Journal

Yesterday, New Years Eve we had a meal with/for the Moldovan workers building our house addition. Lots of meat, which D ordered from a Palestinian restaurant in Ramle since we never touch the stuff + tabouleh and other local salads. The building contractor brought the booze - a bottle of scotch and wines. They seemed to appreciate the occasion and tomorrow they have the day off. Moldovans are mainly Orthodox, but they don't seem to mind celebrating both dates.

These workers stay in Israel for stints of 5 years, according to the contractor, and tend to pick up Hebrew - adding to their local dialect of Romanian and Russian. They are hired by a big company that hires them in turn to building contractors like ours. About every six months they visit their families back home. They have long working days, arriving about 7 AM and staying till 7 PM, but also take several breaks in a day and generally seem cheerful; they play loud Romanian or Russian music and often sing along with it. Our building contractor praises the quality of their workmanship and attention to detail, which is important for the modern construction method used (a light metal frame, bolted together, covered by multiple layers of material).

These guest workers were brought in to replace what was formerly a primarily Palestinian workforce in the construction industry - until this was gradually closed off and they were prevented from working in Israel. Israelis would say that this came in response to terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians (violent acts of resistance to the Occupation by militants) during the 2nd Intifada, the 1990s and beyond.

During the recent Gaza War/genocide the closure became almost hermetic and permits for foreign workers increased. But Israel's Interior Ministry can be harsh: workers who believed they had returned for a 2nd five-year stint just had their visa renewal denied and will not be permitted to work from January 1. This affects three of our builder's workers.

An article by the Verge extensively quotes from a post by Instagram boss Adam Mosseri about the increasing quantity and quality of AI photos, claiming that digital camera companies are on the wrong path in trying to make photos look increasingly professional, in an era where authenticity, characterised by imperfection, is becoming more valued (until AI begins to imitate also the imperfections, in the attempt to appear authentic).

=> https://www.theverge.com/news/852124/adam-mosseri-ai-images-video-instagram "You can't trust your eyes to tell you what's real anymore, says the head of Instagram"

I have been bothered lately by the fact that photos emerging from my phone look better than those captured by my ordinary camera, and really, have begun to dislike the vivid colours and crisp look of these photos. My resolution for the new year is to use my camera more than my phone and to reduce the amount of time enhancing the photos that I do take.

This aligns better with a general attitude of preferring substance over slickness and a clear-headed evaluation of new technologies. It's better not to be rejectionist, but to inquire about the predictable effect, not only in the microcosm but in the macrocosm.

Also today, I listened to a talk in Germany by Cory Doctorow. Who, while disastrous subservience of the world to US dominance of the Internet and tech, as well as the new threats thrown up by Big AI, sees a moment of historic possibility in overthrowing the status quo:

thanks to Trump's incontinent belligerence, we are on the cusp of a "Post-American Internet," a new digital nervous system for the 21st century. An internet that we can build without worrying about America's demands and priorities.

https://pluralistic.net/2026/01/01/39c3/#the-new-coalition The Post-American Internet

One of the cultural markers that I find interesting is the parallel between the seasons of the year and hours of the day. Europeans fixed the advent of the new year at the middle of winter and the new day at midnight. Jews celebrate their new year at the end of summer / beginning of Autumn, while the new day begins in the evening. Hindus celebrate the new year in the Springtime, and the day is said to begin at dawn.

Actually the latter seems to be the most intuitive; and perhaps the most ancient belief - Spring and the dawn are the times associated with rebirth. Indeed, in the old Julian calendar, the new year began on my birthday in March. Also for the Jews it fell on the Passover. And, despite the influence of Islam and its strictly lunar calendar, springtime is still the occasion for Now Ruz (the new year) in Iran, Azarbaijan and Zoroastrians everywhere.

Even for Christians, Christ's resurrection comes in the Spring time; and his empty tomb was discovered "in the early morning". So maybe I should start a new religious movement with its own time calculation, and in the spirit of Omar Khayyam.

=> #^ https://web.cs.dal.ca/~johnston/poetry/rubaiyat.html