The United States officially revoked the US visa of Taif Sami Mohammed Al Shakarchi, the Iraqi national who was awarded by the failed Biden Administration in 2022, according to US State Department citing her placement on the Terror Watchlist of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
In a New York Post report, Taif Sami Mohammed Al Shakarchi’s alleged links to the Islamic terrorist regime of Iran and Iran-backed militias in Iraq drew headlines. She was also the target of two Republicans in the US House of Representatives accused of being the “key enabler of terrorist funding in Iraq.”
To put things in perspective, posted below is the entire statement of the US State Department. Some parts in boldface…
The U.S. Department of State has revoked the visa of an Iraqi national who was presented an award by the Biden Administration for her purported role in fighting corruption and her advocacy for “gender equity.”
Taif Sami Mohammed Al Shakarchi was given the International Woman of Courage Award in 2022by former Secretary of State (Antony Blinken) and former First Lady Jill Biden.
The award recognized “women from around the globe who have demonstrated exceptional courage, strength, and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights, gender equity and equality, and the empowerment of women and girls, in all their diversity.”
This Iraqi national’s visa has now been revoked by the State Department following her placement on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Terror Watchlist. She is no longer present in the United States.
Under President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, suspected terrorists will never be allowed to remain in the United States.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Are you aware that Taif Sami Mohammed Al Shakarchi was Iraq’s Finance Minister from 2022 to 2026? Do you suspect Taif Sami Mohammed Al Shakarchi may have been involved in financing connected with Islamic terrorists? Should all her communications and interactions with the Islamic terrorist regime of Iran be investigated?
They finally did it! The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) –the independent agency of the American government responsible for administering civilian and foreign aid – was formally shut down by the Trump administration and has been incorporated into the State Department, according to a news report by Breitbart.
It should be remembered that USAID was heavily abused for a long time and a lot of taxpayers’ money was abused for questionable and wrongful purposes around the world such as funding LGBTQ projects, pushing abortion overseas, overseas tourism promotions, terrorist funding, creating a Sesame Street in Iraq, creating a mural in Parañaque City, and more.
As expected, there are high-profile figures who still want USAID to continue even though the abuses have been exposed. This new development with USAID is undeniably a major change decades in the making and United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued statements defending the move.
To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the Breitbart news report. Some parts in boldface.
The US foreign aid agency formally closed down Tuesday, with President Donald Trump’s administration trumpeting the end of the “charity-based model” despite predictions that millions of lives will be lost.
Founded in 1961 as John F. Kennedy sought to leverage aid to win over the developing world in the Cold War, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has now been incorporated into the State Department — after Secretary of State Marco Rubio slashed 85 percent of its programming.
In a farewell to remaining staff on Monday, former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama — as well as U2 frontman Bono — saluted their work and said it was still needed.
Bush pointed to PEPFAR, the massive US effort to fight HIV/AIDS that he considers one of the top achievements of his 2001-2009 Republican presidency.
“This program shows a fundamental question facing our country — is it in our nation’s interest that 25 million people who would have died now live? I think it is,” Bush said in a video message seen by AFP.
Obama, who like Bush has been sparing in openly criticizing Trump, said that ending USAID was “inexplicable” and “will go down as a colossal mistake.”
“Gutting USAID is a travesty and it is a tragedy because it’s some of the most important work happening anywhere in the world,” the Democrat said.
A study published in the medical journal The Lancet predicted that more than 14 million people would die, a third of them small children, by 2030 due to the foreign aid cuts.
‘Little to show’ – Rubio painted a drastically different picture of USAID, which was an early target of a sweeping government cost-cutting drive led for Trump by billionaire Elon Musk.
Rubio said that USAID’s “charity-based model” fueled “addiction” by developing nations’ leaders and that trade was more effective.
“Beyond creating a globe-spanning NGO industrial complex at taxpayer expense, USAID has little to show since the end of the Cold War,” Rubio wrote in an essay.
He also complained that many recipients of US aid do not vote with the United States at the United Nations and that rival China often enjoys higher favorability among the public.
A senior State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that The Lancet study relied on “incorrect assumptions” and said the United States will continue aid but in a “more efficient” way.
He said that PEPFAR will remain, with a priority on stopping HIV transmission from mothers to children.
But he acknowledged the United States was no longer funding PrEP medication, which significantly reduces the rate of HIV transmission and has been encouraged by high-risk communities.
“No one is saying that gay men in Africa shouldn’t be on PrEP. That’s wonderful. It doesn’t mean that the United States has to pay for every single thing,” the official said.
He said the Trump administration was looking at “new and innovative solutions” and pointed to food deliveries in war-battered Gaza staffed by US military contractors and surrounded by Israeli troops.
Witnesses, the United Nations and local Gaza officials have reported that Israeli troops have repeatedly opened fire and killed Palestinians waiting for aid — although the US-backed initiative, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, denies any deadly incidents.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Are you satisfied with the formal end of USAID and its incorporation into the State Department? Do you think a lot of people’s lives around the world will suffer from the shutdown of assistance from USAID?
