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See the original image at nytimes.com —

Guns for Free But Food Will Cost You

nytimes.com — Globally the need to survive will create more wars. Food not guns needs to be the solution.

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  • life38, on 04/20/2008, -16/+26When the USA government pays to not grow food, is this policy creating death. Billions spent to support war, while people go hungry and die.
    http://mynonprofitwebsite.com/blog/2008/01/18/emo/
    • dsmx, on 04/20/2008, -5/+9Europe has the same policy your not alone.
    • Vaemor, on 04/20/2008, -15/+9The african population vs. food availability will balance itself out once enough people die, just be patient. :)
      • commenter01, on 04/20/2008, -2/+1why does this guy get dugg down?
        • Laughsatyou, on 04/20/2008, -0/+3because brutal honesty offends peoples romantic sensabilities?
    • hmunkey, on 04/20/2008, -5/+13The entire Western world has this policy, because for some reason our money > other peoples lives.
      And please don't advertise your blog here.
      • theOster, on 04/20/2008, -2/+12all i had to see was "emo"
      • iamsamed, on 04/20/2008, -1/+9Because of the Western World's policy, we are able to sit here at our computers on our fat asses and pontificate on how screwed up our Government's policies are.
        Also, realize, that many of the problems in Africa are self inflicted. And don't give me this crap about their history of European colonialism. The Asians also have a history of European colonialism and they're doing pretty well.

        Just some food food thought.
    • jgtg32a, on 04/20/2008, -3/+8FYI paying not to grow food and the war, aren't really relevant to each other.
      But hey enjoy triple digit diggs.
      • nycmac247, on 04/20/2008, -4/+6did you even look at the article?
        • life38, on 05/11/2008, -0/+1I stand by my statement that with the billions we spend giving away weapons for free, pay farmers not to grow food and these people struggling to eat the US is part of the cause.
    • cliffzdude, on 04/20/2008, -0/+8For the last time, farm subsisides pay less in a strong market than farming. You'll be hard pressed to find farmers, real farmers (not those gaming the system, as it were) who aren't now farming all their acreage, given today's high commodity prices. The subsidies some feel have caused starvation have actually kept rural America afloat during times when a farmer couldn't even find a co-op to take his grain, as they were full and had no space left. Too much supply. Subsidies have actually helped our current situation as it kept unused capacity "idling", and ready to be used, which has happened.

      The freaking problem is ethanol. Period. End of story. Done deal. World-wide we've spent the last 5 years pushing for more and more green fuels, farmers and food supply economists kept telling us there would be hell to pay. We said "F$&@ you, we want it green and we want it now!'. Now the 3rd world is paying the price.
      • rottencod, on 04/20/2008, -0/+4that and bio-diesel, which, it turns out, is actually dirtier when burned than traditional diesel fuel. oops.

        i'm a liberal, but for the love of god, why do we enact this ridiculous policy? i want green energy too but we need to be concentrating on new technology, not just approximating old technology with "renewable" sources. also, my fellow liberals need to quit bitching about nuclear power, and everybody needs to jump into really new tech like cold fusion.

        and if we're going to run around the planet bombing "terrorists," why don't we just start with the factories that keep churning out all these weapons?
        • Laughsatyou, on 04/20/2008, -1/+2because you liberals are a creature fueled by emotions and not rationality.
          • rottencod, on 04/21/2008, -0/+2obviously not all of us... hence my own comment.
  • pintomp3, on 04/20/2008, -14/+13food doesn't feed people, people do.
  • sabbatical, on 04/20/2008, -14/+2Guns don't kill people, hunger kills people.
  • usgovterrorists, on 04/20/2008, -16/+8When will the terrorist governments like the United States stop mandating food for fuel?

    Governments create wars!
    • schuder, on 04/20/2008, -3/+17Pretty sure it's the right of farmers or the US government to do what they want with their own products. If Africa already cannot feed itself, there are two solutions, grow more, or stop having children when you cannot support them. The Earth is overpopulated as is, and Africa is one of the fasting growing populations yet cannot support itself. Why should we continue to help when they continue to make the wrong decisions?
      • usgovterrorists, on 04/20/2008, -6/+3Farmers are at the whim of government, who did you think was paying for the water?

