Amid mounting food crisis, governments fear revolution of the hungry

[Joanne98]

Last week’s meetings in Washington of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Group of Seven were convened in the shadow of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s. While Wall Street’s turmoil and the deepening credit crunch dominated discussions, leaders of the global financial institutions were forced to take note of the growing global food emergency, warning of the threat of widespread hunger and already emerging political instability.

The seven major capitalist powers in the G-7—the US, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada—made virtually no mention of the global food crisis, referring in only one brief reference to the risk of “high oil and commodity prices.” Instead, they focused on the stability of the financial markets, promising measures to shore up investor confidence.

The IMF and World Bank, however, felt compelled to acknowledge the emerging worldwide catastrophe, in part because while these agencies are instruments of the main imperialist powers, they must posture as responsive to the needs of all countries. It would be too revealing for them to focus exclusively on the fate of major finance houses, while ignoring the fact that hundreds of millions across the planet are being threatened with starvation.

More decisive, however, is the realization that this crisis confronting the most impoverished countries and poorest sections of the world’s population is threatening to unleash a revolution of the hungry that could topple governments across large parts of the world.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/apr2008/food-a15.shtml

[Deja Q]

1. Which sections, and how will they get to these governments to topple them?

Doesn't make much sense, the way it's written...

[Me.]

2. Damn Right They Should Be Fearful

The chickens are coming home to roost

[zonmoy]

3. so the final slide into an orgy of warfare and canibalism has begun.

[leftyclimber]

4. They're complicit in the problem -- they should be afraid.

They forced countries to stop subsistence farming and change over to cash crops, as well as to stop subsidizing fertilizer, all in the name of "aid." When crops fail, not only do farmers have no money to buy food with, they have nothing to eat because they haven't grown anything for themselves.

[tama]

8. Bubble of greed

All the dept bubbles combined are just a small part of the the Bubble of Greed - vs. ground of reality. It is not through our own will that we are forced to live as part of that bubble, but through violence and extortion and slavery. Killing G-7 would not a bad place to start, but just a start.

[leftyclimber]

10. It just sucks that we're caught up in it.

Thank goodness we don't live in, say, Mali. Eep.

[Cresent City Kid]

5. I've seen a preview

Hunger and thirst is very different when you don't see an end in sight. I've seen what it looks like on the streets of New Orleans. Even Republicans fear starving mobs more than they hate giving out food stamps.

This just in:
I'm listening to the local news (San Antonio), and they just announced that a school district is raising lunch prices for kids. I guess it'll get expensive before it goes missing.

[tama]

6. Fuck the sevan major capitalist powers

US, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada

No mercy! Let them "eate cake"! All their care is the survival of banks and their totalitarian hegemony!

[tanyev]

7. People should not be scared of their governments. Governments should be scared of their people.

[tama]

9. What is scary

is seeing that governements (and mass media, public in general etc) having no connection what so ever to reality. They are living in their Potemkin world, and now only faintly believing in their Potemkin world. To please what Czar, what God? I wonder...