Really Damaging the UN's Image, Respectability and Credibility III

Here is the latest update into activities that keep damaging the UN's Image, respectability and credibility. These are all ways that it was claimed that Paul Wolfowitz's employment damaged the UN's World Bank. They used these bogus claims to push him out of his job. What they did not get rid of was hits to the Establishment, including those listed below.

Various UN Agencies - Considering Policy to Ignore/Ban Bloggers as Media

NEW YORK, July 29 -- The United Nations says it wants to engage with bloggers, but only if it can control them. Those it cannot control, it wants to exclude, meeting minutes obtained by Inner City Press reveal.

At least three UN agencies have in the interim adopted policies of not answering questions from bloggers, no matter how widely they're read. From the top of the UN's headquarters building, it's a world of paranoia, a desire to turn back the clock of a type that usually proves fruitless.

In late June in Madrid, the spokespeople for 37 UN agencies met and, according to internal minutes leaked to Inner City Press, agreed that it is "important for the United Nations family to engage with all forms of new media, but that some, such as blogs, present particular challenges for accreditation." - Inner City Press

More details Here.


UNDP in burma - Suspected Fraud and Coverup

... The same modus operandi was on display in response to U.S. inquiries about the UNDP's operations in another Asian dictatorship--Burma, where the agency appears to be following the same practices that got it into trouble in North Korea. Inspection of projects is limited by the government and a percentage of U.N. outlays is required to be in foreign currency. Given what we've learned about North Korea, the U.S. is right to worry that UNDP aid--$107 million from 2002 to 2006--may have been diverted to the regime.

The UNDP has responded with its usual transparency. While deigning to release the information that it has conducted two internal audits of the Burma program in the past decade, it won't give the U.S. access to the audits or let it review the line-by-line details of the budgets. This is the equivalent of a CEO refusing to let a member of his board of directors see the company's financials--and is hardly the way to treat the country that has donated $1.2 billion to the agency over the past decade. In addition, there has been no external audit of the Burma program for more than 10 years. - Opinion Journal

Unmil Staff in Liberia - Sexual Exploitation

The Head of the UN Missions in Liberia, (Unmil), Alan Doss said some of the UNMIL Military personnel, including their commanding officers who were involved in Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA), have been dismissed from the UN service and reduced in rank and are presently serving sentences in their countries.

Mr. Doss explained that those serving sentences in their countries are serving between the period of six months and one year, and that five other SEA allegations involving peacekeeping personnel are under investigation by the Office of the Internal Oversight Services (OIOS). - AllAfrica.com

United Nations mission in Congo - 'Procurement Irregularities'

The United Nations mission in Congo has suspended five civilian staff members for "procurement irregularities," according to a U.N. statement issued Tuesday.

The action is the latest in a string of accusations of misconduct by the soldiers or employees of U.N. peacekeeping missions deployed to return stability to fractured countries.

A spokeswoman for the peacekeeping mission — the world's largest with about 18,000 troops — declined to comment or explain the nature of the irregularities, saying the investigation was ongoing. - IHT

UN Headquarters Renovation - Massive Lack of Accounting Details

Is the $US1.9 billion United Nations renovation of its crumbling New York headquarters another Oil for Food-type scam in the making?

There’s a discrepancy anywhere from $500 million to $1billion in unaccounted for expenses tied up somewhere in the projected costs for square footage. It’s a discrepancy lost in the same labyrinth of UN unpaid parking tickets. - Canada Free Press

AND:

New York developer Donald Trump, who called the projected costs of the project “incompetence or fraud”, offered to complete the project for one-third of what it will now cost. Annan refused to discuss the matter with him.

UN officials are explaining that the $1.9 billion price tag for the renovation project includes “other costs” to cover contingency funding, inflation, leasing and fees for consultants and architects.

Two more procurement officers Suspended - Corruption

The United Nations has "charged" two more procurement officers in its ongoing corruption investigations.

Yesterday a spokesperson for secretary-general Ban Ki-moon confirmed two buyers at the organisation had been "charged following the investigations conducted by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS)". It did not state what the individuals had been charged with but went on to say they have been suspended and placed on special leave with pay. - Supply Management (UK)

Russian UN Translator - Organizing Visa Fraud.

An employee at the United Nations headquarters in New York has been arrested on suspicion of visa fraud. Russian national Vyacheslav Manokhin, 45, is accused of using his position to provide false documents to support US visa applications since April 2005.

US prosecutors said he made it appear the UN supported the applications and, consequently, most visas were granted. - BBC (More here)

Russia and China on the Security Council - Prevention of legitimate actions:

The US may need to employ military power in the future, and the existing international structure for ensuring that such acts are seen as “legitimate” - both here and abroad - has fallen to tatters. Anti-democratic forces at the UN and indeed on the US Security Council continue to collude in preventing otherwise legitimate actions in the name of narrowly defined national interest. - Neptunus Lex

United Nations - Footdragging over Sudan's Genocide in Darfur

Yesterday, on cue, Mr Brown climbed nimbly aboard the United Nations bandwagon. In a specially staged speech before an invited audience at UN headquarters in New York, the Prime Minister flagged up - and in the process seemed to be assuming some of the credit for - the long-overdue UN resolution to deploy a 19,000-strong African Union peace-keeping force to Darfur. This fits neatly with Mr Brown's desired aim to adopt a more multilateral international posture.

The problem with this approach is that the United Nations is a woefully ineffectual institution. It is the hated United States that has led the way on Darfur, not the UN. As long ago as September 2004, Washington was describing the actions of the Sudanese government as genocide and demanding international action to stop it.

What did the UN do? It sponsored an international commission of inquiry, which concluded that the government of Sudan "has not pursued a policy of genocide … (though) international offences such as the crimes against humanity and war crimes that have been committed in Darfur may be no less serious and heinous than genocide". That's clear, then. - Telegraph, UK

Security Council - Catering to Sudan's Demands over Darfur Peacekeeping Mission

Sudan will have to accept non-African troops in a U.N.-authorized peacekeeping force for Darfur or face the prospect of new United Nations sanctions, a senior U.S. official said Tuesday.

Although efforts will be made to ensure that Africa contributes a large percentage of the 26,000-strong mission, the continent does not have enough trained soldiers to fully staff the force and Sudan will be penalized unless it drops objections to non-African participation, said Andrew Natsios, the U.S. special envoy for Sudan. ...

The Sudanese government is adamantly opposed to non-Africans playing any major role in the hybrid U.N.-African Union operation that was authorized by the U.N. Security Council on July 31 and will be made up of 20,000 peacekeepers and 6,000 civilian police.

