At
UN, “Wonders of the Sea 3D” With
Cousteau & Schwarzenegger
Dazzles Despite Censorship
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS,
September 9 – Clown
fish swam in 3-D in the UN's
Trusteeship Council Chamber on
Saturday night, while clowns
in UN Security harassed the
Press which had every right to
cover the premiere screening
of “Wonders of the Sea 3D”
with Jean-Michel Cousteau,
narrated by Arnold
Schwarzenegger. The screening
was listed in the UN's Media
Alert, but when Inner City
Press showed up at the UN's
tourist entrance to cover it,
it got stopped. A UN Security
officer who had participated
in the retaliatory eviction of
the Press (audio here,
he's the one explaining the
seizure of a broadcasting
smart phone by saying, “it's
too much”) stepped in front of
Inner City Press and said, No
Green P's allowed. Green
P means “non resident
correspondent,” the status the
UN reduced Inner City Press to
as it covered the UN bribery
scandal of Ng Lap Seng, since
convict on six counts
including under the US Foreign
Corrupt Practices Act. The UN
claims there is no difference
in access, even as it prepared
to limited UN General Assembly
week passes to “resident
correspondents,” including
no-show state media like
Akhbar al Yom, in a side deal
with the UN Correspondents
Association now known as the
UN Censorship Alliance.
Pushing back, Inner City Press
arrived late, missing any
photo op but producing this
Periscope livestream. The
filming was in Fiji, the home
country of the outgoing
President of the General
Assembly to whom Inner City
Press on September 8 directed
questions not only about
corruption - he said there are
crows picking around the edge
of the UN, which is true - but
also about the oceans. The
cinematography of WOTS3D is
amazing, with nighttime
filming and close up of
undersea creatures courting or
fighting. We recommend it -
but not the UN's censorship
for corruption - highly. There
was to be a reception after
the film, to which Inner City
Press was invited but which
due to this Press targeting by
the UN Department of Public
Information, was not covered
by Inner City Press. This has
been raised to new / incoming
DPI chief Alison Smale, so far
without response. Here
is Inner City Press' (and the
Free
UN Coalition for Access')
curtain raiser from the
upcoming UN General Assembly
High Level Week. Watch this
site.
***
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