A sampling of United Nations related blog commentary
Washington Note: “Perhaps John Bolton is modeling himself on Andrei Gromyko, the famous “Mr. Nyet” who said ‘No’ more often than anything else starting in 1946 when he went as the Soviet Ambassador to the U.N. followed by nearly three decades as the USSR’s Foreign Minister.”
Suburban Guerrilla: “Unimaginable – So sad: “What little food they had ran out a long time ago and if they were “looking well fed” as their president has said, it was on leaves and plants. But yesterday the dispossessed of Guidamonji were the first to benefit from the start of the long-awaited UN aid distribution in Niger.”
Hidden Nook: “With the United States delegating the potential Persian nuclear crisis over to Europe, Iran it seems has disregarded the world’s viewpoint over it’s nuclear activities. Europe, realizing that they are losing control over the situation are threatening to bring Iran before the United Nations. But with nothing more than paper and words backing the their threats, Iran is calling the world’s bluff by publicly insisting that it’s nuclear activity is only for “peaceful” means.”
Coalition for Darfur: “From IRIN: “Heavy rainfall and ongoing insecurity are slowing down the delivery of humanitarian assistance to many parts of the strife-torn western Sudanese region of Darfur, aid workers warned on Wednesday. “It is a nightmare to move food; the rains are much worse than last year,” Diego Fernandez, head of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) field office in Kabkabiya, in the west of North Darfur State, told IRIN.”
Media Network Weblog: “Representatives from fourteen national broadcast companies from across the Asia-Pacific region gathered at UNDP Regional Centre in Bangkok today to launch a co-production initiative to raise awareness about the impact of HIV/AIDS global health risk through the creation of media content. The initiative was organised through a cooperative arrangement involving the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU), UNDP’s Asia-Pacific Development Information Programme (UNDP-APDIP), UNAIDS, UNICEF, UNDP Regional HIV Programme, MTV International and the Kaiser Family Foundation. This innovative and timely partnership will produce a series of made for television programmes to raise awareness of the global HIV/AIDS pandemic.”
MoJo Blog: “Darfur Won’t Go Away – The ICG’s John Pendergast – who was interviewed a while back here at Mother Jones-had an important op-ed on Darfur yesterday that kicks down the idea that the genocide will somehow just go away on its own: “The crisis in Darfur is deepening, not abating. New numbers from the United Nations reveal that 3.5 million Darfurians are in need of emergency aid, a sharp increase over what the misguided optimists expected. Mass rapes continue; lifesaving humanitarian aid is frequently blocked; and impunity for those responsible remains intact.” (Via Coalition for Darfur, which is also essential reading for the ongoing crises in Congo and Niger.)”