My Dialogue with Abshalon, Part 4

December 3, 2018

Hello Avner

Time goes by very quickly.

I wish first to wish you and your family a happy Hanukka, and all the best for the coming year.

I wonder how are you doing, and what is new?  I have started to watch the news for Israel from time to time, and it is quite interesting. Your friend Netanyahu is going to have a lot to do in the coming days. How do you feel about what is going to happen, and what do you expect to happen?  How is your job going? I suppose that most of the electronics to day is digital, but probably there are not many analog circuits designers, so you are in a good situation. By the way I am still getting swamped by Linked In with bogus invitations, when your names comes up from time to time. I am repeatedly surprised for there ability to spy after people. I wonder how they can do this.

As I can see, there is a lot of construction in Israel, and the country is looking more modern. I just wonder that there is so much money for construction while there is not enough for the lower income, older people and the very young. The situation at the border fence with Gaza is quite strange, and I wonder how it could be ended. I can not avoid seeing some resemblance between Trump and Netanyahu. Trump is also facing growing problems, and he will be soon be deeply involved in the fight for his political future. I think that for Israel it will be better if he stays. So it is going to be a hot time for Israel and the US. My feeling is that Israel enemies like the Hesbolla will be reluctant to attack Israel as long as Trump is in power. What do you think?

So I look forward to hear some interesting news from you, and wish you again a happy Hanukka.

Abshalon

December 23, 2018

Hi Abshalon,

The general feeling in the Israeli media is becoming more and more, that Netanyahu is going to face charges in court. If he wants to avoid that (and loosing his job disgracefully, due to losing support from his fellow criminals in the coalition) - he will have to agree to lose his job voluntarily.

I still don't share this prediction, since I give him a lot of credit (not for being a great leader - he is the Worst Israeli PM ever; and it's hard to win this title - competition for the worst is very tough...) - but for being a Genius politician and master of media and demagogy.

My job is great. Fortunately, I didn't become a teacher in the failing Israeli education system. The poor way that Math is being taught in Israel, and the stupidity of the department of education - were the reasons, among others. So I am very happy with my current job.

I have to disagree with you about Trump being good for the security of Israel. I think that he is Terrible for the well being of the US, as well as for Israel. I do agree, that Netanyahu has a lot in common with him - with one big difference: Netanyahu is smart, while Trump is a stupid red-neck. His latest decisions, which shoo-off his best and very few sane personnel, out of their positions - will prove.

So, in general, I think that both countries are on the way down, under these "leaders". The main difference is, that the US is bigger and more stable, and will survive even the worst of leadership. While Israel is more fragile.

As usual, I truly hope that I am wrong...

Best regards to you.

Cheers,

Avner E.

January 5, 2019

Hello Avner

I found your message interesting and glad to learn that you found a good job. As I understand in some schools you need to have a black belt to feel sate. Are you ready? I wonder if you may consider the option of tutoring? I think it can be very rewording, and I like the personal contact. The students may also come with interesting  questions that may surprise you, so you will be also learning while teaching. May be very rewarding.

Question: I have heard some time ago that Toyota started selling diesel cars in Israel. I have read that one of them was a commercial van. But since all the issue went quiet. Do you know anything about that?

Question: While watching the news from Israel some time ago, it was said that people In the town of Sderot near Gaza have been hearing a sound of digging in their houses, and were wondering. Do you know what was the conclusion of this?

As I can see, this time is quite hectic in Israel as well as in America. In the US it is mainly about building the wall around the south border to stop the illegal (few versions) to the US. The problem is really very bad, and as you may have heard it became a personal affair between the president to the democratic party leaders. The last “caravan” (the third) had swelled to about 5000+, and the rumors are that the forth, of about 15000 is going to start moving towards the us at the end of January. This is going to grow to a catastrophic proportions, because the border patrol guys are not able to control a 1900 mile border. and some barrier must be erected, preferably few years ago, but none of the former presidents would touch this “hot potato”. Now, that the democrats are ruling the House, they are blocking Trump from making any progress, and in my mind that is only for revenge. Trump is ready to go for a shutdown, and he is right in my mind. So it shows to what extent the US government has deteriorated. As I can see there are also some serious problems in the election process in Israel, and I hope it will end soon. I would be worried especially that Hamas in Gaza may think that this would be a good time for them to attack, since Israel may soon be with no prime minister and defense minister.

