Liberals Want Quick Vote on U.N. Treaty
By Cliff Kincaid (10/20/07)
In new developments concerning the U.N.'s Law of the Sea Treaty, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had scheduled a quick vote on the pact for next Wednesday, October 24. But a member of the committee, Senator David Vitter, has reportedly requested - and received - a postponement of the vote. Vitter has been in the forefront of exposing the dangerous provisions of the measure.
October 24 just happens to be “United Nations Day,” which is probably why committee chairman and presidential candidate Senator Joseph Biden had scheduled a vote at this time. Biden, who once wrote an article titled, “How I Learned to Love the New World Order,” thinks his pro-U.N. credentials will help garner liberal votes in the Democratic primaries.
The announcement of the vote had been made on the website of the committee.
Vitter’s postponement is a temporary measure and it is not clear how quickly Biden could reschedule the vote.
Meanwhile, there is no indication at this point that the committee intends to hold a hearing to hear from a U.N. whistleblower, Nithi Sam-Thambiah, who is offering to provide the Senate with documentary evidence proving financial corruption in the treaty’s International Seabed Authority (ISA). The ISA stands to receive millions of dollars if the Senate ratifies the pact.
You can find the names of the members of the committee and links to their contact information here.
Please tell the committee members that they have an obligation to hold a hearing into Sam-Thambiah’s explosive allegations and invite representatives of the ISA and the U.S. State Department to respond. This is an urgent matter of ensuring government accountability in an area that will dramatically affect the national security and sovereignty of the United States.
Under the treaty, the ISA assumes jurisdiction over oil, gas, and mineral resources worth potentially billions of dollars. It also collects “fees” or global taxes from companies and countries wanting to harness those resources, providing the first independent source of revenue for the U.N. It is in the national interest of the United States to make sure, before ratification, that this entity is not involved in any corrupt practices. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has not held any hearings into the operations of the ISA.
AIM stands ready to assist members of the committee with the appropriate contact information for Sam-Thambiah so that they can conduct a thorough interview and obtain the documentary evidence proving his case. He was in charge of administration and management of the entity and has memos and documents that he can provide.
You can find AIM’s special articles about this case here and here.
As AIM has reported, the major media favor this treaty and actually fund the pro-U.N. lobby group known as the United Nations Association. For example, the New York Times Company Foundation, TV personality Barbara Walters, Time Inc., Newsweek, Oprah Winfrey’s Oxygen Cable (just sold to NBC Universal), MTV Networks, and GE (owner of NBC News and MSNBC) are listed in annual reports of the U.N. Association as contributing to the group’s activities. But the major media will never reveal these facts to the American people because it would further damage whatever credibility they may have left in foreign affairs coverage.
AIM also led the way in reporting that the former head of the U.N. Correspondents Association was actually on the payroll of the U.N. and that a reporter for National Public Radio covering the U.N. had received thousands of dollars from the U.N. lobby.
It is time for the American people to register their views and opinions on this treaty. Time is running out.
Help us break through the media blackout and save our sovereignty.
Cliff Kincaid is the Editor of the AIM Report.
http://www.aim.org/aim_column/5837_0_3_0_C/
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