A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary
SUBURBAN GUERRILLA: "People wonder why I'm a Jungian? Because it's the single best way to understand humans - specifically, politicians. The more loudly they scream about something, the more likely it is they're guilty of the very same thing."
ESCHATON: "The Senate report found that US oil purchases accounted for 52% of the kickbacks paid to the regime in return for sales of cheap oil - more than the rest of the world put together."
MURKY VIEW: "Given the long history of economic and military ties between Russia and Iraq, it wouldn't surprise me at all to find that Saddam sent bribes to Russia for favorable treatment."
POWER LINE: "Mary Katherine Ham live-blogged Galloway's appearance under the delightful title "Gorgeous George vs. Stormin' Norm."
NIGHT LIGHT: "Per Kevin Drum, the new Senate report says that 'the US treasury failed to take action against a Texas oil company, Bayoil, which facilitated payment of "at least $37m in illegal surcharges to the Hussein regime."
A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary
DAILY KOS (Hunter): "There are a great many Republicans out there who are incensed that we aren't talking more about Saddam Hussein's corruption of the Oil for Food program, since his circumvention of oil sanctions was yet another of the ostensible reasons we had to launch a preemptive war. So, fine, let's discuss."
MAJIKTHISE: "I have, on several occasions, promised myself that I would not write any more Bolton posts. The basic issues are clear; anyone who is reading this blog has presumably already made his or her mind up, so why bother? But then some new detail emerges..."
POWER LINE: "[Mark] Steyn's core observation, that "John Bolton's sin is to have spoken the truth about the international system," seems incontrovertible. Steyn agrees with Cliff May that "the real debate is between those who think the U.N. needs reform -- and those who think the U.S. needs reform."
WASHINGTON NOTE: "I'm in Denver for the weekend... Virtually everyone I've met -- from liberal internationalist to classic conservative to hard core libertarian -- thinks that John Bolton is either "damaged goods" at this point or is the wrong person to represent American interests in the U.N."
Digby: "On the UN Foundation's blog UN Dispatch, Peter Daou took issue with Roger Simon's obsessing over the Oil For Food program, while never having a kind word to say about the good things the United Nations does around the world. The right blogosphere is incensed that he would dare to tell a blogger what he should blog about, and besides the oil for food scandal is, like, really really bad. Now call me crazy, but I seem to remember some wingnuts bleating every five minutes or so about how the news media is obsessing about all the "bad news" in Iraq to exclusion of the "good." It's been their mantra for the last two years as a matter of fact."
Stirling Newberry: "A few days ago [Peter at UN Dispatch] took on Roger Simon, who has been making hay by being the wingnut world's designated repeater on oil for food. Peter Daou caught him grinning at the camera about how many hits it was getting him."
John Cole: "I don't, however, buy into the notion that the UN is fatally flawed. It does do good work, and that should be acknowledged. I have a helluva lot of things I would like them to do, but that would require committments that no one in the world, tragically, appears willing to make. That was part of the reason I believe The UN Dispatch took on Roger Simon.... I have read Roger Simon for a long time, and I am fully convinced he is passionate about UN reform and deeply appalled by the Oil-for-Food scandal."
Ambient Irony: "The UN Dispatch, a blog sponsored by - but in no way representing the opinion of - the United Nations Foundation, has developed an unhealthy fixation on Roger L. Simon."
A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary
Coalition for Darfur: "From the UN News Center: "The African Union's (AU) "groundbreaking" mission in Sudan is effective where deployed and needs strengthening to enable it to expand its presence to cover more of the vast and difficult terrain in Darfur."
Simply Appalling: "The International Leadership Institute (ILI), a part of the United Nations University, has issued a report finding that 84% of Iraqi institutes of higher learning have been destroyed and 48 professors assassinated."
Think Progress: "[Bill] O'Reilly turned his crosshairs on Angelina Jolie, who since August 2001 has been the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees."
Washington Note: "The real achievement of those who have worked hard to oppose John Bolton's nomination on the grounds that we should be sending someone with impeccable credentials, someone with a brilliant vision of an effective and reformed United Nations, and someone that Americans can feel instantly proud of is that John Bolton is now part of pop-culture."
