Me, worry...?

 For the record, Paul Krugman says on Yahoo that the dollar interest rate is extremely high, and at the same time, the dollar is losing value.  Conclusion: The world is losing confidence in us. The Treasury said that it cannot see how the US can repay its foreign debt, causing Krugman to wonder what made him say that.

The NasNas

We in the Middle East have an abundance of Djinns, which are even mentioned in the Holy Koran and seen by innumerable generations. The most interesting of this cryptid family are the Nasnas - see left illustration -. Unfortunately, I have little recent information on the nasnas, but I promise I shall expound on it - eventually. Just now, a Houthi missile is coming in directly at my neighborhood.

The Fearsome Hodag Cryptid

The ferocious, fearsome horned HODAG is a famous cryptid roaming (but captured only once in the 19th Century) the white cedar and black ash forests of Northern Wisconsin, near the city of Rhinelander. It was born, according to local legends, from pets tortured to death by their owners. It is included in the List of Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN).

Vomitabile

The Italian President's word for the President of France.  

"Vomitabile" is an Italian adjective meaning "vomit-inducing." It describes something so repulsive that it makes you feel nauseous. 

It's a strong term to express revulsion in Italian.

The Most Serious Military Threat Since Cold War

 

Pic.: Pitt speaking in the Parliament.

The British leader, Starmer, said that the U.K. Faces Most Serious Military Threat Since Cold War, and declared a state of war against Russia and ordered the strengthening of the army. 

On the other side of the Atlantic, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon warned of a crack in the bond market and said the U.S. should be stockpiling military equipment instead of Bitcoin.

As Victor Davis Hanson writes in "The Father of All," war is not caused by material reasons. "It is time to smack the asses of unruly children", said Xi justifying China's attack on Viet Nam. 

The West is rearming. 

Alarming.

The Soul-Sapping Grind of Re-planning a Grocery Store in Bureaucratic Israel

 
For ten days, I have been working (WORKING!) on updating a supermarket in an industrial zone in the periphery. The Client is going crazy, they want it - yesterday! I am fed up; I have other projects waiting. And really, I do not need the money. I am an old-old man who works because that is the only thing he knows. Better people than I are resting in Punta del Este or are long dead. 

Are we living in the inferno?

 YOU MIGHT think it would be impossible for the inferno in Israel and Gaza to burn hotter. Yet Binyamin Netanyahu is fuelling three simultaneous emergencies: a humanitarian one in Gaza; a torching of support among European allies; and a constitutional crisis over who controls the security services, army and courts. The pressure on Israel and its institutions is almost unbearable for the country. A culminating moment is probably imminent. 

Quote from The Economist. I respect The Economist's journalists. But living here, I don't see what they see. Should I believe The Economist, or my shortsighted eyes?

P.D.: Only a month ago, The Economist thought Israel was full of hubris, victorious and expanding.