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Urjit Patel is the current deputy governor of the RBI and will become its 24th Governor on 4th September, succeeding Raghuram Rajan. As deputy governor, Patel headed the RBI panel to draft the monetary policy report, which became the basis of the ongoing reforms at the apex bank.Here are some things you should know about Urjit Patel, India’s new RBI Governor –1. Highly EducatedThe new RBI governor’s educational qualifications do not fail to impress. He completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the London School of Economics, and went on to do an M. Phil from Oxford University in 1986, and PhD from Yale University in 1990.2. From Kenya with loveBorn in Kenya, Patel studied in the UK and the US before moving to India. Throughout his education, Patel’s scholarly pursuits were well focused on India.After finishing his education, Patel worked for IMF desks in the U.S., India, Bahamas and Myanmar. Later in 1996, Patel was deputed from the IMF to the RBI, where he played an important role in development of debt market, banking sector reforms, pension fund reforms, real exchange rate targeting and evolution of the foreign exchange market in India.3. An impressive work profileWith an experience of over 17 years in financial, energy and infrastructure sectors, Urjit Patel’s profile strongly backs his appointment. Before serving as the deputy governor at the RBI, Patel has served as an advisor for energy & infrastructure at The Boston Consulting Group. He was also the president of Business Development at Reliance Industries Limited between 1997 to 2006.Between 2000 and 2004, Patel had worked with several Central and State government committees such as the Task Force on Direct Taxes, the Ministry of Finance, and the Secretariat for the Prime Minister’s Task Force on Infrastructure. He had also served the Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs between 1998 and 2001 as a consultant.4. Patel's fan clubOver the many years of work and research in India, Urjit Patel has impressed many, including P V Narasimha Rao, Dr Manmohan Singh, P Chidambaram, Narendra Modi, Arun Jaitley, and Raghuram Rajan, among others.In 2013, when he was offerred to become the deputy governor of RBI, his recommendation letter was written by none other than the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. “He is very important for the country,” Dr Singh had said.Serving as the deputy governor at the RBI, Patel was seen as Raghuram Rajan's right hand man. Patel headed the committee that introduced the landmark changes in the monetary policy formulation of the central bank, reports First Post. These reforms have helped India battle inflation, and are considered to be among the most important reforms since 1991.5. The Gujarat ConnectionPatel’s grandfather had migrated from central Gujarat in the early years of the 20th century to Kenya during the British Raj. His father was born in Kenya, and had established himself in Nairobi as a successful entrepreneur, running a business on spare parts.Patel’s father passed away a few years ago, and his mother currently lives with him in Mumbai. Patel moved to a small house recently to give his mother better company and is also said to have declined an offer to head the newly formed BRICS Bank in Shanghai to be with his mother,The Indian Express reported.

We (Africans ) do not understand the business.The Chinese who are coming to do business in Africa get rich in 5–10 years.The only industrialized nation we have in Africa is South Africa. Would South Africa be as developed as they are today without 8–10% of White and Indian South Africans? I don’t know. No need to start another race war or give white supremacy folks another platform. But, let’s look at the facts here.My friends from Ivory Coast tell me that the Lebanese people are some of the wealthiest groups in Abidjan. They tell me: “ They run everything”.Mauritius, another country doing quite well in the Indian Ocean. Who are they? Indians. How about in Kenya and Tanzania? Who owns the biggest business in those countries? The youngest billionaire is Tanzanian ( Indian heritage). Africa’s Youngest Billionaire plans to Create 100,000 jobs in Tanzania. on Africa is HomeThe truth hurts, but we have to be honest with ourselves.To develop, we need to learn how to do business and do it right. There is no shortcut to economic success. There is no other way but trade, business, investment, innovation, and tourism. The principle of a free market enterprise.We have to admit that we black Africans have a very complex of inferiority that we need to get rid of if we want to make real economic progress in our countries. What is wrong with us? Colonization cannot be used as an excuse. Ethiopia and Liberia were left alone way earlier than other countries. Liberia in 1865 and Ethiopia in 1941. Are they developed now? What about Haiti in the Caribbeans?Image source: Africa 101As much as it hurts, we black people seem to have some issues. Our mentality and way of doing things. As Africans, we have to look ourselves in the mirror and ask ourselves. “ What is wrong with ourselves”? Analyze all the mistakes we have made after our so-called “independence” and change our way of doing things.This black South African Entrepreneur ( Vusi Thembekwayo) explains what we need to do in this Ted Talk. Working together, helping one another, both on the micro and macroeconomic level. The educated helping those who are uneducated, the rich helping those who are poor, teaching them skills and giving them the knowledge to be productive members of society, etc.We keep playing the “victimhood” card too much. How long can we use it?Other countries were colonized. We are not the only one. Many of those have managed to get out of poverty and are called Asian tigers and what not. Who are the African tigers? We keep making the same mistakes over and over again.Without economic freedom, there is never going to be any political freedom.I was watching some videos about the history of Uganda. I have many friends from Uganda and we were discussing what is going on there these