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Post by MC Habber on Mar 21, 2003 20:03:04 GMT -5
Lost amid all the news and arguments about the war in Iraq are many other crises happening around the world. In Ethiopia, there is going to be a famine and if there is not a major international effort to provide aid, the death toll could reach a stupefying 11 million people. I fear that problems such as this will be convieniently swept under the rug as the world watches the war. Many of you may remember the TV coverage of the famine of 1984, and this year is said to be even worse. Here is a link to a very good report which I watched: www.cbc.ca/national/news/ethiopia/I just wanted to remind people about this because there seems to be basically zero public awareness on this issue. |
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Post by BadCompany on Mar 23, 2003 21:31:57 GMT -5
And where are the American liberators and saviors now?
Where are they in Sudan? Somalia? North Korea? China? Cuba? Nigeria (oh wait, they are in Nigeria - or at least Shell and Chevron are) ? Congo? Chechyna? Azerbaijan? Indonesia?
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Mar 23, 2003 21:41:30 GMT -5
And where are the American liberators and saviors now? Where are they in Sudan? Somalia? North Korea? China? Cuba? Nigeria (oh wait, they are in Nigeria - or at least Shell and Chevron are) ? Congo? Chechyna? Azerbaijan? Indonesia? You forgot "Palestine".  And saaay, what are those Colombian druglords up to these days? |
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Post by MC Habber on Mar 23, 2003 21:49:43 GMT -5
There's no place in this world where I'll belong when I'm gone
And I won't know the right from the wrong when I'm gone
And you won't find me singin' on this song when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
And I won't feel the flowing of the time when I'm gone
All the pleasures of love will not be mine when I'm gone
My pen won't pour a lyric line when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
And I won't breathe the bracing air when I'm gone
And I can't even worry 'bout my cares when I'm gone
Won't be asked to do my share when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
And I won't be running from the rain when I'm gone
And I can't even suffer from the pain when I'm gone
Can't say who's to praise and who's to blame when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
Won't see the golden of the sun when I'm gone
And the evenings and the mornings will be one when I'm gone
Can't be singing louder than the guns when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
All my days won't be dances of delight when I'm gone
And the sands will be shifting from my sight when I'm gone
Can't add my name into the fight while I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
And I won't be laughing at the lies when I'm gone
And I can't question how or when or why when I'm gone
Can't live proud enough to die when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
There's no place in this world where I'll belong when I'm gone
And I won't know the right from the wrong when I'm gone
And you won't find me singin' on this song when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it
I guess I'll have to do it
Guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
--Phil Ochs
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Post by PTH on Mar 23, 2003 22:12:46 GMT -5
You forgot "Palestine". And the people there have been ignoring UN resolutions for 30 years now, too ! |
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Post by The New Guy on Mar 23, 2003 22:23:08 GMT -5
It's a bit different when on one hand you have a country who is a legitimate threat to other countries in the region (Iraq) and a country who is legitimatly threatened by countries in the region.
Kinda funny to point out that except for a very rare occasion (rare compared to the number of wars they've been involved in), Israel has not been the agressive party, but the defensive one that turned around the attack.
But that's another topic of discourse altogether.
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Post by PTH on Mar 23, 2003 22:24:57 GMT -5
Of course Iraq is a terrible threat to the area. Bush says so. He'd never make anything up. And they tried to kill his daddy.
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Post by The New Guy on Mar 23, 2003 22:34:42 GMT -5
Well - in the past twenty years he lobbed missiles into almost all his neighbours... I'd say I can independantly come to his conclusion.
Or maybe Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Israel only said they came under attack from scud missiles or other Iraqi weapons in the past twenty years so GWB could come in and get the oil.
And I hear the US faked all their lunar landings too...
