Israel, Developed

 

Forbes magazine ranked Israel number 20 among the wealthiest/developed countries by Gross Product per Capita. It is an artifact of the overvaluation of the sheqel and the worldwide depression caused by the epidemic. Anyway, it is an impressive expression of the success of Israel and the Zionist movement that built it. To emphasize how impressive this is, just remember that when I arrived in 1976 I received ration cards from my employer Tahal, had to buy eggs in the black market, and in general, people were poor. I had a hard time deciding if to buy an apartment here, as was unsure that Israel would last. 

Granddaughter

 

What to do when a ballistic missile is in free-fall on us

Yesterday a ballistic missile was fired on the nuclear reactor in Dimona. It missed by twenty kilometers.  If that was not enough to prove that they want us fried and dead, our Hamas enemies in Gaza are shooting at us non-stop with homemade rockets. The pic shows children in a kindergarten during an attack.  That blond kid in the upper corner did not get the idea of how to protect himself, not that it would make any difference. 
 

Fear

  I made two very large commitments to my beloved daughters. Shortly, I'll have to fulfill these obligations. I need TASE to be higher by then. Inflation would help. I do not understand why there is no inflation in the USA  and understand less why the Israeli Sheqel is permanently overvalued. Guru Suze Orman expects world bourses to crash.  

Die Zauberflöte

The Magic Flute, by Mozart. Unequaled. In the Royal Opera. It is expensive but must be seen at least once in life. 

I always knew I had a natural facility for music but ignored that I was an opera fan like my Father. European art is humanity's peak achievement. Nothing compares.

The Celiac Mystery

One of my grandkids has celiac disease and has to follow a lifelong gluten-free diet. The disease tends to cluster in families. Parents and siblings and first-degree relatives with celiac disease have between a 4 and 15 percent chance of developing the disorder. However, the inheritance pattern is unknown. I have no one among my relatives with the condition, but practically I have no blood relatives. This is a strange disease because Jewish diets contain cereals and it has been so for the last four thousand years - since the settling of Eretz Israel. Any mutation preventing the consumption of bread should have been eliminated long ago.  Celiac is genetic and related to the CCR gene family, inherited from the Neanderthalers. We also inherited from them the red hair gene. It is a mystery. 

God exists (and is Jewish)

 

Otherwise, the universe cannot be explained. At least I cannot, and no one else can. Not that it makes any difference in day-to-day living. 

Pic: the Boss structure (somewhere far away in the universe).