days. It got me curious and wanted to find out “ how did Uganda get here”? The pearl of Africa.Upon my research, I came across an Interview of a British reporter who was interviewing an Indian businessman in the 70’s. This is when the dictator Idi Amini had chased out all Indians in Uganda. The Indians were involved in every business in the country. Importation and Exportation. They were the bedrock of the Ugandan economy.They exported Ugandan coffee and tea to global markets and imported goods from India and other places to Uganda. The interview went like this. The interviewee had lost 100% of his businesses and had given 48 hours to leave Uganda. His hotels, business, houses, all of them were rooted and he had lost it all. At some point in the interview, the reporter asked the question.Reporter ( R): Are you going to miss Uganda?Indian ( I): Yes, of course. My whole life was here. My children were born here.Reporter ( R): How was the business in Uganda?Indian (I): It was great! Life and business were good here. No competition. He continued; We were making some good profit margins here. Sometimes, 30 to 50% on some goods.Reporter ( R): Why do you think business was good here? What made Uganda a great place to do business?Indian ( I). Looks at the reporter straight in the face, glanced at the plane, getting ready to go to England. And he says: “ Africans don’t understand the business”.The Indian goes on to tell the reporter that Ugandans won’t be able to manage on their own. He said they just don’t have the knowledge and expertise. That was in the 70’s. Four decades later, as I was talking to my Ugandan friends on Whatsapp discussing issues facing their country. I found myself asking the same question.Do I understand the business?Do my fellow Rwandans understand the business? To my fellow Africans out there, I ask you. Do you understand the business? Let’s be honest with ourselves.Today, how come our countries have failed to develop a well-trained and skilled human resource to develop our countries? How come we have failed to use our resources for the benefit of our countries?Countries like UAE, Kuwait, South Korea, and others. The United Arab Emirates was a poor country in the 70’s. Upon discovering the oil, they came up with a plan to develop their country. Today, Africans want to go to Dubai, and other places, looking for work.Do we really understand the business?In education, are our universities producing graduates who understand our local issues?Are we they doing research to solve our challenges?Do we have doctors and nurses to look after the sick in our countries? Do we have enough hospitals to take care of our people?Do we have enough schools for our children? What is our literacy rates?The Chinese are building our roads and other key infrastructure. After 20 years, are we going to be able to build those infrastructures to ourselves without their support?Are we thinking long term to cope with the issues and challenges of tomorrow?Do we really understand the business?A few days ago, there was a big forum in my city ( Kigali) on how to improve Agriculture in Africa. The African Green Revolution Forum.In one of the panel discussion, there were four presidents ( Gabon, Ghana, Rwanda, and Kenya). Tony Blair ( former prime minister of UK) was the moderator of the panel asking questions to the panelists.In Gabon, the minister mentioned that Gabon had been focusing on the oil industry that they were importing 90% of their food. Keep in mind, Gabon has a good equatorial climate to facilitate 2 harvests in a year. Nobody was using some 60–70% of its arable land. Subsistence farmers in Gabon could not handle the massive land. He mentioned that Gabon was “ working” to fix that.Why is Gabon importing that much food when they could be getting produced at home? Gabon is such a rich country and they can afford it. Their GDP per capita ( PPP) is about $ 20,000. They have a very small population compared to the size of their whole country.France (red) is only twice as big as Gabon ( Blue) in area size. However, Gabon has about 2 million people. France has about 65 million people. Can you guess how much unproductive land Gabon has? Simply, way too much.In Ghana, the president of Ghana very much said the same thing. He said that many subsistence farmers were not efficient. So, the agriculture is not a profession that people want to pursue. With lack of modern technology, the agriculture sector was not producing what they needed to survive as a country. In rural areas, especially.In Rwanda, the president talked about the challenges they faced as a small landlocked country. He talked about how it was hard to convince subsistence farmers to consolidate their farms so that they could introduce mechanization, irrigation, and other modern farming technology in Rwanda. However, He ended up saying that even for a small country. Majority of the arable land was not all cultivated yet.In Kenya, William Ruto very much illustrated the same challenges. He talked steps they have taken to modernize the sector by doing surveying and making sure that each region was getting the appropriate fertilizers for their land to maximize the efficiency.They talk about lots of issues. Many of which I have already summarized below.African Hot Issues..Work In progressI. Aid dependency and poverty mentality.Aid recycling through multinational aid project.NGOs don’t help Africans but shaming through poverty porn is the only thing they are good at.The current aid model is not sustainable and it is meant to keep people in poverty.How do NGOs stay in business? By making sure that poverty is rampant.How do they collect money? By marketing their needs to be the “ savior” of Africans.The damage that NGO’s have done cannot be measured in loss of monetary funds from tourism, to investment, and all.II. Worshipping the West ( EU and US).Prefer to trade with the West instead trading within themselves.Limited Africa Intra-trade. Too much reliance on importation rather creating local industries and companies.III. Lack of planning and foresight.Myopic on short-term goals instead of long-term goals.Long-term views are