Kate McMillan and the Shotgun -- UNSCAM: Volcker, Morden, Frechette -- WMD Inspector Bribes? -- CPC Convention

This is an update to one of my posts last week based on this article on FOXNews


Just An Oversight Posted by Kate McMillan on March 12, 2005

NEW YORK -- The committee probing the Oil-for-Food scandal says it will correct omitting the name of a U.N. official involved in the international controversy who has a close relationship with the executive director of the panel.

It's well known that the Volcker commission's executive director, Reid Morden, and Louise Frechette have had a "longstanding professional relationship" for 30 years, according to the Independent Inquiry Committee -- dubbed the "Volcker commission" after its chief, former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker. [. . . . ]

[. . . . ] FoxNews seems to be the one-stop shopping mart for developments on the Oil-For-Food investigations, complete with background links.

Meanwhile, on the Canadian beat..

cbc.ca :Your search - frechette + volker - did not match any documents.
ctv.ca: Your search has returned no results
thestar.com: Your search for "volker + frechette" did not match any articles.
canada.com: 0 to 0 results out of 0

Always check Kate's posts; she's good.




WMD Inspector Bribes? Posted by Kate McMillan on March 12, 2005

That devil Saddam is turning out to be a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside a clown suit. Although he never hid WMD, never used them, never aspired to having them - indeed, didn't know what they were - and to date, nothing beyond a few cans of RAID have ever turned up, he nonetheless attempted to bribe UN weapons inspectors. Now, that's a sense of humour. [. . . . ]

[ Telegraph story here ]

When Iraq agreed in 2000 to allow weapons inspections to resume, Ekeus was the first candidate of choice - but his appointment was opposed by three members of the Security Council - France, Russia and China. Blix was appointed instead. Official Iraqi press called Blix a man of "questionable integrity" and "uncertain resolve".

A Jim Lehrer interview with Ekeus from Dec. '03.

For Conservative Policy Wonks

Grassroot Conservatives gain a victory By Steven Martinovich, Musings, 03/12/2005 via the Shotgun

Steven Martinovich is a freelance writer in Sudbury, Ontario.

Although it will come as a surprise to most, policy conventions really aren't about debating policy. . . .

By allowing its members to openly debate issues like abortion, same-sex marriage and euthanasia, the party will ultimately be better able to enunciate its principles to Canadians. An open debate, after all, will allay suspicions that the party has a hidden agenda, as it has often been accused of. Until this happens, the party will be attacked by its ideological foes as intolerant, not only of certain social policies, but the opinions of its own members. The only way to deal with that is if the party's agenda is transparently developed with the full participation of party members. [. . . . ]