Monday, September 8, 2014

September 7


"I used to be a government propagandist with the US Information Agency."

--Professor Nancy Snow, "Isis beheading videos: the scariest part is how well their propaganda is working," The Guardian; image from

VIDEO

US Mocks ISIS With Propaganda Video To Fight Militants In 'Welcome To ISIS Land' [GRAPHIC VIDEO] - Erin Banco, ibtimes.com:  "The U.S. has produced and distributed a graphic mock Islamic State propaganda video to fight the Sunni militant group via social media. The video, 'Welcome to ISIS Land,' was published by the State Department's Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications, the State Department said in an email statement to the press Thursday night.  The mock video shows graphic images of the militant group committing crimes that have been widely reported by the media over the past two months and that are now being investigated by the United Nations."

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

U.S. State Department Actively Promoting Islam in Europe - thedailysmug.blogspot.com: "The U.S. State Department -- working through American embassies and consulates in Europe -- has been stepping-up its efforts to establish direct contacts with largely unassimilated Muslim immigrant communities in towns and cities across Europe. Proponents of Obama's approach to public diplomacy -- some elements of which originated with his immediate predecessor -- say it is part of a 'counter-radicalization' strategy which aims to prevent radical Muslims with European passports from carrying out terrorist attacks against the United States.


A key component of the strategy is to 'empower' Muslims who can help build a 'counter-narrative' to that of terrorists. In practice, however, Obama ideologues are crisscrossing Europe on U.S. taxpayer funded trips to 'export' failed American approaches to multiculturalism, affirmative action, cultural diversity and special rights for minorities." Image from

Malaysian news: US analysts conclude MH17 downed by aircraft - boards.cindysbeentrippin.com: "MEMORANDUM FOR: The President FROM: Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS) SUBJECT: Intelligence on Shoot-Down of Malaysian Plane ... As intelligence professionals we are embarrassed by the unprofessional use of partial intelligence information. As Americans, we find ourselves hoping that, if you indeed have more conclusive evidence, you will find a way to make it public without further delay. In charging Russia with being directly or indirectly responsible, Secretary of State John Kerry has been particularly definitive. Not so the evidence. His statements seem premature and bear earmarks of an attempt to 'poison the jury pool.' We see an eerie resemblance to an earlier exercise in U.S. 'public diplomacy' from which valuable lessons can be learned by those more interested in the truth than in exploiting tragic incidents for propaganda advantage. We refer to the behavior of the Reagan administration in the immediate aftermath of the shoot-down of Korean Airlines Flight 007 over Siberia on August 30, 1983."

Invite -- Under Secretary Richard Stengel: American Public Diplomacy in 2014 and Beyond - "September 16, 2014 12:30pm – 1:30 pm 1100 New York Avenue, NW 7th Floor, West Tower [.]


The United States faces many challenges abroad. In a time when the actions of foreign publics are changing political and security landscapes, the need for effective public diplomacy is becoming more urgent. Understanding this need, how should the U.S. best build relationships and influence with target audiences overseas? Join us to hear from Richard Stengel, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, as he discusses his plans for America’s public diplomacy." Stengel image from entry

American Smart Power Strategies: Redefining leadership in a post-American world Under the direction of Maya Kandel, Maud Quessard-Salvaing [file:///C:/Users/J.Brown/Downloads/Abstract_Etude_32_En%20(2).pdf] - Abstract_Etude_32: "The purpose of this study is to provide an analysis of the redefinition of American leadership under president Obama, by analyzing the tools of smart power strategies. It studies the key concepts of the strategy of 'smart realism' – the 'Obama strategy' – in foreign policy. By taking a close look at what smart power entails, as well as at its limits, this study aims to provide an overview and a first evaluation of American foreign policy under President Obama, as he enters the second half of his last mandate. ... Soft power tailored to 'asymmetric' and transgovernmental relations. The State Department ... drew up new 'intelligent' cooperation initiatives with US partners, both public and private, as well as a grand strategy, the QDDR, modeled on the quadrennial strategic review (QSR) of the Pentagon. It also continued the move towards digital technology started at the end of the Bush years to modernize the instruments of US public diplomacy. In the field, this means cooperating with the different actors of the public para-governmental sphere (CEOs, institutions, NGOs, ordinary citizens), an approach that places the United States at the vanguard of diplomacy 2.0."

