Blog/March 2019/Mar 1st

March 1st

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We’re mostly just chugging along, with the exception of Sarah who came down with a cold or something and is cold and miserable in Ramat Gan. At least she made it back home before getting ill! The rest of us are trying to warm up here on the edge of the Judean Desert. The past couple days have been very rainy and cold, which is good for the country’s water supply but a bit sloggy for the residents thereof.

The big news around here is that the Attorney General of Israel intends to indict Netanyahu in three different cases, for a few different things (not all pertain to all cases): bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. The Left is jubilant, the “Blue and White” party is rejoicing, and a lot of other politicians are snickering. But what does it mean?

From a legal standpoint, it means that within a year or so, Bibi will have to face trial on these charges, if his lawyers can’t persuade the court that they are politically motivated or otherwise baseless. Even when it comes to trial, the proceedings may drag on for years — so there’s not much chance of the PM getting tossed in jail within the next several years, assuming the trials go forward.

From a political standpoint, it isn’t a great “look” for the PM. Polls show support dropping precipitously for the Likud if Bibi remains at the helm (although that can change in the blink of an eye). On the other hand, his base is receptive to the idea that it’s all a political witch-hunt (which allegation is, at least, somewhat true). No matter what, Netanyahu’s political position is greatly weakened, and he’ll have a hell of a fight on his hands to remain in power. Time will tell.

But good news, everyone! Here in the Land we have a ridiculously vibrant democracy. There are 47 (forty-seven!) parties which registered for the April 9th elections! One dropped out (”My Israeli Brother” – אחי ישראלי), so now there are only 46 parties to choose from.

I’ve found two sites which have English versions of partial information on some of the parties, though both sites are partisan. The first is the Israel Democracy Institute, and the second is IsraelElex. Neither of them has really up-to-date information, but they’re better than nothing at all if your Hebrew isn’t quite there yet.

Other stuff:

• Facebook internal documents prove political targeting and censorship.
• The “Covington kids” sue the Washington Post. Good for them!
• Racism in the knitting community? Actually, Esther told me about this a week before it made the news.
• About “blockchain” and trust.
• Normalization of deviance: why complex systems can fail despite our best efforts.
• Which is why Nike’s self-lacing shoes turn into expensive bricks.
• And why the “Bereshit” lunar probe Israel launched rebooted mid-flight.

If you want to make really good money here in Israel, open up a shop selling prescription eyeglasses. The prices are so ridiculously high, it’s astonishing anyone wears glasses. But they do, oh yeah, they do…

Oh, and I have an operation scheduled for the end of this month, to trim the flapping sections of my meniscus so I can walk normally again. In the interim, they’ve sent me to do a really wide variety of lab tests, so I’m drained. Literally.

The weather was cold and rainy, as I mentioned above; it’s supposed to stay that way for a couple more days, and then perhaps our Spring will be sprung. Looking forward to a quiet shabbat!

We’ve only our own company this shabbat. On the menu:
ḥalla, beef-barley soup, barbecue chicken, roasted veggies, ratatouille, various salatim, fruit, and ice-cream.

Until next time,
shabbat shalom!

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