Kleptocracy?

Isn't this a kleptocracy?

Victimizing thousands of people, including a lot of children, this war is being conducted. An unacceptable crime against the international law. Without naphtha, we are being deficient of medical equipments and stuff. It is directly related with loss of lives in medical services. If those responsible for ceasefire are economically corrupted in this way, it is even more criminally inhumanistic. 

Trump always announces the news through his SNS on Friday. Immediately before that, there are a lot of trades in futures trading. They say it is highly suspicious of insider trading as follows.

From a post by The Other 98% in Facebook;

 The BBC just dropped a damning investigation that should be plastered across every front page in America, and yet here we are. The BBC examined trade volume data across major financial markets and matched it to trump's most significant market-moving statements, finding a consistent pattern of trading spikes occurring just minutes before a social media post or media interview went public. On April 9, 2025, someone piled over $2 million into S&P 500 long positions right before trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs. The S&P jumped 9.5%, and that bet returned nearly $20 million. Some analysts told the BBC the pattern bears all the hallmarks of illegal insider trading, where bets are made on information the general public simply does not have.

And the family connections make it all even harder to ignore. Donald Trump Jr. sits on the advisory board of Polymarket and acts as a strategic advisor to Kalshi, the two biggest prediction market platforms where this suspiciously well-timed speculation keeps showing up. Meanwhile, the broader trump family has been cashing in through World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture where Barron, Don Jr., and Eric Trump are all listed as cofounders. Reuters reported the family pulled in over $800 million from crypto asset sales in just the first half of 2025. This is a sitting president whose entire family is financially embedded in the markets he moves with his mouth every single day.

And here's what should make every American genuinely angry: we found out about most of this from the BBC. Not the New York Times. Not CNN. Not any of the massive, well-funded American newsrooms that are supposedly the guardians of democracy. It is a profound embarrassment that in 2026, citizens of the United States have to depend on a British public broadcaster to investigate what their own government is doing with their markets. American corporate media, addicted to access and terrified of losing advertiser dollars, has largely looked away while the pillaging happens in plain sight. The SEC declined to comment, the White House went silent, and a financial expert told the BBC there is a low likelihood anyone will ever be prosecuted. That last part might be the most honest thing anyone has said about how power actually works in this country.

A cartoon sarcasing the present situation.

Dame Judi Dench in her own words

I am not a big fan for any actress/actor. These words by Dench, however, sure belong to the wisdom of people properly grown old. I praise her in this context. To the post of this series of proverb, a portrait of recent Dench was added. Possibly in her eighties. It was what she really looked. No cosmetics nor vestige of cosmetic surgery. Her line of sight was so straight as if looking at essence of things.

I have seen her in a Shakespear movie in my young days. A vivid and beautiful actress those days. She has grown old in an ideal way. Could I live after these proverbs? "Choose your battles" sounds one of the things I need to practise in my life. Too late? Still only try to.

Quote;

 Dame Judi Dench in her own words:

"Don’t prioritise your looks my friend, as they won’t last the journey.

Your sense of humor though, will only get better with age.

Your intuition will grow and expand like a majestic cloak of wisdom.

Your ability to choose your battles, will be fine-tuned to perfection.

Your capacity for stillness, for living in the moment, will blossom.

Your desire to live each and every moment will transcend all other wants.

Your instinct for knowing what (and who) is worth your time, will grow and flourish like ivy on a castle wall.

Don’t prioritise your looks my friend,

they will change forevermore, that pursuit is one of much sadness and disappointment.

Prioritise the uniqueness that make you you, and the invisible magnet that draws in other like-minded souls to dance in your orbit.

These are the things which will only get better."

Cognitive lifetime enrichment lowers or delays the risk of Alzheimer's disease related dementia

In elderly, becoming demented or not is of primary concern of health. Dementia in elderly has been believed to ba a kind of physiological process. Recenetly, there have been more knowledges on its etiology. Aging, genetics, way of living environment and so forth. Accumulation of beta amyloid protein in the CNS seems to be a result of the process. The earlier process of degeneration is targeted now. 

It is not only a private issue but also a public probelm especially in the developed countries like Japan where aging is in fast progress in the society. Certain percentage of elderly should suffer from dementia of Alzheimer's disease and the others. It could be a big burden for the social security.

The following article says high cognitive lifetime enrichment would lower or delay deveoping Alzheimer's disease related dementia. Being able to access only this abstract of the original paper, I am not sure how lifetime enrichment has been determined and even quatified and what pathological findings in the brain have been associated with the result. Still this article in this renowned journal of neurology may consolidate our preconception that cultural and intellectual activities may lower the risk of dementia in elderly days.

What do you think I have thought of reading this article? I really have had lifetime enrichment. It is difficult for me to objectively decide what experience has enriched my life. It should be ham radio and music in my case. I won't boast of these but believe, without them, my life has been far from being rich.

