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The United States withdraws from UNESCO

625 points by layer8 1y ago

layer8 1y ago
More coverage: https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-pulls-us-out-un-cultural-agency-unesco-second-time-2025-07-22/ https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-pulls-us-out-un-cultural...
- JKCalhoun 1y ago
  "President Trump has decided to withdraw the United States from UNESCO – which supports woke, divisive cultural and social causes that are totally out-of-step with the commonsense policies that Americans voted for in November," White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said." I have come to think of UNESCO with regard to their World Heritage sites (I saw in the news that Neuschwanstein was just recently added), but one of my favorite science books when I was growing up I found was compiled by UNESCO, "700 Science Experiments For Everyone" [1]. I loved the way it showed you how to set up a modest "lab" with inexpensive (or found) things. Perhaps they were considering poorer communities/nations. [1] https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780385052757 https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780385052757
  - aarestad 1y ago
    "woke" deployed as a noun really rankles me. But then, I guess that's the point eh - own those snowflakes, nothing matters, lol.
    - ceejayoz 1y ago
      "woke, divisive cultural and social causes" is using it as an adjective. Causes is the noun.
      - FireBeyond 1y ago
        The Right commonly uses wokeness as a noun.
        ceejayoz 1y ago
        I don't disagree, but this isn't one of those cases.
    - deleted 1y ago
      [deleted]
criddell 1y ago
What are UNESCO's "divisive cultural and social causes"?
- cbeach 1y ago
  https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44647349 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44647349
- GordonS 1y ago
  UNESCO is against the US-backed Israeli genocide of the Palestinian people, and is against the theft of Palestinian land. That's it - they simply don't support murdering children.
  - ignoramous 1y ago
    > UNESCO is against the US-backed Israeli genocide ... they simply don't support ... That means, per IHRA, UNESCO is anti-semitic. Makes sense as anti-semitism is a problem worth tearing all post WW2 diplomacy and institutions up.
- miltonlost 1y ago
  [flagged]
- supportengineer 1y ago
  Compassion, intelligence, generosity
  - duxup 1y ago
    Nobody hates god's children quite like the religious right in the US.
    - jzb 1y ago
      "Love the fetus, hate the mother and child"
this15testingg 1y ago
the wording of that page is so blatantly propaganda that it's embarrassing to read. It's pathetic.
- mcurist 1y ago
  I find myself wondering if the people writing like this actually speak like that and how aware they are of how it sounds to a non-cultist. The spokesperson is a political scientist, the fact that they must know better just makes it worse.
  - onlyrealcuzzo 1y ago
    > The spokesperson is a political scientist, the fact that they must know better just makes it worse. Are you implying that just because your profession is A you must know B? There are tons of people that do things for a living and know nothing about it, and purposefully avoid all initiatives to seek the truth.
  - adhamsalama 1y ago
    Well, you're in luck because this guy confessed https://youtube.com/shorts/Uxfoe88Q-hg https://youtube.com/shorts/Uxfoe88Q-hg
- z2 1y ago
  At least it's transparent, like all the other things coming from the executive branch lately. And maybe that makes the damage more lasting, because people can see that US is so mired in populism that it cannot grasp how the SDGs of reducing poverty, accessing sanitation, equality, and -- dare I say -- dealing with climate change are things that ultimately help global security and thus benefit the US.
  - 1234letshaveatw 1y ago
    This is a false dilemma- believe it or not, it is possible for the US to provide support outside of UNESCO
ablation 1y ago
"We’re sorry, this site is currently experiencing technical difficulties. Please try again in a few moments. Exception: forbidden" Seems about right.
duesabati 1y ago
> America First > anti-Israel American Government became the parody of itself, so sad
- netsharc 1y ago
  Pointing out this satirical sketch might be a cliche, but: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToKcmnrE5oY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToKcmnrE5oY (Mitchell and Webb: Are we the Baddies?)
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
- hopelite 1y ago
  A toxic, psychopathic, narcissistic con job is parody? I don’t think people are at all understanding that they are in an abusive relationship and have been all their lives and so have all the people around them all their lives for many generations now. We have all been born into a cult and that cult is all we know, so we are afraid to even just contemplate for a moment that it could all just be lies and abuses by liars and abusers. If they can get you to voluntarily believe crazy things and do abusive things, they can get you to believe and do anything. That applies to the full political spectrum and for most people. It’s not a farce. It’s something way worse.
- aprilthird2021 1y ago
  You have to sign a document saying you won't boycott Israel, academic journals cancel editions which talk about Palestine, you can't be part of UNESCO for Israel. You can't write a college article critical of Israel or we'll kidnap you off the streets into an unmarked van. You can't be a business and not give a contract to Israel or your employee will tip off the Anti Boycott Office against you. Your Congressmen wear Israeli military fatigues into the Congress. Your mayoral candidates have to pledge fealty to Israel. We aren't Israeli citizens. Why are we treated like we are?
  - jajko 1y ago
fuzzylightbulb 1y ago
This administration has zero ability to build or bring people together, able only to destroy what others have made. On the bright side, it isn't effective until December 31, 2026 so there is plenty of time to chicken out.
- msgodel 1y ago
  [flagged]
- idontwantthis 1y ago
  Evil cannot create it can only corrupt.
- echelon 1y ago
  > it isn't effective until December 31, 2026 so there is plenty of time to chicken out. That's within the current administration. Unless a change in congress can prevent this, it's a done deal.
  - AnimalMuppet 1y ago
    Even if Congress changes hands in the 2026 election, they won't take office until early 2027.
  - nozzlegear 1y ago
    I think they were alluding to Trump's now notorious penchant to flip flop and waffle on every decision he makes. It's why the TACO Trump meme sprang up and continues to be used in reference to him – Trump Always Chickens Out.
- throw0101b 1y ago
  > This administration has zero ability to build or bring people together […] Someone observed a lot of stuff that Trump is doing is through Executive Orders because he really can't do deals. Of course when (some of) his desires overlap with (some of) others', we get: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Big_Beautiful_Bill_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Big_Beautiful_Bill_Act which is mostly about implementing: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025 > […] so there is plenty of time to chicken out. TACO: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_Always_Chickens_Out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_Always_Chickens_Out * https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/06/02/donald-trump-taco-trade-acronym-explained/83988040007/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/06/02/dona... (Being reliant on TACO may backfire at some point.)
uneekname 1y ago
> UNESCO works to advance divisive social and cultural causes and maintains an outsized focus on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, a globalist, ideological agenda for international development at odds with our America First foreign policy. Ummm...what? This is the kind of nonsense that makes me want to leave this country.
- decremental 1y ago
  [flagged]
- rexpop 1y ago
  > This is the kind of nonsense that makes me want to leave this country. So go, if you're not going to fight it.
  - spit2wind 1y ago
    Every bit of resistance counts. If you feel the lat-lon-alt suit your tastes, stick around, speak your mind, and don't let the nationalists tell you to get out. :)
    - r2_pilot 1y ago
      Exactly; I rather enjoy telling those who would have me leave my home that they should set the example first. After all, they're the ones pushing for changes they want to see, they can go do that over somewhere else.
- bananalychee 1y ago
  It's too bad to see otherwise intelligent people refusing to engage with any statement or action of the US federal government in good faith. However I suspect the point you cited is far more relevant to this move than the distraction that is Israel v. Palestine. There is plenty to criticize and oppose in the UN's agenda. Much of it suggests developed countries severely inhibit their growth and further centralize power to better control the pesky proles who might not want to go along with the plan. See James Lindsay's reading of their Sustainable Development Goals which cites them directly.
saubeidl 1y ago
The United States voluntarily gives up yet another piece of soft power. Coming up next: The United States wonders why it doesn't have allies anymore and why the rest of the world starts working around them.
- 1234letshaveatw 1y ago
  isn't this more of an example of employing soft power?
  - Jtsummers 1y ago
    Successful soft power requires you have a seat at the table. When you leave and stop participating, you reduce your soft power.
    - hersko 1y ago
      Sure, but if you are the only one holding up (funding) the table then the whole thing falls apart when you leave.
      - nobody9999 1y ago
        >Sure, but if you are the only one holding up (funding) the table then the whole thing falls apart when you leave. Since the US accounts for ~13%[0] of UNESCO funding, you're making GP's point for them. the US is giving up its seat at the table and UNESCO retains 87% of its funding. [0] https://core.unesco.org/en/sources-of-funding https://core.unesco.org/en/sources-of-funding
- jl6 1y ago
  It’s not giving up soft power, it’s gambling with soft power. The outcome Trump hopes for is that UNESCO fires whoever is setting its “woke” policies and comes back cap-in-hand, offering an agenda that is more to his liking. The risk is that UNESCO ignores the US and finds another patron state that wants to buy some influence - and that’s when the US loses.
cbeach 1y ago
[flagged]
- JKCalhoun 1y ago
  By all means, let's throw the baby out as well then.
  - philipallstar 1y ago
    Don't put babies in toxic waste.
- pixl97 1y ago
  Guess someone doesn't like you posting excerpts from a WSJ article.
  - cbeach 1y ago
    All the quotes I included are factual, and help explain the OP. Yet they're being downvoted. It's a shame HN operates like this. Some people's narratives are so fragile the only way they can survive is to silence all other narratives.
    - eclecticfrank 1y ago
      These quotes are displayed without context and hence have no or a very little value in a conversation.
      - cbeach 1y ago
        [flagged]
        ceejayoz 1y ago
        > There is no context that justifies UNESCO focussing on criticism of Israel's self defence, as opposed to focussing on Hamas's attrocity that started the war (or Putin etc) Sure there is. Only one is still actively happening, and it's the one that's killed 20-60x as many civilians, depending on whose estimates you follow. > There is no context that justifies UNESCO rebranding Jewish holy places as “Palestinian World Heritage sites.” Jews existed in the region for more than a thousand years before the violent Islamic conquest and colonisation. The context there is simple; quite a few places are holy to more than one religion. Some are holy to Palestinians; some are in Palestinian territories, like the Church of the Nativity.
metalman 1y ago
"effective at the end of 2026" as per the UNESCO wiki
nine_zeros 1y ago
[flagged]
rtkwe 1y ago
Another tantrum thrown because the world refuses to align with their twisted view. Shocking to thing we're only ~1/8th through this term.
- netsharc 1y ago
  Why fantasize that the GOP isn't going to do a Putin/Erdogan/Suharto? Those countries have "democratic" elections and keep electing the same president, they must be hella great guys!
  - rtkwe 1y ago
    There are clearly pockets that want to but I'm not sure there's enough support in important areas to actually have a coup like that succeed. Kind of have to wait and see how things develop.
    - bryanlarsen 1y ago
