http://www.wikio.com/search=Ryland Wikio - Ryland http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=69455274 by Ryland Walker Knight After a raucous eight hour drive complete with lunch stop in Paonia, I had time for the briefest of showers before our first Symposium function where, among other pleasantries, we were given our schedule for the weekend. Suffice to say, this looks to be fun. This morning and early afternoon are our pretty much our only free time so I thought I'd go ahead and detail what I've got in store ahead. And this is just a sliver of what the festival has to offer this year. Still, I don't think I'll be able to offer precise thoughts on all of this, but I'll give it a shot. Stay tuned. _______________________ Friday: Most of the afternoon will be spent with the symposium, talking to Ken Burns, Peter Sellars and Paolo Cherchi-Usai. Linda Williams said Burns and Sellars have something of a spiel to impart but she hope we'll be able to ask some questions, and that we'll definitely have the opportunity for good conversation with Cherchi-Usai. Given his involvement with Kevin's project , I hope I can ask him about the role of criticism in film history, and preservation, beyond the obvious "more eyes can't hurt" argument. After that there's the "Opening Night Feed" with the rest of the town. Tonight we get to see Waltz With Bashir (dig) and A Private Century (a series of short films by Jan Sikl about memory using amateur "home movies"). Saturday: We get started early discussing films with the group before seeing The Last Command (Sternberg, 1928) before a quick lunch and an early afternoon screening of Mike Leigh's new film, Happy-Go-Lucky . In the afternoon we get to talk to one the festival's tributary David Fincher (others: Jean Simmons, Jan Troell, Richard Shickel) and Leigh before evening screenings of Youssou Ndour (a profile of the Senegalese musician and his plight to bridge an understanding of Islam outside "the fundamentalist monopoly of discourse surrounding [his religion]") and Innocence Unprotected , brought to the festival by Festival Guest Director, Slavoj Zizek (this will be my second Makavejev in a cinema; that essay by Gary Morris is featured in the festival guide). Sunday: Another early morning discussion followed by the Indian film Firaaq , which Salman Rushdie has accompanied to help promote. Directly after that we get Laughing Til It Hurts , a group of silent comedies presented by Paolo Cherci Usai and his Pordenone Film Festival; this sounds like a real highlight. I hope there's time for a bite to eat before we hit the next film, With a Little Help from Myself (or, translated literally from French as "Help Yourself, and Heaven Will Help You"), from François Dupeyron, director of Monsieur Ibrahim . Our afternoon discussion features Dupeyron and his lead actress Félicité Wouassi first, followed by a conversation with Rushdie and Firaaq 's director, Nandita Das. Sunday night ends with a screening of The Fall of Berlin , another Zizek pick. Monday: Again we discuss over breakfast before our last screening of Nicolas Ray's On Dangerous Ground , another pick by Zizek in his sidebar, "Neglected Noirs." The last official symposium activities are a noon seminar and Labor Day Picnic followed by a two hour block with Zizek to wrap it all up. _______________________ Again, the widget. Fri, 29 Aug 2008 18:18:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=69455274 2008-08-29T18:18:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=69364495 "I'm not supporting Turkey's nuclear energy program anymore because I'm not clear about what the real intention is. Let's put it that way." ~ Mustafa Kibaroğlu, Bilkent University. First of all, there's an interview with Luke Ryland by Scott Horton at this page or listen directly here . Run time 47 minutes. The interview covers the latest information relating the AQ Khan nuclear network with Sibel Edmonds' case, including Turkish, Israeli, and neocon roles in the network, and the bullshit American media's cover-up job. Refer also to Luke's article from Tuesday . To prepare you for a listen of the interview, here's Luke's latest: ************ A front page article " In Nuclear Net’s Undoing, a Web of Shadowy Deals " in Monday's New York Times by William Sanger and David Broad details the destruction of evidence by the US government in a case involving the nuclear black market. The article highlights again that the New York Times continues to engage in 'Judy Miller reporting' by warmongering and acting as a mouthpiece for the government. This is the second article in a multi-part series. This article will focus on the countries involved, and how and why the NY Times continues to act as a government mouthpiece by focusing attention on, and warmongering toward, Iran, and minimizing the role of so-called allies such as Turkey and Dubai. (The first piece of the series focused on the players in the AQ Khan / BSA Tahir nuclear smuggling ring.) The Sanger/Broad article is obviously designed to drum up support for a war against Iran. Without evidence or support, they write that Iran is "presumably racing for the capability to build a bomb." They say this despite the fact that the US Intelligence Community's 2007 National