A weekend's Reactions that deserve a second look:
Sunday
By J. Thomas Duffy: "Our Ignorant Dolt of the Week ... Little Billy Kristol!" -- Duffy's really on a roll with his fabulous rant against Krystol's call for "pardoning . . . everyone who served in good faith in the war on terror . . . but whose deeds may now be susceptible to demagogic or politically inspired prosecution by some seeking to score political points." Indeed!
By Capt. Fogg: "Bond lives" -- With warmth and skill, the good Captain writes a lovely post about one of undoubtedly many small stories of heroism during the terrorist attacks on Mumbai, India's Taj Mahal hotel.
By Creature: "Truth in Comics" -- Creature's choice is dead on to the current administration's last ditch attack on the environment.
By Grace: "Rattling the cage: Instability on Canada's political and economic scenes" -- Grace illuminates the ins and outs of the current governance situation, concluding, "It's a little bit frightening to have instability both in the economy and political arena at the same time – especially now."
Saturday
(two-for-the-price-of-one)
By Michael J.W. Stickings: "Sign of the Apocalypse #59: Trampling death at Wal-Mart" and "Gun violence at Toys "R" Us" -- Michael, like all of us," is aghast at these two instances of senseless death and destruction wrought by out-of-control shopping nuts.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Our Ignorant Dolt of the Week ... Little Billy Kristol!
By J. Thomas Duffy
Well, once again, it certainly was a tough week on the IDOTW front.
Not, necessarily, due to the absence of some fine candidates, however, with the Bird Day Holiday, a rather slow news week.
Unless, of course, you happened to be vacationing at the the Taj Hotel, in Mumbai (and we may yet to find out, the demands of the terrorists were merely to go back to calling the city Bombay).
Ahhh, so who stepped up to the Idiot Dolt bar ...
Robert Rubin, the Citigroup big cheese, certainly gets an honorable mention.
His "Hey, I didn't do it ... Not my fault" probably, in any other week, could have captured the prize.
But no, today in fact, we had our winner come burstin' through ...
Little Billy Kristol.
Now, I'm sure, this was predictable, the way he waved his poms-poms for The Bush Grindhouse, giving them leather-lunged "Sis-Boom-Bahs", all the way into Baghdad, keeping the creases crisp in his poodle skirt.
What did he do today?
Nothing, other then open The Dubya Legacy Registry (found were finer NeoNitWit merchandise is sold), with a laundry list that, undoubtedly, will get picked up by the other Flying Monkeys in the Right Wing Freak Show.
After slapping the PNAC dildo on the table, for the military, and waving it, menacingly, at the incoming Obama Administration, to not go after the dwarf, finks, phonies and frauds who carried out Darth Vader Cheney's orders to piss-and-shit on The Constitution, Little Billy scribbled this;
Before He Goes ... What President Bush could accomplish in his final days in office
"...demagogic or politically inspired prosecution by some seeking to score political points ..."
Don't prosecute anyone for breaking our laws, but, rather, give them medals for it ...
Brilliant!
Jesus!
By the time this bounces around the echo chamber, via the deadwood at Faux News, Rush, Matt Sludge, Rich Lowry (if he's cleared the starbursts out of his eyes), Prom Dress Boy, the rancid swizzle stick with the eye patch, and all the others, I half expect to see them all, a full bleacher section, on Pennsylvania Avenue, on Inauguration Day, heckling, and harassing President Obama, holding up signs, chanting "No War Crimes! ... No War Crimes! ... Hell No, Let Bush and Cheney Go! ... Hell No, Let Bush and Cheney Go!"
Watch how this will open the flood gates, the revisionism of the Bush Grindhouse officially kicks off, thanks to Little Billy Kristol.
Never mind, for every pat-on-the-back, every hosanna, every bon mot, there's, likely, three different criminal felony charges that could be leveled on Dubya and Darth.
No, Little Billy, we will not pardon anyone, or vociferously praise anyone.
In fact, the only medal-pinning that will take place is for you, attaching The Garlic's "Ignorant Dolt of the Week"to your motherfucking lying, jingoistic, right-wing, war-mongering ass.
Bonus Little Billy Ass-Kissin' Riffs
The Heretik: No ...No, hell no
Steve Benen: KRISTOL WANTS REWARDS FOR TORTURERS...
Think Progress: Kristol Calls On Bush To Pardon Torturers And Wiretappers, Reward Them With Medal Of Freedom
Andrew Sullivan: Freedom And Torture
Alan Colmes: Expect Conservatives To Use India Tragedy To Laud Bush
NYT Editorial: Mr. Bush and the Pardon Power
(Cross Posted at The Garlic)
Well, once again, it certainly was a tough week on the IDOTW front.
Not, necessarily, due to the absence of some fine candidates, however, with the Bird Day Holiday, a rather slow news week.
Unless, of course, you happened to be vacationing at the the Taj Hotel, in Mumbai (and we may yet to find out, the demands of the terrorists were merely to go back to calling the city Bombay).
Ahhh, so who stepped up to the Idiot Dolt bar ...
Robert Rubin, the Citigroup big cheese, certainly gets an honorable mention.
His "Hey, I didn't do it ... Not my fault" probably, in any other week, could have captured the prize.
But no, today in fact, we had our winner come burstin' through ...
Little Billy Kristol.
Now, I'm sure, this was predictable, the way he waved his poms-poms for The Bush Grindhouse, giving them leather-lunged "Sis-Boom-Bahs", all the way into Baghdad, keeping the creases crisp in his poodle skirt.
What did he do today?
Nothing, other then open The Dubya Legacy Registry (found were finer NeoNitWit merchandise is sold), with a laundry list that, undoubtedly, will get picked up by the other Flying Monkeys in the Right Wing Freak Show.
After slapping the PNAC dildo on the table, for the military, and waving it, menacingly, at the incoming Obama Administration, to not go after the dwarf, finks, phonies and frauds who carried out Darth Vader Cheney's orders to piss-and-shit on The Constitution, Little Billy scribbled this;
Before He Goes ... What President Bush could accomplish in his final days in office
One last thing: Bush should consider pardoning--and should at least be vociferously praising--everyone who served in good faith in the war on terror, but whose deeds may now be susceptible to demagogic or politically inspired prosecution by some seeking to score political points. The lawyers can work out if such general or specific preemptive pardons are possible; it may be that the best Bush can or should do is to warn publicly against any such harassment or prosecution. But the idea is this: The CIA agents who waterboarded Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and the NSA officials who listened in on phone calls from Pakistan, should not have to worry about legal bills or public defamation. In fact, Bush might want to give some of these public servants the Medal of Freedom at the same time he bestows the honor on Generals Petraeus and Odierno. They deserve it.Got that?
