Category: English

Remembering Edmund Hillary

Also the second man that first topped Mount Everest passed away yesterday. Norgay Tenzig, his Nepali companion died in 1986. He’s one of the most notable New Zealanders, maybe the most famous. A state funeral will be held for him in his country.

Edmund Hillary will be remembered not only for topping the Everest in 1953, but for his life long work and donations to the poor people of Nepal, especially the Sherpas. Together with being a Kiwi, he sure is a nobleman who should be remembered.

Trekking in the mountains is one of my hobbies. I usually don’t attend to this hobby in Israel, but I’ve been to a few places around the globe. The highest altitude that I’ve been to is the Thorung La pass in the Annapurna: 5416 meters above sea level. Crossing this pass was a very hard day on the Annapurna Around trek. Luckily for a city boy like myself, a Sherpa porter carried most of the equipment 🙂 Here’s a picture from the top:

Thorung La Pass, Annapurna Around Trek

Another great moment of ascending to the top was in New Zealand, at the Taranaki mountain (aka Mount Egmont). A thick layer of clouds separated me from the top of the cone shaped mountain. I made an uphill struggle, and crossed the clouds. Standing at the barren top (only 2518 meters), above the clouds was a great moment indeed:

Mount Egmont

Rest in Peace, Sir Edmund Hillary, from Tel Aviv, sea level…

Living in a War Mongering Country – Israel

An article that was published this morning illustrates how Israel missed a chance to stop the war in a very early stage.

Not only was there an opportunity to reach a ceasefire, but also to hand the kidnapped soldiers from Hezbollah to the Lebanese authorities. This means that some information could be obtained about their whereabouts and their condition.

I’m not sure that the deal would go through. Hezbollah could have pulled a trick, and negotiations could get stuck. Looking back and trying to calculating what could have happened is merely hypothetical.

But there is one sad thing that is exposed in the article: Israel’s defiance regarding a ceasefire, and somewhat war-mongering behavior:

Said a UN official, “We saw that Hezbollah was interested in a cease-fire, but the attitude we encountered in Jerusalem was: ‘Forget it. We’re going to win.

This story should be taken with a grain of salt because of its timing. In 3 weeks, on January 30th 2008, the Vinograd committee will publish its final report about the Israel-Lebanon war in 2006.

Despite the timing, I have the impression that a serious research was done, and that the data is very credible. Read it here.

Happy New Year from Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv

How was 2007? Not too shabby…

I chose a picture of Tel Aviv, since this year I became more and more attached to the city. It’s my 5th year here, and I enjoy it all the time. This year, I went to lots of rock concerts. I don’t know if there was more live music in 2007, or if it’s just me that explored it extensively. Anyway, I go to at least one show every week, and I like it a lot.

Tel Aviv also hosted lots of political activity. From protests against the municipality, through mass rallies against the government, and up to a demonstration in front of the Burmese embassy. These events are always fun, but they rarely bring any results. The biggest disappointment is that we still have a rotten government.

During the last year, I met lots of interesting people through the blog. Israel is a small country, so eventually you get to meet almost every person behind their blog. In addition, I write with my full name, and so do most of the people I read. Not too many secrets….

This year I’ve turned 30. The walls didn’t tumble down. Life went on just the same as before changing both digits on my life-o-meter. This is the same for the current occasion. U2 said: Nothing changes on New Year’s Day.

Well, being in Tel Aviv so much means that I haven’t traveled around too much. Well, I have been to some nearby countries, but only for small vacations. I have a growing urge to fly away for a longer trip, to a place far far away.

But for now, there’s no plane to catch, just another bird’s-eye view of the city:
Jaffa

New Year Resolutions? That’s not an Israeli tradition! Well, that’s just an excuse. I haven’t made any decisions, and I don’t have any goals for 2008.

Happy New Year!

* Both pictures were taken from the 30th floor of the Shalom Tower. The second one is of Old Jaffa.
* I’m lazy to link to all the past posts. But, if you’re reading my English posts, do browse through the English language posts.

Victory will be ours

Here’s a report that will help fall asleep at night:
Israel would win a nuclear war
From the article:

Study compiled by US Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), headed by a former Pentagon analyst, explores several hypothetical scenarios for unconventional warfare in our region. Authors find ‘Israel’s residents and economy could weather nuclear war with Iran’

Well, the worst scenario would end in a victory, so we have nothing to worry about. I wonder who pays for building these horrific scenarios. I also hope that the US, the only country that dropped atomic bombs, is spending more money preventing a nuclear holocaust.

So before we see an atomic mushroom, here’s a mushroom that my camera caught on Queen Charlotte’s Track in New Zealand – a nuclear free country.

New Zealnad Mushroom

The Middle East needs a Bob Marley

Annapolis will probably be remembered just as a photo op. The negotiations that follow the conference don’t bring too much hope. The main problem is that the leaders cannot deliver. They lack the political leadership that is needed to end the conflict.

Peace in the Middle East

Israeli PM Olmert was never a charismatic person. Since the war, which came at an early stage of his reign, he’s a lame duck. He is also still in trouble with allegations of corruption.

Mahmoud Abbas, the “Rais” of the Palestinian Authority, is even more lame. He lost control over Gaza. In the West Bank, he lacks a strong grip. If it weren’t for the IDF, I assume that Hamas would take over also there.

And President Bush? Well, the war in Iraq, and his stupidity in general, don’t make him a serious broker for a peace accord. With Bush as the leader of the free world, freedom is very shaky.

The Jamaican Example

Bob Marley making peace
Picture Source: Wikipedia

From 1976, there has been serious civil unrest in Jamaica. Prime Minister Michael Manley who came into power in 1972 made serious socialist reforms. This angered investors, political rivals and the CIA that backed the opposition leader Edward Seaga.

The political culture became violent. Gunmen hired by both parties were fighting on the streets and assassinating their rivals. The situation deteriorated and a civil war looked imminent.

In 1978, a big concert named One Love Peace Concert was organized. Bob Marley, by then a famous reggae musician was the main performer. During the song “Jamming”, he called both political opponents on stage. They didn’t really like it. He then forced them to shake hands. The song finished with Manley and Seaga holding hands together above Bob Marley’s head.

This historic and exciting moment calmed down the civil strife in Jamaica.

Open Positions: Political Leaders

We are in need of a leader in the magnitude of Bob Marley. Saadat, Begin, Rabin, Hussein and Clinton were such leaders. If you have someone in mind, I’ll be glad to hear.

In the meantime, you can see the exciting moment from the One Love Peace Concert, April 22nd, 1978: