Oct. 2, 2009
COMMENTARY: P.T. Barnum Is Alive and Sick in the United Nations' Glass House
By Joseph J. Honick
In its most recent general session, the so-called United Nations revealed itself for all time as the heir to the mind and mentality of the late circus genius P.T. Barnum…complete with tent and all.
As someone who has for years hoped to see the United Nations become the world’s peacemaker and protector of the weak, I have reached the conclusion the whole deal pretty much is simply fixed for the entertainment of a few and some profitable real estate deals for the developers of the sprawling headquarters in New York….not to mention some pretty good employment for vaguely defined “experts” scattered about the globe.
If that all seems a bit over the top, the most recent ceremonial comedy played out what should have convinced even the most stubborn. The center ring clown was no less an admitted contributor to the murders of nearly 300 innocent airline passengers years ago over Lockerbie, Scotland.
Muammar Gadaffi, the Libyan dictator whose first trick was to run from responsibility, only to be caught in his own words and then promise some kind of financial atonement to the families of his victims now sneers at the very idea of coming up with the money. Of course the world has seen him physically and grandly embraced by the world’s alleged unifier of nations and the leaders of the United States and Great Britain.
Not to be outdone by this tragic farce, the UN, with almost jet-like speed is able to mount an indictment of Israel for finally launching an attack against those who have been lobbing rockets into the backyards of civilians while using civilian shields from which to conduct the assaults.
But consider: this same UN could not find a stage from which to condemn one single nation for the slaughters of Israeli Olympic athletes, murder of an unarmed cripple on a cruise ship at sea, murder of old men at prayer in a Paris synagogue, the first or second bombing of the World Trade Center, the spraying of machine gun fire at a Paris delicatessen and many other events.
Apparently years of opportunity to place blame for such misadventures did not seem to test the concerns of those in the UN to come up with courts of inquiry or much else that might assess not only blame but exact punishment for the sources of support. Yet, within a matter of weeks, this same international circus was able not only to mount an international court but assess blame on Israel and virtually no concern for those who had been assaulting civilians over many months.
As all this continues, the Libyan dictator and his son scoff at the tragedies visited upon the families of the Lockerbie massacre and just about anything else. Why? Because they know well they face no dangers of jet speed investigations or punishment for their conduct. And, to top their public shamelessness, they complete the P.T. Barnum circus-like act by attempting to construct a tent as headquarters for their multi-ring carnival with little to no negative response from international media or governments.
Worse, there is the picture of two successive United States Presidents, Bush and Obama, polar political opposites, one hugging the dictator, the other fairly inviting the guy for drinks to talk over world affairs.
When we all thought this was more than enough, the same UN which has failed to condemn certain nations’ decisions either to deny the Holocaust or forbid its being taught in schools…this same alleged world body opens wide its doors to the Iranian dictator who has flouted world condemnation for pursuing nuclear arms with which to threaten democracies everywhere and denies a Holocaust ever occurred.
But Iran’s Arab neighbors know they have little to fear since the basic target of these madmen is Israel.
Should Iran try to threaten other Arab nations, the record seems also clear that American forces will handle the matter as we have with Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan -- with not one penny’s or human help from those whom we have protected.
Of course, neither we nor any other intelligent nation want another global conflict to explode, so little is done beyond pointless rhetoric from the world’s alleged peacekeeping organization to come to this situation with clean hands. So what to do? Do the usual: blame Israel because of its response to attacks and for its establishment of settlements on lands won in combat as three nations prepared for her annihilation in 1967. The question neither the UN nor any other major nation would want to deal with is how they themselves came to be where they are today.
Even the United States, the world’s greatest haven for those seeking protection from heinous dictators and murderers, even we were not born to the massive areas we call our nation.
Not only did we presume to settle in lands occupied by those we now call Native Americans, we spread our coverage well across the continent in the administrations of various presidents, perhaps most notably during what was called the Great Western Expansion of Andrew Jackson which also expanded slavery to the South and elsewhere.
The nations of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and others have benefited from our power to protect their own expansions and their oil wealth with the lives of our men and women and our own money with virtually no involvement of their sons, daughters and money.
So we come finally to the tragicomedy of the world’s greatest hope for the weak, needy and hungry: the United Nations….and now the regal residence of the scoffers of reality, rules and regard for truth.
It is of no small shame that many of the world’s greatest public relations organizations have been engaged to “front” for some of these dictatorships, many of whom are unalterably opposed to our own nation’s political and other interests.
Regrettably there is no bottom line to any discourse whose parties have no interest in finding one. Most sadly and more dangerously even is the reality that the last time such international membership organizations came together in the League of Nations, the explosive and massive result was its disintegration as World War II was permitted to develop with little if any resistance from world democracies until it was too late.
Today, with a virtually impotent international leadership, this body now finds its simplest and quickest target the 100th smallest nation on earth -- Israel -- and acting helpless beyond rhetoric to control the newest and most promiscuous nuclear threat in Iran.
Perhaps if Israel had some measure of oil, those who scream hypocritically for her punishment while avoiding the criminals who have waged war from numerous directions for her destruction….perhaps those phonies might act differently.
The only thing at stake, after all, is the world and those who inhabit it, at least for now.
Will it be remembered as P.T. Barnum’s last act?
* * *
Joseph J. Honick is an international consultant to business and government and writes for many publications, including huntingtonnews.net. Honick can be reached at jhonick@gmaint.net.
