Lebanon

Lebanon hosts a large number of "refugees" such as descendants of the 1948 Palestinians to recently arrived Syrians. The air pic shows Aïn el-Héloué "camp" (in fact, a dense neighborhood) of Tzidon. 60,000 persons live in 0.3 sq. km. and are maintained by the Americans. Last week there was a confrontation between armed factions, with 8 deaths. Lebanon does not allow its integration into the local population and economy.

Like Job

It is not only that my first friends are almost all dead, but also their children have reached middle age and are falling sick. Like Job, I may see the third and fourth generation following me on Earth.

 "Job (Ayub) was a prosperous man, with faith in Allah, living somewhere in the north-east corner of Arabia. He suffers from a number of calamities: his cattle are destroyed, his servants slain by the sword, and his family crushed under his roof. But he holds fast to his faith in Allah. As a further calamity he is covered with loathsome sores from head to foot. He loses his peace of mind, and he curses the day he was born. His false friends come and attribute his afflictions to sin. These "Job's comforters" are no comforters at all, and he further loses his balance of mind, but Allah recalls to him all His mercies, and he resumes his humility and gives up self-justification. He is restored to prosperity, with twice as much as he had before; his brethren and friends come back to him; he had a new family of seven sons and three fair daughters. He lived to a good old age, and saw four generations of descendants. All this is recorded in the Book of Job in the Old Testament. Of all the Hebrew writings, the Hebrew of this Book comes nearest to Arabic."

Recession begins

 

"De-industrialization begins" Laxness specialty chemicals CEO warns. Also, Chinese trade fell by 10%.  

It is not good.

Borrowing from usurers to pay debts

 
Aug 4 (Reuters) - Argentina's government agreed with Qatar a $775 million loan to use to make an International Monetary Fund (IMF) repayment due this Friday. The loan is to be repaid in 32 days and any default will be judged in Britain.

Argentina is grappling with a severe economic crisis with sky-high inflation and falling central bank reserves and is facing IMF repayments.

The Qatar loan will have the IMF's variable interest rate applicable to SDRs (IMF currency), which is currently 4.033% per annum. The funds will "fund the payment of Argentina's maturity with the IMF (for charges and surcharges) on August 4, 2023." The repayment will be made with a $1 billion bridge loan from the regional development bank CAF and $1.7 billion from the second tranche of a swap with China.

I know that Argentina is broke but asking for a short-term shark-loan from an Arab usurer is the road to debt-slavery. It will lose its independence and be sucked dry by those well-known Arab slave merchants. 

Potash, down 33%

Last year there was a general expectation that the Russia-Ukraine war will cause an undersupply situation in the fertilizer market, but then the Canadians sent increasing quantities and the price fell 33%. After a good year 2022, the potash stocks are in the "Strong-Sell" category. This market is cyclical, and I am waiting out this bad season without doing anything. Pic.: Potash mine.

Mr Meschugge

 Hundred and twenty years ago in Berlin, a Yiddisch musician was making fun of Prussian love of order and pomp. I don't even know his real name, it was much before my lived experience, but the concept hit a button in my mind. I must have been revolting and degenerate for serious-minded German bourgeois. 

China takes the lead

 

A car factory in China. Not a person in sight.