Progress through Pandemic

The Pandemic has been raging in Israel for six months and it is sickening and killing more people than ever. Yesterday more than 2000 were infected. Hospitals are full. A quarter of the shops in Kfar Saba's Weizmann Street are to let. People connected to the food industry, theater, tourism and foreign travel have lost their subsistence. They are worried and desperate.

I have noticed that the people punished by the virus has been forced to look for new sources of survival and they have found them, many for good. Restaurants are providing take off services, students of engineering have become builders, hobbies have been developed into flourishing small business. More startups than ever. In any crisis there are sectors that will profit, like booming Hollywood during the Great Depression. The stone-heart capitalists of Wall Street are right, wars, crisis and depressions are necessary features of the system, eliminating inefficient business and creating new ones. I think that the system in Israel is healthy and working well. 

Turkey puts war with Greece on hold

Turkey  defuses some of the tension in the Eastern Mediterranean., suspending research by its seismic vessel Oruç Reis as a goodwill gesture for ongoing negotiations with Greece. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told his aides to “be constructive and put this on hold for some time.” 

Li Bai Loved to Drink

Chinese porcelain Yuan dynasty Chizhou vase with TANG poet Li Bai ; The image represents the famous Tang dynasty poet - Li Bai - ; The inscription says when Li was drunk, he would write many poems.

I do not really enjoy Chinese classics. It must be my fault. I do admire Spanish literature of the Siglo de Oro.

The visit to the Forbidden City and the museum was a disappointment. 

Israeli banks selling at half price

The TASE valuation of Discount and Leumi banks covers about 60% of its own equity. TASE thinks that they have many dubious loans outstanding that will not be repaid in the coming crisis. Beinleumi and Mizrahi are selling at market capitalization / equity of about one.  I have bought some today. The P/B ratio should not be used as a single evaluation of a stock because, while a low P/B may mean an undervalued company, it can also be a result of serious underlying problems within that company. 

In short, they are under priced.

La Familia disperses leftwing protest against police brutality while police looks on passively

Every evening the country's leftists protest in the Balfour street. Netaniyahu happens to have his official residence there. At the beginning it was against corruption and with the days it became a classic George Floyd "We cannot breath" pseudo-American riot. Last night the fans of the Beitar Jerusalem - called La Familia - arrived and dispersed the Antifa leftists. The Israeli police, accused of killer brutality, looked on with brutal impassibility. End of July, it is very hot at night, people cannot sit at home and the bars are closed, action and a good street fight are visceral necessity. 

Second Wave Epidemics in Israel

The hospitals are more than fully occupied. Worrying. 

Devaluation!

The US dollar is fast losing value. Gold is rising. The stock exchange is rising too, but it is a fake nominal bonanza caused by a worthless dollar. The shekel is maintaining it worth vis-a-vis foreign currencies, but today, the Governor of Bank of Israel, warned that it can fall drastically. He may be planning a devaluation. If America inflates the dollar, we must too.

In the current uncertainty I have been in cash and wondering what to do. Tomorrow I shall buy something.  

She came through the bathroom window

She came in through the bathroom window
Protected by a silver spoon
But now she sucks her thumb and wanders
By the banks of her own lagoon

Didn't anybody tell her?
Didn't anybody see?
Sunday's on the phone to Monday
Tuesday's on the phone to me

The Beatles. Everybody found it made sense. But what did they meant? The silver spoon refers to drugs. Must have an explanation.

Jewish Slave Traders

I have no idea how many of the Arab Mohammedan slave purchasers in Africa were ethnic Jews, probably none or very few, nor how many of the importers to America were - probably some were in fact Portuguese Jews and Marranos. The list to the left is fake, with many echte Dutch like Roosevelt, and I am certain no Polish Jews could be found navigating the Atlantic with African cargo.

