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Changing World Technologies is the company behind the "turkey guts" thermal depolymerization (TDP) plant in Carthage, MO, USA.

Running some back of the envelope calculations shows some interesting figures. First establish what we use today. In 2002, the United States used an estimated 19.7 million barrels. Per day.

A plant of this size produces 180,000 barrels of oil per year; it is claimed that this is over and above the energy it uses. That works out to 493.15 barrels per day out of 200 tons each day. There are 160 million tons of wood waste per year (1998 figures) alone. That works out to 1,080,876 barrels per day if we assume the same conversion rate of 200 tons of organic matter to 493.15 barrels per day. 5.4% of our daily total oil demand from wood waste alone. Enough to affect prices at the margin, where it counts. At current rates, we will import 68% of our oil by 2025. This same reference cites DOE figures that say we currently import about 50%, or about 10 million barrels. If we put this in place today, the percentage of imports this represents rises to 10.8%.

Pulling our focus back a bit, we find that agriculture produces about 1 billion tons of waste per year. Remember, agricultural waste streams are not the only feedstock; some manufacturing waste streams are also eligible. But for the sake of back of the envelope calculations, let's assume that all eligible waste streams for TDP amounts to 1 billion tons per year. That works out to 6,755,479 barrels per day, or about 67% of daily import demand today.

Even if we project out increased demand for petroleum in the future, the potential for this technique to affect prices at the margin should not be dismissed out of hand. It is highly unlikely that we can use this technique (assuming all the engineering, business and logistical details are worked out --- the reaction chambers need to be calibrated for the feedstock, and they don't have many "recipes" worked out yet, and don't even know what is or is not feasible) to supplant import demand. Fortunately, we don't need it to wholesale replace imports: if we can make it affect the marginal price, that's still a useful tool in our national assets.

If the Changing World folks really are on the up and up, and they produce a small net of oil from these big brother versions of the pilot plant, then this is a strong piece of evidence for the school of thought who contend that market mechanisms will produce solutions as the need arises. As others in this thread have already pointed out, we certainly have nowhere approached the theoretical physics-imposed limits of available energy that can be gathered from the sun.

Read about it here or google for "hell norway".

Do visit redeemernews.org. You will find yourself surrounded by a plethora of neoconservative ideals, and a much predictable attack on anything in the right or liberal spectrum. (Although I would stress there is some degree of truth in what they say about Michael Moore's film, but it should equally be taken into the context of the source.) If you want an objective source of statistics, the site www.nationmaster.com has excellent statistics including educational, crime, and economical.

Good social systems work. I have visited the U.S. numerous times, but nothing was as blatant as the difference between rich and poor. Visited New Orleans for a week, stopped a few places on the way, and it was just unfathomable how different racial minorities were treated and the huge chasm between rich and poor. The only places I have ever felt unsafe have been in the U.S. -- and this is an objective statement, having lived in major centres such as Montreal and Toronto.

If people could set aside their greed for money and power, even a slight degree, we would see a much more functional society with more contributors.

John Vincent Atanasoff was credited with the invention of the computer, following a lengthy court battle, built 1939 to 1942, predating the Colossus by at least one year. The Z3 was begun the year before the ABC was finished per this page, so if the court decision is to be believed, America gets credit for the computer.

Not according to nationmaster.

Low crime rate?! I have to call bullshit:
8th worst nation for murders
5th worst nation for robberies

Low crime rate?! I have to call bullshit:
8th worst nation for murders
5th worst nation for robberies

No, the average standard of living has improved in terms of medicine, and it certainly isn't independent of wealth: there are millions, perhaps billons, of people who basically have no access to health care of any kind. Their standard of living with respect to medicine has not changed at all.

You're forgetting about aid groups and programs which have provided aid to those people. Those aid groups and programs use that newer, better medicine to improve the health condition of even the poorest people. Are all of them covered? Obviously not. But > 0 people are, and thus that is an improvement in standard-of-living in terms of medicine.

No. The difference here is that agriculture got more efficient. It takes much less total labor to produce the same amount of food via the large farming machines than it did when the farmers were doing their work. The end result is that the real cost of food dropped, so the ability of the displaced farmers to afford food never changed much, if at all. Additionally, the same advances that made it possible to replace farmers with machines also simultaneously provided a new type of job that the farmers could migrate towards. That's not the case at all with offshoring in general.

That's right, agricultural production got more efficient through better technology.

And offshoring labor costs to cheaper countries is what? An efficiency gain (a better productivity/price ratio)...

