Sadest news

[JuliasUndies 7288]

The last thing I ever want to do is offend anyone..Sometimes it happens or I'm at the wrong place at the wrong time trying hard not to say something that someone might not like. I'm trying right now not to post this thread, my fingers won't stop typing.

My sympathies to the families that have lost any loved ones. Steve Jobs and Dennis Ritchie will surely be missed by many and will be remembered to us by the work the have done and many accomplishments that help us in our daily lives.

Unfortunately, we can't help them now. But there are people we can help.

Throughout the 1990's more than 100 million children died from illness and starvation. Those 100 million deaths could have been prevented for the price of ten Stealth bombers, or what the world spends on its military in two days!The World Health Organization estimates that one-third of the world is well-fed, one-third is under-fed one-third is starving- Since you've started reading this, at least 200 people have died of starvation.

Nearly one in four people, 1.3 billion - a majority of humanity - live on less than $1 per day, while the world's 358 billionaires have assets exceeding the combined annual incomes of countries with 45 percent of the world's people.

To satisfy the world's sanitation and food requirements would cost only US$13 billion- what the people of the United States and the European Union spend on perfume each year.

Every 3.6 seconds someone dies of hunger

[Megan'sTouch 23875]

We are only human, and we tend to grieve to people who are closest to us and to whom we can relate. Grief is not and should not be a competition. The children you depict don't need our sympathy, they need our help and selflessness.

[jdstar 1065]

It's not a money problem. It's a corruption problem.

[Studio 110 by Sophia 150333]

To see this makes me ashamed to be human!

[JuliasUndies 7288]

 

To see this makes me ashamed to be human!

 

Speechless

[Jazzitup 5652]

I heard an interesting stat recently. Worldwide, the number of obese people outnumber the malnourished. It's just not right.

[Andee 220524]

It's not a money problem. It's a corruption problem.

 

Exactly. There is enough food and other resources available on this planet so that no person should ever go without food, shelter, medicine, clean drinking water and education.

 

But the corrupt minority create a distribution problem to those in need.

 

One example is pirate ships robbing sea going vessels carrying aid to famine victims in Africa. Or farmers dumping food because they can't sell it at a profitable price. It's a crying shame, really.

[Kennidikummings 9755]

Friggin eh!!!! Your right on the mark girl!!!!

[Capital Hunter 18263]

There are enough resources for everyone on this planet so that everyone can eat and have a roof above. The reason as why so many are starving and diseased is because there is a small minority (about 1% of planet's populations who own 80% of total wealth and have tens of millions in bank accounts and houses and jewerly and want even more and 10% of planet population who have more than they need, about 30% just enough and the remaining buttom 50% population (having exact same things, that is two hands, two legs, one heart, one brain....) having absolutely nothing (starving and homeless). I read somewhere that the food that North Americans and Europeans throw away in a year can feed well hungry stomachs for a year.

 

Yes I agree it is mostly political problem. Damn dictators backed by military and thugs coming to power by force and got themselves rich by corruption and stealing from the nation and they don't care less about their population. In fact they wish to keep them in poverty and illiterate so that they don't know about their rights as a citizen lol. Also the fact that their brains flee their country to the rich lands lol. In my view the problems are unfair distribution, greediness (human nature) and political corruption and lack of care by those who are among the haves about have nots.

 

Yes they need our help (DOLLARS) rather than sympathy but threads like this also brings awareness about world problems and is great. There are organizations who are trying to help. If every person in the rich countries donate as little as 2% of their annual income to international charities and aid organizations then it may really help to reduce disease and poverty. They also try their best to make sure that most of the money is well spent and goes to those who really need it rather than the fat PIGS ruling those countries to get even fatter. I have faith in world Vision (they are other organizations too) and encourage anyone to do their own research and do their part to help out with dollars rather than sympathy. As they say Tears are not enough anymore... These organizations send young kids to school and assist their poor families rather than buying them food for a while. Teach them how to fish so that they fish for lifetime, so to speak, rather than catching fish for then for a few days.

