World lacks enough food, fuel as population soars: U.N.

(I am borrowing this story - first posted in Late Breaking News but locked there - it may also be in Good Reads) I found it interesting because I'm sure the markets are salivating over the opportunity to raise prices on all commodities described herein. But to me the article simply points out how unsustainable capitalism is and why we must transform to socialism as quickly as we can to save our planet.


By Nina Chestney

LONDON | Mon Jan 30, 2012 4:07pm EST

(Reuters) - The world is running out of time to make sure there is enough food, water and energy to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population and to avoid sending up to 3 billion people into poverty, a U.N. report warned on Monday.

As the world's population looks set to grow to nearly 9 billion by 2040 from 7 billion now, and the number of middle-class consumers increases by 3 billion over the next 20 years, the demand for resources will rise exponentially.

Even by 2030, the world will need at least 50 percent more food, 45 percent more energy and 30 percent more water, according to U.N. estimates, at a time when a changing environment is creating new limits to supply.

And if the world fails to tackle these problems, it risks condemning up to 3 billion people into poverty, the report said.

Efforts towards sustainable development are neither fast enough nor deep enough, as well as suffering from a lack of political will, the United Nations' high-level panel on global sustainability said.

"The current global development model is unsustainable. To achieve sustainability, a transformation of the global economy is required," the report said.

"Tinkering on the margins will not do the job. The current global economic crisis ... offers an opportunity for significant reforms." ...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/30/us-un-development-idUSTRE80T10520120130

2011: A year of fighting back

1. Resistance to FBI repression

Fight Back!’s most extensive coverage in 2011 was of the ongoing struggle to stop FBI repression of anti-war and international solidarity activists. On Sept. 24, 2010 several activists’ homes were raided by the FBI in Chicago and Minneapolis and 23 activists were called before a grand jury investigating “material support for terrorism” charges. They all refused to testify, and so far nobody has been indicted or jailed. The movement to defend the anti-war and solidarity activists is a high priority for Fight Back!. On May 18, Fight Back! reported on the Unveiling of secret documents the FBI accidentally left behind at one of the activists’ homes they raided last September. The documents gave their operational plans and a series of McCarthyistic questions they planned to ask people about their relationship to Freedom Road Socialist Organization and other groups. A day later, the number of targeted activists grew to 24 and Fight Back! reported on a new raid related to the September 2010 raids, when the FBI and LA Sheriff deputies FBI and Los Angeles County Sheriff raided the home of veteran Chicano activist Carlos Montes. We then reported on the immediate protests by supporters of Carlos Montes denouncing the FBI/Sheriff's raid, and demanding that all charges be dropped.

Fight Back! gave political analysis of the FBI raids, their context, and the struggle ahead as the one year anniversary of the 2010 raids came. First was a statement on the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks: September 11 ten years later: Pretext for war and repression. Then was a statement calling for people to stand against repression, drop the charges against Carlos Montes and prepare for more challenges ahead. Finally there was a statement from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression, One year since the September 24 FBI raids and Grand Jury subpoenas.

Much more here: http://www.fightbacknews.org/2011/12/30/2011-year-fighting-back-against-oppression-and-repression

Austerity Reigns Over Euro Zone as Crisis Deepens

Do we have any European socialists in our group? Although the article thinks the US is doing a little better (based on bogus employment figures), I tend to think this year may usher in more austerity both in Europe and here. Unless they hold off until after the election of course, I suppose that is possible. Thoughts?

By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ
Published: January 1, 2012

Europe’s leaders braced their nations for a turbulent year, with their beleaguered economies facing a threat on two fronts: widening deficits that force more borrowing but increasing austerity measures that put growth further out of reach.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy will meet on Jan. 9 with German Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss a new fiscal treaty intended to impose stringent budget requirements on European Union nations.

Saying that Europe was facing its “harshest test in decades,” Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany warned on New Year’s Eve that “next year will no doubt be more difficult than 2011” — a marked change in tone from a year ago, when she praised Germans for “mastering the crisis as no other nation.”

Her blunt message was echoed in Italy, France and Greece, the epicenter of the debt crisis, where Prime Minister Lucas Papademos asked for resolve in seeing reforms through, “so that the sacrifices we have made up to now won’t be in vain.”

While the economic picture in the United States has brightened recently with more upbeat employment figures, Europe remains mired in a slump. Most economists are forecasting a recession for 2012, which will heighten the pressure governments and financial institutions across the Continent are seeing.

Adding to the gloomy outlook is the prospect of a downgrade in France’s sterling credit rating, a move that analysts say could happen early in the new year and have wide-ranging consequences on efforts to stabilize Europe’s finances. ..

More here: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/02/business/global/in-euro-zone-austerity-seems-to-hit-its-limits.html?_r=1&smid=fb-nytimes&WT.mc_id=BU-E-FB-SM-LIN-ARO-010212-NYT-NA&WT.mc_ev=click


Petros Giannakouris/Associated Press
In Athens, homeless people have a New Year’s Day meal. Prime Minister Lucas Papademos has warned of a “very difficult year.”

Happy New Year Comrades -