The Coming Food Crisis: Global food security is stretched to the breaking point, and Russia’s fires and Pakistan’s floods are making a bad situation worse.

There was already little margin for error in a world where, for the first time in history, 1 billion people are suffering from chronic hunger. But the fragility of world food markets has been underscored by the tragic events of this summer.

The brutal wildfires and crippling drought in Russia are decimating wheat crops and prompting shortsighted export bans. The ongoing floods and widespread crop destruction in Pakistan are creating a massive humanitarian crisis that has left more than 1,600 dead and some 16 million homeless and hungry in a region vital to U.S. national security. These and other climate crises trigger widespread food-price volatility, disproportionately and relentlessly devastating the world’s poor.

Less noticed has been the spiking price of wheat — up 50 percent since early June. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization recently cut its 2010 global wheat forecast by 4 percent amid fears of a scramble among national governments to secure supplies. As wheat prices climb, demand for other essential food crops such as rice will increase as part of a knock-on effect on world food markets, driving up costs for consumers. In particular, Egypt and other countries that depend heavily on Russian wheat might see dramatic price increases and unrest in the streets.

Fortunately, there are signs we will likely avoid a repeat of the 2007-2008 food crisis, when prices jumped as much as 100 percent and led to deadly riots in Port-au-Prince and Mogadishu. This year, bumper crops in the United States, alongside replenished wheat stocks globally, may be adequate to offset shortages due to the fires in Russia. But these short-term measures should not lull us into complacency or a false sense of confidence. We still have neither a strategy nor a solution to ending global hunger.
In the short term, the United States must implement U.S. President Barack Obama’s promise to commit $3.5 billion to food security assistance….

Looking beyond the immediate crisis, the United States and other developed countries must renew long-neglected investments in agriculture assistance across the developing world, targeting small farmers as the fundamental drivers of economic growth. In Africa, for example, agriculture employs more than 60 percent of the labor force and accounts for 25 percent of the continent’s economic output. And yet, Africa continues to struggle: Nearly 10 million people in the northern Sahel region are suffering from extreme hunger, and most countries still lack adequate investment in agricultural and road infrastructure to facilitate the development of value-added products and new markets.

While the United States provides more than half of the world’s food aid, agriculture assistance today stands at only 3.5 percent of overall U.S. development aid, down from 18 percent in 1979. Not surprisingly, agricultural productivity growth in developing countries is now less than 1 percent annually.

We must also improve how this assistance is targeted. We can reap lasting results by focusing on soil and water conservation and improved crop varieties rather than carbon-intensive fertilizers. Scientific research and appropriate biotechnology can deliver significant crop yield gains and water savings if conducted in a safe and transparent manner. We also must invest in women, who represent up to 80 percent of the food producers in many developing countries, but frequently lack the support and services that will allow them to reinvest hard-earned agricultural gains into health and education for their families….

The Group of Twenty leading developed and developing nations must uphold their pledges of $22 billion to enhance global food security by sending real money out the door. The multilateral Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, a new global partnership funded by commitments from the United States, Canada, South Korea, Spain, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is to be commended for issuing $224 million in initial grants to help increase food security and reduce poverty in five developing countries.

But lasting gains in agricultural productivity will require something more — action to confront climate change. Food shortages resulting from severe crop losses will occur more frequently and take longer to recover from as more people become vulnerable to extreme weather events like the droughts and flooding we see today in Russia and Pakistan. The World Bank predicts that developing countries will require $75 billion to $100 billion a year for the next 40 years to adapt to the effects of climate change on agricultural productivity, infrastructure, and disease.


This year, we may be able to limit the damage to a single supply shock in Russia and Eastern Europe. But even in the best of times, our global food system is stretched to the breaking point by the ever-present challenges of population growth, increased demand from changing diets, higher energy costs, and more extreme weather. Experts at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization estimate global agricultural productivity must double by 2050 to keep pace with increased demand.


Unless we take immediate action, we are destined to race from food crisis to food crisis for generations to come, with grim consequences for the world’s poor and our own national security.

HAVE WE FORGOTTEN TO ASK, "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF LIFE AND WHY DO I EXIST"?

Why have we quit asking ourselves these questions?

Many people throughout the generations have tried to answer this eternal question, but it still stands before us in all its strength and bitterness, catching us off-guard, burning in our minds, and shaming us to dust. After all, this question cancels out our very "I," and man cannot consent to this since it touches upon the root of his soul.

If this did not concern our eternal essence, we could escape this question by turning off our minds with drugs or antidepressants. However, the question about the meaning of life does not pertain to the years of our corporeal existence.

The question, "For what was I created?" comes from my core and directs me to my initial root from which I can learn the reason for my existence. However, for the time being, we manage to be subdued, without thought, by falling into the well-known trap of giving into the flow of life.

We try to fool ourselves in every possible way, but it is becoming more and more difficult to exist according to the scheme: birth, school, university, job, children, old age, and death. We have no choice, in order to solve this question, I need to substitute the environment which helps me forget and hide the question concerning the meaning of life, with an environment that will help me expose it and answer it as quickly as possible.


Ask the questions and search for the answers. That is why we are here. To learn. You may be surprised and what answers you get to these questions and to questions you never thought about asking.


Just a thought.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO MY WIFE, GWEN

My Dearest Gwen,

When two souls, which have sought each other for, however long in the throng, have finally found each other ...a union, fiery and pure as they themselves are... begins on earth and continues forever in heaven.

This union is love, true love, ... a religion, which deifies the loved one, whose life comes from devotion and passion, and for which the greatest sacrifices are the sweetest delights.

