"The United Nations Security Council on Monday approved President Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, a breakthrough that provides a legal U.N. mandate..."

"... for the administration’s vision of how to move past the cease-fire and rebuild the war-ravaged Gaza Strip after two years of war. The Council’s vote was also a major diplomatic victory for the Trump administration. For the past two years, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas has raged, the United States had been isolated at the United Nations over its staunch support for Israel. The U.S. resolution calls for an International Stabilization Force to enter, demilitarize and govern Gaza."

The NYT reports excellent news.

Why was this allowed to happen?

19-year-old Violet Affleck gives a mask-muffled harangue at the U.N.

From the New York Post editorial about it: "At the UN’s Healthy Indoor Air session Tuesday, Violet Affleck — just 19 and with no qualification beyond being the daughter of actors Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner — railed about the dangers of airborne viruses and the importance of mask mandates amid the 'ongoing pandemic.' 'Adults,' she huffed (through a KN95 mask), are 'ignoring, downplaying and concealing both the prevalence of airborne transmission and the threat of Long COVID.'"

Yes, adults are reckless and dimwitted about a lot of things, but the obvious one here is that teenagers, especially ones who seem hysterical, should not be put in the public spotlight. You might think your little girl is the new Greta Thunberg, but keep it to yourself. Don't push her out onto the stage to emote in the "How dare you!" mode.

And if the left wants some kind of "believe the science" high ground, don't keep sending children and teenagers out to lecture us. 

"Secret Service to investigate whether Trump was sabotaged by UN staff/First the escalator broke down when Melania Trump stepped on it..."

"... then the president’s teleprompter stopped working. Were the glitches intentional acts of protest?"

That's the headline at the London Times.

The investigation comes after The Sunday Times reported that UN workers joked about turning off an escalator before the general assembly meeting. On Tuesday, an escalator broke down as Melania Trump, the first lady, stepped onto it.

It was one of several glitches that raised suspicions about whether Trump was targeted by people inside the institution he has so strongly criticised.

From that internal link, which goes to a Times article published 2 days before Trump's visit: "To mark Trump’s arrival, UN staff members have joked that they may turn off the escalators and elevators and simply tell him they ran out of money, so he has to walk up the stairs."

At least the inside job (if any) is at the clown show level. 

"How are you? Guess what, I’m waiting in the street because everything is closed for you," said French president Macron telephoning Donald Trump from a street in New York City.

Quoted in "France’s Emmanuel Macron calls Trump for help as he’s forced to walk through NYC to avoid UN traffic" (NY Post).

Bizarre video showed the European leader begging an NYPD cop to help him get through on Monday, soon after he finished giving a controversial speech to the United Nations.... The French leader was then forced to make the next 30 minutes of his journey on foot through the streets of Manhattan.... Macron appeared to take the potential diplomatic incident in stride, smiling and posing for pictures with gawking passersby.

"I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran: If you strike us we will strike you."

"There is no place in Iran that long arm of Israel cannot reach, and that is true of the entire Middle East.”

Said Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking to the U.N., quoted in "Netanyahu Gives No Ground in Address at U.N./The Israeli leader made no mention of moving toward cease-fires in Lebanon, where conflict with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia has spiraled, or in Gaza" (NYT).

He also criticized the U.N. itself as a “swamp of antisemitic bile” and said its members concern for Gaza was motivated not by humanitarianism but by dislike of Jews.

“It’s not about Gaza,” he said of criticism over the last year of his government’s handling of the war. “It’s about Israel. It has always been about Israel. About Israel’s very existence.”

"Our task, our test is to make sure that the forces holding us together are stronger than those that are pulling us apart."

"I truly believe we’re in another inflection point of world history. For the choices we make today will determine our future for decades to come."

Said Biden this morning, addressing the United Nations. That's the only quote I have at the moment. It's not something I went looking for, in some hare-brained quest for banality. That's what the NYT highlighted.

ADDED: Here is the full text of the speech. Video:

"The United Nations on Friday fired 12 of its employees in Gaza and began an investigation of them after charges by Israel that they had helped plan and participated in the Oct. 7 terrorist assault...."