Disagreements over the composition of the mission were a major reason the authorization was delayed for months despite mounting pressure on Khartoum to accept it to help end nearly four years of internal conflict in which more than 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been displaced. - Captain's Quarters

UN Security Staff, Pakistan - Manhandling the Press

According to a statement issued by DawnNews: “The staff of the security agency posted at the UN office confiscated the camera of DawnNews staffer Mansoor Ahmed, dragged him into the UN premises and detained him illegally for some time even though he identified himself. Another DawnNews cameraman, Asif Mirza, was also assaulted.” - Riehl World View

U.N. officials and foreign delegates - US Accusations of UN improprieties as accurate as US claims of WMD in Iraq

But Wallace has also drawn criticism from U.N. officials and foreign delegates who charge he has hyped his findings and in a manner that has drawn comparisons to the U.S. claims of Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction. For their part, U.N. development officials claim that Wallace's inquiry has led to a string of unsupported "wild" allegations against the U.N. agency. - Washington Post

UNDP Head Ad Melkert - He "is incompetent"

THE HAGUE, 21/07/07 - John Bolton, the former United States ambassador to the United Nations, thinks Ad Melkert should resign from his post at the UN Development Programme (UNDP). The Dutchman is incompetent, in his view.

Bolton, who is seen as a confidante of President George Bush, told TV programme Nova that Melkert, as the second-in-command at the UNDP, has failed to investigate and take action against alleged abuse of UN donor money. The US suspects that "hard currency went to the government of North Korea" directly that was intended for humanitarian aid, according to Bolton.

Towards American requests for appropriate action, Melkert has "adopted a very defensive attitude". "We find his behaviour puzzling. Why deny the existence of the problem," said Bolton. It "remains to be seen" how the affair works out for the US contribution to the UNDP and UN as a whole, he warned.

Apart from having a "bunker mentality", Melkert "insulted our ambassador Mark Wallace and threatened him with retaliation," added Bolton. Elaborating on the Dutchman's "undiplomatic behaviour", the American stated that "perhaps attitudes in your country are different" but internationally "the civil servants work for the member governments, not the other way around." - NisNews.nl

UNDP Head in Philippines - Abuse of local staff

MANILA, Philippines -- At least 13 Filipino staffers of the United Nations office here, including two who have already left the office, are seeking the ouster of the office’s chief, Nileema Noble, for her allegedly “autocratic and oppressive behavior.” - Inquirer.net(Click the link for the details)

United Nations General Assembly - 23 Million Taiwanese Not Represented

"Based on the UN's principles, it is very strange that the 23 million people in Taiwan are not represented in there," he said.

Hsieh said reasons for pushing the UN bid under the name "Taiwan" include the nation's many failed attempts to join the UN under the name "Republic of China," the fact that the People's Republic of China does not represent Taiwan and that the name "Taiwan" is better known around the world than "Republic of China." - Taipei Times

Lets not forget UN taking over the responsibility of feeding a good portion of Zimbabwe's population without holding the Government that is responsible account.

The WFP says a poor harvest and the country's worsening economic situation means hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans are running out of food. It says it will have to provide assistance to more than three million people over the coming months. - FFI

Why does it have to provide assistance? Isn't that Zimbabwe's responsibility?

Previous Editions:

-- Don't worry. There is more coming in future updates. --

*** READ EDITION I HERE ***
*** READ EDITION II HERE ***

-- --

UPDATE: Russian Translator at United Nations - Visa Fraud

Go read the original post (here) if you are not familiar with this story.

Thanks to UN blog reporter Inner City Press, we now have more details concerning this case:

...This last might imply that the U.S. State Department should have recognized the unauthorized and fraudulent status of the letters stating that the visa-applicants would attend UNDP conferences, including one on legal reform and rehabilitation that is strikingly similar to conferences that UNDP does, in fact, hold.

But as the criminal complaint makes clear, Manokhin's fake letters on UNDP letterhead, signed as "Leonardo Brackett," did not to the U.S. State Department, but rather to UNDP's Office in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. - Inner City Press

It was then the UNDP office in Uzbekistan that assisted in obtaining the US Visas. In effect the US was being acted by the UNDP directly and did not see the faked letters. Pretty sneaky I must say. It is amazing that the US managed to discover the fraud, since what they received would have been authentication by the UN office that the person was traveling on official business. Maybe the US noticed that these guys never left the US or that they did not work for the organizations they claimed to as noted on their applications.

At any rate, it is a good thing that this was discovered. The question is, how many other people are getting visas fraudulently through the UN?

Russian Translator at United Nations - Visa Fraud - 6 August 2007

Goose Creek, South Carolina Terror Arrests - The Pieces do not Add Up

Now when I say that the pieces don't add up, I mean that nothing sounds right about these two guys. The more details that I read, the more I am convinced that they were up to no good. However, that will be up to a court to decide.

For starters, lets take the area where they were arrested. Sure, it was near a Navy Base. So what. The real interesting fact is that this was not near anything else. I am familiar with the area and the one thing about living in Charleston and going there was that the place was just out of the way. You basically never ended up there unless you were headed to the Navy base.


Now if they were off on a road trip as relatives mention in press reports, then why the hell were they not arrested speeding in the City of Charleston, or on the Isle of Palms, or down on James Island.

Really, you drive up from Tampa, Florida to Goose Creek?

This story mentions that they left Tampa around Midnight Friday. So they were arrested less than 18 hours after leaving Tampa. Say they took 8 hours to drive up, that leaves just the day for exploring. Of course this assumes that they made no other detours seeing that they were headed to North Carolina. (Which, by the way, does not include a trip through Charleston)

Could it be that the proclaimed trip to North Carolina was a cover story for checking out the Navy Base in Goose Creek? Why did they not tell their friends that they were stopping in Charleston? Charleston is worth a trip in itself. Especially if your going to be gone for only a weekend.

Then there is the issue of the explosives material. There are some reports that these were for making model rockets or fireworks, both of which are pretty easy to find in that part of the country without having to make your own. There is a huge model rocketry community in the US that builds their own rockets from scratch, including the fuel. However, I bet they all started with a Eastes model rocket kit before going off and making models of their own design. Still, many of them never make their own rocket motors as powerful solid-fuel rockets are available already. Has anyone ever seen either of these two shoot off a model rocket? Are their any model rocket materials in either of their homes?

The there is the small issue of the laptop. Most likely they were not surfing on the net from a moving car, although that is possible. Might they have been taking surveillance notes, or making driving directions? I guess we will find out if there was anything interesting on the laptop soon enough. I suspect the longer the delay, the more likely that something interesting was found on the computer. Who knows, maybe they are tracking down laptop leads as we speak. Then again, whatever is found, even pro-jihad videos, may be no confirmation that they were up to no good. Only that they have it.

Oh, you can forget the proclamations that these two are 'good boys' and have never gotten in trouble before and that they seem to fit in. That is how you can describe real terrorists currently hiding in the country. Not acting like a terrorist fits the profile of a potential terrorist. There is no need to point out that they have no links to known terrorists. Of course they don't. If they did, they would have been denied visas and refused entry into the country. (I hope.)

Now it is very possible that this is all one huge misunderstanding. That is fine as misunderstandings happen. The relevant fact in all of this is that these two raised suspicions when they were pulled over, which was why they were arrested. Now they have to go through the motions of sorting out what was a misunderstanding and what was not.

