Sept. 23, 2006: Bud Talkinghorn &

A hidden little fact about the U.N.

I was watching Lou Dobbs on CNN, when he had on America's potential U.N. ambassador, John Bolton. Dobbs was asking him about the criticism the U.S. gets for not being " a team player". Bolton said, "Well, we pay for 20% of the U.N's budget, while 97 other countries--more than half the Assembly--pays for 0.06% of it." So, all you Canadians who bash the U.S. for not being mindlessly multinationalist, think what would happen if the U.S. simply pulled out altogether. The indigent delegates would have to give up their Manhattan penthouses and go back to poor-mouthing their influential kin, the ones who gave them their UN positions. They might even have to pay the thousands they owe for illegal parking tickets before departing The Big Apple.

Ah, the dream of universal peace and justice that the U.N. was founded on has become a bit fragmented. Some would say it has turned into a Kafkaesque nightmare. There is no world problem that can't be better discussed over supper at Elaine's. You can almost hear them saying, "Yes, a sub-committee to investigate the real problems of Darfur should be struck next month. Or maybe after our annual vacations would be a better time, while we are fresh to tackle such a serious genocide. However we should see if the Yankees will pony up for it first." Well, the solid bloc of American-haters, who refuse to pay their UN bills, might just have to reconsider their voting patterns. Bolton's subtly implied threat might cause a few sacrificial goats (or voodoo dolls) to turn up on his doorstep. It is amazing how potent a little capitalist blackmail could be. Wasn't this the guy who actually suggested that "the top 17 floors of the U.N. building could be demolished with no consequence whatsoever"? Finally, Anerica has a truly scary dude in place to match the unbelievably scary dudes that come from Somalia, Burma, and other Orwellian hellholes.

© Bud Talkinghorn--You da man, John! Keep their feet to the fire.



Bob Rae--The final insult to the voter

Full disclosure: I have no respect for political turncoats, whatever their political stripe. How can the average person vote for someone who has betrayed his professed election ideology? Rae has gone from ruining Ontario as an NDP premier to a co-leader in the Liberal leadership race. Now it seems that he gave donations to NDP candidates as late as January. Charest moved on from the leadership of the (granted) moribund Progressive Conservative Party to become the Liberal premier of Quebec. Stronach ( when do I get to be P.M.?), Brison (Peter wouldn't even take steam with me) and Emerson (I was always a Conservative mole) all showed no political convictions. Obviously they stand for nothing except self-aggrandizement. And the salt in the wound was that they all were given cabinet positions for their treachery. You suspect they would join the Neo-Nazi party if it would advance their careers. And these politicians have the nerve to talk about democratic renewal. A fly-in candidate like Ignatieff (I hope they buy my Trudeau schtick) isn't going to renew anybody's faith either. Watch the voter participation drop further in the next election.

© Bud Talkinghorn


My comments:

Bud, what is even more scary is that the average citizen, if h/she makes a last-minute attempt before voting to catch up on the political news, will be taken in by the (hardly independent) mainstream media's biased reporting. Ordinary people are so busy with just what it takes for daily life and then amusing themselves in the time they have left after working to pay their bills and and high taxes--that significant percentage of a salary that becomes an Ottawa slush fund (think Gomery), the money that some politicians treat so cavalierly. What really galls is that the left and the media will then promote the idea that the hard working citizens' tax money really should be spent to prop up other people who have made dumb choices, those who choose not to work because of laziness or drug addiction or other personal choices rendering themselves useless to an employer, those who may be profligate because they believe someone else will take up the slack and provide them with education--upgrading or skills development because they didn't make wise decisions the first time around, housing and spaces in daycare or kindergarten for people who had children without considering the consequences or whose partner didn't stick around for the responsibilities, at least a bit of money to live, counselling, drug treatment, whatever ... and they may go on, pursuing the same careless lives. FHTR