"She can't dance, her body looked like hell, the song wasn't great, one cheek was hanging out. And, chick, don't stick out your tongue if it's coated."
--Cher on Miley Cyrus' notorious MTV performance; Cyrus image from
"I believe to blow a bunch of stuff up over a couple of days to underscore or validate a point or principle is not a strategy."
--Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates; image from; see also Philip Seib, "The Case for Blowing Things Up," PD News – CPD Blog, USC Center on Public Diplomacy
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
It Isn't the Military's Place to Weigh In on the Syria Debate: Far too many servicemembers have made their opinions public -- a violation of both ethics and the fundamental principle that in the U.S., civilians make policy - James Joyner, theatlantic.com: "A recent and completely unscientific Military Times survey found 75 percent of troops opposed to air strikes and 80 percent believing intervention in the war at all is not in America's national-security interests. ... Many reports in recent weeks have expressed frustration from serving officers . ... For the record, I tend to share much of the skepticism about the now-on-hold operation and frustration with the public diplomacy that got us here.
For that matter, I sympathize with members of the armed services, many of whom have been deployed multiple times to fight in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, in being hostile to the idea of yet another engagement -- even one that would ostensibly be limited to a few airstrikes. But while service members are human beings and will naturally have private views on proposed military action, they have a professional duty to refrain from public commentary on decisions that are the purview of Congress and their commander-in-chief." Image from article, with caption: President Obama, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, and General Martin Dempsey
State/IIP Introduces New American Ambassadors on YouTube – Pick Your Favorite Now! – Domani Spero, DiploPundit: “The State Department’s Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP) has rolled out several videos for its Ambassador Introduction Video Series on You Tube. The videos are mostly in English (with one exception) or with some local language subtitles. The most viewed from this latest releases is the video of US Ambassador to Belgium Denise Bauer. The only one in a foreign language (with an English version also available) is delivered unexpectedly not by a career diplomat but by non-career appointee Alexa Wesner, the new ambassador to Austria . The most viewed in this series at 377,521 views is still the video introduction of the late Ambassador Chris Stevens originally published in May 2012 by america.gov and US Embassy Tripoli. A good number of these videos get less than a thousand views.”
Time magazine names Nancy Gibbs first female managing editor, Richard Stengel leaves to work for Obama - Daniel S Levine, thecelebritycafe.com: "While Time’s newsstand sales have fallen 39 percent over the past year, it still has 3.3 million subscribers. It’s [sic] Twitter presence is also big, with 4.9 million followers. On Tuesday, it was also announced that
Stengel, who held the same position for the past seven years, is going to the State Department. He has been nominated to be an under secretary focusing on public diplomacy and public affairs. A senior official close to Stengel told Capital New York before the news was confirmed by Time that Stengel's focus at Time on national service makes him a great candidate for the job. 'Now he’s taking his own advice and moving on to a senior role at the State Department, where he will have the chance to serve his country,' the official added." See also: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9); Stengel image from
VOA Is 'Not a Mouthpiece of the White House,' Director Says (VIDEO) - Nicholas Kralev, huffingtonpost.com: "'The Voice of America is not a propaganda organization and is not a mouthpiece of the White House or anybody else' -- in fact, its reporters don't enjoy great access to high-ranking U.S. officials, VOA Director David Ensor says on this week's episode of 'Conversations with Nicholas Kralev.' At the same time, VOA is a tool of
Yet another personnel change at PNN – Voice of America Persian Service – is a sign of deep leadership crisis at VOA - BBGWatcher, usgbroadcasts.com: "Observers of U.S. international broadcasting see the latest personnel change at PNN (Persian News Network), the Voice of America (VOA)
Persian Service, as yet another sign that VOA Director David Ensor and his deputy, Executive Editor Steve Redisch, have failed to provide leadership, solve problems and win respect of VOA journalists. Ensor denies these charges and says that 'real progress was made.' But critics say that continuing problems at the Persian Service are typical of the entire organization." Image from entry
State Department supports radio stations in Syria; its officials "cringe at" comparisons with RFE – Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: “The Daily Beast, 13 Sept 2013, Mike Giglio: ‘As part of America ’s efforts to aid the Syrian opposition, the State Department is supporting around 10 radio stations countrywide. State officials select and vet the journalists running the stations, then arrange for funding, which is provided by civil society NGOs and other channels using State Department money. ... Like the other Syrian journalists receiving U.S. support who were interviewed for this article, [Siruan Hossein of ARTA FM] says his American backers don’t influence his coverage. 'We are not forced to do anything we don’t want to do,' he says. 'The only thing we can’t do is support violence, which of course we don’t.' ... State Department officials cringe at — and reject — comparisons between their Syria radio program and Radio Free Europe, which the United States famously ran during the Cold War as part of its efforts to undermine the Soviet Union, and which was later revealed to have acted, at times, under the directive of the CIA.’[Elliott comment:] -- These stations compete with the BBG's Radio Sawa -- unmentioned in this piece -- for ears in Syria . Radio Sawa is probably audible in Syria via its Cyprus medium wave transmitter. Kobani Kurd, 3 Aug 2013: ‘Radio 'Arta FM' strives to support the national and religious diversity in Kurdish areas and the rest of Syrian areas. ... 'Arta FM' is one of the projects of the Syrian Center Kingdom of Sweden
"Why China is making a big play to control Africa's media" - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: [Elliott comment:] "The Chinese English 24-hour TV news channels, CCTV and CNC World, are good examples of the futility of mixing public diplomacy with journalism. Because they are state-controlled, they are predictable and relatively boring.
