Day: February 28, 2024

Africa–“We Are Here To Help”

The Great War on Terror!

The ‘Dark Continent’…..after 9/11 the US started go around the world make others line up for a great War on Terrorism…..another of those waste of money like that multi-generational waste known as the War on Drugs.

Africa was no different the US started throwing money and manpower at the countries in Africa….

Throwing money?

Yes to the tune of a trillion dollars…..The State Department provides nearly $280 million of funding for Africa counterterrorism efforts each year. Additionally, the Department of Defense spends at least $500 million a year for counterterrorism efforts in the area.

What was the result of our money spent on this War on Terror?

I wrote about the situation in Africa a couple of months ago….

Is Africa A Failure?

But if you are too busy or lazy to check it out I will go on….

Deaths from terrorism in Africa have skyrocketed more than 100,000 percent during the U.S. war on terror according to a new study by Africa Center for Strategic Studies, a Pentagon research institution. These findings contradict claims by U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) that it is thwarting terrorist threats on the continent and promoting security and stability.

Throughout all of Africa, the State Department counted a total of just nine terrorist attacks in 2002 and 2003, resulting in a combined 23 casualties. At that time, the U.S. was just beginning a decades-long effort to provide billions of dollars in security assistance, train many thousands of African military personnel, set up dozens of outposts, dispatch its own commandos on a wide range of missions, create proxy forces, launch drone strikes, and even engage in ground combat with militants in Africa.

Most Americans, including members of Congress, are unaware of the extent of these operations — or how little they have done to protect African lives.

Last year, fatalities from militant Islamist violence in Africa rose by 20 percent — from 19,412 in 2022 to 23,322 — reaching “a record level of lethal violence,” according to the Africa Center. This represents almost a doubling in deaths since 2021 and a 101,300 percent jump since 2002-2003.

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/africa-terrorism/

Someone tell me if that is money well spent?

Once again the US has made things worse trying to extend our hegemony over Africa….this is a reoccurring nightmare for most of the 3rd world…..’we are here to help’ seldom does anything near help.

Profits are killing Africans.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Shutdown Two-Step!

Here we go again!

The political dance.

Remember just a couple of months ago we were holding our breath waiting to see if the idiots in Congress would allow a shutdown or do the right thing and keep the government working.

And as usual the game came down to the last minute before a deal was announced to keep the government up and running.

Well sports fans if you exhaled at the success then may had better take a deep breath….

Prepare to hear three words a lot this week in regard to DC news: “looming government shutdown.”

  • Two deadlines: Around 20% of government funding expires at midnight Friday unless the two sides strike a deal, with services including food stamps and housing assistance at risk, reports the Washington Post. A shutdown involving the remaining 80% could come the following week, with the deadline there on March 9.
  • Impasse: It’s “all about House Republicans,” particularly hardliners, who are pressuring Speaker Mike Johnson to “string out this fight as long as possible in order to trigger automatic spending cuts,” in the assessment of Punchbowl News, which digs deep into the nitty gritty of negotiations. House Republicans also are making policy demands on issues including abortion, immigration, and LGBTQ rights, per the Post.
  • Busy week: The Senate is back Monday and the House on Wednesday, and hoped-for deals expected over the weekend never materialized, reports the Hill. President Biden will meet with the top four congressional leaders—Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakim Jeffries, and Sens. Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell—at the White House on Tuesday, per the AP.
  • One big problem: Biden and Johnson “have virtually no relationship,” as an analysis at Politico explores. They rarely talk and barely know each other, and this chasm is contributing to the DC stalemates, according to the story.

By this time the threat means little of to us peasants….we are numb to these accusations and threats and manure slinging.

Even if it shutdown we will not remember it come September….out attention span is very short.

But if you want to know about these things…..this game that the idiots play (oh BTW Congress still gets paid during a shutdown)….will just be headline fodder and then be gone…but if you want to know then read on….

https://usafacts.org/articles/everything-you-need-to-know-about-a-government-shutdown/

Not to worry the Sun will still come up Tomorrow.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”