UN Functionary to Investigate Human Rights in the U.S.

Is this a joke? Apparently not:

GENEVA (Reuters) - A special U.N. human rights investigator will visit the United States this month to probe racism, an issue that has forced its way into the race to secure the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.

The United Nations said Doudou Diene would meet federal and local officials, as well as lawmakers and judicial authorities during the May 19-June 6 visit.

"The special rapporteur will...gather first-hand information on issues related to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance," a U.N. statement said on Friday.

Did they send a similar functionary to the former Yugoslavia? How about Sudan? Iraq? North Korea? China? Cuba?

His three-week visit, at U.S. government invitation, will cover eight cities -- Washington D.C., New York, Chicago, Omaha, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Race has become a central issue in the U.S. election cycle because Sen. Barack Obama, the frontrunner in the battle for the Democratic nomination battle, stands to become the country's first African American president.

A (half) black guy is in position to become the next President. Hmm. I wonder if that'll count in our favor?

His campaign has increased turnout among black voters but has also turned off some white voters in a country with a history of slavery and racial segregation.

Guess not.

Diene, a Senegalese lawyer who has served in the independent post since 2002, will report his findings to the U.N. Human Rights Council next year.

How's Senegal's human rights record, I wonder? (Answer: not great, but hardly among the worst.)

Nope, not a joke, although it sounds like one. Ann Althouse wonders how the guy can make a full report on a country of 300 million in 3 weeks. Heck, we all know the answer to that one: he's already got his conclusion. He'll spend the three weeks turning everything he hears into evidence for that conclusion.

She titled her post "Deep Doudou." That's the guy's name. Ha.