About The Country Club

The Country Club exists to divert its members by recording and comparing members’ travels. There are 195 UN Member States/Official Observor, and we are trying to visit them all. Check our progress on the Club Ladder, to the right, or by clicking the link for the List of Countries Visited below that. Curious how we count? Click The Country Club By-Laws link.

Friday, August 12, 2016

Mr Greeley: A nice guy in Dubai

Quite controversial.  Of course I've been to so called Palestine many many times but not since the UN provided this unwarranted status.

But suffice it to say I can now proudly add another country to my list - United Arab Emirates.  And here is my poem followed by photos to provide documentation

What's a nice Jewish guy
doing in Dubai
To get to ninety six
and get back into the mix

PS I searched far and wide for microbreweries or local wine estates in the UAE to no avail, so I settled for an imported Australian Shiraz 

PPS: Yr sec'y just remembered a January 2016 visit to Norway.  





Sunday, August 7, 2016

Denominator Increases to 195 Countries

Dear Members,

The Club's denominator increased, it turns out, on 29 November 2012, when Palestine became a permanent non-member observer state.  Founding members will recall, in debates surrounding the Club's by-laws in the late Spring of 2002, that the Holy See, the sole permanent non-member observer state, was included in our Club denominator per by-law Article 2, settling our original denominator at 192 Countries.  In September and October of that year, Switzerland and Timor-Leste became permanent member states, bringing the total to 194, where it has stood until now.  The Country Club's denominator is now set at 195 countries.

Members who have visited Palestine as of 29 November 2012 should announce a visit to the Secretary in due course.  The List of Countries Visited has been revised to include this change.

An excerpt from Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_General_Assembly_observers

"There are two permanent non-member observer states at the United Nations: the Holy See and Palestine. The Holy See uncontroversially obtained its non-member observer state status in 1964 and Palestine was so designated in 2012, following an application for full membership in 2011 which failed to secure Security Council approval. Both are described as "Non-member States having received a standing invitation to participate as observers in the sessions and the work of the General Assembly and maintaining permanent observer missions at Headquarters". The Holy See's status as a non-member state permanent observer in the United Nations has been questioned, as not having the attributes of a state.
The change of Palestinian observer status in 2012 from "non-member observer entity" to "non-member observer state" was regarded as an "upgrade" of their status. Many called the change "symbolic" but which was regarded as providing new leverage to the Palestinians in their dealings with Israel. As a result, in the change in status, the United Nations Secretariat recognized Palestine's right to become a party to treaties for which the UN Secretary-General is the depositary.
The seating in the General Assembly Hall is arranged with non-member observer states being seated immediately after UN member states, and before other observers. On 10 September 2015, the General Assembly resolved to approve the raising at the UN of the flags of non-member observer states alongside those of the 193 UN member states."

Mr K's Cold Beer and Yr Sec'y's Second Thought

Mr. Secretary,

Since we are doing burst of updating, I also have one more country to add to my total. 

In May 2015 I passed through Andorra. We filled our tank with cheap tax free gasoline and I downed a beer despite the fact it was bloody cold even in May. Andorra does not have a domestic beer (or anything else that I could see) so I had a Heineken. Unfortunately, I do not have photos, but I can try and dig out my credit card receipt for the gas.

Yours sincerely, 

Robert (Bob)

PS.  Mr Karam now has 66 countries, and moves ahead of Ms de Walden into 13th place.

PPS.  Yr Sec'y has, on second thought, a new country, namely Indonesia, where he conferenced in a family planning way with none other than Messrs Brady and Karam last January.  My shoulders are now rubbing those of our dear Governor and Honorary Past President, Mr Hovig, at 103 countries. 

VTY, -s