And this is why Scott McNealy is taking Sun private again. but I *completely* agree with you, especially if it is a company that is certified as SOX Compliant (jeez, come on now, no one talks about SOX yet!). I was really hoping that SOX would make a difference at the company I left. But when they failed on the stupidest of things that I spent 6 months of 70 hour weeks trying to prevent and avoid.... their only option was to sell the company. *sigh*
but there really wasn't a formal "metholodogy" in place, just common sense practices that everyone there had agreed to follow.
I think this is where you hit the nail on the head. Common sense just doesn't abound like it used to. People don't seem to apply it, particularly in the technical industry. I mean, I say this with a modocum of shame, because, as sensible as I try to be, I'm not. I seriously have no common sense. But I'm sure that's for other reasons. I do have asic skills and tenements that I put in place, and those function very well. And when it comes to tech, I have a very strongly developed 'sense' - cuz it ain't common, that's for sure. Somewhere along the line, we have to teach these things in our Computer Science and education systems. Troubleshooting, testing, documenting, design, all of that should be taught before even getting TO programming. IMHO, of course... not speaking as a programmer, but someone who took all four classes of the SDLC coinciding with my first Pascal, then Ada, then C Classes. Can you see why I'm not a programmer?:P
Oddly enough, all of those processes coincide with most everything else in computers. And can be applied thusly.
Is it just me, or is our education system, including the technical universities, just going down the tubes, Are we're being outdone by those we are contracting our work to? I'd like to think that this is because we're finding the issues in the work we bring BACK from overseas, but somehow I doubt it.:(
Heheheeh... they already do this. It's called the PSP.:P Seriously... that's what it looks like, that Apple is going to try to get the iPod to go the direction of the PSP. I'll tell ya... I am NOT a Playstation fan, though I'm a Sony ho, I hate the Playstation. But I *want* a PSP. More than I want an iPod Nano. But not more than I want just a regular plain old iPod.:P
I don't traditionally mind politics... but relentless advertising (propaganda) is another story.
And this is where we are getting ourselves into very real trouble, because so much of all this stuff *is* propaganda, and not factual. Or at least highly distorted. *sigh* Very nicely said though.
Ok, from REC's original post: am about as liberal as you can get. I think that the role of the government should be expanded such that it provides a very large safety net for the disadvantaged, and I think that many services that we now pay for ought to be subsidized such that those services (medical, roads, etc) are free/affordable for at least the most disadvantaged and ideally for the whole citizenry.
*WOAH*!!!!!!!! WOW! I'm speechless. I really am. That's some really freakin' scary BS man. If our country went anywhere near that, I'd book to Mexico. For real. I could go to Canada, but they already have this stuff there! What part of FREE does this equal? Again, I am forced to ask, wtf ever happened to personal accountability? But I'm not flaming here... cuz I respect your right to feel that way, and I even admire it. I just don't think it accounts for human nature (take New Orleans for example).
But then I saw his article close up with this signature: Jesus saved me from my past. He can save you as well.
I have seen a lot of things in my life, but I don't think I've yet met a Liberal Democratic Evangelical Christian!!!! I sat here for several minutes trying to pick my jaw up off of the floor on this one. ReformedExCon, you are a very interesting enigma.:)
Jho
Heya - This was really cool, and thank you for writing it. I wish I had my last mod point, but I wasted it on the stupid chat client article.:( Thank you for putting this out there, because I'm going to do some research... it will help me understand more about this politcal climate we live in today.
MS Messenger: Ships standard on all Windows PC's. Pops up every five minutes asking you if you would like to sign up for service. Causes your computer to explode if you try to uninstall it, or indeed just try to get it to shut up.
Actually, this is a misstatement. Windows Messenger is part of the Microsoft Operating System. I do not know of any OEM that ships their desktops with MSN Messenger installed. This is a separate 11mb download from messenger.msn.com. Because of this, I can uninstall MSN Messenger, continue using Windows Messenger (like on my PC here), or I can uninstall them both (windows components in Control Panel).
As a survivor, of both cognitive and pharma therapies together and seperate.... thank you for posting this. A lot. You have no idea. You've helped me a lot.... because you said a lot of things there that are very true, and that I need to remember. I quit going to BT, because it wasn't working. She kept saying the same things about screwed up relationships, past traumas, blah blah blah... but she would never give me any answers or strengths on how to deal with the real issues that I have. It did take her 4 months to convince me to go on meds, and another 4 months of therapy before I (and my insurance company) decided it was not working.
