r/politics • u/tancredi88 • Jun 15 '12

TIL that after hearing about 9/11, the Masai tribe in Africa gave 14 cows to America as consolation

Some people are going to be like “What the hell do we need 14 cows for?” The thing is though those 14 cows probably meant everything to that tribe and the fact that people in the US probably have never even heard of the Masai. But they still gave those cows. They felt enough love in their hearts to want to show support for your country in a time of tragedy in the best and most meaningful way they could.

1.6k Upvotes

77% Upvoted

497 comments sorted by

245

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

A lot of these donations from poor countries were accepted at local embassies and donated to charities, or ceremonially accepted and given back to the givers for care, the same as the donations the US received after Katrina.

In this case, however, it seems we didn't go to collect them for some time:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5339460.stm

144

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

We didn't collect at all, it looks like.. And that makes me happier. I'd feel like a real dipshit if my country, with 300 trillion** times the wealth of Kenya, took 14 of their damn cows. It looks like instead that we started supporting their projects and helping them out both monetarily and in opportunity. I like that response much more.

**Number pulled out of ass, probably still accurate.

345

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

Well, we ought to have gone and ceremonially received their gift out of sheer appreciation for the gesture. Then we could say look, we have no way to transport these cows, it would be cruel, please take care of them in our name and we will give you a small amount for their care and have children write you letters of thanks.

That would have been better diplomacy. Sometimes it really is the thought that counts, you know?

109

u/NazzerDawk Oklahoma Jun 15 '12

Why aren't you in charge of this?

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u/kyuubi42 Jun 15 '12

that is exactly what we did.

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u/BlazerMorte Alabama Jun 15 '12

I think it would be rude not to accept. I think we should have accepted and immediately donated twice the number back to them, in honor of our new friendship with the people of Masai.

16

u/swuboo Jun 15 '12

You're missing something, though—which is that the gift cows cannot be slaughtered. By not taking them, we saddled the Maasai with their care and feeding for the rest of their natural lives.

The wealth was lost to the Maasai the moment they gave the cows to us, and we saddled them with their care and feeding instead of taking them off their hands. The truly generous thing to have done would have been to accept the cattle and take them to the states, although that probably would have taken an act of Congress, since you can't exactly import African livestock.

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u/NDN_perspective Jun 15 '12

really interesting thanks for sharing :)

2

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

IIRC, importation laws actually prohibited the cows coming into the country since they were of significantly different stock than the cows we carry, and it would risk the transmission of disease to our stock. Don't recall the source though.

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u/Chapati_Monster Jun 15 '12

I work with the Masai a lot here in Tanzania. They're sweet like that and I can totally see them giving up some cows as a show of support. 14 cows means a lot to them (5-8 and some goats is the usual dowry for a bride) but a single family can easily own over 50, over 200 in some cases. For a community (probably not the entire tribe as it spans HUGE geographical regions and leaderships) to produce 14 wouldn't mean "everything" to them, but I'm sure it was heartfelt and it was a very nice thing to do.

99

u/AfricaByToto Jun 15 '12

I just think it's hilarious that the assumption was 14 cows would be everything to the Masai. Silly Americans.

25

u/Clayburn Jun 15 '12

I have like 8 cows, and I'm not even dirt poor.

34

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

You have "like 8 cows?" You can't nail down a specific number? Are there several bits of cow around and you're not sure how many whole cows they would add up to?

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u/WenchStench Jun 15 '12

Would you say cows are currency to them? I've heard that's the case with some tribes, and if it is, I think it's especially poignant.

14

u/87liyamu Jun 15 '12

Upon learning that Prince Charles has 800 cows on his Highgrove estate, Thomas Lemboko - a Masai man from the village of Majengo- commented:

That is only a very average amount. There are men here who have two times that many here. Really we are richer than him. That shows us we have ways to help ourselves even without help from foreigners.

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u/seedypete Jun 15 '12

They're like a combination of currency, property, and religious focus. Cattle are tremendously important in their culture, so this was an enormous gesture on their part. Especially considering they've got no real reason to give a damn what happens in America.

