This is for those that think only bad things need to be posted in here.  Here is something good.

The US Government has donated over $52 million dollars to the U.N. World Food Program.  This money is slated to assist those that are starving in South Africa.  Even with this donation though, they are $212 million in debt.

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa/08/15/us.aid.reut/

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=29218

This donation was the second largest ever made to the WFP.

http://www.wfp.org/index.asp?section=2

I read in another section how Japan donated $5 million. 

A nice gesture, but what percentage is this of our defense (actually offense) budget alone?

A nice gesture, but what percentage is this of our defense (actually offense) budget alone?


Have you ever seen a breakdown of the budget for the DOD?  Here are some numbers from the 2004 budget:

Total Budget:  $456 billion
Servicemember Pay:  $115.5 Billion
Procurement:  $82 billion (new weapons & equipment)
Operation & Maintenance: $177 billion (training and repair of equipment)
Military Housing:  $4.2 billion
Base Construction:  $6.5 billion
Research & Development: $64.2 billion


When it is all said and done, less then 15-20% is actually spent on "Military activities" (war).  Over ¼ (27.5%) of the budget is spent on pay, family housing, and base facilities (things like barracks, chow halls, theatres, etc).  About 14% is spent on R&D.  17% is spent on new equipment.

The "Operations" budget is roughly 38.8% of the budget.  That includes things like training, deployments, ROTC, and emergencies like disaster relief (aid after hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and the like).  And yes, it is also the budget that is used for fighting.

http://www.dod.mil/comptroller/defbudget/fy2006/fy2006_summary_tables_part1.pdf

The problem is that whenever somebody gets the idea to cut the budget, the people in the military suffer the most.  Because most procurements are contracts, the military can not break them.  The most immediate solution is to decrease pay raises, and to reduce base construction, family housing construction, and base maintenance.

I have seen this first hand.  When I reported to Mare Island, the company I was attached to had it's single Marines living in a "Temporary Office Building", built for World War II!  There were holes in the floor and walls, and the roof leaked.  They lived like that for almost 2 years, until the money was available to convert the old Naval Hospital to housing.  (I was lucky enough to be married then, and only had to wait 6 months until base housing became available.  If I had been one rank lower, there would have been no housing available at all.  Try living in the San Francisco area on the pay of an E-3.)

I have also spent many weeks and months doing nothing.  Sitting in the barracks, cleaning my rifle and doing little else.  This is because there is frequently little money available for training from August until October 1st (the new fiscal year).  I remember defuring weapons and vehicle maintenance when I was the Battalion Maintenance Chief, because there was not enough money in the current years budget to fix them.

Have you ever seen a breakdown of the budget for the DOD?  Here are some numbers from the 2004 budget:

Total Budget:  $456 billion
Servicemember Pay:  $115.5 Billion
Procurement:  $82 billion (new weapons & equipment)
Operation & Maintenance: $177 billion (training and repair of equipment)
Military Housing:  $4.2 billion
Base Construction:  $6.5 billion
Research & Development: $64.2 billion


When it is all said and done, less then 15-20% is actually spent on "Military activities" (war).  Over ¼ (27.5%) of the budget is spent on pay, family housing, and base facilities (things like barracks, chow halls, theatres, etc).  About 14% is spent on R&D.  17% is spent on new equipment.

The "Operations" budget is roughly 38.8% of the budget.  That includes things like training, deployments, ROTC, and emergencies like disaster relief (aid after hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and the like).  And yes, it is also the budget that is used for fighting.

http://www.dod.mil/comptroller/defbudget/fy2006/fy2006_summary_tables_part1.pdf

The problem is that whenever somebody gets the idea to cut the budget, the people in the military suffer the most.  Because most procurements are contracts, the military can not break them.  The most immediate solution is to decrease pay raises, and to reduce base construction, family housing construction, and base maintenance.

I have seen this first hand.  When I reported to Mare Island, the company I was attached to had it's single Marines living in a "Temporary Office Building", built for World War II!  There were holes in the floor and walls, and the roof leaked.  They lived like that for almost 2 years, until the money was available to convert the old Naval Hospital to housing.  (I was lucky enough to be married then, and only had to wait 6 months until base housing became available.  If I had been one rank lower, there would have been no housing available at all.  Try living in the San Francisco area on the pay of an E-3.)