"The workers, all men and all employed by the U.N. agency that aids Palestinians and known by the acronym UNRWA, are subject to a criminal investigation, two U.N. officials said. A U.N. official, briefed on the accusations, called the allegations 'extremely serious and horrific.'... UNWRA has been the principal agency overseeing the distribution of aid to Gazans amid a growing humanitarian crisis resulting from the war launched in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack...."

From "U.N. Aid Agency Investigates Claim That Some Workers Were Involved in Oct. 7 Attack/The United States temporarily cut off aid to UNRWA, the agency that aids Palestinians, citing allegations that 12 of its workers were involved in the Hamas-led assault" (NYT).

"Russia wants to turn Ukrainians into silent slaves..... They steal everything from food to gold earrings they just rip out with blood."

"We are dealing with a state that turns the right of veto in the UN Security Council into a right to kill. Which undermines the whole architecture of global security. Which allows evil to go unpunished and spread the world. Destroying everything that can work for peace and security. If this continues, the finale will be that each state will rely only on the power of arms to ensure its security, not on international law, not on international institutions. Then, the UN can simply be dissolved. Ladies and Gentlemen! Are you ready for the dissolving of the UN? Do you think that the time of international law has passed? If your answer is no, you need to act now, act immediately... If you do not know how to adopt this decision, you can do two things. Remove Russia as an aggressor and a source of war from blocking decisions about its own aggression, its own war. And then do everything that can establish peace. Or show how you can reformat and really work for peace. Or if your current format is unalterable and there is simply no way out, then the only option would be to dissolve yourself altogether." 

From the official translation of Zelensky's speech yesterday to the UN Security Council.

ADDED: Here's the WaPo article on the subject, including the response from Russian U.N. ambassador:

“We place on your conscience the ungrounded accusations against the Russian military, which are not confirmed by any eyewitnesses.” 

Russia’s goal in Ukraine, he said, was “not to conquer lands” but to bring “peace to the blood-soaked land of Donbas,” the largely Russian-speaking eastern Ukrainian region where Russian troops and mercenaries have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014. “We need to root out the cruelty, cut out the malignant Nazi tumor,” Nebenzya said. “We will achieve that goal.”

"Russia did not show up for a hearing at the United Nations’ top court on Monday, effectively boycotting Ukrainian efforts to seek an immediate end to the fighting."

"The proceedings in front of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, went ahead without Russia’s presence. The case centers on Russia’s official explanation for its invasion of Ukraine, which President Vladimir Putin has said is supposed to lead to the 'denazification' of Ukraine and end a 'genocide' in eastern Ukraine.... Ukraine seeks an emergency order that would require Russia to halt its invasion. Both countries have signed the 1948 treaty on the prevention of genocide, and Russia would in theory be mandated to follow the court decision.... [O]ne of its long-time lawyers, Alain Pellet, resigned last week, writing in an open letter that it 'has become impossible to represent in forums dedicated to the application of the law a country that so cynically despises it.'"

WaPo reports.

Where will Biden put Buttigieg?

Buttigieg will get some important position, Axios tells us (with no acknowledgement that there's any uncertainty that Biden has indeed been elected President).

Biden officials have made clear to donors and party officials the question surrounding Buttigieg is not if, but where, he lands, Democrats close to Biden tell Axios.

The position Buttigieg wants, we're told, is ambassador to the U.N., and of course it makes sense that his background as mayor of a small city in the midwest sets him up well to deal with international affairs. 

One key question: How would Kamala Harris feel about having a potential 2024 rival lurking the Cabinet and building a donor base from a perch at the United Nations — and around New York City's big donors? 

I hope that doesn't become the key question at every turn — How would Kamala Harris feel? Ugh. I hope this isn't the beginning of a new phase of semi-conscious misogyny: Because the Vice President is a woman, we must think about the Vice President's feelings. Does anyone ever wonder how Mike Pence feels? 

