SEQUESTER? US Unblocks $500M for Palestinians

 Here's my rant for the day.
The fact that the Obama administration continues to show support for anything Islamic is almost besides the point. When I was a kid and my parents caught me lying, I was punished.   I did the same thing with my children, to the best of my ability.  As parents and as adults, we know the importance of telling the truth, we don't just ignore those around us who do it and pretend it will go away.  Adults that we know who lie incessantly, we deal with it generally by removing them from our sphere of those we interact with. We may forgive them, we may pray for them...but we don't tolerate it. No one likes to be purposefully deceived as if we are fools.  Why then do we tolerate incessant lies from our leaders, from the media and from Congress? When do we put our foot down and say, "ENOUGH"?  And what I mean is, to take substantial and tangible action. To put legs to our frustrations. When do we stop supporting the sponsors of TV news for example who perpetually lie to us or for that matter that fills our television screens with smut for our children to be brainwashed by? If we don't buy the products that the TV News sells, they will lose sponsors, we all know this. Same with newspaper subscriptions.  Why do we not pick up our phones as a matter of habit and call our Congressmen/women and tell them we are done with them and their constant lies and lack of leading us out of this web of deception? Trust me, they will act if enough people call and write, call and write, call and write.  I am not forecasting a solution that is secular, Lord knows.  But it seems to me that God gave us a brain for a reason, and we all better start using it, as we continue in prayer. -W.E.

ynet

State Department spokeswoman Nuland says aid money frozen by Congress for months freed up as PA faces worst economic crisis in years

The United States has quietly unblocked almost $500 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority which had been frozen by Congress for months, a top US official said Friday.

The news that the funds had finally been freed up came after US President Barack Obama met top Israeli and Palestinian leaders in a landmark visit to Israel and the West Bank earlier this week.  "To date, we have moved $295.7 million in fiscal year 2012 money… and $200 million in fiscal year 2013 assistance," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters.

The Obama administration also notified Congress in late February that it was seeking a further $200 million to fund US Agency for International Development (USAID) programs for the Palestinians, she said.

US unblocks $500M for Palestinians State Department spokeswoman Nuland says aid money frozen by Congress for months freed up as PA faces worst economic crisis in years AFP The United States has quietly unblocked almost $500 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority which had been frozen by Congress for months, a top US official said Friday. The news that the funds had finally been freed up came after US President Barack Obama met top Israeli and Palestinian leaders in a landmark visit to Israel and the West Bank earlier this week. "To date, we have moved $295.7 million in fiscal year 2012 money… and $200 million in fiscal year 2013 assistance," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters. The Obama administration also notified Congress in late February that it was seeking a further $200 million to fund US Agency for International Development (USAID) programs for the Palestinians, she said. Obama-Abbas press conference in Ramallah The first sum comprises some $195.7 million, allocated under the 2012 fiscal year budget for USAID economic, development and humanitarian assistance, as well as a further $100 million earmarked specifically for narcotics control. The second sum of $200 million unblocked and available to the Palestinian Authority will come under the 2013 budget and be spent for direct budget support. The Palestinian Authority is facing its worst economic crisis in years, in part because of a failure by donors to deliver pledged funds. But its finances were plunged further into chaos after president Mahmud Abbas won upgraded UN observer status at the UN General Assembly in late November. Congress froze the US administration's requests for funds. And Israel, which also strongly opposed the move, said it was suspending monthly transfers of the tax and tariff revenue it collects on behalf of the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the wake of the decision. It did, however, transfer $100 million in a one-off payment in late January. Earlier this month a report by the Palestinian Authority urged the world to step up financial aid and press Israel to allow economic development, warning of a "political collapse" due to Israeli fiscal strangulation.  Obama met Abbas in Ramallah in the West Bank on Thursday as part of his visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, accompanied by US Secretary of State John Kerry. Kerry has pushed for the funds to be released since taking up his post on February 1.