Dowd can see it from here! Can they from there?

Dowd gets it

A major fracas between Bibi’s government and Obama’s administration is a blessing in disguise. The administration is finally taking its gloves off. Using this latest folly as a pretext (laced, I’m assuming with some heartfelt anger), they may see ato ram through real change to the status quo, that Bibi and his immediate predecessors were happy to maintain . A shift that Bibi himself can’t muster on his own, even if he wanted to. It seems that Obama could potentially truly reengage (and now with a little gusto). I hope so. It’s been long due.

But this latest story also brings heightened attention by the American press, and along the way helps reveal a more fine grained truth about Israeli politics and culture that most, even politicaly astute writers like the New York Times’ Maureen Dowd – can’t always keep track of. And by doing so, from a distance, provides distilled insights that that can only come from those who’re involved enough, but are also removed from the heat of the situation.

Pundits like Dowd, while lambasting Bibi’s careless treatment of its American benefactor and main ally (echoing many Israeli opinionators), can now distinguish between the religious Shas party and its nationalistic wrapped religious motives on the one hand, and mainstream thinking in Israel. Her latest column is a revelation of sorts in its subtleties. Yet clear about options facing the state of Israel.

I wish many more Israelis could see the forest from the trees.

The Many Trials of Ted Haggard

I was watching Alexandra Pelosi’s documentary about Ted Haggard (Friends of God: A Road Trip with Alexandra Pelosi) the other evening. It’s fairly devastating. Pelosi’s ‘shoot from the hip’ style, is raw and unflinching. Her presence behind the camera is clearly heard and felt, and her style, bemused, teasing, accesible but not too friendly, allows us to feel as if we’re the one holding a cheap camera, and (badly) shooting Haggard’s hardships.

iPhone vs. the mighty Canon 5D?

I’ve been using digital cameras since 2001 or so. I owned 5 of them, mostly D-SLRs, and saw how digital photography’s tentative start transformed into a full stride. So why in the world should I compare the wonderful Canon 5D MKII to my iPhone’s puny camera? Since photography is also about sharing, the iPhone introduces new dimensions that are worth exploring. 

Villains or Heroes? Palestinian and Jewish Freedom Fighters.

Historical comparisons are dangerous and could be inaccurate and out of specific context. They can lead to academic bickering and worse. This is especially true when comparing the strategies and tactics of bitter waring parties. In any ethnic or religious conflict, two sides will convince themselves that theirs is the one who holds the key to truth and therefore moral high ground. So much so, that both sides can justify horrendous acts of aggression that are otherwise incomprehensible. I was born in Israel, and as such, I’m thinking about the conflict quite often. I am usually torn between a sense of commitment to ‘my people’, belief in unique circumstances that lead to the formation of Israel, and the plight of Palestinians as a result.

Big Law: “Skate to Where the Puck is Going to Be”

The picture is bleak. After years of tremendous revenues and profit per partner growth, upheaval in the credit markets all but dried up the flow of M&A deals, the lifeblood of corporate law practice and a substantial source of revenues for large law firms everywhere. With so much pain and fear, should law firms do anything but batten down the hatches? As the owner of a professional services organization myself, I understand the need to be cautious. But I also see an industry that is heading for renewed growth sometime in the next 6-18 month.

Mad Science. The big 2008 LHC Scare.

Humans are capable of remarkable achievements. We are also compulsive explorers, relentlessly looking for remote hitherto un-chartered places. From earth, to space, and now the smallest of particles we can only imagine may exist. We simply can’t help ourselves. Doing so is at once altruistic and self centred. Those who are born discoverers, pursue fame and recognition (at least by a force of nature known as ‘Mom’) as much as they crave the high of a discovery. A vindication that their single minded pursuit sets them apart and that their discoveries, immortal. But the image of a  lone explorer, a romantic visionary with an obsessed mind, is now being replaced with giant, collaborative projects.

Smart Money Invests in Culture and Arts

In a previous post, I lamented Harper’s government’s budget cuts to culture and arts programs. My main concern is long term damage to one of Canada’s most vibrant ‘industries’ -  film making. It turns out that not everyone is as short sighted. The Canadian Film Centre announced the creation of a new actor’s conservatory to train and market future stars of screen and stage. Financial support is provided by the Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation and CanWest Global Communications Corp. 

“S” for Scientific. “S” for Spiritual.

Any attempt to explain the clash between spiritualism and science and how the two differ in explaining the world around us in a short blog entry, is of course doomed. In this admittedly shallow format, and with my own severely limited knowledge and time to truly do justice to this fraught topic, I will resort to generalities. I can do no more than touch on a couple of questions raised in a recent conversation with a person one could label ‘spritual’. In a dialogue between the two world views, there are some puzzling, possibly anecdotal similarities worth considering – if only for the purpose of sharpening our respective mental tools (so here: I admit nothing!).

The Krill and the Leviathan

‘Cogito ergo sum’ (I think, therefore I am) is supposedly a slam-dunk proof of our existence as envisioned by Decartes in the 17th century, generations of philosophers since then, and now a staple of popular culture. Decartes did not think about the Internet and blogging when he came up with this concept of course, but I suspect that if he was to be revived and shown around (dear god, please make sure it’s not David Pogue who’s doing the showing around!), he would have been capable of grasping this tsunami of unfettered expression of human thought and creativity. Blogging melds and reconciles two ideas into one. “Thought Leviathans” happily swim side by side with (and feed on) untold multitude of Krill. Individualism meets collectivism.

Is Spore the Creationists’ End Game?

Will Wright’s new simulation game ‘Spore‘ is getting a lot of attention in the gaming universe. Wright, the inventor of such classics as SimCity (my first case of gaming addiction), and The Sims, seemed to have created his most ambitious game to date. Spore is loosely based on evolutionary science and as such it will be enthusiastically embraced by scientists and educators (reservations about its scientific accuracy aside). I was also thinking what would be the Creationists’ response to this game. Will ‘Creationists who are parents allow their sons and daughters to spend precious time playing with Spore? The obvious answer should be: no they won’t (vehemently so). But here’s a funny little twist worth considering: Spore’s ‘Creature Creator‘ module turns the gamer into, well, The Creator! For those supporting the idea that ‘micro evolutions’ were kicked off by the so called Intelligent Designer, this could be used to prove their own point.
Could it be that Spore is a Creationist’s game come true?