I what MyBad is trying to say is that because we have a GDP of roughly 38k, we should be willing to accept our innate/inherited responsibility to help others just because we have the ability to. If you didnt get that I dunno how else to put it.

But anyway, why are other countries pissed at us for not donating "enough"? we help out with plenty other things and when this one event occurs, other countries freak out when we DONT help out as much as they expect us to. Its like saying "I approve the US helping people in the Pacific, but I sure dont approve the war in Iraq" whats the difference?!

 

that whole "US is stingy" bit was not in response to the tsunami aid donations, and in fact, it wasn't even directed at the US. It was a statement made in regards to financially advantaged countries helping out the economically disadvantaged peoples of the world. The guy's point wasn't that the US should give more, but that when you compare the lifestyle of the poorest people in the world, compared to the standard of living of the richest countries of the world, obviously there is some disparity, to put it mildly. Give it a rest. One soundbite repeated incessently in the media, with no context, and misinterpreted by pundits who couldn't find meaning in a dictionary. Please, when will it stop?

 

[QUOTE=KookyBastard32,Jan 17 2005, 05:45 PM] I what MyBad is trying to say is that because we have a GDP of roughly 38k, we should be willing to accept our innate/inherited responsibility to help others just because we have the ability to.

 

Thanks Kooky. You got it.

I don't want to get into the Iraq thing but I do have the argument that some of the others SHOULD have made in support of space exploration.


From Nasa's "The Vision of Space Exploration, February, 2004"

[I]Just as Meriwether Lewis and William Clark could
not have predicted the settlement of the American
West within a hundred years of the start of their
famous 19th century expedition, the total benefits of
a single exploratory undertaking or discovery cannot
be predicted in advance. Because the very purpose
of exploratory voyages and research is to understand
the unknown, exact benefits defy calculation.
Nonetheless, we can define important categories of
benefits to the Nation and society.

Preparing for exploration and research accelerates
the development of technologies that are important
to the economy and national security. The space
missions in this plan require advanced systems and
capabilities that will accelerate the development of
many critical technologies, including power, computing,
nanotechnology, biotechnology, communications,
networking, robotics, and materials. These
technologies underpin and advance the U.S. economy
and help ensure national security. NASA plans
to work with other government agencies and the private
sector to develop space systems that can address
national and commercial needs.

Space exploration holds a special place in the human
imagination. Youth are especially drawn to Mars
rovers, astronauts, and telescopes. If engaged effectively
and creatively, space inspires children to seek
careers in math, science, and engineering, careers
that are critical to our future national economic competitiveness.
The accomplishments of U.S. space explorers are
also a particularly potent symbol of American
democracy, a reminder of what the human spirit can
achieve in a free society. However, space exploration
also encourages international cooperation,
where spacecraft and explorers come to represent
our world as well as our Nation.

When the unknown becomes known, it catalyzes
change, stimulating human thought, creativity and
imagination. The scientific questions that this plan
pursues have the potential to revolutionize whole
fields of research. For example, scientists are still
working to understand how similarly sized planets,
such as Mars and Earth, could have developed so
differently and what that could mean for our planet.
If life is found beyond Earth, biological processes on
other worlds may be very different from those
evolved on our world. Outside the sciences, the very
knowledge that life exists elsewhere in the universe
may hold revelations for fields in the humanities.

Exploration and discovery are key agents of growth
in society

 

so, what you are saying is, you are a tool and a troll with no capability for logic or reason?

 

Oh PULEEEEEEEEZ!!

You're a twisted pervert if you got that from ANYTHING I've said.

And yea, we're EXTATIC that you have no power, you sick bastard.

 

Grow up.

 

Your problems should extend to ANY mission, including low Earth orbit missions. Anything beyond communications and weather satellites and possibly other "missions" with an immediate scientific/medical payoff would be a waste of money by your logic.

There are no habitable environments outside of the Earth within the solar system. Mars is the closest we've seen, but it's too cold and there is no appreciable mineral wealth to exploit. Therefore all space exploration is a waste of money. Wow, that was easy.

Either the US has the obligation to help other countries or it doesn't. Help comes in many forms, some of it includes military intervention. Before you ask, yes, I prefer UN action to US unilateral action. This goes for the relief efforts as well.

Besides, isn't money already flowing to the afflicted areas? You can't just dump money on a situation and expect everything to get better immediately you know.

 

whats wrong with this mission?