A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary
Democracy Arsenal: "Top 10 Things the UN Does Well - The approach of D-Day on John Bolton makes this as good a time as any to remind ourselves why the UN matters and some of the ways that we count on it. As you know, I am guest-blogging this week on Dan Drezner. Check out that site for some items that ought to be on the UN's list of strengths, but aren't, and for my best assessment of who and what is to blame."
Chrenkoff: "Good news from Iraq, part 27 - Speaking of urban renewal, "The UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), together with the Iraqi Ministry of Municipality and Public Works and the Construction and Housing Ministry, is holding a two-day round-table meeting beginning tomorrow in Amman, Jordan, on a "Slum Upgrading Strategy for Iraq."
Huffington Post [Rep. Ed Markey]: "Today, I will join Hans Blix at the United Nations for a discussion on the need to balance disarmament and non-proliferation. The real "nuclear option" that threatens our national security is not the one being debated in the Senate - this nuclear option will end in a devastating plume of smoke over our cities."
A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary
Agonist: "The previous Bolton Thread was too long, thus, we have a new one."
Blue Glow Worm: "As I have said in Questioning our U.N. Role from March 17th, the U.N. has a role to play in the world. However, there is little doubt, that reform of the United Nations is necessary and should be a requirement before continuing forward. A report requested by Secretary-General Kofi Annan and published in December, A More Secure World: Our Shared Responsibility, is a starting point."
Democracy Arsenal: "Nearly eight months after calling the mass killings in the Darfur region genocide and doing the heavy lifting on a resolution to get the UN involved, the Administration seems to have backed away from that term, and from any sustained effort to address the crisis."
Fistful of Euros: "Views of immigration are changing. Back in the mists of time, when I first came to the conclusion that ongoing demographic changes were going to be important, the voices in favour of a reconsideration of immigration policy were few and far between. Perhaps the first and most notable of these voices was the UN population division."
Juan Cole: "Hmm. Maybe, contrary to what John Bolton says, the United Nations does exist after all. Maybe a lot of countries even pay more attention to it than they do to Washington."
A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary
Betsy's Page: "Joel Mowbray, who does some of the more interesting investigative journalism of any columnist, reminds us of the love fest that Richard Holbrooke faced before a GOP Senate Committee when he was nominated to be Ambassador to the UN."
Blog Critics: "Is the United Nations necessary in spite of its failures? The answer is yes and the reason is because there is no other international forum of comparable importance and almost global representation."
Dead Pool: "Uncle Walter waves his NO NUKES sign a bit higher in the face of the old news networks... "When it comes to reporting on nuclear arms, the U.S. news media let readers and viewers down, giving them only part of the story, former news anchor Walter Cronkite said Wednesday. The celebrated CBS retiree, joining in a panel discussion on the sidelines of a U.N. conference on the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty."
Knitting for Boozehags: "Surely we can find a nominee for UN Ambassador that America can support and get behind -- not someone who divides our country and alienates our allies."
A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary
Pardon My English: "United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan: "In addition to actions already proscribed by existing conventions, any action constitutes terrorism if it is intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-combatants with the purpose of intimidating a population or compelling a government or an international organisation to do or abstain from doing any act." A clear definition of terrorism."
Stygius: "Considering that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has named a Special Adviser on UN Reform, who reports "directly to the Secretary of State," there's little weight to the "sky is falling" arguments that the UN is somehow unreformable if John Bolton's nomination fails."
Watchblog: "UN member nations are meeting to assess the state of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The consensus seems to be that it's inadequate, if not a disaster."
A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary
Brothers Judd: "U.S. Lambastes Iran, N. Korea at U.N. Meeting" ... Good thing John Bolton hasn't been confirmed or they'd be feeling lambasteder."
Lucianne: "Sit-ins, human-chain demonstrations and a U.N. conference were underway or scheduled in countries from the Philippines to Senegal for the 15th annual World Press Freedom Day."
Polianna: "By simply pursuing the United Nations website one can find a multitude of sub-organizations that do everything from research on agriculture to preserving global culture to some of the best anti-poverty work being done today."
Sudan: The Passion of the Present: "Even though both the Bush administration and the United Nations have spoken out on the situation in Darfur, with U.S. officials even terming it a case of genocide, the Khartoum government has remained entrenched." [Washington Post]