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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Students aren't the only ones benefiting from the billions of new dollars Washington is spending on college aid for the poor. An Associated Press analysis shows surging proportions of both low-income students and the recently boosted government money that follows them are ending up at for-profit schools, from local career colleges to giant publicly traded chains such as the University of Phoenix, Kaplan and Devry.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton offered aid on Tuesday to boost ties with the Muslim world and urged Israel, the Palestinians and Arab countries to move beyond recrimination in the search for peace. "We are determined and persistent in the pursuit of that goal," she said in a speech at a development forum in Morocco attended by Arab ministers. Hoping to cast the United States as a helpful partner in development for Muslim communities, Clinton outlined a series of small steps to increase funding for civil society groups, youth empowerment and job promotion. "We are committed to building ladders...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 15, 2009 – The U.S. Embassy in Islamabad strongly condemned today's terrorist attacks in Pakistan, vowing continued U.S. support to help Pakistan combat violence. The embassy issued the condemnation of the attacks as President Barack Obama signed a law that provides $7.5 billion in nonmilitary aid to Pakistan over the next five years. The funds are part of a comprehensive plan that recognizes the importance of confronting the root causes of extremism as well as extremists themselves. The new law will provide $1.5 billion each year from 2010 to 2014 for schools, hospitals, roads, agricultural aid, roadwork and...

THE top American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, is right to warn that efforts to rebuild that country depend on winning the “struggle to gain the support of the people.” And few issues do more to stoke the resentment of ordinary Afghans than the tens of billions of dollars of foreign aid from which they have seen little or no benefit. Peter Bergen is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation. Sameer Lalwani is a research fellow there.

FORWARD OPERATING BASE WARRIOR, Iraq, Oct. 8, 2009 – U.S. soldiers provided humanitarian aid to Iraqis in an area locals refer to as the “Lost City.” A week after completing a clearing operation led by Iraqi forces, soldiers of Bravo Battery, 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, delivered essential supplies Oct. 3 to the small, impoverished neighborhood of Huzzeran, near Kirkuk. In the “Lost City,” jobs are few and far between. Drinkable water is not readily available, and the school lacks running water. “Things are bad here; people here don’t have work or anything really,” said Mohammed Sadek, a teacher...

DETROIT (WXYZ) - Thousands of people jammed into Cobo Hall and lined up around the building to seek out housing aid from the federal government. It quickly turned into a mess with reports of fights and nearly a stampede. People started lining up around midnight, but the real chaos broke out near the front entrance that leads to the ballroom. Thousands of people jammed into too tight of a space. There were reports of fights and people passing out in the crowd.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2009 – As the U.S. military continues to provide assistance to victims of storms and earthquakes in the Philippines and Indonesia, tsunami relief operations in American Samoa are tapering off, a Defense Department spokesman said here today. The humanitarian-relief operation in American Samoa “is essentially winding down,” Bryan Whitman told reporters. The U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean was hit by an earthquake-caused tsunami Sept. 29. Eleven C-17 cargo-plane missions provided nearly 700,000 pounds of supplies, blankets, electricity generators, vehicles and other help to American Samoans, Whitman said. A 14-member civil-support team from the Hawaii National Guard...

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 5, 2009 – The Hawaii National Guard’s medical mission in American Samoa wrapped up over the weekend, but 14 Guardsmen with the state’s civil support team will remain there to conduct joint hazardous-material and damage assessment operations, Guard officials reported today. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Lisa Bartolome of the Hawaii Air National Guard's 154th Medical Group shows an American Samoan boy how to make a paper airplane at the Congressional Christian Church of American Samoa in the Fafatiua village, Oct. 2, 2009. The Hawaii Air National Guard provided basic medical care to residents after a tsunami struck...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP BUTLER, Japan, Oct. 2, 2009 – The U.S. military is providing critically needed disaster-relief supplies to mitigate suffering and prevent further loss of life in the wake of Tropical Storm Ketsana, which struck the Philippines on Sept. 25. "Marines and sailors are working with the Philippine government to rapidly deliver humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to the areas the Philippine government deems most in need," said Marine Corps Lt. Col. Douglas Powell, spokesman for the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force. U.S. military personnel are delivering relief supplies to remote areas by way of air and ground, providing...

For 11 days in late August and early September 1995, U.S. and NATO air power defended Bosnian Muslims, who were being attacked by Bosnian Serbs, who were supported by Serbian Serbs. This was merely the overture to something much more ambitious — a grand concert of nation-building that began when the Dayton agreement reached in December of that year calmed the Balkan furies of revanchism and revenge, for a while... Political scientists Patrice C. McMahon and Jon Western note that Bosnia was “once the poster child for international reconstruction efforts” and was considered “proof that under the right conditions the...

