Talk:Emma Sky

sources removed from article but potentially useful
92.0.244.110's edits have mostly been reverted (per WP:NPOV), but they did add links to some potentially useful sources. I can't check them right now, so I've moved them here for other people's use.


 * http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1303/17/fzgps.01.html and http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2013/03/16/exp-gps-sky-sot.cnn.html were both placed at the end of the paragraph about Sky serving as Political Advisor to Ray Odierno.

>
 * http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jul/16/inside-iraq-emma-sky was also added, but essentially only as a source for stating that the interview exists. — Preceding unsigned comment added by AKiwiDeerPin (talk • contribs) 11:38, 1 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Original piece included unsubstantiated material from Emma Sky's own puff. Be aware that serious questions were asked about this individual by The Iraq Enquiry in UK relating to how on earth she managed to infiltrate the upper echelons of the US military without any reporting lines to eg The US State Department or The British Government. It is not clear whence she sprung either so it seems inappropriate to include vague statements she has penned herself for CV blurbs about what she claims to have been doing over the previous decade with un-named 'nongovernmental organisations'. 'Pear-shaped Comedy' is one of the authoritative observer organisations monitoring The Iraq Enquiry. Their animation of evidence accurately reflects the testimony that was given by Emma Sky.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.244.110 (talk) 12:15, 1 March 2014 (UTC)
 * Please support your claims with WP:RS. Jim1138 (talk) 12:17, 1 March 2014 (UTC)

WHO IS SYSTEMATICALLY DELETING TESTIMONY GIVEN UNDER OATH BY SKY TO THE IRAQ INQUIRY CHAIRED BY SIR JOHN CHILCOTT WHICH IS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN FOLLOWING DECLASSIFICATION? PLEASE DESIST AND RESTORE DELETIONS. CHILCOTT IS THE OFFICIAL UK ENQUIRY INTO THE CONDUCT OF THE IRAQ WAR. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.245.24 (talk) 03:41, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

http://www.pearshapedcomedy.com/Kurdistan_goes_Pear_Shaped_with_Emma_Sky.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.245.24 (talk) 03:49, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

http://www.iraqinquiry.org.uk/media/52057/Sky-2011-01-14-S1-declassified.pdf — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.245.24 (talk) 03:44, 3 March 2014 (UTC)


 * The Chilcott Inquiry testimony is probably a sound source for information for this article, but material copy-pasted directly from it is not suitable. If Sky talks about something in her testimony that you believe should be added to the article feel free to write it up in an appropriate format (attempting to keep to a neutral point of view. Given past edits to this article,, I would suggest posting here first so that the material can be discussed. (As I mentioned before, a comedy club website is unlikely to be considered a reliable source for this purpose. If, as said before, their content reflects her testimony, then her testimony alone will likely be source enough.) --AKiwiDeerPin (talk) 04:29, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

and what on earth is "development and conflict management resolution" (sic) ? it is nonsense. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.245.24 (talk) 06:19, 3 March 2014 (UTC)


 * The phrase "conflict management resolution" comes from this interview, and since the phrase does not seem to be very commonly used I imagine it is a transcription error and should instead read either "conflict management/resolution" or possibly "conflict management and resolution". Since the piece of text that is in both her KCL and Yale profiles references only "conflict resolution", I'll be bold and change it to that, as it makes more sense but is still supported by a source. --AKiwiDeerPin (talk) 07:59, 3 March 2014 (UTC)

I suspect the phrase "conflict management resolution" is not 'a transcription error' ... it is a description offered up by Sky herself who runs such warm words together in some of her other witterings ... writings ... but OK you are going to 'be bold and change it to 'conflict resolution', as it makes more sense' :) .... but there is alas still no independent verification of her resolving any conflict at all ...!!