[rdymango 673]

Precisely the reason why I donate to Unicef. We need to help the people (especially the children) who cannot help themeselves, in the countries that do not have the wealth or infrastructure to help themselves.

 

The other day, I had a granola bar delivered to my mailbox; a free granola bar sample along with a coupon. A few weeks before that, a sample of nutella was delivered to my mailbox along with a coupon. Here I am getting samples of food I never asked for delivered to my mailbox, meanwhile countless children are dying of starvation. Something's not right, there's a disconnect somewhere.

 

Maybe if the makers of nutella and this granola bar donated a percentage of all revenue of these products to countries that need the help, maybe I'd buy their product! There has to be a way that capitalism can work to the benefit of everyone.

 

On a different note, does anyone know how much of a philanthropist Steve Jobs was? (I geniunely don't know).

[JuliasUndies 7288]

There are enough resources for everyone on this planet so that everyone can eat and have a roof above. The reason as why so many are starving and diseased is because there is a small minority (about 1% of planet's populations who own 80% of total wealth and have tens of millions in bank accounts and houses and jewerly and want even more and 10% of planet population who have more than they need, about 30% just enough and the remaining buttom 50% population (having exact same things, that is two hands, two legs, one heart, one brain....) having absolutely nothing (starving and homeless). I read somewhere that the food that North Americans and Europeans throw away in a year can feed well hungry stomachs for a year.

 

Yes I agree it is mostly political problem. Damn dictators backed by military and thugs coming to power by force and got themselves rich by corruption and stealing from the nation and they don't care less about their population. In fact they wish to keep them in poverty and illiterate so that they don't know about their rights as a citizen lol. Also the fact that their brains flee their country to the rich lands lol. In my view the problems are unfair distribution, greediness (human nature) and political corruption and lack of care by those who are among the haves about have nots.

 

Yes they need our help (DOLLARS) rather than sympathy but threads like this also brings awareness about world problems and is great. There are organizations who are trying to help. If every person in the rich countries donate as little as 2% of their annual income to international charities and aid organizations then it may really help to reduce disease and poverty. They also try their best to make sure that most of the money is well spent and goes to those who really need it rather than the fat PIGS ruling those countries to get even fatter. I have faith in world Vision (they are other organizations too) and encourage anyone to do their own research and do their part to help out with dollars rather than sympathy. As they say Tears are not enough anymore... These organizations send young kids to school and assist their poor families rather than buying them food for a while. Teach them how to fish so that they fish for lifetime, so to speak, rather than catching fish for then for a few days.

 

F-ing A! Loved reading this

[Studio 110 by Sophia 150333]

 

Watch this! Allow yourself to have peace and hope !

I watch this inspire me, and to find beauty in our world, planet and home.

[Code Blue 3585]

 

Watch this! Allow yourself to have peace and hope !

I watch this inspire me, and to find beauty in our world, planet and home.

 

A great clip and Loreena on one of her better pieces as accompaniment.

 

There is rarely a "magic bullet" for such complex problems. There are simple solutions if one can get past the man made barriers to implementing them. I think that has been in part behind the "Occupy" movement of the last few days too.

 

Lovely video, thanks again

 

CB

[Lowdark 5613]

As many have mentioned previously, human greed and corruption play huge parts in this enormous problem. But so too does human ignorance. I have been watching the Own Wall street movement with great interest but have been disappointed to see so many media organizations, including many that should know better (you know, ones other than Fox News) dismiss the movement as "unorganized hippies." And whenever the idea of reforming the American Tax code comes up, tens of millions of average, everyday Americans rail against the idea of ensuring that the super rich and giant corporations pay their fair share, a change that would help the people raging against it. And how many people average, vote casting Americans supported a war they knew was being waged for purely economic reasons in Iraq? Popular opinion only turned against it once the insurgency began and American soldiers began losing their lives. A large part of it rest with us, the voters. Change starts at the bottom and has to fight its way to the top. Perhaps it's time we finally demanded better from our leaders. But to do that, we must all be educated on the issues and engaged. Given that the turnoutt for Ontario's recent provincial election was a paltry 42%, I'm skeptical on that front.

