In Micronesia—as in much of the world, particularly the developing world—it is more profitable for authorities to encourage overconsumption than to discourage it. The Worldwatch Institute reported last year that approximately four of the five McDonald's restaurants that opened every day in 1997 were outside the United States. In its 1998 annual report the Coca-Cola Company described Africa as "a land of opportunity."

- Ellen Ruppel Shell

Bread and circuses 🍻

We're not just living like the west, we're also dying like them: dying of obesity, cancer, and heart disease.

They say that the Egyptian slaves who built the pyramids were fed on garlic. Today, we're fed on pizza and burgers.

أشأَمُ مِنْ عِطرِ مَنشَم (مَثَل عربي)

قَالَ الْجَوْهَرِيُّ: مَنْشِمُ امرأَةٌ كَانَتْ بِمَكَّةَ عَطَّارَةٌ، وَكَانَتْ خُزاعةُ وجُرْهُم إِذَا أَرادوا الْقِتَالَ تطيَّبوا مِنْ طِيبِهَا، وَكَانُوا إِذَا فَعَلُوا ذَلِكَ كَثُرَ القَتْلى فِيمَا بَيْنَهُمْ فَكَانَ يُقَالُ: أَشْأَمُ مِنْ عِطْرِ مَنْشِم

وَقِيلَ: مَنْشِمُ امرأَةٌ كَانَتْ صَنَعَتْ طِيبًا تُطَيِّب بِهِ زَوْجَهَا، ثُمَّ إِنَّهَا صَادَفَتْ رَجُلًا وَطَيَّبَتْهُ بطيبِها، فلقِيَه زوجُها فشمَّ ريحَ طِيبِهَا عَلَيْهِ فقتَله

وقالَ زُهير في معلّقتِه:
تَدارَكتُما عَبسًا وذبيانَ بعدَ ما
تَفانَوا ودَقّوا بينَهُم عِطرَ مَنشَمِ

وأكو مقولة: «دقَّ اللهُ بَينكُما عِطرَ مَنشَمِ»

معناها تقريبًا مثل: "إن شاء الله ينهجم بيتكم،" أو "تنزرع بينكم العداوة إن شاء الله"

Is a paradoxical situation in which a country underperforms economically, despite being home to valuable natural resources.

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Is a country that has an economy dependent solely on revenue from exporting a single product or commodity. As a result, such countries are typically controlled by foreign-owned companies or industries. Banana republics usually have a highly stratified socioeconomic structure, with a small ruling class that controls access to wealth and resources, and are politically unstable.

هالمصطلح نشأ لما الشركات الأمريكية جانت تستغل الأراضي والعمالة الرخيصة ببلدان أمريكا الوسطى والجنوبية وتحتكر زراعة الموز هناك.

"What a disappointment that Epicurus, the sage I most need, should have written over three hundred treatises! And what a relief that they are lost!"
- Emil Cioran