Pachacamac

 Thirty years ago, I visited the temple of Pachacamac (the belly button of the world, in Quechua) and the totemic idol in the central room in the upper terrace of the sanctuary. I wanted to look it up on the internet and found this pic. This is not the original idol; what I saw then was a twisted piece of old wood, with sacrificial remnants around in the room. It was unprotected and looked its 400 years old. I also explored the nearby House of the Virgins, where girls from all over the Inca empire were educated and prepared to marry the Inca. When I visited the deserted sanctuary, it was still well preserved because it never rains in Lurin. I could imagine the Spanish soldiers arriving and raping the girls. The recent pics show parts of the ruins occupied by houses and streets, and parts badly rebuilt for tourist consumption. 

Composite bow

 

The composite bow was a great invention. I thought it was a Hunnish-Mongol weapon. But no, it was a Mesopotamian development.

Polynices in Gaza

A dog feeding on a fallen terrorist, Tel El-Hawah, Gaza. As in Sophocles's Antigone.

Spartan warfare

 
Victor Davis Hanson writes that massive, big battles are a thing of the past, and we are now back to local insurrections and guerrilla warfare. That is the kind of war Zahal is waging these black days, using mostly unmanned missiles and D9 bulldozers (pic). No more street fights, but massive leveling of urban structures, leaving the enemy without streets to fight in. 

Israel ordered many 62-ton armoured D9s, but the Biden government forbade their delivery. The D9R Dozer is powered by Cat 3408C engine coupled to a Cat planetary power shift transmission (three forward and three reverse). The engine delivers a net power of 405hp and a drawbar pull of about 725kN.

Zahal's war in Gaza City is similar to the Spartans' ravaging Attica's agriculture, in bloodless summer campaigns, which, according to VDHanson, were ineffective, as Athens depended on imported grain rather than local produce. The Gaza population is not suffering, as they are fed by foreign food deliveries. This "dry" war can go on for months, depending on our sensitivity to hostile, antisemitic media, which is unnerving us.     

ZAHAL's dependence on Microsoft

The core dilemma:

Private control over critical infrastructure: National defense capabilities now depend on decisions made by profit-driven corporations based in foreign countries (primarily the US). These companies can:

• Cut off services unilaterally (as Microsoft just did to Israel)
• Be compelled by their home government to restrict access
• Prioritize shareholder profits over client nation security needs
• Have different political or ethical standards than their military clients

Real vulnerabilities this creates:

Economic leverage as geopolitical weapon: The US could potentially use cloud service restrictions as a form of sanctions or pressure, similar to how it uses SWIFT banking restrictions.

Single points of failure: As the US Navy example shows, militaries can become so dependent they "can't separate" from these platforms "without a complete rebuild from the ground up" US Navy: Custom cloud stuck in Azure without rebuild • The Register.

Data sovereignty concerns: Sensitive military intelligence may be stored on servers in foreign jurisdictions, subject to foreign laws and potential government access.

Why nations accept this risk:

No realistic alternatives: Building equivalent domestic capacity would take "years and massive investment" while "hyperscaler cloud services deliver unmatched capability at scale" Canada's Cloud Dependence: DND's Mission Critical Ops on US Clouds and Sovereignty | Windows Forum.

Comment: The USA is investing unprecedented amounts of resources in computer infrastructure. There is no alternative. Gradually, I'm understanding the problem. Google seems more friendly.

Antisemitism

 Microsoft decided to close down access to cloud services for one of Zahal's units. The reason given is that it contained personal information of civilians. Some Israelis are thinking of repatriating foreign bank accounts, as any day they can be closed down. It has been done to the Russian and Iranian accounts. Most of these funds remain frozen, though there have been ongoing discussions about using some of these assets to support Ukraine's reconstruction efforts.  Iran still has significant assets frozen in various countries, though the exact amounts are disputed and not disclosed. It reminds me of the Jewish deposits in Swiss banks, which were frozen in WWII and silently erased. 

Siesta

 People in Kfar Saba tend to live to around 84-85 years on average, making it the city with the highest life expectancy in Israel. This is quite impressive, approximately 2 years longer than the Israeli national average and significantly higher than the global average. It is even longer than the average in Spain. 

Last night it rained in Kfar Saba, and the air is clear. I slept a two-hour siesta and feel well. 

The pic shows the ancient tomb of Nabi Yamin (the Prophet Benjamin).  It is all that remained after the War of Independence. The last time I visited it was a Jewish tomb.