      It's not a coup if you stay in power illegally, it's a self-coup. 2020 was a coup attempt because Trump gave up power and then tried to give it back. He's not going to make that same mistake again. He'll just attempt to stay in power via self-coup. Unlike coup's which are distinct events, self-coup's are usually shades of grey. They happen through democratic backsliding, which usually consists of a large number of small events. I'm sure we'll see some more before the next election. Will it be enough so that the US is as bad as Russia or Turkey? No. Will it be enough to keep Trump in power illegally? Perhaps.
      - rtkwe 1y ago
        You'd have to overthrow parts of the US government to keep power for a 3rd term I'd still call that a coup even if it's coming from inside the house. Coups rarely come from entirely external forces, the military basically always has a major role in deciding if a coup is successful even if it's just staying neutral and seeing where the chips fall.
_Yguy_ 1y ago
[flagged]
- rexpop 1y ago
  Deeply, deeply deranged to suggest that Israel—a $600B economy—is "wagging the dog" of our $30,500B economy.
  - digital_sawzall 1y ago
    AIPAC is the most powerful lobby in Washington. And money get's you anything in politics.
    - atonse 1y ago
      I’ve heard this for decades now. But how do they rank in importance compared to other juggernauts like the teachers unions, NRA, or United Auto Workers, Planned Parenthood? Not to mention individual lobbyists for massive companies? because the latter dominate discourse during elections.
      - FireBeyond 1y ago
        When was the last time you had to sign an agreement not to boycott gun fairs or a car manufacturer, for a job? Planned Parenthood? You mean the healthcare-providing entity that has been entirely defunded by this administration?
        atonse 1y ago
        But are there movements to boycott those other groups? The BDS movement seems to be only about boycotting Israel right?
      - deleted 1y ago
        [deleted]
      - rexpop 1y ago
deleted 1y ago
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deleted 1y ago
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LightBug1 1y ago
[flagged]
- supportengineer 1y ago
  And the only prescription is more cowbell
  - LightBug1 1y ago
    My condolences.
- ncr100 1y ago
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snapetom 1y ago
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- resource_waste 1y ago
  I dont mind the UN building. But as an IR Realist, I find it a bit insulting that the UN pretends it has power. It only is used as moral coating to protect the status quo.
  - JadeNB 1y ago
    What is IR?
- tgv 1y ago
  Their goal is not to enforce laws. It's to provide a regular space for nations to talk. It's diplomacy, which some see --not without reason-- as a particular kind of hypocrisy, but in a world-wide context. Under the UN, there are organizations that do international work, governed by an international alliance. These do work that otherwise would be fragmented. That's not impotent.
lvl155 1y ago
And it’s wild to think that more than 1/3 of the devs I’ve met in my life support this admin. These are seemingly smart people. The past 10 years or so made me realize I don’t know anything about human nature or intellect. Edit: I am in no way saying conservatism is bad and liberalism is good. I have my values in both.
- MR_Bulldops 1y ago
  I have found the biggest commonality in otherwise intelligent Trump supporters in my life is deep-seated insecurity issues. The second biggest is a life that hasn't gone how they had envisioned and, rather than take accountability, they blame anything but their choices. Though, I think lack of accountability is a symptom of insecurity, so it is wrapped up in the first issue.
- fanwood 1y ago
  [flagged]
  - esafak 1y ago
    And the leadership was supposedly smart too. Intelligence and morality don't necessarily go together.
  - monkeyelite 1y ago
    An entire set of countries actually - no division between intelligence. It was a global cultural phenomenon.
    - asah 1y ago
      to be fair, there was lots of resistance within those countries, but not enough to overcome the Guys With Guns(tm).
      - monkeyelite 1y ago
        The point is it has nothing to do with being smart or dumb. if you can’t explain why smart people in good faith participated, you just don’t understand it,
coliveira 1y ago
[flagged]
ChrisArchitect 1y ago
What year is it, 2017? https://2017-2021.state.gov/the-united-states-withdraws-from-unesco/ https://2017-2021.state.gov/the-united-states-withdraws-from... Boring, been here before. UNESCO and world moved on. With some notable declarations like Demoscene and Techno music being added in a number of countries. Too bad those couldn't be added to a US registry also.
- ncr100 1y ago
  Whoa, that is fascinating. We did this before.
  - cbsmith 1y ago
    Yeah, there's a long and tangled history with UNESCO that spans multiple administrations. That said, the wording of the statement is... problematic.
- hello_moto 1y ago
  Seems like there's nothing new coming from Trump v2. Just a repeat of v1 with varying degree of intensity.
- Teknomadix 1y ago
  Demoscene. A number of countries meaning Norway, Sweden and Finland?
  - pixelpoet 1y ago
    Germany too.
- nomdep 1y ago
  Or maybe, 2011? https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2011/11/1/us-halts-unesco-funding https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2011/11/1/us-halts-unesco... (Yes, Obama did it first)
  - kennywinker 1y ago
bix6 1y ago
From 2023, the program and budget for 2024/2025 showing priorities etc. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000385118 https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000385118
- yesfitz 1y ago
  And the US's contributions to the specific beneficiary countries/programs by Quarter: https://core.unesco.org/en/country/usa/contribution?biennium=42&quarter=2025Q1 https://core.unesco.org/en/country/usa/contribution?biennium... (Breakdown by beneficiary country & program is at the bottom of the page.)
- Urahandystar 1y ago
  Palestine was mentioned once in that document.
- braiamp 1y ago
  What I should be reading here? It's a very long document.
LoganDark 1y ago
I really hope the next president will be able to undo this fucking mess... otherwise the US is probably never going to catch back up to what it used to be. Voters made a terrible mistake.
- BLKNSLVR 1y ago
  There is exactly zero chance that the US can go back to what it was as a result of a single election. Structural change is needed, which is unlikely to happen, and the depth of the destruction of the machine of government cannot be rebuilt in less than a decade, and that's just the foundation upon which reputation is then built.
  - splintercell 1y ago
    Just to let you know, an argument can be made that this was exactly the intent. All stable democracies derive a goodwill by honoring certain values even if a previous political party made them. This is intentionally being thrown out of the window for what the other side perceives to be something done to them (arresting Trump, assassination attempts). Which the first side can justify on the grounds of what was done to them (Jan 6th), which is the other side can justify on the grounds of what was done to them (2020 election issues) and so on. Any attempts to look for the "source" of the problem (i.e figuring out who started it) is choosing a side and not trying to solve the problem.
- spit2wind 1y ago
  If I may suggest the following edit: > I really hope a future Congress will undo this fucking mess... otherwise the US is probably never going to catch back up to what it used to be. Voters made a terrible mistake. Putting too much power into the president is part of the problem.
- _ink_ 1y ago
  He or she won't be able to this. It's much quicker to destroy then to (re)create. Especially since any decent president won't use EOs exclusively. And even if EOs would be used, congress and courts suddenly will wake up from their slumber.
datadrivenangel 1y ago
"UNESCO works to advance divisive social and cultural causes and maintains an outsized focus on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, a globalist, ideological agenda for international development at odds with our America First foreign policy. " Throwing away our American First globalist capitalist ideological project for... clout?
akashshah87 1y ago
“The U.S. began defunding UNESCO under Obama after it admitted Palestine as a full member—and then withdrew entirely during Trump’s first term.” — [New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/world/europe/us-withdraw-unesco.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/world/europe/us-withdraw-...) This isn’t just a blip, but part of a long-term downward trajectory in U.S. and UNESCO relations.
- TheBlight 1y ago
  [flagged]
  - trashtensor 1y ago
    [flagged]
  - pkilgore 1y ago
    Like the fact that Obama was following laws passed by congress? https://web.archive.org/web/20141224180231/https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/10/25/will-congresss-defunding-of-the-u-n-over-palestine-hurt-u-s-goals-around-the-world/ https://web.archive.org/web/20141224180231/https://foreignpo...
  - kennywinker 1y ago
    Some of the hate in the comments is directed at the current thief-in-chief - but mostly it looks to me like it’s directed at the longstanding US-israel relationship where the US gov does things that the US people don’t want because the israeli gov does want it. The hypocrisy of saying “america first” while bending over backwards to support israel is just a new twist to an old pattern.
  - wredcoll 1y ago
    Why do you think this action is worth defending? Do you personally agree with it? Do you have an actual position here?
- aprilthird2021 1y ago
  It was stupid then and it's stupid now. We aren't Israel and we shouldn't have to be citizens of Israel
gjsman-1000 1y ago
[flagged]
- pjc50 1y ago
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  - gjsman-1000 1y ago
    [flagged]
    - notahacker 1y ago
      This is may be true of many Muslims, though they should probably factor the possibility the current administration despises them as a demographic much more than it despises LGBT people into their decision making. In any case, views on Christian bakers don't seem to be a particularly good reason to endorse the behaviour of Trump or believe that international trade is a pissing contest, or mass incarceration without due process or many other things the current administration is far more interested in than SCOTUS lawsuits, and I don't think many of Trump's voters backed him out of adherence to Islam...
    - tomhow 1y ago
      > Islamic people also don't want to bake cakes for the LGBTQ crowd. They're with the Christian baker there. Please don't make generalizations based on religion or culture. Please also make an effort to follow the guidelines, in particular these ones: Comments should get more thoughtful and substantive, not less, as a topic gets more divisive. Please don't use Hacker News for political or ideological battle. It tramples curiosity. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- Kique 1y ago
  [flagged]
  - Rychard 1y ago
man4 1y ago
[dead]
shadowgovt 1y ago
Not that this is a topic that I think anyone is still rubed on (in the sense that even those who voted for him thinking he'd be better on Israel / Palestine relations have been disabused of the notion), but did anyone else have "Trump withdraws the US from UNESCO because they support Palestine" on their bingo card? And, of course, the follow-up question: did anyone have it on a Harris bingo card?
- hersko 1y ago
  Yes, because he did it before.
begueradj 1y ago
[flagged]
- kennywinker 1y ago
  Sounds like you’re using woke as a derogatory term. What does it mean to you that it seems like a bad thing?
throw7 1y ago
This seems to be a political back and forth (beginning with the admittance of palestine in the past)... (from wikipedia) U.S. (and Israel) left UNESCO in 2018, but the United States rejoined in 2023. I presume U.S. has left again now in 2025. [edit: kind of surprised this hasn't been flagged, but sadly indicative of HN's bias.]
- Oarch 1y ago
  Interesting context
- skywhopper 1y ago
  Trump was president in 2018, if you’ve forgotten.
  - garamond23 1y ago
    > The United States cut funding for UNESCO under the Obama administration after it voted to include Palestine as a full member, and then pulled out completely during President Trump’s first term. >But in 2023, the Biden administration reversed that decision and decided to rejoin. - NYT - U.S. Says It Will Withdraw From U.N. Cultural Organization, Again To be fair it looks like funding was cut during the Obama admin over the admittance of Palestine
    - CGMthrowaway 1y ago
      Yes, in 2011
    - pkilgore 1y ago
      Congress cut funding by passing laws[1][2]. In 2011, Obama was just following the law enacted by Congress not his wild ass opinions, which I know is crazy given the current administration. [1] Public Law 101-246 (1990) [2] Public Law 103-236 (1994) See also: https://web.archive.org/web/20141224180231/https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/10/25/will-congresss-defunding-of-the-u-n-over-palestine-hurt-u-s-goals-around-the-world/ https://web.archive.org/web/20141224180231/https://foreignpo...
