"Don't those French know...

[Stringer]

Originally posted by GScholz
Last time i checked the United States owed more than a billion dollars in unpaid dues to the UN. So I guess the other member nations have to make up for your UN "financing".

Dang Facts:

Total U.N. and MDB-Related Contributions Would Reach Almost $4 Billion

In the context of the budget request and subject to congressional approval, total U.S. contributions to the organizations in the United Nations system and peacekeeping could total over $2.2 billion in FY2005. The principal components include: U.N. regular budget, $362.2 million; specialized agencies, $420 million; war crimes tribunals, $66 million; Capital Master Plan loan guarantee, $6 million; peacekeeping, $650 million; voluntary programs, approximately $700 million to organizations such as UNICEF, UNDP, UNHCR, and UNRWA, among others. With the inclusion of U.S. commitments to the multilateral development banks, the total would increase to about $3.7 billion in FY2005.

United Nations Regular Budget

The FY2005 request contains nearly $362.2 million to meet the calendar year 2004 United States assessment for the United Nations regular budget, an increase of about $21 million over the current level of $340.8 million approved by Congress for FY2004. In late December 2003, the U.N. General Assembly adopted a $3.16 billion budget for the biennium 2004-05. In real terms, the new budget has been characterized as a "no growth" package. Though the new budget is $270 million more than the previous one, the increase is attributable to currency and inflation adjustments. U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan had sought a 0.5 percent increase in real terms. The United States currently pays 22 percent of the U.N.'s budget.

Wow, 22% of the U.N.'s budget is payed by the US.

How much does Norway pay?  To be fair, Norway should pony up $3.7 billion, wouldn't you say, that way, EVERYONE pays the same amount.  Afterall that is the fairest way to do it.  Equality in payments.

[Yeager]

oh goodie!  Im on gshmolzes ignore list!  now thats funny hehe

Little ole me

[SFRT - Frenchy]

Originally posted by lazs2
French citizens?  sounds like imperialism to me.  

lazs

Someone drank too much brake fluid.

[Stringer]

Gsholz,
The UN is not a tax collector, and it's MEMBER nations are not it's tax base.

It is a MEMBERship.  Therefore the term DUES.

Last I checked, MEMBERS being charged the same amount of DUES is fair.

It looks like Norway has at least one village idiot.

[Stringer]

And why do those arrears exist:

Timely Payment of U.S. Contributions (Synchronization)

For more than twenty years, the United States has been regularly delinquent in the payment of its annual assessed contributions to the United Nations and its agencies. U.S. contributions are often ten or more months late owing to the government's practice of seeking congressional appropriation of the funds after the date on which they are actually due; the result is payment of U.S. assessments in the final months of the organizations' budget year. Under legislation enacted into law in September 2002, Congress called on the administration to "initiate a process to synchronize the payments of its assessment to the U.N., its affiliated agencies and other international organizations over a multi-year period so the U.S. can resume paying its dues at the beginning of each calendar year."


Lifting the Cap on Peacekeeping Contributions

The Bush Administration is seeking the permanent lifting of a "cap" on U.S. contributions to U.N. peacekeeping that was enacted into law in 1994 and that had been suspended in recent years. The 1994 law limited the U.S. share of peacekeeping contributions to 25 percent; at the time, the U.S. share was just over 30 percent, and the resulting differential caused the United States to accrue some $500 million in arrears. With the decision of the General Assembly in late 2000 to reduce the U.S. assessment over several years to a new level of 27 percent, Congress agreed to suspend the cap until FY 2004 when it hoped that the U.N. member states would agree to reduce further the U.S. assessed share. These negotiations have not gotten underway, but in an effort to avoid the accumulation of new arrears, the President is asking Congress to lift the ceiling on peacekeeping contributions permanently. The Senate has included language that would do so in its version of the State Department Authorization bill; the House's draft of the same bill would temporarily lift the cap for the next two years.