Since then, I've been focusing on making a lot of progress on my own, and have been doing well. But my mistrust in psychiatric professionals is shaken once again. Especially when said shrink calls and bitches me out for missing an appointment that was set 6 months ago, and was in another calendar at another JOB (that I no longer have, and that my NEW insurance won't cover. So what? He sent me a bill and didn't renew my prescription. So now, in order to that, I have to pay him his $250 bucks an hour (of which I get 10 minutes), and listen to him talk about his support for the gay boys of SD. *BARF* All so I can get him to renew a drug that I KNOW and can prove is working, combatting my anxiety and fears, so that I can learn to better face them on my own.:)
Your genetic material shows a predisposition to a certain inherited disease that is expensive to treat. We don't want our health coverage plan to have to deal with a claim for this sort of disease, so we will not hire you.
HEH! They do this already. They just deny you access to the proper medical coverage to treat the expensive not-inherited-spontaneously-mutated-life-threateni ng defect that WE CAN'T CONTROL!
Case in point: I have Marfan Syndrome and as a result, have a stable of heart, lung, eye, joint, pain docs. One of the side effects - I developed FibroMyalgia for some not quite understood reason (it's common in Marfs) complete with the Chronic Fatigue. So for the past 7 years, I've managed my health (and related costs) on my own by using PPO insurance plans and Flex Spending Accounts. I changed jobs from one company to another - same job type - better place - and found I had the same insurance company! *GREAT* No problems.
Except for one. For some unGODLY reason - I can't buy up to the PPO plan. I get stuck with this shit they call QPOS (Quality Point of Service... I mean... Piece of shit). Can't stay with the same docs (for 7 years now, remember), have to get a referral just to keep up with all of my regular checkup appointments, AND, to see anyone other than my Primary Care, I have to pay twice the regular co-pay. And don't even get me started on the drug formulary issues. I can't get my TEE's done this year, I can't get my lung tests/eye tests/joint lubrication/anything else I need this year! ARGH! And it's not like I can afford $30 bucks every time I go to see one of my specialists - once every 3 months.
So when I talked to the insurance company, my doctors, and my HR people... they all tell me, oh, we're sorry, we can't really help you... you're on your own. WTF? I have the doctors I have because they are the best in the city, and now you're telling me that I can't see them anymore, even though I could under MY PPO PLAN? JUST CUZ I CHANGED TIERS?!?! UGH!!!!!! Their answer is that they plan only for the average worker and their health care needs, and they will take my request to provide for a PPO plan under advisement. Why the hell can't you purchase a PPO plan in California, when I could at my LAST JOB! Same insurance provider! ARGH.
But seriously.. I'm very very happy that IBM has taken this step. I think it's important that we be a bit more forethinking than people have been for the past 30 years (hello, New Orleans). And we also need to think about employees needs going forward, especially if you are trying to RETAIN employees, something I know we are trying to do. *sigh*
Nope, that was the main reason we dropped AT&T Wireless (in addition to Cingular buying them out). We switched over to T-Mobil, but they weren't much better.:(
Heheheeh... if you knew how hard they were to support, you might reconsider this. They are a *nightmare*. Especially if you have AT&T/Cingular. They suck big ones. I mean, *really* big. With like 3 hour hold times to get a rep, JUST TO ACTIVATE INTERNATIONAL DIALING! *ARGH*
No, I would not be unhappy to see the death of the Crackberry. They are horrible devices. I carried 4 generations for 2 years, and I had every single model replaced at least once, SIM card replaced 3x, and NOTHING but problems. My new cell phone (haven't carried one in 7 years, minus the damn crackberry - the cell phone wasn't very functional on it) sucks even worse, because I can't even figure out how to use the damn thing!:P
EWWWWWWW!!! That's so bad. Cuz they are local to where I live.:( *blah* I'm sorry you had to go through all of that, what a pain in the ass. Which sucks, cuz they are a Christian band... and (MHO) they rather bite. But that's just me... they aren't my style. But they WON'T STOP TORTURING US WITH THEM!!!!!!!!:D Cuz they are local kids made it big I guess.
Ok, and peeps want to turn over the root DNS Servers from ICANN to the fUN*? WHAT?! This so reminds me of the old pissing contents back in the days over phone line bandwidth when I worked for smaller telcom companies. They would have to negotiate constantly with the big boys just to let their little traffic onto their networks. *sigh* When did things become so difficult?
