Monday, August 31, 2009

When Graphic Artists Get Bored

C'mon, politics can get too serious sometimes. That's when you whip out photos like this that people in any language can gasp and laugh at together... suddenly you are speaking the same language after all.

This is so great! The art of illusion, imagination and "what were they thinking"!

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August 31



“You can always pick it up.”

--Julia Child’s famous statement about a miss-flipped potato pancake; image from

DOCUMENT

From the Chairman: Strategic Communication: Getting Back to Basics, by Admiral Michael Mullen, Joint Forces Quarterly, issue 55, 4th quarter 2009

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Peace will help keep Obama popular - Steven W. Barnes and Nadia Bilbassy, Daily Star: "Achieving gains in the [Middle East] peace process involves overcoming vast historical, diplomatic, and policy challenges, which cannot be swept aside by a PR campaign. But failing to engage in a strategic outreach initiative and conducting effective public diplomacy in the pursuit of policy interests does have consequences for peace." Article also appeared in Jakarta Globe (August 25). Image from

Home truths – The News, Pakistan: "America seems to be going through a process of awakening, and gaining a more realistic sense of itself and how others perceive it in the process. It is difficult to comprehend the depth of hatred felt by many in Pakistan and across the world for the US. It finds its outlet in all manner of ways from flag burning to open warfare, and it is a hatred that has grown exponentially since 9/11. An early attempt to understand why America is so hated was made with the book titled ‘Why do people hate America’ (Sardar and Davies, 2001) and finds its latest exposition in an article originally written for the official military journal Joint Force Quarterly by none other than the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen. He writes that no amount of public relations exercises will repair the credibility of the US if American behaviour overseas continues to be perceived as ‘arrogant, uncaring or insulting’ — which it not infrequently is, whether it be by design or accident."

Mulling Mullen's Message: Admiral Mullen seems to believe that if America builds trust and delivers, then it will earn respect and admiration - and win its wars. But America’s wars are the problem, notes Nadia Hijab – Middle East Online: "Reading about the essay by Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I thought, at last! An American official who really gets it -- and the highest-ranking military officer, no less. At a time when the Obama Administration plans to invest heavily in strategic communication as part of 'winning' the war in Afghanistan, Mullen writes that what appear to be communication problems are actually 'policy and execution problems.'” Mullen image from

Top Ten Bloggables – Marc Lynch, Foreign Policy: "5. Admiral Mullen’s strategic communication. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs just released a blunt three page article challenging the military’s new conventional wisdom on strategic communications. His bottom line — that words matter less than deeds — is no different from the top-line recommendations of dozens of reports on public diplomacy over the last few years. Everybody says that deeds matter more than words. But words do also matter — nothing speaks for itself, framing matters, and failure to engage in the public rhetorical battles would be disastrous. I suspect that his real target was the 'strategic communications' industry which has grown up remarkably in Pentagon circles over the last half decade. That really does need to be reined in, a I’ve written about often over the last few years and as Obama’s Pentagon and some parts of Congress have already begun to do. I’ll definitely have more to say about this!

6. The Rendon Group screening of journalists. Is anybody surprised by the revelation that the DoD was using a contractor to screen journalists for their coverage? I mean, next thing you’ll say is that they were paying to plant pro-U.S. 'good news' stories in the Iraqi press. I’d guess that this is only the tip of the iceberg. It will be interesting to see how the Obama Pentagon responds to this legacy – on his Twitter feed, the Pentagon’s new strategic communications guy Price Floyd says that screening journalists like this is 'not appropriate and doesn’t happen.' So what is appropriate, and what does happen?" Re the Mullen article, see also John Brown, Strategic Communications and the Graveyard of Empires, Huffington Post. Other related articles at (1) (2) (3) (4); Lynch image from

Iran’s War: who is Iran at war with? Bruce Clarke - examiner.com: "[D]id we miss an opportunity to use public diplomacy to support the recent Iranian protests against the election to create leverage?"

When No Means Yes: What Generation Y Leaders Can Learn From Michelle Kwan - Rosetta Thurman -- promoting next generation leadership for social change:

"Michelle Kwan has effectively given up a career as a figure skating champion to go to grad school and be a public servant. Here she was, a successful Generation Y leader in her field, who decided that she had to give up one passion - skating - in order to pursue her other passion for public diplomacy. She realized that she had to say ‘no’ to figure skating so that she could say ‘yes’ to a career in public service."

Independence, Peace and Economic Growth - Beijing Review: "Over the past 60 years, China's diplomacy has played an important part in upholding the country's sovereignty, security and development interests and in promoting world peace, development and cooperation. China has worked closely with other countries to address various international disputes in a responsible manner. It has vigorously conducted economic, cultural and public diplomacy and achieved fruitful results."

The fasting of a Catholic - Tropical Line/Gulf Investment, Portugal & UAE: "On 28th of August, on the SOL - Portuguese Newspaper - I saw an article with the title 'The fasting of a Catholic'. Ana do Carmo, public diplomacy advisor, started the Ramadan like a Muslim. For that, she asked help to Mr. Omar Suisse[,]teacher of Arabic Studies.

