Kenyan Farmers' Fate Caught Up in U.S. Aid Rules - New York Times

7/31/07 Celia Dugger, NY Times.

A woman let water flow into her sorghum plot, part of an American-financed irrigation project in northwestern Kenya. Families were promised corn for their work, but it never arrived. More Photos >

LOKWII, Kenya -- As the United States Congress debates an omnibus farm bill, it is considering a small change that advocates say could make a big difference to the world's hungriest people: allowing the federal government to buy some food in Africa to feed the famished, rather than shipping it all overseas from America.

7/27/07 Oxford Analytica, Forbes, Hard Times For U.S. Workers

The federal minimum wage recently rose 70 cents, to 5.85 dollars per hour, the first increase in nearly a decade. While the minimum wage has risen, its effect has been partially offset by a May U.S. Supreme Court ruling that tightened the conditions for demonstrating discrimination in "pay parity" cases--strengthening the hand of employers. The rights and bargaining power of U.S. workers have declined since 2000.

Rich World's Consumerism May Cause African Famines, Experts Warn

7/1/07 AFP

Food production in developing countries will halve in the next 20 years unless wealthy nations lower their rate of consumption, the Stockholm Environment Institute warned at a weekend conference.

In a World on the Move, a Tiny Land Strains to Cope - New York Times