Wilke’s new book The Jester’s Cap tells the story of a 14-year-old boy named Grisha, who lives and works in a puppet theater with his family and an older friend, Sam, who is gay. Sounds pretty innocent to us. Wilke grew up in
Translating 10 anti-gun propaganda phrases into English - dailycaller.com: In George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, a tyrannical government attempts to control how people think by, among other things, reducing language to “a medium of expression for the world-view and mental habits proper to the devotees of IngSoc [English Socialism]” and “to make all other modes of thought impossible.” In the IngSoc government’s new language, Newspeak, the original meanings of many words are discarded in favor of new definitions designed to conform people’s thoughts to the tyrants’ political objectives. For example, Newspeak phraseology includes this gem, “ignorance is strength,” a nonsensical construction that gun control advocates appear to have taken literally. Speaking of gun control advocates, that brings us to the Children’s Defense Funds’ (CDF) latest offering, “Protect Children, Not Guns, 2013.” If you can stand it, bear with us now, while we translate a representative sample of the CDF’s gibberish into English, so the real gist of what the group is saying can be conveyed.
CNN Joins NBC in Producing Hillary Propaganda Flick - Daniel Greenfield, frontpagemag.com: The Hillary Clinton production industry continues to grow.
Just two days after NBC announced that it will air a miniseries about her starring Diane Lane, CNN Films today said that they are making a feature-length documentary about the onetime senator, Secretary of State and First Lady. The film will be directed by Oscar-winner Charles Ferguson. Image from entry
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