The Word Largest Library

 

The new library and cultural center in Beijing is a 16-meter-tall hall with a roof formed by ginkgo leaf-shaped elements. It is special and it is beautiful. It has isolated gardens with a view of the river for peaceful meditation. The Chinese are retaking their traditional place as the main civilization while the rest of us - inassimilable barbarians - are busy fighting each other. 

Dark Feelings

 

I'll have to look inside me and search for why British countryside paintings do not stir dark nationalist, fascist emotions inside me. While visiting museums, my overeducated wife used to stand fascinated and lose her sense of time passing in front of these wall-hanging decorations. Yes, I felt some dark feelings of boredom and desperation. 

The Trend of Today's TASE

The day finished with a 0.5% loss but I discovered the trend: ONLY those stocks in the computer programming area are green (NICE more than 3%) while ALL the rest are in red.  If that is the trend, I should sell all the infrastructure stocks I hoard and buy hi-tech.

Discipline

 I finished all pending urgent projects a few days ago and relaxed my daily routine. Four or five days have passed and now I have difficulties even sending mail. I stopped taking short walks. I took 10 mg valium to keep down distractions and restart working. And collecting the monies owed to me. 

 

Coming to Jesus

The first time the phrase “come to Jesus moment” was utilized was in 1999. It was utilized as “a moment of sudden realization, comprehension, or recognition that often precipitates a major change”.

In the original usage of this phrase, it was secular; however, many people also use this phrase about the moment when they accepted Christ as their Savior and became a Christian. Therefore, “come to Jesus” can have two different meanings; one is secular, and one is faith-based.

In the secular sense, a “come to Jesus moment” can refer to the definition above or it can “refer to that point in time when someone has a realization, becomes enlightened, understands the core values that must be preserved in a situation”.

“Come to Jesus” in the secular sense could be used for any major change, such as realizing one needs to change their job or one who is struggling with alcohol dependency chooses to stop drinking. Simply because “Jesus” is part of the phrase does not mean it has any faith-based belief ties nor does it mean it is orthodox. 

Pic.: President Biden was caught on hot mic talking with Senator Michael Bennet, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. REUTERS

Inscrutable Brits

 

Rosemarie Mallett pictured in 2016 as vicar of a church in London's Brixton district. She is now Bishop of Croydon, overseeing several suburbs on the outskirts of the UK capital. From CNN.

"The Church of England has welcomed a report that calls for it to spearhead the establishment of a £1 billion ($1.3 billion) fund to address its historical ties to slavery.

The document, released Monday, recommends that the church’s initial commitment of £100 million ($127 million) to the “Fund for Healing, Repair and Justice” should form the nucleus of a bigger initiative that would target assets of over £1 billion."

Having read a lot about Africa and visited the Portuguese Castles along the coast, I feel surprised by such British mea culpa. English protestants were the force that forbade the slave trade, and the Royal Navy patrolled the coast till it was universally extinguished. England should be proud of its anti-slave history, not paying reparations for slavery. The idea is more amazing today when millions of Africans are voluntarily risking their lives to move into civilized countries to work as kitchen help, as de-facto slaves.   

The New Brits

 

The political leaders elected in Rochdale, 29-2-24. Strong, somewhat eccentric individuals. I like them all. Rochdale has a special significance for me, for the co-operative movement was born there. That area was the heart of the Industrial Revolution. 

George Galloway (pic) targeted Muslim voters specifically with messages about Gaza and won by a large margin. Hating the Jews still works in 2024.

As of 2021, the town of Rochdale's population was enumerated at 111,261, and its ethnic makeup was 57.2% White, 34.3% Asian, 2.6% Mixed, 3.4% Black, 2.1% Other, and 0.5% Arab. The town's religious makeup was 38% Christian, 36% Muslim, 24.2% No Religion, and has small Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and Jewish communities.