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) – the independent agency of the American government responsible for administering civilian and foreign aid – was exposed big-time by the Trump administration revealing a growing list of overseas projects funded by American taxpayers’ money.
These projects were approved by the failed Biden-Harris administration and a lot of them are related with the toxic DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) and woke principles of the Satanic Left which explains why the Democrats are angry and outraged now.
To put things into perspective, posted below is the Sky News Australia news video plus the related news report (some parts in boldface)…
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has blasted the United States Agency for International Development for having “insane priorities”.
USAID was formed in the early 1960s to administer humanitarian aid programmes on behalf of the United States government around the world.
The United States spent around $US68 billion on international aid in 2023, according to government data. Ms Leavitt publicly took aim at the agency’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion projects.
Some of the projects listed included $1.5 million to advance DEI in Serbia’s workplace, $70,000 for a production of a DEI Musical in Ireland, $47,000 for a transgender opera in Colombia and $32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru.
For the newcomers reading this, USAID was founded in the 1960s which was the result of US Congress approving the Foreign Assistance Act in 1961 which mandated the agency’s creation and was followed with the executive order of then US President John F. Kennedy.
Going back to the USAID scandal, it is one thing for America to come up with taxpayer-funded overseas projects to help foreigners, it is completely another thing to have projects that emphasized the Satanic Leftist ideologies. Seriously, does the $32,000 for a transgender comic book in Peru and the $70,000 for a DEI musical production in Ireland have anything relevant with USAID’s traditional purposes of disaster relief, poverty relief, bilateral interests and socioeconomic development. USAID was also abused by the Democrats to fund Leftist news media outlets as well. For more insight, watch the videos below.
But there is still a lot more! The list of questionable overseas projects funded by USAID continues to grow and it includes funding for terrorism, contraception, opium growth, sex change and more. Posted below is the excerpt from the CBN News story (some parts in boldface).
Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) published another list of projects and programs she says the agency has funded over the years until DOGE stepped in.
“From funneling tax dollars to risky research in Wuhan to sending Ukrainians to Paris Fashion Week, USAID is one of the worst offenders of waste in Washington… all around the world,” Ernst posted to X this week.
The Iowa senator gave more detail in a thread noting the organization spent millions on wasteful projects including:
* “A whopping $20 million to create a Sesame Street in Iraq
* $2 million for Moroccan pottery classes and promotion
* $2 million promoting tourism to Lebanon
* More than $9 million of USAID’s ‘humanitarian aid’ intended to feed civilians in Syria ended up in the hands of violent terrorists, including an affiliate of Al Qaeda in Iraq.“
Ernst points out that millions of dollars were sent to farmers in Afghanistan to get them to grow food crops instead of opium.
“The results: opium poppy cultivation across the country nearly doubled, according to the U.N.,” Ernst wrote.
“USAID has long been a reckless, out-of-control, unaccountable rogue agency,” she concluded. “USAID has failed to put the American people first and routinely tried to cloak its actions in secrecy. Those days are over.“
A White House fact sheet also contends that American taxpayer dollars were inadvertently used to fund terrorism.
It notes:
* As much as $10 million was used by an al Qaeda-linked group for meals.
* $78,000 to a non-profit linked to designated terrorist organizations including Pakistan’s Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation — even after an inspector general launched an investigation.
* $15 million in taxpayer funds to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan to help distribute ‘oral contraceptives and condoms.’
The fact sheet lists millions of dollars in additional wasteful spending, including:
* $6 million was used to fund tourism in Egypt
* $2.5 million for electric vehicles for Vietnam
* $1.5 million to ‘advance diversity equity and inclusion in Serbia’s workplaces and business communities.’
Here in my native Philippines, there were several projects and recipients of USAID as reported by the Philippine Star. Environmental – check, health – check, assistance for LGBT – check, a mural painting event – check.
Thank the Lord for the return of US President Donald Trump whose administration has been working hard to restore dignity and meritocracy in America. The Trump administration is focused on wiping away the Democrats’ corruption and waste of taxpayers’ funds.
Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to the USAID scandal? Did your local government participate in any USAID-related projects that were done locally in recent years? Are you tired of seeing wokeness, Leftist and DEI being emphasized in USAID projects that were launched during the years of the failed Biden-Harris administration? Do you think USAID should be abolished and the countries that benefited from it should move on and launch their own projects to help their respective people independently?
Welcome back, my readers, YouTube viewers and all others who followed this series of articles focused on YouTube videos worth watching. Have you been searching for something fun or interesting to watch on YouTube? Do you feel bored right now and you crave for something to see on the world’s most popular online video destination?
I recommend you check out the following topics and the related videos I found.
#1A look at Donald Trump’s amazing comeback as US President – I already blogged about the amazing comeback of Donald Trump who won the 2024 US Presidential Election decisively. While that blog post had lots of videos about the victory, I added some more below for your enlightenment.
#2 The engineering of the F-117 Nighthawk – Do you still remember the F-117 Nighthawk? It was the sophisticated stealth fighter America used against Iraq during the Gulf War in 1991. I personally could not forget the first time I ever saw it on TV (news broadcast of the 1991 war) as a teenager. The F-117 is no longer in use but its engineering and the history of its development should be seen in the video below. Watch and learn!
