Recently, Israeli leaders have made successive high profile visits to China, while engaging in considerable public diplomacy efforts vis-à-vis the Chinese people. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu even greeted the Chinese people in their native Mandarin during their New Year’s Festival.

Americans deserve transparency about what their government is doing, as long as that transparency doesn’t threaten national security. Transparency should also be the guiding principle of the State Department’s public diplomacy and U.S. international broadcasting.

"Within the State Department, a Silicon Valley veteran has quietly launched an improbable new initiative to annoy, frustrate, and humiliate denizens of online extremist forums," writes Wired's Spencer Ackerman today, reporting on the government's Viral Peace initiative, which sounds more apt to take down a World of Warcraft guild rather than a terrorist network.

“It’s not easy for all of you, I’m sure, to sum up what this experience has been like for you, but I can tell you that, from where we are, what we are filled up with is pride. We’re proud of you for demonstrating your understanding of the needs of your own communities,” said Tara Sonenshine, undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs.

Backed by its gastronomy, martial arts, music and manga culture, Brazil's small but influential Japanese community is wielding soft power to assert ethnic pride and preserve century-old ties..."the main objective, beyond the preservation of the Japanese culture, is furthering the integration of the Japanese and broader Brazilian communities."

The report calls for new measures to build trust and improve perceptions of each other in the fields of education, diplomacy, media and security. They include doubling Australia’s public diplomacy budget, extending post-study work rights to international students, and training Australian teachers in Hindi language in anticipation of it being added to the Australian curriculum.

The Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Public Diplomacy established a special web site and focuses much of its attention on this issue. While high ranking government officials grapple with this problem, a group of 14- and 15- year-old boys are putting on a clinic regarding how to improve Israel’s image – just be nice.

On Monday, China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency fired back with a commentary condemning the “narrow nationalism and ignorance” displayed by U.S. politicians who oppose the Chinese-made uniforms and citing the importance of “the Olympic Spirit, which has nothing to do with politics” but is instead about “mutual understanding and fair play.”