Intelligence Estimate states that "Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that the program remains frozen." The Sanger/Broad article quotes government-friendly sources stating that there were two 'successful' 'sting' operations against the Iranian nuclear program, without noting that at least one of the so-called stings in 2006 was against the nuclear power program, not a weapons program. The entire premise of the destruction of evidence in the prosecution case against the Tinner family, key suppliers to the AQ Khan network, in Switzerland is that the Tinners were supplying " electronic blueprints for an advanced nuclear weapon on computers ." These blueprints were destroyed, we were told, so that they wouldn't get into "the hands of a terrorist organization or an unauthorized state." It isn't until the final page of a four-page article that Broad and Sanger inform us that the IAEA has "no evidence that Iran had acquired the bomb plans." (please see Broad and Sanger's previous article on this and note how they were played for a fiddle by their government sources. No correction has been made to the article.) Ignoring Other Countries By focusing on Iran, and cherry-picked elements of the Tinner case, the New York Times journalists, acting as government mouthpieces, chose to ignore the other countries involved in the network, countries who are not members of the Axis of Evil. The article notes that the list of customers "may extend further" than Iran, North Korea and Libya, but does not question why these other customers have not been made public. Could it be that these countries are allies of the United States? We know that: "The wider nuclear network has been monitored for many years by a joint Anglo-American intelligence effort. But rather than shut it down, investigations by law enforcement bodies such as the FBI and Britain’s Revenue & Customs have been aborted to preserve diplomatic relations." In the case of former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds, we know that the same excuse - "sensitive diplomatic relations" - was used to gag her and all the details behind her case. Which diplomatic relations are we referring to here? In 2005, Sibel noted that these 'diplomatic relations' are "not named since obviously our officials are ashamed of admitting to these relations." How is it possible that these relationships outweigh the very serious implications of the spread of nuclear weapons? Turkey Turkey's role in the nuclear black market has been well documented , though poorly reported in the US. Turkey acted (and may continue to act) as both a manufacturing base for nuclear hardware, as well as a trans-shipment point for goods on their way to the end-customers such as Libya and Pakistan. In 2000, Bill Clinton signed an order to allow Turkey access to US nuclear technology, but this order was blocked because, according to President Bush , certain Turkish entities were actively engaged in "certain activities directly relating to nuclear proliferation." Note the timing here. Turkey was known to have been involved in the nuclear black market at least three years prior to the 'official' outing of the AQ Khan ring when a ship containing nuclear hardware, from Turkey and elsewhere, was intercepted on its way to Libya. President Bush recently re-signed Clinton's order allowing Turkey access to US nuclear technology, although there is no evidence that Turkey has rectified any of these problems. Turkish Procurement According to IAEA investigators, the nuclear hardware supplied by Turkey to the AQ Khan ring - including 7000 centrifuge motors - "could be used in manufacturing enough enriched uranium to produce 7 nuclear weapons a year." In fact, the entire deal to supply Libya with a nuclear weapons program began in Turkey with a meeting in 1997 involving AQ Khan, his Chief Operating Officer BSA Tahir, and Libyan representatives. The known Turkish suppliers to the network, Selim Alguadis and Gunes Cire, were not indicted for their criminal participation in the ring, and their companies, EKA and ETI Elektroteknik , continue to operate freely today. Further, Turkish businessman Zeki Bilmen and his US based company Giza Technologies, was caught supplying nuclear hardware to Pakistan's military program in 2003 via South African-based Israeli Asher Karni. Bilmen was also overheard on wiretaps translated by Sibel Edmonds prior to 2002 organizing nuclear shipments, apparently with members of the Turkish and Israeli military and diplomatic community in Washington DC. According to Sibel, Bilmen was shipping product to and from other hotspots in the Khan/Tahir network such as Turkey, Dubai, South Africa and Spain. Zeki Bilmen was not indicted, and his company continues to operate freely. Marco Tinner, a member of the Tinner family that was effectively pardoned by the Bush administration's destruction of evidence, was also recommended for indictment in Turkey in 2005. He faced 32 years in prison in Turkey but that case also appears to have disappeared in the same manner as the Swiss prosecution case. A Turkish Bomb? Although there has been no official proof that Turkey is actively building a nuclear weapons, some experts on Turkey's nuclear program have recounted their