[KarynB]

Ok - I'll be the one to play devil's advocate...

First of all - US tax payers actually don't put much money into UNICEF nor other UN agencies - the US is now the biggest debtor to the UN and owes approximately $2.3 BILLION dollars - and these lack of resources are part of the reason why the UN is so ineffective.

While some UN workers (like any other profession) are there just to keep their jobs going, most of them actually do care about the work they do and are highly educated and committed people. Yes, they have a HUGE bureacracy to struggle against, but that doesn't mean that they themselves don't care about the plight of children, HIV/AIDS, etc....Many of the people employed by the UN are Ph.D's or at least MA's - should they not get paid accordingly?

Yes, the UN can be highly ineffective at times, and needs a massive reform - but it is what we have right now and in these times of globalization, International Organization are MORE relevant, not less.

And while I do believe in international adoption (obviously), no one can argue that the best case scenario is for a child to be raised by his/her biological parents in healthy environment with plenty of opportunities. A world in which IA's are not necessary would be wonderful...and this is despite the fact that I sit and wait for our 2nd referral from Africa....

The UN IS a political institution, so yes it does have other agendas - and part of that agenda is to stay relevant and functional - but if we look at who controls the UN (ie: Security Council) we will find that the UN's agenda often matches those who are in control - so don't blame the product, blame the powers which be, and just a reminder those powers are: US (partly to blame for lack of intervention in Rwanda, etc) , China (partly to blame for ongoing crisis in Darfur), Russia, et al...

Ok - go ahead - I love a good debate so go crazy....