more deaths, iraqi deaths

[sleepyguy]

http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Story/20050831-009/page.asp

that is just insane.

[asim99]

i heard some shias blaming u.s. army for blocking other exits, on tv

[devious9191]

i heard some shias blaming u.s. army for blocking other exits, on tv

Really? I heard that it was a pack of wild kangaroos that were blocking their exit.

[15-20_God]

At least the Iraqi's are apparently better off now with Saddam out of power, or so I've been told.

[kilarney]

At least the Iraqi's are apparently better off now with Saddam out of power, or so I've been told.

Much less the same but with a bit of democracy

[devious9191]

At least the Iraqi's are apparently better off now with Saddam out of power, or so I've been told.

How many stampedes have there been in North America in the last 5 years? Any time a large group of people get together, with no quick exits and panic ensues, someone's going to get stepped on. How many people die in these types of stampedes every year in the middle east on their way to/from Mecca?

[Byrns]

i heard some shias blaming u.s. army for blocking other exits, on tv

If someone gets a hangnail in Iraq its the American's fault.

[asim99]

If someone gets a hangnail in Iraq its the American's fault.

unfortunately, that may actually be true in many cases

[Kommander_KornFlakes]

Wow, Bush's "democracy" in Iraq is flawless and smooth, can we have more bomb-enforced democracies like this elsewhere? America is the great moralist savior of the world, wow.

[devious9191]

Wow, Bush's "democracy" in Iraq is flawless and smooth, can we have more bomb-enforced democracies like this elsewhere? America is the great moralist savior of the world, wow.

Maybe we could start in Sudan or Rwanda? The rest of the world seems to turn a blind eye to government corruption, rape, torture and genocide.. but I'm sure those people would hate to have their dictators removed and democracy installed.

It's too bad that the UN is padding their own pockets to take any sort of action that isn't led by the US.

[asim99]

Maybe we could start in Sudan or Rwanda? The rest of the world seems to turn a blind eye to government corruption, rape, torture and genocide.. but I'm sure those people would hate to have their dictators removed and democracy installed.

It's too bad that the UN is padding their own pockets to take any sort of action that isn't led by the US.

yeah, blame the UN....hail bush!

[15-20_God]

How many stampedes have there been in North America in the last 5 years? Any time a large group of people get together, with no quick exits and panic ensues, someone's going to get stepped on.

yeah, in iraq ppl stampede trying to save their lives. in america ppl stampede to buy $50 ibooks.

[devious9191]

yeah, blame the UN....hail bush!

Who would you blame? Genocide is occurring today, as we speak. That's a fact. Another fact is that the entire world is doing nothing about it. The people in Sudan are powerless, and are being slaughtered... another fact.

We only have one world body that is doing absolutely nothing to stop it. So, who are you blaming? Where is the resolution to go in and fix this problem? Or maybe you blame this one on the US as well? They bailed out Bosnia when the UN was spectating, why not Sudan?

Who's responsible for genocide in Sudan? Obviously the UN for a policy of inaction.

[devious9191]

yeah, in iraq ppl stampede trying to save their lives. in america ppl stampede to buy $50 ibooks.

What about that fire in the club a couple of years ago? I think that was in Rhode Island or NY, where 100some people died. It's unfortunate, but these things happen.. noone should be blamed.

[15-20_God]

if the sudanese were smart they would bury some oil or "harbor" some terrrorists. but as of now, it doesn't pay to liberate these ppl.

[asim99]

i blame colin powell and condoleeza rice who both gave these people false hopes, and refuse to do anything serious about it

Who would you blame? Genocide is occurring today, as we speak. That's a fact. Another fact is that the entire world is doing nothing about it. The people in Sudan are powerless, and are being slaughtered... another fact.

We only have one world body that is doing absolutely nothing to stop it. So, who are you blaming? Where is the resolution to go in and fix this problem? Or maybe you blame this one on the US as well? They bailed out Bosnia when the UN was spectating, why not Sudan?