I have also spent many weeks and months doing nothing.  Sitting in the barracks, cleaning my rifle and doing little else.  This is because there is frequently little money available for training from August until October 1st (the new fiscal year).  I remember defuring weapons and vehicle maintenance when I was the Battalion Maintenance Chief, because there was not enough money in the current years budget to fix them.


But you miss the point.

One might also ask why such a peace-loving nation requires such a huge military establishment, but that's another issue.

Food aid is direly needed around the world.  However, aid does not address the systemic cause of world hunger and indigence.

"When I gave food to the poor, they called me a saint. When I asked why the poor were hungry, they called me a communist."
- Dom Helder Camara,
Brazilian bishop

But you miss the point.

One might also ask why such a peace-loving nation requires such a huge military establishment, but that's another issue.


I understand fully, believe me.

If this was a perfect world, no nations would need armies.  At most, keep a few Soldiers around, and drag them out at ceremonial occasions.  And having them on-call is a good idea, because they are the best trained for rapid relief in the event of a natural disaster.

But sadly, this is not a perfect world.  At the dawn of the 21st Century, things were looking pretty good.  The Cold War was over, and global tensions were easing all over.  Israel was even starting to make peace with her neighbors (something unthought of 50 years prior).  Then in Spetember 2001, the world was shattered and things changed.

Believe me when I say that I pray for world peace.  I would like nother better then for that to happen.  I desire little more then to see us stop slaughtering each other.  But as long as people want to do that, and to take what their neighbor has by force, or to kill their neighbor because he calls God by a different name, a military will be needed.

At the same time, the Bush administration also gave away $8 billion to the oil companies for "exploration" during a time when most of them made $8 billion in profits for just one quarter.  If the numbers were reversed, and the give away to the oil barons was $53 million and the starving countries saw $8 billion in food aid (or better yet, support for growing their own food) I'd appluad them.  Otherwise, I just see it as an empty gesture. 

 Otherwise, I just see it as an empty gesture. 


So do I. $52 million is nothing for a country like the US.

I just see it as an empty gesture. 


That "empty gesture" is the second largest donation ever.  And in response, Japan donated $5 million.  That is less then 1/10 the amount that the US donated.

Where are the "good nations"?  How much has France, Germany, and Russia donated?  Where is Venezuela, which accounts for over 15% of US oil imports, where is their donation?

It is funny, that the second largest donation in history is still not enough for some people.

I can't see how you can't think that $52 million for food aid is anything more than a token gesture when compared to spending $456 BILLION on defense and $1 million flying the space shuttle across the country. If the US was serious about contributing to the UN food aid, they could afford ten times that amount at least.

I can't see how you can't think that $52 million for food aid is anything more than a token gesture when compared to spending $456 BILLION on defense and $1 million flying the space shuttle across the country. If the US was serious about contributing to the UN food aid, they could afford ten times that amount at least.


You think it is a token, fine.

But it is a very big token, when compared to what the rest of the world is doing.

It is funny, that some people complain about the military, claiming "we are not the police force of the world".  Yet, they then scream, saying we are not doing enough to end world hunger, improve standard of living in the 3rd world, ending AIDs, etc etc etc.

You may think $52,000,000 is nothing.  But what if other countries tried to match the US?  What if Japan, Germany, France, Russia, England, and other countries at least matched the ammount?  Then the problem would almost totally be paid for.  But instead, you have Japan giving a measley $5,000,000.  Instead of bitching that the US is not giving enough, why not bitch to the nations that gave far less?

And who says it is something the Government does?  How much have you given to help world hunger, or even hunger in your area?  It is a lot more effective if you are willing to open your pocketbook.

I myself tithe 10% of my income to a local foodbank.  It is a non-denominational foundation, sponsored and administrated by several local churches.  The local welfare office refers most of the people, as well as the local SSI administration.  They also run a "meals on wheels" operation.  I give roughly $1,300 a year to this organization.  Considering I make less then $15,000 a year, that is quite a lot.

