NEW YORK TIMES:A few big, good ideas could help U.S. military Jan 2, 2009
But Defense Secretary Robert Gates has pressed the case for more robust diplomacy and more spending on the State Department and foreign aid. "But not every outrage, every act of aggression or every crisis can or should elicit a military response," he wrote in the current issue of Foreign Affairs magazine. (Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal)
Changing the U.S. military Jan 2, 2009
But Defense Secretary Robert Gates has pressed the case for more robust diplomacy and more spending on the State Department and foreign aid ... Many of his generals were a lot smarter, pleading for more help from State Department experts on reconstruction, politics and foreign aid. (International Herald Tribune -- Ed/Op)
Bush just your average guy Jan 1, 2009
The comment was later reflected in policies on poverty, immigration, democracy-promotion, faith-based initiatives, foreign aid and much more. It reflects something elemental in his personality. (Globe and Mail -- International)
Be defiant, but do it humbly Dec 31, 2008
" conservativeUS wrote on Dec 29, 2008 8:20 AM:" " important info, reposting here as the courier does NOT provide an ad hoc posting area.http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-s2433/textSENATE BILL S. 2433 - THE GLOBAL POVERTY ACTAccording to David Bossie, President of the group 'Citizens United forAmerican Sovereignty', based out of Merrifield Virginia, {website:http://www.citizensunited.org/} the above mentioned Senate Bill (S. 2433) isa piece of legislation in the works that all Americans need... (Waterloo Courier, IO)
Tsunami response strengthens community coping Dec 30, 2008
A catastrophe like the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami draws an immense profile, billions of dollars of aid, tonnes of relief items and hundreds of foreign aid workers. With those resources, the Red Cross Red Crescent has been able to run the biggest disaster response operation in its history, with a budget of Swiss francs 3. (AlertNet)
The Beautiful and the Damned Dec 30, 2008
Time and time again, all over the continent, he finds that foreign aid food and medical supplies is used to sponsor militias and prolong conflict. In the mid-1990s, for instance, Dowden flew to southern Sudan and camped for a few days by Panyagor airstrip. (The American Conservative)
Trying to make government a society will fail Dec 30, 2008
If passed in the Senate, the House has already passedit, this bill would require the U.S. to increase our foreign aid by $65BILLION per year, or $845 BILLION over the next 13 years. That's on top ofthe billions of dollars in foreign aid we already pay out. (Waterloo Courier, IO)
NO TIME FOR KABULSH-T Dec 30, 2008
Yet the attitude toward risk that governs foreign aid programs conflict-torn countries such as Afghanistan means that USAID's Foreign Service offi cers have little interaction with Afghan officials during project design and even fewer opportunities to monitor results and make mid-course corrections once projects get underway. Despite Foreign Service officers' best efforts, some USAID projects have been out of sync with Afghan government priorities or have been poorly implemented by contractors... (New York Post -- Opinions)
BJP pushes UPA to go for the kill Dec 30, 2008
The party said as long as Pakistan received foreign aid, funds will continue to be diverted by the ISI to destabilise and damage India. Cancelling tours of certain government functionaries and the Indian cricket teams tour to Pakistan is not enough after facing such a deadly attack. (India Times)
Fighting for international justice Dec 28, 2008
The trend for foreign aid organisations to target the Swiss donations market is putting pressure on local charities, a fundraising expert has warned ... Large foreign aid organisations and the United Nations aid agencies are seeking a share of the lucrative Swiss market. (SwissInfo.org, Switzerland)
Adieu, tschss, ciao... Dec 28, 2008
The trend for foreign aid organisations to target the Swiss donations market is putting pressure on local charities, a fundraising expert has warned ... Large foreign aid organisations and the United Nations aid agencies are seeking a share of the lucrative Swiss market. (SwissInfo.org, Switzerland)
Swiss athletes run up mixed year Dec 28, 2008
The trend for foreign aid organisations to target the Swiss donations market is putting pressure on local charities, a fundraising expert has warned ... Large foreign aid organisations and the United Nations aid agencies are seeking a share of the lucrative Swiss market. (SwissInfo.org, Switzerland)
Libya tightens the screws on Switzerland Dec 28, 2008
The trend for foreign aid organisations to target the Swiss donations market is putting pressure on local charities, a fundraising expert has warned ... Large foreign aid organisations and the United Nations aid agencies are seeking a share of the lucrative Swiss market. (SwissInfo.org, Switzerland)
Swiss to consider joining anti-pirate force Dec 28, 2008
The trend for foreign aid organisations to target the Swiss donations market is putting pressure on local charities, a fundraising expert has warned ... Large foreign aid organisations and the United Nations aid agencies are seeking a share of the lucrative Swiss market. (SwissInfo.org, Switzerland)
