Jason Cormier wrote:
> On 7/3/03 19:47, in article be2fa8$jjqg$1@ID-105084.news.dfncis.de,
> "Kevin Gowen" <kgowenNOSPAM@myfastmail.com> wrote:
>
>>>> No more interesting than Article 17(2):
>>>> "The expenses of the Organization shall be borne by the Members as
>>>> apportioned by the General Assembly."
>>>
>>> If only the UN was solely run via the General Assembly...
>>
>> ...then what? I'm not exactly sure of what you want to say. The GA's
>> 5th committee is responsible for the UN budget. It is a unique
>> function. Did you think the Security Council was involved in some
>> fashion?
>
> No, what I know is that the committees do much of their work outside
> of official meetings. Like many governments, the grunt work is done
> through lobbying, informal meetings, and outside input.

Still trying to discern the US role outside of the consent to Article 17.

>>> No, here we have Kevin putting another's words into my mouth. I
>>> never
>>> said the US paid based on a a percentage. Michael wondered why their
>>> portion, regardless of how that derived, was so high. I made the
>>> point that they were not forced into this situation.
>>
>> Which is a bit misleading.
>
> Only if I was interested in confirming the percentage; I was only
> interested in pointing out that the US was not helpless in this area.

While it has no member on the 5th Committee bureau?

[snip story about Gramps}
Unless he had anything to do with the 5th Committee's planning of the UN
budget, you can save yourself some typing.

>>> They do not operate in a vacuum and they most certainly
>>> do not make
>>> decisions without outside input.
>>
>> I never said that they did, but that is beside the point.
>
> I'm afraid it was not. Many a decision on the committees with which my
> Grandfather worked were heavily influenced by nations with a
> significant interest, even if they themselves did not have a vote.

Thank you for the wonderful and irrelevant information about the workings of
the aviation committee. Is Grandfather a proper noun in Canadian English?

-- 
Kevin Gowen
"It hurts when my 8-year-old daughter wants to go to the movies or even
have a meal at McDonald's and I have to say, 'No, Mommy can't afford
it.' If I had gotten a tax cut, I would spend it on the mountain of
bills that face me. Like millions of other working people, I would have
put that money right back into the economy."
- Margaret Gaffin, who does not understand that to be eligible for a
tax cut, one must pay taxes