Dear rss free blog,
Queens
reader MG added more insight into the debate over the origins of
British intellectuals’ support for a Jewish State in the 19th
century. He thinks it is related to what young Britons were taught in school about philosophy and theology. Whether the classical
texts were part of the canon determined British identification with
their authors.
“It
was perfectly normal for Lord Byron to fight for Greek Independence.
Or for the British to finance Garibaldi’s campaign to unify Italy.”
And, he adds, “for British lords and writers to support a Jewish
State in Palestine.”
If
your ancient civilization had only marginal intellectual influence on
British thinking – the Bhagavad Gita or the Book of the Dead or the
Epic of Gilgamesh or the Koran– the British Empire would not support your right
to a state of your own. Your country would be painted red on British
maps, and Victoria was your empress.
The
rule of law is a funny thing when applied across borders. I find it
astonishing that filmmaker Roman Polanski was arrested on a decrepit
US warrant while First Lady Grace Mobutu is paid by Nestle for
milk produced in Zimbabwe farms seized unlawfully from their white
former owners.
Un
Gay La what what I called German Chancellor Merkel during the
campaign because she looked so grumpy. Now she is grinning from ear
to ear. How do you play Germany now? .
I
am able to read and speak German. Yet I hesitate in recommending
German stocks.
Germany
is a tough market for stock-pickers mainly aiming at American
Depositary Receipts, because its largest firms are often dinosaurs
constricted by labor unions on their boards and the role of
stakeholders. Meanwhile its smaller firms are often family controlled
and liable to go off in eccentric and unprofitable directions when
the Herr des Hauses decides
to.
*Because of the confusion over where you buy our latest Japanese pick, I expect many readers were able to front-run me yesterday because I do not trade on Yom Kippur. Our Japanese reporter Chris Loew who wrote the stock up is not Jewish so he gained from the confusion he generated. The yen is up too.
