Day 2 - Kurt Warner and Amani Toomer Visit Indonesia
J. Ethan Medley, NY Giants
February 12, 2005
Today was our second day in Indonesia, and started with a 6AM flight from Jakarta Halim Military Airport to the coastal region of Banda Aceh on a United Nations Humanitarian Air Services plane. This gave us our first glimpse of the damage caused by the tsunami as we flew over the coastline. Vast amounts of coastal land are blackened and vacant, with the exception of an occasional structure that was sturdy enough to withstand the water's force. Contrastly, there are areas immediately next to this land, that the water did not reach, which are spectacular to the eye: vibrant green rice patties, villages built amongst palm trees and mountains covered with vegetation that drops right into the blue ocean.
Giants' Warner and Toomer Arrive in Indonesia on 2-Week NFL Trip with World Food Program
J. Ethan Medley, NY Giants
February 12, 2005
JAKARTA, INDONESIA -- New York Giants' Quarterback Kurt Warner and his wife Brenda met up with wide receiver Amani Toomer and his wife Yola at JFK Airport on Wednesday evening, along with several members of the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) and myself, to embark on a two-week trip to the tsunami-damaged regions of Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Four planes (one missed connection), 12 time zones, countless miles, and 34 hours later, we arrived in Jakarta, where we were greeted by local members of the WFP, and taken to a local hotel to get some much-needed sleep.
UN News: "Secretary General Kofi Annan today welcomed the announcement of the results of Iraq's elections, in which the United Nations played an advisory and technical role, reiterating the world body's commitment to play a full part in the next stages in the transition, including a referendum on a new constitution."
Staggering numbers from this report: "The United Nations health agency is working with national authorities to ensure safe childbirth services in the coming weeks to an estimated 40,000 pregnant women left homeless as a result of the Indian Ocean tsunami in South Asia."
"U.N. members on both sides of the bitterly divisive debate over human cloning will try to agree Monday on a declaration urging countries to adopt legislation banning attempts to create human life." Full Article.
Jason Lott of Lottblog offers his take.
Glenn Reynolds [Instapundit] adds: "This is one case where I'm glad the U.N. isn't listening to the Bush Administration."
"Aiming to ease the emergency conditions caused by recent flooding in Venezuela, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has allocated $100,000 for initial relief efforts being carried out in coordination with the country's Government. The agency will seek first to re-establish basic services for children, provide psychosocial support and dispatch supplies such as water purification tablets." More...
In a New Republic commentary (subscription required), James Traub writes about the UN's role in the Oil-for-Food Program: "Oil-for-Food was a conscious act of diplomacy. And it was, on balance, a successful one: The program saved the sanctions, and the sanctions made possible the disarmament of Iraq."
The Dispatcher spent some time in Beirut during the Lebanese civil war. This article touches on one of the holdovers of that war: the presence of thousands of Syrian troops inside Lebanon... "Mr. Roed-Larsen, until last month UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, was named to his new post to implement Security Council resolution 1559, which was adopted in September and called for the withdrawal of all remaining foreign forces from Lebanon, disbanding all militias and extending Government control over the whole country."
"United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's special envoy for children and armed conflict (CAAC) today launched an action plan for systematically monitoring and reporting of child abuse in situations of armed conflict, or in "situations of concern," with a view to triggering a strong international response." Learn More...