ummm ... its not a sovereignty issue .. there not an international police force, they were never intended to do that .. they have a peace keeping force thats it.
It most certainly is a sovereignty issue. What nation is going to set aside its governing documents and government in order to comply with a UN decree? Not going to happen.Skyweir wrote:
ummm ... its not a sovereignty issue .. there not an international police force, they were never intended to do that .. they have a peace keeping force thats it.
The problem is the security council .. and the fact that it is dominated by 5 powers. They have power of veto .. get rid of the veto power and majority rules. We dont need permanent members now .. the world has moved on.
The UN has a critical role .. that was recognised widely after WWI and toward the end of WWII..
Other nations could have that if they would get themselves out of their Old World point of view and join the 21st Century. To pick an example mostly at random, consider Rwanda. There is no third-party military which is occupying that country and they aren't at war with anyone of consequence; therefore, the only thing keeping Rwanda from becoming a regional leader in education, medicine, technology, or some other field is Rwanda...or, more specifically, the leaders of Rwanda, who spend their day acting like warlords and engaging in corruption the likes of which we haven't seen here in over 100 years.Kizza wrote:The UN charter at present aims up at extreme poverty and hunger, universal primary education, gender equality, child mortality, maternal health, HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, environmental sustainability, and a global partnership for development. Why wouldnt you support that?
Windhoek -- Namibia has strongly condemned American President Donald Trump's decision late last years to officially recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, saying it is aimed at altering the character, status and demographic composition of the City of Jerusalem.
The Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said such attempts continue to violate the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and independence.
"We continue to call for the full implementation of all relevant UN Resolutions on Western Sahara and Palestine and reiterate our commitment to the two-state solution with East Jerusalem as the Capital of the State of Palestine," said Nandi-Ndaitwah, who also serves as the Deputy Prime Minister.
She said this while motivating her ministry's budget in parliament last week. ...
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She said Namibia's commitment to the inherent right of people's self-determination and independence influences the country's foreign policy.
This is why, she said, Namibia would continue to steadfastly speak out against the occupation of Western Sahara and Palestine, because we have lived it, and have felt the dehumanisation that comes with it.
There are a thousand holes in that argument in terms of individual atrocity by geography and history native to those places (hell the US rose as a financial powerhouse on the back of European spending in WW1), but that is me deep diving rather than keeping on point.Hashi Lebwohl wrote: .....................
We didn't sit around as a very young nation and wait on the benevolence of older, more developed nations--we had to struggle through and claw our way up on our own. If we can do it then so can others...so it's about damned time they start trying.[/color]
Rwanda is actually doing pretty well.Hashi Lebwohl wrote:
I agree--if Rwanda cannot climb the ladder that is not the UN's fault--it is Rwanda's fault.
--A
One of the fastest growing economies in Central Africa, Rwanda notched up GDP growth of around 8% per year between 2001 and 2014.
The International Monetary Fund expects the economy to slow down this year and pick up in 2018, forecasting around 6% growth in 2016 compared with 6.9% last year.
The country reduced the percentage of people living below the poverty line from 57% in 2005 to 45% in 2010.
Life expectancy, literacy, primary school enrollment and spending on healthcare have all improved.
Rwanda has also made big strides towards gender equality - almost 64% of parliamentarians are women, compared to just 22% worldwide - which has enabled women in the country to make economic advances.
Currently around 83% of Rwanda's population of 10.5 million live in rural areas and more than 70% of the population still work in subsistence farming. But the government, led by President Paul Kagame, wants to change this.
In the long term, the government aims to transform Rwanda from a low-income agriculture-based economy to a knowledge-based, service-oriented economy with a middle-income status by 2020.
I'm trying to recall when the US used CBR weapons since WWII, and it just doesn't come to mind. Perhaps you can remind me.....Kizza wrote:What about WMD and Chemical warfare?
I MIGHT wait.
It was not about pointing to when you used them, it is about evidencing the learning from lessons where the two were used as an excuse to go to war.Rawedge Rim wrote:I'm trying to recall when the US used CBR weapons since WWII, and it just doesn't come to mind. Perhaps you can remind me.....Kizza wrote:What about WMD and Chemical warfare?
I MIGHT wait.
Israeli youth celebrate Yom Ha'atzmaut in Jerusalem. 'It's a Jewish celebration ... that really only creates space for a certain type of Jew.' Photograph: Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images
This move turns celebrating Yom Ha'atzmut into a political act. There should be no right or wrong way to be Jewish
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In this process of introspection, however, the Jewish community must also ask itself some difficult questions. This Yom Ha'atzmaut -- the date in the Jewish calendar that marks Israel's declaration of independence some 70 years ago -- there's never been more urgency to have one particular debate. Because, while Corbyn's decision to attend the Jewdas seder dragged a conversation our community has long had in private into the spotlight, the divides it exposed in our community are nothing new. How do we navigate the relationship between Israel and Judaism in diaspora communities? A resolution is long overdue.
For many Jewish people, Yom Ha'atzmaut is a day of celebration -- an annual opportunity to affirm their support to a Jewish homeland as it currently stands. For others, however, it feels exclusionary -- a holiday now being enshrined in the Jewish calendar that takes religion into the arena of divisive politics, not faith. In many synagogues on Wednesday night and Thursday, guest speakers will have been invited to talk about Israel and its significance, and Israeli flags will have been pinned to the walls as a night of dancing, food and merriment ensued. The prayer for the state of Israel will be read, as it is on a weekly basis. It's a Jewish celebration held in the same regard as Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Memorial Day), but one that really only creates space for a certain type of Jew.
It's all well and good to say you can be critical of the state of Israel without being antisemitic -- and for those on all sides of the political spectrum it's a mantra that should be repeated. But if we ourselves can't distinguish between our religion and what is, even if widely supported, a political ideology, I can't help but wonder how others will be able to. A nationalistic celebration of a modern state leaves little room for nuance.
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I believe that technically at least, the US not only has the right to pursue war if another nation uses CBR weapons, but the obligaton to do so to ensure that the offending nation never does so again.Kizza wrote:It was not about pointing to when you used them, it is about evidencing the learning from lessons where the two were used as an excuse to go to war.Rawedge Rim wrote:I'm trying to recall when the US used CBR weapons since WWII, and it just doesn't come to mind. Perhaps you can remind me.....Kizza wrote:What about WMD and Chemical warfare?
I MIGHT wait.
Per the 1925 and 1997 agreements, that's correct.Rawedge Rim wrote:I believe that technically at least, the US not only has the right to pursue war if another nation uses CBR weapons, but the obligaton to do so to ensure that the offending nation never does so again.Kizza wrote:It was not about pointing to when you used them, it is about evidencing the learning from lessons where the two were used as an excuse to go to war.Rawedge Rim wrote: I'm trying to recall when the US used CBR weapons since WWII, and it just doesn't come to mind. Perhaps you can remind me.....
