Nonsense.
Israel gets vastly more than $3 $mil a year.
I gather Israel has requested an increase this year, perhaps to $3 $Bil.

But in any case, whatever the TRUE $numbers are, tally it all up together, and as George Will says, it doesn't amount to a rounding error.

In a budget the size of the U.S. federal budget; terminating foreign aid would not balance the budget.

no1phD asked >>>
Lol.. ok... you just met your special someone.. things are at that stage..
.. where your.. allowed to explore each others bodies.... great right?..
.. but what happens when you're exploring their body.. and you find a stray hair that shouldn't really be there..lol.... perhaps on her... breast..
.... or chin.... god forbid she has a dingleberry hanging from her nose......

Debbie stated >>>
the water man just came In the house for a sample and im lieing down with just knickers on and a top and he saw my bum. no one warned me first

Debbie stated >>>
no, my mom let him in, but she didn't warn me first, so I didn't have time to cover my *** up. lol

sorry I didn't explain well enough, I was too flustered lol

Debbie posted >>>
oh my lord

Debbie stated >>>
the water man just came In the house for a sample and im lieing down with just knickers on and a top and he saw my bum. no one warned me first

argo stated >>>
depends on your point of view....i suppose, the NATIVE American Indian feels the same about the white people who invaded and stole their lands from them by force...

LTme posted >>>
Seems like we've all noticed it RA.
S2 called it what it is: "conflicting reports."

You obviously know a lot about guns, terminal ballistics, etc.

S2's right. Here's one 2A posted:

This isn't the only place I read it was a sidearm.

You make a very sharp point.
If those are exit wounds (reportedly shot in the back), I'd be astounded he survived.
But I'm an amateur at that. I don't know whether they're exit wounds or not.

I appreciate your skepticism S2.

But let's make a distinction here:

The "conflicting reports" you cite I don't dispute.
The question is why.
I suspect the reason is; we're playing telephone.

The on-scene officer reports to their patrol sup.
The supervisor hands of to his next in command, and up the chain it goes.
Those guys are pros. They do this all the time. So I suspect they're fairly accurate.

BUT !!

Then there are press briefings.
The press liaison tries to make a coherent picture from the puzzle pieces he's fed one at a time.

His information goes to reporters most of whom lack the technical expertise to understand this stuff. So they make mistakes.

BUT !!

I extremely doubt the NY State Police would PhotoShop forensic documentation; PARTICULARLY in a case like this.
I surely hope there's no other police case this year that gets as much attention as this one.
And I assume it will get an IG investigation.

So I trust the pics.

One other thing S2:
I'm a life-long New Yorker.
In the past decade, I don't recall seeing NY State Troopers in anything smaller than a Crown Vic; that's their econo-box.
Usually I see them in these huge Suburbans.

And guess what:
State Police Suburban SUVs seem to me to ride lower than other Suburbans.
I don't know why that would be; except that I'm guessing they're simply crammed with so much gear, a Crown Vic can't carry it all.

And these guys cover so many traffic collisions, etc; I'm sure if they have that much gear, they'd quite likely have the stuff seen in the pics.

PS
If you're wondering about the proximity to the tree-line;
perhaps that's because the Trooper was better rested, and more lightly outfitted, and so was able to close on his target, thus not shooting from the road, but closed on him to get a better shot, closing until the suspect was 40' from the tree-line, and then double-tapped him.

I personally don't see any obvious conflicts here; just unanswered questions.

LTme stated >>>
Well 2A,
Havana has seen better days.

Perhaps Conan said it best:


The sad thing is how badly degraded so much of that formerly elegant architecture is.

None the less, I gather it's a tropical paradise, at least climatologically if not politically.

- Bring a camera, and lots of "film" (whatever size batts you'll need)
- be alert to street security risks (don't loiter in dark alleys early in the morning)
- Have a great time.

NOTE:
There will be rules about what currency, what exchange rate, what plastic, and perhaps what WiFi you can use.
You may know all this, but some others that don't travel as much might know; you can spare yourself a lot of severe headaches by just doing a little study and preparation before you begin your vacation abroad.
It's almost like living in another country.

dreamerAnna stated >>>
thinking about life's ups and downs.
a couple of months ago, I was telling my partner at work that it had been a while since life gave me a reason to cry.
shortly after saying that, it was like tempting fate.
maybe the sadness was to more fully appreciate the joy that was awaiting.
I'm very blessed.

U.S.-Cuba Relations Jul 1 2015, 2:02 pm ET

Obama on U.S. Embassy in Cuba: 'This Is What Change Looks Like'
President Barack Obama announced Wednesday that the United States and Cuba have struck a deal to open embassies in each other's capitals and re-establish diplomatic relations for the first time in half a century.

