Kofi Junior: International Man of Griftery

Amazing, isn't it, how the MSM ignored the biggest financial scandal in history through the election, and even continues doing so now?

Time and time again they tell us their only "bias" is the bias for a big, juicy story. Well, we seem to have one here, boys, and it's got most of the elements you usually like:

* The rich and powerful taking money that doesn't belong to them.

* The poor being exploited by the rich and powerful.

* A cover-up and a refusal to admit wrongdoing.

* Political cronyism run amok.

But of course the story lacks that one element that really makes a story sing for our liberal press corps:

* A pretext for laying the blame at the feet of George Bush, or one of his donors, or Republicans generally.

Yes, here and there the media covers this story-- grudgingly. There's no "flood-the-zone" type coverage of the sort the New York and LA Times both employ when they wish to advance a story; there is no daily drumbeat on the editorial pages.

As usual, the MSM's "news judgment" finds that a story that can't be used to advance its biases just seems to lack that "It" factor-- pizzazz, va-va-voom, zowie, call it what you will. Personally, I call it liberal bias.

At any rate:

The son of U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan used his father's worldwide connections to wheel and deal with heads of state — at U.N. gatherings — on behalf of a controversial Swiss company that won a lucrative oil-for-food program contract, The Post has learned.

The intense lobbying by Annan's 29-year old son, Kojo, was disclosed in a raft of internal company documents — including Kojo Annan's expense reports — that the company recently turned over to congressional committees under a subpoena.

The memos provide the most revealing look to date at the business conflicts that are now at center stage of history's biggest financial scandal. They also place the younger Annan and his father far closer to each other than the U.N. has previously disclosed.

Umm, why don't you all take a moment to recover from that nasty bit of cognitive disonance you just experienced.

According to records reviewed by The Post, Kojo Annan, while working for the Cotecna firm, enjoyed extraordinary access to U.N. diplomats and other international dignitaries because of his father's position.

Kofi Annan had claimed earlier this week that he did not know the full extent of his son's dealings with Cotecna.

...

Ginny Wolfe, a spokeswoman for Cotecna, confirmed last night that the younger Annan was sent to U.N. meetings in New York and South Africa to lobby African leaders on the company's behalf but said that "at no time" was he involved in any discussions about the upcoming oil-for-food contract.

Kojo Annan's activities caught the U.N. off guard last night. "We are unaware of this. This is the first we are hearing of it," a spokesman said.

The UN tends to be the last to know, doesn't it?

posted by Ace at 12:07 PM

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