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CSIS Reports – The War in Gaza – Center for Strategic and International Studies

Thanks To ForeignPolicy blog for the pointer here

This raises a question that every Israeli and its supporters now needs to ask. What is the strategic purpose behind the present fighting? After two weeks of combat Olmert, Livni, and Barak have still not said a word that indicates that Israel will gain strategic or grand strategic benefits, or tactical benefits much larger than the gains it made from selectively striking key Hamas facilities early in the war. In fact, their silence raises haunting questions about whether they will repeat the same massive failures made by Israel’s top political leadership during the Israeli-Hezbollah War in 2006. Has Israel somehow blundered into a steadily escalating war without a clear strategic goal or at least one it can credibly achieve? Will Israel end in empowering an enemy in political terms that it defeated in tactical terms? Will Israel’s actions seriously damage the US position in the region, any hope of peace, as well as moderate Arab regimes and voices in the process?
To blunt, the answer so far seems to be yes. To paraphrase a comment about the British government’s management of the British Army in World War I, lions seem to be led by donkeys. If Israel has a credible ceasefire plan that could really secure Gaza, it is not apparent. If Israel has a plan that could credibly destroy and replace Hamas, it is not apparent. If Israel has any plan to help the Gazans and move them back towards peace, it is not apparent. If Israel has any plan to use US or other friendly influence productively, it not apparent.
As we have seen all too clearly from US mistakes, any leader can take a tough stand and claim that tactical gains are a meaningful victory. If this is all that Olmert, Livni, and Barak have for an answer, then they have disgraced themselves and damaged their country and their friends. If there is more, it is time to make such goals public and demonstrate how they can be achieved. The question is not whether the IDF learned the tactical lessons of the fighting in 2006. It is whether Israel’s top political leadership has even minimal competence to lead them.
CSIS Reports – The War in Gaza – Center for Strategic and International Studies .

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Medical Expenses –Angry Bear: Who has "bad credit" when a million Americans file for bankruptcy?

Also in 2005, researchers at Harvard University completed a study that found that 50 percent of all bankruptcy filings were partly the result of medical expenses. The average out-of-pocket medical debt for those who filed for bankruptcy was $12,000 and that 68 percent of those who filed for bankruptcy had health insurance. The study concluded that every 30 seconds in the United States, someone files for bankruptcy in the aftermath of a serious health problem.
Angry Bear: Who has “bad credit” when a million Americans file for bankruptcy?.

I had intuited this, but have no real evidence.  It is heart wrenching to see families that could have had a much better life except for the ravages of medical expenses.
Sadly most families even those in the Philippines middle class can barely afford one time costly medical procedures let alone conditions which require prolonged treatment .

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The Law of Jante at Paulo Coelho’s Blog

from paolo coelo:

Of course I had never heard of this, so he explained what it was. I continued on my journey and discovered it is hard to find anyone in any of the Scandinavian countries who does not know this law. Although the law exists since the beginning of civilization, it was only officially declared in 1933 by writer Aksel Sandemose in the novel “A refugee goes beyond limits.”
The sad truth is that the Law of Jante is not restricted to Scandinavia: this is a rule applied in every country in the world, despite the fact that Brazilians say that “this only happens here,” and the French claim that “unfortunately, that’s how it is in our country.” Now, the reader must be annoyed because he/she is already half way through the column and still does not know what the Law of Jante is all about, so I’ll try to explain it here briefly in my own words:
“You aren’t worth a thing, nobody is interested in what you think, mediocrity and anonymity are your best bet. If you act this way, you will never have any big problems in life.”
The Law of Jante at Paulo Coelho’s Blog.

I believe that people inherently want to be the great, its just that fear stops them from even trying. Whenever anyone haas the courage to try to be really great, to really blaze a trail we are faced with our initial inability to overcome our fear. The existence of someone courageous enough to try rubs our insecurities and inabilities to even try.
Whenever faced with this I tell myself this from here:

Our Greatest Fear —Marianne Williamson
it is our light not our darkness that most frightens us
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,
talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other
people won’t feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of
God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people
permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
Our presence automatically liberates others.
—Marianne Williamson

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FIlm Lovers–The birds of prey are circling – Roger Ebert's Journal

If David Lean were in business today, he’d be out of business. American opening-weekend audiences are driven by gossip and “box office winners.” Not enough people trust their instincts. Which family movie would you rather see? An epic set in Australia, or one about a crazy dog? The kids see the trailer on TV, and say: “We want to see the dog!” Well, I sorta liked “Marley” too, except for the dog. But I offer this advice for parents: The kids will see the movie you choose for them, not the movie they choose for you. If you don’t lay down the law, you’ll end up seeing “The Spirit.” You mark my words.
Never mind the “weekend winner” charts. Everybody wants to back a winner. If you’re one of 50 people in a theater, that may mean you are more discriminating than the people who are not filling the other 300 seats. It doesn’t automatically mean you’re (a) a loser; (b) one of them Elites; (c) looking like a nerd in front of your date. Young people, heed this advice: Never marry someone who doesn’t love the movies you love. Sooner or later, that person will not love you. I could go even further, and quote the great French cineaste Pierre Rissient, who instructs us: It is not enough for you to love a movie. You must love it for the right reasons.
The bounty hunting goes on. Who is the current reigning female star? Angelina Jolie, without a doubt. She might as well find a calendar and start marking off the days until she reads learns of her “box office dive” and “comeback attempt.”
The birds of prey are circling – Roger Ebert’s Journal.

