“I think John Kerry has been one of the best secretaries of state in the history of America!”
--Vice President Joe Biden; image via BB on Facebook; re Obama and propaganda, see John Brown, "The Reluctant Propagandist -- Barack Obama," Notes and Essays
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
Obama invites Rouhani to join great game - M K Bhadrakumar, Asia Times: "Putin's scathing criticism of US policies in his controversial op-ed in the New York Times last week in full view of the American public did touch a raw nerve in the White House - especially his mockery of America's exceptionalism. Putin may have scored in public diplomacy but it may prove a short-lived success."
Spot The Odd Edition Out - zerohedge.com: "While Miley Cyrus, Twerking, and X-Factor remain record-breakers on every social media platform, the following covers of Time Magazine's four regional issues this week, perhaps more than anything else, highlight just how 'in control' the media is - and how important it is to keep the 'exceptional' US public on message. Or off as the case may be. ... [Comment by Alpo for Granny Alpo:]
Shockingly, the managing editor of Time is leaving for a job as under secretary of state for at the State Department." Image from comment
Time magazine hides Putin’s success from US voters - Neil Munro, dailycaller.com: "Time magazine’s cover for its Sept. 16 issue features a picture of contented-looking Russian president Vladimir Putin, complete with a black background and a damning caption that declares 'America’s weak and waffling, Russia’s rich and resurgent.' But Time’s editors are shielding Americans from the demoralizing picture, putting a cheerful, sky-blue photo on the covers of magazines distributed in the United States.
'It’s time to pay college athletes, says the chirpy, non-political U.S. cover, which shows a ball-carrying football player with arm outstretched. ... The foreign covers acknowledge Putin’s triumph over Obama, telling foreigners that Putin 'doesn’t care what anybody thinks of him.' The protective covers arrive as Time’s managing editor departs for a job working for one of the architects of the Syrian debacle, Secretary of State John Kerry. In 'early summer,' editor Rick Stengel was asked by Kerry, and immediately accepted, the job of running the department’s public diplomacy mission, according to Politico." Image from article
Rick Stengel loves big government and it loves him back - Robby Soave, dailycaller.com: "Richard Stengel, long-serving editor of TIME magazine and preacher of the inherent goodness of government, was getting a long-needed promotion last week when he announced he would leave the venerable newsweekly for a State Department job. The Obama administration officially hired Stengel as under secretary of public diplomacy for the State Department, the New York Times reported last week. Stengel is a single-issue journalist who has relentlessly pushed compulsory national service as a panacea for the country’s social, moral and economic problems. In 2007, he wrote an article for TIME endorsing the view that 'devoting a year or more to national service, whether military or civilian, should become a countrywide rite of passage, the common expectation and widespread experience of virtually every young American.' To implement national service, Stengel proposed a vigorous expansion of federal programs like AmeriCorps, a new Cabinet-level service department and increased public funding for health and environmental advocacy.
He estimated the cost of growing government to accomplish these initiatives would be at least $20 billion. The article triggered a negative reaction from fellow TIME journalist Michael Kinsley who wrote, 'As it happens, we already have a system for inducing truly voluntary activities that benefit the public. It’s called free-market capitalism.' Stengel was particularly ill-served by free market competition. The magazine’s circulation dropped from 4.1 million to 3.3 million during his seven years in charge, while advertising revenue shrank from $295.8 million to $159.4 million, according to POLITICO. This is not Stengel’s first foray into government. He was a speechwriter for the failed presidential campaign of far-left former Democratic Senator Bill Bradley in 2000. Given his interests, Stengel may prove to be better at growing government than he was at growing TIME’s business model. Before taking over at TIME in 2006, Stengel was briefly president of the
HUFFPOST HILL [09/12/2013], huffingtonpost.com: - America Offended By Shirtless Bear Wrestler Foe - huffingtonpost.com: "John Boehner was so incensed by Vladimir Putin's New York Times op-ed that we have to give the Russian strongman three-out-of-four Luke Russerts on our patented Boehner impudence scale. ... And Richard Stengel will leave Time Magazine, shaking up both the newsroom and what's on your parents' coffee table when you visit for Thanksgiving. ... RICHARD STENGEL LEAVING TIME MAGAZINE FOR STATE DEPARTMENT - Capital New york: "Richard Stengel, the top editor of Time magazine for the past seven years, is planning to step down as managing editor for a new job at the U.S. Department of State, sources familiar with the situation tell Capital New York and POLITICO. If confirmed, Stengel's title, these sources said, will be Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, the role responsible for leading 'America's public diplomacy outreach, which includes communications with international audiences, cultural programming, academic grants, educational exchanges, international visitor programs, and U.S. Government efforts to confront ideological support for terrorism,' according to the State Department's website.
