> -----Oorspronkelijk bericht----- > Van: John D. Giorgis [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Verzonden: zaterdag 13 april 2002 15:57 > Aan: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Onderwerp: Re: War Crimes Tribunal to Open July 1st
> >>From Associated Press' newswire. I'm unfamiliar with this other than > >>what I've read in the attached single article, but.... at first > >>glance... I don't think we Americans should be above the law as they > >>are trying to establish it. > > But who gives *them* any right to establish law over us? Um, because UN members are bound by the UN Charter and the US is a UN member? The US *could* choose to end its UN membership -- it certainly fits within the US policy of self-isolation. Either they play by the UN rules, or they do not play at all. Anything else would be a violation of the principle of equality. > I think that this article is a classic example of how the United > Nations is slowly beginning to outlive its usefullness. The UN was > conceived as a vast "talking shop", where nations with radical > differences could talk them out, rather than fight them out in a costly > and bloody war. > Unfortunately, nowadays, the UN is rapidly approaching delusions of > "world governance", even though the world is in no way at all suited > for world governance at the current time. So? The UN was founded for a certain purpose, and then adapted as the world changed. We all do it; it is called evolution. And what do you propose in case we dismantle the UN? Let the *US* impose its will on the rest of the world because "America knows best what is good for the world"? > For example, lets take the best known model of world government - the > United States of America. (Surprised? Think about it for a moment, > the name..... United States.... compare to United Nations..... and the > difference between a "State" and a "Nation"?) Yeah, so? The various part of Germany are called states; the various parts of Great Britain (England, Wales, Scotland etcetera) are considered countries within Great Britain. I find it very presumptious to equate the US with a world government. > Now, enter the United Nations and the world governance of the "ICC." The purpose of the ICC is not to govern the world; its purpose is to bring war criminals to justice. > The ICC simply fails under so many tests, that it is hard to even know > where to being: > 1) It, like the UN, is based on the fundamentally flawed principle of > "one nation, one vote." It is the only fair and workable principle. Telling one group of people "you are less than others, your opinions are not as important as ours" only leads to resentment, hatred and agression. If you want to be listened to, you need to be respected. You do not get respect by labeling groups "lesser than us". > Heck, the international community can't even judge a *figure skating* > competition fairly, and now we are supposed to submit our own citizens > to this kind of judgement? Sheesh, what a load of horse's excrement. In that incident, it was *one* judge who did not play by the rules. It is utterly absurd to equate *one* person with the entire international community. It is as valid as saying that your views represent the views of this entire list. > 3) Finally, even if we were to only make the ICC party to democratic > States, there is little shared understanding of "law" and "fairness" > even between Europeans and Americans. Yeah, we are just a bunch of lawless and unfair savages, compared to the oh-so noble United States... :-( Do you have any idea how pompous and self-righteous your statement sounds to non-US citizens? It sounds as if the US considers itself and its citizens superior to the rest of the world. Jeroen _________________________________________________________________________ Wonderful World of Brin-L Website: http://www.Brin-L.com Tom's Photo Gallery: http://tom.vanbaardwijk.com