Who's responsible for genocide in Sudan? Obviously the UN for a policy of inaction.

[devious9191]

if the sudanese were smart they would bury some oil or "harbor" some terrrorists. but as of now, it doesn't pay to liberate these ppl.

It shouldn't have to pay, it's the UN's responsibility to save the world, not the US. If there was a UN resolution to go save Sudan, the US would probably contribute the most troops and resources to do it. As it stands, the world is full of backseat drivers criticizing what's occurring in Iraq, and the US has enough problems to deal with without attacking Sudan unilaterally.

[asim99]

If there was a UN resolution to go save Sudan, the US would probably contribute the most troops and resources to do it.

yeah right....u.s. hasn't even paid its overdue dues to the u.n., and expects it to take the lead

[devious9191]

i blame colin powell and condoleeza rice who both gave these people false hopes, and refuse to do anything serious about it

lol. Well then you're misplacing the blame. It's the responsibility of the developed nations to protect human rights in less developed nations, and that isn't a responsibility that the UN as a whole has lived up too.

Other than sending money to African war lords, I have no idea what sort of function the UN actually has. They sit back and watch NK and Iran develop nuclear weapons, watch people get slaughtered in Africa.. what do they do?

[devious9191]

yeah right....u.s. hasn't even paid its overdue dues to the u.n., and expects it to take the lead

Maybe you could quote a figure that shows how much the US owes the UN at this time..

[asim99]

Maybe you could quote a figure that shows how much the US owes the UN at this time..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_and_the_United_Nations
U.S. arrears to the UN currently total over $1.3 billion. Of this, $612 million is payable under Helms-Biden. The remaining $700 million result from various legislative and policy withholdings; there are no current plans to pay these amounts.

[WiZZLa]

What about that fire in the club a couple of years ago? I think that was in Rhode Island or NY, where 100some people died. It's unfortunate, but these things happen.. noone should be blamed.

Not true, in the $50 iBook incident, it's obvious you should blame Apple & their designers.

[devious9191]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_and_the_United_Nations


There does seem to be two sides of the story..

Helms-Biden Arrears Payments Completed

The United States has completed payment of its arrears to international organizations under the 1999 Helms-Biden agreement. Under the plan, a total of $926 million was appropriated and available for payment to the organizations, including $712 million to the United Nations regular budget and most of the balance to several UN specialized agencies, including WHO, FAO and ILO. Among the most significant conditions for payment of arrears was a permanent reduction in the US share of assessments for the four organizations cited above from 25 percent to 22 percent. In December 2000, the UN General Assembly approved the reduction for the US share of the regular budget and the specialized agencies followed within the year.

Status of Arrears

Over the course of its dispute with the United Nations over the issue of arrears, the United States and the UN did not agree on a single figure for outstanding arrears owed by the US to the world organization. The discrepancy is due to several factors, including: 1) congressional and executive branch actions that required the withholding of specific funds, i.e. for the construction of a UN conference center in Ethiopia in the 1980s, among others; 2) a longstanding dispute between the US and the UN over the methodology used by the United Nations to deduct federal income taxes from the salaries of American citizens employed in the UN Secretariat (now resolved); and 3) the existence of the 25 percent cap on US assessed contributions to UN peacekeeping that prevented the US from meeting its obligations fully over a half-decade-the single largest reason for the discrepancy. Based on UN figures, as of 28 February 2003, the United States owed $1.327 billion in both past and current (2003) obligations to the United Nations regular budget, international tribunals, and peacekeeping. Of this amount, arrears owed prior to 1 January 2003 total $738 million. Payment of arrears owed prior to 2003 would require legislative action that either repeals or rescinds the legislation that prompted the withholding in the first place.

http://www.unausa.org/site/pp.asp?c=fvKRI8MPJpF&b=346011

*shrug. I don't really know enough about this particular issue to make an informed comment.