Taiwanese Defense and the UN Charter

Is it technically illegal?  Whatever. Does anyone really think the major players in Asia are going to care about use of force rules in the UN Charter if/when things get dicey?  Give me a break.

Nerd Fun: Hilariously Reductive Theses

The brilliant blog Lol My Thesis invites nerds to submit humorous summaries of their research projects, theses, and dissertations.  My current top 3 favorites:

3) "Screw you. Love, the Polish language" - linguistics thesis from Cornell

2) "Rats like cocaine" - a psychology thesis from Reed College

And a drum roll for the best of them all ...

1)  "Why is the Security Council dysfunctional? Because the Russians are devious liars" - a political science thesis from the University of Pennsylvania

A Tale of Two Speeches at the UN

It's obvious who's living in a perilous fantasyland and who's living in grim reality.  Here's a piece of Netanyahu's speech.  

Israel will never acquiesce to nuclear arms in the hands of a rogue regime that repeatedly promises to wipe us off the map.  Against such a threat, Israel will have no choice but to defend itself.  I want there to be no confusion on this point: Israel will not allow Iran to get nuclear weapons.  If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone.  Yet in standing alone, Israel will know that we will be defending many, many others.

Such clarity is rare indeed nowadays.  I can only wish our own wretched leadership were capable of it.  (Video of Netanyahu's entire speech here.) 

Denial Is Not Just A River in Egypt

This speaks for itself, really:  Obama at the UN said that the world is a more stable place than it was 5 years ago.  We're living in the total defiance of reality, people.

How bad is bad?  Even the New York Times said he was "a somewhat diminished American president who faced a skeptical audience."  You don't say!

The Onion's mockery is now online.

A Political Cartoon From France

This was apparently in Le Monde.  It pointedly shows Obama and the UN poring over chemical weapons while Assad is off busy slaughtering his countrymen by conventional means.

Geek News: Congress, the UN, and Internet Regulations

For once Congress did something right.

Canada Vs. the UN

I hadn't posted about the kerfuffle in the UN on the upgraded status for the Palestinians, but now I think I have to because Canadian-raised Alessandra just alerted me to a news item with the pleased comment: "Did you hear that the Canadians grew some balls?"  There's no way you can ignore a news item like that!

Dear Security Council ...

Here is a fascinating (and grim) look at the multiple letters sent to the Security Council by Israel's ambassador to the UN. Dating from February 27 to November 12 of this year, these missives detail the increasing rocket attacks from Gaza (as well as the Security Council's silence). Yep, nobody cares about people firing rockets into Israel, but heaven forfend the Israelis get sick of it and fight back, so cue now massive scurryings and utterings at the same UN.

At the UN: Birth Control 1, Actual Human Rights 0

The UN is beyond parody these days. 

LOL: Gangnam Style at the United Nations

Psy gets UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to do that dance. Oppa UN Style!

Shelling Across the Syrian-Turkish Border

Shots fired both ways across the Syrian-Turkish borders, and tonight Turkey has called for UN action (though what that might be is unclear at the moment).  From the letter delivered to the Security Council by the Turkish envoy Ertugrul Apakan:

"This is an act of aggression by Syria against Turkey. It constitutes a flagrant violation of international law as well as a breach of international peace and security."

Turkey, you'll recall, has been a member of NATO for 60 years.  Anyway ... Good grief, people.  I was hoping that the only bombshells of the day would be the purely verbal ones lobbed in the presidential debate.

Jon Stewart Vs. Obama's Schedule

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Hashtag #BibiBomb on Twitter

#BibiBomb was the new thing on Twitter earlier today as social media users responded to Netanyahu's speech - with visual aid! - at the UN.  Here's a look at #BibiBomb and commentary, but if you haven't heard the speech itself, you should.  Transcript here.  I thought it was a good, solid speech of clarity and conviction, delivered with characteristic Netanyahu flair.  Personally one of my favorite moments was this:

"Shockingly, some people have begun to peddle the absurd notion that a nuclear-armed Iran would actually stabilize the Middle East. (pause)  Yeah, right."

Sometimes you need soaring rhetoric.  Sometimes you need to deflate idiocy in no uncertain terms.  As usual when I listen to one of his speeches, I think: now here's an orator.  Anyhoo, full video at C-SPAN or just see it on YouTube here.  You'll know exactly when in the speech the hashtag #BibiBomb sprang into life on Twitter.  The deliberate simplicity made it extremely effective.  Bonus: Netanyahu quotes the great scholar Bernard Lewis!

UPDATE:  Oh, Internet.  I laughed out loud, though.

The UN Threat to Internet Freedom

UGH!

Internet Regulation, Russia, China, and the UN

Now that's a string of words that together rather chills the blood, isn't it?

Are You Freaking Kidding Me?

A moment of silence for Kim Jong Il at the UN?  How about a moment for all the people whom Kim silenced during his life?  Disgusting.

UPDATE: This obituary is far better:

Kim Jong-il, the North Korean dictator, who died on Saturday aged 69, presided over the systematic impoverishment and starvation of millions of his people, while enjoying the life of a spoiled playboy – fast cars, fast women, cellars of vintage French wines, and a passion for Rambo and Daffy Duck videos.

Bibi on the UN: "Theater of the Absurd"

Well, he's not wrong about that!  Netanyahu's entire speech is here, but I give you the quote below:

Nerd Analysis: Obama's Middle East Foreign Policy

Professor Shai Feldman (Co-Chair of the Crown-Belfer Middle East Project at the Harvard Kennedy School) has some analysis to go with the Palestinian statehood efforts at the UN.  Here is a piece of it:

... brilliant speechmaking became a substitute for establishing policy and devising strategy. While masterfully articulating his understanding of Arab-Israeli realities, Obama’s speeches rarely provided or were followed up by an action plan incorporating practical steps that would enable the U.S. to achieve the administration’s stated objectives. Indeed, the administration seemed to have lacked any strategy for moving the parties to where they did not volunteer to go or motivating them to assume risks they were not prepared to take.

Empty words?  Well, DUH.  Not, of course, that I think the speechifying really is all that "brilliant" or "masterful."

Jesus at the UN

You know, I really wish people wouldn't mix religion and international politics.  Each one is hard enough on its own.  Bringing the "WWJD" idea to the UN is a seriously bad idea.  Besides, isn't it kind of ... um ... presumptuous to say "Hey, Jesus would totally support the Palestinian statehood bid at the UN"?  So ... are you now saying that everybody who professes to be a Christian must also support this (let's get real here --deeply flawed and probably doomed) bid? 

Gene Simmons on Obama's Foreign Policy: "No Idea What the World Is Like"

Rock star Gene Simmons has something to say!  Hilarious and yet pretty much on target.  The bit at the end made me laugh out loud.  He does misspeak and call Netanyahu "president" when he is actually Prime Minister, but whatevs.  Bonus: Quotable comment on the UN: "garbage-infested."