They’ve been getting plenty of mad props from all over the ‘sphere, and rightly so: no one bashes the UN better than Diplomad. Every self-absorbed, self-interested, counterproductive flaw you ever imagined the UN had, has been on display in response to the tsunami, and Diplomad has the goods.
This Embassy has been running 24/7 since the December 26 earthquake and tsunami. Along with my colleagues, I’ve spent the past several days dealing non-stop with various aspects of the relief effort in this tsunami-affected country. That work, unfortunately, has brought ever-increasing contact with the growing UN presence in this capital; in fact, we’ve found that to avoid running into the UN, we must go out to where the quake and tsunami actually hit. As we come up on two weeks since the disaster struck, the UN is still not to be seen where it counts — except when holding well-staged press events. Ah, yes, but the luxury hotels are full of UN assessment teams and visiting big shots from New York, Geneva, and Vienna. The city sees a steady procession of UN Mercedes sedans and top-of-the-line SUV’s — a fully decked out Toyota Landcruiser is the UN vehicle of choice; it doesn’t seem that concerns about “global warming” and preserving your tax dollars run too deep among the UNocrats.
We can never get too much UN-bashing here at the Rancho Dean. Add ’em to your blogroll, sez R. C.
We can never get too much UN-bashing here at the Rancho Dean.
Then haul your F150 to the video store for No Man’s Land. Ineptness of the UN with barely a mention of the US.
I see ol’ Kofi has hied himself over to Sri Lanka – to what purpose, who knows?
Doubtless he flew cattle class and carried his own luggage on board, and hired a local old rattletrap taxi when he touched down in Colombo.
Is Tony Blair aware that someone is getting a photo op without him in it?
“You wonder,where are the people,what happened to them” Annan said in Banda Aceh on his return from a skiing holiday.
This is the most assinine statement in history since “Let them eat cake”
How much does Kofi and his entourage weigh,how much in supplies did they displace?
How many supplies are they consuming?
If for nothing else, you must read Ratman of the Far Abroad which describes in no uncertain term the role of United State in the world. We are the ratman of the world.
I, too, am a Diplomaddict.
I am pretty darn close to skipping the Diplomad’s comments section though. Some raging loonies have taken up residence there trying to do their best to fill it with vulgarities and insults thrown at the Diplomad and his fans. Still, those commenters who are making the place a rotten place are almost like a train wreck… just have to ogle at the carnage as you pass by.
I’d also like to pass on a blog of one of the Diplomad’s fellow FSOs. The Daily Demarche.
Daily Demarche is also on the case of many of the same subjects as Diplomad, and is a worthwhile dailly read if you are a fan of the Diplomad’s style and perspective.
As an Aussie, I thank the Diplomad for reporting what a fine job my nation’s armed forces are doing in providing relief after this terrible disaster. Compared to the terrible things that have happened, what they are doing may be a small thing. But none the less I am very proud.
Dear Verity
TB has lost more than a photo-op. Try marbles. Try plot.
I wonder if Kofi’s “little lad” (TM D Blunkett) will be donating any of his ill gotten from the Iraqi food for oil scam to the tsunami relief appeal?
Welcome to the Diplomad club guys.
Diplomad was kind enough to give me a link in his early days (only a few weeks ago at that) since I was one of the first to blogroll him. Daily Demarche was also added to my blogroll around that time.
BTW I blogged Ratman. A truly fine post.
If the U.N. truly were in business to help the world’s masses they would get out of the way and let those who are professionals at executing operations continue to do their work.
But they are intent on demonstrating some sort of bureaucratic relevance to give cover to their pious deliberations. Their impotence is glaring.
http://www.shakingspears.blogspot.com
I call it Blogjacking when someone takes over a thread like MA is trying to do at Dilpomad. But if they are banned (Which isn’t technically possible, since getting another IPN is easier and quicker then banning), then the Center-right bloggers are being forced to use far left tactics. Waddard on ITM did something that I thought really nice. He started posting in bold and then went to blue. That made it easy to skip his comments. It would be nice if the blogger had the ability to make a moonbat list and have the software automativly assign another color to those on that list. That would please the moonbats(See mom, NOW I’m special) and the regular posters also. Plus there could be colors assigned to different catagories of Troll. A True rainbow coalition at last. Would it be fair to have all the BIG-TIME bloggers get together and agree on common colors?
I call it Blogjacking when someone takes over a thread like MA is trying to do at Dilpomad. But if they are banned (Which isn’t technically possible, since getting another IPN is easier and quicker then banning), then the Center-right bloggers are being forced to use far left tactics. Waddard on ITM did something that I thought really nice. He started posting in bold and then went to blue. That made it easy to skip his comments. It would be nice if the blogger had the ability to make a moonbat list and have the software automativly assign another color to those on that list. That would please the moonbats(See mom, NOW I’m special) and the regular posters also. Plus there could be colors assigned to different catagories of Troll. A True rainbow coalition at last. Would it be fair to have all the BIG-TIME bloggers get together and agree on common colors?
Whoops, double tap. Got to work on that finger control. At least it was a keyhole.
