Anton Muhajir wrote another excellent article on The Jakarta Post about the struggle against the rising cost of farming and the declining price of crops.

Many conventional farmers today rely heavily on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, a legacy of “Green Revolution”.

Traditional irrigation system known as Subak is beginning to fail as Bali begin to experience shortage of water supply, cutting off vital water flows to the fields.

http://www.rumahtulisan.com/08/01/2009/kliping/in-denpasar-farmers-struggle-against-mounting-odds.html

To understand some of the challenges faced by organic farmers in Indonedia, read this article by Anton Muhajir published on The Jakarta Post.

http://www.rumahtulisan.com/18/09/2008/aneka-rupa/bedugul-organic-farmers-struggle-against-long-distribution.html

Security Council Renews Arms Embargo, Diamond Trade Ban in Côte d’Ivoire

Security Council Expresses Concern at Delay in Publication of Provisional

Secretary-General Welcomes Provisional Voters List in Côte d’Ivoire, Encourages All Parties to Build on This Critical Milestone, Determine New Election Date

     Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on 24th November on all parties in Côte d’Ivoire to fix a new date as soon as possible for their much-delayed elections, now postponed yet again from their latest deadline of this month.

    Welcoming 23rd November publication of the provisional voter list in the West African country, split by civil war in 2002 into a Government-ruled south and a rebel-controlled north, he assured all parties that the UN would continue to provide the necessary financial, technical and logistical aid to help them organize and conduct open, free, fair and transparent elections.

    The elections, originally scheduled for as far back as 2005, were planned for 29 November after repeated postponements.

    “The Secretary-General believes that with this important development [the provisional list], the Ivorian parties and institutions have made significant progress towards the establishment of a consensual and transparent voters list,” a statement issued by Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said.

    “The Secretary-General now encourages all the Ivorian parties to build further on this critical milestone in order to prepare the final voters list and move forward in determining a new election date as soon as possible.”

    A UN peacekeeping mission, known as UNOCI, has been stationed in Côte d’Ivoire since 2004 to help ensure a ceasefire and pave the way for permanent peace and democratic elections. Reauthorized repeatedly since then, most recently until 31 January 2010, it currently comprises nearly 8,400 uniformed personnel, as well as 407 international civilian staff.

Côte d’Ivoire Country Operations Profile

UNHCR Maps – Côte d’Ivoire

    A peace agreement between the Government and the rebel Forces Nouvelles (FN) in March 2007 resulted in the appointment of FN leader Guillaume Soro as prime minister. This event marked a turning point in the peace process in Côte d’Ivoire. All the signatories to the accord, signed in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, confirmed their commitment to peace and stability, a development welcomed by the international community.

    The Ouagadougou Agreement included provisions for a joint military command, a new government, the disbanding of militias and armed groups, assisted returns of internally displaced persons (IDPs), and elections within 10 months. The agreement also included the gradual removal of the zone de confiance, a buffer strip set up by international peacekeepers to separate government troops in the south from the FN in the north, and the resumption of the audiences foraines, or public hearings related to the granting of birth certificates, identity papers and settlement of nationality issues.

    Notwithstanding the delay in implementing some of the major aspects of the agreement, including the disarmament and demobilization of armed factions, key groups in the country have agreed that the first round of presidential elections should be held on 30 November 2008.

The needs

    Self-reliance projects are required for the remaining Liberian refugees in Côte d’Ivoire to help with their local integration. Persons with specific needs who do not benefit from local services need assistance. Urban refugees, who are affected by the current economic crisis in the country, need help to maintain minimum living standards. Women and children at risk need educational programmes and income-generating activities. Ivorian refugees in neighbouring countries require assistance to return to Côte d’Ivoire and to reintegrate into their areas of origin.

Main objectives

• Promote the voluntary repatriation and reintegration of Ivorian refugees.
• Protect and assist urban refugees in Abidjan.
• Facilitate the local integration of some 24,000 Liberian refugees through self-reliance projects, support local structures and help individuals with specific needs.
• Provide community-based assistance in the health, education, social services, sanitation and water supply sectors.
• Prevent and respond to sexual and gender-based violence.
• Pursue third-country resettlement for eligible cases.

