
UN Plaza: We Miss You, Kofi!
Recorded: October 2  Posted: October 5

Francoamerican wrote on 10/05/2008 at 10:16 AM
Re: UN Plaza: We Miss You, Kofi!
Did I mishear? Sarkozy, Brown and Rudd represent "developing countries?"
Even if I did mishear, it is odd to hear Matthew Lee arguing that the banks of these "developing" countries (as well as countries with sovereign wealth funds) shouldn't benefit from the "bailout." After all, they were bamboozled into buying mortage-backed mortgages etc. by the same Wall Street firms that bamboozled themselves and American banks into buying them.
JIM3CH wrote on 10/05/2008 at 10:32 AM
Re: UN Plaza: We Miss You, Kofi!
The secret of Matthew Lee’s bubbling energy revealed: Mountain Dew…, more caffeine than Green Tea!!
mvantony wrote on 10/05/2008 at 12:00 PM
Re: UN Plaza: We Miss You, Kofi!
Hmm, Jim, you edited out the bit about Israel "continuously, with malice and forethought, sabotag[ing] genuine efforts toward middle eastern non-proliferation."
I just wanted to remind you, in case you forgot, that around a year ago you, I (in an earlier incarnation as "consciouscat"), and Anarchofascist went through this, starting with this post of yours. I responded here, and it went on from there for another seven or eight posts.
My main point was that Israel has repeatedly expressed a desire to see the establishment of a mutually verifiable nuclear weapon free zone in the Middle East.
I don't have anything to add to what I said then, other than that it seems to me that nothing has occurred over the last year to warrant a softening in Israel's position.
BeachFrontView wrote on 10/05/2008 at 07:30 PM
Re: UN Plaza: We Miss You, Kofi!
Dear Bloggingheads,
What is the best book(s) about the UN, if there are any.
tyty in advance
bjkeefe wrote on 10/06/2008 at 02:57 AM
Re: UN Plaza: We Miss You, Kofi!
Another fascinating UN Dispatch. Liked the willingness to "stray off the reservation" and the effort to tie those threads back to the UN context.
Shoutout to Wonderment for making a good request, and shoutout to Mark for noticing and responding. I look forward to hearing an NPT discussion.
Mark Leon Goldberg wrote on 10/06/2008 at 10:03 AM
Re: UN Plaza: We Miss You, Kofi!
Quoting BeachFrontView: Dear Bloggingheads,
What is the best book(s) about the UN, if there are any.
tyty in advance The industry standard is Parliament of Man, by Paul Kennedy.
Thanks for asking!!
JIM3CH wrote on 10/06/2008 at 02:36 PM
Re: UN Plaza: We Miss You, Kofi!
Sorry, I was venting, and after I read what I had posted I realized it was trash and tried to delete it before I was caught out. When it comes to non-proliferation issues I do get frustrated with Israel's position and let my emotions run free. The comment that I deleted was intended to express my disappointment with Israel's and the US's continuing lack of support for establishing a nuclear weapons free zone in the middle east, but instead it became, as you noticed, a rather moronic rant.
uncle ebeneezer wrote on 10/06/2008 at 04:29 PM
Re: UN Plaza: We Miss You, Kofi!
This was one of the funnest UN episodes ever.
Loved this update on the "news":
http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/148...7:34&out=27:56
mvantony wrote on 10/07/2008 at 04:10 AM
Re: UN Plaza: We Miss You, Kofi!
Quoting JIM3CH: When it comes to non-proliferation issues I do get frustrated with Israel's position and let my emotions run free. The comment that I deleted was intended to express my disappointment with Israel's and the US's continuing lack of support for establishing a nuclear weapons free zone in the middle east I can understand your frustration and disappointment, but I don't believe Israel will -- or should -- give up its nuclear deterrent unless and until there are some radical changes in the Middle East, and maybe even beyond. Put bluntly, Israel has the capability now to take down others along with it, if it looks like it's going to sink. Without nukes, that's gone.
For those who would argue that Israel has the strongest conventional force in the Middle East so doesn't need nukes, blah, blah, blah, don't forget the tininess of the country (and remember that everything below Beersheba is desert); the tens of thousands of missiles aimed at it now; chemical and biological weapons; the growth of Islamism; Iran and its proxies; the limited effectiveness of conventional weapons against guerrilla armies fighting from within civilian population centers; the fragility of the peace deals with
Mr. Mayhem wrote on 10/10/2008 at 11:03 PM
Re: UN Plaza: We Miss You, Kofi!
It took me a while to get to this one, but the discussion of the financial crisis was an interesting change for these two. They each said more about their own personal views on non-UN matters than I've seen in all of the rest of their diavlogs combined, which seems like it might be an unwelcome distraction for a UN-themed program, but in fact it added a lot of texture and background. I feel like I understand where the two of them are coming from quite a bit better now, which is a nice perspective to carry forward for future diavlogs. I often find myself agreeing with Matthew on matters related to the UN, but that section really highlighted what Mark brings to this pairing. Mark provides a stable base for the conversation, without which Matthew sometimes seems like he might spiral off into space. I've said before and I'll say again that these two are among my favorite bloggingheads.
The Serbia-Kosovo bit was fascinating... and it appears that Serbia won the vote 77-6-74. Lots of abstentions. I'd love to see some follow up on this in a future diavlog.

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uncle ebeneezer: What does it really mean? 
uncle ebeneezer: Is Tom purposely trying to steer interest away from his profession? 
themightypuck: Bob the Baptist comes out. 
uncle ebeneezer: Will formulates a scenario where the terrorists, literally, win! 
sapeye: Hmmm, is Bob guilty of serious stereotyping? 
Stapler Malone: No, Bob. It’s not. Nothing ever is.

d7greene: Lawrence Lessig knows a juice-boxer when he sees one. 
Toryentalist: Matt is great, Matt is greatlisten and repeat. 
thouartgob: Joel’s elegant refutation of Bob’s point. 
uncle ebeneezer: George Johnson, hopeless romantic! 
themightypuck: Robert Wright, Asteroid Cowboy. 
bjkeefe: Spelling is fun-damental! 
nikkibong: The joy of taking stuff out of context. 
bjkeefe: Who stole Matthew’s tie? 
uncle ebeneezer: The Art of Subtlety. 
bjkeefe: Heather slaps the entire BhTV community. 
bjkeefe: Can anyone find a case where this is not ultimately Mickey's advice to Dems? 
Ken Davis: The racial blind taste test. 
Stapler Malone: Go forward, not backward; upward not forward; and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom.... 
Simon Willard: Bob steps outside himself here. 
JonIrenicus: Puzzle spelled out. 
uncle ebeneezer: George's response here was absolutely priceless. 
graz: Bob takes Tom Jones down a peg. 
bjkeefe: Entry for a video dictionary: "unflappable." 
almostaquantum: Hooray: Jonah Goldberg dismisses the ticking time-bomb scenario. 
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