It doesn’t do wonders for my conservative creds on this issue, but in the battle for Kosovo one learns to not be picky. From a Serbian TV news report.
Famous Hollywood actor, activist and campaigner George Clooney in a statement to the Frankfurt daily News announced he intends to organize a protest with his colleagues against the unilateral declaration of independence of Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohija.
“With my coworker and friend Sharon Stone and her childhood friends of Serbian ancestry, I’ll soon organize a protest against the attempts to grant independence to Kosovo,” the popular American actor said.…“I strive to use my popularity to help the mankind, to contribute to solving the number of problems afflicting today’s world,” he said.
This is a surprising breath of fresh air, to be sure, and I’ll take it; fame helps. But as I’ve been saying to all the welcome naysayers coming out of the woodwork only now: Thanks for waiting ’til the 11th hour, when we’ve had 9 years to make this not happen.
And consideri
ng his anti-war creds, one is also left wondering where Clooney’s protest was in 1999 when America was bombing Yugoslavian children in their beds. Oh yeah — to quote Janeane Garofolo: protesting Clinton’s wars “wasn’t hip.”
Still, better late than never. And better Clooney-Stone than no one.
Though I should remind George that he’ll only anger the Muslims by doing the right thing — something he faults America for rather frequently. In Kosovo, he has swapped places with his nemesis on this, the other George. George Bush — whom Clooney credits with creating “thousands more bin Ladens” every time we fight back. Well Clooney will be “creating” a few thousand of them in Greater Albania by fighting back. That’s just how it works.
Here is an important detail from the same report which, I think, reveals something fairly huge:
According to the AP, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon designated George Clooney as a U.N. “messenger of peace” Friday, January 18, 2008. He will become the ninth U.N. peace envoy.
While many U.N. agencies have goodwill ambassadors to promote activities ranging from helping children and refugees to promoting human rights, “messengers of peace” are selected by the secretary-general to promote the broader work of the United Nations.
U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said Clooney was recognized “for focusing public attention on crucial international political and social issues.”
As a messenger of peace, he will have “a special focus on United Nations peacekeeping,” Montas said.
The revelation: Clooney is taking a stand against Kosovo independence at the same time that he has been hand-picked to represent the UN on “crucial international political issues.” This makes Ban Ki-moon’s unstated position on Kosovo abundantly clear — and he reveals it in a backhanded way, through the actions of George Clooney.
Clearly, while NGOs and Western governments have been trying to ram independence through, the UN entities at work in Kosovo have been sending distress signals to headquarters, and flashing a red light.
Is it possible that, for the first time in its pathetic, futile and counterproductive existence, the UN could save the day?
Famous Hollywood actor, activist and campaigner George Clooney in a statement to the Frankfurt daily News announced he intends to organize a protest with his colleagues against the unilateral declaration of independence of Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohija.
“With my coworker and friend Sharon Stone and her childhood friends of Serbian ancestry, I’ll soon organize a protest against the attempts to grant independence to Kosovo,” the popular American actor said.…“I strive to use my popularity to help the mankind, to contribute to solving the number of problems afflicting today’s world,” he said.
This is a surprising breath of fresh air, to be sure, and I’ll take it; fame helps. But as I’ve been saying to all the welcome naysayers coming out of the woodwork only now: Thanks for waiting ’til the 11th hour, when we’ve had 9 years to make this not happen.
And consideri
ng his anti-war creds, one is also left wondering where Clooney’s protest was in 1999 when America was bombing Yugoslavian children in their beds. Oh yeah — to quote Janeane Garofolo: protesting Clinton’s wars “wasn’t hip.”Still, better late than never. And better Clooney-Stone than no one.
Though I should remind George that he’ll only anger the Muslims by doing the right thing — something he faults America for rather frequently. In Kosovo, he has swapped places with his nemesis on this, the other George. George Bush — whom Clooney credits with creating “thousands more bin Ladens” every time we fight back. Well Clooney will be “creating” a few thousand of them in Greater Albania by fighting back. That’s just how it works.
Here is an important detail from the same report which, I think, reveals something fairly huge:
According to the AP, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon designated George Clooney as a U.N. “messenger of peace” Friday, January 18, 2008. He will become the ninth U.N. peace envoy.
While many U.N. agencies have goodwill ambassadors to promote activities ranging from helping children and refugees to promoting human rights, “messengers of peace” are selected by the secretary-general to promote the broader work of the United Nations.
U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said Clooney was recognized “for focusing public attention on crucial international political and social issues.”
As a messenger of peace, he will have “a special focus on United Nations peacekeeping,” Montas said.
The revelation: Clooney is taking a stand against Kosovo independence at the same time that he has been hand-picked to represent the UN on “crucial international political issues.” This makes Ban Ki-moon’s unstated position on Kosovo abundantly clear — and he reveals it in a backhanded way, through the actions of George Clooney.
Clearly, while NGOs and Western governments have been trying to ram independence through, the UN entities at work in Kosovo have been sending distress signals to headquarters, and flashing a red light.
Is it possible that, for the first time in its pathetic, futile and counterproductive existence, the UN could save the day?
It’s worth recalling that the UN never did, after all, approve Clinton’s war in the first place.
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