John Carey's United Nations Week blog

John Carey, a member of the United Nations Association Westchester Chapter, is now posting on his blog his weekly notes on the TV program he hosts on Rye TV (NY) and Greenwich CT TV. He is former Vice President, American Society of International Law; Board of Editors, American Journal of International Law; Alternate U.S. Member, UN Human Rights Sub-Commission; TV producer, United Nations Week: News and Views. He is also a former Judge and former Mayor of the city of Rye, NY.

His contact information is:

UNITED NATIONS WEEK
News and Views
Rye NY Channels 76 and 33
Greenwich CT Channel 79
John Carey, Editor
J_PCarey@verizon.net
http://unweek.blogspot.com

To give an example, his posting for 3/29/09 starts with an analysis of the upcoming Durban Conference on Race (full title below). He writes:

"Durban Review next month: should we participate?

Next month many nations will gather for a look back to the 2001 Durban Declaration and pronounce themselves again on the subject of racism. Up to now, Washington has not said we will attend. In 2001, we and Israel walked out, and I have been trying to figure out why.

An “outcome document” for next month’s meeting has been under discussion for quite some time. In the latest draft, dated March 17th, there are certain provisions that bear examination, such as #10 referring to “Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, Christianophobia[1] and anti-Arabism.” Paragraph 11 raises free speech issues since it states that certain advocacy shall be prohibited by law. On the other hand, paragraph 64 “Recalls that the Holocaust must never be forgotten, . . .”

The outcome document speaks in favor of the rights of indigenous peoples, for instance in paragraphs 42 and 43.

But the real problem for those who are reluctant to have anything to do with the Review Conference may be found in the very first paragraph of the outcome document. It reads: “Reaffirms the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA) as it was adopted at the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR) in 2001.” This reaffirmation means one must study the DDPA, as I have done. Is there anything in the DDPA that poisons the outcome document?"

He goes on to analyze the related issues. To read more, visit his blog.

Good going, John!!!

The Century Foundation Posts Mid-Atlantic Conference Video

You can view the video feed from the February 6th "Year of Change" UNA Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference on The Century Foundation website at http://www.tcf.org/list.asp?type=EV&pubid=246. Also look for a 5-minute "highlight moments" video from the morning session, as well as the results of the survey questionnaire about foreign policy priorities that participants have recommended to President Obama.

Thomas Friedman on the US Economy and Global Warming

Thomas Friedman's column in the New York Times on March 8, 2009, depicts 2008 as the beginning of "The Great Disruption" -- a momentus era which reforms the global economy and particularly that of the United States. It's worth reading - the article is called "The Great Inflection". It seems that historians may view 2008 as the antithesis to Aldous Huxley's "year of our Ford 632".

Blogs to Watch

I was wondering who out there is blogging about UNA, and was happy to find a number of brave souls. Look to the right and below the UN headlines those I've been able to find. UNA Michigan is maintaining a blog, as is Sultana Ali of the UNA Greater Orlando Chapter, who started one for the Young Professionals for International Cooperation (YPIC) group. Sultana's is called "a single flame". The United Nations Association Eastbay Chapter (Berkeley, California) is maintaining an interesting, substantive blog. UNA Iowa has also started a blog. The UNA Midpeninsula (California) Board also has an impressive blog. Just found another blog, from UNA Columbus (Ohio). I look forward to reading more from colleagues around the country.

I was delighted and surprised to find a blog by Bono and Bobby Shriver, on the Red campaign. A recent article notes that UNA-USA honored the Red campaign in October 2008.

If you know of other UNA bloggers, let me know! Also - I've just added Nasa's Earth Observatory Image of the day (as a gadget, below right), to help us focus on the critical issue of climate.