PD in a Nutshell

A PD news roundup from around the world:

Bamboo, Not Bombs

The London Telegraph offers a history of Panda Diplomacy, which manIC readers will recognize as a favorite topic of this blogger.
Sample grab: "In 1991, Ming Ming arrived from China and Bao Bao from Berlin Zoo. However, the couple fought savagely and produced no cubs. They were sent home in 'disgrace' in 1994."

Disaster, Dinner and Diplomacy
From the Washington Post, The Reliable Source discusses the tricky business of providing a political dinner after an appetizer of disaster.
Sample grab: "Even in the wake of a national tragedy, the business of diplomacy goes on."

Ambassador Cosby
From the Huffington Post, Azeem Ibrahim makes the radical suggestion that blending narratives can bridge divides between diverse communities.
Sample grab:  "On both sides of the cultural divide, certain extremist voices have hijacked national tragedies to promote their simplistic, black and white narrative where the other exists only as the enemy and all nuances, color and shades of gray are removed from the storytelling. Amidst these poisonous stereotypes, however, exciting new narratives are emerging from a globalized generation that reflect the messy, complicated but successful co-existence of Muslim and Western cultures."

PD 101
The Hindu highlights major points from a recent conference on public diplomacy featuring Philip Seib and Nicholas Cull, among others.
Sample grab: "The link between public diplomacy and foreign policy formulation is inextricable. If policy is flawed, projection alone cannot help. Therefore, senior public diplomacy officials should have a seat on the policy-making table."

But Can She Stick the Landing?
Today Online reports on PD ambassador Michelle Kwan's visit to Singapore.
Sample grab: "Arms stretched out, left foot bent back and with most of her weight shifted on her right foot for balance, American figure skating queen Michelle Kwan cut a near perfect pose."