"...demagogic or politically inspired prosecution by some seeking to score political points ..."
Don't prosecute anyone for breaking our laws, but, rather, give them medals for it ...
Brilliant!
Jesus!
By the time this bounces around the echo chamber, via the deadwood at Faux News, Rush, Matt Sludge, Rich Lowry (if he's cleared the starbursts out of his eyes), Prom Dress Boy, the rancid swizzle stick with the eye patch, and all the others, I half expect to see them all, a full bleacher section, on Pennsylvania Avenue, on Inauguration Day, heckling, and harassing President Obama, holding up signs, chanting "No War Crimes! ... No War Crimes! ... Hell No, Let Bush and Cheney Go! ... Hell No, Let Bush and Cheney Go!"
Watch how this will open the flood gates, the revisionism of the Bush Grindhouse officially kicks off, thanks to Little Billy Kristol.
Never mind, for every pat-on-the-back, every hosanna, every bon mot, there's, likely, three different criminal felony charges that could be leveled on Dubya and Darth.
No, Little Billy, we will not pardon anyone, or vociferously praise anyone.
In fact, the only medal-pinning that will take place is for you, attaching The Garlic's "Ignorant Dolt of the Week"to your motherfucking lying, jingoistic, right-wing, war-mongering ass.
Bonus Little Billy Ass-Kissin' Riffs
The Heretik: No ...No, hell no
Steve Benen: KRISTOL WANTS REWARDS FOR TORTURERS...
Think Progress: Kristol Calls On Bush To Pardon Torturers And Wiretappers, Reward Them With Medal Of Freedom
Andrew Sullivan: Freedom And Torture
Alan Colmes: Expect Conservatives To Use India Tragedy To Laud Bush
NYT Editorial: Mr. Bush and the Pardon Power
(Cross Posted at The Garlic)
INTERNET GOLD SERIES - # 12
MIENFOKS presents random gems found somewhere on the internet and brought here for your mocking pleasure. Look closely as some of the humor is subtle
Bond lives
By Capt. Fogg
As I keep saying, it's not terrorism if you're not terrified. The notion of a United States with 300 million people cringing and cowering in fear that a dozen nutjobs from abroad might come and shoot us all is, quite frankly disgusting and reminding ourselves at every football game that we live in the home of the brave doesn't seem to have much of an effect. Very odd in a country where so many of us are heavily armed.
As one who grew up in the years immediately following WWII, I've long been impressed with the stories of the citizens of London going about their business, upper lips as stiff as Sheffield steel while the bombs and rockets fell from the sky, night after night. People slept in the underground and in the suburbs, houses such as my parents once lived in had a reinforced bomb shelter in the back garden. If they were terrified, they kept it to themselves. England was devastated, the English were not.
I have to be impressed by the story related today in the Daily Mail by an Englishman who took refuge in a restaurant in the Taj Mahal hotel while the shooting went on on the other side of an improvised barricade.
said Nick Hayward. Remaining calm and sober, they conducted a search for booby traps and built barricades.
At 5 o'clock in the morning, as it began to seem that Indian troops would soon retake the hotel lobby, the group, stirred but not shaken, found some glasses and a bottle of vintage champagne:
My kind of people -- and my kind of hotel.
(Cross-posted from Human Voices.)
As I keep saying, it's not terrorism if you're not terrified. The notion of a United States with 300 million people cringing and cowering in fear that a dozen nutjobs from abroad might come and shoot us all is, quite frankly disgusting and reminding ourselves at every football game that we live in the home of the brave doesn't seem to have much of an effect. Very odd in a country where so many of us are heavily armed.
As one who grew up in the years immediately following WWII, I've long been impressed with the stories of the citizens of London going about their business, upper lips as stiff as Sheffield steel while the bombs and rockets fell from the sky, night after night. People slept in the underground and in the suburbs, houses such as my parents once lived in had a reinforced bomb shelter in the back garden. If they were terrified, they kept it to themselves. England was devastated, the English were not.
I have to be impressed by the story related today in the Daily Mail by an Englishman who took refuge in a restaurant in the Taj Mahal hotel while the shooting went on on the other side of an improvised barricade.
I was extremely lucky. I was with a very good bunch of people. Three or four of us were Brits,
said Nick Hayward. Remaining calm and sober, they conducted a search for booby traps and built barricades.
At 5 o'clock in the morning, as it began to seem that Indian troops would soon retake the hotel lobby, the group, stirred but not shaken, found some glasses and a bottle of vintage champagne:
[T]he head waiter came rushing across to me and said, "No, no, you can't do that!" and I said, "Well we're going to" and he said, "No sir, those are the wrong type of glasses. I shall find you champagne flutes."
My kind of people -- and my kind of hotel.
(Cross-posted from Human Voices.)
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Carolina Liar's "I'm Not Over"
By Michael J.W. Stickings
My latest musical discovery, via iTunes, is Carolina Liar, an L.A.-based band with a lead singer and songwriter, Chad Wolf, from one of the Carolinas (South) and everyone else, including the producers of its fine debut album, Coming to Terms, from Sweden. (Wikipedia entry here, MySpace page here.)
There's nothing too edgy or adventurous on Coming to Terms, but it's all quite appealing. The tunes are catchy, the lyrics are pretty good, and Wolf has a strong voice. Here's the video for the album's opening track, "I'm Not Over." It's not the best song on the album -- my favourites are "Coming to Terms," "Show Me What I'm Looking For," and "Beautiful World" -- but it's a compelling introduction to CL's music.
Have a listen. And check 'em out. (And if you buy the album, make sure you get the version with the three extra songs on it -- 15 in total.)
My latest musical discovery, via iTunes, is Carolina Liar, an L.A.-based band with a lead singer and songwriter, Chad Wolf, from one of the Carolinas (South) and everyone else, including the producers of its fine debut album, Coming to Terms, from Sweden. (Wikipedia entry here, MySpace page here.)
There's nothing too edgy or adventurous on Coming to Terms, but it's all quite appealing. The tunes are catchy, the lyrics are pretty good, and Wolf has a strong voice. Here's the video for the album's opening track, "I'm Not Over." It's not the best song on the album -- my favourites are "Coming to Terms," "Show Me What I'm Looking For," and "Beautiful World" -- but it's a compelling introduction to CL's music.
Have a listen. And check 'em out. (And if you buy the album, make sure you get the version with the three extra songs on it -- 15 in total.)
Rattling the cage: Instability on Canada's political and economic scenes
By Grace
On October 14, 2008, Canadians gave Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper a minority government. Six weeks later, there are rumblings that two of the opposition parties, the Liberals and New Democrats, are in the process of brokering a deal to throw out the Tories and form a coalition government with the support of the Bloc Quebecois.
