I have been thinking

 The stock exchange is at all-time height and many Israelis and foreign Jews are having extra money to invest. Given the political unrest in America, the number of apartments bought in 2020 by American Jews is growing. Many prefer their children to study in Israel, integrated with Jews and it is also cheaper. Given the insoluble scarcity of land in Israel, as well as of good construction workers, prices will keep rising. Rent from second apartments is in practice tax free, as the tax is unenforceable and it is not being collected. I'll proceed with my project of a second property - not for me, but for my poor hardworking daughters. 

David Irving examines the Holocaust

 I just read Irving's thesis about Hitler and the Holocaust. He says that after the war the Germans (including in Nurnberg) decided to blame it all on a mad Hitler. But there is no record of Hitler ever giving extermination orders, on the contrary, it was the German and other European peoples' overenthusiasm to punish and kill Jews. Irving, basically, agrees with Arthur Koestler's conclusion written closely after WWII, that the cause of the Holocaust was the passionate desire of European peoples to get rid of the Jews. That there were many opportunities to save Jews even in the middle and the very end of the war, but they did not want to save them. Hungarian Jewry could certainly be saved. The Nazis stopped when meeting with the slightest opposition, like in Albania, Bulgaria, even early Horthy. BTW, I wanted to re-read Unz's article, and can't find it.  

(Still) Waiting for My Man

Leo Leiderman surprised

 

"I was surprised by two main findings. Israel is rated in first place in macroeconomic stability indices. This impressive result reflects fiscal and monetary discipline enforced here over the years, as reflected in sustained low inflation and a substantial reduction to 61% in the ratio of public debt to GDP. The second surprise is the extent to which Israel actually has at least two economies: the technology industries and all of the rest, leaving us in only 45th place overall in the rate of technological adoption. The great paradox is linked to the question of whether we really are the startup nation."

Leo thinks the bourse is not overly expensive relative the low interest rates. Prices will not fall while interest rates are close to zero. He has such a strong Cordobes (provincial) accent that I could not stop laughing.

The Chinese Nail Murders

A Robert Van Gulik early Judge Dee story. I identified the next victim of dog-official Dee in the first pages: Wealthy landowner Chu, a nice fellow with 8 wives and no children. Dee carefully investigated him and in open tribunal presented the case against him, Chu feigned madness to escape death, Dee explained that Chu, having no children, must have some body defect and everybody knows that a man like like him cannot be mentally sane. The management of Chu's business affairs passed to the Tribunal, which sent away the wives with some money and one can imagine what happened to the rest of his fortune. The Magistrate's three wives had travelled and the sex-crazy Dee got complicated in several bad women affairs, to the point that he lost his authority and had to resign. The wife of the pharmacist saved him and the Judge accused her of a murder (hammering a long nail into her husband's brain). Dee is so straight that for him, "Justice" is blind. Chinese stories are sport but I am done with them.  

Les Indes galantes. Les Sauvages

Forêts paisibles,

Jamais un vain désir ne trouble ici nos cœurs.

S’ils sont sensibles,

Fortune, ce n’est pas au prix de tes faveurs.

 

(Chœur des sauvages):

Forêts paisibles,

Jamais un vain désir ne trouble ici nos cœurs.

S’ils sont sensibles,

Fortune, ce n’est pas au prix de tes faveurs.]

 

Dans nos retraites,

Grandeur, ne viens jamais

offrir de tes faux attraits!

Ciel, tu les as faites

pour l’innocence et pour la paix.

Chinese Belt Project

 The Chinese are offering us a grand infrastructure project linking by rail the Port of Haifa (which they are building) and the ports of the Arab Gulf. It would reduce Egypt's income from the Suez Canal, but open profitable trade opportunities for everybody. In fact, China is taking up Imperial Britain's role of organizing world trade, and no one in its right mind would stay outside.