If Americans Knew?

[Faris_Mee]

Hang on a minute, what about all the millions that have gone the other way, or all the money raised in America, Canada, the UK and other western nations to help those affected by the Tsunami? Uk govt gave £75m, while the UK public raised £450m, all this to help mainly muslim countries. Thats not including the billions we give out in aid to other countries every year.


How about for once charity is seen as just that, good people ignoring their immediate differences to help others in trouble, instead of being used to score political points?

Point taken. However...


Money from the West rarely trickles down to the people. It stops way up the food chain and usually finds it way into the pockets of the authorities. The rest generally goes towards "crowd control". If you catch a taxi round Cairo you'll soon see that police outnumber the light-bulbs on the lamp-posts.


Money taken from the mouths of the destitute in the muslim lands and forwarded to the US comes back as bullets and depleted uranium. Ah...DU - the gift that keeps on giving. Hosni alone pulls in something close to $4 billion each year from the US for 'crowd-control Relief'.


And that's charity on-going, year after year.

[Muslimah]

Bismillah


Jazakum Allah khairan Faris for this precise explantion u saved my fingers much typing.


However, arc, if u re read my post, you will see a point about two americans who refused to work for USAID which has a hidden agenda. Much aid is coming for the west towards this part of the world yes, but is it only for charity purpose? to enforce and secure a stronger position? this remains a good and valid question.


We have nothing against charity arc for the purpose of charity of course never. But when the people are struggling every day to make basic needs met, this raises a concern. Go back and look at the pics Faris posted on public transortation which dont come near anything to cater for humans here in Egypt. And how many people can afford an L.E 8 trip, not many I assure u.


It is a long complicated mutlifaceted issue arc really it is.

[Faris_Mee]

With all the 'aid' that flows into the third world countries one would expect to see them eclipsing the west. Why not? Because the aid is doing what it is intended for. Propping up regimes that bow-down to amerika.


Nowhere in the world do you see more police and army than in Cairo. If these guys were employed to clean the streets of rubbish instead of cleaning the streets of anyone who gives the finger to Hosni or King George then Cairo would be truly beautiful 'outwardly' as well as inwardly.


But all you hear is the west calling for regime change if those in power don't bow down to them in a subserviant role. Palestine is a classic example. Hamas won the DEMOCRACY elections fair and square. HAMAS are not "on the take". ;)


Amerika is now agitating towards regime change in Iran. Why? Because that little guy in the jacket and no tie beat King George's mates in the DEMOCRACY elections. They were "on the take" ;) and he's not. Same with that man in south amerika. How many elections has he had to win now? And still amerika is pushing to oust him. Why? He's not "on the take". ;)

[Muslimah]

Bismillah


what is even more important regarding the aid issue, is that it is somehow or the other sourced again into US bucket. Leave alone that it is sort of targetted towards certain domains, I m not talking out of theory, I worked with these projects and still linked in a way. For example, NGOs seeking funding are usually compelled to operate in certain areas of development where the fund is directed. The free choice is not there. Thus, the whole idea of aid is not but a tool to enfoce more control. what is in fashion now is democracy, advocacy, human rights but from their own perspective if u see what i mean.

[arclight]

That £450m donated by the public wasn't given to any goverment organisation. It was all givent to charities which didn't just hand over the cash to any governments. It was used to buy food, tools and materials to rebuild.


And I'm not sure how you can blame the west for a poor public transport system or, if any, what gain the US could get from it

[Muslimah]

Bismillah


Arclight, I m not blaming the West for our poor system of transortation. I m just merely bringing facts that are proved and there. I m not discussing a situation per se, but rather the issue of aid on a more global viewpoint.


It even has more than this, if u come accross Congress sessions proceedings by any means, u will read how congressmen on and on request the cutting of aid unless Hosni does this or abide by that. I think now u can realize that this aid is nothing but a tool to enforce control.

[Faris_Mee]

This is the reality of the West's hand in the world...


<b>Bush Praises Muslim Ally</b>


President hosts leader of Azerbaijan, an oil-rich nation with a spotty human rights record.


By James Gerstenzang, L.A. Times Staff Writer, April 29, 2006


WASHINGTON — President Bush praised Azerbaijan's president Friday despite human rights problems documented by the State Department, and said the country had a "very important role to play" in meeting global energy needs.


With Aliyev sitting in an armchair next to him, Bush held out Azerbaijan as "a modern Muslim country that is able to provide for its citizens, that understands that democracy is the wave of the future."