British diplomats in Khartoum have demanded that the vehicles, computers, office equipment, medical stores and cash be returned so that it can be redistributed. But Sudanese officials have scoffed at this, saying that neither the British government nor the aid agencies have "the right to control these assets". In total, Oxfam and Medecins Sans Frontieres' French and Dutch operations have reported that they lost roughly £3.25 million of equipment. They had also been forced to pay another £5.6 million to Sudanese staff as lay-off payments because of the shutdown. Sudan has demanded the right to redistribute the materials to its...

(IsraelNN.com) The United States is funding a Palestinian Authority project to place non-Hebrew road signs throughout Judea and Samaria. The PA plans to implement it in exclusively Israeli-controlled areas as well. The project is part of American aid “towards the establishment of an independent Palestinian state,” as a top official of USAID (United States Agency for International Development) in the PA, Howard Sumka, told the Al-Hayat Arabic daily.

I am outraged at our government withholding aid from a country that simply was following their constitution in removing a corrupt dictoator who was trying to subvert the rule of law. Freepers, how can we contribute to Honduras as individuals? Is there an organzation like "Americans for a Free Honduras" that we can support and send money to? I'm as tight with finances as anyone in this economy, but I'll give up some small luxuries to support this movement! SARAH PALIN, WE'RE NEEDING YOUR LEADERSHIP HERE, PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!

7/28/2009 - JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq (AFNS) -- Whether Joint Base Balad servicemembers have a wingman or a battle buddy, the ethos of helping a comrade in need arose during a basketball game here July 14. Headed by their coach, Army Sgt.1st Class Anthony Jones of the 699th Maintenance Company, a basketball team compiled of Airmen and Soldiers aided their fellow team member, Army 1st Sgt. Eric Colvin of the 699th Maintenance Co., after he showed heart-attack symptoms during a game at the west side gym. "I knew he had a heart attack years ago," Sergeant Jones said. "Actually, it...

Prime Minister Gillani Petitions Envoy for Drone Technology, Real-Time Data ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 22 -- Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani on Wednesday called on the United States to provide real-time intelligence, unmanned aircraft technology and other military assistance to help his country combat the Taliban without relying on attacks from U.S. drones. Gillani raised the issue with Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke, who is on his fourth visit here since becoming the U.S. envoy to the region, according to a statement from the prime minister's office. Pakistan has asked before for the capability to carry out its own drone strikes,...

WASHINGTON, July 20, 2009 – U.S forces delivered new skills, and hope, to Iraqis in recent training and humanitarian operations, military officials reported. Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, and the 19/5 Military Transition Team recently provided training to their counterparts from 5th Iraqi Army Division’s 19th Brigade. "Our main goal with these events is to provide these medics with the knowledge they need to save lives," said Army Staff Sgt. Patrick Mackey, a transition team medic. "Beyond the actual training, we are coaching the [Iraqi] brigade's medical leadership in planning and implementing brigade-level training." Mackey said the soldiers...

What kinds of assistance should the U.S. provide other nations? A Weekly Poll.

In a gesture of charity, the Canadian government has released the Republic of Haiti of its entire $2.3-million debt to Canada, Jim Flaherty, the finance minister said Thursday. The move, a part of the Canadian Debt Initiative, brings the total debt of impoverished countries cancelled by Canada to $965-million, including debt owed by Latin American and Caribbean nations. "Today’s announcement frees up valuable financial resources that can be better spent on Haiti’s priorities, not its liabilities," Mr. Flaherty said. "At a time of unprecedented hardship in the global economy, Canada continues to eliminate financial burdens faced by Haiti and other...

WASHINGTON, June 15, 2009 – Coalition and Afghan forces detained a suspected Taliban leader and provided medical aid to a wounded civilian in recent operations, military officials said. Afghan and coalition forces captured an area Taliban commander and a suspected associate in a June 13 operation to disrupt Taliban activities in northern Paktika province. The suspect is tied to numerous attacks against coalition forces in the area, military officials said. The wanted Taliban leader was wounded from debris when forces gained entry into the compound, officials said. Medical specialists treated his wounds, and he was evacuated for further medical treatment....

Should the U.S. give aid to Zimbabwe? ($73 million is being discussed) A Daily Poll Still 24 hours remaining to vote in A Weekly Poll. What would the President of Iran do if he acquired a nuclear weapon?

