COMMONDREAMS – If all the food in the world were shared out evenly, there would be enough to go around. That has been true for centuries now: if food was scarce, the problem was that it wasn’t in the right place, but there was no global shortage. However, that will not be true much longer.

The food riots began in Algeria more than a week ago, and they are going to spread. During the last global food shortage, in 2008, there was serious rioting in Mexico, Indonesia, and Egypt. We may expect to see that again this time, only bigger and more widespread.

Most people in these countries live in a cash economy, and a large proportion live in cities. They buy their food, they don’t grow it. That makes them very vulnerable, because they have to eat almost as much as people in rich countries do, but their incomes are much lower.

The poor, urban multitudes in these countries (including China and India) spend up to half of their entire income on food, compared to only about ten percent in the rich countries. When food prices soar, these people quickly find that they simply lack the money to go on feeding themselves and their children properly – and food prices now are at an all-time high.

“We are entering a danger territory,” said Abdolreza Abbassian, chief economist at the Food and Agriculture Organisation, on 5 January. The price of a basket of cereals, oils, dairy, meat and sugar that reflects global consumption patterns has risen steadily for six months, and has just broken through the previous record, set during the last food panic in June, 2008.

“There is still room for prices to go up much higher,” Abbassian added, “if for example the dry conditions in Argentina become a drought, and if we start having problems with winter kill in the northern hemisphere for the wheat crops.” After the loss of at least a third of the Russian and Ukrainina grain crop in last summer’s heat wave and the devastating floods in Australia and Pakistan, there’s no margin for error left .

It was Russia and India banning grain exports in order to keep domestic prices down that set the food prices on the international market soaring. Most countries cannot insulate themselves from this global price rise, because they depend on imports for a lot of domestic consumption. But that means that a lot of their population cannot buy enough food for their families, so they go hungry. Then they get angry, and the riots start.

Is this food emergency a result of global warming? Maybe, but all these droughts, heat waves and floods could also just be a run of really bad luck. What is nearly certain is that the warming will continue, and that in the future there will be many more weather disasters due to climate change. Food production is going to take a big hit.

Global food prices are already spiking whenever there are a few local crop failures, because the supply barely meets demand even now. As the big emerging economies grow, Chinese and Indian and Indonesian citizens eat more meat, which places a great strain on grain supplies. Moreover, world population is now passing through seven billion, on its way to nine billion by 2050. We will need a lot more food than we used to.

Some short-term fixes are possible. If the US government ended the subsidies for growing maize (corn) for “bio-fuels”, it would return about a quarter of US crop land to food production. If people ate a little less meat, if more African land was brought into production, if more food was eaten and less was thrown away, then maybe we could buy ourselves another fifteen or twenty years before demand really outstripped supply.

On the other hand, about a third of all the irrigated land in the world depends on pumping groundwater up from aquifers that are rapidly depleting. When the flow of irrigation water stops, the yield of that highly productive land will drop hugely. Desertification is spreading in many regions, and a large amount of good agricultural land is simply being paved over each year. We have a serious problem here.

Climate change is going to make the situation immeasurably worse. The modest warming that we have experience so far may not be the main cause of the floods, droughts and violent storms that have hurt this year’s crops, but the rise in temperature will continue because we cannot find the political will to stop the greenhouse-gas emissions.

The rule of thumb is that we lose about 10 percent of world food production for every rise of one degree C in average global temperature. So the shortages will grow and the price of food will rise inexorably over the years. The riots will return again and again.

In some places the rioting will turn into revolution. In others, the rioters will become refugees and push up against the borders of countries that don’t want to let them in. Or maybe we can get the warming under control before it does too much damage. Hold your breath, squeeze your eyes tight shut, and wish for a miracle.

THE TELEGRAPH/UK –  Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, was speaking as he arrived in Beijing on Sunday for four days of talks aimed at renewing ties between the US and Chinese armed forces. However his visit has been overshadowed by a series of announcements by the Chinese about the growing strength of their missile technology, naval capabilities and other defence initiatives.

The visit is the first by a US defence secretary since 2000, and comes at a time of heightened tension in the region. It is also almost one year after China suspended military contacts with Washington following arms sales to Taiwan.

