Bush Orders $200 Million in Emergency Food Aid to be Released

Bush Orders $200 Million in Emergency Food Aid to be Released

biz.yahoo.com

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush on Monday ordered the release of $200 million in emergency aid to help nations where surging food prices have deepened hunger woes and sparked violent protests.
The move comes one day after the president of the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, called on the international community to act urgently in helping needy people and "put our money where our mouth is." Haiti, Egypt and the Philippines are among the countries facing civil unrest because of food prices and shortages.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Alot of people make the US out to be tyrannical and inhumane, yet here is another example of how we actually are. While the rest of the world debates how to handle the food crisis, we are taking action.

I'll also point out this quote in the story as well:

Perino noted the United States already is the largest provider of food aid in the world. The United States delivered more than $2.1 billion of food aid to 78 developing countries in 2007, she said.

When it comes to charity and aid even in these economically strenuous times, the US is still the biggest provider by far.

biz.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Originally posted by MikeboydUS


Alot of people make the US out to be tyrannical and inhumane, yet here is another example of how we actually are. While the rest of the world debates how to handle the food crisis, we are taking action.

I'll also point out this quote in the story as well:

Perino noted the United States already is the largest provider of food aid in the world. The United States delivered more than $2.1 billion of food aid to 78 developing countries in 2007, she said.

When it comes to charity and aid even in these economically strenuous times, the US is still the biggest provider by far.

biz.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I know it sounds simplistic but if we "tweak" things just right we can begin to start making ammends for the Iraq mistake. WE in the US and WE in the Western world by giving just a little we give alot. That said we seem to be in the background of these problems. I think an economics has yet to include the long term costs of business. It turns out you really can't ignore them.

It is encouraging to think this could help people out - where its truly needed.

But I struggle to control my 'Mr. Negativity' impulses with just how many ways I could imagine this deal could be 'soured'.

PLEASE ACCEPT UP FRONT:
I AM NOT SERIOUSLY CONTENDING THAT ANY OF THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS ARE TRUE:

- There could be 'back door' deals being made either diplomatically, politically, militarily, or commercially. Tying this aid to any number of 'initiatives' in which the US is involved
- This could be intended not for 'the hungry people' as indicated, but for the 'whimpering businessmen who need product to 'sell' to the people
- This could end up in the hands of the military and paramilitary folks, thus ensuring their 'loyalty' to whatever regime is in place
- This could be 50 year old government cheese, or other such 'domestically unusable' material
- This could be where the 9-11 relief fund money disappeared to.
- This could be part of a global money-laundering scam
- The food might be laced with H5N1 or some Hepatitis mutation for population control
- This could be a 'down-payment' for future military bases
- This could be a ' nyah nyah nyah nannie nannie foo foo' - to entice North Korea to 'play ball.'
- This could be the Bush administration and Cabinet's designated 'penance' from the Pope
- Some high level NeoCon could have lost a bet
- This could be some old global elitist trying to buy his way into heaven...,


(Some are tongue in cheek, some not so much so) But my prediction is that somewhere out there, there's someone laboring to 'conspiratorialize' this event. And the sad part is, it wouldn't be completely out of the question!

[edit on 14-4-2008 by Maxmars]

We all should be grateful of our presidents generosity to developing and poor countries, after all the distribution of wealth on this developing countries is in control by a few while the rest live in squalor and hunger.

But no despair this money will be added to our ever increasing deficit.

High fuel prices has spike the higher food prices top that with environmental factors and I will say that we are heading for big trouble as more and more nations will be suffering by the food shortage.

This is nothing more than a short term fix for a long term problem. How will Haiti ever feed itself? Only recently heard of problems in Egypt, what's driving this?

I expect news of more famine and hunger in Africa. We've been feeding their hungry for several generations now. These new areas of famine define a change of something. Maybe too many people for the land to support, the local economy has gone away with any paying jobs, even a combination of events.

There may be no long term good answer to this problem.

Originally posted by marg6043
We all should be grateful of our presidents generosity to developing and poor countries, after all the distribution of wealth on this developing countries is in control by a few while the rest live in squalor and hunger.

But no despair this money will be added to our ever increasing deficit.

High fuel prices has spike the higher food prices top that with environmental factors and I will say that we are heading for big trouble as more and more nations will be suffering by the food shortage.

