Thursday, August 18, 2011

The UN Grapples With a Confounding Scheduling Problem

Anne Bayefsky writes (h/t TS):
Not coincidentally, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will be speaking at the U.N. General Assembly on the same day as Durban III. The Iranian president was the only head of state to attend Durban II. His enthusiasm for the Durban Declaration [which holds that Palestinians are victims of Israeli racism] is something of a stumbling block to U.N. legitimatization plans. So, interestingly, U.N. officials are apparently attempting to juggle the timing of Ahmadinejad’s speech by inserting another event into the General Assembly hall at his expected speaking time. If the announced speakers stick to the schedule, it will likely force him into a slot later in the day.   
So what suitable meeting did U.N. folks decide should precede Ahmadinejad? A “high-level meeting on nuclear safety and security.” Too clever by half. Now a rabid racist who is bent on acquiring nuclear weapons will grace the scene of the Durban III festivities and likely mount the podium shortly after a U.N. spectacle billed as saving the planet from nuclear catastrophe.
Nobody should be laughing, especially when one considers that this debacle will take place shortly after the ten-year anniversary of September 11, 2001.
Sorry, Anne, I have to laugh 'cause that's the way I'm built. After that, though, I promise to barf.

Update: Some real racists make real victims of Palestinians, but you can be certain that "Alawitism is racism" won't make it into any Durban Declaration.

No comments: