Well said. The alternative to the UN is permanent global war, with ever more powerful weapons and ever more inhumane practices. At the same time, unrestrained industrial exploitation of the Earth drives us toward climate collapse, which will cause further conflict and disaster. If we cannot do justice, then the Earth herself will deliver the verdict on humanity.
The actions of Netanyahu and the Israeli government are not only criminal but as obnoxious, inhumane and unforgivable as those committed against Jews in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s. , Those of the US, UK and all others who support Israel and supply it with armaments and funding make them complicit in this genocidal activity.
The current World Order is broken in a way that would have been thought highly unlikely, if not impossible, only 30 or 40 years ago. I remember celebrating the Berlin Wall being torn down and believing that we were entering a new age when, despite continuing conflicts, governments were finally waking up and people regaining power over their own destinies. - How wrong I was. How despairing to see such hope and joy fade before my eyes.
The hypocrisy of Netanyahu and Biden and all others who justify this destruction and carnage and the killing of innocent women and children, let alone innocent men, can in no way be accepted as "self defense." This excuse is the most hypocritical statement I have heard in my 77 years on this Earth.
Although I am a pacifist, since being on active service in the Middle East many years ago, I have to say that Netanyahu and the IDF ought to be stopped NOW and if it takes international forces to do it, then so be it. I don't like suggesting it and I know that it ought not to be necessary. Netanyahu and the US President could end the war this minute.
Let's not be fooled or misled - this killing, maiming, injury, destruction, famine, poverty, disease and trauma is a travesty of justice and completely immoral. It has nothing to do with defense. It is a blatant attempt at genocidal elimination of the Palestinian population.
I, too, am a pacifist, and I agree with every word you have said. I deplore war and every form of violence. But the people carrying out this genocide lack normal consciences, and peaceful means are not reaching them. If the whole world boycotted, that would help. But would it be enough? Or soon enough?
What really baffles me is the cruelty and hypocrisy of my own government—and England, France, and Germany. What does it mean to stand for “freedom” and “equality” and human rights when the Palestinians are so obviously denied these things?
Absolutely. It's all so incredibly hypocrite. And not just Germany, England and France. The Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Australia, Italy....They are all in on it. All of them. They really could not care less about the lives of human beings outside the narrow confines of the West
Yes, I was born in England, lived most of my life in Australia and have a sister and other relatives in the USA. The governments stance on Israel in all of these nations shame us all.
When first coming to Australia I was horrified to discover the appalling treatment of Aborigines - which continues over 40 years later. Then after a few years, I realised the extent of discrimination against immigrants, particularly the non-white or non-English speaking ones. Again, this continues to this day.
Excuse me for mentioning something slightly off topic but I also subsequently realised the extent of prejudice, mistreatment and appalling abuse of women, not least the death by a partner of around 2 women per week, here.
All these three natons, (as well as others you mention), claim to be bastions of freedom, progressive thought and democracy. - I fail to see it.
I wonder just what it is that infects human beings with such appallingly cruel behaviour, fear and hatred of difference and use of false logic and the height of hypocrisy to justify, (read 'excuse') it.
It is way, way beyond the pale. I am too much of a coward to again try to suicide but I have a DNR order in force and, frankly, although I know that this is a beautiful world with many wonderful species and that life can have so many magical moments, I feel that appallingly nasty, cruel, self-serving attitudes are becoming inceasingly commonplace and the alliances between and among hard right autocrats and dictators accerating disturbingly.
The UN, despite having had and having some brilliant and compassionate leaders of many nationalities, appears to be virtually powerless to stop the atrocious perfidy that readily equals anything we have seen in the past. So, I don't know what the answer may be. I fear that there isn't one other than the extinction of our race. Certainly, I now see death as a release rather than a loss.
Thank you to all those here who show compassion and rationality and who have the courage and make the effort to try to highlight the wrong and injustice that exists and shouldn't.
I think the horror of what's going on in Palestine and the west's support of it will bring down the western world. I hope the UN can find a way to bring justice to the region, and stop the killing in Palestine.
