"A Short Guide to the Middle East [:]
Iran is backing Assad. Gulf states are against Assad! Assad is against Muslim Brotherhood. Muslim Brotherhood and Obama are against General Sisi [Egypt]! But Gulf states are pro Sisi! Which means they are against Muslim Brotherhood! Iran is pro Hamas, but Hamas is backing Muslim Brotherhood! Obama is backing Muslim Brotherhood, yet Hamas is against the U.S.! Gulf states are pro United States. But Turkey is with Gulf states against Assad; yet Turkey is pro Muslim Brotherhood against General Sisi. And General Sisi is being backed by the Gulf states! Welcome to the Middle East and have a nice day."
--A letter to the Financial Times 8/22/2013 by Mr KN Al-Sabah, of London; via SL; image from article
VIDEOS
EP11: Sports Diplomacy with Michelle Kwan - vimeo.com: "Michelle Kwan, a five-time world figure-skating champion, talks about her work as a public diplomacy envoy for the State Department, meeting with athletes and youth in foreign countries, and her new life in Washington (September 3, 2013)."
Syrian S-300 Surface-To-Air Missile Propaganda Video - Tyler Durden, zerohedge.com
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY
As Much Power as a Word: Fulbright and Soft Power - Tom Healy, chairman, Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, Huffington Post: "[T]he activities of soft power -- whether it's educational exchange like Fulbright or foreign aid programs or other projects -- cost money. Nowhere near as much money as war. But interestingly, when you look at the history, the major expenditures and commitments to soft power usually come after war: funded through the sales of military surplus after World War II, the Fulbright Program was formulated along with other extraordinary achievements like the Marshall Plan. Budgets for educational and cultural exchange have always increased after violent events. This does not diminish the urgency or the effectiveness of education and international cooperation, of all the engagements of friendship, trust, mutual understanding, but it does mean we must be wary of the kind of utopian confidence one can often hear in safe and prosperous places that programs of peace can overcome the habits of hate and war, that they can offer sufficient alternatives to defense, to our natural wariness of those who might do us harm."
Veteran Journalist Douglas Frantz Heading To State Department - Michael Calderone, Huffington Post: "Veteran journalist Douglas Frantz is joining the State Department as assistant secretary of state for public affairs, according to a source familiar with the move. An official announcement is expected Tuesday. This will be Frantz’s second time working under Secretary of State John Kerry. In 2009, Frantz was hired as an investigator for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, chaired by then-Sen. Kerry (D-Mass.)
Frantz, who had previously spent more than three decades at publications such as The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, returned to journalism in May 2012 as The Washington Post’s national security editor. ... He won't be the only journalist on the State Department payroll, either. Former Boston Globe politics editor Glen Johnson joined a senior adviser to Kerry earlier this year." Via PVB. Image from article
Acting Head Kevin Klose Appointed RFE/RL President And CEO - BBGWatcher, usgbroadcasts.com: "As suggested by recent BBG Watch reporting, the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) acting through the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) corporate board, approved a multi-year contract for Kevin Klose to become RFE/RL President And CEO. Klose, who was hired by the BBG in January 2013, has brought reforms and stability to the organization which was badly shaken by the firing of dozens of Radio Liberty journalists in Russia under his predecessor Steven Korn. All BBG members who all serve on the RFE/RL corporate board have approved Klose’s appointment, a BBG press release said."
Gulf News columnist says Voice of America lost much of its relevance - BBGWatcher, usgbroadcasts.com: "Voice of America has been badly managed, its news reporting staff reduced, employee morale at record low levels, original news reporting de-emphasized by top management and replaced with short wire service news items. A few remaining VOA English Service correspondents, even those based in Washington DC, are seeing their reports discarded or edited down by the VOA website team. News on the VOA English news website are often posted late
Israel steps back from war footing - jewishnews.net.au: "Despite rumours of dissatisfaction in Jerusalem at Obama’s decision to seek the support of Congress before attacking, there was notable silence from ministers and the military. 'This was important because Israel recognises this is an important decision for the US, and it’s important that Israel isn’t seen as involved,' said Yehuda Ben-Meir, a security analyst at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv. Ben-Meir told The AJN: 'It’s not in Israel’s interests to be seen as trying to influence them in any way,' saying that the impression that action had been promoted by Israel could be bad for the country’s public diplomacy."
