Times Have Changed

 

It once used to be solely a matter of raising the salary, with or without a preceding strike. Not anymore. Workers have additional (justified) demands; they refuse to put up with violence in schools, in hospitals, on buses etc.. They demand besides anti-violence measures,  better working conditions, especially less working hours, decent recreation facilities. Teachers, medical personnel, drivers, threaten to desert their working place if their demands are not met.

Demographics is growing at quite an alarming pace in certain circles in our country. I believe increase in demographics, causes crowdedness which in turn brings about violence . It also has a bad impact on the country's economic ability.

Politicians are not capable of dealing with this issue; in fact with any serious issue, and poor governance prevails. The approaching general elections won't solve a thing;just the usual waste of time and money.

Workers (inclusive teachers and doctors)  are not as professional as it used to be in the past when standards required were much higher. Moreover,  few or no digital 'toys' were available then. Now wherever one looks, at any hour of the day - people  are 'glued'  to their smartphone and tablet. Work can wait, service can wait. 

Well,  we can't give up  digital 'toys',can we;  just as we can't  give up polluting  cars - so what's to be done? Not much...

Not To Be Encouraged.

 

The other day, I had to do a few things in a neighboring town. Before returning home, I took a stroll along its main street. My eyes caught a new, nice little shop ( since Covid,  there seem to be more empty/closed shops then active or new ones ).            

When I approached it, I got rather surprised . It was a shop selling... smoking accessories.  After all, smoking is no longer a popular habit because of its negative impact on health . So, what's the 'profit' logic behind it?!

I don't remember a similar physical  'specialized' shop even in those "jolly" days with people heavy on smoking and no ban on smoking in public. As I 've never been a smoker myself, I don't have the proper background to go into details, but I'll admit there is a rich variety of nice  items in this shop with great potential of attracting customers.

'So, smoking is back in town'? I asked the guy in the shop. 'It never quit town', he replied with a smile. He had russian accent;  that made me suspect  people of russian origin could be the basis of his customers. It is said that many "russians", especially middle-aged and elderly are quite addicted to smoking.

I suppose it was not easy for the owner to get a licence for opening the store. There are many rules and regulations ( such as age-restriction) controlling this kind of business.

The location of the shop is optimal: on the main street, no competition in this area, as far as I could see .   It will be interesting to notice at a later stage, if it does well, considering that tobacco is the cause of  major lung diseases. 

Anyway, I believe this kind of business  should  not be encouraged neither by the authorities nor by the population.

The Power of the Mind

There are certain people among us (fortunetellers, magicians, illusionists, mentalists) who claim to have special powers. Many years ago, one of them, an israeli by the name of Uri Geller became famous all over the world,  through his ability to bend  spoons (his powers have even been certified by the CIA after testing).

Next, he used his mental  powers to trace oil fields. This was probably where he had made a little fortune which enabled him to buy an uninhabited island in Scottland, and open his private  art collection Museum in Old Jaffa city.

I wish to believe that God has given us all, special abilities. We just have to look into ourselves, discover these abilities and  make use of  them the best we can. People  do this when trying to find healing powers, and it usually works.

We live in a period when  special powers might help us. Our life systems (education, health, justice etc..) have collapsed long before Covid's appearance, and it's probably going to be worse.

I'm not interested in bending spoons, or moving objects with the power of my mind. But, how about  moving a bad neighbor to another location?! Theoretically, I think it can be done, but I haven't got the energy and time to focus mentally on that person.

I'm not interested in tracing oil fields either, but I'm afraid we'll have to trace food sources in the not so distant future. Considering climate change, famine might be knocking on the door.

Anyhow, I'll have to do some reading on the subject and watch some relevant youtube tutorials.

Henna

 

Henna plant powder does a lot of good to women's hair and scalp.

To be effective, it has to be applied at least once in 1-2 months. I'm kind of lazy about it as it's  rather a messy little job : turn the leaf powder into a smooth  paste, apply it to the hair and scalp, wrap the head with a plastic cover to keep it warm, stay with it for several hours, rinse, etc.. So, I usually do it once in... about six months, when I feel my hair is lifeless and on the verge of falling out.

Lately, I've been asking myself and Google if henna could help with male baldness.  It's no secret that lots of men are undergoing hair transplant. I'm not familiar with the details of the transplant procedure and the rate of success, but it suffices to know that's surgery, and it's not cheap.  Surgery. in cases which are not life-saving, should always be the very last resort.

The answer is yes, henna could help; applying it regularly when one still has hair on one's head might prevent baldness (the henna treatment should come , of course, as an addition, to a  balanced ,protein based diet including eggs and fish).`

The man going bald will need a loving mother/ wife/girlfriend/ to apply the stuff, otherwise he'll soon get bored and tired with it. Improving and maintaining our looks is hard work, but, it's worth it.

Henna is natural; it strenghtens and adds volume, conditions, promotes growing, reduces dandruff, might prevent premature greying and hair loss. 

My favorite brand is the american 'Colora Henna' which offers both natural color and some color shades. Unfortunately, for some reason, the import to my country seems to have stopped. I'm at my last package..