On The Brink Of Starvation. A Few Short Takes.
- Today marks day one hundred thirty seven of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with no end in sight. Ukrainians displaced, their infrastructure wavering, and many killed and injured. Early on, no one could predict the ramifications of this war spreading to countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. This war and its effect on world hunger is supported by a U.N. World Food Program analysis showing that “345 million acutely hungry people are marching to the brink of starvation” which is a 25% increase from the start of 2022 before Russia invaded Ukraine. The reality of the war’s impact on hunger stems from the fact that Russia and Ukraine together accounted for almost a third of the world’s wheat and barley exports. From a food-growing standpoint, Russia and Belarus are the world’s number 2 and number 3 producers of potash, a key ingredient of fertilizer.
The cause and effect of this pending famine are many, but as a baseline the issues include Ukraine not being able to export wheat and other commodities, as well as Russia’s inability to ship grain and fertilizer to world markets. This disruption to supply chains are driving up food prices, and dovetailed with climate events, the lack of expansion in food production, the protection of farms and livestock, and cash for cereal and vegetable production, has led to an alarming rise in the level of hunger in many places around the world.
The grim reality: predictions by more than one international agency state that many countries around the world are at famine levels, with a high level of destabilization, starvation, and mass migration on an unprecedented scale. Coming out of the pandemic and all the supply chain issues, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is devastating for many people around the world. How do we help? Contribute to a reputable world food agency. Here is one:http://www.wfpusa.org
Dateline July 10, 2022 — A Few Short Takes:
- No matter your stance on gun acquisition and possession, you have to think there is a way to stem the mass killings, including the horror of July 4th in Highland Park, twenty-five miles north of Chicago. Yes, you do.
- We lost two great actors last week. Everyone remembers James Caan in The Godfather (plus many more movies) and Tony Sirico (Paulie Walnuts) in The Sopranos. RIP.
- Last week’s Wimbledon quarterfinal between American Taylor Fritz and the one and only Rafael Nadal was incredible. I recorded the match and really did not think it would go five sets and over 4 hours. That ended up being a late night but well worth the watch.
- I watched Top Gun: Maverick on the big screen last week. I thought the movie was done well, especially how the director tied in the new version with the original, 1986 version. For whatever the reason, if you have never seen the original Top Gun, make sure you watch that one first before you take in the latest version.
- Regarding another type of aircraft, NASA’s Artemis missions will be highlighted by the newly designed Orion, the newest spacecraft built to take humans back to the moon, and eventually to Mars. The redesigned crew module, or capsule, provides living space for four astronauts for up to twenty-one days without docking to another spacecraft. The Orion includes a launch abort system (LAS), designed to protect the astronauts if a problem arises during launch. The amount of detail and engineering with the LAS is mind-boggling and hopefully will never need to be used.
- It seems that the World Health Organization is getting pressure to change the name of the Monkeypox virus. Bill Maher, a very smart and most of the time funny television host and comedian, asked the other night: “What monkey asked for the name to be changed?” Enough woke. Can’t we just get along?
- The UK Prime Minister resigning and the former Prime Minister of Japan assassinated in the same week. It is time for something really good to happen in the world. Any great news would be welcomed.
- Your digital footprint includes voice mails, conversations, videos and any other data and images stored on your phone, the Cloud, and your personal computers and tablet-type devices. Including myself, many people have sold or given away their old laptops – and to the best of our knowledge have deleted their files and emptied the recycle bin to ensure the data is gone. That is NOT the case as you must securely erase the hard drive. I strongly suggest that before you discard a laptop or personal computer, you Google how to fully wipe the hard drive.
- Recession talk is top of mind but in the meantime the U.S. economy added 372,000 jobs in June. That kept the unemployment rate at a very low 3.6%. Would anyone like to shed some light on the recession fears and discuss how we can fix the very strange housing market?
- As the word recession is thrown about, business and casual travel has increased dramatically over the last few months. Airlines and hotels have increased their fares and room night costs, trying to capitalize on the pent-up demand created by the pandemic. Case in point, here is an example of hotel room night rates this weekend in the St. Augustine, Florida area.
- Speaking of looking for good news, the people of Lebanon, for years dealing with economic despair and political unrest, have reasons to be very proud. While this was just one act on America’s Got Talent, you would have to think that this performance has put a smile on the face of all Lebanese. In a word, amazing!