"The notion that it is improper to look beyond the borders of the United States in grappling with hard questions has a certain kinship to the view that the U.S. Constitution is a document essentially frozen in time as of the date of its ratification," Justice Ginsburg said.Zzzz - it's a barking dog story. We already knew about Ruthie's favorite chew toy.
"Even more so today, the United States is subject to the scrutiny of a candid world," she said. "What the United States does, for good or for ill, continues to be watched by the international community, in particular by organizations concerned with the advancement of the rule of law and respect for human dignity."
Then there's ole Dileep Nair who is one of the featured players in the 2nd Volcker report on United Nations corruption:
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan yesterday launched disciplinary action against the man in charge of ethics at the United Nations, as the Iraq oil-for-food scandal continued to sweep through the world body.Regardless, there will shortly be a vacancy in the executive suite at the United Nations and EU Referendum gives us a hint as to who is in line for the job:
A U.N. spokesman announced that a "charge letter," which begins formal administrative proceedings, has been sent to Dileep Nair, head of the United Nations' Office of Internal Oversight, the agency responsible for auditing the oil-for-food and other U.N. programs.
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In a formal response to the inquiry, Nair maintained that he is an independent operator and the secretary-general has no authority to investigate him.
Word reaches us from another blogiste-confrère that there might be an interesting development in the career of one Franz-Hermann Brüner, at present Director-General of OLAF, the Commission’s own anti-fraud unit, that has been embroiled in more scandals than Enron.Sounds like a perfect candidate!
Its most recent achievement was a report, which we shall cover in more detail, that showed beyond any possible doubt (well, errm, beyond any doubt that members of OLAF might have) that the millions of euros handed over to the Palestinian Authority over the years could not possibly have gone to any terrorist organization.
Mind you, they have no idea where it did go and for some reason none of it actually went to the Palestinian people, but that has not stopped OLAF from pronouncing on the subject.
So where do you think Franz-Herman Brüner might be going? Give up? I’ll tell you.
Finally, Joseph Kahn at the NY Times breathlessly informs us that If 22 Million Chinese Prevail at U.N., Japan Won't:
A grass-roots Chinese campaign to keep Japan out of the United Nations Security Council has gathered some 22 million signatures, increasing the chances that China will block Japan's bid to join the elite group, organizers and analysts said Thursday.Sheesh, it's a Web petition. I was going to make fun of Kahn as a clueless n00b who didn't know that Web petitions aren't worth the paper they aren't printed on, but the Chinese and Japanese governments aren't any better:
The petition effort, conducted through popular Chinese Web sites, enjoys tacit support from the government, which has allowed state-controlled media to cover the campaign prominently.
By allowing millions of people to sign their names to a petition against Japan, Beijing's new leadership seems determined to show that recent Japanese actions have so inflamed popular sentiment that China has no choice but to adopt a tougher diplomatic line.Ya think?
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In Tokyo, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said, "The Chinese government has said the U.N. needs reform, so we believe that the Chinese and Japanese governments both have the same type of feeling and thinking on this issue."
"The petition itself is being conducted by private citizens and, according to press reports, the same petitioners' names keep appearing," the spokesman, Hatsuhisa Takashima, said. "So we just don't know how valid this petition effort is."
The effort to rally anti-Japan sentiment in China began in late February, when several overseas Web sites began circulating a petition directed at the United Nations, which is currently debating a blueprint for changing its governing structure.Duh! Sheesh, toss me a few bucks and I'll provide as many signatures as you want. Toss me a few more and they won't all be named Hugh Jorgasm or Ben Dover.
It gathered momentum last week when leading Chinese Web sites, including portals like Sina, Sohu and Netease, advertised the drive with links on their main pages. Some sites allow users to register their names through text messages sent from mobile phones.
After initially aiming to collect one million signatures, organizers now say they think they can gather 30 million before they present the petition to Secretary General Kofi Annan. The New China News Agency reported Thursday that 22.2 million Chinese had signed the petition so far.
"The response was far beyond our expectations," said Lu Yunfei, who has led several grass-roots protests against Japan. "No one - not the United Nations nor the Chinese government - can ignore so many people expressing their views."
There was no way to independently verify whether 22 million people had in fact signed the petition or whether they all did so voluntarily. But many Web sites kept their own tallies of how many people had signed up through their portal, and there were no telltale indications that the effort had been centrally organized.
