Friday, June 30, 2017

Weather It Is (Heat and Jelly Fish)

Good Afternoon:

It's been a while -- much longer than "ever before."

Basically, I've been working on a paper on forecasting snow -- a process spanning almost two years.  Even so, I really felt like there wasn't very much to talk about, and some other issues came up that made it hard to concentrate on writing a blog.  God willing, the near future won't bring any new surprises.

People, though, were certainly surprised when light showers came to us about two weeks ago.  Our weather then was more like the typical summer of Europe -- not too warm and some rain.  One could almost feel a bit nostalgic for the old-country (of the US).  Of course, someones cool weather is someone else's hot weather elsewhere (and it was hot in many European countries).

Then, just when one might have become accustomed to this (perfect) type of weather, the weather "regime" has changed drastically.  The winds are still strong, but they are bringing (and will bring even more) heat than we've felt in quite some time.  With the strong, hot winds arriving from the north will also come a much heightened risk of wildfires.  So, be careful with fire outdoors.

The extreme heat will really soar on Shabbat and peak in the upper 30s in many locations on Sunday and Monday.

Our Prime Minister has been feeling the heat lately.  His problem is that he is not really a leader, but the type of person who tacks whichever way the political winds blow.  He's very successful at this, and begs us to forgive him for giving in to the Haredi Parties.   But,  he tells us, it's more important he should continue as Prime Minister than anything else, like providing leadership (i.e., standing on principles).

Yet, before we really pile on the blame on our spineless leader, remember that the summer is Jelly Fish time in Israel (that's because someone built a canal between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean) -- so what should we expect?  And, he's not the only one.  A simple way for the government to pass laws that encourage conversions, encourage work, and encourage social responsibility is to form a coalition of Likud, Labor, and Yesh Atid.  They pretty much all agree with each other  on the basics (each realizes the futility of trying to make peace with the Palestinians), so they could come together to form a coalition without the Haredi parties.  But, they won't -- because none of leaders have the spine to compromise  -- they all want to be the largest Jelly Fish in the sea.

Shabbat Shalom,

Barry Lynn