Fawcett
Fundamentals Jeffrey of International Business
2/8/11
Mrs. Li
New York Times: World News
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization issued an alert Tuesday that a
severe drought was threatening the wheat crop in China, the worlds largest wheat
producer, and was even resulting in shortages of drinking water for people and
livestock. World wheat prices are already surging and have been widely cited as one
reason for protests in Egypt and elsewhere in the Arab world. China has been
essentially self-sufficient in grain for decades for national security reasons, and any
move by China to import large quantities of food in response to the drought could drive
international prices even higher, creating serious problems for less affluent countries
that rely on imported food. China is suffering through one of its worst droughts in 60
years and it does not show any signs of letting up. They are expecting extreme
temperatures in the Negative Celsius range (below freezing in F) for the next week or
so. China has only received upwards of only .47 inches of rain since September, and
the conditions have been said to of been so bad that The ground in the country is so
dry at the moment. the trees and houses are coated with topsoil that has blown fields. off
parched China is one of the worlds only exporters of wheat, accounting for onesixth of the global output. Kisan Gunjal, F.A.O. food emergency officer in Rome for Asia,
warns that whether or not they escape this record draught all depends on the rain they
get during spring and summer. US warning on China Draught
In the category of the worlds sexiest politicians, Chinas dour communist
apparatchiks would seem to be far behind Americas legendary ladies-men presidents
and Europes bunga-bunga leaders. But a survey released in December by the AllChina Womens Federation found that a Middle Kingdom mandarin is the top pick for an
ideal partner among Chinese women. What is stated in the article as one of the biggest
appeal for Chinese marriage-minded ladies was money, money, money. There is also
growing speculation of very virile Chinese government officials who also appeal to the
ladies. Chinas own press often gets the excitement going with stories of bureaucratic
sex scandals, and in one story The publics reaction was generally sympathetic to the
cad. One of the posters to that press story stated that the official was good because he
managed to spend some time with his wife even with the womanizing acts. China's New
Sex Symbol