Brand Israel self-destructs - Stuart Littlewood, redressonline.com: "A brand is only as good as the actual product, its reputation and how it scores on all the measures people use to evaluate it. Upgrading the Israel brand can only be achieved if the product itself changes for the better. That would require a courageous and seismic change of attitude by committed Zionists, which isn’t about to happen. So, it remains a mission impossible."
Europe's institutionalized anti-Semitism: Op-ed: Jews chosen as scapegoats of extremist leaders who gained power due to economic crisis in Europe - Yuval Canfi, docstalk.blogspot.com: "The author is a public diplomacy professional and Director of the 'Students for Israel' program for combating online anti-Semitism."
Soft Power 2.0: Reshaping Russia’s foreign policy - Anastasia Markitan, Russia Beyond the Headlines: "Russian foreign policy is focusing more and more on soft power, presumably in an effort to improve its international position. Russia Direct will publish its Quarterly Report Soft Power 2.0 on Sept. 3, analyzing Russia’s efforts in the areas of international development and exchange. ... Drawn by the huge potential of soft power in shaping a country’s global agenda, on Sept. 3, Russia Direct will publish RD Quarterly Report Soft Power 2.0 which analyzes possible overlaps of international development efforts and traditional public diplomacy initiatives to suggest specific policy directions that would be most applicable for
“Digital Kosovo” Launches to Empower Digital Diplomacy - yenidiplomasi.com: "Speaking about the work of the British Embassy and British Council on supporting Kosovo's Digital Diplomacy efforts, Myrna Macgregor from the British Embassy said: 'Digital Diplomacy is changing the way we do foreign policy. With governments, businesses and charities online, we all need to have a strong digital presence. Internet recognition of Kosovo is of huge practical and symbolic importance and it is unacceptable that Kosovo still doesn't appear on so many websites.
Digital Kosovo is therefore a welcome initiative, which will enable Kosovo's web-savvy youth to become advocates for their country's online inclusion.' The Digital Kosovo site was officially launched in a media conference at Hotel Sirius in Pristina, with guests including the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Petrit Selimi, IPKO Foundation Board Member Kushtrim Xhakli, Norwegian Ambassador Jan Braathu, and Myrna Macgregor from the British Embassy." Image from
“From Beirut to Jerusalem” by Thomas Friedman - themagicofreading.wordpress.com: "We had a class on Public Diplomacy which was prepared by an American Diplomat. He, unaware of several Palestinians studying in our course, invited a Diplomat from Israel to explain their Public diplomacy in Spain (In Spain, they are really anti-Israel). So the Diplomat from Israel starts his class with a statement that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel and nobody has any right to claim otherwise. Then he starts to talk about what kind of people Palestinians are. At some point, people from Palestine start the discussion and show their point of view. However, nobody wants to listen and a huge argument arises. Basically, people where shouting at the Diplomat, insulting him, and the Diplomat did no better: he insulted everyone back, telling that no wonder nobody wants to live in Palestine. And meanwhile, the American was trying to stop all the mess telling that the class was supposed to be about Public Diplomacy, not Politics. However, nobody hears him."
serious damage to SinoJapanese relations - webcoms.nevadastateblog.org: "Should the Japanese side, the Chinese side agreed with the Japanese deputy foreign husband on the river with week 24 to 25 September in China, to hold consultations with China. However, according to some media reports the news, the visit is difficult to achieve positive results. A prompt such a public diplomacy United Nations General Assembly places China can not give up, but also put forward their positions, the complainant own history has sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands in particular legal backing, but also to the reasons mentioned in the Japanese refute fight."
Guangzhou City, the opening of the Second Session of the CPPCC second session of - feriepenger.com: "Chen Jianhua, director of Municipal People’s Congress Zhang Guifang on the rostrum, congratulated the General Assembly convened. Municipal Committee, Municipal People’s Congress,ray ban pas cher, the municipal government leaders Fang Xuan, Ling Weixian, Wu Sha, Wang Xiaoling, Yan Xiaoming,ray ban pas cher, Chen Rugui, Ding Du, Chen Mingde, Gan Xin, Chen, Zhang Ji,louboutin, Victor Chan, Xie Baohuai, Wushu Jian, Zhao Sui, Chia-pole,louboutin pas cher, Writer Jane opened the General Assembly moderator, members should attend the meeting 640 people,longchamp, real to 609 people, the number of compliance. unique advantages, continue to promote friendship and solidarity work, etc. five public diplomacy work. He said the past year,Railways train two-dimensional code to respond Railways kept hidden leaks, the city CPPCC proposals were received 508, 472 filed after examination,ray ban, the filing rate of 92.9%."