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Mar 23, 2003 22:39:37 GMT -5
And I hear the US faked all their lunar landings too... Only after they realized there wasn't any oil to be had. |
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Post by PTH on Mar 23, 2003 22:43:39 GMT -5
Well - in the past twenty years he lobbed missiles into almost all his neighbours... I'd say I can independantly come to his conclusion. Independant thought ? From the guy who needs a reliable, goverrnmental source to believe this has something to do with oil ? I'm stunned.... |
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Post by The New Guy on Mar 23, 2003 23:26:45 GMT -5
That's it. Argue ad hominem. Running out of excuses why you can't pony up anything except conspiracies and whispers in the dark of 'blood for oil', so why not attack me. That'll work. That'll discredit it me.
Really it will...
When you come up with something let me know PTH. I'm not getting into a flame war with you.
Later
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Post by MC Habber on Apr 18, 2003 19:20:00 GMT -5
www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/104947778296.htm04 Apr 2003 17:33:00 GMT Fear looming of ‘84-like famine in Ethiopia Callie Long -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Action by Churches Together (ACT) - Switzerland Website: www.act-intl.orgDateline Act Ethiopia 0203 Geneva, 04 April, 2003 By Diana Mavunduse Having walked for hours in the blistering sun in search of food and water for their animals, Alimah and his brothers finally reached a water-well where their goats and camels could drink. “I have never gone to school,” says Alimah, who is not sure of his age, “We spend all our time going through the land in search of water and green pastures for the animals.” Alimah comes from the northern part of Ethiopia in the Mille district of the Afar region – one of the regions in the country severely affected by the drought. His father has four wives and 16 children - Alimah is among the eldest. He has lived in the Afar region all his life, and herding goats and camels is what he knows best. The last five months have been difficult ones. They lost their 50 herd of cattle due to the drought, leaving them with only 35 goats and 4 camels, animals that can adapt to the dry conditions in the area. Relief agencies operating in pastoral areas report that in Afar it is estimated that almost half of the cattle herd have been wiped out. Other regions that have suffered similarly are the Somali region and East Shewa zone of the Oromia region. There is hardly any grazing land left in the desert-like surroundings. “It has become difficult to survive in this area. We can not even get wild fruits to eat in this part of the country. We rely mostly on goat and camel milk, and some food-hand-outs we get from relatives and neighbours who get food relief,” said Alimah. Like many other families in Afar, Alimah’s family does not fall under the 36,200 beneficiaries registered for food relief distributions in Mille district. However, because of the culture of ‘sharing’ amongst the Afar people, those registered for food relief share their food parcels with those families who are not. “Sharing food is a custom for the people in the Afar region,” said Mr. Bodja Gelalcha, programme co-ordinator of the Lutheran World Federation/World Service (LWF/WS) in Ethiopia. “A family cannot sleep on a full stomach when their neighbour does not have food,” he explained “If some families suffer, the rest of the village has to suffer too…that has been their custom for generations.” In September 2002 the government through its Disaster Preparedness Prevention Commission (DPPC) had issued an appeal estimating that about 6,5 million people where affected by the drought, but after a re-assessment in December 2002, the figure has risen to about 14,3 million people. However, the concept of sharing with others who are not deemed needy enough, indicates that the number of people at risk is much higher than the 14,3 million predicted so far. Members of the global alliance, Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, based in Ethiopia – LWF/WS, the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY), the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOC), Christian Aid, and the Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) fear that the drought in Ethiopia could cause a disaster. They have called on the international community to intervene with massive food aid. The ACT members issued an appeal totaling US$ 26,995,619 under the umbrella of the Joint Relief Partnership (JRP)*, targeting 24 districts as being those in urgent need of help. “These districts have a history of suffering from chronic food shortages, minimal erratic rainfall and devastating drought cycles. In addition many pastoral areas have not recovered from the effect of the 1999/2000 drought,” reads the Appeal. However, due to the negligible response by donor communities to the plight of the Ethiopian people, food rations (in form of wheat) has had to be reduced from 15kg to only 12.5 kg per family. “The 12.5kg is so minimal. An average family of eight will only have one meal per day,” says Bodja Gelalcha, adding that “the food available so far will only last until June this year and if food is not forthcoming then, we will see the reminiscent of the 1984 drought.” *JRP is a consortium of Ethiopian churches, all the ACT members in Ethiopia as well as Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the Ethiopia Catholic Church (ECC). -end- ACT is a world-wide network of churches and related agencies meeting human need through coordinated emergency response. The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Apr 19, 2003 19:13:00 GMT -5
