The United States is notorious for having its fingers in many pies. One of the ways Uncle Sam tries to coerce other states to get in line with his preferred policies is by doling out foreign aid — lots of it.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) states that its function is to provide “economic, development and humanitarian assistance around the world in support of the foreign policy goals of the United States.” While the effectiveness of foreign aid remains up for debate, the United States recently has continued to pump around $50 billion in aid to other countries each year.
In terms of the absolute value of aid given, the United States is the world’s top donor by far. So where is all that money going?
4) Iraq ($1,683 million) With many reconstruction efforts completed, assistance to Iraq has declined recently. Billions of U.S. dollars have been wasted since 2003, with much of the money going into corrupt contracts.
3) Pakistan: ($2,102 million) Pakistan comes in ahead of Iraq. U.S.-Pakistan relations may be rocky, but the country is considered one of three “frontline states” on the war on terror. Security assistance and aid “designed to limit the appeal of extremist organizations”
2) Afghanistan: ($2,327 million). After over a decade at war and ahead of the United States’ planned withdrawal in 2014, Afghanistan remains a top recipient of U.S. foreign affairs spending.
AND…
The number ONE recipient of U.S. Foreign Aid IS…(Not surprisingly)…
1) Israel: ($3,075 million) Israel’s special relationship with the United States pays off when it comes to foreign aid. The Jewish state has long been a top recipient of foreign aid, receiving nearly $3.1 billion in 2012.
How can anyone ever forget that Air Force One Photo Op Ordered by President Obama early in his first term? Air Force One buzzed New York City complete with fighter escort. New Yorkers watched in horror as they thought 9/11 was happening all over again.
Some say Air Force One is capable of ‘Time Travel’ but I don’t believe that…
Then there was that debacle in Spain when President Obama’s Limo got hung up on a speed bump. Was it just a right wing conspiracy to make the President look bad?
Now we have the latest Obama Limousine debacle in which our highly trained affirmative action Limo caretaker puts the wrong kind of gas in the Beast
Some Little Known Facts about the Beast
Let us not forget there is a New Pace Car being readied for the 2014 NASCAR Races
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!
It is being reported that President Obama has made plans for a final and Glorious Fly Over of New York City in Air Force One on his last day of Office in 2016
30 dead after Egyptians angry about riot verdicts try to storm prison
By Reza Sayah and Amir Ahmed, CNN
Cairo (CNN) — A stern Egyptian court ruling tied to a soccer riot spurred clashes that left at least 30 people dead on Saturday, the latest round of violence in the unsettled North African nation.
In addition to those killed, more than 300 were wounded when people in the northeastern city of Port Said clashed with authorities outside a prison where their kin were being held, the head of Port Said hospitals told state-run Nile TV.
They were angry because 21 of their relatives had just been sentenced to death for their role in a February 1 riot in a Port Said stadium.
That 2012 incident — during a game between Cairo’s prestigious Al-Ahly football club and the host Al-Masry team — ended with 73 dead.
Two months later, Egypt’s general prosecutor charged 75 people with “premeditated murder and attempted murder,” while three Al-Masry officials and nine police officers were charged with “assisting the murderers.”
According to the prosecutor’s office, those in the latter group knew about the assault ahead of time, didn’t confiscate weapons in advance, didn’t stop them and — in the case of an electricity engineer who was charged — turned off the lights directly over the bleachers where the Al-Ahly fans were sitting right after the visiting team wrapped up its 3-1 victory.
Fans from both sides bashed each other with rocks and chairs, yet prosecutors claimed the Port Said supporters were also armed with knives and other weapons.
Many died after falling from bleachers inside the stadium, while others suffocated.
It was unclear whether intense sports rivalries or political strife sparked the riot, though witnesses said tensions had grown throughout the game with Al-Masry fans throwing bottles and rocks at the opposing players.
That violence begat more on Saturday, after some of the defendants’ relatives tried to storm the Port Said prison to free their loved ones being held inside, Interior Ministry spokesman Brig. Gen. Osama Ismail told Nile TV.
The reaction was far different in Cairo, where Saturday’s verdict was issued due to security concerns.
One man cried for joy, feeling that “justice has been survived” following the death of his oldest son, the married father of two children.