        You are clueless!
        • lead2thehead, on 04/20/2008, -2/+5Farmers get their water from wells, genius.
        • jgtg32a, on 04/20/2008, -1/+2Some but not all of them.
        • usgovterrorists, on 04/20/2008, -2/+4Farmers get subsidies from government, be they water, be they crop, etc.

          NO, not all farmers get their water from wells, ground water is usually limited, and expensive to pump!
      • G00SEISL00SE, on 04/20/2008, -1/+5Well if they werent debt up to there eyeballs from the world bank it wouldnt be so bad. World Bank is like no credit bad credit no problem. There goverment could spend money on its citizens instead of taking all the money it gets in aid and giving it to the world bank for repayment of the loans.
        • Bhima, on 04/20/2008, -0/+2Sometimes I think the world bank is more of a loan shark than a help.
          • Laughsatyou, on 04/20/2008, -0/+2only sometimes? it's the root of all evil.
        • slezzzter, on 04/20/2008, -1/+0What is World Bank going to do if they don't get repaid? Repossess Africa?
          • LocalDocal, on 04/20/2008, -0/+2When you're a poor, developing nation, it's important to earn the trust of your fellow nations and budget your money/debt well in order to one day become a stabilized and successful nation. After all, if other nations can't trust you to pay back debts, how can they trust investing their assets in you?

            In other words, borrowing money from one of the most powerful banks in the world with connections to numerous powerful governments with no intention of paying the money back would be a pretty stupid thing to do.
    • Vigacmoe, on 04/20/2008, -4/+3you vote for them
      • Rahodeb, on 04/20/2008, -1/+3Oh, you're one of those that still think there's any kind of real choice?
  • somespecial, on 04/20/2008, -6/+4NYT is stepping up their advertisements after 10% losses this month. 2 on front page already nice...
  • GOVATENT, on 04/20/2008, -14/+5In Soviet Russia food eats you!
    • Vaemor, on 04/20/2008, -3/+11That never gets old; oh wait, yes it ***** does...
  • somespecial, on 04/20/2008, -5/+11Grow your own food!
    • iamsamed, on 04/20/2008, -2/+3Yep!
      The problems in Africa are self inflicted. We can help them all we want but they'll just screw themselves over again.
      Just because they get guns, doesn't mean that have to use them.
      Just saying.
      • iamsamed, on 04/20/2008, -3/+2And in Haiti.

        My bad. Haiti is populated by ex-African slaves who won their freedom.
        • Laughsatyou, on 04/20/2008, -0/+2we could pay to build african nations to be on par with ours, and in ten years it would be a ***** again. let evolution do its thing for a change and understand your emotions aren't going to change the world.
      • rottencod, on 04/20/2008, -1/+3It might help if they weren't too poor to invest in standard agricultural technology like advanced irrigation, fertilizer, and high-yield seed. Or if their countries were stable enough to run a farm without an 80% chance that it will get burned to the ground next time some jackass decides he's tired of the president and wants another revolution.

        Western countries have a moral obligation to the developing world -- not to give them handouts but to enable them to help themselves. It's easy to tell them to grow their own food, but when they are incapable of purchasing or building the equipment and infrastructure to do that, it's like telling a homeless quadriplegic guy to go "get a job and quit begging for change." The people in these countries don't have many other options.

