Live
Blog II:
Access to UN's
Ban Sold by
UNCA, Qs from
Within
By Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
December 14 --
With the UN
embroiled in
scandals
including the
indictments of
the former
President of
the General
Assembly John
Ashe and Macau
businessman Ng
Lap Seng
and the
founder of
South South
News, on
December 14
the UN
Correspondents
Association
sold seats
with Ban
Ki-moon for
$6000. Periscope I here;
Periscope
II here.
UN corruption,
never
reformed,
rises from the
Ashes,
courtesy of
UNCA, now the
UN Corruption
Association.
And
yet, from
inside
Cipriani Wall
Street, one of
the musicians
paid to play
has an open
mind, and when
shown
reporting on
UN corruption
asks, Should
I make a
scene? Tweet
here.
Just
ask, who here
paid $6000 as
solicited by
UNCA to sit
with Ban
Ki-moon. And
why pay it?
With Ng Lap
Seng, it's
clear.
Reporters
Without
Borders (RSF)
said Ban
supports
journalists.
But the UNCA
he's
supporting
tries to get
them out of
the UN. RSF
did good work
of late. But
willful
blindness does
not help
journalists.
The new EU
representative
naively said,
First UNCA;
the Turkish
mission
tweeted a
photo of Ban
(after its
Perm Rep
hob-nobbed
with him in
front of
Monaco's
painting,
ignoring the
invasion of
Iraq, whose
Ambassador
arrived in tux
to the
Corruption
Ball, we
excuse him.)
Since
UNCA
previously at
such an event
at Cipriani
sold photo ops
with Ban
Ki-moon to
now-indicted
Ng Lap Seng,
who will be
this year's Ng
Lap
Seng?
Into Cipriani,
this time the
one on Wall
Street, passed
many tuxedoed
individuals
never seen at
the UN. What
were they
buying? What
safeguards had
been added
since Ng Lap
Seng and John
Ashe? None.
New PGA
Mogens
Lykketoft
arrived, as
did Deputy
Secretary
General Jan
Eliasson and
David Nabarro,
who stopped in
the rain to
speak with
Inner City
Press, as did
another Under
Secretary
General. How
can the UN and
its group of
scribes remain
so UNreformed,
despite
indictments
and public
scandal?
The bureau
chief of Voice
of America,
who previously
tried to get
Inner City
Press thrown
out of the UN
after it
reported on
UNCA
corruption,
the boss
Giampaolo
Pioli renting
one of his
apartments to
Sri Lanka's
ambassador
then screening
his war crimes
denial film in
the UN,
this time
seemed to give
the finger,
flip the bird
to the press.
Ah,
journalism.
Is it
journalism to
solicit and
take money
from those you
ostensibly
cover? Where
does it go?
We'll have
more on this.
Earlier
on December 14
UNCA lobbed
three softball
questions to
Ban -- none on
Burundi, for
example --
from the
former
president of
UNCA Pamela
Falk, then the
current vice
president and
finally the
current
questioner for
UNCA. Inner
City Press
loudly asked a
question about
the killings
in Burundi,
which Ban
declined to
answer. Vine
here.
Inner
City Press for
the new Free
UN Coalition
for Access
asked Ban's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric about
the propriety
of UNCA
selling seats
with Ban.
Dujarric said,
"As long as
it's
transparent."
Is that the
standard?
One would
expect the UN
press corps,
even the
entity the UN
itself chooses
to set aside
first
questions for,
to be pursuing
rather than be
involved in
the scandals.
One
might also
expect UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon to be
more cautious
of colluding
in events in
which access
to him
has been sold.
But
with the UN
Correspondents
Association,
this year more
than ever,
that is not
the case. The
group or its
leadership,
headed by
Italian
paparazzi
scribe
Giampaolo
Pioli who
after trying
to get the
investigative
Press thrown out
of the UN
now covers
actors like
Morgan Freeman
while others
at his paper
cover the UN,
is selling
seats with Ban
Ki-moon for
$6,000.
