YesBut no more UN

There’s been a gradual build up of internal pressure since I posted my blog “YesBut the United Nations is the pits” on 12th May. As is the way of such things, uncontrolled it could have manifested itself as a fart, but harnessing the energy its become a rant.

Do you know what the United Nations annual budget is? Unfortunately one click on Google doesn’t give the answer. But the current operating budget is estimated at $4.19 billion. There are three budgets:

• The UN regular budget covers among other things the cost of the General Assembly, Security Council and the Secretariat.
• The “Voluntary funding” pays for UN Development Program, World Food Program and the UN Children’s Fund(UNICEF).
• The UN peacekeeping budget.

It’s unnecessary to get bogged down in too much detail; because it’s universally accepted that the United Nations has ceased to function - doubt if it ever did.

Why if there is such unanimous agreement is it allowed to continue? There are only two parties with sufficient power to instigate change: the USA and the European Union (EU).

France and the United Kingdom will stop the EU doing anything. Why? Their veto in the UN Security Council is the only vestige they have of their former “World Power” status. They know in any reorganised UN or replacement organization they will be ranked among the minnows. The USA makes a whopping $423 million (22%) contribution to the UN Regular Budget, why doesn’t it do something to get its money’s worth? Simply, it doesn’t have the moral authority to propose change. All it can do is withhold payments.

The United Nations will proceed in its usual corrupt inept dysfunctional manner, until there is a USA President with enough courage and moral gravitas to call a halt.

The World does need a forum, where hopefully arguments between nations can be settled, through discussion not war, unfortunately the Security Council and before that the League of Nations have failed. For it to function it must operate above the influence of individual countries or power blocks. It must also have the power to enforce its decisions - without that its merely a talking shop. Though people would be happy with “jaw, jaw, jaw rather than war, war, war”.

It would be perverse to say everything about the UN is wrong! There is one arm of the UN which does function - the International Court of Justice. As for the rest, scrap the lot. You might protest: what about the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, the UN Environmental Program or the UN Development Fund and UNICEF. Undeniably their objectives are sound and desirable, but in practice their implementation is bogged down in corrupt inefficient bureaucracy - they function primarily on who you know rather that what you know.

YesBut's hard life, pressure build-up on the inside, rain on the outside, click here to see.

YesBut what a journey.

I think Eurolines must have a group of highly trained individuals whose sole reason for existence is to make my life a misery.

Mrs YesBut and myself left London by coach last night to travel to Holland. As soon as the coach moved off from Victoria Coach Station, the woman seated in front of us started a series of phone conversations. I don’t know why she used a phone, because she was speaking so loud her relatives in the North of Scotland could have heard her. It was incessant yak yak until we reached the Channel Tunnel. Thank goodness phones don’t work in the tunnel.

I don’t particularly like travelling through the tunnel. It’s like being broiled in a cigar tube. I prefer when the coach crosses by ferry from Dover. OK sometimes the crossing can be rough, and in really bad conditions sailings are delayed. But at least on the ferry you can walk around, have a cup of tea, wander around the duty free shop and go to the toilet. But going by the Eurotunnel you just have to sit on the bus as it is transported by train.

As soon as we got into the tunnel, the snorers started. Why is it ever time we travel, there is a World Champion Snorer on the bus? They are normally fat men whose snore starts at their toes and gains in volume as it resonates up through their body, until it is finally expelled with gusto out of their cavernous wobbling foul smelling breath flabby mouth. The one we had on last nights coach was a real champion, he could simultaneously snore and whistle.

I sat there getting more annoyed devising ingenious plans to shut up the snorting pig. I could tap him on his shoulder to wake him up, and ask him politely not to snore. Or I could stuff an orange in his mouth, (I’ll have to remember to add an orange onto my list of essential requisites). Perhaps I could shout “stop”, the driver would break, and the snorer would be catapulted out of the bus.

Absolute torment sitting there for six hours feeling wretched, exhausted but unable to sleep because of that ##### snorer. What a relief when he got off the coach at Breda.

But would you believe it, the coach stopping at Breda woke up the woman in the seat before us. Suffering from withdrawal symptoms having not made a phone call for eight hours, she was immediately on the phone.

What dastardly act did I commit in the past that I am punished now?

For the return journey, as well as an orange I’ll need to put ear plugs on my must get list.

Click here to see today’s image - please sit here