A Talk Shop, Nothing More

Talk, they say, is cheap. Not anymore.

The delegates who often attend meetings at the United Nations building spend millions of their tax-payers money on travelling, hotel and other expenses and invariably achieve nothing to solve their countries' problems. Nowadays, they are also sent all over the world usually to cities with the highest accommodation and living expenses to talk some more but still achieve no tangible solutions to such problems. Hordes of officials, translators and bureaucrats also attend these meetings to provide support for them. They too spend lots and lots of money to do that from contributions from these countries.

This is a phenomenon that appears to have the consensus approval of governments from all over the world.

Is there a chance that these expenditures can be reduced, specially for countries which cannot really afford to hobnob with the delegates from rich developed countries? Has anybody done any homework on this loss of essential funds to poor countries dragged into believing that they need to have their say in these fora? Is there anything prestigious to be earned by a poor country to to be enticed to attend a meeting miles away from it?

There are many other questions that need to be asked on this matter.

The Empire Theatre, Liverpool

January 1, 2009 in Petaling Jaya.

I have just watched a telecast of the 2007 Royal Variety Performance in the presence of the Queen and Prince Philip at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool. The telecast was for this new year's celebration.

Bon Jovi and his band and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa were both featured in this show.

I remember the Empire well and used to attend shows there in my student days in Liverpool from 1953 to 1955.
Once I attended a concert there featuring the Mantovani Orchestra under the baton of the maestro himself. It was a grand and memorable show.