        No one is helping them, so they fight each other for the right of self-determination. Years of war and famine have left the people too bitter for self-reconciliation. Since the West has the spare resources to help them, and they need our help, we have a moral obligation to help them to help themselves. We just refuse to do it in any way other than to drop half as much food as they need (so they can fight over it) or send in an army to prolong the violence.
        • somespecial, on 04/20/2008, -0/+1Ahh, the west. The west just wants to develop everything. Why not just live by the river and grow vegetables?
        • doctechnical, on 04/20/2008, -1/+5As you point out, there's not much point in investing in a farm if some ***** is going to burn it down. So before there's governmental stability and rule of law, anything else is pointless.
          Having the West assuage it's "moral obligation" by pumping free food into these nations is another disaster: those farmers who did manage to grow surplus to sell so they could further invest in their farm are now ***** in the marketplace - how can a farm sell grain when the US is giving it away for free?
          I think the best thing to happen to these nations is the installation of puppet governments back with enough military strength to keep that government in power. With the rule of law - even dictatorial law - the infrastructure would be given time to build itself up.
          Just food for thought, so to speak.
          • rottencod, on 04/20/2008, -0/+4I actually agree with this. You can't just give them food, or they'll never learn to grow their own. And you can't take a bunch of unruly factions who are more interested in seeing each other dead than in helping each other cultivate a stable society, and just give them "democracy," because they'll waste it (see Iraq).
    • Bhima, on 04/20/2008, -2/+2That's not what the world bank and IMF programs tell them to do. Seriously. The idea is for them to grow stuff to sell on the world market and buy their food.

      kinda stupid if you ask me.
  • GlenLeafJr, on 04/20/2008, -7/+44Why not stop having kids you can't feed?
    • theOster, on 04/20/2008, -10/+1coz kids = stipend! (1200 wingwangs)
      • slezzzter, on 04/20/2008, -1/+0Don't worry, at least one person got the reference.
        • theOster, on 04/20/2008, -1/+1i'm realizing that digg, Sunday edition is not the same crowd...
    • lead2thehead, on 04/20/2008, -4/+3FYI, there is no such thing as birth control in Africa.
      • Vodd9, on 04/20/2008, -1/+3Haiti is NOT part of Africa.
        • iamsamed, on 04/20/2008, -0/+1Might as well be. They're populated by ex-African slaves. And are having the same problems that Africa is having.
      • Laughsatyou, on 04/20/2008, -0/+2yes there is, genocide.
    • jgtg32a, on 04/20/2008, -3/+7Because there's nothing else to do.
    • kinseyincanada, on 04/20/2008, -7/+6because they have to have more kids in order to maintain farms. They also have no birth control, organizatins like the Christian church go there and do not promote the use of condoms.
      • iamsamed, on 04/20/2008, -1/+9Sort of. In most third world countries, the only retirement plan people have are their children. They expect their kids to take care of them when they get old.
        • Bhima, on 04/20/2008, -0/+4yep... and check how well that worked out in Rwanda.
    • KingGorilla, on 04/20/2008, -2/+1Yeah and women should stop getting raped
  • lucutus, on 04/20/2008, -12/+18I am sure to be hated and dug down for this but I'll say it anyway.
    If you remove the emotional response from the equation on this topic, more war and free guns will result in less mouths to feed and more food to go around.
    • bjornski, on 04/20/2008, -2/+10Unfortunately, I think that's part of the plan.
    • hamobu, on 04/20/2008, -10/+5Lucutus, you are right about having less mouths to feed. Maybe we should start with you.
      • lucutus, on 04/20/2008, -7/+8Bring it, I am well armed :) PS: that's childish.
        • hamobu, on 04/20/2008, -8/+5So you are a gun nut? That explains a lot.
          • lucutus, on 04/20/2008, -2/+4No not a gun nut, but I do hunt and have a permit to carry. My uncle is a gunsmith so naturally I have some guns.
          • hamobu, on 04/20/2008, -4/+2I am sorry! For some reason I thought that you are callous, and that you have a "bring it on" mentality. Didn't mean to mistake you for a gun nut.
          • lucutus, on 04/20/2008, -0/+3Just looking for some meat to put in the freezer ;)
          • Laughsatyou, on 04/20/2008, -0/+3maybe you should not feed yourself and send your meat to starving people in africa! how can you not think with your emotions in a time like this **cries** /sarcasm
      • PopovIsovSerov, on 04/20/2008, -3/+2maybe we should start w/ china/india/africa/every other third world/overpopulated country
        • Bhima, on 04/20/2008, -1/+4A 1 for 1 program would more fair. One poor kid in Haiti. One child of a wealthy family in the US.
        • iamsamed, on 04/20/2008, -2/+2Nah. Maybe a 10 poor for one rich kid. Don't forget those poor people breed like rabbits.
          • Laughsatyou, on 04/20/2008, -1/+4maybe i should quit working and start pumping sperm into some lazy woman and let other working people take care of my kids.
        • EarlOfLade, on 04/20/2008, -2/+5No, let's start with USA. USA consumes 25% of all raw materials in the world and only have 5% of the population. Cut down the US consumption to 5% and there will be enough to go around.

