The expansionist meme

Axinia tagged me for this meme. I don’t like doing memes, but I have decided to do it as I don’t want to disappoint her. I’m not tagging anyone, though.

One religious work from a non-familiar tradition you’ll read:

I have almost no interest in organised religions. I have a few religious books belonging to different religions with me but I have not read them. Philosophy does interest me though and I have read the Dhammapada and திருக்குறள் (Thirukkural) but I don’t consider them as religious works. I would like to take a look at the Avesta as I am not familiar with it.

One music video-that you like-from your “least likely to listen to” genre:

I don’t know

A book from a genre you almost never read, that you have read, or you will read (promise!):

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen is a great writer and I mean no disrespect to her but I would never have read that book. I was forced to read it only because it was a part of my curriculum in high school. The curriculum had some fabulous books but I don’t quite understand why they included Pride and Prejudice

Somewhere you’d never thought to go on holiday/vacation, and why it might be fun to go there?

Any remote and uninhabited island. I would like to escape from the crowds, the noise and the pollution for a few days.

A specific food you’ve never tried, but will because of this meme, honest!:

Raw tomatoes

A sport or game you really hate, or haven’t tried yet, but are willing to give one more go:

I am a sports fan and I like all sports and games. I haven’t tried winter sports as I live in a hot tropical city. I would like to try out downhill skiing or ice-skating or even curling if I get a chance.

A style of dance you probably won’t try (we won’t make you promise on this one):

Kathakali

A career job you don’t feel you’re suited for, and why:

Surgery . . . I hated dissecting (dead) cockroaches and frogs in my high school biology practical class.

An item that’s “thinking out of the box” for this meme that hadn’t been included:

Who would you like to be born as if you were to be born again?

If there’s one thing in life you wanted to do, and will do because of this meme, what will it be?

Learn to read and write my father tongue, Telugu, as it is one of India’s national and official languages and is also called “the Italian of the East” as every word in Telugu ends in a vowel sound.

Rice price rise may lead to rice riots!

Though the title mentions rice, this post is all about the rise in prices of staples (rice tops the list of staples) that has caused serious unrest in several parts of the world. Haiti’s government was thrown out and there were food riots in several parts of Africa and sporadic violence in other parts of the world. Even supermarkets in developed countries have begun rationing rice to their customers. Click on the link to read the post I wrote a few days ago about a looming disaster for many of our planetizens.

Paella is a very popular rice dish in Spain . . .

Image: Tony & Lisa Sierra(taken from about.com)

World leaders have woken up to this serious threat to the well-being of all Earthlings. The issue has become so serious that the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon has said that the U.N. and its affiliated organisations will set up a task force that will be headed by the Secretary-General himself. For more information, read this article on the site of Associated Press.

The U.N. has realised that rising food prices are a serious threat to growth and security and world peace itself. Development would be set back by seven years if this situation is not tackled immediately. Even a person like the World Bank President has warned that rising food prices would push 100 million into poverty and those who are already poor will suffer terribly. Read more about the threat to development goals in this article from Reuters.

The most heartening fact is that the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development feels that farm aid and fair trade is the key to solving this extremely urgent problem. I am delighted that someone has finally managed to call a spade a spade! Read more in this article.

I am shocked by the double standards of the ill-informed guys in the so-called ‘mainstream’ media who think that farm aid and small loan waivers for small and marginal farmers are ‘election sops’ while waiving multi-million dollar loans for corporate entities that are facing a crisis due to the deliberate mismanagement by the top brass is an act of ‘offering incentives’ for growth. Despicable double standards!

I think the time has come for the whole world to unite and put an end to the notorious ‘free market capitalism’ that has led the world to the present situation. ‘Free trade’ that is neither free nor fair should be replaced by fair trade! ‘Free market capitalism’ must be replaced by an economic system that is harmony with the universal ethical principles of Liberty, Equality, Fraternity and Human Rights!

May all concepts that are opposed to those four principles perish! May such concepts be completely annihilated as humankind searches for ways to solve the present food crisis!

My previous article on the food crisis:

Here comes the horseman riding the black horse!