Tag: Cultural diplomacy

Atlantic Council’s Ali Riaz to lead commission on constitutional reforms for Bangladesh

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Ali Riaz to lead commission on constitutional reforms

The government yesterday named Professor Ali Riaz as head of the Constitutional Reform Commission, replacing Supreme Court lawyer Shahdeen Malik.

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Prof Yunus announced the formation of six reform commissions in his address to the nation on September 11.

They were formed to reform the judiciary, the election system, the administration, the police, the Anti-Corruption Commission, and the constitution. Prof Yunus also named the chiefs of the commissions.

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Ali Riaz, a Bangladeshi-American, is a distinguished professor of politics and government at Illinois State University, US. He was the chair of the Department of Politics between 2007 and 2017.

He is a nonresident senior fellow of the Atlantic Council and the president of the American Institute of Bangladesh Studies.

Related:

About Ali Riaz

Atlantic Council, American Institute of Bangladesh Studies, BBC World Service, Claflin University (South Carolina), Illinois State University, ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute (Singapore), University of Hawai’i (East-West Center), University of Lincoln (U.K.), V-Dem Institute (funders), Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars (2023 donors), Testified at U.S. Congress in 2013, 2015, and the US Commission on International Religious Freedom in 2008.

See Page 2 for more:

Yes, there is the book “1984” in Xinjiang bookstore

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Hi, everyone,

I visited Xinjiang recently. Before I went, I asked my followers what they would like me to see for them, and one of them wanted me to check whether there is the book of “1984” by George Orwell in Xinjiang’s bookstores and libraries.

Yes, there is the book “1984” in Xinjiang bookstore

Ironic, considering that the CIA and Britain’s FCDO used the snitch Orwell’s works in their cultural war against Communism.

Related:

Orwell and the CIA

The Cultural Cold War: The CIA and the World of Arts and Letters (PDF)

*Xinjiang*

Kenya: Lives Sacrificed in Western Backed Colour Revolution + More

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

15-07-2024: The East African nation of Kenya was rocked by deadly protests mainly composed of youth during June, ostensibly in response to the Kenyan parliament’s Finance Bill 2024. By the end of the month around 30 protestors had lost their lives, despite forcing the government to withdraw the Bill, which contained some $2.7 billion in tax hikes.[1] The protests were mainly composed of “Gen Z” youth (those born during the late 90s and early 2000s) which gives the impression of young people fighting for their future. Kenya has a population of some 50 million, with 5 million inhabiting the capital Nairobi, and 4 million in the city of Mombasa on the shores of the Indian Ocean. Those aged between 15 and 29 make up roughly 30% of the population,[2] meaning such protests can draw in larger number than is generally the case in the ageing populations of the West. In the wake of the violence, Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii urged the Gen Z protestors to give dialogue with President William Ruto a chance. Despite goons and looters infiltrating the protests and causing mayhem, Bii conceded that the protestors have genuine issues that need to be addressed.[3]

Kenya: Lives Sacrificed in Western Backed Colour Revolution

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Covert Cultural Influence: How the US Embassy’s Cultural Attaché Targets Yemeni Society

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Yemen: The cultural attaché office is one of the most active divisions within the US Embassy, assisting the CIA and the political and economic attachés in reaching targeted individuals. This office collects intelligence that benefits American interests in Yemen, each according to their specialization and field.

Covert Cultural Influence: How the US Embassy’s Cultural Attaché Targets Yemeni Society

Related (J Adam Ereli):

Presenting Yemeni Art to the World [Archives:1997/44/Culture]

Adam Ereli: “Yemen’s press has an important role to play. But it must check and double check its information.” [Archives:1998/31/Law & Diplomacy]

Middle East in turmoil:

Linda Heard speaks with former #US Director of the Office of Press and Public Affairs and Ambassador to Bahrain, #J._Adam_Ereli to get an informed overview of a troubled region undergoing historical transformation.

It’s Official: “Arab Spring” Subversion is US Funded

US State Department, YouTube Unveil Global Music Alliance

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

US State Department, YouTube Unveil Global Music Alliance

U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and YouTube’s Global Head of Music Lyor Cohen announced today a new Department of State-YouTube partnership in support of the Department’s Global Music Diplomacy Initiative, a worldwide effort to elevate music as a diplomatic platform to promote peace and democracy in support of the United States’ broader foreign policy goals. At the core of the partnership is a roster of U.S. Global Music Ambassadors, which builds on the legacy of the iconic Jazz Ambassadors of the 1950s and 1960s and promotes peace across generations of people worldwide.

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In addition to the new U.S. Global Music Ambassadors, the Department and YouTube will join efforts to enhance English language learning through music and across the YouTube platform. This new partnership will support opportunity and equity in the creative economy through in-country engagements with audiences and aspiring creators – beginning in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, and India. It will offer micro-grants to State Department exchange program alumni around the world who use music as a means to expand access to education, economic opportunity and equity, and inclusion. And it will raise even greater awareness and inspire action globally around the unifying power of music, during global moments, such as the G20 meetings in Brazil later this year.

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The InfoOp Continues in the Pacific Islands

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Full video: Why Should We Care About the Pacific Islands?

John Hennessey-Niland currently works with ASPI on ‘soft power’ in the Pacific Islands.

Maintaining U.S. Credibility in the Pacific Islands (PDF)

Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI):

ASPI funding (Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan, United Kingdom, United States, Netherlands, New Zealand, Amazon, Microsoft, Twitter, Facebook, Google, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Thales Australia, American Chamber of Commerce, Center for Strategic and International Studies, German Marshall Fund, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace)

Australian think tank ASPI found linked to prison labor, human trafficking

Front Organizations

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The man who was Mao’s hero

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)1 Comment

The Bruce Lee legend never fades but it might surprise some to learn that among his legion of fans was Chairman Mao, who called him a hero.

Chairman Mao Zedong (1893-1976) and Bruce Lee the martial arts legend (1940-1973) both declared – in their unique ways – that the Chinese people had “stood up”.

The man who was Mao’s hero

I grew up watching dubbed martial arts movies, as my dad was a fan of Bruce Lee.

FYI, I don’t know why this was unpublished. I didn’t do it.

David Villamar interviewed about Ecuador’s violent crime disaster

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Despite the ongoing genocide in Gaza, Ecuador’s violent crime problem is such an incredible disaster that it manages to attract international attention. Criminals have recently taken over live newscasts. Supporters of the rightwing governments that created the disaster (for example, The Economist) have declared Ecuador to be the deadliest country in the Americas. It’s difficult for Ecuador to get international news coverage. In recent years, it generally has to be something very bad (or sports-related).

David Villamar interviewed about Ecuador’s violent crime disaster

Related:

How Did Ecuador Spiral into This Nightmare? It Was the Neoliberal Dismantling of the State