One is outsourcing labor to technology, the other is outsourcing labor to lower-cost labor via the use of technology. You're right that there is a difference, but you're mistaken to assume that offshoring is not an efficiency gain.

Moreover, new jobs are invariably created as the result of efficiency gains, because capital is freed up to be used elsewhere, i.e., reinvested in the company's R&D to produce new products (which thus require more labor to produce meanwhile producing their previous products, at least for a certain period of time).

Replacing American workers with Indians frees up Americans to do other work. But that feeds back into my original first question: just what exactly do we retrain in? And will the jobs for that training be created domestically, or will they be created in India and China?

After all -- we offshored manufacturing labor in the 1980s to other countries. Where did the labor go? As I wrote in my original post, some went into knowledge jobs (IT, engineering, etc.), but most went into other blue-collar jobs -- construction, and so on. And guess what? The market for building construction remains as strong as its ever been (particularly housing). Those blue-collar laborers were freed up to do other work with their hands which couldn't be offshored.

Ultimately, the same thing will happen with American white-collar labor. But when will that happen? That's the hard question - and nobody knows for sure because answering that requires a prediction of the future.

No. This creation of a new market can compensate for the loss of the old market only if the amount by which the standard of living in the new area rises is greater than the amount by which the standard of living in the old area drops. But since it's the difference in the standard of living itself that is the force behind offshoring, this cannot and will not happen.

No. You're falling into the classic fallacy of "zero-sum" economics. Econ. is not a zero-sum game.

The economic strength of one nation doesn't *necessarily* decrease just because a company offshores jobs to another nation. The rate of increase is higher in China, than in the U.S., for instance. China's real GDP growth has been 8%, and it's quadrupled since 1978. Chile's GDP growth was approx. 7% from 1991-1997 (though it's been around 3% since then). U.S. GDP growth? About 3-4%. Those first 2 nations, however, have seen their GDP growth due in no small part, of course, to

Well, While I agree with your final conclusion, (the fun bit) I think perhaps its a good idea to take a look at some facts about where the US ranks worldwide in giving econonomic aid.

Its on position 20, with a very skinny $23.76 per person per year.

Number one is Luxemburg, with a whopping $352.30 per person.

All terribly off topic, but I had to...:)

Think about it again...

The diameter is the same, all the way around.
So, how can the centre of mass move up and down?

It's the same point as the bicycle... The centre of mass of the bicycle doesn't move up or down either.

When the coin reaches a bump, the opposite side is shorter (because the diameter is the same). Therefore the centre of mass does not move.

Picture here
and they do say it allows it to roll smoothly, but not quite how. Anyone want to find a more informative site?

"Prince Michael" might not be old enough to care right now, but once he's a young adult, do you think he's really going to appreciate the amount of consideration is self-obsessed ass-wipe of a father gave his name?

No more than Prince Rogers Nelson.

Yeah. Buckyballs are everywhere. They have only recently been discovered to be occurring naturally and discovered what their properties are, also it's only recently that they could be made cheaply and en masse. They are not some sort of crazy nano-tech invention.

They've been around since the beginning when carbon and oxygen got togther to combust.

Here's a link that mentions they occur naturally in candle soot.

Some Americans have yet to receive their forty acres and mules.

This is not surprising. The land area of the US is about 3.5 million square miles (including unpopulated wastelands like Alaska and Wyoming.) But (3.5e6 (square miles)) / (40 acres) = 56 000 000. This leaves about 234 million people in the US who can't possibly be given 40 acres, no matter what the government does short of invading Canada.

And the mule situation is even worse.

Free, Universal Healthcare,

Wait lists?

near-free higher education

If one can get in.

Sad, really. I thoroughly recommend a trip over to Europe to any American

Glad to hear it. I'm planning to travel to Europe again this summer, to visit family and friends. Wouldn't want to feel unwelcome this time.

Homelessness is rare

Are you sure?

Actually... the M1A1 entered service waaaaay back in 1985. 1,848 A1's were deployed for Desert Storm. Although I don't need a reference to know what kind of tank I was on - not to nitpick ;) Congrats on the TT-VIII - I remember our first Distinguished rating, felt pretty kickass.

So, since I live in Wisconsin, I should be seeing tons of ads for cheese and beer..?

What about those folks that live in Dildo, Newfoundland?

Never mind the fact that it's located right next to Spread Eagle...

http://www.nationmaster.com/red/graph-T/mil_exp_pe r_of_gdp&int=-1

Japan's military expenditure as a % of GNP by comparison is way down near the bottom at #136.

