Lest the Arabs Know
Israel has a nuclear research center near Yavne, called the Soreq Nuclear Research Center. The road sign directing to it mentions the center’s name in Hebrew, an official language in Israel, and English, both saying “Soreq Nuclear Research Center Yavne”.
There’s another official language in Israel – Arabic. The sign does have an Arabic writing, but it simply says “Yavne”, no mention of anything nuclear.
Jokingly, I guessed that this was some lame attempt to prevent Arabs from knowing exactly where the nuclear center is. Apparently, I hit the spot. Here’s the response I got from the Israel National Roads Company, the governmental company which is in charge of intercity road signs: “In accordance with the decisions of old Ma’atz [the former incarnation of Israel National Roads Company] and the Ministry of Transportation, there won’t be translations to Arabic of any security/sensitive facility or army base etc., like the Israeli Israel Aerospace Industries, Bar Lev Camp [which houses the GOC Army Headquarters] or the Soreq Nuclear Research Center and other IDF bases. [all bad grammar sic]”
Is that a standing policy, or just a historic decision whose time has passed?
“Like other decisions made at the time this decision is also valid until changed.”
Homemade Pacman Hoodie
Rotem Shefer, a 21 year old woman from Tel Aviv, took a plain black hoodie and embroidered Pacman and some ghosts on it. “Love for Arcade? It’s simply something that’s always been around the house,” she tells me. “Super Nintendo, Gameboy (the old, grey, fat one.) Lately I’ve irresponsibly purchased a Gameboy Advance SP and my boss made a point of letting me know that I’m stupid cos it’s outdated and they don’t make games for it anymore. But all in all, that’s what I like about it, that it’s outdated, not too complicated and doesn’t make your head spin with overly sophisticated graphics. And the aesthetics, obviously!”
Any other such clothes in your closet?
“I Haven’t made anything else, but it’s something I’m probably gonna do cos too many people have asked where I bought it and how much I want for it. Some woman actually offered me 150 Shekels [~$45] – that’s pretty amazing!”
Interested? Contact Rotem via email: roteminis@walla.co.il
Israeli Soldier Incarcerated for Posting a Photo to Facebook
An Israeli soldier with Unit 8200 was court marshaled and sentenced to 19 days of incarceration earlier this month for posting a photo to Facebook. The photo, taken inside a building at one of the unit’s bases, depicts soldiers inside the building. To the best of my knowledge, the photo contained no confidential information, and it would seem that the soldier was made an example of.
The soldier included the photo in a presentation he made for his coming release from the army. He later uploaded the photo to his Facebook profile, where his superior officers saw it and had him court marshaled. An army source who spoke on terms of anonymity said that the soldier was officially tried for photographing inside a military base without permission.
Israeli Defense Force Spokesperson’s response: “The IDF recognizes the risks in unknowledgeable usage of the civilian Internet, and acts to mitigate them among IDF soldiers, through enforcement as well as raising awareness. The IDF is familiar with the case mentioned in the article, and is seeing to it harshly in accordance with military policy.” The spokesperson was unable to confirm that this was the first case of Facebook related court marshal in the IDF.
In recent weeks, the IDF distributed among soldiers a Powerpoint presentation as well as a short movie describing the risks of posting sensitive information to social networks. Shabak, the covert Israeli internal security service, recently prohibited its employees from having profiles in social networks. And just two weeks ago, the Director of Security of the Defense Establishment issued a memo forbidding soldiers and employees of the Shabak and Mossad to mention their occupation on the web, disclose information about activities relating to their occupation and to post photos of security forces facilities and of uniformed soldiers.
(I originally posted this item today on Calcalist, the daily Israeli business paper I work for)
Israeli Shabak Launches IT Blogs
Shabak (aka Shin Bet), the covert Israeli internal security service, this Sunday launched Shin.Tech Blogs, a blog site which features blogs of four of its IT workers. The blogs are a part of Shabak’s efforts to lure high-tech workers away from the better salaries and terms offered of the high-tech industry playing the patriotic and saving-lives cards.
