“2.2 billion worth of military equipment had been stripped from U.S. Forces in West Germany and America and shipped to Israel in an unprecedented day and night airlift.” AmericaNightForceMilitaryWestJewIsraelBillionsGermanyEquipmentDay And NightUnprecedentedWest GermanyMilitary Equipment Author:George Scratchley Brown
“The reason I vote Democrat is because I think it's better to pay billions for oil to people who hate us, but not drill our own because it might upset some endangered beetle, gopher, or fish here in America. We don't care about the beetles, gophers, or fish in those other countries.” PeopleThinkingCountryReasonMightCareAmericaHatePayVoteDemocratFishesDon't CareOilBillionsUpsetVotingOther CountriesDrillsBeetlesGophers Author:David Letterman
“Dispossessed peasants slash-and-burn their way into the rain forests of Latin America, hungry nomads turn their herds out into fragile African rangeland, reducing it to desert, and small farmers in India and the Philippines cultivate steep slopes, exposing them to the erosive powers of rain. Perhaps half the world's billion-plus absolute poor are caught in a downward spiral of ecological and economic impoverishment. In desperation, they knowingly abuse the land, salvaging the present by savaging the future.” WorldWayAmericaTurnsPoorHalfEconomicLandRainAbuseIndiaAbsolutesCaughtBillionsHungryForestsDesertPlusLatinFarmersFragileDesperationReducingPeasantsHerdsLatin AmericaEcologicalExposingSpiralsPhilippinesSlopesSteepNomadDownward Spiral Author:Alan Thein Durning
“New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who also happens to be the 10th richest person in America, with a personal fortune of some $18 billion, likes to pick a fight - especially fights where the line between good and evil is particularly stark.” PersonsHappensAmericaFightingEvilLinesCitiesNew YorkPicksFortuneBillionsLikesGood And EvilNew York CityMayorsStarks Author:Jeff Goodell
“When it comes to the war in Iraq, the time for promises and assurances for waiting and for patience is over. Too many lives have been lost, too many billions of dollars have been spent for us to trust the president on another tired and failed policy that's opposed by generals and experts, Democrats and Republicans, Americans and many of the Iraqis themselves.” GivingHas BeensWarCountryAmericaLostWaitingPresidentEffortStrugglePolicyPromiseRepublicanDemocratIraqTerrorBillionsExpertsAssuranceIraq WarPatience And WaitingRefocus Author:Barack Obama
“While alcohol ... continues to wreak havoc in America, supported by a $6 billion-a-year alcohol industry advertising campaign extolling the joy of inebriation, the far less harmful drug of marijuana remains illegal and continues to ruin people's lives - only if they are caught possessing and convicted of that crime.” PeopleIfsYearsAmericaJoyCrimeIndustryDrugRemainsCaughtAlcoholBillionsCampaignsAdvertisingRuinsIllegalMarijuanaPossessingHavocInebriation Author:Lawrence O'Donnell
“America must deal once and for all with an utterly irrational health care financing system that allows private interests to make billions in profits from the pain and suffering of their fellow citizens. America is the only country in the industrialized world that does not provide tax-supported universal health care coverage in some form.” WorldDoeCountryCarePainAmericaFormSufferingInterestDealsCitizensTaxesUniversalFellowsProfitBillionsHealth CareIrrationalCoverageFinancingPain And SufferingUniversal Health Care Book:Life Support: Three Nurses on the Front Lines Source: Life Support: Three Nurses on the Front Lines
“In America we've spent over a billion dollars on autism research. What have we got for that? We've not seen anything that's appreciably impacted the quality of life of autistic people, regardless of their place on the spectrum. Quite frankly, we've spent $1bn figuring out how to make mice autistic and we'll spend another $1bn figuring out how to make them not autistic. And that's not what the average person wakes up in the morning aspiring to. They think: am I going to be able to find a job, to communicate, to live independently, either on my own or with support? Those are the real priorities.” PeopleThinkingPersonsRealAbleJobsAmericaMy OwnQualityMorningSupportResearchWake UpDollarsAverageCommunicateBillionsPrioritiesAutismMiceSpectrumQuality Of LifeAutisticAverage Person Author:Ari Ne'eman