With relations between North and South Korea at their lowest point in decades, Beijing has been angered by joint US-South Korean military exercises close to its shores, while Washington is concerned by China’s increasing willingness to flex its muscles. Ten days ago, Japan revealed that it had scrambled its fighter jets 44 times in the last nine months in response to incursions into Japanese air space by the Chinese air force.

Click to read the full article on the US response to China’s military build up.

Article by David Elmer

© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2010

Photograph by Gary Lerude

COMMONDREAMS – When the Enriquillo fault line shifted at 4:53 p.m. last Jan. 12, our bed was sent across the hotel room, the other side of the building collapsed and, as we would soon find out, Haiti was devastated.

HUFFINGTON POST – I’m not saying that putting a bullseye on Arizona Democrat Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ congressional race – as Sarah Palin did – was an explicit or intentional invitation to violence. Nor am I saying that the “Get on Target for Victory” events held by the guy Giffords beat – “Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly” – was the reason her assassin went after her. This tragedy is still unfolding, and the questions of motive and incitement will be argued about for a long time to come.

MEDIA ROOTS– “I think we all have a little voice inside us that will guide us…if we shut out all the noise and clutter from our lives and listen to that voice, it will tell us the right thing to do.” – Christopher Reeve

After several scores of human history, contrary to popular belief, the human race as a whole is still not free. Many of us claim that we are free, but we are rather enslaved by our perishable pleasures and appetites (perishable pleasures not to be confused with engaging in your passions). We carry on the charade of freedom while deep down we are still locked in prisons of fear and ignorance – gagged, shackled and blindfolded. Is there a way out, one asks? It feels like there isn’t, and many of us tend to believe that we were made to spend eternity being slaves at the behest of a mercenary.

I am aware that many of you reading this have been through tunnels of trials and tribulations. I understand that there are many of you that want positive, peaceful and lasting change in this world, but are constantly inflamed by thoughts and emotions that dictate that nothing will change in an environment that strips you of that opportunity. I believe many of you want to rise up and live your destiny – only to find discouragement weighing down on you like a ton of bricks.

One can only endure this type of perception for so many years before the time of questioning comes: questioning of the calamity, the malaise, the resentment, the bitter and bloody rivalries. Is this all there is? Let me ask once more: Is this all there is?

I recall a scene from the popular movie The Matrix where Morpheus is sitting down with Neo in a room draped in shadows and desolation. At one point, Morpheus offers Neo two different pills: a blue one and a red one. Should Neo take the blue one, he will return to his slumber and convince himself that his calling was but a mere dream. Should he take the red one, Morpheus will then fulfill his promise to take Neo down the rabbit hole far beyond what he can imagine, in order to discover his true self and to learn the true nature of reality.

The discovery of oneself – therein lays the key. However, embarking on the journey can be a very fearful thing. Down the rabbit hole, you cannot see what is ahead and there is a surprise around every corner. Once you go deep down, there is no turning back and it is either prosperity or peril. The red pill may be bitter and tough to swallow, but it is something one must do in order to discover his/her true salvation, prosperity and destiny.

You have to leave it all behind…all the falsehoods that you have been told and raised upon – by the mainstream media, by “religious leaders”, by those in authority and perhaps your parents and peers. Your worst enemy down the rabbit hole is not the termites, not the earthworms nor the reptiles – but rather your own ego that keeps your brain in a cell.

But why is it so hard to take the red pill? Why do so many us choose to live out our lower nature and refuse to acknowledge higher levels of intelligence and intuition? Why do we approve of, or are even grateful for, our own chains, despite their fierce and intense limitations? I believe there is a big reason as to why so many of us refuse to be awakened…

It is a fear that manifests on an unconscious level.

The fear of what other people think of us.
 
It is more than just a simple matter of peer pressure going way beyond what you experienced in high school. I believe most people want to speak out and have an idea of how they want to go about it, only to be ensnared by fear of public opinion. It is the single, most crushing thing to the revolutionary spirit and couldn’t come at a time where dissent is needed the most.

Why is it that we promote free speech, encourage discussion and the right to be different when at the same time we slander those actions whenever they are committed by a creative, peaceful and thoughtful individual? The fact is that we create enemies amongst ourselves and most of us do not respect each other for our differences, especially when it comes to a revolutionary act. In other words, we only entertain differences established by the standards of authority over public opinion such as mainstream television shows, movies and sitcoms. It reminds me of a quote by late comedian Bill Hicks: “You are free to do as we tell you.”

