As UN Guterres Skips Davos His Staff Call Him a Coward and ID His Cronies After New Book
UN GATE, Jan 21 – As the UN moves in 2026 to pick a new Secretary General, as its last one Antonio Guterres fails on Ukraine, Gaza and basic transparency, a new book has been published.
It is "United Nations Betrayals: From Election Stolen by Guterres to Bribes and Banning of the Press," by Matthew Russell Lee (who quickly discloses that he has been ousted and banned from the UN by Guterres, for his reporting).
On January 21 as Guterres citing a cold skips any showdown in Davos, this, from UN staff: "Dear Matthew Russell Lee: UN staff is most grateful for your work to uncover corruption in Guterres’ UN. Your article a couple of days ago on the shameful Sandi Arnold brings light on two of the most corrupt individuals in the rotten UN system: Martha Helena Lopez, ASG for Human Resources, and Catherine Pollard USG for Policy, Management and Compliance.
Both are “HQ rats” with little or no knowledge of field dynamics as their only goal is to stay for as long as possible collecting their fat salaries in New York. The light sanction imposed to Sandi Arnold is a pattern. Remember the “Sophocles case”, very minor sanction for sexual harassment? There is a pattern of double standards, nepotism and protection to those working on mission support. Every mission is full of complaints and corruption, from Colombia to Somalia, from Libya to South Sudan, from Kosovo to DRC. Yet long term Catherine Pollard, Martha Helena Lopez or arrogant swine Athul Kare are in their posts for decades while staff suffer. The UN is an example of mismanagement thanks to them. Junior staff is being fired on daily basis because of lack of funds while these corrupt Dinosaurs remain collecting their fat salaries and protecting their cronies. Catherine Pollard, Atul Khare and Martha Helena Lopez must be held accountable.
And many others.
A noted by New York Magazine on Lee's Maximum Maxwell book, at times here he uses the character Kurt Wheelock, who first appeared in his Predatory Bender.
The book begins with Guterres beating out female candidates for the UNSG post, after a murky year being paid by Lisbon-based Gulbenkian Foundation. The book digs into the bid by the China Energy Fund Committee, convicted of UN bribery, for Gulbenkian's oil company. Readers can draw their own conclusion, including on the need for SG campaign finance disclosure in 2026.
Part of the book in italics delves into the UN Correspondents Association and its efforts to throw Lee out. They appear again in the afterword / novella, "Whacking Qaddafi," which was first mentioned in the New Yorker magazine's Talk of the Town piece about Lee. It addresses more countries: from India to Pakistan, Guinea to Guinea Bissau.
The main text addresses UN failures in Sri Lanka - including the UNCA connection - Cameroon, Western Sahara, Syria, North Korea, Sudan, Gaza and elsewhere. UN Betrayals indeed - this should be the first of a series.
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