Changing subject:

Do you like Irish jokes? I hope you do, so here as an example: (I heard a lot of those when I was in the UK: there the Irish people are considered as excelling in physical strength but not very bright-not like in the US, where they are a very well respected minority).

An Irishman looking for a job. He sees a building site on his way, so he goes to talk to the manager. The manager is not very interested, since the job situation is bad. “there

is not much work here” he tells the Irishman. The Irishman does not give up: ‘”don’t worry” he says, “I would not do much”.

So here is another one which came to my mind when listening to the president explaining why he is going to take the US army out of Syria:   It is a rainy and stormy day at the beach, nobody dares to try the water. Suddenly a cry for help is heard-a person is drowning and calling for help. Here comes the Irishman, and he jumps into the waves with no fear, and soon comes out with the poor guy, both very wet. The person is very thankful and both depart to go home. The next day, the weather is very nice, and many people come down. However, suddenly, something is wrong: a crime had been committed, and the police are looking for clues. Here comes our man, and the policeman tells him that a dead person had been found hanging, and the police has determined a foul play. He shows a picture, and the Irishman is surprised: “don’t worry” he tells the policeman. “I met him yesterday and pulled him out of the water, and as we went home, I noticed that he was very wet, so I took him to one of the shacks on the beach, and hanged him so he would dry faster”. 

So, to conclude, I think that president trump is not always doing the right things, but I also feel that he is facing now a total and irresponsible attacks, even when he is doing a right thing for a change, like the border wall, and this is not good for the country.

I feel like I need to go to sleep.

I wish you all the best.

Abshalon

Jan 10 2019

Hi Abshalon,

I am totally ready for the energy and challenges of young students. What I'm not quite ready, is the opacity and stupidity of the Israeli Department of Education. They are the ones who took the whole energy and motivation out of me, therefore I abandoned the dream to be a teacher (at least in Israel).

I don't do tutoring. I totally agree with you about the personal contact, and especially about the learning from students. But I'm not willing to take a deal, where the parent pays me money, and I need to get the kid pass the exam. That's basically tutoring, at least in Israel, and that's not what I do.

I don't know about Toyota. I know that residents have been complaining for a long time about knocking and digging - they were probably right.

Regarding Trump and the Wall - I think that the illegal immigrants are the least of the US problems. In general, the USA is an immigration country, and it would never have become a superpower had it not for the vast immigration (both legal and illegal, mind you). As published recently, many of the residents in the South object the wall. It's just another spin, from a President who has nothing in his world but spins.

Take care.

Cheers,

Avner E.

February 11, 2019
Hello Avner

Good to hear from you, and the main  thing is that you are happy with your job, which is much better than being a teacher.

I do not think that this is that important. An important reason that I like tutoring is that you can do it “on the side”.

As I can read, it is a hectic time in Israel: the new parties and contestants, and it looks like the new government will be quite different than the last one. So the time around April and May there may be two shows: Netanyaho fight to survive and the Eurovision. So what do you think about the new contestants? It looks to me that Gantz ambition cooled off and he is now more realistic about how high he could go.

In the US, as you might have heard, the government is in a mess, and another shutdown looms. In particular, I think that on this one, Trump is right, and the wall is important. And here is why: first of all, the wall should have been build many years ago, when the illegal emigration from Mexico started. While it is true that there work was useful, it is important that they will come legally. It will be better also for them-and many people seem to forget this. With a wall in place it could be done, and it would be much more fair and humane. Many do not think about what happens to them when they can’t work any more, and can not have any benefits and health insurance. But the main emergency is coming now, when many is going to come from all the failed states in south-central America. Pelosi has a soft soothing voice that makes here sound very nice and caring, but in fact her drive is just vengeance. I can understand her, but I feel that the interest of the country comes first. I think that you know, that is nothing better than a wall to stop crossing, and all the surveillance systems only report, and a large force is necessary to do the work. I think that the main problem of trump is his style, and he could easily put a good set of arguments, while she has none. Again, the important thing is to do it legally, so the government can manage it properly. Those people are so desperate, that they think only on the immediate future. A lot of children are involved which makes      m it much worse. The real thing has not started yet, and it will be much worse than the emigration from Mexico, I suspect and this is going to be a mess, and a cruel one, worse than from Mexico.

So I hope I am wrong, and will not be so bad.