In this article she reported the first six days and all the difficulties. I want to say that I liked very much the article and I think that it is time to understand more about the Arabic culture and Muslim principles. Congratulations Ana do Carmo for your courage." Image from

Safire on Nixon, Khrushchev -- "They Were Deadly Serious..." [video] - Mark Taplin, Global Publicks: "In the second part of his comments about the Nixon-Khrushchev 'Kitchen Debate,' noted columnist and author William Safire talks about the broader context in which the showdown took place, pointing out that it is often forgotten today 'how close a race it was' between the two superpowers, since what now appears as the inevitable victory of capitalism and democracy was by no means so certain 50 years ago. Safire tells his audience at the GWU 'Face-off to Facebook' conference that the most important breakthrough of that Moscow Cold War summer was in fact in the realm of public diplomacy -- namely, that for the first time an American leader was able to speak directly, on television and radio, to the Soviet public." See also.

RELATED ITEMS

Lack of translators hurts U.S. war on terror - Rowan Scarborough, Washington Times: U.S. national security agencies remain woefully short of foreign-language speakers and translators nearly eight years after the Sept. 11 attacks resulted in a war on an enemy that often communicates in relatively obscure dialects, current and former officials say.

The necessary cadre of U.S. intelligence personnel capable of reading and speaking targeted regional languages such as Pashto, Dari and Urdu "remains essentially nonexistent," the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence wrote in a rare but stark warning in its 2010 budget report. Image from

Diplomacy in the Age of No Secrets: Today's quiet deal could be tomorrow's headline - L. Gordon Crovitz, Wall Street Journal: Diplomacy was once satirically defined as the patriotic art of lying for one's country. This approach is hard to sustain in a world that demands transparency. For diplomats, there's no negotiating around the fact that confidential deals today could be headlines tomorrow.

CANADIANA


Environmental scientist Jennifer Jacquet poses they question, "Are You an Eco-Douchebag? The test is simple: read this sign ["Dear customers: Please be advised that our Bread Slicer is used for both Organic and Conventional items"] (recently photographed at my local Vancouver market, which is owned by Whole Foods) then gauge your response..." From Boing Boing.
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Sunday, August 30, 2009

4 Videos: Funny Speakers at Kennedys Irish Wake

From Denny: The highlight of dreary funerals is when people get to tell the funny stories about you and Kennedy was no exception. In fact he wanted people to tell their opinions and observations about him if only to prove just how human he really was in life. Kennedy's life was an exercise in trials, sorrows, screw-ups and redemption. He was an inspiration to many of us who think our screw-ups are beyond redemption and our sorrows too great to heal. Listen to several relatives and, most of all, even his Republican friends talk about their relationships with the beloved, and often annoying, Ted Kennedy. He was fun to the end.

Caroline Kennedy whom he fathered after the assassination of her father President John F. Kennedy:



Close friend Vice President Joe Biden whom Ted mentored in the Senate when Biden was very young and "very green" when it came to real world politics - and suggested as Vice President for Obama:



Former Senator John Culver, D-Iowa, a best friend from college who played football with Ted, brought the house down with his recounting of a harrowing sailing experience with Ted:



Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a close friend of Ted's for over 30 years in the Senate and the two were like oil and water, never mixing well, yet a real love fest that lasted in spite of political differences:

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4 Videos: More Funny Speakers at Kennedys Wake

Senator John Kerry, the junior senator from Massachusetts, recalls Kennedy's booming personality that was like a force of nature. He also recounts how Kennedy never left his side during the 2004 presidential campaign.



Senator John McCain, R-Arizona, recounts his funny and downright annoying experiences with Kennedy. He also declared just how much he loved Ted and how much he misses him already. McCain was so overcome with emotion that after his speech he abruptly left the stage with welling tears in his eyes. Truly that was a close relationship in spite of political wrangling.



Governor Deval L. Patrick, Massachusets, recalls his time with Kennedy and his impressions of him:



Senator Chris Dodd, D-Connecticut, recalls how Kennedy, who was more ill than Dodd, called Dodd to see how he was doing. That really touched Dodd's heart. They, too, were life long friends.



Joseph P. Kennedy II, talks about his favorite uncle who helped father him and his siblings after his father, Robert, was also assassinated on the presidential trail in 1968. You really have to ask yourself "What is wrong with the Republicans who are willing to kill politicians in this great country called America? Who are these people who are so willing to kill a fellow American?":

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August 30



“What child is going to pick up ‘Moby-Dick’?”

-- Diane Ravitch, a professor of education at New York University; image from

"Syracuse University replaced its traditional Shared Reading Program with the Shared First-Year Experience, a program designed to encourage more participation among students. … [T]he reading program never achieved its intended impact. Many students simply did not read the book, said Sandra Hurd, associate provost and member of the Shared First-Year Experience Committee."

-- Syracuse University's The Daily Orange

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

PD 101 - Mark Dillen, Public Diplomacy, The World Affairs Blog Network: “At least one fairly breathless account claims that Secretary Clinton has begun to carry out a 'revolution'

in the way that the State Department does business. … I’m not sure that the Department needs community organizing skills so much as it needs to improve its communication skills. This means above all knowing your audience, so that government, media and publics all get messages that are consistent in terms of their content but at the same time tailored to suit their needs and understandings. … Consistent effort is required, not a revolution. Public Diplomacy 101.” Image from

Strategic Communications and the Graveyard of Empires - John Brown, Huffington Post: "So [to paraphrase Special Representative to Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke] 'whatever it is called' -- public diplomacy, or public affairs, or psychological warfare, propaganda or (if you really want to be blunt) strategic communications -- appears to be an essential element in the administration's 'necessary war' (as President Obama recently called it) [in Afghanistan]. Right? Not quite, if at all. Enter Admiral Mullen. In a three-page Joint Force Quarterly article that received considerable media attention this week, he made it bluntly clear that he's not fan of 'strategic communications.' 'Frankly,' he notes, 'I don't care for the term.'" See also (1) (2)

