Even the machinery of US military combat is portrayed non heroically.

They portray the burn as a disaster and the fight against it as a war story.

2008 will not be remembered chiefly for noble or heroic acts.

And so practical wisdom does not require heroic acts of self sacrifice on the part of practitioners.

United Nations system agencies have made valiant efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to the population.

One of them, Butterflies in November, is a funny, sad, unsentimental mock epic.

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan made a valiant effort to negotiate a peace settlement when there still seemed to be a remote chance of success.

Until recently, too, many Europeans believed in their kings and queens, flew their national flags, sang their national anthems, were taught heroic versions of their national histories.

There can be no doubt that before coming to the US, Iran s new president studied Obama s letter to Khamenei, who promised heroic flexibility in negotiations.

... heroically pushing her out of the way of an oncoming imaginary sniper bullet, for which I have yet to be thanked, I was trying as hard as I could she didn't even see it coming I was trying as hard as I could to be on my best behavior.

But, instead of choosing, major European countries, such as Germany, have dithered, first dangling NATO membership as a juicy carrot, and then withdrawing the offer, leaving the Americans to indulge in heroic rhetoric without the necessary follow through.

This is obviously affordable, and is modest compared to military spending, but is far above the pittance that the G 8 actually brings to the table to solve these urgent challenges. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has made a valiant effort to get the rest of Europe to honor the modest aid pledges made at the G 8 Summit in 2005, but it has been a tough fight, and one that hasn t been won.

SÃO PAULO In a heroic case of finding a silver lining in the bleakest of all situations, the European Union climate commissioner has concluded that the global economic crisis and recession actually provided a lucky break for everyone.

So the psychology of heroism is we're going to end in a moment how do we encourage children in new hero courses, that I'm working with Matt Langdon he has a hero workshop to develop this heroic imagination, this self labeling, I am a hero in waiting, and teach them skills.