We Don't Like Palestine OR Press Freedom

UNESCO on Friday suspended the voting rights of the United States and Israel, two years after both countries stopped paying dues to the U.N. cultural arm to protest its granting full membership to the Palestinians.

The U.S. decision to cancel its funding in October 2011 was blamed on American laws that prohibit funding to any U.N. agency that implies recognition of the Palestinians' demands for their own state.

The withdrawal of U.S. funding - which totaled about $240 million, or some 22 percent of UNESCO's budget - has plunged it into a funding crisis and forced it to cut programs.

UNESCO is responsible for designating World Heritage sites, promoting global education and supporting press freedom, among other tasks.

[...]

Analysts have said that by losing its vote, the United States is foregoing an important opportunity to exercise "soft power" - the ability to exert international influence through other means than brute force or money.

  alJazeera

So? Brute force and money have worked fine for us.