September 24, 2006
The UN and its future...
From: [Name Withheld]
Reply-To: cyf-talk@yahoogroups.com
Sent: September 21, 2006 6:40:43 AM
To: cyf-talk@yahoogroups.com
Subject: (cyf-talk) Re: New poll for cyf-talk
While I must admit that I find the United Nations to be an almost completely useless organization when it comes to global security and the promotion of democracy...
While I find it revolting to listen to Iranian and Venezualan bigots and murderers get podium time to tell more lies than Pinocchio told that time he needed to save Jiminy with his nose...
While I find that the security council is a body where various vested interests generally act to keep the UN from sanctioning missions with probable net positive results (as it did re Iraq)...
...I still think that a United-Nations type of international body may serve some purposes on humanitarian and (with sizeable reform) on other fronts too.
The biggest problem we have is that major member countries rarely turn their attention to UN reform. The Aussies started, but it's unclear where it will go without more attention...
In any discussion about any major conflict or geopolitical incident on this planet, I find many Canadians have a tendency to use the U.N. as the magic legitimacy cloak... When they get flustered, they defer to the wonderful hand-in-hand sing-in-harmony-70s-Coke-commercial view of what the UN is ... they think it's a marvellous organization above reproach where people come together to make peace.
I'm surprised such ignorant people don't also believe that our UN amabassador attends meetings riding on a unicorn with a company of Christmas elves to help pay out our UN dues in lollypops...
Most or many of the armchair smarmy somewhat-politically-interested Canadians want to believe the very worst of our neighbors ot the south, and the very best of anything with the words "United Nations" attached to it. Facts are but a small hindrance that they quickly dismiss with platitudes.
I made the mistake of watching the Iranian president speak while using one of the cardio machines at the Cavendish Club here in St. John's. I nearly tore it to shreds listening to lie after lie. If that wasn't enough, some vacuous moron next to me started to say "that doesn't sound too bad..." I felt like showing her a photograph of the Canadian reporter who was beaten and killed by that government or some of the other regular activities of the government of Iran...
The UN needs to be reformed and de-mistifyed. It's not "the magic-stamp-of-legitimacy." It's not "well-designed." Its buracracy needs to be downsized. Unlike NATO and other such alliances, it has no moral compass. View it as a meeting place for techincal negotiations, not a place of worship...
Reply-To: cyf-talk@yahoogroups.com
Sent: September 21, 2006 6:40:43 AM
To: cyf-talk@yahoogroups.com
Subject: (cyf-talk) Re: New poll for cyf-talk
While I must admit that I find the United Nations to be an almost completely useless organization when it comes to global security and the promotion of democracy...
While I find it revolting to listen to Iranian and Venezualan bigots and murderers get podium time to tell more lies than Pinocchio told that time he needed to save Jiminy with his nose...
While I find that the security council is a body where various vested interests generally act to keep the UN from sanctioning missions with probable net positive results (as it did re Iraq)...
...I still think that a United-Nations type of international body may serve some purposes on humanitarian and (with sizeable reform) on other fronts too.
The biggest problem we have is that major member countries rarely turn their attention to UN reform. The Aussies started, but it's unclear where it will go without more attention...
In any discussion about any major conflict or geopolitical incident on this planet, I find many Canadians have a tendency to use the U.N. as the magic legitimacy cloak... When they get flustered, they defer to the wonderful hand-in-hand sing-in-harmony-70s-Coke-commercial view of what the UN is ... they think it's a marvellous organization above reproach where people come together to make peace.
I'm surprised such ignorant people don't also believe that our UN amabassador attends meetings riding on a unicorn with a company of Christmas elves to help pay out our UN dues in lollypops...
Most or many of the armchair smarmy somewhat-politically-interested Canadians want to believe the very worst of our neighbors ot the south, and the very best of anything with the words "United Nations" attached to it. Facts are but a small hindrance that they quickly dismiss with platitudes.
I made the mistake of watching the Iranian president speak while using one of the cardio machines at the Cavendish Club here in St. John's. I nearly tore it to shreds listening to lie after lie. If that wasn't enough, some vacuous moron next to me started to say "that doesn't sound too bad..." I felt like showing her a photograph of the Canadian reporter who was beaten and killed by that government or some of the other regular activities of the government of Iran...
The UN needs to be reformed and de-mistifyed. It's not "the magic-stamp-of-legitimacy." It's not "well-designed." Its buracracy needs to be downsized. Unlike NATO and other such alliances, it has no moral compass. View it as a meeting place for techincal negotiations, not a place of worship...