This disadvantage is countered by their state subsidies, which make the Chinese channels available without carriage fees. CCTV News and CNC World are therefore available even on the cheapest packages of DStv and on other multichannel television platforms in Africa. Among 24-hour English news channels, CNN International is the US player. It is self-funding and for-profit, and cannot give its content away to multichannel providers. Accordingly, CNN International tends to be available only on the more expensive channel packages. Many television viewers in Africa have access to the Chinese channels and Al Jazeera English, all subsidized, but not the CNN International and BBC World News, each self-funded." Image from entry
Study in the UK -- Change the World! - Sir Peter Westmacott, British Ambassador to the United States, Huffington Post: Yesterday evening, I had the privilege of hosting the 2013 class of Marshall Scholars, just before they jet off to begin their studies in the UK. It was no surprise to learn that they are, as always, a collection of exceptional young Americans. ... Parliament set up the Marshall Scholarships in 1953, with the express aim of extending the close ties between Britain and the United States that had developed during the Second World War. They were named after one of the greatest American generals of that war, and one of the most important architects of the peace that followed, George C. Marshall. ... Bringing such remarkable individuals to the UK early in their careers, and putting them in touch with their British counterparts, is an enormous benefit to the links between our two countries. That's why, even at a time when budgets face pressure across the board, the UK government has opted to maintain -- and even increase -- funding for the Marshall Scholarships. The Marshalls are an essential part of British public diplomacy in the United States. I am proud to support them."
Analysis || Rohani's correspondence with Obama signifies winds of change in Iran: Expectations high that Rohani will use his upcoming UN speech to lay out concrete proposals for advancing negotiations on Iran's nuclear program - Zvi Bar'el, haaretz.com: "Iranian commentators have been writing about the direct dialogue between the U.S. and Iran as a done deal that Khamenei has signed off on. ... The new wind blowing out of
This explanation did not mollify the conservatives, who described his use of Twitter and Facebook for diplomatic purposes as disgraceful and said it seems this Twitter event has taken control of the foreign minister and his aides. The Raja news agency, associated with supporters of Ahmadinejad, wrote: 'While those individuals who judge and interpret public diplomacy with such events as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech at New York's Columbia University, and the great wave it produced across the world, are now disappointed to see the level of events drop to such low dimensions as messages on Tweeter, but it appears that this Tweeter event has fully pre-occupied the foreign minister and his associates, so that if they called Ahmadinejad's great and global action 'populism,' what shall this humiliating Tweeter event be called?' Another conservative website, Sarat, criticized Rohani's administration: 'Do not be surprised if in the coming days we hear a news report that the minister of intelligence of the current government has posted exposes on his personal Facebook page.' But such criticism of the use of new media may actually testify that in certain fundamental matters the conservatives now accept that they do not have a better plan, and it is better for them to wait and see how Rohani succeeds in 'protecting Iran's interests,' a code phrase for the attempts to remove the sanctions without damaging Iran's nuclear program." Rohani image from article
The big issues revolve around Tehran - Rami G. Khouri, The Daily Star: "Riyadh and Tehran do not do public diplomacy or meaningful press conferences. They negotiate and make war in the same way – in the shadows, via proxies, using their ample money and guns for all to see, and never very far from home."
Another Sad Tragedy in a series of tragedies - egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com: "Mostafa El Gendy ... [is] the leading member of The Constitution Party who called to people to kill Syrians and Palestinians on the spot at the popular Checkpoints!! El Gendy is the head of the Public diplomacy delegation in Nile Basin countries by the way."
