HousingPANIC Harsh Reality of the Day

April 20, 2008

HousingPANIC Harsh Reality of the Day

They're eating dirt now in Haiti.

Try to keep that in mind when you get in your SUV filled with ethanol-blend and drive to Wal-Mart today.

96 comments:

Anonymous said...: America: let them eat dirt; April 20, 2008 3:44 PM
Anonymous said...: Most of the Haitians I've encountered in Florida are total dirtbags or criminals or rapist. No sympathy here. Let them eat dirt.; April 20, 2008 3:48 PM
Anonymous said...: global warming's a bitch.; April 20, 2008 4:10 PM
Anonymous said...: There is food in rotting storage in Hati and their corrupt government will not release it to the poor. Nothing to do with US.
FMW; April 20, 2008 4:48 PM
Anonymous said...: I wish they would outlaw ethanol. It will never replace oil based fuels and it's going to lead to super inflation here in the States. Even in Brazil, their independence from oil is based on highly fuel effecient small cars. No SUV's there. Also the kiddies don't get driven around by Soccer Moms They walk to school or take public transportation (those who are not desparately poor don't go to school) IMAGINE if all those single driver moms were off the road between 2-4 PM. The roads would be a ghost town.

And the Brazilian gasoline is not 100% ethanol. Brazil has its own oil reserves that feed the refineries.; April 20, 2008 5:06 PM
Anonymous said...: America: Eat my dust; April 20, 2008 5:10 PM
Anonymous said...: I don't live in Haiti, I don't care if they're alive or dead, nor do I see any reason to.

Just because you suffer from filthy ideals, and somehow have the stupid notion this is a problem of some sort, doesn't mean I have to. You can feed pigs with ideals.

I am particularly looking forward to the day the food aid to the Palestinians dry up. Not THAT will be funny.; April 20, 2008 5:17 PM
Anonymous said...: WTF! Where is the rest of the world, the Germans, English, Aussies, Russia, China, why does this imply the USA has to always be responsible.; April 20, 2008 5:43 PM
Anonymous said...: i am not sure which i find more pitiful, that they are eating dirt or that they spend what little money they have on buying the dirt they eat.; April 20, 2008 5:51 PM
Anonymous said...: Food riots here soon, too.

Most won't quietly die in the corner. Will trigger ramp-up in police state to manage scarce resources. More to enlist in military for food and money for family.; April 20, 2008 6:07 PM
Anonymous said...: Food is currently a huge problem around the world. It's not just high commodity prices, but actual shortages. Many exporting countries are ceasing shipments to insure they have enough for themselves.

If you have time, watch Darwin's Nightmare.
IMDB
http://imdb.com/title/tt0424024/
Netflix
http://tinyurl.com/52n4bj

The movie really tugs at your heart initially. But later I wondered how these people had survived for so long and never learned to feed themselves on anything but the leftovers.; April 20, 2008 7:07 PM
Lost Cause said...: It is not ethanol. It is the flood of specu-dollars provided by the Fed to bail out Wall Street.; April 20, 2008 8:05 PM
Anonymous said...: Huh?

I don’t get it.

What in the world is holding them back from being successful?

Why don’t the Haitians compete with GM and Wall Mart?

Don’t be blaming us hard working people for Haiti’s choices.

If anything; it’s the UNs fault for keeping generation after generation uneducated and poor.

Remember, every time you go to a Bono concert you are contributing to the
‘Keeping the poor uneducated’.; April 20, 2008 9:18 PM
Anonymous said...: 12 Monkeys to all you right wing haters.; April 20, 2008 9:27 PM
Anonymous said...: Anon said:
‘I am particularly looking forward to the day the food aid to the Palestinians dry up.’

I very much agree, there is nothing more evil then providing ‘food aid to the Palestinians’.

BTW, the Palestinians are not unique peoples, like say; the Kurds.

At $115 a barrel of oil, you’d think the Arabs would provide more then just explosives to their brethren.; April 20, 2008 9:30 PM
Anonymous said...: Dirt pie production is a sustainable business, whereas growing real food is not a sustainable business in Haiti when the place can be innundated with free food whenever food price goes up. Think about it, whatever you do for a living, if any time the market demand for your industry drives the price up, a mother load of free supply from the outside, wouldn't you have stopped doing whatever that you do a long time ago?

The same story for Palestine: making food is not profitable in the face all that free international aid; making bombs on the other hand is!; April 20, 2008 9:34 PM
Frank R said...: Actually Keith, stop blaming the SUVs and Wal-Mart and start blaming Al Gore and the global warming nuts who are demanding action on global warming.

The #1 cause for the food crisis is biofuels that are sucking all the food away from the poor.

http://tinyurl.com/4c5ua3; April 20, 2008 9:54 PM
Anonymous said...: Can't they fish?; April 20, 2008 11:02 PM
Anonymous said...: Watch the wheel turn.

All the third world oil cartel criminals spiked the cost of oil. Now the wheel turns and the poor are eating dirt. Guess who they will overthrow?; April 20, 2008 11:07 PM
Anonymous said...: Keith,

They've been eating dirt in Haiti for years. I first saw a documentary on these clay-cookies 5 yrs ago!

It's very sad, but it has VERY little to do with ethanol; Haiti's government ruined their meager economy decades ago through corruption. Haitians were suffering malnutrition LONG before the recent increase in food prices.

You are a great housing bubble blogger but your political analysis is lacking. I know you are trying to help, but maybe you should just stick to housing and provide links to more experienced political blogs when you get the urge...; April 21, 2008 1:28 AM
Anonymous said...: "There is food in rotting storage in Hati and their corrupt government will not release it to the poor. Nothing to do with US.
FMW"
April 20, 2008 4:48 PM

Exactly!

Don't destroy your credibility with bad facts Keith.; April 21, 2008 1:31 AM
Anonymous said...: lost cause;

You hit the nail right on the head with that one.

"It is the flood of specu-dollars provided by the Fed to bail out Wall Street."

It has to find it's way SOMEWHERE!!!!

