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Submit and vote up questions you'd like to see answered by Kevin & Jay at the next Digg Townhall on 11/18.
Peacekeeping and sex abuse - Who watches the watchmen?
economist.com — Organisation that send peacekeepers and aid workers to dangerous places are usually concerned about their envoys' physical safety. But an uglier concern has recently surfaced: how to ensure the moral integrity of people who are supposed to be helping others.
geekchic- 488 diggs
- digg it
- bethlee, on 06/05/2008, -2/+17When people in authoritative positions decide to use their stature to not only hurt someone else, but also to cover up and excuse it, well then the evil in the world has scored a point. It is a sad time.
- mal1964, on 06/06/2008, -0/+4Offenders, who seek out children to victimize by placing themselves in positions of trust, authority, and easy access to youngsters, can have hundreds of victims over the course of their lifetimes.
http://www.atsa.com/ppPedophiles.html- moxley, on 06/06/2008, -0/+2It;s not just those pedofiles (although those are the worst among the worst)...It's completely ***** anytime someone in authority takes advantage of the trust the community has placed in them to repress or abuse others.
In my opinion it shouldn't be tolerated whatsoever. I don't really believe in the death penalty - but if any crime did deserve such a sentence other than murder it would be abuse of power under color of authority.
- moxley, on 06/06/2008, -0/+2It;s not just those pedofiles (although those are the worst among the worst)...It's completely ***** anytime someone in authority takes advantage of the trust the community has placed in them to repress or abuse others.
- xGORDOx, on 06/06/2008, -1/+3What is worse to me at least is, if this was the U.S. Military it would be on every news station, on every blog, it would a daily grind about how bad our military is.
But instead, it's the U.N. so it's barely ever mentioned and it has been going on for years! But it seems no one cares because it doesn't make the United States look bad.- geekchic, on 06/06/2008, -2/+2Actually, the serious media has been following this issue in some depth for quite a while.
The other difference is that the US would also refuse to allow the host country to prosecute the criminals though - so in that regard it is no better than the other countries when it comes to liability for its actions.
- geekchic, on 06/06/2008, -2/+2Actually, the serious media has been following this issue in some depth for quite a while.
- llbbl, on 06/06/2008, -0/+1better question is who watches the watchers of the watchmen
- mal1964, on 06/06/2008, -0/+4Offenders, who seek out children to victimize by placing themselves in positions of trust, authority, and easy access to youngsters, can have hundreds of victims over the course of their lifetimes.
- kotrin, on 06/06/2008, -4/+2:o
- misimiki, on 06/06/2008, -11/+3Quis custodiet ipsos custodes. According to Plato they will guard themselves under pretense of a noble lie. I think Plato was right about this judging by American foreign policy
- dstz, on 06/06/2008, -0/+11UN policy, here, actually.
- 5urr3al5am, on 06/06/2008, -2/+1*cough-oil-for-food-program
- MonexFRAUD, on 09/17/2008, -0/+0You should probably think about investing in gold and silver in these troubled times. Gold and silver can be a good hedge against economic volatility as long as you're not doing a leveraged trade. You may wish to invest in the gold ETF (GLD) or the silver ETF (SLV) in a non-margin account. This is the least expensive way to invest. If you feel a need to to take delivery of your metals be extra cautious about who you buy from. Check the Better Business Bureau for complaints, ratings, and adviseries. Also check RipoffReport.com for complaints and read how or if they were handled. At http://www.monexfraud.com all the information you need about Monex Deposit Company is conveniently gathered in one place. Monex is the worst company you can buy precious metals from so do yourself a favor and don't do it. Go to http://www.monexfraud.com and you'll see what I mean!
- dstz, on 06/06/2008, -0/+11UN policy, here, actually.
- thecardmechanic, on 06/06/2008, -2/+17Who polices the police?
The police police police.
Who polices the police police?
The police police the police police.- MariusC, on 06/06/2008, -2/+4No need to police normal people. Normal people wouldn't have sex with 6 years old. All we need to do is send normal people to such missions. Duh.
- dthpsc, on 06/06/2008, -0/+1Perhaps you're on to something there...
- via509, on 06/06/2008, -2/+3Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo
- dthpsc, on 06/06/2008, -1/+2That is, in fact, a grammatically correct sentence. It roughly translates to: "Bison from Buffalo, New York who are intimidated by other bison in their community also happen to intimidate other bison in their community."
- TheHim, on 06/06/2008, -0/+1One of philosophy's oldest questions/problems @ thecardmechanic. I find people are more likely to fulfill their role (make the best of it), if they're given trust in advance. But it doesn't always work. Still, mistrust can never be a foundation - look at police states.
- starbuxadct, on 06/06/2008, -0/+1This is one of those great quotes from my favorite Dr. Suess Novel. Glad to know I'm not the only one still reading his works.
- MariusC, on 06/06/2008, -2/+4No need to police normal people. Normal people wouldn't have sex with 6 years old. All we need to do is send normal people to such missions. Duh.
- darkened, on 06/06/2008, -7/+2Pics or it didn't happen?
