Endless Mourning and Suffering

My intellectual wife and daughter took me to the Cameri Theater to suffer endlessly a long psychodrama by Chanoch Levin (see script in Hebrew if you dare): "Endless Mourning". A man loses his only son and in his crazy mourning, re-acts yearly the death and mourning through killing a child like his son. Lamentation and crying in High Hebrew, literary and poetical words we never hear in the shuk (market). The play may relate to the Israeli experience, but it is too esoteric for this drunken mujik.   

Itching palms

If your left hand's palm itches, you will lose money or be punished. Right hand itching, you will receive money soon.

It was common knowledge in my infancy in Hungary. 

One million Syrians moving to Europe

The fighting in the north Syria border has caused the uprooting of a million Syrians and they are moving to Europe. Europe does not want them, so they will settle in Eastern Turkey. Russian forces are in the field supporting the Syrian army, while the Americans have retreated. The last peaceful era in the area was the French Protectorate after WWI, a hundred years ago.

Breaking News

Recession?

Active fighting going on in the Turkey - Syria border. The pic shows the 23 mm antiair cannon we had in the Israel Defense Forces in my time, based on recycled Soviet made weapons taken during the Lebanon war. I could take it apart and re-assembly it even today. Pic source.

The Bourse is falling 5 - 7%. For one, it is the fear of coronavirus flu, that suddenly closed down borders and made people quarantine themselves. The facts show that its mortality rate is similar to winter flu epidemies, less than 1%. Maybe China's reaction was overdone and caused universal panic. I am sure in April-May it will be over.

Today's NASDAQ reaction is attributable to Bernie Sanders' victory march in the Democratic Party. The candidate is a left wing Socialist, and he promises to abolish personal debts (like medical bills and student loans). In the Greek cities of the Antiquity, abolishing debts and re-distribution of the land was a permanent feature and every once in a while it was done in a revolution. As an old man, I value stability more than revolutions.  

The Economist Turns Racist

The British liberal magazine turns 180 degrees and takes a far-right "racist" position AGAINST non-European immigration. The Economist wants to Europe's most homogeneous country - Poland - to stay, Sacrebleu!, White. Quote:

"Another mistake is the assumption that since (apart from the Ukrainians) migrants are relatively few, they will not be noticed by Polish voters. Small numbers can have a big impact. In 2019 Poland granted long-term visas to about 24,000 people from Nepal, India and Bangladesh. By comparison, Britain accepted migrants from the Caribbean at an annual rate of about 16,000 in the 1950s. With a population of 52m at the time, Britain was hardly swamped. But it was enough to trigger the rise of racial politics. In 1955 Winston Churchill suggested “Keep England White” as an election slogan."

Italia anziana

Italia anziana, ecco perché 2-3% di morti
Per Giovanni Rezza, direttore del dipartimento malattie infettive dell'Istituto Superiore di Sanità, "in Italia c'è una popolazione anziana e si spiegano così i tassi di mortalità del 2-3%. Gli anziani sono più fragili, lo vediamo con l'influenza. Da quest'ultima possiamo proteggerli con il vaccino; non essendoci il vaccino per il Coronavirus c'è la mortalità. L'unica maniera per proteggerli è circoscrivere i focolai come si sta facendo". 

Italy is old and that explains the 2-3% mortality. Old people is fragile, we see that with the flu. We have vaccine for the flu but we have nothing against the coronavirus. The only way is to isolate the foci as we are doing.