Not to mention the US only trails Japan by a thin margin in R&D spending as well as personnel

Not to mention the US only trails Japan by a thin margin in R&D spending as well as personnel

Ahem. Are you quite sure about that? And just to drive the point home: Are you quite sure about that?

I am guessing you don't live in Europe. I am constantly amused by Americans who think Europe is this backwater continent which is not quite up to date with respect to the rest of the world. It may have been true 50 years old. It's no longer the case.

Ahem. Are you quite sure about that? And just to drive the point home: Are you quite sure about that?

I am guessing you don't live in Europe. I am constantly amused by Americans who think Europe is this backwater continent which is not quite up to date with respect to the rest of the world. It may have been true 50 years old. It's no longer the case.

Venezeula? The country is ruled by a rabid fascist dictator.

Actually Venezuela is a democracy.

You are offtopic anyway dude.

You might find this graph very interesting.

You're only partially correct.

here.

The british bill of rights was used as a model for the constitution, but it wasn't enough.

The American bill of rights was based on the earlier Virginia declaration of rights.

You're only partially correct.

here.

The british bill of rights was used as a model for the constitution, but it wasn't enough.

The American bill of rights was based on the earlier Virginia declaration of rights.

Any documentation to support these statements?

Most free? US is ranked 31st

• in freedom by the world press
• in freedom here

Most law-abiding? US is ranked

• 40th in per capita murders,
• 15th in embezzlements (per capita),
• 57th in rapes (per capita),
• 53rd in total crimes (per capita)
• 61st in Prisoners (per capita)

Any documentation to support these statements?

Most free? US is ranked 31st

• in freedom by the world press
• in freedom here

Most law-abiding? US is ranked

• 40th in per capita murders,
• 15th in embezzlements (per capita),
• 57th in rapes (per capita),
• 53rd in total crimes (per capita)
• 61st in Prisoners (per capita)

Any documentation to support these statements?

Most free? US is ranked 31st

• in freedom by the world press
• in freedom here

Most law-abiding? US is ranked

• 40th in per capita murders,
• 15th in embezzlements (per capita),
• 57th in rapes (per capita),
• 53rd in total crimes (per capita)
• 61st in Prisoners (per capita)

Any documentation to support these statements?

Most free? US is ranked 31st

• in freedom by the world press
• in freedom here

Most law-abiding? US is ranked

• 40th in per capita murders,
• 15th in embezzlements (per capita),
• 57th in rapes (per capita),
• 53rd in total crimes (per capita)
• 61st in Prisoners (per capita)

Any documentation to support these statements?

Most free? US is ranked 31st

• in freedom by the world press
• in freedom here

Most law-abiding? US is ranked

• 40th in per capita murders,
• 15th in embezzlements (per capita),
• 57th in rapes (per capita),
• 53rd in total crimes (per capita)
• 61st in Prisoners (per capita)

That said, some have expressed disbelief that there is a German hip hop scene at all. There is but it is similar to the US where what you hear on the radio is crap and in order to hear what is really going on you have to keep your ear to the underground.

Lots of cool stuff coming out of Hamburg Hannover and Berlin.

Check out: Fettes brot (Some would argue this is crap from the radio, meh!), Fischmob, Stylemonstarz, Absolute beginner, Ferris MC.

check out these links:
this

this

and this

By joint mission, you are perhaps refering to the fact that the US shoulders ~85% of the cost compared to the European 8.3. Interestingly, the GDP of the US is 10.45 trillioncompared to a European 11.52 trillion (this is a bit of overestimate for member space nations, but not 80% off). So, yes, in some bizzare way the American media has come to conclusion that the ISS is mostly a NASA success.

Living in the US and talking to many people, I can tell you that few take complete credit for winning WWII. The general opinion is that it was the US, Russia, and England were the important players. If you believe resisting invasion for ~14 days should mean getting credit, then we will have to just agree to disagree. Victory in the war in the Pacific was pretty much a United States effort. In Europe, Russia and England showed amazing heroics holding out, but were in little danger of ultimately overrunning Germany by itself. (Keep in mind that although Russia did stage an impressive counter attack after stalingrad, this was possible in large part because a two (3) front war existed. Take away the US/British fronts and...) However, it was the massive influx of men and material from the US that in the end saved the day. So, yes we somehow believe that the US deserves a great deal of credit for the war. To me, this is not too far off base.