That is some serious BS right there. Damnit. That sucks. Because I *love* CDs because I can so tell about the quality loss. But to not be able to import the songs onto a computer is straight up BAH! Who was the CD?
Jho
*ooooooooo* SCORE! *doh* You'd think I'd get that one right, huh? Major brain fart. And it's not like I wasn't a child of the war... born in theatre the same day as they evac'd the 'last' POWs from Hanoi. Hrmph. Thanks.:) And thanks for not flaming me too hard.:D
Ya know... I read through most of the comments on this article. It surprises me that so few people on Slashdot are so unknowning about the history of the Internet and Computers. Y0!!! Last time I checked, DARPA was a division of the United States Military. That is who built the Internet, and we have merely been expanding the uses and innovating it's structure to fit today's growing world. How is that the US didn't create the Internet again? Who is it that paid the billions in research and funding throughout the 70's and 80's? I mean, my father had a Darpa account from 1981 on! I mean, no one else in the world can claim that.
All this BS is is just that, BULLSHIT. The EU and the UN are merely power-grabbing at straws to try to 'wrest power from the US'. Well, that won't happen... the US has never been cowed into giving up anything! They are merely grumpy about the whole War on Terror, and how the US handled it. But that doesn't mean that *gasp* an international body can't continue to support and maitain the DNS Root Servers that have been managed by the US for 20 years. It won't happen, it can't happen, at least not in the form that the UN is conceiving of.
As far as I can see, these two bodies need to look within themselves and resolve their OWN issues internally before trying to take over anything that inherently belongs to a sovereign nation. The EU can't even agree on it's Constitution!!!! They can't bring their Union together and they can't solve their own problems. They have no leadership! How can they be expected to take over something that the entire world depends on, when they haven't the vaguest concept of it in the first place. And when the UN can come clean with all of their corruptions and scandals and prove that they have SUCCESSFULLY REFORMED, maybe only MAYBE can we consider trusting them with some kind of regulatory advisory board for Root DNS. But probably not. If they can bungle aid operations in Darfur by raping children, I doubt SERIOUSLY that they can be trusted to operate the world's root servers.
Just sit back for a minute and think about all the UN has done for the past 10 years. NOTHING. Nothing of *ANY* substance whatsoever. They couldn't even stop genocide in the Balkans or in Africa! And do you really think that the US is that stupid? I have great hopes for the EU. But I don't think it will survive. I don't think it will last, not unless the people stand up and take control of their representatives, and they can't do that. They reject the Constitutions, they are not agreeable to any reforms at all. The Washington Post ran a great article about this today. And they want to tell the US that they are going to FORCE us to hand over control of the Root DNS Servers? MUWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I don't fucking think so.
I love this. But um, what about the Marshal Plan? US Taxpayers paid to rebuild the whole of destroyed Europe after WWII. We don't get any credit for that???
WHAT monetary support? The US is billions upon billions of dollars in arrears with regard to UN dues. Besides, based on American Foreign Policy, the UN would probably be very thankful for the US dropping out... then you'll have to pay for your own messes when you invade sovereign nations under false pretences.
Please see this article: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/international/un_re form/paying_dues.html. It is $562 million, and they are withholding monetary support under legal reasons drawn up by Senators under the Clinton Administration. It was also reinforced this year by another law to enforce the reforms at the UN. Because no international body should be found to be guilty of CHILD RAPE! What's more, is we are NOT alone. Japan is withholding its' dues, as well as others. So check your facts before you go posting what you don't know about.
the UN has made huge inroads in areas of Human Rights, they have ended conflicts peacfully and more than peace keeping the UN also provides relief efforts all over the world every year.
So I spose that the soldiers in the blue hats raping Sudanese girls under 10 is a way of providing relief to their suffering from war? *please* I don't see where the UN is doing a whole lot of life saving *coughKosovocough* or relief efforts through their corruptions and scandals. I just don't see it. And I think if the UN *doesn't* reform, we should get out. We should really get over our Kofi-addiction.
Slashdot Mirror
Thank you so much for the links, I'm dling them now. This will help me a lot... :) -- Jho
And this is why Scott McNealy is taking Sun private again. but I *completely* agree with you, especially if it is a company that is certified as SOX Compliant (jeez, come on now, no one talks about SOX yet!). I was really hoping that SOX would make a difference at the company I left. But when they failed on the stupidest of things that I spent 6 months of 70 hour weeks trying to prevent and avoid.... their only option was to sell the company. *sigh*
but there really wasn't a formal "metholodogy" in place, just common sense practices that everyone there had agreed to follow.