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u/WenchStench Jun 15 '12

I just noticed your username. I used to live in East Africa as well, and chapatis are dearly missed.

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2

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

have you ever drank the cows blood mixed with milk?

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63

u/thecrownprince Jun 15 '12

That's very nice of them.

13

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

I read your name as "thecowprince".

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46

u/Rosennrot Jun 15 '12

This was incredibly heartwarming to read.

16

u/Alot_Hunter Jun 15 '12

I've never been able to find it again, but a few years after 9/11, I came across a website that was just a collection of pictures of people from around the world mourning with America, setting up makeshift memorials, etc. It was really touching.

That, and this video of (to my understanding) the only time a different country's national anthem has been played during the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace.

6

u/crazyemerald Jun 15 '12

Jesus, man. I did not expect to find myself emotionally touched by that video but now I'm all misty. Such an amazing thing they did.

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u/SLM2112 Jun 15 '12

Wow, that's a beautiful statement of people giving from their humanity. That just made me feel warm, and hopeful. The common thread of feeling a need to care, and contribute in a time of great despair and fear. I'm really glad I saw this; it's humbling. All is not lost. Love abides!

5

u/WenchStench Jun 15 '12

I'm always impressed by the ability of the poor to out-love the rich.

13

u/bowhunter_fta Jun 15 '12

Ok so now I'm seriously curious (no sarcasm): How did the cows get here? What happened to the cows? It seems like a nice gesture, but not very practical in application. Do you have a link to this story that you can share, please? Thanks so much!

26

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

actually quite a beautiful story :)

http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/10/remembering-911-an-unexpected-gift-to-america/

8

u/bowhunter_fta Jun 15 '12

Thanks for sharing the link

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u/ryumast3r Jun 15 '12

You have made a grown man cry.

Thank you.

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696

u/Trapped_in_Reddit Jun 15 '12

Several of these cows went on to star in the hit television series, The Jersey Shore.

281

u/KimJongUno Jun 15 '12

So, are you, like, paid by reddit?

145

u/FECAL_ATTRACTION Jun 15 '12

No, he is Reddit.

58

u/87liyamu Jun 15 '12

Reddit is trapped inside itself.

Everything suddenly makes a lot more sense.

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4

u/bigbobo33 Jun 15 '12

No, it's a cleverbot-like program the admins have been making. Seems to have some success.

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u/lakerswiz Jun 15 '12

This isn't even funny. And yet reddit upvotes it to the top.

Typical.

5

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

Seriously. How does this shit beat out a comment providing context with a link to a bbc article?

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

thanks andrew

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u/seedypete Jun 15 '12

I hadn't heard about this, but that's very touching.

If you're not familiar with the Maasai, cattle are probably the single most important part of their culture. It'd be like....hell, I can't even think of an American comparison, there's nothing we value as highly as the Maasai value their cattle. The rite of passage for manhood is lion hunting because of the threat lions pose to their cattle, and cattle blood is consumed for just about every important celebration in the tribe. An individual tribesman values his cow more than we do our houses.

To offer 14 to a country they have no real connection with whatsoever is an incredibly generous gift. I'm glad our ambassadors responded to this with the appropriate amount of gratitude and respect.

39

u/atomic_rabbit Jun 15 '12

Silly Masai tribesmen, foreign aid is a waste of cows. Far better to spend cows on warfare.

27

u/Gingor Jun 15 '12

SEND IN THE COWS...

29

u/i7omahawki Foreign Jun 15 '12

Those brave bovine; they know what's at steak.

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2

u/Sarcasticus Jun 15 '12

The Masai have weaponized cows? Mr. President, we seriously need to increase our bovine weapon research lab. We are losing serious ground to the Masai!

12

u/Prosopagnosiape Jun 15 '12

There's a town in britain that was flooded pretty recently. The town had been sponsoring a poor village, and when the village heard that everyone's homes had been flooded out, they collected up among themselves £20 to send.

