"Facing dire warnings of an impending global pandemic of avian influenza, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today announced the appointment of a United Nations system coordinator for the virus, which is presently decimating poultry stocks in Asia and could cross over to humans to deadly effect.

"We expect the next great influenza pandemic to come at any time now," David Nabarro, a senior public health expert in the UN World Health Organization (WHO), told a news briefing, recalling that the 1918 flu pandemic had killed over 40 million people." [Full story]

A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary

Outside the Beltway: "The UN is warning that the Asian bird flu could spread to humans and kill up to 150 million people."

Fed Blog: "John Bolton made clear Wednesday that he believes the United Nations has systematic management problems, but the new U.S. ambassador to the world body said he held out hope that those problems could be fixed."

American Future: "Reassuring words from Tony Blair's speech at the Labour Party Conference: "British troops whose bravery and dedication we salute, along with those of 27 other nations, have been in Iraq with full United Nations authority and in support of the Iraqi Government."

Balloon Juice: "I am a little fuzzy on the science of this: "Capturing and storing the carbon dioxide generated by power plants and factories could play an important role in limiting global warming caused by humans, says an international climate research group associated with the United Nations. In a new report the group, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, says doing so could cut the cost of stabilizing carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere as much as 30 percent compared with other options, like switching to cleaner technologies." So they will capture it, pipe it somewhere, and store it in big tanks and wells forever?"

Centerfield: "Reuters: With Katrina and Rita dominating the news recently, there's a good deal of talk out there about the relationship between hurricanes and climate change (or global warming). And it comes down to this: Are these larger, more powerful hurricanes related to climate change, or not? Reuters: "Scientists say it's not easy to tell if global warming caused hurricanes Katrina and Rita but on Monday they forecast more unpredictable weather as Earth gets hotter. 'Global warming, I think, is playing a role in the hurricanes,' said Kevin Trenberth, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. 'But a lot of what is going on is natural. What global warming may be doing is making them somewhat more intense,' said Trenberth, a member of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.'"

Informed Comment: "The United Nations is urging member states not to send Iraqi asylum seekers back to Iraq, since it is too dangerous."

Nuno Macedo: "Today was the first day of the UNHCR annual consultations with NGOs that will last the whole week. As intern of the UN Liaison Office of the General-Conference of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, I could not miss it! So there I go to the plenary session... We then had a very inspirational speech from Gil Loescher, Emeritus Professor of Political Science and International Relations of Notre Dame University, who was nearly killed in the bombing at the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad in August 2003. At a moment of the speech he said something that made the entire assembly hold its breath, more or less like this: ...it was with them (speaking about refugees) that I learnt how to survive and live under difficult conditions which, ultimately, has been very useful for my own recovery (he made his speech in his wheel chair)."

New York Times: "Dr. Kees Waaldijk began surgery shortly before 10 a.m. one recent Saturday in a cement-walled operating room in this city near Nigeria's northern border. More than five hours later, orderlies carried the last of four girls to the recovery ward. In the near-90 degree heat, Dr. Waaldijk's light blue surgical garb had turned dark with sweat.

What brings the girls to Dr. Waaldijk - and him to Nigeria - is the obstetric nightmare of fistulas, unknown in the West for nearly a century. Mostly teenagers who tried to deliver their first child at home, the girls failed at labor. Their babies were lodged in their narrow birth canals, and the resulting pressure cut off blood to vital tissues and ripped holes in their bowels or urethras, or both.

Were it widely available, the United Nations agency states, a $300 operation could repair most fistulas. But Mozambique, with 17 million people, has just three surgeons who consistently perform those operations. Niger, population 11 million, has but six, the organization reported in 2002."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

To support UNFPA's campaign to End Fistula, visit One By One Project. One By One is a volunteer-led initiative that enables people to make a difference by creating giving circles to raise enough money to cover the cost of fistula surgery, post-operative care and rehabilitation for one woman.

To learn more ways to get involved, visit The Woman Tour

Selected summary of United Nations related news and events

Annan Urges All Sides to 'seize opportunity' of Northern Ireland Disarmament: "United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today called on all sides in the Northern Ireland dispute to seize the "unique opportunity" offered by the decommissioning of weapons by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) to advance the 1998 Good Friday agreement laying out a framework for a peaceful and democratic settlement."

