Thursday, February 9, 2023

Dorothy Dandridge and Louis Armstrong "Whatcha Say?" 1944

My projects are stuck in the mud


 My projects in Ramat Gan are stuck in the Water Corporation, I complained and now they do not answer me. I am neither advancing in other projects. It is cold outside and I am not walking enough. Frustrating. 

Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Earthquake in Eastern Turkiye and North Syria

Bureaucratic Organizations

 
The Engineering Department of the Municipality of Ramat Gan employs about one hundred people. Ramat Gan has 150,000 inhabitants. They are open and accessible only for two hours,  three times a week. The rest of the time they are very busy with themselves. They never have time. I cannot get a small project through now for six months. The water department is an independent sovereign entity. About 1.5% of the total population "works" for the municipality. That is, about 5% of the working age population. The 98.5% pays their salaries. Twenty years ago the dept. employed about ten persons. The population did not increase.  

Sunday, February 5, 2023

This New World

Adani, a large Indian conglomerate, got punctured and almost collapsed because a small Wall Street firm accused it of fraud. The rumor was enough for infamous Credit Suisse to reject anything linked to the group. 

In this new world 'where an anonymous letter accusing some professor or politician of racism or sex harassing is enough to destroy a lifelong career, a malignant review causes a large cement and mining corporation to fall into the mud. That's why everyone is demonstratively showing their good thinking. Publicity today shows blacks in incredible power situations coupled with star quality blondes, showing that THEY (and their tooth paste) are no racists, so no one will send that poison letter. 

 

Saturday, February 4, 2023

Magyar hirek (Hungarian News)

 Youtube  shows Hungarian News, which fortunately am able to follow. They say things I never heard like that Polish minister proposing the fractioning off Russia into independent ethnic countries, which naturally will align with the West. She said that Russia is a permanent danger for Europe and must be destroyed. Israeli news don't think that Russia is aggressive. The Baltic countries - Sweden, Finland, etc. are very worried about Putin. The German government is infighting - Olaf Scholz is reluctant to start another Eastern Campaign. I conclude that the war is not yet a hi tech confrontation, the weapons are not the last generation, and follows WWII tactics. The Russian employ mass attacks, but are not winning. The Russian mercenaries use Ukrainian uniforms, which automatically condemns them to death if taken prisoners. Sentiment: Hungary and Europe are confused and afraid. War is very expensive and they have precious few young people. No one knows the number of casualties.   

Friday, February 3, 2023

The slow end of the Diaspora


 “Norway risks becoming a country without a Jewish population,” says an editorial in Aftenposten. According to the newspaper, 20 percent of the two largest communities (Oslo and Trondheim) have left. “Norway could be the first country in Europe to become jüdenfrei,” wrote journalist Julie Bindel. The synagogues of Oslo and Trondheim are the most protected buildings in all of Norway.