Quote :

"Bush to Nominate Bolton as U.N. Ambassador Washington Post March 7, 2005 President Bush has chosen Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton, a longtime critic of the United Nations and a hard-liner on Taiwan-China relations and arms control, to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced today. Bolton is an experienced diplomat and government official, having held high posts in three Republican administrations, starting with Ronald Reagan's. He has drawn criticism from Senate Democrats for his strong conservative views and his unvarnished expression of them. Rice recognized Bolton's outspokenness today as she announced the appointment. "Some of our best ambassadors" to the United Nations have been those with "the strongest voices," Rice said. Bolton said at the announcement, "Close cooperation and the time-honored tradition of frank communication is central to achieving our mutually held objectives." He continued, "The United Nations affords us the opportunity to move our policies forward together with unity and purpose." Bolton has publicly advocated Taiwan's membership in the United Nations and other positions opposed by key Security Council members. He has led U.S. opposition to the International Criminal Court, which enjoys broad support at the United Nations. Bolton led the administration's campaign to prevent Iran and North Korea from enhancing their nuclear weapons capabilities. He spearheaded the administration's unsuccessful attempt to deny a third term to Mohammed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency. If confirmed by the Senate, Bolton would replace John C. Danforth as U.N. ambassador. Danforth is resigning. Rice phoned U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan this morning to give him a "heads up" on the appointment, said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric. "The Secretary General warmly congratulates Mr. Bolton and looks forward to working with him on U.N. reform and many other issues," Dujarric said. Asked if the United Nations had concerns about Bolton's history of criticizing the international organization, Dujarric said, "I don't know about previous bias he might bring" to the new job. But he said that the United Nations would welcome a tough reformer. "We do want to be held accountable." Some U.N. ambassadors said they expected Bolton would have to moderate his views on the United Nations. "When you're outside the United Nations you can be a very strong critic," said Algeria's U.N. ambassador, Abdallah Baali. But "when you join the U.N. and you work with U.N. people then you progressively change your attitude." "I don't think that he has a dogmatic position against the United Nations," Baali added. "There are things that he doesn't like at the United Nations. We will be listening to his views on how we can correct things which are wrong in the organization." At the announcement, Bolton acknowledged he has been critical of the United Nations. "As you know, I have, over the years, written critically about the U.N. Indeed, one highlight of my professional career was the 1991 successful effort to repeal the General Assembly's 1975 resolution equating Zionism with racism, thus removing the greatest stain on the U.N.'s reputation. "I have consistently stressed in my writings that American leadership is critical to the success of the U.N., an effective U.N., one that is true to the original intent of its charter's framers. This is a time of opportunity for the U.N., which likewise requires American leadership to achieve successful reform," Bolton said. The nomination of Bolton for undersecretary of state in 2001 was controversial. It drew criticism from Democrats including Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.) and Sen. Joseph Biden (Del.) before Bolton was approved by a 57-43 vote. At that time, Kerry attacked Bolton statements that belittled the United Nations and that labeled U.S. allies "appeasers" for opposing economic sanctions policies. Biden, the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said then that Bolton "has called for diplomatic recognition of Taiwan, a position at odds with three decades of American diplomacy -- and contrary to the position of this administration." Democrats also noted that Bolton was paid $30,000 over three years in the mid-1990s by Taiwan's government for research papers on U.N. membership issues involving Taiwan. At the American Enterprise Institute, where he was a senior vice president, Bolton long supported U.S. recognition of Taiwan as a separate nation and its return to the United Nations. Bolton enraged the North Korean government on the eve of six-nation talks in 2003 by referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il as a "tyrannical rogue." North Korea's news agency branded Bolton "human scum." At Bolton's confirmation hearing, Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), then chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called him the "most qualified man for the job." Bolton served in the administration of George H.W. Bush, father of the current president, as assistant secretary of state for international organizations. Bolton served earlier, in the Reagan administration, as an assistant attorney general. During the Bush-Gore election controversy in Florida in 2000, Bolton provided legal assistance to former secretary of state James A. Baker III, who managed the Bush effort."

An interesting choice, selecting a hardliner and harsh UN critic to the position. I guess it is a reflection of the administration's current opinions on the organization. The question of course is whether this veteran State department official will moderate his views when he becomes the ambassador. Considering how he had handled his time working the North Korean negotiations, I'm not holding out much hope.

Also interesting is his stance in favor of Taiwanese independence (something harshly opposed by China) and his rather harsh language regarding North Korea which got him in trouble when he was working on the issue.

