So what information was Secretary Clinton asking for in her UN 'intelligence gathering' effort?

[bigtree]

from Mark Leon Goldberg at UN Dispatch: (http://www.undispatch.com/americas-well-intentioned-spy-activities-at-the-un-wikileaks)


For the most part, the United States engaged in the kind of well intentioned intel gathering activities that most in the human rights community can get behind. Consider the following:

* Top on Secretary of State Clinton’s list of things on which to gather intelligence at the UN is Darfur. Specifically: “Views of United Nations (UN) member states on contributing troops and air transportation equipment, such as helicopters, to the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) and the African Union (AU)-UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID).”

* Keeping a close eye on Robert Mugabe and Zimbabwean leadership: “Views of UNSC and other member states on Zimbabwe’s government policies on human rights, humanitarian assistance, democracy, and candidacy for any UN leadership positions.”

* Monitoring the efforts by UN member states to advance harmful “defamation of religions” resolution that would criminalize free speech. “Plans of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to sponsor resolutions or conventions in the UN restricting freedom of speech under the rubric of criminalizing ”defamation of religion.”

* Collecting member states views on Genocide prevention: “Plans and perceptions of member states toward establishment of new measures to prevent genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and other systematic human rights abuses.”

* Conflict prevention: ”Willingness of UN leaders and member states to support UN peacekeeping efforts and utilize preventive diplomacy in areas of potential conflict.


more: http://www.undispatch.com/americas-well-intentioned-spy-activities-at-the-un-wikileaks


more from Mark Leon Goldberg at UN Dispatch: (http://www.undispatch.com/is-the-united-states-spying-on-americans-at-the-un)

American intelligence gathering activities at the United Nations, for the most part, seem to be in service of making the UN a more effective institution. Still, a good portion of Secretary Clinton’s cable to embassies about intelligence gathering at the United Nations includes collecting biographic information about UN officials. This includes:

Office and organizational titles; names, position titles and other information on business cards; numbers of telephones, cell phones, pagers and faxes; compendia of contact information, such as telephone directories (in compact disc or electronic format if available) and e-mail listings; internet and intranet “handles”, internet e-mail addresses, web site identification-URLs; credit card account numbers; frequent flyer account numbers; work schedules, and other relevant biographical information.

Specifically, the cable directs embassies to collect information on:

Personalities, biographic and biometric information, roles, effectiveness, management styles, and influence of key UN officials, to include under secretaries, heads of specialized agencies and their chief advisers, top SYG aides, heads of peace operations and political field missions, including force commanders.

Presumably, this would include many Americans in top positions in the UN system. That, in turn, would include Anthony Lake, head of UNICEF and a former National Security Advisor to president Clinton; Lynn Pascoe, a career foreign service officer and former United States Ambassador to Indonesia who is head of the UN Department of Political Affairs; Josette Shereen, a former under secretary of state who now heads the World Food Program; Robert Orr, a former National Security Council staffer who is an assistant secretary general at the UN; Roger Meece, a former career US foreign service officer who serves as the top UN official in the DRC; Lisa M. Buttenheim, who is the head of the UN mission in Cyprus; Matthew Nimetz, a special envoy for the Greece-Macedonia name dispute; and Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara Christopher Ross, among others . . .

read more: http://www.undispatch.com/is-the-united-states-spying-on-americans-at-the-un


full text of July 2009 directive from Secretary of State Clinton to embassies around the world directing intelligence gathering on all manner of things at the United Nations: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/28/world/20101128-cables-viewer.html#report/spy-09STATE80163


meh.

[old mark]

1. Looking for a good fruit cake recipe....nt

[Uncle Joe]

2. That doesn't exist. n/t

[old mark]

6. Actually it does - mom made superb fruit cake, and a brother has the recipe now,

sends us one every year.
She laced it with a shot of rum every 2 weeks, made it in July, served it for Christmas.

mark

[Uncle Joe]

7. That sounds more like a Rum Cake.

:)

Joe

[old mark]

9. It is a very dark, moist and rich cake with dried fruit and nuts, with the

added flavoring as described.

mark

[Uncle Joe]

10. The dried fruit might be decent and I'm sure your mom makes a good cake.

However, I believe the candied fruit variety are only good for doorstops.

If you wish, PM me with your mom's recipe, that actually sounds pretty good.

Joe

[old mark]

13. I don't have it - but I get one from my brother every year...And It IS great - people who hate

fruit cake were eating the wrong thing.


mark

[bigtree]

3. even less time now

. . . for baking cookies and such. She's a busy lady.

[bigtree]

4. .

[bigtree]

5. kick

[Lucinda]

8. TY! Where did all the Hillary bashers go?

:)

[bigtree]

11. heh

. . . they may need some distance from the actual facts in this case before resuming the clucking of tongues and the wagging of fingers.

[Lucinda]

12. Yawp. So it seems....I was away for quite a while and came back recently

I see some things never change... :/