World Bank sounds alarm on 'historical reversal' of development for poorest nations

'For the first time, we see there is no convergence. They're getting poorer,'

One in three IDA countries is poorer now than on the eve of the pandemic.
reuters.com/world/world-ba…

Wives can be funny sometimes. My wife discovered the annual Costco LG appliance sale and as of today we are the owner of a new refrigerator, new washing and drying machines, and a bonus fridge that comes with this package deal.

I'm excited when I find a Xbox game on sale.

Fear can make you hurry to try to force situations into something you think you want.

But force almost always produces negative results.

Better to lay back, bide your time, and move when things are ripe.

cnn.com/2024/04/14/eco…

Americans over 75 are the fastest-growing age group in the workforce, more than quadrupling in size since 1964, according to the Pew Research Center. Forecasters expect that cohort of older, working Americans to double over the next decade

The Slow Poison of Endless Fantasy youtu.be/Ma4VZ7rxGOw?si… via YouTube

'Hell is the place where the person you are meets the person you could have been.'

This is the most terrifying sentence ever written.

It's easy to make fun of this conversation, but there is a lot here worth paying attention to. This woman sounds very much like my in-laws who are bitter and very much afraid of being left behind. This election is about two very different generations wanting different things.

The past is still with us and nowhere is that more than in the Middle East. The fault lines between the Sunni and Shia worlds exploded in a new devastating way in the late '70s. That tension still plays out in places such as Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, and of course, Saudi Arabia.

Poverty and fear can walk hand in hand. I remember being in India and hearing about the case of a potential witch who faced trial.

St. John's Bridge, Portland

Triple IPA 😳

Paul the Patriot 🇺🇲🏁🇺🇲 🇺🇲/🇨🇦

It would a grave mistake to presume that the political and cultural divisions we see today are somehow natural. They are not. They change and shift with the times like all other debates.

When looking for new people to follow on X do try to find those with different opinions and beliefs?

A brief description of the experience of Viktor Frankel.

I highly recommend the YouTube channel Freedom in Thought. It's become one of my favorite philosophical channels.

This is something that I have seen as well in my small corner of the world. Traveling to the major CA theme parks last week showed the disparity of wealth on a scale that wasn't too surprising to see. Those who are doing well are in a great place.

Consider Jan Gautam, CEO of the lodging company Interessant Hotels & Resort Management in Orlando, Florida, who said he can’t find American-born workers to take jobs cleaning rooms and doing laundry in his 44 hotels. Of Interessant’s 3,500 workers, he said, 85% are immigrants.

apnews.com/article/immigr…

In 2019, the Congressional Budget Office had estimated that net immigration — arrivals minus departures — would equal about 1 million in 2023. The actual number, the CBO said in a January update, was more than triple that estimate: 3.3 million.

The story of the Sound of Freedom never sat right with me. I couldn't place my finger on why but now thanks to the Hidden True Crime podcast I now know that I was right about Tim Ballard.

The trial of O.J. Simpson was one of the cultural icons of my teenage years that will always stick with me. And for the record I think he was guilty and that the LAPD botched the case.

Division in Oregon highlights growing political rift between rural and u... youtu.be/7IDJKevdnMY?si… via YouTube

Fascinating report on the cultural and political divide in my home state of Oregon. I've traveled across Oregon multiple times and these divisions are now deep.