aprilthird2021 1y ago
> UNESCO’s decision to admit the “State of Palestine” as a Member State is highly problematic, contrary to U.S. policy, and contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organization. I asked this when the administration decided to attack funding for research at Harvard University over wild claims, and I ask again, why are we willing to shoot ourselves in the knees for Israel?
- Atreiden 1y ago
  Because Israel is both a critical component of our global surveillance and information warfare programs, and a convenient shield against criticism and investigation.
  - aprilthird2021 1y ago
    How is it a critical component of our global surveillance and info warfare? If anything they steal so much from us and give very little in return. They have sold our military secrets to China, stolen nuclear material and secrets from us, and hacked American journalists and citizens and American big tech companies. I don't even think China has done that much damage to us
- alistairSH 1y ago
  Very roughly... The Bible foretells the return of the Jewish people to the land of Israel and the subsequent rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem as a precursor to the end times. IE, without Israel, Christians don't get to go to heaven.
  - azinman2 1y ago
    That’s just the excuse for a certain segment of the fundamentalists. Trump doesn’t give a shit about Israel. It’s about attacking all institutions that aren’t aligned with him. You think if Harvard went “America first,” he’d be trying to shut them down?
- azinman2 1y ago
  Because it’s not actually about Israel.
ck2 1y ago
The last ten days of January 2029 are going to be wild 1200 days, if we make it, well if there's a real election
- BirAdam 1y ago
  real elections only exist if you're part of the donor class.
seydor 1y ago
When did America stop being a globalist in the globalization that they themselves created. And how do you justify iran, hoothis, israel, taiwan with an antiglobalist agenda.
- bgwalter 1y ago
  As you (probably) imply, the rhetoric is fake and the game continues as it always has. The UNESCO thing is probably a gift to MAGA to distract them from certain other problems/scandals that this administration currently has.
- jzb 1y ago
  In answer to the first question... there's been an isolationist streak among the right for decades. But in answer to the second, expecting consistency from the American right is a bad idea. They do not care about being consistent, any so-called principles are only applied to others -- not themselves. (And I acknowledge that all humans and all groups have the ability to be hypocritical in some circumstances, but it's far more pronounced in the American right.)
- netbioserror 1y ago
  Is it not obvious? Democracies are schizophrenic, where the people and the ruling class are constantly fighting to implement and repeal half-baked bastardizations of their agendas. The best sign that the people have any influence in their government is that there is zero consistent application of anything. Consistency only happens when the democratic element is removed.
guywithahat 1y ago
It always amazed me how quickly the UN became a mechanism for corruption. Growing up in the US it's easy to forget political corruption is the norm in most of the world, and the UN is just one of the vehicles.
- zakum1 1y ago
  Corruption in the USA is pretty bad. People here just excuse it away easily.
weego 1y ago
Imagine losing control of a puppet state so badly that you end up losing a large amount of global relevance and credibility. I know that's written kind of lazily and off the cuff but it really hits home how deep the various agencies must be in needing them as a conduit for their actions.
achairapart 1y ago
There are millions of gamers that await to play GTA VI, then you read the news and it looks like the whole word has turned in some silly real life GTA VI already (although, an happy ending is not guaranteed). It's shocking.
melson 1y ago
The United States did that before, then rejoined
seydor 1y ago
Unironically , the MAGA Mountain of Stupidity deserves recognition in UNESCOs world heritage list
paxys 1y ago
[flagged]
ajuc 1y ago
Understandable. UNESCO is big on protecting children from people like Trump.
HamsterDan 1y ago
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johndoe90 1y ago
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lifestyleguru 1y ago
Apparently UNESCO refused to say thank you to Trump.
paulvnickerson 1y ago
[flagged]
- it_citizen 1y ago
  It is one of the most 10 upvoted topics on the main page. People seem to want to see it here and comment about it. Personally I am happy to see it discussed here. I have seen interesting comments tempering and contextualizing the headline that I appreciate. There are still a vast majority of articles on other topics. Those ones are easy to ignore if they bother someone.
  - hersko 1y ago
    Yes, politics always drives clicks. That is not OPs point though.
    - paulvnickerson 1y ago
      Agreed. If I want to see doom and gloom announcements about the current administration I'll go read Huffington Post or NY Times, thank you very much.
      - it_citizen 1y ago
        It is not a opinion article about the current admin. It is the direct statement from the state department on a topic that doesn’t belong less here than many other general interest topics found on hacker news. A few post below, there is a petition against pesticides in France. UNESCO stands for international cooperation in education, science, culture, and communication. That seems well within what HN can cover in my opinion.
      - HAL3000 1y ago
        Why did you click on the comments and leave one? You could have just ignored it and let others discuss what they want.
  - smsm42 1y ago
fmajid 1y ago
UNESCO also has the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission under its umbrella, and the Trumpists want to rake the seabed for polymetallic nodules, environmental catastrophe be damned.
cooper_ganglia 1y ago
Obama withdrew all US funds from UNESCO in 2011 as well, due to Palestine being admitted in. This isn't anything particularly noteworthy, just more capitulating to Israel, which is annoying.
- pkilgore 1y ago
  Obama didn't do anything (other than follow the law at the time): https://web.archive.org/web/20141224180231/https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/10/25/will-congresss-defunding-of-the-u-n-over-palestine-hurt-u-s-goals-around-the-world/ https://web.archive.org/web/20141224180231/https://foreignpo...
  - tolerance 1y ago
    So would it be fair to say that this is just a reiteration of a 30+ year-long trend. Edit: 40+ year-long trend? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44648359 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44648359 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000012506323&seq=1 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000012506323&seq=...
  - hackyhacky 1y ago
    The is a good point: the decision was made by Congress, not by Obama. Although I disagree with that decision, that is the correct way to make it. Now, Trump is withdrawing unilaterally, without Congressional approval. Remember when presidents followed the law?
    - CWuestefeld 1y ago
      I've been complaining about the increasing power being ceded to the Presidency, like, forever now. This isn't specifically a GOP or DEM thing, it's been happening consistently at least since FDR, and probably even beyond that. That said, the one area where the Constitution really does give the President a fairly free hand is in foreign policy.
      - nonethewiser 1y ago
deleted 1y ago
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kennywinker 1y ago
The US is complicit in the intentional starvation of gaza’s people by israel. At least 15 people have starved to death in the last 24 hours, including an infant. https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/israel-gaza-war-hunger-children-killed-1.7590739 https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/israel-gaza-war-hunger-childre... Ragequitting UNESCO over their recognition of palestine is a small part of the project of supporting the ethnic cleansing of gaza and the west bank.
- AnimalMuppet 1y ago
  [flagged]
  - skybrian 1y ago
    A big difference is that in 2022, an estimated five million Ukrainian refugees fled to other parts of Europe - which is more than twice as large as Gaza's entire population. Similarly, many Syrians fled the war there. We could ask why there aren't more Palestinian refugees who fled to other countries? As far as I can tell, leaving Gaza is very difficult, and nobody really talks about making it easier.
    - tguvot 1y ago
      it's not that it's hard to leave gaza. it's just nobody willing to accept gazans. and trumps plan that talks about voluntary migration out of gaza is been described as genocide and ethnic cleansing (btw, 75% of them actually registered as refugees by unrwa for past many decades) i never saw anybody been against migration of population out of war zone to safety. in case of ukrainian refugees it was widely discussed that people need to get to safety and entire europe helped.
      - skybrian 1y ago
        I don't know what's involved, but if no one is willing to accept Gazans then it seems like that might be a practical difficulty?
jacknews 1y ago
For sure this guy is going to, already is, ruining the peace and prosperity the world has enjoyed since WW2. I suspect he will make a major war, and invoke military rule or whatever, before the next election, in order to continue in power.
- Supermancho 1y ago
  There is no doubt, given the status quo. ie Trump has no medical issues. There will be a national emergency declared unsurprisingly to push back the election. Some states will perform some form of election to the best of their ability. Then SCOTUS declares that the unitary executive has the power to do this and we're in for a rough ride. That being said, this UNESCO departure is a nothingburger that has more to do with Israel solidarity than anything else.
- BirAdam 1y ago
  Peace and prosperity since WWII? I suppose that Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Myanmar, Sudan, Somalia, Pakistan/India/China, Georgia, Bosnia/Herzegovina, and so on just never happened? Not doubting that war is on the horizon, but the USA is addicted to war, and many other nations had their own issues independently of the USA.
  - turtlesdown11 1y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Peace https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Peace > The "Long Peace" is a term for the unprecedented historical period of relative global stability following the end of World War II in 1945 to the present day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post%E2%80%93World_War_II_economic_expansion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post%E2%80%93World_War_II_econ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_globalization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_globalization I hope you learn something today.
    - jacknews 1y ago
      Exactly
    - 1y ago
crabbone 1y ago
This is in response to the flagged comment that, apparently, I cannot comment on. I'm not thrilled about what current US administration is doing when it comes to international NGOs. UNESCO is one example. However, there's also another problem: various UN bodies became tools for international politics instead of doing what they were originally designed to do. It's another example of good will easily subverted by malicious actors to serve shady political goals. These international organizations need restructuring that would introduce some sort of a watchdog that would make sure these organizations don't overstep their aria of responsibility. Similarly to how constitutional democracies usually have separation of power and multiple branches of government that are supposed to counterbalance each other. My layman understanding of the reason for UNESCO existence is the preservation of cultural heritage. This shouldn't be political. This should be based on historical or archeological knowledge as well as arts. However, UNESCO as well as eg. UNICEF and other similar orgs shamelessly engage in political activism that has nothing to do with conservation efforts. The officers of these organizations haven't been elected to represent political wishes of their constituents. They bare no responsibility for the effects of political propaganda they are spreading, but it's impossible to prevent them from doing something they shouldn't be doing by all accounts. Bad political actors found a way to subvert and misuse organizations that were intended for a good cause. We need to figure out a way to fight this subversion. Defunding is both too late, and comes at a cost of not having an organization that cares about preservation of historical heritage or the rights of children etc.
