Israel, the Expensive

 The local currency, the Shekel, has hardened in the last weeks, strengthening the buying power of Israelis. The catch is that Israelis cannot leave the country, and if they do, they will be sent to isolation for two weeks. A nice holiday in Scotland would be very cheap for me, but I cannot make it.  Why the shekel is so strong? One, the ongoing devaluation of the dollar (to pay for the epidemic) and two, Israeli export successes.  Pic: Governoress (?) of Bank of Israel Karnit Flug.

Was the killing of Martyr Fakhrizadeh a Remote operated or Autonomous Robot Killing ?

According to Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), no hit man was involved in the assassination, adding that the distinguished figure was killed in a complicated operation that involved electronic equipment without any assassin at the scene.

This assassination in enemy country shows a tremendous technological advance, with the probable use of a self-driving car and a remote operated machine gun. And intelligence when the target can be hit on that road, and identification of the prospective martyr among the dozen body guards around. This operation demonstrates how much Israel has advanced since killing that Hamas chieftain in Gaza two years ago. In Gaza a tender full of toys was used to penetrate enemy territory with armed personnel on board. The ruse was discovered and the Israelis had to be evacuated with another vehicle - under fire. The Fakhrizadeh operation was better planned and executed. Probably it cost less than 200,000 US$. It means that no enemy is safe anywhere. The robot pictured is real and works for the Dallas Police, and already has killed human evildoers.

Protein folding

 A British computer company has solved the problem of protein folding. I met this area in Tel Aviv University, chatting with a young researcher. He explained to me what he was doing but I not see the relevance of the issue, he looked just another sitting in front a computer. That was forty years ago. 

This advance in artificial intelligence means that in one or two generations, all what will be left for humanity to do is Facebook: cooking and baking, sports and computer games, entertainment. Maybe not: competition and war will require us to advance evermore. I can see no end nor purpose. I would like to believe in God that has arranged all this and it means good. Depressing.

High Quality Cannabis

 

Already I have planned two cannabis farms, but newer things are appearing in the horizon. In Tzipporit, the Galilee, an indoor vertical farm is being erected with an investment of ten million dollars. The IPO has been announced and the demand is strong. Traditional open air agriculture is passe. Cannabis needs new lines with high content of desired molecules. Dr Chaim Tzaban's dream of developing a suitcase export agriculture (meaning export oriented very high value plant products) is slowly becoming reality. 

The place is in the middle of densely populated Arab area. The villages have spread and from the satellite one can see house upon house in a disordered pattern, with no open air cultivated land left. The Galilee is becoming an urban Arab slum. 

(Personal: My childhood friend Victor Haar is dying in a hospital in Buenos Aires. Corona virus. An irreplaceable loss, at my age cannot make new friends.) 

Our Ally the Saudi King

There is an Arab saying that "Christians secretly fear Jewish power because the Jews crucified their Prophet, while Muslims have no fear because the Prophet Muhammed defeated the Jews in the battle of Khaybar".  Thus, normal, peaceful relations with the Muslims are possible and are only a question of time and opportunity. And the time has come, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly met Saudi Arabia’s crown prince in the kingdom on Sunday. I foresee the time when the Americans get tired of protecting the oil fields, as did the British seventy years ago, the role may well fall on Zahal.

Israel reconnects with the global oil market

 In a modest way, I am working on the water and sewage infrastructure renovation of the Ashkelon oil terminal, preparing to convey Gulf oil to Europe and China maybe. Seventy years after the abandonment of the TAP Line, after many failed projects (like the society with the Shah) and after not less than seventy years of persistent efforts, we are back in the oil market.  

Is high IQ a disease? Are high IQ people criminals?

Make short exploration on the internet about IQ and you will be surprised that the items you are directed to suggest that high IQ is something horrible, detestable, sick, that people who has contracted it is barely able to carry on with their lives. I say contracted because there is no indication that it may be inherited, moreover, if to believe the internet, it probably does not exist. In this situation, may be it would be advantageous to stop blogging to  avoid trouble. For no gain to me. Once I stopped and deleted my blog, I may do it again.