This is just the beginning,look for prices to rise through 2009.
Let's just hope the acceleration slows, and does not quicken.; April 21, 2008 1:37 AM
Anonymous said...: Boy lots of Anon assholes read this blog eh? 'Didn't know the "kill/blame the poor" demographic was so prevalent.; April 21, 2008 2:01 AM
Anonymous said...: "It is not ethanol. It is the flood of specu-dollars provided by the Fed to bail out Wall Street."

No -- it's ethanol! This started long before any talks of bailing out Wall Street.; April 21, 2008 2:02 AM
Anonymous said...: They're governing themselves....just like the Zimbabweans. Similar results.; April 21, 2008 2:29 AM
Anonymous said...: So it's WalMart's fault that there is massive overpopulation in Haiti with the average family having 8 children? If every woman in America had 8 children we would all be starving to death too. This is nature's way of telling the morons to slow down the breeding.; April 21, 2008 2:58 AM
Anonymous said...: Drove my SUV to the Super WalMart today (open 24/7 mind you). Feels GREAT!!!; April 21, 2008 3:32 AM
Anonymous said...: Once again, some retards seem to think food riots in Haiti will lead to food riots in the USA, which is ridiculous. The USA remains one of the richest nations in the world and produces an incredible amount of food. Additionally anyone in the USA who is not extremely poor currently spends a small fraction of their budget on food and does not even bother comparing prices or ensuring they are getting the most calories and nutrition for their dollars.

Meanwhile Haiti is one of the worlds leading nations in corruption, overpopulation, civil unrest and non-production of food or anything else of value that can be exchanged for it.

Haiti has sucked for many decades and will likely suck for many more. Old news.; April 21, 2008 4:13 AM
Tyrone said...: Condoleezza Rice on food prices...

U.S. plans new steps to ease food shortage
"The rapid rise in global food prices is an urgent concern," she said. "Rising food prices are a source of social instability, as we are seeing in a number of places, around the globe."

She said there were many causes for the higher prices, including global demand, devastating droughts and record-high fuel costs.
-------------

What about inflation? Screwed up monetary policy? ...; April 21, 2008 4:34 AM
Anonymous said...: What's the problem with the Haitians? Why don't they grow their own food? I see all these thugs running around on the street throwing rocks. They should be in the field planting some corns or rice.; April 21, 2008 5:22 AM
Anonymous said...: how about this for an HP poll Keith:
The result of the Fed lowering rates is in an increase of commodity/food prices. is this intentional or unintentional?; April 21, 2008 7:01 AM
Anonymous said...: global warming's a bitch

If it got warmer, there would be more farmland. As it is, this winter was actually one of the coldest on record. I bet that was also caused by global warming, just like Hurricane Katrina and tornadoes, which didn't exist before cars started polluting the air.; April 21, 2008 7:09 AM
Anonymous said...: Last year during Doha round of trade negotiations Developing Countries were opposed to US/EU subsidising their Farm Sector. These Countries thus justified high tarrifs on Farm Imports. But all of a sudden Market seems to have done what was considered impossible. Now some of these countries have remove import duties for their own survival. Interesting indeed.; April 21, 2008 8:43 AM
Anonymous said...: Haitians are humans too!!! Don't treat them like animals because you are a BIGOT!!!! You never know when you will be up or down so think before you JUDGE!!!!!; April 21, 2008 9:20 AM
blogger said...: I leave the "let the hatians starve" posts go because it's good I think to show ignorance and cruelty and call it what it is.

Anyone want to bet how many of those folks are also Fox News watchers shopping at Wal-Mart while flying an American flag in their yard?

Sad.; April 21, 2008 10:25 AM
Anonymous said...: I just want to know why they were starving in Haiti before ethanol. Was it in anticipation of biofuels, or some other cause?

Hell, for all we know the UN peacekeepers who have been there since the beginning of this century stole all the food. I guess they got tired of raping the locals like they have in other countries.

Of course, it could be all the stripping of the native forest that led to the topsoil washing away in the rains.

Maybe the fact that they have been the least developed country in the Western Hemisphere since the 80's?

Maybe all three, plus about twenty other factors I haven't mentioned?

Nah.....it's gotta be the biofuels......; April 21, 2008 12:09 PM
Anonymous said...: ...you mean they weren't before?; April 21, 2008 2:22 PM
Anonymous said...: Anonymous said...
They're governing themselves....just like the Zimbabweans. Similar results.

April 21, 2008 2:29 AM

and Cook County, Illinois.; April 21, 2008 2:32 PM
Anonymous said...: Neocons like our dear Frank blame the use of biofuels for our current crisis, but let's inject a bit of common sense into the discussion.

Wheat and corn crop production reached record highs this year. It's the demand side of the equation that has changed, in large part due to the growth in India and China (growth that has come at our expense thanks to corporate outsourcing).

Most of the increases in food prices can be directly attributed to the increases in fuel prices. Those increases would have been even greater without the plant-based additives, perhaps leaving us with a net neutral effect on food prices.

Commodities speculation is also a major factor in the run-up. I would compare Frank's bio-fuel argument to the famous "they're not making any more land" explanation used by commissioned realtors during the real estate bubble. Speculation, not a shortage, was the true culprit, then as now.

Our current investment in bio-fuel technology will lead to development of much more efficient bio-fuels, such as ones made from switchgrass and algae, leaving our country in a far better position long term.

Extreme partisans like Frank are fools who just look to blame the other guy for every problem, real or perceived, instead of using their brains.; April 21, 2008 2:37 PM
Anonymous said...: You morons. This has been going on in Haiti since they won their indepepdence from France and slaughtered the last remaining 15,000 French colonists. Under French rule, Haiti was known as the Pearl of the Antilles. Since independence, they've been at war with themselves, starving, and killing each other for over 200 years. Try reading a little bit about Haiti's history before blaming everything on WalMart. The Haitians have been starving long before the world bank has been around.; April 21, 2008 3:30 PM
Anonymous said...: They're eating dirt now in Haiti.

Try to keep that in mind when you get in your SUV filled with ethanol-blend and drive to Wal-Mart today.

________

You're exhibiting a very illogical liberal stance here.

Excessive American consumption is not necessarily the evil you imply; on the contrary.

If Americans drastically reduce their consumption, many many MORE people will starve.

Thought about that?; April 21, 2008 4:51 PM
Anonymous said...: When people in a country are starving, it is usually due to an excessively corrupt gov't in that country, NOT excessive American consumption.