And the path forward:

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 U.N. specialized agencies, including WHO, FAO and ILO. Among the most significant conditions for payment of arrears was a permanent reduction in the U.S. share of assessments for the four organizations cited above from 25 percent to 22 percent. In December 2000, the U.N. General Assembly approved the reduction for the U.S. share of the regular budget and the specialized agencies followed within the year.

[Rude]

Originally posted by GScholz
Countries besides the US and UK that have or had troops in Iraq:

Albania
Australia
Azerbaijan
Bulgaria
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Honduras
Nicaragua
Czech Republic
Denmark
Georgia
Germany
Estonia
Hungary
Italy
Japan
Kazakhstan
Latvia
Lithuania
Macedonia
Moldova
Mongolia
Netherlands
Norway
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Tonga
Slovakia
South Korea
Spain
Thailand
Ukraine


The list is a bit dated so some countries may need to be added to the list. Btw. the UK is a European country.

You may take the "ignorant and arrogant" remark any way you want; it sure fits you.

I take your remark to me as I take everything you post.

Is the UN really a peace-keeping body?

Look at some of these failures:

Dutch Government resigns as a result of U.N. "peace-keeping".

U.N. fails to condemn slavery in Sudan.

The U.N. is even a joke in Sierra Leone.

Where was the U.N. during the massacre in Rwanda in 1994?

Where were they when Mugabe expunged all white farmers from Zimbabwe, and caused a famine that threatens to kill 8 million? Now they are talking with Mugabe about how to avert the disaster. What a joke!

They impede the war in Iraq, claiming diplomacy and inspections are the only answer. At the same time, they refuse to discuss the North Korea's brazen moves.

U.N. ignores more human rights abuses. This time in Iran.

U.N. takes over in East Timor, and then drops the ball leading to further violence and anarchy.

Remember those Buddist statues in Afghanistan that the Taliban destroyed? Well, you guessed it. The U.N. failed to save them.

The U.N. fails to protect those displaced by a civil war in Angola.

That's right. The U.N. failed in Kashmir, too.

The U.N. failed in Somalia.

The U.N. failed in Bosnia.

The U.N. failed in Israel.

The U.N. failed in Columbia.

The U. N. failed in Iraq.

Well.....quite the record....you should be proud.

As to payments by the US, keeping your friends close is a fine thing...keeping your enemies closer is good business....don't flatter yourself my little socialist.

[NUKE]

I'm concerned about civilian deaths. Maybe the French should reconsider military options in order to ensure civilians do not die.

[NUKE]

Why do the French want to rush to war? I'm very concerned. Have all diplomatic options been exausted?

[lazs2]

maybe if all the french left there and allowed those people to govern themselves...

How many civilian lives are the french willing to lose in this war for cocoa?

lazs

[lazs2]

maybe we should try that in iraq?  I mean let them have their own government and all?   maybe we should even skip the conquer and enslave part before that?

lazs

[lazs2]

I thionk we should stop this killing that is the result of the french and their decadent gourmet life style and insatiable desire for cocoa...  They are using up the worlds supply of cocoa and not paying their fair share to the countries they enslave.

lazs

[straffo]

Originally posted by lazs2
maybe we should try that in iraq?  I mean let them have their own government and all?   maybe we should even skip the conquer and enslave part before that?

lazs

FYI the French army protected Gbagbo an his governement before Marcoussi.

Plus there is an ethnical problem in IC like in Rwanda if you see what I mean ...

don't forget  Alassane Ouattara

[lazs2]

straffo... protected them from what?   propped up a puppet government in their insatiable desire for coacoa you mean.

lazs

[AKIron]

The French have earned the ire of the American people with their repeated attempts to thwart our efforts in making the world safer by eliminating or at least controlling ruthless tyrants and terrorists. Give us any excuse to shove it back down your throats and you can bet we're gonna jump on it. Get used to it.

[straffo]

Iron : gnagnagna ...

Originally posted by lazs2
straffo... protected them from what?   propped up a puppet government in their insatiable desire for coacoa you mean.

lazs

Gbagbo has been protected from the rebels.

And is now pretending France is supporting the rebels ...

Lookup this word : "ivoirité"