Here are two stories from The Perspective, an Atlanta-based web site covering Liberian and African events. December 10, 2003: Confusion in Washington: Who Runs the Liberian Embassy? http://www.theperspective.org/december2003/liberianembassy.html December 12, 2003: Who is the Lawful Chargé d'Affaires at the Liberian Embassy in Washington, DC? http://www.theperspective.org/december2003/liberianembassy_dc.html Apparently, Abdulah K. Dunbar, former Liberian Embassy Consul and First Secretary in Washington, has returned to the United States and is claiming to be the embassy's legitimate Chargé d'Affaires, showing documents to that effect. The documents also declare that Aaron Kollie (who has been serving as Chargé d'Affaires) has been recalled to Liberia. Mr. Kollie says he has never received any such communications from the government and is still the Chargé d'Affaires. From the first story: Things we know: (1) In a letter dated March 10, 2003, Abdulah Dunbar wrote Alan Contreras (Oregon ODA) to protest Oregon's evaluation of Saint Regis University. According to Dunbar, "...Saint Regis and other named schools including Concordia College and University may be verified by my office as... legal, valid, and authentic universities..." and that "Such allegations can only be considered to be offensive and slanderous..." (This is a public document.) (2) In a statement on the genuine Liberian Embassy web site in late September, Aaron Kollie posted a notice dissociating the embassy from Saint Regis and declaring that the embassy would not vouch for SRU's Liberian accreditation. (See http://www.osac.state.or.us/oda/oregon_north_dakota/index_or.html#nboe for the text of his statement.) (3) The president of an unaccredited university received an email message on February 1, 2003 from NBOE (National Board of Education), signed by an "L.L. McKee" which contained the following text (I have a copy of the message, sent to me by the recipient): Perhaps the embassy staffer quoted in the first story has an accurate sense of the flow of events. G
It appears that SRU (or should I say NBOE?) may be "accredited" by the Liberian embassy in the USA rather than an apparently previously non-existant Liberian Department of Education. I do hope that the NBOE was giving the Liberian Embassy a cut of the take when other "franchises" paid them the $50,000 dollars. It would just sadden me to learn that there wasn't even honor among thieves. After all it's such a nice romantic and theatrical concept.
more from The Perspective; Dunbar message on Yahoo Here is more information about the confusion in the Liberian Embassy from The Perspective: Confusion in Washington: Who Runs the Liberian Embassy (Part III) 12/20/03 http://www.theperspective.org/december2003/confusionattheembassy(3).html. The earlier articles can be found here: Who is the Lawful Chargé d'Affaires at the Liberian Embassy in Washington, DC? http://www.theperspective.org/december2003/liberianembassy_dc.html Confusion in Washington: Who Runs the Liberian Embassy? http://www.theperspective.org/december2003/liberianembassy.html Confusion in Washington: Who Runs the Liberian Embassy? (Part II) 12/15/03 http://www.theperspective.org/december2003/confusionattheembassy.html As you recall, Mr. Dunbar supports the National Board of Education's and Saint Regis University's claims of Liberian recognition, while Mr. Kollie does not. ===================== It seems that someone in Spokane sends newsgroup messages apparently on behalf of Mr. Dunbar: a Yahoo post sent from IP 63.149.223.119 on 1/14/2003 (see http://groups.yahoo.com/group/anwarxtpm/message/22460?source=1) www.usdegrees.com FULLY ACCREDITED "Unlike other online degree programs, our participating universities are fully recognized by the Minister of Education. This is an enormous difference, because most employers, the military and other agencies require such recognition as proof of validity of the degree." Abdulah K . Dunbar, First Secretary Console General of The Embassy of Liberia Our Mission: To provide individuals who have attained credible college-level knowledge and accomplishments outside college walls, with valid academic degrees and certifications. Eight Participating Universities To Choose From! Are you a self-educated individual who deserves a degree? Do you feel it would be a waste of your valuable time, and money to enroll in a traditional school to study subjects that you have already mastered? If you are seeking a valid, verifiable degree... without attending college or taking redundant courses...our programs may provide you with options that can change your life! * College graduates earn an average of 78% more income than non-college graduates (Source: US Bureau of Statistics). Master's degree graduates earn 92% more than those only with a high school graduate degree. Bureau of Labor Statistics, median earnings for year round, full-time workers age 25 and older, by educational attainment, 2000. The WHOIS info for the message sender's IP group is this: OrgName: SIERRA PACIFIC INDUSTRIES OrgID: SPI-34 Address: 9612 EAST MONTGOMRY AVE City: SPOKANE StateProv: WA PostalCode: 99206 Country: US NetRange: 63.149.223.112 - 63.149.223.119 CIDR: 63.149.223.112/29 NetName: Q1002-63-149-223-112 NetHandle: NET-63-149-223-112-1 Parent: NET-63-144-0-0-1 NetType: Reassigned Comment: RegDate: 2003-10-03 Updated: 2003-10-03 G
The esteemed Mr Dunbar was utterly unable to answer when I asked him to verify the "Liberian accreditation" of Adam Smith University. He asked if they were under NBOE, and I told him no. He then said that he wouldn't know anything about them, then. I pressed him to say whether there existed Liberian accreditation apart from NBOE, and he then denied that there was any agency of the Liberian government apart from NBOE (sic) with authority to accredit. Now this is not to suggest that ASU is (was?) anything other than less-than-wonderful*, but rather that there may have been an earlier method of "purchasing for oneself the good degree" (as the King James Bible puts it) of Liberian accreditation, which involved a cordial approach to an actual Liberian government agency or official, rather than subsumption under the very-private-enterprise umbrella of NBOE. *Its bouncing from millhaven state to millhaven state as laws tightened, its incredible shrinking library, its prohibition of its Liberian representative to answer inquiries, and its recent or ongoing claim to a nonexistent government warrant to function (called a "charter") in the CNMI, where it maintains a rent-a-box at a commercial mail drop, serve to engender extreme caution at the very least.
Re: more from The Perspective; Dunbar message on Yahoo Looks to me like somebody used the computer at work. http://www.sierrapacificwindows.com/html/sales_territories/Washington.htm Sierra Pacific Industries is a window manufacturer. 9612 E. Montgomery is their Spokane retail outlet.
So what is suspicious about clerks, custodians and window manufacturers in Spokane, Washington, USA being able to help run the Liberian government as well as a fine Liberian institution?
Why, nothing at all. It's a popular activity in the Spokane area, engaged in by real estate agents and manufactured home builders.
While I appreciate the excellent detective work of the various degreeinfo members, you only need to read the newspaper to discover that no one is in charge. One example... http://allafrica.com/stories/200401060514.html The idea that any real business is being conducted in the area of higher education, or anything else for that matter, seems ludicrous. The idea that people would use the chaos of this crisis as a smokescreen for pillaging whatever is left of this country is worse than criminal. Please excuse the rant. Jack
Thanks, Jack. Considering the trivialities which fuel perpetual rage on the part of some posters, your having a decent recollection of what has been indecently done to the Lone Star qualifies more as conscience than as rant.
