Getting the band back together
3:05pm
Today sees the launch of an intriguing new international group, The Elders. It is a collection of aging, diplomatic all-stars who will join forces to push issues up the international agenda. The cast is pretty stellar: Nelson Mandela and his wife, Desmond Tutu, Kofi Annan, Jimmy Carter, Muhammad Yunus et al.
The whole idea makes sense--even if the current crew do rather run the risk of group think--as at the same time that people are living longer, political leaders are getting younger. It would be foolish to let their expertise and knowledge go to waste once they’ve left office.
At the very least, this new club will give our recently departed PM something to aspire to in retirement.
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hogarth zombie
July 18th, 2007 3:31pm Report this commentWell, Genesis and Pink Floyd have re-formed. Even Take That...
AcidDrip
July 18th, 2007 7:43pm Report this commentI vote for Mrs Thatcher to get a place in the "All Stars" for a bit of balance.. I mean the only women in there is Winnie 'Flamin' Mandella!!
M. Fernandez
July 18th, 2007 8:41pm Report this commentBit left wing, aren't they? Apparently, the GOOD do die young!
James Forsyth
July 18th, 2007 8:56pm Report this commentAcid drip, it's not Winnie but Mandela's currrent wife Graca Machel.
Hume was Right
July 18th, 2007 9:18pm Report this commentLooks like clapped out has-beens in the main, with Mandela to lend some legitimacy. Don't you remember what Jimmy Carter was like as president? A complete disaster. And Mary Robinson didn't do Human Rights any favours at the UN.
George Steiner, Lachine, Quebec, Canada
July 18th, 2007 11:18pm Report this commentSo it is a good idea eh Mr. Forsyth? Let's have a look at the cast of characters.
Kofi Boy Annan: in any other age would have been executed for the responsibility of the the murder of about a million Tutsis. This matters not for Mr. Short Memory Forsyth for these were just some blacks and not the ever so peaceful and valuable Muslims. The Kofi Boy also presided over one of the most corrupt and ineffectual UN operation if such a thing is possible.
Peanut Carter: unarguably the most ineffective and incompetent US president in recent history. By abandoning the Shah, gave us the Mullahs. Was a great admirer of the unlamented Arafat. Most recent accomplishment is a book, sponsored by the Arab money to the Carter Foundation to show just how awful Israel is.
Desmond Tutu: a self promoting clerical nonentity who is only there because he is black and has a big mouth.
Nelson Mandela: became famous for stoically surviving some twenty years in jail and promoting reconciliation between blacks and whites. Once in power he lost his way. Made friends with the worst terrorists and dictators,such as Ghadaffy and Arafat mainly because they where Arabs. Today his legacy is a country with a life expectancy of about 40 years and an unemployment of about 25%. For the intellectual colossus of a Mr. Forsyth this is a recommendation enough for saving the world.
Muhammad Yunus: I have no idea who he is but he must be the token moderate Muslim.
The world will be in good hands.
M. Fernandez
July 19th, 2007 7:37am Report this commentIt only gets worse! As Mark Steyn calls them, "The Teen Titans to the council of elders’ Superfriends". From the CincyPost: "Martin Luther King III is, today and tomorrow, hosting the sons and daughters of world leaders for global peace initiatives. But these are not the sons and daughters of just any world leaders. They are sons and daughters of men who risked everything, including their lives, for the cause of non-violence in the world. Their descendants have decided - collectively - to hold aloft the torch of peace lit by their parents. In the shorthand of communications, they are called the "Gen II Peace Team." Who are they..? Christine Chavez-Delgado, granddaughter of Cesar Chavez, the tireless leader for labor justice… Arun Gandhi, grandson of the legendary spiritual leader Mohandas Gandhi... Kerry Kennedy, daughter of Robert and Ethel Kennedy… Justin Trudeau, son of former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau… It is the intention of the Gen II Peace Team to build on the cumulative moral authority of their parents and grandparents to focus the current generation on non-violent ways to solve problems that now seem insoluble… Tonight there will be a dinner. Tomorrow, a morning group discussion of peace initiatives at the House of Lords." http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070716/LIFE03/707160342/1008/LIFE
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