The meeting reflected the difficulty the administration faces as it seeks to maintain U.S. access to oil and gas supplies from countries that may be unstable or unreliable, often because of corruption or human rights abuses.


A year ago, Azerbaijan celebrated the opening of an 1,100-mile pipeline from its capital, Baku, on the Caspian Sea, that runs through Georgia to a Turkish port on the Mediterranean. The event was important enough to the U.S. that Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman attended.


The pipeline created a link that bypasses Iran, Russia and neighboring Armenia, and it is expected to carry 1 million barrels of oil a day to Western markets by 2008.


Bush expressed his appreciation to Aliyev several times, thanking him for support in the war in Iraq and for his help in achieving "what we all want, which is energy security."


Aliyev, speaking English, said his three-day U.S. visit would be important in developing Azerbaijan as "a modern, secular, democratic country. He said his nation shared "the same values" as the United States.


Aliyev responded with a broad grin when Bush, at the end of a photo session that concluded their meeting, added a word of congratulations. Bush noted the wedding this weekend of Aliyev's daughter.


"It's a major sacrifice for the president to be here during the planning phases of the wedding," Bush said. "And we wish you and the first lady all the best, and more importantly, we wish your daughter all the best."


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...headlines-world


You see Democracy is sometimes acceptable in foreign lands, but if and only if it is consistent with US strategic and economic interests.


Robert Pastor, President Carter’s national security advisor for Latin America explained Amerika's religious doctrine very precisely;


"The United States did not want to control Nicaragua or the other nations of the region, but it also did not want developments to get out of control. It wanted Nicaraguans to act independently, except when doing so would affect U.S. interests adversely."


Similar dilemmas faced Bush administration planners after their invasion of Iraq. They want Iraqis "to act independently, except when doing so would affect U.S. interests adversely." Iraq must therefore be sovereign and democratic, but within limits. It must somehow be constructed as an obedient client state, much in the manner of the traditional order in Central America.


Amerika has proven time and time again it does not want true democracy anywhere. Central Amerika is testament to that. And now the middle east and central asia is in the spotlight. Their on-going "democracy enhancement" programs are a charade to control the world just like the nations before them.

[Curious Christian]

Does the West have to give money at all to any countries???


http://www.heritage.org/Research/TradeandF...gnAid/wm630.cfm


American Generosity is Underappreciated


by Brett D. Schaefer


December 30, 2004


The tragic loss of life from the earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean now exceeds 100,000 and may eventually double that, due to disease, civil unrest, and other factors. In response, the United States and other nations have pledged millions of dollars in humanitarian assistance to aid the survivors and assist affected nations in recovering from the disaster. Unfortunately, some in the international aid business cannot seem to shake their reflexive criticism of America despite ample evidence of its generosity.


The U.S. government initially announced that it would provide $15 million in humanitarian aid and send experts to help affected nations recover. Jan Egeland, U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, criticized the U.S. commitment as “stingy” despite the fact that the U.S. pledge far exceeded those of all European nations. He quickly apologized and said that he did not mean to single out the United States, but the transcript of his comments clearly identifies the U.S. as the primary target.


Rhetoric vs. Reality


Mr. Egelund’s criticism was based on his belief that America is not providing enough development assistance—specifically, aid as a percentage of its gross national income (GNI). According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the U.S. is dead last in aid as a percent of GNI at 0.15 percent.[1] Mr. Egelund’s native country of Norway has a ratio of 0.92 percent. There are several problems with this approach:


Actual dollar contributions reveal that the U.S. is the world’s largest donor. The OECD calculates U.S. development assistance (based on bilateral assistance, humanitarian assistance, and contributions to multilateral institutions like the International Development Association of the World Bank) in 2003 at $16.2 billion—more than double the amount given by France, Germany, or any other European nation.[2] Japan is second at $8.9 billion.


Private aid is ignored. These numbers do not include private assistance. This is not a major factor for most other nations because private charity is not large in most countries. It is a gigantic oversight when calculating America’s aid ratio, however, because the U.S. Agency for International Development estimated that <b>private assistance was $33.6 billion in 2000</b>.[3] Therefore, the calculations upon which Egelund based his criticism severely shortchange the generosity of the United States.


