XIAM007

Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World

Wednesday 9 February 2011

Food Crisis 2011? 14 Disturbing Facts That Make You Wonder If The Coming Global Food Shortage Has Already Begun -

Food Crisis 2011? 14 Disturbing Facts That Make You Wonder If The Coming Global Food Shortage Has Already Begun -




Will 2011 be the year that we point to as the beginning of the great global food crisis?  Food prices are soaring, supplies are very tight and already we have seen some very intense food protests flare up around the globe this year.  When people don't have enough to eat, they tend to become very desperate, and unfortunately it looks like the global food situation is not going to improve much any time soon.  Right now the world is really struggling to feed itself, and with each passing day there are even more mouths to feed.  It is being projected that the population of the world will reach 9 billion people by the year 2050.  There are already way too many people starving to death around the globe, and unfortunately starvation is only going to become more rampant as food supplies get even tighter.  Some of the key food producing provinces in China are facing their worst drought in 200 years.  Flooding has absolutely devastated agricultural production in Australia and Brazil this winter.  Russia is still trying to recover from the horrific drought of last summer.  Global weather patterns have gone haywire over the past 12 months, and this is putting immense pressure on a global food system that was already on the verge of a major breakdown.
Food stockpiles all over the world are disturbingly low at this point.  If a major global famine broke out not even the United States would be able to last for long.  The U.S. government is supposed to be keeping a lot of food stockpiled in the event of an emergency, but that is just not happening.
Right now a desperate scramble for food is beginning.  Quite a few nations that used to be huge food exporters are now importing a lot of their food.  Prices for staples such as wheat, corn and soybeans are absolutely soaring, and the UN is projecting that they will continue to rise rapidly throughout 2011.
Unless something dramatically changes, the global food situation is only going to get tighter and tighter and tighter as this decade rolls along.
So who is going to decide who gets fed and who doesn't?
As food prices continue to rise, will we start to see more food riots erupt all over the world as starving populations demand answers from their governments?
What is going to happen if weather patterns get even worse or if we have a string of really bad natural disasters?
What is going to happen if we experience a really bad global economic collapse?
Right now these are just the "birth pains", but if things get much worse we could be looking at a horrific food shortage that will rock the globe.
The following are 14 facts that make you wonder if the coming global food shortage has already begun....
#1 According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. corn reserves will dropto a 15 year low by the end of 2011.
#2 The United Nations says that the global price of food hit another new all-time high in the month of January.
#3 The price of corn has doubled in the past six months.
#4 The price of wheat has roughly doubled since the middle of 2010.
#5 According to Forbes, the price of soybeans is up about 50% since last June.
#6 The United Nations is projecting that the global price of food will increase by another 30 percent by the end of 2011.
#7 Due to all of the unprecedented flooding, the winter wheat crop in Australiahas been absolutely devastated.
#8 This winter Brazil was hit by some of the worst flooding that nation has ever seen.  This has substantially hampered food production in that country.
#9 Russia, one of the largest wheat producers on the entire globe, is still feeling the effects of last summer's scorching temperatures.  In fact, Russia is actually importing wheat this winter to sustain its cattle herds.
#10 China is busy preparing for a "severe, long-lasting drought" that is projected to have a huge impact on several provinces.  In fact, Chinese state media says that the eastern province of Shandong is dealing with the worst drought it has seen in 200 years.  The provinces being affected by this severe drought grow approximately two-thirds of the wheat in China. The following is a very short video news report about the horrible drought that China is going through right now....
#11 It appears that Chinese imports of corn will be about 9 times larger than the U.S. Department of Agriculture originally projected them to be for 2011.
#12 Approximately 1 billion people around the world go to bed hungry each night.
#13 Somewhere in the world someone starves to death every 3.6 seconds, and 75 percent of those are children under the age of five.
#14 As food has become increasingly scarce around the world, many companies have started using whatever kinds of "fillers" that they can think of in their "food" products.  For example, Raw Story is reporting that some companies in China have actually been mass producing "fake rice" that is made partly of plastic.  According to one Chinese Restaurant Association official, eating three bowls of this fake rice is the equivalent of consuming an entire plastic bag.
Let us pray that this is not the beginning of a major global food crisis, because hunger and starvation are horrible things.
Starving to death is a fate that nobody should ever have to go through.
So, let us hope for the best, but let us also prepare as if we will be facing the worst.
Read more - 

12 Reasons Why Ron Paul Is Very Different From Most Of The Other Contenders For The Republican Presidential Nomination In 2012

