Water in Israel

 Poisonous article in The Marker about the recent decision of the Water Commission, formed by representatives of relevant ministries, to lower the price of water for consumers. The income difference will be made up by using natural water resources instead of expensive desalinated seawater, and by reducing the assistance to "weaker" municipalities. In my time, we channeled about 200 million dollars per year to those municipalities for water and sewage infrastructure building. 

The former head of the Water Authority, Giora Shoham (pic), declared that it was a racist discriminatory decision. Maybe, those millions went to Israeli Arab villages that were unable to finance themselves (corruption, inefficiency, crime). The idea of the Water Authority was that we were not helping them but ourselves. Absolutely true. Allowing the development of differences would be bad for us.

All these are based on the fact that 10% of Israel's population is fantastically productive and that allows the Government (every government since 1948) to be "large'  with the natives and to maintain one million Haredim that do no work nor serve in the Army. 

Flu

It seems like everyone is falling ill these days. Infectious inflammatory diseases can lead to inflammation of the heart muscle, known as myocarditis. The condition could resolve without any treatment. However, in some cases, this inflammation could progress to chronic heart failure.

Myocarditis is an inflammatory disease that involves the infiltration of heart muscle tissue by inflammatory cells. The most common cause of myocarditis is a transient viral illness. So far, 20 types of viruses have been identified that can cause myocarditis. These include enteroviruses, which cause intestinal inflammation, mouth ulcers, and rashes; adenoviruses, which cause eye and throat inflammation; viruses associated with mononucleosis (EBV, CMV); influenza viruses; hepatitis viruses (Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B); and most recently, the coronavirus (COVID-19).

From Ynet

I have the flu. Two nights with sirens in the middle of the night (Yemenite missiles attack) and the flu, and I feel like a zombie.

Tiempo ha

My mother and daughter many years ago.

In Tianjin

 It's incredible, but I was once invited to lecture at the Nankai University, in Tianjin. The statue of Tzu Enlai is looking at us. 

Overpumping aquifers in Turkiye, Syria and Lebanon

 

The NASA picture above shows the overpumping in the Eastern Mediterranean (except in Israel). Irrigated agriculture is becoming impossible, and yields are falling. It is said that ISIS was born in the impoverished northeast of Syria during a multiyear drought. The Turkish heartland is done, baked, and destined for rural stress and rebellion. Another country that has overdrawn its water resources is Yemen. The current situation is unsustainable.

We could grow jatt here and export it to Yemen because they have used up the little groundwater they had. 

Shakespeare in Jenin

 

The UNRWA West Bank office stated that it gained knowledge of the ongoing "presence of Palestinian armed actors" in the Health Centre in Jenin.

Actors? They must be presenting Shakespeare. 

Turkistan fighters in Syria

 Erdogan is rebuilding the Turkish empire and invited Uyghur nationalists to join the enterprise. Some 20,000 fighters are in North Syria. These are serious people. China will have some trouble with them. Turkiye vs China would renew a historical situation when China was conquered by Turkish nomads.