Through ham radio, I have had acquaintances with people abroad and had shared the same time for decades. Subjectively, it has been the lifetime enrichment for me for sure. Through conversation with them, I have stimulated on a lot of things and have learned a lot from them. It has never been waste of time in my life, I believe. 

Secondly, music has attracted me so much since young days. Either playing an instrument or just listening to it, it is an emotional as well as intellectual stimulus for me. It has never bored me a bit. Whenever listening to Bach, I still feel as if I were present at the creation of the universe. 

Even if they haven't enriched my life as this paper says and would not help preventing me from Alzheimer's disease, I am still grateful to these elements in life and those who have shared them with me. In the upcoming several years, it becomes evident if these were the enrichment in life or not. Even if I get demented, I still owe much to them.     

Here.

 

Azalea and concern about world politics/economy

 Again, it's almost a couple of weeks since I posted the last one in this blog. I have been kept busy pulling the weeds and cutting the lawn in the garden. I have also planted a few vegetables. For an amateur farmer, as you know, it is the busiest season in a year now.

The azaleas along the entrance are almost fully out now. The same kind of photo taken at the same angle. Seemingly the same but new every year for me. A net for peas is seen on the right. Peas are growing fast now. A ridge of potato farm is covered with white non woven fabric to avoid frost damage. The dogwoods along the street ahead seem to bloom as well.

I have been concerned about the mess in the Middle East caused by Trump and Netaniyafu. Lives which should not have been lost are victimized. Especially, the girl pupils in Iran killed by missiles launched by the US military. It has been a war crime and crime against humanity which should be accused. The two leaders responsible for this tragedy are told to gain personal benefits from this war, that is, disguising their scandals/crimes. 

The more serious issue is that certain numbers of the peoples are still approving those criminal leaders. The global warming and the techno-capitalism are creating the enormous economic disparity in North-South countries and in each country itself. Together with deficit of natural resources and foods, they are endlessly increasing the economic gap in the world. I believe the majority exploited as stated above is denying every authority and believing in conspiracy and populism. They may support a leader like Trump who insists invading other sovereignties for natura resources. Religious cultism is involved in this process, which makes the situation more complicated and untreatable.

It won't be too long left to me in the world any longer. I would go on studying about this process of the global warming and the bottleneck of modern capitalism. So when it is fine, I would be in the garden ane when rainy, you may find me in my study which used to be a radio shack for decades. 

Easter and Matthews Passion

 It is the Easter today. Having been a step away from Christianity myself, I am still sure it's the season to listen to Matthews Passion by JS Bach this time in a year. As depicted before, it was spring in early '70s when I listened to this music in a concert in Tokyo. 

Here.

Without the anatomy teacher asking us if anyone would go to the concert during its training, my life has not been the same as it is. It was moving my mind so deep. I am still grateful to the teacher having given me the chance then. 

Passion is followed by ressurection. It is represented with this season with every life reviving after a long severe winter. Our life may end any time and hopeully we may see old family members and friends after death. Passion and followeing ressurection of Jesus Christ tells us how we should live and die. 

In this Passion, I believe the whole story converges into the last chorus, Nr 68, I believe. I love it most among all recitatives, choruses or arias. It was played in the funeral of my father. I might have written about it somewhere in this blog but can't find it. Putting it briefly, as my sister planned, it was played throughout the ceremony and was unintentionally finished at the same time as the coffin was closed. His life in this world ended with the last C minor chord of that music. I felt it was something above our intention.

Recalling all of memories of this great music, I would spend sometime listening to it. Here is the 68th by Gaechinger Kantorei and Bach Collegium Stuttgart conducted by Helmuth Rilling. This is the combination which I listened in the concert early '70s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-rB35BNQz0&list=RDH-rB35BNQz0&start_radio=1

Ants vs humans

Ants work well in group while people won't do without extensive communication, the following article says. 

We, humans, should communicate each other and understand the others' values or ideas. Without it, we are overwhelmed by ants.

The further problem is that fascism and/or cult makes us go straight to the dictator's intention whether it may be right or not. Cult or mind controlling fanaticism may mislead us to nightmare. In such a situation, we are inferior to a group of ants as well.

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2414274121

Is it a hoax or an event going on in Israel?

I have found this graph in a post of facebook. Is this a legitimate data taken by or at Vic 4X6GP?

If this is a right radiation data, it could mean certain nuclear power plant/nuclear weapon has been destroyed in Israel.

I am afraid it would lower the threshold for Netaniyafu to resort to nuclear weapon. 

Looking it up, I found this is a legitimate data recorded in Rehovot; https://radmon.org/index.php?

I hope Vic is doing OK. This could mean there have been intensive bombing in Israel including nuclear facilities.

 

Like a kaleidoscope of marching flower trees

No renewal of this blog for some time. Quite some events have been occuring around me and around the world as well. I was not lazy but have been too busy in the farm. Weeds are starting challenging me now. I would add some more posts later than this one with photos of the flower trees

Inbetween from magnolia to cherry blossomes, we had this couple of apricot trees coming out fully. The younger one in front and the older one in back. Wondering if they would bear fruits this year. The fruits have been eaten by bugs for the past few years. Yet, no pesticides will be given to them.