inexistent in many countries.Politicians are too focused on scoring political points every 3 to 5 years, but nothing long term at all.IV. Mediocre Education Systems.A colonial education system that does not encourage critical thinking.Originally designed to create civil servants in the 70’s, but has not changed and improved to adapt to current times. Designed to create lots of job seekers instead of job creators and innovators.Failure to invest heavily in post-secondary education where higher institutions of learning are centers of technological research and scientific breakthroughs.V. Corrupt and unpatriotic leaders.Leaders who don’t care. Pursuing their own self-interests instead of their people.They are not “servants” to the people. They are the “bosses”. There are so many inefficiencies goes into taking care of the bosses.With aid, they are okay enriching themselves in exchange of lack of dignity, respect, and integrity from the so-called “donors”.VI. Failure to develop manufacturing and industry.Transforming raw materials into finished products ( Cocoa industry, oil and gas industry, minerals from gold, diamond, copper, uranium, plutonium, cobalt, and many others).Develop these industries at home. Create local jobs, pride, collect more taxes and increase GDPs.Reliable Infrastructure ( roads, bridges, connecting cities and countries).VII. Africans need to take charge of the narrative that they want to push out.“ Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will glorify the hunter”. Chinua Achebe, Nigerian Author, and Poet.Speak for themselves instead of waiting for Westerners to speak for them.African need to tell their own stories. Refer to one of the Chinua Achebe’s greatest quotes below. Every African child needs to read his books before finishing high school.Until the lions learn to speak for themselves, their story will always glorify the hunter.Until Africans learn to tell and share their history, they will always be misrepresented.We live in a world of branding and marketing today. Africa is the most misrepresented continent in the world today. Why? Because many people around the world don’t know the real Africa besides the images of animals in the jungle, hunger, wars, etc. These narratives do not represent Africa at all. They represent Africa of 20–30 years ago. They do not represent Africa today.VIII. Religion: The mother of 50% of the problems ( Christianity).Lack of critical thinking and analysis that Religion brings with.False hope with miracle pastors who promise wealth out of nowhere.Money in exchange for blessings. All hopeless and desperate people finish off their properties in churches. Just like the migrants going to Europe in boats hoping for a better life, they do believe blessings will come out of nowhere.IX. Focus on the mineral resources instead of training the people.Minerals are nothing if you don’t put them to good use. If you don’t have a well-trained and skilled people, those minerals will benefit the outsiders.Whoever is transforming those resources into finished products makes the most money. They benefit the most. You can be an oil-rich country all you want. However, if you don’t have refineries within your borders, you lose lots of money.Nigeria is a good example of their Oil and gas industry.DRC is another example ( $ 24 trillion, worth of minerals, but nothing to show for it).Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana is a good example ( produce cocoa beans, but not chocolate factories).Niger is a good example ( their Uranium).The list can go on and on, but you get the idea. Rich raw materials are nothing if you don’t have a local human resource to manage them effectively and efficiently. Nigeria fuel crisis: Why is Africa's largest oil producer short of petrol?X. Access to capital and global markets.How many things can you afford without financing? Without credit cards, short-term and long-term loans, could you have gotten a mortgage for your house, or a car loan, start a business venture, and other essential things to improve your lifestyle.Access to capital is one of the main issues that developing countries struggle with. Try to get a mortgage or a car loan at the bank is just nearly impossible.These luxuries are only affordable to the already rich and well-connected rich people.This means that banks only loan money to the already rich people. The microfinance institutions, they only loan money to those at the bottom. Usually subsidized and given incentives by the governments.In developed nations, more than 50% of jobs come from medium-sized businesses. However, in developing nations, there is little or no capital to assist entrepreneurs. Getting bank loans, you are required to have so much collateral that you don’t have in the first place. Interests can range from 20 to 30% over 5 to 10 years periods. This is nearly impossible to meet their obligations.Developing nations have many issues ( corruption, etc). However, access to capital and being able to sell products outside the borders is what keeps them underdeveloped. See this map below and tell me that Latin America and Africa are not a dead given away for lack of access to Intra-continental trade ( global markets).For my fellow Africans, I just want to say:Until we understand the business, we will always lag behind economically.We will always be disrespected. Told what to do. We will be sat down and told what we need to do. We will always go to summits, conferences to other continents to discuss our problems. Africa-China conference in China, Africa-India summit in India, Africa-EU conference in Brussels or Berlin, Africa-US conferences in America.We have no choice but to understand the business.Why are some African countries underdeveloped?We simply do not understand the business. In politics, economics, global trades, trade blocs. In trade, tourism, innovation, infrastructure, and above all, empowering our people.It is with a heavy heart, I say that we do not understand the business.We have so much catch-up to do. Between the 60’s and the 90s, We wasted 4 decades on nonsense. The time is NOW or NEVER. Fight for our economic freedom by working