So I think I have written enough for one time, and I look forward to hearing from you what is really going now in Israel.

Wish you all the best.
Abshalon





March 6, 2019
Hi Abshalon,

so, you are saying that Mr. Trump has good arguments?... this is interesting. I have never heard this stupid red-neck racist make one argument, ever. But it's OK to disagree.

I don't think that the illegal immigration is the US' no. one problem. On the contrary, in a way, immigration is one of this country's great merits. Your country was built on the innovation of immigrants.
You want to make it legal - go ahead, let them in legally. But I think that Trump is not interested at all in solving this problem (and any problem, for that matter). He just wants to be in power, and needs some dramatic and sexy issue to draw the public attention and emotions towards it.

He is very much like Netanyahu in this sense. Only much less smart.

Good luck with living under this shaky government.


Take care,

Cheers,

Avner E.

April 15, 2019
Hello Avner

So what is new with you? As I know, you are happy with your job, which is very important and I hope that the same is true for the last developments in Israel .

So, what is new for me?

Well, not too much. As you know the Mueller report has come out. A lot of lightnings, thunder, and

no rain! President Trump is happy, but Democrats are not, and a 2nd  investigation, to investigate the first one will probably start. On the immigration status, not much surprise: the situation is becoming really bad, as I wrote you last time: the flood is now going to start, and the president is fuming. The situation can not be fixed any more: especially the eastern part of the border is wide open. Some numbers: the number of registered for court hearing is now more than 855,000 already, about 100,000 recorded last month, and clearly the number of unrecorded is much larger than all of these!  The real flood will now start, as the rumors of more caravans are coming. In addition, there are many who arrive in small groups, impatient to wait, many of them not recorded. The president is threatening to direct many of them to  cities managed by the Democrats, like LA and SF, but he could not do this since he cannot control the border! After all of this, he is accused, as expected, to be guilty again of all of this! The logic is so convoluted, that I can’t even remember how. I just can not believe that Pelosy, the Democrats majority leader does not feel bad about the damage that she has done!

So, it will be interesting.  In addition, the is a lot of bad weather, but not much where I live, so far.

So what is new in Israel? I do not know too much because you are not telling. I need more news. I have seen that the election have ended and I can not understand. Netanyahoo again?!  He was so intensely badmouthed by many, and still the winner? I can not avoid feeling that indeed, there are no good options. Many of the possible candidates for government positions do not look to me very exciting. So I look forward to get some explanations from you.

I think I have written enough for one letter, and I look forward to some interesting news.

Regards
Abshalon

April 18, 2019

Hi,

Yes, Netanyahu again, as I expected... the public has spoken.

Explanations? Here are mine (which are as bad as any other):

1. He is a Genius, in PR and campaigning that is. The can manipulate almost anyone, to do anything. He is a magician.

2. Almost all the poor people, those who suffer the most from his policy on foreign, security and economical matters - voted for him. This could be explained by either of, or a combination thereof, of the following: (1) they are sheer stupid (I'm not very fond of this one, but my wife is certain that it's true - together with thousands of people in the Left; (2) they (or at least some of them) are not stupid, but are willing to suffer for the benefit of being safe from the "real" threats - Iran, aliens from Mars, whatever; or (3) they are not stupid, nor they think that Netanyahu is good in security - but they have other interests than us, the "normal people": they want to feel the pride of being patriots. And they are willing to suffer for THAT.

OK, suffer it is. and will be. But I'm not part if this. I am no longer an Israeli, I don't belong here, I am an alien, a foreign worker; this is not my government nor my country, I am just a guest here.

It is more sane like this. Actually, when taken this way, life in Israel is not so bad (if you belong to the upper 10%, as we are...)

Cheers,

Avner E.

Hi Abshalon,

...and yet another explanation for Netanyahu's victory (and maybe the Major one): people prefer to stick to the Known; most people hate changes, and they punish those who offer them any change - even at times of peril. Netanyahu presents the Conservative, the Known, the things that people are used to. "Yes, he may be corrupt; but we are used to his corruption, we came to term with it, and we are terrified of anything different than what we know."

Just a thought...

Cheers,
Avner E.

My Dialogue with Abshalon, Part 3

March 3, 2015

Hello Avner

I did not respond immediately to your last letter because I thought to let you off for sometime.

A lot have been happening, so I think it already a proper time.