The Conservatives ran on a platform of avoiding running a federal budget deficit, and even went to so far as to claim that under their guidance, Canada would not slide into a recession. Since returning to Parliament, the Tories have reassessed their previous stance and are admitting that a budget deficit may be on the horizon (the great irony being that Stephen Harper himself is an economist), and that a recession is indeed coming. But despite the current auto industry crisis and economic forecasting, Harper and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty have yet to craft an economic stimulus package.
The trigger, however, for all the whisperings to oust the current government was a proposal by Flaherty to cut public funding for political parties in a fiscal update bill without putting a stimulus package together. Parties currently get $1.95-per-vote after an election; removing it would "would cement the financial supremacy of the Conservative party and its state-of-the-art fundraising machine." The opposition decries this as a self-serving political and ideological move in a time where efforts should be concentrated on the financial crisis.
Despite winning 37% of the popular vote, a clear minority, Harper has chosen to run Parliament as though he had won a majority: without compromise, on which the longevity of such governments, not to mention good governance, depends. In the face of this new development, rather than, well, compromise, he appeared at a press conference to denounce this move as "undemocratic" and that the parties would rather "take power, not earn it." Well – that's not an entirely fair accusation – the Liberals and NDP together have 44% of the popular vote, and this deal couldn’t be made if there wasn’t a provision for it in the constitution.
What Harper’s press conference has proven is that the opposition has finally made a move, both large and serious enough, to rattle him. It's also clear that he's concerned about whether he can hold onto power or not.
Yesterday, an announcement was made that they would kill the plan to remove public subsidies for political parties. This is all brinksmanship, and this time the Tories blinked first (which may be a first in and of itself). But it appears that the opposition has not been appeased – they still take issue with the absence of a stimulus package and the fact that Conservatives are dragging their feet when calculated but swift action is needed.
Forming a coalition would involve a vote of non-confidence, which would topple the existing government. The Prime Minister would have to approach Governor General, Michaëlle Jean, to request a new election – something she could refuse if she believed that a coalition government would be viable for a sufficient period of time.
It's a huge gamble. If the Governor General doesn't believe that the coalition government would work, Canadians would have to revisit the polls – possibly for the second time in three or four months. It's an expensive proposition when we can't afford needless spending.
Also in question is who would lead the coalition. The Liberals will be at the forefront, but leader Stephane Dion stepped down after the previous election and the party will not choose a new one until May 2009. He remains there as the interim head. The leadership candidates are not good options at this time (it will have an impact on the selection process).
It's all very interesting, but there are too many variables in play. It's a little bit frightening to have instability both in the economy and political arena at the same time – especially now.
Buckle your seat belts, Canucks: It's going to be a bumpy ride.
On October 14, 2008, Canadians gave Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper a minority government. Six weeks later, there are rumblings that two of the opposition parties, the Liberals and New Democrats, are in the process of brokering a deal to throw out the Tories and form a coalition government with the support of the Bloc Quebecois.
The Conservatives ran on a platform of avoiding running a federal budget deficit, and even went to so far as to claim that under their guidance, Canada would not slide into a recession. Since returning to Parliament, the Tories have reassessed their previous stance and are admitting that a budget deficit may be on the horizon (the great irony being that Stephen Harper himself is an economist), and that a recession is indeed coming. But despite the current auto industry crisis and economic forecasting, Harper and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty have yet to craft an economic stimulus package.
The trigger, however, for all the whisperings to oust the current government was a proposal by Flaherty to cut public funding for political parties in a fiscal update bill without putting a stimulus package together. Parties currently get $1.95-per-vote after an election; removing it would "would cement the financial supremacy of the Conservative party and its state-of-the-art fundraising machine." The opposition decries this as a self-serving political and ideological move in a time where efforts should be concentrated on the financial crisis.
Despite winning 37% of the popular vote, a clear minority, Harper has chosen to run Parliament as though he had won a majority: without compromise, on which the longevity of such governments, not to mention good governance, depends. In the face of this new development, rather than, well, compromise, he appeared at a press conference to denounce this move as "undemocratic" and that the parties would rather "take power, not earn it." Well – that's not an entirely fair accusation – the Liberals and NDP together have 44% of the popular vote, and this deal couldn’t be made if there wasn’t a provision for it in the constitution.
What Harper’s press conference has proven is that the opposition has finally made a move, both large and serious enough, to rattle him. It's also clear that he's concerned about whether he can hold onto power or not.
Yesterday, an announcement was made that they would kill the plan to remove public subsidies for political parties. This is all brinksmanship, and this time the Tories blinked first (which may be a first in and of itself). But it appears that the opposition has not been appeased – they still take issue with the absence of a stimulus package and the fact that Conservatives are dragging their feet when calculated but swift action is needed.
Forming a coalition would involve a vote of non-confidence, which would topple the existing government. The Prime Minister would have to approach Governor General, Michaëlle Jean, to request a new election – something she could refuse if she believed that a coalition government would be viable for a sufficient period of time.
It's a huge gamble. If the Governor General doesn't believe that the coalition government would work, Canadians would have to revisit the polls – possibly for the second time in three or four months. It's an expensive proposition when we can't afford needless spending.
Also in question is who would lead the coalition. The Liberals will be at the forefront, but leader Stephane Dion stepped down after the previous election and the party will not choose a new one until May 2009. He remains there as the interim head. The leadership candidates are not good options at this time (it will have an impact on the selection process).
It's all very interesting, but there are too many variables in play. It's a little bit frightening to have instability both in the economy and political arena at the same time – especially now.
Buckle your seat belts, Canucks: It's going to be a bumpy ride.
Gun violence at Toys "R" Us
By Michael J.W. Stickings
So... yeah.
In my last post, written just a couple of hours ago, a SOTA post on the trampling death at Wal-Mart, I wrote this: "And don't think it was just the 2,000 or so people who lined up before 5 am at that particular Wal-Mart. There are countless more just like them, brutally rapacious and more than willing to storm and trample and kill in search of that must-have sale item, or whatever it is they need, or have been told they need, whatever it is they think will make them happy, common decency and everyone else be damned."
Well:
Seriously. I came across this story shortly after posting on the Wal-Mart incident.
Merry Christmas.
So... yeah.
In my last post, written just a couple of hours ago, a SOTA post on the trampling death at Wal-Mart, I wrote this: "And don't think it was just the 2,000 or so people who lined up before 5 am at that particular Wal-Mart. There are countless more just like them, brutally rapacious and more than willing to storm and trample and kill in search of that must-have sale item, or whatever it is they need, or have been told they need, whatever it is they think will make them happy, common decency and everyone else be damned."
