tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28879619408723541282012-01-31T09:44:50.713-05:00The UNdiplomatic blog on public diplomacy and international communicationYelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.comBlogger2521100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-35723624570061169242012-01-30T21:39:00.000-05:002012-01-31T09:44:50.722-05:00

There it comes - as anticipated. Russia Today responds to Al Jazeera's "attack", while Al Jazeera - not too happy about Asssange's change of heart - snaps back with a not-so-friendly report on that latter development. [And please note, this is noteworthy because AJE had quite a cozy relationship with Assange, at least in the past.] Here's Alyona Minkovski with her "response", just a couple of

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-4414960727992298522012-01-26T23:45:00.000-05:002012-01-26T23:45:00.576-05:00

Had a great evening today. You know, one of those that warm your heart and show that things, probably, aren't as bad as they can sometimes seem. They just can't be, with such people around. A lovely chat, a piece of pie, and a cup of tea spiced with big dreams, great ambitions, and lots of enthusiasm. Most importantly, an open mind and a kind soul. @Kramerbooks, if curious. She also

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-29705764881978548872012-01-25T12:12:00.000-05:002012-01-25T12:27:14.680-05:00

Yes. Just in case you didn't already know. Two days ago, on January 23, Assange announced that he will be starting a new TV show; today, Russia Today announced that it will be hosting the show. There you go. Nice move. Really. After all that been said here and elsewhere regarding RT's approach and coverage, they probably couldn't have made a better choice. Currently, he is probably the most

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-57651093697289092712012-01-22T04:30:00.000-05:002012-01-24T13:11:22.119-05:00

Al Jazeera's weekly Listening Post is an absolute must for anyone interested in issues related to journalism, international media and ICTs. It usually covers a broad range of media-related stories, not only bringing in various perspectives on issues the program chooses to focus on that week but also raising questions that can easily be ignored and/or forgotten when mixed in with the usual news

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-83677346072702173322012-01-20T00:59:00.000-05:002012-01-21T19:08:24.211-05:00

...especially if you happen to be Pakistani. [See also Interview: On Pakistan, US PD, and VOA] I was forwarded a news article from the New York Times yesterady about the assassination of a Pakistani reporter on January 17. Very sad: "A masked gunman strode into a mosque during evening prayers in Shabqadar, a small town in the tribal area of northwest Pakistan, on Tuesday evening and opened

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-5533520986237139192012-01-20T00:57:00.000-05:002012-01-20T01:03:03.662-05:00

As I have noted in a parallel post, the assassination of Mukarram Khan Aatif, a reporter employed by Deewa Radio (part of Voice of America's operation in Pakistan) raises a range of questions regarding American public diplomacy, especially in areas such as Pakistan or Afghanistan. The interview below was conducted with a former journalist from Pakistan, who provides important insight into the

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-88720709348777565122012-01-11T04:00:00.000-05:002012-01-11T08:00:53.587-05:00

Last week I found myself in the special collections section of the University of Arkansas Library, helping out with some research (rather, with some of the legwork involved in archival research) on William J. Fulbright. (invaluable experience, I should say!) To me, the Senator's most distinguished contribution has always been his role in the growth of the educational and cultural exchanges as

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-13000276750765155292012-01-04T03:30:00.000-05:002012-01-04T03:30:02.611-05:00

One of the advantages of being in the academia [especially as a student] is that you can get some serious breaktime over the holidays, which, for me, means time away from academic books and my laptop [well, as you can tell, I have started missing them by now]. Instead, that time is spent on real human interaction, some not so healthy gastrotravel, and catching up on movies. It was in

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-59852734945401217552012-01-02T03:30:00.000-05:002012-01-03T12:50:24.765-05:00

It had become a great tradition started by one of the shows on the state-run ORT channel in Russia - "Olivie Show" - to feature the ruling duo of the country in a cartoon during their special New Year's programming. Medvedev and Putin would sum up the year, while performing Russian "chastushki". 2010: First Edition Although it was seen as quite daring in terms of "acceptable"

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-71290454823946880152011-12-29T03:30:00.000-05:002011-12-29T03:30:00.477-05:00

The end of the Soviet Union can be traced back to many different dates, events or even individuals; yet in my mind the clearest of them all is December 25, 1991 -- the day Gorbachev resigned as the president of the USSR and the day the latter ceased to exist. Officially. [And no, we don't celebrate Christmas. Especially not that day.] I have been meaning to write this post all year, and

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-87079054270850435872011-11-07T08:46:00.000-05:002011-11-07T08:46:33.503-05:00

I promise, PROMISE, this will be my last post on Nye's The Future of Power for a while. Why the obsession? I had to review it for one of my classes... and I had to be thinking beyond the mere soft power and public diplomacy implications, rather focusing on the theory of "power" itself (ah, the joys of first year PhD-hood...!). In one of my previous posts, I had pointed out some problems with

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-52293601622822496542011-11-06T04:20:00.000-05:002011-11-06T11:02:45.230-05:00

Al Jazeera had an awesome documentary on cybersecurity this week. I think I like the title even more: "Fighting in the Fifth Dimension". This might end up being yet another post from the "Joe Nye series", so please bear with me. I certainly recommend watching the entire video, and although it's mostly focused on countries salient to Al Jazeera's "topical interest", it does provide a very

