And the agit prop distraction of the harsh comic Borat is only the tip of the iceberg.
Borat really IS being promoted to condition geographically ignorant Americans to think of him when they see the word 'Kazahkstan.'
Kazakhstan is newly married into the US-Anglo Oil Empire.
>Yet another CIA scandal will come to a head January 16, 2007 over the former president of the U.S.-U.S.S.R. Trade and Economic Council being used to bribe the dictator of Kazakhstan with $84 million to get at Caspian Sea oil and gas.
>That dictator was just hosted at the Bush family compound, visited Tony Blair, and even the Queen of England. Birds of a feather.
>Kazakhstan just hired the ex-CEO of the UK's equivalent of the Carlyle Group, 'BAE.'
And we're looking at a movie comic instead. DOH!
Betcha more Americans have heard about an Albanian village suing Borat for $30 million than the oil war bribe to Kazakhstan of $84 million.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... rrer=email
With Kazakh's Visit, Bush Priorities Clash
Autocrat Leads an Oil-Rich Country
By Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 29, 2006; Page A01
President Bush launched an initiative this month to combat international kleptocracy, the sort of high-level corruption by foreign officials that he called "a grave and corrosive abuse of power" that "threatens our national interest and violates our values." The plan, he said, would be "a critical component of our freedom agenda."
Three weeks later, the White House is making arrangements to host the leader of Kazakhstan, an autocrat who runs a nation that is anything but free and who has been accused by U.S. prosecutors of pocketing the bulk of $78 million in bribes from an American businessman. Not only will President Nursultan Nazarbayev visit the White House, people involved say, but he also will travel to the Bush family compound in Maine.
(.....)
Nazarbayev visited the Bush White House in 2001 -- before the Justice Department filed a case in 2003 alleging that he had taken bribes and before the president issued a 2004 proclamation banning corrupt foreign officials from visiting the United States. A State Department official said hundreds of foreign officials have been denied visas under Bush's proclamation but could not explain how it would not apply in Nazarbayev's case.
U.S. prosecutors have charged businessman James H. Giffen with steering $78 million in bribes to Nazarbayev and one of his former prime ministers in the 1990s in exchange for influence in oil transactions. In addition to cash transferred to secret Swiss bank accounts, Nazarbayev, originally identified in court papers simply as "KO-2," allegedly received two snowmobiles, an $80,000 speedboat, fur coats for his wife and daughter, and tuition for his daughter at a Swiss boarding school and later George Washington University.
Giffen's attorneys have argued that he is not guilty because his actions were sanctioned by the U.S. government. Giffen says he disclosed his activities to agencies including the CIA and was encouraged to continue for national security reasons. The Justice Department is appealing a court decision allowing the defense. The case is scheduled to go to trial Jan. 16.
The Eurasion Media Forum in Kazkhstan involves the biggest western media plus local media since 2001 all planning how to propagandize the energy game in play there.
I think Borat or atleast his visibility is a related project.
http://www.eamedia.org/about
The page with the report on Clark's and Perle's joint appearance isn't there anymore but it caused quite a ruckus over at DemocraticUnderground.com when it was exposed-
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=1719537&mesg_id=1719537
General Wesley Clark and Richard Perle made a joint appearance at a huge Eurasion Media Conference in Kazahkstan back in April 2004 to jointly assure the leaders in the Caspian Sea oil and gas that 'the US would stay the course in Iraq so stick with us.'
General Clark even said 'Iraq was not Vietnam.' I'm not kidding. This was reported in a Scottish paper.
Found a Google cached version. (Search yourself. I'm not putting my IP up in the link.)
US FORCES SHOULD INTERVENE IN DARFUR, SUDAN – GEN. WESLEY CLARK
Almaty, Kazakhstan, April 23 – The United States should intervene militarily to stop the killing in the Darfur province of Sudan, General Wesley Clark told a media conference in Kazakhstan.
“US forces with a [United Nations] mandate and adequate cover should go in and stop the ethnic cleansing and genocide in Darfur,” he said in answer to a question. “It has gone on long enough. Enough is enough. It must stop.”
General Clark, former Supreme Allied Commander Europe and a Democrat contender in the last US presidential election, was taking part in a question-and-answer session at the fourth annual Eurasian Media Form in Almaty. He shared the platform with Richard Perle, former US Assistant Secretary of Defense and an adviser to the Bush and other Republican administrations.
