Weather It Is (Win Won For the Gipper)

Good Evening:

The weather will be warming up a bit as low pressure to our east strengthens.

However, it won't strengthen too much, or possibly to strongly. Hence, it will feel hot, but not oppressively hot.

Otherwise, we can look ahead and see the more summer-like weather holding on for a week or so.  Beyond that we see very little.

I've noticed that many of our political and media leaders cannot see beyond the horizon. For example, one newspaper editor wrote:

"But only if Hamas believes its survival is in danger, its capacity to live to fight Israel another day in doubt, will it call a long-term halt to the fire."  

One has to wonder: why would we want a long term ceasefire when with a bit more effort we can finish them off.

Why are we afraid to win!?

I say our goal needs to be to win.  Maybe our victory will inspire others to go out and win the war against the evil Islamic ideology, and something good just may come of it.

Shabbat Shalom,

Barry Lynn

Weather It Is (Mr. Ban says)

Good Morning:

It's pretty obvious that our weather is going to cool down quite a bit by late tomorrow (Shabbat) afternoon.  But. then, temperatures will head sharply upwards, like a rocket from Gaza, descending slowly thereafter, only to plunge towards unseasonably cool summer weather as we head into the month of Elul.

In fact, we are seeing some instability in the weather pattern, meaning that the weather may be noticing that fall is right around the corner.

This morning we read that one of the Hamas missiles didn't make it very far off the ground. In fact, it exploded, killing at least five people (Hamas or Islamic Jihad members?).  The Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, was quick to condemn Israel.  "It is a TRAGEDY. yes, a TRAGEDY, for Hamas and the Palestinian people.  Had the Israelis agreed to the Hamas terms for a ceasefire, then none of this would have been necessary.  Hamas would have no reason to fire missiles,  and I would not be standing before you today, with this sad, sad news."

Shabbat Shalom,

Barry
P.S. I've been asked, so I must say:  Mr Ban's quote is sarcasm (on my part) -- but unfortunately, probably, true.

Weather It Is (Cease-Friers)

Good Afternoon:

While one might have expected the weather to cool off -- following the ceasefire agreement -- it was not to be.  It might be better for our leaders to pay more attention to the weather forecast, than try to make any intelligent decisions on their own.

It seems that they agreed to a "cease-fire," with drastic results.  Hamas took advantage of the break in hostilities to kidnap one of our soldiers; in the process, we became (for the umpteenth) time "cease-FRIERS."

Along with the dithering, comes the staging of troops just outside Gaza, where many have died just sitting, while being serenaded with mortar-showers.

The weather will cool off again in a few days.  Time is passing, and we're losing the war because we're not trying to finish it in victory.

Shabbat Shalom,

Barry Lynn

Weather It Is (More than Mischief)

Good Afternoon:

The weather patterns continue to oscillate in an early fall -- rather than summer -- pattern.

In fact, today's weather is really phenomenal. The temperates are mostly in the 20s (at least in the central mountains) and there is a cooling (and fresh) breeze.

Of course, the fresh breeze is good for getting extended flight times on any rockets fired from Gaza.  Hopefully, this won't be an issue too much longer -- provided that we arrive at the end point of this conflict.

For those of you familiar with "The Cat in The Hat:" After making quite a mess, we read "And then he was gone with a tip of his hat," leaving the two kids to wonder what just happened and what would happen next: "Then our mother came in, and she said to us two, 'Did you have any fun?'  Tell me. 'What did you do?'.

And Sally and I did not know what to say. Should we tell her the things that went on there that day."  Should we tell her about it? Now, what SHOULD we do?  Well... What would YOU do, if your Mother asked YOU?"

I can imagine that this is how our Prime Minister felt upon receiving President Obama's demand for an immediate ceasefire, but in this case,  it was the President (who may have the best of intentions), but whose decisions and policies are really no better -- if not worse in result than the  "Cat in the Hat."

Of course, the kind and type of mess he and Secretary Kerry would like to make would only need to be cleaned up with the sweat and blood of our children.  The media may call them "soldiers," but they are our children.

Don't expect the first couple of weeks in August to bring any summertime weather.

Barry Lynn

Weather It Is (A Flash and Rumble)

Good Evening:

Just a follow-up.

I meant to mention that the blog was inspired by a conversation I had with a fellow neighbour in Efrat. Interesting that just this morning, we read that the US warns us against toppling Hamas.

