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2007-07-07 Israel-Palestine-Jordan

Potential Water Conflicts in the Middle East

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Posted by Zenster 2007-07-07 00:00|| || Front Page|| [6 views ] Top

#1 Zen, paragraphs 3 (second half) and 4 in your commentary is about 4 years ahead.

Posted by twobyfour 2007-07-07 00:54|| 2007-07-07 00:54|| Front Page Top

#2 It defies comprehension that so much of the MME routinely antagonizes those who will eventually control their fate.

It's what they do. Also, Allan helps those who can't help themselves.

Posted by Seafarious">Seafarious 2007-07-07 01:56|| 2007-07-07 01:56|| Front Page Top

#3 A few days ago I was going to post my speculations on the Bush Administration's engineering of APEC (The Association of Agricultural Exporting Countries) as a counter to OPEC.

Look at a list of (net) food exporting countries. Then look at a list of food importing countries.

Then think of biofuels, not as a way of reducing oil import dependence but of financially attacking the food importers.

Now throw in a bad harvest worldwide due to global warming or a cold wet summer (ENSO La Nina and a couple of other multi-decadal cycles turning negative) and you have a worldwide food crisis and food exporters getting an OPEC like cash bonanza.

Posted by phil_b 2007-07-07 03:12|| 2007-07-07 03:12|| Front Page Top

#4 phil_b, a lot of emergency food stock is provided as humanitarian aid, a freebie, so the cash flood may not be that great. But yea, food and water can be utilized as a great "incentive".

Posted by twobyfour 2007-07-07 03:21|| 2007-07-07 03:21|| Front Page Top

#5 Then think of biofuels, not as a way of reducing oil import dependence but of financially attacking the food importers.

If biofuels can simultaneously reduce our oil dependence and shrink the quantity of available agricultural exports due to more profitable domestic markets, then suddenly there's a whole lot more to like about them.

I look forward to the day when we get to tell MME (Muslim Middle East) countries: "Eat sand and drink oil."

Posted by Zenster">Zenster 2007-07-07 04:49|| 2007-07-07 04:49|| Front Page Top

#6 2X4, we have food stockpiles (of grains) because 4 or 5 countries have produced over demand for years. My point was that the vulnerability of food importers is to supply, which can be affected by other demands (for the grains) and the weather.

ANd BTW, if you don't think we are at risk from abrupt climate cooling, then read the link below.

The money quote,

If the lowest prediction is borne out, this will have a large and negative effect on Canadian
grain production, for example, and on all high latitude agricultural production. The
experience from the Dalton Minimum was that the winters were longer and harder. And
this effect will be on us very soon.

Posted by phil_b 2007-07-07 07:35|| 2007-07-07 07:35|| Front Page Top

#7 Missed the link

http://www.nzclimatescience.org/images/PDFs/archibald2007.pdf

Posted by phil_b 2007-07-07 07:37|| 2007-07-07 07:37|| Front Page Top

#8 Some day we may put them on an oil quota, like Stalin did to the Ukrainians with wheat.

Posted by bigjim-ky 2007-07-07 07:42|| 2007-07-07 07:42|| Front Page Top

#9 Phil_b, you may be on to something. Right now food is not scarce, globally. Producers give it away or sell it cheaply to consumers, allowing exponential expansion of consumer populations. When you look at who these populations are it becomes apparant that, statistically, we're subsidizing our enemies.
So, in the name of environmentalism and other PC causes, a cynical leadership (or a naive leadership with cynical advisers) can pump up demand for food within the producing countries by creating a huge new market - biofuel. With food surplus burned up, much reduced supply will be available to subsidize population expansion of the net consumers.
Didn't some general once say 'an army fights on its belly' (meaning food supply logistics, not crawling in the mud)? You want your army hungry, but not starving.

Posted by Glenmore">Glenmore 2007-07-07 07:46|| 2007-07-07 07:46|| Front Page Top

#10 Anybody who bothered to study economic history of Middle East knows that Arabs are, literally, "Death of the Land".
And, IMO, anybody who haven't studied history doesn't have an opinion worth listening to.

