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Menu There is no diplomatic solutionIsrael should declare three nos;
no to nuclear Iran, no to two-state solution, no to bi-national state
no to nuclear Iran, no to two-state solution, no to bi-national state
Utterly outrageous that the U.S., meaning Trump, is demanding that Israel reach a cease-fire agreement with Hamas and Israel, meaning mainly Netanyahu, is playing along with this. I am sure he is utterly horrified and outraged, But what can he do when Big Brother makes demands on Israel. He is always flattering Trump and claiming that there are no differences or disagreements between Israel and Trump. He has always tended to flatter who ever happens to be president at the time (Netanyahu has outlasted all of them), heaping praise on them even when he knew that some of them, likw Obama and Bush II, were bastards who were prepared to seel out Israel for a few barrels of oil, I think he should be blunter about Israel’s disagreements with the United States, as Menechem Begin was.
Unless it’s just misdirection. The enemy is confused, both at home and abroad. I saw an interview with Bibi in which he said he felt bad that he couldn’t even tell his son that his wedding 3 days hence wasn’t going to happen because the attack against Iran had been scheduled.
And remember how he got Nasrallah out of his bunker to watch television to see how Bibi was going to announce a cease-fire in Lebanon in order to take him out?
I saw that Ben-Gvir and Smotrich threatened to leave the government but one will stay in in the event of a cease-fire. Last time it was Smotrich who stayed in, this time it will be Ben-Gvir.
I keep reading people saying Mohammed said, “Warfare is deception”
Sun Tzu said it first. And we know, Trump and apparently Bibi, as well, is strongly influenced by Sun Tzu’s 5th century classic, “The Art of War” which was very popular and was promoted by many top business leaders in the ’90s of the last century.
https://classics.mit.edu/Tzu/artwar.html
Frankly, I have no idea how much of what we are reading about their intentions is real, and how much, theater. This is a war. And, they are living in a glass fishbowl, it being a democracy, two democracies.”
Which just now prompted me to ask:
“AI Overview
+5
While there’s no direct evidence indicating that the Prophet Muhammad was directly influenced by Sun Tzu’s Art of War, both leaders employed similar strategic principles in their military campaigns. Muhammad’s focus on intelligence gathering, cunning, and using force to achieve political goals has been compared to the ideas presented in The Art of War.
Here’s a more detailed look:
Indirect Strategy:
Both Muhammad and Sun Tzu emphasized the use of indirect strategies in warfare. This involves outmaneuvering the enemy, using deception, and avoiding direct confrontation when possible to minimize casualties and achieve victory through strategic means.
Intelligence and Cunning:
Muhammad’s intelligence service was known for its effectiveness in gathering political information, and he reportedly spent time devising tactical and political strategies. This focus on intelligence and cunning aligns with Sun Tzu’s teachings on using deception and understanding the enemy’s weaknesses.
Political Goals:
Both leaders used military force to achieve political objectives. Muhammad’s military campaigns were aimed at expanding his influence and establishing the Islamic state, while Sun Tzu advocated for using military force as a tool for political gain.
No Direct Influence:
While their strategies share similarities, there’s no concrete evidence that Muhammad directly studied or was influenced by The Art of War. The similarities can be attributed to the universal nature of certain military principles and the practical challenges faced by leaders in conflict. ”
My comment: You know the expression, “If the mountain will not come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain?”
It looks as if Mohammed has finally met his mountain. 😀
Am I going to have a fatwa put on my head for that quip?
“AI Overview
+4
In the well-known Nasruddin Hoca story about smuggling, the primary subject of his clever trickery are not camels but donkeys.
In the story, Nasruddin regularly crossed a border with a donkey loaded with straw. The border guards, suspicious of smuggling, would meticulously search the straw, always finding nothing but straw. This continued for years, and while the guards remained suspicious, they could never catch him in the act.
After Nasruddin stopped crossing the border and retired, one of the guards, who was also retired, met him in the marketplace. The former guard, still curious, asked Nasruddin what he had been smuggling. Nasruddin revealed his secret: “Donkeys! I was smuggling donkeys all along!”.
The story highlights Nasruddin’s cleverness and the tendency to overlook the obvious when focused on a particular assumption. In this case, the guards were so focused on finding contraband hidden within the straw that they missed the much larger “item” being smuggled right in front of them every day. ”
Nasruddin is a famout Sufi trickster/wiseman figure. I used to have a book of these stories. They were very popular in the ’70s.
