Free State UN Flag Burn December 18th 2005 noon

[Lloyd Danforth]

I announced this on WKBK this week b/c they were talking about UN.,? Eric scott, the host, may attend.

In all fairness, you should warn him it is no longer a U.N. flag burning event.

[Kat Kanning]

It's not?

[Lloyd Danforth]

Not if you burn any flag that anyone wants to bring.

[Friday]

excerpt from a Libertarian Party press release last December:

"Here are five good reasons to pull out of the UN immediately":

(1) The UN is the mother of all bloated, corrupt bureaucracies.

According to the Cato Institute's Handbook for Congress, which urges withholding all payments until the UN shows a commitment to reform, the agency is "a miasma of corruption beset by inefficiency, Kafkaesque bureaucracy, and misconceived programs."

A recent audit found $16.8 million in outright fraud and waste, including nearly $4 million in cash that was stolen from UN offices in Mogadishu, Somalia; a project director of the Relief and Works Agency who personally pocketed $100,000; and hundreds of employees who receive monthly rent subsidies of $3,800.

In addition, personnel costs eat up a whopping 70 percent of the agency's operating expenses, and former Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali admitted to the Washington Post that "half of the UN work force does nothing useful."

(2) Forcing U.S. taxpayers to subsidize foreign nations is wrong in principle.

"Foreign aid is one of the least popular government programs, with good reason," Seehusen said. "Most Americans rightly resent it when politicians ship their money overseas to finance welfare programs that are even more wasteful and corrupt than the ones Congress has created here at home."

(3) UN funds are used to prop up foreign dictators.

"Take just one example: Saddam Hussein," Seehusen pointed out. "The Oil-for-Food program funneled over $67 billion to the Iraqi government between 1997 and 2002, helping to pay for the weapons that Saddam used to slaughter both his own people and some of the U.S. troops that invaded Iraq."

Other groups that benefited from Saddam's largesse, according to an April 21 Heritage Foundation study, include the communist parties of Russia and the Ukraine; the PLO; and government officials in Syria and Lebanon.

(4) The UN has failed at its most basic mission: preventing war.

In Somalia, Bosnia and other conflicts, the agency's record is "a chronicle of failure," according to Cato, which says UN peacekeepers tend to "become a party to the conflict rather than to preserve its impartiality."

(5) The UN is anti-American.

"The 185-member General Assembly is dominated by non-Western states that routinely bash the United States, even though Americans pay 22 percent of the agency's budget," Seehusen said. "These anti-American zealots love to bite the hand that feeds them -- and Congress responds by continuing to fork over American's money.

[Russell Kanning]

These could be good to have on the flyer for this event.
Who wants to do the flyer this year?

[Russell Kanning]

excerpt from a Libertarian Party press release last December:

"Here are five good reasons to pull out of the UN immediately":

Could I use this on the wiki page?

[Pat McCotter]

Flag Works in Concord has nylon UN flags. 2x3 for ~$25 and 3x5 (forgot price)

[Friday]

excerpt from a Libertarian Party press release last December:

"Here are five good reasons to pull out of the UN immediately":

Could I use this on the wiki page?

Sure, why not?  I'm not certain of the proper way to cite a digital press release, but here's all the info I have:
Release date: Dec. 3, 2004
Title: In light of Oil-for-Food scandal, Libertarians ask: Why are we funding the United Nations at all?
For additional information:  George Getz, Communications Director
www.LP.org

[Russell Kanning]

Thank you

[Kat Kanning]

Lady liberty has a cool UN t-shirt.

[Tom Sawyer]

Well done shirt

[jgmaynard]

We should do it in the afternoon, when it is warm.

Just burn more flags!

JM

[citizen_142002]

I love the tee-shirt, Kat. That would raise some eyebrows at Keene Compulsory High School.

[Dave Ridley]

<<I love the tee-shirt, Kat. That would raise some eyebrows at Keene Compulsory High School.>>

would you be willing to put up flyers at the school inviting the students to the burn?   Do we have a flyer yet?

[citizen_142002]

Sure, I'd be willing to slap up some flyers, Rus. I would warn you that flyers for a UN flag burn are likely to attract angry Neo-cons or worse. I hope that the wording expresses the spirit of NH Underground, to help deter such individuals.
I also wanted to make it a point to invite the opposition. Does anyone know of someone that I could contact? I know that this might seem weird to some of you, but the thought ran through my mind that the thought of counter protesting a flag burn, put on by armed individuals, may scare some of the liberals in Keene. I'm not going to make excuses for people carrying weapons; it's a right that needs no excuses made for it. I am going to explain to the opposition that no threat is being made to peaceful people who just want to come and express their opinion.
I think that making such an invitation would do a lot to help our image with those in the opposition. It would make it clear to people who misunderstand or mistrust us, that we truly believe in the right to free speech for all.
To be honest, I'm not sure who I can get in touch with. I know that there are some people who believe in global government, or at least believe that the UN is a good thing. I'm just not sure that there are many people who support the institution so much that they would even consider protesting.
Any thoughts?