UNHCR Statistical Yearbook Country Data Sheet – Côte d’Ivoire

• 2005 UNHCR Statistical Yearbook Country Data Sheet – Côte d’Ivoire

• 2004 UNHCR Statistical Yearbook Country Data Sheet – Côte d’Ivoire

• 2003 UNHCR Statistical Yearbook Country Data Sheet – Côte d’Ivoire

• 2002 UNHCR Statistical Yearbook Country Data Sheet – Côte d’Ivoire

When I first met my husband, I was a city girl… and completely uninterested in making the leap to rural living.  I mean, these people thought jeans and work boots were a wardrobe staple.   There were no theaters, no ethnic restaurants, no dance clubs, nothing.  The local American Legion and a few hole-in-the-wall bar and grills were the extent of the social scene.  And don’t get me started on the lack of shopping (unless you needed farm implements or Carhartt work wear).  I couldn’t envision myself being happy in a place like this.

And then I started meeting people.  My husband’s friends are hard-working, honest, loyal folks who would give the shirts off their backs to help a friend.  They are farmers, laborers, tradesmen, and factory workers…people who work their asses off to provide a comfortable life for their families.  I met their kids.  Good, sensible, equally hard-working kids who often go off to college, but ultimately come back to raise their own families here.  And these people know how to have fun…Friday nights mean blowing off steam over a few beers at the local tavern, often dancing around (or on) crowded tables to the country western music blaring out of an old jukebox in the corner.  I will never forget the man who taught me to two-step on the dance floor of the American Legion.

I began spending time in the woods with my husband, putting up wood for the winter.  I spent time hanging on the back of an old tractor, while we planted oats and alfalfa.  I watched cattle being vaccinated.  I watched calves being born.  I started cleaning and mending and decorating his ancient farmhouse.  And this place started to feel like home.  I began to understand the lure of raising kids here.  And now, eleven years later, I own several pairs of jeans and a pair of work boots (I don’t know how I survived without them).  It’s not about fashion.  It’s about practicality and doing what you love.  And no one gets that more than my kids.  They love their horses and their calves.  They enjoy fishing and mushroom hunting.  They like to help stack wood and trap gophers.  They love to ride four wheelers and tractors.  They have a lot of room here to explore and discover and grow.

But life in rural America is not always a Norman Rockwell painting.  There is a dark underbelly.  Poverty exists here, like anywhere else.  Alcoholism and drug use are common.  We have violence, depression, and suicide.  There are weapons in the school and the same epidemic of bullying you would find in larger towns.  We struggle against the beaurocracy of the school board and the school administration to effect positive change.  In some ways, it’s harder here.  Everybody knows everybody else.  There are a powerful few who feel they have the right to make decisions for everyone.  Some families have been here for generations, and their “idiosyncrasies” are generally accepted, even though they may be dangerous.  To take a stand on anything means running the risk of alienating yourself from the entire community.  Much of the time, I feel like my daughters’ options for quality friends (meaning kids who come from relatively stable homes without violence, neglect, or drug abuse) are few and far between.  I question the safety and quality of their school, just as I would in a larger town.

No, we haven’t escaped any of the pitfalls of modern society by raising our kids here.  The caveat is our little chunk of land to which we can withdraw at any time.  Our own ten-acre utopia, with a DSL link to the outside world.  The crazier our community gets, the more I entertain the notion of isolation.

I think this picture needs to be seen bigger to see all the details, so you can click on it to see the large format.

Dr. Romulo G. Davide

Farmers who are also scientists and businessmen—that’s what Dr. Romulo G. Davide envisions for Filipino farmers.  He wants to train farmers to empower them using science and technology.

Dr. Davide’s farmer-scientist program has empowered upland farmers in Cebu to determine the appropriate technologies for their farms.  Through Dr. Davide’s  program, the farmers learned integrated pest management, and thus encouraging them not to depended on toxic pesticides.  They also learned to develop their own hybrid corn producing their own seeds from their farms.

Dr. Davide’s desire to serve his fellow Filipinos is unquestionable.  After gaining his bachelor’s degree from the University of the Philippines’ College of Agriculture, he went to the United States where he earned his masters and doctorate degrees from the Oklahoma State University and North Carolina State University, respectively.  Shortly after receiving his doctorate degree in nematology and plant pathology in 1966, he was offered a professorial job that he declined because of his commitment to his country. 

This commitment would highlight his prolific career.  Dr. Davide is internationally recognized for his contributions to nematology, including the national survey, identification, and control of nematodes that infest economic crops.  He also discovered the first and safest biological control agent, called BIOACT, against nematodes.  For these and other works, Dr. Davide has the distinction of being the first Filipino to be included in the “Who’s Who” in nematology.

