UN Condemns Stingy Pakistan Flood Relief Aid From Muslim Nations

Recall back in late 2004 a smug, sanctimonious UN official named Jan Egeland harshly criticized U.S. aid relief for the tsunami victims in Indonesia and Thailand.

Such figures were what prompted Jan Egeland - the United Nations' emergency relief coordinator and former head of the Norwegian Red Cross - to challenge the giving of rich nations.

"We were more generous when we were less rich, many of the rich countries," Egeland said. "And it is beyond me, why are we so stingy, really.... Even Christmas time should remind many Western countries at least how rich we have become."

This knee-jerk reaction came only a couple of days after the devastating floods.

So I find it curious now that in the wake of the flooding in Pakistan, why is aid so slow coming in from Muslim nations? You would think now considering we're basking in the joys of Ramadan the spirit of giving would be that much greater.

The United Nations began an appeal on Aug. 11 for $460 million to provide immediate aid to flood victims. By Wednesday, nations, organizations and individuals had sent $231 million, and had pledged an additional $40 million.

The United States was by far the largest single donor, with $82 million, according to United Nations figures, with Australia the next largest donor at $26.6 million. The United States said its total contributions amounted to $90 million, including helicopters, boats and temporary bridges, according to the State Department.

Not all the aid was flowing through the United Nations. Britain, for example, has sent more than $40 million, and the European Union said it would double its aid to more than $90 million.

Although the disaster has fallen in the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, when charity is considered a duty, Muslim states have donated virtually nothing via the United Nations and relatively small sums on their own. Turkey was the largest such donor, with more than $11 million, and Kuwait donated $5 million, United Nations figures show. Saudi Arabia has pledged more than $80 million, but United Nations records indicate none of it has been delivered.

They're probably diverting it to the Victory Mosque at Ground Zero.

So we see already a combined $130 million from the U.S. and Great Britain yet almost nothing from their Muslim brothers. Wait, make that $130,000, 010, thanks to this enormously generous contribution from Hillary Clinton.

Egeland, naturally, gives zero thanks to our generosity yet spares the skinflints any direct criticism.

The vast majority of funding for the U.N.-led relief operation so far has come from traditional donors -- principally the United States, Australia, Denmark and Britain. Many of Pakistan's regional allies and neighbors, including China, Iran and Saudi Arabia, as well as other developing countries, have sent only a trickle of aid in the crucial first weeks of the crisis.

"It's been abysmal, it's been terrible. There is no relationship between the number of people in acute need of help and what has actually been provided in this first month," said Jan Egeland, a former U.N. relief coordinator who managed the international response to the tsunami in South Asia in 2004. "We got more in a single day just after the tsunami than Pakistan got in a month."

Seems all that outreach of Obama's to the Muslim world isn't exactly paying dividends.

"It is really sad that even our brother Islamic countries provide very little aid in this hardest time," Mohammad Usman, 58, said recently as he sat outside his badly damaged home in the northwestern town of Charsadda. "We expected more, but what we are hearing is nothing."

The United Nations has been struggling for years to convince Islamic countries, particularly Saudi Arabia and other wealthy gulf states, to direct relief money through U.N. programs in order to ensure a coordinated response. Some of the U.N. appeals have paid off. Kuwait, for instance, recently committed to put 10 percent of its giving to international organizations. But much of the Islamic world remains reluctant.

But we're not supposed to criticize them since that would be bigoted or something.

Imagine if we'd given virtually nothing and Muslim nations the bulk of relief aid. Would the UN spare the criticism of us? Why are they so quiet now?

UN Fires Obama's Envoy To Afghanistan

This story is just full of irony and twists and turns that are only possible in the world of diplomats.

First the cast of characters.

Peter Galbraith, the UN's second in command in Afghanistan. He got the job at the insistence of the newly elected Barack Obama in light of strong opposition from the UN.

Ban Ki Moon, current head of the UN.

Kai Eide, a Norwegian who vehemently opposed the appointment of Mr Galbraith, and who was his boss in Afghanistan.

Throw in a dose of Richard Holbrooke and a controversial election and pure comedy ensues.

Mr. Galbraith just either quit or got fired from his posting in Afghanistan because he wanted the UN to put a more visible voice to the recent election and the irregularities that were reported. Mr. Moon and Mr. Eide told him to shut up. This has all the hallmarks of another UN scandal; not for the firing, but rather for what sort of backroom deals are going on at the UN that they would not more attention brought to the allegations of election fraud in Afghanistan.