Assess Public Diplomacy -- Adapt Through Measurement - Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, Assistant Secretary General, Public Diplomacy Division NATO:


"Conclusions § Changing Mindsets § Invest in Training § Adaptability § Coordination." Image from

Weak leadership is Europe’s Achilles’ heel - thejakartapost.com: "[T]the EU does not yet understand the scope of the global crisis which is affecting its interests, from Russia to Asia. Despite a severe economic crisis, a public debt bomb not yet defused, an explosive rate of unemployment in several southern countries, and an ageing population tempted to become more and more conservative and easily manipulated by nationalists, the EU still believes it has time to fix problems, and still sees communication, charisma, and public diplomacy as tools rather than as agents of change."

Do you Support Military Action against ISIS? - Karl Naylor blog -  "The Guardian has held an online opinion poll on the prospect for military intervention in Iraq and Syria against IS. 42% of those stated they supported military action against the Caliphate, 31% said only if it was 'legal and invited' and only 22 % were against it. 46 % said they supported the use of ground troops. My own response is largely sceptical about military intervention as a substitute for politics and a regional diplomatic effort to contain the Islamic State. The British government is already using public diplomacy to prepare the people for a long and many sided struggle against this new enemy. The reason for this and, indeed, the refusal by PM David Cameron even to use the words 'Islamic State' instead of ISIL, the name of an insurgent group rather than a self-proclaimed Caliphate State, is that Western leaders, politicians, di[p]lomats and generals are themselves divided on how to deal with the problem."

His Highness PM underlines importance of public diplomacy - kuna.net.kw: "His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah underscored the importance of public diplomacy in strengthening ties between friendly nations. His Highness the Prime Minister's remark was made Sunday during his reception at Seif Palace of a Kuwait media delegation which has recently paid a visit to Iran."

Efforts are necessary to spread accurate understanding of Japan -- The Yomiuri Shimbun - chicagotribune.com: "The following editorial appeared in Saturday's Yomiuri Shimbun: If it wants to strengthen its presence in the international community and adequately inform a wider audience abroad about itself, Japan should strategically strengthen its public relations overseas and promote cultural exchanges with other nations. ... In cooperation with the private sector, the Japanese government should thoroughly study ways to deploy public diplomacy with a longer term perspective, and to win over international public opinion to Japan's position."

How to win friends and influence people: Modi-style - newseastwest.com: "Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi does things differently.


As these pictures show, Modi knows how to win friends and influence people. He goes to 136-year-old Taimei Elementary School in Tokyo and interacts with the future leaders of Japan on September 1. Now that is public diplomacy at its best. Image from entry

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "the third quiz on Korea 'finals held [Google "translation"] - "[Q]uiz on Korea is organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs . ... Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to have a competition held every year around the world with the common interests of the participants 'Korea' as a missionary in Korea Korean culture around the world will continue (Public Diplomacy) informing the public diplomacy to strengthen. 9.8 (May), 10 finals: 00 to 12 through KBS World 00, Chuseok Special will be broadcast via KBS 1TV is scheduled, 100 countries around the world The line will be visible to viewers."

Canceled reading of Victus in Utrecht is just latest strong arm tactics by Spanish government - international.reagrupament.cat: "[I]t turns out that this very famous and not particularly political guy named Albert Sánchez Piñol wrote a book called Victus which was published in Spanish and Catalan two years ago. Though he’s known for his writing in Catalan, he explains that he wrote Victus in Spanish because it felt more natural for the subject material. He got a fair bit of flack for it, truth be told. The book is about the fall of Barcelona in 1714, which marked the loss of Catalonia’s sovereignty.Anyway, Piñol presented the Dutch translation of his book at Spui 25, an academic-cultural center in Amsterdam on Wednesday. According to Marti Estruch, who works at DiploCAT a public diplomacy council which helped finance the book’s translation into Dutch, and who was present, the discussion was widely attended by locals, and focused on the historic backdrop, the narrator’s voice, the characters that appear in the book."

Ethiopia: Forum to Empower future leadership of Minister of Foreign Affairs -
"Regional public diplomacy and Empowering IGAD safety and security to strengthen the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia. A one day Forum to strengthen the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ links with the public media and to Empower future leadership of Minister of Foreign Affair Dr. Tedros, was opened September 4, 2014. in the Ministry by Foreign Minister Dr. Tedros.