Asked to comment on his career and contributions as teacher, scientist, and mentor, Dr. Romulo Davide shrugged all the accolade aside, saying that he is just an instrument of God.

Source:

► Eileen Calaycay-Cardona.  ‘There are no barren soils, only barren minds.”  www.up.edu.ph/forum/2002/Aug02/davide.html

► National Academy of Science and Technology.  www.nast.dost.gov.ph/pro_davide.html

Hello Friends here we come up with the Latest Agri Commodities updates from various parts of the country.

Rabi sowing picks up in State

Rabi sowing picks up in State:

The recent rain in several parts of Karnataka seem to be playing a key role in rabi sowing with farmers going in for large-scale coverage of jowar, Bengal gram and sunflower, particularly in the northern districts.

As sowing is in progress, data from the Agriculture Ministry shows that rabi crops were sown on 27.05 lakh hectares of land accounting for 73 per cent progress against the target of 37 lakh hectares as on November 18.

Sowing of maize, wheat, Bengal gram and sunflower continued in the northern districts while transplanting of paddy and sowing of black gram was in progress in parts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.

Bengal gram has been sown on 8.78 lakh hectares of land against 7.67 lakh hectares during the corresponding period last year, while jowar, the major rabi crop, has been sown on 9.25 lakh hectares, wheat on 1.9 lalkh hectares, and sunflower on 2.90 lakh hectares.

Overall coverage of pulses such as Bengal gram, horse gram, black gram, green gram, cowpea and avare stood at 9.93 lakh hectares against the coverage of 8.99 lakh hectares last year.

However, the area under cereals — rice, jowar, ragi,maize, wheat, and minor millets — trails at 12.32 lakh hectares against 14.39 lakh hecatres during the corresponding period last year.

In Other major Commodities Updates we can see  FMC has recently instructed bourses to ensure compliance of the PMLA and Sugar production in India may exceed estimated figures.

Commodity bourses must follow PMLA norms : “FMC”

In order to step up the regulatory grip on commodity derivatives market, Forward Markets Commission (FMC) has recently instructed bourses to ensure compliance of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 (PMLA) by their members.

“This is more of a pre-emptive step to prevent unscrupulous money coming into our (commodity futures) market,” BC Khatua, chairman, FMC, said.

Sugar output may beat estimates “Survey”:

Sugar production in India, the world’s second-largest grower, may be 11 percent more than estimated after farmers boosted planting and yields improved because of increased fertiliser use.

Output may jump to 17.68 million metric tonne in the season started Oct. 1, according to interviews with 631 farmers across six states by Geneva-based SGS SA for Bloomberg.

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WUNC Radio State of Things host Frank Stasio talked with Richard Holcomb of Coon Rock Farm; Lionel Vatinet of La Farm bakery in Cary; and Craig Heffley and Seth Gross, owners of Durham’s Wine Authorities about eating local for Thanksgiving.

Hello Friends here we come up with the Latest Agri Commodities updates from various parts of the country.

Govt Decides Against Rice Imports

Govt decides against rice imports:

In a calculated move to signal categorically to the world market that India was not in a desperate situation with respect to rice, the government said on Friday that it will not import rice for now.

The immediate implication of this move is that retail prices of rice, up 15 per cent over last year, will remain firm at least until early next year.

Rice output is estimated to have dropped 15 million tonnes due to poor monsoons this kharif.

The government has, over the last two days, put in place strictures that will force traders to report purchases of more than 10,000 tonnes of rice in a bid to check prices.

Punjab has also imposed stock holding limits on traders and millers for both rice and pulses.

In Other major Commodities Updates we can see how Government has bowed down to demands of Farmers after their mass protest in capital this week.

Government to amend new sugarcane price rule:

The government on Friday said it would amend a new sugarcane pricing rule, bowing to protests held in the capital by farmers demanding higher prices for their produce.

The government would delete the contentious part of the new cane pricing rule, Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee told reporters after a meeting of senior ministers.

Cane farmers believe the new cane price rule, which puts the onus on state governments if they decide to raise the cane floor rates fixed by the federal government, will curtail their bargaining power.

Earlier, Farmers from Uttar Pradesh (UP) state in northern India, which produces almost half of the country’s cane, have been on warpath for about three weeks to press for higher prices, forcing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to consider changes in fixing cane prices.