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-54218917460351765042011-10-28T04:45:00.012-04:002011-10-28T07:43:08.553-04:00

Now that I'm half-way through Nye's Future Of Power, and successfully completed his not-so-new sections on soft power and public diplomacy, I cannot help but think back - yet again - to good old Gramsci and his all-important concept of hegemony. More thoughts will be coming later, of course, time permitting. But here's a quote from Robert Cox that is very telling: "Hegemony is a structure of

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-33054009979264067772011-10-26T20:18:00.000-04:002011-10-26T20:18:44.630-04:00

I came across this piece on Foreign Policy a couple of days ago and thought I'd repost it here, especially since I've been so silent lately. Again. After all, the state vs. non-state seems to be one of the new "major" debates not just in International Relations, but also in many other aspects of world as well as domestic affairs. More importantly, it directly affects public diplomacy and attempts

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-26343951908128063842011-10-07T08:51:00.000-04:002011-10-07T08:51:37.312-04:00

Remember those overzealous young women ripping their clothes off for Putin this summer? Obviously they haven't lost their zeal, even after the Future President said he will indeed be there. So, on the occasion of his birthday today, October 7, they decided to make him a tortik, a cake. In their own way, of course. The following discussion on YouTube is hilarious. But some comments have

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-72364413088078949712011-10-06T20:03:00.000-04:002011-10-06T20:03:46.652-04:00

I know I've been absent for weeks. Yet again. A lot has happened and I wish I had enough time to reflect and write about it. But since I don't, I thought I'd share a couple of news/videos I kept coming across these days. Firstly, of course, there's this: the Great Leader (past, present, and future, as we finally found out) of Russia, had not really been all too successful with his archaeological

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-59922830353767195452011-09-15T22:05:00.005-04:002011-09-17T12:16:45.522-04:00

The US Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy - charged with "appraising U.S. Government activities intended to understand, inform, and influence foreign publics" - held its Nth public meeting today morning. Acting Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs J. Adam Ereli was the special guest, presenting all the great American efforts in public diplomacy through cultural and

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-48555491206009007732011-09-11T01:33:00.003-04:002011-09-11T14:49:11.592-04:00

Joseph Nye visited American University on Thursday, September 8,  for a talk about his latest book, Future of Power. The room was packed and the small number of books available sold out within minutes. Although the book had come out earlier this year and Dr. Nye had been actively promoting it in person and in the media, this talk was particularly timely, since I had spent the first half of the

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-50001711407683017462011-09-07T04:45:00.003-04:002011-09-07T12:17:39.386-04:00

It's been a while since I last blogged, for which, I realize, I deserve a reprimand. But now, well into my second week as a Ph.D. student, I guess I no longer have an excuse to be lazy about it. Where had I been all this time? Mostly in DC, getting ready to start school for the forth time, which involved stocking up on lots and lots of books (most on International Relations). Unfortunately,

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-30638163653413395262011-07-15T07:01:00.010-04:002011-07-19T06:49:54.002-04:00

I mean, Georgia the country. Although I had spent years abroad and have traveled half-way across the world from Armenia, I had never visited its closest neighbor. It's one of the only two borders I could cross from Armenia (the other being Iran, which is a different story...), but I had never had the opportunity of making that trip. And despite the realization that I can trace some of my own

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-3599370395382115282011-07-09T04:40:00.002-04:002011-07-09T06:22:53.997-04:00

Of course, it will be a while before the world forgets Putin's memorable performance on that very warm December evening. (By the way, "fundraising for Russia's sick children II" is already on its way, despite all the previous controversy surrounding it.) Not that the official and unofficial PR corps of "Russia’s judo-hurling, butterfly-swimming, tiger-tranquilizing strongman PM" would let him be

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-13868516451395377452011-07-05T04:08:00.003-04:002011-07-06T12:48:03.828-04:00

Did you know there is a social network and youth-driven uprising going on in Belarus? Most probably, not... many might not even consider it "news" anymore. And yet, things have gone from bad to worse most recently, again. Fed up with the political and economic situation in their country and inspired by the Arab Spring, many young Belarusians have been organizing online and taking to the streets 

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-58098805933432814382011-07-01T06:58:00.003-04:002011-07-01T07:15:52.174-04:00

A couple of days ago, I saw this interview on Russia's 24/7 news channel. The interview wasn't too long, but she also touched upon public diplomacy among several other issues. After a long search, I finally found the video online: Хиллари Клинтон: США и России надо углублять отношения Apparently, Russia Beyond the Headlines even featured the translated transcript of the interview. Here is

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-79898909903182141382011-06-29T03:46:00.002-04:002011-06-29T04:10:37.877-04:00

Over the past two "democratic" decades, the Armenian culture has experienced a boom: a "rabiz" boom. It's hard to explain what the rabiz sub-culture really is (you know it when you hear it, I guess - and unfortunately, it's very hard to escape in current Armenia), but I believe the word came from a Soviet-era Russian language abbreviation which stood for "worker of art" ("rabotnik iskusstva").