support, suspicious that the energy program is a cover for a weapons program. In 2006, Mustafa Kibaroglu, a nuclear proliferation expert in Turkey told the Washington Post : "I'm not supporting Turkey's nuclear energy program anymore because I'm not clear about what the real intention is. Let's put it that way." Of course, David Sanger and William Broad chose not to mention any of this in their article despite the direct link to the Tinner case, preferring to cherry-pick information in order to facilitate the agenda of their government masters. This pattern is consistent with the whitewashing of Turkey's involvement in nefarious activity. Turkey's role in terrorism is a " best kept secret ," Turkey's role in narcotics smuggling is a ' best kept secret ,' and with the able assistance of the New York Times, Turkey's involvement in the nuclear black market will remain another 'best kept secret.' Dubai According to the US State Department , Dubai is a major center for the trans-shipment of narcotics and the associated money-laundering. The same is true for nuclear hardware and the laundering of the profits of the nuclear black market. It is also considered a major US ally. Chief Operating Officer of the nuclear procurement ring, BSA Tahir, was based in Dubai, as was one of his main suppliers, Briton Peter Griffin . Most of the hardware supplied to the network was sent to Dubai, and sometimes via Turkey, on its way to the end-customers. Nuclear hardware from the Tinners, and also Turkish operatives, Alguadis and Cire, was sent to Dubai from where it was dispatched to Libya on board the BBC China. Interestingly, the official report regarding the exposure of the AQ Khan / Libya deal appeared to imply that the shipments from Turkey had some semi-official blessing, noting that "it is surprising" that the consingment from Turkish businessman Gunes Cire to Libya was "allowed without any action" and also that the consignment from Selim Alguadis "arrived in Libya without any obstruction and this is unusual." Pardoned As I documented in my previous article , virtually all of the participants in this procurement ring have been allowed to walk free, without paying any penalty for these very serious crimes. The same can be said for the different countries that actively supported the network, such as Turkey and Dubai - as well as the US, the UK, and Pakistan. Iran is the only country feeling the heat. Why is that? Summary By focusing on, and misrepresenting, the Iranian angle, Broad and Sanger again have shown themselves to be lapdogs for the US government. For one reason or other, none of them flattering, Broad and Sanger chose to selectively sanitize the role of other countries who are more culpable than Iran in matters of nuclear weapons proliferation. Whatever the reason for the Times to provide the government's preferred spin on the case, David Sanger and William Broad will remain in the Judy Miller Hall of Fame. ************ See the original article at Let Sibel Edmonds Speak or at DailyKos . Fri, 29 Aug 2008 04:03:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=69364495 2008-08-29T04:03:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=69336010 BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Energen Corporation (NYSE:EGN) will present at The Lehman Brothers CEO Energy/Power Conference in New York on Tuesday, September 2, 2008, at 3:00 p.m. ET. The live Webcast of the presentation may be accessed via Energen’s home page, Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:31:58 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=69336010 2008-08-28T21:31:58Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=69155743 Wed, 27 Aug 2008 14:38:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=69155743 2008-08-27T14:38:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=69120353 by Ryland Walker Knight Spent Tuesday in the sun with those guys and that girl; Wednesday is her birthday. The Yuba River was low but still perfect. I'm a bit burnt and worn out. I should be in bed. I need my sleep with all the activity to come this weekend. But, you know, fuck it. This little adventure should be a lot of fun. Definitely something new. Guess I have to come to terms with the fact that, since the TIFF schedule says it's hosting the North American Premiere, I won't get to see the new Denis ; ditto Che . However, I'm sure there will be other high profile pictures. For instance, Lucrecia Martel's La Mujer Sin Cabasa is not on the TIFF docket; ditto Waltz with Bashir . On top of the new stuff, there will be Zizek to contend with (or let go and enjoy) and a bunch of fellow film fiends to meet. I still have yet to decide if I'll make the time to blog from Telluride but my guess is that I'll write a journal by hand (in some fashion) and transcribe the cool stuff for a longer essay, or some other form of criticism (dun dun dun), once I'm home. Seems like the only way when they say we'll be busy from 8am to midnight every day. And when I'm really tired, and I'm too jazzed to sleep, like now, I can settle into two books, among millions, every kid should read after s/he graduates college. I mean, de Certeau's is what every book should be called -- and it's not some new age mess; it's a thoughtful account of