Note : For More Latest Industry, Stock Market and Economy News and Updates, please Click Here

TIRUNELVELI: The district administration should remove the encroachments on the Paappaan Channel under Karuppanadhi dam irrigation system as the illegal constructions were blocking the flow of water to over 7,000 acres of land.

Raising the issue in the farmers’ grievance day meeting held at the Collectorate on Friday, Communist Party of India district secretary and farmer R. Shanmugavel alleged that the illegal constructions had obstructed the flow of water to over 7,000 acres of land under the 13th shutter of Karuppanadhi dam irrigation system. While the dam was overflowing, farmers having lands under this shutter were craving for water for irrigation, owing to the encroachments.

District Revenue Officer P. Ramanasaraswathi assured that the issue would be discussed with the Public Works Department officials on Saturday (November 21) and a final decision taken.

Farmers having lands under the Vadakku Pachchaiyaar dam urged the officials to release water for the irrigation tanks. Mr. Jayaraman handed over imported paddy saplings transplantation equipment, worth about Rs.17.39 lakh and carrying an attractive subsidy of Rs. 4 lakh, to a farmer.

From THE HINDU

MYSORE: The public anger against the unscheduled power outages spilled on to the streets with farmers participating in protest rallies the city on Thursday.

Angered over the outages and irregular supply, they have now threatened to disrupt Cauvery water supply to the city from Melapura water scheme. The farmers are demanding 20 hours of uninterrupted power pointing at the water levels at hydel-power projects in the state.

The copious rainfall has helped boost water levels in major reservoirs that generate power. But the inefficiency of the government and the officials of the power utilities is troubling us. Accusing the government of adopting anti-farmers stance, the protesters said they will be forced to disrupt water supply from Cauvery in case their demands are not met.

The protest comes days after various associations under the aegis of Federation of progressive organizations staged protest in front of corporate office of the Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC). The city dwellers also protested against the outages.

The farming community sought villages on the outskirts of the city to be brought under the city feeder so that they get power like the urbanites get. They marched trough the main thoroughfares of the city and later presented a memorandum to additional deputy commissioner C G Betsurmuth at DC office.

From TIMESOFINDIA

News and Observer reporter Sarah Ovaska in the article “Hog farmers reels buyers go bankrupt” reports that Clinton-based Coharie and three smaller North Carolina pork producers recently declared bankruptcy, causing scores of grain and hog farmers to lose once-stable contracts to raise hogs.

A Car Hits a Hydrant

It All Started with a Little Accident

A young driver hit a fire hydrant, causing a powerful fountain of water to shoot 30 feet in the air. (See Wedding Dresses Drowned on NBCSanDiego.com.)  The water pooled three feet deep on the roof of a commercial building, causing the roof to collapse over a bridal shop, drenching the contents. Several brides’ dreams of a beautiful dress at their weddings were ruined in a matter of minutes.  Not to mention, another couple’s livelihood was destroyed, at least for the time being. Thankfully, no one was inside at the time, so there were no injuries.

As an insurance agent, after making sure everyone is okay, I’m trained to look at tragedies like this from the business side.  The driver who caused the accident is on the hook to pay for any damage they caused. Anyone who has been in a fender bender knows that even a small scratch to another car’s bumper can cost $3,000 to $5,000 to repair.  (I know, it’s outrageous. But there it is.)

An accident like this can cause over $100,000 in damage to property in a matter of minutes.

Imagine if someone had been hurt, or killed in the accident or cave-in.  What’s a life worth?

Imagine if the original driver had been texting, talking on the cell phone, or worse: intoxicated.  How much  damages would a judge and jury want to add to the judgment to punish them?

Required Insurance in California

In California, we are required to carry $15,000 of liability insurance to pay for injury or death to a person, $30,000 total per accident, and $5,000 for damage to property.  These are the minimum amounts required by law. Without this much coverage, you cannot get a registration for your vehicle or a driver’s license.

Car Totaled in Fender Bender Cost $8,000

How Much Liability Coverage Do You Really Need?

A lot of people figure they don’t need much more than the minimum. The insurance company will pay that, and it’s all done. After all, if you haven’t invested in a home or business yet, and your car isn’t worth much, and you don’t really own much, what are they going to get if they sue you?  Like squeezing blood from a turnip, right?  …

You might be surprised.