together, doing business with one another and building and developing an educated and well-trained human resource to control our economies and countries.Disclaimer:Some countries have been doing relatively. Let’s make sure we don’t call countries such as Botswana, Mauritius, Seychelles, and similar countries “ underdeveloped”.SeychellesBotswanaList of African countries by GDP (PPP) per capita - WikipediaGDP per capita is not everything. Some oil-rich countries are actually underperforming given their potential.For those who want to understand African economies, I will leave you with the link below to learn more about African economies.Africa is a whole continent of 55 countries.All the countries are very different. They have different economic strengths and systems of government. Let’s make sure we do not paint all countries with the same brush. Some countries have been doing well. Algeria, South Africa, Tunisia, etc. You can read more about them here.HDI ( Africa), 2015List of African countries by Human Development Index - WikipediaHope this helps.For more articles about Africa, check out and follow Africa is Home and Africa is Back blogs. Here is the link to the Africa Green Revolution.Didier Champion

I LOVE that you pointed this out.I thought you would like to see an article I wrote where I put US Election Meddling in our history and compare these against the things the press said about these events. I would love your thoughts and opinions on this article, as I look back on a list of the times the USA has meddled in the election of other countries.TOP FIVE TIMES THE USA HAS MEDDLED IN ANOTHER NATIONS ELECTIONSBefore the United States Presidential elections, the Washington Post broke a story about the Kremlin's ''alleged'' meddling into the Presidential elections. The story made front page news and yet prompted a most unusual reply from the President. ''No thinking person believes that Russia could get away with meddling of an American election.'' But at this time, Hillary Clinton was almost TEN points ahead in every poll.History demands a verdict. And it demands the truth.The Post reported, ''One of the more alarming narratives of the 2016 U.S. election campaign is that of the Kremlin's apparent meddling. Last week, the United States formally accused the Russian government of stealing and disclosing emails from the Democratic National Committee and the individual accounts of prominent Washington insiders.The hacks, in part leaked by WikiLeaks, have led to loud declarations that Moscow is eager for the victory of Republican nominee Donald Trump, whose rhetoric has unsettled Washington's traditional European allies and even thrown the future of NATO — Russia's bête noire — into doubt.Leading Russian officials have balked at the Obama administration's claim. In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed the suggestion of interference as “ridiculous,” though he said it was “flattering” that Washington would point the finger at Moscow. At a time of pronounced regional tensions in the Middle East and elsewhere, there's no love lost between Kremlin officials and their American counterparts.''One of the more alarming narratives of the 2016 U.S. election campaign is that of the Kremlin's apparent meddling. Last week, the United States formally accused the Russian government of stealing and disclosing emails from the Democratic National Committee and the individual accounts of prominent Washington insiders.The hacks, in part leaked by WikiLeaks, have led to loud declarations that Moscow is eager for the victory of Republican nominee Donald Trump, whose rhetoric has unsettled Washington's traditional European alliesand even thrown the future of NATO — Russia's bête noire — into doubt.Leading Russian officials have balked at the Obama administration's claim. In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed the suggestion of interference as “ridiculous,” though he said it was “flattering” that Washington would point the finger at Moscow. At a time of pronounced regional tensions in the Middle East and elsewhere, there's no love lost between Kremlin officials and their American counterparts.Then came the revelations of Donald Trump Jr and the meeting that took place last summer.NBC and CNN reported that the lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, was a ''Kremlin Lawyer.'' Well, ''Nyet'' not quite. President Trump wondered aloud today, '' how is it was she even here in the USA when her VISA had expired is a story that has to be reviewed in its own merit.Apparently, (according to Fox News) Veselnitskaya showed up the very next morning at a congressional hearing that happened to be on 'Russian Aid.' If this is true - watch out. This will fall like a lead weight on the Democrats if true.I read ''Clinton Cash'' and there are serious charges leveled against Hillary Clinton. Now, I am a TRUTHSEEKER. I am not out to bust Hillary Clinton or exonerate Donald Trump. I believe it is crucial to differentiate between partisan accusations and true, hard-core historical research. As always, I look into great detail for myself, looking for Primary Documentation. I am well sourced and very ACCURATE.Almost lost in this never-ending cycle of anti-Trump vitriol is the Hillary Clinton deal for Uranium to Vladimir Putin after her famous ''reset'' button. There is much truth and much in the way of false information on Hillary Clinton.IT is deliberately confusing. Did Clinton deal 20% of America's uranium to Russia? According to A chapter in the book suggests that the Clinton family and Russia each may have benefited from a “pay-for-play” scheme while Hillary Clinton was secretary of state, involving the transfer of U.S. uranium reserves to the new Russian owners of an international mining operation in exchange for $145 million in donations to the Clinton Foundation.My first issue with this has to do with my own research.I looked for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a statement. And I found it. ''NRC’s review of the transfer of control request determined that the U.S. subsidiaries will remain the licensees, will remain qualified to conduct the