Now how much have others here given to stop either world hunger, or hunger in your community?  Or are you going to sit around and let people starve, just so you can complain that it is "the Government's responsibility"?

I sponsor a Senegalese child through a Christian welfare organisation, even though I'm not a Christian. Plus, my taxes are going towards the $5 billion in aid to Indonesia -- a country we almost went to war with only 6 year ago -- to rebuild after the tsunami.

There is TONS of food in this country.  Some countries have trouble even producing enough food. I don't think most 'poor' people here don't go to bed hungry, even if they might not eat the most nutritious stuff.


This is so true.  In a great many cases, the "famine" is exagerated by local politics.  The problem is not as much food, but food distribution.  One of the unknown tragedies is what happened in Ethiopia.  When the money and food raised for famin relief was sent there, the Military Junta took controll off the food, either selling it on the black market or letting it rot on the docks.  The people stiff starved, because famine was the way they were conducting warfare.  The same thing happens today in Somallia.  Warlords control all distribution.  If you are not one of "their" people, you starve.


This may seem heartless to some, but why do we give so much to other countries when we cannot seem to feed all of the people HERE?  How much of that $$ given to the UN actually goes to feed US citizens?  Just wondering ???


I think it is partially because of the regionalization of most countries in the world.

The US is unique, in that we can trace almost all of our roots back to immigrants.  We came from Asia and Europe originally in prehistoric times.  Then later we came again from Europe, Asia, and Africa.  And a large number of us still show some affiliation with our "homeland".  When a disaster or famine strikes another country, there are those here that want to step in and help.

And going all the way back to the Civil War, the US has tried to make peace with former foes.  When a massive earthquake struck Japan in 1946, the US sent millions of dollars in aid and relief.  This, less then a year after the conclusion of one of the bloodiest wars in history.

When a disaster strikes anywhere in the world, we automatically try to find ways to help.  Famine in Africa, Tsunami in Indonesia, Earthquakes in South America.

But inversely, I can't ever think of a time where the world reached out to help us to this extent.  I was in Los Angeles in the 1972 and 1994 earthquakes, and don't remember seeing any foreign aid.  Through many hurricanes, I have never seen foreign countries trying to help.  I don't remember ever seeing UN aid workers helping during the flooding of the Mississippi River a decade ago.

Now this is not a complaint, just a comment.  And I am not the only one to notice this either.  Canadian Gordon Sinclair commented on this very thing back in 1973.

"LET'S BE PERSONAL"    Broadcast June 5, 1973     CFRB, Toronto, Ontario

Topic: "The Americans"

The United States dollar took another pounding on German, French and British exchanges this morning, hitting the lowest point ever known in West Germany. It has declined there by 41% since 1971 and this Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the Americans as the most generous and possibly the least-appreciated people in all the world.

As long as sixty years ago, when I first started to read newspapers, I read of floods on the Yellow River and the Yangtse. Well, Who rushed in with men and money to help? The Americans did, that's who.

They have helped control floods on the Nile, the Amazon, the Ganges and the Niger. Today, the rich bottom land of the Mississippi is under water and no foreign land has sent a dollar to help. Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy, were lifted out of the debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of dollars and forgave other billions in debts. None of those countries is today paying even the interest on its remaining debts to the United States.

When the franc was in danger of collapsing in 1956, it was the Americans who propped it up and their reward was to be insulted and swindled on the streets of Paris. And I was there. I saw that.

When distant cities are hit by earthquakes, it is the United States that hurries into help... Managua Nicaragua is one of the most recent examples. So far this spring, 59 American communities have been flattened by tornadoes. Nobody has helped.

The Marshall Plan... the Truman Policy... all pumped billions upon billions of dollars into discouraged countries. And now, newspapers in those countries are writing about the decadent war-mongering Americans.

I'd like to see one of those countries that is gloating over the erosion of the United States dollar build its own airplanes.

Come on... let's hear it! Does any other country in the world have a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo Jet, the Lockheed Tristar or the Douglas 10? If so, why don't they fly them? Why do all international lines except Russia fly American planes? Why does no other land on earth even consider putting a man or a woman on the moon?