12 Reasons Why Ron Paul Is Very Different From Most Of The Other Contenders For The Republican Presidential Nomination In 2012 -



Even though most of the potential contenders for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012 have not formally announced their intentions yet, the truth is that the race has already begun.  Just look at all of the Republican politicians that have scheduled visits to Iowa.  Potential candidates are gearing up their campaigns and it should be one of the most interesting primary seasons in ages.  But is there anyone in the field that is really that much different from George W. Bush and John McCain?  Is there anyone that is not just going to trot out the same tired old ideas?  Is there anyone that would actually do something substantial about government debt?  Is there anyone that actually wants to shut down the Federal Reserve?  Is there anyone that would actually work to restore our civil liberties?  Well, the truth is that most of the potential Republican candidates are virtual clones of George W. Bush and John McCain.  There are very few in the field that offer any hope whatsoever.  But there is one man that does stand out as being very different.  His name is Ron Paul.
Is Ron Paul perfect?  No, of course not.  Nobody is perfect.  But at least Ron Paul is against a lot of the nonsense that went on under George W. Bush.  At least Ron Paul would fight for our civil liberties.  At least Ron Paul is courageous enough to publicly oppose the Federal Reserve.
When you look at the rest of the potential Republican candidates for 2012, most of them are very, very similar.
What the Republicans need in 2012 is someone new and fresh.
The following are 12 reasons why Ron Paul is very different from most of the other contenders for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012....
#1 Ron Paul Is Against Big Government
For decades, nearly all Republican politicians have given wonderful speeches about the dangers of "big government", but when they have gotten into office nearly all of them have supported the expansion of government.
For example, George W. Bush gave speech after speech in which he railed against the dangers of "big government" and then he went out and expanded the size of government more than any other president that had ever come before him.
Well, Ron Paul is one of those rare Republicans that is actually not a RINO ("Republican in name only").  In fact, there are so many RINOs running around that even the word "Republican" has become a bad word to many people.
But when Ron Paul talks about smaller government he actually means it.  Just take a look at his voting record over the years.
Not only that, but Ron Paul's son, U.S. Senator Rand Paul, just publicly proposed 500 billion dollars in spending cuts in the Wall Street Journal.  Both Ron Paul and Rand Paul are men of their words.  If Ron Paul became president, we would finally have someone in the White House that would actually be serious about smaller government.
#2 Ron Paul Wants To Shut Down The Federal Reserve
Who wrote a book entitled "End The Fed"?
Oh yeah, it was Ron Paul.
Who spearheaded the push to audit the Federal Reserve during the last session of Congress?
Oh yeah, it was Ron Paul.
Did you know that the Federal Reserve has never been the subject of a true comprehensive audit since it was created in the early part of the last century? The reality is that the people of the United States have a right to know what is going on over at the privately owned central bank that has almost complete control over U.S. currency and banking. The Federal Reserve played a leading role in creating the horrific economic crisis that the U.S. is currently experiencing, but right now the Federal Reserve has very little accountability to the U.S. Congress or to anyone else for that matter.
Ron Paul wants to fundamentally change that.
So how many other potential Republican candidates have come out and declared that they want to shut down the Federal Reserve?
None.
#3 Ron Paul Wants to Abolish The IRS
Talk about a great idea!
The truth is that we do not need a personal income tax and we do not need the IRS.
In fact, the U.S. got along just fine without a personal income tax for most of our history.
Ron Paul wants to permanently get rid of the IRS.
So how many other potential Republican candidates are proposing that we abolish the IRS?
The silence is deafening.
#4 Ron Paul Would Enforce Our Borders
Many Republicans talk a good game about enforcing our borders, but very few of them ever actually do anything about it.
Ron Paul is different.  Ron Paul believes that we should stop the endless flood of illegal immigrants that is coming across our borders.  He would be the first president in generations that would actually do something real about this problem.
Ron Paul is against amnesty for illegal aliens and he also believes that children born in the United States to illegal aliens should not be automatically granted citizenship.
Illegal immigration is a national crisis and we need a president that would take this issue seriously for a change.
#5 Ron Paul Is Against Globalization
Nearly all of the potential Republican candidates for president are in favor of the globalization of the economy and nearly all of them love all of the free trade agreements that the United States has agreed to.
Well, Ron Paul is different.
Ron Paul would put the breaks on a lot of this globalization.
Ron Paul is against NAFTA and thinks it should be repealed.
Ron Paul voted against CAFTA.
Ron Paul voted against the U.S.-Australia free trade agreement.
Ron Paul voted against the U.S.-Singapore free trade agreement.
Ron Paul voted against the U.S.-Chile free trade agreement.
Ron Paul has voted to withdraw the United States from the WTO.
