Today is St. Joseph's Day a special semi-holiday for Sicilians and it celebrates divine intervention of one of Sicily's famous droughts. Famine was not an unknown word for my ancestors and so we honor those harsh times by eating a meal made from pasta, wild fennel and fava beans -products that were once considered weeds and animal feed. So it is poignant for me to point out on this day that the world's rice supply cannot meet the demand, and the hungry cannot meet the price.You know the world is in trouble when there isn't enough rice to feed everyone. This article just adds to the mounting

American Involvement in Cuba and Philippines in the 19th and 20th centuries The years spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries is often referred to as the formal imperial phase of American history. The primary evidence upon which this conclusion is based centers almost entirely on the behavior of the United States towards two main political entities: Cuba and the Philippines. The following pages will discuss the main factors that led to American involvement in these regions and will evaluate their significance within American history.The primary factor that triggered the events that led