uranium recovery operations, and will continue to have the equipment, facilities, and procedures necessary to protect public health and safety and to minimize danger to life or property.The review also determined that the licensees will maintain adequate financial surety for eventual decommissioning of the sites. Neither Uranium One nor ARMZ holds an NRC export license, so no uranium produced at either facility may be exported.''In other words,it seems as if NO uranium ever left the country. It's hard to make any sense out of the rest of the story when it falls short here. If you look at the timing of the donations, it also appears to be inconsistent with the news stories regarding the Clinton foundation. I know - because I spent hours upon hours of looking in an effort to factually stand up this story. But it seems to be very circumstantial.So why does ''Clinton Cash'' come unglued when it comes to this story? Perhaps its because the Clintons did not report all of their contributions. One fault investigations into the Clinton Foundation’s practices did find was that not all of the donations were properly disclosed — specifically, those over a three year period by Ian Telfer.The foundation admitted this shortcoming and pledged to correct it, but as the Guardian pointed out in its May 2015 discussion of Clinton Cash, the fact that it happened is reason enough to sound alarm bells:The mining company, Uranium One, was originally based in South Africa, but merged in 2007 with Canada-based UrAsia Energy. Shareholders there retained a controlling interest until 2010, when Russia’s nuclear agency, Rosatom, completed purchase of a 51% stake.Hillary Clinton played a part in the transaction because it involved the transfer of ownership of a material deemed important to national security — uranium, amounting to one-fifth of U.S. reserves — thus requiring the approval of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), on which the U.S. Secretary of State sits. But when we examine intent and pay-for-play, we see that in some cases, accusations fall short.It is important to stay on the side of truth. Neither side is exclusive in its rewrite of past events. Pay-for-Play certainly seems true based on Wikileaks. The Clinton-Cash book has plenty of accurate and good points, but not in the case of the Uranium story.As for the news we see today on the Clintons - well - the other Clinton scandals are being completely buried right now.So - That Brings us to today. Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer and Elizabeth Warren have all been ''aghast'' at Russian ''meddling'' with our presidential election process. They are demanding one investigation after another.Where was this disgust toward Russia when Obama leaned into Putin and told him, ''Don't worry, i'll have much more leverage after the election.''Where was this disgust toward Russia when they invaded Crimea? They will say that these pathetic sanctions are enough. Under Obama's lead from behind, we never had a chance. Russia got away with an invasion where citizens lost their lives, homes, and their press was overrun.President Trump pointed out that the meddling HAD to have happened during Obama's presidency. (Well- he IS right) Then he asserts that Obama didn't act on any of the intel because he was sure Hillary Clinton was going to win the election. It didn't happen that way.And now -we are suddenly struck by this mock anger over Russia meddling in our election process when we OURSELVES, have been doing it for years. But nothing as vast as the past decade.KENYAThe BBC is a historically left-of-center news agency. And yet, Investigative reporter Jerome Corsi of BBC broke this story when he visited Kenya and was able to confirm that Obama, as a U.S. Senator, illegally used a taxpayer-financed trip to campaign for far-left presidential candidate Raila Odinga in Kenya’s 2006 elections.Odinga, according to the BBC, was distantly related to Obama and both families belonged to the Luo tribe. Indeed, both of their fathers served in the administration of Jomo Kenyatta in the 1960s. According to a document obtained by Corsi, Odinga promised Kenya’s growing Islamic movement that if elected, he would “rewrite the constitution of Kenya to recognize Sharia as the only true law sanctioned by the Holy Quran for Muslim declared religions.”The secret agreement also called for the creation of Muslim “madrassa classes,” a crackdown on Christian evangelical events and gospel programs, and legal protections for Muslims suspected of terrorism, even international terrorism.Sources: ****1) Beckett Fund of Religious Liberty - The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty is a non-profit, public-interest legal and educational institute with a mission to protect the free expression of all faiths.Biased Right/LeftRight: *2) Writer: Jerome Robert Corsi (born August 31, 1946) is an American author, political commentator and best known for his two New York Times bestselling books: The Obama Nation and Unfit for Command (with co-author John O'Neill). He is Right of Center, so we will downgrade accordingly knowing that the story, while true, are going to be interested in pushing that agenda. This is one star to the right of center, maybe even two. But the sources back up the story which gives Corsi great credibility.Accuracy: **/5Misleading Paragraph: According to a document obtained by Corsi, Odinga promised Kenya’s growing Islamic movement that if elected, he would “rewrite the constitution of Kenya to recognize Sharia as the only true law sanctioned by the Holy Quran for Muslim declared religions.”The Truth Revealed:Since the Kenyan Constitution was drafted, no mention of madrassas or Sharia Reform. HOWEVER - The government has been powerless to stop a steep rise in radicalism in Kenya, especially in the north.Integrity Chapter, requires an Independent Ethics Commission to be set up that will monitor compliance with Integrity in all government institutions and make investigations,recommendations to the necessary authorities i.e. Attorney General and any other relevant authority.