:P
:(
I think this is where you hit the nail on the head. Common sense just doesn't abound like it used to. People don't seem to apply it, particularly in the technical industry. I mean, I say this with a modocum of shame, because, as sensible as I try to be, I'm not. I seriously have no common sense. But I'm sure that's for other reasons. I do have asic skills and tenements that I put in place, and those function very well. And when it comes to tech, I have a very strongly developed 'sense' - cuz it ain't common, that's for sure. Somewhere along the line, we have to teach these things in our Computer Science and education systems. Troubleshooting, testing, documenting, design, all of that should be taught before even getting TO programming. IMHO, of course... not speaking as a programmer, but someone who took all four classes of the SDLC coinciding with my first Pascal, then Ada, then C Classes. Can you see why I'm not a programmer?
Oddly enough, all of those processes coincide with most everything else in computers. And can be applied thusly.
Is it just me, or is our education system, including the technical universities, just going down the tubes, Are we're being outdone by those we are contracting our work to? I'd like to think that this is because we're finding the issues in the work we bring BACK from overseas, but somehow I doubt it.
Jho
We sure should be able to. Hear Hear! :D
Jho
Heheheeh... they already do this. It's called the PSP. :P Seriously... that's what it looks like, that Apple is going to try to get the iPod to go the direction of the PSP. I'll tell ya... I am NOT a Playstation fan, though I'm a Sony ho, I hate the Playstation. But I *want* a PSP. More than I want an iPod Nano. But not more than I want just a regular plain old iPod. :P
Jho
We got fucked by Nextel because we had to get a new phone, and they screwed up on the contract, and refused to fix it. That's why we're on Sprint now.
:(
Sprint and Nextel merged earlier this year, though, so you're still on Nextel. Unfortunately.
I don't traditionally mind politics... but relentless advertising (propaganda) is another story.
And this is where we are getting ourselves into very real trouble, because so much of all this stuff *is* propaganda, and not factual. Or at least highly distorted. *sigh* Very nicely said though.
Jho
Ok, from REC's original post: am about as liberal as you can get. I think that the role of the government should be expanded such that it provides a very large safety net for the disadvantaged, and I think that many services that we now pay for ought to be subsidized such that those services (medical, roads, etc) are free/affordable for at least the most disadvantaged and ideally for the whole citizenry.
:)
Jho
*WOAH*!!!!!!!! WOW! I'm speechless. I really am. That's some really freakin' scary BS man. If our country went anywhere near that, I'd book to Mexico. For real. I could go to Canada, but they already have this stuff there! What part of FREE does this equal? Again, I am forced to ask, wtf ever happened to personal accountability? But I'm not flaming here... cuz I respect your right to feel that way, and I even admire it. I just don't think it accounts for human nature (take New Orleans for example).
But then I saw his article close up with this signature: Jesus saved me from my past. He can save you as well.
I have seen a lot of things in my life, but I don't think I've yet met a Liberal Democratic Evangelical Christian!!!! I sat here for several minutes trying to pick my jaw up off of the floor on this one. ReformedExCon, you are a very interesting enigma.
Heya - This was really cool, and thank you for writing it. I wish I had my last mod point, but I wasted it on the stupid chat client article. :( Thank you for putting this out there, because I'm going to do some research... it will help me understand more about this politcal climate we live in today.
MS Messenger: Ships standard on all Windows PC's. Pops up every five minutes asking you if you would like to sign up for service. Causes your computer to explode if you try to uninstall it, or indeed just try to get it to shut up.
Actually, this is a misstatement. Windows Messenger is part of the Microsoft Operating System. I do not know of any OEM that ships their desktops with MSN Messenger installed. This is a separate 11mb download from messenger.msn.com. Because of this, I can uninstall MSN Messenger, continue using Windows Messenger (like on my PC here), or I can uninstall them both (windows components in Control Panel).
Everything else I agree with.
This 'clinic' is selling digital snake oil...nothing more.
;(
My first thought is that they are brainwashing these kids that come in for 'treatment'. Which is an even scarier thought. *sigh*
China scares me more and more every day.
