25 Years Since the Massacre at Srebrenica

The world hasn’t learned a damn thing. Bosnia’s Srebrenica massacre 25 years on – in pictures.

On 11 July 1995, Bosnian Serb units captured the town of Srebrenica in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

In less than two weeks, their forces systematically murdered more than 8,000 Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims) – the worst act of mass killing on European soil since the end of World War Two.

For those of you who don’t know the history of the United Nations, that body was assembled at the end of World War II expressly to make sure that genocide never happened again. They have been a terrible failure.

Lightly-armed UN peacekeepers, in what had been declared a UN “safe area”, did nothing as the violence raged around them.

Former Secretary-General Kofi Annan later declared: “The tragedy of Srebrenica will forever haunt the history of the United Nations.”

This is why I call them the Useless Nitwits. They didn’t even try to stop the Massacre; the stood aside.

The pictures are disturbing. Serbia is denying that it was genocide.

And what have we learned? Srebrenica 25 years on: how the world lost its appetite to fight war crimes.

The Duty to Intervene is a policy that enshrined at the UN after Bosnia and Rwanda, but it was twisted in Libya into Regime Change in 2011. Which is very different. It will probably not be invoked again in my lifetime. And it shows.

China has incarcerated more than a million Muslim Uighurs and forced contraception, sterilisation and abortions on them.

They won’t even be called to account because NBA sneakers, and cheap smartphones are more important than human-rights. Especially if the humans whose rights are being violated are way far away from the Liberal enclaves on the coasts.

Turns Out Electric Car Batteries Aren’t Made From Unicorn Farts

Can it be that current battery technology is hard on the environment? UN highlights urgent need to tackle impact of likely electric car battery production boom.

I’m not sure why the article is accompanied by a photo of a stripping-shovel in a Brazilian coal mine; I guess it is supposed to represent ecological devastation.

So it turns out that the materials needed for your electric car’s battery have some problems.

For example, two-thirds of all cobalt production happens in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). According the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), about 20 per cent of cobalt supplied from the DRC comes from artisanal mines, where human rights abuses have been reported, and up to 40,000 children work in extremely dangerous conditions in the mines for meagre income.

And in Chile, lithium mining uses nearly 65% of the water in the country’s Salar de Atamaca region, one of the driest desert areas in the world, to pump out brines from drilled wells. This has forced local quinoa farmers and llama herders to migrate and abandon ancestral settlements. It has also contributed to environment degradation, landscape damage and soil contamination, groundwater depletion and pollution.

But the good folks driving electric cars can feel secure in knowing that when they drive their vehicle, they foisted all those problems on people far away; people that they don’t need to worry about. Or something. (Hat tip to Not a Lot of People Know That.)

UN Warns of Disaster… in 2000, due to Global Warming

The article is from June of 1989. U.N. Predicts Disaster if Global Warming Not Checked. This was before Global Warming morphed into Climate Change.

A senior U.N. environmental official says entire nations could be wiped off the face of the Earth by rising sea levels if the global warming trend is not reversed by the year 2000.

Coastal flooding and crop failures would create an exodus of ″eco- refugees,′ ′ threatening political chaos, said Noel Brown, director of the New York office of the U.N. Environment Program, or UNEP.

He said governments have a 10-year window of opportunity to solve the greenhouse effect before it goes beyond human control.

So either, it is beyond our control, and we should just start the party while we wait, or the geniuses that run the Global Warming Climate Change scam should admit that they are not able to predict the future. (Hat tip to Intellectual Froglegs.)

UN Publishes Blacklist of Companies to Boycott

Why are we still part of this disaster? UN blacklist crushes cooperation that actually boosts Israeli-Palestinian ties.

If you have doubts about whether or not the UN is actually antisemitic, consider the following.

In 2018, while the Bashar al-Assad regime was gassing its own women and children, and thousands of civilians were dying in a vicious civil war, the council passed only two condemnations directed at the Syrian regime — but five directed at the Jewish state. Incidentally, Israel was delivering aid to refugees of that conflict at the time.

Useless Nitwits.

Media Bias? What Media Bias?

And there’s no UN bias either. Or something. Retractions issued after media cites UN expert who accredited statistic to Trump admin.

