Is not the U.S. War machine...

It is the result of us caring for the lives of others

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Awesomness! although i doubt it will matter little to those bent on violence towards the USA. we made a tremendous response in the wake of the Tsunami in indonesia as well thats probably all been forgotten.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.smith0115,0,7475823.column

Well, how much of the current rhetoric is a symptom of "Our bed is made and now we have to lay in it"? President Obama is learning much on the subject that it is difficult to undo 8 years of policy over night. So far he seems to be trying to bite off more than he can chew and from the wrong table to boot. There are some strides to have exit strategies, but unfortunately there is the problem of following through to be sure we can actually leave Iraq and Afghanistan and not have it be a continual hotbed. Those places have to stand on their own.
Israel....well, there is speculation that our government is starting to go cold on the level of commitment. The Gaza fiasco last year and the fact that Israel can't get its shit in one sock when running a "coalition government" makes it easy to not want to deal with them publically on the friendliest of terms. There is probably much work being done to try and muzzle and leash Isreal in a preventative effort to keep Isreal from setting off a conflict with Iran.
Things will change, but the wheels turn slow. Much of it also depends if Obama stands a chance of a second term as well. Right now the odds seems less than 50/50. If the GOP finds a solid person to back in the next 2 years I would say the odds are even less. So far he is not doing a good job of taking care of the issues that people are really raising their voices about and that is jobs and getting out of OIF/OEF. Healthcare is important but it doesn't mean shit if you don't have a roof over your head, food on your table or any certainty of a solution to those problems in the near future. Redistribution of wealth to create a nanny state is not where its at. Too much Change and not enough Hope right now it would seem.

Awesomness! although i doubt it will matter little to those bent on violence towards the USA. we made a tremendous response in the wake of the Tsunami in indonesia as well thats probably all been forgotten.

It always matters to those who see it... Problem is a lot of people will never see it as they are raised to hate us.

Regardless... More of this, and less of the Iraq and Afghanistans and we will effectively do damage to the recruitment pool of those that hate us.

Quote:
The U.S. remains the world's science and technology leader, but other countries are gaining ground, the National Science Board said Friday in its biennial report on science and engineering.

The U.S. accounted for nearly a third of $1.1 trillion spent on research and development globally in 2007, minted more science and engineering doctorates than any other country, and led the world in innovative activity. Efforts by China and other developing Asian countries to boost their science and engineering capabilities are bearing fruit, however, and the gap between them and the U.S., though still wide, is narrowing.

For the 10 years ending in 2007, the most recent year for which the data were available, spending on research and development grew between 5% and 6% annually in the U.S., Japan and the European Union. Similar spending in India, South Korea and Taiwan grew an average 9% to 10% a year over the same period. In China, it averaged more than 20%.

The U.S. awarded 22,500 doctorates in natural sciences and engineering in 2007, but more than half of them were awarded to foreign nationals. Past experience suggests that rather than return to their native countries, many of those new Ph.D.s will stay in the U.S.

The report noted that 60% of temporary visa holders who earned doctorates in science in engineering in 1997 were working in the U.S. in 2007. The National Science Board is the advisory body of the National Science Foundation, an independent U.S. government agency.

U.S. researchers published about a quarter of an estimated 760,000 research articles in peer-reviewed journals in 2008. Chinese researchers published 8% of the research articles, up from just 1% in 1988.

Despite China's strides, researchers in China accounted for only about 1% of U.S. patents granted in 2008. Inventive activity in China "appears elusive, at least as indicated by patents filed in a major Western market," despite Chinese government efforts, the report noted.

U.S.-based inventors accounted for 49% of patents granted, down from 55% in 1995.


That's right. The United States is still #1 in Science. U.S. still educates and then keeps non US Citizens. U.S. still accounts for half of all inventions.

And lets see...who's giving the most in the Haiti relief? What other countries sent an Aircaft carrier over to help out?

Quote:
U.S. is flying doctors and food to Haiti in massive earthquake relief effort

Hundreds of American firefighters continue search-and-rescue operations as Washington officials prepare to shift their focus to longer-term aid.


Quote:
The White House has committed $100 million in U.S. aid.


Quote:
U.S. officials said that 180 tons of relief supplies had been delivered to the Port-au-Prince airport.


Once again, the U.S. leads in both Science and Humanitarian efforts. No one else even comes close.

STFU haters! We do this despite the huge commitment of troops in Afghanistan, trying to liberate women from severe oppression.

Quote:
* In 2006, Americans gave $295 billion to charity, up 4.2 percent from the previous year.

* Charitable donations have consistently risen faster than the GDP since World War II.

* Per capita, the people in the United States are perhaps the most generous in the world, as measured by what they give.

* In 1995, Americans gave three-and-a-half times more than the French, seven times more than the Germans, and fourteen times more than the Italians.

* Only a third of Americans itemize deductions on their tax returns. Research consistently shows that almost no one is motivated to give only because of their tax consequences.

* Those who donate to charity are three times as likely to give money informally to friends, and even strangers. And they are twice as likely to donate blood.



Shut...the...fuck...up you whiny non Americans and start contributing!

Quote:
According to the Hudson Institute, individual Americans, through private charities, gave $242 billion in 2004.

Stossel cited the tsunami tragedy that struck Indonesia a few years ago. Whereas the U.S. government gave $900 million to relief efforts, individual Americans gave $2 billion in food, clothing and cash.

The fact is, when you combine government and private giving, America is the most generous country on Earth

oh fuck PWNED!