I would just like to offer, that on the whole we seem not to have learned, that as a group we seem to be going off without full information just as much as we did at the first reports. The situation appears to remain very complex, with museums outside Baghdad indeed being fully looted, and many very important, never mind priceless, items missing from all museums (and, in terms of archives, a huge loss, for as historians know, beautiful Korans are all well and good, but records of daily life yield more history). If you were in the shoes of those curators, in the violent and chaotic situation they found themselves in, what do you think you would have done, and when do you think you would have felt safe in revealing the whereabouts of what you'd hidden?

Carolyn Breedlove

Natchitoches, Louisiana

----- Original Message -----

From: [log in to unmask] href="mailto:[log in to unmask]">Indigo Nights

To: [log in to unmask] href="mailto:[log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]

Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2003 7:31 AM

Subject: Re: All is not lost in Baghdad Museums...

Deb, I don't want to get into the politics of it all here, but we, as Americans, have no room to talk about deception.

Until we can account for how many weapons of mass destruction have been found in the same timeframe we allowed the UN inspectors to look (only we had weapons of individual and cluster destruction to assist us in our search), we have no room whatsoever to question the integrity of others. If you're not following the ever increasing public sentiment that something smells rotten, and it's not in Denmark, then do a little query on http://news.google.com and see how many are now questioning our own involvement and what the CIA is saying about pressure to generate deceiptful information from on high (as in #2 in command and his Neocon cronies).

It was, after all, only 33 priceless artifacts than can never be replaced. But I think I recently read it was something like 3,000+ priceless human beings of Iraqi descent, and I don't know the number of precious American soldiers that were sacrificed for this folly. When we can match the number of WMD to artifacts lost, we may have room to talk.

If we have a responsibility to be truthful as museum folks, then the whole story must be told and not just the one that makes us feel good.

And lest I get zapped by Patriot II, that's enough of that conversation. Those of you who have documents involving he US Constitution, preserve, protect, and or hide them if you must. There's an effort underfoot to destroy it.

Oh, and while I'm thinking about it, only as an aside, in the fall, in the Grand Central Library on 5th Street in Los Angeles (between Grand and Flower), many treasures from the National Archives will be on exhibit. Specifically, on December 5-8, the original Emancipation Proclamation will be on display. The exhibit is called American Originals. The library is looking for volunteers to assist (I have signed up and will be taking the requisite training in September), and you can find more information by going to http://www.lapl.org .

For that matter, incidentally, the library is also hiring. I've posted at least one or more opportunities on MuseJobs in the last 48 hours.

Someday, in the future, this will be a very interesting time to chronicle on paper and to document in exhibits throughout the world.

It will be interesting to see how the correction lens of history will frame these issues.

Deb Fuller <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

If it turns out that the museum professionals in question lied to make the
troops look bad and to further their own agendas, then I think ICOM and UNESCO
as well as the rest of the museum community, should call for them to step down
and never allow them in a museum again. The public might not care but we
should. It affects our own integrity as museum professionals and sends a
message to the community that it's okay to twist information around for our own
gains.

This isn't limited to hiding artifacts but presenting information in general.
If we excuse deliberate deception, will we also excuse misinformation in
exhibits or when publishing research? If the public isn't disallusioned with us
now, how will they fell about us after a few more cases of deliberate
misinformation have been uncovered?

Deb

__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Calendar - Free online calendar with sync to Outlook(TM).
http://calendar.yahoo.com

=========================================================
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).

Indigo Nights
[log in to unmask]

Looking for a Job? Try Got Links?, Your One-Stop Portal
http://victorian.fortunecity.com/stanmer/414 ========================================================= 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).

========================================================= 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).