In terms of one sided. Actually Israel did get something, maybe even what the government intended. The Egyptians have agreed to stop tolerating the tunnels and to take U.S. help in finding them. If true that eliminates the main means by which Hamas smuggled in rocket making material. But it also eliminates the main means by which Gazans imported food. The agreement is also that Israel will let more food and medicine, though no requirement that they let in enough to provide basics of health. So if the Egyptians keep their agreement, the rockets will stop as soon as current rockets and suppplies for making them are used up. And the giant prison that is Gaza will be shut absolutely tight, with Gazan civilians subect to the non-existent mercy of the Israeli government. How realistic it is that Egypt will A) seriously make the effort to comply with that part of the agreement B) suceed om that effort I leave to Shir.

Generally the conventional wisdom is that Egypt tolerated the tunnels of Egyptian popular opinion, and could have shut them down any time if they wanted. Don't know how true that is. But since Egypt is a dictatorship, if public opinion is strong enough to have forced its hand on that issue, that certainly raises questions about whether it can defy it now. I guess one sign of the "success" of the truce is will be the Egyptian government cracking down on dissent and killing and arresting a lot of its people.

Coast Guard video released of US Air water landing: [link] The event starts about 2 minutes into the video. Amazing. With in 45 seconds, they are out on the wing. Within 2 minutes the first ferry arrives to help.

Is it wrong to hope that this accident stays just as it appears? No later revelations of wrongdoing on anyone's part, etc? Classy hero types are in short supply.

Apparently he couldn't have been more perfectly selected as the pilot of this event. He's not only an expert in flying everything from gliders to jumbo jets, but he's got a consultancy firm that deals with safety issues.

Cash, you have to see the Robot Chicken episode where they do a bit about the designer of the Raiders of the Lost Ark traps with the giant boulder. Emmett and I quote it at each other frequently.

"Oh my god! Is that our god out in the open, completely unprotected?"
"Seemingly! Seemingly!..."

I don't know if we've quoted anything more since the three-headed dog on The Venture Brothers and his "conundrum."

Spent all day with Scola. He took pictures of Matilda on the trapeze. Then he went with Emmett and I to play at the video arcade. He kicked my butt on the motorcycle race, but I ruled on the Pirates of the Caribbean pinball game.

Cash, you have to see the Robot Chicken episode where they do a bit about the designer of the Raiders of the Lost Ark traps with the giant boulder.

That really is hilarious.

Spent all day with Scola.

::jealous::

He took pictures of Matilda on the trapeze.

And yet, we don't see them. t /Little Miss Instant Gratification

Then he went with Emmett and I to play at the video arcade. He kicked my butt on the motorcycle race, but I ruled on the Pirates of the Caribbean pinball game.

Any skeeball?

Any skeeball?

There was skeeball!

Unfortunately, they didn't have the one fucking game we went there specifically to play.

Which is...Blazing Angels! A state of the art WWII flight simulator in which you fly over London shooting down Stukas, while staring at a huge-ish video monitor which is about 7 feet across. It was sooooo awesome and immersive and it had like nine levels to get to Berlin, including North Africa and Paris campaigns.

They moved the game to some other arcade. Somewhere. They didn't know. Fuckers!

Oh! I almost forgot, Tep.

Emmett made me buy a bag of Funyons yesterday.

I only indulged him as a tribute to you.

Hopefully they at least hit some targets that will reduce/stop the rocket firing for a little while. Which will hopefully mean that they will re-open humanitarian supplies.

Oh, I've found that my country has inexhaustible resources of targets. You think that enough "targets" (people, even if they're terrorists, are still people) got hit, and apparently my country can always find more. And as far as it's been posted in Israeli press, the gates opened everyday for humanitarian supplies.

The Egyptians have agreed to stop tolerating the tunnels and to take U.S. help in finding them.

That's the thing. Every few hours some "source" in the Egyptian parliament said that it can't be done. So I'm not that hopeful about it.

And it seems like IDF will be staying in the Strip for a while. Don't know for how long, I'll read more news later.

Edit: Mel explains it. My God, so they basically took the "cease fire" term and made it into "more fighting"?

And as far as it's been posted in Israeli press, the gates opened everyday for humanitarian supplies.

Never as much as needed. Basically cut off all economic activity then let in some crumbs. From what I heard the tunnels carried food, medicine and even bottled water than weapons. Not that they were not used to smuggle weapons, and stuff to make weapons. Just that people need more feeding than weapons. Food for hundreds of thousands weighs more than weapons for thousands or tens of thousands. Both before and during the fighting the UN always said not nearly as many humanitarian supplies were let in as needed. And it was not like the supplies were not there. Israel kept out food, medicine, medical supplies, medical equipment that were ready to go in. Israel kept out doctors who wanted to enter.

Never as much as needed

Obviously. However, I read more than one report about how it's not the hunger that kills the Gazans, and I've heard the opposite about the weapons/food+medicine ratio at times.

Not that this makes it OK, and I'd still like to see my friends out of there ASAP, but I'd also like to go and see my parents without being on constant alert to run to the nearest shelter/flight of stairs.

Right, but as we agree this invasion did nothing about protecting your parents.