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-35108511034233570862011-06-27T06:01:00.001-04:002011-06-27T06:03:38.879-04:00

A couple of days ago, while taking a stroll in downtown Yerevan, I came across this... Others seemed to see nothing "out of place" with this picture, but I found it extremely amusing. After all, "Putinka" has achieved wide recognition in the global spirits scene since it was launched about a decade ago (including the U.S.). And now... "Medvedevka"? After a quick research, I found out that

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-23772528016152255902011-06-23T17:05:00.001-04:002011-06-23T17:06:10.065-04:00

Today, Russia Today "network" - with the help of the Russian President himself - launched its Documentary channel RTД. The major objective is to go beyond the simple news or short-feature format, and to take viewers "on a round-the-clock journey into the heart of Russia" (seems to me, it's some kind of a video version of the Russia Beyond the Headlines). The news report describes the channel as

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-18959607660730976122011-06-22T04:56:00.006-04:002011-06-22T06:09:47.032-04:00

After a long vacation (and virtual absence) I am... taking more vacation. The two years of "Mastering" in DC - I felt - had earned me a visit back to what's supposedly "home", especially given the prospect of five years of academic hard labor starting this fall. In short, I'm back to Armenia: an "event" that deserves a separate post in itself. Here, however, I just wanted to retell the "

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-63633028473337128002011-06-02T14:17:00.000-04:002011-06-02T14:17:16.089-04:00

Kudos, Al Jazeera! Doublethink at its best. And yet, covert operations and PSYOPs seem to be getting an upper hand, yet again. Whatever happened to benign public diplomacy...

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-47972514320795473572011-05-26T00:32:00.024-04:002011-05-26T00:32:00.164-04:00

Yesterday, Russia Today TV came up with this apologetic segment, seemingly trying to explain and reinstate their relevance, importance, and... perhaps credibility. I think a quick reminder is in place: credibility is attained not through repeated statements by oneself that they believe they are credible, but through actually gaining trust and proving, with actions and actual coverage (when

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-29327872334939279742011-05-25T00:48:00.006-04:002011-05-25T14:48:41.856-04:00

May 26th marks the 20th Anniversary of Georgian independence from the late Soviet Union: an important date and a great opportunity for public diplomacy. This is especially true in the U.S., particularly given the geopolitical circumstances and the recent historical context. And well, Georgians are making the most out of this opportunity. Quite recently they started a website - "Portrait of

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-18478734337042433412011-05-20T09:12:00.005-04:002011-05-20T09:54:52.276-04:00

Obama had promised to give an important speech on Middle East and North Africa on Thursday. He obviously enjoyed all the preceding anticipation and anxiety. Not only was the "international analyst" corps abuzz over the past week with curiosity, expectation and uncertainty about what the POTUS is going to say, but the President also made sure to be late giving the speech itself. This delay gave

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-27120328825849597542011-05-16T01:39:00.003-04:002011-05-16T08:50:31.524-04:00

Earlier last week I shared some impressions from last weekend's EU Embassies Open House Day. This weekend, on May 14, many other embassies held similar events too, sharing their culture and traditions with the curious public, who braved the weather to take a peek inside what usually are unaccessible buildings. Given my personal interests and time constraints, I decided to try and visit some of

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-25447511291696861082011-05-13T13:05:00.004-04:002011-05-16T22:41:12.856-04:00

On May 12 the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy held a public meeting at the State Department. It featured presentations and remarks by Betsy Whitaker, Strategic Communications Officer at the Office of the Undersecretary of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Jeff Trimble, the Executive Director of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), and Coordinator for International

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-3099236257842585122011-05-11T04:15:00.004-04:002011-05-16T15:03:04.020-04:00

Holding Embassy Open Houses has apparently become a tradition in the District: already for the fourth year, embassies in D.C. open up their doors to curious visitors, offering a peek into the best that their countries have got to offer; all without a jet lag, as they say. This all takes place in May, usually opened by the Europeans. This year they kickstarted the events with their Shortcut To

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-15602672478171464152011-05-09T21:50:00.001-04:002011-05-10T08:57:24.902-04:00

May 9 marks the day the Soviet forces took over Berlin in 1945: i.e. the day World War II came to an end in Europe, at least on the Eastern Front. That was a big deal at the time, and still is... in the former Soviet region, that is. I am still dismayed at the lack of acknowledgement and recognition of the Soviet war effort in Western, and especially American "tradition". (For example, none of

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-1061101221212690472011-05-09T18:20:00.002-04:002011-05-09T18:24:58.367-04:00

Finally making the big come-back to the blogosphere... Now, with all the end-of-program hard work complete and all graduation-related chaos behind, I can proudly take on the title of a "Master" in International Communication. The past two years weren't easy, but they were more than just exciting and certainly life-changing. For one, I discovered public diplomacy, the subject I ended up focusing

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-85601169373917250052011-04-20T14:28:00.002-04:002011-04-20T15:48:51.987-04:00

RT: priceless, as always. Noteworthy: dancing to the Russian pop-hit "American Boy". And if you want to take a better look at his real moves, watch the end :) Enjoy! --

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-76220335525481766822011-04-19T04:20:00.001-04:002011-04-19T04:20:00.043-04:00

It's been a while since my last post. What was I up to? Public diplomacy, of course. Presentations, papers, and now, the capstone... And Russian PD certainly makes up a large part of the work on this list. Having closely examined all the major PD-related Russian foreign policy documents, I thought I'd take a short break to share some thoughts on the latest RT "masterpiece" that I came across