    • flashback99, on 04/20/2008, -4/+9If you kill people with guns, there is no one left to produce the food.
      • bjornski, on 04/20/2008, -2/+6Yup. Look at South Africa.
      • lucutus, on 04/20/2008, -5/+4The trick is to not kill all the people. Just kill lots of them specifically target those likely to reproduce and you can stem off population growth for a while.
      • PopovIsovSerov, on 04/20/2008, -4/+2farmers?...maybe thats a new concept to you....
        and you wouldn kill everyone you retard...
      • WNW3, on 04/20/2008, -6/+4Food doesn't need to be "produced". Ever been in the woods? Food everywhere.
        • flashback99, on 04/20/2008, -0/+4I suppose it grows right up, uproots itselfs and flies into your mouth too...?
          • Laughsatyou, on 04/20/2008, -3/+3are you saying that other people should do all the work AND hand feed them? if you dont have the motivation to eat, you should starve ;-)
    • gta3uzi, on 04/20/2008, -2/+8http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihilism

      It's a wonderful thing
      • odganarb, on 04/21/2008, -2/+2The best part about nihilists is that they'll either die without having raising children, not seeing the point, obviously, or they'll realize that there is joy to be found in life and stop being nihilists. Either way, nihilism as a philosophy will die out, just as soon as the university professors who teach it die off from following their own preachings.
        • lucutus, on 04/22/2008, -0/+2I am raising children and realize there is joy in life. One of my favorite joys in life is to cut up an apple and cherry tree, then use the wood to smoke several pounds of meat while consuming mass quantities of good beer. Today I will enjoy an afternoon home with my entire family and my dog smoking 12 lbs of pork loin. Will will enjoy a great dinner together and sleep happily with full bellies. Don't take my joy away or even threaten to do so lest I may choose to use my not free gun to take your food!
          PS: I am not yet dead and I do not value human life as much as many people do. This does not mean I consider life worthless. I just don't consider it "the most sacred thing ever" People all die eventually anyway.
    • robthom, on 04/20/2008, -0/+3Or even less sensational than your honest statement there, guns could be used to overthrow a corrupt regime that hoards a countries recourses and install a government more concerned with its people.
      • lucutus, on 04/20/2008, -0/+2Yes but it against the law to say "The best sniper position on the White house would be from the roof of the Roosevelt building"
  • Null01, on 04/20/2008, -6/+23if you click on the video at some point he says "she lives in this 1 room cinder block house with her 18 children".
    i think i found the problem here... STOP F*&%ING already.
    • edebolt, on 04/20/2008, -4/+4we can't stop Fuxxing because it feels sooooo goood
    • jgzman, on 04/20/2008, -4/+14What else are they supposed to do? Sex may be the only enjoyable thing they get to do. And in many poor countries, major religion has convinced the people that birth control is sinful, useless, possibly even harmful.
      • PopovIsovSerov, on 04/20/2008, -5/+6backs up my ideas that religion causes most major problems
        • Glidedon, on 04/20/2008, -5/+2So you're the guy who thought that up ?

          Congrats
        • Laughsatyou, on 04/20/2008, -2/+2its sad that they will have a baby and it will starve. life is a bitch like that. its not my problem to fix theirs.
        • PopovIsovSerov, on 07/27/2008, -0/+0o good one glidedon u ***** smartass douchecake
    • jchen8285, on 04/20/2008, -2/+7She cares for 18 children, it never siad she had 18 children. My grandma took care of me and my siblings in Haiti when my parent's immigrated here until they could afforded bringing us all here.
      • Bhima, on 04/20/2008, -7/+2With the anti-immigrant sentiment around here, I wouldn't say that too loud.

