Expect the Best but prepare for the Worst

 "Insanity  a perfectly rational adjustment to an insane world." "The range of what we  think and do is limited to what we fail to notice."  R. D. Laing.   "The first person who, having enclosed a plot of land, took it into his head to say this is mine, and found people simple enough to believe him, was the true founder of civil society. What crimes, wars, murder, what miseries, and horrors would the human race have been spared, had someone pulled out the stakes or filled the ditch and cried out to his fellow men: "Do not listen to this imposter. You are lost if you forget that the fruits of the earth belong to all, and the earth to no one."  Rousseau.  "We can make our hell out of the people around us." Jean Paul Satre.                                                                                                                                       Kids from the neighborhood required "first aid", no, not Betadine and plaster but sweets. Well, they did make it sound like an emergency. One young lady brought me a handful of croquettes for the ferals, a pleasant surprise. Returning from the veterinarian with my lovely, gentle Nikola (urinary problems and stones starting to develop), a neighbour passing by greeted me with his thumb up. Folks occasionally do this and I am happy to see they share my believe that cats deserve good care. The new year is starting off well with daily household waste collection, much appreciated. Recently President Said made it clear that he wants to see clean streets and won't tolerate household waste piling up on roads. Raising coffee prices due to a bad harvest in Brasilia and other countries. Kenya and Uganda are the only countries with a twice yearly harvest of coffee beans. EU refused to make an advanced payment to these countries, so China bought the whole lot. One can at least hope for the second harvest. Perhaps we should try "Africa first."  The fees for medical consultation are going up wef. 01.01.2025, general practitioner 40 to 55 Dinar, specialist 55 to 80 Dinar (most of the later used to charge 70). The amount is about the same as in Germany (paid by the obligatory Health Insurance System) though, covering there a 3 months period, independent of how often a patient arrives during that time. Anyhow, folks who cannot afford to pay 80 Dinars for a specialist (plus possible extra costs, e. g. for injections) will just consult the pharmacy, not without risks. With a bit of luck the pharmacist is a qualified doctor. Several say they have enough problems already paying for their medication. CNAM (national health insurance organization) could be an alternative, but unfortunately mainly in theory. Waiting quite a while for a partly refund of a larger amound, I finally received just about the sum I had paid for the taxi. Don't expect much so that you won't get disappointed. Hopefully veterinarians won't decide to also raise their consulation fees.  Animals already suffer sufficiently because quite a few owners prefer to spend their money on essentials like cigarettes. A lady told me that I've got cats' eyes (well, not exactly the shining bright shade of blue famous for the Siamese). Some say pets and those who adopt them tend to resemble each other. With the cold nights some of my visitors to my Cats' Table arrive a bit later than usual. As long as all my feral friends are okay, I am happy. I have 3 beautiful new guests who obviously either still do or did until recently live in a house. They are gentle and enjoy cuddling. One lovely cat with Persian blood sadly has lost an eye, could be a reason for kicking him out, poor little darling. Still no sign of my one-eyed, 3 coloured, gorgeous, gentle, treasure Myriam. I fear she's no longer in the land of the living. I miss her. -  "No justification for Israelian continued attacks on Gaza." President Macron advised. The World Food Programm convoy was recently attacked, shoots fired at them (even though clearly marked trucks), their aid donations for Gaza robbed. Meanwhile at least 1,054 health workers have been killed. 16 of 36 hospitals are partly still working in Gaza, none in the North, 815 Mosques are destroyed, 150 damaged, 19 cemetries destroyed, 3 churches also (one dating back to the Middle Ages). Joe Bidden decided to send 8 Billion Dollar worth weapons to support Israelian " self defence." The Hind Rajab Foundation (based in Europe), named after an 8 year old, killed Palestian girl, tries to pursue legal cases abroad (e.g. in Brasil and Chile) against Israelian soldiers for war crimes. Proof of such is often produced by videos that the soldiers made and posted themselves. - Donald Trump declared that he wants to take over Greenland, the Panama Canal and Canada. Just dreaming or real threat of US Colonial actions? Greenland actually belongs to Denmark. Should he use military force, which Trump didn't rule out as "US needs Greenland for Security reasons" (experts suspect he is after the resources, in Greenland presently protected by their environmental laws), this could well mean war with NATO. At the same time war with Panama? Trump's offer for Canada is to become the 51st state of US, no import tax, a better life.... None of those countries concerned feel amused. In addition Trump, seemingly considering international laws as non-binding, suggested to change the name "Golf of Mexico" to American Golf. Claudia Sheinbaum, president of Mexico, replied: "Why not change the name of US to Mexican America....." (part of the US actually used to belong to Mexico. So when folks from Mexico try to cross the border, I always wonder whether they as a matter of fact are trying to visit old Mexico.........).