Perle said he agreed with General Clark on Darfur and added that the United States should also have taken action in Rwanda in the 1990s.
At that time the US was hindered by United Nations rules which limited the right to intervene to cross-border conflicts. “We need to modernise the United Nations,” he said. “It is a tragedy every time we stand by and ignore… the killing of innocents.”
On Iraq, General Clark rejected any comparison with the Vietnam War. He said he had expected the military campaign to oust Saddam Hussein to be swift but admitted he had not anticipated the scale of the insurgency afterwards.
“However, I still believe this is a policy that can work,” he said. “I think we should talk to other powers in the region, saying that a stable democratic Iraq is in their interests and that it is not in their interests to fan the insurgency.”
Asked whether the armed forces of “the American Empire” were stretched too thinly, General Clark said the real power of the United States was the power of its ideas, that people are created equal and that they should play a part in choosing their own governments.
“The United States is in no sense an empire: it is the custodian of a set of ideas that are spreading around the world… and will make it safer for all of us.”
Talking about the post-Cold War era, General Clark said he believed the expansion of NATO eastwards should bring a sense of stability and order to Russia’s borders. “There is no reason why Russia itself cannot become a member of NATO at some point...” he said. “I hope one day it will be a member.”
Richard Perle was asked about the possibility of US military action against Iran or North Korea.
* On Iran, he said: “I do not expect military action in Iran. I do not believe it would serve any useful purpose. I hope the people of Iran will find their own voice and appoint their own government – not allow themselves to be run by a bunch of mullahs with dictatorial powers who robbed them of the last election.”
· On North Korea, he said: “The government of North Korea is a brutal dictatorship. I wish we had the capacity to end all brutal dictatorships, but obviously we don’t… Given the devastation that has been wrought by successive dictators in North Korea, it might collapse under its own weight…”
From above DU link to Eurasian Media Forum link-
12.04 / 19:41 | 18 US experts, Clark and Perle, to speak at Eurasian Media Forum
Almaty. April 12. KAZINFORM. The leading US experts – General Wesley Clark and Political Advisor of the US Administration Richard Perle- will attend the upcoming April 21-23 Eurasian Media Forum in Almaty. The two will discuss problems of interrelation between East and West, will consider issues of global politics and role of mass media in its formation.
General Clark, former Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, was the presidential candidate from Democratic Party at 2004 elections. He will make a speech titled ‘Political globalization: new opportunities and new threats’ and will debate issues connected to political globalization and role of mass media in the process.
Richard Perle is the leading political advisor of Bush Administration. An authoritative expert on national security and regional conflicts, he occupied posts of assistant of US Defense Minister under President R. Reagan, and of chairman of Defense and Policy Council in Bush Administration. His speech is about problems of coverage of terrorist acts.
Eurasian Media Forum is a nongovernmental organization, established 2001 in Kazakhstan. Its purpose is to assist the development of free and open dialogue of politicians, journalists and experts on contemporary world problems, and the role of mass media in covering them.
More 400 delegates are expected to participate in the forum.
Two weeks later Clark and Perle made a joint appearance before the House Armed Services Committee pretending to be opponents over Iraqwhile 'Clarkies' cheered their boy on all over DemocraticUndergound's discussion board.
Total domestic theater and internet psy-ops. For Caspian Sea oil and gas.
Just like Borat.
Aha. A Google cached version from the Eurasian Media Forum site where you can really see the level of deception and London is involved, too. Um, Borat is from where?
US STRATEGISTS TARGET CENTRAL ASIA
Almaty, Kazakhstan, March 2005 - Two leading American strategists, General Wesley K. Clark and Richard Perle, will tackle East-West issues - and underline US interest in Central Asia - at the annual Eurasian Media Forum (EAMF) here in April.
As keynote speakers, they will examine global policy questions and the impact of media reporting during the three-day conference (April 21-23) in Kazakhstan's commercial capital.
More details>>>
TRADITIONAL MEETING WITH JOURNALISTS IN LONDON ON THE EVE OF THE 4TH EURASIAN MEDIA FORUM
Almaty, Kazakhstan, April 2005 - On the eve of the 4th Eurasian Media Forum, which will take place in Almaty on 21-23 April 2005, the Kazakh Embassy in London held a traditional meeting with British and foreign journalists, including those who are going to attend the conference in Kazakhstan.