Use your brain.

Oh....that's right....you buy metals at high prices and panic-sell them at low prices...you run on emotion, not rationality.; April 21, 2008 4:53 PM
Anonymous said...: What, you're going to tell me that they can't fish in that vast ocean and grow vegetables and fruits and domestic animals in the backyard? Oops, I forgot, all the chickens are used for Voodoo, instead. They can pick up the trash in the neighborhood, too? Oh, they're waiting for us to do for them, right?

Have you been to Haiti? It's common for the Haitians to squat right in front of you to pee or do number 2, anywhere in public.

That's right, stupid people should eat dirt.; April 21, 2008 5:08 PM
Anonymous said...: Don't you worry, Obama will be taxing you to death in order to send taxpayer money to Haiti. After all, it's on the 10 points of Rev Wright's church. Enjoy the die-off of the American middle-class.; April 21, 2008 5:10 PM
Anonymous said...: For all of you "Expert Haiti Haters". Read first, form opinion later? This is the story about the dirty, slovenly, lazy, dirt eating savages.

30 Years Ago Haiti Grew All the Rice It Needed. What Happened?
The U.S. Role in Haiti's Food Riots

By BILL QUIGLEY

PS: Their food is not sitting rotten in a warehouse.

Doctor Paul Farmer was in Haiti then and saw what happened. “Within less than two years, it became impossible for Haitian farmers to compete with what they called ‘Miami rice.’ The whole local rice market in Haiti fell apart as cheap, U.S. subsidized rice, some of it in the form of ‘food aid,’ flooded the market. There was violence, ‘rice wars,’ and lives were lost.”

“American rice invaded the country,” recalled Charles Suffrard, a leading rice grower in Haiti in an interview with the Washington Post in 2000. By 1987 and 1988, there was so much rice coming into the country that many stopped working the land.

...“In the 1980s, imported rice poured into Haiti, below the cost of what our farmers could produce it. Farmers lost their businesses. People from the countryside started losing their jobs and moving to the cities. After a few years of cheap imported rice, local production went way down.”

...Still the international business community was not satisfied. In 1994, as a condition for U.S. assistance in returning to Haiti to resume his elected Presidency, Jean-Bertrand Aristide was forced by the U.S., the IMF, and the World Bank to open up the markets in Haiti even more.

and on the Eighth Day God Created NAFTA...

http://tinyurl.com/4em9kr

JaneZ; April 21, 2008 5:21 PM
Anonymous said...: They were just as poor back in 1800 as they are now. Was it WalMart or biofuel's fault back then? Until these people stop having more babies than they can afford to feed, nothing can help them. The Germans, Chinese, and Irish used to have the same problem until they learned that aweful fact. You keep feeding them and they keep having more babies until there is a massive die-off due to overpopulation. It is only delaying the inevitable and they will drag the world down with them. Let nature run it's course now or else it will only be worse later. The disease is overpopulation, the cure is a die-off. It happens in every species and only humans are so foolish and arrogant to think that they are mightier than nature.; April 21, 2008 5:26 PM
Anonymous said...: Even in Brazil, their independence from oil is based on highly fuel effecient small cars. No SUV's there.

There are many SUVs and pickup trucks, manufactured in Brazil, which use ethanol. More than half of Brazilian's fleet use ethanol, while many other SUVs and trucks use diesel. As a matter of fact, the cars are built with FlexFuel, which allows you to fill it up with ethanol or gasoline, depending which one is cheaper at the pump. The FlexFuel kit costs about US$70 and any mechanic can install it in a couple of hours.

Furthermore, Brazil is about the size of the US, while only 8% of its land has been used for agribusiness so far.

And we, Americans, keep kissing Chinese butt, while there's a friendly and democratic powerhouse just further south, practically a neighbor.

Here's an interesting article by Fortune Magazine:

How Brazil outfarmed the American farmer

After a half-century of dominance, the U.S. is losing its edge in agriculture to a booming, high-tech Latin American powerhouse.

http://tinyurl.com/2bxcj7; April 21, 2008 5:30 PM
Anonymous said...: Funny, I'd like to hear what's the excuse for so many Haitians that beg to be an American citizen just to start a long life of crime in Florida soon after, against the same Americans who gave them a chance for a better life. The same question goes to Cubans and Mexicans.

You open the newspapers or watch the news in Florida, and every day there's a ton of crimes committed by Haitians and Cubans against the Americans who brought them in and gave them an American citizenship. From Medicare fraud to raping minors on the way to school, these "nice people" have been out of control. And one crime committed by any member of these groups, is already one too many.

There are more grateful people out there in the world to give citizenship to, even with MBAs, you know?

Hey, but why should Mexican, Haitian, and Cuban governments be wasting money with convicts and sociopaths if the only thing they have to do is put those freaks in the border to transfer that responsibility to Americans. Much cheaper!; April 21, 2008 5:41 PM
Anonymous said...: "What's the problem with the Haitians? Why don't they grow their own food? I see all these thugs running around on the street throwing rocks. They should be in the field planting some corns or rice."

Dude, they're thugs not farmers. Farming actually takes skill and that knowledge was lost generations ago (imagine your average American suburbanite trying to grow enough food to feed people--most of them shell out for lawncare for Christsakes!) Every hour we build subdivisions over soil they would literally kill for. Also, here you can always go to HomeDespot/TSC/Coop and pick up fert/compost/insecticide/sprinklers (to go with our "endless" supply of fresh American water,) but in that climate with that soil, and those limited resources--you actually need to know what you're doing to be successful--and then maybe. Clueless people sticking rice in the ground don't have a prayer, e.g. "The Great Leap Forward." Leadership is to blame here.

Haiti was once the most productive colony in the Americas, but the Haitians ruined most of their soil by over-farming, just like we might soon be doing in a pell-mell effort to fill our gastanks.