The statistics in question were of migrant-child detention numbers. A U.N. expert for the Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty claimed the Trump administration detained nearly 100,000 migrant children. However, the following day, Nowak, issued a correction to his statement saying the 100,000 figure was from 2015, during the Obama administration.

Because they couldn’t wait to jump on the Trump administration… But it’s funny how when these detentions were actually going on (in 2015) it wasn’t a news item. I guess Democrats get a pass on everything.

And as usual, the Babylon Bee has an interesting take on the, “Sorry, this was 2015” kerfuffle.

Ratko Mladic Guilty of Genocide

People don’t even remember the war in Bosnia, let alone the people who were responsible for the atrocities. Ex-Bosnian Serb commander Mladic convicted of genocide, gets life in prison.

Both Republican (Bush the Elder) and Democratic (WJ Clinton) administrations ignored the war in Bosnia, even though it was waging only a couple of hundred miles from Germany. Or so. But then people don’t remember how World War One got started.

The U.N. Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia found Mladic guilty of 10 of 11 charges, including the slaughter of 8,000 Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica and the siege of the Bosnian capital Sarajevo, in which more than 10,000 civilians were killed by shelling and sniper fire over 43 months.

As for the United Nations, their role in Srebrenica has been white-washed.

The Dutch peacekeepers looked on helplessly as Serb forces separated men and boys from women, then sent them out of sight on buses or marched them away to be shot.

The UN Peacekeepers put up no resistance when confronted by Serbs. And stationing UN “troops” in Srebrenica was just stationing a supply depot for the Serbs.

It is hard to learn the lessons of history, if no one studies history. And no one remembers Srebrenica.

The UN Acting More Like a Criminal Organization Every Year

Why are we still in this organization? Asylum for sale: Refugees say some U.N. workers demand bribes for resettlement.

In separate interviews, more than a dozen other refugees said [UNHCR resettlement officer, David] Momanyi was known for taking bribes. One described the Kenyan as “the architect of corruption and refugee resettlement problems.”

And it isn’t just one guy, of course.

The allegations of corruption at the UNHCR are not limited to one man or one place. A seven-month investigation across five countries with significant refugee populations has found widespread reports of the UNHCR’s staff members exploiting refugees, while victims and staff members who report wrongdoing say the agency fails to act against corruption, leaving them vulnerable to intimidation and retaliation.

I usually call them the Useless Nitwits at the United Nations, but this is worse than just being incompetent.

I Bet You Didn’t Know US Taxpayers Underwrite Shipping From China

Because a 144 years ago, conditions were different. Trump launches process to quit 144-year-old postal treaty.

I would love to blame this on the Useless Nitwits at the Untied Nations, but they just took over the postal treaty.

Lower rates are designed to help poorer countries manage the costs.

But the White House said China – a major global exporter – is now the biggest beneficiary of that system

The BBC is not, quite, in full-fledged pearl-clutching mode with this article. (I wish they were.) But it is hard to paint a system that gives the worlds 2nd biggest economy a boost as fair. Giving a boost to truly poor countries I could see doing. But in typical UN fashion, there doesn’t seem to have been much effort to rationalize the rates, even though in theory they can be changed every 4 years. (I mean be fair. It’s only the US taxpayer, and what do the bureaucrats at the UN care about them?)

The Italians are Cheesed Off

Which is to say that they are not happy with the UN. Over cheese and ham. Agriculture minister says Italian ham and Parmesan ‘under attack’ from UN plan to reduce salt intake.

Because the Useless Nitwits at the UN apparently have ended hunger, and war, and famine (at least if you don’t look to closely at the People’s Republic of Venezuela), and so they are going on to telling you what you should eat. And the Italians aren’t too happy about it.

Proposals related to warning labels on unhealthy food mooted in a recent WHO report are set to be discussed at a meeting in New York in September.

The report did not mention any specific food products by name but the respected Italian business newspaper Sole 24 Ore set off a furore by reporting that the UN agency could target Parmesan cheese and ham from Parma as well as pizza, wine and even extra-virgin olive oil.

The UN was chartered to ensure that genocide was never perpetrated again, and yet despite failing miserably at that mandate they are now going to control your diet. And that doesn’t even begin to cover the raft of sex-scandals wherever peacekeepers show up, and occasionally where other staff and NGOs show up. To “do good.” Only they victimize already victimized people.

