Go Green & Go Israel

One step at a time, right Madonna?

From our colleagues in the swamp:

Embassy of Israel, Washington, D.C.
Press Release
Israeli Ambassador Sallai Meridor Announces Switch of Official Diplomatic Vehicles to Hybrid-Electric
***For Immediate Release*** July 9, 2007
WASHINGTON: Israel has announced that starting this fall, it will significantly reduce the petroleum consumption of its senior diplomats in the United States by switching to hybrid-electric vehicles. The symbolic initiative, led by Israel’s Ambassador to the United States, Sallai Meridor, will include Israel’s embassy in Washington, its nine consulates throughout the U.S. and its mission to the United Nations, making Israel’s foreign service among the first in the U.S. to significantly reduce oil demand throughout its entire official fleet.

“Reducing oil dependence and protecting the environment are key factors in improving international security,” Meridor said. “We are proud to be among the first countries to take this small but symbolic step. Our hope is that many small steps taken together will lead to major policy action around the world that will address one of the most critical strategic and environmental issues facing our common future.”

Israel plans in the years ahead to strengthen energy cooperation with the U.S. by developing alternative energy technologies and assisting American efforts to reduce petroleum dependence.
“Israel has always been at the forefront of conservation,” Meridor said. “We believe in the critical importance of embracing alternative sources of energy and advanced vehicle technology to help achieve energy independence and build a sustainable environment.”

To learn more about Israel’s efforts to reduce petroleum dependence, please visit the Ministry of Environmental Protection website , or send an email to israelgoesgreen@gmail.com

Israelis Buy Giant Lipstick Tower

What’s up with all these NY buildings being bought by Israelis?

July 9, 2007
Israeli-Led Group to Buy the Lipstick Building in Manhattan
By BLOOMBERG NEWS

Tao Tsuot and Financial Levers, two Israeli investment companies, said yesterday that they led a group that agreed to buy the Lipstick Building in Manhattan for $648.5 million.

The two Israeli companies said they would own 70 percent of the building, which is at 885 Third Avenue, on East 53rd Street. Investors including the Marciano Investment Group and Metropolitan Real Estate Investments will own the rest, Tao and Financial Levers said in a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.

Continue reading Israelis Buy Giant Lipstick Tower…

Idan Raichel: A NYT choice for world CD of the year

A couple of weeks ago thousands of New Yorkers enjoyed an amazing concert by Idan Raichel in Central Park. The place was packed and lots of my friends were, unfortunately, turned away extremely distressed for not making it. This comes to show the people’s thirst for new and different kinds of music coming from near or far, making the world smaller and bringing people closer.

The New York Times, in an article on world music and the way it has broken free from geographic isolation and has been reaching people all over, is has chosen “The Idan Raichel Project” among the best world music CDs of the year. Here is what they have to say about it…

” ‘THE IDAN RAICHEL PROJECT’ (Cumbancha)
The Idan Raichel Project was a huge hit in Israel for good reason: it envisions a modern, multicultural nation where voices of young and old, Ethiopian and Yemenite, are all heard in songs devoted to love and tolerance. Idan Raichel is the keyboardist, songwriter and producer behind the scenes, and he’s clearly as familiar with Peter Gabriel as with Middle Eastern traditions. His arrangements bind the voices together in somber minor-mode anthems paced by electronic beats, earnestly seeking to uplift.”

Dispatches from Blogference

Some posts from “the news & telegraph“, a blogger at Israel’s Blogference over at the IDC. A cool two day event, which of course we weren’t invited to:

Blogference 2007

I’m at the IDC Herzliya, about 30 minutes north of Tel Aviv, where the Sammy Ofer School of Communications is hosting Israel’s first conference on blogging, the “Blogference 2007.” The InterDisciplinary Center Herzliya is an interesting new phenemonon in Israel—it’s the first private university in Israel and is really cutting edge. We got a tour of the communications school yesterday, which is only a year old, and has about 100 students (the whole school has about 800). They’ve got some incredible production facilities here and some impressive radio and audio editing suites, better than most newsrooms I’ve ever been in.

I spoke yesterday (below) on journalism and blogging and the challenges of the proliferation of media sources and points of view. Then today I spoke about the thesis of my book about the transformative technologies coming to play in the 2008 presidential race.

I’ve also sat in some discussions of the Russian blogosphere, the Israeli blogosphere, and then a great film-making and online video panel by the the Askaninja.com guys. The conclusion of the Russian discussion? A blogosphere is no substitute for democracy.

Blogging in the Holy Land

I’m in Tel Aviv this week for Israel’s first blogging conference. I was one of a half-dozen U.S. bloggers invited to come speak at the conference, since the U.S. blogosphere is a few years more advance than Israel’s right now.

We arrived on Friday evening and spent yesterday hanging around our hotel right on the Mediterranean yesterday. It’s just so beautiful here; I can’t get over it. I don’t know what I was expecting for Tel Aviv, but this certainly wasn’t it. The beach, which stretches most of the length of the city, is incredible. Since yesterday was the sabbath, it was absolutely packed. We walked down a bit from the hotel and there are chaise lounges all set up — for 12 shekels, about three dollars, you can “rent” a chaise lounge for the day. Then they have waitstaff on the beach who serve drinks and food. I have to admit that we were sipping pineapple daiquiris by 10 a.m. yesterday.

Yesterday afternoon, we visited Old Joffa, the ancient port, and wandered around for a while. There wasn’t much to see given how everything was closed. Then last night we had dinner on the waterfront in the marina before heading over to the old port, which has been resurrected as a fancy nightclub and restaurant district. It was very hip, lively, and colorful.