As a film lover this couldn’t have been more from the heart. I just feel that people are looking for junk food and not salads/ or steaks. This leaves them feeling empty but makes them coming back for more. And that is the crux of the matter. It is hard to find Great even Good films, compare that to mediocre films that are easier to make and ar a known quantity. Quoting deep throat “follow the money”, and that’s what the studio’s do. They do not risk and just follow the money, That’s why we get all these scary movie’s disaster movies etc while a lot of good or even great movies can’t seem to get distribution deals!
The internet is a game changer and i believe that only time and greater advances in technology that allow probably 100 times the earth’s current population would spawn what (How many real movie/film lovers do we really need) 100 million/1 billion? before the scale allows great films to be made only for the people who care/ the people who actually think. (This post made me reminiscent of “The Wire” The Best TV Show Ever!)

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Feeling So Familiar–Global Voices Online » Japan: “What are you up to now?” has become a taboo question

And this is how we kicked off our thirties. In our twenties, all of us were running full steam ahead, taking the long route to life. But now the fatigue has built up, I think we’re all just tired. Out of our whole group, there was not a single person who, thinking about how they would spend the next ten years, envisioned a bright future. Everyone was concentrating their attention on just getting by for the time being, and nothing else.
Global Voices Online » Japan: “What are you up to now?” has become a taboo question.

Feeling So Familiar!

“I’m in my twenties , but why does this feel so familiar, Why is it that I get the feeling that this guy could be one of many from my circle or friends.”
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Dani Rodrik's weblog: The inescapable trilemma of the world economy

So I maintain that any reform of the international economic system must face up to this trilemma. If we want more globalization, we must either give up some democracy or some national sovereignty. Pretending that we can have all three simultaneously leaves us in an unstable no-man’s land.
Dani Rodrik’s weblog: The inescapable trilemma of the world economy.

A year old posts but more important to note now that the world is in a Severe Economic Crisis the decisions and compromise that the world leaders choose basically impact my and my generations adult life. This probably has a more formal name but I’ll call it the tragedy of progress, where in the previous generation either build the pitfalls or the stepping stones of the next generation.

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Great Read ===> Hardwood Paroxysm: What Doesn't Kill You Only Makes You Less Likely To Rebound: Seven Seconds Or Less And The Dark Knight

Great article on Mike D’Antoni’s Seven Seconds Or Less and Dark Knight!

Now, conversely, Simmons’ article also is a good reference point because it speaks to the prevailing counter-argument. The tenets of rational order, you might say. The tenets are that defense wins championship, toughness always wins over flash, and that you can’t play basketball like that and expect to win. And just like in the Dark Knight, the end seems to justify that train of thought. The Joker got caught, the Spurs won the title, and all is right with the world (don’t even get me started on the similarities between Batman accepting the responsibility of being hunted by the police and criticized for his good intentions and the Spurs being constantly dogged as “boring”). But there’s also something telling in what the Joker tells Batman, hanging there, laughing at him.

“I think you and I are destined to do this forever.”
Just because SSOL failed in the desert doesn’t mean it will always fail, and it didn’t mean the end of the movement. Because tonight, when the Knicks, with Al Harrington firing threes and Nate Robinson splitting defenders, beat the Celtics, with all their defense, all their fundamentals, all their strength, you saw a glimpse of it. The battle’s eternal, and necessary between the two. Chaotic, freewheeling mania versus controlled, disciplined order.
Now, of course, this isn’t meant to idolize the violent murder the joker takes as whimsy, nor to link D’Antoni to that kind of behavior. But there’s a reason that no one goes around quoting any of Christian Bale’s lines from that film, a reason that Ledger is posthumously up for an Oscar and was spoken of a nomination before his passing, a reason that when you think of that film, you think of the Joker. And it’s the same reason kids love to dunk, that we like the fastbreak more than the halfcourt, and why Gilbert Arenas is on the All-Star ballot despite not playing a tick and Bruce Bowen has never been a serious DPOY of the year candidate. It’s human nature, and it plays out every night on the court.
The best part is that there will never be an answer to the question. The fundamentalists will respond with “Who’s got the rings?” and the other side will respond with a cackle and just a simple…
“You’ll see. I’ll show you.”
Hardwood Paroxysm: What Doesn’t Kill You Only Makes You Less Likely To Rebound: Seven Seconds Or Less And The Dark Knight.

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Nice Comment on Work Effort And Success!

from here

And yes, I get paid well, and I get treated well, and I probably have it better than 99% of people out there. Am I thankful for that? I absolutely am every single day. I realize how awesome it is to love what I do, but I didn’t just fall into it. I wasn’t just handed it. And every single day isn’t gumdrops. I think I worked pretty hard to get where I am. Am I spoiled? I wouldn’t say so. Okay, maybe a tiny bit. But when it really comes down to it, do I know any developers who are very successful and don’t pour their heart and soul into their work?
Absolutely not.

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The Problem With Torture

Reading something so short and yet be able to say that the way you think and feel has been changed!
from wroing the rights here:

And the problem with torture is not that it produces untrustworthy information. That is a problem, certainly -we should not expend resources on useless results- but torture would still be unacceptable if it produced the sterling truth every time.

The problem with torture is different.
Torture is the subversion of the body to overthrow the soul. When a person breaks, he is broken: he will give up any information, do whatever is asked of him. He no longer exists as an independent being, a member of society. He is only an instrument of his torturer. His sole aim becomes “make it stop.” That is a cancer on any free society.