Life Changes on a Dime

You know, I invest quite a bit of time trying to discern the outcome of future events. Predicting the future is a subject that fascinates me, whether it be just speculative or by mystical means. Over the years I have found that as a result of my efforts I am sometimes right and sometimes wrong and mostly surprised. That is, I'm often able to figure out what will happen based upon how events unfold today. For example, George W. Bush's election to office was no surprise nor has the subsequent flow of events been any surprise. So, in that case, based on the current facts, I have been mostly right. I also believe I am mostly right that we are watching the decline of the American empire in real time.

I also believe that I will be living in Ottawa for at least a short while. About that I believe I am mostly right even though it is not what I would have chosen. I worry about the consequences of this move - both good and bad - and I hope that I don't have to sacrifice the different happinesses in my life in order to fulfill my general obligation to society in exchange for any gifts and opportunities I may have received.

However, there are times when the trajectory of events leaving me ignorant of what is about to come. Usually, this happens when something relates to me. All the signs can be there and looking back I realize I should have easily predicted the outcome, yet I won't even have an inkling of what is to happen until it runs right over me.

Life changes on a dime, even when you think you have everything all planned out and you're completely comfortable with it. It serves to remind us that no matter how structured our lives are, we must always leave room for uncertainty. The initial structure of things can remain intact, but the details must shift to make room for new events and new people.

Which brings me to the current Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon. Unfortunately, PM Sharon has suffered another stroke. My gut tells me that the prognosis isn't good, even though I hope he survives. I think he is an evil, evil, selfish man. He is shortsighted, brutal and vicious. However, suddenly and for whatever reasons he was determined to seek some sort of peace for Israel. Now, he has suffered two strokes and the conspiracy theorist in me is ringing all sorts of bells. The acting prime minister - Ehud Olmert - was due to join Sharon in his new party, Kadima. It is unclear that even if Sharon survives whether he will be able to return to politics. Now, Mr. Olmert is front and center and in charge of Israeli Affairs.

A little about Ehud Olmert, from Wikipedia:

Olmert's opponents both inside and outside of the Likud point to a long record of opportunism. In the 1970s he was connected to a libel scandal involving well-known Jerusalem businessmen, organized crime, and retired General Rechavam Ze'evi. This often forgotten affair, well documented in investigative journalist Aryeh Avneri's Ha'tvusa in 1992, was only the first in a number of shady misadventures in Olmert's career. During the run-up to the Ze'evi libel suit, Olmert allegedly requested funds from the Likud Treasury for his defense fund, although his lawyers were from his own law firm, which would effectively constitute bribery.

All accusations against Olmert were eventually settled out of court, a pattern that followed through his involvement in the Herzlia Marina construction investigation, and various others that never led to any definite conclusions, and therefore were dropped. What is today almost beyond debate was that during his terms as mayor Olmert hired numerous Likud activists and cronies to positions in the Jerusalem Municipality. As urban political scandals are often the result of pure hearsay, it is impossible to determine whether Olmert's appointments really damaged the city. However, numerous cases of illegal housing construction both by Arab and Jewish firms continued throughout Olmert's term, and the phenomenon has plagued the city to this day.

Just like prime figures in the American and Canadian governments, Ehud Olmert is a self-placating opportunist. If the facts of his past are any indication, he cares nor for the general well-being of the citizens of Israel, nor Jews in general. Like any other prominently placed government official, he has focused the bulk of his energy into lining his own pockets.

Now, it was suspicious in the first place that Sharon would have to leave Likud, of which he was a founding member, to form a new party just to continue on the road to a Palestinian state. Why wouldn't that total ass Netanyahu leave and form his own right-wing, hardliner party?

Suddenly, Sharon starts suffering strokes and people start talking about how overweight he is and how this course of events was inevitable. Really? It didn't seem that way to me. He seemed fine until he broke away and founded Kadima. On November 22, 2005, the Knesset is dissolved. On November 24, 2005, Sharon founds Kadima. Less than a month later, Sharon suffers a stroke. Now, he suffers a second stroke, one day before he is due to go in for an operation that will repair a hole in his heart.


Again:

Sharon, 77, is extremely overweight, but doctors checking him after his December 18 stroke found him otherwise in good health. Doctors said he would not suffer long-term effects from the first stroke, but they discovered a birth defect in his heart that apparently contributed to the stroke.

The catheterization procedure originally scheduled for Thursday afternoon was intended to close a small hole between the upper chambers of Sharon's heart. He was to have been put under general anesthesia during the operation, and his authority would have rested with Olmert for about three hours.

Without Sharon, it is unlikely that Kadima will win the Israeli elections in March. The current leader of the Likud party is Benjamin Netanyahu. Honestly, I don't have the energy right now to discuss why he is the worst possible choice for Israel, Jews and the world. However, I think that we should pay heed to the hints we receive as the facts continue to unfold and react accordingly. Let's not let them define the events for us.