RELATED ITEMS
Egypt press crackdown and propaganda: The information wars are heating up in Egypt - Dan Murphy, Christian Science Monitor: The big picture: It appears that a battle has been joined in
I personally am involved in a conspiracy to divide and destabilize
NewsSpeak -- Al Jazeera and Russia Today Propaganda or Factual Reporting? - BATR, marketoracle.co.uk: So what is the material difference between Al Jazeera America and RT broadcasting their variant of foreign policy from what the U.S. government does?
Actually the imperial message in jingoistic disinformation out of the federal agencies and think tanks, are far less credible than the reporting by the international press. However, most people avoid getting their news from written accounts.
The trend for foreign interests acquiring or starting a television network on satellite or cable will accelerate. Only distribution over the internet will grow faster. Let’s hope the message will be worth viewing, since all news is a form of propaganda. Images from article
Debating the Case for Force - Editorial, New York Times: It is unfortunate that Mr. Obama, who has been thoughtful and cautious about putting America into the Syrian conflict, has created a political situation in which his credibility could be challenged. He did that by publicly declaring that the use of chemical weapons would cross a red line that would result in an American response. Regardless, he should have long ago put in place, with our allies and partners, a plan for international action — starting with tough sanctions — if Mr. Assad used chemical weapons. It is alarming that Mr. Obama did not.
The Stakes on the Syria Vote: America's credibility as a guarantor of international order is on the line - Eliot A. Cohen, Wall Street Journal: Barack Obama does not need congressional approval to launch a war. Even under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which is of dubious constitutionality, the president has only to notify Congress within 48 hours of initiating military action. He also has a 60-day window to conduct operations (plus 30 to withdraw) absent congressional authorization. If the U.S. -- after its president said two years ago that Assad must go and then, a year later, drew a red line at Syria's use of chemical weapons -- now does nothing, profound conclusions will be drawn by a China ready to bully its neighbors, by a North Korea whose scruples are already minimal, and by an Iran that has already killed many Americans in a covert war waged against us in Iraq and Afghanistan. America's friends will realize that its word means nothing.
Leading From Behind Congress: Obama recklessly gambles with American credibility - Review and Outlook, Wall Street Journal: President Obama's Syrian melodrama went from bad to worse on Saturday with his surprise decision to seek Congressional approval for what he promises will be merely a limited cruise-missile bombing. Mr. Obama will now have someone else to blame if Congress blocks his mission, but in the bargain he has put at risk his credibility and America's standing in the world with more than 40 months left in office. This will go down as one of the stranger gambles, if not abdications, in Commander in Chief history
Obama Pivots to Syria From Asia: Allies are starting to suspect that Washington is no longer looking their way - Michael Auslin, Wall Street Journal: American allies in Asia might soon stumble across a startling realization, if they haven't already: A superpower that implicitly admitted it feels incapable of focusing on more than one area at a time—hence the need for a pivot toward Asia, away from somewhere else—is now not as focused on Asia, after all.
Say no to a feckless Syria strike - Marc A. Thiessen, Washington Post: It is true that U.S. credibility is at stake given Obama’s red line on Syria’s use of chemical weapons. But the purposefully weak response Obama is planning — one he has telegraphed weeks in advance, allowing the Assad regime to move assets out of harm’s way — will do nothing to salvage U.S. credibility. Quite the opposite.
Obama has no moral authority to punish Syria - Frank Kacer, Washington Times: There are no good guys currently in the Syrian civil war, only bad guys. We can do very little to resolve this conflict unless we are willing to take on another major military role in the Middle East. This would take boots on the ground and enormous resources to ensure Assad’s ouster and the securing of any WMD. The current desire to lob dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of Tomahawk missiles into Syria will only demonstrate how impotent the United States has become.
Instead of giving the Syrian people hope for an end to the civil war, it could actually prolong it by provoking Assad’s allies to provide him with even more support. Image from article
On Syria, Obama had to go to Congress - E.J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post: In seeking congressional authorization for military strikes against Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, President Obama is not weakening presidential power and is not looking for an out to avoid a war he doesn’t want. He is doing what is absolutely necessary in a democratic republic. He is rallying consent for a grave step and for what was always going to be a controversial decision.