The entry opens with "Emma Sky is a British expert on the Middle East." ... but who says she is a British 'expert' apart from Emma Sky and her Wikipedia entry ... 'expert' implies some 'expertise' ... whereas 'commentator' is more neutral and appropriate since she still mouths off about the Middle East after her disastrous intervention in Iraq ... she is called up before the Iraq Enquiry not due to her 'expertise' but to account for the disaster and the missing billions ... which the US General Accounting Department are also investigating ... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.251.13 (talk) 11:00, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAo3K0cegDE#t=0 animated from actual testimony  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.251.13 (talk) 11:13, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

See: 'Iraq's lost billions'. Great BBC Panorama documentary about war profitering in Iraq which aired in June 2008 (describes how $23 BILLION is still missing) :( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZVAFssWtoI — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.251.13 (talk) 11:04, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

The Chilcott Inquiry testimony was given UNDER OATH ... the Inquiry's questions and her responses are quoted directly for that reason .... They should not be paraphrased - and indeed the 'Pear Shaped Comedy' analysis about which you are sceptical did not paraphrase as you are attempting to ... they use the ACTUAL words she speaks UNDER OATH in response to questions from THE OFFICIAL ENQUIRY SET UP BY THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT TO INVESTIGATE THE CONDUCT OF THE WAR AND ITS AFTERMATH. All that Pear Shaped Comedy add is animation and some explanation of context to help make sense of quite astonishing testimony which also clearly baffled members of the inquiry (all of whom are UK Privy Councillors)! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.251.13 (talk) 10:45, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

Emma Sky's is a very, very strange story ... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.251.13 (talk) 11:18, 4 March 2014 (UTC)
 * It's obvious that YOU are Pear Shaped Comedy and that you have an unhealthy and paranoid obsession with Emma Sky. Given your evident conflict of interest, please avoid editing at this page. Plot Spoiler (talk) 15:44, 4 March 2014 (UTC)

I am not 'Pear Shaped Comedy Group' - I don't have that kind of talent to animate the OFFICIAL IRAQ INQUIRY TRANSCRIPT using their software which appears to be called 'Extra Normal'. I suspect they are a London-based group monitoriing the Inquiry ... one of several ... their annotations explaining the context also incidentally seem to be extremely well-informed ......... so please stop making false assertions 'Plot Spoiler' (sic) about other editors who lack your own apparent 'unhealthy and paranoid obsession' with promoting Emma Sky on Wikipedia on the basis of unsupported evidence. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.251.13 (talk) 02:56, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

This is how she was introduced to an audience in Austin, Texas in 2013 by one of her Iraq War buddies: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLNikwL0X2Y — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.251.13 (talk) 03:26, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

I would also point out that in her serialised interview in The Guardian she claims to have been given advice prior to his departure by Sir John Sawyers - then with FCO - who is the current Head of MI6 and to have 'found a kindred spirit' in Lt Col Bill Mayville of the US 173rd Airborne Division. Mayville left Iraq under a cloud following an incident in which Turkomen prisoners were 'hooded' during an interrogation - there is a separate Wikipedia entry on that incident which led directly to unrest and caused a huge diplomatic furore. A long article in The New Yorker about Kirkuk during Ms Sky's time there also heavily criticised the Iraq Property Claims body she helped set up and included critical comments about her from Jalal Talabani - the Kurdish leader - who later becomes the President of Iraq. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.251.13 (talk) 04:03, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

http://www.mayanmajix.com/art499.html Article that mentions Lt Col Bill Mayville and Emma Sky in Kirkuk — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.251.13 (talk) 04:12, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jul/15/iraq-emma-sky-us-military — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.251.13 (talk) 04:14, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

George Packer's 'New Yorker' article describes the controversy surrounding Emma Sky and The Iraq Property Claims body she was involved with in Kirkuk which was criticised for partiality against the Kurds and for being administratively ineffective. This article also quotes the Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani's comment 'They call you Emma Bell' (a reference to Gertude Bell the 1930's British Iraqi colonial administrator) on his first meeting with Emma Sky. Talabani subsequently wins election as the first post-Saddam President of Iraq so his perspective on Sky is I suggest quite instructive and authoritative as is George Packer's assessment: http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/10/04/041004fa_fact?currentPage=all

Emma Sky on The Iraq War fiasco (in her own words) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb1BpofQfGA — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.251.13 (talk) 04:16, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

