United Nations

From ABC News, "Joy Anger After Kosovo Claims Independence" :

Ethnic Albanians, who with nearly 2 million people make up 90 percent of Kosovo's population, have struggled for years to achieve independence from what they say is illegitimate Serbian rule.

But Serbians have for centuries considered Kosovo an integral part of their nation, and the government has cracked down on ethnic Albanian separatist movements in the past. Serbian leaders today denounced Kosovo's declaration of independence as a breach of international law.

In the Serbian capital of Belgrade, angry crowds sang patriotic songs and attacked the American embassy with stones, breaking windows and stopping traffic in nearby streets.

The declaration of independence also pits Belgrade against the United States and the European Union, which have long supported Kosovo Albanians' aspirations to self-rule.

In 1999, a U.S.-led NATO bombing campaign halted a Serbian attack on Albanian separatists. Since then, the province has been patrolled by 16,000 NATO-led peacekeepers and administered by UN and NATO officials.

This one is going to make the right wing nutosphere go absolutely bat shit --along with a few liberals and progressive. Last night during the Latino Netroots podcast Nic mentioned Al Gore's imminent departure to Europe. I said it was to go pick up his Noble Peace prize.

Boy, you would have thought I said he was going out there to skin some puppies.

La Bloguera brought up the excellent point that Mr. Gore was vice-president when Clinton bombed Sudan but also when the Clinton administration passed the horrid anti-immigration laws that we are now contending with. Check out her rant at about 41 minutes into podcast.

BTW : I am listening to the podcast right now and it's really, really fun.

Check out the committee's press release : The Nobel Peace Prize for 2007; and another naysayer at What has Al Gore done for world peace?

It was 22 years in the making, but today, in a strictly symbolic move (in other words, it has no enforcement) the United Nations has passed a resolution protecting the rights of indigenous peoples around the world.

From BBC News:

The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a non-binding declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples after 22 years of debate.

The treaty sets down protections for the human rights of native peoples, and for their land and resources...

There are estimated to be 370 million indigenous people in the world.

Only four nations opposed the treaty: Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. This despite the fact the resolution doesn't even have any teeth. Phil Fontaine, leader of the Assembly of First Nations, a group representing Canada's native communities, criticized the failure of the nations to support the resolution:

We're very disappointed... It's about the human rights of indigenous peoples throughout the world. It's an important symbol.

The resolution was already adopted by the UN Human Rights Council in June 2006, but a final vote was deferred because of initial opposition by African nations. Those differences were resolved and the resolution went to a final vote today.

Here is a summary of the resolution from the International Work Group on Indigenous Affairs:

Last night, I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish reading A Long Way Gone, Ishmael Beah’s account of his years as a child soldier in Sierra Leone. Mr. Beah, who recently completed his undergraduate degree at Oberlin, has lived in the United States since 1997.

Some of you may have read the startling excerpt from his book in "http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/14/magazine/14soldier.t.html?ex=1326430800&en=18db63da3854259e&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss"> The New York Times Magazine a few weeks back. It was that article that prompted me to buy the book, which I actually picked up at my local grocery store (!).

As you might expect, a book about a boy who had an AK-47 shoved into his hands after suffering the trials of Job during his country’s civil war, is not happy reading.

I have never been so afraid to go anywhere in my life as I was that first day. As we walked into the arms of the forest, tears began to form in my eyes, but I struggled to hide them and gripped my gun for comfort. We exhaled quietly, afraid that our own breathing could cause our deaths. The lieutenant led the line that I was in. He raised his fist in the air, and we stopped moving. Then he slowly brought it down, and we sat on one heel, our eyes surveying the forest. We began to move swiftly among the bushes until we came to the edge of a swamp, where we formed an ambush, aiming our guns into the bog. We lay flat on our stomachs and waited. I was lying next to my friend Josiah. At 11, he was even younger than I was. Musa, a friend my age, 13, was also nearby. I looked around to see if I could catch their eyes, but they were concentrating on the invisible target in the swamp. The tops of my eyes began to ache, and the pain slowly rose up to my head. My ears became warm, and tears were running down my cheeks, even though I wasn’t crying. The veins on my arms stood out, and I could feel them pulsating as if they had begun to breathe of their own accord. We waited in the quiet, as hunters do.

Student shoots self at Philadelphia high school | Top News | Reuters.com or why can't people understand that, to some kids, school = death.

Sixty killed in Baghdad suicide truck bombing - CNN.com, or why there is more reason to listen up when Muhammed Yunus says that poverty is a threat to world peace.

Award augurs well for United 93's Oscar hopes | News | Guardian Unlimited Film, or, OK, now I am going to have to see this movie.

A dangerously nice man | Special reports | Guardian Unlimited, or how Kofi Annan cautiously takes no shit from no WASP hill-billy wannabe, but in the process effed up the United Nations reputation as the leader in world politics.

The lame-duck presidency of George W. Bush has begun with Lincoln Chafee 's rank breaking move.

Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee, who was defeated in this week's election, said he would block Bolton's nomination.

Chafee, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters that he did not believe Bolton's nomination would move forward without his support.

"The American people have spoken out against the president's agenda on a number of fronts, and presumably one of those is on foreign policy," the Rhode Island moderate told The Associated Press.

"And at this late stage in my term, I'm not going to endorse something the American people have spoke out against."

The committee, dominated 10-8 by Republicans, requires a majority vote to send the nomination to the Senate floor. A tie would be the same as a no vote.

After months of quietly stonewalling John Bolton's nomination, yet not strongly enough so as not to ruffle any Republican feathers, now Chafee finds the resolve to kick Bolton out. It seems the senator from Rhode Island finally grew a spine. Does this make him a prodigal politico? Has Lincoln Chafee sprouted a conscience and finally seen the moderate Republican light?

States Parties shall undertake all appropriate legislative, administrative, and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognized in the present Convention. With regard to economic, social and cultural rights, States Parties shall undertake such measures to the maximum extent of their available resources and, where needed, within the framework of international co-operation.

1. In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration.

2. States Parties undertake to ensure the child such protection and care as is necessary for his or her well-being, taking into account the rights and duties of his or her parents, legal guardians, or other individuals legally responsible for him or her, and, to this end, shall take all appropriate legislative and administrative measures.

3. States Parties shall ensure that the institutions, services and facilities responsible for the care or
protection of children shall conform with the standards established by competent authorities, particularly in the areas of safety, health, in the number and suitability of their staff, as well as competent supervision.

1. States Parties shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind, irrespective of the child's or his or her parent's or legal guardian's race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status.

2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed opinions, or beliefs of the child's parents, legal guardians, or family members.