Images

I just came back from the UN in New York, where I attended the UN Forum on indigenous rights. Indigenous nations from all over the world came up with the first UN Declaration on Indigenous Rights. Topics such as the effect of Climate change on the SIDS, the preservation of Indigenous languages, or the promotion of land titles for First nations were hotly debated.
It was a nice complement to the week before , where I was in Tokyo, attending a meeting of the G 8 Education group in charge of implementing the 2nd Millenium Goal, Education for all.
One is struck, when hearing these debates, how much more fundamental these conversations are, than the latest sound bite about Rev. Jim Wright or Bosnian sniper fire from last Century. (I happen to know that Rev. Wright speaks for all blacks and gives a very good description of their state of mind. And why would not blacks think like that?) What troubles me is that Obama was not strong enough to champion the cause of all the blacks who voted for them. Instead, when came the time to own up to it, he played the part of St Peter when the rooster sang three times... Disappointing, but not surprising for a candidate who never had to face a tough question until now.
I was still mulling the interview I had the other day with Jeremy Rifkin on the dichotomy between Efficiency and Affectivity, when I met a living Hero, Bronislaw Geremek, founder of Solidarnosc. Humble, learned, a historian who made history, a patriot who was jailed by traitor to his country, you know greatness when you hear him.
The Olympic flame riots have really riled the Chinese and their government has skillfully used the videos around the world to rally the population around the image of country about to lose face. Face is the singlest most important currency in the Middle Kingdom, and all the pro-Tibet do-gooders have not realized they were walking right into the trap!