2008: The year of the apocalypse?

2008-03-03

Richard Moore

Friends,

In my widely distributed article, "The Post-Bush Regime: a Prognosis" 
(http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7693), I developed 
the theme that biofuels amount to an intentional program of global 
genocide. It seems that events are moving even more quickly than I 
anticipated in this regard, and that the effects are even more 
far-reaching than I discussed in the article.

Let's consider first current plans re/biofuel production. Here are 
some excerpts from an article published in World Politics Review, by 
Henry I. Miller, a physician and fellow at Stanford University's 
Hoover Institution, "The Global Poor Will Suffer the Worst Ethanol 
Hangover" (http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/article.aspx?id=1680):

        "The European Union has announced that it wants to replace 10
         percent of its oil consumption with biofuels by 2020.
         President George W. Bush announced last year a goal of
         replacing 15 percent of domestic gasoline use with biofuels
         over the next 10 years, which would require almost a
         five-fold increase in mandatory biofuel use to about 35
         billion gallons. In June 2007, the U.S. Senate pushed the
         target to 36 billion gallons by 2022, of which 15 billion
         are mandated to come from corn and 21 billion from other
         more advanced but largely unproven sources. China is aiming
         for 15 percent conversion to biofuels.

        "The reality is that with current technology, almost all of
         this biofuel would have to come from corn because there is
         no other feasible, proven alternative. But because of the
         inefficiencies inherent in producing ethanol from corn and
         the relatively meager amount of energy yielded by burning
         ethanol, the demands on farmland would be staggering. An
         analysis by the Paris-based Organization for Economic
         Cooperation and Development suggested that replacing even 10
         percent of America's motor fuel with biofuels would require
         that about a third of all the nation's cropland be devoted
         to oilseeds, cereals and sugar crops. Achieving the 15
         percent goal would require the entire current U.S. corn
         crop, which represents a whopping 40 percent of the world's
         corn supply."

What we see here is that biofuels are not 'creeping in' due to the 
high price of petroleum. Rather biofuels are being forced on the 
marketplace by government policy. If gasoline distributors are 
compelled to include X% ethanol, then that is what creates the 
market, the need to conform to government requirements.

---

Now let's consider some of the consequences of this aggressive policy 
of compelling biofuel production. Here's an article from the 
Financial Times, "High food prices may force aid rationing" 
(http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/451604c4-e30b-11dc-803f-0000779fd2ac.html):

        "The United Nation's agency responsible for relieving hunger
         is drawing up plans to ration food aid in response to the
         spiralling cost of agricultural commodities.

        "The World Food Programme is holding crisis talks to decide
         what aid to halt if new donations do not arrive in the short
         term.

        "Josette Sheeran, WFP executive director, told the Financial
         Times that the agency would look at "cutting the food
         rations or even the number or people reached" if donors did
         not provide more money. "Our ability to reach people is
         going down just as the needs go up," she said.

        "The WFP crisis talks come as the body sees the emergence of
         a "new area of hunger" in developing countries where even
         middle-class, urban people are being "priced out of the food
         market" because of rising food prices.

        "The world's poor countries will have to pay 35 per cent
         more for their cereals imports, taking the total cost to a
         record $33.1bn (in the year to July 2008, even as their food
         purchases fall 2 per cent, according to the UN's Food and
         Agriculture Organisation."


So at the very same time that food becomes less affordable to those 
living in poverty, the available aid is also being cut back. These 
excerpts are from an article in the Washington Post, "Soaring Food 
Prices Putting U.S. Emergency Aid in Peril" 
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/29/AR2008022904029.html)

        "The U.S. government's humanitarian relief agency will
         significantly scale back emergency food aid to some of the
         world's poorest countries this year because of soaring
         global food prices, and the U.S. Agency for International
         Development is drafting plans to reduce the number of
         recipient nations, the amount of food provided to them, or
         both, officials at the agency said.

        "USAID officials said that a 41 percent surge in prices for
         wheat, corn, rice and other cereals over the past six months
         has generated a $120 million budget shortfall that will
         force the agency to reduce emergency operations. That
         deficit is projected to rise to $200 million by year's end.
         Prices have skyrocketed as more grains go to biofuel
         production or are consumed by such fast-emerging markets as
         China and India.

        "USAID officials said the administration, facing a tight
         budget year, was not planning to request funds to cover the
         projected $200 million shortfall from the price increases.
         USAID purchases grains in the same domestic commodities
         market as the U.S. companies that serve up Wonder bread or
         Big Macs, meaning they pay the same high market rates. As a
         result, officials said, the program cuts are necessary. "At
         this point, this is the administration's request," Borns
         said yesterday."

So we have the same administration in Washington forcing the biofuels 
program even as it knows one of the consequences is to cut back on US 
food aid in a time of rapidly increasing food prices.

---

All of these excerpts have been from mainstream sources. The facts 
are clear. For a marginal percentage gain in energy supply, global 
starvation is going to be massively increased. Is Mr. Al "Green" Gore 
talking about this? Are any of the Presidential candidates? Do these 
issues play any part in the campaign? Where is Bono and Bill Gates, 
the ones who were going to 'end world hunger'?

I cannot accept that any of this is accidental. We are in the midst 
of an intentional genocide regime, a holocaust against the South, 
with Africa as the first major victim. I suggest that all the hoopla 
about global warming is a smokescreen to distract us from the real 
crisis of the day, which is mass starvation.

rkm

-- 

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