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-50835974366303500102011-04-12T14:07:00.003-04:002011-04-12T14:16:28.154-04:00

The past couple of weeks, I've been stumbling upon Gagarin-related articles, videos, discussions... the ultimate culmination of which is surely today, April 12: the day the first human flight to space took place 50 years ago. In 1961 the 27-year-old Yuri Gagarin spent 108 minutes aboard Vostok 1 on the first ever manned mission to the Orbit, undoubtedly giving the Soviet Union the upper hand in

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-75923536496841790892011-04-08T04:30:00.003-04:002011-04-08T09:10:29.947-04:00

Blogging is perhaps the last thing I need to be doing right now, but coming across this great story and not sharing it here simply won't do! Before I get any further, I'd just like you to ask yourself: how much do you know about the Communist Party in modern-day Russia, or how often do you hear/think about it...? If I'm to take a guess: not much. But well, they [allegedly] came up with an

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-60081088084324009892011-04-05T04:20:00.041-04:002011-04-05T04:20:01.141-04:00

Here's a video featured on Al Jazeera's latest "Listening Post". I find it very funny and (oh well)... amusing. I am sure many might not share my enthusiasm. But what I find particularly noteworthy about this "piece" is that it provides an interpretation of the recent events from an outsider's perspective (one, among many possible ones of course). Since it can, potentially, speak to many,

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-13071110324268713772011-04-02T15:30:00.017-04:002011-04-02T15:30:00.624-04:00

There was an interesting piece on PRI a couple of days ago. Telling a story of a former Marine-turned humanitarian, I think it is a great example of the public diplomacy work that development assistance (government, but also private) can do, as well as an example of what the human intelligence and military programs, such as the "Human Terrain System", cannot achieve. After living in the Kibera

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-88117527802847112322011-04-02T00:24:00.002-04:002011-04-02T07:45:37.123-04:00

Since I have nothing better to do on a Friday night, I thought I'll try to catch up on some writing. If I can gather my thoughts, that is (i.e. a disclaimer for yet another chaotic post). With the MENA region in greater turmoil, it seems like the talk of social media revolutions is no where near its end. Just two days ago CNN had a piece on Syria and "internet freedom" (sic.). Here's an excerpt:

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-65952885044392248282011-03-30T00:30:00.002-04:002011-03-30T00:30:00.333-04:00

Remember Yegor Zhgun, the impressive and unbelievably creative cartoonist and blogger from a couple of weeks ago? Well with all the turmoil in the MENA now, he has turned his "merciless" attention to the region. Rather, to the region's (purported?) tweet-o-sphere, its achievements, power, and lack thereof. Given the recent "news" on the events in Libya, this is indeed an very creative

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-26976807124681942642011-03-27T04:05:00.001-04:002011-03-27T04:05:00.078-04:00

This is a very "insightful" (and indeed very funny) video a friend shared yesterday. It is actually a commercial for Tochka Opory company that provides lighting solutions. Interesting ad idea to begin with. But more importantly, since it is also very relevant to some of the issues I keep touching upon in this blog, I thought it was worth reposting it here, too. Capitalizing on most of the

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-88815604148237362362011-03-23T04:05:00.054-04:002011-03-23T13:50:43.011-04:00

Funny, and yet so sad. The Russian "leadership" certainly knows how to make headlines, and (perhaps. intentionally) it has been getting increasingly better at that. I'm am sure that you have come across news stories that celebrate the "split partnership" between Medvedev and Putin over Libya (if you've been following the news these days, that is). Here's a classic M vs. P, from Euronews:

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-31009430633530604772011-03-22T12:33:00.002-04:002011-03-22T15:20:56.152-04:00

Not that it's anything new... and yet, it shows - once again - that Russia, along with several other former Communist/Socialist states, has a major image problem in the U.S. On numerous occasions before, I have discussed these stereotype issues on this blog, and this new DirecTV commercial only reiterates it all. (The commercial might have been around for quite a while, but since I do not own a

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-89151628169360815822011-03-21T11:13:00.000-04:002011-03-21T11:13:06.485-04:00

Since I often talk about social networking, its potential but also its downsides (particularly as it relates to governments), I simply couldn't miss the opportunity of sharing this video here. Although it is mere satire, I believe it highlights various major points about Facebook in particular, that we conveniently forget about every day. And although funny within this context, online and

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-67149503746162520792011-03-15T23:51:00.002-04:002011-03-16T10:02:39.203-04:00

Quite literally. First, there was the news of the photo of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the modern-day Turkey, being flown to the orbit onboard the Discovery Shuttle. Pretty neat idea by a Turkish man, who responded to NASA's public call for photos (and/or names), submitting that of Turkey's much-revered founder. Discovery Shuttle during its final mission, Feb-Mar 2011. Image courtesy of

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-18421393936044638752011-03-13T22:52:00.003-04:002011-03-14T07:30:23.882-04:00

Just in case you haven't heard yet, P.J. Crowley, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs (i.e. the State Department Spokesperson), resigned on Sunday. He stepped down after making what appear to have been unacceptable remarks regarding the treatment of Bradley Manning, who is currently in detention, pending trial for allegedly passing thousands of classified U.S. documents to Wikileaks.

