Richdude wrote on Sep 19
th, 2018 at 10:46pm:
I used to be a believer like you. Now its become more like another level of arbitrary gov.
The UN is what it's member states make it, nothing more, nothing less. The US has by and large given up on the UN because it only pays attention to the Security Council. The General Assembly gets ignored - why? 'Cause the US doesn't control it. It has a veto in the Security Council - which it has used more often than any of the other permanent members BTW.
The UN was created to ease world tensions. It has, by and large worked well. It has provided a fig leaf of legal convenience for the superpowers when they wanted to intervene in other nations and to condemn one another when they disagree with it. It has stopped world wars from reoccurring.
Quote: How many agreements has Australia signed? Did Australians get a say in those agreements? No! I noticed when I was in Oz, your local gov proudly spouts Agenda 21 as part of its charter.
Australia is a member state. Our National Government has had as much say in the creation, indeed perhaps even more than most, in the creation of world agreements and conventions which it has signed and ratified. Agenda 21 is a non-binding action plan of the United Nations with regard to sustainable development. Note that, "non-binding". You sign on if you want, you sign out if you want. Why are you so frightened of a non-binding plan? Some local Governments have signed on, some haven't. It is their choice - ratified by the rate payers.
Quote:So, taxing something to make it more expensive doesn't work for you? I thought you like the idea of market driven economics. Using taxation to drive the market is not as silly as you appear to believe. It is one way of making sure that something which is undesirable remains undesirable. What would your alternative be? Have people stand in a circle and sing? Tsk, tsk.
If the UN isn't working for the US, perhaps the problem is the US wants something that no one else wants. Make the UN do what you want it to do by persuasion, not by abandonment.