715 millions: what does it mean?

[Jumpo]

Newsweek reported that KSA contributed more than 715 millions to the election campaign of the 14 March coalition. This is more than what Obama spent in his presidential campaign and more than twice what McCain spent.
That was the USA and this is Lebanon: a dollar in USA is not the same as a dollar in Lebanon. One needs to normalize these millions to the Lebanese population and the Lebanese GDP.

For instance, the Lebanese population is approximately 1% of the American population. On the other hand, the Lebanese GDP per capita is one fifth of its Amercan counterpart (10000$ to 50000$). Combining the population factor with the GDP factor, we get a 500 composite factor. In other words, the effects of the money spent in Lebanon by the 14 March campaign on a given voter is 500 times compared to the voter in the USA.

Conversely, if Obama were to spend as much as March 14 (normalized per GDP and per capita) then he would need 700*500 millions, or 350 billions.

So when you read that the Americans are happy with the Lebanese democracy, just think that for 350 billions, the US voters will elect BinLaden for their next president.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/201430

[bruno]

715Millions$, how much money spent per person ?

[Diabolo_7]

Originally Posted by bruno

715Millions$, how much money spent per person ?

a lot

[Jumpo]

Originally Posted by bruno

715Millions$, how much money spent per person ?

In the USA, it's 2.5 dollars per citizen. In lebanon, it's 250$.
However, the average amount per person is not very relevant or indicative.

To win the Presidention elections in the United States, one would concentrate on the "swing" states: Florida, Illinois, Ohio, and a couple more. So really, one does not need to evenly distribute the money on all voters. Similarly in Lebanon, nothing was spent on Nabatiyi and Bint Jbeil and Sour. Instead, the bulk of the 715 millions were used in Za7li, Ashrafiyi, Sayda, Kisirwen and so on.

[Jumpo]

Originally Posted by Jumpo

In the USA, it's 2.5 dollars per citizen. In lebanon, it's 250$.
However, the average amount per person is not very relevant or indicative.

To win the Presidention elections in the United States, one would concentrate on the "swing" states: Florida, Illinois, Ohio, and a couple more. So really, one does not need to evenly distribute the money on all voters. Similarly in Lebanon, nothing was spent on Nabatiyi and Bint Jbeil and Sour. Instead, the bulk of the 715 millions were used in Za7li, Ashrafiyi, Sayda, Kisirwen and so on.

Bruno, it's not just a 2.5 to 250 factor of 100. It is much more, because the 250$ dollars in Lebanon, are the minimum MONTHLY wage. In the USA, the 2.5 $ is what a minimum wage employee would make in 20 or 30 minutes.

[J. Abizeid]

The $715 million is a down payment for the Palestinian Naturalization.
I wonder how much of that money went for commissions and what was the Batrak split in all that?

The subservient news media suggested election irregularity in Iran. May be it’s an innocent mistake mixing up Lebanon with Iran. We all know the US will never allow fraud and deceptions.

[Jumpo]

Originally Posted by J. Abizeid

The $715 million is a down payment for the Palestinian Naturalization.
I wonder how much of that money went for commissions and what was the Batrak split in all that?

I really do not know the answers to your questions, who knows? Batrak might get nothing, he is in it for spite. Anyhow, the goal of this thread is to highlight the double standard of the Americans.

Would they accept a candidate spending 350 billions to become president?
Of course not. Would they accept Canada to pay for their candidate campaign? Of course not.

There are few other examples where the Americans want the best for themselves, and for the other countries they want the worst.

For instance, would the Americans naturalize 30 millions Mexicans? Of course not. Yet, they want Lebanon to naturalize 300000 Palestinians (it is 10% of the population in both cases.

[Venom]

715 m to break FPM, 715m to take 2/3 of the parliament. Yet they failed.

[Orange Patriot]

What does $715 million mean?

$1 too short to buy all of Lebanon.

Thats a lot of cash that went to waste as their goal of taking Kesrwen, Jbeil, and Metn didnt come through.

Do you know what $715 million could have done to help the country's various industries/ infrastructure?

Instead they saw it fit to put it in the pockets of an exclusive few to the benefit of those exclusive few.

Come to think of it, even if they did put $715 million in the right place it would have gone into those same pockets anyway thanks to the corruption system in place.

Their investment would be better served by continuing to invest in the whoring industry.

oh wait... same pockets again...

[josephfpm]

Originally Posted by Venom

715 m to break FPM, 715m to take 2/3 of the parliament. Yet they failed.

Actually, it has nothing to do with FPM. FPM's agenda is purely lebanese but it's to break hizbollah. A Sunni defeat in lebanon against the opposition to the rest of the world is a loss against hizbollah and Iran. They spend millions to keep the Sunni's standing in lebanon that is pretty much it.

FPM is very much lost in what it can do. It's trying to get its lebanese agenda against corruption to take its path with the help of the rest of the opposition, but this is not top priority for anyone in the opposition except for the FPM, and it definitely is something that the party in power is never going to be interested in.

The game is a Sunni/Shiite game, lebanon's interests are way down the list. FPM is trying to give lebanon's interests top priority but nobody is interested, we understand the big picture, we need to get out of that regional and international game to get our **** together but obviously a lot of people in lebanon don't wanna be out especially FM and Hizbollah.

I should add, there's definitely an interest in breaking FPM, but it's not their ultimate goal the reason to break FPM is to isolate hizbollah.