A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary
LEFT COASTER: "Perhaps we know now why the White House is fighting so furiously to prevent the Senate Intelligence Committee from getting all of the documents wanted by committee Democrats to evaluate the fitness of John Bolton to be our UN ambassador. According to Wednesday's New York Times previewed in the International Herald Tribune, it has been leaked by administration sources that what the White House is refusing to release to the committee are reports that Bolton obtained from the NSA by way of a special request."
CAPTAIN'S QUARTERS: "Condoleezza Rice revealed in a speech yesterday that a consortium of nations, including the US, stopped nuclear material from reaching Iran as well as other rogue nations over the last nine months. The participating nations of the Proliferation Security Initiative have quietly cooperated on eleven interdictions during that time, at least one of those directly involving Teheran... UPDATE: Who was the man who made the diplomatic arrangements to get over 60 nations involved in PSI? Why ... none other than that hardass meanie, John Bolton. Go figure."
Selected summary of United Nations related news and events
UN Extends Iraq Force Mandate
Annan Fires Joseph Stephanides for 'Serious Misconduct' Linked to Oil-for-Food
U.N. Training Iraqis in Jordan to Measure Radiation from Depleted Uranium
UN intellectual property watchdog launches online forum on information society
From President Bush's press conference, 5/31/05:
"[T]he reason I picked Bolton is he's a no-nonsense kind of fellow who can get things done. And we need to get something done in the United Nations. This is an organization which is important. It can help a lot in terms of the democracy movement; it can help deal with conflict and civil war."
"UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has reiterated his call to world leaders to revisit the issue of nuclear non-proliferation following the failure of a conference to adopt new measures to stem the spread of nuclear weapons." Read more...
A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary
JUAN COLE: "Two Army analysts who mistakenly claimed that aluminum tubing bought by Iraq was for centrifuges to enrich uranium received job performance awards during the past 3 years. If Elbaradei could see the falsehood of the claims almost immediately, it is not plausible that US analysts could not. Every American should go back and read thoroughly the transcripts of the reports to the UN of Mohamed Elbaradei in February and March of 2003."
PIRATE'S COVE: "I do believe that the United Nations has done, and still does, some good. That's a fact. There is no doubt in my mind that that is the case. However, do the good things that they have done, are doing, and will do, absolve them of the bad that they have done, are doing, and might do? Hell no. So why does the Left excuse the actions of the UN?"
&c.: "Pat Moynihan may have talked tough at the U.N. in the 1970s, but the man understood how to combine tough talk with immense charm when necessary. Bolton--well, not so much."
Selected summary of United Nations news and events
UN Memorial Pillar to be constructed
UN food relief agency to sponsor worldwide walk to end child hunger
Sudan arrests second aid worker, Annan's translator
AFGHANISTAN: Life One Year After Disarmament
U.S. Endorses Plan for U.N. Body on Post-Conflict Peacebuilding
UN News Service: "On "World No Tobacco Day", the UN World Health Organization (WHO) is urging health professionals to be more proactive in minimizing the problems caused by tobacco addiction, consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke.
"Tobacco continues to be a leading global killer, with nearly five million deaths a year", notes Dr Lee Jong-wook, WHO Director-General, and "Health professionals are on the frontline. They need the skills to help people stop smoking, and they need to lead by example, and quit tobacco use themselves."
Every day, in field operations around the world, men and women serve under the flag of the United Nations to build and maintain peace, to relieve human suffering, and to promote human rights and sustainable development. Link (pdf)
There are 66,000 military and 15,000 civilian peacekeepers.
115 members of those missions paid the highest price for their dedication to peace in 2004, with 39 more already killed during 2005.
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Alertnet: "The closure of the UNICEF office in Bossaso after several death threats against staff underscores the difficulty and danger faced by the handful of aid workers who venture into the anarchic country ravaged by nearly 14 years of militia fighting."