PR firm Ketchum places Putin op-ed in New York Times: Russian President Vladimir Putin got a solid assist from U.S. public relations giant Ketchum Inc. in placing his commentary in The New York Times’ op-ed page Thursday just as a meeting of Russian and U.S. representatives in Geneva, focusing on Syria and chemical weapons, got under way, notes Grumpy Editor - grumpyeditor.typepad.com: "In the op-ed --- titled A Plea for Caution From Russia --- which grabbed heavy print and broadcast headlines in the U.S., Putin portrayed himself as a peacemaker, criticized the U.S. and lectured the U.S. for its tendency to use 'brute force' in world disputes. Reuters pointed out Ketchum has earned more than $25 million working for Russia, according to documents filed with the U.S. Justice Department. The PR firm, with 74 offices and 56 affiliates in 70 countries, is a unit of New York Stock Exchange-listed Omnicom Group Inc. Several sources said Putin himself wrote the op-ed. On the day the op-ed appeared, a Senate panel narrowed the definition of a 'covered journalist' as an independent contractor, employee or agent of an entity that disseminates news or information. So, as the writer of an op-ed piece, does that put Putin (as a 'freelance writer') in the same category as other contributors to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times and other publications? Meanwhile, in a 'fair and balanced' response to Putin’s N.Y. Times material, Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) will write an op-ed for Russia’s Pravda, with a paltry paid circulation of 49,000, dwarfing that of the N.Y. Times' total circulation of 1.9 million.
Opinion: The Baltic States inspiring the land of Gaudí and Dalí - Lithuania Tribune: "The Lithuania Tribune presents an opinion article by Jordi Arrufat, a public diplomacy advisor who takes a keen interest in Lithuania and the Baltic States, about a public action
in Catalonia, when a human chain in support of the region’s independence – The Catalan Way – was stretched." Image from article, with caption: The Catalan Way
Martial Arts: So What? By Adam D. Frank - chinesemartialstudies.com: Image from entry, with caption:
The Chinese state has adopted the traditional martial arts a part of their public diplomacy effort, effectively free riding off of the good vast good will that its “Brand” has accumulated.
'Diplomacy is more than Ferrero Rocher parties': The Local speaks to Pierluigi Puglia, head of press and communications at the British Embassy in Rome, to find out what it's really like to move in Italy's diplomatic circles - thelocal.it: "[Q:] How did you come to work at the British Embassy in Rome? [A:] ... I've been working at the embassy for almost nine years now - time flies when you enjoy what you're doing! I started in 2005 as a press officer, then in 2007 I was promoted to senior press officer. One year later I got the job as the head of press and communications. ... [Q:] What is the most challenging part of your job? [A:] The real challenge is to come up with new ideas for effective delivery of the UK Foreign Office objectives. I work in public diplomacy; engaging with
the wider Italian audience through press articles, events or digital campaigns. It may not seem obvious but this work can be instrumental in delivering an ambitious set of targets, including the strengthening of bilateral relations, promoting economic opportunities in Italy and the UK, preventing international crime in the two countries and supporting British nationals in Italy." Image from entry, with caption: Pierluigi Puglia outside 10 Downing Street, London
The Openness Index - Arnie Weissmann, travelweekly.com: "[T]he ways in which travel is on the side of openness are self-evident. In fact, the industry has been saying for decades that public diplomacy is an unsung benefit when governments facilitate inbound and outbound travel."