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-50674580062299545062011-03-11T22:55:00.000-05:002011-03-11T22:55:27.425-05:00

After a long break, I'm desperately trying to get back to blogging regularly. Since my post on the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics mascots was published on Global Voices Online today, I thought I'd share it here, too. Comments and suggestions are welcome, as always. ---- Since the whole deal with the public vote for the 2014 Winter Olympics to be held in Sochi began back in September, the issue

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-81680331518667543202011-03-02T17:12:00.001-05:002011-03-02T17:49:15.595-05:00

On Mikhail Gorbachev's 80th birthday, I thought I'd repost the CrossTalk program (Russia Today TV) dedicated to this occasion. Funny to hear the point that he would need to be a "Stalin-style leader" to be able to fully reform the USSR or to truly democratize Russia. Contradiction in terms, it seems. But true. Also: "To fully succeed, he had to fail." I tend to agree... The sad thing, however,

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-36091877802577860752011-02-25T01:35:00.008-05:002011-02-25T11:15:36.878-05:00

I just realized that despite the name of the blog itself, I've never had a post that carried the "Chaos" title. I guess now is the perfect time... Firstly - apologies for my silence over the past days. Besides all the craziness that somehow decided to take over my life this particular week, I also got the great news I had been impatiently waiting for... three months, now. I'll be proudly joining

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-40839601498191365922011-02-21T18:01:00.001-05:002011-02-25T08:57:19.098-05:00

As a follow-up to a recent post, I wanted to share this cartoon here. Cartoon by Zahoor. Courtesy of ExpressTribune of Pakistan. Through Faiz Jan. Also, in light of all the recent horrid events in Libya, it was funny and perhaps a little too ironic that Berlusconi resisted making any definitive comments at first. But, fortunately for him, he has got a decent public affairs staff who later sent

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-44645298636635642952011-02-19T23:37:00.001-05:002011-02-20T10:24:50.317-05:00

The talk about new media/social networking revolutions has been going on for years now, even before Facebook "opened up" or Twitter itself actually came about. Up until the end of 2010 the "skeptics" seemed to be the ones on the winning side of the argument; yet, the recent events in Tunisia and Egypt, many argue, finally proved them wrong. But did they? Here's another episode of Empire, where

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-82494344099750127072011-02-16T23:39:00.000-05:002011-02-16T23:39:52.422-05:00

Russia is still the grey, cold place with that ominous smell of vodka in the minds of many in the West. These images and perceptions not only come as "inherent" in the cultures of Western Europe and the U.S. (I will not go into the very obvious historical and cultural reasons for that), but they are also constantly reproduced, recycled, and reinstated in the media and the popular culture. And

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-14839416404395002512011-02-16T01:36:00.001-05:002011-02-16T08:57:23.630-05:00

The U.S. should declare February 15 as its official "Internet Freedom Day": meetings, statements, reports... All in one day and all saying basically the same thing: "Open Internet is good" and "The U.S. should/will do more to promote 'Internet Freedom' technologies as a core part of its 21st Century Foreign Policy." Dealing with these  very same subjects in my classes and watching the events in

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-3492727400256194282011-02-13T23:07:00.002-05:002011-02-14T09:13:49.803-05:00

The Italian women (also men, but mostly women), took over their country's public diplomacy over the weekend. They marched in their hundreds of thousands across Italy (but also across Europe, and even in Japan!), in support of women's rights and demanded that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi steps down after numerous sex scandals. These demonstrations were sparked off by the latest scandal that

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-14976842221431130562011-02-12T22:55:00.003-05:002011-02-14T21:33:01.774-05:00

If you haven't heard yet, Russia's renowned Mariinsky Ballet was in town this week, performing Adolphe Adam's "Giselle". Certainly, an occasion not to be missed! We braved the cold and the somehow prohibitively expensive ticket prices to enjoy two hours of "high culture" on Tuesday night... which, I should say, I am very happy about! Image courtesy of New York Times. Of course, given my (

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-24821225480445353872011-02-11T18:30:00.003-05:002011-02-11T18:34:58.870-05:00

"Now that the dictator is successfully deposed, and "what comes next in Egypt" is on everyone's mind, I think this discussion with Tariq Ramadan and Slavoj Žižek (a week old) on the Riz Khan Show is all the more interesting. Enjoy. Also, if interested, here are two recent articles by Žižek in the Guardian. Although I don't fully agree with him all the time, I do think he makes pretty good

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-18787515643460810162011-02-09T09:41:00.000-05:002011-02-09T09:41:20.878-05:00

..."I heard them say 'the revolution won't be televised'. Al Jazeera proved them wrong. Twitter has them paralyzed..." Awesomeness, inspired by the events in Egypt. And an interview with Al Jazeera: Well... Inspiring, indeed.