But thinking about the issue, being those Jews apparently so powerful, if I was an American African, I would be very afraid of the Jews. I would try to befriend the Jews, so they would not trade us back to Nigeria and the Slave Coast. Although I can't see profit made in that trade, there is no demand for African Americans in Africa, except in the case of the American government paying cash for each African returned to Africa. Which is not so unthinkable, as in this very moment Italy is paying a Libyan strongman to stop Africans crossing the Mediterranean, thus forcing Europeans to rescue them and claim refugee status. By paying off that Libyan ruffian they save trouble for generations to come.  

La Hormiga Negra

The most loved children magazine of my times in Buenos Aires was called Billiken. .It was cheap yet too expensive for my penniless refugee parents to afford it. Nonetheless I  formed nice collection by trading secondhand cartoon magazines (Flash Gordon, Superman, Batman, El Eternauta, Misterix etc.) on the Sunday morning markets. One of the permanent figures of Billiken was La Hormiga Negra, the Black Ant, which in those innocent times was the model of untiring diligence, of carefully husbanding one resources, of saving for winter, always ready to lend a hand to her colleges.  She was always neatly dressed and polite. In one cartoon that I remember we saw the Hormiga Negra navigating on a leaf, crossing a small stream, crying desperately: "The World Is Ending!". Nearby, the Monkey told her: "Calm down, the world is not ending, may be a little Hormiga Negra is drowning."

Reading American papers, the collective cry coming forth strong is "America is Burning", the Pandemic is killing us, Trump is leading us to a Race War, etc. Then I remember, it is not America dying, it is the little journalist becoming irrelevant and superannuated. BTW, Billiken was the name of the German founder of the magazine. 

South Africa's Health Advice: Glory Holes

HEALTH OFFICIALS HAVE COME UP WITH AN EFFECTIVE YET UNUSUAL WAY OF ADVOCATING FOR SAFER SEX DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC.

AND IT STARTS WITH TWO WORDS: GLORY HOLES... “USE BARRIERS, LIKE WALLS (E.G., GLORY HOLES), THAT ALLOW FOR SEXUAL CONTACT BUT PREVENT CLOSE FACE-TO-FACE CONTACT,” IT STATES.


ACCORDING TO THE MERRIAM-WEBSTER DICTIONARY, A GLORY HOLE IS “A HOLE MADE THROUGH A WALL OR PARTITION TO ENABLE PEOPLE TO PERFORM SEX ACTS ANONYMOUSLY.”

LGBT Reconversion in Israeli Politics

Netaniyahu decided to dissolve the government and held elections in November because the Blue and White faction voted for the Reconversion Bill. That is, forbidding the therapy because it harms the patient to the point that it is classified as a form of torture. The young homo is shown homoerotic videos while receiving electric shocks and vomiting pills. The idea is associating in his mind homosexual activities with pain and disgust. The religious parties are for it, the liberal left against, because it is not a disease nor a deviation. Homos enjoy more and better sex than straights, and that is good. Putin put it concisely:  I dont care, only stay away from the children. 

30% Capital Loss

I keep working hard and saving, but the value of my savings is falling. In the six months of corona since January 2020, about a third of my savings in the bourse are gone. This in addition to my previous losses on TEVA stock. The corona epidemic has created a worldwide depression and disorder, and the perspectives are not encouraging. The current valuation of the shares is maintained by artificial injection of freshly printed paper (aka "money"), which may evaporate in any second.

The presidential election is driving America crazy. Trump is sending troops to occupy the burning cities. The West has realized that Chinese industrial success has destroyed its industries. It is Europe 1925 once more and the only solution is the physical destruction of Chinese infrastructure or waiting till it collapses spontaneously through aging.

In the West, the population replacement is proceeding fast. The British high aristocracy has legitimated it. The new generation in France is about 50% North African, what will the consequences of such a dilution of native population? Maybe none. Maybe we shall get used to it and notice nothing. Maybe the West will be like the Caribbean, and future generations will enjoy the marimba and the chachacha.  