                                                                                                                                                                                   

The younger tree.

En route to the super market I go for shopping once two days, the cherry trees are fully out now. It comes out around this time in a year and has been posted with photos in the past. It seems like an arcade. It is a marvellous view and I could not stop taking photos.

At such beautiful scenery, I could not help wondering how many times I could see it from now. It is a meaningless question. Let it be as it is. Experiencing it again this spring may be good enough. I should appreciate it without worrying about the future.

 

A moment glancing at eternity

Even more specutacular view of the magnolia. It's standing brilliantly in the air.

Whenever I see something recurring once in a year, preferably in spring, I always recall someone or some people who used to be around me and to influence a lot on me. Most of them already passed away.

A couple of days ago, when I finished caring for the farm in the garden and stood up there, this flower tree came up in my eyes. It was when I recalled my aunt and the people involved in the sanatorium at this place. Aunt told in her semi autobiography titled as "Mathmatics of Love", she described an episode with a patient seriously ill. That person fatally ill and, being agonized in the death bed, asked her "How long should I put up with this?" Aunt answered exactly the time left to the patient. Of course, I have never been at such a scene by myself but easily imagine such an episode has been repeated a lot of times in the era when there were no med or hospice function at such a small private facility.

My parents knew each other at that sanatorium and have had their family. I was born 4 years after the WWII had ended. As written in a previous post, one of the earliest memories in my life was hymn in acapella sung by the staff and the patients heard through pine trees. And in the very end of my life, I am allowed to live at the same place now. I could not help feeling gratitude to it. That sanatorium is not known to people any longer. Only my sister and a nephew know of that in real time. The fact aunt and some patients without any assistance have lived that way won't be changed even if it is forgotten.

I have maybe reiterated this in this blog. It was another moment when I remembered it again and could not stir myself on the farm for a moment.    

Magnolia will hand its role over to cherry flowers in a week or two. 

 

Economic sanctions killing annually more than 500,000 people

The Lancet Global Health, one of the most famous medical journal, has published an article on the victims due to economic sanctions for half a century, from 1971 to 2021 in 152 countries. Economic sanctions and mortality rate are positively and significantly proportionate. The casualities due to sanctions are estimated annually 564,258. Children under 5 years of age is most vulnerable to them. The author says it is comparable to the casualities by arm conflicts. The editorial of this journal points out it is much worse than the latter; the latter is annually 106,000.

The author stressed that the USA and Eu, most likely to take economic and unilateral sanctions as a tool to realize any objective in the international politics, should be careful on the negative effect on the population in the developing countries. Even the sanctions imposed by UN are not free from this adverse effect of sanctions.

Wag the Dog?...It is out of argument. 

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(25)00189-5/fulltext

Magnolia in full bloom

Literally in a day since the buds became remarkable, the white magnolia in our garden has come almost fully out. Being bathed in the westering sun, it looked like shining. It is not an exaggeration but looks that way in this season in a year.

A few days ago, when it was budding, I have shared with my brother a memory of mother telling me "The magnolia is fully out" with full smile on her face. Maybe, I have told the same story to him in the past. He was still pleased to hear that.

 

 The same episode is repeated in certain season. But nothing remains the same. Mother has passed away. We are getting older and losing capabilities in life. So is this old tree even though it goes slower than us.

Brother will retire from psychiatric profession in half a year and will be settled down in Sendai where he has spent his university days. He and his wife will have own house over there. Sometimes making correspndence with him and often surprised to have shared the same thing or to know what he has done, which I have never known of. It is good for me to have someone whom I could share old memories with. 

Thyroid cancer in childhood in Fukushima

It has been questioned if the irradiation the nuclear power plant accident has caused increased the number of thyroid cancer in the area. For the first few years, most researchers have observed no cause effect relationship between irradiation and the cancer occurence. They have attributed it to the screening effect. The cohort of the children in Fukushima has been examined with accurate ultrasound deviced so that, they say, it has found occult cancer which would stay inactive throughout their lives. Recenetly, however, a number of researchers have published papers contradictory to earlier studies. Quite a number of children have undergone partial or total thyroidectomy. It concerns the future of the children. It should be studied aggressively apart from the policy of nuclear power generation.  

The following article says they could eliminate the common, that is, background occurrence of childhood thyroid cancer in its research. It affirms the occurrence is proportionate to the external irradiation.  

I believe thyroid gland could be affected by mainly internal irradiation of I131 which is uptaken by the gland as a source of thyroxin. I wonder if, without evaluation of internal irradiation, they could conclude this way. They might speculate the internal irradiation could be proportionate to the external.

