What has always united us - what has always driven our people; what drew my father to America's shores - is a set of ideals that speak to aspirations shared by all people: that we can live free from fear and free from want; that we can speak our minds and assemble with whomever we choose and worship as we please.
This is a declaration of Obama's - and America's - new Self for the world...
Our intrepid G8 politicians have gathered on the beautifully serene lake Toya, in Japan's northern island of Hokkaido for a round of cosy talks on such pesky subject matters like food shortages, climate change and various modern ills.
The global food shortage was not evident as the G8 leaders tucked in a "working lunch" of white asparagus and truffle soup followed by kegani crab salad, a supreme of chicken and cheese and coffee with exotic petit fours. Alongside bottled mineral waters, crates of Chateau Grillet 2005 was on offer for those who felt like a tipple as African leaders urged the G8 to tackle spiking oil and food prices, warning the crisis threatens to aggravate an already desperate plight in the continent.
Personally, I have known for some time that these "power summits" - concocted some thirty years ago in a fireside chat at Rambouillet - achieve little, if anything it provides some mental masturbatory moments for weary leaders and a promise of top notch repasts. If some of you have better information on past G8 feats not feasts, do tell.
Zimbabwe's opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai writes a powerful op-ed in the Guardian today extolling the international community to intervene in Zimbabwe.
[w]e need a force to protect the people. We do not want armed conflict, but the people of Zimbabwe need the words of indignation from global leaders to be backed by the moral rectitude of military force. Such a force would be in the role of peacekeepers, not trouble-makers. They would separate the people from their oppressors and cast the protective shield around the democratic process for which Zimbabwe yearns...
Water is Life, yet over 1 billion people have no access to safe drinking water and over 2 billion lack basic sanitation. As you know, due to increasingly lower availability of water in many parts of the world, water has more and more become a political commodity.
In fact, quite a few conflicts have been fought because of water. With the horrid news of Mount Kilimanjaros's imminent loss of snow caps and the inexorable march of desertification coupled with inane and unchecked deforestation, political leaders will have to start addressing the question of water shortages sooner than later.
Did you happen to see Gen. Collin Powell's live broadcast from UN? I saw the broadcast live and immediately following was another broadcast ( think it was live or could have been taped anyway more on that.... )
Global food prices force about 100 million people into hunger.
High food prices are pushing 30 million Africans into poverty.
About 850 million people are suffering from chronic hunger worldwide.
Food prices have hit the highest levels in real terms in 30 years.
Price of rice has gone up by 75% globally.
Global food prices rose by 43% in 2007 alone.
The US has diverted about 40 million tons of maize to produce ethanol.
An acre of maize produces only 50 gallons of gasoline.
EU plans to get 10% of auto fuel from Bio-energy by 2020.
Food riots and food wars are not just taking place in the streets of Egypt and in Mexico, they are taking place in the corridors of the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN)
With all of this criticism in hand, leaving the council altogether does nothing to fix it. Human Rights are certainly important and I hope that the council improves on its record, but this says little for our administration. Rather, it says things we already know.
UPDATE: Allow me to clarify that I do not fully agree with the HRC myself. Its ignoring of Darfur is particularly offensive. Nevertheless, I do not think that abandoning misguided programs will help unless an alternative is introduced. I doubt that the meaning of the withdrawal was meant to signify the creation of an improved council. Thus, I think it is fair to be angry at the act.
In today's world, where so many wake up in poverty and go to sleep hungry, each of us should ask: "how can I change this?" It is a sin to waste food while others do not have enough to eat. Every year the food waste in America alone can feed over 50 million people per year. Another example: if a farmer grows 100,000 pounds of tomatoes, usually about half of them (50,000 lbs) must be thrown away. This is because if a tomato is slightly misshapen, discolored, too small (or too big), or blemished in any way, it will not meet the consumer demand for a "perfect" tomato and will therefore be rejected.
This is true for many fruit and vegetable crops. To prevent trucks of produce from being rejected, crops are "culled" (hand sorted) after they are picked. About half goes into the truck on its way to the store. The other half goes into the truck going to the dump, or destined to be plowed under and sprayed with insecticide. The food being thrown away is not rotten or bad in any way.
"This is a fight we cannot afford to lose, the enemy is hunger", so said Ban Ki Moon yesterday in Rome. However his words fell on deaf ears. So far only a measly 3 billions has been "promised" to feed the 900 million who are on the verge of starvation. Yesterday I reported that a figure of an annual 30 billion has been calculated by the UN as the ballpark figure to address world hunger. Unfortunately this conference has been highjacked by a brace of tyrants, namely the odious Mugabe of Zimbabwe, and the bearded buffoon from Iran, Ahmadinejad, who both managed to accuse the West for their ills. Additionally, Latin American countries are refusing to sign a declaration on dealing with the world food crisis, delegates at a UN food summit have told journalists (this is still developing) as a final declaration had been set to be released at 1500 GMT. Don't hold your breath.
