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February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
March 25, 2005
/ 25 Adar II, 5765
The United Nations: What Is to Be Done?
By
James Lileks
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Nowadays when you see the words "U.N. sex scandal" in the paper, they're usually prefaced by "another."
The news is disheartening and revolting: In the Congo, U.N. peacekeepers are accused of rape and of patronizing child prostitution rings. In East Timor we learn four years after the fact Australian troops drew their weapons, one newspaper reports, "to protect themselves from Jordanian peacekeepers" after an Aussie "blew the whistle on other Jordanian soldiers' sexual abuse of East Timorese boys."
It's been a hard run for the United Nations. Sex scandals. The Oil for Food program, Saddam Hussein's attempt to find a Eurocrat or Russian businessman who couldn't be bribed. (He failed.)
Kofi Annan's response to these interminable travails: a thorough reorganization, released under the leaden title "In Larger Freedom."
The plan would have stricter rules concerning when a nation could go to war, for example. (Sleep well, Taiwan China would face double-secret probation if they invaded you under the New, Improved Rules.)
It would expand the Security Council from 15 to 24 seats perhaps the only way to include big, dynamic and useful nations without kicking out France. But it's a typically bureaucratic solution: Want a more secure world? Add chairs.
Compounding Annan's agitation: the new nominee for U.S. ambassador, John Bolton, who regards the United Nations like a jar of old mayo that's been in the sun for a week. He's a nightmarish choice if you think the ambassador should represent the United Nations to the United States, not the other way around.
Granted, Bolton is stern stuff. The U.N. tower has 38 stories, he once noted, and "if you lost 10 stories today it wouldn't make a bit of difference."
Bolton foes hope the quote alarms you which it would, if the top floors were devoted to tsunami advance-warning detection, cold fusion, discovering a cheap AIDS vaccine that doubles as a dessert topping, and other invaluable advances the United Nations will spring on us any day now.
Lopping off 10 stories would ruin the building's proportions, but surely there's fat to trim. Annan's own reform proposal abolishes the U.N. Commission on Human Rights preferably before Myanmar gets the rotating seat as well as the "Trusteeship Council" a group that's had nothing to do since the last U.N. trust territory was granted independence in 1994.
That's probably two floors there. Eight to go. See? It looks like a big job, but once you get started those floors just melt away.
This isn't to say the United Nations doesn't have a role. (Insert obligatory World Health Organization disclaimer here. Insert rote genuflection to the usefulness of international relief coordination agencies here.)
But you could spin off all the good stuff into one big group of international do-gooders, convene a parliament of democracies down the street, and be better off. Somehow we're led to believe that the absence of a General Assembly means the end of dialogue as though Vladimir Putin can't look up the Chinese ambassador in the phone book.
But that's harsh. The United Nations wants to change! It wants to help. Listen to its own high holy boilerplate:
"We will spare no effort to free our peoples from the scourge of war ... to take concerted action against international terrorism, and to accede as soon as possible to all the relevant international conventions, to redouble our efforts to implement our commitment to counter the world drug problem ... to strive for the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons, and to keep all options open for achieving this aim, including the possibility of convening an international conference to identify ways of eliminating nuclear dangers."
Oh, not the possibility of convening a convention! Iranian moo-lahs are throwing ropes over the rafters at the very thought. Those are nice words, but unfortunately they're from the Millennium Declaration of 2000.
Now we have the "In Larger Freedom" proposal, which sounds like more of the same. Maybe it'll do a better job of bringing elections to the Arab and Muslim world than the U.S. armed forces.
Maybe if they added 10 more floors to the building.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in uplifting articles.
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JWR contributor James Lileks is a columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Comment by clicking here.
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© 2005, James Lileks
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