Oh, don't think Galbraith is all that much of a knight in shining armor. In 2007, he authored a book entitled The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created A War Without End. Galbraith's solution? Partitioning the country into three parts, also known as the Biden Plan. Ironically, he was one of the very same people who led the charge to depose Saddam Hussein.

I supported President Bush's decision to overthrow Saddam Hussein. At Wolfowitz's request, I helped advance the case for war, drawing on my work in previous years in documenting Saddam's atrocities, including the use of chemical weapons on the Kurds. In spite of the chaos that followed the war, I am sure that Iraq is better off without Saddam Hussein.

At the time of his appointment back in March the Times Online had this to say.

Peter Galbraith, son of the late economist J.K. Galbraith, became the UN's second-in-command in Afghanistan, despite the protests from the man who will now be his boss. The appointment strengthens US influence over the UN operation in Afghanistan as the Obama Administration is about to reveal its new strategy to win the war against the resurgent Taleban.

As far as the title of ambassador, that didn't go so well either.

He served as US Ambassador in Croatia from 1993 to 1998 while Mr Holbrooke was brokering the peace in the Balkan wars. He became embroiled in controversy over his role in alleged US complicity in Iranian arms shipments to Croatia and Bosnia, in violation of UN sanctions.

So back in March when Barry O was dedicated to winning in Afghanistan he appointed this guy at the same time he was removing Christopher Hill from Korea and reassigning him to Iraq, because after all he did such a wonderful job with North Korea; people who might have been asking questions were so deep into Obama worship that moves that would have struck many people as being designed to purposely lose the wars we were engaged in simply flew under the radar.

I feel Galbraith was standing up for the right thing in advocating for an investigation into the election process in Afghanistan, but I wonder what he thinks of ACORN and their role in electing our president?

Don't you just sleep better at night knowing the Barry O international team is on the job now?

Corrupt UN Hack Gets Ivy League Fellowship

Another case of rewarding incompetence.

Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has been named a Columbia University Global Fellow and is expected to give lectures, host conferences and moderate events at the Ivy League school.

Columbia also announced Thursday that former Austrian chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer and former Hong Kong chief executive Tung Chee Hwa will join Annan as Columbia Global Fellows next year.

The university says it expects Annan will participate in Columbia's World Leaders Forum on campus and abroad.

Maybe he can lecture about how he and his cronies managed to loot $64 billion in the oil-for food scandal.

Earth Hour Idiocy: Maybe the UN Should Go Dark Permanently

Here we go with the feel-good nonsense known as Earth Hour, where cities and groups around the world go dark for an hour in a symbolic gesture to show how morally superior they are while trying to foist "climate change" restrictions on us.

For one hour on Saturday evening, 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., exterior lights will shut off at a score of New York City landmarks, including the Empire State Building, the New York Public Library, the United Nations headquarters, City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge. But New Yorkers need not worry — we hope — about a recurrence of the citywide blackouts of 1965, 1977 and 2003.

The lights are being shut off intentionally as part of a worldwide observance of Earth Hour, an event that began in 2007 in Sydney and was organized by the Australia chapter of the World Wildlife Fund.

As our colleagues at the Green Inc. blog noted earlier this week, the event will start in Fiji and then roll around the globe by time zone throughout the day. Cities slated to participate include Cape Town, Chicago, Copenhagen, Dubai, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Las Vegas, Lisbon, London, Los Angeles, Manila, Mexico City, Moscow, Nashville, Oslo, Rome, San Francisco, Singapore, Sydney, Toronto and Warsaw.

“This will be a pivotal year in the future of our planet as we look to Congress, President Obama and global leaders to take immediate and decisive action on climate change,” Carter Roberts, chief executive of the World Wildlife Fund, said in a statement. “Having New York City go dark for Earth Hour will send a powerful message to the world that the U.S. is ready to assume a leadership position in solving one of the most serious challenges facing our planet today. By turning out the lights, the people of New York City will be casting a vote in support of the future of the Earth.”

Of course in the minds of these twits, if you don't play along with this nonsense, you don't care about the Earth. The horrors!

My question is why just an hour? If these people are so intent on saving the planet, why not two hours? Ten hours? The whole day? How about just turning back the clock a couple centuries and go totally dark and live by candlelight?