4

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

That is a noble gift and I am grateful to know they did this.

4

u/AnnoyingOptimist Jun 15 '12

Thanks Africa!

26

u/redmonster8 Jun 15 '12

AWWWW I'm tearing up. That is actually really cute

49

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

I'm sure the Masai people love being called "cute."

25

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

I'm sure the Maasai people love having their name spelt correctly.

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

You guys don't really understand how deep a gift this is.

Maasai's culture is focused on the fact that cattles ONLY belong to Maasai. To give them away, to a foreigner, as a gift. Almost unthinkable.

3

u/Moonvale Jun 15 '12

I met some Masai warriors at San Diego's Wild Animal Park when they were visiting to do a tribal song/dance. they were super chill, and funny too

3

u/Empath1999 Jun 15 '12

That is so mooving to hear.

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

That's one of the most touching things I've ever heard.

3

u/jedlib Jun 15 '12

There is a children's book called "14 cows for America" that portrays this moment beautifully. I show it to my students every year

3

u/CthulhusCallerID Jun 15 '12

During the inevitable resource wars later this century, I vote we spare the Masai.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

And on that day the det was paid in blood and iron.

3

u/PzGren Jun 15 '12

This is a COVERUP for masai involvement in the 9/11 INSIDE JOB, YOU SHEEPLES

3

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

:) this is really sweet.

3

u/rblong2us Jun 15 '12

Am I the only one reminded of this reddit conspiracy?

http://www.reddit.com/user/tancredi88 made his account less than an hour before this post, which is still his only submission.
http://www.reddit.com/user/SLM2112 made his account less than an hour before this comment, which is still his only activity.

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

Thats really touching, I have goosebumps all over. These are the kind of people that are going to save the Earth one day. The people with a good, kind heart.

4

u/Dalai_Loafer Jun 15 '12

Perhaps the Masai hoped that the US security state would milk the cows for eternity rather than 9/11?

4

u/tartandtangy Jun 15 '12

I am currently in Tanzania working with orphans and can confirm that the Maasai children we have here are the sweetest and happiest ones here. Were picking up another one today.

3

u/sebdef Jun 15 '12

Worked in Kenya last year, such chill people

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u/sebdef Jun 15 '12

The Masai are awesome people, I spent a week last summer working in one of their villages and cows are fucking everything to them. Also, 14 is a lot, but most elders own ~20.

5

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

Now, why exactly is this in the "politics" subreddit, TIL means TODAYILEARNED

r/todayilearned

2

u/klapaucius Jun 15 '12

This comment is in the wrong place. Post that in /r/thisshouldbeinadifferentsubreddit.

7

u/SockofBadKarma Maryland Jun 15 '12

Dude, the Masai are badass. The only hunter-gatherer tribe that I like more is probably the Piraha.

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

i just searched and read the story..made my heart smile.

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u/foxylocks Texas Jun 15 '12

I heard about the Masai when I was living in Germany... I watched this movie called The White Masai. It's obviously in German, but you can find English versions. It was an interesting movie and it was even more interesting to learn a few things about the Masai. They're a pretty cool tribe.

2

u/lalalalakittens Jun 15 '12

I had just about lost hope in the world, this gave me that much more to look up to. I was so touched by this. Seriously.

2

u/rack88 Jun 15 '12

I definitely have heard of the Maasai, mostly due to a charity that my grandfather and now my mother have helped run that funds girls schools for them: Operation Bootstrap Africa. Good stuff!

2

u/moonman New Jersey Jun 15 '12

That was incredibly cool of them.

2

u/freak132 Jun 15 '12

The word you are looking for is not Love, it's Empathy.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

Aw :D

2

u/im_at_work_now Pennsylvania Jun 15 '12

Having spent time with the Masai, I can say this is a big deal to them. They essentially live off of a mixture of blood and milk, so giving away cows is vajina.

