constructive dissent, rescinded the decision, following pressure

* you might remember that sibel often points to banks in cyprus and malta and of course dubai as being particularly dodgy - i suspect that's where our friends do most of their laundry. I wonder if those banks are non-SWIFT - in which case, the SWIFT spying would only pick up legitimate transactions, not terrorist financing.

* speaking of sibel, there's this:

"Armenian Americans across the U.S. will be closely following the Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearings for U.S. Ambassador to Armenia nominee Richard Hoagland, in hopes of gaining concrete insight into the exact nature of the State Department’s policy of complicity in Armenian Genocide denial - particularly as it relates to the firing of the current U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Marshall Evans, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
[]
Amb. Evans, who first took on his post in August 2004, spoke openly and honestly about the Armenian Genocide in community briefings in San Francisco, and other cities in February 2005. The Ambassador was later forced by State Department leaders to twice recant his statement. The American Foreign Service Association, set to award Amb. Evans with the Christian A. Herter Award for constructive dissent, rescinded the decision, according to the Washington Post, following pressure from State Department officials.
[]
On June 9th, ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian, urged Senate Foreign Relations Committee members to demand the truth about the Evans firing prior to confirming his replacement. “The U.S. Senate cannot, in good conscience, approve the nomination of a new ambassador to Armenia until the circumstances of the current envoy's highly controversial firing are fully, officially, and openly explained to Congress and the American people,” stated Hachikian. More broadly, the Administration needs to honestly explain its policies concerning the Armenian Genocide. This is especially true given that serious questions remain unanswered concerning the role that the Turkish Government played in Ambassador Evans' firing.”"

(action items here)

let me repeat that:

"The American Foreign Service Association, set to award Amb. Evans with the Christian A. Herter Award for constructive dissent, rescinded the decision, according to the Washington Post, following pressure from State Department officials. "

only in america...