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The United States withdraws from UNESCO

state.gov

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Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#171

Post by jajko »

aprilthird2021 wrote: post #141
duesabati wrote: post #6

> America First > anti-Israel American Government became the parody of itself, so sad

You have to sign a document saying you won't boycott Israel, academic journals cancel editions which talk about Palestine, you can't be part of UNESCO for Israel. You can't write a college article critical of Israel or we'll kidnap you off the streets into an unmarked van. You can't be a business and not give a contract to Israel or your employee will tip off the Anti Boycott Office against you. Your Congressmen wear…

You aren't russian gubernia neither, why does your country behave like one?

Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#172

Post by lokar »

glitchc wrote: post #150
lvl155 wrote: post #40

And it’s wild to think that more than 1/3 of the devs I’ve met in my life support this admin. These are seemingly smart people. The past 10 years or so made me realize I don’t know anything about human nature or intellect. Edit: I am in no way saying conservatism is bad and liberalism is good. I have my values in both.

The online space (Reddit, HN, others) is so deeply embedded with groupthink that people have lost the ability to see other points of view or debate topics of interest. To me it's very clear why the government is leaving UNESCO (and over time the UN at large). The UN is dysfunctional and does not work. It used to be a source of soft power for the States, but hasn't been so for the better part of this century. Meanwhil…

These arguments of the form “the US should not do X because of the deficit “ are either ill informed or disingenuous.

Go look at where the money goes. This is not it.

Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#173

Post by aprilthird2021 »

akashshah87 wrote: post #63

“The U.S. began defunding UNESCO under Obama after it admitted Palestine as a full member—and then withdrew entirely during Trump’s first term.” — [ New York Times ]( https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/world/europe/us-withdraw-... ) This isn’t just a blip, but part of a long-term downward trajectory in U.S. and UNESCO relations.

It was stupid then and it's stupid now. We aren't Israel and we shouldn't have to be citizens of Israel

Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#174

Post by glitchc »

esseph wrote: post #170
glitchc wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The online space (Reddit, HN, others) is so deeply embedded with groupthink that people have lost the ability to see other points of view or debate topics of interest. To me it's very clear why the government is leaving UNESCO (and over time the UN at large). The UN is dysfunctional and does not work. It used to be a source of soft power for the States, but hasn't been so for the better part of this century. Meanwhil…

Why is the US the only country in the world denying Israeli crimes in Gaza? That's how I know the UN no longer matters.

Because the rest of the world denies Palestinian crimes in Israel.

Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#175

Post by monero-xmr »

glitchc wrote: post #150
lvl155 wrote: post #40

And it’s wild to think that more than 1/3 of the devs I’ve met in my life support this admin. These are seemingly smart people. The past 10 years or so made me realize I don’t know anything about human nature or intellect. Edit: I am in no way saying conservatism is bad and liberalism is good. I have my values in both.

The online space (Reddit, HN, others) is so deeply embedded with groupthink that people have lost the ability to see other points of view or debate topics of interest. To me it's very clear why the government is leaving UNESCO (and over time the UN at large). The UN is dysfunctional and does not work. It used to be a source of soft power for the States, but hasn't been so for the better part of this century. Meanwhil…

[flagged]

Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#177

Post by spacebanana7 »

silveira wrote: post #79
lvl155 wrote: post #40

And it’s wild to think that more than 1/3 of the devs I’ve met in my life support this admin. These are seemingly smart people. The past 10 years or so made me realize I don’t know anything about human nature or intellect. Edit: I am in no way saying conservatism is bad and liberalism is good. I have my values in both.

Intelligence sometimes manifests as doing the wrong thing in the most convoluted way.

Intelligence also gives people the power to reconcile morality or economic theory with almost any desire.

The worst ideas come from the smart people who can persuade themselves and others of inevitable success.

Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#178

Post by mindcrime »

LoganDark wrote: post #51

I really hope the next president will be able to undo this fucking mess... otherwise the US is probably never going to catch back up to what it used to be. Voters made a terrible mistake.

Frankly, the damage done by Trump and MAGA is generational damage that will take generations to fix. BUT... not everything wrong with this country is down to them. And while I don't agree with the MAGA version of what it means to "make America Great Again", I do agree that a lot of things in this country have been on a downward slope for decades.

We have deep structural and cultural issues that date back a VERY long time and it's unclear how to fix them, or even if they are fixable. Just look up some of what Tocqueville had to say about populism and anti-intellectualism in America as far back as 1831.

Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#179

Post by alistairSH »

Loughla wrote: post #162
mathgeek wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

It's different perspectives, I've come to learn. The people I know who support this regime do so because they feel completely left out (they're low income so I'm not sure that applies to software developers). When there's nothing for you why wouldn't you want to just burn it all down? Then you can build a more "fair" system. Please note that I do not agree with literally anything current admin does, this is just the…

What the "burn it down" crowd fail to realize is Trump and those like him will always put guardrails in place to ensure they come out in top in the new world. Unless they're willing to be part of an actual revolution, they're still just voting for "new king, same as the old king"

Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#180

Post by Loughla »

glitchc wrote: post #150
lvl155 wrote: post #40

And it’s wild to think that more than 1/3 of the devs I’ve met in my life support this admin. These are seemingly smart people. The past 10 years or so made me realize I don’t know anything about human nature or intellect. Edit: I am in no way saying conservatism is bad and liberalism is good. I have my values in both.

The online space (Reddit, HN, others) is so deeply embedded with groupthink that people have lost the ability to see other points of view or debate topics of interest. To me it's very clear why the government is leaving UNESCO (and over time the UN at large). The UN is dysfunctional and does not work. It used to be a source of soft power for the States, but hasn't been so for the better part of this century. Meanwhil…

You took out the comment about people howling about change. Why? That seemed the central thesis of your statement.

I would argue that it's not practical to burn the current system down without a plan at all for the next system (like the ACA a few years ago. . .)

My concern isn't change. My concern is the complete lack of concern for consequences. Like it or not, the US is and has been on the decline in terms of world authority. Leaving a power vacuum, like dismantling the UN, will just open the door for places like China to step in. You think that country has any amount of give a crap about humanity as a whole? Not even a little, I would argue.

So, again, for many people, it's not that the UN is perfect (or even functional in my opinion). It's that there is, has been, and seems like there will never be an actual plan. Am I wrong?

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