how we operate in all the systems big and banal that we encounter each day through (dig this) what he likes to call "a science of the singular." Then there's Burroughs, a man it's taken me some time to understand. I don't know if do, yet; I may soon. Returning-to-class Daniel understands, or claims to, and I grant him what he's related here . (See: it's about singularity, too.) As I get ready to fly into Denver, a city careening, I hope I find some Johnsons, and not Vampires, on my trip. I trust I will see both. As ever, I'm just hoping for a decent ratio around me and that I don't play Vampire too much, or (uh-oh) too often. Wed, 27 Aug 2008 08:29:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=69120353 2008-08-27T08:29:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=69105252 Wed, 27 Aug 2008 05:17:22 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=69105252 2008-08-27T05:17:22Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=69098736 "We have made the Reich by propaganda." ~ Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Minister of Propaganda. Luke Ryland has another article out about Sibel Edmonds' case and nuclear blackmarketing, including the role of Turkish businessmen in supplying materials for A.Q. Khan's nuclear smuggling ring, as he picks apart a recent NYTimes pro-Washington regime propaganda piece on the subject. Luke mentions Judy Miller-style reporting, and the fact that the two media lapdogs, William Sanger and David Broad, co-authored a book with Miller. Judy Miller was one of the major propagandists who helped spread Bush regime lies that led to the current Iraq War. She also helped the Bush regime out former CIA operative Valerie Plame, who was investigating the Pakistani nuclear blackmarketing ring through fine, upstanding institutions such as the American Turkish Council. It's sufficient to say that if Judy Miller is mentioned, you'd better believe a big load of shit is coming your way. You may also want to reference yesterday's post and how the bullshit American media constantly works to cover up or under-report Turkish involvement in a lot of very dirty business. Now why is that? ************ A front page article " In Nuclear Net’s Undoing, a Web of Shadowy Deals " in Monday's New York Times by William Sanger and David Broad details the destruction of evidence by the US government in a case involving the nuclear black market. The article highlights again that the New York Times continues to engage in 'Judy Miller reporting' by warmongering and acting as a mouthpiece for the government. In the article, Sanger and Broad (who co-wrote a book, Germs , with Judy Miller): 1. Provide an incomplete and misleading story by conveniently withholding pertinent, established facts. 2. Spin the story towards Iran, and away from other governments, fulfilling the government's propaganda needs again. 3. Carry out no investigation, relying on government spokespeople without checking facts, relying on documents, or agenda-free sources. In this article, I will focus on the way that the New York Times cherrypicked details, excluding key, relevant information resulting in a misleading story which coincidentally fits the government's agenda like a glove. In the coming days, I'll return to some of the other problems with the article. The NY Times article focuses on selected, cherrypicked elements of the Tinner family who were key suppliers in one ring of AQ Khan's nuclear proliferation network, while mostly ignoring the other key players who worked with the Tinners in the ring. The New York Times again does the government's bidding, selectively sanitizing the article, in order to hide the fact that US allies are key proliferators. Der Spiegel, which has done great work covering this story, described the hierarchy of the network, noting that the Tinners were just one of four division managers: "At the top of the hierarchy was a confidant of Khan's, Sri Lankan businessman Buhary Seyed Abu Tahir, who acted as a business manager of sorts, responsible for payments and contracts. He also appointed several division managers, who may not even have known of each other's existence. They were comprised of the Swiss Tinner family of engineers, including Friedrich Tinner and his sons Urs and Marco, who were apparently responsible for centrifuge parts; Briton Peter Griffin, a specialist in the procurement of tool-making machines; and (Gotthard) Lerch, whose job, as the prosecution claims, was to obtain the pipes that connect the centrifuges. Lerch's source for the pipes was Gerhard Wisser, a German national living in South Africa, with whom he had been doing business for decades." Here is a more complete list of known actors in the nuclear proliferation ring that the Tinners were involved with: BSA Tahir Tahir, based in Dubai, was AQ Khan's Chief Operating Officer and right hand man. Tahir began working with Khan in 1995. In 2002, Tahir recruited Urs Tinner to help produce centrifuge parts, supplied in part by his brother and father. Tahir's involvement in the network was documented in a Malaysian Police Report in 2004, soon after a ship called the BBC China was intercepted on the way to Libya, filled with products from AQ Khan. Interestingly, Tahir was released from prison