The UNSC isn’t the problem, since there’s only one member blocking a ceasefire… it’s the US government. The UN Charter could be changed to eliminate the veto, but that would require US government acquiescence. It all comes down to either a) the rest of the world uniting in unprecedented fashion to form a bloc capable of counterweighting the US, b) US citizens getting informed and taking state power back from the crackpot realists who determine US foreign policy, or c) the same crackpot realists leading the US into collapse at massive human cost globally 🤷♂️
It's like if we had a global medical board that decided on all medical issues, and its charter allowed all board members a veto. That might be a good design - requires consensus, gives minority views power. But one of the members is a serial killer. With the serial killer on the board, the board is the problem; without the serial killer, the board wouldn't be the problem. To reform the board, the serial killer would need to be removed, or the serial killer would block reform. So it's not inaccurate to say the board is the problem, but it's more accurate to say the serial killer on the board is the problem. And the analogy breaks down here, because in the international system, there is no other source of real power other than states. So it all comes down to either a) the rest of the world uniting in unprecedented fashion to form a bloc capable of counterweighting the US, b) US citizens getting informed and taking state power back from the crackpot realists who determine US foreign policy, or c) the same crackpot realists leading the US into collapse at massive human cost globally. Unless I'm missing something!
The very premise of establishing global institutions like the UN was to create mechanisms for mitigating the destructive impulses of rogue nations and individuals driven by power, greed or malicious ideologies. Humanity learned through catastrophic upheavals that unchecked national self-interest and the depravity certain leaders are capable of necessitates overarching systems of accountability.
To then assert that the fundamental flaw lies not with the institutions themselves, but rather the existence of these inevitable "bad apples" misses the core purpose for which robust international frameworks were conceived. The inescapable reality is that there will always be nations and factions pursuing their aims through violence, oppression and disregard for human rights. It is precisely this grim truth that mandates institutionalized checks and enforcement measures transcending the parochial interests of any one state.
Therefore, if an entity like the UN Security Council is systemically paralyzed by the ability of its own malign elements to blasphemously wield veto power, then the institution has structurally failed its foundational mission. The current impotence of such bodies to regulate destabilizing rogue behavior indicates not the mere presence of bad actors, which was a foregone assumption, but a deeply flawed architecture unequipped to uphold its founding ideals of collective human security.
In essence, to recognize the permanence of self-serving human rapacity while simultaneously deeming the established institutions as blameless is a paradoxical dereliction. Because these institutions were expressly designed to possess the fortitude and legitimacy to impose substantive consequences on the very depredations they now enable through systemic incapacitation. The culprit, by extension, is their depleted potency - an indictment of their increasingly defunct frameworks.
The onus thus remains on overhauling these vestiges into formidable enforcers of universal human rights and humanitarian norms. Merely rationalizing their futility only perpetuates a failure to evolve robust mechanisms capable of decisively neutralizing the chronic resurgence of unconscionable geopolitical forces.
It's not that the UN is blameless, it's that blaming the UN misses the point. (It's like blaming the UNGA for its resolutions not being enforced.) Which becomes clear once we think about how "to create mechanisms for mitigating the destructive impulses of rogue nations and individuals driven by power, greed or malicious ideologies." Design something that will restraint the US? The US doesn't join. Design something that will restrain the US without having the US as a member, and we're at a) above.
Anarchy doesn't mean chaos🙄 It means no more hierarchies. All forms of government are AUTHORITARIAN. Governments exist to protect the WEATHY psychopaths from us. Plus hierarchies are subject to entropy.
Anarchy means no governments period. All forms of government are authoritarian. Hierarchies are subject to entropy. And who's keeping the US government in check🤣 Last I checked they're facilitating a genocide. Oh yeah, the US was founded on genocide and slavery.
"And who's keeping the US government in check🤣 Last I checked they're facilitating a genocide." -That's why I feel we need functional governing bodies like a genuinely operating United Nations (e.g., without veto powers). While the idea of having no governing body at all may sound like a great utopia, I have seen no evidence of such an approach working effectively.
Well said. The alternative to the UN is permanent global war, with ever more powerful weapons and ever more inhumane practices. At the same time, unrestrained industrial exploitation of the Earth drives us toward climate collapse, which will cause further conflict and disaster. If we cannot do justice, then the Earth herself will deliver the verdict on humanity.
Sad but very true indeed.
No, I cannot.
