Israel Should Be Funding Alternative Energy, Not Another Gas Pipeline
The title of the post, is the same as that of this article from The Jerusalem Post.
This is the introductory sub-title.
A pipeline only serves interests of the gas tycoons and not the taxpayers or the environmentally minded residents of the region.
The pipeline is proposed to run to Eilat in the South of Israel, which is an area, that gets enough sun for most of its electricity needs.
Some points from the article.
- Jordan will be 100 % daytime solar by 2030.
- Israel could be 100 % daytime solar by 2030.
- The Arava region of Israil will achieve this aim, by the end of this year.
The article gives an interesting insight into how you get electricity, when you have plenty of sun.
Railway That Could Bridge Middle East Divide
The title of this post is the same as an article by Roger Boyes in today’s copy of The Times.
The sub-title of the article is.
A new track from Israel to Saudi Arabia offers economic growth and stability in the region.
Read the article!
Violence In The Middle East
David Aaronovitch in his piece in The Times today entitled, Moderate Muslims – It’s Time To Be Outraged, makes some very good points.
But this fact is telling.
In the Israel-Palestine conflict 10,000 have been killed in the past 25 years, compared to 100,000 in Syria in just three.
All are one too many!
But where are the moderate Muslims trying to sort this violent mess out?
Israel Builds A High Speed Rail Line
When you think of Israel, you don’t generally think of train lines, as after all it’s a small country geographically. But then there has been a long history of train travel in the area and especially a hundred or so years ago.
So I was rather surprised to see in The Times yesterday, that Israel is intending to build a heavy rail line from the cities on the Mediterranean coast to Eilat on the Red Sea. The aim is to run high-speed passenger trains to help develop the southern city and also create a freight by-pass for the Suez Canal, which now looks it could get a bit dangerous with all the troubles in Egypt.
There’s a lot more here on the Med-Red railway in Wikipedia.
I have a feeling we’re going to hear a lot more about this railway and the effects it will have on Egypt.
Food Wars In Israel
Most stories to come out of Israel are not about how well Orthodox Jews and Muslims get on, but this one from The Australian is. Here’s the introduction.
IT was meant to be a battle for supremacy in the kitchen and, perhaps, for the right to claim ownership of the cuisine.
But Israel’s most popular cooking contest has achieved what decades of peace talks have failed to do after turning an orthodox Jew and a Muslim Palestinian into firm friends.
As Jackie Azoulay and Salma Fiyumi completed their dishes in the Masterchef final on Wednesday, they cheerfully embraced on national television.
It’s just a pity that the leaders of both sides can’t sit down with these two women and have a really good meal.
My next door neighbour years ago, had been a Colonel in the British Army. At one time, he had been enforcing the British mandate in Palestine, so he knew the area well.
He said that the only way to tell if the various people in the area, were Jew or Arab, was from their surname. It would appear, these two women have performed that wonderful feat of turning the clock back constructively.
A Beam Of Hope In The MIddle East
Science is an area of life, where generally political and other prejudices are left behind. Get the facts right and the answers are generally good, but try to say follow extreme left or right wing views and they just don’t fit scientific facts.
So this article on the BBC’s web site about Sesame, a large synchrotron being built in Jordan, is a real beam of hope. Even the Israelis and the Iranians are working together on the project.
Are Our Riots Just The English Way of Protest?
Over the weekend, there were massive protests against the cost of living in Israel.
So they weren’t violent, but that may be the Israeli way.
There is no doubt there is a lot of disaffection in this country. So are the young just doing what they’ve always done and protest violently? In my lifetime we’ve had Teddy boys, Mods and Rockers and football holligans, all of whom came from the very violent tendency.
So now the poor are struggling with job losses, benefit cuts and pay day loan sharks, they might feel that the only way to get what they want is to loot it.
Abba Eban
I always like people who use English properly and thoughtfully. Abba Eban was one such person, although I may not always have agreed with everything he said and did.
The Times yesterday quoted him memorably in the second leader.
History teaches us, that men and nations, only behave wisely when they have exhausted all other alternatives.
Many of the world’s stupid leaders could improve their nations, by following the words of the man, The Times credits as the founding father of Israeli democracy
Israel’s Crazy Clocks
I am a great believer in that you put the clocks forward in the summer to gain the greatest economic advantage to as many people as possible.
For instance, in the UK, I’d like to see us go to the same time as most of the EU. Not only would it make it easier for business and travel with the continent, but it would also give us longer leisure evenings for a greater period of the year, so perhaps outdoor activities would benefit. Horse racing would be able to stage many more evening meetings, which properly handled might create a lot of new jobs. But there are lots of other examples.
So what are the Israelis doing. They’re moving the date the clocks go back forward to fit in with religious groups, who have a strong hold in the Knesset. According to The Independent, it’s not very popular. Even the Jewish Chronicle reports that Israelis are angry.
In the report in the Jewish Chronicle this is said.
A campaign against the early end to summertime is being spearheaded by Dr Shimon Eckhouse, chairman of Nasdaq-traded medical device company Syneron. He also wants to adopt the EU norm and has collected over 90,000 signatories on a petition.
Starting winter time before the end of October “will shorten quality time that parents have with their children, increase the chance of road accidents and cost the Israeli economy millions of shekels”, he said.
There are estimates that the 48 days between September 12, when Israel changes its clocks, and October 31, when the UK and the rest of Europe change their clocks, will cost Israel £4.6 million in higher electricity consumption.
“The only reason to end summertime early is because it supposedly shortens the fast on Yom Kippur,” Dr Eckhouse added. “This is warped because either way the fast continues for 25 hours. I am a Jew who observes tradition and fasts on Yom Kippur.”
Let’s hope Dr. Eckhouse’s reasoned approach succeeds. If nothing because it is better for global warming.
The Anonymous Widower 