I suggest too that 'Plot Spoiler' listens to even the first few minutes of this academic asking Sky questions .... and note the very shifty response she offers in respect of her 'career' before 2003 ... there is no mention of any specific organisation she had worked for apart from British Council - where she was based in the East Jerusalem (Palestine) office .... but lived in the Israeli part of the city according to her former boss Dr Johnson  .......  British Consulate/BC  people in EJ did of course occasionally visit Gaza for meetings ..... but rarely stayed overnight I understand  ... Gaza is a hardship posting http://podcast.ulcc.ac.uk/accounts/SAScasts/women/Emma_Sky.mp3 The interview is part of a London University project: http://wandusfp.sas.ac.uk/tag/women-involved-in-us-foreign-policy/page/2/

The rest of the interview is all about her work with these US Generals after blaguing her way into a tent in Kirkuk with the US173rd Airborne Division where no doubt her linguistic skills - Arabic and Hebrew and British accent - got her past security ? What surprises me is that there were apparently no formal reporting lines to the UK authorities or it seems the US State Department according to her TESTIMONY TO THE OFFICIAL IRAQ WAR ENQUIRY though her name appears on 'intelligence' briefings to Bremer revealed by Wikileaks ..... that is indeed a bit surprising is it not? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.251.13 (talk) 04:52, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

"Arabs and Kurds, and Emma Sky" by 'Talismangate' who seems to be a Visiting Scholar at The Hudson Institute in Washington DC http://talismangate.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/arabs-and-kurds-and-emma-sky.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.251.13 (talk) 04:56, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

This is what he says: " The “Sky” I’m referring to is Emma Sky. I’ve been watching her rise for some time, and couldn’t tell whether this was a remarkably deft penetration of the American decision-making process courtesy of the ‘cousins’ across the pond, or that it was just an accident of history when mediocre characters, thrust into the eye of history, begin making irresponsible and ill-conceived choices. I’m still wavering between the two. Sky has maneuvered herself into becoming General Ray Odierno’s brain."

' Sky has been recently quoted as saying: “It is a fascinating society,” she said of Iraq. “They have got things here that we have totally lost in the West: the appreciation of each other, whether it is the family, the clan or the tribe; values that aren't capitalist.” How foolish is that? What toxic mix of cluelessness and self-righteousness is necessary to allow someone to string together these words? Is Emma Sky arguing for a pre-capitalistic society for Iraq? Where’s the sense of irony here? But I’ll hand it to her, she has been quite clever in rallying the ranks of her fellow travelers among the western media (think Tom Ricks), as well as the left-leaning think-tankers. She’s managed to manipulate them into adhering to a disciplined message about Iraq, one that is heavily colored by her politics.'

' But what really galls me is that she has the audacity to compare herself to Gertrude Bell. Apart from both of them being British, middle-aged and in a capacity to direct events in Iraq, there is really no way that Sky can measure up to Bell. I have a complex relationship to the latter: on the one hand I see how her personal biases negatively influenced her instincts, but on the other I’m awed by the intellectual heft and bravery she kept demonstrating. One of my favorite books is the Desert and the Sown, an account of Bell’s travel’s in what we’d now call the interior of the Levant around the turn of the century; a journey she undertook on her own. To me this book, one that is always handy for the leafing, is a testimony to how uniquely brilliant this lady was, a set of personal triumphs that one should think twice of before claiming them for themselves. And guess what? Emma Sky has her eye on greener pastures: the Rose Garden. That’s right, she wants to start working for the Obama administration. After a year or so away from the front line, Ms Sky will consider her next move. “I would love to go and work for the President in the White House,” she said, admitting that her favourite TV series was The West Wing. God help us all.'

Here's another take on Emma Sky by a blogger in New Zealand who seems to have encountered her in Palestine prior to 2003 and was not impressed ... he juxtaposes her Iraq testimony with some of her later interviews on 'Lessons to be learned': http://kjohnsonnz.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/emma-sky-banality-and-evil-of-imposed.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.251.13 (talk) 05:03, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

