Miscellaneous Forum

REFORM OF THE UNITED NATIONS http://www.un.org/reform/

One Australian view on POLLUTION theage.com.au/news/opinion/c... or theaustralian.news.com.au/st...

As part of the Australian public I can attest that we have no oppinion on the drugs in Afganistan. Pollution wise: the subject is daily in the news and it is ruining the Barrier Reef. The Ozone hole was a scare a few years back. Coal-fired Power stations are away from eyesight but known problems. Uranium mining will soon be increased. Global warming and el Ninio is killing Coral and creating drought beyond imagination. We are very tight on oil slicks as well as dead keen on restraining car pollution without doing much about it. There is one place, where a British Nucular test was done that is still inaccessable, 55 years later but it seems, as in the US, Nucular power is returning in favour in the news. Ooops...sorry about chief...the old melt-down in the nucular reactor trick.. I think we are peeved that the world is creating problems for us and we are always ready to comply with the half-@ssed reaction of the rest of the world. The United Nations is more a US problem and their need to be kings of the hill. We just follow them blindly in everything the ask. Otherwise it is heaven on earth. And we are against Whale hunting...and toothfish harvesting...and boat people polluting the shores.

Ooops..forgot to sign the Kioto treaty. We and the United States have better strategies:o)

"The United Nations is more a US problem and their need to be kings of the hill." ~ Ray D. Being King of the dunghill is a lot like winning the rat race. "Even if you win, you're still a rat (Carol Burnett)." "We just follow them blindly in everything the ask." ~ Ray D. Sorry to hear that. Some of us are hoping some of you will bail us out. We saved your bacon in WW II, and you returned the favor by sending us Rupert Murdoch, who never saw a news story he couldn't twist.

:o) Sorry, cannot bail anyone out from their own actions. We are too small a contingent. We are their for looks and ability in creating understanding among foes. And to make an International "Coalition". There is much talk of saving Bacon 60 years ago. I suppose we still should be obligated :o) So should the rest of the Allies... Somehow we do not quite see it that way. According to History there were more than Americans saving the world :o) We thank you for taking Rupert Murdoch. But let us not destroy the posting. You have my email .

is your fiend's daughter going to university in australia? i'm interested as to why a simulated session of the unsc would be interested in finding out aussie people's thoughts on those 3 topics you listed. i don't think there is any one resource that you can go to find out this information. it seems rather specific. i don't think there has ever been any study or point of reference on these topics in regards to aussie people's viewpoints. which is probably why your friend's daughter is finding it hard to find anything on these topics. i think you will need to actually ask aussie people themselves what their views are on these topics. but here are my thoughts on those topics... >Opinion of Australian people about illegal producing of drugs (opium) in Afganistan we haven't been told much about this. i'm sure opium is grown illegally in other countries as well, not just afghanistan. my personal view...stop the growing and you will eventually stop the drug trafficking and selling, and the killing of lives. >Standpoint of Australian people about pollution and solution of this problem i think we are very concerned about this as australia is currently going through a very bad drought. animals are dying, farmers are losing their income. we are currently on water restrictions, with some areas on stage 4 water restrictions. our emission of carbon dioxide should be cut down drastically. the whole world needs to work on this together to save our planet. i saw al gore's "an inconvenient truth" on the weekend and a few things really hit home and made a bit of sense to me. maybe johnny howard needs to pull his finger out and sign the kyoto protocol and not follow the u.s this time. >Reform of United Nations Security Council unfortunately we haven't been given much information on this one either.

Nicely put Gez...I agree! I never even knew they made Opium in Afghanistan....I knew it was made in other Asian countries...I always thought it was heroin that came out of Afghanistan. I also believe Australia and Australians are one of the most concerned countries in the world when it somes to the environmental and pollution problems....from all the countries I've travelled to, Australia is by far the most concious country!! Im also curious as to why they are so interested in the Australians point of view??

It has been well documented in Australia, that over 90% of the world's current opium production is coming from Afghanistan - and, there are a range of reported reasons why this is the case - not the least of which is the propaganda war that the Taliban is said to be well and truly winning. As for Kyoto - Australia is currently reported to be one of the few countries meeting emission targets. Undoubtedly, the government would be blamed for increased power costs etc. Anyway, isn't it against VT policy to discuss politics? I am no expert - but I do believe in trying to read a balance of opinions and reports. 2 of the 5 billions tons of coal annually are burned in China.....we can only do our bit - and recognise what a small part we actually play in the bigger picture. I think most Australians take the general issue of ground pollution quite seriously, and anyone under 50 has been brought up with it - I recall anti-pollution campaigns when I was a kid. We've also just had our annual "clean up" day, which has been an initiative which has attracted national support and participation.