Q: Are you in touch with the Israeli Business community in the East? What do you make of them? Is it possible to do business in Eastern Europe? Are you still in touch with Shabtai Kalmanovich?

A: Slowly, slowly ... No, yes, no. Regarding the second question: the recipe is contacts. Find the right local partner, make sure that you have something to offer which would please the authorities, be slimy, be morally "flexible", protect yourself, draw first. Remember all the westerns that you have seen as a kid. Imitate John Wayne but make sure that the local sheriff and some local businessmen are on your side. East Europeans are the cheapest commodity on earth. Be large, spend, give gifts, invite, host. It will pay back.

Q: Do you follow the news in Israel? What do you make of the business environment here? Any changes since you left? Chances of coming back?

A: I do not follow the news in Israel and except to see my family, I will come back only if I have no other choice. I don't like the place or the people particularly.

Q: Did you join the Moonies? Did you meet reverend Moon?

A: I never joined the Moonies (official name until recently: "The Unification Church"). I did join one of the academic organization supported by them, the "Professors World Peace Academy" (PWPA). I even became the head of the Israel branch of the PWPA. In 1993 I headed a group of influential Israelis (politicians, media people, businessmen, lawyers) in a one month, fully paid, seminar in New York in which we all learned about the organization and theology of the church from the inside. We met Moon's number two, Rev. Kwak. Of course, I know all the top people there, especially in the media (they own "The Washington Times" and "The Middle East Times" among others). Disregarding their recruiting methods (which are nowhere near as monstrous as portrayed in the media) - these people do a good job for humanity and peace. In PWPA they brought together Israeli and Arab scholars. Long before anyone mentioned the "p-word" (peace) I met Jordanian, Syrian, Egyptian, Iranian, Iraqi and Palestinian politicians and academics and was able to explain to them Israel's point of view. We even published resolutions together. We became close. The church is part of my on-going fascination with religious institutions. I spent a good part of 1982-3 getting to know the Jesuit Order, for instance. I visited its facilities, slept in its dormitories. Once, I even uttered the Jewish "Food Greeting" (Birkat Hamazon) and a congregation of Catholic bishops said "Amen" after me and ate. This was surrealistic. This is life: adventure, the unexpected, the spectacular, the amazing, the dangerous. My life is a movie and I am the director. When I am 90, alone in a drab hospital room, no one will visit me, not even my children, if I have any. In this solitude, I will turn off the lights and screen the movie of my life. And it had better be a good one. I don't want to be bored in my own movie. I prefer not to live at all.

3. E-mail Exchange in Preparation for an Interview Granted to Bob Goodman of "Natterbox"

These are the contents of unedited transcripts of e-mail exchanges between myself and Bob Goodman.

Q: Narcissism is a very misunderstood term. In the popular lexicon, it seems to be used interchangeably with self-confidence or self-absorption. How do you define narcissism?

A: Narcissism (rather, pathological narcissism) is the absence of a functioning self (or, to be more precise, Ego). It is the constant dependence upon other people to gain self-esteem, to regulate a sense of self-worth and to gain self-confidence. Narcissism is, therefore, other-absorption rather than self-absorption. The narcissist is attuned to input (real or perceived) from other people because in the absence of such constant feedback it feels annulled, non-existent, void (and in many respects, he is). I use he, though everything I say here applies equally forcefully to women. The narcissist constructs an elaborate, largely fictitious, grandiose image of himself (the False Self). He then hurls it at people and monitors their every reaction. Reactions that conform to the information contained in the False Self generate a flooding sensation of omnipotence, omniscience, brilliance and perfection. Reactions that negate the False Self cause narcissistic injury - a terrible, insupportable, excruciating agony. The narcissist administers mental painkillers to himself by discounting ("devaluing") the source of the hurtful reaction, by dismissing the reaction itself, or by altering the False Self to conform to it - in short, by activating a mechanism known as "cognitive dissonance".

Q: Is there such a thing as healthy narcissism, and at one point would you say that narcissism enters the realm of pathology?

A: Narcissism is an integral part of our development as humans. A residue of it survives well into adulthood. It is essential, it keeps us alive. It drives us to achieve things and to seek the approval of other humans. It helps us bond with significant others, motivates us to raise children, to consume, to study, to explore, to discover, to invent, to innovate. It is a powerful engine of human personal progress. Pathological narcissism has very little to do with healthy narcissism. It thrives on ANY kind of attention, even on a negative one (infamy, fear, hatred) and from ANYONE (the narcissist has no significant or meaningful others in his life). It is disconnected from reality (fails the reality test). The False Self is... well ... false. It is a concoction, a distorted invention, replete with magical thinking and ideas of reference. It leads to dependence rather than to inter-dependence, to conflict rather than to collaboration, to sadistic behaviours rather to tender emotions. It is a malignant form of narcissism because it takes over the host and then kills it.