Is there a right to water? Dec 27, 2008
First, foreign aid failed to improve water deliveries, as weak governments weren't up to the task of rebuilding. Then a new wave of aid from the World Bank and the United Nations came with a condition: Here's the money, but it needs to be handled by private companies with the management and experience to pull off an infrastructure rebuild. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Opinion)
Afghanistan plea in war on opium Dec 26, 2008
Nearly 7% of the Afghan population is said to now work in the opium trade, earning as much as Afghanistan receives in foreign aid. Mr Karzai said poverty forced many farmers to keep growing poppies - a claim some drugs control experts dispute. (Yahoo News -- Drug Trade)
Security officials keep Obama informed about Afghanistan Dec 23, 2008
Those reviews cover proposals to beef up U.S. force levels, improve coordination among government agencies and overhaul U.S. foreign aid efforts, including to countries such as Pakistan. "Right now, there is a sense you need to apply a tourniquet of some kind," said a senior defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity. (Houston Chronicle)
Rights group: Sri Lanka hampers aid to displaced Dec 23, 2008
With violence escalating in recent months, the government forced nearly all foreign aid workers to evacuate from rebel-held areas in September. Since then, it has allowed convoys of international aid into the area. (International Herald Tribune)
Sao Tome officials in graft case Dec 23, 2008
Millions of dollars from the accounts of a body created in 1993 to manage foreign aid money was allegedly used to pay for cars and election campaigns ... But our correspondent adds the corruption allegations could have dire consequences in a country where about 90% of its budget comes from foreign aid. (BBC News -- Africa)
Ethiopia to withdraw troops from Somalia by the end of December Dec 22, 2008
Pirates have blocked many aid shipments and frequent kidnappings mean that the country is a virtual no-go zone for foreign aid workers. A peacekeeping mission from the African Union is supposed to take over from the Ethiopians, but that force has struggled to get off the ground. (Telegraph.co.uk)
Kabul's residents have more to fear from gangs than from Taliban Dec 22, 2008
They want to harass the educated people," said Hussainkhel, who has been a teacher for 31 years.Kabul s growing crime is more than a security issue; it s a sign of a failing government. Residents wonder how the government can protect remote parts of the country from an increasingly armed, financed and organized Taliban if it can t protect the populace from thugs. Many also accuse security forces of complicity in the crime wave. More U.S. troops around the capital may not be the answer.Residents... (Fort Worth Star Telegram)
Fool Me Once Shame On You ... Dec 20, 2008
His foreign trips that was constantly criticised by the NDC and his interactions with Governments and business leaders around the world got us a lot of foreign aid and investment. Let us not look at the Awards and invitations he got and be jealous but rather appreciate the cordial relationships he has established for Ghana that will benefit the next president. (Ghana Web, Ghana)
Mozambique: Budget Still Dependent On Foreign Aid Dec 20, 2008
com: Mozambique: Budget Still Dependent On Foreign Aid (Page 1 of 1). Mozambique: Budget Still Dependent On Foreign Aid ... Maputo The Mozambican government's proposed budget for 2009 relies on foreign aid for 55 per cent of its expenditure. (allAfrica.com)
Somalia: The War on Terror - The Third Front Revisited Dec 20, 2008
During a crackdown against popular protests after fraudulent elections in 2005, Zenawi's security forces massacred nearly 200 people, injured 760 more, and arrested an additional 20,000, among them opposition leaders, foreign aid workers, and journalists. Nonetheless, since 2002, Ethiopia has received nearly US$25 million in overt US military assistance while at least 100 US military personnel currently work inside Ethiopia in advisory positions as part of what the Pentagon characterises as a... (allAfrica.com)
YET ANOTHER KOREAN CONUNDRUM Dec 19, 2008
Most of its Six-Party partners (China, Russia, Japan, South Korea and the United States) would only dole out foreign aid as long as the years of talks showed at least some progress. And with onset of North Korea's usually bitter winter, it'll be tough for the common man. (New York Post -- Opinions)
'Presidente' by intimidation Dec 19, 2008
Although Chavez s massive welfare programs and foreign aid projects have made him very popular among the poor in Venezuela and the leftists all over Latin America, most Venezuelans don t seem to be crazy about the thought of listening to Chavez ramble indefinitely. At the end of February, I think we should be ready for the referendum, Chavez said during one of his long-winded television speeches. (Paragould Daily Press, AR)
Gaza: abandoned, embattled and divided Dec 19, 2008