Posted by gromgoru 2007-07-07 08:08|| 2007-07-07 08:08|| Front Page Top

#11 The reason that the west will win in the long term over the islamic forces (if we survive the short term) is the fact that the arabs and their birth rate are not sustainable without western help. They don't have the resources, the technology or the education to help themselves. Remove the western help, and the whole middle east will collapse under its own rotten weight. With climatic change, or a depression in the west we can expect to see a famine and civil wars on a truly biblical scale over there.

Posted by DarthVader">DarthVader 2007-07-07 11:34|| 2007-07-07 11:34|| Front Page Top

#12 Not doing well in breaking the curse of Cain, are they?

Posted by newc">newc 2007-07-07 13:47|| 2007-07-07 13:47|| Front Page Top

#13 Didn't some general once say 'an army fights on its belly' (meaning food supply logistics, not crawling in the mud)?

That would be Napoleon who said:

"An army marches on its stomach."

Even thoughas always with the Frenchit's all about the food, I'm quite certain he meant it as the superb double entendre that it is. Although Napoleon was revolutionary in the use of light weight kit and preserved foods, processing technology was nowhere developed enough to facilitate feeding such huge troop movements as his. Read "War and Peace" for a good idea of the logistics required to keep nearly half a million troops fed while on campaign.

At some point America needs to consider jacking up the price of any food we sell to the MME (Muslim Middle East). We are being milked like the last cow on the farm and it is time to play turnabout. It will never be too soon to begin reading the MME the riot act. The specter of starvation needs to loom large over their political landscape.

If, as I advocate, we recongregated this world's Muslim population back in their lands of origin, how long do you think those countries would last with all that extra population to feed? The sooner we implode the economic eggshell that is the MME, the better off this world will be.

We have bloated these violent psychopaths with our petrodollars for way too long. The time is now to make them begin confronting the reality of how barren and unsustainable their environments are. Starving psychopaths have a way of calming down in a New York minute when they don't even have the energy needed to lift a sword. Furthermore, more than one government in history has fallen from an inability to feed its masses. We need to chain a wolf at the door of these abusive Islamic regimes that will make their populations acutely aware of how their corrupt leaders wallow in luxury while they starve.

Posted by Zenster">Zenster 2007-07-07 14:03|| 2007-07-07 14:03|| Front Page Top

#14 #11. I'm glad you added a caveat, your awesomeness.

Posted by gromgoru 2007-07-07 17:44|| 2007-07-07 17:44|| Front Page Top

#15 Population Control is against Allah, against the Hindu gods/godlets and against the Catholic Pope...

So... Liberal Protestant and Buddhist lands still stand a chance?

Oh, is that not the politically correct lesson?
Ducking the 45 cal. slugs coming my way...

I am just a minor minion of the Great Satan... please don't hit me so hard.

Posted by 3dc 2007-07-07 18:16|| 2007-07-07 18:16|| Front Page Top

#16 Walter - how many Catholics do you think practice "no birth control"? In America, I'd say 5% max (my guess). I got snipped after 3 beautiful kids. I understand Mexico is experiencing a great decline in birth rates as they become more educated - that extrapolates worldwide. The Church may stick to the dogma, but real people living their lives have decided differently

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2007-07-07 20:28|| 2007-07-07 20:28|| Front Page Top

23:56 FOTSGreg
23:37 Zenster
23:33 Chuck Simmins
23:24 Zenster
23:07 Zenster
23:02 Frank G
22:43 Abdominal Snowman
22:23 Adriane
22:06 Frank G
21:48 Classical_Liberal
21:36 Seafarious
21:32 Abu do you love
21:18 McZoid
20:58 Frank G
20:57 Old Patriot
20:52 Frank G
20:45 John Frum
20:41 Rex Mundi
20:41 Frank G
20:28 Frank G
20:21 Anonymoose
20:18 Frank G
19:59 Frank G
19:59 Mike