RE: Just curious!!!

Erricson T-29s

RE: UN security council

Welcome back, I guess??? :P, Ben, always nice to discuss a subject with you :-). And a wild guess that I’m not one of the people you meant in your other post, but that must be because we agree on most subjects but not in this case:

>Don’t be too modest, Jeroen, it was an interesting post.
>
>You’re talking about the European human rights court in
>Stratsbourg. Problem with this court is, it doesn’t function
>at all, and instead of trying to solve the real problems in
>Eastern-Europe (the Balkans) they are used for communautary
>crap in Belgium.

Yes, It is an European court, only cases can be brought foreword which are against member states. An induvidual complaint has to brought foreword. And indeed they get a lot of complaints of trivial things, but it is important to remember that human rights need to be maintained and that is a constant process.

There are many organistations which try to
>maintain peace in Europe, the CoE, the OSCE, Human rights
>watch. But human right issues shouldn’t be a regional
>matter, it should be a global one. Therefor the United
>Nations are so important.
>
>The reason why Germany is not allowed into the UNSC is
>because the UNSC was set up immediatelly after WWII, and up
>to today, nothing has changed in it, expect that since 1971
>the PRC has replaced the ROC in its seat.

I know but we were talking about the possibility of reforming the SC. So way not kicking out the French and introducing the Germans?

>
>I do think the UNSC should have permanent members, because
>they should be able to act quickly and send in peace-keepers
>when needed. In Europe we all know how long it will take if
>we should ask the opinion of every member individually.
>
I fail to see way a few countries can decide while others have to wait for their turn to get in. You introduced yourself the possibility of the EU occupying a seat in the SC, which means that the person has to bring foreword the European point of view which has to be created by the ministers of individual member states which in turn have to go to their individual parliaments. I see no difference with the African Union or Esean in that metter.

>You say Jordan and Egypt aren’t good candidates for the
>UNSC. Well, I do think they are. Iran should be better, but
>don’t forget Iran is not an Arab country and most Arabs hate
>Iranians. Saudi Arabia doesn’t respect human rights at all,
>and therefor, doesn’t deserve to get a seat.

You can’t say that a country doesn’t deserve that seat, otherwise I could name a number of countries who don’t deserve to get a seat in the SC permanent or otherwise.
SA should not get it because they are too small, inhabitants wise.

>
>Same with Nigeria. The Federal gov’t in Nigeria is rather
>progressive, but the local councils still use the Sharia as
>the only legitimate constitution. Throwing stones on women
>etc. In Africa, the only serious candidates I think are
>Egypt, Lybia and South Africa. Maybe Lybia would be a good
>candidate to represent the Arab world.

Libya would be a good candidate for Africa, I agree with you their. The Arab would got be best represented by Syria. But they too have some conflicts with the Arab world.

regards,

jw

RE: Engine failure

>We had that very scenario in Canada last year when an Air
>Transat 330 ran out of fuel in one engine, and then in the
>other over the Atlantic enroute to Portugal. The aircraft
>COASTED to the Azores. However, in a special on television
>”relived” the final events, and said that a small propeller
>drops down from under the belly of the aircraft (between the
>wings) in an effort to help push the plane a little further
>and aid with the “coasting”. I was really surprised to hear
>that.

??????????????? A propeller to push an airliner further? Wasn’t that a generator which helps to generate the much needed electrical power when an engine seize to work. I think normally the engines generate power but if the engines run out of fuel then this has to be taken over by an other electrical source. The “propeller” works as an dynamo on a bike.
regards,

jw

UN security council

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 09-09-02 AT 12:21 PM (GMT)]oops twice, It is interesting reading but not that intersting!

regards,

jw

RE: UN security council

Geforce, you’ve done it again, a mighty interesting subject, but also a very tricky one.
Firstly I think the UN in general and the SC in particular does have function in today’s world. It is true that some have a veto, ‘but that doesn’t mean nothing is accomplished in the SC even nowadays.

Secondly, I don’t think the SC is going to reform itself. Firstly the countries who have to go in your plan have a veto and that means that any country can veto the decision to eliminate themselves.

But it is a rather interesting subject and therefore I am going to give my opinion about it and hoping to get some interesting responses to it.