Not that Ron Paul is a total protectionist either.  But the truth is that he would take much more of a stand against the globalization of the world economy than just about any other potential Republican candidate for president.
#6 Ron Paul Was Against The Wall Street Bailouts
At the same time that George W. Bush, Barack Obama and John McCain were all running around promoting the Wall Street bailouts during 2008, Ron Paul was one of the most outspoken opponents against the bailouts.
Ron Paul did not understand why countless billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars should go to Wall Street elitists.
In the end, many politicians wished that they had been against those bailouts.  They ended up being a really bad idea.  Large numbers of conservatives and large numbers of liberals were both disgusted by them.
Well, let us not forget that Ron Paul was right about those bailouts from the very beginning.
#7 Ron Paul Would Protect Our Civil Liberties
Ron Paul said that if we passed the "Patriot Act" and all of these other fascist police state pieces of legislation that we would lose our individual liberties.
Did that not happen?
But neither major political party is taking any action to repeal the Patriot Act.
Under George W. Bush, Americans lost huge amounts of liberty and freedom.
Many Americans had been hoping that Barack Obama would be much better in that regard.
Well, it turns out that Barack Obama has been even worse.  He has implemented some things that George W. Bush never would have been able to get away with.
Have you been to an airport recently?  It is completely and totally ridiculous out there.
Ron Paul is against these abuses and would fundamentally change the direction of the United States when it comes to civil liberties.
#8 Ron Paul Would Not Have The U.S. Trying To Police The World
Did you know that the U.S. has forces in 130 different countries today?
It is absolutely ridiculous!
We simply cannot afford to be the police of the world.
If we endlessly bomb, invade and occupy other countries and torture everyone in sight then people around the world are going to end up hating America.
Many Americans had been hoping that Barack Obama would change the course of our foreign policy when he was elected, but that did not happen did it?
Instead, Barack Obama is promising to keep at least some troops in Iraq for many years, and he has sent a lot more troops to Afghanistan.
Well, Ron Paul is different.
Ron Paul is the only potential Republican candidate that actually voted against the Iraq war.
Ron Paul would dramatically reduce the number of our troops deployed overseas and he would be determined not to interfere in the affairs of other nations.
That would be quite a switch, wouldn't it?
#9 Ron Paul Is Against Carbon Taxes And The Global Warming Fraud
Tens of millions of Americans blindly believe in the environmental quackery of Al Gore, the "eco-prophet", who is trying to "save the environment" by viciously attacking carbon dioxide. Ron Paul is one of the few members of Congress who is willing to publicly stand up and tell the truth that carbon dioxide is one of the fundamental building blocks of life on earth and that it is NOT causing global warming.
But the American people did not elect Ron Paul back in 2008. Instead they elected Barack Obama who wants to impose an insane "cap and trade" carbon trading scheme that would decapitate the U.S. economy.
Well, now that the American people have seen the insanity of what Barack Obama is trying to do hopefully they will be ready for something different in 2012.
#10 Ron Paul Is Deeply Concerned About The U.S. National Debt
Did you know that right now our national debt is $14,104,021,737,251.53?
Did you know that if the federal government began right at this moment to repay the U.S. national debt at a rate of one dollar per second, it would take over 440,000 years to pay off the national debt?
Ron Paul is one of the few members of Congress that actually has a voting record that shows a consistent effort to reduce government spending and government debt.
Many other Republicans talk a good game about these things, but their voting records tell a whole different story.
#11 Ron Paul Would Provide Real Leadership
The liberty movement in the United States desperately needs a true leader right now, and Ron Paul can provide the kind of inspirational leadership that most other Republican politicians simply cannot. Tea Party activists are inspired by Ron Paul. They respond to his leadership. The truth is that the Republicans have not had a truly inspirational conservative leader in the White House since Ronald Reagan. It is about time they had another.
Not only that, but most of the other potential Republican contenders have a ton of skeletons in their closets.  Ron Paul is one of those rare politicians that still has his integrity intact.
#12) Ron Paul Has Perhaps The Best Chance Of Defeating Barack Obama
Poll after poll has shown top Republican contenders such as Sarah Palin getting absolutely destroyed in a potential matchup with Barack Obama.
Most Americans view most of the potential contenders for the Republican nomination in 2012 as simply newer versions of George W. Bush and John McCain.  In fact, when you listen to most of them talk, that is exactly what they are.  They are just rehashing the same tired ideas that establishment Republicans have been pushing for decades.
If the Republicans want to win in 2012, they need something different.
They need someone that is a sharp break from George W. Bush and John McCain.
They need someone that can get us back in touch with the U.S. Constitution and with the principles that the millions involved in the Tea Party movement have been trying to restore.
So is Ron Paul the right choice?
That is for you to decide.