Charge of the ‘birther’ brigade - Anjum Niaz, DAWN.com: "President Obama is sending [Robin] Raphel to co-ordinate US non-military assistance to Pakistan. Raphel and Patterson will soon be handed the ‘Strategic Implementation Plan’ (SIP) for Pakistan and Afghanistan. National Security Adviser James Jones is the author of SIP. He’s drafted it in such a manner that ‘there'll be accountability among departments and agencies, State, Defence and various parts of the intelligence community,’ an official says. … Ahead of SIP, set to unveil on September 24, arrived another Obama all-woman-A team-trooper in Islamabad. Her writ: to win over Pakistani media. According to New York Times, Judith McHale, the new under secretary of state for public diplomacy (and more) was told by a blunt journalist over a one-on-one meeting at a hotel in Islamabad, ‘You should know that we (Pakistanis) hate all Americans. From the bottom of our souls, we hate you.'" Raphel image from

The Other Side Of El Paso: Drugs, Violence And Social Media In Juarez City (Part I) – Chris Battle, Security Debrief: “We were in Mexico as part of a [State Department-sponsored] delegation brought in to meet with citizens, students, grassroots groups (NGOs, short for non-governmental organizations, to use the common bureacrateze) and Mexican government officials to talk about ways these folks could organize and make their voices heard, particularly how they might use social media tactics in their emerging public relations battle with the criminal class. … The $1.4 billion of the [USG-sponsored] Merida Initiative is largely going to training law enforcement and the military, to guns, bullets, choppers, bulletproof vests, high-tech surveillance and reinforced vehicles. … [A]n important sliver [of this money] is also going to what the folks in the State Department like to refer to as 'soft side policies' – legal reform, public diplomacy, and cultural engagement. … We were all led by Suzanne Hall, a young public diplomacy advisor from the State Department who referred to everybody as 'Dude.' Even in the plural, we were 'dudes.' In fact, when she showed up for the first round of official meetings dressed in formal attire and tossing about sparkling diplomatic tones, I momentarily freaked, certain I had wandered into the wrong State Department travelling delegation. She brought the kind of energy and cheer and insight that probably does more – day-in, day-out – for cross-national relationships than any given dozen of the plastic-grimaced formal photo-op sessions that dot the schedules of Washington assistant secretaries and far-flung embassy managers throughout the course of a year." See also. Image from

US Congressional Staffers Meet With Burma Opposition Leaders - VOA News: "Members of Burma's opposition National League for Democracy have met with staff members of a key U.S. congressional committee. The American officials arrived in Rangoon on Friday. They work for the Foreign Relations Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. … The U.S. embassy in Rangoon says the committee staffers are visiting Burma as part of a regional tour to assess U.S. public diplomacy and assistance programs."

Argument between American and Australian about the Merits of Warfare against Jihadists – kelleyfranknr: “American states: C-G Kotzabasis, I'm speaking about the bosoms and heads issue.

There is a difficult nucleus of dyed-in-the-wool warlike jihadists with an sturdy Salafist ideology. They are not attending be shaken by USA public diplomacy, or by forseeable alterations in U.S.A. policy. They can simply be handled with forcibly. They must either be captured or killed, and their programmes must be disrupted.” Image from

Sister Cities: the quintessential and yet underappreciated public diplomacy program - Matt Armstrong, MountainRunner.us: "Today, despite it’s [sic] impact, Sister Cities is underappreciated. Today, the over 650 US communities that partner with more than 2,000 sister cities in 135 countries do more than just student, culture, and art exchanges. The members of Sister Cities operate extensively in the areas of humanitarian assistance, economic and sustainable development, education, and technical assistance."

The 21st Century Family of Man: Photography as Public Diplomacy – Arts and Events calendar, University of Southern California: "Opening Reception Thursday, September 17, 2009 : 5:30pm … USC Annenberg celebrates the opening of a new exhibit featuring photographs by current Master of Public Diplomacy student Paul Rockower. 'The 21st Century Family of Man: Photography as Public Diplomacy' pays homage to 'The Family of Man,' an exhibition that opened at New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 1955. The exhibition’s world tour proved a tremendous public diplomacy success for America. On display in Rockower’s exhibit

is a 21st century interpretation of this successful instance of public diplomacy, echoing the richly textured chronicle of the human condition across the globe. The program will include remarks by Communication School Director Larry Gross; Philip Seib, director of USC’s Center on Public Diplomacy; and Director of the Master of Public Diplomacy program Nicholas Cull." Rockower image from

Obama Administration Seeks “Emergency Control” of the Internet - Tom Burghardt, Dissident Voice: "[T]he military’s newly-launched U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM) is a 'subordinate unified command' overseen by STRATCOM. Would 'message force multipliers' embedded in the media or Pentagon public diplomacy specialists carrying out psychological operations (PSYOPS) here in the heimat, become the sole conduit for critical news and information during … [a] 'national emergency'”?

Kicking Bolivarian Butt in Bariloche [Argentinian city of Bariloche, site of the extraordinary meeting of the South American Nations’ Union (UNASUR] - Caracas Gringo: "After viewing the almost seven hours of redundant discussions televised from Bariloche, a few conclusions are possible: Colombian President Uribe Velez once again gave his South American colleagues a masterful lesson in public diplomacy and statesmanship. Uribe repeatedly made Chavez look like the fool he is." Image from

Art in Morocco's Embassy [in Germany] - Sonja's space: “Morocco 's Embassy and the man in charge, Embassador Rachad Bouhlal, hold by now derived the repute of running an ‘unfastened house’ and doing active public diplomacy. A span between the Mahgrib Realm and FRG is being constructed with art through regular exhibits. On Saint joseph, Embassador Bouhlal opened the exhibit, ‘Points of Position - an artistic Journeying in Morocco,’ by the artist grouping launched in 2002, ‘E6 - Emailkunst Rgen.’”

