Back at work and fighting 2 ear infections…uhg. I’m trying to re-focus here at work but of course it’s a little tough coming down off of the high of the last week. Its pretty much impossible to really sum up what I learned this week…..I tried to keep up daily blog posts but the days were too packed and I was too sick to do a good job at it. I have notebooks full of notes so I guess if anyone is truly interested in my day-to-day in Geneva they can let me know….but every day there was packed with really interesting discussions and we met with some wildly impressive people – the US Ambassador to the UN was NOT one of them!!!! (I cant even get started on that one, I’m still pissed about him and I don’t know why I’m surprised as that’s how Bush rolls – appoint someone to represent our nation at the fucking United Nations with NO foreign policy experience but its all OK b/c he’s a rich media pal from Texas).
We met the UN Ambassador from China which was a very cool experience – he was about 100 times more warm and hospitable than our own government’s representatives’ were though after having been to China I expected such treatment. He did the diplomatic duty of dancing around hard issues such as Tibet, pollution, and free speech, though I was surprised that he actually came out and said to us his government “is not doing enough and should be doing more” regarding human rights….that in itself was a huge statement and really interesting he said it in such a public forum.
I’ll post some pics here and on Flikr as soon as I get them uploaded……
Overall I really walked away from this program with more questions than answers, but even given that, I learned more in a week – about a LOT of things – than I probably did in one semester of college….then again thanks to my ear infection I was forced to stay sober and go to bed early most nights so that may have had an impact (I should have gotten more ear infection on college, maybe it wouldn’t have taken me until 30 to figure out that I like this stuff so much).
My questions are both academic and general in nature and most I wont answer any time soon if ever….what is the best way to implement and maintain a “global governance” in this age of globalization?
If I choose to personally boycott all clothes made from Bangladesh b/c of the labor standards there, am I really just hurting their economy and therefore the people I’m trying to help?
Can the UN really be impactful without the support of the US?
What will it take for developed countries to see that the lack of support for developing nations will ultimately hurt us all?
What will it take to get anyone to take climate change seriously?
How can we really promote the idea that Americans have freedom of information and choice when Al Jazeera is not allowed on US airwaves?
How will we ever know our media is telling us the truth when they’re all owned by 3 major corporations and set up to turn a profit?
What can the world really do about situations like Zimbabwe?
What can be done about the Farm lobby in the US and an end to subsidies that are harmful to our own economy as well as that of developing nations?
I could go on.
Someone get me an US Weekly, fast.
