Hostility...

The Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills, which will run through Aug. 31, will be the first large-scale military exercise between the allies since North Korea successfully flight-tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles in July and threatened to bracket Guam with intermediate range ballistic missile fire earlier this month.

Despite some calls to postpone or drastically modify drills to ease the hostility on the Korean Peninsula, the long-scheduled exercises will go ahead as planned.

The drills, which began in the 1970s and will involve 17,500 American troops and 50,000 South Korean soldiers this year, consist mainly of computer simulations aimed at honing joint-decision making and planning and improving command operations.

The United States and South Korea also hold larger war games in the spring, called Key Resolve and Foal Eagle, which involve live-fire exercises and training with tanks, aircraft and warships.

Let us plan for Non Hostile exercises.... Just a worthy thought.

Eclipse...

Ostentatious...*

The burkini has been banned in a number of cities in Switzerland, France and Austria.
Germany's ruling party introduced a bill to ban women from wearing full-face coverings in public places. 

The German Interior Minister announced that a series of measures are being considered in the wake of terror attacks committed in the country by refugees. Germany may soon ban full face veils worn by some women in certain circumstances.

“We agree that we reject the full body covering, we agree that we want to introduce a legal requirement to show one’s face in places where it is necessary for our society’s coexistence, at the wheel, at public offices, at the registry office, in schools, universities, in the civil service, in court,” he said, according to AFP.

In France, the mayor of Leucate on the southern French coast, which includes a Nude beach resort at Port-Leucate announced a ban on burkinis this week.

“It is about respecting the principle of secularism,”   “This is the public domain and (the burkini) is an ostentatious religious sign” ,  that is the naked truth..    Just a thought.

Poverty-Ridden...

Economic Security...

Splitsville...

SuperFood...

We’ve all heard the expression “shop the perimeter of the store.” But if you skip the middle, you’re missing out on a wealth of wholesome, delicious food choices. Your supermarket shelves are filled with hidden treasures that you shouldn’t pass up. Like beans, one of the most neglected and under-valued items.

Beans provide myriad health benefits, and they fit into several different food groups: Although they are rich in complex carbs like breads and starches, as a plant-based food, they feel right at home in the vegetable group, offering an array of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, like their veggie companions.

They can also hold their own in the protein group, supplying protein aplenty. Unlike some other members of this group, beans provide little to no fat and are cholesterol-free. In fact, beans actually lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels instead of potentially causing them to increase, as some animal proteins have been shown to do.

Though they’ve been around for centuries, beans are a modern-day superfood. Why? Let’s count the ways.

Too...

Double trouble...

Needy...*

Philadelphia is one of the poorest large cities in the country. And it's the city with the worst deep poverty rate in the U.S., with roughly 185,000 people (including 60,000 kids) living on incomes below half of the federal poverty line.

With that, homelessness is on the rise, and the city doesn't have enough resources to be there for everyone.   Owner Mason Wartman, who left his Wall Street desk job to open the shop, says pay-it-forward pizza started with one customer, one dollar, and one Post-it note.

The customer was inspired by an Italian coffee house practice called caffè sospeso (suspended coffee), by which customers can pre-purchase cups of coffee for less fortunate customers.
Wartman wrote the purchase on a Post-it and slapped it on the wall behind the register to be redeemed by the next homeless patron to enter the store.

As word spread, more and more customers participated. And Rosa's wall blossomed with colorful notes signifying acts of kindness and a guaranteed slice for everyone who walked in, regardless of their ability to pay.

Rosa's has provided nearly 70,000 pizza slices to needy Philadelphians. And it's having a remarkable impact on the community, showing not only that acts of kindness can be contagious, but also how a small gesture of support can have a ripple effect of positivity.  

Berdie...