Well:
Two people have died in a shooting incident at a Toys "R" Us store in Southern California on the busiest U.S. shopping day of the year.
Seriously. I came across this story shortly after posting on the Wal-Mart incident.
Merry Christmas.
Sign of the Apocalypse #59: Trampling death at Wal-Mart
By Michael J.W. Stickings
Capt. Fogg wrote about the Wal-Mart trampling death yesterday -- and I'm calling it yet another Sign of the Apocalypse -- but I couldn't resist posting this headline from the AP:
Here's the deal:
It's a horrible story, obviously. And, to me, it's even worse when it's juxtaposed with the recent horrific events in Mumbai. Not because, in and of itself, it's worse than the attacks in Mumbai, and certainly not because the Wal-Mart killers are worse than the Mumbai killers, but because while there is serious shit going on in the world, both serious violence and serious suffering, serious shit that deserves our serious attention and our serious efforts to fix the problems that cause it, the Wal-Mart incident, an incident of lethal violence, however unintentional, was, at its core, a display of disgusting, out-of-control greed. It's like, with all the serious shit going on in the world, of which the attacks in Mumbai are a stark, news-dominating example, all these pathetic people care about is themselves -- about consuming more and more and more, about filling up their meaningless lives with material goods, with no apparent concern for others beyond their narrow, self-absorbed existences.
And don't think it was just the 2,000 or so people who lined up before 5 am at that particular Wal-Mart. There are countless more just like them, brutally rapacious and more than willing to storm and trample and kill in search of that must-have sale item, or whatever it is they need, or have been told they need, whatever it is they think will make them happy, common decency and everyone else be damned.
As George Costanza once shouted, when confronted with anti-social behaviour, "We're living in a society!"
But are we?
Capt. Fogg wrote about the Wal-Mart trampling death yesterday -- and I'm calling it yet another Sign of the Apocalypse -- but I couldn't resist posting this headline from the AP:
Here's the deal:
Police were reviewing video from surveillance cameras in an attempt to identify who trampled to death a Wal-Mart worker after a crowd of post-Thanksgiving shoppers burst through the doors at a suburban store and knocked him down.
Criminal charges were possible, but identifying individual shoppers in Friday's video may prove difficult, said Detective Lt. Michael Fleming, a Nassau County police spokesman.
Other workers were trampled as they tried to rescue the man, and customers stepped over him and became irate when officials said the store was closing because of the death, police and witnesses said.
At least four other people, including a woman who was eight months pregnant, were taken to hospitals for observation or minor injuries. The store in Valley Stream on Long Island closed for several hours before reopening.
It's a horrible story, obviously. And, to me, it's even worse when it's juxtaposed with the recent horrific events in Mumbai. Not because, in and of itself, it's worse than the attacks in Mumbai, and certainly not because the Wal-Mart killers are worse than the Mumbai killers, but because while there is serious shit going on in the world, both serious violence and serious suffering, serious shit that deserves our serious attention and our serious efforts to fix the problems that cause it, the Wal-Mart incident, an incident of lethal violence, however unintentional, was, at its core, a display of disgusting, out-of-control greed. It's like, with all the serious shit going on in the world, of which the attacks in Mumbai are a stark, news-dominating example, all these pathetic people care about is themselves -- about consuming more and more and more, about filling up their meaningless lives with material goods, with no apparent concern for others beyond their narrow, self-absorbed existences.
And don't think it was just the 2,000 or so people who lined up before 5 am at that particular Wal-Mart. There are countless more just like them, brutally rapacious and more than willing to storm and trample and kill in search of that must-have sale item, or whatever it is they need, or have been told they need, whatever it is they think will make them happy, common decency and everyone else be damned.
As George Costanza once shouted, when confronted with anti-social behaviour, "We're living in a society!"
But are we?
Friday, November 28, 2008
The Reaction in Review (Nov. 28, 2008)
A week's Reactions that deserve a second look:
Friday
By Capt. Fogg: "The nightmare before Christmas" -- Fogg's ironic post, on the death by stampede of a Long Island WalMart store employee, engendered an interesting comment dialogue.
By Michael J.W. Stickings: "Terror in Mimbai" -- Like many of us, Michael is trying to learn more about the terrible news of the past few days coming out of India; his post rounds up a number of helpful links.
By Michael J.W. Stickings: "An argument for keeping Gates at the Pentagon" -- Like all good bloggers, Michael posts the other side of this issue, though he still "can't overcome [his] doubts."
Thursday
By Carl: "For Thanksgiving" -- Carl's topical gratitudes to political leaders is an interesting variation on the usual Thanksgiving theme.
By LindaBeth: "West Wing turkey pardon and thoughts on Thanksgiving" -- This provocative post on the historical origins of Thanksgiving is food for thought.
Wednesday
By Michael J.W. Stickings: "Perspective, please: Obama is not an establishment centrist" -- Michael's great post concludes with the sentiments of many of us, "Give him time. He may just turn out to be far more progressive than progressives think."
By Mustang Bobby: "Doing Something" -- Bobby's insight, on why and how markets move, makes for a good read from a good writer.
By Creature: "Gates" -- Here is a view that many progressives could share: "I'm not thrilled, but I'm not angry either."
Tuesday
By Michael J.W. Stickings: "BREAKING NEWS: Gates to remain at Pentagon" -- An excellent exploration, including several useful links, of President-elect Obama's apparent decision to keep our current Secretary of Defense.
By LindaBeth: "Commercial critique: Guitar Hero World Tour" -- An excellent post that looks at what drives the different treatment of men and women in this latest in a series of commercials.
By J. Thomas Duffy: "Breaking ... Mukasey fainting due to deep introspection" -- Creature rightly calls this great post "brilliant;" (includes video and "Bonus Crony General Riffs)."
Monday
By Libby Spencer: "My take on the Citibank bailout" -- Libby's indignant post no doubt speaks for many of us who can only shake our heads in disbelief.
By Michael J.W. Stickings: "Rumsfeld is right, believe it or not, about Afghanistan" -- Michael begins, ". . . once you get past the pro-Bush, pro-Iraq Surge self-aggrandizing, he actually had some interesting, and correct, things to say about what is needed in Afghanistan."
By Carol Gee:"How do we get from here to there?" -- A metaphorical post on the Obama Transition journey looks at the difficult road ahead for the President-elect.
By Carl: "An interesting test" -- Prepare for more such clever writing as this prescient gem, "Given that the market has basically spit up the Bush recovery scheme like a cat with a poisoned furball, Obama's plan should see some welcome positive reaction in the market place."
