Let's just take that quick summary to keep it simple:
[*]Maintaining peace and security - eh...where?
[*]Making peace - um... same question as above. Useally the UN only can go in to pick up the peaces.
[*]Promoting democracy, development, human rights, self-determination and independence, investment in developing countries - Aparently only in countries that are already considered to be democratic.
[*]Protecting the environment - Very big <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/down.gif" alt="" /> on this one. All they can try to do now is try to restore environment.
[*]Preventing nuclear proliferation - Wonder how they feel about that in N-Korea and Pakistan (just to name a few). Or the USA... Bush backed out of that one for his star wars program.
[*]Strengthening international law - again, where? A lot of countries, including the USA, won't even recognise that internatial court they established in Holland.
[*]Handing down judicial settlements of major international disputes. - This is a joke. Right? (-again, they only go in to pick up the pieces. One of the biggest scandals (that even forced a goverment to resign): In former Yoegoslavia a whole village got slaughtered while they ware supposed to be under protection of the UN)
[*]Ending apartheid in South Africa - Claiming credit for that is typical. It's appaling. Credit for that should go to the ppl who really fought for their freedom there.
[*]Providing humanitarian aid to victims of conflict, food to victims of emergencies - If the UN would be competent enough to solve those conflicts they wouldn't have to provide aid later on. Most aid doesn't make it to where it should be anyway. And most aid comes from induvial countries.
[*]Aiding Palestinian refugees - Only on tv. That they even dare to put this up. That they never ware able to get anywhere in that conflict just shows how incompetent they are.
[*]Focusing on African development - Should we go ask Africans, who are still getting more poor every day about this?
[*]Promoting women's rights - They should promote a little harder than. Wonder how women in a lot of muslim and other Asian and African countries feel about this...
[*]Providing safe drinking water - ah, That must be why the biggest part of the children in the world have no safe drinking water yet.
[*]Eradicating smallpox - And keeping it alive in labs for biological warfare. - It even showed up again in western countries not so long ago.
[*]Pressing for universal immunization - Making us immune to misery?
[*]Reducing child mortality rates - by 1? Again, a lot more is done by individual countries and organisations.
[*]Fighting parasitic diseases - Same as for smallpox.
And so on. Some of the things on that list are to appalling to comment on. Some things are more or less twice inthere, just with differend words. And others are the result of another topic in the list.
Making a better world is never achieved by an organisation who's biggest worry is how to keep itself alive.
It's achieved by ppl and organisations who really go out there and don't apear in front of the cameras constantly becouse they're actually doing something.
The UN gets most of their money from "industrial countries". And a golden rule is: never bite the hand that feeds you. Most countries hardly pay anymore anyway. Or a lot less than what they're supposed to.
There is just so much crap in your post here, that I had to get some toilet paper to remove the overflow from my screen. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" />
It would just be too boring to me to deal with most of your unsubstantiated drivel, so I will just attack those points that at least have SOME logic too them:
general comments: If you had even bothered to read any of the links past the general summary (which I kinda figured YOU wouldn't <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />), you would have the answers to many of the complaints you made, like where exactly the UN is involved in maintaining peace and security (East Timor, for example). This is my biggest criticism of your post: You didn't even bother to look at details involved in supplying the list of accomplishments, you just rolled over them with your own, unsupported, biased, OPINIONS!!! I am fast losing respect for you, my friend. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/disagree.gif" alt="" />
Preventing nuclear proliferation - Wonder how they feel about that in N-Korea and Pakistan (just to name a few). Or the USA... Bush backed out of that one for his star wars program.
Uh, I'd say the UN can't do its job without support from all participating countries, and the people that represent them. If the folks in the US would get off their ass and actually write letters to their representatives in support of the goals of the UN, perhaps taming nuclear proliferation would be an easier goal to achieve. However, most of them are just like you, too lazy to actually care to find out what the UN does, and why their goals actually support what most people say they really want in the world. As it is, why don't you do some research yourself and ask yourself the same question: Has the UN been invloved in helping to prevent nuclear proliferation, or not? Show us what you find out (don't just roll out your opinion).
Protecting the environment - Very big <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/down.gif" alt="" /> on this one. All they can try to do now is try to restore environment.
*sigh* Ask yourself this question: was the UN involved in putting together the meeting in Kyoto? Then ask: How many other meetings has the UN sponsored in support of sustainable development? Who else is trying to sponsor global support for sustainable development? As to the second part of your statement: Is the environment completely destroyed? Why isn't it? Are rhino's extinct? Not yet, at least. Why aren't they? You seem to ill educated on these topics to even make a comment, and yet you are ready to condemn the ONLY global organization that works to provide answers to these questions, and provide support to stop illegal trading.
Providing humanitarian aid to victims of conflict, food to victims of emergencies - If the UN would be competent enough to solve those conflicts they wouldn't have to provide aid later on. Most aid doesn't make it to where it should be anyway. And most aid comes from induvial countries.
Fool. it less to do with competency, or goals, or missions, than it has simply to do with resources. I guess you didn't bother to read the link i posted on the UN's budget. The UN does not have the resources necessary to prevent a major conflict occurring between two antagonists in and of itself. If you would research the conflict in East Timor, you would see a good example of how the UN was too undermanned to prevent that conflict; and the "supporting" countries were too busy in other areas (or unwilling) to provide for logistical support until it was too late. If there were really full support for the goals of the UN, it would have prevented that massacre from taking place. Most aid HAS to come from supporting countries, as the UN IS NOT A COUNRTY, duhhhh. the UN helps to organize relief efforts, and supply personel to do so. "Most aid does'nt make it where it should be anyway". Sounds like a gross overgeneralization born of ignorance to me <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/down.gif" alt="" />. Care to document that for us?
At this point, I am beginning to wonder what you think the UN actually is? It's not a country with population hundreds of million strong with it's own economy and GNP, you know. It was put together by those who believed in the goals it stands for (or at least SAID they did), and it is a tragedy that folks like yourself have abandoned those goals in favor of what? cynicism? Political directions come and go, when the hawks die down in the U.S., there will again be interest in supporting the goals of the UN in the U.S. However, if we all let the grand idea of the UN die for no good reason, when the pendulum swings back towards support, what will we do then? Start another UN? doubt it. Grand ideas like the UN don't gain support easily. Just like democracies are not born easily.
Why don't you post a message stating the goals of the United Nations, just so I know you at least understand what you are criticizing!