April 25, 2008
Weekly Editorial
by citizenbfk

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Published by American Citizens Together
Advocates of a '5-Part Patriot Plan

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mother-hunger

Oil, Guns, Butter & Bush

guns-or-butter

Additional 'hooks' in US food grants.
  • Other countries pressured to ease trade barriers restricting agricultural imports or exports
  
  • Other countries pressured
    to ease 'trade-distorting' agricultural subsidies
  • We and other nations should keep and expandfree-trade agreements like NAFTA and the Colombia Free Trade Agreement
  • Other nations should lift bans on genetically modified foods we want to import to them.

As far as the remarks by President Bush, the day after this offer of food aid (with hooks), as far as his comments blaming the Indian middle class for rising food prices, don't ask. (details).

President Bush blaming the middle class of India for rising food prices? Could there be anything more undiplomatic, and unaccountable for the actions of one's own country.

At least the frenzy that Bush's statement caused in the Indian parliament may have stopped them eating for awhile, details.

 

The May 1st headline read: Bush Seeks More Food Aid for Poor Countries, details

It was like being in the Twilight Zone: Bush doing something good!?

The $770 million requested by the president would be in addition to the $200 million in emergency food aid announced by the White House two weeks ago to be available through a program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture called the Emerson Trust.

"Together, this amounts to nearly $1 billion in new funds to bolster global food security," the president said in a speech at the White House. "And with other food security assistance programs already in place, we're now projecting ... that we will spend nearly $5 billion in 2008 and 2009 to fight global hunger." - details.

There was even a proposal, supported by world hunger groups like Oxfam, to purchase up to nearly 25 percent of food assistance directly from farmers in the developing world.

“While America provides half of the world’s food aid, this generosity is undermined by legal restrictions and bureaucracy, as food aid must be purchased in the U.S. and transported on U.S.-flagged ships,” Oxfam said in a statement.

It was like being in the Twilight Zone: Bush doing something good!?

Then, there it was, the first "hook."

The request for $770 million is being included in a broader $70 billion Iraq war funding measure for 2009 !

Thus, if you want the food you have to
vote for the war.
 
The money would not be given till the next fiscal year.

 

Bush doing something good!? Or just something that sounds good? (with hidious and destructive hidden 'hooks.')

We should know better by now. It's been documented in some countries, like Haiti, that when trade barriers restricting rice imports were eliminated, the local rice farmers went out of business and eventually Haiti became nearly totally dependent upon US food imports; and today they are starving.

Pressure to ease 'trade-distorting,' agricultural subsidies also means the 'trade-distorting,' agricultural subsidies of other countries, not ours; and never touches the hidden 'trade-distorting,' agricultural subsidies.

Trade deals like NAFTA have also, without doubt, sold out American jobs and exported American industry.

And genetically modified foods? If this is such a good thing why do many other nations have to be forced fed to accept it? Are we going to be forced fed to accept it next?

Like this week's viral video about Hillary Clinton shows, politics is often double-talk and/or sweet talk on top and hidden hooks below.

It gives us a lot of work to do; at least we should be less naive about that.

 
   

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