Why Don't they cut foreign walfare

[Detroitnerd]

Haha. I bet much of it is US AID, or, put another way, CIA.

[Patrick]

Getting a kick out of this because I deal with foreign aid issues on a weekly basis at work. In Israel's case, I think they have agreed to buy so much $$ worth of military equipment from American defense companies so I guess some of the cash is coming to out shores and into the pockets of a few.

[Jimaz]

That small sliver comes out to over 49 billion a year, I'd call that quite a bit.

LOL! Fine. Stay focused on that 1.2%. We eagerly await the report on your findings.

[rb336]

Getting a kick out of this because I deal with foreign aid issues on a weekly basis at work. In Israel's case, I think they have agreed to buy so much $$ worth of military equipment from American defense companies so I guess some of the cash is coming to out shores and into the pockets of a few.

$3 billion/yr is the OFFICIAL amount. I have seen some reports that unofficial [[covert) aid tops $10 billion/yr.

[coracle]

I recall from earlier years that we give Aid to several Countries that repay us by voting against our interests on the World stage in the UN. Of course Aid should not be given as a bribe to elicit their support but I do think such benefactors should be persuaded to get their Aid from someone else.

[Ray1936]

I found it most interesting that the United Arab Emirates [[UAE) sent $500,000 to the school system in Joplin, MO, to replace the laptops lost in the May tornado.

[Detroitnerd]

Full article at http://www.counterpunch.com/weir08112011.html

Mainstream Press Misses the King of the Hill

The Israel Lobby's Return to Congress

By ALISON WEIR
You might think that twenty percent of the American Congress going on all-expense-paid, week-long junkets to a foreign country – paid for by a lobby for that country – would be considered newsworthy. Especially when the top Congressional leaders of both parties are leading the trips.
You would be wrong.
81 Congressional representatives from all over the country, led by Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, are traveling to Israel this month. Most are freshmen Congressmen and include half of all the freshmen Republicans voted into office in 2010.
The week-long trips are being paid for by the American Israel Education Foundation [[AIEF), which was created in 1990 as a supporting organization of AIPAC, America’s major pro-Israel lobbying organization, and is located in the same building [[AIEF, which is only one of numerous organizations pushing pro-Israel policies, has an annual budget of over $24 million with an even larger endowment.
This is an extraordinary situation. No other lobby on behalf of a foreign country comes anywhere near to controlling such wealth or taking so many of America’s elected representatives on a propaganda trip to their favorite country.
Not all those going on these trips are enthusiastic. The wife of one Congressman who made a similar trip some years ago said that she and her husband had never been exposed to such pressure in all their lives. She said that at one point on their trip, her husband – a normally extremely tough man – was curled up in a fetal position.
A staff member of one representative participating in this month’s junkets said the representative had no choice. If the Congressional rep didn’t go on the trip, the rep would be targeted by AIPAC, large quantities of money, including massive out-of-state money, would be raised for the opponent in the next election, and quite likely the representative would be defeated. The staffer said that the Israel Lobby is far too powerful to ignore and that American voters have no knowledge of what’s going on.
It’s no surprise that voters are unaware that their Congress people are being propagandized and pressured by a foreign lobby. Their news media almost never tell them.

[firstandten]

I,m sorry I can't spell up to your standards but I was a product of Det.P.S.. Jefferson middle and northwestern high, where they wrapped chain around the door and padlock them at starting time.

Don't you dare blame DPS for your problems, I and other grads of DPS consider your statement an insult of the highest order. Any problems you have in communicating are YOUR problems and YOUR damn fault.

[coracle]

It seems that US is the biggest donor country in Foreign Aid in terms of gross amount; but one of the smallest donors in terms of percentage of GDP of the Western [[rich?) nations. The figures I could find on the web varied from site to site but currently is reported to be about 0.26% of GDP for America. I think that's good unless we can reduce it further to recipients that hate us or use it undermine our policies.

[lit joe]

The last year I found was 2007 40 billion dollars. Global issues now put the figure some where between 70 and 100 billion, They aren't releasing amounts.

[Goose]

when did the system get so screwed up that social security is part of the budget [[im asking, what year?), this was supposed to be a put money - get money out system that was completely bastardized and the unfunded obligations under social security [[and medicaid) are enormous.... im 43 and have no pie in the sky notion that I will ever received a damn penny out of the social security ponzi scheme by the time im 70+.... i'd be willing to completly sign away my rights to draw SS if they let me opt out of the system at age 50..... 7 more years of paying into get nothing would be worth it to be able to not have that money stolen from me every paycheck.......

[Papasito]

Plus they give Social Security money and Medicaid money to people who have never paid into the system. It would be cool to see some kind of chart or graph that shows money taken in versus money sent out

[Detroitnerd]

Plus they give Social Security money and Medicaid money to people who have never paid into the system. It would be cool to see some kind of chart or graph that shows money taken in versus money sent out

But then also consider the millions of undocumented immigrants who pay into the system but can never receive benefits... it adds up to a tidy hunk of change.

[Papasito]

Back on point : Why Don't they cut foreign walfare ...