Hmmm... I'd better go tweak my silt-erdoodle recipe.; April 21, 2008 5:42 PM
Anonymous said...: Eating mud (dirt) is not uncommon in the US too:

http://geography.about.com/cs/culturalgeography/a/geophagy.htm; April 21, 2008 5:43 PM
Anonymous said...: Drove my SUV to the Super WalMart today (open 24/7 mind you). Feels GREAT!!!
-----------------------------------

I second that! my local super walmart (40 miles away) had a sale on styrofoam cups and plastic plates and utensils. I completely filled the back of my escalade.; April 21, 2008 5:44 PM
Anonymous said...: Haitians are humans too!!! Don't treat them like animals because you are a BIGOT!!!! You never know when you will be up or down so think before you JUDGE!!!!!
--------------------------------

bit thin skinned, aren't we?; April 21, 2008 5:47 PM
Anonymous said...: Stupid me. I planted and grow peaches, tangerines, lettuce, tomatoes, green onions, limes, carrots, etc, in my backyard. It doesn't require much care or time at all. Those things almost grow by themselves and don't cost much to start, only a few seeds and water. Plus, once in awhile I go fish with a stick and a nylon thread.

Stupid me. I should be throwing rocks, doing drugs, trashing my neighborhood, eating dirt, and practicing Voodoo all day instead.; April 21, 2008 5:48 PM
Anonymous said...: Anyone want to bet how many of those folks are also Fox News watchers shopping at Wal-Mart while flying an American flag in their yard?

------------------------------

oh, how naive Keith! The yuppie liberals are just as bad. Perhaps even worse because they hide their bigotry and call it other names like "I don't want my child to go to that school, it has a large percentage of students who receive free/reduced lunch".; April 21, 2008 5:52 PM
Anonymous said...: Interesting how Haitians seem to be always strong enough to breed like flies.; April 21, 2008 5:53 PM
Anonymous said...: I pray for the Haitians, and all people who are suffering.; April 21, 2008 5:55 PM
Anonymous said...: I'm sure most Haitians do not agree with what is going on with their country. It's only the corrupt few in Government that make them look bad to the world.; April 21, 2008 5:57 PM
Anonymous said...: mairca izda debol said... (blah blah)

Thanks for the history lesson Einstein,

How about the fact that since their independence through the 19th century France did everything they could to prevent their success as a country, specifically blockading their exports like the US does to Cuba. Most of the "development money" sent there from the US and France has actually gone to either support warlords (one of whom actually lives in France now) or to undermine the popularly elected Aristide. It actually doesn't take much effort to intentionally fcuk up a country if you are a thousand times more powerful, just keep sending cash to a few corrupt @$$ho1es to ensure they spend most of their time fighting each other and systematically destroying their farmland.; April 21, 2008 7:21 PM
Anonymous said...: I wish they would outlaw ethanol.

Hemp based bio fuel would be a boom to the economy. Hemp fiber, hemp food, hemp oil... could change the entire economy.

************

I ate some dirt cookies when I visited the Caribbean last year. They aren't bad and are chocked full of minerals. Dirt is better for you than unsaturated oils we find in fast foods.

If we all ate more dirt, we would be more healthy.

“It melts in your mouth like chocolate, says Ruth Anne T. Joiner, describing her favorite treat. “

"The good stuff is real smooth," she adds. "It's just like a piece of candy."

“Joiner is describing the delectable taste of dirt -- specifically, clay from the region around her home in Montezuma, Ga. “

While most people would recoil at the thought of eating mud or clay, some medical experts say it may be beneficial, especially for pregnant women.

"Every time I get pregnant, I get a craving -- I have to eat it,"
says Joiner, 40, who has given birth to four healthy babies.

"If I could get just one little bitty piece, that would stop the craving," she says.

"It has a fresh, natural-feeling taste, like the rain or something."

Eating dirt..Healthy Habit or Mental Illness?

The habit of eating clay, mud or dirt is known as geophagy.

Cultures worldwide have practiced geophagy for centuries, from the ancient Greeks to Native Americans.

In most places the habit is limited to women, especially women who are pregnant or of childbearing age.

The practice is common in sub-Saharan Africa, and many anthropologists believe geophagy was brought to the United States by African slaves.

It is now most commonly found among African-American women in the rural South.

Though the practice is rarely if ever recommended by medical professionals, some nutritionists now admit the habit of eating clay may have some real health benefits.; April 21, 2008 7:30 PM
Anonymous said...: Haiti now?

I'm still crusading for Ethopia, here, as I have been since the 80s. AFAIK they were before Haiti.

(sigh) guess I will have to sit down with the calculator again so I can equally devote my time to the 2,517,924 causes in the world...; April 21, 2008 7:31 PM
Anonymous said...: It's also WalMart's fault that the Sunnis and Shiites have been at war for 1,000 years. It's WalMart's fault that I got a flat tire. We all know that Target and Best Buy only sell Made in the USA; April 21, 2008 7:34 PM
Anonymous said...: Haiti was a tropical paradise; dense hardwood forests, beautiful unique island.

Forests covered something like 90% of the land 100 years ago. Now it's down to about 3%. Population has grown 10 fold.

Now whose fault is that? Wal-Mart's? Bush's? Mine?

Is it the obligation of the US to feed, clothe, house, educate, etc. every poor country in the world? Wouldn't they call that paternalistic? Racist even?

Sad situation? Most definitely. But if you are absolutely hell-bent on overpopulating a place, then Haiti is the result.; April 21, 2008 8:25 PM
Anonymous said...: Anonymous said...
Once again, some retards seem to think food riots in Haiti will lead to food riots in the USA, which is ridiculous. The USA remains one of the richest nations in the world and produces an incredible amount of food. Additionally anyone in the USA who is not extremely poor currently spends a small fraction of their budget on food and does not even bother comparing prices or ensuring they are getting the most calories and nutrition for their dollars.

Meanwhile Haiti is one of the worlds leading nations in corruption, overpopulation, civil unrest and non-production of food or anything else of value that can be exchanged for it.

Haiti has sucked for many decades and will likely suck for many more. Old news.

April 21, 2008 4:13 AM

Yea, your smoking crack fuck stick -

http://www2.nysun.com/article/74994?page_no=1

It will only get worse with time...; April 21, 2008 8:38 PM
Anonymous said...: Georgette said...
Neocons like our dear Frank blame the use of biofuels for our current crisis, but let's inject a bit of common sense into the discussion.