Rice Arrives in Haiti for Visit Ahead of Elections

Tehran Warns Against UN Referral

Cocaine Is Killing Colombian Nature Parks

More Foreign Aid on Way for Indonesian Bird Flu Fight

UN Refugee Boss Says World Tackling Past Failures

UN: Governments must act promptly and effectively
on important human rights commitments in
2005 World Summit Document

Groups Promote Mideast Peace Via Youth

CO2 Storage May Minimize Climate Change

"For the past decade, UNHCR has been issuing Refworld as the most comprehensive, reliable and updated refugee information resource available anywhere. Sometimes referred to as the "Refugee Encyclopaedia", Refworld is a collection of more than 90,000 full-text, searchable documents from UNHCR specialists and information partners around the world." [Read more]

A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary

Beautiful Horizons: "The United Nations has just adopted the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the International Federation for Human Rights and the International Commission of Jurists are all hailing the document in a joint announcement. They are also urging all nations to ratify the document."

Brian Barder: "Blair's great failure lay in not having insisted from the outset, as an absolute and immutable condition of UK participation in the use of force against Iraq, that military action must have the prior approval of the Security Council in a new and explicit resolution. To go ahead without it was a plain breach of our international law obligations: it was, and is, an illegal war and its authors are war criminals. It's no good Blair arguing that we couldn't get UN approval because France would have vetoed any resolution that would have granted it: that's a disgraceful lie, as anyone who takes the trouble to read the transcript of the relevant Chirac television interview must realise."

Cuanas: "In an indispensible article, from National Review, Michael Ledeen warns that we had better do something Iran very soon: While most media attention has been devoted to the "diplomatic" United Nations visit of Iran's brand new terrorist president, Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nezhad, the fascinating turmoil within Iran, both inside the mullahcracy and between the mullahs and the Iranian people, has gone largely unreported."

Dean's World: "The United States is in sharp contrast with Britain, where laws against self-defense combined with the toughest firearm restrictions of any democracy coincide with a rapidly rising crime rate: "In a United Nations study of crime in 18 developed nations published in July, England and Wales led the Western world's crime league, with nearly 55 crimes per 100 people." Given these facts, it's clear that the anti-defense Left is basing their ideas on wishes and dreams, not reality."

Insecurity Forum: "We are living in a world that is growing smaller, and in a period when the agenda of peace and human security is assuming increasing priority. Beginning from the early years of the post-cold war era, and more prominently since the fateful events of "9/11", the agenda of human security has increasingly assumed an urgency of global proportions. It is quite clear that research on peace and security is now subject to broad national, regional and international debate. Besides several Seminars and Conferences held such as this one by EADI, discussions are under way in major international forums, such as the African Union, the United Nations and other forums to find lasting solutions to conflicts."

Thomas Paine's Corner: "Bush and his minions lied to Congress to launch the invasion, defied the UN and international law, and, according to John Pike of GlobalSecurities.org, are establishing 12 of what the Pentagon propagandists call "enduring bases" in Iraq.... The US government needs to respect international law, treaties, human rights, and the autonomy of sovereign nations, and to participate fairly in the UN."

Window Washer: "The United Nations 2005 World Summit came to a close Friday, leaving many disappointed that little was achieved in regards to the Millennium Development Goals. But activists pledge not to be disheartened by this failure of world leaders to take action against poverty. Read IPS coverage of the summit that, despite its shortcomings, likely will set the stage for future international relations and development."

"The Secretary-General believes that the international community should not tolerate such terrorist attacks," a spokesman for Mr. Annan said in a statement released in New York." [More]

"The representatives of small and medium-sized countries voiced their opinions on a wide range of issues facing the international community and their own governments, including United Nations reform and moving to greater equity in economic development and human rights, as the General Assembly completed the sixth day of its annual debate for the current 60th anniversary session." [Read more]

Secretary-General Kofi Annan rings the Japanese Peace Bell
in observance of the International Day of Peace

"From its Headquarters complex in New York, where Secretary-General Kofi Annan solemnly rang the Peace Bell, to its furthest outposts on the front-line of conflict prevention to cyberspace, the United Nations Wednesday celebrated the annual International Day of Peace with ceremonies around the world.