Friday
By Capt. Fogg: "The nightmare before Christmas" -- Fogg's ironic post, on the death by stampede of a Long Island WalMart store employee, engendered an interesting comment dialogue.
By Michael J.W. Stickings: "Terror in Mimbai" -- Like many of us, Michael is trying to learn more about the terrible news of the past few days coming out of India; his post rounds up a number of helpful links.
By Michael J.W. Stickings: "An argument for keeping Gates at the Pentagon" -- Like all good bloggers, Michael posts the other side of this issue, though he still "can't overcome [his] doubts."
Thursday
By Carl: "For Thanksgiving" -- Carl's topical gratitudes to political leaders is an interesting variation on the usual Thanksgiving theme.
By LindaBeth: "West Wing turkey pardon and thoughts on Thanksgiving" -- This provocative post on the historical origins of Thanksgiving is food for thought.
Wednesday
By Michael J.W. Stickings: "Perspective, please: Obama is not an establishment centrist" -- Michael's great post concludes with the sentiments of many of us, "Give him time. He may just turn out to be far more progressive than progressives think."
By Mustang Bobby: "Doing Something" -- Bobby's insight, on why and how markets move, makes for a good read from a good writer.
By Creature: "Gates" -- Here is a view that many progressives could share: "I'm not thrilled, but I'm not angry either."
Tuesday
By Michael J.W. Stickings: "BREAKING NEWS: Gates to remain at Pentagon" -- An excellent exploration, including several useful links, of President-elect Obama's apparent decision to keep our current Secretary of Defense.
By LindaBeth: "Commercial critique: Guitar Hero World Tour" -- An excellent post that looks at what drives the different treatment of men and women in this latest in a series of commercials.
By J. Thomas Duffy: "Breaking ... Mukasey fainting due to deep introspection" -- Creature rightly calls this great post "brilliant;" (includes video and "Bonus Crony General Riffs)."
Monday
By Libby Spencer: "My take on the Citibank bailout" -- Libby's indignant post no doubt speaks for many of us who can only shake our heads in disbelief.
By Michael J.W. Stickings: "Rumsfeld is right, believe it or not, about Afghanistan" -- Michael begins, ". . . once you get past the pro-Bush, pro-Iraq Surge self-aggrandizing, he actually had some interesting, and correct, things to say about what is needed in Afghanistan."
By Carol Gee:"How do we get from here to there?" -- A metaphorical post on the Obama Transition journey looks at the difficult road ahead for the President-elect.
By Carl: "An interesting test" -- Prepare for more such clever writing as this prescient gem, "Given that the market has basically spit up the Bush recovery scheme like a cat with a poisoned furball, Obama's plan should see some welcome positive reaction in the market place."
Dear Mr. Blitzer
By Capt. Fogg
If you would kindly stop "looking for the fingerprints of al Qaeda" and limit your wild speculations about who is doing this, we might have a better chance of understanding what is actually going on in Mumbai and taking you to be a serious journalist.
At this point there is no evidence that points more toward al Qaeda than toward the enemies of India, yet you go on and on and on trying to coerce an endless string of experts into backing up your obsessive conjecture while "Possible Al Qaeda connection" scrolls across the screen. It's quite possible that this is not primarily about us at all.
Please remember that it isn't terrorism unless we are terrified and your hysteria serves only to blow this incident up disproportionately. Were you screaming about the human tragedy while we were blowing the hell out of Baghdad? No, you were like an excited schoolboy asking "Is this the shockinaw? Are we in the shockinaw yet?" Your credibility with regard to the dramatic lament over lost American lives has long since been sullied.
When you have nothing to say, which is a good deal of the time, please shut up.
If you would kindly stop "looking for the fingerprints of al Qaeda" and limit your wild speculations about who is doing this, we might have a better chance of understanding what is actually going on in Mumbai and taking you to be a serious journalist.
At this point there is no evidence that points more toward al Qaeda than toward the enemies of India, yet you go on and on and on trying to coerce an endless string of experts into backing up your obsessive conjecture while "Possible Al Qaeda connection" scrolls across the screen. It's quite possible that this is not primarily about us at all.
Please remember that it isn't terrorism unless we are terrified and your hysteria serves only to blow this incident up disproportionately. Were you screaming about the human tragedy while we were blowing the hell out of Baghdad? No, you were like an excited schoolboy asking "Is this the shockinaw? Are we in the shockinaw yet?" Your credibility with regard to the dramatic lament over lost American lives has long since been sullied.
When you have nothing to say, which is a good deal of the time, please shut up.
You Know Times Are Getting Tough When ...
From JALOPNIK
..you spot a Rolls-Royce Phantom Coupe($500,000) in front of you in the McDonald's drive-through. Also, the driver's ordering from the value meal menu. Oh, and it's not Britney Spears behind the wheel. And no, they didn't "super size" it.
The nightmare before Christmas
By Capt. Fogg
No one expects this to be a Christmas season retailers will celebrate. Even people with reliable income are cutting way back and when I read that local stores would be open as early as 4:00 AM today, I pictured yawning employees drinking coffee, trying to stay awake.
Nope.
A Wal-Mart on Long Island had its doors literally blown off the hinges just before 5 o'clock this morning and the stampeding mob trampled anyone who got in the way. A 34-year-old stock clerk tried to control the crowd and was trampled to death. Merry Christmas, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis -- and we don't mean you, Wal-Mart shoppers.
We don't mean the commenter on CNN.com either, who wasted no time before blaming it on the liberals and African-Americans who will, no doubt, now that Obama is waiting to go to Washington, make this sort of thing commonplace from now on:
Joy to the world.
(Cross-posted from Human Voices.)
No one expects this to be a Christmas season retailers will celebrate. Even people with reliable income are cutting way back and when I read that local stores would be open as early as 4:00 AM today, I pictured yawning employees drinking coffee, trying to stay awake.
Nope.
A Wal-Mart on Long Island had its doors literally blown off the hinges just before 5 o'clock this morning and the stampeding mob trampled anyone who got in the way. A 34-year-old stock clerk tried to control the crowd and was trampled to death. Merry Christmas, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis -- and we don't mean you, Wal-Mart shoppers.
We don't mean the commenter on CNN.com either, who wasted no time before blaming it on the liberals and African-Americans who will, no doubt, now that Obama is waiting to go to Washington, make this sort of thing commonplace from now on:
Get used to this folks. These are the kind of people that liberalism has created. After four years of Obama and the food, power shortages, and gas shortages that will be engineered by the Marxists in order to take down this country, this kind of thing will become routine.
Joy to the world.
