A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary
Captain’s Quarters: “For Republicans around the country, the retirement of Jesse Helms has allowed many to breathe a little easier since 2003. While Helms’ stalwart positions on foreign policy provided America much-needed backbone, especially in relation to the United Nations, his domestic views often caused unnecessary controversy and embarrassment.”
Democracy Arsenal: “Yesterday the House International Relations Committee approved Rep. Henry Hyde’s UN Reform Act of 2005. Many of the proposals contained in the legislation are sound. A good number repeat or amplify ideas that Kofi Annan has already been pushing. The problem with the newly approved legislation is that it requires withholding of 50% of U.S. assessed dues to the UN unless the requested reforms are implemented. But the breadth and depth of the reforms are such that its almost impossible to imagine that all will be quickly or completely agreed.”
Emerging Technologies and Children: “Crumbs for Africa – Editorial in The New York Times – According to a poll, most Americans believe that the United States spends 24 percent of its budget on aid to poor countries; it actually spends well under a quarter of 1 percent. As Jeffrey Sachs, the Columbia University economist in charge of the United Nations’ Millennium Project, put it so well, the notion that there is a flood of American aid going to Africa “is one of our great national myths.”