" I was both appalled and amused to read the story repeated below from the New York Times about Emma Sky. Emma and I met in February 2000 when I travelled to Jerusalem to take up the post of Director of the Public Administration Institutional Development Project for the supposedly then emerging state of Palestine. The project was being funded by the British Council. Emma had undertaken the pre-feasibility and stakeholder assessment work. The project proved to have been very poorly conceived. It did not have the approval of the Palestinian Ministry of Finance. Promises that the team would be located in Jerusalem (or Ramallah) were not honoured and Emma told the team members in peremptory terms that they were being based in Gaza. No cars were available with the diplomatic plates that were required to enter Israel from Gaza. No assistance whatsoever was provided with settling in the team. Emma, who was based in the Jewish sector of Jerusalem, appeared to have some very strange ideas about the Arabs and the Middle East. When I raised the possibility that I might seek the adoption of an orphaned / refugee Palestinian child, she told me that the Palestinians would kill me. On the other hand, she volunteered the view that 'the Israel - Palestine problem would be solved by inter-marriage'. As far as I could glean, she had absolutely no knowledge or experience in the fields of public sector reform and financial administration. However, she appeared to regard me as a nuisance and commented that 'I could do everything myself except that the Arabs won't always listen to a woman - unfortunately, that's why we need an old man with grey hair like you'. At that time I was 56 years old - I note that her current unfortunate collaborator General Odierno is 55 years old. She is the West at its absolute worst in the Middle East. Armed with selective facts but with little commonsense or common humanity, she sees herself as a Grand Design puppeteer who controls a masque populated by minatures. For God's sake General Odierno, talk to ordinary people yourself! Surely General, you don't need a 'cat has the cream / daddy's girl' English public school girl to tell you that bombing civilians is counter-productive? Robert Fisk must be seething - or quietly weeping into his coffee in a cafe on a Hamra sidewalk. " — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.251.13 (talk) 05:13, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

“WE ALL HAVE BLOOD ON OUR HANDS”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/mar/11/iraq-war-lessons-intervention?commentpage=1

[UK Guardian 11 March 2013]

As the Discussion on the above UK Guardian Article by Emma Sky ‘Closed’ at two hundred almost uniformly unfavorable Comments [almost as soon as the plasma settled on everyone's screen], I am going to have to repeat what she said – but I’ll juxtapose [in italics] extracts from her testimony to the Chilcot Committee Inquiry.

[See: http://www.iraqinquiry.org.uk/media/52057/Sky-2011-01-14-S1-declassified.pdf, Friday, 14th January 2011]

I still think it worth pounding the keyboards on this as it sums up the crass stupidity of the conception and implementation of the US-UK Invasion of Iraq.

If all this is just too tedious, see my articles of 25 April 2012:

http://kjohnsonnz.blogspot.co.nz/2012/04/girl-with-ming-lobotomy.html

and for the 28th November 2009:

http://kjohnsonnz.blogspot.co.nz/2009/11/from-new-york-times-november-2009.html "

NB as that blogger is a very experienced economist and anti-corruption expert based in New Zealand I would suggest his assessment is probably worth taking seriously ... and i don't think he is 'Pearshaped Comedy Group' in London either .... :)

And he's not me either just before you ask .... :)

Sky's Wikipedia entry also mentions she worked for US General 'Kip' Ward - who was demoted by US Defense Secretary Panetta for 'lavish expenditure' ..... her 'bios' also mention Petraeus who has appeared in at least one picture with Sky in the book 'The Gamble' by Tom Ricks (who is another buddy) ... Petraeus subsequently resigned in disgrace from his post as CIA Director ... Sky also was name-checked by US Deputy Defense Secretary Wolfowitz after a tour of Kirkuk .... he later became World Bank Chief ... before he resigned over another scandal .... :( http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/national/general-william-kip-ward-demoted-for-lavish-travel-and-spending NB 'Just saying!' :) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.251.13 (talk) 05:28, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

The British General Sky is most closely associated with is this guy Retired Lt Gen Graeme Lamb who she mentions in her Iraq Inquiry testimony and who keeps popping up when her name is Googled. He too is associated with Yale's Jackson Institute and was one of the speakers at the Oxford Changing Character of War seminars included in Sky's Wikipedia entry. This is a summary of his Sky seminar at Oxford: http://politicsinspires.org/talking-with-terrorists-a-qa-with-sir-graeme-lamb/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.251.13 (talk) 05:49, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

This is Sky's own version of what their 'inner, inner circle' was doing in the name of counterinsurgency and the so-called 'COIN Strategy' in Iraq (as told to The Guardian): 'An important part of the new campaign involved separating the people who might be persuaded to abandon violence, the so-called "reconcilables", from those who were not. The former would not be targeted by Special Forces operations, the latter could be.The men in charge of this were General Petraeus' deputy, Graeme Lamb, a former director of UK special forces, and the American General Stanley McChrystal.