Wheat and corn crop production reached record highs this year. It's the demand side of the equation that has changed, in large part due to the growth in India and China (growth that has come at our expense thanks to corporate outsourcing).

Most of the increases in food prices can be directly attributed to the increases in fuel prices. Those increases would have been even greater without the plant-based additives, perhaps leaving us with a net neutral effect on food prices.

Commodities speculation is also a major factor in the run-up. I would compare Frank's bio-fuel argument to the famous "they're not making any more land" explanation used by commissioned realtors during the real estate bubble. Speculation, not a shortage, was the true culprit, then as now.

Our current investment in bio-fuel technology will lead to development of much more efficient bio-fuels, such as ones made from switchgrass and algae, leaving our country in a far better position long term.

Extreme partisans like Frank are fools who just look to blame the other guy for every problem, real or perceived, instead of using their brains.

April 21, 2008 2:37 PM

Sure... on average it takes 50-75 years to implement such infrastructure changes - not going to happen - keep dreaming. Not only that, but for all you green weeniers, ethanol produces more harmful byproducts than oil.; April 21, 2008 8:41 PM
Anonymous said...: Lots of sympathy here. Perhaps the do-gooders on this blog would like to do one of the followiong:

a) cash out their savings or sell their gold/silver stash or whatever other resources they have and send the funds to Haiti to help feed the poor.

or

b) go there yourself and pitch in. learn about agriculture and go down there and help them. i actually know a 23-year old missionary who did exactly that a year or two ago (of course she is just an evil right wing Christian trying to spread evil, her help doesn't count).

Or

c) cry about it on the internet and try to elect someone who will collect other Americans' tax dollars to send to Haiti, 'cause you want other people to help them, not you.; April 21, 2008 8:47 PM
Lost Cause said...: Read the history of Haiti if you have questions about that country. Read all about that disgrace.; April 21, 2008 10:16 PM
Anonymous said...: Anon said:
‘If it was not for American taxpayer supporting Isreals military the Palastinians would have crushed the Jews long ago and the Jews would be the ones throwing rocks and starving.’

You are an idiot!

1)Per Ron Paul, The US gives 3 times the amount of taxpayer support to the Arabs.
2)For over 2000 years of being crushed by the Church the Jews where never self destructive, they always worked to make life better for the next generation.; April 21, 2008 10:37 PM
Anonymous said...: Keith and other naysayers: Here is a recent MSNBC article about food rotting in Haitian ports

"As Haiti goes hungry, tons of food rot at ports"

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23507559/

Thurs., March. 6, 2008

CAP-HAITIEN, Haiti - While millions of Haitians go hungry, containers full of food are stacking up in the nation's ports because of government red tape — leaving tons of beans, rice and other staples to rot under a sweltering sun or be devoured by vermin....; April 22, 2008 12:34 AM
Anonymous said...: "Stupid me. I planted and grow peaches, tangerines, lettuce, tomatoes, green onions, limes, carrots, etc, in my backyard. It doesn't require much care or time at all. Those things almost grow by themselves and don't cost much to start, only a few seeds and water. Plus, once in awhile I go fish with a stick and a nylon thread."

You cannot feed yourself, let alone a family on peaches and green onions--if you don't believe me, try it for a week and get back to me. (Extra credit if your neighbors are also starving and have AK47s!)

Now, think a little...

Your fruit trees were not free.

Your seeds are likely hybridized to be easy to take care of and productive.

Your climate is better than Haiti's.

Your soil is better than Haiti's.

Your socialist gov't spends billions of dollars protecting your plants from pests and diseases.

Your socialist government also provides you with a reliable supply of water (unless you live in Atlanta.)

FYI-manufactured goods, such as fishing line and hooks are extremely expensive in 3rd world countries and almost always of dubious quality.

Be thankful for what you have. It doesn't make the thugs right, but you have no idea what desperate really means.; April 22, 2008 12:44 AM
Anonymous said...: a couple of comments on this thread:

1) yes, the palestinians just want free handouts from the UN and donor nations. the media still says many of them live in refugee "camps" -- but these are really towns now and have been for decades. there's nothing "campy" about them. they are stone apts with electricity, running water, stoves, etc...and all subsidized by the WORLD...that's why they don't leave them and get jobs! if their people focused on being productive and not blood-thirsty, evil terrorists they might get somewhere in life...but i doubt they will seeing the way they are going.

2) keith, i don't know why you continue to bash foxnews and people who watch it. the real criminals on tv are cbs, nbc, abc, pbs, and cnn. until fox came along america was brainwashed by the constant liberal droll from the nattering nebabs of negativity on those stations. foxnews provided a truly mainstream view on the world, albeit slightly right of center. so a few million people watch one moderate station out there vs. all the tens of millions of robots who watch the old news networks...this is a crime? thank goodness for foxnews and their ability to provide a different...and i would maintain - moderate...viewpoint for americans.; April 22, 2008 3:33 AM
Anonymous said...: Ever been to Mississippi? Not the river, but the state. They've been eating the red clay down there for a long, long, time.; April 22, 2008 4:41 AM
Anonymous said...: “American rice invaded the country,” recalled Charles Suffrard, a leading rice grower in Haiti in an interview with the Washington Post in 2000. By 1987 and 1988, there was so much rice coming into the country that many stopped working the land.

...“In the 1980s, imported rice poured into Haiti, below the cost of what our farmers could produce it. Farmers lost their businesses. People from the countryside started losing their jobs and moving to the cities. After a few years of cheap imported rice, local production went way down.”

HAH. Sounds like what happened to the US manufacturing.....squeezed out by cheap Chinese imports.....

Kenduffelsniffenspotzen; April 22, 2008 4:53 AM
Anonymous said...: Anon:

"Wheat and corn crop production reached record highs this year. It's the demand side of the equation that has changed, in large part due to the growth in India and China (growth that has come at our expense thanks to corporate outsourcing).

Most of the increases in food prices can be directly attributed to the increases in fuel prices. Those increases would have been even greater without the plant-based additives, perhaps leaving us with a net neutral effect on food prices."

You are making contradictory statements. The first paragraph attributed price increase to supply/demand; the second paragraph relied on some kind of cost-of-production theory of value. Pick one.

