Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

The United States withdraws from UNESCO

state.gov

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

501–510 of 989 posts

Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#501

Post by selimthegrim »

rjzzleep wrote: post #458
nsypteras wrote: post #295

1984: U.S. withdraws. 2003: U.S. rejoins. 2011: U.S. stops paying dues after Palestine joins. 2017: U.S. announces withdrawal (effective end of 2018). 2023: U.S. rejoins, pledges to repay dues. 2025: U.S announces withdrawal Seems to be a revolving door

They're getting ready to bomb Iran's UNESCO sites. They did bomb several UNESCO sites in Yugoslavia and other places while they left. Their boy Grossi also told the whole world that there is a big target on a UNESCO site a short while back.

Which site in Yugoslavia did they bomb?

Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#502

Post by CWuestefeld »

wredcoll wrote: post #353
orblivion wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

What is it with people and their blind faith in this kind of dogma? If you think something is "cruft", then name it.

I think pretty much everyone acknowledges the cruft. They are always, for example, paying lip service to ending waste and corruption. But for all of their speechifying, nothing of note has ever been done in my lifetime[1].

The fact is that it's damned near impossible to build anything in America today, whether that's physical building or organizations. There is just too much vested interest, regulation, and unwillingness to just try something for fear of making a mistake (no politician can ever admit "I was wrong").

[1]actually, I guess I'm exaggerating. I can think of one significant thing: Clinton's changes to welfare. But the fact that there's only the one thing kinda underscores how vivid this is.

Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#503

Post by saelthavron »

hackyhacky wrote: post #355
pkilgore wrote: post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Obama didn't do anything (other than follow the law at the time): https://web.archive.org/web/20141224180231/https://foreignpo...

The is a good point: the decision was made by Congress, not by Obama. Although I disagree with that decision, that is the correct way to make it. Now, Trump is withdrawing unilaterally, without Congressional approval. Remember when presidents followed the law?

Was the law repealed?

Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#504

Post by WhyNotHugo »

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.

If you dedicate four years to burning down structures, it takes far more than another four years to rebuild them.

Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#505

Post by orblivion »

simlevesque wrote: post #452
orblivion wrote: post #418

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think cruft is the natural state of things in large organizations. There are plenty of views of the world (right or wrong) that take this shape (painting with broad strokes) that I wouldn't call blind faith or dogma.

You just proved you can't name any cruft. It was a simple question.

I deliberately did not answer your question. I refuse to get into the weeds because I reject your premise. I don't know anything about the inner workings of these organizations. (It's really not a "simple question" at all!) It's not my job, I'm just a voter. I have other things to do.

You seem to want me to assume that because of this, I have to default to YOUR position. I'm saying, that doesn't match my broad view of the world. I have the opposite default position.

I guess what I can say, broadly, is that the US Government has a MASSIVE budget. The cruft is in there somewhere. If there's one guy who says he's gonna try to slash it, I'll take that guy and hope for the best.

Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#506

Post by dlubarov »

austin-cheney wrote: post #364
offtotheraces wrote: post #359

Earlier quoted context omitted.

…says the Hamas-run health ministry . Nothing to see here, no conflicts of interest. Let’s trust the people who kidnapped babies and raped and pillaged their way across southern israel.

To the best of my knowledge the doctors running the health ministry did not kidnap anybody.

Some of the rescued hostages were held by a family that included a doctor (Ahmed Aljamal) and a journalist.

Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#507

Post by bongodongobob »

santoshalper wrote: post #474
dijit wrote: post #429

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s really not my fight, I’m Swedish - not American. You’ll always be disappointed if you continue with this mindset though, the world will not bend to you because of your moral outrage, the best you can hope for is to open peoples eyes with understanding - not by calling everyone inhumane, disgusting or laying expectations at their feet.

I think mass murder is one area where we can safely feel moral outrage. It might not work, but it probably has a better chance of influencing the outcome than shrugging and saying "well, that's just how it is".

Like the other reply, this shit really isn't as black and white and people make it out to be. There is a ton of history and fighting. They both suck. Anyone taking a hard stance with either side only has a surface level view of the situation.

Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#508

Post by WhyNotHugo »

saubeidl wrote: post #11

The United States voluntarily gives up yet another piece of soft power. Coming up next: The United States wonders why it doesn't have allies anymore and why the rest of the world starts working around them.

> Coming up next: The United States wonders why it doesn't have allies anymore and why the rest of the world starts working around them.

I doubt this happens. The US keeps bullying other countries and those same countries keep looking up to the US as if it were a big friendly ally.

Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#509

Post by LoganDark »

mindcrime wrote: post #178
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…

> Frankly, the damage done by Trump and MAGA is generational damage that will take generations to fix.

The damage to intelligence agencies in particular is something I fear may never be undone. I feel like the US is potentially out of the game forever.

Re: The United States withdraws from UNESCO

#510

Post by nonethewiser »

hackyhacky wrote: post #355
pkilgore wrote: post #323

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Obama didn't do anything (other than follow the law at the time): https://web.archive.org/web/20141224180231/https://foreignpo...

The is a good point: the decision was made by Congress, not by Obama. Although I disagree with that decision, that is the correct way to make it. Now, Trump is withdrawing unilaterally, without Congressional approval. Remember when presidents followed the law?

You seem to be conflating two things. That Obama was bound by law to withhold funds, and that the president cannot leave UNESCO unilaterally. The president in fact can just withdraw as the commander in chief and head of foreign policy, and they have withdrawn already in 1984 (Reagan) and 2017 (Trump).
Post reply on HN