Going after Annan/A sordid move by Coleman (ultra--mega-barf alert!)

Mpls REALLY RED) Star Tribune ^

[backhoe]

My 2¢'s about the UN?

Neal Boortz has the right idea- kick them off US soil, plop them down in Haiti, and tell them, "when you get this straightened out, give us a call..."

Moreover:

--Sex abuse charges rock UN in Congo-
-- Interesting this is being posted today. Talk show host Dennis Prager had the Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Doree Gold, on his show today. Mr. Gold has just written a book about the UN called the Tower of Babble(i think this was the title). Some of the things he was saying about the UN were unbelievable.

--TV campaign urging: Kick U.N. out of U.S.-
"I say we just give the entire country of Haiti to the UN."--or move them to Zimbabwe or another country in Africa. Let them see what the really do for the world.

--UN knew of Saddam's oil-for-food thefts: BBC-
The sooner we resign from this corrupt organization and kick them off our soil, the better.

Click this picture & goto "last" for the latest UN scandals:

American Policy Center on-line Declaration of Independence from the U.N.

[Rummyfan]

Numerous Star Tribune readers have pointed out -- appropriately, in our view -- that if Coleman wants to investigate scandal, he need not go as far afield as the United Nations. He could start with those really nice contracts that Vice President Dick Cheney's former firm, Halliburton, got in Iraq. He could move on to the abuses at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo.

SSDD. Can they never come up with a response to the charges? Kofi is running a criminal enterprise where billions of dollars have disappeared. It puts the Mafia, the Yakuza, Enron, and maybe even the drug cartels to shame. But libs ignore it in favor of yelling 'Halliburton and 'Abu Ghraib' and 'Guatanamo'.

[the invisib1e hand]

Oooooh yeah, there's panic in the hallowed halls of the left. This is the first squeal. Just wait 'till the pig gets stuck a few more times.

[the invisib1e hand]

Oooooh yeah, there's panic in the hallowed halls of the left. This is the first squeal. Just wait 'till the pig gets stuck a few more times.

[anniegetyourgun]

Even if it were true that we have no proof that Kofi knew or profited, than he's obviously TOO incompetent to handle the job when this level and expanse of corruption can go on under his nose.

[Mo1]

Note that no one has the slightest whiff of proof that Annan knew about, condoned or profited from this scandal.

If he didn't know .. it shows how incompetent he was in running the UN

The UN is nothing but a corrupt institution that stands by and allows hundreds of thousands of people to be killed and does nothing to stop it .. and that's just in Iraq under Saddam's rule

We haven't even discussed all the other countries where people have suffered because the UN was to busy collecting their bribes

[Dat Mon]

The average liberal...living in a world of fantasy and denial. They cant let go of any of their cherished ideals.

How pathetic to have so little freedom of thought and so little self identity.

[the invisib1e hand]

pathetic

that's a succinct description of the typical, street level leftist stooge. The higher-ups are "diabolical."

the waste of God given, hard won liberty and identity is truly pathetic.

[Valin]

kick them off US soil, plop them down in Haiti


I disagree, remember Haiti's in this hemisphere, way too close too America.
Now my idea is Mauritania. I understand Nouakchott is simple wonderful! And plenty of parking.

[Caleb1411]

. . .U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, a splendid public servant whom the city Sen. Norm Coleman once governed has considered a semi-native son since his years at Macalester College.

The media bastion of Twin Cities myopic liberalism lavishes encomium on a corrupt moneygrubber who once attended the most myopically liberal Twin Cities university.

The Strib is certainly nothing if not predicable.

[ClintonBeGone]

(snip) Note that no one has the slightest whiff of proof that Annan knew about, condoned or profited from this scandal. Furthermore, when the scandal surfaced, Annan appointed former Fed chairman and man of impeccable honor Paul Volcker to thoroughly investigate the matter. Volcker's report, which both he and Annan have promised will be made public, is still a work in progress.

Do you think this rag would have been so forgiving had it been Dick Cheney's son working for Halliburton? Or Neil Bush on the board of a savings and loan? Hypocrites.

[Valin]

It's nice to know in this ever changing world we live in there are somethings a person can count on, the Red Star being wrong is at the top of the list.

They DID however have an editorial a couple of years ago that actually made sense. I can't remember what it was about, but I remeber saying "well that makes sense."

[wkdaysoff]

Thank G*d I moved from out of Minnesota and no longer have to read the Red Star & Sickle!

Some Saturday afternoon levity...

How many French does it take to change a light bulb?

Well, first, there has to be a UN security resolution demanding a change - but only if the light bulb can be proved to be burned out and not just in a quantum state of flux.

Second, there should be an increase in the number and frequency of inspectors and inspections to determine that the light bulb is not just burned out, but a genuine threat to the rest of the world. There has to be a "smoking filament" or else the changing of the bulb would be considered unnecessary since the light bulb poses no threat to world stability, let alone in breach of said resolution by illuminating anything other than it's own space.

Third, there should be endless debate about the ramifications of light bulb change. How do we know the next light bulb will be a more co operative light bulb and illuminate our lives?

Fourth, France will in no way support a violent action in changing the light bulb. There must be a peaceful solution to this light bulb change; violent action is unacceptable.

Fifth, without a broad coalition that supports light bulb change, any action to change the bulb will be considered a breach of the "spirit" of the UN resolution regarding the light bulb.

