1956 Israel and the Bomb

I always thought it was the Americans who opened the nuclear door for the Israelis, if the Israelis did not make their own door (being genius Jews). But no.

It came about through the Suez Canal crisis in 1956, when Egypt, under President Nasser, nationalized the canal. The French came up with a plan to seize the canal, which involved Israel providing a pretext for an invasion and the takeover. They counted on the British joining the scheme, which they did. The plan did not work, especially after Eisenhower intervened and neutered the two great powers. However, things worked out well enough for the Israelis.

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As a consolation prize for the fiasco, the French agreed to provide nuclear technology and resources to Israel. The remorseful prime minister Mollet confided to an aide, “I owe the bomb to them.”

-- Lawrence Wright, “Thirteen Days in September”

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Friday Morning

One of those tough nights. Kay and Pop stayed up late, and it actually threatened pretty hard to rain a little after midnight, making sleep impossible. Then, even when I got the room and got all the cats inside with me, sleep continued to play coy.

I'm skipping breakfast in favor of an early lunch, with the intention of beating Pop to the kitchen so that I can fry up my burger patty.

Poor Poets

“I have maybe one suicide a year and they all seem to be poets. If I were an insurance company, I’d never write a policy for poets.”

-- Margalit Fox, obituary writer for The New York Times

Kay's Flat Tire

When Pop and Kay returned from their rounds, they discovered that her truck has a flat tire. When I am alone with her, she asks if Pop told me what happened. I said, "Yes. You don't know how it happened?" She said she didn't know. It occurred to me that she might be suspecting that I did it, being aware that I am less than happy with her visits here. I asked, "You don't think anybody did it, do you?" She says sharply, "I don't know."

Celebrities and Stuff

"Eddie Vedder - Imagine 2014 (Official Audio) Multicam" (Watch on YouTube)

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