CULTURAL DIPLOMACY

Mike Seeger: Musician, Educator, Entertainer, reservationist - Gary McDowell, Times-Dispatch: "When Mike Seeger passed away at his home in Lexington on Aug. 7, America lost more than a great singer and entertainer. The country lost one of its great cultural treasures. … I came to know Mike Seeger when I was at the University of London's Institute of United States Studies. The institute had established a very popular program on American music that had ranged from Scott Joplin to John Cage to Aaron Copeland. … An event was planned that would eventually include a conference and a concert. A cold call to Mike Seeger brought him enthusiastically to our aid. … Due to Mike's guidance, the program was such a success that the cultural office at the United States Embassy provided funding to host a follow-up concert the next year. … [T]he evening was a rousing success in terms of American cultural diplomacy -- and all due to the efforts of the inimitable Mike Seeger." Seeger image from

University overhauls first-year program - Jess Siart, SU The Daily Orange: "This fall's new Shared First-Year Experience centers on a performance by the Shen Wei Dance Arts group, a Chinese dance company that performed at the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. SU chose the group because it was an easy transition from its three-week stay on campus in the spring. … The residency was a result of cultural diplomacy students who were interested in researching the political response to Shen Wei's choreography at the Olympic performance."

Saving national treasures: Stuart Gibson rescues museums - Patricia Gay, Weston Forum: "As a senior cultural expert for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),

Mr. Gibson of Weston has traveled around the world, helping countries that are torn apart by destruction pick up the pieces. … As part of UNESCO, a politically neutral arm of the United Nations, in 2004, Mr. Gibson led a three-week workshop in Amman, Jordan. It was for the benefit of the directors and staff members of nine Iraqi museums, in an effort to help them assess their situations and develop short-, medium-, and long-term goals for their museums. … The workshop also served as an example of how cultural diplomacy and international collaboration can help countries foster a better understanding of each other, Mr. Gibson said." Image from

180 Indian folk dancers to perform at Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre - Sify: "A troupe of 180 grassroot folk dancers will bring alive the traditional performing arts of India at the New Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow Sep 3. … Announcing the concert at the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), director-general of ICCR Virendra Gupta said the festival was part of an initiative to promote cultural awareness and goodwill between the two nations that share historical ties. … According to Gupta, the next mega festival was the Festival of China of 2010 followed by two festivals of India in America and Canada. … ‘I will be going to China to finalise the schedule next month. The aim is to strengthen cultural diplomacy between both the countries,' Gupta [said]."

UAE, China to promote cultural heritage - Sadik Al Rumaithi, TopNews Arab Emirates: "Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by The Abu Dhabi Authority of Culture and Heritage (Adach)

and the Chinese Ministry of Culture, in connection with support to the mutual understanding and dialogues regarding their cultures and civilizations. Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, chairman of Adach, said: 'Adach is now playing a key role in supporting creativity and promoting cultural dialogue, as well as implementing a strategy aimed at protecting the cultural heritage of Abu Dhabi.' He further mentioned that Adach aims at promoting cultural diplomacy." Image from

National Institute of Anthropology and History Says Culture, Key to Mexico's Foreign Policy - Art Daily: "Cultural heritage must be the letter of introduction of Mexico abroad: diplomacy based on this theme will boost all areas of economic interest in the country and impact employment generation.

This was pointed out by Alfonso de Maria y Campos, general director of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and Javier Barros Valero, ex sub secretary of Foreign Affairs, during a debate organized to present the 85th issue of Revista Mexicana de Politica Exterior (Mexican Foreign Policy Magazine). 'In foreign policy, Mexico could use cultural diplomacy as designation of origin, since our vast and rich culture is an invaluable element that represents a comparative advantage to promote Mexico interests abroad, as cultural tourism' considered De Maria y Campos." Image from

Census: Ethnic data vital for Kenya culture - Sam Kiplagat, The Nation: "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said data on ethnicity is important as it will help market Kenya as a country of diverse cultures. The director of communication in the Ministry Prof Egara Kabaji said one of the its pillars on foreign policy framework was cultural diplomacy. 'The many ethnic communities found within our borders, each with its own language and cultural heritage is key component of this diversity,' he said."

Orchestras tripping the twilite fantastic - Franki Raden, Jakarta Post: "The Twilite Orchestra recently made its debut in the Sydney Opera House before a large audience, in what was the first performance by an Indonesian orchestra in Australia, a land whose culture is associated with Europe, where orchestral music originated.

This accomplishment by the Twilite Orchestra opened up new horizons for the acceptance of Indonesian classical musicians in the West. At the very least, the government that sponsored the event should be confident that these musicians can be both part of cultural diplomacy abroad and tools for promoting tourism, as was the case with the Twilite Orchestra." Image from article: The well-known De Concordia Symphony Orchestra performs in Batavia with their progressive conductor, Nico J. Gerharz in the middle.

RELATED ITEMS

Pentagon denies vetting journalists in Afghanistan - Kim Andrew Elliott discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy

Iraq’s Ambivalence About the American Military - Rod Nordland, New York Times: At the highest levels, despite the bluster and the perennial ill-feeling, Iraqis know they will remain dependent on the United States for a very long time, even after the internal insurgency is vanquished.

