How can people be starving still?

After news reports that Sam's Club and other grocers are limiting the amount of rice purchases this week, and of course the general upward trends of food stuff commodities ... we hear that even more people are starving in parts of the world.

Why? How can this be?

Tyler Cowen features his own article Freer trade could fill the world's rice bowl which ran in full length in the New York Times.

Here is the most interesting paragraph: (his quote, but I agree)

"The reality is that many of today’s commodity shortages, including that for oil, occur because ever more production and trade take place in relatively inefficient and inflexible countries. We’re accustomed to the response times of Silicon Valley, but when it comes to commodities production, many of the relevant institutions abroad have only one foot in the modern age. In other words, the world’s commodities table is very far from flat."

So, how exactly does a country or a farm belt return to free market roots? Should we unilaterally eliminate all farm subsidies and then go to the free market table with one less hypocricy in our back pocket? Should we stop paying gas stations to sell ethanol, since it's probably not cleaner and the market needs to pay for what it gets?

A deal brewing for Kosovo?

Would Serbia allow Kosovo full recognition in return for a northern province? I don't live there, but sounds like a decent idea.

clipped from www.sofiaecho.com Serbia’s defiant plan to include the territory of Kosovo in its May 11 elections has emerged as a pressing issue as the dispute over Kosovo’s status moved to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The UNSC met behind closed doors on April 21 to discuss a regular quarterly report on Kosovo by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) chief Joachim Ruecker. A key point that has angered Serbia is the report’s apparent acceptance of Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence on February 17 as a fait accompli. at least one of Kosovo’s neighbours – Macedonia – seemed to be coming to terms with the UN’s controversial acceptance of the new reality, when Macedonian and Kosovo representatives discussed border demarcation issues.

Do we even care about Darfur

Updated: Aegis Trust Seeks Help In Sudan Via Facebook And Google Maps

300,000 possibly dead in Darfur from Prayeramedic this morning got me thinking about Sudan and the inhuman atrocities going on in Darfur.

I told Dan that I was in Sudan a couple years ago and frankly the Sudan is really two countries. The north fully infiltrated by jihadists with the ablity to sink into Ethiopian style chaos. The south, with the oil, the old Coptic Christian animists, likely also to descend further into chaos.

In the great middle, filled with militias from multiple countries then is Darfur. Training ground for Chadian rebels and both sets of Sudanse militias. No one is "official" and all get money from governments surrounding the area.

Some things we should be doing:

First, pray for the Sudanese
Second, invest in refugee retraining and capitalization to return to their homes and open businesses.
Third, get extremely involved in helping Chad and Ethiopian and Kenya prod along possible democracy and freedoms to encircle the bad zones with freedom and opportunity.

Just my thoughts, from a layman's perspective. Thoughts?

Other posts about Sudan:
Full War could explode along Chad-Sudan border
So at least Bin Laden tells the truth

Condi assures Georgia

After Kosovo, will the Russians push for break away republics in surrounding countries?

clipped from news.bbc.co.uk US reassures Georgia over Russia US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has assured Georgia that the US is firmly committed to supporting the country's sovereignty. Georgia says Russian moves to forge closer ties with two of its breakaway regions threaten its sovereignty. The row between the two neighbours will be discussed at a closed-door session of the UN Security Council. After meeting Georgia's foreign minister, Ms Rice said the US was "very concerned" by Russia's actions. Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision last week to order closer links between Russia and Georgia's two breakaway regions - Abkhazia and South Ossetia - prompted outrage in Tbilisi.

Olympics 2008 - China and Freedom

While writing this morning on my Online Marketing - Online Income blog I alluded to the Chinese 2008 Olympics as a great topic for writing to generate traffic. This may seem like pandering to the masses, but a blog writer does have to write on topics that matter to real people.

While the traffic and commenting itself may matter to some writers, and of the cours the possible monetization from either, I actually have a few strong opinions on the matter, so I moved over here to my International Affairs - Freedom blog to comment more liberally. Follow the countdown to the Olympics, and the controversies of course, at the official Olympic movement site.