two months ago in Malaysia because he is no longer considered a 'national security threat.' Selim Alguadis, Gunes Cire & Hank Slebos Turkish businessmen Alguadis and Cire were also key suppliers to the Tahir-Tinner ring. Alguadis' company, EKA , and Cire's company ETI Elektroteknik were both caught supplying hardware for Libya's nuclear program when the BBC China was intercepted. Hank Slebos, a supplier to Khan's network for decades, was also a part owner of Gunes Cire's ETI Elektroteknik. Despite their role supplying BSA Tahir, neither Alguadis nor Cire were ever convicted, and their companies continue to operate freely in Turkey. Slebos was sentenced to 12 months prison (8 months suspended, 4 months served) in 2005 for his role. Turkey has a key role in the nuclear black market. In fact, IAEA investigators noted that the nuclear hardware supplied by Turkey to the AQ Khan ring - including 7000 centrifuge motors - "could be used in manufacturing enough enriched uranium to produce 7 nuclear weapons a year." Asher Karni and Zeki Bilmen Karni is an Israeli businessman based in South Africa. Zeki Bilmen is a Turkish businessman and CEO of Giza Technologies, headquarted in New Jersey. Karni purchased 200 spark-gaps in the United States from Giza Technologies n 2003 and then re-exported it to Pakistan's intelligence service, the ISI. Prior to 2002 Bilmen was also overheard on wiretaps translated by former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds. Zeki Bilmen was never charged. Karni was released on $100,000 bail and is now a free man. Peter Griffin Peter Griffin is a Dubai-based British man who was said to have a " central role " in Libya's nuclear bomb program. Griffin also supervised Tahir's project to build a manufacturing facility in Libya. A four-year British investigation into Griffin which spanned a dozen countries and cost millions of dollars was " quietly dropped " earlier this year. Griffin is currently living " scot-free .". Gerhard Wisser Wisser was a German national, based in South Africa, who supplied the pipes required for centrifuges. According to prosecutors, he was the South African "conduit" to the Tahir-Tinner ring. He was " given 18 years -- not in prison, but of nighttime house arrest in his mansion in a luxury neighborhood in Johannesburg." Could it be...? Why did the New York Times cherrypick facts, while obscuring and ignoring important, pertinent facts? Could it be that they are simply lazy? Could it be that they see their role as supporting the government's objectives, whether to protect allies such as Turkey and Dubai, or still chasing the dream of an invasion of Iran? Could it be that they want to sanitize Turkey and Turkish actors from the Tinners case in order to bolster President Bush's recently signed Executive Order giving Turkey access to nuclear technology? Any of these possibilities might be accurate, but all of them are far from innocent, and none of them exonerate the New York Times propaganda machine. Summary By only reporting selectively on the Tinner case, quoting only more-than-eager government agency press officers, and by spinning the story toward Iran, the NY Times once again cements its reputation as a mouthpiece for the US government, even when it relates to important matters of true national security, that involves not only the US, but the entire world. Whatever the reason for the Times to provide the government's portrait of the Tinner case, David Sanger and William Broad will remain in the Judy Miller Hall of Fame. ************ You can find the original at Let Sibel Edmonds Speak or at DailyKos . Wed, 27 Aug 2008 03:29:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=69098736 2008-08-27T03:29:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=69001330 CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Marcel Media, an award-winning boutique Chicago-based strategic interactive advisory firm, today announced that Inc. Magazine named it to its list of America Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:00:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=69001330 2008-08-26T11:00:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=68970394 "I'd say what she has is far more explosive than the Pentagon Papers." ~ Daniel Ellsberg. Wow! Here's something I almost forgot--an interview with Luke Ryland and Joe Lauria about the Sibel Edmonds case on the Peter B. Collins Show. You can find it on this page , dated Friday, 22 August 2008, or go here to listen (Give it a few seconds to start). I don't know the exact run time, but it's not over an hour. You should listen anyway, so it doesn't really matter how long it is. Joe Lauria has been working on Sibel's case for the London Sunday Times , which started running his pieces in January . A second article ran in the times later in January, which discussed the FBI's cover-up of the joint Turkish-Israeli nuclear weapons blackmarketing network in the US. A third Sunday Times article focused on the links between the Plame Affair and Brewster Jennings--also involved with the investigation of illicit sales of American nuclear weapons secrets. Lauria discusses the FBI's complaint to the Sunday Times , something that Luke mentioned in an article last week. Both Luke and Lauria