U.S Not Going To Race Conference

YAHOO! - GENEVA – The United Nations opens its first global racism conference in eight years on Monday with the U.S. and at least six other countries boycotting the event out of concern that Islamic countries will demand that it denounce Israel and ban criticism of Islam.

The administration of President Barack Obama, America's first black head of state, announced Saturday that it would boycott "with regret" the weeklong meeting in Geneva, which already is experiencing much of the bickering and political infighting that marred the 2001 conference in Durban, South Africa.

The Netherlands and Germany announced their boycotts Sunday, while Australia, Canada, Israel and Italy already had said they would not attend.

"I would love to be involved in a useful conference that addressed continuing issues of racism and discrimination around the globe," Obama said in Trinidad on Sunday after attending the Summit of the Americas.

My boy Benedict knows what's up though:

At the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI said the conference is needed to eliminate racial intolerance around the world. Asia News, a Catholic news agency that is part of the missionary arm of the Vatican, said of the pope's comment: "The Holy See is distancing itself from the criticisms of some Western countries."

Our Man Obama To Run For UN Seat

WASHINGTON, (AFP) – US President Barack Obama's administration announced it will run in May for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council -- a body the Bush administration had shunned.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the US ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, said the United States wanted a seat to help reform the body from within, according to the State Department.

Speaking to reporters later, Rice echoed criticism from those in Congress and the administration of former president George W. Bush who said the Geneva-based body routinely demonized Israel but ignored human rights abuses in other parts of the globe.

Bush sucks! Bush sucks! Go-Obama!

UN Adopts Anti-Free Speech Measure

GENEVA (AP) — The U.N.'s top human rights body has approved a proposal by Muslim nations urging the passage of laws protecting religion from criticism.

Members of the Human Rights Council voted 23 in favor of a resolution Thursday to combat "defamation of religion." Eleven nations, mostly from the West, opposed the resolution and 13 countries abstained.

The resolution was proposed by Pakistan. Muslim countries have cited the inflammatory effect of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad as an example of unacceptable free speech.

Critics say the resolution, while not binding, will have a chilling effect on free speech and may worsen relations between faiths.

Unacceptable free speech is still free speech and must be protected.

Vatican Opposes Gay Discrimination

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 2, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Contrary to the way the media paints the picture, the Holy See is against the discrimination of homosexuals, clarified a Vatican spokesman.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, said this in response to Italian press reports on an interview with Archbishop Celestino Migliore, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations. The archbishop told a news agency that the Holy See would not support an expected French proposal for a U.N. resolution to decriminalize homosexuality. The prelate explained that the initiative could include at the same time the imposition of homosexual marriage in national law...

"The well-known principles of respect for the fundamental rights of the person and the rejection of all unjust discrimination -- recognized clearly by the Catechism of the Catholic Church itself -- evidently exclude not only the death penalty, but all violent or discriminatory penal legislations in relation to homosexuals," the spokesman stated.

Just for clarification.

Hope In Darfur's El Fasher

EL FASHER, SUDAN -- Amid the suffering of Darfur, there's an odd prosperity bubbling up in this once sleepy town.

Paved streets and lampposts are replacing sand roads. A fleet of bright blue South Korean-made taxis, newer and nicer than those in Khartoum, the national capital, create afternoon traffic jams so bad that a police officer must direct the flow.

A pair of multistory office buildings are under construction downtown, and newly built rental homes can fetch $5,000 a month, not including utilities, of course, since most of El Fasher doesn't have water or electricity.

In stark contrast to the burned-out villages and squalid displacement camps that characterize much of Darfur, this dust-choked city is booming, thanks largely to an influx of scores of United Nations agencies and private charities, as well as the newly deployed U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission.

Since the conflict in Sudan's western region began in 2003, El Fasher's population has nearly doubled to 500,000 as refugees sought safety in camps along the city's borders or with family members in town. Though the North Darfur capital has its share of crime and gunfights, it has largely escaped the fighting that has plagued other areas. - Los Angeles Times

At least something is going right over there.