You're Not In Good Hands

Monday, August 3, 2020 

Remember me?   

America's Favorite Epidemiologist found the camel immediately, while several other folks, including your humble servant, were flummoxed.  And you?

. . .

Marianne Motherby is the most charming woman in Berlin and one of the most widely-traveled persons that I know.  So, I was delighted, but not surprised, that she responded to my wonder about the restaurant scene in Luxembourg, expressed last week.  "Luxembourg is not known for inexpensive food.  If [however] you get steak au poivre as plat du jour at the right place it will certainly be less expensive than poor Chinese food."  Of course, this raises the question, what do Luxembourgers eat? 

According to Wikipedia "the most traditional of all Luxembourg meat dishes is Judd mat Gaardebounen, smoked collar of pork with broad beans."  Approximately 1,200 Jews live in Luxembourg today, about 0.2% of the population.  Maybe they are vegetarians.
. . .

Bismarck, North Dakota, Lewiston, Maine and Lincoln, Nebraska?  Name three American cities that are least likely to top the list of best cities for renters. 

https://nyti.ms/2Xev4AG

I find it hard to distinguish them from the supposed worst cities for renters, Hialeah, Florida, Huntington, West Virginia and Memphis, Tennessee.  In fact, you are in far less danger of getting frostbite in the worst cities than the best.  Go figure.

Tuesday, August 4, 2020
Israel's population is just under 9 million, almost exactly the same as New Jersey and slightly more than New York City.  We can learn a lot from their experience reopening public schools.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/04/world/middleeast/coronavirus-israel-schools-reopen.html

Facing the same pressures that we do, torn between conflicting concerns for public health and the economy, the Israeli government sent kids back to school when the coronavirus rate of infection flattened.  Now, they have a lot of sick kids and sick adults.

On the other hand, we should consider that "[s]ingle parents, parents with young children and parents who can't work from home are the groups most at risk to stop working entirely because they have no child care."    https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/04/economy/schools-reopening-economy-jobs/index.html

And that's the conundrum in trying to navigate this sticky issue.  "Can N.Y.C. Reopen Schools?  The Whole Country Is Watching."  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/nyregion/nyc-schools-reopening.html

One country isn't watching anyone else.  Kenya has shut down its schools entirely, wiping out the whole school year.  In January, the normal start of its school year, Kenya will start this year all over again.  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/world/africa/Kenya-cancels-school-year-coronavirus.html

This is quite a dramatic approach, an attempt to deal with the imbalance of resources available to students outside of school. 

. . .

I am in regular communication with Paul Hecht, Thespian Emeritus, benefitting from his wisdom and artistic sensibility.  Here is a notable contribution of his.

https://youtu.be/wX9WgM5Kr4c

. . .

Just as idle speculation surrounds some of the discussion about school reopening, the facts of police violence are sometimes obscured by ideology.  Here are some key facts drawn from public records.

• Black people were 38% of people killed by the police departments of the 100 largest U.S. cities despite being only 21% of the population in their jurisdictions.
  
• Only 1 of the 100 largest city police departments did not kill anyone from Jan 2013 - Dec 2019 (Irvine, CA).
  
• 47% of unarmed people killed by the 100 largest city police departments were black.  These police departments killed unarmed black people at a rate 4 times higher than unarmed white people.
  
• Rates of violent crime in cities did not make it any more or less likely for police departments to kill people.  For example, Buffalo and Newark police departments had relatively low rates of police violence despite high crime rates while Spokane and Orlando had relatively low crime rates and high rates of police violence.
  

https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/cities

Wednesday, August 5, 2020
The headline is modestly encouraging: "Chinatown Is Coming Back, One Noodle at a Time."
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/03/dining/chinatown-outdoor-dining-coronavirus.html

Traditionally, outdoor dining in Chinatown meant food balanced on your lap (landing on your shirt, on your pants) when you sat in Columbus Park behind the New York State courthouses.  The tight streets and narrow sidewalks kept dining indoors.  Temporarily, in response to the White House Flu, an alternative has been provided, described as "a socially distanced food court."  Because it encompasses beloved Wo Hop, 17 Mott Street, I am feeling a very strong urge to merge with the general public, that is.
. . .

What do major league baseball players Danny Valencia and Ty Kelly have in common?   They're Jewish, of course, playing on the Israeli national team, already qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, if it ever occurs.

. . .

"Obesity should be defined by a person's health - not just their weight, says a new Canadian clinical guideline."  Agreed, said a healthy Grandpa Alan.    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53656651

Thursday, August 6, 2020
This article vividly illustrates the economic toll of the White House Flu.  https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/08/05/upshot/us-unemployment-maps-coronavirus.html

Also clear is the uneven effect of the severe economic retrenchment we face.  All neighborhoods suffered, but far from equally.
. . .

We've reported some relatively positive news about the New York real estate market, holding its value even as other locations declined.  Well, that may have changed. 
"Manhattan apartment deals plunge 57%."   https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/06/manhattan-apartment-deals-plunge-57percent-suburban-real-estate-surges.html

Reportedly, the "number of unsold apartments is now at the highest level in almost a decade."  Come on, live the dream.

Friday, August 7, 2020

Another incentive to buying real estate now is the absence of good alternatives in spending your money.  Why buy a new car when you can barely leave the house?  And, if you set your sights on more distant horizons, forget it.  As of July 28th, according to CNN.com, these are the places to which American citizens have unconditional access:

• Albania
• Dominican Republic
• Kosovo
• Maldives
• Mexico
• North Macedonia
• Serbia
• Tunisia
• Turkey

[Note -- Kayak.com asserts today that "41 countries have no travel restrictions."  However, that does not account for quarantine or testing requirements upon physical arrival.]

. . .

A prudent business operator will likely seek insurance coverage against a variety of risks, including business interruption.  However, as is too often the case in our society, the Golden Rule applies, that is, "He who has the gold writes the rules."

"Most business interruption policies include highly specific language stating that for a claim to be paid out, there has to be 'direct physical damage.'"  Does that include a pandemic?  

Sorry, Charlie, you didn't expect insurance to actually insure, did you?  https://nyti.ms/2DAdGiQ

Here's the best part: "Insurers say they aren’t being stingy; they simply don’t have enough capital to cover all coronavirus-related claims and would suffer enormous losses if they had to pay out."  How about if the insurance companies took out insurance?