Comments on US Food Aid Propaganda

[Tim May]

On Wednesday, October 10, 2001, at 09:52 AM, Matthew Gaylor wrote:
> Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 16:47:47 +1000
> From: Danny Yee <danny at staff.cs.usyd.edu.au>
> To: Matthew Gaylor <freematt at coil.com>
> Cc: fight-censorship at vorlon.mit.edu
> Subject: Re: US Food Aid Propaganda
> Mail-Followup-To: Matthew Gaylor <freematt at coil.com>,
>
>
> Air drops of food aid are a resort of last desperation; most of it will
> never be found or used.  So dropping 40 000 food packages is definitely
> just a media stunt -- I can't see it having any real effect at all on
> the Afghan population it's supposed to be feeding.
>

Another way to do the math:

-- 3 to 5 million Afghanis on the move, abandoning tiny farms and 
villages

-- 40,000 orange food packlets, of which maybe 10,000 will be found in 
the mountains and  ravines

However, showing technicians pushing these orange packlets out the back 
of a transport plane made for good PR.

Fact is, the peasant population of Afghanistan needs to be reduced by 
another 5-8 million. The West Nile and Crimea viruses introduced into 
the camps cannot do the whole job. Starvation must do its part as well.


--Tim May, Corralitos, California
Quote of the Month: "It is said that there are no atheists in foxholes; 
perhaps there are no true libertarians in times of terrorist attacks." 
--Cathy Young, "Reason Magazine," both enemies of liberty.