- layer8 1y ago
  > My layman understanding of the reason for UNESCO existence is the preservation of cultural heritage. This shouldn't be political. It is political when cultures are being eradicated. Tibet is one of several examples.
- kennywinker 1y ago
  UNICEF’s mission is “providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide” Children in gaza are being intentionally starved by israel blocking food aid. At least 15 people including one infant have been starved to death in the past 24 hours. UNESCO’s mission is preservation of cultural heritage. Gaza and the west bank are being ethnically cleansed, and their arts and culture have already been physically destroyed by US bombs dropped by israel. This will destroy cultural groups, thus leaving little to preserve. The world is political. You give someone a goal of preserving culture, or protecting children, and all of a sudden they’ll start speaking out when you destroy culture and starve children.
tehjoker 1y ago
The US is withdrawing from the soft-power international system because they are thinking of using hard power. The world must stop us.
jmyeet 1y ago
[flagged]
nsypteras 1y ago
1984: U.S. withdraws. 2003: U.S. rejoins. 2011: U.S. stops paying dues after Palestine joins. 2017: U.S. announces withdrawal (effective end of 2018). 2023: U.S. rejoins, pledges to repay dues. 2025: U.S announces withdrawal Seems to be a revolving door
- DSingularity 1y ago
  Cycle of politician appeasing their genocidal masters until the government start to realize what that means exactly at which point we pull back to humanity.
- bad_haircut72 1y ago
  If you abandon it completely something else might rise up - but funding/participating only up to a point, it works to suppress it - see Ukraine aid policies aswell
  - Tostino 1y ago
    Look at the years, and see how they match up with the administration in power...
- rs186 1y ago
  Makes me wonder if officials at UNESCO even cares about the decision. "Oh that again?" Probably already used to this.
  - rgblambda 1y ago
    Similar to the Israeli ambassador being recalled from Dublin. They mean it as a big dramatic statement but they've done it that many times it's lost all significance. She only gets reinstated again for the purpose of making another dramatic exit.
    - lawlessone 1y ago
      They always send their most incompetent ambassadors to Dublin, ones that put their foot in their own mouth.
scrollaway 1y ago
I know a lot of people here are looking to leave the US for Europe. If you’re a founder in that situation and want to bring your startup with you, send me an email, especially if you’re looking to have a startup in defence/cybersecurity/ai. I made it a mission to help people in this situation to move. Contact on my profile.
eddieroger 1y ago
> UNESCO works to advance divisive social and cultural causes I wish I could remember where I heard it, but someone once pointed out that the only difference between special interests and public interests was who said it. This feels like that.
- DSingularity 1y ago
  I’m sure the British would have described the American revolution in similar ways.
  - Veen 1y ago
    We described it as tax avoidance and treasonous collaboration with the enemy we really cared about — the French.
    - zdragnar 1y ago
      Tax avoidance is using a loophole. Tax evasion is refusing to pay what is determined to be owed. The modern difference is one comes with prison time.
lunarboy 1y ago
Another buzz bone to distract from Epstein?
- throwaway290 1y ago
  My thought exactly...
yobid20 1y ago
Honestly im ok with this one, despite disagreeing with most of the other ludicrous bs from the current asinine administration.
henearkr 1y ago
Trump's regime is soon reaching Afghanistan's level... The worrying part is that this is world's first military power, and (still) the first economic power...
kindkang2024 1y ago
The hard truth is that for any deal—or broader cooperation—to succeed, both parties must benefit and perceive the deal as fair. Without mutual benefit, the cooperation underpinning the deal will not be stable. > The United States Withdraws from UNESCO (state.gov) Probably, the majority of people in the U.S. feel they are losing from these deals, which is why they are willing to withdraw. It is both the government’s prerogative and duty to manifest that will. As a non-American, I deeply respect that freedom and choice. In fact, I believe that any administration has a duty to prioritize its own nation first—whether it's called "America First," "Palestinian First," "EU First," "China First," or any other national equivalent. This is a principle that every country should embrace. It's natural for governments to prioritize the interests of their own citizens, as they are funded by taxpayers and must be accountable to them. And, To be "First", they need beneficial cooperation and compete wisely. Competition, driven by 'ego love,' along with cooperation, fueled by 'world love,' is the righteous way to "Make All Great Again." These ideas are rooted in ecological and evolutionary principles. While "survival of the fittest" drives competition, it also paradoxically fosters the evolution of cooperation, as even the fittest depend on reciprocal relationships to truly thrive. <The Evolution of Cooperation> is a Book by Robert Axelrod
YoCurryOuthouse 1y ago
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- hn-shithole 1y ago
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YoCurryOuthouse 1y ago
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YoCurryOuthouse 1y ago
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- cindyllm 1y ago
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csours 1y ago
Sometimes I imagine that I am a time traveling space alien so I can get a bit of emotional distance from what's going on. I imagine that I can leave this time and place [technically, I am leaving this time and place, but no faster than anyone else]. If I was a time travelling space alien I would find it very funny that the Conservative Republican party is not conservative or republican in any recognizable way. A party that pushes for a unitary executive cannot be republican. An executive that carelessly breaks existing government functions cannot be conservative. If I could say one thing to MAGA and have them hear and understand it, it would be this "Donald Trump is a politician". Understand that he is not a Savior. He is not a hero. He does not care about you any more than any other politician. There are many ways to understand this administration; here are a couple that I wish people would use more often: 1. MAGA is a cluster of ideologies and special interest groups draped in a flag, wearing a crown. The cluster of ideologies and interest groups are not particularly well aligned. There are at least two distinct genres of America First. You have MAHA vs Corporate Interests. Traditional Hawks vs Isolationists. etc etc. 2. Trump uses psychological manipulation without shame. If your reply is that all politicians do this, see my one message above. ~~~ I've just re-read Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents. There's a lot there, and it's honestly a bit painful right now; one thing I keep thinking about is "God is Change". There's a lot of ways to interpret that, but the one that I keep thinking about is: In an information game, playing the game changes the game. Political and economic moves change the game of politics and economics. When you plan your moves (IF you plan your moves), consider not only where you are going on the board, but also how the board will look when you get there.
pbiggar 1y ago
> UNESCO’s decision to admit the “State of Palestine” as a Member State is highly problematic, contrary to U.S. policy, and contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organization. America First continues to be Israel First.
- DSingularity 1y ago
  Makes you wonder what was in that dual-citizens (Israel and America) file that made the entire administration flip the script all of a sudden. Talking about Ep stein.
  - megaman821 1y ago
    The stuff that HN lets fly here about certain groups would surely get the posters banned if they were about any other groups.
zakum1 1y ago
There is no role for the USA in multi-lateral organizations - the USA has made this clear for decades now - it should withdraw from all of them and let the rest of the world get on with creating a world that is based on the dignity of all people.
o140445 1y ago
[dead]
felineflock 1y ago
Woke is the commingling of awareness of social injustices with a rigid ideological framework that suppresses individual thought and redefines moral foundations. Instead of recognizing injustice, it became an imposition of ideological points that have to be adopted wholesale instead of being evaluated independently. There are valid positions on issues related to race, gender, sexuality, and other identity categories but the method of promoting these ideas by enforcing group consensus is not valid and is anti-liberal. Genuine intellectual curiosity is punished with what is basically name-calling. In result, there is a fear that leads people to publicly profess something unthinkingly or that they question only privately. This creates a culture of just parroting consensus views to avoid social penalties. In a nutshell, it is pressure to conform.
throwaway290 1y ago
Pretty sure it is just part of the barrage of noise meant to distract from the newest Epstein-Trump story, no? The birthday card stuff? Apparently US withdrew and rejoined before so what's the big deal
Pet_Ant 1y ago
I feel like the US is becoming like China. Very economically important obviously, but will end up culturally irrelevant. It's hard to build up that much ill-will and still be considered glamorous. I can be wrong, and this isn't my personal judgement, but a genuine prediction.
- DontchaKnowit 1y ago
  China is bery culturally relevant and rising. But otherwise yeah I agree with you
  - yoyohello13 1y ago
    China is filling the void the US is leaving. It’s kind of wild seeing the US just ceding dominance to China one step at a time.
  - geoka9 1y ago
    > China is bery culturally relevant Sure, every country is. But I think what the OP meant is that US cultural artifacts are (have been so far) much more in demand. I don't remember the last time I watched a Chinese movie or listened to a Chinese band... It could be because I'm in a western country, but I've also lived in Central Asia and Eastern Europe, and American movies, music and literature were much more popular there, too.
    - Mr_Minderbinder 1y ago
      > I don't remember the last time I watched a Chinese movie or listened to a Chinese band… I have seen quite a few films from Hong Kong and a few have achieved some level of popularity and recognition in the West but perhaps you do not consider a HK movie to be a Chinese movie. > ...I've also lived in Central Asia and Eastern Europe, and American movies, music and literature were much more popular there, too. I can believe that for movies and maybe music but certainly not literature.
- hello_moto 1y ago
  Trump admires China and how the country is run.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
HarHarVeryFunny 1y ago
Ever since the firestorm erupted over Trump's U-turn on the Epstein files (gee, I wonder why), he's been desperate to change the conversation, and I'd not be surprised if the timing of this, if not the decision itself, is motivated by that.
sitzkrieg 1y ago
the mental gymnastics to make israel the good guys is mind blowing
tlogan 1y ago
Sadly, these kinds of high-level decisions (which really do not matter in the grand scheme of things) only make it harder to combat real anti-Semitism: the real anti-Semitism is when people assume you need to move to Israel, and imply that you’re not a “real” American.
elgolem89 1y ago
withdraws from UNESCO, annexes to Israel as a new district...
sys32768 1y ago
According to the UN, genocide: >...means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.... Besides Iceland, all UN member nations have a history of land acquisition through force, colonization, or dispossession. By their own definition, they're all guilty of genocide "in part" at some point in their histories, with several in the last 50 or 100 years.
- BigJ1211 1y ago
  Ethnic cleansing isn't genocide and vise-versa. Genocide is very specifically about murdering a group of individuals for their shared characteristic, not displacing them. In this case, the Palestinians and other groups want to genocide the Jews. The Jews seem to mostly (or smaller groups within Israel at least) want to ethnically cleanse the non-Jewish Palestinians from modern day Israel.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
Aerbil313 1y ago
[flagged]
Nemo_bis 1y ago
Does this reduce the access and influence of the USA copyright industry at UNESCO and the UN?
hbarka 1y ago
Most of my memorable tour destinations have been UNESCO World Heritage sites.
derelicta 1y ago
It fills me with joy seeing the Empire hurting itself in confusion.