Somalia and Somaliland Dialogue: Preventive Diplomacy To Potential inter-State Wars -
Adam Muse Jibril, somalilandpress.com: "Both official and public diplomatic efforts are needed as long as looming violent conflicts remain imminent threat to the peace and stability in the world. That is why we need to look at the issue of
Somaliland and Somalia dialogue, from its practical dimension as well as from its historical, present and future perspectives." Image from
Media as a Driving Force in International Politics: The CNN Effect and Related Debates - Piers Robinson, e-ir.info: "In addition to the power of ideological narratives, it is also the case that governments have devoted increasing resources and time to attempts to shape and influence public perceptions in ways conducive to their preferred policies. Referred to variously as perception management, strategic communication, public diplomacy and, recently, global engagement, these activities involve the promotion of policy through carefully crafted PR campaigns, exploitation of links with journalists and media outlets and, most generally, taking advantage of the considerable resources at the disposal of governments in order to attempt to dominate the information environment. Some scholars argue that such activities amount to nothing less than propaganda."
Career Diplomat To Make Presentation At Wku On Sept. 26 - wkunews.wordpress.com: Michael McClellan, a career diplomat, author and photographer who grew up in
As the first diplomat from any country assigned to Kosovo, McClellan opened a diplomatic office and, with the Rochester Institute of Technology, organized and opened the
TIEDE Chronicles: The Komonibo family Legacy - mynakomo.blogspot.com: "Meet the Komonibo family: ... 2. Timi - a graduate student in Public Diplomacy/International Relations at Syracuse University. [1st degree was in Corporate Communications in The University of Texas at Austin and then 2 years as a Teach For America Corp member] Hobbies - blogging - http://naturalechronicles.com/"
RELATED ITEMS
On foreign policy, a consistently inconsistent president: Obama's rhetoric tends to outrun his willingness to use U.S. power - Doyle McManus, latimes.com: Obama may like the idea of promoting democracy, but his first priority has been reducing U.S. commitments around the world, especially in the Middle East. Obama still hasn't quite reconciled the two faces of his policy for American voters or anyone else, including Syria's disappointed rebels and Iran's ruling clergy. And that leaves a lot of room for misunderstanding.
New York Times on Syria: All the propaganda fit to print - Bill Van Auken, wsws.org: In a front-page article Tuesday, the New York Times reported that a United Nations report released the day before on the August 21 chemical weapons attack in the suburbs of Damascus “strongly implicated the Syrian government.” In fact, the report did no such thing. The story’s headline, “UN implicates Syria in using chemical weapons,” is a cynical distortion of reality tailored to meet the needs of the US government for war propaganda.
In more than 10 years, the stench from the journalistic crimes carried out by Judith Miller and Bill Keller in promoting the lies used to justify the Iraq war to the public has still not left the offices and newsroom of the New York Times. Now it is at it again in Syria, functioning today as an even more open and direct propaganda arm of the US government. Image from
Brazil snubs Obama by refusing White House state-dinner honor - Dave Boyer, The Washington Times: In an unprecedented snub to President Obama, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has canceled her official state visit to the White House scheduled for next month, angered by revelations of U.S. spying on her and on major Brazilian state institutions.
Top 10 Sin Cities in the World - banoosh.com. Via MT on Facebook
The Nation on the Hill - Room for Debate, New York Times: In his Op-Ed essay in The New York Times last week, President Vladimir Putin of Russia criticized President Obama’s assertion of “American exceptionalism,” the idea that the U.S.’s heritage and policies make it uniquely able to do what it feels is right. All nations are equal, Putin said. Some say the concept is crucial to America’s ability to protect national interests. Others say it has led the U.S. into military and diplomatic quagmires. Does the sense of American exceptionalism help the U.S. or hurt it?
Manufacturing and Exploiting Compassion: Abuse of the Media by Palestinian Propaganda - Philippe Assouline, jcpa.org: Israel, a liberal democracy caught between tyrannies and sectarian violence, is increasingly perceived as uniquely evil. In the struggle for hearts and minds, feelings trump facts. Imagery and accusations that automatically trigger public compassion are incomparably more compelling than dry, defensive argumentation. We are “wired” by evolution to support those we perceive as innocent victims in distress, even when the facts do not mandate such support. The portrayal of Palestinians as innocent victims in distress has been the key to Palestinian propaganda’s popular success. Through the mass-production of heartrending imagery centered on children, staged “news,” manipulative rhetoric, and rigid censorship, Palestinian propaganda has successfully used the media to recast Palestinians as entirely blameless victims. Moreover, a number of prominent journalists for international news agencies have concurrently been salaried employees of Palestinian administrations. Both Agence France Presse and the Associated Press have employed journalists with close ties to the Palestinian Authority. Israelis have long tried to win minds with a multitude of defensive arguments and legal justifications, and have lost. Israel will have to define itself to the world in a way that is at least as emotionally appealing as the Palestinians’ saga of victimhood. Rather than fighting spurious accusations with impersonal facts, Israel must fight Palestinian propaganda’s exploitation of public compassion with a touching but morally correct narrative of its own.
