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John Brown's Public Diplomacy Press & Blog Review Archive is an aggregation of public diplomacy related news, including current issues in U.S. foreign policy, international broadcasting and media, propaganda, cultural diplomacy, educational exchanges, anti-Americanism, and the reception of American popular culture abroad between January 2004 and February 2008.

PDPBR FOR MARCH 9-12
by John H. Brown

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY PRESS AND BLOG REVIEW, MARCH 9-12 “THE WORLD’S ‘ONLY REMAINING PRIMITIVE SOCIETY.’” —Jean Baudrillard, the recently deceased French philosopher, describing America; cited in “RIP: Philosopher Jean Baudrillard, 1929-2007,” boingboing (March 8) LINK “AMERICA IS THE ORIGINAL VERSION OF MODERNITY.” —Jean Baudrillard; cited in Patricia Cohen, “Jean Baudrillard, 77, Critic and Theorist of Hyperreality, Dies” (New York Times, March 11) LINK PD GLOBAL OVERVIEW John Brown, “Public Diplomacy as a Global Phenomenon, 2006: An Internet-Based Overview of English-Language World Media Reports on Public Diplomacy—Summary.”  LINK ANNOUNCEMENT: NEW BOOK ON PUBLIC DIPLOMACY The New Public Diplomacy: Soft Power in International Relations, edited by Jan Melissen (Palgrave Macmillan, January 2006) LINK Courtesy of Ambassador Cynthia Schneider A) PUBLIC DIPLOMACY (1-26) 1. BUSH, A NONSENSE TRIP TO LATIN AMERICA - JUAN ANTONIO GINER (WHAT’S NEXT: INNOVATIONS IN NEWSPAPERS BLOG, MARCH 10): “Security. Controls. Helicopters. Police. Guns. Body guards. Traffic problems. Angry citizens. Almost all the time inside dark glass limousines. No human touch. An invisible visit ... Except for protests and demonstrations. Millions of dollars for what? Public diplomacy must be done in other ways. Visits like this are nonsense.” LINK FOR MORE ON BUSH’S LATIN AMERICAN VISIT, PLEASE SEE ITEMS BELOW 50-55, 64 [Bush, First Lady, Rice dancing in Brazil] SEE ALSO (Photos of anti-Bush demonstrations) LINK LINK 2. OUR HUMAN RIGHTS HYPOCRISY: A FEDERAL REPORT HAS HARSH WORDS FOR FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS WHILE BARELY MENTIONING U.S. VIOLATIONS - ROSA BROOKS (LOS ANGELES TIMES, MARCH 9): Over the years, the State department human rights reports have become a high-visibility part of U.S. public diplomacy. As a result, they’re inevitably scrutinized with care, both for what they say and what they don’t say. LINK SEE ALSO LINK LINK LINK 3. CHINA’S DEMOCRATIC IMMUNITY - YING MA (WALL STREET JOURNAL, MARCH 9): The U.S. should engage in much more proactive public diplomacy to promote democracy in China. In addition to criticizing China’s atrocious human rights record, the U.S. should also explain with facts, figures and examples that democracy complements economic growth and strengthens human dignity. LINK PAID SUBSCRIPTION 4. TELEVISION TAKEOVER - JOEL MOWBRAY (WALL STREET JOURNAL, MARCH 12): Launched in February 2004, Al-Hurra is supposed to be a key component of our public diplomacy to the Arab world. Within weeks of becoming news director in November, Larry Register, a longtime CNN producer, put his own stamp on the network. Investigations into Arab government wrongdoing or oppression were no longer in vogue, and the ban on turning the airwaves over to terrorists was lifted. LINK PAID SUBSCRIPTION 5. U.S. MUST TACKLE CONSPIRACY THEORIES - YOUSSEF IBRAHIM (NEW YORK SUN, MARCH 8): The same press outlets that publish conspiracy theories now also put out pieces ridiculing them. Both the accusers and the defenders are Arabs and Muslims. What’s missing from the debate is America’s so-called public diplomacy. American embassies across the Arab and Muslim world are still kowtowing to despots. All our discourse about democracy and reform has faded when it needed to grow in…... FULL TEXT
 
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