“I finally felt that I am in a civilized country,” added a woman in Cairo’s capital. “My son (did) nothing wrong. But my son’s legacy will live on, because of the true justice served here.”
Egypt embroiled in deadly political unrest
Saturday’s Port Said violence comes on the heels of other bloodshed around the nation, which was tied more explicitly to unrest about Egypt’s current leadership but nonetheless symptomatic of instability and insecurity two years after longtime President Hosni Mubarak was ousted.
More recently, protesters have focused their anger at current President Mohamed Morsy.
The former Muslim Brotherhood leader, who became Egypt’s first democratically elected leader last year, has come under fire by some who compared him to Mubarak and said he amassed power for himself and his Islamist allies. He has insisted his moves were necessary to move Egypt forward in the face of pressing issues and persistent obstacles.
On Friday — the anniversary of what some call the January 25 Revolution — six people were killed in Suez and one in Ismailia, amid clashes involving anti-government protesters and those supportive of Morsy, as well as police. Hundreds more were injured in the unrest nationwide.
Referring to this violence and what happened Saturday in Port Said, Information Minister Salah Abdul Maqsoud read a statement on state TV saying the government was considering implementing a state of emergency in some areas.
“The (National Defense Council) denounces the acts of violence and demands all national and political forces be committed to the peaceful ways to express their opinion,” Maqsoud said after a meeting led by Morsy. “(The council) calls for wider national dialogue, led by (prominent) figures, to discuss the issues of political disagreement and reach national accordance.”
On Saturday in Suez — about 90 miles south of Port Said — the government deployed troops and armored military vehicles in response to the previous day’s clashes.
Brig. Gen. Adel Refat, the head of security in Suez, asked for the help after declaring the area “out of control,” according to state news. Protesters accused Egyptian forces of opening fire during the demonstrations, a claim Refat strongly denied.
Meanwhile, in Cairo, clashes extended to areas around the Shura Council, the upper house of parliament. Protesters overnight waged a standoff outside the Nile TV offices, with some tossing Molotov cocktails and police responding with tear gas.
Journalist Ramy Francis and CNN’s Reza Sayah reported from Cairo; CNN’s Amir Ahmed reported Atlanta. CNN’s Chelsea J. Carter, Greg Botelho, Yousuf Basil and Hamdi Alkhshali contributed to this report.
How long can one continue on with lies and deceptions before they all blow up in ones face? Given the less then honest history of this President and his associates one has to wonder how long he and his cohorts can get away with it. My guess is we will be seeing one devastating scandal after the other being exposed over the next four years providing this President can endure the fallout as the lies are exposed and the American People finally wake up.
My Mission these past four years was to hopefully wake up enough of the American people to make a difference in the 2012 Elections. I obviously failed in that Mission but will continue on as a Voting American in my next Mission and that will be to expose each and every corruption of this second term administration.
Make no mistake about it. Once exposed to the real truth there is nothing more vengeful then a Scorned American Electorate
The most important Election in the History of these United States is about to take place and YOU will determine what America will Become or what she will Remain
Hat tip to The Blaze for reporting this story
Joe Biden to Father of Former Navy SEAL Killed in Benghazi: ‘Did Your Son Always Have Balls the Size of Cue Balls?’
The father of one of the former Navy SEALs killed in the terrorist attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya says President Barack Obama wouldn’t even look him in the eye and Vice President Joe Biden was disrespectful during the ceremony when his son’s body returned to America. He also says the White House’s story on the attack doesn’t pass the smell test.
Charles Woods, father of Tyrone Woods, called into “The Glenn Beck Program” on TheBlazeTV Thursday and recounted his interactions with the president, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Biden at the ceremony for the Libya victims at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. He told host Glenn Beck that what they told him, coupled with new reports that indicate the Obama administration knew very good and well, almost immediately, that a terrorist attack was occurring in Benghazi, make him certain that the American people are not getting the whole truth.
Vice President Biden, as he has become known to do, reportedly made a wildly inappropriate comment to the father who had just lost his hero son.
Woods said Biden came over to his family and asked in a “loud and boisterous” voice, “Did your son always have balls the size of cue balls?”
“Are these the words of someone who is sorry?” said Woods.
The grieving father also described his brief encounter with President Obama during the ceremony for the Libya victims.