As we know, Netanyahu is supposed to speak tomorrow to Congress, so by the time you get this we shall know. I wonder what you think of this. I feel that he is trying to increase the pressure on the Obama to present a tough stand to Iran, but I do not think that  he has much chance to succeed. However I think it may be a good idea. In fact the dissatisfaction about the president actions across the board is growing, and Iran policy is just one of many, but is very important. I think that the EU countries are also very concerned, especially because having learned about the long range missiles that Iran is developing. Obama will be happy to get just a face saving decision, but he may be coming under a heavy pressure to get more. I think that he will be happy to leave this hot potato to his successor.

So what is happening in Israel about the elections? What is your impression about this? I understand that there is a lot and justified resentment about Netanyahu personal conduct. However I still think that he is locked on the Iranian issue, and he is right about this.

The economy in the US has improved, and I understand that this is mainly due to the developing oil industry. The prices of gas has increased recently, but this is mainly due to problems in the refineries in the US. This is rather a shame. So who is in fact behind all of the recent price hikes? Many people say it is a Saudi Arabia initiative. It does not make sense to me. I think that the fact that the American oil companies started to sell oil in realistic price is a main factor. What do you think?

On the light side: I read few months ago that scientist in Israel have managed to figure out the language of cows! I have been suspecting the those cows are just pretending to be standing close to each other pretending that they are just testing the grass. So now we now: they have been talking secrets all the time! However I have not heard anything since then. Is it possible that those crafty cows has realized that people are eavesdropping on them, so that they are more careful now? So what do you know about this? I have not seen any Facebook or Twitter pages in cows language. So what is happening?

I wonder how your Master in Education study is progressing? I think this is a great idea, and I think that completing this will be very rewarding and hopefully useful. I invested a whole year to get a certificate in Biotechnology. It was really very useful and interesting but I have not managed to translate it to a job. I hope it will be different for you.

So let me finish now, and I look forward to hear from you. I am not as busy as you and shall be very interested to read all that you write.

Regards

Abshalon

Apr 28, 2015

Hi Abshalon,

Yes, I'm very busy. Working and studying.

I enjoy my Masters studies very much. Not so much my work... but not complaining. Life is good, so far.

since the elections there have been more despair in the Liberal camp in Israel. I am not completely desperate, but something has changed in me. These last elections taught me (this is my opinion), that arguments cannot change the public's mind. There have been so many arguments against Netanyahu (and also, very few, in his favor). But still, he was elected.

I anticipated that we would be the next Prime Minister. But I also anticipated that the Avoda (Herzog) will join his coalition. Hasn't happened so far; I hope it it will not happen, but one can never know.

I think that now we (the Left) need to let Netanyahu rule with his most extremist allies, let then carry out their policy, and let the public judge them, based on (what I think will be the catastrophic) consequences. If I'm wrong - then everything is OK...

You know already that I don't share the same opinions with yourself about Iran and their prospect Bomb. This is OK...

In short, I think that Israel is in a slow process of suicide. So far, things look OK, especially for the upper classes in Israel (that includes myself). But this is like that man who is falling off the 80th floor, and while passing by the 40th floor he proclaims: so far, so good.

take care,

Avner

"Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn [your Ass?]" (Stephen Covey)

Cheers,

Avner E.

My Dialogue with Abshalon, Part 2

December 9, 2013 10:08 AM

Hello Avner

I have not been maintaining my page at LinkedIn for a while, so I do not accept invitations.

However, I have also been receiving lately invitations, that I have checked and found to be phony. Could you kindly let me know if you have mailed me this one. I am also waiting to hear from you about your blog. As I understand the time is now quite hectic, now and in Israel, so I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Regards

Abshalon

December 22, 2013 1:14 AM

Hi Abshalon,

I don't think that I have mailed you this from Linked-in. I have not been writing in my blog so much.

As for your comments regrading the current situation:

As I told you before, I'm not worried about an atomic bomb being in the hand of Iranian leaders, more than I do worry about it being in the hands of Netanyahu and his friends. When people say that the Iranians are cheating, I think that they are disregarding the so many incidents of Netanyahu cheating on the whole world. He is promising one thing to Obama, another thing to the public in Israel, and yet a third thing to the most important audience for him, the Likud Center which he depends on for his job. He is a cheater by nature and I don't trust a word he is saying, let alone his hand on the red button. The Palestinians and Iranians are more reliable in my view, and less hypocrites.

