How the UN votes is it true?

[EvilMonkey]

The US is like the Uncle that paid your way through college...




but molested you.

Now that is an awesome summary!!! Go SVZ!

[pacific breeze]

The deal with the huge black and red type, Dear is that that is the way it was sent to me. Sorry if it bothers you. Its not intended to be "yelling" as Im sure that is what you are implying or thinking.
I was not "inferring" that only people who live in the US can have a valid opinion of the UN. I just noticed and, I was joking by the way, that at the time I posted only people from other countries had replied and I took it as basically the US is stupid for giving foreign aide to these countries who "hate" the US.
You know I thought I was allowed to post questions and replies within reason yet you are making me feel like I cant state or voice my feelings.
Wont see me post in the Politic thread again, dont want to get attacked or talked down to.

The name is PB, pb, pacific breeze, but not "Dear." It is very odd to be called dear by someone likely younger than me, LOL. In any event, it is condescending to say the least.

I tend to re-format text that is sent to me if it is likely to be seen as yelling to most people on a forum. Only takes a minute and it's polite.

As others have pointed out since, the US has vetoed many important bills that have come before the UN. The most recent veto a couple of days ago was against a measure that would have termed what has been happening in Darfur a "genocide." If the civil war and its aftermath, aided and abetted by multinational oil companies and one from Canada as well (Talisman) and the millions it has killed, starved, raped, burned out or displaced, were to be called a genocide, then the UN is dutybound to do something. The US vetoed a similar genocide bill in Rwanda and 800,000 people were literally hacked to death as a direct result.

The US is powerful and it pulls out all the stops to get countries to vote its way. Threats, backroom deals, trade embargoes, you name it, especially since the Bush administration took over and even more so now that Bolton is in charge (a term I use loosely).

Canada and Britain to name two countries, have voted against the US at the UN and neither of those nations "hates" the US. International foreign relations and diplomacy don't usually operate on emotional levels of "hate" and "love."

I am sorry if you feel that you have been attacked and condescended to and that you can't express your opinion freely -- none of that is true, IMO. But it is a bit disingenuous to post in a political forum and not expect others to disagree with you occasionally. It's all part of the process.

[EvilMonkey]

Of course you are entitled to an opinion. As is everyone else.

Do not take it as a personal attack. I can assure you on here you need to be thick skinned to enter the politics forum.

I would say think of it as ring, you will punched alot in the fight but at the end you shake hands and move on to the next fight.

I for one will debate on contentious points - grimm and I had a very good debate on Iraq a few weeks ago - I agreed with alot of his points but still presented an alternate argument for the sake of debate and exploring options.

Keep the subjects coming. It keeps the forum alive.

[pacific breeze]

^^I agree. Playing the devil's advocate makes you examine your own beliefs. It's fun and intellectually stimulating.

You really can't take any of this personally -- opinions are like arseholes, everyone's got one.

[SVZ]

and some of them are bigger than others

[pacific breeze]

Hee hee hee.

[sputnik]

The US is like the Uncle that paid your way through college...




but molested you.

first of all, the 'voting against the US' is misleading, i am assuming it means voting the opposite of what the US votes, because there aren't that many country-specific resolutions in the UN.
also, most of the world votes against the US in the UN. because the US, though a member state, is basically opposed to everything the UN stands for and tries to achieve. there are votes where the US and israel (and sometimes australia) are the only ones in opposition. they routinely vote against potentially binding agreements, because group action isn't really the US' thing, unless they're in the lead. international criminal court? kyoto protocol? fuck, they even refused the convention on the rights of the child...
legally binding international regulations aren't exactly the US' thing.

[emcee]

maybe its bc america tends to do crappy things 70% of the time.