TOM PLATE WRITES — It is still true, even in this speed-freak era of AI and machine-learning, that international diplomacy needs governments to station quality representatives in foreign capitals, and for international organisations to listen and learn, soak up the ineffable atmosphere, and interact with real people, especially those with “issues”,…
Tag: State Department
US-CHINA RELATIONS: WILL BIDEN REIN IN AMERICA’S DEBILITATING DELUSIONS OF MORAL SUPERIORITY?
TOM PLATE WRITES – The first major American post-election-result return is being able to feel that the ground under your feet isn’t always shaking and your head isn’t always aching. Yes, US President Joe Biden is doing that for us, especially in this early wave of foreign-policy appointments. He is…
PACIFIC PERSPECTIVE COMMENTARY: THIS MEMO IS NOT CLASSIFIED!
TOM PLATE WRITES: A long time ago, it seems like a thousand years now, I worked in the State Department, however briefly, with the honor of a formal security clearance. In that role, as a backup speechwriter (I was quite young, but loved the experience, totally respected the careerists there),…
NORTH KOREA: Media Helping Them to Get New Messages
“Illicit” and “smuggled” are two words that could easily describe goods making their way into North Korea. Many products, such as low-cost TVs, DVD players, and other equipment, are being smuggled into North Korea from China. A recent, excellent U.S. State Department-commissioned study, “A Quiet Opening: North Koreans in a Changing Media Environment,” reveals…