You reminded me...., aren't there people here in the United States who could use about $200 million worth of aid right about now? I'm sure the homeless wouldn't mind the help.

And also, did they just sink us into more fiat debt yet again?

You know, I wax humoristic and then a few minutes later I regret it.

[edit on 14-4-2008 by Maxmars]

[edit on 14-4-2008 by Maxmars]

Here ya go. 33 nations about to fall or go into civil war over the food crisis.

news.yahoo.com...


Thed first link is bugging in and out here is the original:

www.time.com...

[edit on 14-4-2008 by Illahee]

People cry about the national debt and the problems we have here or its a short term fix.

I look at it this way, whatever we can do and whenever we can do it, We must do it. As long as we can still help, we should try until we physically can't help anymore. People should not suffer on the scale that is happening while we have the ability to help them.

Our homeless and poor in our country live like Noblemen compared to the conditions across the Third World, especially Africa which is like a preview of the coming Apocalypse.

We cannot leave a legacy where generations from now people look back and say hundreds of millions died, yet we did nothing when we could of helped.

We must help, We must fight as long as we can, and never give up hope.




[edit on 14/4/08 by MikeboydUS]

Originally posted by MikeboydUS

Our homeless and poor in our country live like Noblemen compared to the conditions across the Third World, especially Africa which is like a preview of the coming Apocalypse.

[edit on 14/4/08 by MikeboydUS]

I'm sorry, but that statement reeks of communism to me. We shouldn't stand here and compare hungry Americans to hungry others. I feel this especially where American citizens who have at one time paid into the system and now need help are concerned. This is still the United States of America, not "World Handouts-R-Us." I'm sure it's really comforting to the American man that's lost his job, had his home taken by the bank, and finds himself and his family living in their car and eating at a soup kitchen while he tries to find work to see our government sending millions of dollars from an already far overstressed budget to the needy across the world because "our homeless and needy are living like noblemen" in comparison.

Originally posted by MikeboydUS
People cry about the national debt and the problems we have here or its a short term fix.

I look at it this way, whatever we can do and whenever we can do it, We must do it. As long as we can still help, we should try until we physically can't help anymore. People should not suffer on the scale that is happening while we have the ability to help them.

Our homeless and poor in our country live like Noblemen compared to the conditions across the Third World, especially Africa which is like a preview of the coming Apocalypse.

We cannot leave a legacy where generations from now people look back and say hundreds of millions died, yet we did nothing when we could of helped.

We must help, We must fight as long as we can, and never give up hope.
[edit on 14/4/08 by MikeboydUS]

What you say is very true. I wonder though, how do we account for the fact that we could physically (through force of arms and tyrannical power) seize the trillions in wealth of a few dozen people on this planet and 'fix' these problems? Or for that matter why don't they help 'fix' these deficiencies themselves. Do you figure it's not in their budget?

We should all do everything we can to help - but that does not exclude the mega-wealthy... who's capital seems to remain quite still at times like these. Perhaps its' sour grapes. But I wouldn't lament too bitterly if their wealth were to be 're-distributed' - with or without their cooperation. Starvation indeed - I wish that were THE problem, instead of a symptom of the problem. People we can feed, they are starving because of someone else's greed - it IS that simple!

reply to post by burdman30ott6



This isn't about handouts, this is about preventing what I call "Genocide through Negligence".

The people who have lost so much in this country at least have things like soup kitchens, homeless shelters and a chance of recovery for those that work at it. People in the Third World have nothing, no recovery. In some places they are literally eating dirt.

The problem with food aid is that it often aggravates the problem as opposed to relieving it. When large quantities of food aid reach an impoverished nation, the local price and demand of food drops. This lowers the already inadequate incentive to pursue development in the agriculture industry, which in the long term results in less food being produced.

This money would be much better spent to create sustainable agricultural industries in these nations receiving the aid. This includes things such as improved infrastructure (irrigations, roads, etc), improved market access, and an increased subsidization of agriculture.

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.

[edit on 14-4-2008 by WuTang]

reply to post by WuTang


I wholeheartedly agree. In places where farming is possible and lacking needed infrastructure, aid should go to provide those things.

There are places though that do not have the farmland, they import food, and already have infrastructure. Those places are in dire need of food.