"Peace is the paramount United Nations mission," Mr. Annan declared as he stood in front of the bell, a gift from Japan cast from the pennies donated by children from 60 nations, before driving the ringing beam into it three times. "It is the basis of our existence. The essence of our identity. The cause that animates everything we do." [Read more]

A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary

Penraker: "In spite of widespread reports of starvation, North Korea has decided to turn away food aid from the U.N. So what if six million more people die of starvation?"

Daily Sophist: "I just wish Katrina had only hit the United Nations building, nothing else, just had flooded them out. And I wouldn't have rescued them." - Bill O'Reilly on the September 14th edition of the O'Reilly Factor. O'Reilly's words flew back in his face when Media Matters for America notified the UN of the crude and hateful comment. He still refuses to apologize but now on his show has added Media Matters for America to his list of people for his viewers to hate."

Dwight Freisen: "Watch and truly listen to this brief message from Kofi Annan. Many people around the world are observing a minute of silence in prayer for peace at noon today."

Lilac Phonograph: "Today is the United Nations International Day of Peace. It was originally established in 1981 but not fixed to a specific date until - ironically - the morning of 11 September 2001, largely thanks to the work of Jeremy Gilley from Peace One Day. Please take a moment to read Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Message and reflect on the number of people who will be maimed, killed or made to suffer today because of conflict."

Powerpundit: "Epidemic" in Indonesia: "JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia called an outbreak of bird flu in its teeming capital an epidemic on Wednesday as health and agricultural experts from around the world converged on Jakarta to help control the virus. The U.N. World Health Organization last week warned bird flu was moving toward a form that could be passed between human beings and the world had no time to waste to prevent a pandemic, an outbreak that spreads far more widely than an epidemic." And if it strikes here, we're not even close to being ready to deal with it."

Two Peas, no Pod: "Bill O'Reilly, host of Talking Point and The Radio Factor, commented on his radio program that he wished hurricane Katrina had hit the UN Headquarters in New York, rather than New Orleans. This on the day the World Summit opened. Nice work Bill. The UN Foundation has called for an apology and retraction. I hope they're not holding their breath."

Selected summary of United Nations related news and events

A Woman Prepares to Cast her Vote - Kabul

Vote Counting Starts in Afghanistan

Afghanistan Elections Just a 'Baby Step' Toward Democracy

UN Investigators Take Hariri Probe to Syria

Rice Challenges United Nations To Seize Opportunity To Reform

IAEA Chief Urges More Diplomacy on Iran

Fresh fighting in Sudan's Darfur region threatens 33,000 people

A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary

Secular Blasphemy: "Its credibility bruised by the false intelligence on Iraq's WMD programmes, the US was unable to fully convince its allies that Iran had nuclear ambitions. Luckily, we should almost say, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to the US' aid by making thinly veiled threats to the UN General Assembly."

The Pen: "I liked "The Interpreter" not only because Nicole Kidman looked pretty hot. Given all the problems dogging the United Nations, I still believe in the place and what it can do. I'm an optimist and an idealist."

Bump in the Beltway: "Amid Warnings, Richer Nations Seek Protection From Bird Flu - As World Health Organization officials repeat warnings about the potential for a deadly bird flu pandemic, wealthier countries are redoubling efforts to buy an experimental vaccine and antiviral drugs in the hopes of protecting their citizens from infection. At the United Nations on Wednesday, President Bush proposed an "international partnership" to combat the disease, and the United States announced last week that it had placed orders for $100 million worth of a promising but technically unlicensed vaccine that is under development by the French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis. "We cannot afford to face the pandemic unprepared," Lee Jong Wook, the director of the World Health Organization, said Thursday at the United Nations." This isn't a bad round-up article. Finally, the American media are beginning to pay attention."

Democracy Arsenal: "After an embarrassing fizzle of a global summit intended to tackle UN reform, the U.S. and the world organization need to figure out what's next. Ideas are proliferating: Ivo Daalder at Americans Abroad suggests replacing the global body with a comparable forum whose membership would be limited to longstanding democracies. The Wall Street Journal editorial page wants to put Turtle Bay in trusteeship to be run by Former Fed Chairman Paul Volcker. Before drowning UN HQ into the East River, its worth keeping in mind the many things the UN does well (here's a list of 10 important ones). But it's also time for some new thinking on the UN's shortcomings and what might be done to tackle them. Here are 10 ideas - some serious, some slightly fanciful..."

