Free Republic

With each passing day, more compromising of national security, self-serving and self-enriching behaviors, frauds, scams and general malfeasance on the part of Hillary Clinton come to light via new Wikileaks data dumps. But the news media’s obsession with things Donald Trump has said consistently overshadows things Hillary Clinton has actually done. Revelations have now surfaced that Clinton backed the Puerto Rico Debt Relief Bill, a plan to help the financially struggling U.S. commonwealth deal with a $70 billion debt it managed to rack up, after a top Clinton fundraiser –who just happens to be a lobbyist for the Puerto Rican...

Puerto Rico's governor pressured Congress on Thursday in a last-ditch effort to win debt relief for his territory before the end of the year, warning that the island is headed toward a "humanitarian crisis under the United States flag." Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla lobbied lawmakers to oppose a massive year-end spending bill that fails to include the debt restructuring that Puerto Rico is seeking. In an interview with The Associated Press, he said Congress must act soon and he was hoping negotiators would change the bill, a step Republican leadership has ruled out. ...

President Barack Obama will unveil an economic aid program for Egypt and Tunisia on Thursday as part of a broad effort to support democratic reform in the Middle East and North Africa, U.S. officials said. Senior advisers to Obama, previewing parts of his speech, said Wednesday the United States would offer debt relief totaling roughly $1 billion "over a few years" to Egypt through a debt swap mechanism that would invest the money to boost youth employment and support entrepreneurs. Washington would also loan or guarantee loans up to a total of $1 billion through the Overseas Private Investment Corp...

IN two short visits to New York last year the leader of one of Africa’s poorest countries spent $400,000 (£207,000) on hotel bills as members of his entourage drank Cristal champagne and charged tens of thousands of dollars of room service to accounts paid by the Republic of Congo’s mission to the United Nations. Detailed hotel bills obtained by The Sunday Times showed that a Waldorf Astoria suite occupied by Congo President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, chairman of the African Union, recorded £12,000 of room service charges during a five-night stay last April that cost his country £73,000. When he returned to...

Wolfowitz Wavers on Debt-Relief Plan World Bank's Financial Viability Cited By Paul Blustein Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, September 23, 2005; Page D05 Paul D. Wolfowitz, president of the World Bank, voiced concern yesterday about a plan unveiled amid much fanfare this summer to cancel the debts of the world's poorest nations, saying it could weaken the bank's finances.

I am Andrew Mwenda. I host this live radio show five times a week. I am particularly interested in the topic for this evening: The role of foreign aid in Africa. When British Prime Minister Tony Blair set up his commission for Africa, to find new solutions to solve problems on the continent, I was hopeful that it would breathe fresh ideas into the debate on Africa. I was disappointed. The commission came up with the same old failing mantras of doubling aid, canceling debt, and removing agricultural subsidies in the West. They're ignoring the reality! For the last forty...

...Mr. Bush said the U.S. would "absolutely" drop its system of farm subsidies if the European Union eliminated its $40 billion a year Common Agricultural Policy. Now, that's a radical idea. It certainly trumps the calls by British Prime Minister Tony Blair and others to double official development aid to sub-Saharan Africa or to forgive more debt. Getting rid of U.S. and EU farm subsidies -- and the protectionism they entail -- would do far more to address what liberals like to call a "root cause" of poverty. Too many African exports, particularly farm commodities, are kept out of Western...

The ONE Campaign: An Advocacy Letter From Rick Warren The text of a letter, signed by high-profile evangelicals, challenging Pres. Bush to change U.S. policy toward the poor. Dear Co-worker in Christ, I have a simple request -- but it could determine whether millions live or die. You've probably read in the papers about "The ONE Campaign: To Make Poverty History" that's been endorsed by a wide coalition of folks from all across the faith and political spectrum. Helping the hurting is something we all want to do. I've never been involved in partisan politics--and don't intend to do so...

NPR.org, April 2, 2005 · "Tip O'Neill was correct," says Father Tom Reese, editor in chief of America, the Catholic weekly magazine. "All politics is local... even in the Catholic Church." Reese suggests that instead of focusing on the possible papal candidates as a bookie would look at horses in the starting gate, try to think about the election from the point of view of the electors, the cardinals who cast the votes. "Each cardinal is thinking, how will this candidate go over in my diocese?" Reese says. "If you're from the Third World, you're concerned with people who are...

London, TX -- Finance ministers from the Group of Seven industrial nations said Saturday they were willing to provide up to 100 percent debt relief to the world's poorest nations, but insisted that developing countries ensure the money would be spent wisely. Britain's Treasury chief Gordon Brown said at the close of the G-7 summit in London that debt relief would be "agreed on a case-by-case basis." He said discussions would continue on financing mechanisms to increase overseas development assistance. At its April meeting, the International Monetary Fund would examine a proposal to re-evaluate its gold supplies to finance debt...