[Studio 110 by Sophia 150333]

I watched this, and found new hope for the fate of Humanity! I hope you do too! I know it is idealistic, however, possibility is there!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXFJUnws5rs&feature=share

 

Additional Comments:

There are enough resources for everyone on this planet so that everyone can eat and have a roof above. The reason as why so many are starving and diseased is because there is a small minority (about 1% of planet's populations who own 80% of total wealth and have tens of millions in bank accounts and houses and jewerly and want even more and 10% of planet population who have more than they need, about 30% just enough and the remaining buttom 50% population (having exact same things, that is two hands, two legs, one heart, one brain....) having absolutely nothing (starving and homeless). I read somewhere that the food that North Americans and Europeans throw away in a year can feed well hungry stomachs for a year.

 

Yes I agree it is mostly political problem. Damn dictators backed by military and thugs coming to power by force and got themselves rich by corruption and stealing from the nation and they don't care less about their population. In fact they wish to keep them in poverty and illiterate so that they don't know about their rights as a citizen lol. Also the fact that their brains flee their country to the rich lands lol. In my view the problems are unfair distribution, greediness (human nature) and political corruption and lack of care by those who are among the haves about have nots.

 

Yes they need our help (DOLLARS) rather than sympathy but threads like this also brings awareness about world problems and is great. There are organizations who are trying to help. If every person in the rich countries donate as little as 2% of their annual income to international charities and aid organizations then it may really help to reduce disease and poverty. They also try their best to make sure that most of the money is well spent and goes to those who really need it rather than the fat PIGS ruling those countries to get even fatter. I have faith in world Vision (they are other organizations too) and encourage anyone to do their own research and do their part to help out with dollars rather than sympathy. As they say Tears are not enough anymore... These organizations send young kids to school and assist their poor families rather than buying them food for a while. Teach them how to fish so that they fish for lifetime, so to speak, rather than catching fish for then for a few days.

 

To change our fate as the human race, it starts with communication, then we can conceive a better way...then our perceptions can change too.

[Kubrickfan 12836]

There are enough resources for everyone on this planet so that everyone can eat and have a roof above. The reason as why so many are starving and diseased is because there is a small minority (about 1% of planet's populations who own 80% of total wealth and have tens of millions in bank accounts and houses and jewerly and want even more and 10% of planet population who have more than they need, about 30% just enough and the remaining buttom 50% population (having exact same things, that is two hands, two legs, one heart, one brain....) having absolutely nothing (starving and homeless). I read somewhere that the food that North Americans and Europeans throw away in a year can feed well hungry stomachs for a year.

 

Yes I agree it is mostly political problem. Damn dictators backed by military and thugs coming to power by force and got themselves rich by corruption and stealing from the nation and they don't care less about their population. In fact they wish to keep them in poverty and illiterate so that they don't know about their rights as a citizen lol. Also the fact that their brains flee their country to the rich lands lol. In my view the problems are unfair distribution, greediness (human nature) and political corruption and lack of care by those who are among the haves about have nots.

 

Yes they need our help (DOLLARS) rather than sympathy but threads like this also brings awareness about world problems and is great. There are organizations who are trying to help. If every person in the rich countries donate as little as 2% of their annual income to international charities and aid organizations then it may really help to reduce disease and poverty. They also try their best to make sure that most of the money is well spent and goes to those who really need it rather than the fat PIGS ruling those countries to get even fatter. I have faith in world Vision (they are other organizations too) and encourage anyone to do their own research and do their part to help out with dollars rather than sympathy. As they say Tears are not enough anymore... These organizations send young kids to school and assist their poor families rather than buying them food for a while. Teach them how to fish so that they fish for lifetime, so to speak, rather than catching fish for then for a few days.