Jho
As a survivor, of both cognitive and pharma therapies together and seperate.... thank you for posting this. A lot. You have no idea. You've helped me a lot.... because you said a lot of things there that are very true, and that I need to remember. I quit going to BT, because it wasn't working. She kept saying the same things about screwed up relationships, past traumas, blah blah blah... but she would never give me any answers or strengths on how to deal with the real issues that I have. It did take her 4 months to convince me to go on meds, and another 4 months of therapy before I (and my insurance company) decided it was not working.
:)
Since then, I've been focusing on making a lot of progress on my own, and have been doing well. But my mistrust in psychiatric professionals is shaken once again. Especially when said shrink calls and bitches me out for missing an appointment that was set 6 months ago, and was in another calendar at another JOB (that I no longer have, and that my NEW insurance won't cover. So what? He sent me a bill and didn't renew my prescription. So now, in order to that, I have to pay him his $250 bucks an hour (of which I get 10 minutes), and listen to him talk about his support for the gay boys of SD. *BARF* All so I can get him to renew a drug that I KNOW and can prove is working, combatting my anxiety and fears, so that I can learn to better face them on my own.
Jho
Your genetic material shows a predisposition to a certain inherited disease that is expensive to treat. We don't want our health coverage plan to have to deal with a claim for this sort of disease, so we will not hire you.
i ng defect that WE CAN'T CONTROL!
HEH! They do this already. They just deny you access to the proper medical coverage to treat the expensive not-inherited-spontaneously-mutated-life-threaten
Case in point: I have Marfan Syndrome and as a result, have a stable of heart, lung, eye, joint, pain docs. One of the side effects - I developed FibroMyalgia for some not quite understood reason (it's common in Marfs) complete with the Chronic Fatigue. So for the past 7 years, I've managed my health (and related costs) on my own by using PPO insurance plans and Flex Spending Accounts. I changed jobs from one company to another - same job type - better place - and found I had the same insurance company! *GREAT* No problems.
Except for one. For some unGODLY reason - I can't buy up to the PPO plan. I get stuck with this shit they call QPOS (Quality Point of Service... I mean... Piece of shit). Can't stay with the same docs (for 7 years now, remember), have to get a referral just to keep up with all of my regular checkup appointments, AND, to see anyone other than my Primary Care, I have to pay twice the regular co-pay. And don't even get me started on the drug formulary issues. I can't get my TEE's done this year, I can't get my lung tests/eye tests/joint lubrication/anything else I need this year! ARGH! And it's not like I can afford $30 bucks every time I go to see one of my specialists - once every 3 months.
So when I talked to the insurance company, my doctors, and my HR people... they all tell me, oh, we're sorry, we can't really help you... you're on your own. WTF? I have the doctors I have because they are the best in the city, and now you're telling me that I can't see them anymore, even though I could under MY PPO PLAN? JUST CUZ I CHANGED TIERS?!?! UGH!!!!!! Their answer is that they plan only for the average worker and their health care needs, and they will take my request to provide for a PPO plan under advisement. Why the hell can't you purchase a PPO plan in California, when I could at my LAST JOB! Same insurance provider! ARGH.
But seriously.. I'm very very happy that IBM has taken this step. I think it's important that we be a bit more forethinking than people have been for the past 30 years (hello, New Orleans). And we also need to think about employees needs going forward, especially if you are trying to RETAIN employees, something I know we are trying to do. *sigh*
Jho
Nope, that was the main reason we dropped AT&T Wireless (in addition to Cingular buying them out). We switched over to T-Mobil, but they weren't much better. :(
Heheheeh... if you knew how hard they were to support, you might reconsider this. They are a *nightmare*. Especially if you have AT&T/Cingular. They suck big ones. I mean, *really* big. With like 3 hour hold times to get a rep, JUST TO ACTIVATE INTERNATIONAL DIALING! *ARGH*
:P
No, I would not be unhappy to see the death of the Crackberry. They are horrible devices. I carried 4 generations for 2 years, and I had every single model replaced at least once, SIM card replaced 3x, and NOTHING but problems. My new cell phone (haven't carried one in 7 years, minus the damn crackberry - the cell phone wasn't very functional on it) sucks even worse, because I can't even figure out how to use the damn thing!
Jho
It's comin' right for us!
-- Jimbo Kern © South Park
EWWWWWWW!!! That's so bad. Cuz they are local to where I live. :( *blah* I'm sorry you had to go through all of that, what a pain in the ass. Which sucks, cuz they are a Christian band... and (MHO) they rather bite. But that's just me... they aren't my style. But they WON'T STOP TORTURING US WITH THEM!!!!!!!! :D Cuz they are local kids made it big I guess.