3/7/2005 2:29:29 PM

Tell me how am I supposed to live without yooooooouuuu....?

3/7/2005 2:32:59 PM

Layin' shots nonstop, till I see ya' monkey ass drop





[Edited on March 7, 2005 at 4:07 PM. Reason : .]

3/7/2005 4:07:30 PM

hahaha thats immediately what i thought of marko

3/7/2005 4:24:59 PM

they should have just saved everyone the trouble and just sent a tape recording that says "fuck you" over and over agian.

3/7/2005 4:47:50 PM

thinking the same thing kris. I mean, at least pick someone who pretends like he likes the UN...

3/7/2005 6:18:08 PM

why should i change my name, he's the one that sucks

3/7/2005 6:47:23 PM

and let ya homies know who done it

3/7/2005 7:30:41 PM

Quote :

"they should have just saved everyone the trouble and just sent a tape recording that says "fuck you" over and over agian."

Quote :

"thinking the same thing kris. I mean, at least pick someone who pretends like he likes the UN..."

Isn't dissent the backbone of democracy?

3/8/2005 12:46:22 AM

Yes, when making policy.


not when executing it.

3/8/2005 1:03:11 AM

Quote :

"At Bolton's confirmation hearing, Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), then chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called him the "most qualified man for the job." "

Thats all I needed to hear.

swear him in!

3/8/2005 1:08:32 AM

dear god, you're not joking

3/8/2005 2:15:04 AM

Quote :

"Isn't dissent the backbone of democracy?"

IF YOU DON'T LAKE IT YOU GHET OUT

3/8/2005 2:17:52 AM

^^aha...I said it only half-jokingly

Helms actually became a really decent politician towards the end of his career. He sure as hell looked out for the interests of North Carolinians.

3/8/2005 2:21:58 AM

as long as they were straight, white, Christian, and didn't belong to worker's unions

3/8/2005 11:22:05 AM

Who else is there?

3/8/2005 11:29:37 AM

Quote :

"as long as they were straight, white, Christian, and didn't belong to worker's unions"

I have a cousin who is paraplegic. Several years go, his parents took him overseas to get a medical procedure done because their HMO would not cover it. Anyways, while they were there, one of his bags was stolen, and his passport was in that bag as well. They were permanent residents but not US citizens, and upon trying to return, they would not clear him to come back to the US. The people at the US embassy were of no help either.

His sister was still in the US, and ended up contacting Senator Helms. He took care of it, and my cousin was cleared to come back the next day.

I still think the guy, overall, is a jackass, but he gets a worse rap then he deserves.

3/8/2005 11:42:46 AM

Actions speak louder than words.

Before Helms ever ran for office, he read a special in the paper about a group of crippled orphans and what they wanted for Christmas. One kid, who had cerebral palsy, said that all he wanted was a mom and dad. Helms and his wife adopted that kid and have taken care of him ever since. And unlike some other shameless politicians, Helms never paraded around his adopted son for political gain, or even let others mention it as an example of his character.

You could always count on Helms to vote based on how HE felt, not how party or special interests felt about a particular issue. Even if you disagreed with his viewpoints, that kind of character is commendable.



[Edited on March 8, 2005 at 8:28 PM. Reason : !]

3/8/2005 8:09:32 PM

when did having convictions about something regardless of merit become a self-evidently admirable quality?

3/8/2005 8:54:21 PM

Ever since the majority of politicians allowed themselves to become party whores and/or be bought out by special interests.

3/8/2005 8:58:29 PM

you are naive if you think helms is any less than that

3/8/2005 10:32:43 PM

omg flip flops

3/9/2005 12:43:18 AM

But there is also a compassionate side to Senator Helms that few of his critics might believe.

He was, it is reported, in tears when Bono, lead singer of rock group U2 and anti-debt campaigner, told him of the suffering that debt caused in the developing world.

He campaigned for the passage of a debt relief bill though Congress.

It was the relationship with Bono that brought the 79-year-old to his first ever pop concert in Washington DC this year.

3/9/2005 1:07:26 AM

Quote :

"as long as they were straight, white, Christian, and didn't belong to worker's unions"

Helms was also a huge proponent for AIDS relief in Africa at the end of his career, helping convince Bush to pledge $500 million to stop the spread of AIDS. Most people in Africa are not white or Christian.