I don't know where you get your facts, but the US surpased Japan several years ago (e.g. in 2001 the US surpassed Japan by $1.2 billion). Yes, % wise we give less, but $ wise we give the most. In the end do you think the receiving country will care more about who gave them $10 million or who gave them $2 million?

reference

And I really don't care if we are selective or not, that is our prerogative, as it is any other nation. I guess you have not ever had an international politics class, in which case, you would understand that the big fish gets to pick who it wants to be friends with, since it has the most protection/benefits to offer.

Darl, he would so crush you like the bug that you are.

RMS, I think he might respect.

Gates, too.

Linus, he'd definitely respect.
I've heard it said he favored two personality types: a) the spineless type who followed without question, and b) the total genious who just knew it all cold.
Would he deal with the information age? No, I speculate--he was a colossal Luddite. I daresay some little Enswine would be printing out his emails and then typing out the responses from hand scribbled notes.
Truly and American original.
This might be a little off-topic, but it was an interesting thought.

But at the expense of using the money for something that will more directly affect mankind? We can't even spare 8 x 10^9 dollars on a nice particle accelerator, let alone what it would take for a moonshot. The Apollo program cost 25 x 10^9 dollars 30+ years ago. Inflation should make the modern cost much more, even though we already have most of the research to get to the moon. So, why not build a 40 mile particle accelerator BECAUSE WE CAN? But that doesn't get you reelected.

Perhaps if you spent more time actually learning at school than playing you wouldnt be as far down on this list, but who cares about statistics right ?

its because Americans are stupid

While in general countries with higher incomes tend to have higher education levels, it isn't always true. The big example that comes to mind is Russia. It ranks 6th in the world for the percent of the "college-aged" (age of finishing high school to 5 years later) population enrolled in tertiary education, yet is 77th in per capita income. That contrasts with Swtizerland, which is 6th highest in GPD, but 35th in tertiary education.

While in general countries with higher incomes tend to have higher education levels, it isn't always true. The big example that comes to mind is Russia. It ranks 6th in the world for the percent of the "college-aged" (age of finishing high school to 5 years later) population enrolled in tertiary education, yet is 77th in per capita income. That contrasts with Swtizerland, which is 6th highest in GPD, but 35th in tertiary education.

We became his sworn enemy only when he invaded Kuwait and we realized that oil would be far cheaper in the hands of people we saved from invasion.

Ok- he tried to illegally expand his borders, and we kicked is ass back out. Even if we did just do it for oil, it was the right thing to do. And do you realize that we only get about 2% of our oil imports from Kuwait, right? If the was was just about oil, we would have probably gone after Canada or Mexico or Saudi Arabia instead.

Before or after we invaded Iraq? Nobody had any proof to this speculation before we invaded

President Clinton knew about Iraq's terrorist links. According to this recently leaked memo, the CIA has been tracking an al qaeda/Iraq link for over 10 years.

Where exactly are these again?

If Saddam had complied with the UN, we would know now, wouldn't we...

A capitalistic Iraq will allow those who participated in the invasion to profit immensely from transforming the middle east into a "western" country.

The Iraqis themselves are very optimistic about their future after Saddam. Why aren't you?

African nations in which we can lord impossible debts over their heads and force them into low wage labor.

Yeah- lets blame the US for everything. Many African nations are struggling with poverty- must be our fault. Theres no other explanation.

North Korea did react by announcing their intentions to blow up South Korea and Japan

North Korea's actions have just confirmed why we have regarded them as a terrorist supporting rouge nation for years now.

BUT, you had the possibility of owning one. So, I had to shoot you.

If you had seen me shoot people in the past with a gun, and you had no evidence that I had got rid of my gun, then yes, you should shoot me if I threaten to kill you. That is the smart thing to do. We are not suicidal, after all.

oops, link here

You're a scrooge

And an excellent example of why our rights can so easily be eroded.

Our rights? Well it does affect the rest of us too, because it leads to more polluted air, greater strain on our shared power grid, and a consumer demand that will contribute to more of the US foreign policy we've been seeing lately. This Christmas display is an SUV of a different color.

I don't think Skavookie was criticizing the idea of putting up lights in general, it's just a matter of the ridiculous excess. The United States already consumes as much electricity as 40 per cent of the world's population, and here's a guy who's turning his house into an energy black hole, on the basis that it's pretty.

I have no control over this man's behavior, but I hope he's paying through the nose for that electricity. He certainly would be, if the Bush administration would quit subsidizing oil, coal, and nuclear, and actually let markets work.

