The American Spectator

Danny Haszard| 6.15.09 @ 7:01AM

Jehovah's Witnesses UN hypocrisy.

The Watchtower Society took a conflicting stand with regard to the United Nations, claiming that it is the “wild beast” of Revelation that leads all nations in a fight against God and Christ at Armageddon, but signing on as an NGO member and publishing articles that present the UN in a favorable light.
'Reaping the whirlwind'{ Hosea 8:7 }

Louis Jenkins| 6.15.09 @ 8:18AM

"Angola, Egypt, Gabon, China, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Russia, and Cuba. " These are the leading nations for Human Rights? The foxes are managing the hen house. It is a farce and a spectacle that rivals network evening news. The UN should be bulldozed into the ocean, but unfortunately it would result in a fishkill. (Can't think of one good thing to say about the UN.)

2Anglico| 6.15.09 @ 8:32AM

The UN has always been and will always be... a joke. US out of the UN.

Jerry Jones| 6.15.09 @ 8:54AM

What the author does not tell readers regarding the treatment in Cuba of Jehovah's Witnesses and other religious cult members is that the WatchTower Cult attracts criminals and other social and political malcontents.

Some of the worst criminals in Florida are Jehovah's Witnesses from Cuba. The following webpage contains actual court case summaries of such:

http://jwemployees.bravehost.com/NewsReports/2033.html

Eric Damon| 6.15.09 @ 9:17AM

Jerry Jones:

What is your point about the Jehovah's Witnesses? The fact that many of the violent criminals in Miami are JW's has nothing to do with the organization, it has to do with the crimes of the people who commit crimes! I know a lot of drug dealers who went to prison who were nominal members of the Pentecostal Holiness denomination, yet that doesn't mean that these people who self identify as Pentecostal Holiness represent the denomination in any way.

The point here is not a defense of JW theology or Adventist theology; it is about the repression of religion by a Communist government. And more importantly, it is about a Human Rights Commission that lauds the governements that abuse, repress, imprision, and murder people simply for having beliefs that are contrary to the views of that government. I have my problems with JW theology, yet I am not going to say that any governement should have a right to attempt to destroy it for no other reason than that it is a religious faith.

Trotter| 6.15.09 @ 10:16AM

Why is the US still a member of the UN, and why is that collection of idiots still on US soil?

Trevor Spencer| 6.15.09 @ 11:32AM

To claim that Cuba has a "good human rights record" is akin to claiming that countries like North Korea or China are shining examples of democracies. There are clear breaches of evan the most basic human rights there, and I fail to see how the findings or opinions of this commission can hope to be taken seriously by anyone, even themselves.

As for Jehovah's Witnesses and other minority sects like them, they are often in opposition to governments. Their members don't join the military, and are discouraged from taking on alternative service in countries where conscription is in operation. They have no particular respect for any government, despite any claims they make otherwise. In short, their stance is an unpopular one with some governments, and while I hate to see discrimination on the grounds of belief directed against any group, it's easy to understand why some governments can become frustrated by the Watchtower's blatant disregard for their authority.

Big Leo| 6.15.09 @ 12:03PM

The measure of a country's freedom isn't determined by how well it treats those who conform to society, but how it treats the fringe groups, like Jehovah's Witnesses. They are annoying, anti-government, and theologically ridiculous. However, a lot of secular and atheist types say the same thing about a lot of Christians. If the government will persecute the Watchtower types, they will also persecute you if you do not toe the mark. As my father said about Nazi Germany, there was perfect freedom-- provided you were a Nazi.

bobmontgomery| 6.15.09 @ 1:35PM

The US cannot get the UN to enforce its own sanctions. The US always has to go it alone. So be it. What is required is that when the Republicans regain the majority they DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE. When the RSVP's are sent out, the non-responders can feel free to join the other side or get the hell out of the way.

Anthony| 6.15.09 @ 2:04PM

Maybe Obama will send Sec. Powell as our representative to this farce. After all, it takes one farce to know another.

stevor| 6.15.09 @ 4:40PM

Think about it. If you were somebody who wanted to rewrite the Constitution to "modernize" it, wouldn't be "rights" one of the things to "modernize". So, if one (such as Obummer) wanted to change people's rights, joining an organization with an obvious disregard for rights would be perfect!

Richard Baker| 6.15.09 @ 7:31PM

Trotter:
The reason the US is still in the UN is that, for the most part, we started and built up this organization. Call it regrets over the League of Nations and a desire to, hopefully, avoid the kind of killing that occurred during WWII, in the future. That's why, I think, we remain.

Alan Brooks| 6.15.09 @ 8:48PM

the UN exists to spread neo-totalist third world anti-Western values.

Richard Baker| 6.16.09 @ 6:37PM

Alan:
No disagreement with you but the United Nations were originally the Allied Armies which defeated the Axis powers. Call it a remembrance of better and more unified times, if you will.