At the petshop

At Jungle petshop

More missile strikes, more deaths, more injuries today.  It's said to be the worst day of fighting this week. Just an hour earlier, an arab car rammed into a police checkpoint at the center of contention: Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood. Arab families have been and will be evicted from this neighbourhood and jewish settlers taking over their property ... and this is the spark of the violence and civil war. The Security Council is now debating on this war ... but it's a lame duck that engages in verbal diarrhea. Israel has a right to defend itself. Clear. But the root of these bombings is the occupation by Israel of Palestinian land. This must be addressed.

This morning started bad ... not just because of the night-long bombings in Israel and Gaza, but there was an electric blackout. I could not charge my phone nor computer so I decided early at 7am to go to my other office 1km away so that I could finish an urgent piece of work. I gave myself till 12pm to complete it ... and I did succeed to finish it at 12.30pm. Not bad for dateline. The afternoon was a halfday-off which I wanted to spend on my own.

I then went up to the New City to buy food for Buddy and JJ. It was amazingly quiet ... many shops closed. On one hand it's the eve of Jewish Pentecost whereby no work is allowed, on the other there's fear of riots that would destroy property and injure people. Jungle petshop was open though, and my friends who work there are safe. I do enjoy going there once a week and watch the fish in the tanks and the toys and food available. It's a nice relaxing break from the tensions in and around the Old City. Jungle petshop keeps me sane. The sun was beating down at 30 degrees but I enjoyed the sun and heat. It helps my breathing and my asthma has been better these 2 days.