Jho
Ok, and peeps want to turn over the root DNS Servers from ICANN to the fUN*? WHAT?! This so reminds me of the old pissing contents back in the days over phone line bandwidth when I worked for smaller telcom companies. They would have to negotiate constantly with the big boys just to let their little traffic onto their networks. *sigh* When did things become so difficult?
That is some serious BS right there. Damnit. That sucks. Because I *love* CDs because I can so tell about the quality loss. But to not be able to import the songs onto a computer is straight up BAH! Who was the CD?
Jho
*ooooooooo* SCORE! *doh* You'd think I'd get that one right, huh? Major brain fart. And it's not like I wasn't a child of the war... born in theatre the same day as they evac'd the 'last' POWs from Hanoi. Hrmph. Thanks. :) And thanks for not flaming me too hard. :D
Jho
Ya know... I read through most of the comments on this article. It surprises me that so few people on Slashdot are so unknowning about the history of the Internet and Computers. Y0!!! Last time I checked, DARPA was a division of the United States Military. That is who built the Internet, and we have merely been expanding the uses and innovating it's structure to fit today's growing world. How is that the US didn't create the Internet again? Who is it that paid the billions in research and funding throughout the 70's and 80's? I mean, my father had a Darpa account from 1981 on! I mean, no one else in the world can claim that.
All this BS is is just that, BULLSHIT. The EU and the UN are merely power-grabbing at straws to try to 'wrest power from the US'. Well, that won't happen... the US has never been cowed into giving up anything! They are merely grumpy about the whole War on Terror, and how the US handled it. But that doesn't mean that *gasp* an international body can't continue to support and maitain the DNS Root Servers that have been managed by the US for 20 years. It won't happen, it can't happen, at least not in the form that the UN is conceiving of.
As far as I can see, these two bodies need to look within themselves and resolve their OWN issues internally before trying to take over anything that inherently belongs to a sovereign nation. The EU can't even agree on it's Constitution!!!! They can't bring their Union together and they can't solve their own problems. They have no leadership! How can they be expected to take over something that the entire world depends on, when they haven't the vaguest concept of it in the first place. And when the UN can come clean with all of their corruptions and scandals and prove that they have SUCCESSFULLY REFORMED, maybe only MAYBE can we consider trusting them with some kind of regulatory advisory board for Root DNS. But probably not. If they can bungle aid operations in Darfur by raping children, I doubt SERIOUSLY that they can be trusted to operate the world's root servers.
Just sit back for a minute and think about all the UN has done for the past 10 years. NOTHING. Nothing of *ANY* substance whatsoever. They couldn't even stop genocide in the Balkans or in Africa! And do you really think that the US is that stupid? I have great hopes for the EU. But I don't think it will survive. I don't think it will last, not unless the people stand up and take control of their representatives, and they can't do that. They reject the Constitutions, they are not agreeable to any reforms at all. The Washington Post ran a great article about this today. And they want to tell the US that they are going to FORCE us to hand over control of the Root DNS Servers? MUWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I don't fucking think so.
Jho
I love this. But um, what about the Marshal Plan? US Taxpayers paid to rebuild the whole of destroyed Europe after WWII. We don't get any credit for that???
Jho
And add to it this one please:e form/paying_dues.html
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/international/un_r
Jho
WHAT monetary support? The US is billions upon billions of dollars in arrears with regard to UN dues. Besides, based on American Foreign Policy, the UN would probably be very thankful for the US dropping out... then you'll have to pay for your own messes when you invade sovereign nations under false pretences.
e form/paying_dues.html. It is $562 million, and they are withholding monetary support under legal reasons drawn up by Senators under the Clinton Administration. It was also reinforced this year by another law to enforce the reforms at the UN. Because no international body should be found to be guilty of CHILD RAPE! What's more, is we are NOT alone. Japan is withholding its' dues, as well as others. So check your facts before you go posting what you don't know about.
Please see this article: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/international/un_r
Jho
the UN has made huge inroads in areas of Human Rights, they have ended conflicts peacfully and more than peace keeping the UN also provides relief efforts all over the world every year.
So I spose that the soldiers in the blue hats raping Sudanese girls under 10 is a way of providing relief to their suffering from war? *please* I don't see where the UN is doing a whole lot of life saving *coughKosovocough* or relief efforts through their corruptions and scandals. I just don't see it. And I think if the UN *doesn't* reform, we should get out. We should really get over our Kofi-addiction.
Jho