“When he finally came over to where we were, I could tell that he was rather conflicted, a person who was not at peace with himself,” Woods said.
“Shaking hands with him, quite frankly, was like shaking hands with a dead fish. His face was pointed towards me but he would not look me in the eye, his eyes were over my shoulder.”
“I could tell that he was not sorry,” he added. “He had no remorse.”
Beck said he wanted to give the president “the benefit of the doubt,” and asked Woods how he could be sure that Obama wasn’t just uncomfortable or nervous during their conversation. Woods said it was Obama’s “demeanor.”
Hillary Clinton’s comments to Woods raise even more questions about the White House’s official story on the Benghazi attack, which has already been extremely inconsistent.
After apologizing for his loss, Woods said Clinton told him that the U.S. would “make sure that the person who made that film is arrested and prosecuted.”
Obviously, Clinton was referring to the anti-Muslim YouTube video that the Obama administration spent nearly two weeks blaming for the attack. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice, Clinton and the president himself all blamed the video at various points. Beck pointed out that the White House is now trying to claim that it has always considered terrorism as the cause of the attack.
“When she said that, I could tell that she was not telling me the truth,” Woods said about Clinton.
Watch part I of the interview with Beck here via TheBlazeTV:
Reading another State Department email that further calls into question the U.S. response to the attack, Beck revealed that the U.S. government was made aware that the compound in Benghazi was under attack by “mortar fire,” hardly a sign of a spontaneous protest.
“The question that I had in my mind,” Woods replied, “was why did we not do something to protect our forces?”
“We didn’t even dispatch anybody,” Beck lamented.
“You released the information that the White House within minutes of the attack, watched in real time the events unfolding,” Woods told Beck earlier in the program. “They denied the pleas for help and they watched my son die.”
Woods went on to read the following statement, in honor of his son:
“I want to honor my son, Ty Woods, who responded to the cries for help and voluntarily sacrificed his life to protect the lives of other Americans. In the last few days it has become public knowledge that within minutes of the first bullet being fired the White House knew these heroes would be slaughtered if immediate air support was denied. Apparently, C-130s were ready to respond immediately. In less than an hour, the perimeters could have been secured and American lives could have been saved. After seven hours fighting numerically superior forces, my son’s life was sacrificed because of the White House’s decision. This has nothing to do with politics, this has to do with integrity and honor. My son was a true American hero. We need more heroes today. My son showed moral courage. This is an opportunity for the person or persons who made the decision to sacrifice my son’s life to stand up.”
Tears in his eyes, Beck told Woods that his son was not even there for security purposes but after hearing cries for help he voluntarily protected his fellow Americans, knowing his life would be put in danger. Beck called Tyrone Woods a “hero” multiple times throughout the show.
“I am sorry for your loss, and I know there are millions of Americans that are sorry for your loss,” Beck concluded.
EXCLUSIVE: Intelligence source in Libya tells Fox News that contrary to Obama administration claims, there was no demonstration outside the US Consulate in Benghazi before last week’s attack that left four Americans dead, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens. Meanwhile, protests spread to more Muslim nations, including Lebanon where Hezbollah al-Mahdi scouts shouted anti-American slogans during a march through Beirut.
An intelligence source on the ground in Libya told Fox News that there was no demonstration outside the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi prior to last week’s attack — challenging the Obama administration’s claims that the assault grew out of a “spontaneous” protest against an anti-Islam film.
“There was no protest
and the attacks were not
Spontaneous,”
the source said,
adding the attack
“Was planned and had
nothing to do with the
Movie.”
The source said the assault came with no warning at about 9:35 p.m. local time, and included fire from more than two locations. The assault included RPG’s and mortar fire, the source said, and consisted of two waves.
The account that the attack started suddenly backs up claims by a purported Libyan security guard who told McClatchy Newspapers late last week that the area was quiet before the attack.
“There wasn’t a single ant outside,” the unnamed guard, who was being treated in a hospital, said in the interview.
These details appear to conflict with accounts from the Obama administration that the attack spawned from an out-of-control protest. The Libyan president also said Sunday that the strike was planned in advance.
U.S. officials, in response to the claim that there was no demonstration at the time of the attack, told Fox News there was a small protest earlier in the day — but they did not dispute that there was no significant or sizeable demonstration at the time.