625 points by layer8 1y ago

More coverage: https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-pulls-us-out-un-cultural-agency-unesco-second-time-2025-07-22/ https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-pulls-us-out-un-cultural...

JKCalhoun 1y ago
"President Trump has decided to withdraw the United States from UNESCO – which supports woke, divisive cultural and social causes that are totally out-of-step with the commonsense policies that Americans voted for in November," White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said." I have come to think of UNESCO with regard to their World Heritage sites (I saw in the news that Neuschwanstein was just recently added), but one of my favorite science books when I was growing up I found was compiled by UNESCO, "700 Science Experiments For Everyone" [1]. I loved the way it showed you how to set up a modest "lab" with inexpensive (or found) things. Perhaps they were considering poorer communities/nations. [1] https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780385052757 https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780385052757
- aarestad 1y ago
  "woke" deployed as a noun really rankles me. But then, I guess that's the point eh - own those snowflakes, nothing matters, lol.
  - ceejayoz 1y ago
    "woke, divisive cultural and social causes" is using it as an adjective. Causes is the noun.
    - FireBeyond 1y ago
      The Right commonly uses wokeness as a noun.
      - ceejayoz 1y ago
        I don't disagree, but this isn't one of those cases.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]

criddell 1y ago

What are UNESCO's "divisive cultural and social causes"?

cbeach 1y ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44647349 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44647349
GordonS 1y ago
UNESCO is against the US-backed Israeli genocide of the Palestinian people, and is against the theft of Palestinian land. That's it - they simply don't support murdering children.
- ignoramous 1y ago
  > UNESCO is against the US-backed Israeli genocide ... they simply don't support ... That means, per IHRA, UNESCO is anti-semitic. Makes sense as anti-semitism is a problem worth tearing all post WW2 diplomacy and institutions up.
miltonlost 1y ago
[flagged]
supportengineer 1y ago
Compassion, intelligence, generosity
- duxup 1y ago
  Nobody hates god's children quite like the religious right in the US.
  - jzb 1y ago
    "Love the fetus, hate the mother and child"

this15testingg 1y ago

the wording of that page is so blatantly propaganda that it's embarrassing to read. It's pathetic.

mcurist 1y ago
I find myself wondering if the people writing like this actually speak like that and how aware they are of how it sounds to a non-cultist. The spokesperson is a political scientist, the fact that they must know better just makes it worse.
- onlyrealcuzzo 1y ago
  > The spokesperson is a political scientist, the fact that they must know better just makes it worse. Are you implying that just because your profession is A you must know B? There are tons of people that do things for a living and know nothing about it, and purposefully avoid all initiatives to seek the truth.
- adhamsalama 1y ago
  Well, you're in luck because this guy confessed https://youtube.com/shorts/Uxfoe88Q-hg https://youtube.com/shorts/Uxfoe88Q-hg
z2 1y ago
At least it's transparent, like all the other things coming from the executive branch lately. And maybe that makes the damage more lasting, because people can see that US is so mired in populism that it cannot grasp how the SDGs of reducing poverty, accessing sanitation, equality, and -- dare I say -- dealing with climate change are things that ultimately help global security and thus benefit the US.
- 1234letshaveatw 1y ago
  This is a false dilemma- believe it or not, it is possible for the US to provide support outside of UNESCO

ablation 1y ago

"We’re sorry, this site is currently experiencing technical difficulties. Please try again in a few moments. Exception: forbidden" Seems about right.

duesabati 1y ago

> America First > anti-Israel American Government became the parody of itself, so sad

netsharc 1y ago
Pointing out this satirical sketch might be a cliche, but: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToKcmnrE5oY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToKcmnrE5oY (Mitchell and Webb: Are we the Baddies?)
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]
hopelite 1y ago
A toxic, psychopathic, narcissistic con job is parody? I don’t think people are at all understanding that they are in an abusive relationship and have been all their lives and so have all the people around them all their lives for many generations now. We have all been born into a cult and that cult is all we know, so we are afraid to even just contemplate for a moment that it could all just be lies and abuses by liars and abusers. If they can get you to voluntarily believe crazy things and do abusive things, they can get you to believe and do anything. That applies to the full political spectrum and for most people. It’s not a farce. It’s something way worse.
aprilthird2021 1y ago
You have to sign a document saying you won't boycott Israel, academic journals cancel editions which talk about Palestine, you can't be part of UNESCO for Israel. You can't write a college article critical of Israel or we'll kidnap you off the streets into an unmarked van. You can't be a business and not give a contract to Israel or your employee will tip off the Anti Boycott Office against you. Your Congressmen wear Israeli military fatigues into the Congress. Your mayoral candidates have to pledge fealty to Israel. We aren't Israeli citizens. Why are we treated like we are?
- jajko 1y ago

fuzzylightbulb 1y ago

This administration has zero ability to build or bring people together, able only to destroy what others have made. On the bright side, it isn't effective until December 31, 2026 so there is plenty of time to chicken out.

msgodel 1y ago
[flagged]
idontwantthis 1y ago
Evil cannot create it can only corrupt.
echelon 1y ago
> it isn't effective until December 31, 2026 so there is plenty of time to chicken out. That's within the current administration. Unless a change in congress can prevent this, it's a done deal.
- AnimalMuppet 1y ago
  Even if Congress changes hands in the 2026 election, they won't take office until early 2027.
- nozzlegear 1y ago
  I think they were alluding to Trump's now notorious penchant to flip flop and waffle on every decision he makes. It's why the TACO Trump meme sprang up and continues to be used in reference to him – Trump Always Chickens Out.
throw0101b 1y ago
> This administration has zero ability to build or bring people together […] Someone observed a lot of stuff that Trump is doing is through Executive Orders because he really can't do deals. Of course when (some of) his desires overlap with (some of) others', we get: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Big_Beautiful_Bill_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Big_Beautiful_Bill_Act which is mostly about implementing: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_2025 > […] so there is plenty of time to chicken out. TACO: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_Always_Chickens_Out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trump_Always_Chickens_Out * https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/06/02/donald-trump-taco-trade-acronym-explained/83988040007/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/06/02/dona... (Being reliant on TACO may backfire at some point.)

uneekname 1y ago

> UNESCO works to advance divisive social and cultural causes and maintains an outsized focus on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, a globalist, ideological agenda for international development at odds with our America First foreign policy. Ummm...what? This is the kind of nonsense that makes me want to leave this country.

decremental 1y ago
[flagged]
rexpop 1y ago
> This is the kind of nonsense that makes me want to leave this country. So go, if you're not going to fight it.
- spit2wind 1y ago
  Every bit of resistance counts. If you feel the lat-lon-alt suit your tastes, stick around, speak your mind, and don't let the nationalists tell you to get out. :)
  - r2_pilot 1y ago
    Exactly; I rather enjoy telling those who would have me leave my home that they should set the example first. After all, they're the ones pushing for changes they want to see, they can go do that over somewhere else.
bananalychee 1y ago
It's too bad to see otherwise intelligent people refusing to engage with any statement or action of the US federal government in good faith. However I suspect the point you cited is far more relevant to this move than the distraction that is Israel v. Palestine. There is plenty to criticize and oppose in the UN's agenda. Much of it suggests developed countries severely inhibit their growth and further centralize power to better control the pesky proles who might not want to go along with the plan. See James Lindsay's reading of their Sustainable Development Goals which cites them directly.

saubeidl 1y ago

The United States voluntarily gives up yet another piece of soft power. Coming up next: The United States wonders why it doesn't have allies anymore and why the rest of the world starts working around them.

1234letshaveatw 1y ago
isn't this more of an example of employing soft power?
- Jtsummers 1y ago
  Successful soft power requires you have a seat at the table. When you leave and stop participating, you reduce your soft power.
  - hersko 1y ago
    Sure, but if you are the only one holding up (funding) the table then the whole thing falls apart when you leave.
    - nobody9999 1y ago
      >Sure, but if you are the only one holding up (funding) the table then the whole thing falls apart when you leave. Since the US accounts for ~13%[0] of UNESCO funding, you're making GP's point for them. the US is giving up its seat at the table and UNESCO retains 87% of its funding. [0] https://core.unesco.org/en/sources-of-funding https://core.unesco.org/en/sources-of-funding
jl6 1y ago
It’s not giving up soft power, it’s gambling with soft power. The outcome Trump hopes for is that UNESCO fires whoever is setting its “woke” policies and comes back cap-in-hand, offering an agenda that is more to his liking. The risk is that UNESCO ignores the US and finds another patron state that wants to buy some influence - and that’s when the US loses.

cbeach 1y ago

[flagged]

JKCalhoun 1y ago
By all means, let's throw the baby out as well then.
- philipallstar 1y ago
  Don't put babies in toxic waste.
pixl97 1y ago
Guess someone doesn't like you posting excerpts from a WSJ article.
- cbeach 1y ago
  All the quotes I included are factual, and help explain the OP. Yet they're being downvoted. It's a shame HN operates like this. Some people's narratives are so fragile the only way they can survive is to silence all other narratives.
  - eclecticfrank 1y ago
    These quotes are displayed without context and hence have no or a very little value in a conversation.
    - cbeach 1y ago
      [flagged]
      - ceejayoz 1y ago
        > There is no context that justifies UNESCO focussing on criticism of Israel's self defence, as opposed to focussing on Hamas's attrocity that started the war (or Putin etc) Sure there is. Only one is still actively happening, and it's the one that's killed 20-60x as many civilians, depending on whose estimates you follow. > There is no context that justifies UNESCO rebranding Jewish holy places as “Palestinian World Heritage sites.” Jews existed in the region for more than a thousand years before the violent Islamic conquest and colonisation. The context there is simple; quite a few places are holy to more than one religion. Some are holy to Palestinians; some are in Palestinian territories, like the Church of the Nativity.

metalman 1y ago

"effective at the end of 2026" as per the UNESCO wiki

nine_zeros 1y ago

[flagged]

rtkwe 1y ago

Another tantrum thrown because the world refuses to align with their twisted view. Shocking to thing we're only ~1/8th through this term.

netsharc 1y ago
Why fantasize that the GOP isn't going to do a Putin/Erdogan/Suharto? Those countries have "democratic" elections and keep electing the same president, they must be hella great guys!
- rtkwe 1y ago
  There are clearly pockets that want to but I'm not sure there's enough support in important areas to actually have a coup like that succeed. Kind of have to wait and see how things develop.
  - bryanlarsen 1y ago
    It's not a coup if you stay in power illegally, it's a self-coup. 2020 was a coup attempt because Trump gave up power and then tried to give it back. He's not going to make that same mistake again. He'll just attempt to stay in power via self-coup. Unlike coup's which are distinct events, self-coup's are usually shades of grey. They happen through democratic backsliding, which usually consists of a large number of small events. I'm sure we'll see some more before the next election. Will it be enough so that the US is as bad as Russia or Turkey? No. Will it be enough to keep Trump in power illegally? Perhaps.
    - rtkwe 1y ago
      You'd have to overthrow parts of the US government to keep power for a 3rd term I'd still call that a coup even if it's coming from inside the house. Coups rarely come from entirely external forces, the military basically always has a major role in deciding if a coup is successful even if it's just staying neutral and seeing where the chips fall.

