As some have put it, "it's the perfect storm". Higher prices and higher demand are taking their toll, and many see no relief in sight. Some experts see possible solutions as a "catch 22 situation", while others see only temporary solutions. The general feeling is that we're headed for a world-wide famine.
Some interesting facts :
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(1) Wheat prices hit $24 a bushel this week in the futures markets, having been $3 a bushel four years go. That dwarfs the rise in oil prices.(2) Soybean prices in the United States have jumped from $5.72 in 2004 to $10.60 now. Wheat sold for $3.01 a bushel in 2004 and is now over $7.50, with prices for March delivery being quoted at $10.50 a bushel. Spring wheat prices were trading last week at $18.(3) World grain reserves are at their lowest levels since records were first kept back in 1960, and the U.S. stockpile had not been this low since 1948.(4) In some developing countries, prices have gone up 80 percent for staple food.The global economy is not just about coping with the subprime crisis, the fall of the dollar and oil at $100 a barrel. But the inflationary surge in food prices could prove to be the final straw.This problem has been coming for some time, driven by three separate factors. (1) The first is overall population increase. (2) The second is that emergent economies like China and India are climbing up the prosperity chain and demanding more meat protein, which takes eight times as much land to produce as vegetable protein. (3) The third is that short-sighted government subsidies for biofuels are eroding the amount of crops available for eating.
There are few easy choices. GMO crops remain controversial. And while one fast way to increase food production would be to increase the acreage under the plough in countries like Brazil, that would also mean further erosion of the rainforest and tougher environmental problems in the future. Food prices look set to keep on rising, and unless the World Food Program gets significant new funds, the world's poor are set to get even hungrier.( source for information - http://www.upi.com/International_Secu... )
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World demand can not be stopped. As the world population increases, demand for food, energy, and other commodities will also increase. One suggestion that I would make, would be to stop looking for water on Mars, and spend the money and resources looking for ways to feed the world.Our priorities can't be in order, if we're exploring the far reaches of the universe, while watching the world go hungry.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
e.thePeople : Article : English Not First Language
e.thePeople : Article : English Not First Language: "Modern civilization includes many advanced technological and awe-inspiring conveniences. We've come a long way since the 'horse and buggy' days. We can communicate around the world in seconds, where it use to take days and weeks. We can travel from one side of the earth to the other with relative ease.
Because of these modern conveniences, migration within countries, from one country to another, and from one continent to another, is as simple as getting on a plane, bus, train, or riding in a car. Migration has, and continues to change the social and cultural make-up of almost every country on earth.
It has become common to hear several languages spoken in a single community. This would be fine, except for the many obvious problems caused by a lack of communication between those speaking different languages. In almost all cases where this issue becomes a problem, the solutions are very expensive. We can see this in our own country, especially in states that border Mexico.
In some countries, such as the U.S., government services, state and local services, and many private businesses are adapting to the language barriers. These changes are not easy, cheap, or looked at favorably by the citizens of the host country.
This brings me to a situation now occurring in Scotland, where a difference in languages is causing similar problems to our own.
There's no way to stop migration, or the many problems that it causes. But, I would suggest that the host countries, demand that the immigrants learn new languages, and adapt to changes at their own expense. The burden on the citizens of the host countries is an unfair taxation, to say the least.
( source - http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/lates... )"
Because of these modern conveniences, migration within countries, from one country to another, and from one continent to another, is as simple as getting on a plane, bus, train, or riding in a car. Migration has, and continues to change the social and cultural make-up of almost every country on earth.
It has become common to hear several languages spoken in a single community. This would be fine, except for the many obvious problems caused by a lack of communication between those speaking different languages. In almost all cases where this issue becomes a problem, the solutions are very expensive. We can see this in our own country, especially in states that border Mexico.
In some countries, such as the U.S., government services, state and local services, and many private businesses are adapting to the language barriers. These changes are not easy, cheap, or looked at favorably by the citizens of the host country.
This brings me to a situation now occurring in Scotland, where a difference in languages is causing similar problems to our own.
There's no way to stop migration, or the many problems that it causes. But, I would suggest that the host countries, demand that the immigrants learn new languages, and adapt to changes at their own expense. The burden on the citizens of the host countries is an unfair taxation, to say the least.
( source - http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/lates... )"
Monday, February 25, 2008
Injustice In Afghanistan
I'm sure that most of you have heard accounts of the Islamic faith. In the Middle East, many are punished, some severely, for going against certain Islamic beliefs. A troubling story about a young college student, convicted, and sentenced to death, has brought international attention to his case. Please read the following story and then sign the petition connected with it.
The Story :
How he was sentenced to die.
'What they call my trial lasted just four minutes in a closed court. I was told that I was guilty and the decision was that I was going to die'
Clutching the bars at his prison, Sayed Pervez Kambaksh recalls how his life unravelled. "There was no question of me getting a lawyer to represent me in the case; in fact I was not even able to speak on my own defence."
The 23-year-old student, whose death sentence for downloading a report on women's rights from the internet has become an international cause célèbre, was speaking to The Independent at his jail in Mazar-i-Sharif – the first time the outside world has heard his own account of his shattering experience. In a voice soft, somewhat hesitant, he said: "The judges had made up their mind about the case without me. The way they talked to me, looked at me, was the way they look at a condemned man. I wanted to say 'this is wrong, please listen to me', but I was given no chance to explain."
The rest of the story : http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/how-he-was-sentenced-to-die-786832.html
The Petition : http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/sign-our-petitionbrbr-we-the-undersigned-urge-the-uk-foreign-office-to-put-all-possible-pressure-on-the-afghan-government-to-prevent-the-execution-of-sayed-pervez-kambaksh-brbr-775954.html
The Story :
How he was sentenced to die.
'What they call my trial lasted just four minutes in a closed court. I was told that I was guilty and the decision was that I was going to die'
Clutching the bars at his prison, Sayed Pervez Kambaksh recalls how his life unravelled. "There was no question of me getting a lawyer to represent me in the case; in fact I was not even able to speak on my own defence."
The 23-year-old student, whose death sentence for downloading a report on women's rights from the internet has become an international cause célèbre, was speaking to The Independent at his jail in Mazar-i-Sharif – the first time the outside world has heard his own account of his shattering experience. In a voice soft, somewhat hesitant, he said: "The judges had made up their mind about the case without me. The way they talked to me, looked at me, was the way they look at a condemned man. I wanted to say 'this is wrong, please listen to me', but I was given no chance to explain."
The rest of the story : http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/how-he-was-sentenced-to-die-786832.html
The Petition : http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/sign-our-petitionbrbr-we-the-undersigned-urge-the-uk-foreign-office-to-put-all-possible-pressure-on-the-afghan-government-to-prevent-the-execution-of-sayed-pervez-kambaksh-brbr-775954.html
Friday, February 22, 2008
Campaign Madness
Where are the presidential campaigns headed? The war of words is now in full swing. From everything that I've heard, the campaigns are centered around "intent" only. How will each candidate get the needed support from congress, to effectively implement their agendas, should they be elected to sit in the White House for four years?
It takes alot more than "sugar coated" speeches and "high hopes" promises to turn this country around. What will the next president do if the congress decides not to go along with the new agendas? Can we expect the new president to do what many before have tried and failed to do?
It takes alot more than "sugar coated" speeches and "high hopes" promises to turn this country around. What will the next president do if the congress decides not to go along with the new agendas? Can we expect the new president to do what many before have tried and failed to do?
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