Meeting the Enemy in Oxford

Jabotinsky, the leader of the pre-State Zionist Right, was of the opinion that the diplomatic victories achieved in the Versailles Peace Conference were nice but ultimately a homeland is not "given" by imperialists but has to be conquered with blood. The Zionist movement was "given" half of Palestine (this side of the river Jordan) but it was unable to occupy all the land assigned to it. The small yishuv (Jewish population) of some 600,000 lost 10,000 dead in the war of independence and Ben Gurion gave up and signed the Rhodes ceasefire. I asked my uncle Bela Abeles, an IDF Colonel, why they stopped, and he told me that simply, the yishuv was exhausted. The Arab Legion, a Jordanian force financed, trained and led by the British, defended Jerusalem and we could not defeat it. (pic)

Twenty years ago took my daughter Ayala to Paris Disneyland and then hired a car and toured England. Each 5 PM we looked for a B&B to spend the night. Thus we got to knew many real English homes and real people, not only castles (which are also notable, for example the one in Edinburgh). In Oxford we could not find a B&B - we were touring without a plan, without previously secured stops (causing tremendous stress to my wife) - and at last a helpful English soul directed us to a widow living alone in a big house who may take us in for the night. It was the home of a retired career soldier - a former officer of the Jordanian Legion.

The room we received had no beds and the door could not be locked. I was worried for my daughter, and did not sleep all night. In the morning, the big Englishman prepared a generous nice ham and eggs breakfast for us, and told us some innocent stories of Aqaba. Like all Englishmen, he was extremely nice and friendly to his Israeli visitors, dissipating our terror. Thus I got to meet "the enemy". We paid and continued our tour. In Blackpool I tasted the famous fish and chips delicacy, threw up, my girls hated the freezing North Atlantic wind and storm, we moved back to London and the balmy air of Kfar Saba.

A forgotten page of Zionist history

After WWI the Paris Peace Conference to distribute the world among the victors. President Wilson of the USA was an impractical idealist and a very sick person, and he had no influence on the outcome. Italy was ungoverned, as always. Russia was paralyzed by the civil war. Basically, the Middle East was divided up between England and France.

England had promised the Middle East to the King of Hejaz, and Palestine had been promised to the Jews. Dr Weizman, Judge Brandeis, Rabbi Wise, Professor Frankfurter and Mr Sokolov shepherded the Balfour Declaration through the negotiations to be included in the final settlement. Opposing these Zionist were... not the Arabs, but assimilationist Jews like Edwin Montagu, Claude Montefiore,  Jacob Schiff, Louis Marshall, Mayer Sulzberger, Henry Morgenthau. They felt that Zionism endangered the tranquility of wealthy Western Jews. The Zionist promised to demand British protectorate and join the British Commonwealth like Canada, Australia, South Africa. Weizman signed an agreement with (bribed?) King Faisal (pic) so he will not oppose the Zionists.

The Zionists won. But only partially, in the last moment half of Palestine was given to a relative of the Hejazi king, who at that time had conquered Damascus and was advancing towards Turkey. The Arabs speak till now of the English having betrayed them. We Zionists were half betrayed and have been working with incredible perseverance a hundred years to correct this situation.

BTW, the Versailles Peace Conference failed spectacularly. It resulted in a second WW and in permanent disorder in the Middle East. 

Greece, Egypt, Israel preparing for war against Turkey

Greece wants to buy French frigates (pic) to counter Turkish claims to its territorial waters. Another priority for the Hellenic Navy is upgrading four MEKO-type frigates by Lockheed Martin and the construction of four new MMCS frigates by 2025. Both Greece and Turkey are members of the North Atlantic Alliance.The dispute is about a gas pipeline from Cyprus to Italy to supply the European market. Israel is one partner in the project. Egypt is also aligned with Greece. 

