Flint is a jerk

[Elspode]

Only if the Antichrist was supposed to be the essentially lobotmized pawn of those who aspired to be the Illuminati.

[funkykule]

Originally Posted by marichiko

Look at the massive famines which take place on a regular basis in the third world.

Actual famines are far less prevalant now than say 30 years ago. I don't have statistics to hand, but most of what happens in 'the third word' is a result of conflict, poverty or food shortages due to the rural poor choosing to plant cash crops, like coffee, tobacco instead of maize, sorghum etc in order to get enough money for food.

Originally Posted by funkykule

Actual famines are far less prevalant now than say 30 years ago. I don't have statistics to hand, but most of what happens in 'the third word' is a result of conflict, poverty or food shortages due to the rural poor choosing to plant cash crops, like coffee, tobacco instead of maize, sorghum etc in order to get enough money for food.

BZZZT! Wrong! Two beer penalty for you! The causes of famine are over population, natural disasters like drought, civil wars, poverty, and government incompetancy. From Wikipedia:

Modern famines have often occurred in nations that, as a whole, were not suffering a shortage of food. The largest famine ever (proportional to the affected population) was the Irish Potato Famine, which began in 1845 and occurred as food was being shipped from Ireland to England because the English could afford to pay higher prices. In a similar manner, the 1973 famine in Ethiopia was concentrated in the Wollo region, although food was being shipped out of Wollo to the capital city of Addis Ababa where it could command higher prices. In contrast, at the same time that the citizens of the dictatorships of Ethiopia and Sudan had massive famines in the late-1970s and early-1980s, the democracies of Botswana and Zimbabwe avoided them, despite having worse drops in national food production. This was possible through the simple step of creating short-term employment for the worst-affected groups, thus ensuring a minimal amount of income to buy food, for the duration of the localized food disruption and was taken under criticism from opposition political parties and intense media coverage.

Because herding and agriculture allow for greater population, both in numbers and in density, the failure of a harvest or the change in conditions, such as drought, can create a situation whereby large numbers of people live where the carrying capacity of the land has dropped radically. Famine is then associated primarily with subsistence agriculture, that is, where most farming is aimed at producing enough food energy to survive. The total absence of agriculture in an economically-strong area does not cause famine; Arizona and other wealthy regions import the vast majority of their food.

Disasters, whether natural or man-made, have been associated with conditions of famine ever since humankind has been keeping written records. The Torah describes how "seven lean years" consumed the seven fat years, and "plagues of locusts" could eat all of the available food stuffs. War, in particular, was associated with famine, particularly in those times and places where warfare included attacks on land, by burning fields, or on those who tilled the soil.

[funkykule]

I think you misread me. My points were that:
1.Famines are less prevalant now than they were 30 or so years ago.
2.Food shortage was just one of the options I gave for reasons of crisis (I never said the causes of famine are as follows:) (I included conflict didn't I? And poverty?)

I agree with most of the Wikipedia posting (I don't completely trust wikipedia as a source usually). I fail to see where it contradicts what I said.

THIS is the part of your post I disagree with:

food shortages due to the rural poor choosing to plant cash crops, like coffee, tobacco instead of maize, sorghum etc in order to get enough money for food.

That aside, the "green revolution" has only encouraged the practice of what are, at best, dubious agricltural methods and has led to a further population boom in the third world which cannot be sustained over time.

I DO agree that Wikipedia is not the be all and end all of reference sources.

[Flint]

Seriously, is all ^^^this^^^ helping you decide whether I'm a jerk or not?!

I dunno. Are you likely to dash out into the middle of the road in front of me as I come around a blind curve?

What we have here is the fine old Cellar Institution called thread drift. Threads here can meander along like the Mississippi River on a warm summer's day. They are as much about the journey as they are the destination.

Why? Do you want us to start calling you names again? TEXAN! :p

[skysidhe]

I would like a double beer penalty too.




please

[skysidhe]

Originally Posted by Elspode

Only if the Antichrist was supposed to be the essentially lobotmized pawn of those who aspired to be the Illuminati.

I think that's assured.

[Bullitt]

Originally Posted by skysidhe

Does that make Bush the antichrist?

Nah, but he's still an ass

[Cheyenne]

damn flint, i was doing so well at hyjacking this thing and here you come back and remind them all. :p

[brianchang]

all of this deer-bashing has motivated me to sign up so that i can post. just remember that the deer were here first. we invaded their land the same way that we invaded the native americans land.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Welcome to the Cellar, brianchang.

When Henry Ford was first turning out the Model T, only about 500,000 white tails were to be found in the entire U.S., according to the U.S. Biological Survey. In recent times, deer populations have increased from 29.8 million in 1994 to 32.7 million in 2001.

It would appear the other way around. They are trying to overrun us. But that's the way nature works, from microbes to men.

[Flint]

Originally Posted by marichiko

the fine old Cellar Institution called thread drift

As if y'all invented the message board, and all it's universal qualities.

[zippyt]

As if y'all invented the message board, and all it's universal qualities.

Well Our board is still around !!!!

Can't say the same for AG !!




( sorry , low blow )