Archive | 2011 | October

The “Jersey Shore” virus is spreading … and no country is immune — because Israel has a Snooki of their very own … but she’s adamant about one thing — she’s no “f**king whore!!”

Her name is Lihi Griner — she came in second on “Big Brother: Israel” — and she’s an aspiring  reality train show wreck … who’s hoping she can one day out-trash The Snook.

It’s gonna take hard work … a TON of booze … and a punch-resilient face.  God speed.

One of the oldest bazaars in the world, the Jaffa flea market is now rapidly becoming the hottest new location in Tel Aviv, famed for fashion and food.

The Jaffa flea market is one of the oldest bazaars in the world. Whereas it used to be a place to find knick-knacks and second-hand furniture or clothing, today it is also rapidly becoming one of the trendiest spots in Israel.

Fashion designers, artists, antique dealers and gourmet chefs have all converged upon the portside area just south of Tel Aviv, making it a destination for bargain hunters and fashionistas from Israel and abroad, and even a newly desirable place to live.

“It’s not exactly Soho in NY or Camden in London,” says Ava Rodan of Alma Jewelry. “It’s an original place where you can find really old antiques or new shops with a lovely atmosphere.”

Jerusalem Beer Festival features international and local producers, music and merriment.

The Old Jerusalem Train Station was the setting for the seventh annual Jerusalem Beer Festival, featuring booths serving more than 100 international beers and more than 20 local producers from boutique breweries to tiny home operations.

Festival producer Eli Giladi stresses that this is the only such festival not sponsored by a beer maker. And lots of non-natives come to check it out.

“We’re originally from California,” says a representative of Isra-Ale (http://thewinemaker.homestead.com/Beer-Styles.html), who intended to start a brewery the minute he immigrated to Israel. “Everybody told us we’re stupid to do such a thing, because nobody drinks in Israel. They were wrong!” he concludes with a laugh.

Herzl Beer was there offering flavors including “Cuban cigar,” accomplished with the aid of oak chips and the leaves of the cigars. Pretty tasty.

Award is described as ‘a way to show the business world how intelligent design and innovative space planning can create a workplace that is more than a sum of its parts,’ with designers and architects asked to nominate their own projects.

The Israeli branch of aircraft manufacturer Boeing has been chosen one of the 20 “coolest” offices in the world, in an annual competition organized by Autodesk (makers of the drafting program AutoCAD), the architecture website Architizer and Inc.com, a site for entrepreneurs.

The award is described as “a way to show the business world how intelligent design and innovative space planning can create a workplace that is more than a sum of its parts,” with designers and architects asked to nominate their own projects.

The Boeing offices, located on the 16th floor of the Museum Tower in Tel Aviv, were planned by Orbach Halevi architects with a budget of NIS 1.5 million. The design includes imagery from the world of flight, like huge windows reminiscent of an airport and a wall of airplane windows through which the company’s various models are displayed.

Full story via Haaretz

Montel Williams, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, is visiting Israel to meet with legislators, scientists and physicians to learn more about Israel’s marijuana policies.

Emmy Award-winning television personality and patient activist Montel Williams said Sunday he was impressed with Israel’s liberal attitude toward medical marijuana, and he believes the U.S. could learn a thing or two from the country’s drug policies.

Williams was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999 and he has since been an outspoken advocate of medical marijuana to relieve pain caused by the disease.

The former host of the popular long-running talk show “The Montel Williams Show” is in Israel on a fact-finding mission to learn about its medicinal cannabis practices. He is meeting with legislators, scientists and physicians.

At the height of his TV career, Williams was one of the most recognizable faces in America, alongside fellow daytime TV hosts Oprah Winfrey, Phil Donahue and Geraldo Rivera.

“We need to get out of the dark ages and into the new ages,” he told The Associated Press. “Not every patient can use cannabis, but for those who can … why deny it?”

In Israel, certain doctors can approve cannabis prescriptions and disperse them to patients, said Itay Goor-Aryeh, the head of the pain management unit at the Sheba Medical Center in central Israel.

He said that while marijuana use is strictly regulated, many doctors prefer prescribing it to patients who qualify because it is “the lesser of evils.”

“Those patients, if they do not get cannabis, they will get morphine-like drugs and other harmful drugs,” said Goor-Aryeh. “I think that in many ways, cannabis is tolerated and is less addictive that morphine-based drugs.”

Sixteen U.S.states have decriminalized the use of medical marijuana to some extent. Critics claim dispensaries are often no more than drug trafficking fronts.

Williams said that those merely seeking to smoke pot won’t go through the lengthy bureaucratic process when they could just “go down the street.”

Williams, 55, said he takes cannabis on a daily basis.

“For me, there is nothing else that can do what it does,” he said. “It helps me suppress my pain … When I am not using cannabis I am thinking about my pain every 45 seconds.”

He said the drug has been “vilified to substantiate the false reason why it was banned in the first place,” and that he hoped it would one day become a regular prescription drug.

“There are chemicals within that plant,” he said, “and some of the leading science on where and how those chemicals work is being done right here in this country,” referring to Israel.

Source: Associated Press

GLW provides Africans with standalone light fixture that relies solely on solar energy

The giant structures line most of our major roads and have become an integral part of the urban landscape. Yet to most Westerners, streetlights are so common they hardly get noticed by anyone.

That is not the reality for most third world countries. Many African countries, for example, have a complete lack of street lighting on major streets, making it extremely dangerous to drive in anything but clear and sunny conditions.

That is why Globe Light and Water Systems (GLW,) an Israeli company, has developed a new standalone light fixture that relies solely on solar energy, rather than on the government-run power plants, which often lose power.

Full article Via Ynet

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