In
response to
Press
questions
about this
UNseemly sale
of access,
Ban's
spokesman said
"as long as
it's
transparent."
Will that keep
the
indictments
from
expanding?
Inner City
Press on
December 11
spoke with
indictee Frank
Lorenzo, pictured
here with Ban
Ki-moon,
as written
up by "Italian
News."
This year's
sale of Ban,
like to Ng Lap
Seng in 2011,
is an Italian
job, run by
pazarazzi /
"correspondent"
/ landlord
Giampaolo
Pioli.
How does
this UNCA
sleaze fest
differ from
the South
South Awards,
inextricably
linked to the
indictments of
Ng Lap Seng,
South South
News' Frank
Lorenzo and
former
President of
the General
Assembly John
Ashe? Hardly
at all. So
what will
happen? We'll
have more on
this.
Here
is a photo of
Ban Ki-moon at
South South
Awards with
several
indictees,
here.
For now
we can report
that at the
December 11
closed door
session on
"Revitalization
of the General
Assembly,"
both the UN's
Controller and
Ban Ki-moon's
new chief of
staff Edmond
Mulet made
arguments for
post-Ashe
reforms that a
number of
member states
found far too
little. And
Ban is slated
to have seats
next to him
sold for
$6000. We'll
have more on
this too.
On
December 10,
days after
Pioli used the
large room the
UN gives to
UNCA, its UN
Censorship
Alliance, to campaign
for a Security
Council seat
for his native
Italy by
giving out
free meats,
the view into
the Club was
blocked. So
much for
transparency.
Here is
a photo of the
Clubhouse:
The
flier on the
glassed-in
bulletin
board, under
the "election"
results, is of
fine recently
deceased
journalist
Haider Rizvi.
Inner City
Press' obituary
hinted at it,
but now we're
compelled to
say: UNCA, or
its sidekick,
tried to get
him thrown out
of the UN.
There'll be a
memorial for
Haider, which
can be
participated
in
online,
on December 12
- in Lahore.
Truth is what
journalism is
about. But
here's Pioli
on Morgan
Freeman:
UNCA's
"elections"
had no
competition at
all for the
officer seats,
now doled out
to AFP,
France 24, the
US
Broadcasting
Board of
Governors
and ANSA from
holdover
president
Giampaolo
Pioli's
native Italy.
This
UNCA
"leadership"
represents
Italy and
France, and
old media --
tellingly,
those new
media which
chose to run
(Inner City
Press quit
UNCA after its
censorship
bid) for
lesser UNCA
seats were not
selected. Also
tellingly, the
UN
Spokesperson's
office
promoted the
scam election,
using its
loudspeaker to
try to get out
the vote (for
candidates who
had no
opponents.)
The
ringmaster,
Giampaolo
Pioli, came
through the UN
Security
Council
stakeout not
to ask any
question or
even listen to
answers on
South Sudan or
Syria; he glad
handed his
unopposed
slate and then
headed to the
UN bar. He has
arranged more
Italian
toasting,
seeingly part
of Italy's
actually-opposed
campaign for a
Security
Council seat
(more on this
in future
dispatches).
It's
become the UN's
Censorship
Alliance -
having tried
to get the
investigative
Press thrown
out of the UN
- and the UN
Corruption
Association, selling
photo ops and
seats with Ban
Ki-moon.
Call them Ban
Ki-moon shots.
While
calling for an
audit of sale
of UN access
under John
Ashe, should
Ban openly
allow access
to him to be
sold? He
appears intent
on doing so,
or operating
by inertia, on
automatic
pilot. Inner
City Press now
learns that
Ban's twice
delayed report
on the cover
up of
peacekeepers'
rapes in the
Central
African
Republic will
be pushed
further back,
after the
sell-out,
buried. We'll
have more on
this.
UNCA's
awards, such
as they gave
to South
South News
for money,
include awards
and payments
to entities
who've served
on their own
Board.
In 2011
under then
(and now)
president
Giampaolo
Pioli, UNCA
took money
from the South
South News of
now-indicted
Ng Lap Seng,
then gave
South South
News an UNCA
award and gave
Ng Lap Seng a
photo op with
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon.