As for the image of "lurking" from a "perch" — don't get me started. It's not possible to lurk on a perch. Lurking involves hiding — lying in wait. It's sneaky. A perch is a high place. It's about being conspicuous — showing off. How do images like this happen? I hope it's not homophobia — 2 stereotypes about gay men popping up in the same sentence. 

"Jared is such a hidden genius that no one understands,” said Haley. “What I have done working with him on the Middle East peace plan. It is so unbelievably well done."

Said Nikki Haley, as she resigned from her position as U.N. ambassador.

"We will never surrender America’s sovereignty to an unelected, unaccountable global bureaucracy. We reject the ideology of globalism and we embrace the doctrine of patriotism."

Trump at the U.N. today.

I'm reading the NYT article about it.

Mr. Trump’s message drew a mostly stone-faced response from the audience in the General Assembly chamber. But there was one moment of levity, albeit at the president’s expense. When he declared that his administration “has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country,” the audience broke out into murmurs and laughter.

Pausing, Mr. Trump said, “I did not expect that reaction.” Then he added, “But that’s O.K.”

"But that's O.K." is Trump's standard phrase when he's acknowledging a statement that he does not like. It's not really okay. It's more: I see that, and I'm not going to take the bait and talk about it now.

Trump at the U.N. — live now:

(You can scroll back to the beginning if it begins in the middle. This is live.)

"In May, U.N. special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights Philip Alston released a report saying the United States has the highest rates of youth poverty, infant mortality, incarceration, income inequality and obesity..."

"... among all countries in the developed world, as well as 40 million people living in poverty. Alston accused President Trump and the Republican Congress of deepening poverty and inequality in the country, citing the Republican tax law passed last fall. 'The policies pursued over the past year seem deliberately designed to remove basic protections from the poorest, punish those who are not in employment and make even basic health care into a privilege,' Alston wrote in the report."

From "Nikki Haley: ‘It is patently ridiculous for the United Nations to examine poverty in America’" by Jeff Stein in WaPo.

Haley's statement, which came out yesterday, continued: "In our country, the President, Members of Congress, Governors, Mayors, and City Council members actively engage on poverty issues every day. Compare that to the many countries around the world, whose governments knowingly abuse human rights and cause pain and suffering."

The top-rated comment at WaPo, by our_kakistocracy is:

Nothing false about the UN report summary... Nikki Haley denying the truth fits right in with all the other liars, truth-deniers, and outright fabricators in the Trump administration. All of them. Vote in Nov 2018. Tie them up.

But where is the lie in what Haley said? Even assuming every word of Alston's is true, Haley's response contains no lie, just political spin. Those who want Trump crushed in the 2018 elections ought to do some truth-based, real-world thinking about what political spin works in American.  I doubt if it's the U.N.'s leaning on us about "youth poverty, infant mortality, incarceration, and income inequality" in the abstract and how fat we are.

"Kakistocracy" — based on the Greek for "worst" + "rule" — means " The government of a state by the worst citizens"(OED).

1829 T. L. Peacock Misfortunes Elphin vi. 93 Our agrestic kakistocracy now castigates the heinous sins which were then committed with impunity ["Agrestic" = rural, rough and uncouth.]
1876 J. R. Lowell Lett. II. vii. 179 Is ours a government of the people, by the people, for the people, or a Kakistocracy rather, for the benefit of knaves at the cost of fools?

I see that Salon got to the OED and deployed that word and those quotes before Trump was even sworn in: "Degeneration nation: "It takes a village of idiots to raise a kakistocracy like Donald Trump’s/Donald Trump’s government will be 'for the benefit of knaves at the cost of fools'" (December 17, 2016):

As Amro Ali explains in a piece calling for a revival of the term “kakistrocracy” [sic] “In a world where stupidity penetrates multiple levels of government, policies and personalities; it is strange that the term coined to best describe it has actually ended up in the endangered and forgotten words books.”...

Forbes contributor Michael Lewitt reminds us that “kakistocracy” should be used to describe a state or government run by the most unscrupulous or unsuitable people: “Corrupt, dishonest and incompetent politicians, regulators and bureaucrats were put in charge by self-absorbed, selfish and ignorant citizens.” He goes on to acknowledge that we are probably not the first society to consider our leaders as part of a kakistocracy....