        I'm just saying that as a former US immigrant
    • dildoolielly, on 04/20/2008, -1/+6Tell that to the Pope
  • GlenLeafJr, on 04/20/2008, -4/+23Condoms not Food not guns needs to be the solution.
    • bjornski, on 04/20/2008, -9/+8The "abstinence-only" crowd doesn't approve of your attitude.

      (or as I call them, the "ignorance only" crowd)
    • brokencode, on 04/20/2008, -6/+6Free Vasectomies are better!
    • lead2thehead, on 04/20/2008, -7/+2There are no condoms in Africa. And even if they were available, I'm sure they would rather risk a pregnancy than spend half a months' salary on a 3-pack.
    • PopovIsovSerov, on 04/20/2008, -6/+2less people means more food for the rest of us
      • Laughsatyou, on 04/20/2008, -0/+3I got a freezer full of salmon, halibut, elk, moose, and buffalo that I harvested from the wild myself. it's delicious. you might think they could find a use for those AK-47's rather than shoot each other.
    • odganarb, on 04/21/2008, -1/+3Just because your style of eugenics doesn't result in people dying of gunshot wounds doesn't make it any less reprehensible.
  • hamobu, on 04/20/2008, -4/+6Politics of farming in the US and Europe is part of the problem. Aggressive government subsidies in the west decimated third world farms, and then government mandated bio-fuel programs removed all the food from the market. The worst thing is that bio-fuels are horrible for the environment.
    • iamsamed, on 04/20/2008, -4/+2You mean welfare for the farmers.
      • hamobu, on 04/20/2008, -2/+2Not quiet. Welfare is for the poor. Farming subsidies are for the farmers and corporations.
        • iamsamed, on 04/20/2008, -1/+1You say potato I say potatto....
          A rose by any other name...

          Free money is free money.
          • hamobu, on 04/20/2008, -1/+3I disagree. Intent matters very much. Farming subsidies affect food market and competitiveness of the western farmer vs. Third world farmer. Welfare keeps people from starving.
          • mcquitty, on 04/20/2008, -0/+2@hamobu,

            I wouldn't be so sure. Welfare keeps people on the dole. And in some cases, never allows them out of poverty.
          • hamobu, on 04/20/2008, -0/+2@mcquitty

            You would be surprised at true welfare statistics

            http://www.huppi.com/kangaroo/L-welfareblack.htm
          • mcquitty, on 04/21/2008, -0/+2@hamobu,

            Have you ever been poor? Have you known someone who was held back because of welfare? Have you ever heard 15 year old girls say, "I can't wait until I turn 16 so I can have a kid and start collecting my check?"

            I have.

            Then there's groups such as the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints. You know, that group in Texas? Well, there's a major faction in Southern Utah, Northern Arizona, Texas and British Columbia. They use welfare for, what they call, "Bleeding the Beast". They have 1 wife, then the other wives are officially "single mothers". Those single mothers then file for welfare. (*From under the banner of heaven, by Jon Krakow)
          • hamobu, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1@mcquitty

            Actually I was poor and for a while my family was on food stamps. But my parents eventually found jobs, saved money and bought a house.

            It is true that my parent were college educated immigrants, but other immigrants from my community with less education also have similar stories. Sure there might be some girl in Mississippi abusing her benefits, but that is a rare exception. Truth is that nobody want to be on welfare.
          • mcquitty, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1@hamobu,