 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39338045/

This article handles excessive absolute risk for childhood thyroid cancer based possibly on the calculated radiation dose of I131. So far as I know, I131 has not been directly measured by the authority for the first couple of weeks, which has been regarded as a big mistake for radiation protection. Anyway, they conclude the irradiation on children was the cause of occurence of thyroid cancer. It is against the overdiagnosis thesis or screening effect in the beginning of research in this field. 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37760552/

An 102 year old farmer's suicide 15 years ago

In a couple of days, it will be the 15th anniversary of the Big Eastern Japan earthquake and the subsequent accident of the 1st nuclear power plant in Fukushima. Among all 6 reactors at the plant damaged seriously, nr 1 to 3 have undergone hydrogen explosion while nr 1 and 3 have melted through the pressure vessel and possibly the containment vessel. It has spread enormous amount of radio active substances all around. Fallout has occurred at various regions in the vicinity within a few days. It has turned out the biggest nuclear power plant accident ever in the history.  

While listening to the news of the on going destrution due to exposed nuclear fuel in the reactors not controllable without water cooling, I was eagerly pulling the weeds in the farm as if trying to empty my mind. Knowing the melt through had occurred, I felt as if the ground I was standing was going to collapse. There were people having lost their home as well as their community and homeland at that time. It was beyond our imagination. 

Around that time, an old farmer aged 102 years old has killed himself at his home. He was living in a village in the highland of Fukushima, 20 or 30km inland from the coast of the Pacific ocean, that is, approximately the distance from the crippled nuclear power plant. It was when the habitants of the village heavily contaminated with fallout were ordered to migrate there out to another place in order to avoid maleffect from it. He and his father had cultivated the property keepng nose to the grindstones in the severe environment for decades. Recently a journalist named Osamu Aoki, wondering what has brought such a tragedy, has interviewed the family and related people and investigated on it. Having spent almost 10 years commuting to the village, he has finished recently a reportage on how he has lived and died there. 

The nuclear power accident with fallout there seemed to be the main reason. It has deprived him of the most precious ground for living and of the community he had lived. There seemed to be another reason related with his younger brother who had died in Iwo-jima in the end of WWII. The old man seemed to have regretted why it was his younger brother, but not himself, who had been sent to the hopeless battle field. It was an excellent reportage making us consider of the relationship between us and the power of the state. At night of his killing himself, he uttered he had seen something wrong to his daughter in law. 

As I have written about it elsewhere in this blog, my mother used to be in a nursing facility in Sendai north of Fukushima. They have lost the infrastructure for a few days. Thanks to the personel's selfless efforts, my mother has survived it. But, possibly due to the stress she had then, she has eventually died in the end of the next month. I could not help overlapping her with this old farmer, even though the latter was in a much worse situation.

Recalling of all these absurdity and tragedy, I would spend the coming few days. I would never let them go as they want like the avid power company and its management personnel with the interest group in the politics, the business world and the academies. They are still plotting to plot reruning the nuclear power plants and even building new ones all around our country only for their profit. 

Ethical issue. Energy, aluminum, fertilizer

The air strike to Iran by the US and Israel presents us an ethical issue in international politics if changing status quo by military force could be admitted or not. Is it allowed for a political leader would kill the other leader if he is a dictator? Could an airstrike be allowed to kill thousands of the civilians without any impending reason for "self defence"? I could hardly believe it would be only their domestic problem. It affects people world wide.

It causes not only a serious energy supply problem world wide but also a devastating issue in aluminum and fertilizer supply. Oil and gas deficits might be tolerated with their storage but the following issues could become reality in a month or two. The secondary aggravated inflation also would be a vital issue in the world as well.

Though the aluminum production in the Persian Gulf area is only 8% of the whole in the world, including its alloys, it is the main source to the western world. Hormuz Strait, the check point to the western world, would have a vital importance to the industries in the western world.

 https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/risks-western-aluminium-supply-rise-iran-war-escalates-2026-03-03/#:~:text=It%20is%20not%20just%20oil%20and%20gas,now%20threatened%20by%20the%20war%20with%20Iran.

Another crisis brought by Hormuz Strait closure is fertilizer deficit which results in food security crisis. The gulf area is one of the places where nitrogen derived fertilizer and its source are produced and exported to the other parts of the world. Even if any country manufactures fertilizer by themselves, it will undergo the more expensive products. There could be world wide food deficiency.

https://theconversation.com/how-the-iran-war-could-create-a-fertiliser-shock-an-often-ignored-global-risk-to-food-prices-and-farming-277552

Who should be retaliated?

While Iran made concessions in the talk with the US to give up refining uranium and to accept surveillance by IAEA and the US personnel, the US has done the preemptive attack to Iran.

165 school girls were killed in Iran by the bombing of the US and Israrel.

Trump told 6 American soldiers were killed by the attack of Iran. He also declared to retaliate for them against Iran. 

Who should be retaliated? 

There will be endless conflicts in the Middle East.

 

Vandalism in science

I have never read such an editorial in any world famous medical journal. 

RFK Jr has destroyed the medical system as well as medical research relm in the US, that is, since the US has been the leading country in the world, in the world. As this editorial says rightly, it will take generations to restore the delay and destruction in medical science. A lot of people will be victimized by his vandalism in science.

