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Did the US Take the Back Seat In Science In 2009?

tcd004 writes "In the PBS NewsHour's roundup of the biggest science news of the year, Neil DeGrasse Tyson dropped this doozie: '[Scientific leadership] drives the economic strength and security of nations. The fall is not from a cliff. More like a slow, downward slide — almost imperceptible from day to day. But as the years pass America will have descended from leaders to players to merely followers as we fade to insignificance, at best hitching a ride on the innovations of others.'"

2 of 502 comments (clear)

  1. Re:What's this 'we' thing ? by psnyder · · Score: 5, Informative
    From Slashdot's FAQ:

    Slashdot is U.S.-centric. We readily admit this, and really don't see it as a problem. Slashdot is run by Americans, after all, and the vast majority of our readership is in the U.S. We're certainly not opposed to doing more international stories, but we don't have any formal plans for making that happen. All we can really tell you is that if you're outside the U.S. and you have news, submit it, and if it looks interesting, we'll post it.

    It is worth noting that there is a Japanese Slashdot run by VA Japan. While we helped them a little in their early days, they essentially run their own content without any real involvement from us... none of us can read Kanji! There are currently no plans to do other language or nation specific Slashdot sites.

  2. Re:What's this 'we' thing ? by Rob+the+Bold · · Score: 5, Informative

    are you americans arent able to realize that internet has become a global place still to the extent that you think staggering majority of people here are americans ?

    get over yourselves. you are living in a global world and its name is internet.

    In this great international global place of no shift keys, do you also not recognize the authority of the direct quote? The we in question is Dr. Tyson (an American) and his fellow countrymen (also Americans).

    --
    I am not a crackpot.