John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — The European Union, the concert of 27 countries ranging from the Bay of Biscay to the Baltics and the Balkans has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway. Some may smile, others may smirk, and many, when they think about it for a second time, may say […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — The impending launch of a North Korean ballistic missile has as much to do with the propaganda goal of putting a satellite into orbit as to serve as a less than subtle bullying to neighboring states all undergoing a period of political transition. Though Pyongyang has forewarned regional governments […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Tis’ the season in the General Assembly for some serious if generally overlooked work and reports. An Assembly committee has soundly condemned the continuing human and political rights abuses in three global transgressors; Syria, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the quaintly titled Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, aka […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — First, the good news. The United States has been re-elected to the UN Human Rights Council along with Germany and Ireland. So too have been South Korea and Japan. Now fasten your seat belts for the rest of the eighteen new selections to the 47 member Geneva-based Council which […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — As the seemingly interminable election campaign nears the finish line, there are a few glaringly missing topics which remain almost untouched. The first deals with an issue affecting nearly everyone and the other one which may determine America’s future scientific prowess and potential. Gasoline prices. Here we have record […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — President Barack Obama’s speech before the UN General Assembly was directed to two domestic audiences. One Main Street USA where outrage and anguish over the killing of American diplomats, the trashing of diplomatic property throughout the Middle East, and the seething resentment towards America is viewed as a both […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — The killing of the American Ambassador to Libya John Christopher Stevens, along with three other American diplomats, the storming of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt and the tearing down of the flag replacing the stars and stripes with a black banner, all allegedly in response to an American-produced […]
John J. Metzler PARIS — One of the more common misperceptions in transatlantic relations is the near instinctive knee-jerk comment that “the French don’t like Americans.” That is unless you overlook much of the music on French radio which is American, a considerable segment of prime time TV are American programs, and a majority of […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — As the carnage against civilians continues across Syria, there’ a compelling humanitarian case for international intervention to stop the violence which has killed more than 10,000 civilians. Yet, what started as a political uprising against the authoritarian rule of Bashar Assad sixteen months ago, has morphed into a complex […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — The Falkland Island Road Show has come to the United Nations, with all the political trappings of drama, hyper-nationalism, and self-righteous moralizing. The focus remains on the future of this windswept British territory in the South Atlantic claimed by, and also once invaded by, neighboring Argentina. Now thirty years […]