I didn't know that we gave Egypt's ARMY tons and tons of cash until that recent upheaval in thier country. My question is : WHAT THE HELL ARE WE DOING PAYING FOR OTHER COUNTRIES TO HAVE A MILITARY?

How dare we talk about cutting our own military when we are PAYING for everyone else's ???
You can start cuts by dropping the freeloaders and the international bribery.

According to the State Department, U.S. military aid to Egypt totals over $1.3 billion annually [5] in a stream of funding known as Foreign Military Financing.

http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/...ides-how-spent

[Bong-Man]

...just seemed appropriate.

[Detroitnerd]

Thank you for the laugh, Bongman.

[maxx]

A lot of our aid to Egypt in the past was to maintain peace. Don't you think that after the assassination of Sadat there were plenty of people who wanted to attack Israel?

[Relayer76]

Israel is a major issue not a distraction. Why is it that no one can get elected in the US [[and now Canada) without basically swearing loyalty to a foreign country - Israel. The push to attack Iraq came largely from the lobby. The 911 terrorists came from Saudi Arabia and were trained in Afghanistan, so why attack Iraq. Iran is next if the Lobby gets its way. Its about Israeli interests not what is good for America. Anyone elected to the House or Senate has to take the obligatory indoctrination trip to Israel. 81 Senators and Congressmen are going on an all expense paid trip to Israel. http://www.informationclearinghouse....ticle28829.htm

Just make sure you get it straight. It is not the Jewish lobby but the Zionist Lobby and the Christian right that is the driving for. There are many Jews working for justice for Palestinians and freedom from Israel for American taxpayers. Judaism is a religion Zionism is a political ideology bent on creating an exclusively Jewish state in a land that has been inhabited by Arabs [[Palestinians) for centuries.

[Relayer76]

Back on point : Why Don't they cut foreign walfare ...

I didn't know that we gave Egypt's ARMY tons and tons of cash until that recent upheaval in thier country. My question is : WHAT THE HELL ARE WE DOING PAYING FOR OTHER COUNTRIES TO HAVE A MILITARY? [/URL]

Oh well, the US was giving money to Al Queda in Afghanistan when they were fighting the soviets. The enemy of my enemy is my friend type thing no matter how much of a bastard he is. Regarding Egypt, my understanding was that they were giving money to Mubarak to keep him in power and keep the treaty with Israel. Mubarek was a US puppet. It was a bribe in the interest of Israel as the Iraq war was to maintain Israeli supremacy in the M-E. Israel would love the US to attack Iran as well. The Zionist lobby is putting in lots of effort to beat the drums of war against Iran even here in Canada.

[Patrick]

Israel is a major issue not a distraction. Why is it that no one can get
elected in the US [[and now Canada) without basically swearing loyalty to a
foreign country - Israel. The push to attack Iraq came largely from the lobby.
The 911 terrorists came from Saudi Arabia and were trained in Afghanistan, so
why attack Iraq. Iran is next if the Lobby gets its way. Its about Israeli
interests not what is good for America. Anyone elected to the House or Senate
has to take the obligatory indoctrination trip to Israel. 81 Senators and
Congressmen are going on an all expense paid trip to Israel. http://www.informationclearinghouse....ticle28829.htm

Just
make sure you get it straight. It is not the Jewish lobby but the Zionist Lobby
and the Christian right that is the driving for. There are many Jews working
for justice for Palestinians and freedom from Israel for American taxpayers.
Judaism is a religion Zionism is a political ideology bent on creating an
exclusively Jewish state in a land that has been inhabited by Arabs
[[Palestinians) for centuries.

It's a third rail issue that can't be discussed or questioned without having your career ruined

[maxx]

RE: the junket to Israel

I wonder if all those christians were shown places like the Garden Tomb and the spot where Jesus was supposedly born and all that other schlock that's served up to the true believers there.

[Zacha341]

Cheers to that G. my typing is not that great... query poster made is clear none the less.

And Lit Joe seems to suffer from typos rather than spelling issues...no worries. Communication is ALWAYS inexact. Nothing suffered from the interpolation necessary to understand.

But it IS good that his premise stands...until Meddle or one of the other contrarians wakes up and doses with their coffee.

Cheers

[Zacha341]

Ditto to that! I too am a proud DPS completer [[class of late 70's) and while I don't type the greatest all the time I have no one to blame but myself - LOL! I didn't take typing in high school! I was an art major and figured I'd not need it! Hah... took typing later as an adult. I'll never be one of those 70 wpm folk... ROTFL!

Don't you dare blame DPS for your problems, I and other grads of DPS consider your statement an insult of the highest order. Any problems you have in communicating are YOUR problems and YOUR damn fault.

[Zacha341]

How do you KNOW who he voted for? LOL!

If lit joe is pissed about cuts to entitlement spending, perhaps he should use his noggin before voting for the Know-Nothings. Hindsight is always 20/20.

[Zacha341]

------ LOL! Warning! Only 'post' or reply to Detyes if 'you' grammar and typgning is nerfect!