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The United States withdraws from UNESCO

state.gov

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Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#191

Post by ajuc »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #140
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.

A couple of things I've realized as I've gotten older: 1. Intelligence does not transfer across domains. E.g. being good at making money doesn't necessarily make you qualified in other areas. And vice versa, as Isaac Newton is famously quoted as saying "I can calculate the motion of heavenly bodies, but not the madness of men" after losing a ton of money in the South Sea Bubble. 2. Many (most) people view their ident…

Intelligence is just computing power.

If you have false beliefs as the basis for your computation you just get wrong results faster.

What people mean by intelligent person is often someone who: - has more computing power - spends their time using that computing power - checks their assumptions and biases regularly - over time accumulates more correct beliefs than others

If you get lots of computing power but don't do the other things - you get a dumber person than average. Because they accumulate more wrong results than everybody else.

This is how you get tech bros - great at math and programming, dumb as a shoe about everything else.

Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#192

Post by SirFatty »

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.

My father passed in 2019, in cleaning up the house I came across a walnut display case with 10 or so real $2 bills with Trumps picture on them, sealed in plastic.

I had no idea my Dad had gone down that path, or why...

I've been on this earth a long time, and I too realize I don’t know anything about human nature or intellect.

Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#194

Post by garamond23 »

skywhopper wrote: post #165
throw7 wrote: post #89

This seems to be a political back and forth (beginning with the admittance of palestine in the past)... (from wikipedia) U.S. (and Israel) left UNESCO in 2018, but the United States rejoined in 2023. I presume U.S. has left again now in 2025. [edit: kind of surprised this hasn't been flagged, but sadly indicative of HN's bias.]

Trump was president in 2018, if you’ve forgotten.

> The United States cut funding for UNESCO under the Obama administration after it voted to include Palestine as a full member, and then pulled out completely during President Trump’s first term. >But in 2023, the Biden administration reversed that decision and decided to rejoin. - NYT - U.S. Says It Will Withdraw From U.N. Cultural Organization, Again

To be fair it looks like funding was cut during the Obama admin over the admittance of Palestine

Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#196

Post by rc_mob »

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.

What is with you people forgetting that Trump was president in 2018 and not Obama.

Why are you attributing Trumps actions to Obama. Stop it. Your comment is wholly dishonest.

Obama did not want to leave UNESCO. Period. Full stop.

Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#197

Post by johndoe90 »

dantillberg wrote: post #161
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.

> These are seemingly smart people. They _are_ smart people. There's more to the differences in perspective than "lib smart, maga stupid".

[flagged]

Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#198

Post by glitchc »

Loughla wrote: post #180
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…

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…

> 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.

If China wants to foot the bill, let them. As I pointed out, the US hasn't been getting anything in return for the last 25 years of footing the bill, basically since 9/11. China cares about its people. They are currently fighting back against privilege and conspicuous consumption by the elites [1]. The CCP knows that an open revolt would destabilize their grip. After all, they themselves rode a populist wave into power.

I think of it like the Tour de France. Sometimes to win the race you need to move into second place, conserve your resources, and let someone else face the headwinds.

The comment about change felt like an ad hominem attack.

[1] https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg7827pwlro

Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#199

Post by unsupp0rted »

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.

> These are seemingly smart people.

If someone who seems smart disagrees with me then there's only 1 explanation

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