The word kakistocracy comes to us from Greek. Kakistos means “worst,” which is superlative of kakos — “bad” — and if it sounds like shit, that’s because it is.

That link on "if it sounds like shit" goes to an etymology dictionary entry for "kakistocracy":

.... from Greek kakistos "worst," superlative of kakos "bad" (which perhaps is related to PIE root *kakka- "to defecate") + -cracy.

In that view, the real "shithole country." When will the U.N. give us credit for having the most nerve and confidence to criticize those we elect and continually threaten to oust?

Well, I am tired of headlines like that.

"Perhaps tired of winning, the United States falls in World Happiness rankings — again" (WaPo).

President Trump has not made America happier again.

For the second consecutive year, the United States has taken a tumble in the World Happiness Report’s annual ranking of more than 150 countries, published by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network, an initiative of the United Nations.

The Sustainable Development Solutions Network...

Today — perhaps you noticed — United Nations’ International Day of Happiness.

And the U.N. sort of way of thinking about happiness has us in 18th place.

Finland is No. 1, edging out Norway, the 2017 champion. Denmark was third, followed by Iceland and Switzerland....

What kind of white supremacist propaganda is this?!

"The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea. Rocket Man is on a suicide mission..."

"... for himself and for his regime. The United States is ready, willing and able, but hopefully this will not be necessary. That’s what the United Nations is all about; that’s what the United Nations is for. Let’s see how they do. It is time for North Korea to realize that the denuclearization is its only acceptable future. The United Nations Security Council recently held two unanimous 15-0 votes adopting hard-hitting resolutions against North Korea, and I want to thank China and Russia for joining the vote to impose sanctions, along with all of the other members of the Security Council. Thank you to all involved. But we must do much more. It is time for all nations to work together to isolate the Kim regime until it ceases its hostile behavior."

Said President Trump at his speech today at the United Nations.

I think, overall, Trump gave a great speech today, but I cannot figure out why he would take the taunt "Rocket Man" — questionable enough when deployed on Twitter — and use in the U.N. Not only is it too casual, too undignified, it undercuts its own point: that Kim Jong-Un is a dangerous nut. You wreck  your credibility if you yourself sound like a dangerous nut.

ADDED: Scott Adams loved Trump's saying "Rocket Man" at the U.N. (Is his reason anything more than: It tweaks the left?)

Scott Adams talks about the worst day ever for anti-Trumpers and of course Rocket Man https://t.co/SubbBIZRXo

— Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) September 19, 2017

Trump addresses the U.N. General Assembly.

ADDED: Here's the transcript of the speech. Just yesterday, I was focusing on a question asked on CNN: "Will the president stick by his America-first message when he appears before the U.N. this coming week?" So let's look at the place in today's speech where Trump says "America first":

The greatest in the United States Constitution is its first three beautiful words. They are: “We the people.”

Generations of Americans have sacrificed to maintain the promise of those words, the promise of our country, and of our great history. In America, the people govern, the people rule, and the people are sovereign. I was elected not to take power, but to give power to the American people, where it belongs.

In foreign affairs, we are renewing this founding principle of sovereignty. Our government's first duty is to its people, to our citizens -- to serve their needs, to ensure their safety, to preserve their rights, and to defend their values.

In America, the people govern, the people rule, and the people are sovereign. I was elected not to take power, but to give power to the American people, where it belongs.
In foreign affairs, we are renewing this founding principle of sovereignty. Our government's first duty is to its people, to our citizens -- to serve their needs, to ensure their safety, to preserve their rights, and to defend their values.

As President of the United States, I will always put America first, just like you, as the leaders of your countries will always, and should always, put your countries first. (Applause.)

All responsible leaders have an obligation to serve their own citizens, and the nation-state remains the best vehicle for elevating the human condition.

But making a better life for our people also requires us to work together in close harmony and unity to create a more safe and peaceful future for all people.

