Thanks a thousand - 15

Ну, что, пора писать мой ежедневный пост благодарности. Пытался вспоминать учителей русского языка и литературы, но ничего особенного не произошло. Зато вспомнил, какое сильное впечатление на меня произвел роман Льва Толстого "Война и Мир". Больше всего поразила сцена после Аустерлица, когда князь Андрей лежит раненный и смотрит в небо: насколько все ничтожно перед этим серым(?) бесконечным небом. Наверное, в моей жизни это было первое описание медитации, которое удалось себе хорошо представить и потом воспроизвести в практике. Даже сейчас, когда нужно отрешиться от всего, я представляю себя князем Андреем и смотрю в небо, реальное или виртуальное, как получится.

Спасибо, Лев Толстой!

Quote of the Day

--- Jean-Paul Sartre, Existentialism is a Humanism (translated by Carol Macomber, Yale University Press, 2007.

This seems to be a must read book on Existentialism. I tried other books, took courses, watched movies and videos, listened to online lectures, but nothing worked for me like that one.

Fucking Moron (tm): the Syria edition

The incompetence of the administration is just mind boggling. Now, they are trying to backtrack on the troops withdrawal announcement. They also think they can scare the Israelis with the same "dangerous Chinese communications technology" story they are using in Europe now.

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton will tell Israeli leaders that there is no timetable for an American military pullout from Syria, two weeks after President Donald Trump’s announcement of a rapid withdrawal of U.S. forces.

In his meetings with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his government, Bolton also will emphasize that no decision has been made on the departure of American troops from the Syrian base at al-Tanf, near the borders of Iraq and Jordan, a senior administration official said late Friday.
...

Bolton also plans to raise concerns about the penetration of Chinese technology in Israel, and direct investment by China in the country, particularly in the port of Haifa, the official said, adding that the Chinese telecommunication companies Huawei Technologies Ltd. and ZTE Corp. would be brought up in those discussions.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-04/bolton-pompeo-to-travel-to-mideast-to-reassure-u-s-allies