(Cross-posted from Human Voices.)
Terror in Mumbai
By Michael J.W. Stickings
I'm sorry I haven't posted yet on the situation in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), but I just haven't had much to say about it. Without any specific expertise in the matter, and without any specific knowledge of what's going on, or of why, I find that I'm just trying to take in as much as possible, reading and watching what I can, captivated by first-hand accounts and deferring to experts.
I'm sure I'll have more to say as more is known (and as I narrow down my list of links), but, for now, here's the latest from CNN: The death toll is up to 125, with over 300 wounded, and the fighting continues, including at a Jewish center. (For the latest on the specific buildings under attack, see here.)
See also the coverage at the Times: "Indian Forces Fire at Jewish Center."
The BBC has more, plus some solid background and analysis: "This points to either a major shift in strategy by an existing group or the influence or direction of outside parties, perhaps even al-Qaeda, whose style of attacks this mimics."
Finally, Joe Gandelman, my boss at TMV, has an excellent post up on how the attacks are being covered, in real time, by Indian bloggers and on Twitter.
"Horrible" is the word that comes most often to mind.
I'm sorry I haven't posted yet on the situation in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), but I just haven't had much to say about it. Without any specific expertise in the matter, and without any specific knowledge of what's going on, or of why, I find that I'm just trying to take in as much as possible, reading and watching what I can, captivated by first-hand accounts and deferring to experts.
I'm sure I'll have more to say as more is known (and as I narrow down my list of links), but, for now, here's the latest from CNN: The death toll is up to 125, with over 300 wounded, and the fighting continues, including at a Jewish center. (For the latest on the specific buildings under attack, see here.)
See also the coverage at the Times: "Indian Forces Fire at Jewish Center."
The BBC has more, plus some solid background and analysis: "This points to either a major shift in strategy by an existing group or the influence or direction of outside parties, perhaps even al-Qaeda, whose style of attacks this mimics."
Finally, Joe Gandelman, my boss at TMV, has an excellent post up on how the attacks are being covered, in real time, by Indian bloggers and on Twitter.
"Horrible" is the word that comes most often to mind.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
An argument for keeping Gates at the Pentagon
By Michael J.W. Stickings
I'm still not terribly thrilled about the prospect of Obama keeping Robert Gates at the Pentagon -- I expressed my displeasure here and here -- but, like Creature, I'm just not all that angry about it. The arguments against it, some of which I noted in my posts, are still valid, but I do concede that there is a good argument for it -- and it comes from Slate's Fred Kaplan, hardly a right-wing wacko, who calls Gates, assuming "the reports are true," "an excellent choice" and Obama's "move... a stroke of brilliance -- politically and substantively."
First, he is good for the military and for national security:
Second, he won't "take his reappointment as a mandate for autonomy" or otherwise challenge Obama authority:
Basically, then, if Obama wants Gates, and thinks he can work with him (just he apparently thinks he can work with Hillary), fine. Perhaps we ought to give him the benefit of the doubt -- which is what I have done throughout the campaign (over FISA, for example) and the transition (over Lieberman, for example) whenever I have found myself in serious disagreement with him. Is it stupid to do so? Maybe. But, then, maybe Gates is the right man to reform the military and to extricate the U.S. from Iraq (and to shift the focus back to Afghanistan).
Maybe.
I still don't buy it -- is there no Democrat who could do the job just as well, if not better? are we sure that Gates, not to mention his far more ideological subordinates, will accede to Obama's authority? what if Obama succumbs to Gates's influence and shifts further to the right, abandoning his commitment to withdraw from Iraq and ramping up the war in Afghanistan with no exit plan in sight? -- but I suppose it's a compelling possibility.
Maybe Obama and Gates will prove their doubters wrong. As for me, I just can't quite overcome my doubt.
I'm still not terribly thrilled about the prospect of Obama keeping Robert Gates at the Pentagon -- I expressed my displeasure here and here -- but, like Creature, I'm just not all that angry about it. The arguments against it, some of which I noted in my posts, are still valid, but I do concede that there is a good argument for it -- and it comes from Slate's Fred Kaplan, hardly a right-wing wacko, who calls Gates, assuming "the reports are true," "an excellent choice" and Obama's "move... a stroke of brilliance -- politically and substantively."
First, he is good for the military and for national security:
In his nearly two years at the helm of the Pentagon, Gates has delivered a series of speeches on the future direction of military policy. He has urged officers to recognize the shift in the face of warfare from the World War II legacy of titanic armored battles between comparably mighty foes to the modern reality of small shadow wars against terrorists and insurgents.
More than that, he has called for systematic adjustments to this new reality: canceling weapons systems that aren't suited to these kinds of wars and building more weapons that are; reforming the promotion boards to reward and advance the creative officers who have proved most adept at this style of warfare; rethinking the roles and missions of the individual branches of the armed services; siphoning some of the military's missions, especially those dealing with "nation building," to civilian agencies.
Second, he won't "take his reappointment as a mandate for autonomy" or otherwise challenge Obama authority:
Gates is not the freelancing type. Though hardly a passive servant, he spent most of his career as a staff officer. Even as secretary of defense, he has constantly been aware -- and has emphasized many times, in public and private -- that the president is the decider.
Basically, then, if Obama wants Gates, and thinks he can work with him (just he apparently thinks he can work with Hillary), fine. Perhaps we ought to give him the benefit of the doubt -- which is what I have done throughout the campaign (over FISA, for example) and the transition (over Lieberman, for example) whenever I have found myself in serious disagreement with him. Is it stupid to do so? Maybe. But, then, maybe Gates is the right man to reform the military and to extricate the U.S. from Iraq (and to shift the focus back to Afghanistan).
Maybe.
I still don't buy it -- is there no Democrat who could do the job just as well, if not better? are we sure that Gates, not to mention his far more ideological subordinates, will accede to Obama's authority? what if Obama succumbs to Gates's influence and shifts further to the right, abandoning his commitment to withdraw from Iraq and ramping up the war in Afghanistan with no exit plan in sight? -- but I suppose it's a compelling possibility.
Maybe Obama and Gates will prove their doubters wrong. As for me, I just can't quite overcome my doubt.
For Thanksgiving
By Carl
We're often asked to reflect on this day, set apart to acknowledge whatever bounty we've gotten in the past year's harvest, and give thanks for our blessings.
This year, it's been pretty tough to come up with much.
First, let's thank America for waking up to what's happened to this nation in the past eight years and having the guts and determination to do something about it. And so long as we're thanking America, let's thank her for not tumbling into the abyss in the past eight years. Despite our loss of freedoms and respect, she has managed to provide us a bulwark from tyranny beyond that which Bush & Co. have managed to steal.
