The horror, the horror ...

People leaving Gaza City for safer areas following the Israeli army's orders to evacuate on Saturday.
Photograph: Anadolu/Getty Images

Cognitive dissonance applies. Israel has a right to defend itself but within limits, something not the case as it continues the art of genocide in Gaza. A two state solution is the only viable way out of this disaster but in order to do that, Bibi and company have to go but that won't happen unless the US grows a pair and tells its pit bull no more ordnance because if that becomes policy, Israel no longer can wage its unlimited personal vendetta against the Palestinians. 

Israel's in dire straits thanks to the intransigence of its insane leaders. The only way Israel exists is because of the unconditional backing of the US as it's now becoming an increasingly destitute pariah in conducting a 5 front war it cannot win. Something wicked this way comes and it's coming for Israel unless it changes course and soon.

 At least 22 people have been killed in airstrikes in northern Gaza, with Israeli forces stepping up their campaign on the besieged Palestinian territory even as fighting in the new war in Lebanon escalates.

On Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) renewed its evacuation orders for Palestinians still living in the decimated northern half of Gaza, although many residents say the fighting and Israeli sniper fire make it impossible to leave.

Avichay Adraee, an IDF spokesperson, told people that the area includes parts of Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood and sections around Jabalia, the urban refugee camp.

In a social media post, Adraee asked people living there to head south to al-Mawasi, a coastal area of southern Gaza where hundreds of thousands of people are already displaced. A total of 84% of the territory is currently under evacuation orders, pushing civilians into ever-dwindling “humanitarian zones” which Israel has bombed regardless.

The UN says an estimated 400,000 people are trapped by the latest ground fighting and artillery fire centred in Jabalia, which has now entered a second week.

“It is getting tougher every day. The fear and the conditions are unspeakable,” said Badr Alzaharna, 25, from Gaza City. “I cannot leave. I want to travel but I can’t. Rafah crossing has been closed since May.”

Palestinian families arriving in Gaza City after evacuating their homes in the Jabaliya area. 

Photograph: Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP/Getty

Conrad's  Heart of Darkness applies ...

Hundreds of thousands of civilians in Gaza remain trapped by the latest Israeli offensive centred on Jabaliya refugee camp, according to UN agencies and human rights groups.

“At least 400,000 people are trapped in the area,” Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency, Unrwa, posted on X on Wednesday, amid witness accounts of bodies lying uncollected in the streets because of the renewed fighting.

“Recent evacuation orders from the Israeli authorities are forcing people to flee again & again, especially from Jabaliya camp,” added Lazzarini. “Many are refusing because they know too well that no place anywhere in Gaza is safe.”

The Israeli military says the large-scale raid, now in its fifth day, is intended to stop Hamas fighters staging further attacks from Jabaliya and to prevent them regrouping, as at least 60 people were killed in Israeli military strikes on Gaza on Wednesday.

The word assume applies, does it not?

Heart of Darkness was first published 

as a three-part serial story in Blackwood's Magazine.

Pix

Shadows

Waiting for dinner

Paper Wight

In Transit

Jamming

Sandwich Glass & then some :)

Had fun doing this one as it starts off with visiting the best burger place yours truly has ever eaten at, complete with sophisticated art tinged with a wry sense of humor not often seen in these uncertain days. The Sandwich Glass Museum walk thru is next, followed up by checking out bric brac located in a large "antique" store, a quick look at the Cape Cod RR and a leisurely stroll through a delightful outdoor garden. Enjoy :)

Into the rabbit hole ...

This artist's concept takes a fanciful approach to imagining small primordial black holes. In reality, such tiny black holes would have a difficult time forming the accretion disks that make them visible here.

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Photons, Gluons and possibly Gravitons travel at the speed of light as they are massless Bosons, acting either as force carriers which give rise to forces between other particles, or in one case give rise to the phenomenon of mass.  With this in mind, one question to ask is, do they experience time, if not, they can potentially live forever, something akin to the fact reality seems to be a forever construct as well. Another question to ask is, is EPR = EPR, as eloquently proposed by Leonard Susskind & Juan Maldacena, truly equivalent because if so, the emergence of space time from this intrinsic connect shows that space time is not fundamental as the quantum foam would be considered timeless if it consists of wormholes winking in and out of existence based on the size of the wormhole in question, something researchers are now beginning to ask in earnest regarding the possibility of tiny primordial black holes being everywhere, thus potentially giving rise to Dark Matter. 