_Yguy_ 1y ago

[flagged]

rexpop 1y ago
Deeply, deeply deranged to suggest that Israel—a $600B economy—is "wagging the dog" of our $30,500B economy.
- digital_sawzall 1y ago
  AIPAC is the most powerful lobby in Washington. And money get's you anything in politics.
  - atonse 1y ago
    I’ve heard this for decades now. But how do they rank in importance compared to other juggernauts like the teachers unions, NRA, or United Auto Workers, Planned Parenthood? Not to mention individual lobbyists for massive companies? because the latter dominate discourse during elections.
    - FireBeyond 1y ago
      When was the last time you had to sign an agreement not to boycott gun fairs or a car manufacturer, for a job? Planned Parenthood? You mean the healthcare-providing entity that has been entirely defunded by this administration?
      - atonse 1y ago
        But are there movements to boycott those other groups? The BDS movement seems to be only about boycotting Israel right?
    - deleted 1y ago
      [deleted]
    - rexpop 1y ago

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LightBug1 1y ago

[flagged]

supportengineer 1y ago
And the only prescription is more cowbell
- LightBug1 1y ago
  My condolences.
ncr100 1y ago
[flagged]

snapetom 1y ago

[flagged]

resource_waste 1y ago
I dont mind the UN building. But as an IR Realist, I find it a bit insulting that the UN pretends it has power. It only is used as moral coating to protect the status quo.
- JadeNB 1y ago
  What is IR?
tgv 1y ago
Their goal is not to enforce laws. It's to provide a regular space for nations to talk. It's diplomacy, which some see --not without reason-- as a particular kind of hypocrisy, but in a world-wide context. Under the UN, there are organizations that do international work, governed by an international alliance. These do work that otherwise would be fragmented. That's not impotent.

lvl155 1y ago

And it’s wild to think that more than 1/3 of the devs I’ve met in my life support this admin. These are seemingly smart people. The past 10 years or so made me realize I don’t know anything about human nature or intellect. Edit: I am in no way saying conservatism is bad and liberalism is good. I have my values in both.

MR_Bulldops 1y ago
I have found the biggest commonality in otherwise intelligent Trump supporters in my life is deep-seated insecurity issues. The second biggest is a life that hasn't gone how they had envisioned and, rather than take accountability, they blame anything but their choices. Though, I think lack of accountability is a symptom of insecurity, so it is wrapped up in the first issue.
fanwood 1y ago
[flagged]
- esafak 1y ago
  And the leadership was supposedly smart too. Intelligence and morality don't necessarily go together.
- monkeyelite 1y ago
  An entire set of countries actually - no division between intelligence. It was a global cultural phenomenon.
  - asah 1y ago
    to be fair, there was lots of resistance within those countries, but not enough to overcome the Guys With Guns(tm).
    - monkeyelite 1y ago
      The point is it has nothing to do with being smart or dumb. if you can’t explain why smart people in good faith participated, you just don’t understand it,

coliveira 1y ago

[flagged]

ChrisArchitect 1y ago

What year is it, 2017? https://2017-2021.state.gov/the-united-states-withdraws-from-unesco/ https://2017-2021.state.gov/the-united-states-withdraws-from... Boring, been here before. UNESCO and world moved on. With some notable declarations like Demoscene and Techno music being added in a number of countries. Too bad those couldn't be added to a US registry also.

ncr100 1y ago
Whoa, that is fascinating. We did this before.
- cbsmith 1y ago
  Yeah, there's a long and tangled history with UNESCO that spans multiple administrations. That said, the wording of the statement is... problematic.
hello_moto 1y ago
Seems like there's nothing new coming from Trump v2. Just a repeat of v1 with varying degree of intensity.
Teknomadix 1y ago
Demoscene. A number of countries meaning Norway, Sweden and Finland?
- pixelpoet 1y ago
  Germany too.
nomdep 1y ago
Or maybe, 2011? https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2011/11/1/us-halts-unesco-funding https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2011/11/1/us-halts-unesco... (Yes, Obama did it first)
- kennywinker 1y ago

bix6 1y ago

From 2023, the program and budget for 2024/2025 showing priorities etc. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000385118 https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000385118

yesfitz 1y ago
And the US's contributions to the specific beneficiary countries/programs by Quarter: https://core.unesco.org/en/country/usa/contribution?biennium=42&quarter=2025Q1 https://core.unesco.org/en/country/usa/contribution?biennium... (Breakdown by beneficiary country & program is at the bottom of the page.)
Urahandystar 1y ago
Palestine was mentioned once in that document.
braiamp 1y ago
What I should be reading here? It's a very long document.

LoganDark 1y ago

I really hope the next president will be able to undo this fucking mess... otherwise the US is probably never going to catch back up to what it used to be. Voters made a terrible mistake.

BLKNSLVR 1y ago
There is exactly zero chance that the US can go back to what it was as a result of a single election. Structural change is needed, which is unlikely to happen, and the depth of the destruction of the machine of government cannot be rebuilt in less than a decade, and that's just the foundation upon which reputation is then built.
- splintercell 1y ago
  Just to let you know, an argument can be made that this was exactly the intent. All stable democracies derive a goodwill by honoring certain values even if a previous political party made them. This is intentionally being thrown out of the window for what the other side perceives to be something done to them (arresting Trump, assassination attempts). Which the first side can justify on the grounds of what was done to them (Jan 6th), which is the other side can justify on the grounds of what was done to them (2020 election issues) and so on. Any attempts to look for the "source" of the problem (i.e figuring out who started it) is choosing a side and not trying to solve the problem.
spit2wind 1y ago
If I may suggest the following edit: > I really hope a future Congress will undo this fucking mess... otherwise the US is probably never going to catch back up to what it used to be. Voters made a terrible mistake. Putting too much power into the president is part of the problem.
_ink_ 1y ago
He or she won't be able to this. It's much quicker to destroy then to (re)create. Especially since any decent president won't use EOs exclusively. And even if EOs would be used, congress and courts suddenly will wake up from their slumber.

datadrivenangel 1y ago

"UNESCO works to advance divisive social and cultural causes and maintains an outsized focus on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, a globalist, ideological agenda for international development at odds with our America First foreign policy. " Throwing away our American First globalist capitalist ideological project for... clout?

akashshah87 1y ago

“The U.S. began defunding UNESCO under Obama after it admitted Palestine as a full member—and then withdrew entirely during Trump’s first term.” — [New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/world/europe/us-withdraw-unesco.html https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/world/europe/us-withdraw-...) This isn’t just a blip, but part of a long-term downward trajectory in U.S. and UNESCO relations.

TheBlight 1y ago
[flagged]
- trashtensor 1y ago
  [flagged]
- pkilgore 1y ago
  Like the fact that Obama was following laws passed by congress? https://web.archive.org/web/20141224180231/https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/10/25/will-congresss-defunding-of-the-u-n-over-palestine-hurt-u-s-goals-around-the-world/ https://web.archive.org/web/20141224180231/https://foreignpo...
- kennywinker 1y ago
  Some of the hate in the comments is directed at the current thief-in-chief - but mostly it looks to me like it’s directed at the longstanding US-israel relationship where the US gov does things that the US people don’t want because the israeli gov does want it. The hypocrisy of saying “america first” while bending over backwards to support israel is just a new twist to an old pattern.
- wredcoll 1y ago
  Why do you think this action is worth defending? Do you personally agree with it? Do you have an actual position here?
aprilthird2021 1y ago
It was stupid then and it's stupid now. We aren't Israel and we shouldn't have to be citizens of Israel

gjsman-1000 1y ago

[flagged]

pjc50 1y ago
[flagged]
- gjsman-1000 1y ago
  [flagged]
  - notahacker 1y ago
    This is may be true of many Muslims, though they should probably factor the possibility the current administration despises them as a demographic much more than it despises LGBT people into their decision making. In any case, views on Christian bakers don't seem to be a particularly good reason to endorse the behaviour of Trump or believe that international trade is a pissing contest, or mass incarceration without due process or many other things the current administration is far more interested in than SCOTUS lawsuits, and I don't think many of Trump's voters backed him out of adherence to Islam...
  - tomhow 1y ago
    > Islamic people also don't want to bake cakes for the LGBTQ crowd. They're with the Christian baker there. Please don't make generalizations based on religion or culture. Please also make an effort to follow the guidelines, in particular these ones: Comments should get more thoughtful and substantive, not less, as a topic gets more divisive. Please don't use Hacker News for political or ideological battle. It tramples curiosity. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
Kique 1y ago
[flagged]
- Rychard 1y ago

man4 1y ago

[dead]

shadowgovt 1y ago

Not that this is a topic that I think anyone is still rubed on (in the sense that even those who voted for him thinking he'd be better on Israel / Palestine relations have been disabused of the notion), but did anyone else have "Trump withdraws the US from UNESCO because they support Palestine" on their bingo card? And, of course, the follow-up question: did anyone have it on a Harris bingo card?

hersko 1y ago
Yes, because he did it before.

begueradj 1y ago

[flagged]

kennywinker 1y ago
Sounds like you’re using woke as a derogatory term. What does it mean to you that it seems like a bad thing?

throw7 1y ago

This seems to be a political back and forth (beginning with the admittance of palestine in the past)... (from wikipedia) U.S. (and Israel) left UNESCO in 2018, but the United States rejoined in 2023. I presume U.S. has left again now in 2025. [edit: kind of surprised this hasn't been flagged, but sadly indicative of HN's bias.]

