So, we rise from the rubble...
"While the world turns the spotlights to failed attempts of fixing broken economic systems, a hunger crisis is spreading across the globe. Amid a sanitary outbreak that is devastating countries politically and economically, and as a consequence of catastrophic natural disasters, recent reports are indicating that we're about to see “famines of biblical proportions”. Countries that once eradicated the dreadful effects of malnutrition are witnessing a reoccurrence of high poverty rates, meaning that a larger portion of their population is now facing deep food insecurity.
From Asia to Africa to South America, the hunger crisis is leaving a troubling track, and specialists are warning that if the world leaders don't take action soon enough, the repercussion of the widespread food shortages will become more fatal than the current viral outbreak.
The Executive Director of UN's World Food Program (WFP) David Beasley has repeatedly warned that in addition to the damages that emerged with the global health crisis, the world would face “multiple famines of biblical proportions” that would likely cause 300,000 casualties per day, triggering a hunger crisis. Now, this critical situation is already a reality for many countries. A couple of months ago, while speaking at an online briefing broadcast by the UN on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, the WFP chief disclosed the distressing fact that 821 million people are currently battling with food insecurity. “If we don’t prepare and act now, to secure access, avoid funding shortfalls and disruptions to trade,” he said, the outcome could lead to a “humanitarian catastrophe in a short few months”. “Millions of civilians living in conflict-scarred nations, including many women and children, face being pushed to the brink of starvation, with the specter of famine a very real and dangerous possibility,” he added.
Now, grocery stores across the United States are stocking up on products to avoid shortages during a second wave of coronavirus. When the media starts acknowledging that food shortages are on the horizon, it's a sign things are about to get much worse. The report specified that household products - including paper towels and Clorox wipes - have been difficult to find at times during the pandemic, and if grocery stores aren’t stocked up and prepared for a second wave this winter, runs on products and shortages could happen again.
Furthermore, noting that the food prices will likely increase due to the greedy ambitions of a handful of billionaires, who are profiting at the expense of workers financial pain, which unables them to afford for basic goods. With high demand for groceries comes higher prices in the aisles. Since March, more Americans have been eating at home - and their grocery expenses have been growing. This is partly due to the fact that food manufacturers and grocery stores are rethinking their pricing strategies now because demand is surging.
What is more, on top of the threatening food shortages and soar in prices, other determinants may contribute to the disruption of the food supply chain, since many U.S. farmers have gone bankrupt during this downturn. They revealed that federal payments have actually done very little to keep them afloat. In fact, the initial payments under the Food Assistance Program, which provided $16 billion in direct support and $3 billion in purchases, disclosed an uneven distribution of financial aid, and most of the payments were redirected to large, industrialized farms.
Liquid Mind, “Zero Degrees Zero, Ambience Minimus"
“The beautiful Trifid Nebula, also known as Messier 20, is easy to find with a small telescope in the nebula rich constellation Sagittarius. About 5,000 light-years away, the colorful study in cosmic contrasts shares this well-composed, nearly 1 degree wide field with open star cluster Messier 21 (top right).
"One of the curious things about the Roman Empire is how it managed to stagger on for so long after the second century. The third century is actually called The Crisis of the Third Century, because the empire was in chaos. Yet, the empire managed to get through that period and carry on for roughly two more centuries. In time, Historians will probably puzzle over the same question regarding America. How is that it staggers on despite the obvious problems?
A popular theme in science fiction is one where the human explorers stumble upon alien technology and they are baffled as to what it does. It’s not that they know the purpose but cannot figure out how to make it work. It’s that they don’t understand the purpose of the technology. The implication is that the aliens were so advanced that they were creating tools to solve problems humans have yet to contemplate. The gap between the aliens and humans is so great that it cannot be bridged.
It is a useful thing to keep in mind when thinking about the modern world. The evidence is pretty good that Western man is dumber than his ancestors. We have more overall knowledge than our ancestors, but our ability to add to it is in sharp decline along with our ability to use it. The people in charge now struggle to do the basics of government, like maintain order and the infrastructure. In America, streets are crumbling and there are regular power failures in parts of the country.
A good small-scale example is the city of Baltimore. All of the machinery that was put in place back when it was an important city is still in place. The people running that machinery today are not doing so well. They clearly lack the intellectual firepower to operate that machinery. Baltimore is one of the most dangerous cities in the world and it is suffering from a steady population decline. The political class is so incompetent they can’t even run the graft system properly.
This was all true before the Covid panic. One thing that kept Baltimore afloat was the tourist and sports industry. In the summer, tourists would come to the well-guarded inner harbor. People from the surrounding areas would come in for sports games and the surrounding restaurants. All of that was shuttered by the panic, which means the tens of millions in tax dollars never arrived. Then there is the cost of the Covid panic itself, which has further crippled the city administration.
When you look at many American cities like Baltimore, St. Louis, Detroit, Newark and so on, the question is not “How did they get to this point?” The question is, “How have they not collapsed by now?” Part of it, of course, is the surrounding infrastructure that keeps them propped up. In the case of Baltimore, the rest of the state is taxed to keep Baltimore City government going. Federal dollars pour in to keep the cops on the streets and the schools open for business.
That’s fine for cities, but that cannot work for the country as a whole. Like those cities, the national government is increasing incompetent. Both official political parties are in such steep decline that the next election will offer a choice between a carny barker and a dementia patient. The sober minded will always feels as if the current age sits on the shoulder’s of giants, but the gap between the best we have today and just a few generations ago is breathtaking.
The only thing the political elite is good at doing is keeping the public at one another’s throat over trivia. This is why Trump in President. His main skill as a politician is to stir the pot and cause outrage. He’s a terribly inflamed hemorrhoid on the political ass of the establishment. The upcoming circus over the Supreme Court nominee promises six weeks of television mayhem. The shouting and shrieking, of course, will be from the political class itself, not an outraged public.
One can dismiss that as “bread and circuses” but that does not explain how the country staggers on despite it all. For six months the government at all levels has been sabotaging the economy and civic life with the Covid panic. Tens of millions have been thrown out of work. No one knows how many businesses have closed for good due to the Covid lock downs. Food lines are popping up in the suburbs. How is it that none of this has resulted in civil unrest or at least a few protests?
Of course, no one can really know what is happening. The media told us over 50 million people were thrown out of work due to the panic. The empty streets seem to confirm it, but they also tell us unemployment is below 10%. The stock market has returned to the levels it was at before the panic. The media also tells us that the riots we saw over the summer were a figment of our imagination. How can anything work when no one can be sure of anything being told to them by the rulers?
