Land grab for food

“Land grabs have grabbed global attention. It’s on the agenda at theWorld Economic Forum this week, and as the trend for large land acquisitions accelerates, it has moved from being primarily a story about Middle Eastern petrodollars pouring into Africa, to a much more widely spread phenomenon affecting many parts of south-east Asia, such as the Phillipines, as well as Latin America.

In Cambodia, 15% of land has been signed over to private companies since 2005, a third of which are foreign. A new set of research studies from the International Land Coalition find the competition for landincreasingly global and unequal.

Many of the deals are shrouded in secrecy, so the scale of what is happening is not clear, nor is it clear who is benefiting from these deals; a number of new reports try to tease these issues out, such as theInternational Institute for Environment and Development‘s analysis of legal contract, which is published on Monday.

read more here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/jan/28/africa-land-grabs-food-security

rich countries buying farmland from poor countries

“The acquisition of farmland from the world’s poor by rich countries and international corporations is accelerating at an alarming rate, with an area half the size of Europe’s farmland targeted in the last six months, reports from UN officials and agriculture experts say.”

“According to a US-based think tank, the International Food Policy Research Institute, nearly $20bn to $30bn a year is being spent by rich countries on land in developing countries.”

read more here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/jul/03/land-grabbing-food-environment

how will planet earth cope with 7 billion people?

The population explosion

“This year, there will be 7 billion people on Earth. But how will the planet will cope with the expanding population – and is there anything we can, or should, do to stop it?”

it happens this year. read more here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/14/population-explosion-seven-billion

weather playing havoc with food prices

“Cyclone Yasi’s arrival in Queensland propels sugar prices to record high”

“Cyclone Yasi pushed global commodity prices to record highs and will exact a heavy toll on the world economy and the state of Queensland, City analysts warned today.”

“The price of sugar hit a 30-year high in New York as analysts warned that up to half the state’s crop this year could be destroyed by the cyclone. The cyclone also helped push copper and tin prices to a new high.”

read more here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/02/cyclone-yasi-sugar-prices-record-high

china’s coming water crisis

do thisty people riot? we shall find out soon.

“It is not hard to understand why Chinese history is sometimes viewed as a chronicle of the people’s struggles with water and food shortages. Like a malevolent ghost stalking the land, famine has been a constant concern for the country’s rulers, and the stability and legitimacy of their rule depended on their ability to feed the people.”

read more here:

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2011-02/01/content_11950339.htm

“As China grows more assertive, U.S., Japan push back”

china has an insatiable appetite for raw materials and will grow even more assertive in the years to come. stay turned.

“The U.S. has long been the dominant military power in the region, protecting Japan, South Korea and Taiwan and keeping vital shipping lanes open for trade. China is now emerging as a rival, sending its ships farther out to sea as its military strength grows.”

“China says it’s not a threat, but its diplomatic and military stance has became increasingly muscular, most notably at sea. It is developing a stealth fighter jet and an advanced missile that could hold an aircraft carrier battle group at bay. It also hopes to deploy its first aircraft carriers over the next decade.”

read more here:

http://www.japantoday.com/category/commentary/view/as-china-grows-more-assertive-u-s-japan-push-back

dictators “R” us: american foreign policy for dummies

america’s most embarrassing allies.

read more here:

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/01/31/americas_other_most_embarrassing_allies

india cozy’s up with indonesia

“India and Indonesia have taken a timely step to deepen their synergies and intensify all-round cooperation in all important spheres, including defense cooperation. The India-Indonesia dialogue is important considering bouts of assertive diplomacy and flexing of military muscle which China has engaged in recent years.  China must be watching the New Delhi-Jakarta bonhomie with deep interest and suspicion.”

read more here:

http://www.diplomaticourier.org/kmitan/articleback.php?newsid=632

“is asia primed for a new cold war?”

read more here:

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/arts/asia-primed-for-a-new-cold-war/story-e6frg8nf-1225998516535

the russian view of NATO and a defenseless europe

“Even in its present condition NATO can survive a fairly long time because it remains beneficial for its participants, especially those in Europe. As members of the Alliance they are free to do nothing, to spend nothing on defense and all the while to pretend that they are sitting pretty. In reality, Europe is becoming a defenseless continent.”

read more here:

http://en.rian.ru/valdai_op/20110125/162287418.html

double digit inflation in russia: price controls coming.

nakedempire reported rioting in russia just a few days ago. are more riots in putin’s future?

read more here:

http://russiaprofile.org/politics/a1295976665.html

dr doom (mark faber) calls uncle ben a liar.

