U.S. votes against UN resolution on Israel settlements

[philw]

And the answer to my other query in my post?

One particularly stupid thing they did was to agree to temporarily stop building in Jerusalem. They have always said that Jerusalem was not on the bargaining table and now that they caved into Obama on this for "just one time", he acts as if it is up for negotiation.

As for asking if they have ever done anything wrong. They have been at war for something like 60 years, so they have done plenty of wrong things. It is pretty much impossible to have a war without doing so.

Unfortunately, they have never had a choice about war as they would be totally destroyed if they tried to avoid it.

As has Israel.

A war cannot be one sided can it.

Thank you for the admission.

[Ulysses G.]

Admission of what?

[metisdead]

An inflammatory post has been removed. It is possible to disagree with someone without name calling.

[Wallaby]

Your obvious admission that the only thing Israel has ever done wrong is that it hasn't been more forceful, Contrary to the view of the rest of the world that would actually want peace. It's called give and take.

History is littered with people that have failed with that sort of thinking.

[Ulysses G.]

Sorry, but that is not what I said. I said that anyone who goes to war does wrong things.

You are trying to twist my words. What a big surprise.

Edited February 21, 2011 by Ulysses G.

[Wallaby]

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to twist your words. I apogise for taking it the wrong way.

Tell me of a particular thing Israel has done wrong ie: using sulpher bombs that are illegal, continuing settlements which are illegal, expanding borders aftter agreeing not too, boarding a ship earning condemnation because it was in international waters? I don't know, just come up with a few.

I'm quite happy to say that the Palestinians are no angels, they use children as shields, they indiscriminently lauch rockets not giving a sh*t where they they land, they will use propaganda to say that innocent families have been killed by Israeli forces when they aren't so innocent.

I think the Palestinians aren't all saints. I also think they are way outmuscled and are trying to use whatever they can to gain sympathy, that's what the downtrodden do, though it can be the wrong thing to do.

What I don't understand is people that just state that no matter how illegal/immoral one side acts, it is always acceptable.

So what do you think the Israeli's have done that you would consider not exactly in the intersts of peace and the acceptable to the world at large?

[chuckd]

Hey, we finally agree on something. I would like nothing better than to see the end of the UN...at least from the US side.

Our treasury could certainly use that $5 Billion we annually donate to the lost cause. In addition, the UN Building would make a great place to put up some of our homeless in NY City.

You may have finally come up with a good idea.

The US doesn't seem to worry about any resolutions anyway, they do what they want regardless of world opinion. The only impact it would have for the US is that they could wipe their debt to the UN.

I don't think all the UN should be gone, they do good things as a peacekeeping force.

So you could have 3/4 of the building to house the homeless.

The peacekeeping force is one reason there is dispute on monies owed. The US pays more than 25% of peacekeeping and over 25% of the total UN budget.

That means the rest of the world pays the remaining 75%. Now tell me...does that really seem fair?

I want all of the building for the homeless, and the rest of the world to pay 100% for the useless organization.

Here is a link that seems to set out the truth about the alleged debt. Believing it is up to you.

http://www.mikenew.com/un-debt.html

Chuck, this isn't a rhetorical question. Does the US involve itself in approx 25% of the peacekeeping forces? Does the US disregard approx 25% of the UN resolutions and go it alone then ask for UN assistance in those conflicts? What percentage of UN forces have to go into conflicts the US has entered into?

I don't know, I'm asking. Who has the most amount of troops under the UN etc. If the US has approx 25% in force or causes the UN to use a percentage of forces because of US action then it would be reasonable. What would be the percentage of profit the US would gain from certain conflicts and businesses that could gain if a 'friendly' govt was installed?

I don't know the answer and I'm not going to go through google just to find it. Just wondering. Surely it is worked out by the UN with some formula. Surely the US hasn't agreed to become a member of the UN without agreeing to what is paid/owed.

Why should the rest of the world pay for the homeless in the US? Can't the US look after it's own homeless instead of asking the UN to pay for it?

How about the UN building is just demolished and is made way for a new corporate building? I'm sure that is what would happen. Surely you don't think it would really be used for the benefit of the homeless. That is not the American way.

Since I don't really want to do your homework for you, here is a link where you can get all the information you want.

http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/resguide/specpk.htm

I am adrift at your question about the rest of the world paying for the homeless in the US. The land on which the building sits was purchased with a donation made by John D. Rockefeller and given to the city of New York. The building was built using an interest free loan from the US Government. Perhaps the loan has been repaid by now but I doubt it.

It would seem the UN was the recipient of some very nice charity by the US and a benefactor or two. If we take it back for our homeless, it would seem we are merely getting our property back to put to some meaningful use.

[Jingthing]

This situation is so much bigger and so much more complex than just the settlements, or not the settlements, or whether the US vetoes a UN resolution calling them illegal (which they are) or not. I just watched a mind blowing documentary by BBC Louis Theroux called The Ultra Zionists. It focuses on the Jewish religious fanatics who are behind the different kinds of settlements in the west bank, some established suburban type enclaves, and some much more dicey and extreme and even illegal under Israeli law. They are a small minority of Israelis but they certainly have a big impact. But stayed tuned, because the bottom line here is what the show (which I already knew) reveals about the Palestinian popular view on the street, and that is, that this isn't just about Israel dropping the settlements, it's much more so about Israel being "liberated" completely, the entirety of Israel including Tel Aviv. To resolve that, a UN resolution on the settlements, yeah or no, means basically nothing.

[Ulysses G.]

So what do you think the Israeli's have done that you would consider not exactly in the intersts of peace and the acceptable to the world at large?

If it is a fact that Abbas offered all the concessions leaked by Al Jazeera and he had the authority to grant them, I think that it was incredibly stupid not to accept.