You talk about Japanese technocracy and you get radios. You talk about German technocracy and you get automobiles. You talk about American technocracy and you find men on the moon, not once, but several times ... and safely home again. You talk about scandals and the Americans put theirs right in the store window for everybody to look at. Even the draft dodgers are not pursued and hounded. They are right here on our streets in Toronto, most of them... unless they are breaking Canadian laws... are getting American dollars from Ma and Pa at home to spend here.

When the Americans get out of this bind... as they will... who could blame them if they said 'the hell with the rest of the world'. Let someone else buy the bonds, let someone else build or repair foreign dams or design foreign buildings that won't shake apart in earthquakes.

When the railways of France, Germany and India were breaking down through age, it was the Americans who rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them an old caboose. Both of them are still broke. I can name to you 5,000 times when the Americans raced to the help of other people in trouble.

Can you name to me even one time when someone else raced to the Americans in trouble? I don't think there was outside help even during the San Francisco earthquake.

Our neighbours have faced it alone and I am one Canadian who is damned tired of hearing them kicked around. They will come out of this thing with their flag high. And when they do, they are entitled to thumb their noses at the lands that are gloating over their present troubles.

I hope Canada is not one of these. But there are many smug, self-righteous Canadians. And finally, the American Red Cross was told at its 48th Annual meeting in New Orleans this morning that it was broke.

This year's disasters... with the year less than half-over... has taken it all and nobody... but nobody... has helped.

ORIGINAL SCRIPT AND AUDIO
COURTESY STANDARD BROADCASTING CORPORATION LTD.
(c) 1973 BY GORDON SINCLAIR

PUBLISHED BY STAR QUALITY MUSIC (SOCAN)
A DIVISION OF UNIDISC MUSIC INC.
578 HYMUS BOULEVARD
POINTE-CLAIRE, QUEBEC,
CANADA, H9R 4T2

Gordon Sinclair donated 100% of the royalties for the records made of this speech to the American Red Cross.  Even the bootleg versions that were released were able to avoid lawsuits, on the condition that they donated all of the money made to the American Red Cross.  One of the conditions his estate requires before an artist can re-record it, is that 100% of the profits go to the American Red Cross.

Excuse me, but why should I care if people are starving in Africa?  Isn't that their problem?  Isn't it their responsibility to solve?  How do we know our millions won't just be seized by warlords anyway?

Excuse me, but why should I care if people are starving in Africa?  Isn't that their problem?  Isn't it their responsibility to solve?  How do we know our millions won't just be seized by warlords anyway?


I understand your sarcasm Maxwell.

But I believe that it is the world's responsibility to try.  If nobody does anything to try and help, then evil wins.  And it truely is evil to refuse to act if you can do something.

This may seem heartless to some, but why do we give so much to other countries when we cannot seem to feed all of the people HERE?  How much of that $$ given to the UN actually goes to feed US citizens?  Just wondering ???



I think the real question is why does a country that can afford to spend $456 billion on "defence" even have poor and homeless people?

I think the real question is why does a country that can afford to spend $456 billion on "defence" even have poor and homeless people?


There will always be poor and homeless.  Nothing will ever change that.  Even Jesus admitted that there would always be poor and homeless, and that was 2,000 years ago.

http://www.devinit.org/jpdfs/jus.pdf

http://www.devinit.org/jpdfs/jdg.pdf

http://www.devinit.org/jpdfs/jja.pdf

Now Japan is the worlds leading giver of aid, being the only nation that surpasses the United States.  However, unlike the US which gives it's aid in grants, Japan gives it in loans.  And they expect those loans to be paid back someday.  Japan has been rather resistant to "debt cancellation" plans in the past, and will likely remain so in the future.

Also remember, these figures only include monies from Governments.  Donations by private individuals, non-profit organizations, and corporations are not included in these figures.

And cutting defense is not a solution.  What do you think happens to the $456 billion?  It gives jobs to millions of people (either directly to government employees, or indirectly to companies that do services or make things for the military).  The phase of "base closures" released yesterday is going to cost around 26,000 US jobs.  But it is going to save $50 billion.

