“Freedom of information is a fundamental human right, and the touchstone of all the freedoms, as well, to which the United States is consecrated. This is our touchstone as well. We seek a free flow of information with others, across Iron Curtains and stone walls.” — President John F. Kennedy, 1962 “To millions in closed…
The ingenuity of hopeful humanity, from a 27-year-old environmental activist in India to President-elect Joseph Biden in United States. Both have faith that a bright day for weary, afflicted humans the world over must follow a grim winter for mounting victims of the greatest pandemic tragedy (COV-19) this century. According to Washington Post reporter Taniya…
President-elect Biden has taken a promising first step to ensure that the five networks uphold that reputation by naming former Under Secretary of State Richard Stengel and Time Magazine columnist as director of a Biden transition team for international broadcasting and other foreign policy assets. America’s five U.S. overseas government multimedia networks face a crucial…
An estimated 100,000 people have lost their lives or been seriously injured in Yemen’s half a decade long civil war, with scant evidence of an approaching end to what some have described as “interminable human suffering.” The key adversaries are: the rebel Houthis now controlling much of northern Yemen and part of its capital city,…
A record number of U.S. voters cast ballots in the November 3 Presidential election, more than 150 million people. The latest electoral votes are reported as 306 for former vice president Biden and 232 electoral votes for President Trump. Some recounts are still underway, but most U. S. historians say that Joseph R. Biden will…
AMERICA’S ELECTION: POSSIBLE IMPACTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST In the wake of Joe Biden’s razor-thin victory in the November 3 presidential election, speculation is wide about the impact of a new administration next year on U.S. foreign policy in the turmoil-plagued Middle East. In his initial remarks on November 7th after winning a clear majority…
The threat to the five international multimedia U.S. networks, at times, seems unrelenting. These networks are a key public diplomacy aspect of the nation’s outreach to at least 100 countries around the world. Herewith, a summary of the ongoing debate about prospects for their future. In an editorial on October 28, the Washington Post headline…
Are there faint signs of progress in global crisis areas as of November 3 approaches? 1. ISRAELI-ARAB PRELIMINARY STEPS TOWARD CLOSER RELATIONS? The recent joint announcement by the United States, Sudan, and Israel that the two Middle East countries have agreed to begin normalizing relations after decades of hostility appears to mark another possible initial…
For America’s publicly-funded overseas broadcasters, it has been the most perilous summer and fall in the 78 years since the Voice of America went on the air during World War II with the pledge: “The news may be good, the news may be bad for us (the U.S.), but we shall tell you the truth.”…
Imagine the herculean task of feeding nearly 100,000,000 people in 88 countries, as the World Food Programme has done this past year! That’s active lifesaving public diplomacy at its best. The U.N. organization was clearly thrilled at unexpectedly receiving the coveted Nobel Peace Prize, announced in Oslo on October 8 by the chair of Norway’s…