World Summit

[David]

by Kenneth Adelman, FOXNEWS

It's hard to commiserate about dire poverty when lodging at a $500-a-night, five-star hotel in Aspen, Colo. At least it was hard for me.

But apparently not for many others attending the Fortune magazine conference in Aspen last month. Over gourmet meals and vintage wines, participants stressed the "moral imperative" of lifting the world's neediests' income to $2 per day.

It may not be hard for the throngs who gathered for the biggest, gushiest and costliest United Nations talkfest ever. The "World Summit on Sustainable Development" -- a whopping 60,000 participants, press, NGOs, and business types strong -- opened Monday in Johannesburg, South Africa.

It's another massive waste of money. Another diversion from the real needs of the poor. Another boondoggle for the rich to jet somewhere exotic to gush over their concern for the poor.

If I sound aggravated, it's because I lived in a desolate African nation (Zaire, not the Congo) for more than two years in the early 1970s. So I've experienced the wrenching misery of Third World poverty -- up close and personal.

It's also because I served as a U.S. ambassador to the U.N. in the early 1980s. So I've learned the inanity of U.N. conferences -- again, up close and personal.

As head of the U.S. delegation to several such conferences, I heard hundreds of speeches urging each conference to increase the "political will" to implement past U.N. conference declarations.

The Johannesburg summit does likewise. It will urge implementation for the U.N. conference 10 years ago in Rio.

Since Rio, there have been four U.N. preparatory conferences -- PrepComs, in the vernacular, which are U.N. conferences to prepare for this jumbo U.N. conference. The last "PrepCom" was in Bali, with some of the finest beaches in the world.

The dirty little secret of United Nations conferences on poverty is that they never meet where there's much poverty. Hence, Bali rather than Jakarta, and Johannesburg rather than Soweto.

U.N. conferences feature addresses from each world government, now numbering more than 180. Kiribati, Tonga, Lesotho, St. Kitts, even Tuvalu get equal billing as the United States, Japan, China, and Britain.

In all, 106 heads of state and government will speak. Thankfully, President Bush realized he has more important things to do.

Plus there's a veritable galaxy of concerned celebrities -- Bill Clinton, Bono, Al Gore, Jimmy Carter, whomever.

Hearing all of them becomes a terrible strain. Take one typical hour next Monday afternoon, between 2:00 and 3:00. If you fear missing something by staying home, delegates there will hear orations by representatives from Mali, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria, Senegal, New Zealand, Andorra, Lebanon, and Croatia.

All eight presidents and prime ministers in one hour! And these eight come after the lineup of opening speakers and similarly formal addresses by 26 top officials that morning before lunch.

If this sounds exhausting, believe me, it is. I frequently turned my earphones on to simultaneous Chinese translations, whose musical qualities stimulated my brain more than the English words of the speeches.

Though admiring theater of the absurd, I lost patience for U.N. talkfests when estimating their expense. Each such hortatory indulgence gets simultaneously translated, by pricey U.N. linguists into English, French, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese.

Worse yet, every page of each discourse gets printed in English, French, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese. The translating and printing costs alone come to several hundred dollars per page. Add on the participants' travel, room and board -- to say nothing of the executive time burnt up.

The Jo'burg "World Summit" is attracting 60,000 people -- the biggest ever. It's located in the furthest spot for a major conference, costing yet more in transportation fees for most participants.

Millions of dollars spent on the wealthy traveling to a neat tourist spot to produce multi-lingual speeches and documents about the poor. This U.N. conference has a budget of an exorbitant $55 million. The South African government, plagued by widespread poverty among blacks, will contribute $20 million.

Instead of the 60,000 jetting to South Africa for another round of U.N. speeches and declarations, just imagine how many poor Africans could be helped by $55 million spent on real programs to raise levels to $2 per day.

Several friends in Congolese families could live off just the costs of Chinese and Russian versions of the Andorra's prime minister's speech next Monday.

Where's any perspective on this World Summit? Does anyone else feel a sense of disappointment, if not outrage?

