Many people in the USA are deeply concerned about the admission by the National Security Agency (NSA) of eavesdropping on private, personal telephone calls and the monitoring of e-mail. “Leaks” or revelations made by Julian Assange of WikiLeaks, who is reportedly taking refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, and more recently, Edward Snowden, who has sought asylum in The Russian Federation, have set the diplomatic community on edge.

“ALARMING numbers of pregnant women are putting their unborn babies at serious risk of being born with alcohol poisoning. Shocking statistics have just uncovered an almost 50 per cent rise in Foetal Alcohol Syndrome in the past two years, with more than 300 children significantly affected last year” (Sunday Express, February 9, 2014).

In a move to stem the flow of poor migrants into its nation, “Swiss voters on Sunday (9 February) backed a call to cap migration from EU countries” (EU Observer, February 10, 2014). The vote, backed by 50.3 percent of voters, goes directly against the four fundamental EU freedoms: “free movement of people, goods, capital and services” and has drawn criticism (ibid.).

Earth’s population will grow by 25 percent, to more than nine billion, by 2050 (Deutsche Welle, January 20, 2014). With this increase will come a far greater need for food. “Experts assume that global food production must increase by 70 percent in order to meet the world’s changing dietary habits” (ibid.).

As a huge winter storm was bearing down on the midsection of the United States, the media continually broadcast urgent warnings to be prepared for the worst. Snow, freezing rain, sleet, ice and high winds were predicted. When such warnings are made, it seems certain that every supermarket, neighborhood grocery and convenience store will be quickly sold out of bread and milk. This buying frenzy is so predictable that it is the subject of jokes and comedy sketches. “What do people do with all that bread and milk?”