Foreign aid has helped start programs such as the Qattam Music Foundation, which began in October to teach 35 children the violin, piano, guitar and Arabic string instruments, the qanoon and oud. "Our biggest concern at first was Hamas, who worried that other Islamic nations would disapprove of allowing music programs," says the program's director, Ibrahim al-Najjar. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
U.S. backs off meeting with activist Dec 18, 2008
She has urged the U.S. to place conditions on foreign aid to Georgia, which is a U.S. ally. advertisement. (MSNBC -- International)
ANALYSIS-Army influence may not go away after Bangladesh vote Dec 18, 2008
Human rights groups and Western diplomats worry the military will be reluctant to stay away from politics for long, upsetting a transition to stable democracy that could help the country of more than 140 million attract investment, reduce massive poverty, and cut its dependence on foreign aid. The "vote and an end to emergency rule do not equal democracy but are necessary preconditions to the country's stability," the well-respected Brussels-based International Crisis Group saidearlier this... (Reuters)
Rwanda: Kagame Seeks to End Dependency On Aid Dec 18, 2008
Villiage Urugwiro President Paul Kagame yesterday said that time has come for Rwandans to think differently on the aid they get from developed countries, urging them to work hard to come out of the reliance on foreign aid ... "We do not need less aid to confirm the point I always make, I have repeatedly said that this aid has no formula, it just comes and goes .we need to work really hard and out of this reliance on foreign aid," said the President during a news conference at Urugwiro Village. (allAfrica.com)
Emergency rule ends in Bangladesh Dec 18, 2008
Welcome to The Sydney Morning Herald. Narul Alam in Chittagong, BangladeshDecember 19, 2008. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
The pennies we give for foreign aid are far too few Dec 17, 2008
When a constituent complains to a politician that Australia spends too much on foreign aid, sooner or later they will always use the phrase "charity begins at home" to sum up their view that there are more urgent domestic priorities for taxpayers' money ... In recent times groups like the Micah Challenge and the Oaktree Foundation have mobilised thousands of Australians who believe in foreign aid ... But thousands of others believe foreign aid is too high and that the money should be spent on... (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Bangladesh lifts emergency ahead of election Dec 17, 2008
Investors and diplomats hope the vote will mark a move away from Bangladesh's history of street politics, sporadic bouts of military rule, and endemic graft, which have held it back from tackling massive poverty and ending dependence on foreign aid. U.S. Ambassador James F. Moriarty said the lifting of the emergency would set the stage for "free, fair and credible elections". (AlertNet)
US reverses on meeting aid worker with KGB ties Dec 17, 2008
She has urged the U.S. to place conditions on foreign aid to Georgia, which is a U.S. ally ... Patrick Leahy, chairman of a panel that oversees foreign aid. (International Herald Tribune)
Current account deficit falls to $174.1B in 3Q Dec 17, 2008
Unilateral transfers, a category that includes foreign aid and remittances that U.S. workers send to family members overseas, dropped to $28. 4 billion in the third quarter which narrowed the current account deficit by $638 million. (International Herald Tribune -- Arts)
We Can't Afford Any Bailouts Dec 17, 2008
He also promised to help those who cannot afford their mortgages, to ensure that everyone has a chance to go to college, to increase early childhood education through mandatory universal preschool, to increase foreign aid, to restore high-paying manufacturing jobs, to offer tax credits to businesses which bring jobs back from abroad, and to implement universal healthcare. The basic problem is that the federal government does not have money for these programs. (Newsmax)
Kerry named head of foreign relations panel Dec 16, 2008
The panel also helps set policy for foreign aid and arms control programs and authorizes military training for allied nations. Kerry, in his statement yesterday, cited two legendary chairmen of the committee, one from each political party, in promising to seek bipartisan policies. (Boston Globe)
Exclusive: Questions of KGB ties for activist Dec 16, 2008
Patrick Leahy, chairman of a panel overseeing foreign aid ... Tskhovrebova has urged the U.S. to place conditions on foreign aid to Georgia, compel Georgia to renounce violence, hold hearings on the war and support victims of the fighting. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Crime)
Bush Excluded From Latin American Summit as China, Russia, Iran Loom Large Dec 16, 2008
The U.S. remains the regions dominant investor and trading partner: Foreign aid to Colombia to fight drug traffickers and Marxist rebels totals $700 million a year, and remittances from Latin Americans living in the U.S. totaled $66. 5 billion last year. (Bloomberg -- Latin America)
Experts predict Cambodian real estate market to recover by 2010 Dec 16, 2008