As long as you stick to the idea that no one could possibly interpret the Bible differently except through ignorance or bad faith....

On the contrary, there are a whole lot of other reasons for different interpretations, such as the influence of the Holy Spirit for example. Who knows -- you may have been guided to your interpretation and me to mine just so that we might have this discussion. We got off on the wrong foot, but have both learned plenty so far in this thread. I'm sorry about the connotations of some of the words I find myself using; please try to look past them (e.g., one person's brainwashing is another person's enlightenment.)

I want to understand your interpretation of scripture, which is why I asked you if you believe the words of Jesus should take precedence over the other portions of the Bible. There are plenty of denominations that agree with Quakers on this point, and plenty that do not. What is your take on the subject?

capitalism provides more improvement in standards of living for the poor as well as the rich

More than what? I can not bring myself to believe that you truly believe that socialism and capitalism are mutualy exclusive, but you keep writing as if you do. Would you please state your position on this matter?

stop expecting others to take it as a given that capitalism is bad for the poor (it isn't)

I have no such expectation, and agree that it isn't. Socialism minus capitalism leaves communism, which is terrible. Poverty is exacerbated by regressive taxation, not capitalism. A truly progressive tax structure requires capitalism, because communism is a 100% property tax, which is regressive both because it is a property tax and because it is a flat tax.

America has produced more liberty, more democracy, and more prosperity at all levels of society than other system in the world's history

Where is the liberty in our proportionally huge prison population bloated with nonviolent victims of prohibition? Too many people who go down the path Rush Limbaugh has end up in jail with manditory minimum sentences measured in decades. Is that more liberty than exists in England, the Netherlands, Denmark, etc., where prohibition is an afterthought and treatment for abuse comes first?

Where is the democracy in a presidential contest that turned on the disqualification of thousands of voters because they shared a name with a felon? Or in districts so gerrymandered that parties lock in their seats there for decades? Or an antequated electorial college with a strong spoiler effect frequently causing the most popular ideology to split their votes between candidates allowing a less popular ideology with a single candidate to win with a mere plurality? Surely Australia, Canada, and Brazil with their preferential transferable voting have more democracy.

Prosperity at all levels? On the contrary, only Mexico has more children in poverty.

"Wow, some article in New Zealand" Yeah, with a GDP of $75 billion.

No wonder you have the highest crime rate

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/cri_tot_cri_ca p

So I guess you don't count New Zealand, Finland, Denmark, Chile, the United Kindgdom, Dominica, or Montserrat as democracies?

and the most people in jail of any democracy.

Yes, because we prosecute more adults than anybody else. That means our law enforcement is more efficient. So what?

No wonder you have the highest crime rate

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/cri_tot_cri_ca p

So I guess you don't count New Zealand, Finland, Denmark, Chile, the United Kindgdom, Dominica, or Montserrat as democracies?

and the most people in jail of any democracy.

Yes, because we prosecute more adults than anybody else. That means our law enforcement is more efficient. So what?

Hmm. From this site (found via google).

The training manuals used at SOA gave specific instructions in how to hold prisoners in clandestine jails and to use threats of force on them, how to "neutralize" political opponents, how to infiltrate and spy upon civilian organizations and opposition political parties, and other human-rights abuses. This was sort of admitted by the US Army in September 20, 1996, when the manuals were declassified and publicly released, and confirmed by the Pentagon's Inspector General in a report on February 21, 1997. Earlier, things had gotten so bad in El Salvador that the United Nations established a "Truth Commission" to investigate. Among the details, it reported on March 15, 1993 that 74% of the military officers it found to have participated in rape, assassinations, murder, torture, and massacres during El Salvador's "dirty war" were SOA graduates.

I've actually seen these declassified training manuals, you can find them on the web. Lessons in kiddnapping, guerilla warfare, terrorism and extortion. Hardly a sylibus to be proud of!!

I thought Britian was our ally? How does your fantasy have the USA funding the IRA? You do know what that stands for, right?

Most of the IRAs funding comes from donations from the US. Covered here. I live in the UK, have done all my life. I am more than familiar with the troubles.

Please spare me your here-say "evidence" about drug trafficing etc... Again no facts other than some liberal bullshit stories to discredit Bush, because this is all it is about, right?

Hey, I'm not an expert in this. But it is a commonly held belief that the CIA has had links to drug smuggling in the past. And I never mentioned Bush. The question is, was it official CIA policy, or just agents doing it on the side. And is it still on-going?

