Ethiopia signs $4 billion geothermal deal

http://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/ethiopia-signs-4-billion-geothermal-081026261.html

Ethiopia signed a $4 billion deal Wednesday with American-Icelandic company Reykjavik Geothermal to develop a 1000-megawatt geothermal farm which when completed will provide energy consumption and export will be the largest source of foreign direct investment in Ethiopia. Reykjavik chief executive officer Gudmundur Thoroddsson is quoted saying, "This is an epic moment for all of us... bringing Ethiopia to the forefront of geothermal development." This type of energy is very reliable because it does not rely on the weather and is a very successful renewable energy plant. Ethiopia has seen a mushroom effect of foreign investments from countries such as China, Turkey, and India investing in a range of industries, including manufacturing, agriculture and construction. This will allow for an economic growth period in Ethiopia in which their goal is to be a carbon-neutral, middle income country by 2025.

US Military Spending

Without a doubt the US military has been the most influential military power in recent years. Its power is directly connected to the massive influx of funds it receives but how much is too much? The amount of money that is pouring into the military has been on the rise due the the so called War on Terror and the invasions of many of the middle eastern countries. As you can see in the first graph the US military funding has steadily increase since 2001, only decreasing in recent years due to the Iraq war reduction and redeployment  into Afghanistan. The second graph shows how much money we spend on military in comparison to other domestic institutions.

I do not necessarily agree with this massive funding that is directed to the military. We have a plethora of other issues that could be solved with all the money that is being endlessly poured into our military.