Serious question - UN Leadership

[Aerows]

I watched the interview with Ban-Ki Moon on the Daily Show, and I have to question his leadership of the UN, if it is to have any value at all.

You can watch it for yourself, however I don't have links currently.

It seemed to be a dearth of leadership and Jon had to point out that Ebola was occurring in West Africa for Moon to even acknowledge that it was happening.

Jon Stewart had to prompt like 5 times, and you can see him do it, for Ban-Ki Moon to even acknowledge the Ebola plague that the UN is supposed to be coordinating.

[malaise]

1. No value at all

He is a Western puppet - remember Bushco removed Kofi Annan because he would not go along with the illegal invasion of Iraq.

[Aerows]

2. I probably was too busy being in high school or college to remember that

forgive me for not knowing the entire history.

[malaise]

3. LOL

[Aerows]

4. It's just the same drawn out shit

happening over and over again.

Moon had to freaking be REMINDED about people dying of Ebola, and he acted like he was determining what sandwich he wanted for lunch while Jon Stewart pinned him down.

[malaise]

5. I'm so glad to be watching the Roosevelts

so I don't have to see the warmongers, hacks and puppets.

[Aerows]

6. I've never seen it

I confess that I watch very limited amounts of TV. I watch Once Upon A Time, The Daily Show and Lost Girl. I don't have enough time to watch anything else.

[Aerows]

7. Am I awful for asking for better leadership in the face

of all of the Ebola outbreaks? We have two in several countries.

Damn. It's like begging for someone to boil water to prevent infections and discovering there is no water and no pots locally, while there is a shipment of pots, water, fuel and antibiotics sitting on the docks half a mile away, but an idiot claims he can't release them to the public because ... well, he can't figure out what form to use. Meanwhile, fresh water, antibiotics and IV equipment burns on the docks because a petty official delays it.

[malaise]

13. You are 100% correct

but he is no leader

[Recursion]

8. Huh?

remember Bushco removed Kofi Annan because he would not go along with the illegal invasion of Iraq.

Annan served out his full terms. The US in 1997 threatened to veto a second term for Boutros-Ghali so Annan got put forward as a compromise candidate (the secretariat by tradition rotates by continent, so this was Africa's turn still). When Annan's term ended it was Asia's turn for the secretariat.

[Recursion]

9. Ban's run into a lot of criticism from UN staffers

He's identified climate change and inequality as his core priorities, but seems to concentrate on them to the exclusion of other issues (eg, he was caught napping on Darfur). And, yeah, WHO in particular doesn't seem to interest him much.

He's made some surprising advances in ordinarily less-than-visible areas, like for instance he started a war crimes tribunal for the Khmer Rouge leaders, and greatly increasing the number of women appointed to senior UN positions. But, yeah, his view of the secretariat per se is kind of disappointingly small for those of us who grew up on Boutros-Ghali and Annan.

[Aerows]

11. I honestly believe he means well

but he is about as effective at saving a person dying of dehydration in the desert by throwing them in the middle of the ocean.

The UN really needs a new leader, and I'm not saying that with malice.

Moon does not seem up to the job, and there are too many crises like the Ebola outbreak, for instance, that he can't handle.

[former9thward]

10. The UN is a dead organizarion.

Last edited Fri Sep 19, 2014, 10:44 AM - Edit history (1)

No country cares about what is does or doesn't do. It continues along as a well paid bureaucracy in New York City who goes out to expensive NYC restaurants and has endless meetings about nothing.

[Rex]

12. The only thing important about the UN is the security council.

Doesn't have to be that way, but it is the playground for the 5 permanent members. At least it is not a corrupt from the ground up organization, like the IMF.