Parade Propaganda on Display - Lee Sang Yong, dailynk.com: The large-scale military parade held yesterday to mark the 65th anniversary of the founding of the DPRK aimed to promote the legitimacy of third generation succession. Unlike previous parades, little in the way of heavy weaponry was on display.
Chinese Real Estate Mogul Does Anti-Rumor Propaganda for Party - Lu Chen and Matthew Robertson, Epoch Times: The Chinese authorities have stepped up their propaganda against rambunctiousness on the Internet, most recently by enlisting a well-known real estate developer to participate in a 15 minute video segment where he expresses support for the Party’s ongoing crackdown.
Pan Shiyi is a real estate mogul with 16 million followers, known as a Big V, meaning a verified account, on the Sina Weibo microblog. The term Big V is often synonymous with celebrity and some degree of influence in Chinese society. Pan was one of the first group of users on Weibo to test the platform. Image from article, with caption: A screen grab of Pan Shiyi in an interview with China Central Television, the state broadcaster. He appeared in support of the Chinese Communist Party's recent campaign against what it calls rumorous [sic] speech on the Internet.
RUSSICA
"Marriage proposals have been pouring in over the summer as well. The most interesting offer
so far, however, came from a 50-year-old woman, [Snowden attorney] Kucherena confessed. She offered to adopt the fugitive American."
--"In Snowden’s footsteps: NSA leaker’s new life in Russia," RT; image from; see also John Brown, "What if Snowden wants to attend the U.S. Embassy Moscow Fourth of July celebration with ex-Russian spy Anna Chapman?" Notes and Essays
WASHINGTONIANA
At PIJAC, every day is bring-your-pet-to-work day [includes video] - Patrick Gavin, politico.com: While there are plenty of quirky offices around Washington, few can match the accommodations at the Dupont Circle offices of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, which advocates on behalf of pet ownership. There is the coffee table reading material, which consists not of National Journal or Time magazine but instead such magazines as Practical Reptile Keeping. There are the bags of dog food lining the conference room.There is, for instance, PIJAC’s president and CEO, Mike Canning, who held a pet corn snake in his hands during our sit-down interview. And then, there is the office rule: “You have to sample the various dog foods we represent before you start working here,” Canning said. “I’ve tried a wide variety of dog food myself, particularly with milk in the mornings.” But his product testing experience doesn’t stop there; he admits to being a regular user of puppy shampoo on his own hair, saying, “It does a great job.” He’s even promoted the habit to his colleagues. “We do recommend animal shampoo for the first day of work,” he said. And the pet policy? Do you really need to ask? It’s simple: “Bring your pet to work.” “We just close doors and only have one person walking an animal at a time,” Canning said. The fish in the conference room, however (a conference room rimmed with pictures of presidential pets), can be shared by all, anytime. “When a staff member is having a bad day, they’ll come in; they’ll sit near the fish tank, watch the fish, and you can just see their blood pressure drop.”
The group is home to all sorts of pets — dogs, cats, snakes, hamsters, you name it. Anything but those other animals. “We typically don’t deal with a lot of the animals that you would find in a zoo — lions and tigers and bears. We don’t really consider those proper pets for a household.” But for the pets that do fit their model, PIJAC works Capitol Hill with one primary mission: “We stand for promoting the human-animal bond.” “We feel that whenever there’s interaction between animal and human beings both parties benefit,” Canning said. So that means promoting pet ownership broadly but also some more specific issues, like the group’s latest effort to persuade Amtrak to allow pets on board. “There’s not really parity between airlines and trains when it comes to taking your pet along,” he said. PIJAC was out in full force last week for the annual Pet Night on Capitol Hill on Sept. 12, featuring lawmakers and their little ones. “Many members of Congress are pet owners themselves, so they make natural allies,” said Canning. He’s proud of that really visible pet owner on Pennsylvania Avenue — President Barack Obama — but he thinks that all presidents could expand their definition of what a pet is — remember: Canning said all of this holding a snake. Snakes “make marvelous pets. You don’t have to walk them everyday,” he said. “I think there should probably be a good balance in every White House between the various pet groups, so maybe we’ll see a pet bird or a pet boa constrictor.” Image from
IMAGE
--Roman Rukos; image via FW on Facebook
DOCUMENT
Image via FZB on Facebook
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