In reality, no need to blame India, China or oil price. The price of food has gone up simply because there's more money chasing after food. You have the federal reserve inflationary policy to thank for that. Price for everything commodity has gone up dramaticly over the past year beccause the FED has been pushing on the string to reflate the housing market. Just like their effort in the early part of the decade to reflate the stock market leading to a real estate bubble, their effort to reflate the latest busted bubble (housing) is creating a commodity price bubble.; April 22, 2008 2:33 PM
Anonymous said...: Bat Turd said
It actually doesn't take much effort to intentionally fcuk up a country if you are a thousand times more powerful,

Sure, Americans and French have nothing to do but sit around and think of nefarious ways to fcuk up Haiti for some unknown reason. They don't want to fcuk up Taiwan or Hong Kong or Brazil or Malaysia. They are just targeting Haiti because they don't like Haitians. You conspiracy kooks are a riot.; April 22, 2008 3:58 PM
Anonymous said...: There are many SUVs and pickup trucks, manufactured in Brazil, which use ethanol.

Sugar cane yields 8x more ethanol than corn. Brazil can grow sugarcane due to their warm, wet climate. You can grow sugarcane in the Midwest USA. Corn-based ethanol is a net-negative energy source.; April 22, 2008 4:00 PM
Anonymous said...: Doctor Paul Farmer was in Haiti then and saw what happened. “Within less than two years, it became impossible for Haitian farmers to compete with what they called ‘Miami rice.’ The whole local rice market in Haiti fell apart as cheap, U.S. subsidized rice, some of it in the form of ‘food aid,’ flooded the market. There was violence, ‘rice wars,’ and lives were lost.”

So if we help feed them, we are evil for destroying their economy. If we don't help them, then we are evil and selfish.

Does anyone else here notice the correlation between overpopulation and poor countries? There is no way to create enough jobs and feed people when families have 10 children. If Americans were having 10 children per family, we would be eating mud pies too. Why is it that the Scandinavians are able to feed themselves? They live in the frozen wasteland. The Haitians have a great climate for growing food.; April 22, 2008 4:23 PM
Anonymous said...: brianbb,

Haiti is not over-populated per se. Its population density is around 750/sq.mile, compared to 16000/sq.mile for Singapore, which also has no natural resource to speak of. The problem with Haiti is that it is a welfare state, like a giant innercity welfare neighborhood grown to the size of a whole country! With all the aid money and aid food coming in every year, the locals can't get ahead by hard work. Instead, the road to riches in Haiti is through politics . . . to be the "top Haitian" who is in control of the flow of all that mana falling from the sky. It's the same reason why all the other aid-dependent or natural resource-rich third-world countries have screwed up societies.; April 22, 2008 4:36 PM
Anonymous said...: This thread is like the world's biggest concentration of mental illness outside of Free Republic.

Extra props to mairca izda debol, who implies the Haitians were better off enslaved by the French and segregated based on HOW black they were, and tops it off by telling OTHER people to "read history." Probably doesn't know who Toussaint l'Overture was.; April 22, 2008 5:18 PM
Anonymous said...: Additionally, Haiti doesn't grow food because the USA flooded their market with cheap, subsidized "Miami Rice" that drove Haitian farmers out of business and into the cities. I wouldn't be surprised if this was a calculated effort by the IMF, World Bank, et al. to starve a few billion of the worlds' population out of existence. Don't be deceived - when they're done with Haiti and Zimbabwe and Iraq, they're coming for you, Average American. You could stand to lose some weight anyway.; April 22, 2008 5:26 PM
Anonymous said...: Ethanol drivers aren't stopping Haiti (or anyone else for that matter) from growing their own food.

So let them grow their own food.
Think about it.

Does India owe America cheap imported H1-B visa workers for hi tech? No. India does it for their own benefit. Corps do it for their own benefit. Everyone benefits. Except of course the U.S. worker.

So what goes around, comes around. Does U.S. owe all countries of the world cheap food? No. We're not the food b1tch for the world.

Don't like it? Grow your own.; April 22, 2008 6:41 PM
Anonymous said...: "Sure, Americans and French have nothing to do but sit around and think of nefarious ways to fcuk up Haiti for some unknown reason."

Actually, back when we "fcuked Haiti up" the US was a nation of slave-owners and had a patently obvious reason to make sure a black nation of ex-slaves was unsuccessful. As for the French, they had other colonies full of slaves not to mention they wanted their most productive colony back. This is not rocket science here buddy.

As for US having worrying about them now, it probably has something to do with fear of Communists taking over, particularly with Haiti's proximity to Cuba. That is why the US continues to tolerate the dictators that we do, until we change our minds that is, ala Papa Doc, Trujillo, Mobutu, Sadam, etc.

What goes for housing often goes for foreign policy. We say one thing, but do another.; April 22, 2008 7:35 PM
Anonymous said...: Extra props to mairca izda debol, who implies the Haitians were better off enslaved by the French and segregated based

You kooks keep making up your stories. Come back when you are finished with fantasizing; April 23, 2008 5:33 AM
Anonymous said...: US agriculture policy is actually a lot like WalMart's business strategy.

Flood the market w/ cheap goods to destroy the competition and then your customers have to rely on you for everything.

This is your economic sausage being made. China has done the same thing to us w/ cheap manufactured crap. They undercut everyone else, bought our old equipment, and now we are pretty much stuck paying them if we want a hairdryer. The difference is nobody riots if they can't get a hairdryer--yet!; April 23, 2008 12:48 PM
Anonymous said...: Actually, back when we "fcuked Haiti up" the US was a nation of slave-owners and had a patently obvious reason to make sure a black nation of ex-slaves was unsuccessful.

That ended a long time ago, you idiots. You kooks keep harping back on slavery. Most Americans didn't even know Haiti existed before 1860.

Do the Haitians have no responsibility for their actions? Are their leaders not responsible? Is every failed country in the world the fault of the US? Were there no failed societies or civilizations before the US existed?

Give some hard facts. What specific actions did the US government take to cause Haiti to fail? What difference does it make to US if a black nation thrives or not? What has the US gained by Haiti's failure? I've never heard a white person say that they want to see Haiti fail.