A vote of no confidence is in order - Ed Rogers, Washington Post: The president is a spent force, both domestically and internationally. Congress should help by voting to cut our losses; it should resist opening the door to the uncertain consequences of a military campaign conducted, without conviction or clear purpose, by this commander in chief. I
Are American taxpayers financially responsible to defend Syrians? - Thomas Mullen, Washington Times: One day after President Obama indicated he would seek a vote from Congress on whether to launch missile strikes against Syria, media outlets have already begun reporting on the debate from a number of perspectives. As usual, one perspective is completely ignored: that of the American taxpayer. The Constitution grants Congress the power to tax U.S. citizens to provide for the common defense of U.S. citizens, not every soul on the planet. The only exception is for citizens in countries with whom the United States has signed a mutual defense treaty. In those situations, it is assumed that American taxpayers get a reasonably equal benefit back in defense provided to them.
NATO Must Help Obama on Syria - James G. Stavridis, New York Times: NATO should be part of an international effort to sharply punish the Assad regime, which poses a clear and present danger to the alliance — and the United States should lead NATO in doing so.
Propaganda vs. self-censorship: Syria’s virtual civil war - Nicole Bogart, Global News: After over two years of unrest, Syria’s civil war has seemingly reached its climax. On the heels of a reported chemical weapons attack that left 100 civilians dead, both the U.S. and British governments are considering an attack on the embattled nation whose government has vowed to defend itself from any aggression. Similar to Egypt’s revolution and the Arab Spring before it, social media has played an important role in Syria’s civil war. Both pro- and anti-government propaganda are rife on websites like YouTube. On one side are the activists. Unlike the average Syrian citizen currently censoring themselves, anti-regime activists are willing to risk posting critical messages online using aliases that hide their identity. At the other end of the conflict: aggressive rival groups that assert their presence on social media to spread a pro-government message.
Image from article: a Facebook parody page that when translated to English reads, “The Chinese Revolution against the Tyrant of China,” which actually has nothing to do with
Syrians use social media to tell world: See atrocities for yourself - Stephen Dinan, Washington Times: Even as the U.S. grapples with a response to social media evidence, both sides in Syria are engaged in a ferocious struggle to win the online propaganda war through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Reddit and other social media outlets. Indeed, analysts said the Internet has become a battlefield in itself — a virtual civil war.
U.S.-Russian Ties Still Fall Short of ‘Reset’ Goal - Peter Baker, New York Times: The story of the administration’s “reset” policy toward Russia is a case study in how the heady idealism of Mr. Obama’s first term has given way to the disillusionment of his second. Critics say he was naïve to think he could really make common cause with Moscow. Aides say it was better to try than not, and it did yield tangible successes in arms control, trade and military cooperation before souring. The theory, advanced by aides like Mr. Donilon and Michael McFaul, then the president’s Russia adviser, was that after the rupture over Russia’s 2008 war with Georgia, there were opportunities for cooperation in areas of shared interest. That did not mean there would no longer be disagreements, but they would try to delink them so that the entire relationship did not suffer. “It was an opportunity to make things better,” said a senior official.
State Dept on Embassy Workers Unionization: Yo! Could Put U.S. National Security at Risk - Domani Spero, DiploPundit: The current number of local employees working at U.S. Embassies worldwide as of March 2013 is 45,576. A 2007 State/OIG report noted that since 1998, far more local embassy employes have been killed in the performance of their duties than have American Foreign Service employees. The report points out the need for the Department “to codify in one place and strengthen its commitment to LE staff.” That report recommended not only the development of “a bill of rights for locally employed staff” but also the establishment of a “a locally employed staff ombudsman position.” Neither of those recommendations, as far as we know, has been implemented by the State Department.
Egyptian Propaganda Bizarrely Copies Curb Your Enthusiasm Ad - vanityfair.com: Speaking of international endorsements that weirdly involve popular HBO series: an Egyptian newspaper
has published an illustration that borrows heavily from a familiar Curb Your Enthusiasm ad in the U.S. Hat tip to New York Times writer David D. Kirkpatrick for first calling attention to the similarity, by posting the two ads side by side on Twitter on Sunday (above). Image from entry
Mugabe buses in African wildlife for UN summit ‘propaganda’: Scores of giraffes, zebras, wildebeest and impala have been bussed in to stock Zimbabwe’s Zambezi National Park for the benefit of visitors to the United Nations’ World Tourism summit which the country is currently hosting - Aislinn Laing, and Peta Thornycroft, telegraph.co.uk: A total of 300 animals are understood to have been transported over 400 miles from a privately-run conservancy in southeastern Zimbabwe to the Victoria Falls reserve to give the appearance of a bountiful wildlife population which might prove attractive to safari-loving holidaymakers.