"The progress we make today is another demonstration we don't have to be imprisoned by the past," Obama said.

Obama emphasized that the U.S. and Cuba have some shared interests, such as strong anti-terror policies and disaster response. But he acknowledged that the two nations still have "very serious differences" on issues like free speech.

"We won't hesitate to speak out when we see contradiction to those values," the president said.

According to a statement from the Cuban government, officials are aiming to re-open their embassy on or after July 20. White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes told MSNBC that the U.S. will open its embassy in Cuba "shortly after" July 20.

"In making this decision, Cuba is encouraged by the reciprocal intention to develop respectful and cooperative relations between our two peoples and governments," Cuban President Ra�l Castro wrote President Obama in a letter.

President Obama wrote Castro that both nations are making "an important step" toward normalizing relations.

President Obama announced in December that the United States was ending an "outdated approach" of isolating Cuba, and in May the United States dropped Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism.

This formal step follows Obama's call to normalize relations and economic ties between the two countries after decades of Cold War hostilities. The United States severed diplomatic relations with the communist island country in 1961.

The U.S. said in May it was removing Cuba from its list of state sponsors of terrorism. Cuba was formally removed from the list of state sponsors of terrorism on May 29th.

Secretary of State John Kerry announced Wednesday that he will travel to Cuba later in the summer and called the resumption of diplomatic relations an "important step" in comments that followed the president's remarks.

2old2 stated >>>
Listening to my father coughing his lungs up from his Emphysema

RebelArcher stated >>>
Same here....except my dad's didnt show up until after he quit smoking after his first of 4 heart attacks.
I can remember house interior walls....white, except for the upper 1/3 which was stained an off yellow color.
Luckily he did quit though....and probably added several years to his life.

I guess I had a lil more deterent to smoking besides a warning label ....and the warning label on my bourbon bottle doesnt help me any either lol.
All in all though, Im a grown man and accept any responsibility for any health issues arising from my one.....ok ok maybe 2 lol.....toddies in the evening.

Tomato stated >>>
anything in moderation archer, 1 or 2 aint bad. 10-12 and you may have a problem. watching my dad pass from cancer was one of my motivations to quit. did more for me than that little warning label ever did.

Tomato posted >>>
yea its bad. whats even worse is that tobacco companies knew damn well the whole time cigarettes would kill people, and they knowingly sold them sacrificing peoples lives for a profit.

Testimony of the 7 CEOs of Big Tobacco

One of the most famous events depicted in the motion picture "The Insider" was the videotaped testimony of the "7 Dwarves" (as they were described by Dr. Wigand) -- the 7 CEOs of Big Tobacco. Their "nicotine is not addictive" testimony, part of the Waxman Hearings, is detailed below.

From 1980 to 1994, Rep. Waxman served as Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Health and the Environment. To help focus public attention on the dangers of tobacco, Rep. Waxman invited movie stars and celebrities to appear before his committee. These hearings contributed to the vast change in public opinion about smoking.

Other hearings by the Waxman subcommittee exposed the secret activities of the tobacco industry, both through the testimony of industry insiders and internal tobacco company documents.

The Waxman Hearings
April 14, 1994
House of Representatives
Committee on Energy and Commerce
Subcommittee on Health and the Environment
Hearing on the Regulation of Tobacco Products
http://www.jeffreywigand.com/7ceos.php

MelMaxx stated >>>
RED HEADS ROCK!!!!!!!

I have 2 of em....absolutely natural from their Father's side

it's reported he was shot twice. They didn't
report how many shots were fired. If the
trooper emptied three 15 round clips, it's a
different story.

RebelArcher stated >>>
If this account is true, it should clear up the amount of shots fired....

"" Sweat fled, and Cook chased him, firing twice,
fearing he would lose the fugitive in the trees,
officials said. Photos appeared to show
emergency crews tending to Sweat as he sat
bloodied in a field. Sweat is now in stable
condition..."
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/new-york-prison-escape/trooper-had-law-his-side-when-he-shot-unarmed-escapee-n383981

Lack of exit wound, if true, means, to me anyway, that the rounds were fired from some distance. Ill admit though, I dont know the caliber used or the type of round but Im guessing some hollow point variant. Its a little odd that someone shot twice in the back is recovering so quickly....not in a conspiracy kinda way, mind you.....more like, Sweat is one lucky S.O.B.

RebelArcher stated >>>
I just read the lil warning on the side of the package and decided not to smoke...

Tomato replied >>>
glad i quit. smoked roughly a pack a day for about 12 years. yea that lil warning is kind of a turn off. didnt really give a crap when i was younger though.