* Aid running at less than 55 percent of amount needed * Palestinian Authority borrows $350 million from banks * PA now close to borrowing limit

Opposition to anti-aid campaigner grows By William Wallis in London Published: May 22 2009 19:54 | Last updated: May 22 2009 19:54 A swell of opposition is building in the aid world to a new protagonist who has thrown down a strident challenge to the rock stars and liberal economists who have long dominated debate over foreign assistance to developing countries. Galled by the ease with which Dambisa Moyo, a Zambian economist and former investment banker, has risen to prominence this year, activists are circulating detailed critiques of her ideas and mass mailing African non-government organisations to mobilise support against...

WASHINGTON: Protestors demonstrating against misuse of American tax-payer dollars briefly disrupted a Senate hearing on US aid to Pakistan on Thursday, but US lawmakers by and large fell in line with the Obama administration's proposal to not legislate exacting conditions on the multi-billion dollar assistance but hold Islamabad to account through executive oversight. Shouting "Say no to a war economy," and "No more blood money," some half-dozen placard-waving demonstrators interrupted a testimony by top ranking US general Mike Mullen. They were evicted quickly even as law-makers agonized about throwing US tax-payer dollars at Pakistan without sufficient benchmarks and accountability. India...

An Iraqi woman receives a bag of food during a joint U.S./Iraqi humanitarian food drop in Firra Shia village, May 17. Photo by Jon Soles, Multi-National Division - Baghdad. BAGHDAD — Iraqi Army (IA) and U.S. Soldiers did their part to help some citizens here during a humanitarian food drop in Firra Shia village, May 17. The joint mission highlighted the use of both American and Iraqi military assets to meet the needs of the community where the Soldiers live and work.First Lt. Michael Neel, 8th Cavalry Regiment, said humanitarian missions show the many facets of the American and Iraqi...

CHAKLALA, Pakistan, May 20, 2009 – The kind of fast-action, humanitarian outreach used this week to help more than a million Pakistanis displaced by war is exactly the type of mission the Air Force’s 3rd Airlift Squadron was glad to take on, airmen in the unit said. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Matt Pease loads a pallet containing humanitarian relief supplies destined for Pakistan into the cargo bay of a C-17 Globemaster III, May 20, 2009, in Southwest Asia. Pease is deployed from the 437th Security Forces Squadron, Charleston Air Force Base, S.C. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt....

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2009 – Two Air Force C-17 airlifters have begun delivering humanitarian aid to internally displaced people in Pakistan’s northwestern provinces, the chief U.S. defense representative said today. U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W. Patterson hands over one of the 120,000 meals destined for displaced people in Pakistan to Lt. Gen. Nadeem Ahmed, coordinator of Pakistan's relief effort, Chaklala Air Base, Pakistan, May 20, 2009. U.S. State Department photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. For Navy Rear Adm. Michael A. Lefevre, who works out of the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, the humanitarian effort to help the...

Unification ministry closes N. Korea aid unit, bolsters intelligence By Kim Hyun SEOUL, May 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's unification ministry on Tuesday closed its bureau on humanitarian aid to North Korea and created a new one to better analyze Pyongyang's internal politics as part of government restructuring. The Cabinet approved the ministry's proposal to shut down its Humanitarian Cooperation Bureau and set up the tentatively-named Political Analysis Bureau, Kim Jung-tae, assistant minister for planning and coordination, said in a press briefing. "The restructuring aims to strengthen the ministry's long-term unification policy and intelligence analysis and merge overlapped low-level units,"...

Unification Ministry to close humanitarian aid unit on North Korea SEOUL, May 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Unification Ministry is set to close its bureau on humanitarian aid to North Korea as part of its restructuring, officials said Monday, a move that mirrors frozen political relations. The restructuring plan, when approved by a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, will shut down the Humanitarian Cooperation Bureau established in late 1996, ministry officials said.

Wading into the politically charged immigration debate, a group of colleges and universities is urging Congress to give illegal immigrants tuition aid and a path to citizenship in light of efforts in several states to block them. The College Board, made up of 5,000 schools and best known for its SAT college admission tests, released a report Tuesday that cites a need for federal legislation that would open up in-state college tuition, financial aid and legal status to many illegal immigrants in the U.S. Speaking publicly on the issue for the first time, the board is making its push after...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, April 14 (UPI) -- The $7.5 billion in aid proposed by U.S. President Barack Obama should be free of conditions, Pakistani officials told visiting Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, met with Pakistani leaders Monday in Islamabad to discuss Pakistan's efforts to combat terrorism, The Hill reported Tuesday. In return for the multiyear aid, Pakistan is being asked to close terrorist camps in tribal regions along its border with Afghanistan and help thwart cross-border attacks by insurgents. "The U.S. should not attach conditionalities to the assistance package being presented to the U.S....