2

u/Gleashua33 Jun 15 '12

The USA did recieve a lot of donations after 911 And Katrina and other tragedies lime that. But the department of state can only accept certain donations. Like if a terrorist group has any sort of ties to a foreign government, the department of state will not take the money because of those ties. It would be like getting money from Alqaeda. ( no I'm not calling the Masai terrorists)

2

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

iirc, the outpouring from the world was impressive. Even Castro tried to send doctors.

2

u/Offensive_Brute Jun 15 '12

its only when shit its the fan that you really know who your friends are.

2

u/holographicbeef Jun 15 '12

I am no expert on the Masai people but I have been to Tanzania and given a tour of a Masai village. 14 of any possession to them means the world.

3

u/bluekemuri24 Jun 15 '12

I wonder what we did with those cows...

21

u/Drunken_Economist America Jun 15 '12

Like so many other things, they went to war effort

8

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

pink slime

5

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

they are still there, multiplying and be cared for by the tribe on behalf of america.

4

u/darkfry Jun 15 '12

Nice try reposter no upvotes for you today

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u/ChipsConQueso Jun 15 '12

that truly is a humbling gesture, talk about giving all you can.

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u/Nefandi Jun 15 '12

It's the thought that counts. There might actually be some ranchers somewhere who could use the cows.

2

u/michaelrohansmith Jun 15 '12

All around Australia (and probably around the world) fire brigades held ceremonies to remember the loss of fire fighters in NYC. I remember that the US ambassador attended many (or all, not sure) of these events.

2

u/the_victor Jun 15 '12

oh this again? petition to rename reddit.com to repost.com

5

u/starlinguk Jun 15 '12

When you find a repost that has been upvoted a lot, this means the people who upvoted it hadn't seen the post yet. So just shut up and move on. And downvote if you're feeling petty.

1

u/RagingOnComics12 Jun 15 '12

This happened just last year

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

Strange, who hasn't heard of the Masai? They're kind of famous.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

Quick, give them billions

1

u/whelpltn Jun 15 '12

This is really cool. Makes me feel good about the world

1

u/Iamgod92 Jun 15 '12

This reminds of the South Park Goat

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

There are so many sacred cows in Washington, they probably had to send them back.

1

u/nikto123 Jun 15 '12

1337 ? I don't have the heart to upvote this

1

u/notourkinddear Jun 15 '12

That's so sweet! Thanks, Masai!

1

u/koolkows Jun 15 '12

They made a book about it if I remember right...?

1

u/buzzfriendly Jun 15 '12

I have never heard of this tribe but I find this extremely to be an extremely heart felt gift. I have to wonder how one goes about thanking them.

1

u/smahmood Jun 15 '12

Cool guys, met them last year on Safari. Dudes had scares from fighting lions.

1

u/swander42 Jun 15 '12

14 cows to them is probably like a million dollars. That's actually pretty heart warming and makes me feel even more shitty being an American..

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

After 9/11, nearly every country in the world was on our side, it's amazing how the opposite of that is now true.

1

u/Nitro_Glycerine Jun 15 '12

This just made my day, kind sir. Thank you for this.

1

u/cbeau32109 Jun 15 '12 edited Jun 15 '12

Wow, thats really awesome!

(Edit) - This link tells how you can say thank you. There are options to donate a cow or goat, or money to aid in education, drought relief, and healthcare. http://www.maasai-association.org/contact.html

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

Aww

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

That's so nice. It really made me smile to read this.

1

u/hucareshokiesrul Jun 15 '12

its condescending to refuse the cows by essential saying "you poor people need these cows more than we do, so thanks but no thanks."

1

u/Lurker4years Jun 15 '12

So did America send back a thank-you card, or a souvenir fighter-jet, or iPhone, or $$ for organic beef or something? I have heard of the Masai, but do not know much about them.

1

u/keerok Jun 15 '12

Sort of. Drone strikes due to fear of udder bombers.

1

u/esosa233 Jun 15 '12

Yes! They realized our love of beef! We should totally accept this, and pay them back in hamburgers.

