US boycotts UNESCO after UNESCO's recognition of Palestine

[Old Europe]

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/lashes+UNESCO+over+Palestinian+vote/5632544/story.html

[Teddy (IDS Legislator)]

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Education. Science. Why should Palestine get any of that?

[hawkeye59]

I'm pro-Israel, but this is ridiculous.

[Senator Snowstalker]

 Israel and their puppet state.

[Leftbehind]

Pathetic.

[CultureKing]

ugh.

[asexual trans victimologist]

http://www.jpost.com/VideoArticles/Video/Article.aspx?id=243944

"We are in the process of evaluating our future participation" in UNESCO, [Canadian Foreign Minister John] Baird told reporters, adding that "We are not happy with UNESCO's decision. We are working to determine what our response will be."

I just...what in God's name is this sh**t?

[Tender Branson]

The full vote:

There were 107 “yes” votes, 14 “no” votes, 52 abstentions and there were also 21 Member States absent:

Yes: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Chad, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Honduras, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Sant Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zimbabwe.

No: Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Israel, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Palau, Panama, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sweden, United States of America, Vanuatu.

Abstentions: Albania, Andorra, Bahamas, Barbados, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cook Islands, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Fiji, Georgia, Haiti, Hungary, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kiribati, Latvia, Liberia, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Switzerland, Thailand, Macedonia, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Zambia.

Absent: Antigua and Barbuda, Central African Republic, Comoros, Dominica, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Madagascar, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Confederated States of Micronesia, Mongolia, Niue, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan.

http://humanprovince.wordpress.com/2011/10/31/unesco-palestine

This is funny:

Germany: No
Austria: Yes
Switzerland: Abstain

[greenforest32]

Pathetic.

[Dr. Cynic]

Pathetic.

It is rather nonsense.

[Californian Tony]

Pathetic.

[Јas]

Thanks for the full voting list TB.
The only No vote I find odd is Sweden's.

[Teddy (IDS Legislator)]

I just realized that if this means less US style Education in the world, then that' be good

[Sibboleth]

It does seem a little silly. Isn't an automatic thingy though?

[Judäischen Volksfront]

It does seem a little silly. Isn't an automatic thingy though?

Yes, but if the US announcement was that "we have to comply with the law which prohibits funding UN bodies which admit Palestine" rather than "we believe Palestine should negotiate with Israel to form a state instead of unilaterally going to the UN", then the context would have been different. The former could be a subtle sign the US is starting to soften its position. The latter shows nothing has changed. And the latter has been true.

[Old Europe]

This is funny:

Germany: No
Austria: Yes
Switzerland: Abstain

Well, Switzerland makes sense. After all, they're neutral.

[Simfan34]

Israel and their puppet state.

[Speaker Dereich]

Pathetic.

I hear the Palestinians are going to go to the World Health Organization next.....Would they really defund THAT?

[Sibboleth]

Israel and their puppet state.

That sort of language is seriously not helpful.

[Old Europe]

I hear the Palestinians are going to go to the World Health Organization next.....Would they really defund THAT?

If so, this would open up whole new possibilites. Imagine there's an outbreak of bird flu during election year 2012 and the WHO needs additional money. So Obama goes to Congress asking for a repeal of that law which recquiers the cutting of funding to Palestine-recognizing international organization. As a result, Obama gets attacked by the Tea Party and the Republicans for being anti-Israel.

[Tender Branson]

This is funny:

Germany: No
Austria: Yes
Switzerland: Abstain

Well, Switzerland makes sense. After all, they're neutral.

And we are not ?

[homelycooking]

I feel ashamed to be an American for having to explain this decision on behalf of my country.

[Insula Dei]

Israel and their puppet state.

Yeah, actually I doubt that.

[Old Europe]

This is funny:

Germany: No
Austria: Yes
Switzerland: Abstain

Well, Switzerland makes sense. After all, they're neutral.

And we are not ?

That's a faux neutrality, because Austria is part of the Common Security and Defence Policy of the EU.

In case of an Russian attack on the Baltic countries, Austria surely would support the latter, wouldn't it?

[ZuWo]

This is funny:

Germany: No
Austria: Yes
Switzerland: Abstain

Well, Switzerland makes sense. After all, they're neutral.

Indeed. There's no need for a small and politically insignifcant country like Switzerland to meddle too much in explosive international affairs.