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-10937086355957014182011-02-08T10:41:00.002-05:002011-02-08T10:57:12.211-05:00

Marwan Bishara is obviously on a roll. Another "Empire" episode, featuring professor Rashid Khalidi (Columbia University), Seymour Hersh, and Tom Pickering (please note: all Americans). Great, provocative discussion and certainly, raises good and the right questions, covering the "touchy" issues of double-standards, "democracy" rhetoric, American discourse on the Middle East (political, as well

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-43754370380321918122011-02-08T02:48:00.002-05:002011-02-08T10:31:13.350-05:00

With the turmoil spreading across the Arab world, Marwan Bishara obviously decided to seize the moment and make another "Empire" episode this month. Aired yesterday. I think it represents all the various aspects of Al Jazeera's "identity", mission, and coverage, that I just discussed in my previous post. Some great insights, as always. Enjoy. --CORRECTION [2/8/2011, 10:30 AM]: Just found out

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-27128913167815292052011-02-08T02:41:00.016-05:002011-02-08T12:48:16.096-05:00

Al Jazeera's coverage has been critical in bringing about the popular uprisings across the Arab world, with unparalleled focus on Egypt. That is true of both, it's "domestic" (i.e. Arabic) broadcasting, as well as its English-language coverage. And that is a fact. I know you have probably read and heard many discussions on the implications that Al Jazeera's programming has had (and still has)

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-51488324749619712372011-02-07T00:27:00.001-05:002011-02-07T08:11:22.220-05:00

January ended a week ago: another month over, which also means another Empire episode on Al Jazeera English (yes, I'm a devout follower as you probably noticed by now). This latest episode was shot in Washington, DC, as a panel discussion at GW University - featuring noteworthy speakers: Ralph Nader, Roger Hodge, Stefan Halper, and As'ad Abu Khalil (the "Angry Arab") - and focusing on the

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-31521484429829825162011-02-05T15:38:00.002-05:002011-02-05T15:41:58.700-05:00

This video was shared with me, and I thought I'd post it here, too. Interesting lyrics, which, I believe, don't need any further commentary.

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-7139837380347274992011-02-05T02:06:00.002-05:002011-02-05T15:39:04.959-05:00

Well, these protests had been going on all across the U.S. for at least a week now. I finally managed to attend one in Washington, DC on Friday, February 4. Here are some highlights: The protesters gathered in front of the White House at first. The remarkable thing about the crowd was that it wasn't just Egyptian-Americans there. Many other representatives of various Arab communities were

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-78799272925199198362011-02-03T00:51:00.003-05:002011-02-03T10:09:32.890-05:00

With the semester in full swing and with the non-stop Egypt mania, I was about to miss this report from Russia Today TV (from Feb 1) focusing on America's "international" broadcasting (yeah, sorry, haven't been watching it much lately). Although these segments - titled "US Funded Media Fail" - do point out some of the issues related to US-funded foreign channels, I find it more than ironic that

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-24248959443077125862011-01-31T19:33:00.040-05:002012-01-25T10:58:47.128-05:00

Those of you regularly stopping by Global Chaos know that I've been watching the developments in Egypt closely. With a "march of millions" planned for Tuesday and Mubarak seemingly making "in-advance concessions" (promising that the army will not shoot at the protesters and trying to start talks with the opposition), it seems like the momentum is not dying down. Yet, it is important to note that

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-48728364731992751932011-01-29T21:16:00.002-05:002011-02-05T15:40:29.237-05:00

There have been many developments in the situation in Egypt since my last post, but I don't think that there is anything essentially new to add to those previous observations. I'll just share several interesting videos/programs from Al Jazeera, and a couple of noteworthy discussions. The latter, first. - I was watching the news on Germany's international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle, and their "

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-42324877284836767392011-01-28T21:39:00.011-05:002011-02-05T15:40:39.519-05:00

..."it will be televised" - to quote my dear friend. And it will be televised on Al Jazeera, of course. Just like many people around the world (here I'm taking a very Western-centric view of "the world"), I've been glued to the live broadcast by Al Jazeera English - online - ever since I woke up this morning. Then I also got on Twitter... and never left. The events in Egypt are unfolding by the

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-66394058898826019492011-01-28T00:37:00.005-05:002011-01-28T07:06:43.353-05:00

In our Public Diplomacy class today, we discussed at length the significance of "Collaboration" for effective public diplomacy through sustainable relationship-building. As defined by Cowan and Arsenault,  "Collaboration" primarily refers to "initiatives that feature cross-national participation in a joint venture or project with a clearly defined goal." According to them, collaboration can take

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-57490733359740306542011-01-25T19:03:00.007-05:002011-01-26T20:22:34.383-05:00

"Money can't buy you love." That's how the following segment on Russia Today TV starts (it's from several days ago). So, what's the reporter referring to? American public diplomacy in Afghanistan. A pretty interesting report - not that it's not true. What really bugs me, though, is the approach.                             As on multiple occasions before, I'll just take a little time to

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-32966878382487297522011-01-25T01:44:00.008-05:002011-01-25T12:25:24.709-05:00

Firstly: condolences, to the families and friends of all those 35 dead and at least 97 injured (as of this writing). As the news of the Moscow airport bombing started coming in today morning, I was glued to... Twitter again, following the latest developments, feeling useless, and well, having a déjà-vu - quite literally - going back to the metro bombings last year. Given all that I observed, I

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-40798119692892717992011-01-22T18:25:00.003-05:002011-01-22T18:42:06.967-05:00

I'm very glad to see several great comments to my previous post on the "Parazit" show on VOA Persian. Seems like it did do its job of starting a debate, and I'm very grateful to those who shared their thoughts, since I'm really trying to figure it out for myself. As I started writing my own "response" comment, I realized it's too long, so just decided to have it as a separate post. Would be great

