Left Wing Journalist on UN Payroll

Ian Williams, the UN correspondent for the far-left magazine The Nation, is on the payroll of the UN. Williams is known for his staunch support of Kofi Annan and the UN in general in his writings. He has also appeared on many national and international television news programs defending the UN in the wake of the Oil-for-Food scandal.



This story shows that the journalism scandals coming to light recently aren't limited to the Bush administration. In my opinion, neither the United Nations or the United States broke the law in paying spokesmen, but the journalists are guilty of fraud by masquerading as objective reporters instead of paid spokesmen.

[edit on 18-2-2005 by John bull 1]

So what, it’s not hidden there is no fraud, I think this is just an attack because of this article written by Mr. Williams.

Annan Trounces Bush at UN

While Williams won't discuss the amounts of money he has received, he does not hide the general fact that he has been paid by the U.N. His personal website discloses that "He has produced several booklets for UN agencies, including one on Portugal and aid to Africa, another on ASEAN, and on the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea and in the past year edited the 2001 UNCTAD report and helped draft the press-kit for the 2002 Arab Human Development Report for UNDP."

His financial connection to the U.N. hasn't been entirely concealed (some general information about the relationship is available on his personal website),

Bio
He was twice President and twice Vice President of the United Nations Correspondents Association. He speaks on international affairs and American foreign policy at venues across the world, such as the UN University in Tokyo, Yale, Columbia, NYU, Freedom Forum, and Rutgers, Al Maty Kazakh University, Fukuoka University Japan

Ian Williams' first book The Alms Trade was published in 1989 and his second, The UN For Beginners, was published in 1995.

The Deserter: Bush's War on Military Families, Veterans and His Past is published by Nation Books July 2004

IMO This doesn't even come close to the gay prostitute on the White house pay role.


[edit on 18/2/2005 by Sauron]

I see you conveniently left out a lot of the quote:

His financial connection to the U.N. hasn't been entirely concealed (some general information about the relationship is available on his personal website), but it has not been publicly disclosed in connection with his media appearances over the years.

You expect everyone watching BBC, MSNBC, etc. to go to his website to learn that he is paid by the UN?

Originally posted by djohnsto77
I see you conveniently left out a lot of the quote:

His financial connection to the U.N. hasn't been entirely concealed (some general information about the relationship is available on his personal website), but it has not been publicly disclosed in connection with his media appearances over the years.

You expect everyone watching BBC, MSNBC, etc. to go to his website to learn that he is paid by the UN?

You are trying to make a mountain out of a molehill, I think to try and save some face for the Bush Junta and there in house gay prostitute Jeff Gannon the "Journalist" involved in Scandal, Resigns from ATS.
Williams admits working for the UN, twice past Vice and President of the United Nations Correspondents Association.

I'm sure I'm not the only Brit that doesn't quite understand what this Jeff Gannon scandal is all about.

Any chance someone could write a comprehensive story for ATSNN explaining whats going on without any rancour ?

Cheers

John bull 1,

Jeff Gannon was employed by Talon News, a very pro-Republican web news site owned by a wealthy Texas Republican. He didn't have a permanent press pass to the White House but was able to gain entry with daily passes on occasion and ask very pro-administration questions during White House briefings. He asked some pretty loaded questions such as:

Thank you. Senate Democratic leaders have painted a very bleak picture of the U.S. economy. [Senate Minority Leader] Harry Reid [D-NV] was talking about soup lines. And [Senator] Hillary Clinton [D-NY] was talking about the economy being on the verge of collapse. Yet in the same breath they say that Social Security is rock solid and there's no crisis there. How are you going to work -- you've said you are going to reach out to these people -- how are you going to work with people who seem to have divorced themselves from reality? (emphasis mine)

This above quote really inflamed some left wing liberal bloggers who started to look into Mr. Gannon's past, finding some very interesting things. First of all Gannon is just a pseudonym for James Guckert. They also dug up that he had previously worked for some Internet company and registered some domain names that seem to indicate that they would be used for gay porn sites such as "HotMilitaryStuds.com" or something like that. I've also seen accusations that he may have actually at one time had his own site advertising himself as a gay escort.

Apparently the Secret Service at least knew his real name and Social Security number for a cursory background check to be allowed admittance to the White House briefing room, but it is unclear how much the White House really knew about him.

My sense of the issue is that the left wing bloggers just exposed his unsavory past as part of a mostly manufactured scandal. There are reporters and columnists of all political stripes that get into the briefing room and ask all sorts of loaded questions. He certainly was not being paid by the administration.

The Talon "News" site only regurgitates direct White House breifings and Republican National Comittee talking point....there is zero attempt at objectivity.
Addittionally, the owner is a Republican Party Delegate from Texas; he's not someone who happens to vote Republican, but someone who is a party architect.
Jeff Gluckert additionally applied for press credentials to cover the Senate, and was denied ....this happening after he had already been cleared to attend White House "breifings" and had been a favorite, called upon frequently by the WH Press Secretary.
Given the additional fact that our king only grants an audience to certain select reporters, Gukert somehow managed to be one of the chose few to address our king directly during one of the "news" confrences after election.
Gukert also was listed & ran a gay porn escort service up through the time he came on board with Talon ....2002 or 2003. There is currently, on other threads, links to the web authors invoices to Gukert for putting up his escort site.
The only thing speculative at this point is the allegation that the White House Press Secreatary, Scot McClellan , is gay. There have been reports , again on the blog links listed, of him frequenting gay bars in Texas.