Informed Comment: "Patrick Cockburn of the Independent now confirms that report based on his own sources, saying that actually between one and two billion dollars were embezzled from the Iraqi ministry of defense under Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan. It was always mysterious where Shaalan came from. He is said to have been a former member of the Baath Party from Hillah in the Shiite south. Ahmad Chalabi alleged that he was a double agent for Saddam in the late 1990s, spying on the dissidents. He then went to the UK. When the US and the UN installed Iyad Allawi as interim "prime minister" on June 28, 2004, Shaalan became minister of defense."

Left Coaster: "Congratulations to the Bush Administration, and those inside the administration who argued continuously for negotiations with North Korea, against the hard line thinking of Dick Cheney and John Bolton, on the good news that an agreement was reached late today on a comprehensive preliminary agreement that appears to end Pyongyang's pursuit of a nuclear weapons program. Now perhaps the administration can see from this victory the fruits of multilateral pressure, rather than war, and cobble together an international wall of opposition to the saber-rattling from the new nutcases in Iran about their nuclear aims."

Watchdog316: "Between the years of 1962 and 2000, a 38 year period: Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa; has seen a reduction in glacier content of fifty-five percent. COMPACT, the Community Management of Protected Areas Conservation project, put forth by the United Nations Development Program is entering its second phase in efforts to save this natural wonder."

"While the focus of the summit that ended Friday was largely on efforts to overhaul the U.N. management and human rights machinery, the original thrust of the event was to take stock of progress made toward achieving a series of goals set in 2000: To cut poverty by half, ensure universal primary education and stem the AIDS pandemic, all by 2015." [More]

Washington, D.C.-United Nations Foundation President, Timothy E. Wirth, today called for Fox News to withdraw and publicly apologize for remarks made by the network's Bill O'Reilly. O'Reilly said he "wished" that Hurricane Katrina had hit the United Nations building in New York City.

Mr. O'Reilly's comments were made during his radio program, The Radio Factor, on the day that hundreds of world leaders, including President Bush, were gathered at the UN for the opening of the 59th UN General Assembly meeting.

Mr. O'Reilly's exact comments were:

"Bush to address the U.N., says we must be steadfast in battling terrorism. I'm sure all the U.N. people fell asleep. They don't really care about anything over there at all. I just wish Katrina had only hit the United Nations building, nothing else, just had flooded them out. And I wouldn't have rescued them."

Attached please find Senator Wirth's letter to the head of Fox News.

###

September 16, 2005

Mr. Roger Ailes
Chairman and Chief Executive Office
Fox News Network
New York, New York

Dear Roger,

I was astonished and appalled by the comments made by Fox News' Bill O'Reilly on his September 14th radio show, The Radio Factor. O'Reilly said he wished that the deadly Hurricane Katrina would have hit the United Nations building and flooded it. He added that if it was up to him, he would not have rescued anyone.

Mr. O'Reilly should be required to withdraw these remarks. And both Mr. O'Reilly and Fox should make an immediate and public apology.

Some weeks ago Pat Robertson made a mistake in calling for the assassination of a head of state - and then he had the decency to apologize and withdraw his comments. Bill O'Reilly should do the same.

Sincerely yours,

Timothy E. Wirth,
President, The United Nations Foundation

Cc. Rupert Murdoch

"Calls for bold action against poverty, steadfast steps against terrorism and a determined push for United Nations reform rang through the General Assembly Hall today as presidents, prime ministers and a king took the podium on the third and final day of the 2005 World Summit." [Full Story]

"World leaders nearing the end of a three-day summit urged the United Nations to play a bigger role on the world stage - in everything from the fight against terrorism to protecting immigrant rights to easing the crunch caused by high oil prices."[Read more]

"U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan appealed Wednesday to world leaders marking the 60th anniversary of the United Nations to help restore confidence in the world body and to act together to meet the challenges of the new century.