discuss the American media's reluctance to report on Turkish crimes, such as its heavy involvement in narcotics trafficking and nuclear black-marketing. Is the US media being strong-armed by the FBI, as it attempted to do with the Sunday Times, or is someone else behind the enforcement of a code of silence over Turkey's involvement in these kinds of shady businesses? Luke brings up Lauria's contention that the American media never looks at the American system as rotten, and points out that Americans easily believe that politicians in other countries are corrupt. Later in the interview, there's a discussion of the lack of effort on the part of congressmen like Grassley and Waxman--as well as Leahy--to fulfill their promises to hold hearings into Sibel's case. In this case, we might ask who is strong-arming these congressmen? The FBI or someone else? Who might that someone else be? Peter B. Collins notes that there has been no US objection to Turkish military operations in South Kurdistan but, of course, the US, along with Israel, has been providing Turkey with intelligence in those operations and permitted Turkish aircraft to enter Iraqi airspace to conduct bombing operations. Apparently, former US Senator Mike Gravel suggested that Turkish involvement with the passing of American nuclear secrets to Pakistan was a way for Turkey to get The Bomb for itself. Another subject touched on in the interview is that of the neocons' active involvement in military sales to Turkey and Israel, like Richard Perle , is because the neocons "have their hand in the till." Go listen; it's easier than reading. Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:55:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=68970394 2008-08-26T03:55:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=68997604 Hello all, We are in Adelaide at the moment. The end of warped was sad but joyous. We got to meet so many... Tue, 26 Aug 2008 01:25:15 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=68997604 2008-08-26T01:25:15Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=68873066 in post neue töne (385): ryland bouchard from das klienicum . Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:33:59 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=68873066 2008-08-25T09:33:59Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=68873067 in post neue töne (385): ryland bouchard from das klienicum . Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:33:49 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=68873067 2008-08-25T09:33:49Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=68806601 Hamiltons kept in touch with the front runners with their comprehensive win over lowly Tygerberg. Sun, 24 Aug 2008 14:23:29 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=68806601 2008-08-24T14:23:29Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=68438915 "Sometimes the things we have to do are objectionable in the eyes of others." ~ Richard Perle. Luke Ryland adds to the discussion begun here in July, on the varieties of treason, looking at Richard Perle's involvement in a consortium of Kazakhistani and South Kurdistani oil. One interesting item to note is that the Prince of Darkness denied involvement in Doug Feith's lobbying company, International Advisors, Inc. (IAI). At the time, Feith was a registered foreign agent representing Turkey in matters having to do with "U.S.-Turkey defense industrial cooperation." The time frame for IAI's existence coincided with the period leading up to the "Clean Break" strategy: In 1996, a group of American neoconservatives participated in a study group organized by the Israel-based Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies. The group produced a paper entitled "A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm," which advocated an ambitious set of policies aimed at ensuring Israel's security. Although originally directed at Israel's then-incoming Likud government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, the ideas discussed in the paper parallel to a remarkable degree U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, which has resulted in disastrous consequences for American interests in and out of the region. It's time for the Bush administration to make a clean break with this flawed strategy and to implement a new policy that promotes peace and security in the Middle East. Members of the "Clean Break" study group included Douglas Feith, Richard Perle , David Wurmser, Meyrav Wurmser, and several other like-minded ideologues, many of whom would later be given posts in the administration of President George W. Bush . Among the paper's more salient points was the argument that " Israel can shape its strategic environment, in cooperation with Turkey and Jordan, by weakening, containing, and even rolling back Syria. This effort can focus on removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq-an important objective in its own right-as a means of foiling Syria's regional ambitions. " The authors also encouraged Israel to seize the initiative on its northern borders, "engaging Hezbollah, Syria, and Iran as the principal agents of aggression in Lebanon." If striking military targets in Lebanon proved insufficient, Israel