Stephen Hawking theorized that black holes can slowly shrink as radiation escapes. The slow leak of what’s now known as Hawking radiation would, over time, cause the black hole to simply evaporate. This infographic shows the estimated lifetimes and event horizon –– the point past which infalling objects can’t escape a black hole’s gravitational grip –– diameters for black holes of various small masses. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

The emergence of leptons, hadrons and fermions, driven by the er = epr environment, could also possibly explain how said entities experience time, a characteristic already well known to be true based, in part, to numerous Beta Decay experiments showing how neutrons decay into protons.  In essence, we are but temporary arrangements of the quantum foam. 

"Embedding diagram" of a Schwarzschild wormhole

To this lay physics philosopher to the extreme, this works as this description of reality may finally describe what the quantum jitters truly are as the smaller the worm hole, the shorter the lifetime, constantly winking in and out of existence, as stated before, as needs warrant. This notion also explains why reality is granular if existence consists of wormholes where space is considered an absolute due to the configuration of the wormholes themselves (see above graphic). This take on existence may also include superstrings to the mix as said theory states that reality consists of tiny vibrating strings with differing vibrations giving rise to the three classes of sub atomic particles depicted by the diagram below.

Bosons form one of the two fundamental classes of subatomic particle, the other being fermions. All subatomic particles must be one or the other. A composite particle (hadron) may fall into either class depending on its composition

The analog/digital equation: As seen by the graphic above, reality is digital with analog override.

Existence's also an information appliance to the max. :)

To whit

From John Wheeler (1983), Law Without Law. In: Quantum theory and measurement.

John Wheeler's insightful notion of existence being an information construct (from It to Bit) makes sense as the photon, (boson), the force carrier of the electromagnetic, becomes digital by transitioning from an analog wave into discrete energy packets (quanta) when absorbed by leptons (the electron), a radical solution to the black body problem described in detail by Max Planck in 1900, thus introducing Quantum Mechanics to the world.  Prior to absorption,  photons, aka light, exist as analog waves, something readily seen by Thomas Young's brilliant 1801 double slit experiment.

Seen below are photons, comprised of analog waves, striking a metal plate. When absorbed by the metal plate's electrons, the photons transform into quanta or packets of energy (digital), able to be absorbed by the metal plates's electrons enabling said electrons to be dislodged from the plate. The higher the frequency of light, aka photons, the higher altitude the electrons attain when dislodged from the plate.

The emission of electrons from a metal plate caused by light quanta – photons

As stated before, light's extremely weird. Either analog or digital, depending on its state, photons, the force carrier of the electromagnetic, is an analog wave when traveling in free space but when absorbed by an electron, it becomes digital or a packet of energy i.e. quantum, as it must transform in such a way for it to be properly absorbed by, in this case, an electron. When a electron's energy level drops, the photon emitted reverts back to being an analog wave, which means ... reality is digital with analog override, endlessly switching from one to the other as needs warrant. According to Louis de Broglie, this notion of matter/wave/digital/analog duality applies to all particles, which means reality remains in constant flux, forever driven by the two laws of thermodynamics whereby energy can neither be created or destroyed, only transformed and  ... in a natural thermodynamic process, the sum of the entropies of the interacting thermodynamic systems never decreases. A common corollary of the statement is that heat does not spontaneously pass from a colder body to a warmer body. 

In closing ...

The act of observation generates the collapse of the wave function as described by the Copenhagen interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, the physics of the very small, an Alice in Wonderland view of the universe writ large when seen under the guise of exquisitely designed experiments showing how this aspect of reality rings true. What's interesting is the fact the act of observation is often anthropomorphized and not viewed as a core element of how existence functions as everything's entangled and decohered outside of scientific inquiry, thus enabling us rubes to see a consistent view of existence save for the extraordinary experiments conducted by physicists obsessed with how reality works at deep level.

Dividing Line

To be continued as the uncertainty principle rules without question as does incompleteness. :)

Getting rolled ...

Destruction in a Beirut suburb from an Israeli airstrike this week.
Credit...Ibrahim Amro/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The US keeps getting rolled by Israel, the only country possessing the poison pill of diplomacy, an entangled alliance with us where the national interest of one country differs radically with the national interest of the other, a relationship most dangerous when both are faced with a widening mid east war capable of leading the world to WWIII if we let it. Being the arms merchant to Israel to enable it to wage war in any way it desires, is not the way the US should do business but here it is, a situation both shameful and terrifying at the same time. 

For the first 165 years of its history, the United States did not form any alliances besides the one it signed with France during the Revolutionary War. Instead, U.S. leaders followed George Washington’s advice to “steer clear of permanent alliance with any portion of the foreign world,” a recommendation subsequently enshrined in Thomas Jefferson’s inaugural pledge: “Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none.”