The meeting on 7th April was attended by members of the London team of EAMF and journalists from the Financial Times, Times, Daily Telegraph, Economist, Bloomberg News, Dow Jones, Observer, India Monitor, Singapore Straits Times, Global Agenda Magazine, News Desk Communications, Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma, BBC, Al Jazeera International, ITAR TASS et al.
The meeting was held in a friendly environment, hosted by the Foreign Press Association, an independent and authoritative British media institution which has over 700 members representing more than 1,000 newspapers, magazines, TV and radio companies, news agencies and media organisations from 70 countries across the world.
Yerlan Idrisov, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the UK, and Sue Philips, head of the EAMF team in London, thanked the journalists for the interest they had shown in the Almaty Forum, and told them about the agenda of the forthcoming meeting and the delegates. The journalists expressed wishes for the success of the Forum, with informative and friendly debates on a highly topical agenda.
EXHIBITION:"TERRORISM AND DRUGS: THREAT TO CIVILISATION"
Almaty, Kazakhstan, April 2005 - As part of the 4th Eurasian Media Forum in Almaty on 21-23 April, the Russian International News Agency RIA Novosti is staging a photo exhibition on drugs, terror and the rehabilitation of child addicts.
The first part of the display, titled 'Terrorism and Drugs: Threat to Civilisation', portrays the challenge of international terrorism and drug addiction to societies around the world, and also drug dealings counteraction in Russia.
Graphic photographs capture the consequences of terror attacks in the US, Turkey, Dagestan, Chechnya, Moscow, Beslan and other locations around the world, conveying the message that terrorism is a transnational phenomenon and should be fought against by the entire international community.
Other photographs depict the efforts made by the Russian law-enforcement authorities to stop drugs being brought into Russia or transiting through its territory.
The second part of the exhibition is devoted to drawings made by children receiving treatment at Kvartal, the Moscow Children's and Teenagers' Rehabilitation Centre. This is the only special government-owned organisation in Moscow rendering medical, psychological and social assistance to children and teenagers abusing toxic substances such as alcohol and drugs.
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my original post about Borat as agit prop which is subset of the Kazakhstan/Oil connection -
Jeff locked and moved a thread about the movie 'Borat' to the Fire Pit here -
http://rigorousintuition.ca/board/viewtopic.php?t=9268
There is more comment on Borat in this thread titled 'Is This Racist?'-
http://rigorousintuition.ca/board/viewtopic.php?t=9272
Perhaps read those two threads some and bring an opinion back here?
Exercise for RI: Discuss this popular and thus important movie AMICABLY and POLITELY. Can we do it? Ignore any chance to insult or accuse, please.
*crossing fingers*...*distinguish all smoking materials responsibly*
Jeff has a benign view of 'Borat' and also thinks it is important.
I agree with its importance but wonder about the 'intentions' ascribed to 'Borat.'
Jeff's take -
Borat holds a mirror to America, not Khazakistan. People who don't like what they see, won't much like it. Or some guy named Cohen. Which is why it's important. as well as funny.
Are (actor) Cohen's personal intentions the same as the effect on the audience and what exactly is that effect? THAT'S my inquiry.
Are the intentions of those releasing this hit movie the same as the man playing Borat?
I'm interested in whether or not the movie was intentionally meant to sow ill will and division with MIXED MESSAGES.
I've noticed that 'Borat' is loaded with double-edged offensiveness, sometimes skewering bigots and sometimes skewering innocent people in other countries which is a form of bigotry, isn't it? Hmm. Can be rather confusing and cause people to see what they are predisposed to see, a polarizing effect.
Isn't this what I said was behind replacing Dave Chapelle with crass stereotype-humorist Carlos Mencia? (I called him scornfully 'Carlos Men-CIA' only because the CIA specializes in mass psychology and demoralization though confusion, not because I think Carlos gets a paycheck from Langley, Prof Pan. Still, check his 401k. lol.)
Isn't Borat's shtick clever agit(ation) prop(aganda)?
Isn't this meant to either create or reinforce stereotypes in the guise of condemning
exactly that?
Isn't this exactly what 'V for Vendetta' did, too, irritate 'both sides?'
Is this what is now going to pass for 'amusing?'
Isn't this a way to divide and conquer people using psychological warfare embedded in 'entertainment?'
Isn't this designed to cause people to argue and especially on internet discussion boards?!!