U.S. Sets Metrics to Assess War Success - Karen DeYoung, Washington Post: The administration's concern about waning public support and the war's direction has been compounded by strains in the U.S. relationship with the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Facing their own public opinion problems, both appear increasingly resentful of U.S. demands for improved performance in the face of what they see as insufficient American support. Image from

The continuing debate about Europropaganda - - Kim Andrew Elliott discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy

70 Year On: The Day We Declared War - Dennis Ellam; Adam Lee-Potter - mirror.co.uk: DIG DEEP FOR PROPAGANDA. Propaganda was pumped out at a furious rate during the war. But the Ministry of Information appointed just one civil servant -- with a £20k budget - to the task. The first poster, to toughen resolve ahead of predicted gas attacks and bombing raids, read: "Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution Will Bring Us Victory." The second, "Freedom Is In Peril", followed soon after. The later, iconic message "Keep Calm And Carry On" still sells by the thousand every week, 70 years after it was commissioned.

Facebook and Twitter: Viral Propaganda Machines - Edward Mitchell, Coldstreams Business and Economy: "My daughter, a recent college grad, explained to me why she rarely used Facebook anymore - its [sic] become a 'viral propaganda machine' for spreading rumors and politics, she said. In the past day, I’d come to the same conclusion and plan to no longer make much use of Facebook (I logged in once or twice per day). I am not alone - a quick online search finds scores of long time and hard core users abandoning Facebook concluding that Facebook is mostly annoying, a waste of time, and hopelessly narcissistic. Interesting."

Facebook Exodus - Virginia Heffernan, New York Times:

Things fall apart; the center cannot hold. Facebook, the online social grid, could not command loyalty forever. If you ask around, as I did, you’ll find quitters. One person shut down her account because she disliked how nosy it made her. Another thought the scene had turned desperate. A third feared stalkers. A fourth believed his privacy was compromised. A fifth disappeared without a word. Image from

AMERICANA

Global Landscape, Explored at Home – New York Times: The well-traveled Paul Theroux, recounting in Smithsonian his first drive across America:

"In the 3,380 miles I’d driven, in all that wonder, there wasn’t a moment when I felt I didn’t belong;

not a day when I didn’t rejoice in the knowledge that I was part of this beauty; not a moment of alienation or danger, no roadblocks, no sign of officialdom, never a second of feeling I was somewhere distant—but always the reassurance that I was home, where I belonged, in the most beautiful country I’d ever seen." Image from article.

ONE MORE QUOTATION FOR THE DAY

"If not with you, gentlemen, then against you. ... After us there is nothing, everything will be over ... Germany will be destroyed."

--The powerful head of the German Labor Front during WWII, Robert Ley, speaking to Ruhr mine-owners about getting out the coal crucial to German victory; cited in Mark Mazower, Hitler’s Empire: How the Nazis Ruled Europe (2008), p. 305
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Saturday, August 29, 2009

President Obama's Eulogy of Friend Senator Ted Kennedy

From Denny: This was one incredibly beautiful funeral today - all three hours of it. President Obama was last in line to speak and what a wonderful speech it was. Here's the text in its entirety in case you missed it or only caught a few quotes of what the President had to say about his friend today at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica Catholic Church in Roxbury, Massachusetts.



Photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters

President Obama:

Your Eminence, Vicki, Kara, Edward, Patrick, Curran, Caroline, members of the Kennedy family, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:

Today we say goodbye to the youngest child of Rose and Joseph Kennedy. The world will long remember their son Edward as the heir to a weighty legacy; a champion for those who had none; the soul of the Democratic Party; and the lion of the United States Senate — a man who graces nearly 1,000 laws, and who penned more than 300 laws himself.

But those of us who loved him, and ache with his passing, know Ted Kennedy by the other titles he held: Father. Brother. Husband. Grandfather. Uncle Teddy, or as he was often known to his younger nieces and nephews, "The Grand Fromage," or "The Big Cheese." I, like so many others in the city where he worked for nearly half a century, knew him as a colleague, a mentor, and above all, as a friend.

Ted Kennedy was the baby of the family who became its patriarch; the restless dreamer who became its rock. He was the sunny, joyful child who bore the brunt of his brothers' teasing, but learned quickly how to brush it off. When they tossed him off a boat because he didn't know what a jib was, six-year-old Teddy got back in and learned to sail. When a photographer asked the newly elected Bobby to step back at a press conference because he was casting a shadow on his younger brother, Teddy quipped, "It'll be the same in Washington."

That spirit of resilience and good humor would see Teddy through more pain and tragedy than most of us will ever know. He lost two siblings by the age of 16. He saw two more taken violently from a country that loved them. He said goodbye to his beloved sister, Eunice, in the final days of his life. He narrowly survived a plane crash, watched two children struggle with cancer, buried three nephews, and experienced personal failings and setbacks in the most public way possible.

It's a string of events that would have broken a lesser man. And it would have been easy for Ted to let himself become bitter and hardened; to surrender to self-pity and regret; to retreat from public life and live out his years in peaceful quiet. No one would have blamed him for that.

But that was not Ted Kennedy. As he told us, ".[I]ndividual faults and frailties are no excuse to give in — and no exemption from the common obligation to give of ourselves." Indeed, Ted was the "Happy Warrior" that the poet Wordsworth spoke of when he wrote:

As tempted more; more able to endure,

As more exposed to suffering and distress;

Thence, also, more alive to tenderness.