Kenneth Adelman is a frequent guest commentator on Fox News, was assistant to U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld from 1975 to 1977 and, under President Ronald Reagan, U.N. ambassador and arms-control director.

[xgrunt]

Bro David, you should know by now outrage only occurs when it's YOUR problem meanwhile the world politicos and BIG BUSINESSmen continue on on their quest to lock all of us in their systems for our own good. To quote an old cartoon" I live on a fixed income, I'll pay a hundred dollars for 5 mins alone with the Congressman who FIXED that income. " Crazy but SANE,xgrunt

[reeb]

I dont know wether or not that you know my situation:

But I was working my ass off each and every day for over 15 yrs to support my family of two sons and one step daughter.

I am not smart ( to any extreme ), but I DO KNOW WHEN WE GET SHIT UPON )

I personally wouldnt spend one hard earned dollar to go to ( if invited ) to them summits )

We all pay our taxes, right??

But just what the heck is it going for???????

The Prez is in Tx at his RANCH for most of his term in office.

Seems to me that there aint crap diddlie doo being done except " Showing off his Ranch "

Why is the Surplus going downhill instead of going up???

Like I say I am the stupiest person on here, BUT I CAN TELL RIGHT FROM WRONG!!!!!!!!

I am far from poor but I wouldnt spend one red cent of my self pride to do what the governtment is doing to the VETS that served there country.

In all reallity I could stand on the corner and beg for money to support the VETS and come up with more than the Uncle Sam could.

OR I COULD PAY $100,000.00 to sleep in the white house..DUH!!!!!!!

Lousy food, ( cause I am not use to it ). Give me a steak, hamburger, or even a simple hotdog and I am happy.

I could just say:

GET IT ON AND ROCK AND ROLL like in NAM. WW1, WW2. Korea, and now the TERRORISTS that have treathened each and every day of our normal lives that we all have grown to appreciate and support our USA.

Dont even bring up the Gulf War, cause I am a firm believer that there wasnt any real combat there. Just mishaps that werent suppose to be there, The enemy was walking up to you giving up and asking for help.

Traitors to their own country. JUST LIKE WALKER.

I THINK I HAVE SAID :::::

enough...............

[reconeil]

Since: "Time is money" also,...has anybody ever calculated the TOTAL time and/or monies wasted on the perpetual: "Theater(s) of the absurd"?

I, and even though surely no mathematician, would have to guess that more than a few nations wordwide could have eliminated poverty TOTALLY,...if same time and party-monies had been wisely spent INSTEAD.

But then, and in fairness, even Politicos, Fat Cats and such need to feel important and that they are doing something worthwhile for humanity(plus need to eat also). Besides, if kept busy with make-work and time consuming nonsense and/or "Feel Good Policies" most of the time, "They" wouldn't have as much time left to cause trouble (the political norm).

Still,...what a waste! Don't you think?

Neil

[reeb]

There is most likely not a calcuator in the world with that many digits!!!

enough.....

[Sgt_Tropo]

Okay guys and gals,
world poverty is indeed and outrage. The inexcusable waste of 100's of millions of dollars spent indulging the UN and other world politicos is an outrage. However, think about this. The total salaries of the National Baseball League players for just one year exceeds the amount of monies wasted on the confabs discussed above. We have men (?) who play a game for an average of less than 4 hours a day, three days a week, getting paid a league MINIMUM of 2.5 million dollars a year ! AND, to top it all off, they're going out on strike tomorrow for MORE MONEY !!!! The top players in the league make over 20 million dollars a year now. How much more do they want ?!? For starters they want the league minimum wage to be $3,000,000 a year and the players don't want to pay their fair share of taxes either. THey are demanding that the club owners pay up to half of the players' tax bill too.
On top of all this, we (the average Joe Taxpayer) GIVE the club owners new statiums and ball parks at an average cost of $350,000,000 each ! And you wonder why it costs a family of 4 an average of $150 to attend a single game.
Can you imagine a payroll so large that it could totally pay off the national debt within 5 years ? A payroll that is larger than the gross national product of over 120 of the 180 nations on the Earth ? And then you wonder how we could have ever gotten so blase' about some politicos spending a mere 100 million of aweekend "get-away ?
We would rather be entertained than deal with world hunger. We would rather be entertained than be faced with world poverty.
We would rather be entertained than dealing with world health issues, such as AIDS, lepersy, cancer, etc.
We would rather be entertained than worry about air polution.
We would rather be entertained than...I think you get the picture.
We can all piss and moan about how bad things are in this crazy world, but how many of us will really boycott the profesional sports industry and force them back into the "real world" adn THEN, also be willing to donate to an honest charity working towards a solution to any of the things I've named above ?
The combined salaries of the professional sports teams in the US alone, exceeds $1,000,000,000 a year ! That's one brillion dollars ! That is obscene, folks ! Can you even begin to imagine what the combined salaries of all pro sport teams worldwide is ?!? And that doesn't even take into account the monies we spend on hot dogs, sodas and beer at these sporting events.
C'mon, folks, if you're going to gripe about the situation, then you need to be willing to provide the solution.