Addressing more than 150 presidents, prime ministers and monarchs, Annan said a document they will adopt at the end of the three-day summit was "a good start" but not "the sweeping and fundamental reform" he proposed. He called for urgent action on the tough, unresolved issues.

"Because one thing has emerged clearly from this process on which we embarked two years ago: whatever our differences, in our interdependent world, we stand or fall together," Annan said." [Read more]

From CNN: "Leaders of developing nations called Wednesday for more foreign aid and freer trade to help poor countries develop, warning at a U.N. summit that chronic poverty could fuel regional conflict."

For more on the 2005 World Summit, visit the official UN site.

A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary

Moderate Voice: "Afghans flocked to the polls to vote in the country's first democratic parliamentary elections in 35 years: "...We did see some procedural irregularities but nothing that I consider systemic and which would have influenced the overall conduct of the election," said Peter Erben, the chief international election officer with the United Nations-assisted Joint Elections Management Board."

TAPPED: "In a press conference shortly following the adoption of the document on UN reform on Tuesday, Kofi Annan tried to put as positive a spin on the outcome as he could. But he was both unable and unwilling to ignore the conspicuous absence of any mention of disarmament and nonproliferation, which he called "a real disgrace."

Outside the Beltway: "Because of the diversity of the member states, there is little chance of achieving consensus on even the most fundamental issues. The underdeveloped states see the U.N. as a giant teat from which to suckle money from the prosperous whereas the West sees it as a mechanism for spreading democracy, law, and order. Reconciling those visions is next to impossible."

Feministing: "Among the MANY newsworthy things going on this week, UN Headquarters in New York is hosting the World Summit, a follow-up to the 2000 Millennium Summit that resulted in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight goals being promoted by the UN, targeting everything from ending world poverty to achieving gender equality and women's empowerment worldwide. While the MDGs have been criticized by many women's rights organizations for not being inclusive enough of women (for example, check out this great article by MADRE), they are a start."

Liberal Avenger: "That's right, it's Bolton time! He's been hard at work at the UN's current meetings, which have produced some less than stellar results."

MBlog: "The headlines say it all - "Poor nations lose in watered-down UN document." If you were wondering what sort of impact John Bolton would have at the UN, look no further. From The Guardian: "Final draft a bland version of Gleneagles promises. No new money for aid and debt relief." What a world we live in. Those that exploit get to argue over the extremity of their usury while those that they exploit must not only struggle to survive, but also politely endure the indignity."

Today's Democracy: "I have made it no secret that I thought the UN has need reform for a while. There is a place for the United Nations. In both "A World Without The UN and Questioning our U.N. Role, organizations like the United Nations, as the primary example, have a role to play. I am not of the opinion that complete abolishment is the right answer nor am I an advocate. Obvious to me, the potential role of the U.N. is enormous. However the UN should be providing military intervention for humanitarian reasons. Humanitarian is the key word."

"The 2005 World Summit, expected to be the largest gathering ever of international leaders, opened at United Nations Headquarters in New York today with a warning from Secretary-General Kofi Annan that "millions of lives and the hopes of billions" rest on fulfilling the pledges contained in the meeting's outcome document." [Read more]

And don't miss the UN Foundation's World Summit page.

"World leaders explore ways to revitalize the United Nations at a summit on Wednesday but their blueprint falls short of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's vision of freedom from want, persecution and war. [Full story]

UN News Service: "Secretary-General Kofi Annan today held wide-ranging discussions with United States President George W. Bush at United Nations Headquarters in New York on the eve of what is expected to the largest ever summit of world leaders.

Mr. Bush expressed his support for the world body, and the two leaders discussed Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, African peacekeeping missions and the situation in Sudan's Darfur region."

A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary

Counterterrorism Blog: "When the world's statesmen gather in New York September 14th to open this session of the General Assembly they will grapple with UN reform. Perhaps they will make some progress toward that end. But, they will fail in strengthening the UN's role in combating terrorism if they fail to lay the necessary common foundation for fighting terrorism that a clear definition would provide."

Democracy Arsenal (David Shorr): "As the main instrument of international cooperation and the world community's only meeting place with universal membership, the United Nations has great potential to marshal collective action on today's challenges from terrorism to poverty reduction to human rights and nuclear non-proliferation. But it can only achieve this potential if the world's leaders pull together."

