Tag Archive for 'UN'

The 10 wackiest U.N. speeches ever

Published
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asianwindow
on October 14, 2009
in Leaders and Lists
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Krishna Menon

Krishna Menon

From Foreign Policy:

Indian Diplomat Filibusters Himself to (near) Death

Year: 1957

Quote: “The Security Council regards this as a dispute. It is not a dispute for territory. There is only one problem before you … that problem is the problem of aggression.”

Impact: With this epic filibuster during a debate on Kashmir, Indian U.N. envoy Krishna Menon holds the record for the longest speech in the history of the U.N. Security Council. In total it lasted over eight hours. Menon actually collapsed from exhaustion partway through and had to be hospitalized. He returned later and continued for another hour while a doctor monitored his blood pressure.

Others on the list: Castro, Krushchev, U.S. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge, Arafat, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Libyan Leader Muammar al-Qaddafi.

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De-mining Afghanistan

Published
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asianwindow
on April 2, 2008
in Afghanistan
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From The Globe And Mail:

Kandahar, Afghanistan: Noor Ahmad has one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. For 18 years, he’s prodded the earth centimetre by centimetre to rid his country of land mines, a scourge that has become more numerous in the time he’s been working. He’s seen an anti-personnel mine blow up in front of him and still bears the scars where his body wasn’t shielded by protective gear.

He presses on in spite of the dangers, working in the hot sun on the weekend to help clear the perimeter of a bombed-out weapons factory east of Kandahar, because he considers it “a kind of jihad.”

“If you protect the life of one person, then you will be rewarded as if you have protected all the world,” Mr. Ahmed said, citing a verse from the Koran.

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