Will Carter Roberts really be in the dark for an hour, or will he be sitting around checking his BlackBerry and texting his moonbat friends while patting himself on the back?

Well, I'm not going to play along. As I sit here in a hotel in an undisclosed location, I just turned on all the lights and turned the thermostat in my room to an environmentally damaging 62 degrees.

Even the Hollywood boobs are getting in on the action.

The actor Edward Norton is the official ambassador for Earth Hour 2009.

Maybe Ed can show us his electric bill so we can see how much energy he's consuming.

Considering the UN is partaking in this, I have a suggestion for them: Turn off the lights permanently and leave New York. You'll save a lot of energy and we'll be free of an adundance of hot air from all the enemies of America.

Update: Heh.

Via Ace's headlines.

Iran Angling for Seat on UN Security Council

No, this isn't a joke. Knowing the UN, they'd probably grant it.

The United Nations General Assembly will hold a vote Friday on Iran's request to become temporary member of the organization's Security Council.

Iran may be under three sets of sanctions from the UN Security Council over its nuclear program, but that has not stopped it from campaigning for the temporary membership.

The chances of Iran winning the Asian regional seat against rival Japan in Friday's voting are widely viewed as slim-to-none: Victory would require support from two-thirds of all General Assembly member countries that turn up for the secret ballot.

Yet experts said just being in the race at all may be prize enough for Teheran, which announced its candidacy in September 2007.

We have a presidential candidate who wants to sit down with them without preconditions, so why would the world object to having these maniacs on the security council? After all, should we be tolerant and open to dialogue?

If They're Looking for Racism, Just Visit the DNC

Some clown from the UN appropriately named Doudou will be visiting the United States looking to stir up some trouble and call us all racists.

A special U.N. human rights investigator will visit the United States this month to probe racism, an issue that has forced its way into the race to secure the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

The United Nations said Doudou Diene would meet federal and local officials, as well as lawmakers and judicial authorities during the May 19-June 6 visit.

"The special rapporteur will...gather first-hand information on issues related to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance," a U.N. statement said on Friday.

His three-week visit, at U.S. government invitation, will cover eight cities -- Washington D.C., New York, Chicago, Omaha, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Well, since those are all liberal Democrat enclaves, he'll be certain to find plenty of bigotry and hatred, directed in particular at Republicans.

Glad to see all the world's ills have been cleaned up that Doudou now finds it important to come to the most openly tolerant society on the face of the Earth to unearth some racism.

Maybe he can have a sitdown with Jeremiah Wright while he's in Chicago and ask him why he hates white people so much.

H/T Killgore Trout.

World Economy 'Teetering on the Brink' But Still Growing

More gloom and doom from our friends at the UN.

A group that does nothing, produces nothing and sucks money out of our wallets nonstop is warning us of economic peril ahead, claiming the world economy is only expected to grow at a rate of 1.8% this year and 2.1% in 2009. Clearly that's not enough to sustain all the money they want to grub from the United States.

On the upside, I guess we can put that global recession on hold for a bit.

Naturally, they blame it all on he world's greatest economy.

The world economy is "teetering on the brink" of a severe downturn and is expected to grow only 1.8 percent in 2008, the United Nations said in its mid-year economic projections Thursday.

That's down from a global growth rate of 3.8 percent in 2007, and the downturn is expected to continue with only a slightly higher growth of 2.1 percent in 2009, the U.N. report said.

The mid-year update of the U.N. World Economic Situation and Prospects 2008 blamed the downturn on further deterioration in the U.S. housing and financial sectors in the first quarter, which is expected to "continue to be a major drag for the world economy extending into 2009."

But the U.N. said developing countries will suffer as badly: They should grow by 5 percent this year and 4.8 percent next year, compared to a robust 7.3 percent in 2007, the report said.

The U.N. economists said the deepening credit crisis in major market economies triggered by the U.S.-led slump in housing prices, the declining value of the U.S. dollar, persistent global imbalances and soaring oil and commodity prices pose considerable risks to economic growth in both developed and developing countries.

Despite the hysteria, the USA is still No. 1, although even that news is portrayed negatively.

The United States topped world competitiveness rankings for the 15th straight year, but its economy is showing the same signs of weakness that sank booming Japan in the early 1990s, according to an annual survey released Thursday.