            Perhaps you didn't read your link. About 20% on welfare for more than 5 years. My experience wasn't in MS, but in CA. Again, welfare should be a short term solution. For some, it is. But your link shows 44% of people being on welfare for 2+ years.
  • MercedRocks, on 04/20/2008, -5/+10How about FREE Birth Control?
  • mogebier, on 04/20/2008, -4/+9Wait... I can get FREE guns somewhere???
    Where?? Where??
    • acdcfanbill, on 04/20/2008, -1/+5I'm not quite sure, the article doesn't mention guns at all. Apparently the submitter made up a title out of thin air that would evoke a desired response.
    • gotamd, on 04/20/2008, -0/+3I also want to know where I can get a gun for free. The article is a huge letdown.
  • edebolt, on 04/20/2008, -1/+9last time I was on the store I couldn't decide. Corn on the cob or a .357. It's a toss up.
    • iamsamed, on 04/20/2008, -2/+7I'd go for the Gun. With the gun you can go and kill some meat.
  • timlopez, on 04/20/2008, -3/+3Someone has to shoot the cow, so I can have my hamburger.
  • jgtg32a, on 04/20/2008, -1/+21Am I the only one who couldn't find the word Gun in the article?
  • Heidenreich12, on 04/20/2008, -11/+12I love how every 'hates' the USA, and then the first comment I see is how the USA isn't doing enough. The United States never seems to be doing enough for everyone else. Someone always needs 'more', and no matter what we do, we will always be the bad guy. Alot of the people complaining about the USA not helping out with food, are the same people that are mad that we are 'attempting' to help in Iraq ( i know, most people don't believe that).
    • usgovterrorists, on 04/20/2008, -6/+7United States Government is doing a great job of terrorizing the world.
      Invading Iraq on 1000 lies, and squandering 3? trillion for the effort.
      You can be sure it was good for bankers and buddies!
      • jchen8285, on 04/20/2008, -4/+3Especially when the bankers and their buddies are making over a million a year.
        • Laughsatyou, on 04/20/2008, -1/+1getting rid of the federal reserve would be a great leap forward in fixing all these problems you blame on Bush.

          guess its easier than actually having to do something about it yourself.
    • EarlOfLade, on 04/20/2008, -2/+3USA consumes 25% of the world raw materials and only have 5% of the world population. Once you get your consumption in line with your population, the problem will be much more easy to handle.
      • Laughsatyou, on 04/20/2008, -1/+1stop selling your materials to them then.
  • DaDrake, on 04/20/2008, -5/+10The problem for many people is the amount of money the US government gives. When you look at individial donations, the USA beats other countries by a mile. Simply put, many Americans believe it isn't the job of the government to donate... its the job of individuals; apparently, people are more generous then when they are taxed to death.

    Eitherway, the USA still gives more money and helps more than any other country..... without the socialism =p
  • PopovIsovSerov, on 04/20/2008, -1/+5Weapons not food, not homes, not shoes
    Not need, just feed tha war canibal animal
    I walk tha corner to tha rubble that used to be a
    Library
    Line up to tha mind cemetery
    What we dont know keeps tha contracts alive an
    Movin
    They dont gotta burn tha books they just remove em
    While arms warehouses fill as quick as tha cells
    Rally round tha family, pockets full of shells
  • georgemike, on 04/20/2008, -1/+6How true it is. Weapons destroy. But food alone is not the longterm solution. You need education to get the nations to be on their feet.
  • dildoolielly, on 04/20/2008, -4/+14Annual Cost of Improving the World
    • $19 billion: Eliminates starvation and malnutrition globally.
    • $12 billion: Provides education for every kid on earth.
    • $15 billion: Provides access to water and sanitation.
    • $23 billion: Reverses the spread of AIDS and Malaria


    • $522 billion: U.S. Military budget this year.
    • $484 billion: Cost of Iraq War thus far.

    ....meanwhile the USA exports more weapons than any other country

    (Sources: World Bank, National Priorities Project)
    • iamsamed, on 04/20/2008, -4/+4That's nice and everything but the thing is, you help those starving people they'll reproduce. Which will then put even more strains on their and eventually our environment. Folks also need potable water and shelter.

