tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-94161205314098957 2013-11-29T11:58:53-05:00 Original reporting on little-known U.S. government funded foreign aid projects, so-called "drug war" initiatives, and overseas business subsidies. TypePad tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d834515b9569e2019b01d898eb970c 2013-11-29T11:58:53-05:00 2013-11-29T11:58:53-05:00

Supporters of Barack Obama tout his dedication to the responsibilities of the presidency by noting that he had taken 96 days of vacation at the point in his term that President George W. Bush had taken a reported 335. But they admit that 51 of Bush’s trips were to his Texas ranch, while records show that Obama’s destinations have ranged from exotic European and African locales to pricey digs to Hawaii, where he’s sometimes traveled separately from his family, effectively doubling transportation costs for taxpayers.

Steve Peacock tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d834515b9569e2019104d3c7ab970c 2013-08-18T22:23:47-04:00 2013-08-18T22:23:47-04:00

The U.S. government recently awarded a batch of contracts worth up to $300 million to Palestinian construction companies, including a firm targeted in a Palestinian Authority corruption probe.

Steve Peacock tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d834515b9569e2019104b90c0c970c 2013-08-13T00:17:57-04:00 2013-08-13T00:17:57-04:00

A no-bid contract to assess a $48 million Kenyan youth program has been awarded to the University of Chicago, where President Barack Obama taught constitutional law for 12 years.

Steve Peacock tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d834515b9569e2019b00e88736970c 2013-07-31T15:22:00-04:00 2013-07-31T15:22:00-04:00

President Obama’s multi-billion-dollar “Power Africa” initiative aims to double citizen access to electricity and other power sources across Sub-Saharan Africa. But it plays down the creation of a new public-private bureaucracy needed to overcome the pervasive corruption and incompetence of African governments and power utilities.

Steve Peacock tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d834515b9569e20192ac432a7d970d 2013-07-30T00:12:00-04:00 2013-08-09T21:56:46-04:00

The tail end of President Obama's Africa Trip -- which stopped in Tanzania, the third and final stop on this tour -- added an additional $650,000 to the reportedly $60-$100 million journey. And that was just for the hotel rooms, U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor has discovered.

Steve Peacock tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d834515b9569e20192ac413f47970d 2013-07-29T14:03:41-04:00 2013-07-29T14:03:41-04:00

The Chinese business sector must be in trouble. Why else would President Obama be sending taxpayer dollars there to modernize China’s energy grid, hire private-sector consultants to help its Ministry of Environmental Protection and separately help to modify the nation’s corporate laws? The U.S. Trade & Development Agency, or USTDA – technically designated as an “independent” White House agency – is funding these and other initiatives, all of which aid China while simultaneously benefiting U.S. contractors.

Steve Peacock tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d834515b9569e201901e81c003970b 2013-07-29T13:39:52-04:00 2013-07-29T13:39:52-04:00

President Obama’s multi-billion-dollar “Power Africa” initiative aims to double citizen access to electricity and other power sources across Sub-Saharan Africa. But it plays down the creation of a new public-private bureaucracy needed to overcome the pervasive corruption and incompetence of African governments and power utilities.

Steve Peacock tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d834515b9569e2017c38340fb9970b 2013-03-29T20:16:13-04:00 2013-03-29T20:16:13-04:00

The Obama administration recently issued warnings to contractors of potential sequestration-related spending cuts, but in the meantime federal spending continues unabated, domestically and globally. Some of the apparently indispensable projects include a environmental public murals in Hebron and Jericho along with similarly themed summer camps and field trips for Palestinian children, alternative energy outings to Turkey, and assistance to mango growers and hotel operators in Pakistan.

Steve Peacock tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d834515b9569e2017c370d8e4a970b 2013-02-23T14:06:49-05:00 2013-11-23T10:23:15-05:00

The U.S. Department of State spent $585,000 on hotel rooms and racked up $322,000 in transportation costs on for Vice President Joe Biden's recent trip to Paris, according to contracting documents that U.S. Trade & Aid Monitor located through routine database research.

Steve Peacock tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d834515b9569e2017d40ff16cd970c 2013-02-12T08:11:13-05:00 2013-02-12T08:33:24-05:00

The U.S. Department of State once again has resumed its search for providers of high-end crystal stemware and other tabletop glassware, only this time the estimated cost has leaped back up a couple of million.

Steve Peacock