As a recap:

- A Republican front organization masquerading as a legitimate news organization ( there is even no physical offices)

- A "reporter" with no journalism background

- A press pass issued to an alias

- "Most favored" status during press briefings

- The same security check flagging the falsehood denying him a press pass for Congress, after the WH was allowing him.

And while Republicans are quick to distort the facts to suit their arguments, The Nation is one of the best written poli-centric magazines available - it always presents a full spate of angles , leaving the reader to make their own decision. That being said, they are Left of Center; but in all honesty, how can anyone viewing America circa 2005 be reasonable & NOT be!?

Armstrong williams case is differant becasue the Bush administration paid him to promote the administrations play, by using taxpayers money.. which is a CRIME

Well it's not a manufactured scandal is it ?

But it's just gossip there's no political red meat is that right ?

I mean he wasn't hired by the GOP to try and to entrap senior democrats into compromising situations ?

Now that would be a story.

Someone from here should try to get into the White House briefing room on a daily pass as an ATSNN reporter and ask about the aliens! I bet all it'd take is some good luck!

hehe

Bush: Um... Let's see...Nerd...ling?

Nerdling: Yes, Mr. Bush. What are you doing about all the recent UFO sightings in India Reptoid threat?

Bush: I'm glad someone finally asked that. The UFOs over India are, in fact, part of an expeditionaritoriallity force sent here by the Reptoids [other reporters start looking at eachother trying to figure out if this is about to be the biggest Bushism ever, or else what the heck he means by Reptoid]. Make no mistake, they are planning an invasion. Cassini disclovered a force hiding behind Jupiter. The United States is staying committed to bringing freedom to the planet, and allowing the Reptoids to enslave the human race would not help that goal.

They have already enslaved several races and created the grays to do their dirty work. [A few reporters who get the gray reference lose all muscular control of their jaws, which hit the floor. Others look at them in a bewildered way, suspecting they may not be able to use this as a Bushism article, but are pretty sure they're hearing something really big]. Make no mistake, America will stand firm. We have downed several of their attack ships using the technology we captured at Roswell. [Now all the reporters start to get it and are looking at eachother wondering if this is a joke or something. Nerdling gets a big grin thinking of all the job offers he's about to get.] We will destroy this alien threat and will take the war to them!

[Cut to: Democratic Underground]

DU: Dammit, there goes the Bush administration starting another war. I'll bet that's not even the reporter's real name and was planted by the administration to start this war.

[edit on 2-18-2005 by junglejake]

jj,

That is by far the funniest thing I have read all day. Thank you so much for providing a much needed laugh.

Ha

Great JJ, Nerdling as a Bush administration plant! I bet he'll love the idea of that!

Well, he wasn't exactly a plant, just assumed to be one because Bush "started" another war, this time by defending Earth from its rightful oppressors.

Well, either he was PLANTED or security is so lax that I could walk in with two MP5s, bandoleer of grenades, human skull necklace and still get to sit in on the press conference. What do you think makes more sense?

Anyways, this guy has admitted to working for UN before, he has said he has been paid by UN before. This topic is like "Dan Rather was Paid by CBS!" Duh, he worked for CBS, one would think he would be paid by CBS.

Unlike Gannon, who is a gay prostitute planted by WH to ask softball questions and kiss ass/suck up to Bush. Nice try Bush Babies, but a guy who admits to working for the UN and a gay prostitute plantesd by Bush&Co are two different things.

Gotta disagree about the severity of it from the perspective you're probably coming from, but I think it's pretty screwed up that he was able to get into the White House under an assumed name. That stinks of cover up of some sort, but it could have been at his request to be called by his pseudonym and the White House staff put that name instead of his real one on the legend Bush had in front of him. Unfortunately, since that broke, we can't really trust any explanation coming out of the white house, so we'll never know what really happened.

And, uh, James, what's your problem with homosexuals? It really reads like you're using that as an insult...Is it ok to hate gays when they are conservative? If so, I'll have to add that to my list of people to hate.

No, just find it funny the "We Hate Gays" party is using one as a plant reporter to ask softball questions/suck up to Bush.

Originally posted by James the Lesser
No, just find it funny the "We Hate Gays" party is using one as a plant reporter to ask softball questions/suck up to Bush.

Ahh, that party. Which is that one, now? Is that the one that is slamming Gannon for being gay? Or do you mean the party that is trying to protect a religious institution by offering an alternative of civil unions? Just curious

The party that wants being gay illegal according to their higher power, god. the party that wants gays to be second class citizens, like blacks were in the 60's. The party that is always out there saying gays evil, ban them from loving each other, oops, one of our kids is a lesbian, we'll shut up now.(republican)

Man JJ, you always fun to talk with. Not a "God will smite you down for disagreeing with Bush." and not "Yep, whatever you say, yes, i agree, I agree, yes, of course 2+2=7, uh huh, yes, of course." And you use some good stuff to make your point.

The point is that Talon News Service had every right to have a reporter there. Many left wing organizations supported by the likes of Soros also have reporters. The left is using his homosexuality as a tool to blow the story up beyond all proportion in an effort to make the White House look bad. it's that simple.

I find the UN scandalous payment of their own journalist more troubling since he may be covering up illegal activity.