The actions of Netanyahu and the Israeli government are not only criminal but as obnoxious, inhumane and unforgivable as those committed against Jews in Europe during the 1930s and 1940s. , Those of the US, UK and all others who support Israel and supply it with armaments and funding make them complicit in this genocidal activity.
The current World Order is broken in a way that would have been thought highly unlikely, if not impossible, only 30 or 40 years ago. I remember celebrating the Berlin Wall being torn down and believing that we were entering a new age when, despite continuing conflicts, governments were finally waking up and people regaining power over their own destinies. - How wrong I was. How despairing to see such hope and joy fade before my eyes.
The hypocrisy of Netanyahu and Biden and all others who justify this destruction and carnage and the killing of innocent women and children, let alone innocent men, can in no way be accepted as "self defense." This excuse is the most hypocritical statement I have heard in my 77 years on this Earth.
Although I am a pacifist, since being on active service in the Middle East many years ago, I have to say that Netanyahu and the IDF ought to be stopped NOW and if it takes international forces to do it, then so be it. I don't like suggesting it and I know that it ought not to be necessary. Netanyahu and the US President could end the war this minute.
Let's not be fooled or misled - this killing, maiming, injury, destruction, famine, poverty, disease and trauma is a travesty of justice and completely immoral. It has nothing to do with defense. It is a blatant attempt at genocidal elimination of the Palestinian population.
Well said. In full agreement.
I, too, am a pacifist, and I agree with every word you have said. I deplore war and every form of violence. But the people carrying out this genocide lack normal consciences, and peaceful means are not reaching them. If the whole world boycotted, that would help. But would it be enough? Or soon enough?
What really baffles me is the cruelty and hypocrisy of my own government—and England, France, and Germany. What does it mean to stand for “freedom” and “equality” and human rights when the Palestinians are so obviously denied these things?
Absolutely. It's all so incredibly hypocrite. And not just Germany, England and France. The Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Australia, Italy....They are all in on it. All of them. They really could not care less about the lives of human beings outside the narrow confines of the West
Yes, I was born in England, lived most of my life in Australia and have a sister and other relatives in the USA. The governments stance on Israel in all of these nations shame us all.
When first coming to Australia I was horrified to discover the appalling treatment of Aborigines - which continues over 40 years later. Then after a few years, I realised the extent of discrimination against immigrants, particularly the non-white or non-English speaking ones. Again, this continues to this day.
Excuse me for mentioning something slightly off topic but I also subsequently realised the extent of prejudice, mistreatment and appalling abuse of women, not least the death by a partner of around 2 women per week, here.
All these three natons, (as well as others you mention), claim to be bastions of freedom, progressive thought and democracy. - I fail to see it.
I wonder just what it is that infects human beings with such appallingly cruel behaviour, fear and hatred of difference and use of false logic and the height of hypocrisy to justify, (read 'excuse') it.
It is way, way beyond the pale. I am too much of a coward to again try to suicide but I have a DNR order in force and, frankly, although I know that this is a beautiful world with many wonderful species and that life can have so many magical moments, I feel that appallingly nasty, cruel, self-serving attitudes are becoming inceasingly commonplace and the alliances between and among hard right autocrats and dictators accerating disturbingly.
The UN, despite having had and having some brilliant and compassionate leaders of many nationalities, appears to be virtually powerless to stop the atrocious perfidy that readily equals anything we have seen in the past. So, I don't know what the answer may be. I fear that there isn't one other than the extinction of our race. Certainly, I now see death as a release rather than a loss.
Thank you to all those here who show compassion and rationality and who have the courage and make the effort to try to highlight the wrong and injustice that exists and shouldn't.
Take care. Stay safe. ☮️
A sobering and saddening message but very true. Thank you for sharing.
It’s already failed and waiting for its end.
I think the horror of what's going on in Palestine and the west's support of it will bring down the western world. I hope the UN can find a way to bring justice to the region, and stop the killing in Palestine.
How can we sit back and do nothing?
If we March for Peace or call for a Ceasefire we are branded as Terrorist Sympathisers or Antisemitic.
The UNSC isn’t the problem, since there’s only one member blocking a ceasefire… it’s the US government. The UN Charter could be changed to eliminate the veto, but that would require US government acquiescence. It all comes down to either a) the rest of the world uniting in unprecedented fashion to form a bloc capable of counterweighting the US, b) US citizens getting informed and taking state power back from the crackpot realists who determine US foreign policy, or c) the same crackpot realists leading the US into collapse at massive human cost globally 🤷♂️
The fact that the US can paralyze the UNSC shows to me that the institution is the problem. Because it clearly needs reform.
