The American Spectator

Reader Mail

Good as Gold

4.19.06 @ 12:01AM

(Page 2 of 6)

PEACE BUILDER
Re: Robert T. McLean's Change Is Slow at Turtle Bay:

I do believe it is important that special reports have depth to their viewpoints. Robert McLean's report published on the next UN Secretary-General seems full of recycled media comment from the recent past.

I did a Google search on the candidates and was vastly impressed with the substance and track record of the internationally acclaimed peace builder Jayantha Dhanapala who was the Global Security Institute's first recipient of the "Alan Cranston Peace Award" in 2002; and was also honoured with a "Lifetime Achievement Award" by the Centre for Non-Proliferation Studies of the Monterey Institute for International Studies in USA, to name just a few.. He serves on the boards of several international bodies such as the International Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission; the Governing Board of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute; the International Advisory Group of the ICRC; the UN University; and serves as the Honorary President of the International Peace Bureau. He has also authored several books and articles on disarmament. Above all he seems to have been one of the few UN insiders who have a track record of delivery and impact despite the monolithic inefficiencies and systematic failure of the UN his track record as UN under-secretary-general for disarmament is still the most effective to date. His groundbreaking gender mainstreaming initiatives was another UN first.

My question: is the media missing something here by not doing its homework and looking beyond the obvious? To me the big issue is: can an insider reform the UN? The argument goes that you need someone who knows the systems (warts and all!) who can clean it up. If that premise holds, then Dhanapala is a clear front runner. If it's an outsider, no clear option appears. This is not a case of Hobson's choice, but the best man and the right place at the right time. The man's professionalism is best seen by the quality and substance of his website.
-- S. de Silva

BETTER OFF
Re: Jed Babbin's Guess Who's Coming to Dinner:

We could reduce China's ability to finance their military buildup to the extent that we contribute to it. We could initiate a "national security tariff" of 100 percent on all Chinese goods imported into the U.S. and at the same time encourage others around the world, more friendly to us, to consider supplying those items. Prices could increase on all items across the board for a while, but then would drop as their production lines would become more efficient. I can see us doing no less with the menace that China poses to us and its smarmy denials to the contrary. Must we always be fools for a buck and "free" trade? Just a thought.
-- Gene Hauber
Meshoppen, Pennsylvania

Thank you for this piece. I can't imagine having Kerry or Gore sitting in "W's" chair at this point in time.
-- Martin N. Tirrell
Lisbon, New Hampshire

Jed Babbin replies:
Many thanks. And neither can I, except in my worst nightmares.

AMERICAN-AMERICAN
Re: Christopher Orlet's The Long Death of Multiculturalism:

Every time that I hear "our diversity is our strength," or variations of that phrase, I get a real serious gag reflex. I would seriously suggest that being an advocate for diversity or multiculturalism uber alles should be a capital offense, with a mandatory minimum of life without parole.

I would even suggest that, as has been stated before many times by some really successful politicians, if you are a hyphenated American, you are not a complete, 100 percent American. Heck, I even resent the question on all kinds of forms that ask for your race. I just want to say American and the rest is none of your business.

For the life of me, I can not understand why Bush wants to divide Americans by tolerating a permanent underclass that does not want, and absolutely will not assimilate. They won't adopt the English language. They DEMAND that the government deal with them in their old or non-English language. If you don't read and speak English, then you should not vote. If you don't want to be an American then don't come here. If you want to demonstrate carrying the flag of another country, then go back to that country.

My attitude has nothing to do with any race or any heritage. I long ago adopted the idea that Americans come in white, black, brown, and red hues, that Americans have cultural ties to virtually every country in the world. Heaven knows that all four roots of my ancestry came to what is now America from other parts of the world. I have enjoyed researching my genealogy for three decades now. Make no mistake, however, I am an American -- 100 percent.

If we can somehow flush all the multiculturalists and one worlders out of our system, we can become the great country that we once were. It cannot come soon enough for me.

REMEMBER THE ALAMO -- BUSH WON'T
-- Ken Shreve
An American

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