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 Americans are hearing so much these days about how bad we are that we're starting to believe it. In a recent Gallup poll, 68 percent said they are "dissatisfied with the position of the United States in the world today," and 55 percent said they think that the rest of the world views us unfavorably. However, as I page through a publication called the Index of Global Philanthropy, which is produced annually by the Center for Global Prosperity at the Hudson Institute in Washington, it becomes obvious that these American feelings of self-deprecation are misguided.
This is the just released third annual edition of this index. It produces a unique snapshot portraying the full extent of American generosity to developing countries, by amount and by source.
Usually when the question of aid to the developing world arises, we think of government funds. But this index shows that, whereas it may be the rule in the rest of the industrialized world that most aid is government aid, in our country this isn't the case. Most of the contributions that Americans make abroad are private and voluntary. And they are large.
In 2006, the latest year for which data is available, the index reports that Americans contributed privately and voluntarily $34.8 billion to individuals and organizations in developing countries. Read On
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Although progress is slowly being made towards securing the southern border attacks against agents of the U.S. Border Patrol and tourists are on the rise. “This fiscal year 744 incidents of violence have been perpetrated against Border Patrol agents, a 26 percent increase over the same time last year,” reported Department of Homeland Security Secretary Micheal Chertoff in his third “State of Immigration Address” Monday. He said the border violence is a grim sign of progress. “That's typically what happens as you start to enforce and you make it harder, they start to fight over the shrinking pie, so to speak, and who gets the best opportunity to exploit what additional space is left,” Chertoff said. “So that's, in some sense, a good sign. The bad news is it causes a lot of violence and death and it's created a lot of havoc, particularly in Mexico.” While DHS has witnessed more attacks on their staff, other government agencies have shown concern about attacks on U.S. tourists traveling in Mexico. Mexican Violent Attacks on U.S. Increases |
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One of the offspring of an Austrian man who kept his daughter confined to a basement for decades and fathered her seven children has been reunited with her family and is expected to make a good recovery, doctors and a lawyer said Wednesday. Kerstin Fritzl met with other family members Sunday, shortly after doctors woke her from an artificially induced coma she had been in for weeks, according to two doctors and Christoph Herbst, a lawyer representing the victims in the case. • Click here to see photos of Josef Fritzl and the "House of Horrors." She was admitted to a hospital April 19, unconscious and suffering from multiple organ failure. Albert Reiter, the doctor who treated Kerstin, said she greeted him during a morning visit June 1. "I say to Kerstin — 'Hello Kerstin' — and Kerstin tells me: 'Hello,"' Reiter told reporters at a news conference in a hotel in Zeillern, several kilometers (miles) from Amstetten. "For all of us, Kerstin's surprising recovery is a great relief," said Berthold Kepplinger, director of a psychiatric clinic where the reunited family is recovering from their ordeal. Daughter of Austrian 'Horror Dad' Reunited With Family |
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| FAMILY CONCERNS
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Opinions expressed in 'Perspectives' columns published by CentersForDecency.org are the sole responsibility of the article's author(s), or of the person(s) or organization(s) quoted therein, and do not necessarily represent those of the staff or management of, or advertisers who support the CfD. |
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