NEIDEEP

Friday, June 26, 2009

"The more things change, the more they stay the same." Author Unknown

Yesterday, I received the following update from the UN Millennium Campaign. Rather than rewriting the the well written piece, I copied it here for you. Please take the time to read it in entirety and pass it on to others.

Ahead of UN General Assembly's high-level summit on the economic crisis on June 24-26, UN Millennium Campaign says new analysis indicates that finding money for aid is a matter of political will - not lack of resources - and calls on donors to finally meet their aid commitments

June 23, 2009 - The United Nations Millennium Campaign today released an analysis showing that since the inception of aid (overseas development assistance) almost 50 years ago, donor countries have given some $2 trillion in aid. And yet over the past year, $18 trillion has been found globally to bail out banks and other financial institutions. The amount of total aid over the past 49 years represents just eleven percent of the money found for financial institutions in one year. The UN Millennium Campaign is urgently calling on rich countries gathering at this week's high-level summit on the economic crisis to make no further excuses that they lack resources and to urgently deliver on their aid commitments.

"The stark contrast between the money dispersed to the world's desperately poor after 49 years of painstaking summits and negotiations and the staggering sums found virtually overnight to bail out the creators of the global economic crisis makes it impossible for governments to any longer claim that the world can't find the money to help the 50,000 people who are dying of extreme poverty every day," said Salil Shetty, Director of the United Nations Millennium Campaign.

"This is a straightforward question of political will. Rich countries' priorities will become crystal clear at this week's summit on the economic crisis, where we hope they will finally deliver on the aid they have repeatedly pledged but not delivered to those who need it most."

Worse still, the global economic crisis is expected to further impact the delivery of aid to poor countries at a time when the need is greatest. Already, the consequences of the crisis, caused by the richest people in the richest countries, are being disproportionately borne by poor countries.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, the economic crisis has resulted in 100 million more people going hungry, taking the total number of hungry people in the world to a staggering one billion. At the same time, only $9.4 billion of the $28.3 billion -- less than a third -- pledged at the Gleneagles Summit in 2005 to be delivered to Sub-Saharan Africa by 2010, has actually been delivered.

The Millennium Campaign believes any discussions of a new financial architecture must be inclusive of the voices and needs of the poor. The Campaign is therefore calling on donor countries to immediately and unconditionally do the following:

Urgently agree to a timetable to accelerate delivery of their aid commitments.
Make rapid progress toward achieving the Paris Declaration and Accra Agenda to simplify and streamline aid, including a clear timetable for implementation of existing commitments.
Reduce and/or eliminate all trade-distorting agricultural subsidies.
Ensure that poor countries are fully represented in all decision making bodies and in the restructuring of the global financial infrastructure.

The Millennium Campaign is calling on poor countries to immediately do the following:

Ensure that national development policies and plans are pro-poor and focused on women and excluded groups.
Prioritize expenditures on the Millennium Development Goals.
Ensure accountability and transparency in the management of public money
Prioritize domestic resource mobilization.

Go to www.youtube.com/mcampaign to watch the videoclip.

As we continue to bail out the banking industry and auto manufactuers, we create more global suffering and sentence more people to death from starvation. Where is the justice?

Peace -

Bonnie

|
NEIDEEP at 7:57 AM

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

"Life's what happens when you're busy making other plans." John Lennon

For the first time in months, I finally have the time - and energy - to write. Unfortunately, life has been hard since November. However, my commitment to eradicating global poverty has not waivered one little bit.

I usually deal with stress better than I have these past months and write - even if I slip on blogging - a good deal. As the stress piled up, my blood pressure went through the roof and my energy sank like a stone. I had to rest.

In the past week, my blood pressure dropped and my energy level rose. I still have a way to go, but I can concentrate again.

I missed writing about so many important issues, but more pop up every day. I have to forgive myself for taking care of me for a while, and just get back to writing.

With the economy in this global depression (well, it is - who are we kidding?), so many more suffer from poverty today than just a year ago. With many promises unkempt for aid to developing nations, the poor get poorer, and now some of the rich are scared, too.

The only good things seems to be that more people know what poverty means. More people planted gardens this year (although many report rotted plants from all of the rain) and Plant-a-Row for the poor is a popular thing to do.

Saving our environment is global concern, but as gas prices rise, automakers continue to make many bad decisions.

Since I lived off the grid for many years - before being green was popular - I feel my overall carbon footprint is relatively low. My big sin is that I own a Jeep. Listening to the good-intentioned city dwellers state that we need small, alternative energy vehicles, I see a huge problem for our rural areas.

These little cars - often low to the ground - do use less fossil fuels. They do not have the power to travel on rough or mountainous roads. Winter travel is another consideration, with 4-wheel drive a better alternative to all-wheel drive.

Larger families cannot pack their kids, pets and groceries into these tin cans. They are good on flat roads and highways - until there is an accident - with bumpers and fenders that crumple in a crash. National insurance companies report that these vehicles need to be totaled as repair costs are astronomical.

How does this help the big picture? How do these vehicles help the environment, when new cars end up in as junk? Will Americans continue with quick-fix mentality rather than making decisions for the highest good of all people? Will we remain so focused on Detroit that we forget about people starving?

My biggest fear is that as actors and rockers turn to the new cause de jour, the world's neediest people are forgotten.

Peace -

Bonnie

|
NEIDEEP at 4:22 PM