The Useless Nitwits at the UN Don’t Care About Sex Abuse

If they did, it would not be such a problem for so long. United Nations knew for over a decade about sex-for-food scandal | Daily Mail Online

The United Nations knew of charity workers offering refugees food in exchange for sexual favours for more than a decade, it has been revealed.

An 84-page report on ‘food-for-sex’ practices in West African refugee camps was compiled and handed over to the UN in 2002, but was never published.

It was never published because a group of unaccountable bureaucrats don’t have to answer to YOU. Or anyone for that matter.

It claims that workers at more than 40 aid organisations, of which 15 are major international charities including Save the Children and Médecins Sans Frontières, sexually exploited young refugees.

If you wanted some of the more nutritious food in some of the camps, then you had to arrange for sex with some of the charity staff, or they would watch you starve.

So is it charity or blackmail? And will anyone be held accountable? (My guess is that not one person at a charity or at the UN will pay any price for this behavior.)

The UN Still Hasn’t Gotten “Sexual Misconduct” Under Control

In the case of the Useless Nitwits at the UN, that is bureaucratic weasel-wording for “peacekeepers, employees, etc. having sex with children.”UN received 54 allegations of sexual misconduct in 3 months | Fox News

U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters Tuesday that 14 allegations involved U.N. peacekeeping operations, 18 involved U.N. agencies, funds and programs, and 21 related to partner organizations. One allegation involved a member of a non-U.N. international force, he said.

Haq said the allegations involve 66 victims including 13 girls under the age of 18. The ages of 16 victims were unknown.

And while we’re on the subject of bureaucratic weasel-wording, that doesn’t say that the limit of the problem is 54. It says they can’t ignore 54 allegations.

The Useless Nitwits don’t have a very good track record on this score.

The UN Isn’t The Only Organization Screwing Haiti

It seems that Oxfam is also harboring a bunch of perverts. UK official warns Oxfam to hand over all info on sex case | Fox News

Oxfam has denied that it tried to cover up the use of prostitutes by some of its staff in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake there. Still, suggestions that it failed to give full details about the case to regulators and donors has touched off outrage in Britain.

So are all these feel-good programs making the world a better place, or just exploiting people who are poor and desperate? And why is the UK government giving tax money to a non-profit? Do they have so much extra in tax revenue? (Here I thought they were considering a tax increase to try and fix the problems with their health care system.)

The Useless Nitwits at the UN: Still Making Bad Situations Worse

Because what does a war-torn, disease-ravaged country need besides hazardous waste? UN support for cholera-stricken Somalia includes raw sewage runoffs, hazardous waste dumps | Fox News

Usually it’s the blue-helmeted “peacekeepers,” but not this time.

The main difference this time: the accusations are leveled not at a major force of blue-helmeted U.N. peacekeepers but at a 595-person U.N. mission known as UNSOS, providing infrastructure and field support—including safe disposal of sewage and waste– to some 30,000 or so African Union and Somali National Army forces that are battling Islamist Al Shabaab extremists and struggling to create order in one of the world’s most dangerous countries.

The auditor’s report said it would not be hard to figure out if there was a sanitary/environmental “mistake” the UN folks hadn’t made.

Non-treatment of sewage, not even proper pit latrines. Stockpiles of toxic waste including tires, electrical equipment, etc. The list of things done wrong is staggering. (Though they have communications – in the form of propaganda posters – to tell everyone what a great job is happening.

Somalia is struggling with cholera and other diseases. (50% of the population has no sanitation.) And the UN was supposed to make things better, but the UN is pretty much incapable of making anything better. Useless Nitwits doesn’t cover it.

Useless Nitwits at the UN – Peacekeepers Still Running Amok

I haven’t had a story about the UN in a long time. Not because they started being responsible. U.N. fails to stem rapes by peacekeepers in Central African Republic

BANGUI, Central African Republic — The United Nations became embroiled in one of its worst scandals in 2014 when shocking allegations surfaced that U.N. peacekeepers were raping women and children in this impoverished, war-battered nation.

Today, blue-helmeted soldiers and U.N. staff still rape with impunity despite pledges by U.N. leaders to end the abuses, victims allege.

So the UN made a lot of promises, and appointed some staff. And “some progress” has been made. But the problem hasn’t gone away. Not by a long shot.

the U.N.’s own watchdog said in a June report that while progress has been made, much improvement is needed, including recording complaints and following up on accusations.