Firstly the principle of a SC is a good instrument to use because it can be used swiftly (everything is relative) and decisively (in principle). Therefore I think it should stay. That said it should reform itself. The veto has to go. Why can some country block a certain motion if everybody else agrees on it. The veto holders can never be reprimanded IF (not just thinking about the US) by the SC because the permanent members will block any motion against their countries.

Option one
I think the members should rotate don’t have any permanent members any more. We have in the world a number of organisations which represent a number of countries, let those organisations get a seat in the SC. The organisations could be EU, GOS, ESEAN, African forum (or whatever it is called), cluster of central and south America, north America (US + Canada + perhaps Mexico) etc. So you have all the countries in the world represented in the SC.

Option 2
That is not going to happen for a long time. So option two.
One vote for the EU. I don’t think that either France of the UK should take it. Germany is the largest country so if any country should have it, it should be Germany. But I rather opt for a EU vote, just like Geforce (we only have to convince another 349.999.998 other Europeans :P).
Brazil and Indonesia are good countries who must get in. Russia must get out. Arab countries should be represented by either Syria or Iran. Not Egypt and Jordan, not really a voice of the Arab world, pro western.
China can stay and dito for the US.
South Africa is a good candidate for Africa or Nigeria perhaps.

JJ,
I do not agree with you, if you say that the US has no other responsibility then to look after the US and it’s allies. The US has this responsibility because they are the biggest power in the world, so there is no one to challenge them if they do something. So in theory they can do anything they them well please, but they can’t do it for moral reasons, international law etc. That alone should bound the US.
I do agree with you that the US isn’t responsible for all the world’s problems, that said they have the capability to act and react to the worlds trouble spots. If two states are fighting and the US doesn’t react, while they have the capability doesn’t that make them also responsible for the lives which are lost. Not primarily of course because they didn’t start to fight and they don’t actively kill but if they don’t do something in my view are responsible, the same goes for Europe btw.
You could compare it to the following situation:
In a canal is someone drowning, you pass by and see this, you are a capable swimmer and could rescue the persons live. If you don’t does that make you responsible for that persons live? In Holland you can get convicted if you don’t act in that situation and people have. There was a rather famous case in the Netherlands, In Den Bosch (city of 50.000 or so) was a child drowning in a canal, a lot of people just stood their and watched the child while it was struggling for her live, among them where policemen. Nobody acted, because everybody thought someone else will, in the end a civilian dove in and rescue the child, I don’t know if the people got find in this incident but I think some were.
The same goes in world affairs, if a country doesn’t react then it has blood on its hands.

>Another problem with the UN is that the members are often undemocratic countries, which don’t care about human life, but only about their current regimes remaining in power. The effects of this too, are clearly visible. And lastly, with Libya becoming the chair of the UN Human Rights Commission I cannot understand how anyone can take that commission serious anymore.<

It will always be a problem if countries join which aren’t democratic. But what right do we have as democratic, western nation to give those COUNTRIES and its citizens a second class rating. One of the major advantages of the UN is that every country is represented, except for Taiwan and Switzerland, soon to join. We have a world forum which doesn’t have an equal than therefore it the most important body of this world.

In Europe we have an court which deals with human rights issues in Europe alone, if an European citizen feels that he is mistreated by the government then he can sue the government in his or her own country, if he has done that and his complain wasn’t granted then he can go to the European court were the dispute will be decided. Every European nation has been reprimanded by the court one time or an other, there fore we Europeans shouldn’t be allowed into the commission on these grounds. Hate to go into the US issue itself because off all the negative issues I have put n this forum in regard to the US lately, but it is still a good example. The USA wanted to get into the Human rights committee, even so bad that they still don’t pay up a certain percentage of the amount due to the UN. If I’m not mistaken the Human rights committee is elected in a democratic way in the general assembly of the UN and there fore even Libya was elected in a democratic way.

Regards,

jw

RE: Darwin awards : Stupid but funny !!!

Man, just watch TV and you see how stupid an average people are. But this is beyond all expectations! Great, I want more, I want more, bis, bis, bis etc. Ah well you get the picture.

regards,

jw

RE: Bad flying experiances.

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 04-09-02 AT 01:24 PM (GMT)]http://www.keymags.co.uk/dcforum/DCForumID3/2040.html

later,

jw