This is sickening - does anyone here support this?

[RIJIMMY]

Cons or Lib, does anyone support this? WTF. THESE ARE THE BUDGET CUTS WE SHOULD BE MAKING !!!!!!!

Washington (CNN) -- The United States is giving an additional $150 million in direct assistance to the Palestinian Authority, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Wednesday.

The funds will help the Palestinians close a huge budget gap, Clinton said.

"This figure underscores the strong determination of the American people and this administration to stand with our Palestinian friends, even during difficult economic times as we have here at home," she told reporters at a press briefing.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who appeared at the briefing via a remote video conference from Ramallah, thanked Clinton for the assistance, saying, "The timeliness could not be better."

Clinton said the announcement brings the total of U.S. direct budget assistance to the Palestinian Authority to $225 million this year. With the inclusion of money for security, water, health care, education, and other services, the overall American investment to the Palestinians this year totals nearly $600 million, she said.

[JohnnyD]

When the homeland is perfect, then we can help those abroad. Just like I will never donate to those in Africa (aside from my belief that it's the most corrupt place and probably goes straight to the gangs) because there are millions here that are in need of help *and* deserving of that help.

In my opinion, what the US donates to Palestinians is merely a thinly veiled attempt at trying to win over the Muslim population so that we can be more aggressive with countries like Iran, more welcome to conduct bombings in Pakistan and maintain the thin relations the we have with other countries in the Middle East.

For comparison's sake: $225M is the equivalent of paying 4500 people a $50k/year salary, not including benefits.

[RIJIMMY]

I know it would never slide, but wouldnt it be great if there was a section on your taxes where you can select where you want discretionary money to go?

[Raven]

i'd rather there was 600 new millionaires in America each given the money based on the fact that their "product" in entrepreneur development will help the country (usa) in some way.

[striperman36]

How much do we give Israel and Eygpt?

Israel - $2.70 billion

Eygpt - 1.6 billion

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by striperman36

How much do we give Israel and Eygpt?

Fresh off the wire:
US to boost military aid to Israel
"The fresh aid package will bring the value of American military equipment stockpiled in Israel to $1.2 billion by 2012. "

And that's just military aid. Israel is a cancer to our foreign relations.

[striperman36]

they all are both sides. Let figure it out.

Get the gladiators!!

[Raven]

you try and argue about helping each individual state
and some are more needy than others like Rhode island for example

and they cry foul
your a friggan isolationist

[striperman36]

Originally Posted by Raven

you try and argue about helping each individual state
and some are more needy than others like Rhode island for example

and they cry foul
your a friggan isolationist

Alabama
Arkansas

Western MA

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by Raven

you try and argue about helping each individual state
and some are more needy than others like Rhode island for example

and they cry foul
your a friggan isolationist

From the few people I know that own businesses in RI, it's more oppressive of a state to run a business in than MA is.

[scottw]

[QUOTE=RIJIMMY;810109]Cons or Lib, does anyone support this?
Washington (CNN) -- The United States is giving an additional $150 million in direct assistance to the Palestinian Authority, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Wednesday.

yes...think of all the shiny new rockets it will buy

I like this...
Simple solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel is a tiny country. Jordan and Egypt, two "moderate" Arab countries are rather large by comparison. So if Egypt is truly concerned about plight of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip refugee camps, it can give land twice that size within it's own borders to the people in those camps. Israel then can have the area of the Gaza Strip as its own. Jordan could likewise give land twice the size of the West Bank to the people now living in the West Bank. Israel would then take over the West Bank. This would leave Israel with more defensible borders, and the people now in the Gaza Strip and West Bank with twice the land they have now, and an eternal debt of gratitude for the benevolent acts of the good people and leaders of Egypt and Jordan. The second part of this is that the Muslim world, including Indonesia, could band together to create a construction fund to cover the cost of beautiful new homes, hospitals, schools, etc, at no charge to the residents of those areas. With these new areas within the countries of Egypt and Jordan, there would be no barbed wire around them, no walls, and no Israeli checkpoints unless they went into Israel for work. Voila. Better living conditions, more space, and more freedom, all solved by the Muslim community and their bond of brotherhood. Nothing else is working, so it's time for a radical new proposal, and unless both Egypt and Israel, and in fact the whole Muslim world, is unwilling to help those poor people for whom they cry there is no reason this shouldn't work. There will be no need for the U.S. to contribute a dime to this because there will be such an outpouring of assistance from Muslims around the world to finance this solution to this problem.