> > Hello-- > This whole story about US dealers and collectors attempting to > hijack Iraqi art is just a bit fishy. What are the names of these dealers > and collectors, and what exactly are they saying? Might this not just be > another case of US-bashing by Brits? I remember how it was repeated in the > UK as absolute gospel that the insurance settlement for Bhopal was going > to bankrupt the insurance industry--only no settlement had been made at > that time. > If there really is such a threat to Iraq's cultural treasures, > there should be a rigorous and complete exposure of those involved in such > an attempt. If this is a baseless rumor, that should be exposed also. Do a bit of web browsing research on the American Council for Cultural Policy (ACCP) - what I found is that they seem to pop up all over the place, often allied with other cultural/historical/archaeological groups calling for the protection of antiquities and so on (e.g. Afghanistan), offering expertise in conservation and preservation etc. Then, every now and then you come across their various calls for the removal*l of "retentionist" laws and regulations hindering the free movement of antiquities and the revision the Cultural Property Implementation Act in order to minimise efforts by foreign nations to block the import into the US of objects, particularly antiques. This seems to be an ongoing lobbying activity of theirs in Washington. They also seem to include and have access to some fairly influential figures. So take a look yourself and see what conclusions you come to. tim PS - the meeting in question also seems to have been reported in other places outside the UK at the time it took place. ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).