Through his own suffering, Ted Kennedy became more alive to the plight and the suffering of others — the sick child who could not see a doctor; the young soldier denied her rights because of what she looks like or who she loves or where she comes from. The landmark laws that he championed — the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, immigration reform, children's health insurance, the Family and Medical Leave Act — all have a running thread. Ted Kennedy's life work was not to champion the causes of those with wealth or power or special connections. It was to give a voice to those who were not heard; to add a rung to the ladder of opportunity; to make real the dream of our founding. He was given the gift of time that his brothers were not, and he used that gift to touch as many lives and right as many wrongs as the years would allow.

We can still hear his voice bellowing through the Senate chamber, face reddened, fist pounding the podium, a veritable force of nature, in support of health care or workers' rights or civil rights. And yet, as has been noted, while his causes became deeply personal, his disagreements never did. While he was seen by his fiercest critics as a partisan lightning rod, that's not the prism through which Ted Kennedy saw the world, nor was it the prism through which his colleagues saw Ted Kennedy. He was a product of an age when the joy and nobility of politics prevented differences of party and platform and philosophy from becoming barriers to cooperation and mutual respect — a time when adversaries still saw each other as patriots.

And that's how Ted Kennedy became the greatest legislator of our time. He did it by hewing to principle, yes, but also by seeking compromise and common cause — not through deal-making and horse-trading alone, but through friendship, and kindness, and humor. There was the time he courted Orrin Hatch for support of the Children's Health Insurance Program by having his chief of staff serenade the senator with a song Orrin had written himself; the time he delivered shamrock cookies on a china plate to sweeten up a crusty Republican colleague; the famous story of how he won the support of a Texas committee chairman on an immigration bill. Teddy walked into a meeting with a plain manila envelope, and showed only the chairman that it was filled with the Texan's favorite cigars. When the negotiations were going well, he would inch the envelope closer to the chairman. When they weren't, he'd pull it back. Before long, the deal was done.

It was only a few years ago, on St. Patrick's Day, when Teddy buttonholed me on the floor of the Senate for my support of a certain piece of legislation that was coming up for vote. I gave my pledge, but I expressed skepticism that it would pass. But when the roll call was over, the bill garnered the votes that it needed, and then some. I looked at Teddy with astonishment and asked how had he done it. He just patted me on the back and said, "Luck of the Irish."

Of course, luck had little to do with Ted Kennedy's legislative success; he knew that. A few years ago, his father-in-law told him that he and Daniel Webster just might be the two greatest senators of all time. Without missing a beat, Teddy replied, "What did Webster do?"

But though it is Teddy's historic body of achievements that we will remember, it is his giving heart that we will miss. It was the friend and the colleague who was always the first to pick up the phone and say, "I'm sorry for your loss," or "I hope you feel better," or "What can I do to help?" It was the boss so adored by his staff that over 500, spanning five decades, showed up for his 75th birthday party. It was the man who sent birthday wishes and thank-you notes and even his own paintings to so many who never imagined that a U.S. senator of such stature would take the time to think about somebody like them. I have one of those paintings in my private study off the Oval Office — a Cape Cod seascape that was a gift to a freshman legislator who had just arrived in Washington and happened to admire it when Ted Kennedy welcomed him into his office. That, by the way, is my second gift from Teddy and Vicki after our dog Bo. And it seems like everyone has one of those stories — the ones that often start with "You wouldn't believe who called me today."

Ted Kennedy was the father who looked not only after his own three children, but John's and Bobby's as well. He took them camping and taught them to sail. He laughed and danced with them at birthdays and weddings; cried and mourned with them through hardship and tragedy; and passed on that same sense of service and selflessness that his parents had instilled in him. Shortly after Ted walked Caroline down the aisle and gave her away at the altar, he received a note from Jackie that read, "On you the carefree youngest brother fell a burden a hero would have begged to been spared. We are all going to make it because you were always there with your love."

Not only did the Kennedy family make it because of Ted's love — he made it because of theirs, especially because the love and the life he found in Vicki. After so much loss and so much sorrow, it could not have been easy for Ted to risk his heart again. And that he did is a testament to how deeply he loved this remarkable woman from Louisiana. And she didn't just love him back. As Ted would often acknowledge, Vicki saved him. She gave him strength and purpose; joy and friendship; and stood by him always, especially in those last, hardest days.

We cannot know for certain how long we have here. We cannot foresee the trials or misfortunes that will test us along the way. We cannot know what God's plan is for us.

What we can do is to live out our lives as best we can with purpose, and with love, and with joy. We can use each day to show those who are closest to us how much we care about them, and treat others with the kindness and respect that we wish for ourselves. We can learn from our mistakes and grow from our failures. And we can strive at all costs to make a better world, so that someday, if we are blessed with the chance to look back on our time here, we know that we spent it well; that we made a difference; that our fleeting presence had a lasting impact on the lives of others.

This is how Ted Kennedy lived. This is his legacy. He once said, as has already been mentioned, of his brother Bobby that he need not be idealized or enlarged in death because what he was in life — and I imagine he would say the same about himself. The greatest expectations were placed upon Ted Kennedy's shoulders because of who he was, but he surpassed them all because of who he became. We do not weep for him today because of the prestige attached to his name or his office. We weep because we loved this kind and tender hero who persevered through pain and tragedy — not for the sake of ambition or vanity; not for wealth or power; but only for the people and the country that he loved.

