My sense of shock at what Hamas has done is still to go beyond a sense of disbelief and my heart goes out to the people of Israel right now. I am occasionally critical of Netanyahu as I see him as a despot in his own way but fuck this is bad. He'll go full Tonto on his vengeance thing I expect. 

My hope is that Isreal and Palestine find some quick resolution to this. The sooner that it is ended the better and yet I can't help thinking that other despots will now see this as a moment of opportunity to act out their fantasies. 

Azerbaijan recently changed the rules. Serbia will likely become more antagonistic towards Kosovo. China must be licking its lips.  (*I still have the ring btw and I'm planning on despatching it back to whence it came but for now...I'll use it for good in the world...)