Until now.

When Israel defied America’s appeals for restraint by invading Lebanon a few days ago, a reporter asked President Biden if he was comfortable with what had unfolded.

“I’m comfortable with them stopping,” Biden replied plaintively. “We should have a cease-fire now.” He walked away from the podium, grouchy, frustrated and impotent, a self-diminishing president.

It was the latest sign of how Biden keeps getting rolled by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. As the political scientist Ian Bremmer said of Biden’s words on the invasion: “Impact: zero.”

Instead of midwifing the landmark Middle East peace that he hoped for, Biden became the arms supplier for the leveling of Gaza — a war that killed more women and children in a single year than any other war in the last two decades, according to Oxfam. 

It gets "better."

Biden has been calling for restraint for a year, but he marginalized himself by continuously providing the weapons that allowed his appeals to be ignored. He appealed to the better angels of Netanyahu’s nature, but it’s not clear that they exist.

Biden restricted and conditioned U.S. arms transfers to Ukraine but worried that doing the same to Israel might tempt Hezbollah to attack it. So Biden kept the arms flowing (with the exception of at least one shipment of 2,000-pound bombs) and never imposed serious restrictions on their use. This impunity emboldened Netanyahu to ignore Biden, and the upshot is that Biden has nurtured not a regional peace but, it seems, a regional war — with America at risk of being sucked in.

“In the Middle East, we clearly see a failure of policy,” Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat from Maryland who admires Biden’s foreign policy in other respects, told me. “And I think it’s ultimately rooted in the Biden administration’s unwillingness to effectively use American influence to achieve the president’s stated goals.”

“The problem we have here is the pattern,” Van Hollen added. “The pattern is that Prime Minister Netanyahu ignores the United States and he gets rewarded for it.”

It's worse than this as the possibility of the US getting pulled into a disastrous war with Iran looms ever larger thanks to Bibi doing a number on Biden in ways most telling. It's time for America to grow a pair before it's too late as it's in our national interest to do so and soon.

The location of the Suez Canal, which connects the Mediterranean
and the Indian Ocean via the Red Sea.

Compare this to how Ike handled the Suez Crisis.

Who: Egypt and Britain with France and Israel

What: Britain, France and Israel respond to the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company by Egyptian President Nasser with a combined military operation.

Where: The Suez Canal in Egypt

When: November 1956

Result: The landings receive international condemnation. Under intense pressure, particularly from the US, troops were rapidly withdrawn and replaced by a UN force. Britain’s declining status was highlighted and its Prime Minister - Anthony Eden - resigned. Egypt was granted ownership and sovereignty of the Suez Canal and it was re-opened in April 1957.

Dark MAGA

Billionaire tech executive Elon Musk spoke at a rally for Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania
where the former president survived an assassination attempt in July.

To this rube, Musk's indirect connect to Howard Hughes is too obvious to ignore as Hughes, like Musk, was a brilliant engineer who sadly descended into madness, something eerily similar to Musk when viewing, in context, just how radically intense his political views have become with his latest soiree sharing the stage with The Donald, complete with rants supporting the orange menace to the max.

Billionaire tech executive Elon Musk cast the upcoming presidential election in dire terms during an appearance with Donald Trump, calling the Republican presidential nominee the only candidate “to preserve democracy in America.”

The CEO of SpaceX and Tesla who also purchased X, Musk joined Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday at the site where the former president survived an assassination attempt in July. Musk said “this will be the last election” if Trump doesn’t win. Wearing a cap with the “Make America Great Again” slogan of Trump’s campaign, Musk appeared to acknowledge the foreboding nature of his remarks.

“As you can see I am not just MAGA — I am Dark MAGA,” he said.

It gets better.

Before a large crowd Saturday, Musk sought to portray Trump as a champion of free speech, arguing that Democrats want “to take away your freedom of speech, they want to take away your right to bear arms, they want to take away your right to vote, effectively.” Musk went on to criticize a California effort to ban voter ID requirements.

Hughes on the cover of Time magazine, July 1948
(with the Hughes H-4 Hercules in the background)

Any questions?

