I have updated my article, The Middle East Conflict, http://thepurplemuse.com/id4.html, after reading Ari Shavit's New York Times bestselling 2013 book, My Promised Land - The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel.  The book is extremely well written and explains how the state of Israel developed from its Zionists roots through its 1948 War of Independence to the current day.  The book addresses the evolution of Zionism over more than a century since it has changed direction many times due to world events.  Shavit directly addresses Israel's Palestinian and Arab conflicts and pulls no punches in describing Israel's misdeeds.  Shavit also explains the complexity of Israel's society today and its significant problem in governing itself.  

I have been fortunate to visit Israel twice on cruise ships in past five years for a total of five days.  I have seen some of the areas that Shavit discusses in his book and discussed some of my thoughts about my visits on this blog. 

Don't expect there to be any long term political solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict.  Israel was initially created by war, expanded by war, and maintained by war and the threat of war.  If you care about the Israel - Palestinian conflict or the long term future of the state of Israel I suggest you read My Promised Land.

TPM 

Check out my new article, Singularity, http://thepurplemuse.com/id60.html, which was inspired when I was reading Stephen Hawking's bestselling book, A Brief History of Time.  I believe it is very important for all of us to keep learning as we get older.  If you didn't read this book when it was originally published in 1988 you might want to try it now, if you like a combination of theoretical physics, history of science and philosophy.  Are you a Singularity?

TPM 

I have visited the Giza Plateau near Cairo, Egypt twice in my life, both visits were part of one day stops by cruise ships at the port of Alexandria followed by two to three hour bus rides to the greater Cairo area.  We only had a couple of hours on each trip to absorb the visual impact and aura of the Sphinx, the pyramids and the other ancient structures at Giza.  I have read a number of books that discuss the history of Giza and ancient Egyptian culture.  The history of Egypt is intriguing and I am always on the look-out for new books with additional insight on Giza.  Recently I bought Secret Chamber Revisited - The Quest for Lost Knowledge of Ancient Egypt by Robert Bauval, a well known author of books about ancient Egypt.  

Secret Chambers was originally published in 1999.  Revisited was published in 2014 and is a major update to Bauval's original book.  Most of the book is a discussion of the individuals and organizations that have been exploring the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid (Pyramid of Khufu) during the past 200 years with an emphasis on the exploration activities of the past 25 years.  You would think that Egyptologists, geologists and all of the super educated people that claim to be experts in this area would have fully explored and evaluated every inch of the these ancient structures and every crack or line or object found inside or outside.  It appears that this is not the case.  

Did you know there is a wooden rod in the northern shaft of the Queen's Chamber of the Great Pyramid that has likely been in place since the pyramids were constructed?  The rod hasn't been removed or sampled so that carbon dating can be done.  The carbon dating of the rod could verify the age of the Great Pyramid or provide a surprising date, older or newer, that could lead to a different perspective on its history.  

Why don't the Egyptian authorities want to improve the world's understanding of the history of the Great Pyramid the Giza Plateau?  The wooden rod is just one of the discrepancies that Bauval describes in the publics understanding of the Giza Plateau.  Bauval describes an incredible series of events involving the Egyptian authorities, Edgar Cayce believers, a variety of TV production groups, alternative history advocates and ancient history explorers that are intertwined in a crazy series of events that have occurred over the past 25 years.  Money, power, and religion have provided motivation for events that are hard to comprehend by someone that simply wants to discover the truth about the Giza Plateau.  

Bauval was been involved in many of these events in one way or another.  He does a very good job of explaining what has happened in his book.  If you follow Graham Hancock on Facebook in recent months, you would know that Zahi Hawass, well known Egyptologist, has a major problem with Bauval's work.  Most likely because Bauval has exposed that Egyptian government management of the Giza Plateau over the past 25 years has been very questionable.  After reading Secret Chamber Revisited it is absolutely clear that there is unfinished business at the Giza Plateau.

TPM