UNSCAM UPDATE: Roger Simon reports that Kofi Annan is stonewalling on the oil-for-food investigation. “Maybe it’s just me, but I find unbelievably contemptible the actions and pretences of a man who did little or nothing to save hundreds of thousands from genocide in Rwanda, yet fights tooth-and-nail to hide the most hideous de facto pro-fascist corruption in his own organization.”
It’s not just you, Roger.
UPDATE: Reader Paul Ulrich emails:
The torture stuff is bad, but here’s a take on it I haven’t seen anywhere: think about who suffered and in what ways, and think about the scale of their suffering, how many suffered and for how long; think too of the long-term consequences for those who suffered and those who abused them.
Now ask those same questions about the oil-for-food scandal and then compare the outrage over the two and the amount of coverage each is receiving.
Yes, though I’d favor proportionately more outrage over oil-for-food rather than less over the prisoner abuse. But — as always — there’s a clear double standard here.