3/9/2005 1:38:31 AM

Quote :

"I still think the guy, overall, is a jackass, but he gets a worse rap then he deserves."

not after the insensitive letter he sent to the mother of a gay son who died with AIDs or his racist remarks on WRAL or his description of anyone with a leftist ideology as a "communist" when the USSR was its peak (to scare ingorant North Carolinians into thinking that democrats were Stalinists) and calling UNC the "University of Negroes and Communists"...the man is a foolish bigot and likely the only reason he helped your cousin or helped with the AIDs campaign in Africa was his fundamentalist religious convictions, not because he has an ounce of compassion

unless you can show me where he's apologized for his past remarks about AIDs, gays, UNC, democrats, and blacks and admitted he was morally and factually wrong or deceptive on his positions, then I don't buy the idea that he has changed all that much

Quote :

"You could always count on Helms to vote based on how HE felt, not how party or special interests felt about a particular issue. Even if you disagreed with his viewpoints, that kind of character is commendable."

and Hitler probably voted based on how he felt in the Bundestag

[Edited on March 9, 2005 at 3:31 PM. Reason : ]

3/9/2005 3:21:10 PM

You forgot the comment he made regarding a proposal to build a Zoo in the Triangle.

He said, "Why build a Zoo when we can just put a fence around Chapel Hill?"

I'm sure that Helms has offended your theater-loving, liberal, culturally-sensitive faggot-ass many times over. But in addition to personal deeds such as the one I mentioned before in this thread, he has helped thousands of North Carolinians who have asked for help on a personal level. His staff was known as one of the best and most responsive to constituent needs of any such staff in the country.

So until you can show me similar good deeds that you have done (read: actions not rhetoric), you've got no business talking about Helms' compassion or lack thereof.

[Edited on March 9, 2005 at 8:43 PM. Reason : !]

3/9/2005 8:29:02 PM

actually, Chub Seawell should get credit for that quote

Quote :

"I'm sure that Helms has offended your theater-loving, liberal, culturally-sensitive faggot-ass many times over. But in addition to personal deeds such as the one I mentioned before in this thread, he has helped thousands of North Carolinians who have asked for help on a personal level. His staff was known as one of the best and most responsive to constituent needs as any political staff in the country. So until you can show me similar good deeds that you have done (read: actions not rhetoric), you've got no business talking about Helms' compassion or lack thereof."

Putrid logic. That's like saying Ebert can't criticize a movie because he hasn't directed a classic. His response to that mother was enough for me to know that he's not a humanitarian (unless he has changed and apologized for it).

Usama bin Laden has supported charities and Hamas and Hezbollah provide social services throughout the middle east. Helms isn't any more exempt from criticism because of his humanitarian efforts than they are because of theirs.

3/9/2005 8:53:46 PM

I don't place slightly offensive comments on the same level as terrorism and genocide. So your comparisons to Hitler, Bin Laden, Hezbollah and Hammas are inapropos.

3/9/2005 8:58:41 PM

I wasn't suggesting that their actions were on the same level morally. My point is that good deeds don't excuse or justify bad ones.

3/9/2005 9:06:58 PM

My point is that semi-offensive statements are not "deeds"

If you are gonna judge a man by his deeds, Helms has a pretty good track record, especially late in his political career.

[Edited on March 9, 2005 at 9:10 PM. Reason : !]

3/9/2005 9:10:08 PM

I think supporting anti-black and anti-gay legislation counts as a deed

3/9/2005 9:19:30 PM

yeah all those times he was out shootin' niggers probably were deeds

and god help you if you were a faggot nigger

3/9/2005 9:29:42 PM

let's just say I wouldn't be surprised that if when Helms's FBI files are released, we'll find things similar to what was in Thurmond's files

3/9/2005 9:45:37 PM

wistful thinking

You probably hope that there's more terrorism in Iraq, too

3/9/2005 10:26:22 PM

there's nothing I would like more than for Iraq to be a peaceful, liberal democracy

3/9/2005 10:49:21 PM

well, Ashcroft is outta the picture

gotta replace him two-fold I suppose.

fucking wacko.

3/9/2005 11:12:41 PM

Quote :

"John R. Bolton flew to Europe in 2002 to confront the head of a global arms-control agency and demand he resign, then orchestrated the firing of the unwilling diplomat in a move a U.N. tribunal has since judged unlawful, according to officials involved. A former Bolton deputy says the U.S. undersecretary of state felt Jose Bustani "had to go," particularly because the Brazilian was trying to send chemical weapons inspectors to Baghdad. That might have helped defuse the crisis over alleged Iraqi weapons and undermined a U.S. rationale for war. Bustani, who says he got a "menacing" phone call from Bolton at one point, was removed by a vote of just one-third of member nations at an unusual special session of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), at which the United States cited alleged mismanagement in calling for his ouster."

