J's Cafe Nette

Archive for April 3rd, 2007

The blogosphere is talking about this New York Sun story about counterfeit US dollars being produced in North Korea and 35 $100 bills being hidden in the UN safe there for quite some time.

As federal investigators examine how the leading U.N. agency in North Korea illegally kept 35 counterfeit American $100 bills in its possession for 12 years, documents indicate that more officials were aware of the existence of the fake currency —and earlier — than the agency has reported.

Spokesmen for the United Nations Development Program have said top officials at the agency’s New York headquarters learned in February that their safe in Pyongyang contained the counterfeit bills and immediately reported it to American authorities. But several documents shown recently to The New York Sun indicate that higher-ups knew much earlier that the safe held counterfeit money.

The documents are part of a worldwide reporting system that allows the agency to keep track of the contents of its office safes.

One “safe contents count record” — shown to the Sun with the stipulation that the paper omit such details as the exact issuing date, which was before February — confirms that fake money was in the safe in Pyongyang. According to a source familiar with the system, this and similar records were filed with UNDP headquarters twice a year.

Internal UNDP communication shown to the Sun also indicates that in at least one incident, a Pyongyang office manager reported the existence of the counterfeit money to his successor. Similar reports were filed with the seven managers that have served in North Korea since 1995. Some of these managers have returned to UNDP headquarters since then and now serve as top officials there.

The Secret Service and federal prosecutors in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York are investigating the matter and have sought out at least 13 UNDP officials for interviews. But questions about diplomatic immunity and whether lawyers can represent the officials during those interviews have yet to be resolved.

“We are cooperating with the Southern District,” a senior U.N. official said yesterday, and added, “We are currently working out the modalities.” The official, who requested anonymity because the matter is under investigation, said that in the past, immunity has been lifted only when criminal indictments are handed out.

As usual, the UN is claiming, falsely, they made the US aware of the situation as soon as they found out about it in February.

Just as the UN peacekeepers didn’t help Hezbollah by reporting Israeli positions in the recent war between Israel and Hezbollah. If you believe that I have a bridge to nowhere to sell you.

The February date came shortly after the Wall Street Journal published a story, “Cash for Kim,” which reported that the UNDP violated its own rules by providing the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Il, with hard currency. The agency’s board of directors, under American pressure, then instructed the UNDP to suspend its North Korean operation, and it was shuttered March 1.

UNDP officials concede that the increased outside scrutiny that resulted from the Journal article could have led the agency to examine its Pyongyang office more closely, which may have led to the discovery of the counterfeit cash.

Critics, however, allege that top officials deliberately concealed the existence of the counterfeit currency out of concern that the operation would be shut down, and that they reported it to the American authorities only after they realized that it would be suspended anyway.

The UN and its ruling dictators have not been friends of the United States for many many years.

Having them on US soil with diplomatic immunity only allows countries to spy on us and vote against anything that is in the interests of the free world.

The only thing they want from us is our dues and it’s time now to withdraw from that organization and let them use their Brussels headquarters as their world headquarters.

If they demand back dues we should pay them in Monopoly money.

They have allowed a rogue state, a declared enemy of our country, to counterfeit our money almost to perfection and not reported it to us until they got caught. They have allowed North Korea to undermine our economy and we must not ignore it.

Now they are protecting those who had a part in hiding this information from us and got promoted besides, from being questioned by our authorities, under the claim of diplomatic immunity until they are indicted.

How can we reasonably be expected to indict someone if we can’t talk to them to see if they are culpable in this crime against the people of the United States?

Whatever usefulness this organization once had is long gone and our hospitality to them should be also.

Also blogging on this, and doing much better jobs of it are:

Sister Toldjah

Captain’s Quarters

Nobody asked me, But…

Stix Blog

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From www.whitehouse.gov:

President George W. Bush discusses the emergency supplemental bill with the press Tuesday, April 3, 2007, in the Rose Garden. “Democrat leaders in Congress seem more interested in fighting political battles in Washington than in providing our troops what they need to fight the battles in Iraq,” said the President. “If Democrat leaders in Congress are bent on making a political statement, then they need to send me this unacceptable bill as quickly as possible when they come back. I’ll veto it, and then Congress can get down to the business of funding our troops without strings and without delay.”

President Bush on Tuesday said, ” In a time of war, it’s irresponsible for the… Democratic leadership in Congress to delay for months on end while our troops in combat are waiting for the funds. The bottom line is this: Congress’s failure to fund our troops on the front lines will mean that some of our military families could wait longer for their loved ones to return from the front lines. And others could see their loved ones headed back to the war sooner than they need to. That is unacceptable to me, and I believe it is unacceptable to the American people.”