Much more information at Riehl World View. (Link updated to most recent post 8 Aug)

Update: 8 Aug 2007

The FBI has seized more computers in this case:

TAMPA - Investigators have removed computers from the family home of a University of South Florida student accused of having pipe bombs in his car, according to Ahmed Bedier, executive director of the Tampa chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

He said the FBI contacted the parents of Yousseff Samir Megahed of 4959 Anniston Circle, Tampa, who were on vacation, and got permission to search their home. When they returned, their computers were gone. - St. Petersburg Times

As found on The Jawa Report which points out that a third man, a roommate from Mauritania, may have fled the country.

Update II: 8 Aug 2007
One of today's readers emailed me the following comments concerning rocket motors:

Rocket motors, at least anything bigger than the little Estes stuff, require a BATF explosives license to purchase. Transporting them is another story. Special precautions must be made to transport them.

My husband is a model rocket person. We are not even able to keep motors at our home or warehouse. He purchases the motors at the shooting location because he is not licensed to store or transport, he is licensed only to purchase.

The BATF explosives license he has requires 2 FBI agents come and visit him yearly.

I doubt these guys had any license for rocket motors. I am sure large fireworks require the same type of background check k and license.

I just discovered your blog today. You do a good job. - Susan

Thanks much Susan!

So, based on these comments, even if they were doing nothing terrorist-related, they most likely violated some explosives law. Surely, that includes pipe bombs, which they were charged with possession of today.

Finnish Editorial: Replace Finnish Peacekeepers with Free Condoms

It is no secret that Finland is a very liberal country. While in some respects it is very much on the cutting edge of technology and has a high standard of living, it is also politically, very much aligned with the thinking of 'Old Europe'. This is combined with their declared stance of being 'neutral'; A product of sharing a border with the Soviet Union. (As long as their neutral position did no piss off the Soviets.)

Despite this position of neutrality, there has been an ongoing discussion about the possibility of joining NATO and a commitment to retain their massive stockpile of landmines despite the rest of the EU signing the Landmine ban treaty and pressures by EU States, and the rest of the world, for them to do the same. They also have a leading role concerning Kosovo and peacekeepers in Afghanistan.

The issue at the moment is whether Finland should increase its presence in Afghanistan.

There is concern that Finland is overextending itself militarily, partly in issues that some believe do not concern Finland, such as the War on Terror. There has already been a decision to withdraw their peacekeepers from Lebanon. Now some are pushing for the same to happen in Afghanistan. Take this commentary published online on Finland's leading newspaper titled "COMMENTARY: Send condoms, not rifles, to Afghanistan":

Finland also has a so-called good reputation around the world. Although Finland is in Afghanistan for legitimate reasons, the mission could damage this reputation.

War is rough; it is hell, as one of the best American generals, William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891) said.

Like any other soldier, a Finn is capable of shooting a prisoner of war, or raping a civilian. In a theatre of operations like Afghanistan, the likelihood of such an event is greater than in a traditional peacekeeping operation. [Note: Shooting someone, maybe yes, but not a prisoner. (Technically, there are no recognized prisoners of war, only illegal combatants.) Rape, no. Not for anything, she does not convey a very high opinion of Finnish peacekeepers. They are volunteers and are much better educated than those coming from countries that have been involved in rape issues.]

If this were to happen, the sad news would be remembered around the world for a long time. [Note: Not likely]

A different kind of hypothesis: what if a Finnish patrol were to stop a car in Afghanistan with Osama bin Laden in it? Would Finland hand bin Laden over to the Americans, incur the hatred of militant Muslims, and thus increase the likelihood of a terror attack in Finland? - Helsingin Sanomat

There you have it. Perfect reasoning from the 'left'. We need to get the hell out of Afghanistan because we might accidentally find Osama Bin Laden and that might piss off some radical muslims. (Note: Finnish Forces are not actively looking for him. That is not their mission.)

(Finnish Peacekeepers in Afghanistan)(Kuvat: Janne Riskilä/Suomalainen kriisinhallintajoukko Afganistanissa)
Well here is a secret for this reporter, if they want to hate you, they will find a reason to do so:

We spoke at some length with the Imam about the worldviews of the Muslim community in Finland. He believed that the views could be divided into three groups.

Firstly there are the Finnish converts who, despite having become Muslim by faith, remain ‘Finnish’ in all other ways, including knowing their rights as citizens.

The second group are immigrants who have escaped bad situations in their countries of birth and as a result feel a sense of gratitude to the country that has given them refuge.

The third group, which he believes to be the majority amongst Muslim immigrants across Europe, feel that it was the activities and policies of ‘the West’ that led to them having to leave their homeland – be that for economic reasons or non-economic reasons such as war. As a result, they feel that they owe no gratitude to the countries where they now live.

This sentiment will only be amplified if they face prejudice or a lack of opportunities once resident in Europe. Importantly, ‘the West’ is seen as a bloc – in many ways a mirror image of how the West tends to view “the Muslim World” in an undifferentiated way. Therefore Finland’s history as a young nation with a past of being a colony itself, makes no difference to it being seen as part of ‘the West’.

Two anecdotal stories Imam Chehab recounted to us suggest that if an individual already has a certain mindset – in this case that of Finland as part of the ‘oppressive West’ – then they will retrospectively find the ‘evidence’ to support this.

The first case concerned a TV documentary shown some years ago about the birth of Israel. One of the elderly Zionists who was interviewed noted that there had been a small number of Finns who had fought with them. Rather than dismissing these as probable mercenaries, adventurers or crackpots, the Imam remembered this was discussed by some as evidence that Finland was supportive of Israel and not sympathetic to the Palestinians.

Another similar anecdote was about a member of the congregation who showed the Imam an article he had discovered in an obscure history journal noting that during the 11th century Crusades, there was a Finnish regiment amongst the Christian armies which was reputed to be particularly blood-thirsty. This again was taken as indicative of Finnish attitudes to Islam a millennium later! Although individually these stories might seem almost comical, they do suggest a particular attitude amongst a few individuals who see Finland as no different from any other Western country.

At the very least they show a lack of understanding of Finnish history and society, again suggesting a failure of integration. Of course it will be only a few individuals who would justify their feelings against Finland in these obscure historical terms, but a failure of integration leading to marginalisation, unemployment, poverty and lack of educational opportunities will provide much more contemporary grounds for some to wish ill on the country. - FIIA Report, Pages 64-65

Her title for this article, 'Send Condoms' can in itself be seen as insulting Islam, as some Muslims believe that condoms encourage extramarital sex.

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) has said help your brother and sister when they are right or wrong. The companions asked, “How to help them when they are wrong.” He said “to stop them from doing wrong is their help.” So are you doing this by giving them condoms?