• Did you know that if you lose a lawsuit, and the damages are greater than the amount of insurance you bought, you are still on the hook for the rest?
• Did you know that the victim in your accident is not limited to the maximum of your policy: they can sue for the actual amount of damages.
• Did you know that the judge can attach up to 25% of your income for 10 years to pay off the debt?
• Did you know that a judge can renew that judgment for another 10 years after that at a time till it’s paid off?

Look at your paycheck, and imagine losing 25% off the top, AFTER taxes have been withdrawn.  Yeeeowch!

Do the Math

When it’s time to update your insurance, do the math to figure how much you really are exposed, and make sure your insurance amounts are high enough to cover that.

For example, if you own a home and have any equity, add that to the list.  Add the value of any property you own.  Now add in 25% of your salary for the next 10 years.  THAT is the amount you want to make sure is covered.

If you own a business and/or have investments, add their value to the list, too.

The only thing they can’t touch is your retirement account.  So, whew, you can keep that out of the calculation for now.

For many people, the amount comes up to $300,000 or less.  But if you own a business, have a high income or have investments, it could easily top $500,000.  All the hard work you have invested in your business and your savings for so many years could go up in smoke in a matter of weeks.

Isn’t That What Underinsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage is For?

That coverage is limited, too.  If the victim’s insurance doesn’t have enough coverage to make up for the shortfall in your coverage, you still have to come up with the difference. And, the other insured drivers in California have to pick up YOUR tab since you didn’t pay enough to cover yourself.  Not only do your premiums go up in the future, but so do everyone else’s.

What Can You Do To Protect Yourself?

Fortunately, most accidents don’t result in mega damages like this case might, especially when there are no injuries.  And the insurance companies tend to negotiate most of the cases to match the victim’s actual damages after an accident.  Most cases are settled out of court.  However, about 5-10% of cases make it to trial, and when they do, the average damage judgments are over $460,000.

If you have a lot of assets to protect, you should set your coverage levels higher.  If you have over $500,000 to protect, it’s time to look at umbrella insurance, too.

It might surprise you that adding up to $1 Million of umbrella insurance only costs a couple hundred extra per year.  When you look at the size of those judgments, that small extra investment can pay for itself 100,000 times over if a serious accident occurs.

Mind the Gap: Works both for the Metro and for Insurance

Mind the Gap

If you have ever been so fortunate to take the Metro subway in London, you would have noticed signs that say “Mind the Gap” to warn you not to trip on the space between the platform and the floor of the metro cars.   Likewise, there can be a gap in your umbrella coverage if you are not careful.

For example, if you have $300,000 in liability insurance on your auto, but your umbrella insurance doesn’t kick in until after 500,000 of damages, you still might find yourself on the hook for $200,000 before the umbrella can kick in.  So, if you’re going for the umbrella, buy enough of the regular liability coverage to make sure that any damages in excess will be immediately covered by the umbrella.

Confused?  You’re Not Alone!

I have a Master’s degree in business, and didn’t really understand these concepts until I studied for my insurance license.  Fortunately, your insurance agent can help you figure out what kind of coverage you really need to be as close to “Full” as realistically possible for most accidents.  While the sky is truly the limit when a jury is involved, so there really is no such thing as “Full Coverage,” you can make sure your coverage protects your family financially from freak accidents like the fire hydrant flooding the bridal shop. Or everyday accidents like the $8,000 fender bender that totalled my family member’s car.

Shameless Plug

Of course, if you don’t already have an insurance agent who is looking out for your best interests, I invite you in for a free consultation to go over your personal situation and review your coverages. You may be fine.  And if you are, I’ll tell you.  If you have some gaps, I’ll show you in detail, and give you some pricing options so you can decide how much risk you are willing to take for yourself, and how much you want to insure to protect.

And even better, I’ll review your coverage every single year to make sure changes in your life are covered.  When you buy a house, when your business grows, when you have kids, when you get boats, RVs, ATVs, motorcyles or other fun toys… I’ll make sure you’re protected at every stage of life.

That’s what I do!

Call me any time to discuss your situation, and I’ll help you make sense of it all.

I’m at 619-414-7723, or visit my web site to check things out at www.3amInsurance.com

Thanks for reading!

Anne McElvain

Lic# 0G5927

Governor Gregoire's proclamation calling Friday, November 20, 2009 at Thank You Farmers & Ranchers Day.