- Bajayjay, on 06/06/2008, -0/+9another cheery story to reassure me about the inner nature of man.
- MariusC, on 06/06/2008, -6/+1Bull *****. The article is about animals, not men. Do you feel urges to have sex with kids? I don't so shut the f... up.
- vinod1978, on 06/06/2008, -6/+3The only thing you can do is to make sure that you have moral people on the ground that are willing to take the personal prosecution from their peers and report this disgusting behavior. There really isn't another solution. The problem is that when we get involved in any or all "instances" around the world it is impossible to find & train good men & women. For example, there are cases where gang members were told by their recruiting officer that all they needed to do was to remove their tattoos and the Army gave them a waiver on the requirements (since many of them had criminal records). Some of these gang bangers are now back in the US and are using military tactics against local cops when they comitt violent crimes.
Force should be a last resort, when we use military force we need to be sure we have men & women that share the same exact values so we are not embarrassed (the way we were so many times before). If we didn't have to rush to send 160,000 troops to Iraq we wouldn't have to put immoral people in a position where they have a license to kill, and basically do whatever they wish.
-- www.bigredmat.com- MaynardJK, on 06/06/2008, -5/+6Read the ***** article and then show me what it has to do with the US military or American gangbangers. Shut the ***** up.
- Erythroxylum, on 06/06/2008, -11/+5To be fair, having peacekeeping forces that rape little kids is the least abominable thing about the United Nations. So, still unthinkable, horrible, condemnable etc., but hey - it's the UN; it's could've been a whole order of magnitude worse.
- 5urr3al5am, on 06/06/2008, -2/+2you come off sounding like a dumb-!#$$#**
- Erythroxylum, on 06/06/2008, -1/+1Yeah, there's a grammatical error in there. My mistake. The point still stands though: The United Nations is one of - if not the - most pernicious institutions in the world.
Thanks for your contribution Billy.- wjbp, on 06/06/2008, -0/+1I think their record is 0 for ever in peace keeping missions. They should really keep trying though.
- Erythroxylum, on 06/06/2008, -1/+1Yeah, there's a grammatical error in there. My mistake. The point still stands though: The United Nations is one of - if not the - most pernicious institutions in the world.
- 5urr3al5am, on 06/06/2008, -2/+2you come off sounding like a dumb-!#$$#**
- hagrun, on 06/06/2008, -1/+8This is why I welcome robots to lead us. Sure they might kill off most of us, but at least they'll be fair about it.
- TheHim, on 06/06/2008, -0/+1They'll be "efficient" with us, whatever that means. Fiddling each others' ports won't be high on the priority list.
- SteelChicken, on 06/06/2008, -6/+15Go UN. Keep on raping and pillaging while you badmouth the US.
- darkened, on 06/06/2008, -1/+2Dugg for rape and pillage.
- geekchic, on 06/06/2008, -3/+1If you'd read the article, you'd know that the UN doesn't actually have an army to "rape and pillage" - but simply pays other armys to do the work that the security council told it to do.
The blame for the crime lies with the criminals - in this case, the foreign armies.
The blame for sending them there in the first place lies with the security council - which the last time I checked required the USA (and others) to vote in favour of military action.
Sometimes I think we should give the UN its own army and mandate to ignore sovringty - at least then when people blame the UN for military failures they would be blaming the correct people. That alone is worth it.
- wylfing, on 06/06/2008, -3/+9Ugh. The author of this piece needs to go back to school and pay more attention in history class. This is not a recent problem, nor is it recently recognized. This is a standard problem of occupation of civilian population centers, and has been a "management" problem of militaries ever since there was such a thing as a military. You can't, for example, park a company of soldiers in a city, with essentially no one to fight, and expect the soldiers to behave themselves. They just won't.
It's not a failing of the soldiers' character. It's the nature of the situation. This was well-demonstrated by the Stanford Prison Experiment: vast power differentials cause abusive behavior to emerge.- gryphon50, on 06/06/2008, -0/+8actually, in that experiment, some guards became utter sadists and control freaks, but other guards (while not putting a stop to it) were at least fair to the prisoners and considered to be so by them. So the choices made did reflect character to an extent.
- 5urr3al5am, on 06/06/2008, -1/+3I find you generalization a bit disturbing .. thats like saying all adults are the same .. or all teen agers are the same.. classic junk science
- MaynardJK, on 06/06/2008, -1/+7"Last year the UN received 748 allegations of misconduct by its peacekeepers, 127 of which involved sexual exploitation and abuse. Most, if not all, will be investigated. But few are likely to lead to convictions or sanctions."
That is some "zero-tolerance policy" there Kofi.
/I know he isn't SecGen anymore. - Shadowgamers, on 06/06/2008, -1/+7'Who watches the watchmen?'
Ozymandias, obviously. - Gunman1411, on 06/06/2008, -0/+2Quis custodiet ipsos custodes
Who will guard the guards - jackieokennedy, on 06/06/2008, -1/+3what's with the constent bashing of the UN ?
