SIX HUNDRED POSTS!

Six hundred posts, 7 billion people, and yet, Palestine hasn't made it into the UN. In fact, acceptance into the UN cultural agency Unesco, best known for its designation of “world heritage” sites, hasn’t brought the Palestinians any closer to full membership in the United Nations itself. If anything, the victory has come at a price. A day after Palestine gained full membership in the UN group with 107 votes in favor and 14 against, the U.S. has retaliated by cutting off funding that supplies almost a quarter of the agency’s budget. Moreover, swing votes the Palestinians need to bolster their support on the Security Council for full UN membership have evaporated. In other news, South Korea will set up a fund as early as this year to begin raising up to 55 trillion won to pay for its eventual reunification with North Korea. Unification Minister Yu Woo Ik is asking South Koreans to put aside more than 60 years of animosity on the divided peninsula and prepare for the fiscal shock of incorporating their impoverished northern neighbors. Because anyone, Korean or not, can donate to the fund, I might consider donating a few dollars as long as the money isn't being siphoned off to Pyongyang.