A few people I admire and mentor were obsessed with the current news cycle––distracted + distraught with disbelief almost daily.
My advice was THIS: 👇👇👇
2/ Stop hitting refresh 🔘 on the news like an addicted caged rat looking for a hit of joy 😃or anger 😡
With so much to lose for so many in power––there is NO UNCERTAINTY.
You know this: there is total CERTAINTY that there will be total chaos daily for weeks to come...
3/
You know this:
that few maybe none of those events are in your control.
You know this:
you can control only what is in your control
1. voting (unless or until you can’t) 2. where you direct your attention + focus 3. how you choose to feel...
4/ Without investing intentional energy––the chaos will pull you down a drain on an endless journey without escape
Your friends and family will keep you in it as they commiserate and lament the chaos + distraction as their friends are doing the same
BUT––
5/ If you like them (or love them;)–– don’t let them.
Instead: lead + inspire them.
Avg + below avg people will be sucked down w/the masses.
You + yours are not average.
You + yours are better than that.
Whatever their job, joy, purpose, they mustnt’ let it get hijacked...
6/ Shake them from their head-shaking.
Remind them to fight the entropy + enmity in the world by doing good things. By doing really good things...
7/ Whether that is
-producing art
-serving others
-treating patients
-teaching students
-promoting justice
-accelerating tech progress
-advancing cures + treatments
-educating or entertaining people
-empowering + inspiring others, reducing human suffering
Fierce focus on that..
8/ Your (and their) time + attention are the scarcest resource
Willingly paying it to others in an unscripted circus show––as a passive spectator, a captive audience member gasping and cheering––is a squandering abdication of your own ambition and the good you must put out.
9/ Get up, get out, get at it––and get away from the vortex.
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1/ We are ABSOLUTELY insanely lucky to be able to witness this conversation
MASTERCLASS in military + geopolitical strategy + Arab/Israeli conflict
@havivrettiggur's brilliance+ Dan Schueftan's realpolitik rationality
watch whole thing or pick any segment🤯
2/Key excerpts (summarized).
Hard to disagree with anything.
The Nature of the Enemy + "Barbarism"
The Definition of Barbarism: Barbarism is not just violence; it is a societal decision to value the death of the enemy over the lives of one's own children. When Hamas places weapons in tunnels but forces civilians to stay above ground during war, they are declaring that they do not care for their own survival, only the destruction of Jews.
The "Love of Death" is Literal: We must stop projecting Western rationalism onto enemies who openly declare, "You Jews will lose because you love life; we will win because we love death." This is not a slogan; it is a strategic doctrine that renders traditional deterrence mechanisms (like threat of death) ineffective.
The Danger of "Happy Wife, Happy Life" Geopolitics: The Western belief that economic prosperity ("a better life") leads to moderation is a fatal fallacy. The Second Intifada was launched when Palestinians had their best economic situation in history. You cannot buy off an ideology that considers killing Jews a higher calling than feeding children.
Culture is Deterministic: You cannot "de-radicalize" a society that does not want to change. Just as Libya’s failure is cultural rather than resource-based, Gaza’s failure is rooted in a culture where the only role models are those who kill Jews. The West’s refusal to discuss culture—viewing it as "progressive" to ignore it—blinds them to reality.
3/ (Summary continued) Strategic Realpolitik
Solutions are for Crossword Puzzles: In the Middle East, serious problems do not have solutions. The two-state solution is a fantasy for the "simpleminded." The only realistic strategy is combining "damage control" with the use of opportunity. If you are looking for a solution, you are looking for something that does not exist.
"Violent Maintenance" is the Only Peace: There will never be "peace" in the Western sense. There is only the constant destruction of the enemy's capacity to wage war. Israel must adopt a policy of "violent maintenance"—preemptively destroying capabilities (like factories and tunnels) before they can be used, regardless of the immediate diplomatic cost.
The "New York Times" Test: When fighting "barbarians," proportional response is a mistake. The response must be so overwhelming that it shatters the enemy's will. A good rule of thumb for Israel: "If the New York Times is not outraged, it's the wrong response.".
Western Aid Funds the Conflict: The West is funding its own enemies. Palestinians are the only refugees in history paid billions for generations to remain refugees. This funding teaches them that "behaving like barbarians" is a profitable business model that attracts French, British, and American support.
CZI led by Mark Zuckerberg + Priscilla Chan who've admirably committed tens of billions (and the entirety of their wealth to CZI) has acquired Lux family co Evolutionary Scale––just 2yrs after it's founding at a great multiple...
2/ We first teamed w/ @alexrives cofounder of EvolutionaryScale ~10yrs ago
cofounding Lux family Kallyope (cutting-edge bioetch focused on gut-brain axis)
Alex had the prescience to see the future of bio was computer science + AI. So he got his PhD at NYU and then...
@alexrives 3/...then Alex went to Meta, built an absolute cutting-edge AI bio group and published work that competed with Alphafold/Deepmind.
I tried to convince him to spinout in late winter of 2022––but Meta was funding him too well...