“Mr Bernanke is a liar; inflation is much higher than what they publish. I would imagine for most households it’s between five and eight percent per annum in the United States and in Western European countries maybe a little bit lower but also around four and five percent per annum,” he said.

In addtion, Faber said high food prices, which have sparked political unrest in Egypt, would next cause turmoil in Pakistan.”

says pakistan is next (as we reported yesterday)

read more here:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/41385143

as the american empire crumbles, record pay on wall street.

follow the money people. something aint right.

read more here:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704124504576118421859347048.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

yemen’s dictator will not seek re-election

who’s next? some say the house of saud. we shall see

“Mr. Saleh, an American ally who has been in office for 32 years, said that his eldest son, Ahmed, who heads the elite Republican Guard, would not seek the presidency either. Opponents of the government had feared that Mr. Saleh would try to pass power to his son.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/03/world/middleeast/03yemen.html?_r=1&hp

fed’s Hoenig says QE3 (money printing) may be discussed

more inflation people and more riots. stay tuned

“Another round of bond buying “may get discussed” if the numbers look “disappointing,” Hoenig told Market News International in an interview published on Tuesday.”

read more here:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/01/usa-fed-hoenig-idINN0112049620110201

inflation is everywhere from china to india to the middle east.

ben bernanke said that inflation was not a problem. he said it on 60 minutes. well guess what, its a MAJOR problem and its going to get worse.

read more here:

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-02-01/inflation-from-korea-to-china-boosts-case-for-asia-rates-rising.html

“Inflation might just become the next crisis to hit the globe, according to UBS Investment Bank’s senior economic advisor, George Magnus.”

hello…………….. INFLATION IS A MAJOR PROBLEM RIGHT NOW. pakistan has 20% food inflation right now!  inflation will continue to be a problem as the federal reserve bank continues to print dollars and debase our currency.

read more here:

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/economicnews/view/1108501/1/.html

is the us debt $200 trillion dollars?

thats a lot of potatoes.

read more here:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/commentary/neil-reynolds/the-scary-actual-us-government-debt/article1773879/print/

and then read more here:

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rep/200-trillion-debt-cannot-be-named.html

is the turmoil in the middle east designed to kill the dollar?

is the international monetary fund behind  the turmoil or the military industrial complex? ……lots of theorys about the the crisis in the middle east

“We suggest this possibility because we believe there are larger forces at work in the Middle East. Could it be that the power elite itself is inciting these disturbances? Is the idea, eventually, to crash the dollar and set up a global currency in its place?”

“The Pentagon’s budget is in danger of being cut – and hard. A more formidable enemy is called for. And now the Middle East is ablaze.”

read more here:

http://www.thedailybell.com/1717/Fall-of-Saudi-Arabia-to-End-Dollar-Reserve-System.html

syrian protests planned for saturday

“Al Arabiya reports that one group, called “The Syria Revolution 2011:”

Described al-Assad’s rule as dictatorship and showed torture YouTube videos of political dissident in the country.

The group also called for civil disobedience, and encouraged “all of the brave Syrian youth, from all factions and social classes and from all provinces” to “not be silent about oppression.””

read more here:

http://www.neontommy.com/news/2011/01/syrian-opposition-plans-protests-against-dictator-bashar-al-assad-saturday

foreclosure attorney faces hard times, sued by investors

poor bastard…………………..

“David J. Stern may be the best-known beneficiary of the foreclosure boom, having made millions in recent years from evictions processed by his law firm, the largest of its kind in Florida. But when he took part of his firm public early last year, he had plenty of help from a constellation of investors also looking to cash in on people losing their homes.”

“As the Florida attorney general’s office continues to investigate whether Mr. Stern’s law firm falsified documents in order to speed up foreclosures, the firm has lost its biggest clients, including Citibank and Fannie Mae. Many of DJSP’s executives have left the company, and it has laid off about 80 percent of its 1,200 employees.”

read more here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/business/02stern.html

is asian prosperity helping to undermine the arab states?

asian prosperity is a factor but lets not discount excessive money counterfeiting by the federal reserve bank. funny thing is, i remember the exact demand argument being made right before the world economy was blown up by our friends on wall street.

read more here:

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MB02Ak01.html

price of chocolate set to soar

political unrest is everywhere

read more here:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1351066/Will-chocolate-drought-World-s-supply-sustainable-cocoa-run-2014.html