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September 12, 2005
Keystone Diplomats
This is fairly funny. Mark Leon Goldberg got to talking with the Panamanian Ambassador to the UN, otherwise known as the poor sap who got charged with leading discussions to create a new UN Human Rights council. How are the talks going? Comically badly:
The talks were so dead in the water on Friday, rumor had it, that he couldn't even get the parties to agree to meet.
During negotiations the prior night, Iran and Syria were being intransigent on one point and the deputy French ambassador, out of frustration, accused them of behaving like the right wing of the Republican party. Apparently, that's among the worst slurs that can be hurled in these parts. But John Bolton was in the room and obviously wasn't amused at being confused for a Syrian, so he stood up and left.
Sounds like a vaudeville act, doesn't it?
September 12, 2005 | Permalink
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Comments
Funny stuff, Bolton being so childish he has to leave when an insult flies. Poor baby!
Still, the negotiations are at a real bad point, and we're not solely to blame.
The United States is also fairly set in sticking by criteria for excluding countries under UN sanction from membership to the council...To counter the United States, Cuba and Venezuela suggested that eligibility be dependent on acceding to some number of international human rights treaties
That seems important to me that those on the council shouldn't be under sanction. It' too bad we have such a lousy diplomat, otherwise, we might be able to negotiate a way to get this important condition in...
Posted by: verplanck colvin | Sep 12, 2005 12:54:18 PM
It is a real shame that diplomats must be diplomatic - except maybe John Bolton, since the US is the 'essential country'. After his plan to make meaningless the upcoming UN heads-of-state gathering on world Millenium Development Goals [also here], it sure would be political justice is the ambassadors from most of the world just sat on their hands (no applause) when Bush makes his presentation. Or even better, just quietly got up and left the General Assembly hall as Bush is introduced.
The best move, IMO, would be for the UN to move to Geneva, reorganize leaving the USA out of the organization, and establish a new goal to provide a world counterweight to the rogue US empire builders - sort of like the WWII "Allies" lined up against fascism emergent and rampant.
Posted by: JimPortlandOR | Sep 12, 2005 3:15:18 PM
Gee Jim, I rarely disagree with you, but that last paragraph I do. Was that tonque in cheek?
Hopefully our dreams will come true in '08 and we can start real, principled reform.
Posted by: Adrock | Sep 12, 2005 5:05:21 PM
Adrock: my last 'graf was only part snark. No, the UN shouldn't move or throw out the US. Yes, the rest of the world should just stand up and cry foul when the US engages in stupid moves - it is essential that the UN not become the enabler of US plans to destroy the institution and the rest of whatever remains of the 'internation order'.
My mental mindset is getting pulled back and forth between despair, resignation, and resistance - multi-polar - when each day brings horror-inducing new outrages from BushCo.
Posted by: JimPortlandOR | Sep 12, 2005 8:23:34 PM
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