Ethiopia has been near famine or in famine for decades now and no one, sometimes the UN included, has given a hoot. Don't get me wrong, various UN agencies have been in and out of Ethiopia over the year, but it doesn't seem to have made all that much difference. A former province of Ethiopia, Eritria, is also in same boat now. www.nationbynation.com/Eritria/Geo.htmlEthiopia and Eritria were at war for a while. However, when the ceasefire was put in place I had a few friends that went over on very short notice to Eritria. There were people starving then and there are people starving now. One problem is local militia groups. These groups seize food stuffs and take things by force whenever they want to, similarily the way it was in Somolia. But the UN is their own worst enemy at times. Far too many countries seek membership but then run for cover when they're asked to keep up their financial commitment. At times, these are the same countries who lobby for foreign aid. And, at other times, there are countries that just wave their hands in the air as if to say, ".. yeah, yeah, the check is in the mail..." when asked the same. Does the UN go after them for payment? Maybe, but what can they do? If they choose to suspend one country for this, they have suspend every country that does this. However, lack of funding is just one of the UN's failings. A lack of high-level coordination as well as a lack of general competency, also contributes to their inactive, complacent image. You also have various UN agencies working against one another while in theatre, each citing why their organization deserves funding and the why the others don't. So, you see, one of the main problems is the UN's inability to work within itself. The most recent proof is in Iraq. Since December 21, 1945, Iraq has been a member of the UN. Almost from day-1, the UN has denounce the British/US-led action against Iraq, yet it has failed to follow up on any of it's resolutions. If they felt so serious about it, why didn't they form a multi-national force to block the invasion? Why? Because they had missed the boat in following up on any of the resolutions they served Iraq over the years. I'm not saying that the UN thought the US/British initiative to be right. However, they have to admit defeat, incompetence, what-have-you, with regards to inaction. The colours of the UN security council have finally come through. If any of the countries therein have conflicting interests in a country that is in violation of UN resolutions, then that country needn't worry, at least from the UN. Until the UN can sort out itself, you're going to continue to see, "... the UN condems whatever ..." or, "... the UN General Secretary says ....." But, action? Forget about it. Money is only one issue, but there are other issues they need to sort out as well. Cheers. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Apr 19, 2003 19:14:59 GMT -5
You forgot "Palestine". Going with you point, the problem with modern-day Israel is that when the Israelis took over Palestine in '48, the rest of the world recognized it right away. The UN has been taking flack over this for year now. However, it would have been extremely hard to have maintained that country had it not been for the Zionists. Cheers. |
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Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Apr 19, 2003 20:17:24 GMT -5
Going with you point, the problem with modern-day Israel is that when the Israelis took over Palestine in '48, the rest of the world recognized it right away. The UN has been taking flack over this for year now. However, it would have been extremely hard to have maintained that country had it not been for the Zionists. Cheers. I was actually referring to present day "Palestine". But seeing as the military governor the US will be installing in Iraq is strongly pro-Israeli, I don't hold out much hope for an improvement in the lot of the Palestinians. |
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Post by 24andcounting on Apr 20, 2003 22:46:18 GMT -5
I was actually referring to present day "Palestine". But seeing as the military governor the US will be installing in Iraq is strongly pro-Israeli, I don't hold out much hope for an improvement in the lot of the Palestinians. Nor I. The appointment was strangely coincidental, wasn't it? |
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