#3 Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s wokeness – It is a sad fact that very similar with Communist-filled Hollywood (Commiewood), wokeness and identity politics are ruining video games. Recently, EA released Dragon Age: The Veilguard which was the first new Dragon Age game they released in ten long years. The big problem here is that woke activists at BioWare inserted their poison into the game. Watch RK Outpost’s videos below.
#4 The blunders of Kamala Harris, her allies and the Democrats – Kamala Harris, who has been US Vice President for almost four years now, lost the US Presidential Election to Donald Trump convincingly. She led a campaign that was dishonest, pretentious and even turned to hatred by comparing Trump with Adolf Hitler. No matter Kamala did, she and her woke allies failed miserably to connect with voters. Instead of discussing policies and plans to serve the people in the near future, Kamala emphasized identity politics and vibes. Is it any wonder why she lost and why are the Democrats so unpopular? Watch the selected videos to find out why and how she lost.
#5 Kamala Harris supporters freaking out – Losing an election is always painful and embarrassing. So much so, there were supporters of Kamala Harris who could do nothing but record/stream themselves freaking out. Some supporters working in the media or in government just keep on spreading their distorted views and lies to as many people as possible. They also had trouble containing their emotions. I can only wonder if the Democrats themselves care to calm down their devastated supporters. Watch and learn from these videos.
Welcome back, my readers, YouTube viewers and all others who followed this series of articles focused on YouTube videos worth watching. Have you been searching for something fun or interesting or informative to watch on YouTube? Do you feel bored right now and you crave for something to see on the world’s most popular online video destination?
I recommend you check out the following topics and the related videos I found.
#1Germany is suffering from the acceptance of so many so-called refugees – I want to make clear to all of you that I personally reject illegal immigration and mass migration as I truly believe that nations should always secure their borders, prioritize their citizens, protect their national sovereignty and deport all foreigners who committed crime in their country. That being said, there are lots of YouTube videos about Germany’s suffering which is the result of the huge acceptance (open-borders approach) of so many foreigners in 2015 perceived by the administration of then Chancellor Angela Merkel as so-called refugees. Merkel eventually expressed regret about the big move.
To be clear, allowing so many foreigners to enter your country as migrants or asylum seekers often leads to new waves of crime, cultural tensions and a tremendous drain of taxpayer-funded resources. Also, think carefully about how many asylum seekers lied to German immigration officials about their backgrounds and situations just to enter? Is each and every asylum seeker a genuine victim of war, poverty and crime in their home country? How many people among the asylum seekers are actually terrorists and crooks? Do these asylum seekers seriously believe in reshaping Germany based on their selfish interests and impulses? How many of these migrants are willing to integrate themselves into German society and norms? For your enlightenment, posted below is a video from The Journeyman Pictures about what happened in Germany when the specially treated migrants were already in.
#2 Sega Saturn vs. Arcade videos by Sega Lord X – I never owned a Sega Saturn console. There were times when I wish I owned one as I was fond of arcade games and wanted to play them in the comfort of home. For your retro gaming interest, the Sega Saturn had ports of arcade games and there were some that were released only in Japan. Watch the selected videos of Sega Lord X below.
#3 Ashleigh Burton’s Sean Connery James Bond videos – If you are a fan of Sean Connery and his James Bond movies, then you would be interested to see Asheigh Burton’s movie reaction videos of Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, and Diamonds Are Forever. Each of her videos are entertaining to watch.
#4 A look back at Asteroids – Way back in the early 1980s, I played the classic video game Asteroids on the Atari 2600 a lot. I never got to play it in the arcades but I played the arcade version on my Xbox Series X using the Atari 50 Collection software. If you want to know the history and impact of Asteroids, watch this video by PatmanQC.
#5 A look back at Konami Wai Wai World – Way back in 1988, my friends and I played Konami Wai Wai World (called Konami World for short) on the Family Computer (Famicom) and no matter how challenging it was to write down and input Japanese text for the passwords, we persevered to play and complete it. Konami Wai Wai World was a 2D, side-scrolling adventure game that had this ambitious concept of a crossover gathering of playable original Konami characters plus the characters from licensed games – Mikey Walsh (The Goonies and The Goonies II) and the iconic King Kong (King Kong 2: Ikari no Megaton Punch). The video by RetroGamingKnight is a must-watch for those who intend to really learn a lot about Konami Wai Wai World.
#6 You, Me and the Movies’ Creepshow reaction video – The 1982 film Creepshow is one of those horror movies made to provide viewers horror and fun. It was a film that featured the combined talents of author Stephen King and director George A. Romero. This reaction video by You, Me and the Movies is a must-watch.
#7 Minty Comedic Arts’ X2: X-Men United trivia video – I saw X2: X-Men United in the cinema here in the Philippines on its opening day on April 30, 2003. Sometimes referred to as X-Men 2, the movie was clearly an improvement over its predecessor and the filmmakers took inspiration from a very notable sci-fi movie for its storytelling and character development. This and a lot more await you all in Minty Comedic Arts’ trivia video of X2: X-Men United.
Author Carlo Carrasco 