Gah! My bad, I'm sorry. I should have gone to Bartleby first.


Quote:

Whether or not and whether or no are semantically interchangeable Standard idioms; the only difference is that whether or no has a somewhat more literary ring. The or not can be omitted when the idiom introduces a clause working as a nominal—subject, object, or object of a preposition—We inquired whether she planned to attend. When the clause is adverbial rather than nominal in function, the or not must be kept: We will attend, whether or not she does [whether she does or not].



http://www.bartleby.com/68/5/6505.html