Famine..

Great dollops of hypocrisy invariably accompany expressions of concern by outside powers for the wellbeing of the Syrian people. But even by these low standards, a new record for self-serving dishonesty is being set by the Caesar Civilian Protection Act, the new US law imposing the harshest sanctions in the world on Syria and bringing millions of Syrians to the brink of famine.

Supposedly aimed at safeguarding ordinary Syrians from violent repression by President Bashar al-Assad, the law is given a humanitarian garnish by naming it after the Syrian military photographer. But instead of protecting Syrians, as it claims, the Caesar Act is a measure of collective punishment that is impoverishing people in government and opposition-held areas alike.  

though the situation in Syria was after 10 years of warfare and a long-standing economic embargo, the crisis has got much worse in the nine months since the law was implemented on 17 June last year. It has raised the number of Syrians who are close to starvation to 12.4 million, or 60 per cent of the population, according to the UN.  

Already, more than half a million children under the age of five are suffering from stunting as the result of chronic malnutrition. As the Syrian currency collapsed and prices rose by 230 per cent over the last year, Syrian families could no longer afford to buy basic foodstuffs such as bread, rice, lentils, oil and sugar.  

Is this the goal of sanctions?  Are we helping the poor people or hurting them?

Work..

A palliative nurse who has counselled the dying in their last days has revealed the most common regrets we have at the end of our lives. And among the top, from men in particular, is 'I wish I hadn't worked so hard'.

Bronnie Ware is an Australian nurse who spent several years working in palliative care, 

   I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

  I wish I hadn't worked so hard.  

"This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship. 

Women also spoke of this regret, but as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence. 

Just a "Workaholic" Thought.

Step..

 

Credit..

 

Hunter..

 

Shadow..

 

BofA..

 

The macro-economic picture is deteriorating fast and could push the U.S. economy into recession as the Federal Reserve tightens its monetary policy to tame surging inflation, BofA strategists warned in a weekly research note.

"'Inflation shock' worsening, 'rates shock' just beginning, 'recession shock' coming", BofA chief investment strategist Michael Hartnett wrote in a note to clients, adding that in this context, cash, volatility, commodities and crypto currencies could outperform bonds and stocks.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday signalled it will likely start culling assets from its $9 trillion balance sheet at its meeting in early May and will do so at nearly twice the pace it did in its previous "quantitative tightening" exercise as it confronts inflation running at a four-decade.

Just a "Scary" Thought.

Yak Yak..

 

Ukraine war follows decades of warnings that NATO expansion into Eastern Europe could provoke Russia.

A European official criticized the continent’s sanctions plan for Russia and urged his colleagues to do more ahead of a vote that supported "full" sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine. 

Member of European Parliament (MEP) Guy Verhofstadt on Wednesday slammed the governing body’s "ridiculous" approach, which he said "doesn’t work" due to the fact Russia is run by an autocrat and the people have "no real" opinion. 

That works with a democracy, with democrats, who have a public opinion, a real public opinion," Verhofstadt said. "In Russia, there is no longer a real public opinion.

He argued that the newest slate hits only a small amount of trade, such as coal, which he claimed only makes up 3% of Russian exports to Europe. He also took aim at attempts to cut off financial access, saying that "half the financial institutions are still outside the ban.

With that, every politician is praising himself and his actions and just watch the misery of humans as a result of the war.. Just a thought.

Cereal..

 

Researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and colleagues evaluated whether dietary fiber intake was associated with a decrease in inflammation in older adults and if fiber was inversely related to cardiovascular disease. The results showed that total fiber, and more specifically cereal fiber but not fruit or vegetable fiber, was consistently associated with lower inflammation and lower CVD incidence.

 Higher intake of dietary fiber is associated with lower CVD risk. A common hypothesis has been that higher fiber intakes reduce inflammation, subsequently leading to lower CVD risk" said Rupak Shivakoti, PhD, assistant professor of epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School. 'With findings from this study, we are now learning that one particular type of dietary fiber -- Cereal fiber -- but not fruit or vegetable fiber was associated with lower inflammation. With findings from this study we now are learning that cereal fiber has the potential to reduce inflammation and will need to be tested in future interventional studies."

Ride..