Slashdot Mirror

You'd be very popular in these places, all of which could produce more food on their own if government was not taxing and subsidizing and regulating food in the world:

Swaziland: HIV patients 'eat dung to make drugs work'

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/out_of_food_zimbabweans_eating_cow_dung/

Food Prices Fuel Egypt Unrest

Egypt and Tunisia usher in the new era of global food revolutions

Spike in global food prices contributes to Tunisian violence

Food price jumps protested in Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco

Egypt and Tunisia: rocked by the global food crisis

Hunger in Syria, Libya and Yemen

Ukraine to control food prices

Rising food prices increase squeeze on poor - Oxfam

As Food Prices Spike, Azerbaijanis Endure Border Chaos To Shop In Iran

For dummies: The impact of the global food crisis on Azerbaijan - in pictures

Estonia Raises Inflation Forecast on Global Food and Fuel Prices

Nigeria: food price up as inflationary rate drop

High food prices 'caused Niger hunger'

Mexico: Food prices reach record high

China's food price inflation hits 14.4% in June

Lithuania and Latvia catching up with Estonia

Food prices rise, wages donâ(TM)t

China food prices spike as floods ruin farmland

Brazil: Food Prices Surge and Head Toward Dangerous Levels

Rise in food prices causing major concerns in Russia

Stockpiling as Russian food prices soar

Food prices have soared most in Venezuela, Bolivia and Argentina

Thousands protest against high food prices in Delhi

India: A spike in food prices is especially painful for the poor

I bet it would get pretty personal for you if you came to these places and started spouting your socialist views on how cheap food is that your government is subsidizing farmers and then paying farmers to destroy it

Swaziland: HIV patients 'eat dung to make drugs work'

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/out_of_food_zimbabweans_eating_cow_dung/

Food Prices Fuel Egypt Unrest

Egypt and Tunisia usher in the new era of global food revolutions

Spike in global food prices contributes to Tunisian violence

Food price jumps protested in Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco

Egypt and Tunisia: rocked by the global food crisis

Hunger in Syria, Libya and Yemen

Ukraine to control food prices

Rising food prices increase squeeze on poor - Oxfam

As Food Prices Spike, Azerbaijanis Endure Border Chaos To Shop In Iran

For dummies: The impact of the global food crisis on Azerbaijan - in pictures

Estonia Raises Inflation Forecast on Global Food and Fuel Prices

Nigeria: food price up as inflationary rate drop

High food prices 'caused Niger hunger'

Mexico: Food prices reach record high

China's food price inflation hits 14.4% in June

Lithuania and Latvia catching up with Estonia

Food prices rise, wages donâ(TM)t

China food prices spike as floods ruin farmland

Brazil: Food Prices Surge and Head Toward Dangerous Levels

Rise in food prices causing major concerns in Russia

Stockpiling as Russian food prices soar

Food prices have soared most in Venezuela, Bolivia and Argentina

Thousands protest against high food prices in Delhi

India: A spike in food prices is especiall

Their population is around twice that of Canada. Canada has nuclear power plants. Heck, Canada sells nuclear power plants. You were saying?

I was saying that if you read the following, you would immediately regret making any comparisons between Ian and Canada....

Economy of Iran

Iran also has the world's second largest reserves of natural gas (15% of the world's total); these are exploited primarily for domestic use.

Ahmadinejad's Achilles Heel: The Iranian Economy "Some 30,000 Gigawatt hour electricity equal to the total electricity generation of some 30 Boushehr-like nuclear power plants is wasted annually in Iran. Some 18.5 percent of the electricity produced in Iran is wasted before it reaches to consumers due to technical problems and mismanagement in the Energy Ministry, a former supervisory body in the ministry told BAZTAB.

...lavish spending has increased the double digit inflation rate even more and has caused concerns among politicians and economists that [Ahmadinejad's] economic policies coupled with his hard-line stance on nuclear dispute and approach to foreign policy may damage the country.

As inflation is rapidly approaching critical levels, economists and politicians have began to sound the alarms. There are now open calls for impeachment of several government ministers and although not openly mentioned, the moderates and some conservatives would like nothing more than impeaching the president himself.

One of the most pressing issues in Iran today is the mushrooming energy use and the amount of hard currency that is going into subsidies. The government imports over $7 billion dollars worth of petrol per year. Yet the price of a gallon of petrol is only 33 cents. This subsidy does nothing more than encourage smuggling of petrol to the neighbouring countries where prices are higher. It also removes any incentive for the consumers to save on their energy consumption.

it is calculated that each year over one billion dollar worth of electricity is wasted due to the inefficiency of the Ministry of Energy.