PHNOM PENH, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- Economists said that the nearly one billion U.S. dollars in foreign aid pledged to Cambodia by donor nations last week could boost the country's sagging real estate market as early as 2010, national media reported Tuesday. Kang Chandararot, president of the Cambodia Institute for Development Study, told the Phnom Penh Post that he expected the real estate market will rebound in two years, largely on the strength of foreign aid. (Xinhuanet, China)
Somalia: Warlords, Pirates and the Politics of Morass Dec 16, 2008
The country has also become a no-go zone for foreign aid workers, who are easy kidnapping targets. (). (Time.com)
Ethnic divisions fester in Bosnia Dec 14, 2008
29 billion in foreign aid since 1995, remains an adopted orphan of the West, its security guaranteed by 2,000 European Union peacekeepers. Locked in an impasse of mutual recrimination are Haris Silajdzic - the Muslim of the country's three-member presidency, who has called for the Serb republic, Republika Srpska, to be abolished - and the Bosnian Serb prime minister, Milorad Dodik, who is supported by Moscow and who has dangled the threat that it will secede. (Boston Globe)
Somalia: Thousands of Children 'Lack Medicines' Dec 14, 2008
"Foreign aid groups stopped working in Lower Shabelle, Bay and Bakool regions due to threats," the aid source said, adding that IMC operated health clinics at camps in Afgoye, a district in Lower Shabelle region. Relevant Links. (allAfrica.com)
Pakistan seeks India's evidence on Mumbai Dec 13, 2008
But Pakistan's need for foreign aid and worries over its own rising violence by Islamic militants could push the government to go further, analysts said. "Pakistan wants to stay engaged with the international community," said analyst Hasan-Askari Rizvi. (Boston Globe)
Zimbabwe cholera outbreak threatens regional stability Dec 13, 2008
Low farm production on once highly productive farms means that Zimbabwe relies almost entirely on foreign aid and cash remittances sent home by Zimbabweans living abroad. The Zimbabwe health ministry's answer to the cholera outbreak was to shut off the public water supply in Harare, since it did not have the foreign currency to buy chemicals to ensure that the water supply was clean. (Christian Science Monitor -- USA)
Zimbabwe: It's Political Delinquency [editorial] Dec 13, 2008
It bears the same political barrenness which dictates that economic recovery in Zimbabwe can be achieved solely with foreign aid while Zimbabweans themselves quibble over ministerial portfolios. We believe an election can wait while politicians attend to the urgent needs of the people and also work on new electoral institutions to remove the anomalies which have led to electoral disputes in the past. (allAfrica.com)
Mozambique: Guebuza Concerned At Financial Crisis Dec 13, 2008
Despite the crisis, several of Mozambique's partners have hastened to assure the government that their foreign aid policies have not changed, and that there is no threat to either their direct support to the Mozambican state budget, or to sector programmes in areas such as health, education and agriculture. But it is a different picture when it comes to private investment. (allAfrica.com)
Afghanistan plea in war on opium Dec 13, 2008
Nearly 7% of the Afghan population is said to now work in the opium trade, earning as much as Afghanistan receives in foreign aid. Mr Karzai said poverty forced many farmers to keep growing poppies - a claim some drugs control experts dispute. (Yahoo News -- Drug Trade)
Economic Bloodletting Dec 13, 2008
The financial services, housing and stock market meltdown has hammered incomes, consumer spending, college and retirement savings, profits, tax revenues, charity, remittances and foreign aid. Europe, Asia, Canada and Australia are also reeling, and Mumbai has again shown how terrorists can disrupt lives and economies. (Townhall.com)
As Cholera Rages in Zimbabwe, Mugabe Won't Budge Dec 13, 2008
That's because saving Zimbabwe from a humanitarian catastrophe will require hundreds of millions of dollars of foreign aid and investment, which will be withheld as long as the strongman. (). (Time.com)
A clear vision for US and Africa Dec 12, 2008
Third, Africans need trade and investment as much as foreign aid ... Such programs will be even more important as the global financial meltdown dries up foreign investment, reduces prices for African commodity exports, shrinks remittances from diasporas working abroad, and slashes foreign aid. (Boston Globe)
Study: Nations inflate vaccine numbers to get more aid Dec 12, 2008
Instead it also represents a critical analysis of a rare and innovative approach to foreign aid, one that supplies cash incentives for performance. "Their conclusion is that it's not working," says Richard Feachem, director of The Global Health Group at the University of California, San Francisco, and the former director of the Global Fund for AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis. (USA Today -- News)
Nobel winner: Obama should focus on Mideast Dec 11, 2008
The Finnish diplomat and mediator also warned that the global financial crisis would strike hard at the developing world, and he called on governments to not cut back on foreign aid. Ahtisaari received this year's coveted Nobel Prize for his three decades of peace work around the globe including in Namibia, Kosovo and Indonesia. (MSNBC -- International)