No surprise to see Venezuela pulling up the rear.

Venezuela was ranked last for the third year in a row, immediately preceded by Ukraine, South Africa, Argentina and Indonesia.

Some things never change

Hey Obama, how about working on changing the UN where it might do some good if you are all about change. There is a new head of the UN but the same tired old rhetoric condemming Israel.

Ban said Israel had employed "inappropriate and disproportionate use of force" in its renewed attacks on the Palestinian territories and called for an immediate ceasefire by both sides.
Highlighting the deaths of women and children in the Israeli attacks he said, "I condemn these acts and call on Israel to cease them" in his speech to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference summit.

I guess he was just playing to the crowd but in reading the article I decided to take two sentences and move them around in the article to show what a difference it can make.

The attack came after a dozen rockets were fired at southern Israel from the Gaza Strip. Israeli planes on Thursday hit targets in the northern Gaza Strip, Israeli armed forces announced, effectively ending a five day lull in the violence.

You of course realize that the sentence starting with the Israeli action led the paragraph.

Show the UN some love

Something called the Better World Campaign is hosting a blog asking for your input on what the new president of the United States should do on their first day in office. And just to help you out they are giving you the topics or labels for your posts if you choose to leave a comment. They are US Image in the world, Iraq, Nuclear Proliferation, Terrorism, Peacekeeping, Poverty, Democracy in the World, Climate and energy, and Global Womens Issues. Hmmmm no choices for ending membership in the UN or kicking the UN out of the US. How about a simple butt out of our affairs. It is also curious that the first post on the blog is from Joe Wilson and his topic? End cowboy diplomacy.

The Better World Campaign (BWC) works to strengthen the relationship between the United States and the United Nations through outreach, communications, and advocacy. We encourage U.S. leadership to enhance the UN’s ability to carry out its invaluable international work on behalf of peace, progress, freedom, and justice. In these efforts, we engage policy makers, the media, and the American public to increase awareness of and support for the United Nations.

Here is John Bolton showing them some love. So if you are so inclined head on over to Day One and leave them a comment or two.

Revenge Of The Vast Right-wing Conspiracy

There is snow - and it's not the kind favored by some family members of various politicians - in the current weather forecast for Southern California. And I sense the genius of eeevil Karl Rove behind this, just to embarrass the Leftisphere.

Rare September storm bringing wind, rain, even snow

A strong storm rarely seen in September is rolling into Southern California this week, bringing high winds, cool temperatures and a potential for rain or even snow, according to the National Weather Service.

There is a wind advisory in effect from noon today until 11 a.m. Friday, meaning winds of 35 mph or stronger are expected, the weather service reported.

Gusts could hit 45 mph by this evening. The high temp today is expected to be 86 to 91 degrees and 80 to 85 degrees tomorrow and Friday.

There is a slight chance of thunderstorms and a potential for local heavy precipitaion from late Thursday through Friday.

The cold storm may even bring snowfall in the mountains above 6,000 feet, the weather service reported.

The possible precipitation also brings the threat of flash flooding and debris flows over the recently burned areas.

A September storm like this has not been seen in Southern California since 1986, the National Weather Service reported.

Oy, such mishegas! Just in time for the UN Climate Change Conference.

Via The Desert Sun (Palm Springs).

A Speech The Media Won't Cover

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moo has done the unthinkable.

Czech President Vaclav Klaus ---- Photo: CTK/Czech News Agency

U.N. invites Czech president to global warming conference

Czech President Vaclav Klaus will address a conference on global warming in late September in New York as he has been invited by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to the event, Klaus's spokesman Petr Hajek told CTK Tuesday.

Klaus is known as a fierce challenger of both the human factor in and the widely forecast effects of global warming. He opposes the views advocated by people like Al Gore, arguing that the "hysteria" surrounding the warming issue threatens freedom and democracy.

One of his slogans is that freedom, not climate is endangered. He regularly lashes out against "ambitious environmentalism."

Earlier this year, he published "Blue, Not Green Planet", a book summarizing his opinions challenging some scenarios of the planet's further development with regard to global warming.

Klaus told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) last week that he plans to deliver a very radical speech in New York.

"It will be a gathering of 'Gore-ites,' so they're going to be shocked that they invited me 'by mistake,' too. And I'm going to give a very tough speech," he told the radio.