So, let me shoot straight and start the debate here:

I am not in favor of a boycott of the Olympics, ever. I would support attendance of an Olympics in North Korea, in Iran, in Cuba, in Venezuala, or in Palestine too. Evil tyranny will not be defeated by fearfully running away and shaking our fists. Despotism will crash when people are embued with the "God given" rights we were reminded of by our own Declaration of Independance in 1776. They have the rights, they need to be reminded of them.

The Soviet Union crashed when the Russian people were allowed to speak, to trade, to associate with us. We need to reach out to the Chinese people, and boycotting a sporting event doesn't do that.

Let the debate begin!

American Idol Predictions

From our resident Northwest Indiana American Idol Expert, Christopher Hedges comes his predictions for tonite:

Safe:
David Cook
David Archuleta
Jason Castro
Kristy Lee Cook

At Risk of Going Home:
Carly Smithson
Brooke White
Syesha Mercado

Hedges: I wouldn’t disagree with those predictions, but just as last week’s departure of Michael Johns shows us, sometimes American Idol fans can never predict what might happen.

Pelosi working against jobs in US

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi showed her true colors and injured our foreign policy and our jobs situation here in the United States, all to help her radical union friends:


The larger story out of Speaker Nancy’s Pelosi’s decision to kill the Colombia Free Trade Agreement is not that she did it, but that how she did it guts more than three decades of precedent and destroys U.S. credibility on free trade.

That said, there is still a strong factual basis to make for the deal. The United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce reminds us: Currently, almost all of Colombian exports enter the U.S. duty-free. The deal, if Congress approves, would eliminate tariffs on more than 80% of U.S. exports of industrial and consumer goods. Non-agricultural exports currently receive a 35% tariff, while agricultural exports face even higher numbers. Ultimately, the U.S. economy would see much-needed growth through the lowering of tariffs and increase of capital investments, making our country more competitive in the global market.….This trade agreement is also crucial to reclaiming American diplomatic influence in Latin America. Three years after passage of a trade agreement with Chile, their per capita income rose by 83% over this same period, and unemployment fell from 8.1% in 2003 to 6% at the end of 2006.

Polls shows McCain wins election

Contrary to major media reports, McCain is winning in the general election polls

clipped from americasbestchoice.blogspot.com H/T ARRA News Service - Rasmussen Reports, Presidential Tracking Poll (4/13/07): Sen. John McCain leads both Democratic presidential contenders in the latest daily tracking poll compiled by Rasmussen Reports. McCain, R-AZ., the presumptive Republican nominee, outpolls both Sen. Barack Obama, D-IL, by 50% to 42%, and Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, by 49% to 41%. McCain now leads both Democrats among unaffiliated voters. . . . Rasmussen Reports is surveying voters this weekend for reaction to Obama’s remarks. Preliminary indications from interviews with 400 Likely Voters suggest that the comments are troublesome for Republicans and unaffiliated voters. However, there is less of an impact among Democrats. That tends to confirm the growing consensus that the comments may have more impact on the General Election than the Primaries.

US opens embassy in Kosovo

UN Sec Gen also suggests that the process cannot be reversed.

clipped from www.sofiaecho.com US, Slovenia open embassies in Kosovo The United States opened an embassy in Kosovo’s capital Pristina on April 8, Serbian and Kosovar news agencies reported, citing a US statement. The embassy is headed by Tina Kaidanow as charge d’affaires. She said that the embassy had been opened on the recommendation of US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice. Kosovo president Fatmir Sejdiu said that Kosovo had a long history of special relations with the US, “cultivated and strengthened during the most difficult times in the existence of the people of Kosovo”. Kosovo prime minister Hashim Thaci said that the opening of the US embassy was “a magnificent deed”. The news website of Kosova Live said that in opening the embassy, Washington was “proving the commitment of Washington towards the state of Kosova, for which they gave a special contribution before and after the war as well for the international recognition of Kosova’s independence”.

