Kofi's Hissy Fit

Payola Pundit schmoozing Mrs. Kofi

As I've reported a bunch of times, picking up from great work by Accuracy in Media and FrontPage Magazine, the UN press corps is a disgrace -- obsequious to the UN powers, corrupt, and unethical. So it was no surprise to read about Kofi Annan's hissy fit yesterday, lashing out at Times of London correspondent James Bone.

Bone's offence was that he's not a cheerleader like most UN correspondents, as epitomized by the Payola Pundit, The Nation's UN consultant-correspondent Ian Williams. Kofi is an honored guest at UN correspondent association black-tie galas, giving hacks like Williams a chance to cozy up to Kofi and Mrs. Annan. In contrast to this pervasive rump-bussing, Bone has been a picture of discourtesy, raising tough questions at press conferences about the UN oil-for-food program and other Kofi mismanagement and corruption.

Well, Kofi clearly has had enough. In response to a question from Bone yesterday, Kofi went ballistic. According to the New York Sun, quoted in the American Thinker:

"Hold on, listen, James Bone," Mr. Annan said. "You have been behaving like an overgrown schoolboy in this room for many, many months and years. You are an embarrassment to your colleagues and to your profession. Please stop misbehaving, and please let's move on to a more serious subject."

He then refused to allow the reporter to get to his question, which was left unasked. Mr. Bone later told the Sun that he wanted to ask a detailed question about inconsistencies in Mr. Annan's testimony before the Volcker commission.

Note the words in boldface, because they are true. Acting like an actual journalist, and not a shill for the UN bureaucracy, is indeed "misbehaving" by UN standards.

It's also true that by not taking money from the UN, not putting his wife on the UN correspondent assn. payroll in violation of the immigration laws, and not hosting a UN-produced fake-news show, Bone does indeed embarrass his colleagues. More power to him.

UPDATE: A transcript of the Kofi Tantrum Press Conference reveals the cowardice of the UN press corps.

UPDATE (12/27): Bone expounds on the root causes of the hissy fit in the Wall Street Journal.