TOKYO: Pakistan's foreign minister said on Wednesday his country can be a role model for the Muslim world, speaking ahead of a donors' meeting in Japan where Islamabad hopes to secure huge aid contributions. "Pakistan has transferred towards democracy," foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said. "And today I represent a democratically elected government of Pakistan." "Pakistan can be a role model of the Muslim world," he told reporters ahead of the meeting that aims to raise four to six billion dollars for the poverty-stricken country. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari arrived in Tokyo Wednesday evening to attend the conference, which...

JACKSON, Miss. — Thanh Nguyen will soon give up the cramped travel trailer that's been her home for more than four years, pack her belongings into an old Toyota Corolla and rely on the kindness of others for a place to live. She has no choice: The government is taking back the trailer. "I'm going to pack everything I have in a car and go to my friends' houses and move on and on until I find something I can afford," the Vietnamese immigrant said through a translator. "It's for however long they allow me to stay." Nguyen is one...

WASHINGTON: The Obama administration plans to propose roughly $2.8 billion in aid for the Pakistani military as a US senate panel holds a full committee hearing on a bill which seeks to triple US economic assistance to Pakistan. The military aid would be in addition to a $7.5 billion aid package which will be reintroduced in the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on Wednesday. A defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told FOX News the military aid will be dedicated exclusively to 'equipping, training, and building infrastructure directly related to counterinsurgency operations.' Gen. David Petraeus, who is...

NEWSMAKER INTERVIEW: Jerusalem's mayor is asking Americans to invest in upgrading his city - one of the poorest in Israel - in a plan he says also will benefit the capital's 270,000 Palestinian Arabs. "I'd like to see the world join forces to save the city of Jerusalem," Nir Barkat told editors and reporters of The Washington Times on Friday. "I told some members of the U.S. administration, 'I think the world just raised $5 billion for Gaza. So you only invest after a war. ... I will prepare the plans anyway because I believe we should invest in Arabs...

BAGHDAD, March 26, 2009 – Iraq soldiers of the 11th Iraqi Army Division and members of the 11th U.S. Military Transition Team delivered much-needed medical supplies to the residents of northeastern Baghdad’s al-Shaab community March 19. This joint humanitarian-aid mission was the first glimpse of government assistance for some residents of this poverty-stricken neighborhood in the Adhamiyah district.  Students at the New Iraq School smile at the sight of Iraqi and coalition forces who were bringing medical supplies to al-Shaab community in northeastern Baghdad, March 19, 2009. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Phillip Adam Turner  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution...

A shipment of U.S. military aid has arrived in Lebanon. Part of a $400 million package deal. Even while Hizbullah continues to have "veto power" over major political decisions in the Lebanese government. New elections are scheduled for Lebanon in June. Iran is pouring in $ millions to aid the political campaigns of Hizbullah. Now what happens to that U.S. military aid, should Hizbullah win? Come June, Hizbullah may be the Lebanese government.

The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) on Monday received a shipment of American military vehicles as part of an aid package agreed upon between the two countries following a 10-day visit to Washington last month by Lebanese Army Commander Jean Kahwaji, The Daily Star Lebanon reported. World The paper reported LAF would also receive the small, unmanned Raven aircraft system to help the army boost border control and fight terrorism. The Raven carries a color electro-optical camera and an infrared camera for night operations but cannot carry weaponry as more advanced unarmed aircrafts do.

A month ago I visited Kibera, the largest slum in Africa. This suburb of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, is home to more than one million people, who eke out a living in an area of about one square mile -- roughly 75% the size of New York's Central Park. It is a sea of aluminum and cardboard shacks that forgotten families call home. The idea of a slum conjures up an image of children playing amidst piles of garbage, with no running water and the rank, rife stench of sewage. Kibera does not disappoint. What is incredibly disappointing is...