Why does GOP get less youth vote?

Why do you think? The delivery? The method? The message?

clipped from techrepublican.com Why the GOP Lost the Youth Vote I came across an article by David Frum in this morning's USA Today, entitled Why the GOP Lost the Youth Vote. Don't get me wrong, I think David Frum is one smart political strategist, but I figure I'll insert my two cents on this one. Frum argues that the GOP is losing the youth vote for several reasons, which you can read in his article, but they all have to do with current environmental & political conditions and little to do with the way the party is communicating with this changing generation of voters. I'm interested to hear more about how Frum views the role of the Internet as a means to communicate with youth voters. Is it really that the GOP's issues don't align with youth priorities, or is it more a failure to communicate effectively? What do you think?

Costas to run for attorney general

Another step in the NW Indiana's move to renew, led by Jon Costas

clipped from www.thetimesonline.com Costas enters GOP attorney general field Mayor Jon Costas hopes to appear on the Republican ticket in November as the party's nominee for Indiana attorney general, the two-term city leader announced Tuesday. Costas said he began considering the statewide post three weeks ago, after Republican Attorney General Steve Carter announced he would forgo a third term Four other prominent Republican lawyers have expressed interest in the nomination. But one of them, Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita, on Tuesday said he'd step aside for Costas

Gruesome Tibet Crackdown Photos

I can't vouch for the veracity of these photos, and disagree a bit with the author about the calls for a boycott, but it goes without saying that China needs to have its veil of secrecy torn away. Time to see the power of freedom!

Violence Continues in Tibet - Photos of the Dead
from Kevin Tracy by Kevin

Back in February, I wrote about foreign banks sending representatives to the US to shut down the website, WikiLeaks.org. I checked on them recently and they’re back
online with scores of videos and photographs from Tibet after the Chinese
Government ordered all tourists and foreigners out of the occupied Himalayan
nation.

Warning: The photos are pretty rough, so only venture over if you are prepared.

I do disagree with Kevin's calls and Speaker Pelosi's calls for a boycott. Let the athletes help tear off the veil.

International Relations Today

NATO agrees on Albania, Croatia entry

Greek veto may threaten the love fest for expansion of NATO. Why are the Greeks against expansion of the very agreement that has protected them for 50 years? Anyone have the other side of the story?

US, Russia still at odds on missiles

Bread or Bombs? What happens next in Egypt, fanaticism or democracy?

Dictator for Dummies - The Book

I just tweeted a minute ago a thought. Is there a "dictator for dummies" book that tells these guys how to control, manipulate, and oppress entire nations? @daltonsbriefs

You are welcome to join the conversation here or there.

Here's the newsalert that got me started:

More poll results come in for crisis-hit Zimbabwe
Source: Reuters
By Stella Mapenzauswa
HARARE, April 3 (Reuters) - More delayed election results started trickling in on Thursday as crisis-stricken Zimbabwe anxiously awaited a leadership meeting expected to discuss the biggest challenge to President Robert Mugabe's 28-year rule.
Amid uncertainty over whether Mugabe will be able to hang on to power, authorities said results of elections to the senate, the upper house of parliament -- which must precede presidential results -- had been delayed by "logistical problems".
According to the first batch of results issued by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) on Thursday night, opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF each won five seats out of 60 contested.

A runoff in Zimbabwea

Zimbabwe ruling party projection shows run-off needed
01 Apr 2008
Source: Reuters
HARARE, April 1 (Reuters) - A projection by Zimbabwe's ruling party shows opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai will beat President Robert Mugabe in the country's election but a runoff will be needed, ZANU-PF party sources said on Tuesday.

Two senior sources who asked not to be named said projections showed Tsvangirai getting 48.3 percent, against Mugabe's 43 percent, with third candidate Simba Makoni taking eight percent. For an outright victory, a candidate must get 51 percent