      And in the meantime, the World's fisheries are collapsing which will mean animal protein will continue to increase in price - eventually to the point where no one can have it. Cattle? Even more stress on the environment.
      I think eventually, all of us will have to become vegetarians.
      Let's face it; there's too many people in this World and like it or not, the poor get it first.
    • GrantTLC, on 04/20/2008, -2/+3I'd love to have a look at your source data on this. Can you provide a link?
    • iamsamed, on 04/20/2008, -6/+2Oh I forgot: "....meanwhile the USA exports more weapons than any other country"
      That's the military industrial complex that President Dwight D Eisenhower warned us about years ago. Our last great President.
      I'll be happy to get rid of all the guns when the jerks of the World are gone: Kim Jong Ill, Saudi Royal Family, all the Islamic terrorists/jihadist, Chinese Government, Putin and any of his successors (give Russia back to the people, dammit!), every African dictator, etc...
      • Laughsatyou, on 04/20/2008, -0/+4because the united state produces so many AK-47s and RPGs.
    • mcquitty, on 04/20/2008, -1/+1And by that implication, you believe that everything comes before food. Which is fine. Please show me your budget, showing that you donate everything beyond your basic necessities is going to solve someone else's problem, please.
  • ElAssoWipo, on 04/20/2008, -5/+8There are 20 apples.

    50 people are hungry.

    War ensues, 30 people die. Hunger has been solved.
    • GrantTLC, on 04/20/2008, -3/+2Impressive. We should make you President. With thinking like that I'm sure the world would be a Utopia within months.

      So how many people do you think it will take, in real terms? Should we go by the proportions laid out by your superior logic? 60% of the global population? 3.5-4 billion people?

      You and your family are going to be the first to volunteer for the suicide booths, right? Show us the strength of your convictions?
      • ElAssoWipo, on 04/20/2008, -3/+3I'd go with 5 billion. And there are no suicides. It's a fight to the death and only the strongest will survive.

