Weather Report: Georgia Economic, Food and First Aid

GEORGIA: In a number of articles today on the Internet, cable news and the newspapers, it was noted that there has been no significant Russian withdrawal of their military from the country of Georgia. This is despite Russian promises in the cease-fire agreement between Russia and Georgia. This is despite verbal assurances from Russia at the diplomatic level. This is despite verbal threats, harangues, disapprovals, concerns, warnings, meetings, and general hand wringing at almost every government level in the U.S., NATO, and the EU. Russia has made no significant withdrawal of their military forces from the country of Georgia.

ECONOMICS: In an article at Yahoo Finance today entitled “ Wholesale pieces rising at fastest pace since 1981 “ it was noted that inflation at the wholesale level increased 1.2% in July and that this was more than twice what experts expected. The article went on to note that consumer price inflation rose 0.8% and that this too exceeded expectations.

Businesstimesonline.co.uk presented an article today “ Credit crunch may take out large U.S. bank warns former IMF chief “ in which Professor Kenneth Rogoff ( chief economist for the IMF from 2001 to 2004 ) said , “The U.S. is not out of the woods. I think the financial crisis is at the halfway point, perhaps. I would go further to say the worst is to come. “

Professor Rogoff went on to say that the U.S. could expect not just mid-sized banks to go under during the next few months but “ – one of the big investment banks or big banks, “ too. Also the professor predicted that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would “… likely cease to exist in their present form within a few years. “ and that … “ the U.S. Treasury may have no choice but to effectively nationalize them.”

FOOD: “ Honeybee deaths reaching crisis point “ shouts the title of an article on-line at guardian.co.uk. This small article says that “ 1 in 3 UK honeybees did not survive winter and spring “ and that “ pollination of fruits and vegetables …” were at risk. The article goes on to note that not only would there be no more English honey available by Christmas but if present conditions persisted there would be a demise of the English honeybee within a decade ( honeybees are responsible for the majority of the pollination of fruits and vegetables not only in England but also in the U.S., Italy, France, Germany, and Canada where similar numbers of honeybee losses have been attributed to colony collapse disorder – CCD- raising similar concerns to those expressed in the UK )

FIRST-AID: Thought we would give you some of the items the Red Cross, family and friends have included in their first-aid kits :

The American Red Cross First Aid and Safety Handbook by Kathleen A. Handal, M.D. (a good basic, working first-aid guide)

1. Tripple Antibiotic Ointment – 1 small tube
2. Absorbent compresses (@ least 2, 5’x9” & thick,sanitary napkins/pads X 4)
3. Adhesive cloth tape ( 1” x 10 yards minimum )
4. Band-aids, a large box/tin with various sizes
5. Hand sanitizer x 2-4 bottles
6. Antiseptic wipes x 1 box/container
7. Aspirin & non-aspirin pain reliever (with special forms & potencies for children where applicable )
8. Thermometer
9. Petroleum jelly or KY
10. One-size-fits all medical grade gloves x 1 bx ( non-latex preferred )
11. Instant cold compress
12. Scissors
13. Tweesers
14. Small magnifying glass @ 3-4 power
15. Assorted sizes of safety pins
16. Space blanket
17. Cotton balls
18. Laxative ( for kids too ! )
19. Anti=diarrhea medication ( kids too !)
20. Antacids for upset stomach
21. prescription drugs ( 1 wk supply min) where applicable
22. 3” & 4” roller bandages and 3” & 4” sterile gauze pads x 2 each just in case ( thanks mom!)

Modify any or all of these ideas to suit your individual family needs. This list is offered as some ideas for a basic family kit.

Special thanks here to the RN in the family and the Navy corpsman friends.

Friday, August 22, we’ll be thinking about some home gardening ideas along with the weather.

Meanwhile, keep your eyes on the horizon.