Today, the Governor proclaimed that Friday, November 20th is Thank You Farmers & Ranchers Day!

The proclamation states:

Whereas, the holiday season is a time to be thankful for America’s abundant supply of safe, wholesome and affordable food; and

Whereas, Washington’s farmers and ranchers produce the food that nourishes our bodies and serves as the centerpiece for family gatherings and holiday celebrations; and

Whereas 39,000 farming families across Washington contribute to the economic vitality of small towns and urban centers, growing nearly $8 billion in crops and livestock in 2008; and

Whereas, agriculture continues to make valuable contributions to the cultural, social, and environmental heritage of our community;

NOW THEREFORE, I, Christine O. Gregoire, Governor of the state of Washington, do hereby proclaim November 20, 2009 as:

Thank You Farmers and Ranchers Day

in Washington State, and I urge all citizens to join me in supporting our farmers by enjoying Washington-Grown foods throughout the holiday season.

Signed this 19th day of November, 2009

Now, go hug a farmer, buy their wonderful Washington-grown food this Sunday at the Farmers Market at Fremont Sunday Market, and thank Governor Gregoire for her proclamation. Her number is  (360) 902-4111.

Governor Gregoire's proclamation calling Friday, November 20, 2009 at Thank You Farmers & Ranchers Day.

Today, the Governor proclaimed that Friday, November 20th is Thank You Farmers & Ranchers Day!

The proclamation states:

Whereas, the holiday season is a time to be thankful for America’s abundant supply of safe, wholesome and affordable food; and

Whereas, Washington’s farmers and ranchers produce the food that nourishes our bodies and serves as the centerpiece for family gatherings and holiday celebrations; and

Whereas 39,000 farming families across Washington contribute to the economic vitality of small towns and urban centers, growing nearly $8 billion in crops and livestock in 2008; and

Whereas, agriculture continues to make valuable contributions to the cultural, social, and environmental heritage of our community;

NOW THEREFORE, I, Christine O. Gregoire, Governor of the state of Washington, do hereby proclaim November 20, 2009 as:

Thank You Farmers and Ranchers Day

in Washington State, and I urge all citizens to join me in supporting our farmers by enjoying Washington-Grown foods throughout the holiday season.

Signed this 19th day of November, 2009

Now, go hug a farmer, buy their wonderful Washington-grown food this Sunday at Ballard Farmers Market, and thank Governor Gregoire for her proclamation. Her number is  (360) 902-4111.

Paul Joseph Watson

Friday, November 20, 2009

Not content with savaging American taxpayers with two huge new financial burdens during an economic recession, in the form of health care reform and cap and trade, close allies of Barack Obama have proposed a new war surtax that will force Americans to foot the bill for the cost of protecting opium fields in Afghanistan, paying off drug lords, and bribing the Taliban.

Warning that the cost of occupying Afghanistan is a threat to the Democrats’ plan to overhaul health care, lawmakers have announced their plan to make Americans pay an additional war tax that will be taken directly from their income, never mind the fact that around 36 per cent of federal taxes already go to paying for national defense.

“Regardless of whether one favors the war or not, if it is to be fought, it ought to be paid for,” the lawmakers, all prominent Democratic allies of Obama, said in a joint statement on the “Share The Sacrifice Act of 2010 (PDF),” reports AFP.

The move is being led by the appropriately named House Appropriations Committee Chairman Dave Obey, Representative John Murtha, who chairs that panel’s defense subcommittee; and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank.

The tax would apply to anyone earning as little as $22,600 per year in 2011.

The proposal is described as “heavily symbolic” with little chance of passing, but it once again illustrates the hypocrisy of an administration that swept to power on the promise of “change” to the Neo-Con imperial agenda and a resolve to reduce U.S. military involvement overseas. In reality, there are more troops in Iraq and Afghanistan now under Obama that at any time during the Bush administration.

At the height of the Bush administration’s 2007 “surge” in Iraq, there were 26,000 US troops in Afghanistan and 160,000 in Iraq, a total of 186,000.

According to DoD figures cited by The Washington Post last month, there are now around 189,000 and rising deployed in total. There are now 68,000 troops in Afghanistan, over double the amount deployed there when Bush left office.

What precisely would this extra tax be used to pay for? Namely, bribing the Taliban, paying off CIA drug lords, and protecting heroin-producing opium fields.