"The irreconcilables were those people who essentially believed that you have to destroy the nation-state to build the caliphate. But you have to be really careful deciding who can be won over, and who can't. It meant we would have to start dealing with people we had been fighting and for any commander that is a very difficult thing to do. We couldn't afford to say 'we'll only deal with people as long as they haven't got blood on their hands'. We've all got blood on our hands," Sky says.

Referring to where he was going to put the "wedge", and who could be put in his "squeeze box", Lamb drew up "Restricted Target Lists" – the names and details of those Iraqis that could not be targeted in operations because they were talking to the military. McChrystal dealt with those who refused to compromise.

Once Odierno's plans had been endorsed by Petraeus, he and Sergeant Major Neil Ciotola travelled the length and breadth of Iraq to visit the troops and explain the new tactics. Sky was always at Odierno's side."

Not very nice ..... and not very effective either in the long run .... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.251.13 (talk) 05:58, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

NB American General Stanley McChrystal was fired for insubordination by President Obama after giving an ill-judged interview to 'Rolling Stone' magazine. He is now - like Emma Sky and retired General Graeme Lamb - a Senior Fellow at Yale's Jackson Institute too ..... it really is a small, small world, isn't it? ! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.251.13 (talk) 11:01, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

http://jackson.yale.edu/mcchrystal — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.251.13 (talk) 11:04, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

http://jackson.yale.edu/emma-sky-and-graeme-lamb-gateway-global-affairs Emma Sky and Graeme Lamb - in action - with four students at Yale's Jackson Institute — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.251.13 (talk) 11:11, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

Jackson Institute video interview with Lt Gen Graeme Lamb who teaches a course with Emma Sky who was part of their 'inner, inner circle' in Iraq: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DisfdGWKlgs — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.251.13 (talk) 11:08, 5 March 2014 (UTC)


 * I think it's relatively unlikely that you are the Pear Shaped Comedy Club, since your IPs have all been in Scotland, so I don't think we have any evidence that your edits would be a conflict of interest. The club site, however, is unlikely to be considered a reliable source for Wikipedia's purposes.

IN FACT IT IS A VERY RELIABLE SITE. BUT IF THAT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE THEN THE SOLUTION IS TO QUOTE THE OFFICIAL IRAQ ENQUIRY TRANSCRIPT WITHOUT THE USEFUL ANIMATIONS OF THE TEXT.


 * She only uses the phrase "conflict management resolution" in one place, where it is transcribed by someone else, so this phrase is evidence of nothing. (However, this is fairly irrelevant to this article.)

I THINK YOU'LL FIND THAT IS REPEATED. IT SEEMS STRANGE THAT SHE HAS NOT CORRECTED THAT IF IT IS AS YOU SURMISE 'A TRANSCRIPTION ERROR'? IT IS ON HER OWN DEPARTMENTAL WEBSITE :(


 * The Inquiry transcription should be accurately paraphrased if included in the article, because that is what Wikipedia does. If people wish to see the original, they can follow the link to it. That's why we have references. Quotations from it can be used, within reason and per certain rules. Simply pasting well over a thousand words directly from the transcript (or any source) is not appropriate or useful.

I HAVE TO DISAGREE. THE IRAQ WAR WAS THE BIGGEST FOREIGN POLICY EVENT OF THE LAST TWO DECADES AND EMMA SKY WAS CLEARLY A KEY PLAYER AND 'A MEMBER OF THE INNER, INNER CIRCLE' even though not many have ever heard of her so far .... despite the best efforts of Pear Shaped Comedy Unit and other groups observing The Iraq Enquiry. Remember that her evidence session was in secret and then quietly declassified some six months later ... it was not televised as were the sessions with other key witnesses such as Tony Blair, Alasdair Campbell or John Scarlett the MI6 Chief at the time. The Iraq Inquiry documentation is extensive and is taking years to produce its report because of the so-called 'Maxwellisation' process - and the reluctance of Government to release documents. I suspect it will be at least another year or two before the final report is released .... which is why witnesses such as Emma Sky are writing books in order to get their version of their story out first .... She has sold her story to a publisher and has optioned TV rights .... she's popped up on CNN as well .... always recycling the same stock phrases with minor variations ... 'there was an e-mail etc etc etc'


