The UN General Assembly met in New York this week, where world leaders pledged to cooperate more when dealing with major global problems, such as the credit crunch and climate change. Apparently Muammar Gaddafi didn’t get the memo.

In his first ever trip to the United States, the Libyan leader addressed the General Assembly — minus a few key leaders who didn’t stick around to hear the speech — for just over an hour and a half. His speech, punctuated by derision and a distinct holier-than-thou tone, was six times longer than the allotted 15 minutes given to speakers.

More memorable moments of the marathon speech included an attempt by Gaddafi to tear up the U.N. charter, awkward praise for President Obama in which he said that he wished the “young African Kenyan” could “stay forever as President of the United States of America”, and an appeal to delegates to allow the Taliban to establish an emirate. He also called upon colonial powers to compensate African countries to the tune of $7.7 trillion, and queried official versions of both the JFK and Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinations.

Because Gaddafi saw himself as playing the role of philosopher king, he didn't touch on some of his more hare-brained schemes, such as the dissolution of Switzerland.

Yet like a court jester in one of Shakespeare’s play, and despite his over-eagerness to put himself on display in front of international dignitaries, Gaddafi spoke some truth to power. His arguments that the U.N. has done little to prevent war in its history and that the invasion of Iraq violated the institution’s charter rang true. Similarly, what he said about the permanent members of the Security Council enjoying elevated status above the rest also struck a chord. Finally, “the King of Kings” (is Gaddafi a reggae fan, by any chance?) also made the point that the balance of power in the U.N. is firmly concentrated with countries that need it the least. Why don’t poorer countries — the recipient of much U.N. assistance — have more of a voice in the institution?

All in all, Gaddafi’s speech left analysts with more questions than answers. Why was he allowed to go on such a tirade for so long? How should the Obama administration approach relations with such an eccentric dictator? Does Gaddafi have a point about our intelligence services' record of domestic interference (some of their MLK policies were truly appalling)? And, with apologies to Conan O’Brien, doesn’t he look like what a Keanu Reeves-Billy Crystal love child would look like if they mated?

Security Council votes to talk about dismantling nuclear weapons in bold move

Colonel Gaddafi may have tried to steal the spotlight — and he did a pretty decent job judging by the media firestorm that followed his speech — but that didn’t stop the U.N. from doing what it does best: talking about doing things.

The Security Council unanimously backed a resolution brought forth by President Obama that looks to get the ball rolling on global nuclear disarmament. The resolution states, among other things, that all countries should immediately begin talks on nuclear weapons non-proliferation and a treaty calling for the complete ban of nuclear weapons with a strong international watchdog.

If the U.N. is as effective at facilitating nuclear disarmament as it is at preventing war, then duck and cover. It’s going to be a long nuclear winter.

Define “secret nuclear plant”

Despite the U.N.’s plan to start talking about non-proliferation, the nuclear club remains an exclusive one. Though global nuclear disarmament has been an issue dear to President Obama’s heart, it appears that the most recent effort is being used by the international community to ratchet up the pressure almost exclusively on Iran and North Korea.

The Iranians, at least, appear to be cooperating with international investigators. President Mahmoud “Is that a Members Only jacket?” Ahmadinejad’s government admitted to the IAEA that Iran has a second uranium-enrichment facility, which was previously under-wraps. According to the BBC, it is unclear whether this admission was made because the secrecy of the plant was threatened, or if the Iranians we’re actually following IAEA protocol. Regardless, the White House claims that they have been aware of the facility, located near the city of Qom, for months.

G-20 meets in Pittsburgh, decides fate of the world

After meeting in New York, the world’s attention turned to Pittsburgh (was Cleveland booked?) as leaders of the G-20 met to decide the fate of the entire planet.

As with any major meeting of world leaders, demonstrators were abound. The usual anti-globalization suspects were out protesting against bailouts for multinational banks, environmental devastation and capitalism, in general. They weren’t able to protest too loudly, however, as demonstrators were prevented from getting too close to the delegation and police employed tactics that would’ve made the Chinese delegates proud.

Despite the muffled cries of protestors being tear-gassed and pepper-sprayed, G-20 delegates were able to accomplish important items on their agenda. They agreed that developing nations (really, though, they’re more like ‘middle income nations’ now) like China, India and Brazil would have more leverage in the future when world leaders get together and make decisions about the world economy with little democratic oversight. Concurrently, these middle income countries are expected to gain more power at the IMF when all is said and done in Pittsburgh.

G-20 delegates also moved forward on regulating bankers’ salaries and the amount of risk undertaken by financial institutions. Maybe that’s why there weren’t as many protestors in Pittsburgh as there were in London. It was either that or the hypersonic whistle-gun.