Big spending seen as go-it-alone plan: U.S. Criticized for Unilateral War Against AIDS

page A1 of the Boston Globe ^ | 1/30/2003 | John Donnelly

[rface]

WASHINGTON - President Bush's new $15 billion initiative to fight AIDS globally includes the largest amount ever, American or otherwise, devoted to treatment of those infected with the disease in the poor world, US officials said yesterday.

But activists said the proposal also suggests that the United States wants to act unilaterally and does not trust global coalitions.

[rface]

nothing will ever make them happy...

Ashland, Missouri

[the_Watchman]

Take names! Spend accordingly.

[Monti Cello]

Good grief -- I thought this was from the Onion.

[Right_in_Virginia]

But the president's initiative would put 90 percent of the money into projects directly administered by US agencies...

Well of all the nerve! The United States wants to direct where its 15 billion dollars go.

Geeze, what ungrateful morons.

[ilgipper]

i seriously thought this was going to be a spoof on the idiocy about unilateral actions in Iraq

[Wphile]

Unfrickin' believable! W proposes billions in AIDS funding and they yap that the US is acting unilaterally! Man, these people are really annoying!

[HamiltonJay]

Liberals... for years we aren't doing enough, now we're doing too much.... gonna hate America no matter what, so who cares what they think.

[FeliciaCat]

No matter how much the USA does or spends for other countries, for these ungrateful socialist idiots, NOTHING will ever be enough.

Whats WRONG with being unilateral?????

[rface]

I did add to the title - but the addition is not misleading, it is accurate

[Timocrat]

But activists said the proposal also suggests that the United States wants to act unilaterally and does not trust global coalitions.

One can only hope.

I also thought this was a spoof. No further proof is required that the lunatics are in charge of the asylum

[Wright is right!]

"nothing will ever make them happy..."

It isn't possible to make miserable people happy, and these groups are larded with the miserable.

BUT - what they're REALLY upset about is that none of the funding will pass thru THEIR groups, where it would be rapidly siphoned off for cars, jet travel, expensive office space and personnel funds to hire more miserable liberals to perpetuate their little fiefdom.

THAT'S what they're upset about. They're been BYPASSED.

Michael

[Wright is right!]

"Unfrickin' believable! W proposes billions in AIDS funding and they yap that the US is acting unilaterally!"

Hell hath no fury like an activist BYPASSED. W proposed spending money on the problem, not on perpetuating their organizations which soak up funds instead of distributing them. Many of those organizations are similar in nature to the many dubious "charities" that spend 80 or 90% of what they raise on themselves and only 10% on "the cause."

Michael

[Spruce]

So if I were to live my life the way these boneheads want, I would have to check with my neighbors before my wife and I went shopping to ensure I wasn't acting "Unilaterally".

[Wphile]

Right you are!

[Billthedrill]

The trick for the United States is that if it wants to leverage its money and get the world to spend $10 to $12 billion a year on AIDS, you can't do it unilaterally.

Oh, but you can. The real "trick" here is that more of the money earmarked actually gets to the targeted recipients because the additional layers of administration inherent in running these through multilateral organizations are bypassed. There are some bureaucrats in New York and Geneva who may have to make do with last year's Mercedes model, durn it. It just ain't faaaaaair!

This is nothing new. One reason U.S. foreign aid is consistently underestimated is that much of it consists of shipping food directly from producer to recipient, bypassing the numerous international agencies who would be more than happy to help distribute it - and take a little cut of the action, AND make sure that the ones receiving it are politically acceptable. So when a Patty Murray can simper "we haven't done that" what she means is "I didn't get to interfere." That is, after all, what they do best.

[RamingtonStall]

Perhaps if we agree to funnel the 15 Billion Dollars through some responsible group, like say, the Rainbow Coalition, they would find it in their hearts to forgive us!

The problem is that Jesse needs to get his 10%.

RamS

[Only1choice____Freedom]

OK, lets get some other country to help us pay.
France? Germany? Russia? China?
Any takers? I didn't think so.
How about asking the left to contribute?
Too busy protesting the war huh?
Too busy stopping free enterprise?
Too busy preventing us from efficiently creating the technology that keeps the WORLD as healthy as they are now!