After all, we aren't forced to keep our two-way televisions on 24 hours a day. There's something to be thankful for there.
We should be thankful that America isn't going thru what is happening in Mumbai and if that means some petty minded bigot of low expectations wants to grab the credit for Bush, so be it. I disagree, of course: Bush has only inflamed a situation, and the only reason we haven't been attacked has been logistical. They *want* to attack us and want to, badly.
It has just been dumb luck they haven't bothered to try very hard. As I said, we should be thankful that George Bush didn't buck history and become the first President to have TWO Al Qaeda attacks on his watch, but it seems small beer to be lowering the bar that far.
So long as we're thanking Bush, I want to thank him for the past eight years, which have served as a reminder to the American people that we aren't that far evolved from the muck and mire that most nations have to live under. We aren't that superior, because our system only works really well when we put smart people in places of power. I'll have a post in January that details this more.
When we put venal, petty, partisan, short-fingered vulgarians in charge, we suddenly turn into a banana republic without the umbrella drinks.
We must thank Barack Obama, for making us see the possible again. Politics has been called "the art of the possible," so now let us pray that President-designate Obama (the electoral college doesn't meet for a few weeks) is a true artist.
Too, let us thank Hillary Clinton for pushing thru the glass ceiling that made Obama's candidacy and election less likely. 18 million cracks later, and we see a black man and a white woman standing as examples to our children that say "Yes, you can".
I want to thank John McCain, too, but I'm not sure for what. For selecting Sarah Palin and in one step rendering the Republican party irrelevant for decades? Possibly, but I think it's important to have two strong parties. Just look at the past eight years to see what happens when one party can dominate the other.
I guess, finally, we thank everyone in our lives who has helped us get to this day, alive and able.
And from me, thank you for reading this drivel on a daily basis.
(crossposted to Simply Left Behind)
We're often asked to reflect on this day, set apart to acknowledge whatever bounty we've gotten in the past year's harvest, and give thanks for our blessings.
This year, it's been pretty tough to come up with much.
First, let's thank America for waking up to what's happened to this nation in the past eight years and having the guts and determination to do something about it. And so long as we're thanking America, let's thank her for not tumbling into the abyss in the past eight years. Despite our loss of freedoms and respect, she has managed to provide us a bulwark from tyranny beyond that which Bush & Co. have managed to steal.
After all, we aren't forced to keep our two-way televisions on 24 hours a day. There's something to be thankful for there.
We should be thankful that America isn't going thru what is happening in Mumbai and if that means some petty minded bigot of low expectations wants to grab the credit for Bush, so be it. I disagree, of course: Bush has only inflamed a situation, and the only reason we haven't been attacked has been logistical. They *want* to attack us and want to, badly.
It has just been dumb luck they haven't bothered to try very hard. As I said, we should be thankful that George Bush didn't buck history and become the first President to have TWO Al Qaeda attacks on his watch, but it seems small beer to be lowering the bar that far.
So long as we're thanking Bush, I want to thank him for the past eight years, which have served as a reminder to the American people that we aren't that far evolved from the muck and mire that most nations have to live under. We aren't that superior, because our system only works really well when we put smart people in places of power. I'll have a post in January that details this more.
When we put venal, petty, partisan, short-fingered vulgarians in charge, we suddenly turn into a banana republic without the umbrella drinks.
We must thank Barack Obama, for making us see the possible again. Politics has been called "the art of the possible," so now let us pray that President-designate Obama (the electoral college doesn't meet for a few weeks) is a true artist.
Too, let us thank Hillary Clinton for pushing thru the glass ceiling that made Obama's candidacy and election less likely. 18 million cracks later, and we see a black man and a white woman standing as examples to our children that say "Yes, you can".
I want to thank John McCain, too, but I'm not sure for what. For selecting Sarah Palin and in one step rendering the Republican party irrelevant for decades? Possibly, but I think it's important to have two strong parties. Just look at the past eight years to see what happens when one party can dominate the other.
I guess, finally, we thank everyone in our lives who has helped us get to this day, alive and able.
And from me, thank you for reading this drivel on a daily basis.
(crossposted to Simply Left Behind)
Thanksgiving Eve - Macy's Balloon Inflation Party !
From the Gothamist
Last night, thousands of New Yorkers flocked to the Upper West Side to see balloons get inflated for today's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Here are just some photographs of the pre-parade excitement--where else do you see Smurf, Pikachu and Kermit appear in front of your eyes?
West Wing turkey pardon and thoughts on Thanksgiving
By LindaBeth
Happy thanksgiving to all, and as we give thanks, make a pledge to be honest about our history and to seek out ways to do something about it.
(Cross-posted to Smart Like Me)
I was a West Wing junkie, so I thought I'd share this charming scene from the episode Shibboleth:
On a less humorous note, I want to share a portion of an article from last year about our continual denial about American history when we celebrate our glossy version of "Thanksgiving Day." I quite like Robert Jensen's suggestion for a "National Day of Atonement"; his reasoning, via Alternet, and I suggest you read it in its entirety:
Of course people often struggle for control over the meaning of symbols and holidays, but typically we engage in such battles when we believe there is some positive aspect of the symbol or holiday worth fighting for.
[...]
But what is positive in the historical events that define Thanksgiving? What tradition are we trying to return to? I have no quarrel with designating a day (or days) that would allow people to take a break from our often manic work routines and appreciate the importance of community, encouraging all of us to be grateful for what we have. But if that is the goal, why yoke it to Thanksgiving Day and a history of celebrating European/white dominance and conquest?[...]After years of being constantly annoyed and often angry about the historical denial built into Thanksgiving Day, I published an essay in November 2005 suggesting we replace the feasting with fasting and create a National Day of Atonement to acknowledge the genocide of indigenous people that is central to the creation of the United States.
Happy thanksgiving to all, and as we give thanks, make a pledge to be honest about our history and to seek out ways to do something about it.
(Cross-posted to Smart Like Me)
Some People Will Be Hungry This Thanksgiving - Reprise
By Carol Gee
Thanksgiving Day 2008 -- Bountiful tables, full tummies, excess leftovers characterize many of our Thanksgiving feasts. On one of our favorite holidays in the United States, we give thanks for all we have. Today's post is an updated republication of a post that has remained popular since it first appeared in 2005. I begin with an update:
An economist's view -- "The world financial, food and hunger crisis" by Lane Vanderslice from World Hunger Notes (updated Nov. 11, 2008). Some points:
- The world food crisis has been replaced in large part by the world financial crisis.