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On our sidebar, right under the Newspaper Rack and just above the Playhouse ad, is a straw poll hosted by Pajamas Media.

Please click on the ad and cast your ballot for your favorite Democrat and favorite Republican in the straw poll.

You can vote only once a week and only from one site. If you’ve voted this week on another site you will not be able to vote again on this site. After voting you can check our “precinct’s” votes and check all votes.

Our precinct currently has no votes because I already voted on another blog.

Now don’t vote for the weakest candidate in the other party, but vote for the one you think is the most ideal candidate for each party.

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From California Conservative comes a story of some questionable activity by Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

Sen. Feinstein sits on the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, which oversees ethics reform–and had been the chairperson of the Military Appropriations sub-committee.

Her husband owns a business that deals with military contracts.

Here’s the money quote:

This includes two large defense contractors, Perini and URS. Sen. Feinstein made a great deal of money through investment in these companies, and despite the obvious conflict of interest, she continued voting on these bills. But the story doesn’t end there. Senator Feinstein not only voted on these bills, she was supplied insider information about specific funds and projects that Perini had financial interests in by her Attorney, Michael Klein. MetroActive reports:

Klein stated that, beginning in 1997, he routinely informed Feinstein about specific federal projects coming before her in which Perini had a stake. The insider information, Klein said, was intended to help the senator avoid conflicts of interest…

“We basically identified any bid that Perini was going for and checked to see whether it was the subject of already appropriated funds or funds yet to be appropriated, and if it was anything that the senator could not act on, her office was alerted and she did not act on it.”

This is an extraordinary thing for Klein and the senator to do, since the detailed project proposals that the Pentagon sent to Feinstein’s subcommittee for review do not usually name the firms already contracted to perform specific projects… In theory, Feinstein would not know the identity of any of the companies that stood to contractually benefit from her approval of specific items in the military construction budget–until Klein told her.

However, the public record shows that contrary to Klein’s belief, Feinstein did act on legislation that affected Perini and URS.

She stepped down from the Military Appropriations Sub-Committee after news broke on this arrangement.

Um, are we going to have an ethics investigation into her actions? Didn’t think so.

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According to this New York Times article Egyptian archaeologist Dr. Zahi Hawass claims there is no archaeological evidence there was ever an Exodus of Jews from Egypt.

He even goes so far as to say there is no evidence there were Jews in Egypt because he has found no evidence in the desert.

Many people think Mount Sinai, where Moses heard God speak to him from the burning bush is in Egypt. I have a DVD that is very compelling with video and shows all the landmarks mentioned in, not Egypt, but Saudi Arabia. In fact, it is so important to Saudi Arabia to keep it a secret the area is now surrounded by fence and guarded.

According to Dr. Mohamed Abdel-Maqsoud, the head of the excavation:

“A pharaoh drowned and a whole army was killed,” he said recounting the portion of the story that holds that God parted the Red Sea to allow the Israelites to escape, then closed the waters on the pursuing army.

“This is a crisis for Egypt, and Egyptians do not document their crises.”

I guess these Egyptians have to find a piece of manna to prove there was an Exodus.

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According to this UK newspaper the capture of the 15 British Marines and sailors is all the fault of the United States for taking Iranian hostages in Iraq.

A failed American attempt to abduct two senior Iranian security officers on an official visit to northern Iraq was the starting pistol for a crisis that 10 weeks later led to Iranians seizing 15 British sailors and Marines.

Early on the morning of 11 January, helicopter-born US forces launched a surprise raid on a long-established Iranian liaison office in the city of Arbil in Iraqi Kurdistan. They captured five relatively junior Iranian officials whom the US accuses of being intelligence agents and still holds.

In reality the US attack had a far more ambitious objective, The Independent has learned. The aim of the raid, launched without informing the Kurdish authorities, was to seize two men at the very heart of the Iranian security establishment.

Yada, yada, yada.

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Even though she doesn’t even know about this blog I want to wish my sister a happy 53rd birthday today.

If I tell her about the blog and she gets mad at me I won’t have any secrets from you.

Today also marks the third anniversary of the last time I was with my father before he died.

It was the most fun day I had ever had with him and I will always cherish it.

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According to this Politico report House Republicans have gathered signatures of 154 members who have pledged to vote to sustain a presidential veto on the pork-laden war funding package.

It would take 289 votes of the entire 433 member House, with two seats vacant now, to override a veto. If no more Republicans or Democrats sign on with the veto override the most votes the Leadership will have is 279, but Republicans began circulating the letter of intent on Thursday and Congress has been on vacation since Friday. More signators are expected when Congress returns.

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Two men of completely different political persuasions and both in positions of power. One helps the other to walk to a ceremony.

How come we didn’t see this in the newspapers?

Thanks to Don Surber

Hat Tip: The Anchoress

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