A reminder

The invaluable Diplomad has returned to the theme of the uselessness of the United Nations, tied in with their propensity to claim the credit for work that they have not undertaken.

This has special significance as the UN is to hold a press conference on 26 January, listing all the great work they have done. On the day, Diplomad invites us to compare their claims with the reality.

His invitation is made all the more pertinent by a link which he provides us to a Blog posted by a serving officer aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln – the first major US ship to reach the disaster scene.

His first-hand account tells how his ship was taken over by "disaster tourists" – aka relief workers – one of whom had the nerve to complain that their food was being served on paper plates rather than china (because the crew was saving water so that more could be taken ashore for the tsunami survivors).

"It was all I could do to keep from jerking him off his feet and choking him…" writes our man. We know how he feels.

As we pointed out in our earlier Blog, as time passes and memories fade, we will get a great deal from those "heroic" organisations like the UN and the European Union, about how much they contributed to the disaster relief, and what a better place the world is for their existence – and how much better it would be if we gave them more powers and more money.

This Blog, therefore, is to remind readers that, at the sharp end, the tranzies contributed nothing and, if anything hampered relief efforts. Their ex post facto rhetoric should be treated – like most of their claims – with the contempt it deserves.