I am sure that the cost savings is going to be a big relief to the 26,000 people who are going to be out of work very soon.

There will always be poor and homeless.  Nothing will ever change that.  Even Jesus admitted that there would always be poor and homeless, and that was 2,000 years ago.


Yeah, but Jesus said, essntially, "give all your wealth to the poor and follow me," not "whine for tax cuts, pocket the loot, and devil take the hindmost."  Those evangelicals keep trying to marry Jesus Christ to Ayn Rand.  I mean what a crock!

Yeah, but Jesus said, essntially, "give all your wealth to the poor and follow me," not "whine for tax cuts, pocket the loot, and devil take the hindmost."


If you look at some of the other studies in the group that I listed before, you find something rather interesting.

They did an analysis on the amound of money given during Democratic and Republican administrations.  They expected to find the percentages change, with Republicans donating less.  However, it was discovered that the percentage was almost unchanged.  Irreguardless of the party in charge of the Government, the percentage was largely the same.

Tell me Maxwell, did you send your tax cut check back in 2001?  Do you compute your income tax returns at the end of the year at pre-2001 percentages?  I don't think so.

However, Jesus did say "Give unto Caesar that which is Caesar's." 

If you look at some of the other studies in the group that I listed before, you find something rather interesting.

They did an analysis on the amound of money given during Democratic and Republican administrations.  They expected to find the percentages change, with Republicans donating less.  However, it was discovered that the percentage was almost unchanged.  Irreguardless of the party in charge of the Government, the percentage was largely the same.

Tell me Maxwell, did you send your tax cut check back in 2001?  Do you compute your income tax returns at the end of the year at pre-2001 percentages?  I don't think so.

However, Jesus did say "Give unto Caesar that which is Caesar's." 

All charity isn't what it seems.  A lot of the stuff called "charity" is merely a tax dodge!  I don't go around pontificating about how "Christian" I am.  You know, guys like Tom Tancredo, George Bush, Rick Santorum, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell are out there freakin' loaded!  These guys couldn't give a rat's patootie whether three fourths of humanity lives in utter deprivation.  They celebrate cynical ploys like "No Child Left Behind" which makes the children of the poor compete for federal dollars with the children of the suburban wealthy.  They are the ones dragging Christ's name into their idiotic social policies.  These men, and some of the women, are totally depraved and sociopathic.  The evangelical leadership in this country does not advance the real teachings of Jesus.  They're all about how you can use God to get rich and empower your own agenda. 
It turns my stomach when anyone uses the words of Jesus to justify injustice!

I didn't....because I didn't get one >:(

;)  Heh heh!

Millions of Americans got the tax refund form letter saying on the indicating line:  "Your tax refund: $0.00," or something like that.  My brother hung his up, he thought it was so funny.  I mean, after all that noise about the tax cut being slated toward lower income people!  My brother made ends meet that first Bush tax cut year by living with the folks, and working in a restaurant and in a greenhouse!

Then all the Rightie pundits got on the tube and scoffed, "Look, you bums didn't even pay any federal income taxes, so of course you don't get a refund."  Most working class people don't end up paying federal income taxes, they pay payroll taxes, and there was there was no big noise in the GOP for cutting them.  In fact, that was a keystone of Reaganomics.  Raise payroll taxes on low income workers, in order to give rich people income and capital gains tax cuts.  Talk about your class warfare!

Oh, and the Reaganistas declared, "Cut taxes on wth wealthy and they'll reinvest it creating jobs for American workers."  Did they?  NOPE!
::)

That question, "Did YOU return YOUR tax refund?" is from the Limbaugh/Hannity school of punditry.  It's not a question at all, but rhetoric designed as a question. 

Hate to tell you this, but MOST "public" schools aren't "free". Registration fees for EACH of my sons were $160 ($320 total). I also donated $80 to help pay for the fees for the less fortunate who cannot afford these fees. And, that's just for grade school. My neighbor just paid over $1000 for her 3 kids (1 in grade school & 2 in high school). And, our school district is one of the cheapest in the area :o


No, nothing is "free".