 

 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(26)00414-9/fulltext

Antipathy against science and conspiracy are the two sides of the same coin. Apart from science vs anti science, it could arouse ultra right politics prone to authoritarianism  and dictatorship against democracy. 

The preemptive attack to Iran by the US and Israel

This preemptive attack to Iran by the US and Israel is literally against the international law. They won't be able to blame if they are called terrorists. The news said Iran had made concessions to the US in the negotiation mediated by Oman. 

Here.

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/02/28/world/iran-strikes-trump?fbclid=IwY2xjawQPjJlleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFOZ3VsMmVPMWpQS1JPSEJmc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHs4TPraGl86zfaX3tdcA2lWIBG6YrxS0lpZLHQpuY9RlNbpI05TNeiVakt28_aem_S-sL2g4m2xJRO91_s-XmlA

Trying to change the administration into a reign favorable to themselves should never be admitted. If we admit it, the world would easily become "the war all against all" of Hobbs. The war could escalate easily and might leave unanticipated results. If this attack was planned to distract the domestic political issues in each country, it is a real war crime.

Both countries are equipped with nuclear weapon. If this brutality is admitted, we should question of the superiority of nuclear weaponized nations whose priviledge is protected by NPT. They won't criticize the other countries for developing nuclear weapon. It is a nightmare for us to have these countries with nuclear weapon behave in this way.

On the Trump tariffs and the big debt of the US

In response to the The Supreme Court of The USA ruling the reciprocal tariffs by the Trump administration unconstitutional, Trump has withdrawn it. He has declared a new tafiffs of 10% imposed to all countries around the world instead. 

He seems to increase revenue from the tariffs by any means. It is incorrect that such tariffs work in that way but they are only a domestic tax imposed on the US people. Actually, 90% of the the reciprocal tariffs have been proved to be borne by the people themselves but not by the exporting companies. It is a new taxation on the people. 

So far as I understand, it is the enormous amount of government's liabilities in tha US, that is, about 36 trillion USD that they strive to avoid default. They say the government needs to have revenue of 11 trillion USD every year. The deficit is increasing by 2 trillion USD every year as well. Trump would make more military expansion by 150% in the next budget. 

The secretary of the treasury, Bessent, and others in the administration seem to plot increment of the revenue by the following maneuvers;

1) Require the allies investment to the US. 550 billion USD to Eu. 510 billion USD to Japan. 200 billion USD to S. Korea. In the agreement with Japan, the US would take 90% of benefit while Japan only 10% if it makes any benefit. The investment is controlled by Trump.

2) Require Japan import more arms from the US. It amounts up to 910 billion USD in 3 years. Most of the arms are out dated ones.

3) Issue a new virtual currency named Stable Coin. Let certain financial institutions publish it with collateral of US national bond. This is a monetization of bond by the US government.

These measures are told to cover at least 2 trillion USD, that is, the annual deficit of the US government. They would cause more inflation which is beneficial to the US government in order to superficially compress the amount of the debt of the government.

You may ask me why I am interested in such a matter in the US insisting that it is only a domestic financial issue in the US. It still involves us greatly because it aggravates the inflation in our country as well as all over the world. American people may lost the status of key currency and more liable to be affected by inflation as well than ever. Bessent told to refund long term national bond to super long zero coupon. Our ministry of finance, the biggest owner of the US bonds, may not be able to sell them any longer, I am afraid.  If our government obeys the US government to increase the expenditure for arms up to 5% of GDP, it will be around 25% of the annual budget. I am afraid our country coming into the unprecedented aging society won't go sustainable with it.

I am afraid the US may lose credit by the other countries while the US people may suffer a lot from these policies as well.   

Looking for old friends in the internet

As written in a previous post, in a couple of note books, I have kept almost all call signs of the USA hams whom I had worked. I have sorted out all the stations after their suffices. I am in a few ham groups in facebook. Whenever I find any call signs likelily familiar to me, I try to look them up in those note books. Sadly, they rarely hit in them. 

https://nuttycellist-unknown.blogspot.com/2024/08/two-indices-notebooks.html

Considering of my age 76 years, those in the note books must be the same age or older. I am pretty confident of haing worked most active stations in the US from '80s through '00s. I have never counted how many but it must be more than hundred thousands. CW guys always keep active throughout their lives in my exerience. I am afraid those old timers have already gone inactive or even SK by now. 

. 

 Actually, the FOC gang in the west coast whom I have most often chatted for the last decades are becoming fewer year by year. It must be how the life goes on. But I still miss them. I am still going on looking for old friends of mine in the internet. There are rare cases that my friends' family members give me a note or a comment like Susan KD4VXO whose father was N4DAG David. I always enjoy communicating with such a person as Susan. Say hi to me whoever you may be in case you or your family remember of me.

I sometimes have horriying moments when I realize having forgotten on good old friends. It is a way to prevent it that I have written about them in the blog. So far, I am struggling that senile moments. 