I queried looking for a succinct explanation of who the historical or fictional Nasruddin was But, I found this:
“AI Overview
+16
“Nasruddin AI” appears to be an emerging concept that leverages the character of Nasruddin Hodja, a legendary Turkish wise man known for his humorous and insightful stories, within the field of Artificial Intelligence.
While the term might not refer to a single, specific AI model or technology, it points towards applications of AI for storytelling, humor generation, and potentially for exploring ethical reasoning or understanding human cognition through the lens of Nasruddin’s tales.
Here’s a breakdown of the emerging landscape of “Nasruddin AI”:
1. Generating Nasruddin-esque stories with AI
Storytelling Platforms: AI-powered platforms can generate stories, potentially incorporating elements of Nasruddin’s adventures and witty exchanges based on user prompts.
Humor Generation: While challenging, researchers are exploring how AI can generate humorous content, according to a February 2025 arXiv publication. Nasruddin’s stories could serve as a rich dataset for training AI models to understand and replicate comedic patterns and unexpected twists, says Talefy.
2. Nasruddin and the potential for AI research
Computational Humor: The study of humor within AI, notes the University of Sydney and according to a YouTube video about a Purdue expert, seeks to understand and replicate human cognitive processes related to humor, with Nasruddin’s stories potentially offering a valuable resource for exploring this area.
Explainable AI (XAI): Research suggests that using narratives, potentially inspired by storytelling traditions like Nasruddin’s, can make AI predictions more understandable to a general audience.
AI and Human Cognition: One of the original motivations for researching humor in AI was the belief that to understand humor, AI would need to capture a significant portion of human cognition. Nasruddin’s stories, with their blend of humor, wisdom, and human interaction, provide a potential pathway for exploring this goal.
3. Existing resources and related initiatives
Nasruddin Story Apps: Apps and online resources containing collections of Nasruddin’s stories exist, showcasing the enduring appeal of these tales.
Educational Applications: Some initiatives, like the Circle Round podcast and book series, use Nasruddin stories to explore timeless values like kindness and generosity, potentially providing a framework for developing AI tools with similar aims.
4. Challenges and future directions
Generating nuanced humor: While AI can generate statistically likely responses, creating truly original and nuanced humor remains a significant challenge.
Cultural understanding: Capturing the cultural and historical context that informs Nasruddin’s humor is crucial for developing truly insightful and authentic “Nasruddin AI” applications.
In essence, “Nasruddin AI” represents a fascinating intersection of ancient wisdom and modern technology, with the potential to enrich storytelling, advance research in AI and human cognition, and even offer fresh perspectives on ethical reasoning.”
My comment: As Mr. Spock would say, “Fascinating.”
Reminds me of the anachronistic joke I came up with about the Music writing computer program called, “Sibelius” who was also a famous composer (1865-1957) : Imagine how much more prolific Mozart would have been if he’d had Sibelius.
More recently, after performing the first movement of the universally recognizable warhorse, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik ( A little Night Music, not to be confused with the musical starring the then elderly Hermione Gingold on Broadway some 40 or 50 years ago) — one of of his string quartets — in a public space, I quipped:
“Well, you know, Mozart played a lot of weddings.” 😀
How interesting. I’ve always associated “Send in the Clowns” with Jason Robards who sang it in the film, “A Thousand Clowns’ (1965)
Nope. I stand corrected.
“AI Overview
+1
Jason Robards is not directly associated with the song “Send in the Clowns.” He did star in the 1965 film “A Thousand Clowns,” according to Britannica, which is a separate work from the musical “A Little Night Music” where “Send in the Clowns” originated. The song was written by Stephen Sondheim for “A Little Night Music” in 1973, according to Wikipedia, and was popularized by Frank Sinatra and Judy Collins. ”
I was a big Glynnis Johns fan for her early movies which were shown on television when I was a kid. I loved her voice.
Though I never saw the musical. I just remember the marquee. 😀
Broadway was always too expensive for me. I was strictly an off-off-Broadway kind of guy. Which back in the day was really inexpensive. as was opera.
Qatarlson and the Woke Right’s War on the Jews
https://open.substack.com/pub/lel817/p/qatarlson-and-the-woke-rights-war?r=1q2uiq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true