If I were you, I will teach why they should not engage in premarital or extra marital sex. They can always get condom some where else. Your job as Muslim to tell what is Allah’s ruling on this so that they can make good decisions for themselves. - Islam Online

Does she really think handing out condoms to Muslims is going to piss Muslims off less?

As far as this imam quoted above is concerned, handing out condoms is wrong, unless there is a medical reason for the woman to need it. Not getting pregnant is not a valid reason. So even something trivial and beneficial can get Finland in trouble.

What kind of aid workers does she propose sending? If she wants to help women then women need to be sent. However, even that can cause problems, because local men might think that not dressing in a burqa might be seen as interfering in their culture. And how do you protect these female aid workers? If you send men, then you open up the rape issue again (her reason), especially considering that aid workers get much closer access to the locals than peacekeepers.

There is also the basic problem in that Finnish society itself is in some ways offensive to Islam. Women are treated as equals to men. Women can travel without the supervision of a male relative and women can legally drink alcohol from the age of 18. Since there are Muslims living in Finland, there is the possibility that they will complain to their 'brothers' abroad about how they are being in Finland, risking Finland to attack just as much as having peacekeepers abroad.

So unless Finland plans to just surrender to the muslims, then this thinking is at the least just plan foolish and at most, dangerous.

Peacekeepers are needed in Afghanistan, simply because there are terrorists in the country who are determined to disrupt all attempts to develop the country's infrastructure whether they are run by foreigners of not. Foreign peacekeepers are needed to stop, kill or capture these terrorists or at the very least, provide a stable environment for the new Government to grow so that it can handle these matters itself.

Finland can ignore many problems around the globe as long as all countries also do not ignore them. That is the case now, but that might not always be the case. Unfortunately, the writer did not fully consider the risks of not participating.

Helsingin Sanomat">COMMENTARY: Send condoms, not rifles, to Afghanistan - Helsingin Sanomat (Finland)

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Russian Translator at United Nations - Visa Fraud

Here is just one more example of the cesspool that is the United Nations:

An employee at the United Nations headquarters in New York has been arrested on suspicion of visa fraud. Russian national Vyacheslav Manokhin, 45, is accused of using his position to provide false documents to support US visa applications since April 2005.

US prosecutors said he made it appear the UN supported the applications and, consequently, most visas were granted. - BBC

So, how did he make it appear that the UN supported the applications? He used UN stationary.

It is alleged that he submitted documents on UN letterheaded paper for non-US citizens to attend UN conferences that either did not exist or which they did not attend. - BBC

This last paragraph opens up many questions about how the US processed these applications. Clearly there was a poor verification process for verifying visa applications for UN Events. I find that hard to believe. Maybe this is how he was caught. Although this was going on for two years. According to this story, the verification that was done, involved calling only number provided in the application:

Prosecutors said Manokhin admitted to a U.N. investigator that he had allowed an alien to use his U.N. telephone number as a contact number on immigration documents and that he would say that visa applicants were legitimate U.N. conference attendees if anyone asked. - Newsday

The sad thing is that most likely there will be no changes made to how these types of visas are processed on either the US or UN sides.

Click on the UN label for many more cases of UN abuse.

Maritime Monday 70

Welcome to this Weeks edition of Maritime Monday.

You can find Maritime Monday 20 here. (Published 31 July 2006)

Last Weeks Edition can be found here.

Please tell a friend about this post.

This Weeks Photos:
This week brings us to the world of Reefer vessels. (Explanation here)

Cool delivery, careful handling - A 2005 partnership agreement between LauritzenCool, J. Lauritzen’s reefer transport company, and NYK Reefers produced NYKLauritzenCool, which is today one of the world’s largest reefer operators.

With a fleet of more than 70 specialised reefer vessels of various sizes, NYKLauritzenCool provides temperature-controlled ocean transport of perishable commodities for customers in all major reefer markets. The company is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, and has support offices in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, UK and USA, many of which also provide terminals and cold store facilities.

To meet the increasing demand for innovative new logistics and transport concepts, LauritzenCool Logistics (LCL) – a wholly owned subsidiary of NYKLauritzenCool – provides integrated door-to-door, multi-modal and multi-destination logistics solutions for the world's perishables trades. Through a growing network of offices, LCL has a presence in virtually every fruit-producing and consumption area of the world and offers a single entry, one-stop-shop logistics service for fruit and other perishable goods. - J. Lauritzen

(IVORY ACE)

(CROWN GARNET)

(SUMMER FLOWER)

Now you can forget most of what you read above as NYK is fully taking over this joint venture.

Lauritzen pulls out of reefers - TOKYO 03 August – NYK has purchased J Lauritzen’s 50% stake in the NYKLauritzenCool reefer joint venture, effectively marking the end of the Danish Group’s long term involvement in reefer shipping. ”As a part of Lauritzen’s overall strategy we decided to sell our reefer fleet in 2006 and it is therefore only natural that NYK takes over our 50% share holding of our joint marketing company,” explained Torben Janholt, president and chief executive of J Lauritzen A/S. NYK Reefers CEO Hiroshi Yamafuji recalled the “excellent partnership” with J Lauritzen.

Mats Jansson will continue as chief executive of the new NYKCool. “We regret their decision to leave the company as well as the reefer business, but still we respect their standpoint and wish them great success in their new strategy,” Jansson said. J Lauritzen has increasingly been focusing on its highly profitable bulk carrier and product tanker businesses in recent years. NYKCool has headquarters in Stockholm and operates a fleet of about 70 owned and chartered reefers. - (Company Press Release)

This Weeks Items:

Eagle Speak has "China looks to the sea" as it tries to figure out how to protect the sea lines it depends on to transport needed raw materials. No Sunday Ship History this week as Eagle1 has gone fishing. (Imagine that. An Eagle fishing.)

UK Activist Craig Murray has "British map in Iran crisis 'inaccurate'". He had claimed so earlier, however now, his claims appears to be backed up with a bit of fact. This is not to say that they UK sailors and Marines were in Iranian waters, as it is, Iran and the UK don't agree on where the kidnapping happened in the first place. However, at the very least, if this nullifies the UK's claims that they were in Iraqi waters, then it would also nullify Iran's claims that they were in Iranian waters... (Not that any of this matters to the Iranians.)

The BBC has "S Leone boat tragedy 'kills 50'" 100 more are missing.

Molten Eagle examines the recent New York mini-sub stunt as if it were a movie in "Best Submarine Film of the Year: "Run Silent, Run Dumb" The one unanswered question at the moment, is whether the three idiots will be made examples of. They should, especially considering that their acts were intentional.

Dawn has the crisis that is shipping and port operations in India.

EU Observer has the appeal within the EU for additional resources in order to restart Border patrols in the Mediterranean Sea off Malta. These were being coordinated by the EU Border Control Agency, FRONTEX.

Tims Times (at sea) writes about one of his former ships, the VLCC BRITISH RESOURCE.

gCaptain has coverage and video of the grounding of the DENDEN also known as the "MANGAOREAN TITANIC" which resulted in loss of live.