   

Prof. Isoyama's 8th anniversary

 It was the 8th anniversary of Prof Isoyama's passing yesterday. Even though I was aware of that, I didn't want to post too many subjects at the same time yesterday. This post on his anniversary is not the least but one of the most precious ones for me. He could have been 79 years old if he was still alive. His passing was not expected at all. It was due to an accident. But how he has lived surely looks like a perfect completion of life one could achieve. He has returned to the heaven immediately after finishing his dissertation on St. John's Passion.   

Having this anniversary every year, I could not help feeling time is flying away so fast that time in my life is not left so much. Not comparable to his way of living, I would not only regret on death bed. Of course, I have a lot of things to be regretted. Still I want to believe my life would be ended by the unseen hand of God, however incomplete it might be .

I have already written a lot about him and things I owe to him. I would spend sometime listening to St. Matthew's passion before going to bed. Muenchener Bach Choir and Orchestra conducted by Karl Richter. 

Spring is arriving here whatever we may think of things around ourselves

I have been concerned about what went on in the politics in our country, that is, the drift to the far right, for the past several weeks. It is a reason why I haven't renewed this blog. I still have some observation and view on it. But not so cranky at it any longer like when I was younger. People may realize what they have chosen for the administration in our country in the near future. Or before that, they may encounter drastic peril. I still believe the problem is that people are accepting and even supporting the reign by ultra right politicians, who often make very bad and thinly veiled or even obvious lies. It often causes unscientific as well as unreal conspiracy in the society. As quoted Arendt's words previously, it is akin to or leading them to fascism.

Enough with politics. I am still cooking dinner at home. This is pork seasoned with salted rice malt. I knew salted rice malt was useful in cooking. I have practised it as the seasoning of chicken breast thinly sliced. You may preserve it for a week or two. This pork dish was also good. Salted rice malt contains protease or amylase. Once foods are is marinated with it, protein and/or starch is digesed and the food becomes even more delicious. 

How many times I have uploaded the photo of blooming Ume? One of the earliest signs of spring here. From the end of last month to a few days ago, it had been pretty cold. But it seems the biological clock within these trees tells them to come out. 

I could not help askng myself how many times I could appreciate it. Not asking such unnecessary question, I may have to enjoy the moment of arrival of joyful spring. It is the time for me to start planting such as potatoes very soon.

A pleasant moment of music related event

About 15 years ago, when I was practising the Nr2 Piano Trio by Brahms with friends at the violinist home, it was the violinist's birthday. While the violinist was out of the room for a while, the pianist proposed me a trick. At the moment we started practising the trio again, as the pianist said, piano and cello would not go on with Brahms but with the famous melody of "Happy Birthday to You". The violinist has given us the Einsatz with breathing as usual. But the other two instruments started singing the melody as promised. At first, the violinist was wondering what had happened with eyes wide open. In a second, she realized that and laughed a lot. One of the happiest moments we shared. 

Shown in the reel clip below, it is such a moment for conductor Eliahu Inbal having his 90the birthday with the members of Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra at a concert. When Inbal came to the podium from the wings, the orchestra started an arranged version of Happy Birthday to You. Solemn and impressive adagio like Mahler's slow movement. When it  sounded as if to end, the music started with the whole orchestra and chorus in unison of forte! The maestro stood still close to the podium. Of course, when the performance was over, he has grinned being given a bouquette and even a big cake there. It is not a moving moment of music but is surely a pleasant time for the performers as well as the audience. Without account in Meta, it might not be able to be watched;

 https://www.facebook.com/reel/2596249997426257

Beef and Tofu

Beef and tofu with vegetables. Seasoned with sugar and soy sauce. Tofu, processed through cotton filter, is rich with protein, calcium and fiber. This dish is a simplified Sukiyaki. Tofu absorbs the taste or the umami of beef. 

Simple, nutrient rich and also economical! Good for elderly.

I am starting farming. Surprised to see how expensive the seeds of vegetables are now. Have ordered a couple of Tomato seed packs, which cost 14 USD. Most of them are imports from oversea. Farming materials are also mostly imported. The biggest trading partner is China. I am afraid the vegetables will get more expensive very soon. Only few japanese people are aware of that. I will take the seeds from the matured vegetables this year.  

Apres un Reve performed by Sol Gabetta and Bruno Fontaine

This lovely piece arranged by Casals from a Faure's song has been one of my favorites since young days. I have written about it for a few times quoting excllent renditions. 

This one by Sol Gabetta and Bruno Fontaine also attracted me so much. Gabetta plays it with beautiful and neat phrasing as usual. The piano part is playing mostly chords in eighth note all the way through. Very simple on the score. However, there are still a lot of agogique since it is originally a song. It might be a matter of common sense for such professional players but they, especially the pianist, are making perfect ensemble. That agogique is just for artistic expression like breathing in song. I remember music is originated from song whatever the genre it might be. Breathing is a basic characteristic of life. Breathing together in ensemble of music gives us the pleasure of living together.

