As I listen, it's another good UN Plaza diavlog. Kudos to Lee and his non-partisan perspective on UN funding. On the RNC platform, and UNCLOS, I know Bolton opposed it. Yet, I had read that the Bush administration supported UNCLOS because of American claims on Arctic oil, which are less expansive than Russia's or Canada's. The Bush administration I guess are apostates. The rest of the GOP must still believe that American military and diplomatic pressure is enough to secure ocean-based oil. The fear, that Cuba will claim Caribbean waters for its own rigs, must scare the "drill, drill, drill" crowd.

Another way fine effort by these two. Very informative: The nutz and boltz of the UN day-to-day madness. Thanks to both. EW

Thanks, M&M, for another fascinating hour. I particularly liked the discussion about the upcoming Security Council elections. It strikes me as a pity that Norway isn't contesting Turkey and Austria for the third seat western European seat, instead of Iceland, because it robs you of an opportunity to talk about the UN's TNA problem.

Hi -- The U.S. representative (that day it was the Deputy Perm Rep, Alejandro Wolff, who is civil service, not a political appointee like his boss for now, Khalilzad) pretty much took it, or "wouldn't dignify it." Afterwards at the stakeout, he continued non-commenting (and also when I asked him, he said U.S. has no position yet on Serbia's resolution seeking a Court ruling on Kosovo's independence). Six minute clip at
http://webcast.un.org/ramgen/ondeman.../so080828pm.rm Here's an unofficial transcript of some of what the Russian Ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, said in the Security Council chamber that day -- Churkin: "If here in our chamber today for the first time we had had aliens from outer space,I'm sure that having listened to our discussion he would have been filled with pride for the member of the Security Council, how consistently they champion the principles of international law. I must say I in particular liked the statement of the permanent representative of the United States, reminding the members of the Security Council that states in their activity must refrain from the use or the threat of the use of force. "And I would like to ask the distinguished rep of the United States, weapons

Matthew, Thank you for this additional fact. It's always good to see hypocrisy being denounced. It's a pity that these kinds of discussions, either the videos or transcripts aren't more widely published.
Thank you again for both the discussion and your post.

it's truly thrilling for me to watch un plaza. it's such a digestable, yet always rich and well-developed exchange. i'm inspired to spend a lot more time reading up on the subjects these guys call my attention to, whereas the un can tend to be something of an afterthought for me when consuming msm or even most alternative media coverage of international affairs. both of these guys are clearly so invested in what they believe the un could be. and, esp. in lee's case, far from skewing his presentation of events towards any particular political faction, it makes for a seemingly stellar integrity of reporting and analysis. deep gratitude to the participants and blogging heads.

Quoting InnerCityPress: Churkin: "If here in our chamber today for the first time we had had aliens from outer space

This one was too funny. Right up there with the UN / Zimbabwe "cease fire." High Comedy in High Places EW

Mark and Matt educate me every week. Much appreciated. As I type, the Ann Althouse chat has out-hit UN Plaza by a ratio of 27 to 1. The continued presence of UN Plaza in that kind of rating environment is a good reality check to those critics of Bob who claim he is most concerned with attracting visitors to the site. UN Plaza has consistently low ratings. Bob could easily fill the slot with a ranting right/left slugfest that would bring in a couple of thousand more viewers and commenters per week. He doesn't. Gee, it must be because he cares about quality and the views of the few posters who regularly praise the program. Put less kindly, he realizes that the information disseminated in UN Plaza is least 27 times more important than anything Althouse says.

Quoting Wonderment: UN Plaza has consistently low ratings. Bob could easily fill the slot with a ranting right/left slugfest that would bring in a couple of thousand more viewers and commenters per week. He doesn't. Gee, it must be because he cares about quality and the views of the few posters who regularly praise the program. Put less kindly, he realizes that the information disseminated in UN Plaza is least 27 times more important than anything Althouse says.

You've had it! I was feeling like that a couple of days ago. I guess we all have to go through this from time to time. I'm starting to experience nausea each time the AA word comes up. The SP word gives me tachycardia. I'm thinking that the animosity linked to the upcoming election is pervading everybody's disposition. This too shall pass...

wonderment, you make good points in your defense of bob. un plaza and science saturday are underappreciated and don't generate the buzz of the election discussions. but, i think a lot of that owes to the subject matter-- it's something that people are inherently more drawn to and interested in saying their piece on (although, it is undeniable that plenty of folks really do just love to lob potshots at argumentatively-challenged easy targets like althouse). for instance, i think the vibrant discussion amongst commenters on impeachment from the "palin fire" exchange is crying for an in-depth debate on the subject from two legal experts who've thoroughly researched the issue. or maybe that's just too costly at this point, i really don't know. in any case, acknowledging the uniquely wonderful aspects of this site and the devotion that shows on bob's part is important. i think the critique that the bulk of diavlogs are slanted towards more superficial analysis is still warranted, though. if something even approaching the quality of info and argumentation of un plaza and science sat. were applied to more of the general political head

Quoting Ocean: The SP word gives me tachycardia.

"SP"? "Sylvia Plath"? Honest, I get that "AA" stands for "Alcoholic Aunt Althouse," but I'm clueless about "SP." EW

Quoting Eastwest: "SP"?

"Sylvia Plath"?

Honest, I get that "AA" stands for "Alcoholic Aunt Althouse," but I'm clueless about "SP."

EW

Sarah P...

Quoting Ocean: Sarah P...

Oh! (EW slaps forehead) Of course! Thanks. Yeah, that particular temporary constellation of molecules should not even exist, much less be photographed or discussed. EW

Just to pile on. I agree, that UN and Sci Sat, is a great example of Bob's devotion to high quality. Contrary to claims that he is overly obsessed with pushing Obama. Matt, don't quit your day job. Your funny story isn't going to make Seinfeld nervous, anytime soon. But that said it was still a fascinating (and amusing) story and those kinds of inside baseball, behind-the-scenes stories are one of the things that we all love, so keep bringing them. You and Mark are always great. I rarely have much to say on UN vlogs because, frankly, alot of it is stuff that I have very little knowledge of and wouldn't be comfortable commenting on. But i always love the segments. Thanks Bob for keeping with this theme regardless (or irregardless...for Brendan) of ratings. UN coverage is one of the things that makes BHTV special. PS I really enjoyed the "election" coverage. For the record I hate Norway (just kidding.)

I just want to say thanks to everyone for your kind words--and for your constructive criticisms when I go astray. I really do appreciate it. I do have one request: I spend a lot of time thinking about topics and people that might make for interesting BHTV subjects and interviews. But just because I think it's interesting does not necessarily make it so! What sort of people/topics do you want to see covered in the weeks that I'm not talking to Matthew? I have the next few weeks covered, but I am always open to suggestions. The world is, literally (in the Biden-esque usage of the term), your oyster. Thanks! Mark

Hi Mark,

What sort of people/topics do you want to see covered in the weeks that I'm not talking to Matthew?

Thanks for asking! I'm very interested in 1) the small arms trade and 2) immigrant rights in the global context. Also, given member nations who discriminate, can the UN can make any progress on gay/lesbian rights?

I would second Wonderment's suggestions. I would add: 1. A balanced global approach - more Asia-Pacific and the Americas 2. Nuclear non-proliferation 3. Matt Lee talked about walking around with a camcorder. How about some live interviews? 4. Guest interviews with both Goldberg and Lee in the first chair. Thank you and Matt for a great feature!