Nobel Laureates speak out for Suu Kyi Dec 11, 2008
Ban visited Burma in May after its military rulers came under international fire for not allowing foreign aid in after a cyclone left 138,000 people dead or missing. On Friday, the Nobel laureates are to pay tribute to Bono for his campaign to win debt relief for African countries and eradicating poverty. (Sydney Morning Herald -- World)
On Your Mind Dec 11, 2008
muslims wrote on Dec 8, 2008 8:55 AM:" I think the glee we saw in muslims after 9/11 has more to do with the fact that it was America that got stung. The whole world celebrates when America hurts. We're hated and feared among nations (probably for good reason). Have you noticed how much foreign aid doesn't come to use when we have a disaster? We're like the stupid rich 'friend' people take advantage of, but secretly hate and won't be there for in times of need. ". Christmas wrote on Dec 8, 2008... (Sierra Vista Herald, AZ)
Letters to the editor (Dec. 9) (41) Dec 10, 2008
"Our Constitution makes no mention whatever of God. The omission was too obvious to have been anything but deliberate, in spite of Alexander Hamilton's flippant responses when asked about it: According to one account, he said that the new nation was not in need of "foreign aid"; according to another, he simply said "we forgot. " But as Hamilton's biographer Ron Chernow points out, Hamilton never forgot anything important.". (Corvallis Gazette Times, OR)
Will Africa Ever Develop? Dec 9, 2008
Mr. Samura believes that foreign aid, instead of helping ordinary Africans, instead becomes a tool that emboldens corrupt leaders to maintain a firm grip on the diadems of power ... Corrupt Sierra Leonian officials, like leaders of other African states, continually divert foreign aid meant to revamp an ailing economy into projects that are primarily self-serving, outrageously parochial and scandalously unproductive. (Ghana Web, Ghana)
Analysis: Global financial crisis tests the conviction of African bulls Dec 9, 2008
Foreign aid may suffer too. And slower growth in China and other Asian economies is bound to affect investment in Africa. (Business Report, South Africa)
Now more than ever it is time to boost aid Dec 8, 2008
The US president-elect, Barack Obama, said, before his election, that he would double US foreign aid, and make it more effective in helping the poor ... It is understandable why, in the midst of an election campaign, a candidate would say that, for, even in the best of times, increasing foreign aid wins few votes in America ... However, doubling US foreign aid would still leave it below $US50 billion a year - a modest sum compared with the $US685 billion the US spent on defence this year. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Opinion)
Troops' goals appear more distant Dec 8, 2008
His 200 gunmen have served as bodyguards for foreign aid workers since the collapse of the Taliban regime, under the aegis of U.S. Protection and Investigations, one of the city's largest security companies. Many of his men have died, he says, but none of his clients have been kidnapped or killed. (Globe and Mail -- National)
Return to the Constitution Dec 7, 2008
Neither Congress nor the president can claim constitutional authority to take property from one American citizen and give it to another yet this is done daily and to the tune of trillions of dollars in the form of foreign aid, industry subsidies, socialist welfare programs and financial bailouts. Add to that the un-Federal Reserve, a private banking institution that unconstitutionally controls our money supply and causes inflation. (Logan Herald Journal, UT)
They Won't Give Him Credit Dec 7, 2008
What I find most offensive about it is its attempt to pretend that this theft and redistribution is something other than what it is and its casual dismissal of the principled opposition to foreign aid as a mere technicality, worthy of no moral consideration ("well, our money, but it was legal"). It was only "legal" to steal money from taxpayers to redistribute to others because some evil individuals in the legal structure allowed it. (Townhall.com)
Will Obama Become the Statesman that America Needs? Dec 7, 2008
Janice Shaw Crouse : Will Obama Become the Statesman that America Needs. Columns, funnies in your inbox. (Townhall.com)
Haitian Voodoo Protest Denounces Foreign Aid, U.N. Dec 6, 2008
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti Voodoo priests say foreign aid and the presence of 9,000 U.N. peacekeepers in Haiti are holding back the chronically impoverished country. Voodoo supreme chief Max Beauvoir says Haitians cannot live comfortably among heavily armed U.N. troops and that aid groups accomplish little while preventing locals from helping themselves. (Fox News)
Nicaragua's Ortega defiant after US, Europe yank aid Dec 6, 2008
Bayardo Arce, Ortega's top economic adviser, has dismissed the foreign aid flow problems as "bureaucratic" glitches, rather than political punishment. Still, Nicaragua's internal political crisis is also contributing to the country's cash-flow problems. (Christian Science Monitor)