[cyncooper]

Yes, the left prefers to ignore real and outrageous scandals, instead preferring to make them up about their foes on the right.

They take their snotty tone about leaping to conclusions about Annan and then take the mother of all leaps and proceed to smear the Bush administration on the flimsiest of "evidence" (none) on a whole host of issues they've made up out of whole cloth.

I've got news for them, this scandal WILL be investigated thoroughly and an accounting will be made and I guess they won't like what it reveals one bit and I guess they won't care about what the implications of this scandal mean (death and destruction to thousands of innocents).

[AmishDude]

This is the biggest financial corruption scandal in the history of the world. Even if Kofi Annan were 100% clean, he should be removed simply because it happened on his watch.

[GW and Twins Pawpaw]

Liberals see what they believe. Conservatives believe what they see. The liberal mindset will never move beyond where it is right now. They are stuck forever with a narcissistic world view. It is their downfall and assists our liberation.

[Dat Mon]

"How many French does it take to change a light bulb?"

lol...good post.

[Dat Mon]

"Liberals see what they believe. Conservatives believe what they see."

Great synopsis!

[Valin]

FYI
Captain Ed
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/003237.php
December 04, 2004
What's The Strib Afraid Of?
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune unleashes its venom on Senator Norm Coleman, who had the audacity (in the Strib's view) to demand accountability from the United Nations and its leader, Kofi Annan. Indulging in its usual namecalling by labeling Coleman an "embarrassment", the Strib seems particularly unhappy that the US has launched an investigation into the world's largest financial-corruption scandal:

The ostensible reason for seeking Annan's resignation? It was on his watch that Saddam Hussein diverted billions from the U.N.-run oil-for-food program designed to relieve the humanitarian burden on Iraqis suffering as a consequence of U.N. sanctions.
Note that no one has the slightest whiff of proof that Annan knew about, condoned or profited from this scandal. Furthermore, when the scandal surfaced, Annan appointed former Fed chairman and man of impeccable honor Paul Volcker to thoroughly investigate the matter. Volcker's report, which both he and Annan have promised will be made public, is still a work in progress.


As Hindrocket at Power Line writes today, the Strib never supports its idea that Annan has been a "splendid" public servant. Instead of offering any evidence of that, the editorial attacks conservatives for attacking the UN as punishment for its opposition to our actions in Iraq, and calls Coleman a lackey for the right in this effort.

Let's think about that for a moment. The United Nations refused to enforce sixteen of its own resolutions, including the supposed ultimatum of 1441, because it argued that the sanctions regime worked to keep Saddam "in his box". George Bush and Tony Blair disagreed; they had some intelligence that Saddam had circumvented the sanctions and was trading oil for arms and doing some skimming as well. The UN tried to stonewall the US and UK, especially Russia, China, and France. Newspapers, including the Strib, argued vehemently that the US had no business initiating military action against Iraq without explicit UNSC approval, basing part of their argument on the sanctions regime rendering the Iraqi threat as minimal.

Only after we captured Baghdad did we find differently. Once the US and UK had the Iraqi Intelligence Services files in their possession, they determined that Saddam wasn't just cheating on oil sales and arms -- he had built a huge apparatus of corruption that included the same people who tried to stop us from going into Baghdad in the first place. Russia, China, and France, not coincidentally the same nations that threatened to veto any enforcement of 1441, stuffed $21 billion dollars into Saddam's pockets through the Oil-For-Food program. The man who Kofi Annan appointed to run the program, and who only reported to Annan, became one of the corruption's beneficiaries, scoring millions on under-the-table oil futures for his astigmatism on OFF corruption. And let's not forget that Annan's own son, Kojo, continued to receive kickbacks from a Swiss firm implicated in the corruption well after he supposedly terminated his relationship there.

Yes, Kofi Annan appointed Paul Volcker to look into the corruption. However, Volcker has no subpoena authority and can only ask people for cooperation into the his investigation. Moreoever, Volcker is not allowed to release the report publicly; he must deliver it to Annan, who then can make any portion of it public that he wishes. He could also choose to keep any portion private. Annan has no accountability whatsoever in his position and he will suffer no penalty if he deep-sixes anything personally embarrassing to himself or his family. Is that the kind of independent investigation that satisfies the Strib's editorial board?

The UN receives approximately one-quarter of its funding from the United States. The American taxpayer pays for this multilateral forum despite a long history of anti-American rhetoric and the overwhelming majority of kleptocracies and dictatorships that comprise the UN. It is entirely appropriate for the US Senate to investigate the use of our funds when the corruption at Turtle Bay has been proven so widespread, so deep, and so breathtaking.

What does the Strib fear from Coleman's efforts? It knows that its editorial position of relying on the sanctions regime will embarrass the Strib when the corruption is completely revealed. The nations that the Strib insisted were our allies instead were busily selling us out. Their beloved UN was busily allowing Saddam to steal food from the mouths of Iraqi children in order to stuff bank accounts around the world, and probably to fund terrorist activities. (Saddam regularly sent money to suicide bombers and their families with the cash.)

In short, the Coleman investigation will reveal the Strib's editorial board to be nothing more than an idiotic, knee-jerk leftist group who will support any corruption as long as it serves the interest of those who oppose Republicans. Coleman isn't the embarrassment here.