Fat al-Goracle, dreaming of triple-scoop ice cream cones, was busy screeching about how when ice melts, it leaves behind . . . water.

Kurt Waldheim Dead

VIENNA (Reuters) - Kurt Waldheim, former United Nations secretary-general and Austrian president, died on Thursday aged 88 after a short but severe illness, the Austrian presidency and a family spokesman said.

He won't be missed.

Pali Civil War Claims Two UN Workers

Surely the media will find a way to blame this on Israel.

Two Palestinian employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) were shot dead in the Gaza Strip and the agency said on Wednesday it was suspending most of its operations due to the internal fighting.

UNRWA spokesman Christopher Gunness said one of the employees was shot in the abdomen on Tuesday and died on Wednesday. The other employee was shot in the head on Wednesday.

Gunness said they are the first UN employees killed in Gaza since internal fighting erupted between Hamas Islamists and President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction last year.

Gunness said they appeared to have been caught in the crossfire and not targeted because of their work for the UN Agency, which provides services to Palestinian refugees.

“In view of increased threats to our staff, UNRWA has no choice but to scale back its operations in Gaza with immediate effect,” Gunness said. He said the agency was temporarily suspending all but emergency medical and food programs.

More Global Warming Hysteria

As we noted the other day, the onslaught is in full effect and it's getting sillier by the day.

Today's foray into utter banality has global warming propagandist Al Gore being nominated for the now greatly devalued Nobel Peace Prize.

OSLO, Norway (AP) -- Former Vice President Al Gore was nominated for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his wide-reaching efforts to draw the world's attention to the dangers of global warming, a Norwegian lawmaker said Thursday.

"A prerequisite for winning the Nobel Peace Prize is making a difference, and Al Gore has made a difference," Conservative Member of Parliament Boerge Brende, a former minister of environment and then of trade, told The Associated Press.

Meanwhile, the UN released an absurd report claiming a possible increase of up to 7 degrees by 2100.

The earth's surface temperature will probably rise by between 1.8 and 4.0 C (3.24 and 7.24 F) by the turn of the century, according to a "best estimate" agreed by the UN's top scientific panel for global warming, sources said.

The estimate was released as the world's top climate experts struggled against the clock to hammer out a consensus report on global warming that is already radiating political shockwaves.

The 1.8-4.0 C warming is experts' "best estimate" in forecasts for 2090-2099 compared to 1980-1999, depending on how much carbon dioxide, the principal greenhouse gas, enters the atmosphere by 2100.

Apparently, it's all our fault. Let's just ignore billions of years of climate change and instead, with moral vanity and preening certitude, think that a time period of under 100 years is really all that significant.

PARIS (AP) -- The most authoritative report on climate change is using the strongest wording ever on the source of global warming, saying it is "very likely" caused by humans and already is leading to killer heat waves and stronger hurricanes, delegates who have seen the report said Thursday.

Dozens of scientists and bureaucrats from 113 countries are editing the new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in closed-door meetings in Paris. Their report, which must be unanimously approved, is to be released Friday and is considered an authoritative document that could influence government and industrial policy worldwide.

It will be interesting to see how much airtime the dissenters are given. I suspect very little.

When you see experts from the UN predicting something may probably be very likely, be very wary. They have no accountability, a miserable track record, and an uncanny knack for ignoring the facts when consistently proven wrong.

Report: Fresh UN Corruption

Truly shocking there would actually be corruption in such an august body.

Of course, as with all the other myriad scandals, nothing will ever happen.

Fresh allegations of corruption within the United Nations have surfaced in a confidential audit report that claims the 2003 election of the current chief of the U.N. weather agency was manipulated.

The report, obtained by The Associated Press on Friday, centered around payments to government delegates at the Geneva-based World Meteorological Organization, which coordinates the study of the world's weather and climate.

WMO instructed Maria Veiga of Portugal, an independent auditor who wrote the report, to investigate the financial irregularities in 2003. Three years later, she was fired for what the agency described as "serious misconduct."

The auditor, however, said she was blocked from pursuing her investigation, received intimidating phone calls and was threatened with legal action by one WMO official before being dismissed.

In a 65-page summary of her findings, Veiga said that Muhammad Hassan of Sudan, a former WMO staffer, skimmed some $3 million from the agency while he was working in its training department.

Reason number 2,859,732 to boot these thieves out of the United States.