Obama, on the other hand, is one of the smartest and courageous leaders of our time. Please see attached a Hebrew paper written by a good friend of mine, who is a top political adviser.

This is really a high quality assessment of the type of leader that Obama is. He is way far-seeing than the bunch of machos who run the country that I live in.

I think that your feeling about the support that Netanyahu is getting in the US is very much biased. It is far from being true. I think that under his control, the state of Israel is becoming the leper of the world, and this includes the majority of Jews in the US - save the hard-core fundamentalist and lunatic Republicans, who will take us all to hell with their Messianic visions.

Regarding my work, I don't like it as you know and I'm going to quit (or get fired) in the coming few years, and go to pursue my real passion in high-school teaching. I'm not doing tutoring at all - I don't think that I'm good at that and that it is my call. I'm doing some volunteering in a high school once a week, and I love it.

The education system in Israel is deteriorating, and I'm not there in order to fix it. There are far more powerful forces against me, the government being at the front. The fact that an ex-Israeli scientist, and some times a real Israeli, receives the Nobel prize, doesn't help at all. It gives the government an excuse to continue sitting on their fat butts, doing nothing, with the illusion that everything is going very well actually.

I hope to add some more posts to the blog soon. I'm thinking that this conversation with you will be part of it...

Have a great week and nice holiday season!

Avner

"I'm 45 now. So, I don't know if I'm halfway through a healthy life, or almost done with an unhealthy one." (Louis CK)

Cheers,

Avner E.

February 19, 2014

Hello Avner

I really enjoyed reading your last message. Not because all of it was good (I mean for you) but because it was very interesting, and I have been trying for some time to find the time to respond. I hope that you will find that things are not so bad as you expect.Part of the problem is that I feel that my Email at home is very un-secure. I do not think that Iwrite big secrets, just in principle, it is annoying. So I am mailing this from Sunnyvale library, and by the time I go over my mail, my time is over. The article of your friend is also very interesting, and I just do not know how to start. It seems to me that I have to break down my response to few smaller messages.

About tutoring: I am going twice a week to a HS in Mountain View. This is considered a very good school, and the atmosphere is very pleasant. However, I find that I am tutoring only a small part of my time. Most of the students look for help in Math, which is not my field yet (mainly Physics and Chemistry). I am looking for student who will work with me in a regular dates, and with a well defined goal. I also like to know time ahead what I am going to tutor, so I can refresh and prepare. I am riddled by the seemingly lack of interest of parents in helping their children to do well in school. For many this is not a problem, especially in MV. I think that the students need to learn much more today then in our time, and I do not understand their study plan. It may change yearly, and times they have to study without the proper background, like doing Chemistry with no basis in physics, or biology with no Chemistry and Physics. So I wonder: what are doing in the school?, and in what subjects? On one hand I find the free public schools are very nice idea, but in the other hand, their level can vary significantly from the big cities to small towns--which I feel is very unfair: these students diplomas are not accepted in the universities, and they have to go to a community colleges, after which they may be accepted. Organized tutoring, like in MV is not available, so that the play field is very uneven. It is clearly favors the rich, and it seems to me that the gap is growing. As to your criticism on Nethanyaho: You do not mention any specifics details, that can give me some idea. As I recall, the earlier letter you thought that President Obama is a weak person, but now you think that he is a strong one with a clear vision and determination. I guess he may have eaten some spinach and kale for that, but I can not observe the change. As I understand you (the kingly you-and your friend) feel that he chose the Win-Wing strategy in the Syria's Assad chemical weapons event. I do not feel so sure about this.

Let us have a quick look at the events, as I know them: At first, after Obama appointed John Kerry to investigate, the president agreed that chemical weapon have really been used, and therefor a military strike was to come. He even tried, but failed to generate an EU coalition, only France agreed to cooperate. However when the president convened his own staff to get support, he found that they were not ready to do so, (in particular the defense and the army general commander). So he decided to wait two days for the congress to return from recess. However, when they returned, he "tested the political air) and found it so unfavorable, that he decided to call off the operation, and go to the UN, with the help of Mr. Putin. I suppose you know the rest. So it seems to me, that Obama did not really chose the Win-Win line of action: he just had to do that because of the mess in the US government, and Putin, ironically ended to be "the man of peace", in spite of the fact that it was know, that heavy transport plains were landing in Damascus airport, unloading have crates full of pigeons, I guess, and president Obama ended up with the image of a frustrated aggressor. So I have some doubts of the way your friend feels about his actions. I think that we know what happened after: Assad did not really destroy his chemicals, and continues his aggressive and cruel actions against his opponents in Syria. I still feel, that a proper military strike would have been much more effective.I can see that my computer time is going to run out in few minutes, so I look forward to the next time to write some more.

