I believe some vehicle of communication and decisionmaking must exist for the countries of the world. Whether that is the UN, I don't know.
I'm not sure a UN type organization will ever exert much force without a world government, and that will probably not happened within my lifetime.
Now, you take that back, stiessd. That description sounds just like a2k.
Well, A2K is a discussion club, and here equality is justified. Our clkub does not have serious influence on the international situation, and no one claims this...
Well, steissd, grown up in democracy, I still believe its the best of all possibilities!
However, perhaps e.g. the USA will change their system as well, Alaska gets one Senator, New York 15, Texas 30, Georgia 60 ....
Steissd
In our country -- each state sends two people to the United States Senate - the senior house in our legislature.
The Senate is one of the most powerful deliberative bodies on the planet -- and its decisions have the potential to affect situations worldwide.
The state of Wyoming has less than 500,000 people being represented by their 2 senators; the 34,000,000 people living in California have only 2 senators representing their interests.
Everything else being equal -- one could argue that California should have 68 senators instead of only 2 - or that Wyoming should not have such a disproportionate share of the Senate.
But the situation has worked out very well here -- and I suspect that the analogous situation in the United Nations will work also.
IF WE GIVE IT A CHANCE.
But because of very selfish interests, the United Nations is being undermined -- and in a sense, because of these very selfish interests, the entire world is being undermined also.
We've really got to get away from that - and quickly.
In the U.S. Congress such a misproportion is balanced by proportional representation of the citizens in the House of Representatives. There is no House of Representatives in the UN.
The UN is no parliament of a sovereign country, steissd:
Quote:I do not deny the facts you posted here, Mr. Hinteler, and I am quite aware of these.
But it employs some principles of the existing parliaments, without balancing the disproportions arising from this.
steissd
Perhaps you can read some short explanation of political sciences and international law in a dictionary about this?
The Britannica e.g. says:
Quote:[...]
The purposes, principles, and organization of the United Nations are outlined in the Charter. The essential principles underlying the purposes and functions of the organization are listed in Article 2 and include the following: the UN is based on the sovereign equality of its members; disputes are to be settled by peaceful means; members are to refrain from the threat or use of force in contravention of the purposes of the UN; each member must assist the organization in any enforcement actions it takes under the Charter; and states that are not members of the organization are required to act in accordance with these principles insofar as it is necessary to maintain international peace and security. Article 2 also stipulates a basic long-standing norm that the organization shall not intervene in matters considered within the domestic jurisdiction of any state. Although this was a major limitation on UNaction, over time the line between international and domestic jurisdiction has become blurred.
[...]
The Assembly convenes annually and in special sessions, electing a new president each year from among five regional groups of states. At the beginning of each regular session, the Assembly also holds a general debate, in which all members may participate and raise any issue of international concern. Most work, however, is delegated to six main committees: (1) Disarmament and International Security, (2) Economic and Financial, (3) Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural, (4) Special Political and Decolonization, (5) Administrative and Budgetary, and (6) Legal.
The General Assembly has debated issues that other organs of the UN have either overlooked or avoided, including decolonization, the independence of Namibia, apartheid in South Africa, terrorism, and the AIDS epidemic. The number of resolutions passed by the Assembly each year has climbed to more than 350, and many resolutions are adopted without opposition. Nevertheless, there have been sharp disagreements among members on several issues, such as those relating to the ColdWar, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and human rights. The General Assembly has drawn public attention to major issues, thereby forcing member governments to develop positions on them, and it has helped to organize ad hoc bodies and conferences to deal with important global problems.
[...]
steissd
You wrote:
"In the U.S. Congress such a misproportion is balanced by proportional representation of the citizens in the House of Representatives. There is no House of Representatives in the UN."
COMMENT:
Surely you not think that is so!
The Senate of the United States has powers to which the House of Representatives is not even a party.
There is no compensating for the disparity of representation in the Senate.
In any case, the United Nations, complete with all its defects, is the world's best hope for stability and peace.
I realize this is not the position of the Israeli population.
But it is time for our concern (the United States) for Israel and its citizens, worthy as that is, to take a back seat to our concern for the entire of the world.
Mr. Apisa, I represent myself, and I express my own opinion, and not this of government or population of Israel.
Which hopes for peace does UN provide? It has failed to prevent any war. The total nuclear war did not occur because the main superpowers had possibility to annihilate each other, and there is no role of the UN in preventing it.
All the local conflicts took place in 1945-2003 regardless of opinion of the UN and its Security Council. When the late Egyptian president G.A. Nasser wanted to start a war against Israel in 1967 he simply threw away the UN peacekeepers from Sinai. Neither did the UN prevent the war in Vietnam or in Afghanistan (I mean the one that happened in 1979-89).
Keep the rascals with plastic wepons out of our community.
UNO is the least podium where you can air yours views.
