America Prospering under Biden

 Democrat Biden's Presidency is going well. It is unexpected because I am seeing ignorant, unqualified people pushed to powerful positions, like the Vicepresident and the recent Supreme Court nominee. On American TV and news, I am seeing brutish faces and many diverse females debating with titans of industry and science. It is difficult for me to get used to the new American faces. The WASPs have abandoned visible positions and went underground. But it doesn't seem to import. 

Demand/Price Curve Failing

Brazil is worried that their stock of fertilizers is insufficient and their suppliers - Russia and Ukraine - are inoperative. The remaining exporters - Israel and Canada - should be enjoying the unsatisfied demand. But no, their share prices are falling.   

How does this work? 

Guide for the Perplexed

 

The graph left shows TASE 35 index along the trading day. No direction at all. No one knows if we are into the recession (petrol over 110 US$, inflation 7%) or the renewed Cold War will harm us. I have to pay a large debt and don't know if to sell or to wait a week. The weekend is on us and my mood is grey. Tehila and Noya are here, they ignore me.  

Putin's Mistake

Putin menaced Western Europe with nuclear weapons, and all the West fell in line.  Finland immediately asked for NATO protection and so many others. Commentary writes: 

Germany has abandoned pacifism. The German chancellor announced this weekend that his country would raise defense spending to two percent of GDP, scuttle the Nord Stream II pipeline, invest in liquid natural-gas terminals, and export lethal armaments to Ukraine. Sweden and Switzerland have abandoned neutrality. Bern will join the West’s sanctions regime, denying Russia a financial haven and an avenue to launder money, and Sweden is sending thousands of anti-tank weapons to the Ukrainian front. Passive actors like Denmark and Belgium are dispatching weapons and even irregular fighters to the frontlines. Putin-friendly figures like Hungary’s Viktor Orban and Turkey’s Recep Erdoğan have fallen in line with the West. The European Union is finally acting on its ambitions to serve as a defense force by shipping fighter aircraft across the Ukrainian border. And non-aligned states including Sweden, Finland, and Kosovo are making noises about seeking NATO membership.

History did not end, war-loving Nordics will not settle in their huts but keep looking for a fight. 

 

War Sentiment

 

Yesterday. the German Chancellor announced a large budget for weapons, and today he is making a surprise visit to Israel. Elbit, a weapons manufacturer, became suddenly 7.5% more expensive, yet - or because - I bought. Also, South Korea is equipping its new Red Back vehicle. It is a bad day in the bourse, yet I am 5000 shekels ahead. Wars are good: America will focus on what is important, and forget its sick fixation with felling horseback statues. Welcome, Olaf. 

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Feeling unsettled

 I accepted a project of a gym studio that became a full country club and then gradually expanded with a swimming pool, a technical building with pumps and heat exchangers, and then the drainage of a large park and so on. I had invested months of hard work for three months and they were harassing me every day for more and more urgent changes. I gave up, having lost my time and my expected remuneration. I feel unsettled, from now on I shall accept only small projects (but this was a small project!) and define strict payment schedules. I am an old man and these failures make my BP rise. 

Salt makes the body hold on to water, putting extra stress on the heart and blood vessels. Salt -- and worry, and anger -- aren't the only things that can raise blood pressure. Although temporary "spikes" aren't necessarily a problem, numbers that remain high over time can cause serious damage.

Xi Jinping gives a lecture on Inscrutability

 

The Renmin Ribao reports a recent conversation between Xi and Putin.   

　　Xi Jinping pointed out that recently, the situation in eastern Ukraine has undergone rapid changes, which has drawn great attention from the international community. China decides its position based on the merits of the Ukraine issue itself. We must abandon the Cold War mentality, attach importance to and respect the legitimate security concerns of all countries, and form a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism through negotiations. China supports Russia and Ukraine to resolve the issue through negotiation. China's basic position on respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries and abiding by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter is consistent. China is willing to work with all parties in the international community to advocate a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concept, and firmly safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law.

Where stands China?  Who knows? They are inscrutable.  

P.D: A commenter says that Xi's message is crystal clear: "Abandon Cold War mentality", "Respect territorial integrity"... etc.  Xi is against the war in Ukraine.