bournemouth, Brighton,...

First it was the British academic union in Bournemouth, now it's the British workers union in Brighton. Any suggestions as to the name of the next seaside British town to host a union meeting calling for the boycott of Israel?

Dana, Nika and Maya

The latest summer chart toppers have brought me to update Israel's list of leading export commodities. In the fifties, it was oranges; in the nineties, it was high tech; and in the naughts, it is transsexual female vocalists. Yes, in addition to the venerable Dana International, who has a new carefree single, we also have Nikka, the chanteuse produced by Henree, and Offer Nissim's creation --- Maya. Incidentally, Dana's advert promises that "open doors" occur at 23.30...

Boycott of Israeli academics by the British union of academics

For the third year in a row, the British union of academics have recommended to their 120,000 members to boycott all academic ties with Israel.

I find this decision to be in very poor taste, when Israel is the only country in the middle east in which Arab academics, along with their Jewish colleagues, can pursue their work freely and openly, when that work is often critical of the country that provides them with this very opportunity. That is the way a healthy democracy works. In contrast, researchers in the Arab world face social and professional excommunication, harassment, and even death for attempting to collaborate with their Israeli counterparts.

This decision is especially cynical, while Arab and Jewish students and faculty at Sapir college, near the city of Sderot, are gripped by fear and confusion from the threat of Kassam rockets fired daily by the Palestinians. While the decision to boycott Israel was taken in peaceful Bournemouth, my sister, who teaches at the college, and along with the rest of her students, is absolutely terrified, try to continue their academic pursuit of knowledge under the harrowing threat of the air raid siren, signaling a frantic 20 seconds during which they must find adequate cover.

As for the commitment to education and pedagogics displayed by the Palestinian government, it is suffice to read this article describing the indoctrination into fundamentalism of young minds. As another example, consider this ironic adaptation of an icon of Western imperialism, enlisted for the Palestinian "cause" of Jewish annihilation.

Five Boro bike ride

I recently participated in the NYC five borough bike tour. This year, the tour celebrated its 30th year, and included 42,000 riders, a 42 mile traffic-free route, five magnificent bridges and one ferry ride. There were official inspection points along the route, where massive security personnel pulled aside the free riders that tagged along. The route itself was surprisingly flat, enabling an effortless ride through narrow streets, large highways, bridges and tunnels, culminating in a crossing of the dramatic Varrazano bridge from Brooklyn to Staten Island. Riding on a bicycle allowed to fully appreciate this man-made monster of steel. that On the way, we got to experience some of the colorful neighborhoods in this great city that are so close to Manhattan, and yet a million miles away.

See some more pictures here, or watch the "official" documentary on youTube.

Baby potatoes

In America, 90% of toddlers under the age of two watch more than 90 minutes of TV per day. Here's a sure fire economic initiative --- toddler TV dinners. I guess you can't begin the exposure to those car and prescription medicine commercials too early.

Dryers

Here's an anecdote for those who don't realize the extent of energy consumption in America. As this NYT piece quotes, There are 88 million dryers in America. If Americans stopped using them for 6-months, the USA would decrease its carbon emission by almost 4 percent. Growing up in Israel, I can't think of anyone I knew that had a dryer; If it weren't for the movies I wouldn't know they existed. (Anyone care to comment on the dryer-index of contemporary Israeli families?) Makes sense because the climate in Israel is laundry friendly. In America, clotheslines are endemic of poverty. Many leases forbid their use. No one, not even the dwellers of Arizona and Nevada, not even the die-hard ecologists use a clothesline.

Trains and planes

A French TGV train broke the speed record today at 547 Km/h. At their normal running speed (300 Km/h), this train would take just over an hour to get from South Station in Boston to Penn Station. No airport congestion or traffic jams, and it's infinitely more energy efficient than the number of planes it would take to haul the same amount of people. At 300 Km/h, it would take 12 minutes to get from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. At 547 km/h, the train needs 30 kilometers to come to a halt. That's half that distance.