        It will happen in your life time.
        • GrantTLC, on 04/21/2008, -0/+2Yes, and Martian Monkeys in Pink UFO's will invade this Christmas. Watch out for it.
    • EarlOfLade, on 04/20/2008, -0/+42.5 of those hungry ones are Americans and they take 5 apples, the rest is then divided among the rest.
      • bentrinh, on 04/20/2008, -1/+1Where do you find half of a person?
    • Herostratus, on 04/20/2008, -1/+11. Collect all the apples
      2. ?
      3. Profit
    • rif42, on 04/20/2008, -0/+2You forgot: In the war chaos, 18 apples are lost, perished and destroyed in sabotage.
      Result: The survivors still starve.
    • HaMMeReD, on 04/20/2008, -1/+0A sandwich is a temporary solution
      a bullet is a permanent one.
    • KingGorilla, on 04/20/2008, -0/+1Why can't they just cut up the apples and share then frolic among the daisies with rainbows and sunshine and have a gay ol time
  • Notasheeple, on 04/20/2008, -3/+5I would rather have weapons to hunt and protect. What good is food when everyone would try to rob it from you?
  • mdm05e, on 04/20/2008, -2/+1I thought the starving kids were in china.....?
    • Bhima, on 04/20/2008, -1/+5that was in '60s & 70s back when I didn't like spinach.
  • yourpalOZ, on 04/20/2008, -3/+4Remember those African countries survived well with NO MONEY for hundreds of thousands of years.Some rethinking is due as USA has been pumping in hundreds of millions for over 50 years with little or No positive results. Perhaps capitalism is not right for everyone. Education is good for everyone though.
    What ever hap pended to Biafa that my high school raised over a million to help in the 70s ?
    THINK
  • soinie, on 04/20/2008, -6/+5Just keep turning food into ethanol so fat ass americans can drive their suvs. Who cares if people starve, as long as fat ass can drive to the mall.
  • robthom, on 04/20/2008, -1/+7“Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime”
    A gun is a tool. Learn to hunt.
    • rif42, on 04/20/2008, -1/+2First part OK, second part should rather be: Give them the tools, to get their agriculture working.
      • odganarb, on 04/21/2008, -2/+1What is with this assumption that we're obligated to give them anything? Common human decency, I get it, but the understanding needs to be there that once they're back on their feet, we expect them to produce something of value and pay us back. ***** your entitlement mindset.
  • sndream, on 04/20/2008, -0/+3Remember a few years ago anti-poverty and anti-globalization activist said farm subsidies artificially push down food price hurts poor countries?? Guess what, they are wrong, as always. Government around the world are now racking up farm subsides to push up the food supplies, but it will be at least a few years before the crisis before over.
    Of course, it will be much better if US stop turning food into biofuel, oil price will automatically drop a bit if Bush stop pumping up the strategic oil reserve.
    But for the long run, people need to learn they need to stop having children that they couldn't feed. We seriously need to consider shipping birth control pills along with the food aid.
  • iadiggs10, on 04/20/2008, -0/+1What about the root of the problem: that the U.S. has been trying to rely more and more on Ethanol, which has driven the cost of corn up, which has driven the cost of everything else up (including world food prices)? Ethanol is not the answer that the U.S. or the world needs!
    • rif42, on 04/20/2008, -0/+1Ethanol can be OK if it can be made from waste, but growing corn to produce ethanol is not a good idea.
  • Kevin108, on 04/20/2008, -1/+2If you have food, but no means to protect your ownership of it, the food will soon be taken by force. Guns and food must be used in conjunction.
  • Bonzodog, on 04/20/2008, -0/+1There is an increasingly popular opinion secretly supported by some major governments, and mostly powered by the green movement, that believes the Earth is heavily overpopulated, and the worlds population needs to shrink by approximately 2 billion in the next 10 years if mankind is to survive. The belief is that the Earth has a limit of 4 billion humans, and the worlds population is around 6 billion at present. The article I read (I fail to find the link at present), said that if we can eradicate poverty, especially in the 3rd world, then they won't feel the need to ever have anymore than one or two children, and the population of Asia, Africa, India, and China will shrink.
    • odganarb, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1India is in Asia? And even if Asian nations fall below replacement rate, it'll take decades for the population to drop to your mythical 4 billion. So that means we'd have to kill 2.6 billion people, a number which dwarfs the combined total dead from all the wars and dictators in the history of man. This sounds not like the pipe dream you describe it to be, and more like nightmare. And as for your 4 billion person limit, that's just plain bollocks, the world has enough natural resources to support 100 times as many people as currently reside here, easily. Quality of life may change a little, sure, but it can be done.
  • jivatmanx, on 04/20/2008, -0/+2Money for nothing, Chicks for free
  • YodaJones, on 04/20/2008, -0/+1Yeah, but you can't kill a millionaire corporate executive prick with a loaf of bread.
  • Herostratus, on 04/20/2008, -1/+1If you have no food, but you still have guns, solutions will appear. Don't give up your guns.
  • pettdog78, on 04/20/2008, -3/+1We should just stop feeding the world. It should'nt be our responsibility anyway. Our economy has been going in the toilet and our dollar is worth crap now. Let Europe feed the starving masses for a change... We have enough problems just dealing with the starving masses in the US.
  • IrwinFletcher, on 04/20/2008, -0/+1We don't need war, we need more apex predators to thin the human heard. Lions and Tigers and Bears.
  • Pawster, on 04/21/2008, -0/+1why so many children? because they know nothing about pregnancy prevention... they don't learn those in school, they don't have condoms or pills...
    somethings may be very simple in your eyes, but not that simple to them
  • kmmcca, on 04/21/2008, -0/+0Everyone seems to have a comment. No one seems to have a solution. Gee!?
  • NighthawkBlack, on 04/22/2008, -0/+0"I live back in the woods, you see
    A woman and the kids, and the dogs and me
    I got a shotgun rifle and a 4-wheel drive
    And a country boy can survive
    Country folks can survive

    I can plow a field all day long
    I can catch catfish from dusk till dawn
    We make our own whiskey and our own smoke too
    Ain’t too many things these ole boys can’t do
    We grow good ole tomatoes and homemade wine
    And a country boy can survive..."

    Word.
  •  

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