[reconeil]

Still, don't you think it a shame that even all the millions (in reality billions) wasted on Sports in general, just like: "The Big Sports" do and such as David has alluded to,...never does diddly-squat for World Hunger either?

Though, and in fainess to all athletes worldwide,...such is not their job. Nor, do "They" even pretend so, like the professional and/or self/clique-serving "Do-gooders" (phoney as they might be) usually do.

Hell, the only Show-biz types (so to speak) other than The Hollywood Set that usually spout: "Eliminating World Hunger" as being their paramount goal in life,...are Miss America Beauty Pageant Contestants. And, we all know how much World Hunger that "They" too have eliminated.

Regardless, and infairness to Beauty Pageants, at least with them, political bull, strokin and/or being purposefully BS'd seems more entertaining. Well, to me anyway, since that's the best time to watch such without the sound on.

Neil

[David]

reeb re: the Gulf War, yes they came up and surrendered as long as they could and then died by the 10's of thousands under our war machine once the order was given to not take any more prisoners. Guess that was not combat, guess it was more akin to a slaughter, but what do I know, I was only signal corps and I have never worked in a slaughter house.

[reeb]

God Darn SGT Tropo.

I just put on a post about the 30th of this month and baseball along with Sara Lee and Oscar Myer.

I dont like baseball and will never, but ALOT of free Americans do and they deserve their right to go to a game and not spend ( for alot of folks ) one days wages to get in and have one beer or soda and a hotdog.

You are from TX and you know about Geo jr.

Why in the world can he stop a airline strike and not put his two cents in on the strike for baseball??? He was part owner of the Rangers, I dont know for sure, but does he have the authority to such a thing as stop the strike???

To me personally:

My hard earned money will go to the vets, homeless, and to NASCAR.

Other than that I get all bills paid and get my beer and smokes and give the rest to the "ole Lady: and pay what has to be done.

That dollar figure you gave I think is way out of wack, It is more than that, but to each his/her own.

But ---------IS THERE ANY END TO THESE ASTROMALICAL salieries that these players get?

I just hope that one of you VETS has a ticket to ball game for tomorrow 8/30/02. Cause one of these days that ticket will be worth a fortune.

There was a story on the CNN news yesterday about 157,000 kegs of beer that wasnt sold.

GO FIGURE THAT..,

enough ................ for now......

[reeb]

I hope you didnt get my post on the off side.

I have all kinds of respect for any and all vets that were in war.

I just dont think that the Gulf thing is anything near Nam.

I wasnt in the big ones WW1/WW2, but I did enlist instead of being drafted and done what I was told to do.

I cant say that I am sorry for doing what the service told me to do, but there are circumstances now a days that dont make any sense to me.

TOO MUCH High Tech going on now that the ones on the bottom get all the blame, but they are the main ones that run the officers cause the blame aint going to go to any officer now days. Like it did to Lt Calley.

Really hard for me to explain my opioion the way I want , cause I aint that smart,

I hope I didnt offend anyone on this site by saying what I said, but that is my thinking,

enough...........