It demonstrates an inappropriate focus on inputs rather than outputs. Development assistance should help recipients develop, but the evidence demonstrates that many recipient nations are actually becoming poorer. This is particularly true for sub-Saharan Africa, which is the region of the world most desperately in need of development. Despite hundreds of billions in development assistance, sub-Saharan Africa has performed dismally. Of the 45 sub-Saharan African countries for which per capita GDP data are available from 1980 to 2002, most experienced zero or negative compound annual growth in real per capita GDP (constant 1995 U.S. dollars).[4] Sub-Saharan Africa as a region saw a decline in per capita GDP from $660 in 1980 to $577 in 2002 (in constant terms).[5] Instead of focusing on the amount of assistance, donors should focus on maximizing results through economic freedom, bolstering the rule of law, and adopting strong institutions. Foreign aid cannot replace domestic will to adopt good policies, without which long-term development is impossible.


America’s central role in humanitarian efforts is ignored. Egeland’s criticism becomes patently ridiculous after an examination of U.S. assistance for disaster and humanitarian relief—the type of aid needed in the Indian Ocean. Data from the OECD reveal that the U.S. gave nearly $2.5 billion in emergency and distress relief in 2003.[6] All other countries combined gave $3.4 billion, including $475 million from France and $350 million from Norway. Moreover, the U.S. contributed nearly 70 percent of all food assistance.


America is a key donor to U.N. relief organizations. The United States is a major donor to international relief organizations, including the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which Egelund oversees, to which the U.S. is second largest donor (nearly 14 percent in 2003).[7] America is the largest contributor to the U.N. budget at 22 percent, or $317 million, in 2004. It gives over 56 percent of the World Food Program budget and $72 million and $94 million to the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization, respectively.[8]


Conclusion


The United States is the world’s largest source of humanitarian aid. By nature, humanitarian aid must be tailored to individual crises: Every single famine, earthquake, flood, or other disaster is unique and requires different types of aid and different strategies. As death tolls climbed in the wake of the disaster in Southeast Asia and the needs of the survivors became clearer, the United States upped its humanitarian aid commitments to the region to $35 million, and expectations are that total U.S. contributions will continue to increase.


Criticisms of America’s generosity, such as those made by Egeland, fly in the face of reality. International aid experts do their organizations no credit to criticize American largess—especially since following through on their good intentions would be impossible without it.

[Faris_Mee]

This thread it not a gripe directed to the West to "give, give, give more' etc. The opposite in fact. The muslims have deserted their religion, or to put it more subtly...gone astray. We know the Law. But like an ostrich, if one sticks ones head in the sand...


We know the following is an oft-repeated commandment so that there can be no mis-understanding;


<b>O believers! Take neither Jews nor Christians as your protecting friends: they are only protecting friends of one another. Whoever of you disobeys this commandment will be counted as one of them. Surely Allah does not guide the wrongdoers.</b> 5:51


Yet we do take you as our protectors. helpers and advisers. And we have abandoned our religion for the sparkle and glitter of the life of this world. But we're muslims, and like the Jews before us it ain't that easy;


<b>But the one who will turn away from My reminder shall live a meager life and We shall raise him back to life as a blind person on the Day of Resurrection.</b> 20:124


So the muslims are wallowing in abject humiliation and eeking out a meagher life. Many are still reaching for the mirage of the illusion of this life.


<b>Whatever benefit comes to you O people, it is by Allah's grace; and whatever loss you suffer, it is the result of your own doings. We have sent you, O Muhammad, as a Rasool to mankind. Allah is your All-Sufficient Witness.</b> 4:79


However the tide is showing signs of ebbing. The disasters are getting bigger so as to alert the muslims to wake up. and many are now realising this fact. Alhamdulillah.


<b>...The fact is that Allah never changes the condition of a people until they intend to change it themselves. If Allah wants to afflict a people with misfortune, none can ward it off, nor they can find any protector besides Him.</b> 13:11


Once upon a time you could walk the streets of Cairo for weeks on end and not see a scarf. Now the only bare heads are the copts. That's why they're squealing. They can see Islam rising from the ashes before their very eyes.


And all praise belongs to Allah Most Gracious Most Merciful.

[Muslimah]

Bismillah


Once upon a time you could walk the streets of Cairo for weeks on end and not see a scarf. Now the only bare heads are the copts. That's why they're squealing. They can see Islam rising from the ashes before their very eyes.


And all praise belongs to Allah Most Gracious Most Merciful.





as salam alykom


This is very true Faris, I have more to say on this particular point, but I will save it for another thread Insh aAllah in order to stay on topic.