Senator puts hold on US funding for Cuba opposition

[Mika]

Senator puts hold on US funding for Cuba opposition
http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Senator_puts_hold_on_US_funding_for_03262010.html

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry has placed a hold on US funding for pro-democracy opposition activities in Cuba, the senator's office told AFP on Friday.

Kerry has "a temporary hold" on the programs while US State Department officials "undertake a review of these programs, and while the Committee investigates whether they're effectively accomplishing our shared goal," said Kerry spokesman Frederick Jones.

"We all want democratic change in Cuba," said Jones. "The question is whether American taxpayers are getting progress towards that goal."

The State Department last year effectively froze the 40 million dollars that Congress appropriated for those programs while it conducted a review, the Washington Post reported.

The funds are used largely for distributing information and telecommunications equipment to opposition groups and civil society members, but signs of abuse have come to light in recent months.

A State Department contractor, Alan Gross, 60, was arrested in December in Havana and accused of being an intelligence agent after seeking to help Jewish groups communicate with people outside the country by distributing mobile phones and computers.

The hold will be lifted once Kerry has "assurances that these programs have eliminated waste, fraud, and abuse," said Jones.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday slammed Cuba for its continued political and human rights repression and called for an end to the Communist regime's "clenched fist" policy against its people.

Obama took office in early 2009 pledging to seek improved ties with the only Communist government in the Americas, and reportedly sought to urge President Raul Castro to step up efforts to improve relations with Washington.

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[bemildred]

1. Time to stop throwing money down all those ratholes. nt

[Mika]

3. The US funnels many millions to their bought-and-paid-for "dissidents" in Cuba.

As the article mentions.

But when some of the traitorous US interests section paid "dissidents" are busted for their illegal activities aiding and abetting terrorists and declared enemies, we hear the howls of poutrage from the anti Cuba supporters of these activities posting here.

WTF do they think all the appropriated US tax money is being used for? Where the F do they think the money is going?

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[Wilms]

2. Thanks Senator. n/t

[flamingdem]

4. it's about time! Go Kerry nt

[Judi Lynn]

5. Last time an elected official tried to get any funding withdrawn from the "exile" private pork

enterprises, as in TV Marti (wholly operated, managed, programmed, staffed by Cuban "exiles" for tens of millions of tax dollars annually) the Cuban "exile" Congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart told the Democratic Congressman from Colorado, David Skaggs, that he would personally destroy any and all his own projects for Colorado himself, all that he "held dear."

Then he did it. After that, he got financial backing from the Cuban American National Foundation in South Florida and they sponsored huge advertisements in all the Colorado newspapers informing the Colorado voters that David Skaggs had lost these important projects Colorado citizens had been counting on in Colorado. David Skaggs didn't run again. His political career was destroyed.

I think John Kerry is more powerful than that by now, clearly. He can't be torn down by these guys, although they are wield power far, FAR beyond what would seem appropriate, or natural for any immigrant group, due to their usefulness politically.

More power to him in this effort.

[EFerrari]

6. Thank you, John Kerry, grownup.

:applause:

[flamingdem]

7. DOES ANYONE KNOW IF THE FUNDS ARE STILL ON HOLD ?? (as of April 4th) nt

[naaman fletcher]

8. Our finances are bad enough as it is...

I'll bet there are thousands and thousands of 20 million dollar expenditures like this that could be cut if only anyone took the time to find them.

[Mika]

9. Agree. Keep in mind that Cuba is a poor Caribbean country.

And the amounts of money the US expends on anti-Cuba "dissident" ops could be used on much better endeavors - in the US - but if they're going to be wasting those amounts on Cuba anyway, wouldn't it be better to be helping Cuba (where the people overwhelmingly support their gov't - even according to the CIA factbook) rather than thwarting the nation?

The US's privatized election system eliminates reason from the discussion. Greed has replaced reason.

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[naaman fletcher]

10. I agree with your first paragraph, not sure what you mean by the 2nd. nt.

[bemildred]

11. He is pointing out that our elections system is corrupt, opaque, and fraudulent.

[naaman fletcher]

12. Agreed, to a point...

I agree to a point, but is it really better elsewhere?

[Mika]

13. To a point?

US elections have been privatized. No oversight or accountability of the code counting the votes (as per the SCOTUS). Even The Carter Institute said that Venezuelan elections were more transparent and accountable than US elections.

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[naaman fletcher]

14. OK..

Yes I am totally against the electronic voting machines, and I just don't see the point. Here in Oklahoma they have optical scanners, you fill in a card, and you stick it in the scanner.

That way there is easy and quick counting of the votes, but the cards remain in case of a reason for a manual recount.

I can't imagine why anyone would be against such a system. Well, anyone interested in legitimate elections.

[Mika]

16. Its the tabulation computers that are the least secure.

You need to do some research on this topic.

Lots of info here ....

http://www.blackboxvoting.org/

A "recount" is simply like hitting Enter to re-tabulate the same result. Many states, like Florida, have created laws so that once the voter's ballot is scanned the paper ballot is nullified and the electronic record is the only legal record that is counted or recounted.

Oklahoma's optical scanners are run by private companies, and the computer software code that counts the votes is proprietary and cannot be audited by the elections supervisors (as per SCOTUS).

With all of its privatized election fraud and subversion, the USA has zero standing to be criticizing other democracies for their processes.

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[naaman fletcher]

17. True re Oklahoma...

Yet, the paper ballots are still there and countable. I'm not saying its perfect, but it has the speed of the computer voting with the original cards still in existence.

[bemildred]

15. It is in some places, much better.

But I am not trying to assert that we invented manipulated elections, the problem has been around forever. But we are quite good at it, or at pretending that we don't do it, or however you want to look at it.