(Chapter Six)An advanced Human Rights and Equality Commission that will also have power to investigate and summon people involved in Human Rights abuses within the government and with the public.(Article 252)Equitable Sharing of resources between the National government and the County government through a resolution of Parliament. Chapter 12- Part 4.Impact in USA: * 1/2This went almost completely unreported here in the USA but was heavily reported within Kenya. The President, Uhuru Kenyatta, has kept a low profile and Kenya remains largely peaceful save several pockets of extreme Islamic radicalism.---------------------------------ISRAELObama tried to cost Netanyahu the Election - something he did not deny when asked about it.During Israel’s 2015 elections, the Obama administration — led by Secretary of State John Kerry — illegally intervened when they attempted to defeat the reelection of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by covertly funneling State Department grants to opposition groups. The Obama administration detested Netanyahu due to his refusal to cave into Palestinian demands, a group that even refused to recognize the existence of Israel.Furthermore, Netanyahu rallied Arab allies and told them ahead of time what Obama's intentions with Iran were. An Aid package was approved by congress for Israel, but Obama punished Israel by capping the aid and insisting that a good portion of it go to the removal of Israeli settlers in Palestinian areas.Obama’s State Department gave $350,000 to a group called the “One Voice Movement (OVM),” for supporting “peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine.” However, the State Department then used leftover funds to organize an effort against Netanyahu’s reelection.OVM contracted out a group called “V15,” which in turned hired five campaign experts from the U.S., including Obama’s field director from his last presidential campaign. As the Weekly Standard’s Jim Swift wrote, “once the infrastructure was built, it was used in an attempt to topple the government of one of America’s closest allies.”An investigation by the U.S. Senate found that the “State Department failed to adequately guard against the risk that resources built with government grants would be deployed for political purposes.” As with most investigations of Obama scandals, emails documenting this illegal election activity were destroyed. And, as usual, no one was held accountable.Sources: *****There are many sources on both sides that agree with the major points of this story. Even Politifact said, ''...Yes, Obama sent money to OneVoice, a group that promoted a two-state solution. And yes that group partnered with a different group V15 that wanted Netanyahu defeated.''Accuracy: ****There is no doubt of our intervention in Israel. The one uncertainty is the amount of money given to OVM. It may have been as little as $233,000 and as much as $350,000.Biased Right/Left: -*- Right Down the MiddleThis is not under any dispute by the Left or the Right. The LA Times, Boston Globe, NYTimes and WaPo have ALL reported it as truth. The Conservative Right wanted Netanyahu to win. Both sides have not disputed this story.Impact in USA: **Surprisingly this had little play in the American press and only a few members of the American Jewish electorate openly disagreed with Obama. The voting block and lobbyists were almost silent in our own election.-------------------------LibyaMy knowledge of the history and culture of Libya is quite extensive. After Ronald Reagan bombed Libya in 1986, we had heard very little from Gaddafi. It wasn't as if he wasn't still staunchly Pro-Palestinian, but he prevented Libya from falling into the same quagmire that Iraq had become.Gone were the chemical and biological weapons and in its place were the monies needed to rebuild critical infrastructure in the cities as well as new hotels and tourist attractions. Libya - for a number of years - was the safe and affordable ''Go-To'' place for travel within Europe.Gaddafi was the other reality that the world had to consider in the wake of Saddam's removal from office. But in successive moves, Obama interfered with the Egyptian election, seeing to it that Morsi, (head of the Muslim Brotherhood) would win and then see him overthrown by a conservative and Pro-American president. That chaos spilled over the border into Libya, where America interfered again. And this time, it was in front of the ENTIRE world.In 2011, Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, not only interfered politically in Libya but militarily as well, by orchestrating a series of policies designed to remove Muammar Gaddafi from power. While it would be a stretch to call Gaddafi a U.S. ally, he was cooperating with the U.S.A. in fighting Islamic extremists and had turned over all his WMDs to American officials. Western investment was flowing into Libya, the country was becoming more westernized and, most certainly, it was no longer a threat to the USA.As National Review wrote, “all that vanished when Hillary Clinton, Samantha Power, and Susan Rice ordered the bombings that turned Libya into a terrorist paradise.”One explanation for the abrupt attack on Libya was that Gaddafi was a rival to the Saudis over the leadership of the Islamic faith and since the Saudis had contributed at least $10 million to the Clinton Foundation, Secretary Clinton had, as usual, a money motive to intervene in Libya.The opposition to Gaddafi’s regime was led by the Libyan Transitional National Council, whose leaders include many radical Muslims such as Abdel Hakim Belhaj. Belhaj also headed an al-Qaeda affiliate called the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), which was designated a terrorist organization by the State Department.Nevertheless, Obama spent at least $1 billion to fund a military operation to topple Gaddafi, with American soldiers actually fighting alongside jihadist-dominated rebel groups.Moreover, the Washington Times reported that the “CIA was providing covert assistance to elements of the Transitional National Council,” again, a group dominated by radical jihadists. Under Obama, Libya was transformed from a moderate Islamic regime which posed no threat to the USA, to a violent wasteland dominated by various ISIS and al-Qaeda linked militias.Sources: *****/5 It was (A) well-documented, (B) had multiple high-level and mid-level sources whose statements have been with one or two degrees of similarity and accuracy. The sources were many and well researched. Let's look at NEWSEEK'S coverage of the story.A more democratic region will ultimately be more stable for us and our friends. Even if someone wants to be dictatorial, it’s going to be difficult.”