So I wish you all the best and look forward to hearing from you, and to write some more.

Regards

Abshalon

April 19, 2014

Hi Abshalon,

Sorry for the late response, I have been busy.I totally agree with you about the education gap, and think that the government must boost the support to the smaller towns and more remote areas. I still think that education must be free to all, at least through high school, and preferably to university as it is done in Europe. In Israel, there is no lack of funds to support education, but the overall atmosphere is very much against good education, so mostly the rich can really afford it if they want. The status of the school teacher is pretty low, and the Israeli culture sees this profession as synonym to a "loser" in life. Nobody will admit this, but it's the truth. For example: the Prime minister always calls athletes after they win a bronze medal in some minor competition, but he never calls students who repeatedly win gold medals in Math and science Olympics.

In general, the media promotes and admires social celebrities much more than intellectuals. This is Israeli culture at its best, today.

With regard to Obama, I really don't know. I feel that we could have done more on the middle east conflict, but his priorities are different. Kerry is very determined, but he tries too much to be the "fair mediator", and this is wrong. The Israeli government must be held more responsible to the failure of "the negotiation", so to speak.

Take care and have a nice holiday!

Avner

"La Iglesia no debe tener miedo a la verdad" (Jorge Mario Bergoglio, The Pope Franciscus)

Cheers,

Avner E.

July 20, 2014

Hello Avner

I just can`t believe how fast time goes by. I have clear signs to show that my mail from home can be (and is) interfered with, and the computer time in the library is limited, so many times my time is up by the time I get around to write.

The latest news about the ongoing war in Gaza is not good, but I am sure that IDF leaders will find a way to improve, and I hope that they will succeed this time to eradicate the Hamas missiles and tunnels. It can be probably due to including quite a number of reserves, that are not trained as well as the regular army. The Iron Dome system is really a great success, because it enables Israel to hold on with relatively small losses.

It looks to me that this is like the first clash between Israel and Iran, because much of the equipment and strategy are Iranian import. I wonder if many people have too much expectations about the "peace negotiations" for the west bank: I agree with Israel DM Yaalon, that the Palestinians in the west bank need to embark on a "nation building" process, before any serious negotiations will be possible. In particular they need a leader with a vision and a fire in his/her belly, and Abbas has none of these.

So how have you been doing? I understand that you are quite happy with whatever your work is, and this is very good. Just wondering: what can you tell me about you work, and your views about what is happening now? In regards to your views about the status of the education system in Israel, it is no better in the US, as you may have already found out from your own experience. I have learned a lot from my tutoring experience in the HS in Mountain view.

This is a very good school, and in many placed. like Newark, NJ, the situation is much worse. More than two years ago, the Mark Zukerberg (Facebook) decided to donate one million dollars to improve the education system in Newark, NJ. The mayor agreed to add on a dollar for dollar basis, so it came up to $200 millions. After two years, "Meet the Press" program invited the involved individuals in the project to explain how this money had produced practically nothing. I have a printout of the file, and I could mail it to you if interested. It is like 21pp, and I lost my way at about the tenth page.

It seems to me that the US in going downhill and I just can`t think of how this process can change direction. There is a massive increase in the corruption, and the country is collapsing under the pressure of the last wave on "not so good" immigration waves. In Fremont, where I live: I had a look at the list of the last year students graduates: about 5% or less are "American" (by name), and the rest are Orientals, Indians, and a fast growing group of Moslems and very few Hispanics.

Just unbelievable! My computer time is closing on on me, and I need to rap up!

Please pass my good wished to Mazy and I hope she is doing well.

