npr, the space shuttle, and educating the poor

they're proposing a new skyscraper in chicago. i'm fairly fond of its architecture, but that's not the point. on npr this evening several people were giving their opinions of said building - and one gal stated "man's made so many things... now is the time to spend some of that money learning to get along & take care of each other, not on another building." (excuse the quotes, i'm sure those weren't her exact words.) that tidbit was followed by a conversation between my mother and i comparing the billions of dollars spent to research the unknown world of space & the massive impact that money could have if spent here on our known poverty and needs. that conversation was followed by my poking about on xanga and finding that jamie did a numbers post today that blew my mind. need a sampling before you go read it? try this "Basic education for every child in the world would barely exceed $6 billion dollars a year.....sounds like a lot until you know we spend $8 billion dollars on cosmetics in the United States alone. We spend the world's future on make-up."

that's right... we spend the world's future on make-up.