This is the love which you inspire in me... Your soul is made to love with the purity and passion of angels; but perhaps it can only love another angel, in which case I must tremble with apprehension. LOL.

As cliche as this sounds you do indeed complete me more than any words can convey to you. 

Every day I want nothing more than for you to be happy. Every day I want nothing more than to do something for you to make your life easier.

Today it is sixteen years that we have been married. Today is the beginning of 16 more and then even 16 more after that.

We were meant to be, Gwen. I found you when I was not looking.  I found you when you did not want to be found. I found you because we were meant to be.

I love you,Gwen.  With all of my heart and soul. Thank you for putting up with me all of these years and loving me. Thank you for being there when I have needed you as I plan on always being there for you.

Happy Anniversary

Your loving Husband, Donnie

P.S. ~ Below is a video for you on this day.

Ohhh the Pain!!!

It has been a little over a week since I have written. I had surgery to repair two incision hernias and to remove a scar in my abdomen. Had a mesh cover put in place to support the repair. I can actually feel it by touching.  YUCK!!! I ended up getting a partial tummy tuck I guess you could say.

Recovery has been some what slow but good for the most part.  I am still in pain but that is getting better day by day and some pains get replaced with others.  Part of the healing.

I have ended up with an infection that I am having to treat now and praying that it clears up quickly.

I will get back to writing soon so check back every so often.  I will keep you posted on my progress.  God Bless.

Teaching Children Respect; If this don't work spank the crap out of them...

Respect is an amazing thing. I believe that respect is something that has to be earned, but I also believe that in order to be respected you have to show respect to others. If you take a look at our youth of today you can’t help but notice that they are the most disrespectful group of children this world has ever seen. Before you start pointing fingers or offering up excuses as to why children are this way I want you to stop and look in the mirror. What are you doing to teach your child/children respect?

I ask this because one of my favorite pastimes is people watching. I don’t mean that in some sick sort of way, I simply mean paying attention to the way people interact with one another and towards one another. This includes children and adults. I believe one problem is that parents do not respect their children and therefore children not only don’t respect their parents, they have no respect for anyone including themselves. Wait, before you get upset, I am not saying that you don’t love your children or that you are a bad parent. I simply saying that maybe parents aren’t paying attention to the way they interact with their kids and that is leading to a severe lack of respect. I am far from a perfect parent, and many times find myself guilty of this also. What is important in my opinion, is that we think more about how we interact with our children, and how our children interact with us and others.

Teaching respect is one of the most important jobs we have as parents. The best way to teach children respect is show respect, not just to other adults but to your children. Don’t confuse obedience with respect, fear also instills obedience. Know this; if a child is not respectful at home, they are not going to be respectful outside of the home. Let’s take a look at ways to help teach your child respect.

Listen to Them and They Will Listen to You

When your child is talking to you are you listening or are you busy doing five other things? I am not saying multi-tasking is bad, but listen to what your child is saying. Pay attention to what they are doing. Everything else can wait a minute or two. Make eye contact with them. Ask yourself, how many times you have had to say, “Look at me when I am talking to you,” and then think about how often you look at them when they are talking. Let them know they are important to you and worth taking a time to pay attention to, and then they will do the same to you and others.

Honesty is the Best Policy

Is it possible to respect a liar? Would you lie to someone that you respect? I don’t think so. If you do something wrong, admit it and apologize for it. While it may change the perception that our younger children have of us that we are perfect, it will show them that even mom and dad make mistakes and when they do they are able to admit it and apologize for it.

You Catch More Flies with Honey than Vinegar

If your child does something wrong, or doesn’t achieve the success you feel they should’ve don’t belittle them. Don’t embarrass or insult them. I am not saying to never tease your child, but tease during play time in a fun way, not after a defeat or disappointment. Compliment your child for what they have accomplished. Compliment them for being your child. Don’t overdo it so that it becomes false, compliments should be realistic. If you want to see a change in your child’s behavior focus on the positive things they are doing so that they will do more of those positive things.

Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto You

You limit or restrict the way your children use your things, enter into your space such as your room. Do you show them that you have the same limits on yourself when it comes to their space and their things? In our house our children are to knock on a closed door before opening it and they are not to go into our bedroom unless they ask or are invited. So we do the same for them. If they are behind a closed door at home we knock before open the door and we don’t just barge in their rooms. I also don’t go through their things in their rooms when they aren’t there. I don’t need to, I trust and respect them. If you want your child to respect the boundaries you have set, then you have to respect those same boundaries when it comes to them.

Personal Value = Respect

Your child has to know that they have value as a human being, and that they should cherish who they are as people. This teaches self respect, because if they don’t respect themselves they can’t respect others. Encourage your child to take care of themselves properly, make sure they get enough rest, wear decent clean clothes, that they eat that they have pride in who they are. They will believe this is you believe it.

Build Their Independence

There are always age appropriate responsibilities a child can take on to foster independence and respect. If mom or dad trusts that they can handle a task then they must be able to.

Let Them Know You Love Them

“Oh my kids know I love them.” I am sure they do, but think about how good it feels to get a hug and a smooch for no reason at all. Don’t be afraid to show your kids how much you love them. You don’t have to smoother them with affection, but a kiss goodnight, a kiss goodbye and a hug when they come home can go a long way. 

Respect is an attitude. Being respectful helps a child succeed in life. If your children don’t have respect for peers, authority, or themselves, it’s almost impossible for them to succeed. A respectful child takes care of belongings and responsibilities, and a respectful child gets along with peers. Schools teach children about respect, but it is really you that has the most influence on how respectful your children become.