 * Your points about "expert"/"commentator": "who says she is 'a British expert'" - well, probably King's College, Oxford, Harvard, and Yale? She has been a visiting professor at KCL, a Fellow at Oxford and Harvard, and is currently a Senior Fellow at Yale (in the War Studies Department, the Changing Character of War Programme, the Kennedy School of Government, and the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, respectively), along with her work with various governments. KCL states her "Areas of expertise" include Middle East Politics, and Yale's Jackson Institute describes its Senior Fellows as "outstanding practitioners and experts in global affairs". I don't think it's a stretch to say she is considered an expert. It's probably impossible to objectively measure whether someone is "an expert" in something, and Wikipedia's aim is to include what is verifiable (that is, backed up by sources Wikipedia considers to be reliable).

AGAIN I HAVE TO DISAGREE. THERE ARE INTERNAL ENQUIRIES AND ETHICS ENQUIRIES IN BOTH HARVARD"S KENNEDY SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT AND DEPARTMENT OF WAR STUDIES AT KING"S COLLEGE LONDON INTO HOW GENERAL PETRAEUS"S MISTRESS WAS ADMITTED AND ALLOWED TO ENROLL FOR A PHD STUDYING THE GENERAL WITH WHOM SHE WAS HAVING AN AFFAIR IN IRAQ. THERE IS NO SUGGESTION THAT SKY WAS SIMILARLY COMPROMISED BUT HER DEPARTMENTS WERE/ARE AND SHE WAS PART OF THE SAME "INNER, INNER CIRCLE" IN IRAQ WITH PETRAEUS. The Changing Character of War Programme at Oxford was a seminar series Sky arranges .... she fixes up for some of the personalities she had worked with in Iraq to come and do seminars in Oxford ... and does the same at Harvard where there is a video of the seminar General Odierno gave if you are interested ... it is not exactly academic .... lots of 'Thank you for your service' etc - and members of the officer cadets as well as Iraq War veterans in the audience .... As for Yale: an excellent Ivy League School of course ... though George Bush was an alumnus ... but this Jackson Institute that Sky is attached to seems to be a home from home for again some of the right wing neo-conservative ex-military leaders in Iraq along with Sky herself and Graeme Lamb .... all studying and teaching kids about their Iraq War exploits. You just wouldn't get away with that in any reputable university in UK I suggest .... there is a process called 'Peer Review' in UK to decide who is 'expert' and who isn't ... opinionated yes ... 'expert' not a lot of evidence to draw that conclusion objectively ... so best to leave the word out and replace it I would suggest with 'commentator' which is certainly true ... she 'comments' .... that is absolutely true! "outstanding practitioners and experts in global affairs' is a marketing term I suggest ....

BOSTON GLOBE investigation into Harvard and King's College Department of War Studies lapses in respect of General Petraeus's mistress Paula Broadwell: http://www.boston.com/news/nation/2012/11/14/paula-broadwell-switched-her-phd-bid-from-harvard-british-college/u0uOkzdrm7q6x0leL2DyCM/story.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.251.13 (talk) 11:32, 5 March 2014 (UTC)


 * She does not seem to have been a "a desk clerk and a glorified fixer" with the British Council - she says her post was Governance Manager and involved managing projects around the world, a Guardian article states she was "an international development adviser" on issues such as human rights and governance, her profile(s) says she was "managing international development projects" on behalf of several major organisations. Descriptions of this work such as yours completely break Wikipedia's rule on writing with (what it considers to be) a neutral point of view and this is why things like this cannot be included in the article.

SHE SAYS .... SHE TELLS THE GUARDIAN .... HER PROFILE SAYS .... ie all single source - EMMA SKY herself ...... that is uncorroborated self-description .... 'several major [unspecified] organisations' .... 'international development adviser' ? where? when? which countries? dates? which organisations? the only verifiable part of all that is that she worked for The British Council as she confirmed on oath when giving testimony to The Iraq Inquiry. Her British Council role in Palestine is corroborated by Dr Johnson's blog reference to her role as fixer and backstopper ... though it seems she didn't do a great job there leaving his team without transport or number plates .... British Council is not a development organisation either .... it is a fairly dysfunctional cultural relations and propaganda arm of British Government .... the podcast interview Sky gives which you decline to listen to is revealing ... she only mentions British Council ... and she says explicitly that she was 'not involved in policy' .... 'fixer' is about right I suggest ... but in the absence of evidence or corroboration Wikipedia rules say 'leave it out'?!