—An American diplomat, after the overthrow of a Middle Eastern dictatorThat quote sounds as if it came from what the foreign policy elite in the Obama administration would call some “neocon nut job,” with an eerie echo of the blindly confident rhetoric from the early days of the U.S. occupation of Iraq in 2003. Except this time the speaker wasn’t a neocon nut job, and it was May 2012. Denis McDonough, then Barack Obama’s deputy national security adviser, was taking a victory lap in a speech at a Washington think tank. And he wasn’t boasting about Iraq; he was crowing about Libya.Accuracy: *** 1/2I give this episode three and a half out five stars because time has elapsed and much that is written is written from the vantage of hind-sight. To me, this is where a story loses integrity and accuracy. The best way to understand this story is to realize that the outcomes - and who they benefitted - may not have been the initial intention.Impact on America: Negligible to date.HONDURASRiots in Tegucigalpa, NYTimesThis was a no-win situation for Obama, who should have left well-enough alone. Honduras has been a criminal paradise for the worst of the worst in the Western Hemisphere. Drugs, human-trafficking, murder, wire-fraud and international smuggling have riddled Honduras for years, So when an uprising began there during the early part of Obama's second term, it was a bit surprising that the President wanted to involve himself there.But it was a high-level diplomatic meeting between emissaries of America and Venezuela's Hugh Chafez that seemed to change Obama's viewpoint. Suddenly, and without much explanation, Obama announced he was supportive of hard-Left President Manuel Zelaya attemp to illegally amend the Honduran Constitution so as to allow himself to serve as President longer than one term.Wait - this did NOT make sense!As a result, on orders from the Honduran Supreme Court, he was forcefully removed from office as Honduran law calls for.But the power of the USA became evident Obama attacked Zelaya’s removal, falsely calling it a “coup d’état” and a WikiLeaks cable revealed that Obama backed Zelaya’s reinstatement. The chaotic reasoning for Obama's support of a ruthless dictator was in stark contrasts to his support of popular uprisings elsewhere in the world.Eventually, WE would see new elections were a new president elected, but there’s little doubt that the Obama administration meddled in the Honduran political process in an effort to support the hard left in that country. Indeed, when Obama announced that he supported the return of Zelaya from exile, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen announced “Now that everything is in place for Zelaya’s return, there are no more false reasons for the Obama administration to continue its pressure tactics against those in Honduras who opposed Zelaya’s attacks on their country’s constitution and the rule of law.”Sources: **** /5There is no limit to the number of reliable sources who have contributed, it's just that these particular sources come with an axe to grind. Visual Documentation is aplenty, both with communiques and Wikileaks. Given the chance to counter the charges on Wikileaks, Obama did not.Accuracy: ***Careful what you read and who writes it - when it comes to this story, there are those on the Left, and those on the Right, and not much in-between.Biased (Right/Left) * ALTHOUGH we can read these scandals, you would have to visit Honduras to see how they feel about it. The Left loved Obama in Honduras.Impact on USA: **** Very strong, especially given the Benghazi fiasco.MACEDONIAThe ramifications of what we have done in Macedonia are being felt to this day. Charges of collusion, bribery and theft have left a government that was backed by the Obama administration on the edge of collapse. The leadership of the country finally fell apart in December 2016, after Obama's promised support fell through when Clinton lost the election.Consider the British News Source, The Times of London. They reported on street riots just two months ago, in May of 2017. They wrote, ''Thousands of furious Macedonians took to the streets yesterday in anger over alleged EU interference in country's elections. Following weeks of pressure from the EU, the Macedonian Assembly announced that Talat Xhaferi had been elected as the speaker of its parliament.In response, protesters in the country's capital of Skopje said the European bloc had "issued an order to choose our leaders". The furious demonstration comes after months of political turmoil in the country, which has been without a government since December last year.The government watchdog group, Judicial Watch, obtained government documents that “show the U.S. government has quietly spent millions of taxpayer dollars to destabilize the democratically elected, center-right government in Macedonia by colluding with leftwing, billionaire philanthropist George Soros.”Indeed, Obama’s ambassador to Macedonia, Jeff Baily, worked to funnel millions of dollars from the State Department and USAID to groups created by Soros which were, according to JW, working to overthrow the conservative government.Leading Republican House representative Christopher Smith announced an investigation in the activities of the US Embassy in Macedonia, and the allegations that it has acted in an openly partisan way in the past years, supporting the left wing SDSM party, MIA reported.The call comes after the Embassy failed to respond to a letter signed by Smith and five other GOP representatives, who demanded answers over meddling in domestic politics, but also over Embassy funding for activities of the George Soros-led Foundation Open Society Macedonia.The Independent of England took an especially strong investigative stand. "The US Ambassador should not have a role in forming the Government or take sides during the coalition making process. It is not the place of the United States or the US representatives in Skopje to do so.We, as a group of members of Congress, sent specific question in our letter asking whether there was collusion between the Embassy and left wing parties during the elections. We need to have free and fair elections and to work with the media, but under no circumstances should we take sides. This Ambassador has taken a side and he should be fired immediately!''