In case I haven’t mentioned it in any previous postings, I really hate being cold. Not surprising for a Californian.

Another dreadful New York winter is encroaching. We’ve gone from too cold to ‘way too cold, And it’s been trying to snow the past two days. No snow, just wind chills down to the ‘teens.

Meanwhile, I’m still paying attention to current events, which always have their little excitements to offer. John Lennon’s 30^th yahrtzeit isn’t exciting; it sucks. Even Rolling Stone publishing the last interview doesn’t make it anything but much too sad a day in the World of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

The resumption of Jewish building in Yehudah and Samaria however, almost makes up for it. Let the Arabs get real if they want to deal. Israel is Jewish land, Jerusalem is Jewish land. Build, Bibi, build!

I’m not at all disappointed that Obama backed off of Israel over Jewish construction. I am repeatedly disappointed, however, that he does the same with domestic issues – from health care to banking reform to taxation. I personally was rather hoping that Candidate Obama would serve in office. If I thought another (or any – ever – for that matter) Republican administration was in order, I’d have voted Republican.

Daily developments in the WikiLeaks flap, of course, suck up most of the attention in the media these days. Kevin Rudd, who used to be PM in Julian Assange’s native Australia (and got to look like a bit of a bozo in at least one leaked note), makes the point that it was a breach of U.S. security, rather than an irresponsible messenger, which is ultimately responsible for all this hoo-hah. He’s right, you know. Having had a bit of experience with Government procedures, it amazes me that a PFC – even in an all-volunteer army – can get a level of clearance to get near Secret, Top Secret, Classified, etc., documents. In my time, I had an appropriate level of clearance (through Defense, not State; nowhere near as much juicy gossip even available where I was, and no internet, or even CD-ROM drives, yet), and there was no way I could ever have left a Federal facility with enough documentation to make anywhere near this kind of trouble, even if I’d wanted to. We understood ‘way back then, that technology, no matter how wondrous, could be misused. But, then, I was with Defense (and later JPL), not State.

As for Assange, he’s hosed, no matter how much damage he does on the way out. For my part, I have little sympathy. I still hold by Sir Mick Jagger’s immortal quote, “F**k ‘em if they can’t take a joke,” but Assange isn’t being funny. OK, maybe some of the gossipy stuff early on may have been good for an uneasy chuckle, but some of the more recent notes have, as one wag was quoted as saying, “give al Qaida a short list,” and carry a higher potential to put civilian lives at stake – like yours and mine – and even I’m not that much of an anarchist.

But, in any event, Assange is history. Having antagonized every legitimate (and some not quite so) government in the world and survived – so far – his most recently announced agenda item (before his “doomsday document”) is to leak all over where the real power is, the guys who really run things – he wants to leak on the banks. He’s screwed.

Tough thing is, he has friends who might want to make him a martyr, as wacked as he is – maybe more so – and at least as technologically adept. The genie is out of the bottle, kids. How’s your MasterCard?