It's like if we had a global medical board that decided on all medical issues, and its charter allowed all board members a veto. That might be a good design - requires consensus, gives minority views power. But one of the members is a serial killer. With the serial killer on the board, the board is the problem; without the serial killer, the board wouldn't be the problem. To reform the board, the serial killer would need to be removed, or the serial killer would block reform. So it's not inaccurate to say the board is the problem, but it's more accurate to say the serial killer on the board is the problem. And the analogy breaks down here, because in the international system, there is no other source of real power other than states. So it all comes down to either a) the rest of the world uniting in unprecedented fashion to form a bloc capable of counterweighting the US, b) US citizens getting informed and taking state power back from the crackpot realists who determine US foreign policy, or c) the same crackpot realists leading the US into collapse at massive human cost globally. Unless I'm missing something!
The very premise of establishing global institutions like the UN was to create mechanisms for mitigating the destructive impulses of rogue nations and individuals driven by power, greed or malicious ideologies. Humanity learned through catastrophic upheavals that unchecked national self-interest and the depravity certain leaders are capable of necessitates overarching systems of accountability.
To then assert that the fundamental flaw lies not with the institutions themselves, but rather the existence of these inevitable "bad apples" misses the core purpose for which robust international frameworks were conceived. The inescapable reality is that there will always be nations and factions pursuing their aims through violence, oppression and disregard for human rights. It is precisely this grim truth that mandates institutionalized checks and enforcement measures transcending the parochial interests of any one state.
Therefore, if an entity like the UN Security Council is systemically paralyzed by the ability of its own malign elements to blasphemously wield veto power, then the institution has structurally failed its foundational mission. The current impotence of such bodies to regulate destabilizing rogue behavior indicates not the mere presence of bad actors, which was a foregone assumption, but a deeply flawed architecture unequipped to uphold its founding ideals of collective human security.
In essence, to recognize the permanence of self-serving human rapacity while simultaneously deeming the established institutions as blameless is a paradoxical dereliction. Because these institutions were expressly designed to possess the fortitude and legitimacy to impose substantive consequences on the very depredations they now enable through systemic incapacitation. The culprit, by extension, is their depleted potency - an indictment of their increasingly defunct frameworks.
The onus thus remains on overhauling these vestiges into formidable enforcers of universal human rights and humanitarian norms. Merely rationalizing their futility only perpetuates a failure to evolve robust mechanisms capable of decisively neutralizing the chronic resurgence of unconscionable geopolitical forces.
It's not that the UN is blameless, it's that blaming the UN misses the point. (It's like blaming the UNGA for its resolutions not being enforced.) Which becomes clear once we think about how "to create mechanisms for mitigating the destructive impulses of rogue nations and individuals driven by power, greed or malicious ideologies." Design something that will restraint the US? The US doesn't join. Design something that will restrain the US without having the US as a member, and we're at a) above.
Nah, now you're stretching it mate. My reply should have been enlightening :)
Anarchy doesn't mean chaos🙄 It means no more hierarchies. All forms of government are AUTHORITARIAN. Governments exist to protect the WEATHY psychopaths from us. Plus hierarchies are subject to entropy.
Anarchy also means no governing body to keep super powers like the US in check.
Anarchy means no governments period. All forms of government are authoritarian. Hierarchies are subject to entropy. And who's keeping the US government in check🤣 Last I checked they're facilitating a genocide. Oh yeah, the US was founded on genocide and slavery.
"And who's keeping the US government in check🤣 Last I checked they're facilitating a genocide." -That's why I feel we need functional governing bodies like a genuinely operating United Nations (e.g., without veto powers). While the idea of having no governing body at all may sound like a great utopia, I have seen no evidence of such an approach working effectively.
When you start to look you realize the decline started long ago, we are almost certainly in the collapse phase after decades of inaction
https://www.diligent.news/p/to-save-the-soul-of-america
https://x.com/resist_05/status/1832380885116842037?s=46
“Zionist in nature “ 😝
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Jewish_anarchists