Fire in Emmanuel Industrial Zone

Emmanuel is one of the less developed settlements in Samaria. When I visited it (wanted to be its part-time City Engineer) they had a big problem with the industrial zone. The place was far from the city (which at that time was a dumping place for religious trash) and far from Arab villages that could supply manpower. Only problematic, dirty industries had moved into it. In the pic. I see that in the last ten years the zone has developed over my expectations. 

Good Thinking about Real Estate

 (NYSE: BRK-A) shares reached $500,000 last month, and have stayed above that level since. If there’s one thing that’s made Buffett one of the most successful investors in history, it’s his commitment to his strategy.

A countless number of new investment techniques and algorithms have come and gone over the years, but Buffett has maintained his fairly simple strategy of picking solid companies and focusing on long-term growth while somehow ignoring the noise that sends most investors into a panic.

It may seem odd that somebody with such a disciplined long-term approach to investing has no interest in purchasing real estate, especially since it's what vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Charles Munger used to build his fortune.

There’s a Difference Between Buying Real Estate and Investing in Real Estate

Buffett isn’t opposed to investing in real estate and has invested in several real estate investment trusts (REITs) over the years. However, he knows it makes little sense to get into the business of being a landlord.

Buying and managing real estate is more of a business than it is an investment, and Buffett knows that his time is better spent choosing companies to invest in than it is running a real estate business.

Real estate is a tough business and one that often needs to be scaled to comprise several properties in order to build significant wealth. Many individual investors get into real estate with the misconception that it’s a passive investment, and most eventually exit those properties once realizing what they’ve actually gotten into.

Temper Tantrums in the Coalition

 The reason for the sudden departure of Silman from the Coalition was the issue of hametz. Pesach is coming, when religious Jews eat unleavened bread in remembrance of the Hebrew escaping from Egyptian servitude, some 4000 years ago. Traditionally, bringing bread and cakes to the hospitals is forbidden during this week, respecting the sentiments of the religious. Horowitz (she? he? they?) insisted on eliminating this tradition, which caused the explosion with religious Ms. Silman. 

I am for the continuation of the status quo, since at last, after years of paralysis, we have a functioning government, and the partnership with the Islamic Movement is working nicely. This proves that Arab parties can be bought, their ferocious declarations against the Jews are a bargaining strategy to increase their price. The government is falling apart because of infantile, imbecile temper tantrums of the ultra-liberal toddlers of the left. 

The Coalition is Unraveling

 

The President of the governing Coalition resigned and joined the opposition. She could not suffer the Minister of Health, Nitzan Horowitz (an open homosexual and a moiser of the international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands.). The Right is jubilant. Pic.: Ben Gvir, a Kahanist, is speaking at this moment.  This is a night of hope, he says, HaShem is with us. 

Why there is no Russian Liberation propaganda?

A Chinese commenter (accessible for me thanks to google translate) says that "the continuous annihilation videos, combined with the rare Ukrainian military drone results, have greatly encouraged the fighting morale of Ukrainian nationalists, and indirectly affected NATO's determination to intervene. It can be said that the Russian propaganda system, especially its military propaganda system, disappeared in the current Russian-Ukrainian conflict, just like the chasing and fighting drones."

The commenter quotes Mao: "The main task of the Army is to make propaganda". This is from Szu Tsu, who said the best is to win the war without having to fight a battle. 

In my opinion, the Russian Army should have presented itself as liberating a brotherly people, oppressed by the Nazi regime. It should have been a liberation battle, with pics of schoolgirls receiving Russian tanks with flowers and bread and salt. Maybe that line would have been impossible given the Ukrainian people's virulent hate toward the Russians.  

The Chinese also said that Russian heavy-armed columns are programmed to advance 50 km a day, but advanced more than 100 km so they had to abandon much heavy equipment such as tanks, etc. which were "captured" and shown on the media as Russian defeat. BTW who killed civilians in Bucha (North Kyiv)? It was the Muslim Chechen National Guard, somebody allowed them to enter and raid Ukraine.  

U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday, dragged down by losses in tech, as investors weighed remarks by Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard that indicated policymakers were ready to act more aggressively to rein in inflation. Investors also braced for the likelihood of new sanctions on Russia by the European Union.

Sermonizing the Barbarians

 I am reading the history of the Opium Wars. Selling opium had been prohibited in the Chinese Empire since the 17th Century. The British merchants were introducing contraband while corrupting the functionaries in Canton.  The Chinese Emperor sent a very polite letter to the English Queen protesting the actions of her subjects. Something like: " Imagine that foreigners come to your country to sell contraband, isn't that objectionable? The stink rises to Heaven, distressing the spirits."  The whole argument of the Celestial Emperor was formulated in moral terms, trying to shame the British.

Today, the Chinese government says: "Western politicians often talk about how literature and art transcend borders, and the same goes for music. They also say “private property is inviolable.” So, what have these writers and musicians done wrong? Meanwhile, the private property of so many Russians has been frozen or confiscated. Let’s hope that Western politicians will reflect on these principles..."

Hahaha! "Let's hope they will reflect on these principles..." That's good!  Of course, the Chinese were not naive then or now. They know that Western Barbarians are shameless and unshameable pirates, but they try and try again to teach them Confucian ethics and seize a lofty moral position.  

How the economy works

The real interest rate in the USA today is -4%. Meaning that if I buy land on credit, it will cost less than the nominal price today. Who is subsidizing me? The Fed i.e. the Government, that is society. Why? They want to stimulate activity, commerce, and investment. In fact, by incentivizing anything I want to do, they are "forcing" me to do things, to be active in the economy. By doing, I'll pay taxes, I'll create jobs, I'll invent new products. Just by buying land, I create turnover and pay taxes, which probably compensate for the subsidy I am receiving.  High-interest rates freeze economic activity. It all devolves to the physical health and intelligence of the human population "doing" the economy. 

The corollary is that society pays me to own a house for free because ownership is a burden. Counterintuitive. Thinking it over, I know lots of people who rejected or let go of promotions or leading positions (including myself, more than once). There are many abandoned houses in Argentina and here too. In my time, Paraguay gave 5000 hectares of land in the Chaco to anyone promising to fence it and live there for five years. No one I know of took up the offer.