I have missed all the chances for ensemble. Given my arms are getting better with possibly ulnar nerve trouble, I would try to play cello again. What pleasure of sense of existence I have been given in ensembles in the past. I am full of thanks to the company, especially, the violinist who has played together with me for almost 3 decades. 
 

Snowfall

It has snowed a lot yesterday. This amount of snowfall rarely occurs here. In northern areas, they have had too much snow and 45 people were killed in accidents due to snowfall yesterday.  Until the end of next month, we might have massive snowfall for a few more times. Yes, massive only in our standard.

Ume flowers seem to be ready to come out. It means spring is not too far from now. I should prepare planting such as potatoes and other spring vegetables. Hilling the farm with compost plowed into the ridges.

Winter won't last long. We should get ready for spring.

 

Prof Isoyama's memorial day A concert of a high school alumni orchestra 26 years ago

Yesterday, 8 years ago, Prof. Isoyama has been fatally injured falling on an icy road on the way back home from a chorus competetion working as a judge in suburb of Tokyo. It was so snowy as today. A couple of weeks later, he has died. He must be 72 years of age and had made excellent works on J.S.Bach. A week or two before that accident, he has published the dissertation on Johannes Passion which was credited the doctorate later.

I have been greatly influenced by his another book on Matthew's Passion, which I repeatedly read from time to time. Other than reading his books and attending a concert of Matthew's Passion in Toyama where he gave a short lecture before the performance, all I have known his activities was through his blog. I knew of his serious injury and consequent death from the news his disciple made there. Almost all of these topics have been written here in the previous posts like this;

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/229771691402494724/5236348433992853847

I have mentioned of his high school in Nagano and possible relationship with the orchestra of that school, even though I have not definite evidence showing it. He seemed to be captivated by classical music, most likelily, J.S.Bach. He has majored in aesthetics at Tokyo University and has become one of the most renowned researcher in Baroque music.

As I told in this blog, it has been one of the sweetest memories that I was invited to a concert of the high school alumni orchestra by a friend of mine 26 years ago. I also mentioned about her a few times as a chamber music company since med school days. The concert master has turned out to be the husband of a violist at the university orchestra whom I had known quite well. Ever since, I have exchanged the season's postcard every year, even though I have had no chance to see her in person. At this alumni orchestra, we have played the pieces of Faure and parts of Messiah together with chorus. Achievement with the music as well as reunion with old friends or seeing new friends was an extrordinarily pleasant gift to me.

Later, I knew of Prof Isoyama having graduated from the high school and possibly related with this music circle. I could not help feeling there is such mysterious relationship with all of them. I wonder if Prof Isoyama has been contented with what ha had made when he was leaving the earth.  

Among the jungle of files in this computer, I accidentaly found this photo of the concert. I was on the 3rd pult of audience side in the cello part. 

 

Reason why head copy is recommended in reception of Morse Code

Away from operating CW for some time, I might seem to have lost interests in it. No way. That hobby still resides deep in my mind. Whenever anything happens or come in sight  regarding it, I always pay attention to it. It may not be changed until I leave this earth. 

Enough about self-telling. While I was reading on generative grammar and related brain science, I happened to meet an interesting finding. 

As I iriterated in this  blog, head copying of CW is indesipensible for real communication on CW like conversation. One reason is that our working memory could handle only 5 to 7 things at a time. If we try to remember all the characters flowing in a CW message, we tend to forget those sent prior to 5 or 7 characters before. Then we grind to write down all the characters, that is, hand writing copy. It is quite different from conversational CW and hinder the latter.  

We should not write down or not try to remember the characters being sent but should try to understand what the words/sentences the message brings mean. That is the essence of head copy. The finding on brain mapping for linguistic activities tells a particular area named pars orbitalis of inferior frontal gyrus responsible for handling sentences different from the center for words, irrespective mode is concerned. In practising head copying, this area must be activated and trained. From this finding, we could tell not to copy words basis but do with what sentences are meaning. It is much easier to copy and gives us pleasure when our expectation for the following is correct.

This finding with fMRI, a kind of brain mapping, excited me a little bit. Morse code, the simplest mode of communication, could be a tool to investigate our cognitive process in epistemology, even though it is not a spontaneous languag without its unique syntax. 

Since the scientific methods like fMRI, PET or procedures of transcutaneous magnetic stimularion or of intrinsic optial signal are applied to research in mapping and functions of lingistics, there are numerous new findings accumulated. But because of limits in accuracy in location and timing, it is far from understanding in neuron level. It is still fascinating to know any new findings in this area.     

An old postcard to my father in young days

 A photo of an old postcard has been sent to me as a file in an e mail by my brother.

Brother has found it inserted in a book. The postcard is toward my father in Tokyo dated back in 1937 when father was around 20 years old. With the sender's unreadable handwriting, the name is not identifiable. But the content of the mail convinced brother he had been the person whom father had met in Tokyo and had been lead to Christianity by. Having lost his parents early in his life, as brother said, father had tried to study at a prep school and to attend to a higher education in Tokyo. 