Iraqi Police unload sleeping mats during a recent humanitarian assistance mission in the Babil province. Photo by 1st Lt. Matthew Pierce, 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs. CSC SCANIA — The residents of a small village in rural Jawadia of the Babil province received an unexpected surprise recently. In the early morning hours under a hazy, sand-induced overcast sky, local villagers awoke to find Iraqi Police (IP) of the Furat Police Station and Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, pulling into their village with a railcar shipping container in tow.When the smiling IP officers cracked open the...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HUNTER — Iraqi and U.S. Soldiers conducted a joint humanitarian mission to provide medical attention and essential supplies to the citizens of Musharah near Forward Operating Base Hunter on March 8. The 1st and 3rd battalions, of the 41st Iraqi Army Brigade, led the effort with assistance from Soldiers of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. Approximately 210 Iraqi children from the Musharah community in Iraq’s Maysan province benefited from the mission. During the visit, American medics examined the children for everything from routine stuffy noses to a number of complex health problems, which were...

WASHINGTON, March 12, 2009 – Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq is assuming more of a support and advisory role as Iraq moves toward self-sufficiency, a U.S. military official in Iraq said yesterday. “The mission of the Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq is to help the Iraqi government … take vital steps toward ensuring self-sufficiency during the critical transition from coalition- to Iraqi-led operations in support of the [U.S.-Iraq] security agreement,” Navy Capt. William Couch, senior advisor for the Joint Headquarters Advisory Team, told bloggers and online journalists March 10 during a “DoD Live” bloggers roundtable. As the Iraqi government assumes...

Reporting from Sharm El Sheik, Egypt -- The Obama administration intends to spend most of a $900-million Palestinian aid package on support for the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, rather than in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip communities that were badly damaged in the recent weeks-long Israeli offensive, a State Department official said Sunday. Robert A. Wood, the department's chief spokesman, said that about $300 million of the money will be spent on humanitarian relief for Gaza, and the remainder will help offset the Palestinian Authority's budget shortfall and fund its economic development, security and other projects in the West...

Obama is hiking taxes here while giving Palestinians almost $1 billion in aid. Hillary Clinton is set to announce the Obama Administration will give $300 billion in aid to Gaza and another $600 billion in aid to the Palestinian Authority. Are they serious serious? President Obama has already hiked taxes on cigarettes. He is planning large tax increases on businesses and the "rich." Even with tax hikes the there will be a $1.75 trillion deficit. President Obama needs to remember he was voted in y Americans, not Palestinians.

TEL AVIV, Israel – Israel's Defense Ministry is reportedly worried President Obama will scale back military aid to Israel to protest continued Jewish construction in the biblical West Bank

A US congressman plans to brief fellow members of Congress and the Obama administration about his recent trip to Gaza, saying the US should pressure Israel regarding border closures and reassess its military support for the Jewish state. Slideshow: Pictures of the week Rep. Brian Baird, a Democrat from Washington state, visited Gaza last week with fellow Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota and was struck by "the level of destruction, the scope of it, specifically the civilian targets - schools, hospitals, industry." Baird also said Israel had "apparently willfully destroyed any capacity of the Palestinians to rebuild their own...

see link posted below

NCHORAGE, Alaska -- Gov. Sarah Palin has a long fix-it list to review after her visit to two western Alaska villages Friday. Palin and Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell tagged along with Christian evangelist Franklin Graham and his emergency relief group Samaritan's Purse at they brought food into the communities of Marshall and Russian Mission. On the trip Palin told the assembled crowds that she wanted to remind them she worked for them, that they hired her and she wanted to hear what she can do to serve them better. In smaller meetings with community leaders Palin heard how the villages...

One in five Los Angeles County residents -- nearly 2.2 million people -- are receiving public assistance payments or benefits, a level county officials say will rise significantly over the coming months as the fallout from the recession continues. The percentage of people on county aid already equals the figure at the height of the 2001-03 recession and far exceeds the one in seven who needed help during the economic downturn in the early 1990s and the one in nine assisted in the collapse of the early 1980s.

UNITED States Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney assured Cebu City officials and the youth sector of the US Government’s support for clean air initiatives, through a $73-million assistance for energy and environment-related projects. Kenney said yesterday that Cebu will benefit from the US’ assistance, which the Philippine and US governments signed earlier this month. The financial aid will be used for clean air programs, and will fund projects or initiatives to help public utility vehicle drivers use cleaner fuel, start solar power generation and rural electrification... (snip) ...For their part, the students committed to Kenney that they would help...

A reporter from World Net Daily (WND) has claimed that the New Media Journal and Canada Free Press were incorrect in reporting that President Barack Obama recently issued a presidential determination to allocate $20.3 million from the U.S. Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Act to enable refugees from the conflict in Gaza to relocate in the United States. The rejoinder, penned by Aaron Klein, appeared as WND's lead story on Sunday, February 15. It took to task the statement that the $20.3 million would be used to relocate thousands of HAMAS supporters to the United State. Mr. Klein insisted that...