Nog kolonies pikkewyne in antarktika ontdek

Pikkewyne means pinguins in South African Dutch. 

Beirut Self-Destroys

All the papers say that someone forgot 2700 ton ammonium nitrate (a fertilizer) in Beirut port and that it exploted spontaneously. Bullshit. No one forgets nothing, the storage costs money and someone has to be the owner and pay the rent. In 2018 Netaniyahu spoke in the United Nations' General Assembly and pointed out Site Number One - a Hizballah weapons deposit in the Beirut port, near the water. I wonder if that was what exploded, as well as the fertilizer, producing a large crater and  a fantastic mushroom. 

UTA's Racine Lab from pure science to profitable industry

Thirty years ago I met Mr Racine from France, at the inauguration of the Racine Root Laboratory in the University of Tel Aviv. It looked more or less like the pic below. I thought then that the money could be spent better on other lab. I was wrong and shortsighted, because the pic is from a commercial medical Cannabis plantation at Tirat Yehuda moshav, proving the vision of Mr Racine and the importance of apparently useless research. I feel so stupid and small...  

Herzliya WWTP to be razed

I have a sentimental attachment to the Herzliya wastewater treatment plant which I upgraded in the 1990's. I built the settling tank and planned the sludge treatment towers and the main office bldg. When submitting the budget request, I recommended instead to connect to the Shaf-Dan system in Rishon LeZion, as the nearest pipe was only 1500 away. The Municipal Boss Eli rejected my suggestion because he did not want to be dependent from the ShafDan monopoly, notorious for blackmailing and exploiting its clients. 

Why the decision to write off the 30 million shekel invested in the plant? The reason is Herzliya is now the local Silicon Wadi and real estate is most valuable. In addition to the 1,230 homes, of which 246 will be allocated for small apartments, immediately east of the Ayalon Highway (Road 20), there will be 35,000 square meters of commercial space, as well as public buildings, a public transport terminal and a park. The housing will be in blocks 10 floors high although there will also be two residential towers of 35-floors each. There will also be a bridge over Road 20 and the railway linking the new Herzliya neighborhood to Derekh Yavne in Ramat Hasharon to the west. A whole new city 5 km off from Tel Aviv. 

The plant is built on an abandoned Arab agricultural complex. The "manor", in my times, served as a "hostel" to illegal Palestinian workers. The high tech area of Herzliya is very impressive and luxurious. Zionism has more than fulfilled Herzl's vision of a developed nation.   

Argentina Defaults the Third Time in Row

The Peronist Government of Argentina declared that has no money to repay the monster loan received after the last default. Fools bought more than a hundred billion dollars worth of loans, including hundred-years bonds which - in another universe - will be paid back around 2120.  The creditors, mostly American investment firms, had no choice but negotiate with President Alberto. Their position was very weak, they have no gunboats and the Cave Canem sorry Caveat Emptor Latin legal principle is still in effect. They had to accept 55 cents for dollar of debt. Make no mistake, no one is transferring actual money to their accounts. They will receive new bonds and promissory notes and securities with assurances that this time they are serious and some future government actually may contemplate paying out something to those vultures capitalists. 

I told them not to be greedy. But they are fools.  

Dragon Boats Race in the Grand Canal

Van Gulik describes the boat race in the Grand Canal that transverses his district. One of the drummers collapses and dies (poisoned). The public rejoices because the White Woman, the river goddess, has therefore been paid her due, an annual human sacrifice, and she will bring good harvests and good fish catch. The psychology of the tension before the sacrifice, followed by the general eruption of joy and free drinking, is well described. The Dutch have been in the Far East for five hundred years, and have a deep understanding of its peoples. Van Gulik's China makes sense and it is a good distraction in these troubled times in Israel and for me, as my daughter is divorcing and I cannot sleep at night.  

The Greedy Mandarin 法官狄 Tee

Another Robert Van Gulik mystery of the famous Chinese Judge Dee. Van Gulik was a Dutch diplomat that spent many years in China. The job must have been boring and he became so fascinated with Chinese Classics that he took up the stories of Judge Dee, an historical magistrate who lived during the Tang Dynasty, and wrote a dozen new Judge Dee adventures.

Judge Dee appears in these books as a cruel, rapacious dictator of the Poo-Yang district. In The Emperor's Pearl there are three murders in the first day and Dee, as is his habit, directs his attention to the wealthiest families of the town. Dee maneuvers skillfully the judicial investigation till the rich serial killer confesses and his wealth is duly confiscated by the Judge. The psychological background is clear: Yang is in love with Gold Lotus, he raped her and was rejected, causing him a compulsive mania to punish and murder dozens of prostitutes.

The adventure ends satisfactorily with a full confession of Yang, where all the facts fall into place; Yang's fortune passes into the hands of the Judge, and everybody stands in awe of his rectitude and intellect. In the end, the clairvoyant Judge finds the Emperor's long lost pearl hidden in a nest. He writes the entertaining story of his achievements to the Emperor and returns him his fabulous pearl, gaining the favor of his superiors in addition to gold and fame.