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Maritime Links Editor's Blog has "Bush allies slam his support of maritime treaty - The Boston Globe" which concerns the Law of the Sea Treaty. It is under this Treaty that Russia is making its claim to the Arctic seabed.

The treaty defines national maritime territory as extending 200 nautical miles from shore—roughly the length of the continental shelf, the extension of continental land that stretches out from the coastline before dropping to the ocean floor. The treaty allows signatories to file claims with the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf that would expand their territorial zone by proving that the continental shelf stretches beyond 200 miles. Countries are rushing to file their claims before the treaty's 2009 deadline so they can gain control of valuable oil and gas deposits beneath the ocean's waters. - Center for Public Integrity

The relevant section of the Treaty is "PART VI - CONTINENTAL SHELF" which does put limits on how much can be claimed. Also, any 'extraction' of resources past the 200 mile EEZ will require payment of a 'Contribution' to the UN under Article 82 "Payments and contributions with respect to the exploitation of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles":

1. The coastal State shall make payments or contributions in kind in respect of the exploitation of the non-living resources of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured.

2. The payments and contributions shall be made annually with respect to all production at a site after the first five years of production at that site. For the sixth year, the rate of payment or contribution shall be 1 per cent of the value or volume of production at the site. The rate shall increase by 1 per cent for each subsequent year until the twelfth year and shall remain at 7 per cent thereafter. Production does not include resources used in connection with exploitation.

3. A developing State which is a net importer of a mineral resource produced from its continental shelf is exempt from making such payments or contributions in respect of that mineral resource. [Surely, Russia will appempt to exempt itself under this clause, despite being a net exporter of oil.]

4. The payments or contributions shall be made through the Authority, which shall distribute them to States Parties to this Convention, on the basis of equitable sharing criteria, taking into account the interests and needs of developing States, particularly the least developed and the land-locked among them.

There you have it, redistribution of assets on a massive scale.

The treaty has a number of issues that were pushed for by the USSR that should be ditched. Also, the provisions for deep sea mining are in effect a UN tax on rich nations 'to benefit the world's poor'. They also scream 'Socialism':

The pact also spells out strict rules for seabed mining and establishes an International Seabed Authority to govern the harvesting of ocean minerals. That organization would set up its own mining enterprises, retaining mine sites equal in size or value to every site awarded to private companies; those firms would be required to sell their technology to the global authority under certain circumstances and to abide by production ceilings. - Time Magazine (1982)

Funny how that UN Mining Enterprise has gone nowhere without US participation. Good thing as it probably would have made the Oil-for-Food scam look like nothing.

The UN's Oceans and Law of the Sea webpage is located here.

----------------------------------

Shipping Times (UK) Notes the end of the line for UK-built riverboat DELTA QUEEN in the US, after failing to get a safety exemption extended by the US Congress.

The Edmonton Sun has a study on the disappearance of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna from European waters.

"If we don’t have that memory of what we once had, then it’s going to be hard to develop management or conservation strategy to promote recovery in the area,"

Turkish Daily News has Turkey's complaint to the UN over Greek-Cyprus's deal "with Lebanon and Egypt to divide the Mediterranean into economic areas where each country would conduct its own exploration" for oil citing that the deal does not take into account the rights of Turkish Cypriots.

The Stupid Shall be Punished discusses the reliability of the internet as a source of information on submarines. He uses a story suggesting that a US sub sank a North Korean freighter bound for Iran carrying nuclear material as an example.

Sailors, Mariners & Warriors League has the North Sea collision between the cargo vessel JORK and the Viking Echo natural gas platform. His follow-up post confirms that the ship has since sunk and that the Captain was drunk at the time. (No word on whether his condition contributed to the accident.)

Maritime Accident Casebook has "The Case Of The Bosun’s Crush" covering the dangers of onboard gantry cranes with the death of the Bosun on the M/V TASMAN RESOLUTION.

CDR Salamander covers a ship engine lying in the middle of the road.

Cruise Bruise covers the conviction of a QUEEN MARY II sailor for smuggling 4,000 cartons of cigarettes into the UK from Gibraltar, during one trip. This is pretty amazing considering the quantity that most likely would have required crew assistance to load and discharge. Where did he store them? Where were the UK's Customs Authorities? Out of all the countries I visited, the UK was the only place I visited where the crew had 'respect' for Customs. One reason for this was that every time they boarded the ship, they found something. They especially were determined to not call on a Saturday as apparently that is when the trainees were let loose on ships. (It wasn't that they were smuggling. They just did not want their porn confiscated, nor did they want it locked up in the ship's slop chest for the duration of the port call, for whatever reason.)

Cruise Bruise also has a summary of what is claimed to be a scam at sea: the cruise art auction.

Greenpeace's 'Making Waves' Blog has a study (Not theirs) noting that climate change is responsible for more hurricanes. Well, where are they?

MarEx Newsletter has "Africa to Use Satellites to Reduce Illegal Fishing". It seems that while large areas of Africa are full of starving people, the waters off Africa are teeming with fish, for Europe's poaching.

ZeroHostel has a summary of Great Submarine Movies.

BoingBoing points to a Flickr folder containing hundreds of shipwreck photos.

Messing About in Sailboats has a great video of the oceans returning everything that has ever ended up in it. Very impressive.

Never Sea Land has a summary of islands for sale on eBay.

Miami Herald has a new home for a deaf dolphin.

Special thanks to Squire Verstas for his assistance!


Haight's Maritime Items has:

Hearing on USCG marine safety program - On August 2, the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure conducted an oversight hearing on the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Program. Committee Chair Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) said that the purpose of the hearing is to assess whether the Coast Guard has the experience, expertise, and resources to effectively implement the program. Admiral Thad W. Allen, Commandant, US Coast Guard, explained that the marine safety program is closely interconnected with maritime security and other Coast Guard missions. Mr. Richard A. Block, Gulf Coast Mariners Association, stated that the Coast Guard largely ignores the concerns of individual mariners and favors shipowners. Captain Timothy A. Brown, International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots, recommended that the accident investigation and safety inspection functions be moved out the Coast Guard and assigned to a civilian agency. Mr. William P. Doyle, Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association, testified that many Coast Guard personnel are inexperienced in marine safety matters and are more focused on maritime security and law enforcement. Mr. Thomas A. Allegretti, American Waterways Operators, testified that marine safety must be a clear priority of the federal agency administering the program, which it currently does not appear to be with the US Coast Guard. Mr. Joseph J. Cox, Chamber of Shipping of America, testified concerning the lack of uniformity in Coast Guard rulings at the local level and the inexperience of many Coast Guard inspectors. Captain Peter Lauridsen, Passenger Vessel Association, testified that the Coast Guard has allowed the marine safety program to deteriorate as it has focused on its enhanced military and security missions. Mr. Burt W. Thompson, US Marine Safety Association, noted that there is a severe lack of trained Coast Guard inspectors. Mr. James H. I. Weakley, Lake Carriers’ Association, recommended that the Coast Guard revive a version of its earlier program creating an influx of industry-specific expertise and experience. Mr. Ken Wells, Offshore Marine Services Association, stated that the recent Coast Guard reorganizations have lowered the importance of marine safety within the organization. (8/2/07). - Dennis Bryant Holland & Knight homepage (Used with Permission)