Another hidden agenda of the patriots ?- moxley, on 06/06/2008, -0/+3Do you even know the history and purpose of the UN?
On the surface the UN sounds like a great idea; but in practice, implimented as it has been, used for different agendas as it has been...not so much. - Barackalypse, on 06/06/2008, -0/+2They suck of many billions of dollars in money that could have been put to effective use. In many regards they're like the US government, only with slightly less internal bickering.
- moxley, on 06/06/2008, -0/+3Do you even know the history and purpose of the UN?
- plhearn, on 06/06/2008, -10/+5………………………………………………………………………………………………
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…………………………………………………………….’’~-~’…….- moxley, on 06/06/2008, -1/+3oh pedobear....
please stop.....
you're hurting my bottom pedobear.....
- moxley, on 06/06/2008, -1/+3oh pedobear....
- xero69, on 06/06/2008, -6/+1Giggidity Giggidity
- ayeroxor, on 06/06/2008, -0/+2Gig-gid-ity? Did you even think about that before you hit submit?
- MonexFRAUD, on 09/17/2008, -0/+0You should probably think about investing in gold and silver in these troubled times. Gold and silver can be a good hedge against economic volatility as long as you're not doing a leveraged trade. You may wish to invest in the gold ETF (GLD) or the silver ETF (SLV) in a non-margin account. This is the least expensive way to invest. If you feel a need to to take delivery of your metals be extra cautious about who you buy from. Check the Better Business Bureau for complaints, ratings, and adviseries. Also check RipoffReport.com for complaints and read how or if they were handled. At http://www.monexfraud.com all the information you need about Monex Deposit Company is conveniently gathered in one place. Monex is the worst company you can buy precious metals from so do yourself a favor and don't do it. Go to http://www.monexfraud.com and you'll see what I mean!
- ayeroxor, on 06/06/2008, -0/+2Gig-gid-ity? Did you even think about that before you hit submit?
- NelsonR, on 06/06/2008, -2/+0Best analogy for this article,
Politicians "serving the people" for ulterior motives and most of us could give thousands of examples that include corruption, criminal behavior, cronyism to infinity. Just plain old human behavior or would you choose to say we are gods chosen? - ayeroxor, on 06/06/2008, -1/+5"Who watches the watchmen?"
We've assigned this very serious duty to Corporal P. Deauxbear. - xirkonia, on 06/06/2008, -4/+2Why am I not surprised by this? Men will rape if they know they can get away with it.
- xero69, on 06/06/2008, -0/+2I'm a man and I would NEVER rape a woman, even if I could "get away with it". I think what you _meant_ to say is "Many men have no conscience/empathy/soul and will rape when given the chance"
- 5urr3al5am, on 06/06/2008, -0/+1instigating comment.. if I've ever heard one
- stonewaljacksn, on 06/06/2008, -1/+2im just happy that there was no huffington post propaganda all in my face this morning.
oh yeah and rape is bad - sndream, on 06/06/2008, -0/+2This is why "peacekeeping" is a stupid idea, it's doubtful that did it prevented more violent than it created. The best place for the military to be is inside their military base where the military brass won't be given the chance to disturb society.
- robinthehood, on 06/06/2008, -0/+5ahem. Rwanda.
ahem. Somalia
http://www.amazon.ca/Dark-Threats-White-Knights-Pe ...
Why are people always surprised when common sense comes crashing down on us all?
Put someone in power, they abuse said power. No, it doesn't happen 100% of the time, but it happens more than we like to admit.
If you took Psychology then you'd know this. Hell, I know this and I didn't take Psychology.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_exper ...
Again, why are we surprised?- Mirhi, on 06/06/2008, -0/+0Granted what you are talking about is well founded in psychology, the Zimbardo Prison experiment is a subject of much discussion and its scientific validity is questioned to this day; it's not a great experiment to cite.
- MrFurious2k, on 06/06/2008, -1/+4This is why a world government is a bad idea. Accountability in government is absolutely essential to limiting corruption and excising bad leadership. This process of an ever expanding state, federal, and now world government virtually ensures that individuals will have less and less individual control over their lives and exploitation and corruption will be harder and harder to control.
This isn't the first time the UN has been caught doing dirty things and it won't be the last. The solution is very limited power, high visibility, and high accountability.- Barackalypse, on 06/06/2008, -0/+3Someone gets it! Bigger government yields bigger abuses. It needs to be just big enough to protect the rights of its citizens and no larger.
- RyanPT, on 06/06/2008, -0/+2Alan Moore?
- lheat123, on 06/06/2008, -0/+0http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W__uztA6htE&feature ...
- Barackalypse, on 06/06/2008, -0/+1I have appointed Lorena Bobbit to convene a tribunal and deal with the offenders. Tomorrow I will announce my plans for dealing with government waste and fraud in Congress. John Hinckley will be heading up that investigation.
- liuite, on 06/06/2008, -0/+1the host country can't do anything to them due to diplomatic immunity, but an angry mob can take care of that problem...the only problem is there won't be a trial.
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