Eco-corridors in their minds

 In an important project, I am being asked to report on its impact on the eco-corridors. I am fighting so the project will not become another victim of the Society for the Protection of Nature's campaign to protect eco-corridors for wildlife (see green patches on the map). The existence of such corridors first gained statutory recognition in 2016 within the framework of an amended National Master Plan for Construction, Development and Conservation (“TAMA 35”). 25% of Israel has been reserved for "Nature". In the green areas, no development and no building will be permitted. 

As witnessed last week in Sheikh-Jarrah, where the Government tried to evict 23 illegal occupants and failed, we are impotent against Arabs. The wilderness protection legislation will be applied only to Jews. De facto apartheid indeed. 

Job in Barkan Industrial Zone

 

Avgol sold its Barkan factory five years ago (because of its location in the West Bank), and now it has been rented by another company. The place has 3000 square meters. I am designing the water and wastewater systems for the new occupant. I have been involved in the Barkan industrial park since its establishment twenty-five years ago. This morning I drove around and was amazed at how much it has developed. It can be compared with any midsize European park.

Lod Today

 I went this morning to a food company I am advising for the last twenty years.  They are situated on the border between Lod and Ramle, both with a large Arab population. Lod is the center of the civil disorder aka riots aka pogrom in Israel. The police national commander moved its HQ to the Lod police station. In the factory everything was quiet, one young Palestinian woman (a secretary) greeted me with coffee and after some banter, I asked for a kiss and she embraced me. Never happened to me. The boss, a tall Ashkenazi, was stressed out and did not focus. Then came Faddy the supervisor, a really intelligent Arab fellow, and we worked out a program. I enjoy working with high IQ people and it was nice to meet Faddy again. This year they paid 30,000 dollars penalty for excess salt and lipids in the wastewater. No factory is able to comply with the draconian laws of this country. Clearly, it did not break them since they are taking over the neighboring property. 

Pic.: Eggplant. I'm allergic to it.  

Scandal in the Family

 

The Berlin Tiergarten (Zoo) discovered that they had mated two siblings Russian polar bears, and the lovely polar baby is the product of incest. It was decided that the female will have no more sex. 

Another worrisome fact is that polar bears are not white, but their skin is black. Without the camouflage, they look like big ugly dogs. 

Something New

 I designed a large hothouse and got the necessary permits. That is what I imagined. 

My project report started to circulate within the deep bureaucracy and each office searched for reasons to kill the project. The Nature Authority demanded a detailed lighting schedule, to evaluate the light polluting potential of the project. They directed me to a 50 pg manual about light pollution. 

The project has no night illumination, the crops grow under natural light conditions. I know that is not the answer they will accept. I need to produce an illumination timetable. 

A dry gully nearby has been declared an ecological corridor and I have to submit an analysis of how the project will affect it.  Israel has been chock-full with humans since the Neanderthals. No "Nature" left here: not as shown on BBC documentaries and none as they understand it. They are practically asking me to invent it. I"ll work out the daily drinking schedule of the lions and the buffalos in the inexistent water hole, the ecologists will have their imaginary nature, the project will be approved and everybody will be happy.  

Asperger Superpowers

 

Very high intelligence.

• Good verbal skills; rich vocabulary.
• Ability to absorb and retain large amounts of information.
• Ability to think in visual images.
• Be self-motivated, independent learners.
• Propensity to think outside the box and generate novel solutions to problems.
• Ability (in some cases a preference) for spending time alone.
• Take an interest in arcane or off-beat fields of knowledge.
• Concentrate for long periods of time on reading, experimenting, writing,
• Avoid wasting time on some activities that appeal to neurotypical people.
• Ability to notice small details of an idea, theory, number pattern, book, film, object, or visual image.
• Ability to perform repetitive tasks where accuracy, rules, and routine are important.
• Strong work ethic; commitment to quality and accuracy of work.
• Play with language and create puns.
• Enjoy sarcasm and satire.
• Relish life’s absurd, dark, or incongruous side.
• See through empty rhetoric or conventional pieties.
• Ability and tendency to tell the truth—even if it’s not tactful or in one’s self-interest.
• Desire and tendency to follow rules.

Really?

HAMAS's Big Mistake

 https://www.facebook.com/groups/349452458553546/permalink/1932515320247244/

A video from Gaza by the Gazans themselves. Bombing out the military tunnels under the streets. The comments say that HAMAS had ordered its people to hide in the tunnels. 

The assault was prefaced by a deliberate ruse in which the IDF indicated it was opening a ground offensive — prompting Hamas to send its fighters, including commanders, into the tunnels. No reports of any casualties.