I got $832 (about $630 US) in my tax refund last year. I used it to pay off some of my debts. Mushroom, I don't know how old you are or what you do for a living, but $15,000 a year is not very much money. I know unskilled migrant production-line workers who make more than that. I make 2 1/2 times more than that and after rent, bills and filling the car my wife and I are still behind the 8-ball every week. I know you've justified the defence budget by suggesting that it keeps people employed, but how much of the $456 billion of it do regular Joes like you get? With that much money going into the industry, everyone from the CEO of the biggest contractor to the guy who sweeps the mens' room at the gunpowder factory should be able to drive around in Cadillacs and the servicemen and women themselves should all be living in palatial homes with marble swimming pools. $456 billion is an obscene amount of money to spend on anything. If the US gave that much to the space program, we'd be terraforming Mars by now.

It might be true that there will always be poor, but why does America have so many? Poverty rates in northern and western Europe are virtually negligble compared to that of the US, and yet those nations are taxed more and their cost of living is higher.

I got $832 (about $630 US) in my tax refund last year. I used it to pay off some of my debts. Mushroom, I don't know how old you are or what you do for a living, but $15,000 a year is not very much money.


Hahaha, you don't have to tell me that it is not much money.  But I have a few advantages.

I am 40 years old, and am a computer technician.  2½ years ago, I packed up everything I owned, and moved from Los Angeles to South-East Alabama.  At the time, I was making about 41k a year (before taxes), and was going broke!

I moved to Alabama, with no job, just the offer of a friend I met on-line to live on her couch until I was back on my feet.  I was working a week later, part time as a DJ.  A month later, I got a job at a local computer store.

The interview itself was funny, and I am sure I was lead there.  I walked in on the last day the technician was working (me left the next week to a job offer in Tennessee).  The owner looked over my resume (3 pages), and just shook his head, saying he could not afford to hire me.  I just asked him to make an offer, and I took it.  It was less then half of what I made before, but that did not matter.

I may make a lot less, but I still live a lot better then I did before I left LA.  The stress of day to day life is much less.  My 30 mile drive to work takes me less then a half hour.  I drove the same distance to work in LA, but it took well over an hour (sometimes closer to 2 hours).  I could barely afford insurance on my old van, and now I own a nice sedan (1992 Intrepid, but still nice) and a motorcycle (the van gathers rust now).  Until I moved in with my girlfriend a few months ago, I was renting a 2 bedroom trailer.  It was in the middle of the woods, and seeing deer was not very unusual.

Times in the shop go up and down though.  I would estimate that at least 1/3 of the people that buy computers from us or have us fix them are military.  At least another 1/3 are people either employed on the base in one form or another, or retired from the base.  A lot of people in the area are retired military.

Plus we sell used computers, which is probably 1/2 of our business.  We buy all of them from the military.  They are corporate model Dell's, laptops and desktop.  We do not buy or sell the cheap "home owner models".  You will see no Dell Dimensions in the store, nor HP Pavilions or Compaq Presarios.  They are either Dell Optiplex, HP Vectra, or Compaq DeskPro systems.

How much do we get from the military?  Nothing really.  But if not for the base, it would be safe to say we would loose 1/2 to 2/3 of our business, in addition to our source of quality used systems.  If you have never lived in a smaller town near a military base, you have no idea how much the local economy is dependent on it.  If you are old enough, remember what happened to Detroit in the 1970's when the US auto market crashed.

You see, I do not care much about money.  As long as I have enough to get by, I am happy.  I spent 10 years in the Military myself, hardly a career for somebody who wants to get rich.  But I have a great boss, and am happy where I live.  I am also very satisfied in what I do for a living.  I am sure that I will live longer out here also, because of the lack of stress and happiness I have found.

Oh, and I have lived a credit-free existance since 1990.  No credit cards, no car loans, nothing like that.  I either save my money to buy things, or go without.  I see no reason to tie down future income just for some material possession.  If I can't afford it now, I probably do not need it that bad.  I have a lot of nice things, but I saved for them.