Fairplay Daily News has:

Opposition to scanning bill grows - WASHINGTON, DC 31 July – Opposition continues to grow to the politics-driven US Congress and its vote to approve mandatory scanning of all containers bound for American ports. And with President Bush pledging to sign the “9/11 Commission Recommendations” bill into law, it appears it will fall to a subsequent – and more level headed legislative session – to reverse the mandate slated to take effect in July 2012. Now on record against the measure are the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Customs and Border Protection, US Chamber of Commerce, all major cargo shipper organisations, the ocean carriers transporting the boxes, as well as the European Commission and the governments of America’s key trading partners, including Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, and the UK. The World Shipping Council, which represents liners, says the bill will negatively impact $500Bn is US commerce and criticises Congress’ failure to hold hearings on the issue or to allow amendments on the floor. Maritime lawyer Dennis Bryant of Holland & Knight points out that the scanning scheme was contained in the 9/11 Commission bill but was never suggested by the panel itself. [NOTE: See Mr. Bryant's comments highlighted in Last Week's Maritime Monday.]

AND:

Woodside unveils US regas project - SANTA MONICA, California 30 July – Australia-based energy giant Woodside Petroleum revealed today that it will flag two newbuilding LNG regasification vessels to the Stars & Stripes and crew them with US-licensed seafarers as part of the proposed OceanWay natural gas project off Southern California. The announcement from Steve Larson, president of Woodside Natural Gas – a Woodside Petroleum subsidiary – and US Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton came after months of negotiations and it is hoped by the company and MarAd that the US flagging, combined with strong trade union support and hiring Larson – former executive director of the California Public Utilities Commission – to lead the project, will help reduce the anti-LNG outcry that doomed several other proposed terminals off California’s shoreline. In addition to using US flagged ships (being built in South Korea to USCG-approved specifications) with nearly 200 American seafarers aboard, this project will be based 20 n-miles offshore and its buoys will be located 5 n-miles from any shipping lanes – to ensure both safety and minimal interference with the sea-views from the area’s pricey beachfront homes – many of which are occupied by Hollywood celebrities who opposed previous projects. - Fairplay Homepage (Used with Permission)

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New York Police Chopper N318PD - Photos

Here are a couple of photos of New York Police Department Helicopter N318PD.

I wonder what this guy was doing when this photo was taken?

Sure looks like he is doing something, right?

Is there any legitimate reason to have your hand outside the helicopter?

Made in N.Y.C. - Photo

While taking pictures in NY one day this fine person commented on what a nice camera I had, then suggested I take his photo:

(MADE IN N.Y.C, CIRCA 1963)

Yes, thats a gumball machine tattooed on his arm.

Homemade Sicilian Pizza

Here are some photos of a recent attempt to make American-style Sicilian pan pizza:

The dough recipe is my own which took into consideration of the following two pizza blog posts:

Improved Tray Pizza - Round 2 - Pizza Maniac
First Attempt at Tray Pizza - Pizza Maniac

The special characteristics of this pie are:

- Pepper mixture in the dough, which is made from scratch
- Pizza sauce made from scratch

- Half the pie is topped with Parmesan cheese, the other half with a mixture of mozzarella and white cheddar

- Liberal application of basil, oregano and a mixture of peppers

I have been trying to make at least one pie a week. It takes a little effort since both making the sauce and the dough take time. However, the results seems to justify the effort as every time I have made one, it has been very well received.

The Romanian Roadtrap

Squire Verstas, living in Finland emailed this recent experience of his:

We were driving the kids to the cottage on a back road somewhere near Hyvinkää when we spotted two cars parked by the side of the road, one with its hood up. One man, by appearance obviously not a Finn, noticed us and started waving wildly to get us to stop. Päivi P [his wife] started to slow down, then sped up and drove past them.

I was a little surprised at this unfriendly move on her part.

She explained that she heard there were some foreigners around waving down cars, asking to borrow the phone, then basically holding the car hostage until some junk jewelry or other contribution was offered.

Seems odd, but then I had to agree with her. There were two cars, both shouldn't be in trouble so why couldn't they use one to fetch help. They were obviously foreigners by appearance.

That was some pretty desperate waving. Something didn't seem right.

Seemingly a racist conclusion. But the final support for Päivi P's decision to keep on driving happened this week while watching Finnish news, which was reporting on Romanians who doing exactly what Päivi P described--in the Hyvinkää area.

Thanks to the EU they have every right to come to Finland and do all the various illegal tricks they want. All the organized gangs of pickpockets and beggars that are busted generally come from Romania.

Now, once you get out of Helsinki and the other 'major' cities in Finland, many roads are lightly traveled. Sometimes you can be driving for a while with no other cars in sight. Then when you do come across another driver, it is kind of like out of a Mad Max Road Warrior movie, just without the nuclear holocaust, the killing and with trees, reindeer and moose. At it's basic level, your out there on your own. Forget about the police. There might be only one police car for an entire area, and chances are that he is nowhere near you.

I then received the following message further explaining:

Thing with the Romanians is that there's all this concerns about racism here towards foreigners, but then when you look all these crimes are being committed by Russians and other foreigners.

Latest Hesari is talking about the credit card readers set up by criminals, and then it turns out to be Russians. Not surprising people get concerned about all this. There's a certain naivety with Finns about this, which is something I actually like. I don't want to be looking over my shoulder and worrying about my kids all the time. Part of the reason I'm here.

Anyway, my two cents worth.

With anything, reputations, to a certain degree, are earned. They are not totally a work of fiction. Romanians, the Roma gypsies and the Russians, as a group, have earned this criminal reputation. Having lived in Finland, I remember a regular stream of news reports about Russians being caught doing crimes. Romania was not part of the EU club at the time, so there were not many of them around, other than the times that groups of Roma gypsies from around Europe would fly in attempting to claim refugee status.

It is just like all these people being scammed by emails from people claiming to be relatives of former corrupt officials from Africa. These scams work because there are loads of corrupt officials from Africa and it is reasonable to believe that out there are a couple relatives who are having problems gaining access to their father's stolen loot. (It's just that they are NEVER going to email you.) However, as a result of all these swindled people, Nigeria has a crappy reputation. It's so bad, you wonder why they haven't just turned off internet access to the country.

The one weakness in the scam above, is what happens if the Romanians (or whoever they might happen to be) manage to stop a Russian, or even an American. They might not take lightly to this type of scam and not act like a Finn would. (Then again, they might just as well stop a car full of drunk Finns.)