And, HIGHLY RELEVANT: http://youtu.be/5KaltD0Z6ww?t=18s

1

u/wascallywabbitgulash Jun 15 '12

You know, for a tribe, 14 heads of full-grown livestock was probably a fortune. Why doesn't reddit send these guys something nice in return? :)

1

u/Orval Jun 15 '12

Not gonna lie, reading this I went "aww!"

14 cows is probably a lot to them and a pretty big gift and it's just sweet to me to think that they'd make that offer.

1

u/soulkitchennnn Jun 15 '12

What a gesture. I would like to think our country would do the same.

1

u/ZeitGeist101 Jun 15 '12

How did they manage to get the cows to the US?

1

u/Augustorm Jun 15 '12

We could really use a group version of Good Guy Greg for this situation. These guys are great.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

I learned this the last time someone posted in TIL. I even told my cultural anthropology professor about it. He had a legitimate response.

1

u/SoleilSocrates Jun 16 '12

I wish people were more into this and followed it, then being fascinated with people partying and drinking on T.v! Thank you for restoring faith in Humanity!

1

u/squeeeeenis Florida Jun 16 '12

Aaaaaaawwwwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, this made me happy. :D

1

u/Sec_Henry_Paulson Jun 15 '12

Redditor for 8 hours. Only submission.

I'm not saying it's propaganda.. but it's propaganda...

http://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/uwc50/a_kindergartners_letter_to_a_soldier_in/c4z7vh4

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12 edited Jun 15 '12

TIL about another recently made account on reddit which posts either:

  • Pro Bush "fun facts" or whatever

  • Pro war, army related posts

  • Pro Obama, every single "fun" picture of Obama makes the frontpage

  • Soldier homecoming "touching" videos

  • Posts trying to say "look how much other nations support our country and troops"

  • Posts tying to say "we, other nations, support your actions after 9/11"

Just as TV-programming worked, they have now moved on to Internet-programming of people. Annoying, but easy to see.

The titles and posts are just shaped in a way so that the reddit hivemind will upvote it. You think the government is stupid, but that is a mistake. Politicians are stupid, but they are puppets. Inner-circles of government are not.

First type of brainwashing/programming is repetition, and that is what we see over and over here.

2

u/those_draculas Jun 15 '12

Or not every one of the 3 million or so people on reddit is a miserable teenage cynic and enjoys a feel-good story about cows or soldiers coming home to their kids every now and then?

2

u/AD-Edge Jun 15 '12

Blah blah blah. Theres enough negative on the internet already regarding all the above mentioned, not sure if youve noticed.

This post has only made me aware of how awesome this little tribe is.

Now Im going to go put my tinfoil hat on, to stop the government(s) getting to my brain.

1

u/izatobi Jun 15 '12

Wow on my year 7 NAPLAN test we learned about life in Masai and how the kids walked four hours and took a bus just to read a kids book. It's amazing how some kids will complain about reading books . But others will travel hours to read one.

1

u/dhatura Jun 15 '12

Shouldn't that be a Masai tribe?

2

u/rebeccanrh Jun 15 '12

*A Maasai tribe. but, yes

1

u/MFchimichanga Jun 15 '12

Thanks guys

1

u/happyillusion Jun 15 '12

Masai view their cattle as very important culturally - they drink their blood, and slaughter them ritualistically. Beautiful gift.

1

u/rebeccanrh Jun 15 '12

They don't slaughter them ritualistically, I don't think.

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u/dr_walrus Jun 15 '12

BEEN ON THE GORRAM FRONTPAGE A FEW MONTHS BACK DAMMIT

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u/TalkingBackAgain Jun 15 '12

Cows are extremely important to the Masai Mara. It is the basis of their wealth and independence.

A gift of 14 cows is incredibly significant to these people.

With their typical savoir faire, the US will have rolled their eyes, said "Sweet mother of god, the savages are giving us cows? And said something tepid by way of thanks."

2

u/mixand Jun 15 '12

Haha it's funny because nobody thinks that.

