The UN is dead!
The organization operates as an arm of our de facto executive in Washington or not at all, and this week it physically, if not formally, handed over its responsibilities to the White House when it gave its occupants the only copy of Iraq's response to the Security Council declaration. Huh? The world will never see that full text again, especially since much of what it contains is obviously such an embarassment, and not just to the U.S.
The League of Nations was done in by the fascists in the twenties and thirties, its successor by American corporate imperialists in the aughts. I'm actually surprised we took so long.
Long live the EU!
Is it impossible to imagine replacing the concept of a League of, or a United, Nations with a world society formed voluntarily by emulation of, if not a real lust for physical intimacy with, the mature, very attractive and successful culture, polity and economy represented by the European Union? I can imagine that, as an alternative to the U.S. alone, we might eventually see the concept of "Europe" erase its association with geography and history and become a model, if not a magnet, for diverse peoples around the world. It's not perfect, but the European federal approach currently has no real competition in a world which resists American imperialism.
As a nation, if not as a society, the U.S. doesn't seem to be able to anything very well just now (except weaponry and the commercial marketing of popular culture), and this isn't hard to see if you take a serious look around. We're living off capital at the moment. But regardless of how good or bad we may think we look to ourselves, we just don't look that good any more to people on the outside, and we're looking worse every day. Most alarming is the fact that even Americans who see this clearly, just don't give a damn, or they are convinced that nothing can change it. I think the world sees this.
Damn! It should have worked. We had it all, and it looks like we really fucked it up. It's all very sad.