Agency head Michael Flynn warns against the dangers of toppling Hamas, saying what may replace them could be even worse. (http://www.timesofisrael.com/day-20-idf-toll-rises-to-42-hamas-breaches-truce-resumes-rocket-fire-kerry-heads-home/)

To put things in perspective, think of this joke.  What do you call a person who eats vegetables, answer: a Vegetarian.  What do you call a person who eats people, answer: an humanitarian.  The US presents its policy as being humanitarian in nature, or for democracy, but really, it is just about interests.

With increasing atmospheric stability, the skies should free themselves of any clouds and the sun should beat down like a summer sun.  Yet, the temperatures are not really all that warm, and it is almost possible to stand outside under the baking summer sun and ask yourself: is this really summer?  Who turned down the thermostat?

With increasing atmospheric stability, it is also possible to hear far away rumbles of thunder -- I mean artillery.  And, with a flash of insight I finally understood why Mr. Obama/Kerry keep pushing us into a ceasefire.  In fact, if you look back over the years, there are many wars that Israel (now we) fought, only to have them end prematurely in a ceasefire, before any real winner was apparent. Imagine how history would have transpired if Germany and Japan had simply agreed to a ceasefire, rather than total surrender.   Well, just think of North Korea and North Vietnam, and think of Hizbollah and Hamas.

Who pushed us into the various ceasefires: The United States.  Why did they do it? Because our interests (total victory) do not always overlap with their own (interests in the Arab world).  Obama/Kerry want us to agree to a ceasefire because they don't want us to defeat Hamas, who are the dependent of Qatar, with whom the US just signed an  $11 Billion arms deal http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-and-us-openly-at-odds-over-gaza-ceasefire-terms/).  Moreover, if it is not Hamas ,then it is some other Arab country they have relations with.  Don't get me wrong: the US is our ally, but only in the sense where our common interests overlap.

The result is that we are consigned to years of perpetual war.

This is what makes the cabinet's unanimous decision to reject the ceasefire so significant.  It may not be the first time, but it is the most obvious instance of the Israel government (and the Jewish people) standing up and saying "no."  Of course, no country is ever truly independent, but we've taken our first true step forward towards a new and different future.

Tzorot Tovot.

Barry Lynn

Weather It Is (Missile-Hail and Delta Flights Suspended)

Good Evening:

All Delta Flights to Israel have been suspended.  

Apparently, missile-hail fell from Missile-Storms near the airport.

Better safe than sorry, of course.

Is it ironic that we didn't need to wait to give away Judea and Samaria to close the airport?

Barry Lynn

Weather It Is (Yesterday's Weather and the Probability of More)

Good Afternoon:

Yesterday was day full of potential.   The atmosphere was quite moist up to 700 mb, and temperatures were conditionally unstable up to about 550 mb.  By conditionally unstable, I mean that a passing perturbation in the atmosphere should and would have been enough to cause a strong convective storm.  Alas, it was not to be.

Radar showed some light showers over the country yesterday, and as for the probability of more weather -- at least of interest -- we don't see any.  True, temperatures will stay relatively cool during the next couple of weeks, but temperatures aloft should be warming up (that is, the atmosphere will be stabilizing).

There was a welcome and cool breeze that sprung up at the burial ceremony for Yuval Haiman.  It seemed to come out of no where, but there must have been a passing tropical shower -- that evaporated and cooled the atmosphere. The cool breeze spoke about the potential of life, to live life like a a flower of our good deeds.  In this case, a potential unrealised.

We think of weather as being about prediction, but it is really about probability.  We may hide the probability when we speak, but no forecast is really useful without a measure of certainty.

I remember that when we left Gaza that there were those (myself included) who said that this would lead to much greater danger for us than before.  I figured that a few missiles-showers would become missile-storms.  In fact, I placed a very high probability on this happening.  Apparently, others lived on a hope.

After all, Hamas as an ideology that is not really about politics or land, it's about the ability and willingness to murder.  The Palestinian issue is, actually, a side-show to their Raison d'être. This is why I find President Obama and Sect. Kerry's idea to return to the 2012 ceasefire agreement so laughable (or sad).  Agreements are between gentlemen; otherwise they have very little value (and are easily broken).  Insanity is doing the same wrong thing over again and hoping that the results will be different (this time). I hope we will not act thus; Mr. Kerry should be shown the door.

While listening to all the tributes to Yuval, I was reminded of a song (The Answer is Blowing in the Wind). There is not much we can do, except to accept the fact that Yuval gave his life so that we could live -- because there are too many people in the world who don't know that too many people have died.

From:http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/blowin-wind

Here's part of the song.

How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, ’n’ how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, ’n’ how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind

Barry Lynn