Oarch 1y ago
Interesting context
skywhopper 1y ago
Trump was president in 2018, if you’ve forgotten.
- garamond23 1y ago
  > The United States cut funding for UNESCO under the Obama administration after it voted to include Palestine as a full member, and then pulled out completely during President Trump’s first term. >But in 2023, the Biden administration reversed that decision and decided to rejoin. - NYT - U.S. Says It Will Withdraw From U.N. Cultural Organization, Again To be fair it looks like funding was cut during the Obama admin over the admittance of Palestine
  - CGMthrowaway 1y ago
    Yes, in 2011
  - pkilgore 1y ago
    Congress cut funding by passing laws[1][2]. In 2011, Obama was just following the law enacted by Congress not his wild ass opinions, which I know is crazy given the current administration. [1] Public Law 101-246 (1990) [2] Public Law 103-236 (1994) See also: https://web.archive.org/web/20141224180231/https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/10/25/will-congresss-defunding-of-the-u-n-over-palestine-hurt-u-s-goals-around-the-world/ https://web.archive.org/web/20141224180231/https://foreignpo...

aprilthird2021 1y ago

> UNESCO’s decision to admit the “State of Palestine” as a Member State is highly problematic, contrary to U.S. policy, and contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric within the organization. I asked this when the administration decided to attack funding for research at Harvard University over wild claims, and I ask again, why are we willing to shoot ourselves in the knees for Israel?

Atreiden 1y ago
Because Israel is both a critical component of our global surveillance and information warfare programs, and a convenient shield against criticism and investigation.
- aprilthird2021 1y ago
  How is it a critical component of our global surveillance and info warfare? If anything they steal so much from us and give very little in return. They have sold our military secrets to China, stolen nuclear material and secrets from us, and hacked American journalists and citizens and American big tech companies. I don't even think China has done that much damage to us
alistairSH 1y ago
Very roughly... The Bible foretells the return of the Jewish people to the land of Israel and the subsequent rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem as a precursor to the end times. IE, without Israel, Christians don't get to go to heaven.
- azinman2 1y ago
  That’s just the excuse for a certain segment of the fundamentalists. Trump doesn’t give a shit about Israel. It’s about attacking all institutions that aren’t aligned with him. You think if Harvard went “America first,” he’d be trying to shut them down?
azinman2 1y ago
Because it’s not actually about Israel.

ck2 1y ago

The last ten days of January 2029 are going to be wild 1200 days, if we make it, well if there's a real election

BirAdam 1y ago
real elections only exist if you're part of the donor class.

seydor 1y ago

When did America stop being a globalist in the globalization that they themselves created. And how do you justify iran, hoothis, israel, taiwan with an antiglobalist agenda.

bgwalter 1y ago
As you (probably) imply, the rhetoric is fake and the game continues as it always has. The UNESCO thing is probably a gift to MAGA to distract them from certain other problems/scandals that this administration currently has.
jzb 1y ago
In answer to the first question... there's been an isolationist streak among the right for decades. But in answer to the second, expecting consistency from the American right is a bad idea. They do not care about being consistent, any so-called principles are only applied to others -- not themselves. (And I acknowledge that all humans and all groups have the ability to be hypocritical in some circumstances, but it's far more pronounced in the American right.)
netbioserror 1y ago
Is it not obvious? Democracies are schizophrenic, where the people and the ruling class are constantly fighting to implement and repeal half-baked bastardizations of their agendas. The best sign that the people have any influence in their government is that there is zero consistent application of anything. Consistency only happens when the democratic element is removed.

guywithahat 1y ago

It always amazed me how quickly the UN became a mechanism for corruption. Growing up in the US it's easy to forget political corruption is the norm in most of the world, and the UN is just one of the vehicles.

zakum1 1y ago
Corruption in the USA is pretty bad. People here just excuse it away easily.

weego 1y ago

Imagine losing control of a puppet state so badly that you end up losing a large amount of global relevance and credibility. I know that's written kind of lazily and off the cuff but it really hits home how deep the various agencies must be in needing them as a conduit for their actions.

achairapart 1y ago

There are millions of gamers that await to play GTA VI, then you read the news and it looks like the whole word has turned in some silly real life GTA VI already (although, an happy ending is not guaranteed). It's shocking.

melson 1y ago

The United States did that before, then rejoined

seydor 1y ago

Unironically , the MAGA Mountain of Stupidity deserves recognition in UNESCOs world heritage list

paxys 1y ago

[flagged]

ajuc 1y ago

Understandable. UNESCO is big on protecting children from people like Trump.

HamsterDan 1y ago

[flagged]

johndoe90 1y ago

[flagged]

lifestyleguru 1y ago

Apparently UNESCO refused to say thank you to Trump.

paulvnickerson 1y ago

[flagged]

it_citizen 1y ago
It is one of the most 10 upvoted topics on the main page. People seem to want to see it here and comment about it. Personally I am happy to see it discussed here. I have seen interesting comments tempering and contextualizing the headline that I appreciate. There are still a vast majority of articles on other topics. Those ones are easy to ignore if they bother someone.
- hersko 1y ago
  Yes, politics always drives clicks. That is not OPs point though.
  - paulvnickerson 1y ago
    Agreed. If I want to see doom and gloom announcements about the current administration I'll go read Huffington Post or NY Times, thank you very much.
    - it_citizen 1y ago
      It is not a opinion article about the current admin. It is the direct statement from the state department on a topic that doesn’t belong less here than many other general interest topics found on hacker news. A few post below, there is a petition against pesticides in France. UNESCO stands for international cooperation in education, science, culture, and communication. That seems well within what HN can cover in my opinion.
    - HAL3000 1y ago
      Why did you click on the comments and leave one? You could have just ignored it and let others discuss what they want.
- smsm42 1y ago

fmajid 1y ago

UNESCO also has the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission under its umbrella, and the Trumpists want to rake the seabed for polymetallic nodules, environmental catastrophe be damned.

cooper_ganglia 1y ago

Obama withdrew all US funds from UNESCO in 2011 as well, due to Palestine being admitted in. This isn't anything particularly noteworthy, just more capitulating to Israel, which is annoying.

pkilgore 1y ago
Obama didn't do anything (other than follow the law at the time): https://web.archive.org/web/20141224180231/https://foreignpolicy.com/2011/10/25/will-congresss-defunding-of-the-u-n-over-palestine-hurt-u-s-goals-around-the-world/ https://web.archive.org/web/20141224180231/https://foreignpo...
- tolerance 1y ago
  So would it be fair to say that this is just a reiteration of a 30+ year-long trend. Edit: 40+ year-long trend? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44648359 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44648359 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000012506323&seq=1 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000012506323&seq=...
- hackyhacky 1y ago
  The is a good point: the decision was made by Congress, not by Obama. Although I disagree with that decision, that is the correct way to make it. Now, Trump is withdrawing unilaterally, without Congressional approval. Remember when presidents followed the law?
  - CWuestefeld 1y ago
    I've been complaining about the increasing power being ceded to the Presidency, like, forever now. This isn't specifically a GOP or DEM thing, it's been happening consistently at least since FDR, and probably even beyond that. That said, the one area where the Constitution really does give the President a fairly free hand is in foreign policy.
    - nonethewiser 1y ago

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

kennywinker 1y ago

The US is complicit in the intentional starvation of gaza’s people by israel. At least 15 people have starved to death in the last 24 hours, including an infant. https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/israel-gaza-war-hunger-children-killed-1.7590739 https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/israel-gaza-war-hunger-childre... Ragequitting UNESCO over their recognition of palestine is a small part of the project of supporting the ethnic cleansing of gaza and the west bank.

AnimalMuppet 1y ago
[flagged]
- skybrian 1y ago
  A big difference is that in 2022, an estimated five million Ukrainian refugees fled to other parts of Europe - which is more than twice as large as Gaza's entire population. Similarly, many Syrians fled the war there. We could ask why there aren't more Palestinian refugees who fled to other countries? As far as I can tell, leaving Gaza is very difficult, and nobody really talks about making it easier.
  - tguvot 1y ago
    it's not that it's hard to leave gaza. it's just nobody willing to accept gazans. and trumps plan that talks about voluntary migration out of gaza is been described as genocide and ethnic cleansing (btw, 75% of them actually registered as refugees by unrwa for past many decades) i never saw anybody been against migration of population out of war zone to safety. in case of ukrainian refugees it was widely discussed that people need to get to safety and entire europe helped.
    - skybrian 1y ago
      I don't know what's involved, but if no one is willing to accept Gazans then it seems like that might be a practical difficulty?

jacknews 1y ago

For sure this guy is going to, already is, ruining the peace and prosperity the world has enjoyed since WW2. I suspect he will make a major war, and invoke military rule or whatever, before the next election, in order to continue in power.

Supermancho 1y ago
There is no doubt, given the status quo. ie Trump has no medical issues. There will be a national emergency declared unsurprisingly to push back the election. Some states will perform some form of election to the best of their ability. Then SCOTUS declares that the unitary executive has the power to do this and we're in for a rough ride. That being said, this UNESCO departure is a nothingburger that has more to do with Israel solidarity than anything else.
BirAdam 1y ago
Peace and prosperity since WWII? I suppose that Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, Myanmar, Sudan, Somalia, Pakistan/India/China, Georgia, Bosnia/Herzegovina, and so on just never happened? Not doubting that war is on the horizon, but the USA is addicted to war, and many other nations had their own issues independently of the USA.
- turtlesdown11 1y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Peace https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Peace > The "Long Peace" is a term for the unprecedented historical period of relative global stability following the end of World War II in 1945 to the present day https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post%E2%80%93World_War_II_economic_expansion https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post%E2%80%93World_War_II_econ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_globalization https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_globalization I hope you learn something today.
  - jacknews 1y ago
    Exactly
  - 1y ago

crabbone 1y ago

This is in response to the flagged comment that, apparently, I cannot comment on. I'm not thrilled about what current US administration is doing when it comes to international NGOs. UNESCO is one example. However, there's also another problem: various UN bodies became tools for international politics instead of doing what they were originally designed to do. It's another example of good will easily subverted by malicious actors to serve shady political goals. These international organizations need restructuring that would introduce some sort of a watchdog that would make sure these organizations don't overstep their aria of responsibility. Similarly to how constitutional democracies usually have separation of power and multiple branches of government that are supposed to counterbalance each other. My layman understanding of the reason for UNESCO existence is the preservation of cultural heritage. This shouldn't be political. This should be based on historical or archeological knowledge as well as arts. However, UNESCO as well as eg. UNICEF and other similar orgs shamelessly engage in political activism that has nothing to do with conservation efforts. The officers of these organizations haven't been elected to represent political wishes of their constituents. They bare no responsibility for the effects of political propaganda they are spreading, but it's impossible to prevent them from doing something they shouldn't be doing by all accounts. Bad political actors found a way to subvert and misuse organizations that were intended for a good cause. We need to figure out a way to fight this subversion. Defunding is both too late, and comes at a cost of not having an organization that cares about preservation of historical heritage or the rights of children etc.

