This video is called Pain at the Mirwais Hospital, Kandahar, Afghanistan (Sept 07). It says about itself:
Afghan doctor explains the lack of medication, food and services available in Kandahar hospital, Afghanistan. While a very malnourished three year old girl sits beside him, suffering tremendous pain.While in Afghanistan torture in prisons continues; and civilians continue to die in George W. Bush’s war; there are still more deathly threats, as Reuters reports:
No food price relief seen for poor AfghansMon Apr 14, 2008 7:06pm BST
By Jonathon Burch
KABUL - Impoverished Afghans struggling with rising wheat prices are not expected to get any relief soon with no sign prices are going to come down, a United Nations official said on Monday.
Top finance and development officials from around the world called in Washington on Sunday for urgent action to stem rising food prices, warning that social unrest will spread unless the cost of basic staples is contained.
Afghanistan is one of the world’s poorest countries with half its 25 million people living below the poverty line.
Wheat prices in Afghanistan have risen by an average of 60 percent over the last year with certain areas seeing a rise of up to 80 percent, the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) said. …
Anger over high food prices has led to rioting in Haiti [see also here]. There have also been protests in Cameroon, Niger and Burkina Faso in Africa, and in Indonesia and the Philippines.
Corsino, asked if higher wheat prices would provide an incentive for [Afghan] farmers to switch from growing opium to wheat, said the profit from opium was still much higher than that from wheat.
“The problem as I see it, is that the incentive for those engaged in poppy have been so much higher than those engaged in wheat that there would have to be quite a long way to go to bridge that gap,” he said.
Afghanistan is the world’s biggest producer of opium, the raw material for heroin.
Listen to this week’s “Steal This Radio”
Tuesday, May 6, 2008 at 6 pm (NY Time)
hosted by Mitchel Cohen, on http://www.tribecaradio.net
(click on “Live”)
GUEST: Artist and Activist REJIN LEYS
Rejin discusses the food rebellions in Haiti, and how it came to pass that this once-abundant rice producer now has to import food. This is a scintilating discussion of the role of global capitalism in confiscating land and uprooting rural workers from the soil, under the auspices of the International Monetary Fund and its Structural Adjustment Programs.
Along the way, Rejin and Mitchel talk about agro-fuels, patterns of consumption, and the corporate takeover of EarthDay (known as “Greenwashing”). You can read more on Rejin’s blog:
http://urbanbotany.blogspot.com/
*NEW!* PLEASE WRITE COMMENTS directly onto the podcast blog!
You can also click on the link below to get into the archives (Podcast), and scroll to end of info for show #40, hit the arrow to Play at the bottom of the entry. You can hear this and any of the shows at any time, on your computer:
http://tribecaradio.net/wpradioblog/podcasts/stealthisradio/
Save New York City’s Parks from our Predatory Mayor, Michael Bloomberg! Read:
http://www.washingtonsquarepark.wordpress.com
Music:
Harry Belafonte, “Mama Look at Boo-Boo”
Harry Belafonte, “The Banana Boat Song” (Day-O)
Harry Belafonte, “Jamaica Farewell”
Dave Rovics, “Bomb the SOA” (School of the Americas)
Julie Andrews, “The Lonely Goatherd”
Bob Dylan, “When the Ship Comes In”
OPENING THEME:
Mario Savio, Berkeley, 1964
Jefferson Airplane, “Volunteers”
And, send in your own songs, poems and ideas to
mitchelcohen@mindspring.com
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Order a copy of Mitchel Cohen’s two Poetry Books:
“One-Eyed Cat Takes Flight,” and
“The Permanent Carnival”
both available for $14 + $1.81 each in stamps
beautiful artwork on the covers painted by Haideen Anderson.
write to MitchelCohen@mindspring.com (or paypal to that address)
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Comment by Administrator — May 5, 2008 @ 4:28 pm