The Lull, part 9

Starvation point update: Two hours to go. This is nothing less than a battle of wills. Gill, quite sensibly, flees to work, leaving me alone to face a sulking, cranky Nadine, the Cat Who Holds a Grudge. She shifts from the I'm-so-weak-I-can-barely-meow technique, where she gazes pitifully at me and opens her mouth in a near-silent plea for food, to Basic Car Alarm ("Feed me noooooowww!!!"). I apologize to, and warn, the neighbors. Olga's three cats become the beneficiary of the food that caused all this trouble to begin with. Our rationale is that these cats, exposed to a steady diet of boiled potatoes, horrible treif sausage, and sour-cream soaked blinis, must be blessed with sturdy digestive tracks.

Clear-headed analysis: Strategic Forecasting puts out another analysis of the war in Iraq. This snippet caught my eye. I've mentioned them before; if you are intrigued by the level of analysis, you can sign up for free reports, or just browse their site:

Second, in Lebanon, Iran encouraged Hezbollah to launch an offensive. There is debate over whether the Israelis or Hezbollah ignited the conflict in Lebanon. Part of this is ideological gibberish, but part of it concerns intention. It is clear that Hezbollah was fully deployed for combat. Its positions were manned in the south, and its rockets were ready. The capture of two Israeli soldiers was intended to trigger Israeli airstrikes, which were as predictable as sunrise, and Hezbollah was ready to fire on Haifa. Once Haifa was hit, Israel floundered in trying to deploy troops (the Golani and Givati brigades were in the south, near Gaza). This would not have been the case if the Israelis had planned for war with Hezbollah. Now, this discussion has nothing to do with who to blame for what. It has everything to do with the fact that Hezbollah was ready to fight, triggered the fight, and came out ahead because it wasn't defeated.

Will they be returned? It is the question we are all asking, as every day new speculations emerge about Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, two of the kidnapped soldiers. Olmert originally promises to not lift the blockade on Lebanon until they are returned, but international pressure cause Mr. Waffle to cave. Like, we didn't see that coming. Now he must explain himself to the soldiers' parents.

There is no safe place: When friends and colleagues abroad asked why I didn't leave Israel during the war, I always ask, "And go where? Where do I run to that is a safe place?" In the wake of the attack in Seattle, the ongoing anti-Semitic upsurge in Europe, and the new thuggary in England, I am amazed that anyone can think that a Jew is better off somewhere else. Just ask Linda Cohen how safe she feels in London now.

This is my home. This is our home. This has always been our home. And we will not run away.

Unless, of course, we are driven out by an obese, pissed-off cat on a 24-hour fast...