20 Facts That Will Make You Really Mad If You Stop And Think About Them For A While -

20 Facts That Will Make You Really Mad If You Stop And Think About Them For A While -




The more you read the news today the more likely you are to get really mad.  The world is becoming an incredibly crazy place, and at times the amount of bad news that is coming out can seem almost overwhelming.  Everywhere you look, the poor are being oppressed, our politicians are making stupid decisions and evil is on the march.  The America that so many of us grew up deeply loving is literally being ripped to shreds in a thousand different ways.  Unfortunately, those in power have not had any real answers for us in decades.  The Democrats don’t have any real answers, the Republicans don’t have any real answers and the Federal Reserve sure as heck does not have any real answers.  In fact, it seems like almost everything that our leaders actually do “accomplish” only makes things worse.  The vast majority of Americans are quite busy being entertained by “bread and circuses”, but meanwhile our country is literally falling apart.
The following are 20 facts that will make you really mad if you stop and think about them for a while….
#1 Since the Federal Reserve was created in 1913, the U.S. dollars has declined in value by over 95 percent.
#2 The difference between the budget that the “big spending Democrats” are proposing and the budget that the “big spending Republicans” are proposing is only about 32 billion dollars.  Considering the fact that our national budget deficit is going to run about 1.5 trillion dollars this year, 32 billion dollars is not a whole heck of a lot to cut.
#3 Japan now manufactures about 5 million more automobiles than the United States does.
#4 China has now become the world’s largest exporter of high technology products.
#5 The U.S. government currently owes China 895 billion dollars and we are constantly sending government officials over there to beg them to lend us even more money.
#6 The President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Dennis Lockhart, says that the Federal Reserve is not responsible for the rising cost of living….
The Fed, like every other central bank, is powerless to prevent fluctuations in the cost of living and increases of individual prices. We do not produce oil. Nor do we grow food or provide health care. We cannot prevent the next oil shock, or drought, or a strike somewhere —events that cause prices of certain goods to rise and change your cost of living.
#7 The price of food is going up, the price of gasoline is going up, but home values continue to go down.  According to CoreLogic, national home prices were 5.46 percent lower in December 2010 than they were in December 2009.#8 In Osceola County, Florida 66.5% of all home mortgages are underwater.  In Clark Country, Nevada 71.1% of all home mortgages are underwater.
#9 There are approximately 28 million Americans that would like full-time jobs but that don’t have full-time jobs.
#10 In a recent interview, Donald Rumsfeld said that he takes “great pride in the structures that the Bush administration put in place that this Obama administration criticized and ran against and now have retained: military commissions and indefinite detention and (the prison at) Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.”
#11 The number of net jobs gained by the U.S. economy during this past decade was smaller than during any other decade since World War 2.
#12 The Obama administration and the Federal Reserve are both declaring that the U.S. economy is in recovery mode, and yet an all-time record of 43.6 million Americanswere on food stamps during the month of November.
#13 According to a report published in The American Journal of Medicine, medical bills are a major factor in more than 60 percent of the personal bankruptcies in the United States.  Of those bankruptcies that were caused by medical bills, approximately 75 percent of them involved individuals that actually did have health insurance.
#14 A Super Bowl television ad that encouraged people to look up John 3:16 was rejected by Fox Sports because they felt that it was “too offensive“.
#15 In Houston, Texas a couple named Bobby and Amanda Herring that had been feeding homeless people for over a year has been banned by the city from doing so.  They were told that they needed a permit to feed the homeless and city officials say that they are not going to get one.
#16 A study by the World Institute for Development Economics Research found that the bottom half of the world population owns approximately 1 percent of all global wealth.
#17 Approximately 1 billion people throughout the world go to bed hungry each night.
#18 During Barack Obama’s first two years in office, the U.S. government added more to the U.S. national debt than the first 100 U.S. Congresses combined.
#19 An increasing number of investors are betting that the U.S. government will default on its debt.  In fact, trading of U.S. credit default swap contracts has more than doubled over the last several weeks.
#20 The fastest growing portion of the federal budget is interest on the national debt.

Read more - 
http://endoftheamericandream.com/archives/20-facts-that-will-make-you-really-mad-if-you-stop-and-think-about-them-for-a-while