Michael,
You have reason to be proud. You lot were in there fast. Might have a bit to do with your proximity but good on ya. And thanks for all you’ve done.
I’ve had Diplomad on my blogroll since about a minute after I discovered them (about 2 days after they started).
Michael,
You have reason to be proud. You lot were in there fast. Might have a bit to do with your proximity but good on ya. And thanks for all you’ve done.
I’ve had Diplomad on my blogroll since about a minute after I discovered them (about 2 days after they started).
Don’t you all let the fact that UN agencies have been distributing food, clothing and other life-saving supplies around the region for over a week spoil your fun, now. After all, the most important thing at a time like this is to score some cheap political points, right?
Prove it. Show me a list of supplies, how they were delivered and where they were delivered to. You can’t do that because it hasn’t happened. The point you are missing is that the UN doesn’t actually DO anything. The relief supplies are coming mostly from Oz and the USA, IIRC. They are being delivered by the various military units in the area. All the UN does is sit around in high dollar hotel rooms and eat. They slap a blue sticker on everything so moroons like you think they are doing something. But the Joke has worn off. When they Steal everything that isn’t nailed down, it’s not a laughing matter anymore.
Soon it won’t matter. Today Volker publishes the first of MANY Audit reports describing the world’s largest theft. 21 Billion $US. How many Iraqi babies died because the UN was stealing the money to buy the food and medicine they needed?
This is just the first crack in the dam. Koffi and his gang are going to try and pin the rap on the contractors. They won’t stand there like a deer in the headlights. Soon all the little crooks will be trying to cut a deal. That is when the dam breaks and Koffi gets washed away.
The Diplomad and DailyDemarche are daily reads for me.
Non-Americans may not know that the US Department of State (State Department) has been a troubled agency for decades. From communist spies entrenched in its bowels in the 1930’s (Alger Hiss and Whittaker Chambers) to present, it has had a reputation of trying to keep things calm overseas. If that means cozying up to the world’s many dictators, so be it. Give Chamber’s book “Witness” a read for an inkling of its history.
Americans often don’t know what nation State represents.
And, Michaal Jennings: Diplomad blogs that Australia is not getting anywhere near the congratulations it deserves for its tsunami relief efforts.
“Prove it”
Considering that the UNICEF website ( http://www.unicef.org/media/media_24723.html )has page after page of details on what they were distributing in the region since the 27th of December (“more than 30,000 blankets and sleeping mats”, “clothing”, “oral rehydration salts for sick children”, “medical supplies sufficient to serve 150,000 people for three months”,”hundreds of thousands of water purification tablets”, “1600 community water tanks (500 litres each)”, “nutritional supplies for children”, etc), I think it’s up to you to prove that they’re lying.
The fact is, you shot your mouth off about something you clearly know NOTHING about because, like so many other clueless fools, you thought “why not exploit this disaster to bash the UN?” Maybe you were so entranced by that footage of American helicopters bringing supplies to Aceh that it seems to have passed you by that other areas were also affected, areas which not only the American military were able to reach.
I know you lot “can never get too much UN-bashing”, but I had thought that you might have the decency to actually recognise the efforts of people who are out there saving lives, whether they work for the UN or the US or whoever. Apparently not.
Ohh, cos it’s on UNICEF’s site, they’ve been doing it?
Their goods?
Were these goods in stock?
Where’d they get them, or are they taking credit like the UN already has?
Who’s been distributing them?
Or were they “coordinating?”
After all, didn’t the first bigwig arrive on 1/4????
Read Diplomad’s posts going back to the beginning, especially the one where the UN took credit for others’ work.
“Ohh, cos it’s on UNICEF’s site, they’ve been doing it?”
If you’ve got any evidence they’re just making this stuff up, I’d love to hear it.
“Read Diplomad’s posts going back to the beginning, especially the one where the UN took credit for others’ work.”
Diplomad is a lying scumbag, and his/her blog is one long deranged shriek. That first post deliberately misinterpreted remarks from a UN spokesman, and it’s been downhill ever since. How you can treat as a balanced source someone who clearly has an a priori pathological hatred of the UN is beyond me.
So … we should just believe you when you tell us that a conservative US Foriegn Service officer is a lying scumbag?
I noticed that all of you little lefty moonbat trolls disappeared from the comments sections of Diplomad’s blog.
Getting continually refuted by reality and witnesses of UN vulturism and kleptocracy must be frustrating.
“So … we should just believe you when you tell us that a conservative US Foriegn Service officer is a lying scumbag?”
No, you should believe me because
(a) Diplomad is telling lies;
(b) Diplomad is telling lies about people who are saving lives while Diplomad is telling lies about them;
(c) Diplomad is calling them ‘Vultures’ and ‘Con Artists’ while they are saving lives while Diplomad is telling lies about them.
“I noticed that all of you little lefty moonbat trolls disappeared from the comments sections of Diplomad’s blog.”
Shows what you know – I haven’t commented on Diplomad’s blog. And why is anyone who has the temerity to point out that Diplomad is telling lies a ‘lefty moonbat troll’, exactly?