Four Eyes Meets Five Eyes

As a child, I was called Four- Eyes, because of my Coca Cola bottle bottom glasses. Interestingly, there exists a secret alliance of intelligence services with an additional eye, it is called Five-Eyes. Hindu blogger Bhadrakumar writes that ex-CIA Director Pompeo has drawn India into a new ginger group of foreign ministers. This nascent group includes the foreign ministers of Israel, Japan and South Korea. Now, these 3 countries (plus Singapore) also happen to be “third-party contributors” to the Five Eyes — associate members who have been caught or are suspected of exchanging information with the Fourteen Eyes Alliance. The group may be visualized as the hard core of the West. Modi's Pivot toward America means aligning India with the West. I wonder if the out-of-the-box brainstorming sessions of the group are discussing how to divide up China. If Shanghai becomes international once more, it would be nice to have one old neighborhood re-assigned to us. I like China and the Chinese.

How to decolonize myself?

The worst blot in one's character is to be a colonizator  or a colonial master.  I decided to purify myself from this aberration. In my case, I was born and grew up in a central European provincial town, no diversity there. There had been no African slaves ever in the country and being landlocked, it never participated in any overseas colonization project. How can one decolonize oneself if it never was tainted by colonization?

For a start, one has to immerse itself in the colonial experience. I had to buy a Black slave and experience flogging him. In the Sinai peninsula I located a Bedouin tribe that had captured African would-be illegal immigrants to Israel. They were ready to sell me a Darfur boy for 500 dollars. After checking his teeth, I took the offer. I put the boy to plant cotton and sing blues. The cotton failed, I did not like his singing, so put him into goat herding. I bought some animals and rent pasture from the Bedouins. After a while concluded that I was not becoming a true colonial master and the experience was expensive. I paid the Bedouins a hundred dollars to return the slave. Neither Darfur nor the goats felt the difference. In the end, I failed to see the point of colonization and less of decolonization, so I am now back to my engineering job. I am my guilty slave-owner self once again. 

South Africa as Model

Some blogs are pointing to South Africa to illustrate the West's future as the European population is replaced and loses power. Apparently the decline of fertility of the West is irreversible, while African populations in the West and in Africa itself, are exploding. The developing scenario describes a mass of violent African adolescents and young adults, facing an aging and frightened White population. This is the scenario of the "I cant breath" riots a week ago.

I checked the situation of South Africa, and yes, the electrical company is collapsing but in general, the economy is growing and many skilled people that had left the country are returning. Even in a chaotic, corrupt, ungoverned country like Nigeria, resident Europeans are living in luxury, in big houses with many servants and enviable social life (pic), and prosperous.

May be the future is not so bad.   

The Chinese Bully provoking the West

China has allied itself to the clerical dictatorship of Iran, which is bad news for us and the West in general. China is acting like a bully, provoking the USA and trying to demonstrate its power and self-assurance. America is approaching elections and the political turbulence is weakening its posture. They have just advised their citizens to leave China since they are liable to find themselves in detention for sending a negative email on China or for no reason at all. The relations are worsening, it is like a new Cold War. I feel bitter at this turn of the events.   Ill.: Chinese Emperor.

Today something happened. The US for the first time called China's taking over the South China Sea - illegitimate. The Ronald Reagan battle group is patrolling the area. The situation is maturing towards an open confrontation.

The Natanz nuclear site in Iran was bombed, and no one knows who did it. It is urgent to destabilize and change Iran's evil regime. It is wonder that it lasts till now. 

Achieving Legality

Israel has been accepted to the board of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and as of July 12, 2020, will begin serving a three-year term in the organization. The board has 49 member states out of the 149 member states of the UN. On the other hand, the extension of sovereignty to the Valley of the River Jordan was filed and forgotten because the The Hague Court of Justice declared that it would be illegal.  Netaniyahu had to promise Macron that we shall respect international law.  

Zionism, from the Congress in Basel, set its objective of an independent country for the Jewish people, recognized by international law. They did not want a de-facto Jewish entity but a legal and recognized country. Jews in the modern times always strove for legal recognition, for example, they lived and traded almost freely in the German States, Hungary and France, but their position was precarious, semi-legal and unprotected. They demanded charters, like achieved by Prussian Jews, and Herzl spent his fortune trying to get one from the Turkish Sultan. Hundred years after, we are slowly achieving legality.

