Effects of Israel's 11-day offensive in May

 

With regards to my previous post, it is to be noted that  Gaza's sewage treatment plant was hit during Israel's 11-day offensive in May. The electricity distribution company is unable to provide sufficient energy for treatment plants and waste water pumping stations. That's the reason why Gaza's authorities have no choice but to pump that waste into the sea.

The situation will dangerously raise the water pollution in Gaza and its surroundings. And in addition to the environmental impact there will be also social problems, as for many families in Gaza the beach is the only public space they can socialize.

In Gaza Strip territory there is nothing except the sea, and now it is polluted.

It happened in the 2nd half of May 2021

 

In May 2021 families, women, children and infants were killed in their homes by israel airstrikes on a small strip of land where nearby two million people are crowded.

The crisis was triggered in early May, when Palestinians began to protest in East Jerusalem over an anticipated decision of the Supreme Court of Israel on the eviction of six Palestinian families in the West Bank town of Sheikh Jarrah. In addition to this, Israel's police threw shock grenades inside the al-Aqsa mosque on the last Friday of Ramadam in East Jerusalem. Israeli forces broke into the mosque prayer hall!

After Israel had bombarded the besieged Gaza strip for the fourth time in 12 years, the U.S. approved a $ 735 Millions weapons sale to Israel. The approval was criticized by legislators in Congress, and several Democrats introduced resolutions to block the sale of precision-guided missiles.

The news reported no sense of alarm, as they didn't mention the possible crime against umanity and the Amnesty International's call for a halt to U.S. weapons sales to Israel. 

According to the Statute of the International Criminal Court, a crime against humanity is committed "as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack" ... From 14th to 21st May Israel's military campaign killed at least 253 people, including 66 children. At least 12 people were killed by Palestinian armed groups.

Italy's underwater archaeological sites

There are many traces of human existence underwater, which are not protected by the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage. This Convention aims at preventing the distruction or loss of historic and cultural information and looting.

The pictures show some underwater archaeological sites dated back to over 20 centuries ago. They are located 70 Km North from Rome. Unfortunately, in the early 1970s some residential houses were built close to those underwater archaeological sites. The problem is that people, who build those houses, weren't prosecuted. If they had been adequately prosecuted in the 1970s, Italy's underwater cultural heritage would be protected. 

 

Cryptocurrencies' value continues to drop

 

With regards to my previous post about cryptocurrencies' regulation, I have just learnt that the American clean energy company based in Palo Alto, Tesla Inc., will no longer accept bitcoin for car purchase.

Many environmentalists and some Tesla's shareholders have been increasingly critical about the way cryptocurrencies are "mined" using vast amount of electricity generated with fossil fuels.

On 27 February, 2021, the British newpaper "The Guardian" wrote: "It's not just the value of bitcoin that has soared in the last year - so has the huge amount of energy it consumes".  In this perspective, a professor of economics at the University of New Mexico recently said that the amount of electricity used to mine bitcoin has been more than the electricity used by entire countries, like Ireland.

On the one hand, Tesla Inc. is accelerating the world transition to sustainable energy with electric cars and integrated renewable energy solutions for home and business. On the other hand, in the first two months of this year bircoin rose in value thanks to an endorsement by Tesla's Elon Musk, who planned to accept the cryptocurrency as payment. This inconsistency is often a major events that affect the markets! The perception of cryptocurrencies' value changes as the market seeks a new equilibrium making price reflect new information and major news. 

The pictures above show how electricity generated with fossil fuels may affect the environment (The power plants in the pictures are located in Italy). 

Another country have just banned cryptocurrencies

After many Asian countries had introduced tougher regulation with regard to all use of cryptocurrencies, last week the Turkish Central Bank banned payments in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, etc. According to the Central Bank, cryptocurrencies aren't subject to any central regulatory authority, and their market value can be excessively volatile.

In addition to this, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies may be used in illegal transactions due to their anonymous structures. I was astonished to hear that the Turkish Central Bank also said that wallets can be stolen or used without the authorization of their holders. The regulation outlaws the use of  cryptocurrencies to pay for goods and services. Meanwhile, Bitcoin and Ethereum plunged to their lowest level in nearly two months. 

When we own cryptocurrencies we don't have anything in terms of dividends or profit. Cryptocurrency's value only increases when more people participate, and when fewer people participate the value decreases. This is a structure that creates a great deal of risk. 

Italian food

It seems that many people around the world think Italians are so obsessed with food. Actually, we (Italian people) have a bond with food, as it gives a sense of identity.  

In certain periods of history some foods were created and have become traditional and typical dishes of Italian culture. An article summarizing the relationship between Italians and food, just published in BBC website by Anna Bressanin, explains that in Italy "sharing a meal means daily joys, problems and sometimes our deepest neuroses and issues". It is an act of social conviviality that the author of the article defines as "a collective catharsis through pleasure".

I don't want to get off track, but increasing demand from East Asia, climate change, water shortages and pandemic-hit supply chains are all pushing up food prices.

Growing list of countries to suspend the Anglo-Swedish vaccine

On Tuesday, 30th March, Germany became the latest in a growing list of countries to suspend use of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to younger age group. Health Ministry had found 31 cases of a type of rare blood clot among nearly 2.7 million people who received the vaccine in Germany. 

Obviously, the European Medicines Agency said there was not enough evidence to establish a link between the problem and the vaccine.

Meanwhile, trees blooming and flowering announce the beginning of Spring and new life.