"Some 30,000 Gigawatt hour electricity equal to the total electricity generation of some 30 Boushehr-like nuclear power plants is wasted annually in Iran. Some 18.5 percent of the electricity produced in Iran is wasted before it reaches to consumers due to technical problems and mismanagement in the Energy Ministry, a former supervisory body in the ministry told BAZTAB.

Bazzaries (Traditional merchants) seldom declare their true net worth or income to the authorities, and the authorities have no system of finding out the true income of these individuals and companies. Another problem is the informal economy. For example, major part of Tehran's economy, a city of almost 12-15 million people, runs on an informal, off-the-book system, making taxation extremely difficult. Then we have the various tax exempt charity foundations that are involved in almost all aspect of the economy.

In Iran, by some estimates, the Bonyads (charity foundations) control over 30% of the economy and yet pay no taxes at all [[3]]. They are involved in everything from vast Soybean and cotton fields to hotels to soft drinks to auto-manufacturing to shipping lines to..... These foundations represent vast economic empires that are neither taxed nor are directly under government control.

As charity organisations they are supposed to provide social services to the poor and the needy. Yet since there are over 100 of these organisations operating independently, the government doesn't know what, why, how and to whom this help and assistance is given. Lack of proper oversight and control of these foundations has also hampered the government's efforts in creating a comprehensive social security system in the country.

Corruption is usually the result of three things, lack of transparency, lack of regulations or too m

So it's perfectly okay for a Creationist to demand that he be allowed to give a speech at a biology department?

Yes, if he were invited by the college governors, as the Pope was, then shouted down by some intolerant jerks. And he didn't "demand" anything. He backed out gracefully, no pun intended.

It's perfectly alright for a Holocaust Denier to give a speech at memorial to Nazi genocide victims?

No, because it is rude. Nor is it OK for one to be invited to Columbia University. But last time I checked, there were not 6 million scientists killed after which the Pope denied it.

"The present-day insurgents weren't in Iraq until after we removed Saddam from power."

No, that would be incorrect. The Saddam's ousted party is part to blame for what's going on over there. They didn't like getting kicked out after so many years in power, and now they're doing everything to get it back.

You are correct that some of them are from out of the country, which is another part of the problem. They're doing everything they can to make sure that place is turned into an ultra-conservative Islamic state.

You know, the kind that kill women who are raped, because they break Islamic law, or kill men and women for being gay.

http://www.payvand.com/news/06/sep/Scenarios-of-Wa r.pdf

College professor out of Norways info. Long.

if you've heard the rhetoric coming out of Iran (from their president no less) directed towards Israel, you'll understand why he's behind our military's occupation of that region.

Lemme see, the Iranian President has claimed that the Holocaust never happened. It was entirely made up by the media to gain support the Jews. He also states that Israel should be wiped off the map and moved to Europe or Alaska. In short, the guy is nuts.

A commentator wrote an article in the Chicago Sun Times this morning that pretty well covered how it's going to go down:

1. The US has used up its "attack bad country" card for the time being, so they won't do anything.

2. Israel will take the threat seriously and bomb the hell out of Iran's caches of missiles and nuclear weapons facilities.

3. The UN will make more pointless resolutions condemning Israel.

Sound about right?

The Iranians are giving us some great art, writing and cinema, but it's despite the best efforts of the government.

Like those great political films coming from Iran? Okay, have you noticed how many of these films are about the repressive nature of the state and culture within which those filmmakers live? And have you noticed the extent to which those filmmakers have to be jailed, executed, etc in order to express themselves? The good things you're seeing coming out of Iran aren't the signs of a good place, they're the signs of a bad place with a good dissident community. The fact that the dissidents can sometimes overcome the climate of censorship does not make the climate of censorship okay.

The American military and government definitely does not have the interests of the Iranians at heart right now. Iranians arguably are freer right now than the Iraqis under American rule, and if America assumed control of Iran then you can bet that among the fog of war the the burgeoning Iranian dissident movement would be hurt. But if you try to wish away the evils of the Iranian government because "at least they're not the U.S.", then you are acting against the interests of those Iranian filmmakers you like so much. The enemy of your enemy is not your friend.

Iranian Blogger Arrested

20 Iranian Bloggers and Journalists Arrested

Iranian President calls for Investigation of Blogger Torture

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's president called Sunday for an investigation into journalists' allegations they were tortured into confessing to charges such as insulting sacred beliefs and endangering national security after publishing articles critical of conservatives in the government.