Bildt Comments: "It's a sunny and nice morning in New York, and leaders are starting to gather for the 60th General Assembly of the United Nations. Over the weekend, talks have been continued in a smaller group to see if it is possible to reach agreement on a document for the summit starting on Wednesday. But the reform process is now down to rather few issues. It will be an important meeting, but I fear we should not expect too much in terms of important results. At the moment, avoiding a break-down is the number one priority."

Captain's Quarters: "James Traub provides a thought-provoking analysis of the systemic problems of the United Nations in today's New York Times, and what might be done to ameliorate them."

Craig Cheslog: "While most Americans are understandably focused on the Katrina disaster, it is worthwhile to take a look at a diplomatic problem being created by UN Ambassador John Bolton. Steve Clemons links to a story in The Guardian: "The British government is mounting a huge diplomatic effort this weekend to prevent the biggest-ever summit of world leaders, designed to tackle poverty and overhaul the United Nations, ending in chaos. The Guardian has learned that Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, has made a personal plea to his American counterpart, Condoleezza Rice, for the US to withdraw opposition to plans for wholesale reform of the UN."

GOP Vixen: "I had heard about this a few weeks ago from one of my sources ... Iranians from all over the United States are merging in New York to protest against the Islamic Republic president Ahmadi Nejad in New York City on Wednesday September 14th 2005."

Informed Comment: "The final text of the Iraqi constitution has still not been worked out, and so the United Nations cannot begin to print it in several million copies so that Iraqi voters can read it before the October 15 referendum. It is going to be very difficult to get the printing and distribution done with only a month to go."

Selected summary of United Nations related news and events

Head of UN Probe into Lebanese Ex-premier's Assassination Arrives in Syria

Tax Dodgers 'rob poorer nations'

SOMALIA: UNHCR Head Urges Action Against Human Trafficking

Journey Delivers Epic Message from World's Children to U.N.:
'Send My Friend to School'

Treaty Offers World's Last Chance to Save Great Apes

Photo Album : Global Warning

"President Bush will join U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the opening of a three-day summit September 14 that marks the beginning of the United Nations General Assembly's 60th session.

More than 170 heads of state and government are expected to participate in the plenary session in the vast General Assembly hall and in roundtable discussions, treaty-signings, and other meetings taking place in connection with the event." [Read more]

Selected summary of United Nations related news and events

Annan has taken quick steps in response to Oil-for-Food findings

UN Steps up Aid to US in Wake of Hurricane Katrina

High Stakes in New York - the Point of No Return

Virus Ravaging India's Poor Stirs Call for Counterattack

UN Agencies Team up to Promote Eco-friendly,
Development-oriented Tourism

Eight Ways to Change the World

A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary

El Canche: "By the time you have finished reading this sentence a child, somewhere in the world, will have died as a direct result of poverty. That frightening fact is just one of many contained in the 2005 Human Development Report , presented to world leaders today by the United Nations Development Program. The timing of the report is crucial as next week the heads of state of 175 countries will gather at the United Nations in NY to discuss the urgent and ambitious Millennium Development Goals."

Silent Nation: "Parts of America as poor as Third World - And now there is a UN report to back it up. Sure to be trounced by the US elites, but the findings ring very true for those that have actually studied the issue in detail."

Agonist: "The Independent - Parts of the United States are as poor as the Third World, according to a shocking United Nations report on global inequality. Claims that the New Orleans floods have laid bare a growing racial and economic divide in the US have, until now, been rejected by the American political establishment as emotional rhetoric. But yesterday's UN report provides statistical proof that for many - well beyond those affected by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina - the great American Dream is an ongoing nightmare."

Political Animal: "The final report of the commission investigating the UN's Oil For Food program is over a thousand pages long, but Abu Aardvark has condensed it to eight bullets and a few hundred words. If you want to know enough to hold your own in cocktail party chatter, head over and check it out."

Chuck Currie: "World leaders will gather next week in New York City to mark the 60th anniversary of the United Nations. A joint statement will be issued at the event and many of the world's leaders are arguing that the statement should commit most nations to the goal of spending 0.7 percent of their gross national product on aid to developing nations and referencing the UN Millennium Development goals that include halving world poverty by 2015."

