A NY State Senator weighs in on the UN:

State approval or denial for the United Nations building expansion is not based on chest pounding, but on the fact that the organization is embroiled in a large financial and humanitarian scandal.

My opposition to State Senate passage of this bill is that it is simply inconceivable that Secretary General Kofi Annan and senior United Nations staff members were unaware of the scale of the fraud being carried out by Saddam Hussein. I view Mr. Annan's stonewalling on the release of oil-for-food documents to Congress as a potential cover-up for corruption and will use it as leverage to deny passage of state legislation.

Our nation, state and city have been strong supporters of the promise of the United Nations, but Mr. Annan's reluctance to fully disclose documents surrounding the oil-for-food scandal has undermined and damaged the mission of the world organization.

Martin J. Golden, State Senator, 22nd District

His letter is in response to this New York Times article, which is archived but available for purchase for $2.95. (Ain't Capitalism grand?)