[Phantom Lord]

If not for France's permanent seat on the Security Council, it would be a country with ZERO influence, ZERO power, and ZERO reason to be given consideration on any matter. Their security council seat is their last vestige of power.

[IamConservative]

I often wondered if I would ever agree with them on anything..

[gunnygail]

Let's remove THAT by writing and badgering our Reps/Sens to pass HR 1146, the bill to DITCH the UN like a disease-ridden whore. Get the USA and the then the UN Bldg out of the USA and relocate it in N'Djamena Chad, where Kofi "Silverback" Annan would feel at home!

[dufekin]

I say we should "reform" the Security Council by reducing the number of permanent seats with veto power on it to three.

AMERICA remains a world superpower, as it was in 1945. We rank third in population among the world's countries. We have by far the largest economy in the world. We keep our veto.

FRANCE never was the world's leading superpower. Their language is somewhat less popular than Tagalog or Bengali among the people of the world, and they have very little influence. They lose their seat.

RUSSIA, even more than France, has a rapidly declining population. Although their economy continues to recover from Communism, their global influence never will recover. Russia is but a vestige of the Soviet Union. They lose their seat.

CHINA is a major global power, and Chinese is the most popular first language of the world's people. Their economy is booming, having been freed from the bonds of Communism. The Chinese are ruled by a relatively cruel dictator, albeit a less powerful one than a decade ago. Because they are not a free country, the Chinese lose their seat.

INDIA was but a small part of the British Empire in 1945, but it now ranks first in population among the countries of the world. Most Indians remain rather poor, but they are recovering from decades of socialism. India now is a free country. They will be granted veto-power status.

The BRITISH empire is a vestige of its former self, but more people can speak English than can speak any other language. Their empire, now held together through the British Commonwealth of Nations, is the most successful, on balance, of the collective descendant countries of any major European colonial power. As a free country, they continue to maintain their status as a major naval power. Britain is the mother country of America and India, the other two veto-power members. They keep their veto seat.

So, AMERICA, BRITAIN, and INDIA are the veto-weilding members of the Security Council. The other 12 seats would be filled by regional groups, from among the major free countries in their respective regions, as follows:

1. AMERICA
2. INDIA
3. BRITAIN
4. South America (Brazil, Argentina, Peru, or Chile)
5. Caribbean/Mesoamerica (Mexico or Canada)
6. Northern Europe (Germany, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, or Ireland)
7. Western Europe (France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, or Portugal)
8. Eastern Europe (Poland, Romania, Greece, Czech Republic, Hungary, Finland, or Slovakia)
9. MONGOLIA (Central Asia)
10. ISRAEL (Middle East)
11. GHANA (Equatorial Africa)
12. SOUTH AFRICA (Southern Africa)
13. Oceania (Australia or New Zealand)
14. THAILAND (Southeast Asia)
15. Japan, Korea, Philippines, or Taiwan

[SF Republican]

Their security council seat is their last vestige of power. and with Britain also at the table it is time they combine that seat for the EU and give the other seat to India (the largest democracy in the world) Sorry for all of you that have to read this again, it is one of my major gripes with the UN - although my request is rearranging the chairs on the titanic type of thing

[ARCADIA]

If not for France's permanent seat on the Security Council, it would be a country with ZERO influence, ZERO power, and ZERO reason to be given consideration on any matter. Their security council seat is their last vestige of power.

I couldn't agree with you more. They should give France's seat to India or Japan. The only European country deserving a seat on the Security Council is Britain.