...I've served in the Congress for 37 years, I am a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I chair the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Global Human Rights and International Operations Subcommittee. And I think it is unheard of that our Ambassador in Skopje takes a side in these elections, or in any other past or future elections.''''That is not his job. We intend to get to the bottom of this. We did not receive a response to our letter and we are asking the Inspector General to file a report. If they violated the law, they will be held responsible", representative Smith told the Macedonian Television correspondent in Washington D.C.More details about this intervention were exposed by Victor Gaetan in a series of exposés in The American Spectator. Gaetan has confirmed that Soros, in conjuction with the Obama administration, “financed a left-wing agenda to divide the nation and bring a socialist-Muslim coalition to power.” Incredibly, Obama’s USAID “selected Soros’ Foundation Open Society Macedonia (FOSM) to manage $2.5 million in taxpayers’ dollars earmarked for oxymoronic ‘democracy building,’ an amount increased to $4.8 million two years later.”This funding was directed to a coalition of socialist groups that work in conjunction with the Social Democrat Union of Macedonia (SDSM), a socialist party with close ties to Soros.The intervention is, incredibly, still ongoing with the result being chaos and disruptive street demonstrations. Gaetan’s investigative work also indicates that Obama’s agencies intervened politically with a number of other Balkan counties, including Bosnia, Kosovo, Albania and Greece.It appears the Trump administration knows little about such interventions since many leftist Obama-appointed ambassadors continue to hold on to their positions. And USAID funds continue to pour into leftist political groups in the Balkans as if Trump never came to power. Indeed, as one Macedonia Member of Parliament quoted by Gaetan said, “Under Obama’s ideological programs, it [USAID] became the super crack of the left.”they are now announcing an investigation in the allegations and say they will take the matter before the newly appointed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson."Our message is that, if the US Government took a political side, it has made a major error and all those involved should apologize and stop immediately. Ultimately, diplomats who were acting in this way will be held responsible. We are all for free and fair elections, but not for taking sides. I will be in touch with Secretary Tillerson, and I have already been in touch with members of the Trump transition team. ''''We need to have a detailed oversight into what the Administration has been doing over the past eight years because we have been taking sides politically in other countries as well, and there have been other similar incidents. That undermines US public diplomacy and our diplomacy in general. It is against the law and is unheard of. Again, he (Baily) needs to be fired!", Smith told the Macedonian National Television.''Sources: *****/5: This story is excellently sourced and proven by multiple news agencies and primary documentationAccuracy: ****/5: The major news agencies agree with the story but on several fronts it is worded differently.Impact on The USA: */5 This story got absolutely NO press play in the USA EXCEPT when it became Donald Trump's headache. Little explanation was given as to why Trump should have been held responsible, but the New York Times and NBC both agreed that his temerpment and demeanor were the cause of horrible riots and unrest in Europe. Not only was this story NOT reported when it actually happened, but when it DID happen, the current president gets the blame for it.There are many elections across the world that are due to happen in 2017-2018. America is certainly not the only nation to demonstratively interfere with the elections of another country. Espionage and subterfuge has been a part of American history through the ages.But what is lost in American media today is the acknowledgement that we are a well-documented meddler ourselves. It isn't meant to justify any of this. In a perfect world, this doesn't happen.In baseball, it isn't uncommon for one team to pick up and steal another team's signs. It's frowned upon and can result in the hitter of the offending team being drilled by a 95-mph fastball to the ribs. I had it coming too. I know for a fact that I am good at stealing the signs of the opposing teams catcher. But it isn't against the rules. It's perhaps unethical - but the countries of the world know that they are going to be drilled.Although I end this article with a bit of good natured humor, I hope i made the point. Every news agency and network is handling this election meddling story as if it is the first time in history that it has happened. But history requires us to take a good look at ourselves.If we are going to manipulate the world around our own grand design, we have to be open to the fact that we are going to get caught and the outcome is not going to be good. The level of obvious ''projection'' by House Democrats, Senators and by almost every press agency in the country is insulting to the average person.It is like the old adage, ''He who throws mud gets dirt on his hands too.'' ###You can steal your opponents signs if they let their guards down. But be prepared for retaliation when you do.