Used car salesman

Ioulex for The New York Times

Yours truly saw the veep debate with Walz and Vance, which consisted of an interestingly "polite" exchange of "ideas" along the lines of the infamous Cheney/Lieberman affair where the Dark Lord expressed "interesting" ideas in a dulcet monotone enticing rubes like me to say, that's ok, right? Now comes Vance, a used car or snake oil salesman, take your pick, offering truly horrific ideas of how America should be run with "style" as this guy has no morals but rather a subtle lust for power no matter the cost.  With this being said, Vance, to this writer, lacks the gravitas to pull it off as his oiliness is too obvious for all to see but no doubt, he's the rising star in the GOP, an entity that sold its soul to The Donald back in 2016. With Vance, dangerous ideas are nicely packaged, able to be sold to the gullible Magas with little effort, a most disquieting notion in the land of the brave and home of the free.

Elmer Gantry comes to mine here, does it not?

Over and over again JD Vance successfully distanced himself from his long, well-documented track record of inflammatory statements on everything from reproductive health to immigrants. Those Americans who tuned in to the debate saw an affable, reasonable Vance (no matter how many times he lied). That should terrify anyone who cares about democracy.

In many ways, Vance proved that there will be another Donald Trump, one who is just as sinister but far better produced for middle-of-the road voters. It does not matter if Vance was only pretending to align with Trump’s combative politics and disastrous policy proposals. What matters is that Vance has proved that he will change all of his fundamental beliefs in order to win.

Vance is the perfect solution to Trump’s self-inflicted political frailties. He is just as starved for power but not nearly as desperate for attention. He sells dangerous policy positions better to the kinds of voters who are tired of being embarrassed.

Sounds plausible to me. 

Glimpses of summer & fall

Lilies

A button of a different kind :)

Shadows

Channeling the Little Prince

Filigree

Of blue & pink

Rain drops frozen for a little while

Powder Puff

A milk weed visitor

Hubris

Jacob Peter Gowy's The Fall of Icarus (1635–1637)

hu·bris

(h)yo͞obrəs/

noun

excessive pride or self-confidence.

"the self-assured hubris among economists was shaken in the late 1980s"

Similar: arrogance, conceit, conceitedness, self-conceit

(in Greek tragedy) excessive pride toward or defiance of the gods, leading to nemesis.

This is what Israel is feeling after it's successful raids against Hezbollah in taking out their leaders with exquisite precision but this does not equate to taking out their military infrastructure or taking into account the undying hatred and nothing to lose attitude Hamas and Hezbollah fighters have in wanting to extract horrific revenge on a truly hated entity. From this perspective, over extending one's resources comes to mind as fighting a two front war ( & most likely three) in addition to having a an economy gutted by war is not a smart thing to do, particularly when said country's enemies will attack strategic targets using sophisticated guerrilla tactics honed by the 70+ year existence of never ending conflict beginning with the expulsion of the Palestinians from Palestine in 1948 by the Israelis.

The possibility of all out war, thanks to Bibi's frenzied response, unconditionally backed by the US, to the Oct 7th Hamas attack, is now reaching a boiling point as seen by Iran launching ballistic missiles toward Israel in response to the continuing Israeli attacks on Hezbollah and South Lebanon.

As stated before, the gates of hell beckon.

Israeli tanks and APC’s are seen gathering by the Lebanese border on Monday.
Erik Marmor/Getty Images

It will take a remarkable amount of efficiency and discipline from the Israeli military and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to know when it is time to stop. Militaries are not particularly keen on pulling back, especially in large scale operations. If the incursion is easygoing, it could incentivize the Israel Defense Forces to push forward, sensing a weakened enemy against which swift progress can be made. If the going gets tough, the IDF can suggest the mission is more imperative than ever, and that they must push on.

But, quite remarkably after two weeks of technological wizardry and ruthless, calculated attacks against Hezbollah — starting with the simultaneous explosion of communication devices and culminating in the killing of the militant group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah — the playing field may shift. The Israeli military are now walking into the ground trap that their adversary has been setting for them for well over a decade.

They may discover that Hezbollah, its leadership decapitated, is so enfeebled that it is genuinely a less challenging task than imagined to mop up what remains of its ground troops after months of heavy airstrikes. But southern Lebanon was always going to be where the Iran-backed group held the home advantage. Its tunnel network provides them an endless maze for Israeli forces. And so, knowing when to stop is going to be key to this not becoming a quagmire for Israel. Almost every modern war that has dragged on for years began with the idea that it would all be over in a matter of weeks.

The invasion begins.

Source: Israeli military, United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon, OpenStreetMap By Leanne Abraham, Agnes Chang and Lauren Leatherby

How this ends, no one knows, do one? - Fats Waller

Passing Thru

As tourists, we always are passing thru, checking out the environs of whatever place we visit, in this case, the Cape and the Vineyard along with a passing take on the endless allure of the beaches as no one ever tires of walking alongside of an entity forever to remain mysterious to us land dwellers.