U.N. stands on plan to shut down reporters

United Nations headquarters in New York

The media coordinator for the United Nations' global-warming summit in Copenhagen said today he is standing on his decision not to allow a WND senior reporter to cover the event, which has been described as a key step in the founding of a one-world government.

"Everything we had to say was said in the [e-mail] text," Axel Wuestenhagen, reached on his cell phone as he was preparing for the event, told WND. "I'm not commenting on the text. That was the agreement reached. … I think I'll have to stick to that."

WND had requested permission for Jerome Corsi, a senior staff writer who previously has been accredited for coverage of the U.N. and is a two-time No. 1 New York Times best-selling author, to cover the event.

Wuestenhagen initially said the request was delayed because of a flood of applications. He later confirmed to WND's legal counsel, Gary Kreep, that WND, "as a for-profit subsidiary of the nonprofit Western Journalism Center," did not qualify.

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"Having now reviewed the application and in consultation with the Media and Accreditation Unit in New York, regrettably, we are not in a position to grant accreditation in this instance," he wrote. "As a for-profit subsidiary of the nonprofit Western Journalism Center, we follow the U.N. guidelines on accreditation which specifies that advocacy publications of nongovernmental or nonprofit organizations do not qualify for media accreditation. Please note that the organization is under no obligation to accept your request if it does not meet U.N. standards and requirements for press accreditation."

Joseph Farah, the founder of both the Western Journalism Center and WND, responded immediately with the information that, "WorldNetDaily is NOT, as you mistakenly assert, a for-profit subsidiary of the Western Journalism Center. Neither is it an advocacy organization, though, like all news organizations, it does publish a broad spectrum of opinion – we believe, in fact, the broadest ideological spectrum of any news organization in the world."

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"Neither has WorldNetDaily ever been a subsidiary of Western Journalism Center or any other organization," he said.

"By the way, what's bizarre about this in my mind, the most bizarre aspect, is that if nonprofit news organizations are not credentialed, that means the Associated Press, the largest news gathering organization in the entire world, should not be credentialed to cover Copenhagen," Farah told Pajamas TV.

But with no further response from Wuestenhagen, WND contacted him today to ask about a review of the decision in light of the clarifications provided.

Wuestenhagen told WND it makes no difference.

"The decision was taken in consultation with a number of other people, including the accreditation office in New York," he said. "We are not giving any further comment."

He continued with an implied warning.

"The reaction from certain quarters has not been encouraging for us to change our minds," he said.

Asked to identify those "quarters," he refused.

The convention, billed as a world-shaking event and a major step forward in "global governance," begins Monday.

WND already has threatened the U.N. with legal action if the ban on Corsi is upheld.

"I vow that we will pursue all legal options to ensure that the free press is respected by these unaccountable global institutions," said Farah.

Farah confirmed that as a result of the U.N. decision, Corsi probably would be unable to travel to Copenhagen for the event and instead would remain in the United States to address the issue of freedom of the press.

Farah also confirmed the legal remedies now will need to include a public apology from the U.N., damages for the hindrance to the organization's ability to report on news of a major global event, written assurance that the news agency never again will be denied access to U.N. events and an unequivocal statement that the U.N. considers the free press a vital institution in any free society.

In a commentary column about the issue, Farah wrote, "It's evident the U.N. is pulling out all the stops for a major global power grab in Copenhagen – and they don't want any impartial witnesses around to report its shenanigans."

Contacted separately at U.N. headquarters in New York, several executives in the organization's Department of Public Information insisted they only became aware of the problem yesterday.

Hua Jiang, who directs the Media Accreditation-Liaison Unit, said she was told WND was part of a nonprofit organization and as such was rejected. She said she would look into the situation and while little was possible to resolve the present issue regarding Copenhagen, she was concerned about future coverage.

Recently, the first president of the European Union, Herman Van Rompuy, affirmed in a speech captured by the BBC his belief that "2009 is the first year of global governance with the establishment of the G20 in the middle of the financial crisis. The climate conference in Copenhagen is another step toward the global management of our planet."

Lord Christopher Monckton, a former science adviser to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, asserts the real purpose of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen Dec. 7-18 is to use concern over "global warming" as a pretext to lay the foundation for a one-world government.

At the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen "a treaty will be signed," Monckton told a Minnesota Free Market Institute audience at Bethel University in St. Paul.

"Your president will sign it," he said. "Most of the Third World countries will sign it, because they think they're going to get money out of it. Most of the left-wing regimes from the European Union will rubber-stamp it. Virtually nobody won't sign it."

He has warned the proposal would cede U.S. sovereignty, mandate a massive wealth transfer from the United States to pay reparations for "climate debt" to Third World countries and create a new "world government" to enforce the treaty's provisions.

Meanwhile, as WND reported, documents and e-mails retrieved by a computer hacker from the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit indicate top climate-change scientists have manipulated data to hide cooling trends and worked together to marginalize scientists with opposing views.

The U.S. Senate's leading global-warming skeptic says he plans to demand an investigation into the allegedly fraudulent data manipulation unveiled at the highly influential British research center.

Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., said he knew scientists were "cooking" information years ago. The e-mails, he said, were the proof, and now something needs to be done.

"It is pretty serious," Inhofe said. "And since, you know, Barbara Boxer is the chairman and I'm the ranking member on Environment and Public Works, if nothing happens in the next seven days when we go back into session a week from today that would change this situation, I will call for an investigation."

Inhofe said he would ask for an investigation into the United Nations and its climate-change committee "on the way they cooked the science to make this thing look as if the science was settled, when all the time of course we knew it was not."

To contact Axel Wuestenhagen of the U.N., e-mail him here.

If you're a member of the press and would like to interview Joseph Farah, e-mail [email protected].