In the feeble minds of the conspiracy kooks, everything is a US conspiracy to keep the people down. There's no need for evidence or facts or even a real motive.; April 23, 2008 5:08 PM
Anonymous said...: So now the kooks claim that America, which is about to elect a black person for President, wants to destroy black people. America doesn't want to destroy Brazilians or Malaysians or Indians, but only black people, specifically Haitians. There are hundreds of millions of white people sitting around consiring to keep blacks poor. These white people are not thinking of way to make money or enjoy time with their families or hobbies. They are all thinking about Haiti. It all makes sense now. You kooks are right, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to think up that conspiracy. Can one of you kooks get in on the conspiracy and record the meeting where these white people, probably old white men, are plotting to keep the Haitians poor and eating dirt? I bet it must make their day knowing that a few million black people on a small island are eating dirt. They can sleep well at night with that information and check that off on their to do list.; April 23, 2008 5:17 PM
Anonymous said...: Don't be deceived - when they're done with Haiti and Zimbabwe and Iraq, they're coming for you, Average American. You could stand to lose some weight anyway.
Sometimes people forget that a

Correct me if I'm wrong, but some Hamburgers at McDonald's cost only $1, devaluated. Oooooo, we're so scared of running out of food. And McDonald's and other American companies in the food sector are rich enough to buy entire countries to produce food only for us.

Plus, we have the Pacific and Atlantic oceans to fish, plus we can grow food in our backyards...

Natural selection is a good thing for the planet to cleanse itself off the scum. Let nature breath a little. Furthermore, everyone will die someday. Why people act like they're immortals?; April 23, 2008 5:51 PM
Anonymous said...: Just came back from Costco. Bought a bunch of delicious beef sirloin steaks (medallions) wrapped with apple wood smoked bacon. It cost a ridiculously low $2 each. Then I bought a bunch of vegetables and fruits that were even cheaper. Is that expensive? Don't believe me? Go to Costco and check for yourselves: Grill Sensations, Loggins brand, made in the freaking US of A, baby. Delicious and cheap.

Now, are you going to tell me that you don't have $2 to eat steak wrapped in bacon and vegetables? F*ck rice. Man, those Survey online companies pay $3 for you to do surveys that last 10 min. while you sit your lazy and fat Gen Y arse in front of the computer.

Nation, when some products skyrocket in price, you jump to the cheaper alternatives. After all, it's your duty as an informed consumer, citizen, and capitalist. That's what the Law of Supply and Demand is about. Economics 101, remember? No? So go take a class a some taxpayer subsidize Community College available all over the country, then.

Unless you want to live in Obama's communism heaven and just whine about it until the gov feeds you, like the Haitians. Listen to the latest Fitty Cent CD while you wait for Obama to feed you.

Stop whining and find substitutes, alternatives, solutions. The US is becoming a huge nation of Gen Y whiners, the idiotic Obama base who just want to listen to his fairy tales, without any specific solutions or action.

At least Hillary has the balls to say, "hey, don't mess with our allies because we'll bomb the hell out of you" during her interviews. The communist whiners were in shock when she said that! Booohooo spoiled brats, put the Wii down or get the f*ck out the mall to face the real and disgusting world out there. Like my best friend used to say, "The nicest one out there wants to f*ck your mother".

Sad to watch those 3 Gen Y idiots, wearing overpriced Abercrombie & Fitch shirts, faking they're rallying Obama's defeat speech last night. Those 3 retards weren't even paying attention to Obama, as they're busy talking on the cell phone, looking for chicks in the audience, talking to each other all the time, just raising their pathetic signs when hearing a fake commotion. Are those the people picking your next president?

Meanwhile, the people behind Hillary, during her victory speech, were sincerely enthusiastic, one black guy was even wearing boxing gloves! You saw it, too.; April 23, 2008 6:55 PM
Anonymous said...: Anonymous said...
Haitians are humans too!!! Don't treat them like animals because you are a BIGOT!!!! You never know when you will be up or down so think before you JUDGE!!!!!
--------------------------------

another annon said
bit thin skinned, aren't we?

April 21, 2008 5:47 PM

------------------------------
Bit racist there aren't we? Let them eat (mudd) cake eh? You people make me sick. Thanks Keith for leaving the posts of the ignorant they have no shame.; April 24, 2008 2:19 AM
Anonymous said...: Annon said: At least Hillary has the balls to say, "hey, don't mess with our allies because we'll bomb the hell out of you" during her interviews. The communist whiners were in shock when she said that! Booohooo spoiled brats, put the Wii down or get the f*ck out the mall to face the real and disgusting world out there. Like my best friend used to say, "The nicest one out there wants to f*ck your mother".

First of all Israel spies on the US more than any other nation on earth--they just caught another spy this week, blackmails out politicans-Eliot Spitzer was purchasing a prostitute from an Israeli prostiution ring, demands billions of US taxpayer dollars and starts wars in the Middle East in Iraq, Lebanon and now trying to through their neocons in Iran. Pull your friggin head out of your ass! Hillary is an AIPAC whore who does not put America first. Feel free to sign up for that war with Iran dope!; April 24, 2008 2:23 AM
Anonymous said...: Anon Costco shopper,

I agree with your theme about government not being the answer. However, facts are facts, food prices are going up, even at Costco. That sirloin steak thingy only has 3-4 ounces of beef in it, making the siroil cut $8-10 a pound, not cheap at all. Costco is a wholesale warehouse club; members are suppposed to be able to buy the stuff for resale. For food and catering, the multiple should be in the 5x range between whole sale and retail. A $15 restaurant dinner shouldn't have more than $3 worth of ingredients in it; the remaing $12 need to cover rent, fuel, cook, waiting staff, tax, etc. $10 ($2 x 5) for a burger thing should be quite expensive. Also check out some of the bagels at Costco: they have gone up from $3.15/dozen to nearly $5/dozen in the last year alone!

Your thesis about not looking to the government for answers is valid. Unfortunately, Obama and Clinton are not the only socialists. Even the incumbent cooked up the tax rebate, government sponsorship for home ownership, massive government prescription drug program, and the even expensive Iraq war to keep down oil prices. None of the programs have worked, and none of them will work in the long run. Government intervention can only make things worse. Unfortunately, neocons are socialist "liberals" at heart, just like they once proudly claimed themselves to be when they were young.; April 24, 2008 6:52 AM
Anonymous said...: This is not rocket science here buddy.