In the days after September 11th, Teddy made it a point to personally call each one of the 177 families of this state who lost a loved one in the attack. But he didn't stop there. He kept calling and checking up on them. He fought through red tape to get them assistance and grief counseling. He invited them sailing, played with their children, and would write each family a letter whenever the anniversary of that terrible day came along. To one widow, he wrote the following:

"As you know so well, the passage of time never really heals the tragic memory of such a great loss, but we carry on, because we have to, because our loved ones would want us to, and because there is still light to guide us in the world from the love they gave us."

We carry on.

Ted Kennedy has gone home now, guided by his faith and by the light of those that he has loved and lost. At last he is with them once more, leaving those of us who grieve his passing with the memories he gave, the good that he did, the dream he kept alive, and a single, enduring image — the image of a man on a boat, white mane tousled, smiling broadly as he sails into the wind, ready for whatever storms may come, carrying on toward some new and wondrous place just beyond the horizon. May God bless Ted Kennedy, and may he rest in eternal peace.



Barack Obama, Senator Ted Kennedy, eulogy, Politics, America
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August 29


“During one of my treks through Afghanistan, we lost our corkscrew. We were compelled to live on food and water for several days.”

--W. C. Fields; image from

"Frankly, I don’t care for the term."

--Michael G. Mullen, Admiral, U.S. Navy, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, regarding “strategic communications”

VIDEO:

1950s Cold War Propaganda: Security is Sense - with Marilyn Monroe

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Adm. Mullen Elevates ‘Strategic Communications’ Debate Above a Third-Grade Level - Spencer Ackerman, Washington Independent: "For years, public diplomacy — and its uniformed cousin, ’strategic communications’ — has been discussed in Washington like a mantra: just find the most authentic ways of telling the 'story' of the United States or of particularly unpopular U.S. actions, and suddenly people will realize that they just misunderstood America and problem solved. Critics countered that the argument infantilized the people supposedly targeted by U.S. messaging, who had real problems with U.S. actions as judged through their own interests, and then tended to discount the entire enterprise as a cynical and stupid ruse.

(Some tried to recast public diplomacy as a national-security mission, but it’s not clear how the gains of that uphill bureaucratic battle have endured.) Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a surprisingly vigorous advocate of social media — he’s on Twitter a lot and is currently holding a YouTube town hall meeting — cuts through a stale debate in the new issue of Joint Forces Quarterly (PDF). His basic argument is that public diplomacy/strategic communications is both overthought and underthought at the same time: overthought in the sense of endless PowerPoints and staff lessons about how to spread an effective message and underthought in the sense of basic insights escaping those bull sessions. Mullen’s answer is to spend time and effort at building relationships — actual, interest-to-interest personal and policy relationships — with the cohorts that U.S. actions seek to influence. But that statement doesn’t imply an answer for what happens when the United States wants to influence a population cohort that doesn’t want an American presence. Image from

Adm. Mullen Weighs In On Strategic Communications In Afghanistan - Adam Serwer, Tapped: American Prospect Group Blog: "Spencer Ackerman takes a look at Admiral Mike Mullen's latest article on strategic communications in Afghanistan, and flags this quote: [']I would argue that most strategic communications problems are not communications problems at all. They are policy and execution problems. Each time we fail to live up to our values or we don’t deliver on a promise, we look more and more like the arrogant Americans the enemy claims we are … To put it simply, we need to worry less about how to communicate our actions than about what our actions communicate. ['] It's not just our actions--Mullen points out that the Taliban's ability to make good on its threats is a key part of their strategic communications, or as he put it, 'Each beheading, each bombing, and each beating sends a powerful message or, rather, is a powerful message.' I suppose it's axiomatic that terrorists are good at this kind of messaging, but worth thinking about in terms of what the U.S. is up against. For what it's worth, Richard Holbrooke's strategic communications team seems to understand this dynamic pretty well--at the briefing a few weeks ago, Holbrooke noted that the most effective message the U.S. could send would be to reduce civilian casualties caused by coalition forces."

US public diplomacy: an idiotic fetish - Rami G. Khouri, Daily Star: ”[An] example of sensible analysis and courageous honesty is this week’s article in Joint Force Quarterly by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen. He sharply criticized US government efforts at 'strategic communication' with the Muslim world, noting that public relations alone will never generate the credibility the US seeks, if its foreign policy on the ground is perceived as arrogant, uncaring or insulting. 'To put it simply, we need to worry a lot less about how to communicate our actions and much more about what our actions communicate,' Mullen wrote. 'Each time we fail to live up to our values or don’t follow up on a promise, we look more and more like the arrogant Americans the enemy claims we are.' This is sensible and accurate analysis that Americans should listen to carefully, especially given its source. … The most recent example of that peculiarly American vortex where ignorance converges with pedantic arrogance and the crass distortions of special interest lobby groups was the recent creation of a bizarre new post in the US Department of State, the 'office of the special representative to Muslim communities.'” Image: Headphone fetish.See also (1)(2)(3)(4).