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-20807926397489832102011-01-22T00:54:00.006-05:002011-01-22T10:19:31.619-05:00

Actually, there's said to be a better name for it: "Deputinization", and that term is said to have been coined by (hold applause)... U.S. officials! Well, that's according to Komsomolskaya Pravda, as regurgitated by Russia Today TV. In a nutshell: some of the Wikileak-ed cables indicate that the "bad" members of the Russian civil society and political opposition went to the "moderately bad"

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-84088563807329847772011-01-21T12:47:00.002-05:002011-01-22T16:47:25.031-05:00

As we started the new class on Public Diplomacy this semester, the first couple of sessions and readings were  - of course - devoted to the discussion of the (hard-to-define and often ambiguous) differences between "propaganda" and "public diplomacy". I won't be reproducing the entire discussion here. Instead, I wanted to raise the question (and hope to get insights from the readers of this blog)

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-6833416832530766152011-01-19T10:56:00.005-05:002011-01-20T08:44:20.655-05:00

Since it's the big news in town these days, I thought I'd share this photo - taken over this past weekend - as downtown DC was getting ready to host the leader of the "World's Second". Cannot but point out my friend's observation: "Two American flags for one Chinese." Later added: "[But] of course, the Chinese one is in the middle..." Yet, the receptions (already past, and the ones that are

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-52044816868286942052011-01-18T23:09:00.001-05:002011-01-19T07:31:19.539-05:00

It's been about two years since Mr. Obama took office, and again it's that time of the year when analysts and critics look back to assess what the President has achieved so far. And since he's the President of the United States of America, this assessment is not limited to his achievements at home, as virtually every other nation has a good reason to provide an opinion on the very same question,

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-36999410725225025992011-01-17T23:58:00.006-05:002011-01-18T09:15:42.385-05:00

It's funny that after my previous post, critical of Russia Today TV, I am now writing this one. But I think I would not be honest, if I said I didn't like this short documentary they aired a couple of days ago for the first time. Certainly recommend taking a look. "Gone to Gulag: Diary of a Soviet Schoolgirl" is a revealing story - even if condensed and perhaps oversimplified - of a 17-year-old,

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-34260419888280026252011-01-15T18:53:00.000-05:002011-01-15T18:53:46.856-05:00

Russia Today TV seems to have an insatiable appetite for  more than just ridiculous "stories". Sometimes I truly wonder if they ever consider their main target audience. I really hope that this (whatever it is.. I'm afraid I can't even find proper words to describe it) is not really the "active and effective public diplomacy" envisioned by Kremlin. ...and this: If it were a tweet, this

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-56053275239905886642011-01-14T23:40:00.002-05:002011-01-15T15:50:52.399-05:00

Well, I'm sure by now you've heard that there is another popular "Tweet-o-uprising" in a distant and fairly obscure part of the world. The social unrest in Tunisia - which started weeks ago, and was largely ignored in the Western media until very recently (for a long list of obvious reasons) - culminated in what has been labeled as "unprecedented": an Arab authoritarian leader being ousted

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-78248680443444888452011-01-09T00:24:00.005-05:002011-01-09T17:10:06.627-05:00

Thought I should share this week's episode of the Listening Post on Global Chaos. Very insightful, provocative, but most importantly, puts things into perspective. Issues involved include - but, by no means are limited to - perception management, media's "rallying around the flag", the true dawn of 24/7 news, embedding of reporters, and the so-called "CNN effect" - i.e. media's influence on

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-90722885041141794202011-01-06T23:29:00.003-05:002011-01-07T08:11:23.643-05:00

I finally got to see National Geographic's "Inside the State Department", detailing some of what goes on behind the scenes: Secretary's mission, her travels, speeches, etc. Obviously, the global organization that the US DoS is, it needs not just domestic PR and selling, but also public diplomacy, so as to explain its own mission to Americans and foreigners alike. National Geographic, given its

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-75695972420342279542011-01-05T11:50:00.007-05:002011-01-06T22:20:49.712-05:00

Bulgaria - just like many of the countries in the region - has a very complex history and culture, which also reflect upon its current "state". Previously associated with the cradle of Slavonic culture and persistent resistance (whether against the Byzantines or the Ottomans), Bulgaria became the "fruit-&-veggie basket" as well as the top sea resort of the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War. (To be

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-60608430706362884372011-01-04T01:48:00.000-05:002011-01-04T01:48:26.859-05:00

Since this blog deals with new media, among many other things, I thought I would share this extremely funny and very smart video here, too. Indeed, the days when blackberry, apple, and orange were just fruits are long gone... Courtesy of BBC 1. Enjoy!