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-bolton-un-firing,0,7826877.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

6/5/2005 2:16:21 AM

If Bolton is involved in the Traitorgate investigation, should Bush be giving him a recess appointment to the UN?

7/29/2005 3:56:11 PM

Actually, a reporter on the Diane Rheme show pointed out that it's strange that Bush didn't just give Bolton a recess appointment when he had the chance earlier this year. Speculation is that either Bush is pushing really hard to get the legitimacy a Senate approval brings or he's given up on pushing hard for Bolton's nomination.

7/29/2005 5:45:57 PM

^^Do you think he really cares? Anyway, it looks like it's happening.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8758621/

Quote :

"WASHINGTON - President Bush intends to announce next week that he is going around Congress to install embattled nominee John Bolton as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, senior administration officials said Friday. Bush has the power to fill vacancies without Senate approval while Congress is in recess. Under the Constitution, a recess appointment during the lawmakers’ August break would last until the next session of Congress, which begins in January 2007. Two officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because the president had not made the announcement and Congress wasn’t in recess yet, said Bush planned to exercise that authority before he leaves Washington on Tuesday for his ranch. The House recessed on Thursday and the Senate’s break was scheduled to begin later Friday. Earlier in the day, White House press secretary Scott McClellan gave the strongest indication yet that Bush planned to do so, noting that the U.N. General Assembly has its annual meeting in mid-September. “It’s important that we get our permanent representative in place,” he said. “This is a critical time and it’s important to continue moving forward on comprehensive reform.” Bush counselor Dan Bartlett said the president had not made a decision on whether to make a recess appointment. “He retains that right to do, but he will continue to work with the Senate as long as he can,” Barlett said. “But he has not made a decision.” Could affect Bolton effectiveness, Roberts nomination On the other hand, an end run around the Senate confirmation process would certainly annoy senators — particularly Democrats — at a time when Bush’s nomination of John Roberts to serve on the Supreme Court hangs in the balance. It also could hamper Bolton at the United Nations, by sending him there as a short-timer without the Senate’s backing. “There’s just too much unanswered about Bolton and I think the president would make a truly serious mistake if he makes a recess appointment,” Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said in an interview. Bolton’s nomination, announced in March by the president, was controversial from the start and has been stalled in the Senate by Democrats. Critics say Bolton, who has been accused of mistreating subordinates and has been openly skeptical about the United Nations, would be ill-suited to the sensitive diplomatic task at the world body. The White House says the former undersecretary of state for arms control, who has long been one of Bush’s most conservative foreign policy advisers, is exactly the man to whip the United Nations into shape. Concern over truthfulness to Congress This week, critics raised a fresh concern, saying Bolton had neglected to tell Congress he had been interviewed in a government investigation into faulty prewar intelligence on Iraq. The State Department said Thursday that Bolton was interviewed in 2003 by the department inspector general. The office was conducting a joint investigation with the CIA into allegations that Iraq attempted to buy nuclear materials from Niger. Bolton had earlier submitted a questionnaire to the Senate in which he had said he had not testified to a grand jury or been interviewed by investigators in any inquiry over the past five years. Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee said he would vote against Bolton — if given the chance — and would oppose a recess appointment if it is accurate that Bolton’s form was originally incorrect. “Any intimidation of the facts, or suppression of information getting to the public which led us to the war, absolutely should preclude him from a recess appointment,” said Chafee, of Rhode Island. Also Friday, 35 Democratic senators and one independent, Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont, sent a letter to Bush urging against a recess appointment. “Sending someone to the United Nations who has not been confirmed by the United States Senate and now who has admitted to not being truthful on a document so important that it requires a sworn affidavit is going to set our efforts back in many ways,” the letter said."

He fits right in with the administration in not revealing facts or simply lying.

7/30/2005 12:30:52 AM

!

8/1/2005 10:42:29 AM

!!

8/1/2005 10:48:28 AM

!!!

8/1/2005 10:49:01 AM

!!!!

8/1/2005 11:08:31 AM

!!!!!

8/1/2005 7:47:32 PM

!!!!!!

8/3/2005 5:05:36 PM

?

8/3/2005 6:59:47 PM

??

8/3/2005 7:38:04 PM

??? Whats all this then

8/3/2005 11:22:47 PM

total bullshit.

8/4/2005 5:03:21 PM