Scams like this exist because of another problem. If these guys to get caught, the punishment is a joke to them. Take the case of Estonian Criminals. They go to Sweden, because if they do end up in jail, jail there is not so bad. Not like in Estonia.

Why is the UN Pleading for Food for Zimbabwe?

We all know that Zimbabwe, once a breadbasket in Africa, is now a complete and total disaster.

However, the disaster part is only just starting for the population, as there is now an impending food shortage ready to strike the population. This has brought the UN's World Food Programme rushing to the rescue. And they need your help:

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is asking donor countries to fund an expanded aid operation in Zimbabwe.

The WFP says a poor harvest and the country's worsening economic situation means hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans are running out of food. It says it will have to provide assistance to more than three million people over the coming months.

Without additional funds, UN food stocks will be completely exhausted by the end of 2007, the agency says. According to the WFP an estimated 3.3 million people will need assistance during the peak hunger period between November and March. It has appealed for $118 million dollars (£58 million) in aid from international donors. - BBC

Why is the Government of Zimbabwe not doing the begging for food aid?

Why aren't they paying for the food?

Why do they appear completely uninvolved?

The simple answer is that they really don't give a crap about this problem or their people.

Considering their previous actions against the white farmers in the countryside and the poor in the capital, maybe they just figured that starvation is a lot simpler way of thinning the population without having to worry about charges of genocide. Having thugs go about killing people, like they did when they forced the white farmers out, leaves lots of evidence.

Sure, letting the UN's World Food Programme come into your country to feed your population is going to interrupt those plans, but as a side benefit, their entry into the country provides two immediate benefits:

1. Relieves them of the responsibility of caring for their population


2. Provides a new stream of revenue for the Leadership

As cold-hearted as it sounds, it is not the UN's responsibility to care for Zimbabwe's Citizens. If their Government is willing to kill off its own population, then that is their problem. It is an internal matter.

If the International community has a problem with this, then they should act through the UN, through 'dialog' for whatever good that might do, and through the sanction process. Then, if there is failure to act to solve the problem, then their leaders should be hauled before the International Court for crimes against humanity. In a worst-case situation, the country might have to be occupied.

The UN should not accept the responsibility for feeding another country's people. All it does is let the 'host' government off the hook, leaving no incentive to solve the problem. As far as the government is concerned, the UN is solving the problem by stepping in. This goes for a number of UN member states that require perpetual aid.

Having the WFP relieve the immediate suffering also acts as a pressure relief value against pressure for the Government to reform itself. After all, it is not the World Food Programme's mission to force change on the Government of Zimbabwe. That would be contrary to their mission. They really need to make sure that they irritate Government officials as little as possible so that they are not told to leave the country. You could even say that the population has become hostages of their own Government, forcing those coming to their aid to conform to Government requirements in order to get access to those people. This leads to bribes, payoffs and diversion of the aid itself. (It is possible that in North Korea, all 100% of UNDP Development Aid was diverted from its intended purposes!) There is no reason to expect any different outcome from Zimbabwe.

The situation there is so desperate that the United States has decided to provide a massive amount of food aid through the US's USAID. You would think that the Government would be grateful, but like I said above, these people just don't care:

[Zimbabwe's] Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu accused the U.S. of meddling in its affairs and supporting opposition leaders. And he says the U.S. food aid is part of that support, a trick to turn the people of the country against its government. - Marketplace

While he is at it, why not just blame the US for the famine itself?

Of course they are going to accept the food aid. After all, their cronies need to eat as well and it's hard to get aid workers to pay you off when you refuse to allow them access. However, once large numbers of the population starts dying, they can always blame the US for not giving enough food.

However, with their attitude, maybe the US should just sit this one out. Of course the Government should be pressured, perhaps through the UN, or through the African Nations that are currently resisting the EU's attempts to sanction Zimbabwe. Currently, a number of African countries refuse to participate in EU meetings if Zimbabwe is not invited without restrictions. Well, if they want to accept responsibility for Zimbabwe, then let them, starting with answering the call for food aid.

As leaders of a country, they have a responsibility to the people they rule over. If they neglect that responsibility, there is always sanctions against them as well as sending them to the International Criminal Court to face charges for crimes against humanity. This responsibility extends to those countries that defend these criminal states.

Sadly, this crisis was seen coming already a year ago when I had written:

This is essentially an internal matter for Zimbabwe. However, at some point the rest of us will have to pay for the criminal activity of the current Government there, while at the same time being on the receiving end of complaints that the destruction of the country was somehow really OUR FAULT and not the fault of the President of Zimbabwe, President Robert Mugabe. - FFI

We will need to keep paying as long as we are willing to keep paying.

So before you get pissed off at me for saying that we should just let these people die, do understand that they are dead already as long as the current Government remains in power. So in reality what I am suggesting is to not interfere in a way that only delays the inevitable outcome for the majority of the population. (Look at North Korea. They were near total collapse after the collapse of the Soviet Union, until the US, and others, came to their aid.)

Sending aid only delays the outcome as nothing is done to fix the source of the problem. This problem will never be solved as long as their own Government does not consider it a problem. For the moment, they don't.

I am not alone in calling for a hands-off approach concerning Africa's problems. There are growing calls from Africans to stop giving aid to them as it is the aid itself causing much of Africa's problems:

The Kenyan economics expert James Shikwati, 35, says that aid to Africa does more harm than good. The avid proponent of globalization spoke with SPIEGEL about the disastrous effects of Western development policy in Africa, corrupt rulers, and the tendency to overstate the AIDS problem.

SPIEGEL:Mr. Shikwati, the G8 summit at Gleneagles is about to beef up the development aid for Africa...

Shikwati: ... for God's sake, please just stop.

SPIEGEL: Stop? The industrialized nations of the West want to eliminate hunger and poverty.

Shikwati: Such intentions have been damaging our continent for the past 40 years. If the industrial nations really want to help the Africans, they should finally terminate this awful aid. The countries that have collected the most development aid are also the ones that are in the worst shape. Despite the billions that have poured in to Africa, the continent remains poor.

SPIEGEL: Do you have an explanation for this paradox?

Shikwati: Huge bureaucracies are financed (with the aid money), corruption and complacency are promoted, Africans are taught to be beggars and not to be independent. In addition, development aid weakens the local markets everywhere and dampens the spirit of entrepreneurship that we so desperately need. As absurd as it may sound: Development aid is one of the reasons for Africa's problems. If the West were to cancel these payments, normal Africans wouldn't even notice. Only the functionaries would be hard hit. Which is why they maintain that the world would stop turning without this development aid.

SPIEGEL: Even in a country like Kenya, people are starving to death each year. Someone has got to help them.

Shikwati: But it has to be the Kenyans themselves who help these people. When there's a drought in a region of Kenya, our corrupt politicians reflexively cry out for more help. This call then reaches the United Nations World Food Program -- which is a massive agency of apparatchiks who are in the absurd situation of, on the one hand, being dedicated to the fight against hunger while, on the other hand, being faced with unemployment were hunger actually eliminated. It's only natural that they willingly accept the plea for more help. And it's not uncommon that they demand a little more money than the respective African government originally requested. They then forward that request to their headquarters, and before long, several thousands tons of corn are shipped to Africa ...

