The United Who?

[Ed. Note: This is now quite out-of-date as the UN and US are working in unison, or this is what they're saying. However, anyone can tell there is a lot of animosity between the two, and to expect all that to be shelved all of a sudden seems like a tall order. That said, I'm leaving this up, regardless of the fact that I'm pleased to see the US really trying to do some good with all of this. The following's as was posted before the New Year.]

Georgie, Georgie, Georgie... still putting on a show, eh?

In all his magnamity, old George W. has done gone and offered to lead a -- well, let’s call it a “Coalition of the Giving” in order to help relieve the suffering in Southeast Asia.

Bush seems to think there’s some kind of need for a centralized international agency to assist in areas of civil unrest and disaster relief. Actually, you know, I think that’s an awesome idea. Good one, George!

I know. We could call it “The United Nations.” Like, you know, nations... united... more than one of them, kind of all working together.

Oh, damn it, George. Some dudes founded something just like that in 1945, after this “World War” thing. Guess timing really is everything, eh?

Right now, we’re stuck in a pretty inglorious period for the United Nations. I’ll be the first to agree that the UN is failing dismally in its effort to be a so-called governing body for the world. With absolutely no moral compass these days, there are clearly too many cooks are in the kitchen. The bad guys, ie: China, North Korea, et al, all have too loud a voice. As a result, it’s become a party where all the guests are essentially being polite to each other about what’s annoying them, but never really getting to the heart of it all. Nothing ever gets done anymore.

And the UN is also rabidly anti-American in its policies, and some of it perhaps justifiably so, but how do you pander to North Korea and then snap at the US relentlessly? It just makes no sense.

Regardless... now is not the time for George Bush to take the podium and posture as some do-good boy from Texas just hoping to make the world a better place. Now is the time to defer to people like the Red Cross and Unicef, people who really know how to fix disasters in a timely manner. Now is the time to act, not think up some crafty way to fix an international image for a government in trouble. Simply act as fast as possible.

Even if Bush is talking long-term, there are better ways of managing this disaster than trying to put a Made-In-America stamp all over the outcome. I have a whole world of opinions about that possibility, too, but that I'll save for later.

I can only hope the international community sees through this charade for exactly what it is: Just another pathetic publicity ploy.