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COMMENTARY: P.T. Barnum Is Alive and Sick in the United Nations' Glass House
By Joseph J. Honick
In its most recent general session, the so-called United Nations revealed itself for all time as the heir to the mind and mentality of the late circus genius P.T. Barnum…complete with tent and all.
As someone who has for years hoped to see the United Nations become the world’s peacemaker and protector of the weak, I have reached the conclusion the whole deal pretty much is simply fixed for the entertainment of a few and some profitable real estate deals for the developers of the sprawling headquarters in New York….not to mention some pretty good employment for vaguely defined “experts” scattered about the globe.
If that all seems a bit over the top, the most recent ceremonial comedy played out what should have convinced even the most stubborn. The center ring clown was no less an admitted contributor to the murders of nearly 300 innocent airline passengers years ago over Lockerbie, Scotland.
Muammar Gadaffi, the Libyan dictator whose first trick was to run from responsibility, only to be caught in his own words and then promise some kind of financial atonement to the families of his victims now sneers at the very idea of coming up with the money. Of course the world has seen him physically and grandly embraced by the world’s alleged unifier of nations and the leaders of the United States and Great Britain.
Not to be outdone by this tragic farce, the UN, with almost jet-like speed is able to mount an indictment of Israel for finally launching an attack against those who have been lobbing rockets into the backyards of civilians while using civilian shields from which to conduct the assaults.
But consider: this same UN could not find a stage from which to condemn one single nation for the slaughters of Israeli Olympic athletes, murder of an unarmed cripple on a cruise ship at sea, murder of old men at prayer in a Paris synagogue, the first or second bombing of the World Trade Center, the spraying of machine gun fire at a Paris delicatessen and many other events.
Apparently years of opportunity to place blame for such misadventures did not seem to test the concerns of those in the UN to come up with courts of inquiry or much else that might assess not only blame but exact punishment for the sources of support. Yet, within a matter of weeks, this same international circus was able not only to mount an international court but assess blame on Israel and virtually no concern for those who had been assaulting civilians over many months.
As all this continues, the Libyan dictator and his son scoff at the tragedies visited upon the families of the Lockerbie massacre and just about anything else. Why? Because they know well they face no dangers of jet speed investigations or punishment for their conduct. And, to top their public shamelessness, they complete the P.T. Barnum circus-like act by attempting to construct a tent as headquarters for their multi-ring carnival with little to no negative response from international media or governments.
Worse, there is the picture of two successive United States Presidents, Bush and Obama, polar political opposites, one hugging the dictator, the other fairly inviting the guy for drinks to talk over world affairs.
When we all thought this was more than enough, the same UN which has failed to condemn certain nations’ decisions either to deny the Holocaust or forbid its being taught in schools…this same alleged world body opens wide its doors to the Iranian dictator who has flouted world condemnation for pursuing nuclear arms with which to threaten democracies everywhere and denies a Holocaust ever occurred.
But Iran’s Arab neighbors know they have little to fear since the basic target of these madmen is Israel.
Should Iran try to threaten other Arab nations, the record seems also clear that American forces will handle the matter as we have with Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan -- with not one penny’s or human help from those whom we have protected.
Of course, neither we nor any other intelligent nation want another global conflict to explode, so little is done beyond pointless rhetoric from the world’s alleged peacekeeping organization to come to this situation with clean hands. So what to do? Do the usual: blame Israel because of its response to attacks and for its establishment of settlements on lands won in combat as three nations prepared for her annihilation in 1967. The question neither the UN nor any other major nation would want to deal with is how they themselves came to be where they are today.
Even the United States, the world’s greatest haven for those seeking protection from heinous dictators and murderers, even we were not born to the massive areas we call our nation.
Not only did we presume to settle in lands occupied by those we now call Native Americans, we spread our coverage well across the continent in the administrations of various presidents, perhaps most notably during what was called the Great Western Expansion of Andrew Jackson which also expanded slavery to the South and elsewhere.
The nations of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and others have benefited from our power to protect their own expansions and their oil wealth with the lives of our men and women and our own money with virtually no involvement of their sons, daughters and money.
So we come finally to the tragicomedy of the world’s greatest hope for the weak, needy and hungry: the United Nations….and now the regal residence of the scoffers of reality, rules and regard for truth.
It is of no small shame that many of the world’s greatest public relations organizations have been engaged to “front” for some of these dictatorships, many of whom are unalterably opposed to our own nation’s political and other interests.
Regrettably there is no bottom line to any discourse whose parties have no interest in finding one. Most sadly and more dangerously even is the reality that the last time such international membership organizations came together in the League of Nations, the explosive and massive result was its disintegration as World War II was permitted to develop with little if any resistance from world democracies until it was too late.
Today, with a virtually impotent international leadership, this body now finds its simplest and quickest target the 100th smallest nation on earth -- Israel -- and acting helpless beyond rhetoric to control the newest and most promiscuous nuclear threat in Iran.
Perhaps if Israel had some measure of oil, those who scream hypocritically for her punishment while avoiding the criminals who have waged war from numerous directions for her destruction….perhaps those phonies might act differently.
The only thing at stake, after all, is the world and those who inhabit it, at least for now.
Will it be remembered as P.T. Barnum’s last act?
* * *
Joseph J. Honick is an international consultant to business and government and writes for many publications, including huntingtonnews.net. Honick can be reached at jhonick@gmaint.net.
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