Numerous reports over the past two weeks have confirmed that the U.S. military is paying off the Taliban with bags of gold to prevent them from attacking vehicle convoys, proving that there is no real “war” in Afghanistan, merely a business agreement that allows the occupiers to continue their lucrative control of record opium exports while they finalize construction of dozens of new military bases from which to launch new wars.

The Afghan opium trade has exploded since the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, following a lull after the Taliban had imposed a crackdown. According to the U.N., the drug trade is now worth $65 billion. Afghanistan produces 92 per cent of the world’s opium, with the equivalent of at least 3,500 tonnes leaving the country each year.

This racket is secured by drug kingpins like the brother of disputed president Hamid Karzai. As a New York Times report revealed last month, Ahmed Wali Karzai, a Mafia-like figure who expanded his influence over the drug trade with the aid of U.S. efforts to eliminate his competitors, is on the CIA payroll.

As Professor Michel Chossudovsky has highlighted in a series of essays, the explosion of opium production after the invasion was about the CIA’s drive to restore the lucrative Golden Crescent opium trade that was in place during the time when the Agency were funding the Mujahideen rebels to fight the Soviets, and flood the streets of America and Britain with cheap heroin, destroying lives while making obscene profits.

Any war surtax will merely go straight to maintaining the agenda that Obama inherited from Bush, the continued looting of Afghanistan under the pretext of a “war on terror” that, as revelations about bribing the Taliban prove, doesn’t even exist.

Source

Afghanistan opium poppy cultivation 1994-2007

The Taliban has almost eradicated the poppy fields. No sooner did the war begin and the poppy fields wee reborn.

Children work the poppy fields young as 8 or 9

Narco-Nation Building

By Paul L. Williams, Ph.D

July 7 2009

Hey, guys, don’t pick the poppies.

That’s the order from the Obama Administration to the 4,000 Marines presently engaged in Operation Khanjar or “Strike of the Sword,” an invasion of the Taliban infested Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan.

The Marines of Bravo’s Company 1^st Platoon sleep beside groves of poppies Troops of the 2^nd Platoon walk through the fields on strict orders not to swat the heavy opium bulbs. The Afghan farmers and laborers, who are engaged in scraping the resin from the bulbs, smile and wave at the passing soldiers.

The Helmand province is the world’s largest cultivator of opium poppies – the crop used to make heroin.

Afghanistan grew 93 percent of the world’s poppy crop last year, with Helmand alone responsible for more than half of the opium production in the country, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.

Heroin, as it turns out, represents the only staple of the Afghan economy. The country manufactures no domestic products for exportation and the rocky terrain yields no cash crops – – except, of course, the poppies.

The poppies fuel the great jihad against the United States and the Western world. More than 3,500 tons of raw opium is gleaned from the poppy crops every year, producing annual revenues for the Taliban and al Qaeda that range from $5 billion to $16 billion.

Destroying the fields could very well put an end to terrorist activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

But the Obama Administration remains intent upon protecting the poppies so that the Afghan farmers and local drug lords can reap the benefits of what purports to be a bumper crop.

Many Marines in the field are scratching their heads over the situation.

Jason Striuszko a journalist embedded with the U.S. Marines in Garmser, reports that many of the leathernecks are scratching their heads at the apparent contradictions — calling in airstrikes and artillery on the elusive Taliban while assuring farmers and drug lords that they will protect the poppies.

“Of course,” Striuszko says, “those fields will be harvested and some money likely used to help fuel the Taliban, and the Marines are thinking, essentially, ‘huh?’”

“It’s kind of weird. We’re coming over here to fight the Taliban. We see this. We know it’s bad. But at the same time we know it’s the only way locals can make money,” said 1st Lt. Adam Lynch, 27, of Barnstable, Mass.

Richard Holbrooke, the Obama Administration’s top envoy in Afghanistan, says that poppy eradication – for years a cornerstone of U.S. and U.N. anti-drug efforts in the country – has only resulted in driving Afghan farmers into the hands of the Taliban.

The new approach, Holbrooke maintains, will try to wean the farmers of the lucrative cash crop by giving them help to grow other produce, like wheat, corn and pomegranates.

Most of the 33,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan operate in the east, where the poppy problem is not as great. But the 2,400-strong 24th Marines, have taken the field in this southern growing region during harvest season.

An expert on Afghanistan’s drug trade, Barnett Rubin, complained that the Marines are being put in such a situation by a “one-dimensional” military policy that fails to integrate political and economic considerations into long-range planning.

