Haiku 040309

dead elm
a bird pecking
insect eggs

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Recently, we read the following:

New York Times: "As Indian Growth Soars, Child Hunger Persists"

"Small, sick, listless children have long been India's scourge — “a national shame,” in the words of its prime minister, Manmohan Singh. But even after a decade of galloping economic growth, child malnutrition rates are worse here than in many sub-Saharan African countries, and they stand out as a paradox in a proud democracy. "

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And we thought:

.... In London, recently, the G-20 nations met to fix the broken global financial system, brought into focus by the effects of the greed and reckless conduct of AIG and its ilk. In contrast, other parts of the world are grappling with a more basic concern -- hunger. For example, even after a decade of economic growth, the Indian government is still facing a horrific child malnutrition rate. Its children under 5 who are underweight – a critical gauge of malnutrition – total almost 43 percent! One wonders how we can help end world hunger .…

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Publisher's Note: Maybe, ten grains at a time.... To donate free rice ten grains at a time, try the Vocabulary Game. It's free and quite entertaining. The game is provided by FreeRice, a non-profit website run by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), in partnership with the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.

“Clicks on the FreeRice vocabulary game from players like you have already translated into WFP food rations for over 20,000 Myanmar refugees, currently living in Bangladesh. Pregnant women in Cambodia, school children in Uganda, and Bhutanese refugees in Nepal are also receiving rice, thanks to the award-winning [FreeRice] site.” (Friends of the World Food Program)

easter
the sun also warms
the dead elm

Haiku 032609

Red River*...
not every one
loves blizzards

(*A river in Fargo, North Dakota)

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Recently, we read the following:

BusinessWeek.com reports: "China Talks Tough with Call to Dump Dollar"

"Just over one week before President Barack Obama and other world leaders meet in London for a summit focusing on the global recession, China is making clear it wants a greater say in managing economic policies worldwide.

"The latest blast from Beijing: a call by China's top central banker to dump the U.S. dollar as the world's most important currency. People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan, in a paper released on the bank's Web site on Mar. 23, called for a new 'super-sovereign reserve currency' to replace the current reliance on the dollar….Not surprisingly, U.S. officials aren't welcoming the idea….And pretty much everyone agrees it's not going to happen….”

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And we thought:

.... "Talking tough." From one paper tiger to another! Posturing is really like shooting oneself in the foot ....

Haiku 032509

in the shade
a stubborn bank of ice
doting father

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Recently, we read the following:

Associated Press: "UN says 1 million in Sudan won't get food aid from May"

“More than one million people in Darfur will not get their food rations starting in May if Sudan and the United Nations can't fill gaps left by the expulsion of more than a dozen foreign aid groups, a joint U.N.-Sudanese assessment team said Tuesday….

"Sudan expelled 13 foreign aid organizations and closed three local ones this month after the International Criminal Court in the Netherlands issued an arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the western region of Darfur. Sudan's government refuses to have any dealings with the court and has accused the aid groups of collaborating with its case. The groups deny it, and they warn of a humanitarian crisis in Darfur without their presence….”

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And we thought:

…. President al-Bashir expelled the foreign aid groups for allegedly reporting on the atrocities he’s perpetrated against the people of Darfur. Such a convenient excuse! Most of the world, in fact, know that Al-Bashir stubbornly wants the people of Darfur dead or gone -- one way or another. And now, he will have someone else to blame....