Israel Closed

El Al suspended flights to the USA. The travel and tourism industries are paralyzed.  I am following the corona disease on the net, but I am still unconvinced that the world is not over-reacting. It seems to me a common cold like we have every winter. The Chinese government brutal reaction has alarmed the whole world, if they are taking such extreme measures then humanity must be facing something terrible. Maybe the Chinese leadership wanted to be seen this time as honest and transparent, not as like with the SARS epidemy. The worst is the bourse's volatility, I wonder if it is a good time to buy on the cheap. My people went hysteric when I suggested it. I cannot even consult with a god, since the mosques are closed (pic), the Chief Rabbi forbid kissing mezuzot and even the Pope is sick. Well, I have to work and finish this Munier project. 

Schweizerische Kreditanstalt in Argentina

Before the era or Peron, there was a short time when Argentina established a committee to investigate Nazi affairs in Argentina. Now a list of money transfers from the Swiss Bank (today called Credit Suisse) to known Nazis in Argentina was discovered, and it is probable that much of it is money extracted (*) from Jews under the Nazi regime. The pedantic German recordkeeping is turning on the criminals - eighty years after.

(*) Not figuratively. Gold dentures. 

Celebrating Purim and the end of Coronavirus!

Winter has officially ended in Kever Benjamin Village. Temperature over 27 degrees Celsius. Heat kills all flu virus, so bye bye coronavirus! 

Pigs and Dogs Puzzle

Richard Feynman and his wife were having a holiday in Guatemala. The wife joined a tour and he was bored in the hotel room. He wondered about the strange figures in the tourist magazine. The Mayan numbering system appeared to be based on the number nine, while the Mayan calendar was still a mystery. Feynman recognized its multi-cyclical nature based on cycles of 240 and 365 days and that very afternoon solved the riddle. Now that I have told you the key, you can easily verify it on the Mexican calendar stone (at the right). Fortunately, still there are ancient riddles waiting to be solved, and here is one.

Three thousand years ago the people in the Middle East  had a board game, the first in the world. Recently a complete set of figures was unearthed (see pic) but the board could not be found. The game set consists of colored stones, something must be related to the color in the game. The two main animal figures are pigs and dogs. Considering the shapes and numbers of the stones, it appears that the game is based on number four. 

Anybody spending a lazy afternoon in a hotel room? Could you retro-engineer this game? 

Israel escaped by a hair breadth

The leftist media waged a dirty campaign against Netaniyahu to the point that I was fearing that he may not win this elections. In that case, Israel would have spent another year without a government  flying on autopilot, unable to take decisions. Fortunately, the masses dismissed all leftwing propaganda and the Likud party won a large victory. The opposition party, Blue and White, formed ad hoc by three different fractions, will now disintegrate and disappear as if never existed. Its leader, Gantz, a former general, resulted no public speaker, and impressed me (and others) as a weak personality. So we will have again an able prime minister. Pity he comes attached with that psycho "First Lady" who never leaves him alone. 

Turkey - Syria (Russia) Border War

Turkey is waging an air campaign run entirely by armed drones backed up by heavy rocket artillery. It has destroyed three Soviet anti-air batteries. Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said Ankara destroyed eight Syrian helicopters, 103 tanks, 72 artillery and rocket launchers, and three air defence systems. This is a new, advanced type of attack, with almost no infantry or mechanized forces. For me this already counts as war. Turkey is a serious force, a reborn regional hegemon, and does not hesitate attacking Russia. Pic: The capture of Azov by the Russians, 1696. 

Virus Phylogeny

Someone in Washington State, USA, created this graph showing the evolution of the coronavirus. It appears that WA2 variety in the USA is not a new introduction from China but descendant of WA1 found previously in the country. It means that the WA virus has been around for several weeks and evolving. Other lines also are evolving independently. Maybe the Japanese doctor's approach is the most appropriate: The virus cannot be contained, most people will be infected and feel nothing, a few will develop flu, seniors may develop pneumonia and be treated in a hospital. The Wuhan statistics are mostly meaningless.