“All we hear is, not enough troops, send more troops,” said Rubin, a professor at New York University. “Then you send in troops with no capacity for assistance, no capacity for development, no capacity for aid, no capacity for governance.”

Staff Sgt. Jeremy Stover, whose platoon is sleeping beside a poppy crop planted in the interior courtyard of a mud-walled compound, said the Marines’ mission is to get rid of the “bad guys,” and “the locals aren’t the bad guys.”

“Poppy fields in Afghanistan are the cornfields of Ohio,” said Stover, 28, of Marion, Ohio. “When we got here they were asking us if it’s OK to harvest poppy and we said, ‘Yeah, just don’t use an AK-47.’”

Source

U.S. soldiers inspect a cache of opium that was seized at a border police station on the outskirts of Herat,  October 23 2007. Afghan border police in the western Afghan city have seized 644 kilograms of opium. Afghanistan accounts for over 93 percent of the world’s supply of opium, the main ingredient in heroin, a lucrative trade whose proceeds in part fund some of the Taliban-led insurgency.    AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

They don’t tell you about this, about Afghanistan’s growing domestic drug problem – an estimated 1.5 million addicts, including 120,000 women, according to the Ministry of Narcotics – all those advocates of legalizing the country’s robust opium crop – a yield that provides some 93 per cent of the world’s heroin. This heroin, which is refined opium, ends up on streets across the globe but also is destroying families here. Source

They also fail to mention the problem now in Iran , Iraq,
Russia, Europe and North America.

There are millions of new heroin addicts around the world.

Karima leaned to one side and rubbed her temples with half-painted pink fingernails. The smile that was wide and infectious for her visitors had now surrendered to the internal darkness that ruled her addiction.

The day had started like most in her life: With an opium tea that she drinks to “feel happy.” On bad days, she needs it three or four times.

Karima is 13.

She is bright, and confident, but left school during fourth grade. From the two narrow rooms they call home in an otherwise abandoned building, she cannot see a future that is either clean or normal — a hard assessment for a girl who is barely a teenager.

“There is no one but me to support the family and we have nothing to live easily,” she said. “I feel sad most of the time and the tea makes me feel better.”

Her mother, Najiba, raised five children on a steady diet of narcotics to ease their hunger pains and winter chills and her own grief from losing a son. The whole family has been through drug treatment — twice — and Najiba claims to be healthy.

Karima is still addicted. She buys the drugs herself with money from her father and boils the opium tea the way her mother long did for her.

Her wild-eyed youngest sister, Raisa, is three years old and clicks her tongue while fidgeting with a red patent purse. Raisa had opium in her veins before she was born. Najiba cut her off months ago, but Raisa remembers the “dizzy” tea and craves it. I asked her why.

“Because I miss it,” she said in the tiniest voice. “I like it.” Source

Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of the Afghan president and a suspected player in the country’s booming illegal opium trade, gets regular payments from the Central Intelligence Agency, and has for much of the past eight years, according to current and former American officials. Source

Opium production is one of the chief sources of revenue for the warlords that occupy the Afghan parliament and is one of the main reasons why the government is seen as corrupt by the Afghan people. As long as NATO continues to bomb civilians in an effort to extend the control of those warlords, the Afghan people will continue to join the resistance to the foreign occupation.

This reality led to the recent resignation of Matthew Hoh, a former US army captain and Foreign Service official in Zabul province. Hoh resigned because he said that the presence of the foreign troops was the main reason why the resistance was growing and he believed that the war needed to end.  Source

They have never connected Bin Laden to 9/11

Bin Laden has been dead since December of 2001

9/11 was just an excuse to go to war in Afghanistan nothing more.

The results of the invasion of Afghanistan is devastating to say the least.

The radiation will have a very devastating impact on Afghans. The testing proved the use of radioactive weapons. Source

The end result will be as it is in Iraq and other countries Nato and the US have invaded.

Doctors report “unprecedented” rise in deformities, cancers in Iraq

Kosovo

Since its dealings with the Meo tribesmen in Laos during the Vietnam era, the CIA has protected narcotics traffic in key locations in order partly to finance its covert operations. The scale of international narcotics traffic today is such that major US banks such as Citigroup are reported to derive a significant share of their profits from laundering the proceeds. Source

CIA Drug  Operations a little history

Bush – Cheney and drugs

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