Rattansi & Ridley - Episode One 2032 GMT, Sky 515, 31 October 2009 (1of3)

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RATTANSI & RIDLEY - A NEW CURRENT AFFAIRS TELEVISION SERIES ON SKY CHANNEL 515

(LONDON, 28 OCTOBER 2009) Last time the Iranians commandeered a British ship was two and a half years ago in the Persian Gulf. Starting this Saturday 31 October, 2009 the Iranians will take over another Royal Navy ship in the heart of London.

HMS President, the World War One veteran is moored on the River Thames on Victoria Embankment, and will broadcast each week at 2034 GMT on Sky channel 515 the Rattansi & Ridley show.

Billed as the show which rocks the boat, R&R is the only TV programme in the world presented on board a floating TV studio. HMS President was originally commissioned as a 'Q' Ship (or Mystery Ship). Disguised as a merchant ship, she was designed to attract German U-Boats that she would then try and destroy with her arsenal of hidden weapons. HMS President is listed on the National Register of Historic Vessels.

"It seems HMS President is going to be making history once again," commented Afshin Rattansi.

"This time, however, we want to captivate our viewers although I've no doubt R&R will still ruffle a few feathers," added co-host Yvonne Ridley

Veteran journalists, Rattansi and Ridley of First Witness Productions in London have gained their first Sky platform commission on Irans international 24-hour broadcaster, Press TV. Executive producing as well as presenting the show are the former Sunday Times Insight correspondent, Ridley, and former BBC Today programme producer, Rattansi, who interview a cavalcade of important figures on the geopolitical landscape analysing everything from the so-called war on terror to the arts and big business.

Episode 1 includes interviews with former cricketer and future Pakistani Presidential contender, Imran Khan; the neocon Prince of Darkness, himself, Richard Perle; Somalias Finance Minster, Syrias Deputy Prime Minister and others. Future episodes include Al Qaidas Banker, a former guard at Guantanamo Bay prison camp who converted to Islam, former Guantanamo detainees, including Moazzem Begg and Al Jazeera cameraman, Sami Al-Hajj and the father of a British hostage in one of Britains longest running kidnaps. He uses the R&R platform to make a remarkable offer to the hostage-takers holding his son.

Afshin Rattansi has for more than twenty years worked in journalism at organisations including The Guardian, BBC Today programme, Bloomberg Television, CNN International, Al Jazeera Arabic, GMTV and the Dubai Business Channel. His quartet of novels, The Dream of the Decade is available at Amazon.com. He won a Sony Award for outstanding contribution to international media in 2002.

Award-winning journalist, Yvonne Ridleys work has worked as a reporter for many Fleet Street titles including The Sunday Times, The Observer, Daily Mirror and Independent on Sunday. Her broadcast journalism has appeared on BBC TV and radio, CNN, ITN and Carlton TV. Her books include In The Hands of the Taliban and Ticket to Paradise. Her debut into documentaries with film-maker David Miller - GUANTANAMO: Inside the Wire earned them accolades at the Roma TV Film Festival this year. Since then she has co-produced three other films - two featuring Gaza are already receiving critical acclaim at film festivals across the globe.

PRESS INQUIRIES: Email: info@1stwitness.com Telephone: +44 (0)7836370649

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[beholdmyswarthyface0]

i can't believe this man still stalks the planet.

[junevi2000]

Richard Perle was one of the architects of Iraque war and 911

[Rahab111222]

@WallStwizkid

Suck more dick next time.

[WallStwizkid]

@Rahab111222 LOL you're an idiot. I wasn't even arguing with you. Get lost.

[WallStwizkid]

@Rahab111222 Now it's obvious that he too*

[WallStwizkid]

@Rahab111222 I also thought his foreign policy was weak and dangerous. Now it's obvious the he to has matured into the role of president, able to reasonably asses risks and look out for the security and economic prosperity interests of the American people, and I'll be supporting president Obama in 2012. Especially if Ron Paul is nominated.

[WallStwizkid]

@Rahab111222 After all, look at President Obama. He preached the peace path, and since taking office and being aware of the threats faced, he has turned up the heat on Pakistan, as well as Iran. It's very different when you're in the hot seat. I personally did not support a lot of President Obama's ideals in the 2008 election, and I did not vote for him. Since then I've been maturing into a career in finance, realizing that economically, the free market fairy doesn't exist.

[WallStwizkid]

@Rahab111222 Mr. Perle is spot on. It's very enlightening to hear him talk. Keep in mind, Mr. Perle has been employed in government advisory roles since the Reagan administration. Nobody can say anything about Reagan. That administration was the last to win re-election and after 8 years, the people still voted in the same party. I think it's very easy to criticize a war with utopian ideals of a perfect peaceful world, until you're actually in a role of failed diplomacy.

[Rahab111222]

I don't agree with these insane neo-conservative policies, but Pearle is a smooth, thoughtful guy personality wise.

At least he's a hell of a alot more tolerable than these other jokers like David Frumm, a smarmy know nothing and Brian Kilmeade of Faux news, a frumpy faced chip-on-his-shoulder hack. Or even Dick Cheney, a slimeball, hot headed, pathological liar.

[badattitude77769]

The Prince of Darkness held seminars on how to make money from "the" war before "the" war started. Another member of the Carlyle Group; so many are members of knights of malta, bush, kissinger, himmler, hoover, sinatra, berlusconi, tenet, zinni, dulles, guiliani, bolton, chertoff, bush, calucci (ceo of Carlyle, former roomate of Rumsfeld), gehlen, haig, kellog, kennedy, rockefeller, santorum, thyssen, westmorland, zinni, to name a few of the good old boys.