Former ambassador to discuss U.S. diplomacy in East Asia - kpax.com: "MISSOULA - The first female U.S. ambassador to Korea, will present 'U.S. Public Diplomacy and Leadership in East Asia'
on Tuesday at the University of Montana. ... Stephens will discuss how the United States can face these changes and challenges through public diplomacy and leadership to achieve its strategic goals in Asia." Uncaptioned image from article
RELATED ITEMS
The Syrian Pact - Editorial, New York Times: President Vladimir Putin of Russia has undoubtedly elevated his stature in the Middle East with this diplomatic move. But he is now on the hook as he never was before to make sure that Mr. Assad does not use chemical weapons. Mr. Putin has drawn a line at poison gas, but it will be cynical and reprehensible if he continues to supply Mr. Assad with conventional arms, which have killed the vast majority of Syria’s civilian victims. President Obama deserves credit for putting a focus on upholding an international ban on chemical weapons and for setting aside military action at this time in favor of a diplomatic deal.
Chemical weapons deal changes Syrian equation: Our view - Editorial, USA Today: Some critics see the chemical weapons agreement as unreliable and inconsequential. It is neither. Rather, it is a worthy goal on its own merits and perhaps a step toward achieving greater ends.
Ex-KGB officer talks Nobel Peace Prize winner out of launching war - Jim Picht, Washington Times: Former KGB officer Putin has helped Nobel Peace Laureate Obama avoid a war that his own foreign policy made more likely.
The Russian-American negotiations will produce terms more favorable to Putin’s foreign policy than to Obama’s, and America’s credibility in the Middle East will not be enhanced. Russia’s will. Image from article, with caption: Russian President Vladimir Putin, then and now
Into the Syrian Bazaar: Even if Assad gives up his chemical weapons, he escapes unpunished for using them - Review and Outlook, Wall Street Journal: The accord takes President Obama and the
Why the Russians Can't Be Trusted in Syria: Moscow isn't even complying with a commitment to destroy its own chemical weapons - John Barrasso, Wall Street Journal: When the Obama administration announced its "reset" of relations with Russia in 2009, Americans never expected that it would include making Vladimir Putin the de facto U.S. ambassador to Syria in 2013. Yet the Russian president has in effect taken over U.S. diplomacy with the Bashar Assad regime in Damascus. Moscow's military support of the Assad regime is one of the main reasons that more than 100,000 Syrians have been killed in the current conflict.
Obama’s ‘unbelievably small’ presidency - Marc A. Thiessen, Washington Post: There is no plan, no coherence to anything this administration is doing on Syria.
America invites parade of Middle East horribles - Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post: The president has made avoiding war his highest priority. That’s an admirable goal in a world without aggressive, evil regimes. But on the global stage, advertising one’s determination to use any device (even a phony deal with a tyrant) to avoid protecting our interests and values is to open the door to a parade of Middle East horribles (e.g. use of weapons of mass destruction, mass atrocities, expansion of Iranian access, collapse of neighboring regimes).
Try as he might, Obama can’t dodge the Mideast’s bullets - Jackson Diehl, Washington Post: The problem is that the attempt to disengage, to claim that the United States need not take sides in the conflict between Sunnis and Shiites or generals and Islamists, only leads back to the same cycle of passivity and ad-hoc reaction in which Obama is now stuck.
The Missing Partner - Bill Keller, New York Times: If the Iranians help stabilize the situation in Syria, and if that in turn creates a better climate for a nuclear deal, then the world is a safer place. On the other hand, if we engage the Iranians and they don’t reciprocate then it becomes clearer than ever that the problem is Tehran, not Washington.
Treaties -- as American as Ben Franklin: The Founding Fathers made a push for 'international norms' of human behavior - Barry O'Neill, latimes.com: Some see George Washington and other founders as wanting an isolationist foreign policy. Indeed, they were wary of political or military alliances with other states.
But they also pioneered an international agreement on the conduct of war. Such treaties fit American values. They are part of the country's heritage, in line with the aspirations of the founders. Image from
AMERICANA
At least 12 dead in Navy Yard shooting; possible suspect at large - Carol Morello, Peter Hermann and Clarence Williams, Washington Post:
Image from article, with caption: Rampage at Navy Yard: At least 12 people are dead after as many as three shooters opened fire in a rampage at the Washington Navy Yard on Monday, police said. D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said in a midday news conference that one of the suspected shooters is dead and that authorities are looking for two other suspects. At least two police officers were among those shot.
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