The coup d’etat by the young soldiers in Tokyo,  the Feb 26 Incident in 1936, has increased the power of the military in politics. They have surged into the invasion to Manchuria at first and later into the entire China, even though it was destined to be defeated. Father has been swallowed up by the inevitable avalanche into war whatever he might have wanted in his life. He was recruited to the military twice and has spent a few years in China. Although he has not mentioned of his experience so much as a soldier there, he seemed to have seen the dark side of the war. 

From the church, a person, possibly very poor without any family members, has been sent to the sanatorium at this place, as mentioned frequently, my aunt had managed for tuberculosis patients in poverty. Father has visited here to see her for a few times and has seen mother working here. It was after the war when they got married and had a family. Without seeing the person who sent that postcard, father would not have had his family including myself.

As reiterated in this blog, father has been concerned what and who have caused that war which had ruined his youth. He never stopped rebuking any movements toward rearmament and war. I strongly wonder what he would say now since the ultra right PM and her cabinet would be approved in this general election going on now. They predict that in polls conducted recently.  

The person who sent the postcard to my father wrote in it that he would care for his parents and brother. It was from far north Aomori. How has he lived there around WWII? 

Impovertization as well as increased inequality of wealth going on in our country

So far as the wiki explains it, Gini Coefficient(abbreviated as GC) is a measure of statistical dispersion intended to represent the inequalities in income, wealth, consumption within a nation or a social group. It is expressed before and after redistribution of wealth. In no inequality, which is theoretically impossible, GC is 0, while, in only a theoretical situation, all wealth belongs to one person in the community, GC is 1.     　

GC before redistribution of wealth in this country has been steadily increasing since '80s. The most recent data has hit the worst, that is, over 0.6 among the OECD member countries. It has made me so surprised. It might be due to progrss of the population aging and increased contigent employment. The asset bubble in economy also might be a factor for that. The introduction  and gradual increase of the consumption tax, a regressive tax system, might be contributory to it as well.  

Fortunately, GC after redistribution of wealth still remains lower and in the mid range among OECD member countries. It may mean the redistribution of wealth, ths social security and the redistribution of income by taxation, is still functioning in our country. 

We could not be too optimistic for the inequality of economy. In fact, the people is getting generally impoverished in our country. The absurd economic easing since so called Abenomix has caused economic disparity among the people. Now, the government is steadily reducing social security benefits. Together with impoverishment due to inflation without rise in income corresponding to it, reduced social security benefits may result in failure of redistribution of wealth sooner or later. 

One of the imminent, or rather already beginning, problems is the lack of workers of nursing care. We have a public insurance for nursing care. More and more individual payments are required in it. The expenditure for nursing care workers is not abundant to pay the workers enough for specialists. The workeres, either Japanese or those from developing countries, won't continue working long time. The aging is in real fast progress in the society. They assume they could benefit from the long term care public insurance established in 2000. Its benefits have been reduced step by step by the government.  The service supplier system is not going to function soon. The workers for the service is already insufficient in number already.

The general election is going on in our country. They predict the ruling parties would win in it thanks to the reputation of the 1st female prime minister. Only few know what is going on in our country expressed with GC. The society is facing an absolute aging problem with retired people having impovertized with contigent employment throughout their lives.  

Climate change and the movement of America is ALL IN

It is well known global warming is inducing polar vortex in winter. Here. Cold wave with heavy snow fall has been noted in North America, Europe as well as our country in this winter. In summer, it will get hotter with more numerous hurricanes and typhoons. The latter tend to become larger in size and strength. Global warming exaggerates the extreme weather world wide. 

It is a hoax to insist that these phenomena global climate changes are not true. Those unscientific hoaxsters are either involved in industries which fossil fuel is the mainstay for energy. Or they are unintelligent captured by consipracy theory and/or unscience. That is only interests in money and/or lack of intelligence.

If a leader of major country which yields much greenhouse gas in the air is such a person as pictured in the last paragraph. it could be a real disaster for themselves as well as for the whole world. Predecessors have ground to the Paris Treaty to do with the global warming. But that person has decided to withdraw from that treaty without any hesitance. 

An organization named "America is ALL IN" strongly protests the endangerment of world environment which Trump administration aims for on behalf of the global industries having much benefits from it. This organization is said to cover the industries involved with 74% of GDP in the US. It is a big relief that such an organization is working in the US against the unscientific policy leading to almost unrecoverable climate change process. 

 

AMERICA IS ALL IN

https://www.americaisallin.com/

A couple of dishes

A couple of dishes cooked recently. One is pork loin stewed in tomato sauce. Tomato was not fresh unsuitable for salad. Still tasted good.

The other is pork miso soup. Radish, carrot and taro were the products of our garden farm.

Both were pretty successful. 

Inflation is quite remarkable here especially for food. I am going to grow more veggies this spring. I have purchased seed potatoes which are much more expensive than last year. Possibly one potato costs about a dollar or so. 

Not only for frugality but also for pleasure to do with living things, I would go on farming.