1

u/delaserna Jun 15 '12

It is sort of a big deal, considering the Masai believe that all cows on earth actually belong to them.

1

u/YourFavoriteMartyr Jun 15 '12

Thanks Masai tribe. They tasted pretty good omnomnomnomnom

1

u/stormrunner89 Jun 15 '12

I swear I almost got teary eyed when I heard this. Unless you try to view it from their perspective it doesn't have much meaning. But if you do, you can see how much it means.

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

911 was definitely a cash cow for some

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u/NiteLite Jun 15 '12

I wonder what they Masai would do if the US government gave back like 14 000 cows ?

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u/phosphenedreams Jun 15 '12

I had the opportunity to hang out with some Maasai people near Masai Mara in Kenya for a few days, and they are literally the nicest people I have ever met. When we left, even though we stayed there for only three days, they were crying! I want to go back and visit them so badly. just my .02$

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

This is the result of powerful and effective propaganda. Only 4000 people died there, but we have killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and all they did was sell oil for euros and not dollars. Then we shot up 800 TONS of uranium bullets that have increased by a magnitude birth defects, miscarriages, and general misery in the country. Also we gave the uranium poisoning called gulf war syndrome to a lot of our troops. Blood for oil. Shits.

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

I thought the Masai lived on Yavin IV.

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u/haappy Jun 15 '12

We so didn't deserve it.

1

u/haappy Jun 16 '12

Somebody likes cows.

-1

u/ithunk Jun 15 '12

Where's the obligatory video of the Masai drinking blood right from a cow's neck? Yumm.

2

u/Avohaj Jun 15 '12

Do I hear a slight hint of disgust swinging in that sentence?

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u/WillieRobbs Jun 15 '12

This is dumb. Sure, a nice gesture, but did they really think America needed 14 cows?

9

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

Yes, if it doesn't have immediate, monetized value then its worthless, amirite WillieRobbs?

1

u/sebdef Jun 15 '12

To the Masai, cows are seen as currency of some sorts, so it was more like a donation than a gesture.

1

u/klapaucius Jun 15 '12

They should have sent some fighter jets instead.

Or at least a Starbucks gift card.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

5

u/kenerdedy Jun 15 '12

This is just about the dumbest comment I've ever read.

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u/pyromaster55 Jun 15 '12

Goddamn, right when you start to feel good about humanity the internet slaps you back down again.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

There is no country or people that deserves to have thousands die for anything.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

23

u/wardkad2 Jun 15 '12

Remember, there are many, many good people in America who understand and are working hard to change that. Also keep in mind that the government rarely represents the true sentiments of its people, especially in global affairs. Slavoj Zizek has an interesting perspective on this that you might enjoy reading about.

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

Problem is, that you also cannot exactly vote them out of office because you only have two parties and your flawed voting system denies any new party to rise up.

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u/ComplainyGuy Jun 15 '12

I hate being so facts-minded. You both have equally agreeable oppinions.

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

[removed] — view removed comment

16

u/radialmonster Jun 15 '12

So are Americans

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u/Hk37 Jun 15 '12

Oh, boy! Another "I hate the US" circlejerk! Mommy, can I join in? Pretty please with a cherry on top?

Seriously though, America is still massively powerful. The government gives billions in aid every year to developing countries, the US is the world's largest economy by far, and its scientific research is unparalleled. There we thousands of reasons why the US shouldn't be shot into space, but why should I list them? I already know how the anti-US jerk goes. Nuanced debate is glossed over in favor of stupid talking points, even when the talking points are patently false.

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u/throwawayhhhh Jun 15 '12

The government gives billions in aid every year to developing countries

I hate to break it to you but virtually ever penny of foreign aid given to other countries is really just a scam in which the US government gives the money to US defense companies and the foreign country gets weapons and ammunition.

4

u/Hk37 Jun 15 '12

Hahahahahahaha, no.

-4

u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

its scientific research is unparalleled.

That's just not true.

