The following two articles – something about mis-placed priorities?
Top News- Hunger Kills 18,000 Kids Each Day, U.N. Says – AOL News
"The little girl in Malawi who’s fed, and goes to school: 50 percent less likely to be HIV-positive, 50 percent less likely to give birth to a low birth weight baby," he said in an interview Friday. "Everything about her life changes for the better and it’s the most important, significant, humanitarian, political, or economic investment the world can make in its future."
Morris, an American businessman and former president the Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment, one of the largest charitable organizations in the U.S., is stepping down as executive director of the Rome-based World Food Program in April after five years of leading the world’s largest humanitarian organization.
He said that while the percentage of people who are hungry and malnourished has decreased from a fifth of the world’s population to a sixth of the population, the actual number of hungry people is growing by about 5 million people a year because of the rising population.
"Today 850 million people are hungry and malnourished. Over half of them are children. 18,000 children die every single day because of hunger and malnutrition," Morris said. "This is a shameful fact – a terrible indictment of the world in 2007, and it’s an issue that needs to be solved."
Morris said the largest number of malnourished children are in India – more than 100 million – followed by nearly 40 million in China.
"I’m very optimistic that India and China are very focused on this issue," he said. "They’re making great progress – (but) need to do more. (It) needs to be a top priority."
Elsewhere, there are probably 100 million hungry children in the rest of Asia, another 100 million in Africa where countries have fewer resources to help, and 30 million in Latin America, he said.
Then this, on AOL off the Wall Street Journal:
One ‘World’s Biggest Jet,’ Please – AOL News
With some 10,000 private jets flying in the U.S., a few billionaires are signing up for something roomier — jumbo jets that can be outfitted as mobile mansions. Boeing says it has taken orders for 11 wide-bodies — planes typically configured with two aisles, such as the 747 series or the new 787 Dreamliner — over the past two years for "VIP use." The price of a Dreamliner, interior not included, is about $150 million.
Now an individual customer is raising the bar, signing up for the largest passenger plane in history. European jet builder Airbus has signed a letter of intent with a Middle East buyer for one of its new A380s, which sell for about $300 million, according to John Leahy, Airbus’s chief commercial officer for customers. Commercial versions of this plane can be configured to seat as many as 853 passengers on two decks. But this buyer, whom Airbus declined to identify, will spend an additional $100 million to turn the craft into a more exclusive conveyance Airbus calls The Flying Palace.
New York-based jet-interior expert Edése Doret says he is designing the A380 for the customer, who he says is a head of state. While the jet hasn’t yet been built — Airbus is as much as two years behind schedule for the A380 — Mr. Doret says his plan includes two dining areas, a 600-plus-square-foot master bedroom and a game room. His plans also call for a lounge with giant curtains that will mimic tents of the Arabian desert, and a fiber-optic mosaic that will depict a shifting desert scene.
Mr. Doret says he is including a whirlpool tub, believed to be the first in the air. To comply with Federal Aviation Administration regulations, the tub will have a rapid drainage system that can empty the standing water in seconds to a tank in the cargo hold. The plane is also slated to include a missile-defense system, he says. (Such systems aren’t certified for civilian use.) In all, Mr. Doret expects the job will run $100 million to $150 million.
The tabs for the wide-body jets easily surpass the prices paid by a previous generation of jumbo-jetsetters, including Donald Trump. In 2005, for example, Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page bought a used 767-200 that had seated 180 during its years in commercial service. Industry sources estimate Messrs. Brin and Page paid less than $15 million, 1/20th the cost of the big new Airbus. The latest private jets dwarf the most expensive Gulfstreams and Learjets, as well. The top-of-the-line Gulfstream, the G550, carries 10 to 15 passengers and costs about $47 million. These newest flying mansions can also equal or surpass the cost of the world’s biggest yachts ($200 million and $300 million) and are well beyond the most expensive estates on the market ($100 million to $150 million).
Leave a Reply