Now in
November 2015,
Pioli has
solicited
$6000 from UN
Ambassadors
for seats
at the “VIP”
table at the
UNCA “Ball” on
Wall Street:
to sit with
Ban Ki-moon.
Here is UNCA's
pitch:
"Dear
Ambassador,
The United
Nations
Correspondents
Association is
honored to
invite you to
participate
and contribute
to the 20th
annual UNCA
Awards event
with guest of
honor U.N.
Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon
and H.S.H.
Prince Albert
II of Monaco,
recipient of
the 2015
Global
Advocate of
the Year Award
for climate
change.
Exclusive
raffle prizes
include
business class
airline
tickets around
the world with
hotel
accommodations
and a grand
prize FIAT
500X car. As
your esteemed
presence will
ensure the
success of
this event, we
are pleased to
send you the
below
opportunities
to attend the
gala dinner:
Mission Table
Special Price
/ $6000
(half-table) 5
seats at VIP
table at the
gala event
Special
Ambassador
Contribution /
$2,000 -1 VIP
ticket for
Ambassador
with premium
seating to
dinner + 1
complimentary
VIP ticket for
spouse or
guest -Special
acknowledgement
of the
Ambassador and
the Mission in
the UNCA
Awards Journal
of the evening
-Additional
tickets for UN
Diplomats of
the Mission
can be
purchased at
the special
price of $750
each
Giampaolo
Pioli, UNCA
President
Please make
all checks
payable to
'UNCA Awards
Committee'
Contributions
to the UNCA
Awards
Committee are
tax
deductible.
The UNCA
Awards
Committee is a
501-c(3)"
This is
precisely the
type of sale
of access
involved in
the
indictments of
Ng, Sheri Yan
and Frank
Lorenzo.
While
others are
announcing
audits and
freezing such
contacts, UNCA
under Pioli is
bulling
forward,
charging ever
more money,
getting ever
further from
journalistic
purposes.
On
November 20,
Pioli's UNCA
circulated a
list of
candidates
with no
competition
for any of the
six officer
positions. It
also
pre-announced
its awards,
including to
Reuters (on
its Board) and
others. We'll
have more on
this.
For the three
running
unopposed for
five president
slots, two
were already
on the UNCA
board during
the relevant
time period;
the other is Pioli's
former protege
at Quotidiano
Nazionale.
It's an
Italian thing.
Running for
Treasurer?
It's Agence
France Presse,
whose previous
correspondent
tried
to use a
position on
the UNCA board
to censor
Press coverage
of Herve
Ladsous,
the fourth
Frenchman in a
row atop UN
Peacekeeping.
Reuters
is in the mix,
too, and
another which
joined Pioli
in trying to
censor
coverage of
Pioli
unilaterally
approving a
Sri Lankan
government war
crimes denial
film for a
“UN”
screening,
after Pioli
rented one of
his apartments
to Palitha
Kohona, Sri
Lanka's
Ambassador to
the UN.
This is UN.
But amid the
new scandals
at the UN,
this is
something new:
watch this
site.
Footnote:
Inner City
Press after
Pioli's and
others
censorship
bid, and
attempt to get
Inner City
Press thrown
out of the UN
(uncovered
along with
documents
still to be
published by a
Freedom
of Information
Act request,
here, and
questioned
by the New
York Civil
Liberties
Union),
quit the UNCA
board and
co-founded,
with another
who'd quit
UNCA as
corrupt, the Free UN Coalition for Access.
FUNCA
does not seek
any automatic
first
questions, but
opposes
the UN setting
aside first
questions
for an entity
which, as now
shown, is enmeshed
in the very UN
scandals that
must be asked
about.
Watch this
site.
* * *
These
reports
are
usually also available through Google
News and on Lexis-Nexis.
Click here
for Sept 26, 2011 New Yorker on Inner City
Press at UN
Click
for
BloggingHeads.tv re Libya, Sri Lanka, UN
Corruption
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