Best regards

Abshalon

August 6, 2014

Hello Avner

I apologize for not letting you enough time to respond to my last message. Things are happening so quickly, so by the time I get to write a whole new situation exists. We feel much relieved that the fighting has ended. How have you been, and what it was like at the place you live? As I understand, the damages were only small, but it is not pleasant to have to run for cover repeatedly. I feel that the new established relation with Egypt are very good news, and hope that it will last. However, I wonder if Israel has got all what it needs to make sure that a new fighting will not occur again. It looks to me that the IDF should have remained for a while in the outskirts of the Gaza strip, in order to continue the destruction of the tunnels, and to show more support to the people in the south, to encourage them to go back. So I am looking forward to your comments and to enlighten me about what happened.

I do not have much confidence in the UN ability to ensure the ceasefire. Past experience on the northern border of Israel is not encouraging. So what do you think? I understand that Israel did not have good intelligence about what the Hamas was doing, and was surprised by the sophistication of the Hamas organization and technology, which is mostly, I think an Iranian import. I am worried from the fact that it looks that Iran has already passed the point of no return in their nuclear program.

By the way, you may get very clear information about their program by watching:

Free Online College Courses from Top Universities | Academic Earth, subject: physics, lectures by UC Berkeley (I think prof Muller), lecture #7 (nukes). It may give a very good understanding of what they are doing and why.

Free Online College Courses from Top Universities |Acad.Over 750 free online college courses and lectures are available from MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Berkeley and more. A world of learning is just a click away!

View on www.academicearth.org

The economy in the US seems to be improving but I feel that many of the good news are "cooked" to look much better than it really is. According to my personal experience, I tend to believe in the report I have heard about, that had been written by a group of researchers from three east coast universities, that claims that the US is in a transition process from a democracy to a ( corrupt) oligarchy. In fact, I feel that it has already happened. I think that this is not good for the high tech industry, that is the most important for the country. There is an on going process of change in a bad direction and a polarization process, economically and socially. I think that most of the new jobs are created in the oil industry, and in development of software, entertainment and communication. What I think is missing in the hardware development of new technologies and systems and the lack of new and useful ideas. Let me know if you are interested to read about the education mayhem in NJ. I do not think that anything like that exists anywhere in Israel, and it may make you feel a little better.

So I have managed to write a little more to day, and I look forward to have enlightening news from you.

Be well

Abshalon

Aug 13, 2014 at 8:28 PM

Hi Abshalon,

I wrote to you a detailed reply, but it was lost. Trying to recover.

I think that by now you should already basically know my opinions about this situation. It's puzzling who much you don't trust the US government (a pretty reliable entity in my view), but you do trust the Israeli one, which is made up of nothing more than a bunch of low-life cowards.

I don't think that the fighting is over, only for a while. The Hamas was hit hard, but for them to fight against the very powerful IDF for 30 days and not be defeated, is a great victory. The number of Palestinian dead is not a factor on the contrary. The more innocent people dead, the better for their agenda. Therefore, Israel cannot win this game (contrary to what the Israeli Generals are bragging about). (Actually, I am very impressed by their determinism and courage; The IDF has underestimated them again, and it fired back on us).

Life in Tel-Aviv during this "operation" continued pretty normally, if you were a rational person. Some people were scared, but thanks to the "Iron Dome" system (which most of the Macho Israeli military men objected to develop, and was eventually made thanks to the only civilian Minister of Defense, who was everybody's joke at the time – Amir Peretz, who lives is Sderot and thinks that Israel must talk to the Hamas and pull back to the 1967 line) – hardly anybody was hurt. I never ran to the shelter, because I don't trust the IDF directives, and I try to do the opposite of what they say. That's not very wise sometimes, but I think that pulling over in the middle of the highway and lying down, head between hands, doesn't make much sense either. The chance of getting his by a traffic accident is much greater.

I don't think that the IDF has the option to remain in Gaza for long, not under Netanyahu that is. This guy only cares about how he looks in the Media, and the coverage of the long stay in Gaza with too many dead soldiers would not make him look too good in the polls.

Actually, the IDF had the best intelligence ever provided in a battle field, all the Generals acknowledged that. The only ones not to admit this are the government members, because this would put a lot of blame upon them. They were briefed many times about the terror tunnels, but as I said they are a bunch of ego-maniac idiots, so they didn't pay attention. It's all in the Israeli media by now.

I'd love to listen to this lecture – I heard Prof. Muller back in California, he is brilliant and can tell a story. I have his book "Physics for Future Presidents," a very good one. I wish that Netanyahu read it.

Got to go now. Keep writing!

Cheers,

Avner E.