Debt..

 

The number of United States troops who have died fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had passed 7,000 at the end of 2019. Approximately 177,000 national military and police from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraqi, and Syria allies have died. Western allies have also borne high human costs. 

Official Pentagon numbers do not include the many troops who return home and kill themselves as a result of psychological wounds such as PTSD. Over 30,177 service members and veterans of the post-9/11 wars have committed suicide -- over four times as many as have died in combat.  

The military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have also produced fatalities among large numbers of private contract workers. A full and accurate accounting of contractor deaths has not yet been done by the Pentagon. Over 8,000 contractors working for the U.S. have been killed in the two war zones. This number is an estimate: the majority of U.S. contractors are the citizens of other countries, many of whose deaths appear not to have been reported. [Watson Ins. Brown University.]

Bid..

 

Try..

 

JR..

 

Steps.

 

While it might not be the most sensational diet to tout in TV or social media ads, the Mediterranean diet has reigned supreme as the best diet overall for six years running in the U.S News & World Report rankings. 

This year, the flexible eating plan also took home the trophy for the Best Diet for Healthy Eating and the Best Plant-Based Diet. It also tied for first for the Best Family-Friendly Diet and Best Diet for Bone and Joint Health, and just so happens to be one of the best diets for the brain to help prevent dementia.

A new study suggests it's such a boon for your well-being, in fact, that it delivers health benefits on par with a two mile stroll. 

That's right; according to a study published April 28, 2023 in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), eating a Mediterranean diet may be as beneficial for health as walking an additional 4000 steps per day. Just a thought.

Right..

 

Debt..

 

Associates..

 

Runner..

 

Memory..

Lives lost, blood shed for this Memorial Day.

Memorial Day brings a sad realization: Our young people have been sacrificed in a system that offers no real winners other than the military-industrial complex, first identified by President (and former General) Eisenhower in 1961 when he retired from public life.

When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, it seemed that the Age of Peace might be right around the corner, with “harmony and understanding” guiding the planet. 

People imagined using a “peace dividend” to improve social conditions since the global arms race was no longer necessary.

For decades, requests for U.S. military expenditures have been treated like sacred texts handed down from the heavens.

 In 2022, the U.S. spent more than 10 times as much on the military as it did on education, transportation, the environment, or any other category.  [Allen Woods]

 Just a thought.