UNO isn't just for cards

9-07-07

German Word of the Day: Das Esszimmer ist schoen.

The United Nations structure known as the Vienna International Centre lacks the pizzazz of Manhattan or the neo-Classic structure in Geneva, but it is still the headquarters of several UN agencies, most noticeably the International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA polices signatories of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty to enforce compliance. It has been accused of lacking spine, most noticeably with A.Q. Kahn, the Pakistani scientist who surreptitiously developed nuclear weapons and is suspected of exporting the technology to other Islamic nations.

My five questions were:

1. Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan is the de facto father of the nuclear program in Pakistan. The IAEA has been criticized for failing to uncover the nuclear network run by Khan only releasing limited reports. Why were the reports on Khan so sporadic?

2. Mohamed El Baradei revealed to the UN Security Council that the transfer of “yellow –cake”, a uranium ore, to Iraq from Niger as reported by the Central Intelligence Agency perhaps came from the uncertified documents. In this case, what was meant by “uncertified documents”?

3. A 2003 report sought to reveal why Saddam Hussein’s government purchased aluminum tubes, but failed to provide any reasoning. Explain why the IAEA came to this conclusion, especially since other groups noticeably the Iraq Survey Group had plausible explanations.

4. The United States and India recently signed a nuclear co-operation agreement deal pending approval by the IAEA. What is the step-by-step process that is required for the deal to be approved or halted?

5. The IAEA is currently investigating the Kashiwazi-Kariwa Power nuclear plant which endured atomic a 6.8 Richter scale earthquake. Reports of radioactive leakage were denied by the Tokyo Electric Power plant. Explain the process for the investigation.

I stopped at St. Stephens’s church as I missed it on Friday because I was in Budapest. The 13^th century Romanesque Church stands out in the city skyline. The tiled roof which was destroyed during World War II and meticulously repaired has the Hapsburg crest. Approximately 250,000 tiles are on the roof. The Gothic spire on top of the tower also is a famous Hapsburg landmark. The interior of the church although it certainly wasn’t shabby, failed to impress me as I saw so many stunning churches in Italy. Also, they roped off much of the inside which kept me from getting a good view of the altar. I took a tour of the catacombs. According to the tour guide, 11,000 people are buried underground. I saw catacombs in Rome, so it wasn’t anything new.

The highlight of my day was a visit to the Albertina art gallery. My guide book said that it had some drawings by Michelangelo and Peter Paul Reubens. Unfortunately, they only displayed replicas as the light-sensitive originals are stored in the basement. However, they did display the famous watercolor of a hare by Albrecht Durer that dates back to1502. Durer is one of the greatest old master printmakers.

The Albertina had a special exhibit devoted to the expressionist, German art movement known as Die Brücke (The Bridge) which featured some of the most fascinating nudes. Die Brücke was a German movement that was formed in 1905. Led by Erich Heckl, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and eventually Max Pechstein, the diverse styles tended to be vividly colorful with emotion and often violent or nude themes. The style of nude paintings changed from static, detailed portraits in the manner of Ingre to women modeling for only 15 minutes, which meant more erotic positions and less detail, but more vividly emotional and colorful. The Nazis would later seize many of these paintings as they despised these surrealist-style paintings.

My favorite painting was Ernst Kirchner’s “Two nudes in a Room”. One woman is sitting on a bench relaxed with her body lurching forward as she seems to be meditating. The other woman is sitting seductively on a turtle-styled sofa. I unfortunately cannot find a picture online. Kirchner himself never recovered from the outset of World War I as he suffered a nervous breakdown and took his life in Switzerland in 1938. He was 58.