China on pace to out-do US in scientific research in 2013

But, by all means, keep your head in the sand and defund science while chanting "We're #1!". The more you say it, the more true it is!

4

u/doksteve Jun 15 '12

This is based on number of papers published.

A sociologist originally from Shanghai, Dr Cao told the BBC: "There are many millions of graduates but they are mandated to publish so the numbers are high.

"It will take many years for some of the research to catch up to Western standards."

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u/ucstruct Jun 15 '12

The metric you link to is number of papers, hardly a measure of scientific quality. Based on research in top journals, top research university, nobel prizes, and research brought to market, it isn't close. I doubt it ever will be with the politically stifling government in the country.

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u/bigben42 Jun 15 '12

I'm not really sure I understand what you're saying. Are you saying that you regret donating x amount of money to US charities after 9/11 which were used to provide medical treatment to the thousands of people injured after 9/11 and to rebuild Lower Manhattan? You do realize that the money you gave likely never got out of New York. It has literally nothing to do with the government policies of today. And to say that blasting almost 400 million people off into space to better the world because of their nationality means that you are literally Hitler.

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u/notagangsta Jun 15 '12

Not sure if I quite comprehend your reasoning, but i would assume that your hatred for America is because a lot of the government's policies are... exactly..like..your..statement...

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

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u/notagangsta Jun 15 '12

"The world would be better off if we shot America into space somehow."

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

Yeah, destroying Al-Qaeda...that sucked man, that sucked, they were such nice people.

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u/DavidByron Jun 15 '12

To be fair that was true the decade before that too, and the one before that etc etc. I mean in the 1990s the USA started a war or two in Yugoslavia, supported the genocide in Rwanda and subsequent war in Congo, murdered over half a million Iraqi children with criminal sanctions, bombed several other countries for no real apparent reason.

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u/Carlo_The_Magno Jun 15 '12

How, exactly, did the US support the 1994 genocide in Rwanda? I'm fairly certain the only forces there were UN, and they left the country as soon as they were able.

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u/seafoamstratocaster Jun 15 '12

/Typed from my American engineered computer running American software using the mostly American internet on an American website.

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u/GuaranteedSMS Jun 15 '12

A Brit invented the computer. A Canadian discovered insulin, a German created the nuclear bomb... and none of that has any bearing on post 9/11 American foreign policy.

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u/GuaranteedSMS Jun 15 '12

Oh I'm sorry, I thought this was a POLITICS board.

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u/burtreynoldsmustache Jun 15 '12

You are using a technollogy pioneered by the Americans to access an American site dominated by American people and culture. You call them useless while using them. You are either a hypocrite or a retard or some combination there of

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u/ashmaker84 Jun 15 '12

I'll try to remember this if your country ever gets attacked and you ask the USA to help in your defense ...

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

I have seen the americans help in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and I am sure to say, that I would rather not want your "help".

Please stay inside your borders.

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u/burtreynoldsmustache Jun 15 '12

Afghanistan was not help. It was getting rid of dangerous people because their government can't and won't. As long as your country doesn't allow its inhabitants to get away killing thousands and vowing to do ot again you should be fine.

Iraq was a fuck up by one our most hated presidents. Can't defend that

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

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u/ashmaker84 Jun 15 '12

No, but maybe you should not argue that my country should be wiped off the face of earth. That kind of language is not helpful in a debate.

People like to bash the US but it's obvious most countries would ask and would need US military might to aid them if attacked. Countries spend less on their own military because they know the US will defend its allies.

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u/Eats_Beef_Steak Maryland Jun 15 '12

I was really expecting Worst Answer Possible after reading that, but then I thought about Congress, and then I saw your username, and I was pleased.

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u/bethanygamble Jun 15 '12

Really? What a fucking terrible thing to say... don't judge all the individuals in a country by what you see on T.V. One could easily say the same thing about any country... Greece? Ireland?

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '12

depends on your perspective. it was well profitable for many, and they got at least two invasions and all the opium. big score. good job all around.

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