The primaries are over! Now is the time to solve the real problems as world leaders gather in Rome for the second day of talks on food price escalation and, with luck, to settle on a common strategy to deal with the crisis, the FAO has put a price on eradicating hunger: $30bn. Yep! That's for one year.
In his opening presentation, FAO director general Jacques Diouf pointed out that, in 2006, the total amount spent by nations on arms was $1200 bn. Here are some horrifying figures: just one country could waste as much as $100bn, and excess consumption contributing to global obesity amounted to $20bn.
Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary general, said the solution to the current world food crisis had to include financial support for African farmers.
Attending the conference in his new role as the chair of Agra, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, he said the African farmer was the only farmer in the world that still took all the risks, often operating without financial support, expertise or safety nets.
For those of us with memories of earlier contested presidential campaigns, the Obama-Clinton contest was a tiff rather than a battle. Check out the history of Carter-Kennedy in 1980, let alone the entire 1968 mess. That said, there are real issues for Nominee Obama when it comes to dealing with Mrs. Clinton and her faction. She has earned respect, she represents a large number of voters, and she is a more-than-capable woman. She also carries more baggage than a Red Cap at O'Hare airport, and brings nothing to the ticket. New York will go Democratic this November, and I don't see thinking moderate and progressive women backing McCain (despite what is currently said). So what does Obama do with Hillary, and with Bill?
My email box this morning bristled with an inordinate amount of messages from various food agencies but the one that I opened up straight away came from the FAO, with a link to their latest pdf prepared & published for next week's high level conference on world food security in Rome.
"Speculators outside of the food industry pouring money into financial mechanisms in the commodity markets could be cause for concern"
In a far-reaching report on global food prices, the UN questions the contribution of institutional investors to the recent turmoil in commodity markets.
"A key concern now is the participation of new agents that are perceived to be motivated by risk-diversification to the exclusion of serious assessment of price levels,
A month ago I wrote a diary which, gasp, dared to suggest that indeed there was a tidal wave of investors and speculators pouring into the futures markets for corn, wheat, rice and other commodities and who were driving up prices.
This has not been a good week for right-wing ideologues.
Pakistan struck a deal with Taliban.
Defying the taunt of "Appeaser" with which Bush warned Olmert, and the threat of indictment for his relationship with Long Island Rabbi Moshe Talansky that Bibi Netanyahu hopes to use to replace Israel's sitting Prime Minister with his own sweet self, Ehud Olmert is courageously forging ahead with negotiations with Syria for the return of Golan Heights to Syria.
Now comes this news from CASMII, the Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran:
Iran presented its proposal for talks with the 5+1 group, entitled, "Package for Constructive Negotiations", to the United Nations.
Before long, think tankers are going to be vying for jobs flipping burgers. And the world will be a better place.
Just to flog the appeasement dead horse a bit more, because the GOPers seem determined to keep trying this against Obama with the hope that it sticks. It certainly does nothing to help that Joe Liarbemen (hint - letters jumbled) is trumping that to try and add credence to the GOP attacks on our most likely nominee and most likely next POTUS! Below is part of the article on NPR.
An Israeli official says two of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's senior advisers are currently in Istanbul with their Syrian counterparts; they have been holding indirect talks through senior Turkish diplomats since Monday.
Israeli officials say the goal is to restart direct talks and reach a comprehensive peace deal with Syria. A statement released simultaneously today in Israel and Syria said the two sides are committed to "serious and continuous" talks.
Talking of Lie berman, didn't senator Reid say that there was a threshold he could cross to lead Reid to strip him off his duties. Surely has he not now certainly crossed that threshold, dear sir Mr. Reid? Link to story on UN secretary General's appeasement of the military Junta in Myanmar below the flip
NPR Israel Appeasement story
In this election season, we have had a candidate espouse the idea that speeches are just words. Many have countered that words can change the world. Indeed I am one of those who truly believes that words can be mightier than the sword...words can be used to sway the minds of a nation, induce the ignorant to do your bidding, ignite wars, or bring about peace.
The recent exchange between Senator McCain and reporter Joe Klein certainly exposed another McCain gaffe in which he is rightfully being ridiculed for not understanding President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's political role. Miasmo has an excellent diary on that topic. However, I found the larger gaffe to be Senator McCain’s continued use of a completely fabricated quote to be far more jarring.
Here is a challenge to consider: tonight - for just one night - go without dinner; go to bed hungry. This act of conviction serves to remind each of us of the global emergency that is currently being described by the World Food Program as the "silent tsunami."
Imagine having to go without food for days on end as roughly a billion people do on a regular basis. Imagine having to put your kids to sleep at night hungry. How did we get to this point and what did the various governments in the world do to alleviate the hunger and the suffering? Not much, as most States still spend a large portion of their GDP, doggedly, in defense, shoring up armies and armament as if there's no tomorrow, still drawing invisible battle lines on the earth, water and space.
However, there is movement at the station, to paraphrase Banjo Paterson.
