Henry

Henry Kissinger meets China's Foreign Minister. He is 100 years old. The pic does not show the Minister, who has not been seen for the last month. Maybe he has some skin disease, who knows? Henry is in good health. Ad mea ve-esrim! Till 120 ! and he intends to!

Patriarchy

 

Veii (pic god) was the Southern City of the Etruscan nation, which was at permanent war with the Latin nation. Rome (16 km) was its nearest Latin settlement. After hundreds of years of hostility, Rome conquered and evacuated Veii. Rome had been burned down and impoverished by the Gaul incursion, so the plebeian population decided to abandon the city and move in mass to the vacant homes and fertile farms of Veii. 

Livius writes that the Senators descended personally to the Forum to beseech them to stay and not forsake the sacred Temple of Jupiter on the Capitol and the hallowed fire in the Temple of the Vestals. The tribes voted and the Senators won by one tribe. Then, the Senate voted to distribute the ager veii among the populace, 15000 sq, m. to each adult male. 

Livius comments that the Senate hoped that having a farm will encourage them to form families and produce children. Rome was engaged in continuous wars and needed soldiers. The government was always promoting marriage with patriarchal legislation (extremely favorable to married men. A Paterfamilias was empowered to the point of selling wife and children into slavery), subsidies to children, and free bread distribution. It did not work. The Greeks before them had the same depopulation problem. Europe today abolished patriarchy and men are almost powerless, yet still, it is fast losing population. The Chinese had their Confucian cult of ancestors. It was discarded as soon as Western ideas reached them. 

What works? 

----

Los Agotes

 

“Al agote, garrotazo en el cogote” es un dicho popular de algunas zonas de Navarra que ilustra muy bien la gran discriminación que han sufrido los agotes.

Los agotes (cagots in French) no constituían un grupo étnico ni religioso diferenciado. Su lengua y fe eran las de la población de la zona en que se hallaban. Anatómicamente no eran diferentes del resto, y aún así, durante casi ocho siglos fueron víctimas de discriminación socioeconómica por lo que su condición de minoría social era exclusivamente fruto de la marginación.

-Se les impedía contraer matrimonios con el resto de la población, lo cual está en el origen de una gran endogamia. Para evitarla se buscaba relaciones con los agotes de las regiones francesas próximas, produciéndose mayor rechazo social.

-Se les obligaba a vivir fuera de los núcleos habitados.

-Debían vestir ropajes para que se les identificara como agotes y llevar un signo rojo similar a la huella de pata de oca o pato.

-En muchos lugares estaban obligados a hacer sonar una campanilla a su paso, para que los no agotes pudieran apartarse a tiempo.

-En las iglesias navarras, los agotes eran situados en un hueco bajo el coro, el campanario o la escalera para oír misa. Era frecuente tener puerta propia llamada Agoten Athea, situada al lado de la puerta principal, siendo más baja y estrecha que la principal.

-Para bautizar a los agotes se usaba una pila bautismal diferenciada del resto.

-En general en las iglesias navarras había una raya en el suelo, que les impedía acceder a una parte de la iglesia, es decir, tenían prohibido acercarse al altar. En la iglesia de Arizkun no existía esa línea separadora, sino que se levantó una verja.

-La eucaristía les era entregada con un bastón o similar.

-Se reservaba una zona no consagrada en los cementerios para excomulgados, hechiceros, suicidas y agotes. Los agotes eran enterrados al caer la tarde y sin campanas.

-Entre otras muchas prohibiciones, no se les permitía criar ganado, beber en las fuentes públicas o participar en bailes y fiestas.

-Cuando había ofrendas, las donadas por los agotes eran recogidas y puestas aparte de las del resto de los fieles.

-En el valle del Baztan, no podían sentarse en la misma mesa que los nativos del valle.

-Si un hombre no agote se casaba con una mujer agote, los hijos serían agotes. Si al agote le favorecía la fortuna y se hacía rico y se casaba con una mujer no agote, se les cantaba unas coplas burlescas en el día de su boda por lo que se les amargaba la ceremonia.

Los agotes no podían pisar el suelo descalzos, bajo la pena de abrasarles las plantas de los pies, pues se decía que donde pisaba un agote, la hierba no volvía a crecer y por ejemplo que si sostenía una manzana en la mano se podría, ya que los agotes tenían la sangre más caliente. Por eso tenían prohibido tocar la fruta en el mercado, ni podían tampoco tocar animales en las cuadras, ni pescar.

-Se les daba la paz en la iglesia con el portapaz puesto al revés y cubierto con paño. En algunos lugares se pretendía que ni se les diese la paz, sino dejársela en un banco donde ellos la pudieran tomar.

-No podían ser ordenados sacerdotes y además, en un juicio, el testimonio de siete hombres libres equivalía al de treinta agotes. Existe un documento datado en el año 1597 que dice “¡Cállate agote! Tu opinión cuenta menos que la de un perro ¡No eres nadie!”.

The cagots, apparently, were descendants of lepers. People feared the contamination of that terrible disease.

Thames Water

 

JAHAZIEL

 JAHAZIEL jə hā’ zĭ əl (יַחֲזִיאֵל׃֙, God sees). 1. One of David’s mighty men who joined him at Ziklag (1 Chron 12:4).

2. One of two priests appointed to blow trumpets before the Ark when David brought it to Jerusalem (1 Chron 16:6).

3. A Kohathite Levite who lived in the time of David (1 Chron 23:19; 24:23).

4. An Asaphite Levite who encouraged King Jehoshaphat of Judah and his army to fight against the Moabite and Ammonite invaders (2 Chron 20:14ff.).

5. The ancestor of a family of exiles who returned to Jerusalem (Ezra 8:5; 1 Esd 8:32; KJV, ASV Jezelus).

I had never noticed this Biblical name till watching Evangelical neighborhood churches in Gran Buenos Aires.  Formal Catholicism has disappeared among the poor in South America, and the Evangelicals from South USA (White and Black) are winning believers. The pastors are independent entrepreneurs, some call themselves prophets, and use many Israeli symbols. They are ignorant but charismatic and have rhythm.  They are pro-Israel.

"Unusual"

Ukraine supports 90% of anti-Israel decisions in the United Nations, said the Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine Michael Brodsky. "This is unusual considering Kyiv often turns to the Israeli authorities for various requests," he said. "If Ukraine sees Israel as a friendly nation and makes requests from it, then it needs to support us in the matters that are important to us just as Israel works with Ukraine on matters important to it."

In a UN vote in January on referring Israel to the International Court of Justice for its “occupation, settlement and annexation of Palestinian territory”, Ukraine voted against Israel in the draft and didn't cast a vote in the main round after its ambassador to Israel was summoned.

In a word: Zhelensky is not a friend. 

Timna and the Tribe of Ephraim

Nissim Amzaleg writes in HaAretz about the emergence of the people of Israel. The Timna copper mines were the scene of the rebellion and escape of Amalekite slave miners. They destroyed the local temple of goddess Hathor (pic) and erected a tent sanctuary instead. It was circa 1200 BC. They settled among mountain Canaanites, as described. Joshua, an Ephraimite, led the copper miners' tribe. They could not pronounce "Shibboleth" they spoke with an "s".  

When touring Sinai (Then, it was ours!), stopped at the Timna mines and visited the underground galleries. That was forty-five years ago and already I was too fat for any exploration in that terrible heat. There were multiple holes that served as ventilation vents. At that time, the site was deserted and virgin, now development & tourism has ruined it. I took pictures but I am not going to search for them now.