Just added another blog to the ones I read way too much. The Diplomad. He's has been on the frontline of the whole tsunami thing and what he has to say about the UN is not pretty. The Diplomad is part of the State Department Republican Underground, which means he's trying to keep State honest, I guess. Good luck.
From today:
OK, now you see why I am worried. You can see how the BBC is finally beginning to understand that the US military is history's ultimate kick-ass machine. It can build roads in the middle of Nowherestan, while simultaneously keeping peace in Bosnia; fighting terrorists around the globe; waging war in Iraq; keeping the North Koreans bottled up; maintaining 12 aircraft carrier battlegroups; and flying massive relief operations in South and SE Asia that are caring for tens-of-thousands of people. In addition, the USA has the heavens full of spy and commo satellites; its robots patrolling the frozen wastes of Mars; begun building an anti-missile shield; and, working with the Aussies, been developing a Mach 10 "scram jet" -- and foisted Madonna on the Brits (A Dr. Evil laugh is permitted here!)
Check it out.
BTW, Dad was a diplomat for awhile. He prefered running up the Mekong on a Swiftboat. One of his jobs was doing endruns around the State Deptartment types so the Ambassador could actually communicate with who he wanted to communicate with, without State knowing what he was talking about. This involved one time pad codes that Dad would encrypt and then give to the State code guys to encrypt again. The State code guys just HATED that sort of thing. Dad loved it.