A question of identity: Abdel-Moeti Bayoumi tells Gihan Shahine that Muslims have to change their reality if the Muslim ummah is to regain its former worldwide esteem - Al Ahram: "Like many, [‘theologist’ Abdel-Moeti] Bayoumi believes that Obama's empathetic rhetoric has served the US by improving its image after long years of an unprecedented wave of anti-American sentiments. Former US president Bush failed to change America's image abroad despite investing millions of dollars in the establishment of the Al-Hurra TV satellite channel and programmes of public diplomacy. 'Arab regimes also benefited from Obama's clear mention of the fact that the United States will not interfere in the internal affairs of any Arab country, which means the US will no longer push Arab regimes to democratise and respect freedoms and human rights.' What Muslims gained, in Bayoumi's viewpoint, is perhaps the fact that Obama's pro-Islamic discourse, which showed unprecedented respect for Muslim culture and heritage, may help change the image of Islam in the West in the long run. Which, a sceptical Bayoumi quickly adds, 'remains to be seen'". image from article: Abdel-Moeti Bayoumi in his office; an archival photo of Al-Azhar religious classes

Why Africa Matters to U.S. Foreign Policy - Elison Elliott, Global Markets:


"I have postulated in the past that as the demographics of the nation evolves, so too will its foreign policy and international relations voice, values, priorities and objectives change. We’ve see that most recently in hos this president chooses to engage the world. Some call it 'smart power' or 'public diplomacy' as a paradigm shift. Other’s [sic] most recently have framed these changes in terms of ‘The End of Macho‘ or a decline in the underlying paradigms of Anglo-American or Eurocentric male dominance ethos in framing foreign policy issues and international relations. The sharp contrast, for instance, between George Bush – a semi-literate, go-it-alone, blue-blood, poker playing, red-meat eating, 'macho' Texan; and Barack Obama – a bi-racial, up from the bottom, community organizing, consensus building, wine-sipping, intellectually nuanced, constitutional law teaching, internationalist from the South side of Chicago, by way of Hawaii are excellent example of how demographic changes 'shift' foreign policy values and priorities. Image from article.

BBC and VOA as free news sources? - Kim Andrew Elliott discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy: "I'm not aware of any laws that require BBC (internationally) and VOA to distribute their content for free. BBC video archives are free for UK internet users, but unavailable to internatrional users. Note that there is generally no live stream of BBC World News. (One exception, for now, is Peepat.com.) You are supposed to watch via cable or satellite systems, for which you pay. VOA could use the same discrimination of IP addresses to make its content free for internet users outside the United States, but, because of Smith-Mundt prohibition aganst domestic dissemination, altogether unavailable to US users."

Remembering Ted Kennedy, and VOA, in 1978 USSR - Kim Andrew Elliott discussing International Broadcasting and Public Diplomacy

Friday round up: Boyer tapped as Europe DAS, Goldwyn in at State, Kennedy's staffers - Laura Rozen, Foreign Policy: "The Center for American Progress' Spencer Boyer starts Monday as the deputy assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasian affairs, reporting to Assistant Secretary Philip Gordon. At State, Boyer will be focused on western Europe as well as public diplomacy and press relations for the whole European bureau. Before coming to CAP, where he specialized on transatlantic and European affairs and multilateralism, Boyer worked at international courts and tribunals in the Hague, Zurich and Paris." Image from

Wilson defends his low profile in Washington: `My job' is to work `aggressively' behind the scenes, ambassador says as he readies handover to Doer - Mitch Potter, Toronto Star: “[Outgoing Canadian Ambassador to Washington Michael Wilson] lavished praise on his replacement, calling [former Manitoba premier Gary] Doer 'the most active' of Canadian premiers on the U.S. file over the past decade, establishing high-level contacts that ensure he will arrive 'in a very strong position.' But however Doer shapes his role, Wilson said an essential element of the job will be leading the embassy's campaign of intensive public diplomacy to 'get that Canadian story out.' That part of Wilson's tenure didn't always make the radar, but not for lack of trying. Wilson said that while he 'felt no constraints' from Ottawa in dedicating a quarter of his time to giving speeches on bilateral issues of the day throughout the U.S., his words seldom made more than local ripples.

The Rigged Game - Caroline Glick, Bible Prophecy Today: "Israel has for years based its public diplomacy regarding Iran's nuclear weapons program on successive governments' assessments that given Iran's global reach and the threat it poses to global security, states will be more willing to act to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons than they are to acknowledge Palestinian terrorism which is employed almost exclusively against Israel. What Israeli leaders - including Netanyahu - have failed to recognize is that the antipathy of Europeans towards Israel is so great that they are willing to explain away Iran's nuclear weapons program because it is aimed first of all against Israel." Image from

RELATED ITEMS

The Richter Scale > Global Health B.O. = G.O.? - Stephan Richter, The Globalist: Coming to terms with a world where non-Americans are the true agents of change will take a great adjustment on the part of many. And it is fair to say that it will come as a surprise to Americans and non-Americans alike. But the odds are that, as the initial Obama fascination wears off, it will come to be the unwanted (and unexpected) hallmark of his presidency. Courtesy LB.

Karzai Using Rift With U.S. to Gain Favor With Afghans - Helene Cooper, New York Times

Nigeria: Clinton's Fall For Propaganda - Adeyemi Ishola, THISDAY: Lagos -- U.S Secretary of State, Mrs Hilary Rodham Clinton came to these shores last week. She came, she saw, but alas, she was conquered. Yes, propaganda got the better of her. And she fell. She swallowed falsehood hook, line and sinker.

What a pity. At a Town Hall Meeting held in Abuja, Mrs Clinton uttered what has turned a faux pas, an unguarded, misguided, misinformed statement, something not worthy of her position as America's number one diplomat: "The EFCC [Economic and Financial Crimes Commission], which was doing well, has kind of fallen off in the last one year; we will like to see it come back to business to be able to partner with us." Image from

Azerbaijani propaganda machinery malfunctions: NKR Nagorno Karabakh Republic] MFA -

Information-Analytic Agency NEWS.am. Image from article

Yale's Misguided Retreat - Mona Eltahawy, Washington Post: In deciding to omit the images from a book it is publishing about the controversy sparked by Danish cartoons of the prophet Muhammad, Yale University Press has handed a victory to extremists.
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