A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary
Chrenkoff: "Good news from Afghanistan, Part 12 ... "UNICEF is planning to hold 18 workshops on children's rights in the forthcoming year to educate government officials about children's rights."
Mudville Gazette: "For the seventh time since it took force in 1970, the world's nations gather Monday to reassess how well the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty is keeping the lid on man's most terrible weapons."
Washington Note: "[America's Ambassador to the United Nations] must represent the best of who we are and be a no-nonsense advocate for American interests as well as committed to an institution that helps further global stability and which can address some of the world's most insoluble problems."
A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary
Chez Nadezhda: "With all the ink spilt and airwaves filled about John Bolton and UN reform, very little in the way of "what exactly do we mean by reform" has been discussed by either proponents or opponents of Bolton's nomination."
Democracy Arsenal: "It's extremely healthy for the policy blogs like Democracy Arsenal to expand beyond Bolton himself to the specifics of UN reform."
Fire of Liberty: "Bolton possesses the qualities that most effective diplomats need to have in order to get things accomplished."
Outside the Beltway: "If Bolton's chief flaw is that he is sometimes rude to subordinates who turn in subpar performances, I don't see that as a disqualifier."
War and Piece: "Perhaps not surprisingly, there's little sunlight between the Annan reform proposal and the ideas discussed by Condoleezza Rice's UN advisor."
Washington Note "There is a large group of people -- liberal, conservative, and centrist -- who have each played a key role in bringing the opposition to John Bolton's nomination where it has come."
A debate erupted on conservative blogs over the UN Foundation's placement of Blogads on blogs that have been critical of the United Nations. The ads in question describe the UN's efforts to combat terrorism and link to this page.
Bloggers discussing the issue include:
Donald Sensing
John Hawkins
Michelle Malkin
UN Dispatch a été mentionné dans Washington Whispers: "The [UN] foundation," says spokeswoman Debra DeShong, "is getting the truth out." And it's doing that on the critics' turf: Internet blogs. "This is the newest and most influential media, and the right wing really does it well," she says. "It's like beating back a wave with a hammer." But hammering away they are, with the blog www.undispatch.com, Internet ads, and now a campaign to get U.N. backers on radio and TV to debate the critics. "We're acting like a real campaign to talk up the United Nations," says DeShong. The bashers aren't backing off. "A pro-U.N. blog?" asks Jed Babbin, pundit and author of the anti-U.N. Inside the Asylum. "I'm surprised it isn't in French."
UN Dispatch has received a fair amount of attention from bloggers this week:
Henry from Crooked Timber says, "[B]logs like the newly created UN Dispatch can fill an unmet need, giving us a take on the UN that isn't limited to cheap gotchas about corruption and sex scandals.... it appears to be rather stronger on actual factual information about the strengths and weaknesses of the UN than any of the other blogs opining on UN-related issues. One that I'll be reading."
Talk Left adds, "There is a dearth of blog coverage on U.N. activities (other than oil for food) so this is a welcome addition to the blogosphere."
Porphyrogenitus, a self-described "harsh critic" of the UN, writes, "I recommend checking out [UN Dispatch], which gives a rounded view of the institution as a whole, and presents another side."
Some other blogs talking about UN Dispatch:
In The Agora
Centerfield
Michelle Malkin
Bob Harris
Belgravia Dispatch
Oxblog
Blogenlust
Majikthise
CommonSenseDesk
One Hand Clapping
Lean Left
Liberals Against Terrorism
Matthew Yglesias
The Diplomad, a blog run by U.S. Foreign Service officers, has posted this goodbye note: "Well, friends and foes of The Diplomad, the time has come; it's time to say thanks and good-bye."
Eugene Oregon of Demagogue: "I fear that I, like many others, am getting distracted by the question over the legal determination of genocide [in Darfur] and overlooking the massive and irrefutable evidence of crimes against humanity. The report has 8 pages dedicated to chronicling evidence of rape and other forms of sexual violence, filled with case studies and testimony from victims. It is heartbreaking, yet I sense that the debate over genocide is overshadowing the report's assertion that "rape or other forms of sexual violence committed by the Janjaweed and Government soldiers in Darfur was widespread and systematic and may thus well amount to a crime against humanity."
UN Dispatch is a blog intended to promote thoughtful discussion about the UN, and to provide an outlet for important news and views on the UN. It is administered by Peter Daou, author of the Daou Report, and will feature frequent posts from knowledgeable guest contributors.