Monday, August 23, 2010

Lift Up Thy Head


Poverty won't allow him to lift up his head;
dignity won't allow him to bow it down.

~Madagasy Proverb

Of Note: Why people starve when there is enough food to go around is a good question. After all, we can send men to the moon and can't conquer the global logistics of feeding people. Authors Thurow and Kilman explore that conundrum in their book Enough: Why the World's Poorest Starve in the Age of Plenty. Could it be that some jealously guard the "plenty" as their own? American's expanding waistlines might be the result of this way of thinking. After all, phenomenon is the result of a cause originating in "ways of thinking" whether conscious or not. Thurow and Kilman shared a Gates Foundation study which "estimated that to eliminate hunger in 60 million African households [would take] just over half of what Americans spend to counter overeating. The market for weight loss treatment in the United States, including diet programs and herbal products, has been estimated to be worth $33 billion a year."

Today's Weather Report: Another hot, muggy day on the "ranch." Temps are predicted to be in the mid-80's Fahrenheit today, but currently it is only in the mid-70's and quite pleasant in the house. I hear that in the sun, the heat and humidity are almost unbearable. Speaking of unbearable, a second round of monsoon flooding is currently pounding Pakistan and China. How much more can they take?