SPIEGEL: ... corn that predominantly comes from highly-subsidized European and American farmers ...

Shikwati: ... and at some point, this corn ends up in the harbor of Mombasa. A portion of the corn often goes directly into the hands of unsrupulous politicians who then pass it on to their own tribe to boost their next election campaign. Another portion of the shipment ends up on the black market where the corn is dumped at extremely low prices. Local farmers may as well put down their hoes right away; no one can compete with the UN's World Food Program. And because the farmers go under in the face of this pressure, Kenya would have no reserves to draw on if there actually were a famine next year. It's a simple but fatal cycle.

SPIEGEL: If the World Food Program didn't do anything, the people would starve. - Spiegel (GO READ THE REST. It is an eye-opener)

Then, take this recent behavior of another African leader:

Last February, I wrote about the expensive tastes of Daniel Sassou-Nguesso, the ruler of the desperately poor African nation of Congo and the president of the African Union. In a September 2005 stay in New York, the man who keeps demanding Western aid also demanded a lot of room service. He dropped over $190,000 in cash as a down payment on a $326,000 bill for a week's stay during a UN session for Sassou-Nguesso and his entourage. Now the Times of London reports that Sassou-Nguesso ran up another bill in 2006 which belies the abject poverty of his subjects:

IN two short visits to New York last year the leader of one of Africa’s poorest countries spent $400,000 (£207,000) on hotel bills as members of his entourage drank Cristal champagne and charged tens of thousands of dollars of room service to accounts paid by the Republic of Congo’s mission to the United Nations.

Detailed hotel bills obtained by The Sunday Times showed that a Waldorf Astoria suite occupied by Congo President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, chairman of the African Union, recorded £12,000 of room service charges during a five-night stay last April that cost his country £73,000.

When he returned to the same hotel during the UN general assembly meeting last September, almost £14,000 of room service was added to his bill during another five-night stay. His entourage, including several members of his family, occupied 44 rooms which together ran up a bill of £130,000 — comfortably more than the £106,000 that Britain gave the country in humanitarian aid last year.

The latest revelations about Sassou-Nguesso’s lavish travel habits have appalled anti-corruption campaigners and embarrassed the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Last year they agreed to a large debt relief package on the grounds that the country — known as Congo-Brazzaville to distinguish it from its neighbour, the Democratic Republic of Congo — was too poor to meet its financial commitments.

At least Sessou-Nguesso is consistent. He continually runs up bills higher than the foreign aid that the West has granted his nation. I suppose we could just ask the World Bank and the IMF to just simply transfer the aid directly to the Waldorf-Astoria, and cut out the middleman.

In a five-night stay in April, the entourage ran up $23,000 in room-service charges, or around $4,600 per night. That amounts to over three times the GDP per capita of his nation. In September on another visit, the room-service bill ran to $27,000 for a trip that lasted five days and included 44 people. And bear in mind that this just calculates what Sessou-Nguesso spent at the hotel. Who knows how much cash he dropped in New York restaurants and other entertainment destinations?

The Western industrial nations have been pressured to forgive debts of African nations, including Congo. France pressured the World Bank to implement its debt-relief package for Sessou-Nguesso after the revelations of his earlier stay in New York caused Paul Wolfowitz to suspend the deal. Now we see how that aid gets used -- to entertain a Marxist dictator while 70% of his citizens live off of one dollar a day or less.

It behooves us to give struggling nations in Africa a helping hand, if not for humanitarian reasons, then at least to keep al-Qaeda and other terrorists from exploiting the people and resources of nations struggling to survive. George Bush rightly limits that assistance to nations which have reformed their political systems in order to ensure that the aid does not prop up dictators and kleptocrats. Sessou-Nguesso provides a brilliant example of why we need to follow that wise policy. - Captains Quarters

We (the West) allow them to not care. It is time to stop. Unfortunately, some will die in the process, but I suspect that it will be many less lives lost than if we keep excusing these leaders for neglecting their citizens.

Africa is rich in resources. Gold, diamonds, iron ore, oil, fisheries and human labor. They can fund their own development. What they are missing in terms of technical know-how and equipment they can pay for, like everyone else.

Zimbabwe photos - Land reform - 22 August 2006
The UN Cannot Save the North Koreans (So Stop Trying) - 1 Feb 2007

Chinese Toys and Lead

I had written in June about my concerns about "Chinese Food and Lead". This was written during a time when a number of problems were becoming known about some Chinese products. While there were no lead scares at the time, it just reinforced my concern that we would be hearing about lead in Chinese food eventually.

Now there is a lead scare, but the lead was not found in food, it has been found in children's toys.

Mattel, the maker of Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars, is recalling nearly one million toys in the United States today because the products are covered in lead paint. - NY Times

This recall includes Fisher-Price toys, which in general are well made, even those made in China. However, this does confirm what I had discussed in my posts about Juicy Juice sourcing apples from China; That even a high degree of supervision and control is no guarantee against making products that are defective and even dangerous. That is exactly what happened here:

“This is a vendor plant with whom we’ve worked for 15 years; this isn’t somebody that just started making toys for us,” Robert A. Eckert, the chief executive of Mattel, said in an interview. “They understand our regulations, they understand our program, and something went wrong. That hurts.”

Mattel requires the factories it contracts with to use paint and other materials provided by certified suppliers. Mattel executives said they did not know if the contract manufacturer substituted paint from a noncertified supplier or if a certified supplier caused the problem. - NY Times

I bet it hurts. This problem does not effect all Fisher-Price products, but you can bet that all of them will suffer lost sales, even more so with businesses trying to downplay the issue of where products come from. By doing that, many people don't bother to look where a product is made. They will simply avoid all of them made by a manufacturer with a problem.

Why is it that there is lead paint in China? Didn't the US get rid of it 30 years ago? Didn't China get the message?

Since it is around, why aren't the factories more concerned about what they place on children's toys? Is it just a case of country-wide ignorance? (Recently, Thomas the Train trains were recalled for being covered in paint containing lead) I bet nothing is being done to check the employees in China for lead poisoning? Were they even told of the risks once it was known what they were dealing with? I doubt it. Telling them kind of defeats the economic reasons for operating in China. But then again, so does painting your product in lead.

Here is the list of products. Do check it if you have bought any child toys recently. I had one of these items in my hand last weekend, debating whether to buy it. (I didn't.)

Oh, look who has a fact sheet on what you need to know about lead poisoning, the US. Here is the EPA page containing information sheets on lead. Click the image below for a Chinese language PDF factsheet. If you know anyone in China, be sure to send it to them. You can bet that the country is probably covered in it.


有关铅中毒
你需要了解的
常识
Chinese Food and Lead - 8 June 2007