should feel free to strike at "select targets in Syria proper." To justify the new policy, Israel was counseled to remind the world that "Syria repeatedly breaks its word" (emphasis in the original). Finally, the paper considered it "both natural and moral" for Israel to abandon the idea of a "comprehensive peace," move to contain Syria, draw attention to Syria's weapons programs, and reject "land for peace" deals on the Golan Heights. Feith went on to become the number three civilian in the Department of Defense under Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz. Perle served as an assistant secretary of defense from 1981 to 1987, during which time he made himself conspicuous by his willingness to accept bribes and involve himself in conflicts of interest. From 2001 to 2003, Perle served as the chairman of the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee. The Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee is supposed to: . . . serve the public interest by providing the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary and Under Secretary for Policy with independent, informed advice and opinion concerning major matters of defense policy. It will focus upon long-term, enduring issues central to strategic planning for the Department of Defense and will be responsible for research and analysis of topics, long or short range, addressed to it by the Secretary of Defense, Deputy Secretary and Under Secretary for Policy. Conflict of interest appears to be Perle's middle name. No wonder that Perle distances himself from his business deals which, coincidentally--or not--benefit from the foreign policies that he's involved with pushing on the rest of the world. That is known as a conflict of interest. Perle is consistent because, as with IAI, so now with Perle's business dealings in the Kazakhstani/South Kurdistani oil consortium. Perle denies any involvement with a business deal that sets him up to benefit from the very foreign policies he has been instrumental in implementing. Now, I'll let Luke Ryland tell the rest of the story: ************ In 1989, the Wall Street Journal reported that Richard Perle and Douglas Feith had set up a lobbying company called International Advisors Inc [IAI] to lobby for "appropriation of U.S. military and economic assistance’ to Turkey."" When news of the $600,000 per annum contract got too hot to handle, Perle and Feith folded IAI and helped establish the American Turkish Council (ATC) to accomplish the same goals, but with a more respectable veneer. Now, nineteen years later, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Richard Perle is "exploring going into the oil business in Iraq and Kazakhstan" with a "consortium founded by Turkish company AK Group International... Potential backers include two Turkish companies as well as Kazakhstan." Richard Perle issued a strange-sounding denial to the Wall Street Journal that he is involved with these latest oil projects, although he also issued a similarly " bizarre " denial to the 1989 WSJ article which reported on his consulting company IAI. The WSJ continues : "AK's chief executive is Aydan Kodaloglu, who, like Mr. Perle, has been involved with the American Turkish Council, an advocacy group in Washington." In fact, according to her bio on the AK Group website, Kodaloglu "serves as a Board Member of the American Turkish Council." The ATC, established by Perle et al as a " sister organization " to AIPAC, was often caught on wiretaps heard by former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds. She described the ATC as a "front for criminal activity." The ATC has been under surveillance by both the FBI and the CIA since at least 1996, in part because of suspected involvement in drug trafficking, public corruption and involvement in a nuclear black market procurement ring, but more importantly because of involvement in the 'great game' of the vast energy fields in Central Asia including Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Investigative journalist John Stanton has written extensively about the connections between Central Asia and many of the 'associations' in the US, including the ATC, and others such as the American Azerbaijan Chamber of Commerce (AACC) and the US Kazakhstan Business Association (UKBA). Stanton argues that: "While the ATC is an Association in name and in charter, the reality is that it and other affiliated Associations are the US government." (emphasis in original) Perle's partner in this enterprise, the AK Group is an "international consulting" group whose two other directors are Murat Akay who works "Turkish companies interested in establishing joint ventures with U.S. and Israeli enterprises" and Fehmi Sait Hurol who is "involved in various cultural activities and exchange programs between Turkey and the U.S." Interestingly, Sibel Edmonds has previously referred to "organization(s) supposed to be promoting the cultural affairs of a certain country within another country" as front groups for organized crime networks. Given the connections here, it would not be surprising if Mr Hurol and the AK Group are one such front group. In my recent article " The Central Asia Islamization Cocktail: Mosques, Madrassas, Heroin & Terrorism " I quoted