The Forum will also discuss professional ethics and ways to improve relations between the media and the Ministry. The Forum underlines the determination of the Ministry to provide appropriate and accurate information for the media to use in its reporting." Uncaptioned image from entry

Welcome to the Ilmenau Center of Public Diplomacy Research and Training (ICPD)! - tu-ilmenau.de: "On our pages you will find information about ICPD, its members, tasks, download and training possibilities


as well as other relevant material concerning the broad topic of Public Diplomacy." Image from entry, with caption: Andreas Schwarz, Kathrin Schleicher, Ines Birnschein, Alice Srugies, Martin Löffelholz, Liane Rothenberger, Claudia Auer

Daniel Granot, MSFS'15 - Georgetown University School of Foreign Service: "Public Diplomacy Intern,


Embassy of Israel, Washington, DC." Granot image from entry

Directory Detail - fordschool.umich.edu: "FACULTY Surry Scheerer TITLE: Intermittent Lecturer in Public Policy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy ... Surry Scheerer, LMSW, is a leadership and organizational development coach and trainer. Ms. Scheerer serves as a executive coach for The University of Michigan Ross School of Business Executive Education and Executive MBA Programs, providing one on one coaching for custom programs. She has also coached Ross students in the EMBA and Executive Skills Programs and the Tauber Institute for Global Operations.


Ms. Scheerer is an organizational culture consultant, trainer and leadership coach in both the public and private sectors for businesses including National Arts Strategies/Salzburg Global Seminars, Regional Alliance for Healthy Schools, a University of Michigan Health System program, and Zingerman’s Bakehouse, of the Zingerman’s Community of Businesses. Ms. Scheerer also serves as a leadership development trainer, coach and facilitator for the International Professional Fellows Exchange, a public diplomacy program sponsored and implemented by the U. S. Department of State and The University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, Center for Political Studies." Surry image from entry

8 Tips for Beasting the FSOT - "The Foreign Service Officers Test (FSOT) is designed to weed out the masses. This multiple choice and essay test is the easiest part of the Foreign Service entrance process, but don’t be fooled: most test takers need to study for it. ... Foreign Service Offices are expected to be generalists, which means that all officers should be able to write diplomatic cables in economic or political positions, or draft speeches and press releases in public diplomacy roles. If you’re not already a great writer, you need to invest time and energy into becoming one."

RELATED ITEMS

Foreign Powers Buy Influence at Think Tanks - Eric Lipton, Brooke Williams, Nicholas Confessore, New York Times: More than a dozen prominent Washington research groups have received tens of millions of dollars from foreign governments in recent years while pushing United States government officials to adopt policies that often reflect the donors’ priorities. The money is increasingly transforming the once-staid think-tank world into a muscular arm of foreign governments’ lobbying in Washington. And it has set off troubling questions about intellectual freedom: Some scholars say they have been pressured to reach conclusions friendly to the government
financing the research.

Ukraine Bans 14 Russian TV Channels for 'War Propaganda' (August 20) - Reuters, Moscow Times Ukraine has blocked 14 Russian television channels from its cable networks to stop them spreading war propaganda, an Interior Ministry official said.


Television news has played a vital role in public perception of the conflict in eastern Ukraine where many of the largely Russian-speaking population watch Russian news. Image from entry, with caption: A Ukrainian serviceman stands on a tank as he guards a checkpoint in the town of Debaltseve, in Donetsk region.

Washington Post: Putin's propaganda keeps Russians in the dark about Ukraine and more - kyivpost.com

One very Nazi owner: Joseph Goebbels’ lakeside love nest goes on sale after being left to rot for more than two decades - This abandoned house in the woods was once owned by Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels - and it is up for sale. Adolf Hitler gave


the Haus am Bogensee, the only Nazi residence which has not been demolished, as a gift to Goebbels during World War II. Image from entry

A Missionary for Liberal Arts - Karen Fischer, New York Times: In parts of the world that make headlines for their strife and volatility, such as Russia and the Palestinian West Bank, Bard has helped found new colleges and programs rooted in the liberal arts.

IN MEMORIAM ROBIN


--Via a Facebook friend

ONE MORE IMAGE


--Via a Facebook friend

AND ONE MORE IMAGE


--Via a Facebook friend

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