 

There's some good news and bad news here. The good news is that I think it would be very possible to collect 2% of the incomes of taxpayers voluntarily .... just give them the option to take a tax credit (not just a deduction) for that 2% ... in other words, they can subtract what they owe the goverment in taxes up to 2% of the value on their income. That would be a strong economic incentive to contribute. The problem is that ... at least in the US ... 97% of all income taxes collected are paid by the top 50% of the taxpayers (that figure is right from our Internal Revenue Service), meaning that the other half are not even paying enough taxes on which to create a tax credit.

 

The bad news is definitely getting that money to where it is needed which is really tough to do without a lot of "nation building" and other milltary activities due to the various political factions already in place in those regions as SA points out.

 

I do have an issue in this thread with the assertion that "capitalism isn't working." It works just fine when its left alone, or minimally regulated, and its the engine that makes philanthropy possible. Milton Friedman, a famous economist, said that capitalism isn't perfect, but its a heckuva lot better than the feasible alternatives. And I would agree that there are a heckuva lot of fat kids out there.

[qwertyaccount 15793]

It's a very very complicated problem, with many many variables.

 

Here's a few of them: http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/17/opinion/sachs-global-population/index.html

[Capital Hunter 18263]

There's some good news and bad news here. The good news is that I think it would be very possible to collect 2% of the incomes of taxpayers voluntarily .... just give them the option to take a tax credit (not just a deduction) for that 2% ... in other words, they can subtract what they owe the goverment in taxes up to 2% of the value on their income. That would be a strong economic incentive to contribute. The problem is that ... at least in the US ... 97% of all income taxes collected are paid by the top 50% of the taxpayers (that figure is right from our Internal Revenue Service), meaning that the other half are not even paying enough taxes on which to create a tax credit.

 

The bad news is definitely getting that money to where it is needed which is really tough to do without a lot of "nation building" and other milltary activities due to the various political factions already in place in those regions as SA points out.

 

I do have an issue in this thread with the assertion that "capitalism isn't working." It works just fine when its left alone, or minimally regulated, and its the engine that makes philanthropy possible. Milton Friedman, a famous economist, said that capitalism isn't perfect, but its a heckuva lot better than the feasible alternatives. And I would agree that there are a heckuva lot of fat kids out there.

 

If it is tax credit then it is the government who will be paying for it not individuals and if it is an added tax then many people will be screaming that they are paying enough taxes already. But really for less than the price of a coffee a day one can sponsor a child in a third word country and make a big difference in someone's life. What can be more satisfying than that. Again I encourage everyone to take the step and do so. It will be paid back may be not in tax credits but in satisfaction. Btw, you can deduct it from you taxes and get a good tax refund at the end.

 

A lot of poor people are also in stable countries (yes those in military zones like somalia would be hard to get the aid to) but in Bangladesh where food and education is needed, south east asia (where young underage girls turn to prostitution out of poverty), central America and of course Africa where most of starvation is, and many other places.

 

History has proven that capitalism works better than socialism. Eastern Europe is a good example of that. Socialism failed and that was because not only it was dictatorships but also because of bad economy which was no match for the west. When they came out of the socialism, they were all poor and their economy was ruined and buckled under the socialist systems, Russia, Romania, East Germany, former Soviet blocks as well as many others. If 50% of people in America pay 97% of taxes that means that there is an unfair wealth distribution in America. This kind of capitalism is bad and wrong and has to be dealth with. The gap is worse in third world countries and that is very bad capitalism and unfair too. We are all citizens of this planet and some may say God's children and have rights to own a proportionate part of the resources on this planet. One having tens of houses and millions in banks and wearing expensive jewerly and fur coats to show off (coming out of killing innocent defenceless animals) and the other also a citizen and starving or homeless is NOT fair and would lead to hate and political turmoil and revolurtions.

 

True we cannot do much about the corrupt politicians, military dictators, human greed and lack of care, unfair distribution of wealth .... but we can do our share and help those aid organizations with small amount of dollars and get back lots of satisfaction. So, don't put it off to tomorrow cerbites. Do a half hour search for charities and aid organizations and choose the one to your liking and take 2 instead of three coffees (better for your health) and donate the difference to that organization and make a big difference in the life of another human being. Do it now cerbites.