Tell me from your in depth understanding of American politics how many female, non-caucasions there are in elected government today? Again, you are living in fantasy land.

Woopie do. Gimmie a shout when one gets the top job, or even VP. It's not a problem with your system of politics, more with the media. We're not any better here in the UK. Our countries are both led by very strong believers in Christianity, and we have a history of this. Given the number of times we both hear our leaders say "god" in a speach, I'd say that it was a pretty important factor in our governments actions.

Wow, i never knew all that food and economic assistance we give are loans.

I've had this argument before on /. I was presented with official government figures on a US gov. website as someone pointing out how much aid was given by the US. Most of it was loans. I never bookmarked it, and student grants seem to be getting in the way when googling, so I couldn't find a link. IIRC, the majority of the aid was in the form of loans. Countries have been lending each other money for hundreds of years, it's nothing new.

There is always the neat site, NationMaster. Here are the top 100 international aid per capita and total.

We all donate international aid. Don't put yourself up on some prize-winning podium though. You can't excuse recent indiscressions by pointing out something that we all do anyway.

That's my issue with Americans. Other than that, you are great guys. You get brought up in a very patriotic environment that is now harming your country, due to the inability to view things objectively. In your minds (obviously generalising here), you will always be the hero coming to s

Hmm. From this site (found via google).

The training manuals used at SOA gave specific instructions in how to hold prisoners in clandestine jails and to use threats of force on them, how to "neutralize" political opponents, how to infiltrate and spy upon civilian organizations and opposition political parties, and other human-rights abuses. This was sort of admitted by the US Army in September 20, 1996, when the manuals were declassified and publicly released, and confirmed by the Pentagon's Inspector General in a report on February 21, 1997. Earlier, things had gotten so bad in El Salvador that the United Nations established a "Truth Commission" to investigate. Among the details, it reported on March 15, 1993 that 74% of the military officers it found to have participated in rape, assassinations, murder, torture, and massacres during El Salvador's "dirty war" were SOA graduates.

I've actually seen these declassified training manuals, you can find them on the web. Lessons in kiddnapping, guerilla warfare, terrorism and extortion. Hardly a sylibus to be proud of!!

I thought Britian was our ally? How does your fantasy have the USA funding the IRA? You do know what that stands for, right?

Most of the IRAs funding comes from donations from the US. Covered here. I live in the UK, have done all my life. I am more than familiar with the troubles.

Please spare me your here-say "evidence" about drug trafficing etc... Again no facts other than some liberal bullshit stories to discredit Bush, because this is all it is about, right?

Hey, I'm not an expert in this. But it is a commonly held belief that the CIA has had links to drug smuggling in the past. And I never mentioned Bush. The question is, was it official CIA policy, or just agents doing it on the side. And is it still on-going?

Tell me from your in depth understanding of American politics how many female, non-caucasions there are in elected government today? Again, you are living in fantasy land.

Woopie do. Gimmie a shout when one gets the top job, or even VP. It's not a problem with your system of politics, more with the media. We're not any better here in the UK. Our countries are both led by very strong believers in Christianity, and we have a history of this. Given the number of times we both hear our leaders say "god" in a speach, I'd say that it was a pretty important factor in our governments actions.

Wow, i never knew all that food and economic assistance we give are loans.

I've had this argument before on /. I was presented with official government figures on a US gov. website as someone pointing out how much aid was given by the US. Most of it was loans. I never bookmarked it, and student grants seem to be getting in the way when googling, so I couldn't find a link. IIRC, the majority of the aid was in the form of loans. Countries have been lending each other money for hundreds of years, it's nothing new.

There is always the neat site, NationMaster. Here are the top 100 international aid per capita and total.

We all donate international aid. Don't put yourself up on some prize-winning podium though. You can't excuse recent indiscressions by pointing out something that we all do anyway.

That's my issue with Americans. Other than that, you are great guys. You get brought up in a very patriotic environment that is now harming your country, due to the inability to view things objectively. In your minds (obviously generalising here), you will always be the hero coming to s

No, not only by them.

From:
http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/How-to-te ll-the-origin-of-an-accent

United States of America: (See, American English; North American English) In case anyone is wondering, the standard American English accent is the neutral dialect spoken by TV network announcers and typical of educated speech in the Upper Midwest, Chicago, Minneapolis/St. Paul and Philadelphia.

I said "no accent", they say "neutral accent", my mistake.