I agree. It's nutjob science. You nutjobs and Oliver Stone keep smoking the weed and coming up with these stories so we can have something to laugh at; April 24, 2008 8:37 PM
Anonymous said...: "In the feeble minds of the conspiracy kooks, everything is a US conspiracy to keep the people down. There's no need for evidence or facts or even a real motive."

The motive is always to protect the US's strategic interests. And yes, the US gov't actually does conspire to make international policy with our strategic interests in mind, whether or not they intend the fallout is debatable.

Haitian examples: We did not recognize Haiti's independence until 1862 (hmmm.. what else happened that year?) Why did we OCCUPY Haiti from 1915 to 1934 (I'll give you a hint--it has to do with world events and strategic interests? Why would we send in the Marines during times of political instability, over and over again?

The US gov't does things to weaker countries to protect our "strategic interests" all the time and many of them end badly like: arm and train the mujahideen to make bombs to fight the Soviets (result: the CIA ghost authored the Al-Qaeda training manual),we supported the military coup and resulting assassination of Patrice Lumumba that put Joseph Mobutu in power in DRC and we helped keep him there for 30+ years while he robbed his people blind in exchange for access to strategic mining interests (ruining DRC and touching off instability in most the region for 10 years and counting after his ouster), we sold weapons to our enemy Iran (not mention while at the same time selling them to our "ally" and BFF Sadam in Iraq) and forwarding the proceeds to support guerillas fighting against an overwhelmingly elected (75% in a free, fair election mind you) socialist gov't in Nicaragua (creating "evil Sadam" and "still evil Iran" and destabilizing Central America for several years.)

This is all common knowledge. Face it, international relations is a dirty business and most of our handouts have string attached. There are no Toby Keith songs inspired by this kind of stuff, but it is part of why we have it so good.

They don't want Haitians to starve per se, it is just the by-product of an exclusive trade relationship regarding those shipments "Miami rice" mentioned earlier. You can blame the 3rd World/Haitians for this if you'd like, but the US is complicit in all these examples, at best.; April 24, 2008 10:42 PM
Anonymous said...: Sugar cane yields 8x more ethanol than corn. Brazil can grow sugarcane due to their warm, wet climate. You can grow sugarcane in the Midwest USA. Corn-based ethanol is a net-negative energy source.

So import ethanol from Brazil. Simple. It's closer and a democratic-friendly nation to the US. Brazil has developed its own nuclear power many decades ago and never picked a fight with anyone or had a Chernobyl-type of incident, or religious nutcase issues, nor developed nuclear bombs. They're even building another 2 nuclear reactors right now. I can't understand why the US rather invest heavily in communist China, a country that despises and spies on the US, while ignoring a giant and friendly economy nearby.

China, Europe, and Russia are all over Brazil for the past years, kissing their butts with sweet deals and projects to secure commodities, while the US sleeps. The number 1 import at the port of Rotterdam, Netherlands, is already Brazilian ethanol. And now Brazil will produce biodiesel from sugar cane, which is 10 X more efficient to produce and to use than biodiesel from soy, also requiring less land.

By the time the US wakes up, most Brazilian ethanol, biodiesel, and other critical commodities will be allocated to Asia, Europe, and Australia. China is already importing from Brazil 25% of what used to go to the US. This administration response was sending Condi Rice to Brasilia to whine about Chavez.

I saw a Brazilian reporter asking Obama about his plans for the two countries if elected, while he was giving autographs to he crowd. Obama looked at him and walked away without saying a word, with a "don't bother me" attitude. Nice priorities.; April 25, 2008 9:05 PM
Anonymous said...: And the Brazilian gasoline is not 100% ethanol. Brazil has its own oil reserves that feed the refineries.

In reality, 75% of the Brazilian fleet runs on ethanol, and Brazilian automakers do manufacturer SUV's that run on ethanol. Their cars use Flex Fuel technology, which allows drivers to switch at the pump, from oil to ethanol, whichever happens to be cheaper at the time. No, there aren't two gas tanks in cars; it works using the same exact tank and you don't have to empty the tank first in order to fill it with a different fuel. That concept keeps the prices in check.; April 25, 2008 9:16 PM
Anonymous said...: This mess happened because the evil Reagan removed gov regulations from the commodities trade market, allowing the greedy hedge funds to speculate energy stocks with gusto.

Those regulations were previously established to avoid this exact situation, in which a small group of vultures hijackets the market and make the price of food skyrocket. If these greedy f*cks lose money by gambling like that, no problem; their bearded bitch running the Fed bails them out with taxpayer money.; April 25, 2008 9:29 PM
Anonymous said...: You cannot feed yourself, let alone a family on peaches and green onions--if you don't believe me, try it for a week and get back to me.

Really? Can't you feed your family with a salad + fruits grown easily in your own backyard or community farmland further out, raise some chickens, and fishing in that vast ocean that surrounds the island? I must be really stupid then, because I've been doing that for years.

Let me guess, there's money to buy expensive machine guns but no money to buy chickens or seeds, right? Or they could just take the initiative and ask other nations for seeds and some chickens to get started. Hell, I just ate some tangerines. I can put the seeds in an envelope and mail it to them. That's how I planted my tangerine tree, with a few seeds. Have you planted anything in your life, Gen Y whiner?

It beats eating dirt or thinking all day about excuses that come from geniuses like you: "Oh but it's too hot out there today, ooohh the French, oh the Americans, ohh the full moon"...excuses, excuses, excuses...even the Haitians who immigrate here, a first world country, have nothing but excuses to avoid initiatives to improve their god damn lives and community. For those lazy a$$ people, it's easier to commit crimes in Little Haiti or rely on American welfare than get a god damn job. I've worked along side many Americans, doing all kinds of odd jobs (you know, the ones Americans don't do; yeah right!), from washing dishes to construction, while putting myself through college. But Haitians are too special to do that work. The Obama's base!

And the funny thing is that we send a ton of Peace Corps volunteers every year to help those people out, but Haitians just want to be spoon fed without any effort. Just like the whining American Gen Y.; April 25, 2008 10:05 PM

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April 20, 2008

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