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-56771099346741744662011-01-04T01:34:00.004-05:002011-01-04T08:00:33.507-05:00

Had been idle for quite some time, for which I owe an apology: had some serious catching up to do (apparently, ten days can seem much longer in certain cases), which also overlapped with the New Year's celebrations - the greater holiday of the season for me. (Side Note #1: Happy New 2011!) Yet, there has been a very peculiar (for the lack of a better word) public diplomacy-related development in

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-49493544359454021342010-12-29T02:41:00.007-05:002011-03-23T00:35:05.568-04:00

Despite all the Christmas-related chaos of the past week, I've been trying to keep up - at least, somewhat - with the news, and the one issue that I keep stumbling upon is the Khodorkovsky trial. I just spent more than an hour reading and watching the coverage by various "Western" media, in the hope of formulating some sort of a response or coherent position on the issue. But then, I decided I

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-46142140904663621632010-12-24T01:34:00.004-05:002010-12-25T21:50:13.948-05:00

Everybody watches movies. We all like movies. Certainly, tastes differ, but I can bet that at least one of the top favorite movies of every person (wherever in the world) was made by Hollywood. The multibillion-dollar industry's power, however, is far greater than its financial might. It's in the business of images: it creates them, frames perceptions, and thus, effectively "manages" the

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-80520625671114569392010-12-21T18:16:00.009-05:002010-12-22T06:52:15.236-05:00

Yup, Global Chaos deserves a birthday cake! Friday marked the first year since I started my very own blog, so I decided to write up a quick overview of major developments/highlights of the past 12 months. I started blogging as a part of coursework for the foundation class in my program, International Communication. The original group blog - SIS 640 Communiacs - soon became an outlet not just for

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-52489178431783663552010-12-20T13:10:00.006-05:002010-12-21T11:42:25.850-05:00

This weekend I got a chance to watch Bhutto, a documentary on Pakistan's former Prime Minister and perhaps one of the world's most prominent female politicians (released earlier this year, but opened in Washington last Friday). Well made (loved the graphics!). Intriguing. Compelling, indeed. But also, very misleading. Savior?! In fact, as soon as the movie was over, a friend who watched it

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-60003025532450752702010-12-17T11:23:00.003-05:002010-12-17T11:32:03.384-05:00

The Ukrainian Rada witnessed another violent brawl yesterday. The problem? Corruption inquiry against Tymoshenko. Surely, a very, very debatable issue. While such fights in parliaments have become more or less a norm in our troubled post-Soviet region, the Ukraine's case is special. For example, a brawl earlier this year featured eggs, tomatoes and umbrellas. At least this time they limited

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-42539978547275830782010-12-17T01:29:00.003-05:002011-07-09T02:52:11.962-04:00

Funny. While Medvedev is talking to the Federal Assembly, Putin is conversing directly with the public. 4 hours 29 minutes. His 2011 televised call-in Q&A session apparently broke all records, at least in Russia. Questions ranged from the recent racist/ethnic riots, to requests for wedding congratulations. You can read the transcript of the entire session (in Russian) here. Well done? Certainly

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-42793260571512227192010-12-14T21:00:00.007-05:002010-12-15T08:34:36.281-05:00

This post originally appeared on RuNet Echo, on Global Voices Online. It all started with a tweet. "Hello everyone! I'm on Twitter, and this is my first tweet," wrote Dmitry Medvedev during a visit to Twitter headquarters in Silicon Valley on June 23, 2010. The Russian president created two official Twitter accounts - one in Russian and one in English - in a publicity tour that made headlines

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-63281099002470218312010-12-12T11:13:00.001-05:002010-12-12T11:14:52.482-05:00

A great interview with one of the greatest minds of the 20th century. If only more of this made it to the "general public discourse"...

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-49567994466535565092010-12-11T19:54:00.005-05:002010-12-12T10:51:37.884-05:00

Putin is back. Not that he was ever gone... but he's posing for cameras and targeting global headlines, again. There were no special sports or martial arts moves involved, no black gear or bikes, and not even yellow cars... This time, it's music. Apparently, the great Prime Minister of all Russians has been working on his vocal and piano, as well as his English language skills. (In his recent

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-88298267941186800602010-12-08T09:24:00.003-05:002010-12-08T09:33:38.171-05:00

My article "Turkish Public Diplomacy: The Genocide Resolution Challenge" was recently published in The Washington Review of Turkish and Eurasian Affairs (free access). I've got to admit - it wasn't all that easy to write. However, I believe academic inquiry should go beyond national - and more importantly, nationalist - interests. In a sense, it was a challenge I set for myself. So no, I have no

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-42326180181099957432010-12-03T23:01:00.006-05:002010-12-04T07:24:38.204-05:00

Who said it's bad to be away from "home" for the holidays? It can always be a good opportunity to learn something new about the tradition/culture/history of a "new" place, especially when in good company! Not that I'd ever celebrate Thanksgiving if I were not in the U.S., but as the saying goes, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." It's certainly great to receive many invitations for a "warm and

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-11987517503030262702010-11-30T23:27:00.002-05:002010-12-01T06:37:56.769-05:00

Today President Medvedev delivered his key annual Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly. The speech is more than an hour long, and in between my slightly prolonged Thanksgiving weekend, final papers and projects, and the application deadlines, unfortunately I cannot get into a detailed discussion of his major points. However, I wanted to point out that although he focused primarily on

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2887961940872354128.post-71044319509256828532010-11-19T19:45:00.001-05:002010-11-20T11:38:34.185-05:00

Aha. As promised, here's the last part from Russia Today TV's "investigative report" on the super-secret "democracy promotion around the world" conspiracy devised by the American government. The report: The interview: I don't think there is much more to add to what I already put out here, in the previous two posts. Just two thoughts: - USAID and NED... Really?! They "repeatedly refused"

Yelena Osipovahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08287156430733139105noreply@blogger.com0