- . . . food prices have soared. . . rice, the staple food of billions of people, more than doubled from 2003 through March 2008. . . This is a crisis for the poorest people in the world. 2.6 billion people live on $2 a day or less. They spend approximately 50 percent of their income on food.
- [Causes] What are key factors affecting the supply of food? [On] Demand side: There has been strong economic growth for the world economy over the past 10 years or so. . . the quantity people demand of food does not vary much with changes in prices. . . Commodity speculation has been widespread.
- Supply side: A major factor affecting the supply of food has been the diversion of crop land to fuel production. . . the agricultural production of developing countries is now directed to a greater extent toward producing for export to developed countries rather than to producing goods for their own people. . . There have also been certain shortfalls in production. . . Assistance to agriculture by developed countries and multilateral development banks has been minimal, and, though some countries have adequately supported their agriculture sector including India and China, others have not, including many and perhaps most countries of Africa. Agricultural producers, especially the poorest, in Africa and elsewhere have been exploited or neglected by governments. Assistance to agriculture by developed countries and multilateral development banks has fallen dramatically.
Wikipedia page "Malnutrition" 2008 -- has what appears to be some good entries. For example:
Some environmentalists claim that the fundamental issue causing malnutrition is that the human population exceeds the Earth's carrying capacity;[5] however, Food First raises the issue of food sovereignty and claims that every country (with the possible minor exceptions of some city-states) has sufficient agricultural capacity to feed its own people, but that the "free trade" economic order associated with such institutions as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank prevent this from happening. At the other end of the spectrum, the World Bank itself claims to be part of the solution to malnutrition, asserting that the best way for countries to succeed in breaking the cycle of poverty and malnutrition is to build export-led economies that will give them the financial means to buy foodstuffs on the world market.
World Hunger Notes is a fabulous resource for the latest news about world hunger. For example:
- Rising unemployment could push an additional 7.5 million to 10.3 million United States residents below the federal poverty line in the next two or three years, study says Eric Eckholm New York Times November 24, 2008.
- Some 691,000 children went hungry in America sometime in 2007, while close to one in eight Americans struggled to feed themselves adequately US food security report says Michael J. Sniffen Associated Press November 17, 2008
The original post -- Some Will Be Hungry This Thanksgiving -- Nov. 23, 2005
How does it feel to be hungry, really hungry? It is not the kind of hunger that comes with having missed a meal. It is also not the kind of hunger one feels when doing a very purposeful "cleansing fast," or fasting on Fridays, in the old days of an observed liturgical holy week.
This hunger is that which comes from not getting anything to eat, or very little to eat, on a regular basis for days, weeks, months or years at a time. It comes from not getting a nutritionally balanced diet. This kind of hunger makes it difficult, if not impossible for mothers to nurse their infants. Infants do not grow and thrive if they live. People - adults and children - starve to death, or they die of diseases brought on by malnutrition. There are entire nations starving or desperately endangered today; right now. And there far too many people in these United States that are also hungry. This week, this coming Thanksgiving Day, the weekend following , millions are hungry. For many of the rest of us, we will be trying to figure out what to do with all our leftovers.
A recent Reuters story focused on the just published United Nations report on hunger in the world which states that 6 million children a year die from hunger related causes. (see also the terrific pop up map in the title link above) Quoting Reuters,
Most of the 6 million child deaths a year are not due to starvation but
rather to neonatal disorders and diseases like diarrhea, pneumonia, malaria and measles which would be easily curable if the victims were not weakened by lack of nutrition.
The food crisis brought about by climate change is also part of the larger hunger picture. The BBC article begins,
Climate change threatens to put far more people at risk of hunger over the next 50 years than previously thought, according to new research. Scientists say expected shifts in rain patterns and temperatures over that time could lead to an extra 50 million people struggling to get enough food.
(BBC image) In Africa people in Malawi face a maize crisis. Quoting,
The worse harvest in a decade and failed rains are being blamed for what aid agencies warn is a rapidly emerging food crisis. What is making matters worse is HIV/Aids. One in seven people in Malawi is affected and it is fueling the problem of extreme hunger. Money that households would normally spend on buying seed and fertiliser, is being spent on transporting the sick to hospital and buying basic medicine instead.
In Zimbabwe even their own soldiers are hungry enough that there are shortages of food in the barracks and forced leaves. High food prices are a factor in Niger's hunger problems, because of the high demand for food in the surrounding countries. The crisis of African hunger was debated in this BBC feature; some of the discussion comments were excellent. Millions are at risk in Africa, but so are millions in southern Asia.
Earthquake survivors face winter hunger in the Kashmir area. It is a major crisis for the millions left homeless by the quakes in Pakistan, Kashmir and India. The article states, "As of 16 October, food had reached 440,000 people but an estimated 560,000 remained in "desperate need of assistance".
In our own hemisphere hunger is a major problem in several contries. The BBC reports that Guatemalans face hunger as a result of the recent natural disaster, Hurricane Stan. Rats ate the crops of many people in Nicaragua, one of the poorest nations in the Central America. The BBC article headlines, "The UN is to send 230 tons of emergency food aid to thousands of Miskito Indians facing hunger in Nicaragua."
Here at home, the Food Research and Action Center is an excellent site for exploring hunger in the United States. America's Second Harvest, the nation's food bank network, has excellent material on hunger in the U. S. The Children's Defense Fund explores the question of U.S. children's hunger in this 6-page PDF document. Here is what the USDA site has to say about "food security" in the U.S.:
Eighty-eight percent of American households were food secure throughout the entire year 2004, meaning that they had access, at all times, to enough food for an active, healthy life for all household members. The remaining households were food insecure at least some time during that year. The prevalence of food insecurity was 11.9 percent in 2004, up from 11.2 percent in 2003. The prevalence of food insecurity with hunger was 3.9 percent in 2004, up from 3.5 percent in 2003.
Since our population was 290,342,554 in July of 2003, the "3.9% of food insecurity with hunger" translates into 11, 323,360 hungry people in the United States. Is there anything that can be done about the recent increase in hunger? The above paragraph on hunger in America includes several references in the linked articles to organizations that endeavor to feed people who go to bed hungry. In your own city, there is probably a food bank, a soup kitchen or a homeless shelter that could use some help, either volunteering or donating. And many churches, synagogues and mosques as well as other faith based organizations focus of food pantries or feeding programs.
World wide, diminishing poverty and the predominance of violence and war will help. Improvements in agriculture are key to the long term solution. For example, unraveling the DNA code of the rice genome may be an answer for many countries where rice is the predominant staple.
Reference: Wikipedia's excellent section on hunger discusses many aspects of the problem and includes links to many organizations that work on hunger.
(Cross-posted at South by Southwest.)
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