Talk:Alexander Mirtchev

puffery

hello from Germany. I know this case because it was subject of investigative reports in Der Spiegel. I did a google of Dr. Mirtchev after seeing article about him in Forbes and saw this very positive profile and have now gone into history and see the talk discussion. I think is manipulative to not include historic accusations reported in the Wall Street Journal that put his activities in scrutiny. Just because it was years ago does not mean irrelevant. Halliburton's page includes investigations of years before. It is an encyclopedia not a listing of his credentials. The Forbes article (isnt it same publication where he writes?) shows he is aggressive in trying to blame others for negative media but he has drawn a large footprint if the Wall Street newspaper is to be believed--ranges from espionage of dissidents to laundering russian money and also treasurer of a dictator. He is currently serving on board of dictator's fund, yes? Why is this not mentioned? I see it on Mirtchev linked-in page cleverly written as "independent director of SWF" who does he think he is kidding around with me? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.92.22.186 (talk) 14:37, 3 December 2012 (UTC)

Feedback about sources

It looks to me like the refs for this page were actually cleaned up. Forbes is still cited, along with other news outlets. The quote below leaves out that the allegations were never proven and the article was published in 2008, almost five years ago. I think the problem here is that the cited material and the whole Money Laundering diatribe and Controversies vitriol is that it violates Wiki's "Living Persons" guidelines about not publishing contentious information if it's not solid or seems politically heated from one perspective. (Look at the user's Talk page if you want to know if he's biased or not. So, I'm with RachelleLin on this one. As for the puff, I think this is pretty in line with other economists pages. It also just reads better than it did before and falls in line with Wikipedia's discourse.

Questions regarding sources

I think it is worth addressing some of the issues raised by a new account user:RachelleLin. Their reasons for reversion are:

Deleted erroneous information, added numerous references, updated sources, fixed references, corrected misinformation, added Academic and Policy Analysis Sections Fixed grammar in intro section. Added references and fixed bad coding in ref section. Cleaned up Controversies section. Author misquotes WSJ article, which is about Deripaska

The grammar adjustments were certainly helpful but the erroneous information they deleted was sourced from the WSJ, and everything else that was removed was from reliable sources. For example, the reason "Author misquotes WSJ article, which is about Deripaska" is not accurate. The direct quote from the source is:

The advisers include Alexander Mirtchev and Thomas Ondeck, who operate a Washington consulting firm called GlobalOptions Management. They are among the consultants who lawyers and government officials say are being investigated by the Justice Department and Manhattan D.A. for possible money laundering. A lawyer for their firm said they haven't been contacted by either Justice or the Manhattan D.A.

The remaining bits of the article that were changed look like a puff piece. For example,

Mirtchev is president of Krull Corp., USA, which describes itself as "a global strategic solutions provider, with a focus on new economic trends, economic security and emerging policy challenges." In his official biography at the Krull Corp. website, he is described as executive chairman of the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies International(RUSI), board director and member of the executive committee of the Atlantic Council of the United States, and Wilson National Cabinet Member at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

...was changed to:

A renowned leader in economic policy and market democracy, Washington, D.C.-based Mirtchev has provided policy analysis to governments, agencies, law firms, international enterprises, and research councils. Mirtchev serves as Executive Chairman of the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies International (RUSI), Board Director and Member of the Executive Committee of the Atlantic Council of the United States, and Wilson National Cabinet Member at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Everything else is very well sourced and a complete removal of such content seems improper KazakhBT (talk) 00:31, 30 November 2012 (UTC)

Removal of well-sourced material

I find the removal of sources by [user:RachelleLin|RachelleLin] odd. They removed several highly-credible sources including:

• The Wall Street Journal (twice)
• Spiegel
• The Human Rights Foundation
• Forbes

I especially find the removal of the paragraph below strange. It is well sourced and directly mentions Alexander Mirtchev:

Money laundering

According to the Wall Street Journal, Mirtchev and Thomas Ondeck, whom the Journal identified as principals in the Washington consulting firm GlobalOptions Management, were among the advisors "being investigated by the Justice Department and Manhattan D.A. for possible money laundering."

The Journal indicated that Mirtchev and Ondeck were being investigated for a $9.75 million wire transfer sent "to Messrs. Mirchev and Ondeck's firm. The lawyer for the firm confirmed that it had provided $9.75 million of client services and said that, 'consistent with past practices, such services were for lawful purposes.' Mr. Mirtchev said he was contractually barred from discussing the transaction but said that he and his partners 'rigorously abide by all of the laws and regulations of the countries in which we operate.'"

The controversy section on Kazakhstan is, admittedly, too long; however, that is not cause to remove the section entirely, especially when it is well-sourced. I propose a section along the lines of what I have below:

Kazakhstan

Rakhat Aliyev, former son-in-law of the Kazakh president Nursultan Nazerbayev, had identified Mirtchev as the "point man for President Nazerbayev, not only in seeking to resolve his legal problems but in helping to manage some of the fortune he has accumulated in 19 years in power." Krull Corp. sent an email to the Nazerbayevs that included information about the U.S. travels of a rival political to Nazerbayev, as well as a report "analyzing the cell phone records of a Washington lobbyist for the Kazakh political opposition," which, according to Aliyev, had been provided to Nazerbayev by Mirthcev.

Nazerbayev hired GlobalOptions Management (GOM), a consulting firm for which Mirtchev is a co-owner, "with the goal of polishing the president's tarnished image" after it came to light that Switzerland had "frozen roughly $80 million in illegal kickbacks from the U.S. oil industry." In reports sent to Nazerbayev, "Mirtchev bragged about his direct contacts at the White House, the Justice Department and the FBI."ref name="spiegel" />

KazakhBT (talk) 21:53, 30 November 2012 (UTC)

Unencyclopedic writing

In an edit summary by [user:RachelleLin|RachelleLin], they wrote "Poorly written and un-encyclopedia like." Yet if one were to read the page as it stands now, it reads like a promotion.

The page previously read: "Mirtchev is president of Krull Corp…"

However, it now reads: "A renowned leader in economic policy..." and "Mirtchev is an accomplished academic…"

I think this strange. I also find it strange that the section on his professional activity was completely removed. The man is a professional consultant, so it seems odd that his page would have nothing about his profession. Perhaps a better title would be "Career"? After looking at a few comparable pages, that seems to be a more standard section title.

KazakhBT (talk) 21:55, 30 November 2012 (UTC)

Biographies of Living Persons

KazakhBT repeatedly adding in negative news about subject in articles that have little to do with him. KazakhBT, see Wikipedia's Biographies of Living Persons policy, which I've included for you below.

This article must adhere to the biographies of living persons policy, even if it is not a biography, because it contains material about living persons. Unsourced or poorly sourced contentious material about living persons must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libellous. If such material is repeatedly inserted, or if you have other concerns, please report the issue to this noticeboard. If you are connected to one of the subjects of this article and need help, please see this page.

The article from Der Spiegel is three pages and has one graph about Mirtchev. Seems author more concerned with Nazarbayev (see Talk page). Similarly, the WSJ piece is about Deripaska. The Forbes article author wants to site is likewise an OpEd piece by Thor Halvorssen, self-proclaimed film maker and voice of the people. Again, Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a political magazine. — Preceding unsigned comment added by RachelleLin (talk • contribs) 14:56, 4 December 2012 (UTC)