The United States will forever be a great friend to the world, and especially to its allies. But we can no longer be taken advantage of, or enter into a one-sided deal where the United States gets nothing in return. As long as I hold this office, I will defend America’s interests above all else.

But in fulfilling our obligations to our own nations, we also realize that it’s in everyone’s interest to seek a future where all nations can be sovereign, prosperous, and secure.

"For those who don’t have our back — we’re taking names; we will make points to respond to that accordingly."

Said Nikki Haley on her first outing as our U.N. ambassador.

"How awful was John Kerry’s speech on Israel?"

Jennifer Rubin counts the ways — 10.

And here's this in the NYT: "Kerry’s Blunt Words for Israel Denounced by Lawmakers in Both Parties."

“While he may not have intended it, I fear Secretary Kerry, in his speech and action at the U.N., has emboldened extremists on both sides,” said Senator Chuck Schumer, the incoming Senate Democratic leader.

A bipartisan chorus of lawmakers, upset with President Obama’s decision last week to allow the passage of a United Nations resolution condemning Israel’s construction of settlements in disputed territory, made clear that they were looking past the departing administration.

"What happened today is that the United States joined the jackals at the U.N."

"That was a phrase used by Pat Moynihan, the great Democratic senator, the former U.S. ambassador who spoke for the United States standing up in the U.N. and to resist this kind of disgrace. To give you an idea of how appalling this resolution is, it declares that any Jew who lives in the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem, the Jewish quarter, inhabited for 1,000 years, is illegal, breaking international law, essentially an outlaw, can be hauled into the international criminal court and international courts in Europe, which is one of the consequences. The Jewish quarter has been populated by Jews for 1,000 years. In the war of Independence in 1948, the Arabs invaded Israel to wipe it out. They did not succeed, but the Arab Legion succeeded in conquering the Jewish quarter. They expelled all the Jews. They destroyed all the synagogues and all the homes. For 19 years, no Jew could go there. The Israelis got it back in the Six-Day War. Now it’s declared that this is not Jewish territory. Remember, it’s called 'the Jewish quarter,' but it belongs to other people. And any Jew who lives there is an outlaw. That’s exactly what we supported. The resolution is explicit in saying settlements in the occupied territories and in east Jerusalem."

Said Charles Krauthammer.

In 2012, running for re-election, Obama spoke at the meeting of AIPAC, the big Jewish lobby. He said, “Is there any doubt that I have Israel’s back?” That’s why he didn’t want do it while he was in office. That’s why he didn’t want to do it in 2016 so it would injure Hillary and show to particularly American Jews, who tend to be Democratic, that it was all a farce. He does it on the way out, and that’s part of why it’s so disgraceful. He didn’t even — he hid it until there would be no consequence. Now he is out the door and the damage is done for years. That resolution cannot be undone.

ADDED: From the Washington Post editors: "The Obama administration fires a dangerous parting shot." The NYT has no editorial response yet.

AND: Outside of the opinion pages, the NYT does have a news article, "Obama, Trump and the Turf War That Has Come to Define the Transition." that begins:

President-elect Donald J. Trump and President Obama have been unfailingly polite toward each other since the election. But with Mr. Trump staking out starkly different positions from Mr. Obama on Israel and other sensitive issues, and the president acting aggressively to protect his legacy, the two have become leaders of what amounts to dueling administrations.

The split widened on Friday when the Obama administration abstained from a United Nations Security Council vote that condemned Israel for Jewish settlements in the West Bank, and allowed the resolution to pass. A day earlier, Mr. Trump had publicly demanded that Mr. Obama veto the measure, even intervening with Egypt at the request of Israel to pressure the administration to shelve the effort....

It was the latest in a rapid-fire series of Twitter posts and public statements over the last week in which Mr. Trump has weighed in on Israel, terrorism and nuclear proliferation — contradicting Mr. Obama and flouting the notion that the country can have only one president at a time....

What happened in the U.N. was Obama showing off his power in the face of Donald Trump? Is that what the NYT means to say? That's not just pathetic. It's shocking.