We live in this dream world buying the illusion that we are free. We are rendered less inclined to question the nature of the system that we live in, by the relentless propaganda and fanfare of mainstream glamour that consistently holds our attention so. We believe that this reality is the absolute and despite any glimpse of the long-term misery and suffering it brings. So how then can we be free?

It is all about looking at the world around you – realizing what type of world we’re becoming, let alone what we already are. Look deep inside of yourself, deep down, and realize what you’re sick and tired of, what angers you, what enrages you – and get up and doing something about it. What is it you value? What change do you want to see…for yourself…and for others? Once you reconnect with your intuitive capabilities, then, and only then, will real change come into play. As Gandhi once said, “You must be the change you want to see in the world.” Doing things the other way around will have catastrophic effects.

Don’t let peer pressure win you over. Look around you. Why are so many people in debt? Why are so many people getting divorced? Why all the various health problems, including diabetes and heart attacks striking young adults? Why the rising crime? Why the gradual loss of our liberties and the mounting injustice around the world? All of these can be traced back to a peer pressure or groupthink of some kind. Every action we perform creates a reaction (or “domino effect”) in our surroundings and these reactions play out in various forums and ways. Open your mind and you will immediately notice this taking place. We are connected and the more we let our influences and egos get the better of us, the more negative change we will see expressed around us. If we wait, it will be far too late.

If you choose to not become conscious and give into the herd mentality, you’ll be taking a great risk – a risk that has consequences that far outweighs the benefits. If you want to make a difference but choose to remain idle, I must ask you: What price are you willing to pay?

What price are you willing to pay for not thinking for yourself?

What price are you willing to pay for not sending your voice out into the universe and making a creative contribution to put an end to this nonsense and tyranny on the planet?

What price are you willing to pay for letting fear run your life?

What price are you willing to pay for ignoring your revolutionary duty to stand up in the face of tyranny and injustice?

What price are you willing to pay for leaving the decisions to the elite in power, only to find months down the road that your neighbors have been grossly unrepresented and impoverished as more people die for the gain of a few people at the top?

What price are you willing to pay for giving up and walking away, letting the system get the best of you while people close to you suffer greatly as a result?

It is surprising what can happen when one person becomes enraged and starts doing something about it. Look back through history for just a moment. Who was it that changed the course of history? Was it a group, a mob or a committee? In the vast majority of cases, it was an individual who got the ball rolling and these individuals came from all walks of life. They woke up and realized, through creative insight that the system, whatever conditions they lived under, was doing humanity a great disservice – so they decided to act. They intuitively knew full well that sitting back and pretending things were okay would lead to absolute disaster.

Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mohandas Gandhi are two outstanding examples of individuals whose efforts amassed a movement to epic proportions that eventually changed the course of history forever. The individual can begin a movement but it is the group that sustains it. Martin Luther King once stated that it wasn’t him that made the Civil Rights Movement effective, it was the people – the people were the change, not some government.

It is interesting to note that Martin Luther King, Gandhi and others like them, always stood up against tyranny, not terrorism. Tyranny, often occurring on their own soil, was at the root of the problem and the only way to medicate it was to stand up with the passion and determination to change things – a determination powerful enough to move mountains.  Shortly after, people followed in response.

Marianne Williamson stated this brilliantly in her famous poem Our Deepest Fear: “…and as I let my own light shine, I unconsciously give other people permission to do the same…” (my emphasis). It is your energy, the energy that you radiate out into the universe without conscious awareness, which has a ripple effect among your fellow human beings. If you really know what you need and change is burning at your core, you will automatically summon others to your cause. I know, I’ve experienced it and have seen others do the same.

We want hospitality rather than hostility.

Truth rather than trauma.

Forgiveness rather than frustration.

Serenity rather than segregation.

Reconciliation rather than racism.

Liberty rather than libel.

Peace rather than pestilence.

Ingenuity rather than isolation.

And equality rather than extermination.

You will have to endure the slander of your fellow men. But please remember that there are others out there just like you and they are there to support your efforts while permitting others to do the same – all you have to do is open your mind and your heart…and they will come.

Written by Shawn Bent

Photographs by BlaisOne