But wildlife experts say that in reality, the country’s safari animal numbers have declined sharply amid a lack of funding for conservation from central government and rampant poaching. The costly operation took place despite “Zimbabwe’s Parks and Wildlife Management Authority” struggling to pay its own staff wages for the past three months, or for diesel to power water pumps for animals in its parks, critics claim. The choice of Zimbabwe to act as joint host of the annual meeting of the UN’s tourism body along with Zambia — on the other side of Victoria Falls — has already proved controversial. Image from article
Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev Advises West to Pass Laws Banning Gay Propaganda amongst Minors - Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev of Volokolamsk, the head of the MP Department for External Church Relations, said that Western countries should follow the example of Russia in imposing a ban on the promotion of non-traditional sexual relations among minors. He said in an interview in Rome with AsiaNews, “I think that the same laws should be enacted in other countries instead of those rules that exist in a number of EU countries, where same-sex couples
have the right to adopt children." According to Vladyki Hilarion, the current Western policy is “self-destructive, because in terms of the demographic crisis, it’s harmful to the family to give such privileges to same-sex unions. In fact, it’s a signature on the death warrant of whole states, on whole nations." Metropolitan Hilarion said that the activities of Russian legislators could serve as a model for their Western counterparts when one looks at it from this point of view, noting, “The laws that [
Sri Lankan defense official says Tamil rebel propaganda influenced visit of UN rights chief - AP, foxnews.com: Powerful Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa says the reason the United Nations human rights chief visited Sri Lanka was because of propaganda from remnants of the Tamil Tiger rebels who lost the civil war four years ago. His remarks Tuesday came after U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said during the weekend that democracy was being undermined and the rule of law eroded in Sri Lanka, with the country increasingly becoming an authoritarian state despite the end of the war.
Propaganda: Creating the free press illusion - Natalie Russell, pittnews.com: Instead of exposing the murky underbelly of merciless war crimes and unjust foreign policy, we’re given a clean, less-complicated phrase to print on a ribbon-shaped bumper sticker affixed next to the Ford logo: “Support our troops.” Really, the phrase couldn’t be more fitting for a society itching to apply the “un-American” label to anyone who unapologetically criticizes government actions. The conversation no longer revolves around the policy itself, but drifts off into some vacuous side note about criticizing the soldiers who are just as caught up in the whirlwind of power as the rest of us. Slogans like Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s “Eat the Rich” and Occupy Wall Street’s “We are the 99 percent” are quite effective at starting a real conversation about class struggle. The difference between these slogans and “Support our troops” is that the latter doesn’t represent any substantive issue at all. It’s not a question of whether or not the public supports the troops, but rather, whether or not they support the policies that guide the troops. It’s a primary example of propaganda, and it prevents those in power from receiving any opposition from a better-informed public. When you control the conversation, you control public opinion.
The power of persuasion: a look into the world of propaganda - Chris Boffey, thedrum.com: It might be insidious, it could be downright wrong, but propaganda works and has done since states began to understand that power and control did not just have to rely on brute force. From imperial Rome to Nazi Germany, Stalin’s Russia to Mao’s China and the USA, the most powerful in society have always used, and continue to use, the power of persuasion as an essential part of their armouries. This is well documented in the current British Library exhibition, ‘Propaganda: Power and Persuasion’, but the curators take a controversial view, not shared by all, that all government messages,whether they be on the benefits of drinking milk or the dangers of HIV, come under the same propaganda umbrella as war, genocide and hatred.
The doyen of political reporters, John Sergeant, who reported Westminster and Whitehall for the BBC and ITN, condones the exhibition’s approach, saying: “It is all very well to say the exhibition is ethically neutral but propaganda is evil, completely cynical. If you are Doctor Goebbels, you are not worrying about the truth of the Jews, you think ‘how can we hit them, and how can we repeat the lie?’ “The essence of propaganda, as George Orwell points out, is that if you repeat the lie enough people will believe it. That is propaganda. Government information of how bad AIDs is going to be is of a wholly different sort.” He says the exhibition completely fails to show that reporters like him, who have spent their whole lives in the area of government information, have not set out to lie to the British public. Image from entry, with caption: Freedom American Style’, B. Prorokov, 1971. See also John Brown, "Two Ways of Looking at Propaganda," PD News–CPD Blog, US Center of Public Diplomacy (2006).
RUSSICA
Via MT on Facebook
IMAGE
From; see also.
No comments:
Post a Comment