former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds describing the use of Turkish operatives and front groups to gain "control of Central Asia, particularly the oil and gas wealth, as well as the strategic value of the region." Sibel said: "This started more than a decade-long illegal, covert operation in Central Asia by a small group in the US intent on furthering the oil industry and the Military Industrial Complex, using Turkish operatives, Saudi partners and Pakistani allies, furthering this objective in the name of Islam. "This is why I have been saying repeatedly that these illegal covert operations by the Turks and certain US persons dates back to 1996, and involves terrorist activities, narcotics, weapons smuggling and money laundering, converging around the same operations and involving the same actors. "And I want to emphasize that this is "illegal" because most, if not all, of the funding for these operations is not congressionally approved funding, but it comes from illegal activities. "And one last thing, take a look at the people in the State Secrets Privilege Gallery on my website and you will see how these individuals can be traced to the following; Turkey, Central Asia, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia - and the activities involving these countries." Richard Perle is listed in Sibel's State Secrets Privilege Gallery , and now we see him attempting to profit from his ATC connections by entering into an oil deal in Kazakhstan and Iraq, two decades after the WSJ first reported on the early phases of this criminal enterprise. Meanwhile, the US media is mostly silent on the key issues again. Despite even the most mainstream WSJ reporting on Perle's recent dealings, including the importance of Turkey and the American Turkish Council, the rest of the media is asleep at the wheel, completely ignoring, or whitewashing, these important elements of the story. Perhaps investigative reporter Joe Lauria said it best last week. "Centrism is the philosophy of the American media - and that essentially backs the status quo, when you're a centrist, and this game of objectivity that they play is really limited by parameters that you're allowed to ask questions and to investigate and in a sense then you're transmitting these assumptions, and reinforcing every day that the US is really a functioning democracy, not even a representative democracy. And as we know of course there are oligarchic interests that buy off Congress, that puts the person in the Whitehouse that they need..." ************ The original can be read at Luke's place, Let Sibel Edmonds Speak , and at DailyKos Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=68438915 2008-08-21T04:00:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=68438638 Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:41:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=68438638 2008-08-21T03:41:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=68402513 CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Zacks.com releases details on a group of stocks that are currently members of the exclusive Zacks #5 Rank List – Stocks to Sell Now. Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:58:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=68402513 2008-08-20T19:58:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=68362419 Learn how to sidestep the pitfalls of the homebuilding industry. Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:18:50 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=68362419 2008-08-20T14:18:50Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=68284649 Like an endless pitcher of margarita mix, This Is Ivy League’s self-titled debut album is a summer essential, and just as refreshing. The album is less beachy than the steel drums of Vampire Weekend, but plenty summery enough to listen to at cookouts while a rogue beetle crisps in your citronella candle. It takes all [...] Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:56:01 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=68284649 2008-08-19T19:56:01Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=68286189 This is SATURN (although SATAN may be a better name), it is the winning entry in the “Grand Challenge” competition, launched by the MoD in 2006 to produce a vehicle capable of identifying threats encountered by UK troops on current operations. Entrants could be autonomous flying or ground vehicles capable of identifying threats such as marksmen, vehicles mounted with heavy weapons, IED's, Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:47:00 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=68286189 2008-08-19T19:47:00Z http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=68165950 A special round-up this afternoon, featuring bloggy memories of Manny Farber: “What I found, and find, most valuable in his criticism is his ability to apprehend the entirety of a film—he got it from every angle,” writes Glenn Kenny. “I doubt that Farber was particularly surprised by Godard’s Breathless, because his criticism actively anticipated that film.” “To [...] Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:29:40 GMT http://www.wikio.com/search/Ryland?rinfoid=68165950 2008-08-18T22:29:40Z