UN SUMMIT MADNESS IN NEW YORK: TAXPAYERS BEWARE
By Eric S. Margolis
September 10, 2000
NEW YORK - `Get the f...' out of our way,' screamed a Secret Service
agent, as his monstrous black van, complete with whip antennas, blaring
horn, and flashing blue lights, ran my taxi off the road. The taxi driver
swore back at the Secret Service in pungent Bengali.
A third-rate, third-world despot was rushing to the UN's World Millennium
jamboree in midtown Manhattan. We mere peons had to make way for his
six-car cortege of the Juggernaut - or else. In the last van, three big,
crewcut security men, wearing de rigeur sunglasses, earphones, and secret
code lapel pins, glared at us menacingly through an open window, fingering
Uzi submachine guns.
A large sign warned New Yorkers: `Do Not Use the East Side.'
As a native-born Manhattanite, I muttered, `well, excuse me, world bigwigs,
for presuming to get into your sublime celestial path in my home town.'
Multiply this nasty little incident by 175, the number of VIP convoys
racing through Manhattan's congested streets 4-5 times daily, throw in a
big meeting of religious poobahs, a West Side conclave of 400
self-proclaimed great thinkers, 26,000 NYPD cops, Secret Service, State
Dept and UN Security men - over twice the number of combat soldiers in
Canada's army - 1,300 security and transport vehicles, countless TV crews
from around the globe, and you have the nightmare of UN Millennium Week in
New York.
Add in scores of cross streets and major avenues blocked off so foreign
grandees could whiz along at 70mph, just like Chairman Brezhnev used to do
through Moscow in his Chaika limo. Block just one intersection in Manhattan
and the whole island goes into gridlock. That's why street drilling and
utility work is done from midnight to 6am, to the delight of local
residents. Block 10% of Manhattan's streets, as was done this crazy week,
and traffic jams stretch to Boston.
Mobs of angry protestors made things worse: Chinese Falun Gong cultists
lost in weird trances; enraged Iranian marxists; pro-peace and anti-peace
Israelis insulting pro-peace and anti-peace American Jews; squabbling
Arabs; Cuban exiles fuming at Fidel; Pakistani cab drivers turned political
protestors; dejected Tibetans; bearded Kurds; ignored Kashmiris; Christian
wannabe crusaders denouncing Sudan; beefy lesbian storm troopers;
beer-bellied unionists; assorted anarchists and lots of befuddled
tourists caught up in this international maelstrom.
Meetings of world leaders have mushroomed in recent years from small,
informal affairs into ostentatious, lavish and utterly empty made-for-TV
extravaganza. You're not a true world leader if you don't show up at every
annual global gathering. That's something weary taxpayers should be
protesting.
A glitzy ad campaign assured New Yorkers the torture was all really
worthwhile since the UN meeting of 245 international VIPs would solve
poverty, war, disease, wife-beating, AIDS, dirty water, hunger, pollution,
racism, sexism, homophobia, drugs, and just about every other scourge
except for dreaded fat on hips and thighs(next year's agenda).
The five-minute speech each world leader was allowed to give(old showmen
Castro and Clinton ran longer), cost New York taxpayers $10 million in
police overtime, and turned the city into bedlam, making life hell for
anyone trying to get around town.
Still, it was uplifting to see world leaders, who flew in on their personal
jets, and roughed it in $10,000 per night suites, attended by armies of
fawning flunkies, actually take time off from urgent cocktail and dinner
parties to orate about the plight of the world's poor, a billion of whom
subsist on $1 daily.
India's PM, a self-proclaimed champion of Gandhian human rights, was even
due to bring his own chef, since high-caste Hindus will not eat food
touched by inferior castes.
General Musharraf, who runs impoverished Pakistan, caused a stir by staying
at an old, mid-priced commercial, hotel and bringing only 20 aides. What
chutzpah. Was he trying to embarrass other leaders?
Miscreant Americans felt the lash of Jean Chretien's tongue. Canada's
socialist prime minister, whose government owes $576 billion in debt,
scourged the US for being overdue in paying $1-1.7 billion in UN dues.
My heart went out to presidents and dictators from dinky countries, like
Vanuatu, the Maldives, or Equatorial Guinea. They got no respect, no
recognition, no hotel rooms, and no pix with Bill Clinton to show folks
back home. Many had to bunk in their UN missions, or with poor relatives
in the Bronx or Queens.
After watching this week's egofest and windbaggery, I wanted to cry out:
`Taxpayers of the world, unite! Throw off your chains! No imperial
trappings for our elected officials.'
Why should democratic leaders travel like maharajas? How dare Bill Clinton
block off half of New York so he can go visit the Metropolitan Museum,
attended by a retinue worthy of Kublai Khan? Why whack taxpayers for the
costs of this gigantic, phony, and utterly pointless photo-op? It costs
millions per mile to move the president and his entourage.
Heads of state should set an example of thrift and respect for public
money by flying economy class, standing in line, using public transport,
and staying in modest hotels. If they must chat, let them use phone or
fax. Ditto for the UN's pampered personnel, who fill New York's plushest
restaurants and pay no taxes for city services.
Stop wasting taxpayer's money on these silly summits. And while we're at
it, let's fire half the UN's pompous, do-nothing, long-lunching,
semi-comatose staff, and deport the rest of its zombies to low-rent New
Jersey.
Copyright Eric s. Margolis 2000
TRAVEL TIPS FROM FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT
The first of a series of occasional reviews and comments from this frequent
voyager who, unlike many writers on this subject, accepts no free trips or
meals, and thus is free to comment as he feels.
New York
Restaurants:
Picholine W 64th St. The city's most exciting up-and-comer. What French
call ` a serious restaurant.' Pleasing decor, good service, excellent wine
list. Bold gastronomy that produces exquisite food without the silly
multi-layer constructions favored by many a la mode eateries. Superb fish.
A bold menu that steers far away from the normal eatery fare. Expensive
but worth it. 3.5 stars out of 4.
John's Pizza Bleecker St. The quintessential village pizza joint, John's
has been making ethereal thin crust pizza since the dawn of time. I used
to eat here weekly when I lived in the Village. My last pizza was,
however, disappointing: too much bland sauce. The perfect pizza had gone
terribly wrong. I hope this was a glitch. 2 stars out of 4.
Deniz E 57th St. Turkey has one of the world's great cuisines, though it
is little-known in the west. Deniz tries hard: fresh, whole grilled fish,
moist and perfectly cooked, excellent mezes, or appetizers. But it's not
Turkey. 2 stars.
Massimo Thompson St. Another village regular, excellent Italian food,
traditional pastas, huge veal chops, good wine list, most satisfying. Try
their deep green, smoky olive oil on whole wheat bread. Divine. 3 stars.
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