| Submit your comments on this article |
| International-UN-NGOs |
| Canada: UN Out of North America |
| 2004-05-01 |
| You know you’re pathetic when even the Canadians don’t want you around... EFL With yesterday’s landmark speech, Paul Martin tacitly acknowledged what Canada’s foreign policy establishment has refused to accept for decades: that the United Nations is a failure, for which there is no solution. Kudos for the Canuckians for publicly acknowledging this, don’t hold your breath for similar statements from our State Department. The Prime Minister’s proposed alternative is a new international body, the G-20 summit of world leaders, representative of North and South, developed and developing, rich and poor: a working group unfettered by the UN’s bureaucracy and its anachronistic Security Council. Sounds nice, but are there standards for admittance, such as functioning liberal democracy, free market economy, etc ? Mr. Martin formally proposed an initial meeting of heads of government that would most likely include the G-8 plus Australia and the major developing nations -- such as China, Brazil, India and Indonesia. Ooops, guess not. The first summit would take on one specific issue, most likely global security in the face of terrorist threats. The goal would be to find a common voice to speak on the larger questions of goals and priorities, and to examine specific measures -- say, implementing anti-terrorism measures at major sea ports in the developing world similar to those under way in Europe and North America. The "G-20" model proposed looks like a great way to achieve the decisiveness and unity of vision of the UN General Assembly. Martin gets an A for recognizing the problem, D for his solution. |
| Posted by:Carl in N.H |
| #3 But they're in Scotland's top league. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-05-01 8:55:54 AM |
| #2 English Premier League. Celtic and Rangers aren't in it... Yet. |
| Posted by: someone 2004-05-01 3:37:32 AM |
| #1 Should there be a relegation system similar to the British Premier League so that we can look forward to kicking France to the curb in a decade or so? |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-05-01 2:29:14 AM |