Except for its head, present Shabak employees’ names are never made public, and thus the bloggers are only identified by their first-name initials. The four bloggers are Noon, head of a QA team; Alef, a software engineer; Chet, a QA engineer; and Yod, an integration infrastructure specialist.
Shabak’s blogs were created by Refresh - Content Power, a fledgling PR 2.0 company established by Adam Shuv, a former journalist and recent editor of TheMarker Café, an Israeli business oriented social network. The blogs run on a Hebrew version of Wordpress.
Shabak first launched a website in 2005, concentrating on recruitment for various jobs. . Late last year, it upgraded its site with information about its missions and history, including testimonials of Shabak employees.
Microsoft Israel Discovers Communism
Microsoft Israel last week cut-back on a decade-long benefit to its Haifa R&D Center, in which they were reimbursed the daily commute by taxi. This benefit was introduced back in the day when the northern Haifa R&D Center was established, and high-tech workers were scarce and preferred working in the center of Israel. The benefit gave them the incentive to work in Haifa, even if they lived in the center.
Microsoft Israel stopped offering this benefit to new employees years ago, replacing it with the more common practice of leasing them cars. But about forty employees, a quarter of all of its employees in Haifa, enjoyed this benefit.
In an email dated March 5, Nicky Hechter, Senior Finance & Operations Manager, Microsoft Israel, wrote the employees:
Folks,
As part of the effort to provide one employee experience across ILDC and in order to be in line with local market practices we have agreed, together with the Haifa SLT, to cancel the use of taxis as a transportation method to and from work.
Microsoft’s decision and timing couldn’t be worse: many companies are competing for high-tech workers in Haifa, including Google Israel, which also runs an R&D Center in Haifa, and Yahoo, which is set to launch its own R&D Center in Haifa this Tuesday.
It also strikes me odd that such a capitalist company would use an almost communistic reasoning of “one employee experience.” You wanna save some dough? You’re entitled to it, but be honest about it.
Microsoft Israel’s response: “Microsoft employees enjoy some of the industry’s best and leading employment terms.”
Tel Aviv View©: A Flashmob for the Right to Take Photos in Public
Don’t shoot the Opera Tower! Photo: Ziv Mizrahi; Design: Ido Kenan. Click to enlarge
Ziv Mizrahi, an Israeli amateur photographer, was walking about taking photos of the Opera Tower in Tel Aviv when a guard ordered him to stop. He called the company that manages the building, where he was told he needed a written permission to photograph the building, because its design is copyrighted.
Israeli copyright law specifically allows taking photos and making drawings of any architectural creation, and of any work of art which is on a permanent location (such as a building), defining that as fair use.
This Friday, March 7, at noon, there will be a flashmob of photographers who will exercise their democratic and lawful right to take photos of a building in public. The photos will later be uploaded to Flickr, tagged OperaMob2008.
Tel Aviv View© on Facebook (in Hebrew). This post in Hebrew
Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy have needs, too
Seems that the Raggedies are not as innocent as they’d have you believe. While Nicholas Gurewitch claims Andy sneaks a peek at an undressing Ann (”Doll Change“, The Perry Bible Fellowship), Mark Velasquez sees them having BDSM sex (”Raggedy Ann and Andy want to play…“).
Velasquez tries to explain:
There’s a certain fear I have that too much of our American society is Puritanical and white-washed that I feel it necessary to remind people that we all have urges and desires that we don’t talk about. […] making dolls do things normal humans would do is something I find terribly funny.
Ingredients: Hours, Minutes, Seconds
JUST a MOMENT is a clock designed by Naama Steinbock & Idan Friedman, Reddish Studio.
Its brilliance comes from separating the hour, minute and second hands, each getting its own space.
JUST a MOMENT clock by Naama Steinbock & Idan Friedman, Reddish Studio. Photo courtesy of Artlook
Writely suggests collaborating documents with Bush & Cheney
Is it coincidental that Writely demonstrates document collaboration using the email addresses pres@wh.gov and vpres@wh.gov?
..and Writely for All
Seems like getting a Writely.com account doesn’t require an invite anymore.