Human rights groups dispute claims of fewer assaults, saying the U.N. still does not have an accurate account of abuse victims.

The penalty for getting caught? Soldiers are sent home. (Is that a punishment?) Civilians can be tried locally, but aren’t much. UN records show that only one civilian was “sanctioned” by having a contract terminated in the period 2015-2017. That’ll teach ’em.

Hat tip to Baldilocks (who has much more on the history of UN Peacekeepers raping) If You Live In a Feceshole, the UN Will Make It Worse.

Useless Nitwits At the UN Still Can’t Stop Sexual Abuse by Peacekeepers or Staff

This is nothing new. UN reports 31 new allegations of sex abuse and exploitation

The U.N. says there are 31 new allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation against U.N. peacekeepers and civilians working for U.N. agencies during the three-month period from July through September.

31 allegations during a 3 month period. And probably more not reported.

Like I said, this is not a new problem from the UN. It goes back at least as far as 2010, and probably a lot farther.

The current Secretary-General is “saddened” that this continues.

According to figures from the international organization, there were 80 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse involving U.N. peacekeepers and 65 allegations involving U.N. civilian staff in 2016.

I am SO tempted to file this under “Your Tax Dollars at Work” because we still support this institution.

Useless Nitwits at UN Run Child Sex Ring

Not the first insanity of UN Peacekeepers. UN Peacekeepers in Haiti Ran Child Sex Ring for Elite Pedophiles | Neon Nettle

From 2004 to 2007, 134 peacekeepers from Sri Lanka operated a child sex ring, luring children on the poverty-stricken island with candy and bits of cash, according to the AP. After a U.N. report incriminated them, most were sent home, but none faced jail time.

Say it again. None faced jail time.

Useless Nitwits: UN Peacekeepers Stand Around While Women Get Raped

You do know that the US pays a HUGE membership fee to the UN, don’t you? Your tax dollars at work. UN peacekeepers sat around and watched women get raped | New York Post

On July 17, two armed soldiers in uniform dragged away a woman who was less than a few hundred meters (yards) from the U.N. camp’s western gate while armed peacekeepers on foot, in an armored vehicle and in a watchtower looked on. One witness estimated that 30 peacekeepers from Nepalese and Chinese battalions saw the incident.

“They were seeing it. Everyone was seeing it,” he said. “The woman was seriously screaming, quarreling and crying also, but there was no help. She was crying for help.” He and other witnesses interviewed insisted on speaking on condition of anonymity because they feared reprisals by soldiers if identified.

UN peacekeepers are supposed to do something, but apparently rape just isn’t important enough to get their hands dirty for.

Civilian leaders in the U.N. camp have given estimates ranging from 27 to over 70 rapes from the time that women started venturing out for food. The United Nations says it received reports of dozens of cases. A South Sudanese rights group, the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, said it is investigating 36 reported rapes.

Can we stop supporting this organization now? Or can we at least insist that they get off their asses and do something constructive for a change?

Biofuels Worse Than the Regular Kind

The UN finally admits it. I think it will take the US government (and its pals in the grain/ethanol industry) a while to let go. Biofuels do more harm than good, UN warns – Telegraph.

A leaked draft of a UN report condemns the widespread use of biofuels made from crops as a replacement for petrol and diesel. It says that biofuels, rather than combating the effects of global warming, could make them worse.

Deforestation. Higher food prices (and maybe some malnutrition in parts of the world). Not good things.

It Is a Good Thing Obama Got the Nobel Peace Prize Early

I don’t think anyone would give it to him today. UN Says US Drones Violate Pakistan's Sovereignty : NPR.

President Barack Obama has stepped up covert CIA drone strikes targeting al-Qaida and Taliban militants in Pakistan’s tribal region along the Afghan border since he took office in 2009.

This fact – the increased drone strikes – has the Useless Nitwits at the UN and the Pakistani government in a fit.

Emmerson, the U.N. investigator, came away with a black and white view after his meetings with Pakistani officials.

“The position of the government of Pakistan is quite clear,” said Emmerson. “It does not consent to the use of drones by the United States on its territory and it considers this to be a violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

So it is good that they gave Obama the Peace Prize when they did. I don’t think they would be cheering the guy who bombed Libya, or increased the use of drones for killing, or in general didn’t do all the things they expected of him.