 * Regarding your various links: Unfortunately I cannot listen to either of the videos or the podcast you linked to, so another editor listening to them would be useful. Context for the podcast would also be vital for it to be included in the article. The "Mayan Majix" page is a copy of this Newsweek article, which would be considered a reliable source, but does not actually talk about Emma Sky (it features twelve words commenting on an issue, saying nothing that would warrant inclusion in the article).

'REFEREEING HELL' IS ABOUT COL MAYFIELD AND EMMA SKY - THEY SHARE AN OFFICE .... THE IRAQ ENQUIRY EVIDENCE SHE GIVES ALSO COVERS THIS SAME PERIOD .... MAYFIELD IS THE BRIGADE COMMANDER SHE REFERS TO THERE .... HE IS RECALLED ... IN DISGRACE .... AFTER THE HOOD INCIDENT THAT UPSETS THE TURKS ... THERE IS A WIKIPEDIA ENTRY ON THAT INCIDENT AS WELL ..

The Guardian article is already included as a reference in this article, so I am not sure why you have linked to it. As for the first blog post, I cannot see anything in it that could be included in this article, and furthermore none of the blog posts would be considered acceptable sources, see Verifiability:
 * "Never use self-published sources as third-party sources about living people, even if the author is an expert, well-known professional researcher, or writer."

BUT ALL THE MATERIAL YOU ARE DESPERATELY TRYING TO RETAIN IS 'SELF PUBLISHED' BY EMMA SKY - directly or copied from her departmental websites ...


 * Actions of her superiors and other people she has been involved with, where there is no evidence of her involvement with these actions, are not relevant.

THE GUARDIAN ARTICLES CONFIRM (IN HER OWN WORDS) HER COMPLICITY AND INVOLVEMENT IN THE GRUESOME ANALYSIS OF BATTLEFIELD EVIDENCE AND HER ROLE IN DRAWING UP THE LISTS OF 'RECONCILABLES' [to be bought] and 'IRRECONCILABLES' [to be dispensable]. AGAIN NOTE THAT THE IRAQ INQUIRY IS QUASI JUDICIAL.


 * Since, as I've pointed out before and as is mentioned in the box at the top of this talk page, Wikipedia has strict rules around biographies of living people, I am going to ask the BLP noticeboard if anything posted here needs to be removed.

THAT SHOULD ALSO APPLY TO THE UNSUBSTANTIATED SELF AUTHORED MATERIAL ON SKY'S WIKIPEDIA ENTRY I SUGGEST.


 * (Also, just a reminder, sign your posts with ~ . The bot repeatedly editing the page to sign them makes the page's history more difficult to read.) --AKiwiDeerPin (talk) 07:12, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

Thank you for your retraction. I am not 'PEAR SHAPED COMEDY GROUP' - but their presentation of her evidence raises important questions. It deserves a wider audience. As does the now declassified evidence on which their account is very firmly based.

PS as for Harvard: have just googled 'Emma Sky' and 'Harvard' and found a very curious LinkedIn entry by someone who describes their affiliation as " Office of International Education, Harvard University. Educational ... Journalist Liaison for Emma Sky, former Political Advisor to GEN Odierno and GEN Petraeus." What kind of a Harvard academic needs their own Press Officer is the question I'd be asking? !! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.0.251.13 (talk) 11:19, 5 March 2014 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 3 one external links on Emma Sky. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20130807214428/http://yalejournal.org/2013/02/26/activist-advisor-academic/ to http://yalejournal.org/2013/02/26/activist-advisor-academic/
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20130320114251/http://www.kcl.ac.uk:80/sspp/departments/warstudies/people/visiting/sky.aspx to http://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/warstudies/people/visiting/sky.aspx
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20131102060735/http://www.iraqinquiry.org.uk:80/media/52057/Sky-2011-01-14-S1-declassified.pdf to http://www.iraqinquiry.org.uk/media/52057/Sky-2011-01-14-S1-declassified.pdf

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Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 21:05, 23 December 2016 (UTC)