But a senior Obama administration official told Fox News on Monday morning that the Libyan president’s comments are not consistent with “the consensus view of the U.S. intelligence community,” which has been investigating the incident, and are accordingly not credible.
“He doesn’t have the information we have,” the U.S. official said of Libyan President Mohammed el-Megarif. ”"He doesn’t have the (data) collection potential that we have.”
The Libyan leader told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the government in Tripoli harbors “no doubt” that the Sept. 11 attack that killed U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans was “preplanned, predetermined.” That assessment conflicted directly with the preliminary conclusion offered on Sunday by U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice, who appeared on all five Sunday morning talk shows.
There, Rice maintained that the Benghazi incident “was a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired in Cairo, as a consequence of the video,” and that after the protest outside the U.S. consulate gathered steam, “those with extremist ties joined the fray and came with heavy weapons.”
Asked if the timing of the Benghazi incident – the eleventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks — was simply a coincidence, the senior U.S. official said on Monday: “It is coincidental. All evidence we have points to this video being the spark of these events. In all of the intel and traffic, there was no one out there saying, ‘Oh, it’s September 11th, we must avenge…’”
The senior U.S. official added that this is “the consensus view of the U.S. intelligence community at this point,” and that Rice “was not out there volunteering her own opinions.”
The official also discounted as “not accurate” reports that staff at U.S. embassy in Egypt warned the State Department — in a cable purportedly sent on the afternoon of Sept. 10 — about the effect the anti-Islam video was having, and the likelihood of violent protests in Cairo, but received no response from Washington.
“There was cable traffic, involving discussion of the video and the potential for protests, the Embassy was aware,” the U.S. official told Fox News. ”There were discussions about protests between the relevant agencies — intel and State — but the idea that there was no response from State is false.”
Officials at the State Department and the White House continue to express satisfaction with the cooperation they are receiving from foreign governments in the protection of American diplomats and their families. This is said to be especially the case in those instances where President Obama has reached out to foreign heads of state, namely Egypt, Yemen and Libya.
Still, the State Department over the weekend — in a shift of plans that occurred sometime after Friday evening — announced the evacuation of diplomats’ family members and “non-essential” personnel from U.S. Embassies in Tunisia and Sudan, sites of some of the most violent scenes on Friday.
Fox News’ Catherine Herridge, James Rosen and Pamela Browne contributed to this report.
The decline of the Roman Empire refers to the gradual societal collapse of the Western Roman Empire. Many theories of causality prevail, but most concern the disintegration of political, economic, military, and other social institutions, in tandem with foreign invasions and usurpers from within the empire. The English historian Edward Gibbon, author of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776) made this concept part of the framework of the English language, but he was not the first to speculate on why and when the Empire collapsed. “From the eighteenth century onward,” Glen W. Bowersock has remarked,[1] “we have been obsessed with the fall: it has been valued as an archetype for every perceived decline, and, hence, as a symbol for our own fears.” It remains one of the greatest historical questions, and has a tradition rich in scholarly interest. In 1984, German professor Alexander Demandt published a collection of 210 theories on why Rome fell, and new theories have emerged since then.[2][3]
This slow decline occurred over a period of four centuries, culminating on September 4, 476, when Romulus Augustus, the last Emperor of the Western Roman Empire, was deposed by Odoacer, a Germanic chieftain. Some modern historians question the significance of this date,[4] and not simply because Julius Nepos, the legitimate emperor recognized by the East Roman Empire, continued to live in Salona, Dalmatia, until he was assassinated in 480. The Ostrogoths who succeeded considered themselves upholders of the direct line of Roman traditions. The Eastern Roman Empire was going from strength to strength and continued until the Fall of Constantinople on May 29, 1453.
Many events throughout the empire’s history are considered to have worsened the empire’s so-called “decline”. The Battle of Adrianople in 378, the death of Theodosius I in 395 (the last time the Roman Empire was politically unified), the crossing of the Rhine in 406 by Germanic tribes, the execution of Stilicho in 408, the sack of Rome in 410, the death of Constantius III in 421, the death of Aetius in 454, the second sack of Rome in 455, and the death of Majorian in 461 are all macrohistorical events concerning the decline of the Western Roman Empire.