Corona Virus is a Racial Bioweapon

Paabo confirmed that those carrying Neanderthal genes tend to die from the Coronavirus, while the populations that have not mixed with Neanderthals develop lighter forms of the disease. Europeans are the most closely related to Neanderthals while the disease "repects" Australian and African natives. Northwest Italians like Ligurians (and Ashkenazi Jews) suffer high mortality rates in the current pandemic. Metaphorically, that virus is out there looking for me, trying to kill this old Jew. 

Crisis in Israel

The Government met today and declared strong measures in the political, health and economic spheres. Politically, the application of sovereignty to the uninhabited parts of the Palestinian Authority was frozen and forgotten, given the international protest. It was a balloon flown by Netaniyahu and then silently shot down. On the health front, we have serious outbreak of Corona virus, 4% of the tests are coming back positive. I try to get out the less possible. On the economic front, the Bank of Israel reassessed its numbers and the GNP will be minus 6% this years, with some luck. It promised to flood the market with money and TASE jumped accordingly. I am  worth 20% less than a year ago. I have much work because my clients, while actually starving, are receiving generous injections of bank loans for building and enlarging their current business. My daughters and their hombres are all having difficulties in their jobs. I am feeling depressed, even as the seqels are starting to pour in after three months of drought. 

The next Seven Year Plan

There is a world crisis going on out there and I am wondering how to position myself and what to do. In the last two months I have been sitting on the sidelines of the stock market, because I can't see the future. A bad flu has disordered the world economy, the central banks are printing money like crazy and the stock exchanges are stable. Oil and gas are worthless. China recognized the end of globalization and is developing its internal market.

I am nearing my second and final retirement date, and  see my physical powers declining. I am suffering from sciatica, walking is painful. I have to work out the next seven year plan, but doubt I shall survive and be working in 2027. Who knows?

Regarding age, I wonder what is in the minds of the Democratic Party leaders when selecting Joe Biden as their candidate. The man is an experienced political leader but suffered two severe brain operations and will be over eighty while President. America is engaged in a bad war with China and needs a pro-active s.o.b. pirate like Nixon or Trump.

BTW, what is doing that fat female winged personage in the center of the front of NYSE? There are also three children, something rarely seen today, but very central in former times in America. They knew that in the future rioting savages will try to deface and destroy it, so they set the composition high over street level. 

Wally and Dilbert, my Twin Brothers

Argentine Secret Service Operation (1977)

The door to the secret SIDE (the Argentine Secret Service) in the calle Bacacay of Buenos Aires  looks rather attractive but inside,  it contained dozens of very small cells  where the kidnapped persons were jailed and tortured till finally disposed. The SIDE had many such "tactical operation centers" in Buenos Aires and other towns. Some survived and recognized the place. This was in 1977 the year I left Argentina for New York.  Thanks Providence and my instincts.                                                                                                                                 Now the secrets are becoming public, thanks to the American Law that allows the publication of many secret documents. Above right the copy of the first page of a secret telegram from the American Embassy in Buenos Aires, reporting the kidnapping of an important Ambassador. Interesting how the American Embassy knew who did it, why and where, in real time, including the most intimate secrets of the military dictatorship. One has to assume that the Americans have a similar degree of knowledge about Israel today, if not even more intimate. 

Regarding the Ambassador, he was kidnapped by the gang led by Gordon, based in the house in the Bacacay street, without authorization by the SIDE, just as a privateer, freelance kidnapping for profit. In many similar cases, the families paid and the SIDE criminals freed the victims and pocketed the money. We who lived then and there, suspected antisemitism because many of the victims were Jewish, and in fact the SIDE suspected Jews but there was also a profit motive. In the case of the Ambassador, the family did not pay and the man was killed. The Americans knew everything in real time and I know for sure they saved some. Not like the current Pope who was the Principal of the Argentine Jesuits at that time. He did not move a finger even when his own "soldiers", French Jesuits, were kidnapped.