by Mark Steyn at Steyn Online
~On last week’s Clubland Q&A, I remarked en passant that almost everything connected with the Government of the United States turns out to be a racket, and it might be quicker for Elon Musk just to listen the seven things that aren’t a racket. And several commenters protested that seven was a gross-overestimate of the non-racket component. After the weekend’s revelations, I am inclined to agree with them.
Just as a f’rinstance, USAid funds nine out of ten media outlets in Ukraine, under the guise of supporting “independent journalism”.
Hang on. If words mean anything, wouldn’t the “independent” media in Ukraine be the tiny percentage that’s not bankrolled by a single agency of one foreign government?
Whatever. It certainly hasn’t done anything for what remains of the Ukrainian population.
Speaking of which, you see that unprepossessing building at top right? That would be 876 7th Street, Arcata, California 95521, Between them, USAid and the State Department have sluiced just shy of half-a-billion bucks of taxpayers’ money through Number 876’s corner suites …atrium lobby …executive gym …er, stationary cupboard:
USAID (and State) funneled nearly half a billion dollars through this building which is at "876 7th St Arcata, CA 95521-6358". The IRS and IN government contracts list this address as the current registered address for IN although it was clearly abandoned by December 2024. Shot… pic.twitter.com/ELzv3G4p5l
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) February 8, 2025
Don’t try that at home, boys and girls. If you were laundering half-a-bil through an oversized storage locker at 927b No-Name Office Park, you could expect a dawn raid from the IRS SWAT team.
“Internews” sounds like Best Runner-Up in Nigeria’s prestigious Least Convincing Name for a Corporate Scam competition. It’s a 501(c)3, of course – that’s what other countries call a “registered charity” – that receives ninety-five per cent of its funding from US taxpayers. Jeanne Bourgault, its president, pulls down 450 grand in salary, because “non-profits” are where the big bucks are, and 876 7th Street is so on the up-and-up that it’s listed with the California Secretary of State as “her” office. But it doesn’t appear to be attended terribly often by Ms Bourgault – a good friend of Bill and Hillary and their African diarrheapalooza, and also a pal of Klaus Schwab, at whose Spectre board meeting last year she called for worldwide implementation of advertisers’ “exclusion lists” to crack down on peddlers of “misinformation”. Besides, if you’re on the take from USAid, what do you need advertising for?
The front door to Internews is open in our picture because Ms Bourgault’s office is now apparently abandoned. So, if you live in Arcata, it might be worth swinging by just on the off-chance the half-billion got left in the petty cash drawer, in small bills.
Incidentally, even in America,…
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