OH YES HE DID: Obama’s Last-Minute $221 Million Palestine Payout Frozen by Trump
Posted: January 26, 2017 Filed under: Diplomacy, Global, Politics, Terrorism, White House | Tags: Barack Obama, Benjamin Netanyahu, Democratic Party (United States), Donald Trump, Israel, Obama administration, Palestinian National Authority, Palestinian territories, United Nations, United Nations Security Council, United States, United States Agency for International Development, United States Department of State Leave a comment
Source says State Department has notified Ramallah the funds will not be immediately available, while it examines the transfer.
Avi Issacharoff and AP report: The Trump administration has informed the Palestinian Authority that it is freezing the transfer of $221 million which was quietly authorized by the Obama administration in its final hours on January 20, a senior Palestinian source has told The Times of Israel.
“Kerry formally notified Congress that State would release the extra $221 million money Friday morning, just hours before President Donald Trump took the oath of office.”
US officials conveyed to PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah on Tuesday that the funds were not expected to be handed over in the immediate future, said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
“I am deeply disappointed that President Obama defied congressional oversight and released $221 million to the Palestinian territories.”
On Tuesday, the State Department said it was reviewing the last-minute decision by former secretary of state John Kerry to send the funds to the Palestinians despite objections to the transfer by congressional Republicans.
“I worked to make sure that no American taxpayer dollars would fund the Palestinian Authority unless very strict conditions were met. While none of these funds will go to the Palestinian Authority because of those conditions, they will go to programs in the Palestinian territories that were still under review by Congress. The Obama Administration’s decision to release these funds was inappropriate.”
–Kay Granger, House Appropriations Committee member, in a statement on Tuesday
The department said it would look at the payment and might make adjustments to ensure it comports with the Trump administration’s priorities. Read the rest of this entry »
Revealed: U.S. Secretly Created Network to Undermine Castro Regime, Stir Cuban Unrest
Posted: April 3, 2014 Filed under: Censorship, Global, Mediasphere | Tags: Caribbean, Cuba, Cuban Twitter, Fidel Castro, Miami, Twitter, United States Agency for International Development 2 CommentsThe Associated Press has learned the U.S. government created of a ‘Cuban Twitter,’ a communications network designed to undermine the communist government in Cuba.
Ed has some commentary at Hot Air:
…it also has a whiff of the NSA scandal, too:
“Mock ad banners will give it the appearance of a commercial enterprise,” one written proposal obtained by the AP said. Behind the scenes, ZunZuneo’s computers were also storing and analyzing subscribers’ messages and other demographic information, including gender, age, “receptiveness” and “political tendencies.” USAID believed the demographics on dissent could help it target its other Cuba programs and “maximize our possibilities to extend our reach.”
Of course, had this worked, it would have been hailed as a success story. Unfortunately, right now it looks like the worst of government programs: unauthorized, secret, incompetent, and snooping…(read more)
pundit from another planet 