Democracy Arsenal: "Two weeks ago a senior US official reassured me that the UN reform talks would reach an agreement in time for next week's summit, but that there would be tough bargaining along the way. "It's going to get ugly," the official warned. And ugly it has gotten."

Washington-"Today marks a turning point from focusing on the problems of the Oil-for-Food Program (OFFP) to moving ahead with UN reform. The exhaustive Independent Inquiry Committee's (IIC) report tells us both what went right and wrong with the program. Clearly, the UN made mistakes in the operation of the OFFP. The organization will learn from these lessons and by implementing recommendations offered by the IIC, as it has already begun to do, help ensure that these problems are not repeated in the future." [Read More]

Just a reminder that you can get the latest on the Oil-for-Food inquiry at oilforfoodfacts.org

Selected summary of United Nations related news and events

Students ask about Iraq, United Nations and Katrina

Security Council receives inquiry report on Iraq oil-for-food programme

Katrina's Global Lessons

Life 'worse for world's poorest'

Time for a "Decisive Breakthrough", UN Urges

Blair calls for UN Terror Stand

UN News Service: "The United Nations has mobilized three inter-agency teams to aid the United States' recovery from Hurricane Katrina and further deployments may occur within the next few days, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said today.

The teams span the whole gamut of UN humanitarian activities from food and health to refugees and children and have been assembled following the US acceptance of help from the world body in the face of the enormous devastation caused by the hurricane."

A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary

Opinio Juris: "U.S. Secretary of State Rice has made a point of publicly thanking foreign countries for their contributions to the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Here is an excerpt from her news conference: "The United Nations has mobilized their disaster experts. I want to thank Secretary General Kofi Annan for that. Their people are sitting with our people in Washington to plan out UN support."

Chez Nadezhda: "Brian Ulrich makes a very good point in a post at Liberals Against Terrorism about the urban myths that the rest of the world has given the US the cold shoulder. People who should know better are simply making stuff up! The rest of the world is in fact horrified, and offers of official assistance are coming from all over -- as well as charitable contributions. And then there's everybody's favorite whipping-boy, the UN, which has of course offered help -- and they actually know a lot about how to deliver humanitarian assistance in the wake of disasters."

Chrenkoff: Good News from Afghanistan, part 16 - Ahead of winter, the United Nations is starting food distribution: "The United Nations announced launching of food distribution among half a million poor Afghans ahead of the winter season."

Coalition for Darfur: "From Amnesty International and others: "Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam International call on a small number of "spoiler" countries to stop holding the UN World Summit hostage over crucial measures on human rights, security, genocide and poverty reduction. These governments have thrown negotiations on the final outcome text into crisis just days away from the biggest meeting of world leaders in history, September 14-16 in New York."

Democracy Arsenal (David Shorr): "I encourage readers to check out the Stanley Foundation's web pages on UN reform; we have been tracking these issues ever since Kofi Annan launched the current push for reform in late 2003."

GraBlog: "The coverage about Hurricane Katrina and the disastrous response - or to say better - initial lack of it and slow start stirred up even conservative politicians and media [...] According to many people involved, like New Orleans Major Ray Nagin, the US government is moving far too slow, but a long list of countries all over the world, even Cuba, which has not the best relations to the US, offered help, countries like Sri Lanka, Jamaica and Afghanistan(!), which are not among the well-off themselves, offered help, immediate neighbors like Canada and Mexico as well as the United Nations and Europe, OAS and WHO, China, Japan, India and South Korea are offering all kinds of help."

Alertnet: "The U.S.-led invasion of Iraq has turned the country into a new hub of terrorism worse than Afghanistan under Taliban, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said on Monday."

"The United Nations announced today that the United States Government has accepted the world body's offer of help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

A small UN Coordination team is in Washington now consulting with government officials on how the UN can best complement the US's own emergency efforts." [Full story]

UN News Service: "The top United Nations emergency relief official has offered the United States the world body's help in "any way possible" following the loss of life and large-scale destruction wrought by Hurricane Katrina along the US Gulf Coast. The offer was made in a letter from Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland to US Ambassador John Bolton."