layer8 1y ago
> My layman understanding of the reason for UNESCO existence is the preservation of cultural heritage. This shouldn't be political. It is political when cultures are being eradicated. Tibet is one of several examples.
kennywinker 1y ago
UNICEF’s mission is “providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide” Children in gaza are being intentionally starved by israel blocking food aid. At least 15 people including one infant have been starved to death in the past 24 hours. UNESCO’s mission is preservation of cultural heritage. Gaza and the west bank are being ethnically cleansed, and their arts and culture have already been physically destroyed by US bombs dropped by israel. This will destroy cultural groups, thus leaving little to preserve. The world is political. You give someone a goal of preserving culture, or protecting children, and all of a sudden they’ll start speaking out when you destroy culture and starve children.

tehjoker 1y ago

The US is withdrawing from the soft-power international system because they are thinking of using hard power. The world must stop us.

jmyeet 1y ago

[flagged]

nsypteras 1y ago

1984: U.S. withdraws. 2003: U.S. rejoins. 2011: U.S. stops paying dues after Palestine joins. 2017: U.S. announces withdrawal (effective end of 2018). 2023: U.S. rejoins, pledges to repay dues. 2025: U.S announces withdrawal Seems to be a revolving door

DSingularity 1y ago
Cycle of politician appeasing their genocidal masters until the government start to realize what that means exactly at which point we pull back to humanity.
bad_haircut72 1y ago
If you abandon it completely something else might rise up - but funding/participating only up to a point, it works to suppress it - see Ukraine aid policies aswell
- Tostino 1y ago
  Look at the years, and see how they match up with the administration in power...
rs186 1y ago
Makes me wonder if officials at UNESCO even cares about the decision. "Oh that again?" Probably already used to this.
- rgblambda 1y ago
  Similar to the Israeli ambassador being recalled from Dublin. They mean it as a big dramatic statement but they've done it that many times it's lost all significance. She only gets reinstated again for the purpose of making another dramatic exit.
  - lawlessone 1y ago
    They always send their most incompetent ambassadors to Dublin, ones that put their foot in their own mouth.

scrollaway 1y ago

I know a lot of people here are looking to leave the US for Europe. If you’re a founder in that situation and want to bring your startup with you, send me an email, especially if you’re looking to have a startup in defence/cybersecurity/ai. I made it a mission to help people in this situation to move. Contact on my profile.

eddieroger 1y ago

> UNESCO works to advance divisive social and cultural causes I wish I could remember where I heard it, but someone once pointed out that the only difference between special interests and public interests was who said it. This feels like that.

DSingularity 1y ago
I’m sure the British would have described the American revolution in similar ways.
- Veen 1y ago
  We described it as tax avoidance and treasonous collaboration with the enemy we really cared about — the French.
  - zdragnar 1y ago
    Tax avoidance is using a loophole. Tax evasion is refusing to pay what is determined to be owed. The modern difference is one comes with prison time.

lunarboy 1y ago

Another buzz bone to distract from Epstein?

throwaway290 1y ago
My thought exactly...

yobid20 1y ago

Honestly im ok with this one, despite disagreeing with most of the other ludicrous bs from the current asinine administration.

henearkr 1y ago

Trump's regime is soon reaching Afghanistan's level... The worrying part is that this is world's first military power, and (still) the first economic power...

kindkang2024 1y ago

The hard truth is that for any deal—or broader cooperation—to succeed, both parties must benefit and perceive the deal as fair. Without mutual benefit, the cooperation underpinning the deal will not be stable. > The United States Withdraws from UNESCO (state.gov) Probably, the majority of people in the U.S. feel they are losing from these deals, which is why they are willing to withdraw. It is both the government’s prerogative and duty to manifest that will. As a non-American, I deeply respect that freedom and choice. In fact, I believe that any administration has a duty to prioritize its own nation first—whether it's called "America First," "Palestinian First," "EU First," "China First," or any other national equivalent. This is a principle that every country should embrace. It's natural for governments to prioritize the interests of their own citizens, as they are funded by taxpayers and must be accountable to them. And, To be "First", they need beneficial cooperation and compete wisely. Competition, driven by 'ego love,' along with cooperation, fueled by 'world love,' is the righteous way to "Make All Great Again." These ideas are rooted in ecological and evolutionary principles. While "survival of the fittest" drives competition, it also paradoxically fosters the evolution of cooperation, as even the fittest depend on reciprocal relationships to truly thrive. <The Evolution of Cooperation> is a Book by Robert Axelrod

YoCurryOuthouse 1y ago

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hn-shithole 1y ago
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YoCurryOuthouse 1y ago

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YoCurryOuthouse 1y ago

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cindyllm 1y ago
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csours 1y ago

Sometimes I imagine that I am a time traveling space alien so I can get a bit of emotional distance from what's going on. I imagine that I can leave this time and place [technically, I am leaving this time and place, but no faster than anyone else]. If I was a time travelling space alien I would find it very funny that the Conservative Republican party is not conservative or republican in any recognizable way. A party that pushes for a unitary executive cannot be republican. An executive that carelessly breaks existing government functions cannot be conservative. If I could say one thing to MAGA and have them hear and understand it, it would be this "Donald Trump is a politician". Understand that he is not a Savior. He is not a hero. He does not care about you any more than any other politician. There are many ways to understand this administration; here are a couple that I wish people would use more often: 1. MAGA is a cluster of ideologies and special interest groups draped in a flag, wearing a crown. The cluster of ideologies and interest groups are not particularly well aligned. There are at least two distinct genres of America First. You have MAHA vs Corporate Interests. Traditional Hawks vs Isolationists. etc etc. 2. Trump uses psychological manipulation without shame. If your reply is that all politicians do this, see my one message above. ~~~ I've just re-read Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents. There's a lot there, and it's honestly a bit painful right now; one thing I keep thinking about is "God is Change". There's a lot of ways to interpret that, but the one that I keep thinking about is: In an information game, playing the game changes the game. Political and economic moves change the game of politics and economics. When you plan your moves (IF you plan your moves), consider not only where you are going on the board, but also how the board will look when you get there.

pbiggar 1y ago

DSingularity 1y ago
Makes you wonder what was in that dual-citizens (Israel and America) file that made the entire administration flip the script all of a sudden. Talking about Ep stein.
- megaman821 1y ago
  The stuff that HN lets fly here about certain groups would surely get the posters banned if they were about any other groups.

zakum1 1y ago

There is no role for the USA in multi-lateral organizations - the USA has made this clear for decades now - it should withdraw from all of them and let the rest of the world get on with creating a world that is based on the dignity of all people.

o140445 1y ago

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felineflock 1y ago

Woke is the commingling of awareness of social injustices with a rigid ideological framework that suppresses individual thought and redefines moral foundations. Instead of recognizing injustice, it became an imposition of ideological points that have to be adopted wholesale instead of being evaluated independently. There are valid positions on issues related to race, gender, sexuality, and other identity categories but the method of promoting these ideas by enforcing group consensus is not valid and is anti-liberal. Genuine intellectual curiosity is punished with what is basically name-calling. In result, there is a fear that leads people to publicly profess something unthinkingly or that they question only privately. This creates a culture of just parroting consensus views to avoid social penalties. In a nutshell, it is pressure to conform.

throwaway290 1y ago

Pretty sure it is just part of the barrage of noise meant to distract from the newest Epstein-Trump story, no? The birthday card stuff? Apparently US withdrew and rejoined before so what's the big deal

Pet_Ant 1y ago

I feel like the US is becoming like China. Very economically important obviously, but will end up culturally irrelevant. It's hard to build up that much ill-will and still be considered glamorous. I can be wrong, and this isn't my personal judgement, but a genuine prediction.

DontchaKnowit 1y ago
China is bery culturally relevant and rising. But otherwise yeah I agree with you
- yoyohello13 1y ago
  China is filling the void the US is leaving. It’s kind of wild seeing the US just ceding dominance to China one step at a time.
- geoka9 1y ago
  > China is bery culturally relevant Sure, every country is. But I think what the OP meant is that US cultural artifacts are (have been so far) much more in demand. I don't remember the last time I watched a Chinese movie or listened to a Chinese band... It could be because I'm in a western country, but I've also lived in Central Asia and Eastern Europe, and American movies, music and literature were much more popular there, too.
  - Mr_Minderbinder 1y ago
    > I don't remember the last time I watched a Chinese movie or listened to a Chinese band… I have seen quite a few films from Hong Kong and a few have achieved some level of popularity and recognition in the West but perhaps you do not consider a HK movie to be a Chinese movie. > ...I've also lived in Central Asia and Eastern Europe, and American movies, music and literature were much more popular there, too. I can believe that for movies and maybe music but certainly not literature.
hello_moto 1y ago
Trump admires China and how the country is run.

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HarHarVeryFunny 1y ago

Ever since the firestorm erupted over Trump's U-turn on the Epstein files (gee, I wonder why), he's been desperate to change the conversation, and I'd not be surprised if the timing of this, if not the decision itself, is motivated by that.

sitzkrieg 1y ago

the mental gymnastics to make israel the good guys is mind blowing

tlogan 1y ago

Sadly, these kinds of high-level decisions (which really do not matter in the grand scheme of things) only make it harder to combat real anti-Semitism: the real anti-Semitism is when people assume you need to move to Israel, and imply that you’re not a “real” American.

elgolem89 1y ago

withdraws from UNESCO, annexes to Israel as a new district...

sys32768 1y ago

According to the UN, genocide: >...means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.... Besides Iceland, all UN member nations have a history of land acquisition through force, colonization, or dispossession. By their own definition, they're all guilty of genocide "in part" at some point in their histories, with several in the last 50 or 100 years.

BigJ1211 1y ago
Ethnic cleansing isn't genocide and vise-versa. Genocide is very specifically about murdering a group of individuals for their shared characteristic, not displacing them. In this case, the Palestinians and other groups want to genocide the Jews. The Jews seem to mostly (or smaller groups within Israel at least) want to ethnically cleanse the non-Jewish Palestinians from modern day Israel.
- deleted 1y ago
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Aerbil313 1y ago

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Nemo_bis 1y ago

Does this reduce the access and influence of the USA copyright industry at UNESCO and the UN?

hbarka 1y ago

Most of my memorable tour destinations have been UNESCO World Heritage sites.

derelicta 1y ago

It fills me with joy seeing the Empire hurting itself in confusion.