Bush administration announces plan to help Africa (provide about 250,000 scholarships for girls)

AP ^ | 06/21/02 | AP

[WakeUpChristian]

WASHINGTON (AP) --Renewing its focus on Africa, the Bush administration on Friday outlined a plan to pump millions of dollars into helping the continent with health care and economic development.

President Bush will present these ideas to the world's top industrialized nations next week at the Group of Eight summit in Kananaskis, British Columbia. White House aides hope the presidential rollout will project a more compassionate image and silence critics who say the United States is doing too little to help the world's poor.

[WakeUpChristian]

How about 250,000 scholarships for American girls ?

[Sir Gawain]

This should be a fun thread.

[varina davis]

How about 250,000 scholarships for American girls ?

Now THAT"S a thought. Better yet, how about letting American taxpayers keep most of their hard-earned money?

[July 4th]

Good idea. But how about for men too? I'm a white, middle-class law student who will be up to my eyeballs in debt when I graduate. People of "my status" don't have any particular propensity for getting scholarships or extra financial aid. But some terrorist's daughter in the Sudan will be going to school on the American taxpayer.

[Shermy]

"...additional $500 million over three years to reduce mother-to-child AIDS transmission in sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean."

Why not spend a fifth that amount on education and prevention? It would be more effective. And I don't believe the figures.

What is apparent is that the "mommy" factor has only one cure - expensive medicines. This is a subsidy to the American drug companies. Who, no doubt, will earn extra bucks running the program. A deceitful whirlpool of waste and inefficieny, greed masquerading as charity.

[WakeUpChristian]

Tuesday, June 18, 2002 - Web posted at 12:09:41 pm GMT

US$140 billion lost to corruption in Africa

ADDIS ABABA - Corruption has cost Africa at least US$140 billion, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo revealed on Thursday.

He said his country alone had spent millions of dollars trying to recover money illegally spirited away by corrupt former leaders.

"Imagine what that can do for Africa today," he told a conference in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. "That is a lot of money."

His comments related to the late former Nigerian leader, Sani Abacha, who plundered more than US$2 billion from the West African country.

Obasanjo argued that international conventions were needed to help stop the flow of illegal funds from African countries into foreign banks abroad.

He said countries and banks where illegal funds had been hidden were just as guilty as the corrupt African leaders who had stolen the money.

The president, who has been in power for three years, also said the continent should aim to eradicate all wars and conflicts within 10 years.

He said the targets should be achieved through the soon-to-be-launched African Union (AU) and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad).

Obasanjo, a former general in the Nigerian army, also said poverty must be slashed, and life expectancy dramatically increased within a time scale of 10 years.

"We talk of peace and absence of conflict as the foundations of whatever else we want to do. If 10 years from now the war that blights the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola and Sudan is [over, leaving them] peaceful, then they will have achieved a major success," he added.

Obasanjo added that poverty must be reduced by 50 per cent - although he said they could achieve more than that - and illiteracy in Africa be cut to less that 10 per cent.

"These are some of the key areas," he told a meeting at the United Nations Conference Centre. "That is how you will judge our success."

He said for those targets to be met, there must be investment - both domestic and foreign. "They are obtainable. They are not impossible objectives."

Obasanjo said although democratisation in Africa had been affected by the fall of communism and pressure from foreign donors, much of the initial push had come from civil society.

"The reality, however, is that it was the resourcefulness, dedication and tenacity of the continent’s nascent civil society organisations that initiated and sustained the process of democratic opening and political liberalisation," he said.

"There may have been encouragement and support from outside, but surely the spark came from inside."

He called on civil society organisations to keep up the pressure until poverty, bad governance, disease and conflict had been stamped out. "Until that happens, their work and that of national governments remains incomplete," he warned. - Irin

[Irin is the humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations.]

[Denver Ditdat]

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over?

I keep expecting Allen Funt to jump out of hiding and tell conservatives that we've just been had, that all this frantic spending is only a joke to elicit our shocked and outraged reations for the camera. The audience would then enjoy a good belly laugh at our expense, and we'd return to our normal routine with a sheepish grin.

OK, Allen, you can come out any time. Allen? Allen??

[Jolly Rodgers]

Thank God we've got a conservative republican in office, or we might get stuck paying for a massive socialist income redistribution scheme to third world nations. Doh! That's what we got anyway.

Don't blame me -- I voted for Harry Browne because I didn't want to waste my vote.

[Bella]

How about 250,000 scholarships for American girls ?

Exactly..Try writing him about this and ask him about the citizens, male or female, getting some scholarships here that need them. Good luck!

[Let's Roll]

When I first saw the headline I thought it was a joke. This spending spree of dubya's reminds me of the night that goron and Bill Bradley tried to out pander each other at the Apollo Theatre during the primaries. ENUF!

[browardchad]

I keep expecting Allen Funt to jump out of hiding and tell conservatives that we've just been had, that all this frantic spending is only a joke to elicit our shocked and outraged reations for the camera.

LOL! It's more like shellshock -- the other morning when I saw Bush gave a speech at some fitness event thingy on the White House lawn, seriously expecting him to announce a Government subsidy for weight loss, or a proposal that HMO's cover health club membership...

[glc1173@aol.com]

Aren't there 250,000 American girls Jorge Bush could give scholarships to?

Jorge Bush is more concerned with helping foreigners than with helping Americans. This is the second time in a week; first it was hundreds of millions to help stop AIDS in Africa. He'd rather tax the families of the American girls and the American AIDS victims to pay for subsidies to ones in Africa.

Jorge Bush doesn't deserve reelection.

[Sabertooth]

Renewing its focus on Africa, the Bush administration on Friday outlined a plan to pump millions of dollars into helping the continent with health care and economic development.

President Bush will present these ideas to the world's top industrialized nations next week at the Group of Eight summit in Kananaskis, British Columbia. White House aides hope the presidential rollout will project a more compassionate image and silence critics who say the United States is doing too little to help the world's poor.

Well, I'm glad the President is following the Constitution this time, and discussing the proposal with foreign leaders before spending our money for us.

Whatever we do, we must silence the critics! Spend! Spend!

[Sabertooth]

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-South Dakota, agreed that the president's intentions toward Africa are promising, but slow. For example, he said, nearly half the AIDS funding -- $200 million -- has already been approved by Congress, and Bush does not offer any new resources until 2004.

The United Nations estimates more than 1.1 million babies could be infected with the AIDS virus over that time, Daschle said. He said that means Bush's proposal would prevent only 146,000 infections in five years.

"These resources are welcome, but I cannot help but feel that we have missed a tremendous opportunity," Daschle said. "While we wait to dedicate the resources necessary to fight this battle, we make our eventual victory against this threat harder, and more costly."

So much for outpandering the Democrats.

[Torie]

200 million is nothing. Find something important to talk about. Maybe it is wasted money, but Africa is such a basket case. I don't begrudge this toss of pocket change into the tip basket.

[Sabertooth]

200 million is nothing. Find something important to talk about. Maybe it is wasted money, but Africa is such a basket case. I don't begrudge this toss of pocket change into the tip basket.

Hey, if you wanna toss your $200 mil, more power to you.

[sarasmom]

200 million dollars is nothing????

Where do you think the money comes from?

I hope you are being sarcastic, but just in case you are not,I respectfully remind you that the "money" comes directly from MY pocket and people like me.

Why are we paying for foreign aid, while our federal government claims they have no money to actually secure the borders of the USA? The priorities of the government of USA must be re-evaluated.

[GuillermoX]

Dumbya knows that this money will all be wasted, straight into the pockets of corrupt politicians and generals...but he is so stupid that he doesn't know that he knows.