New Statesman - The New Israel Fund
Since 1979, NIF has fought for social justice and equality for all Israelis. We believe that Israel can live up to its founders' vision of a state that ensures complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants, without regard to religion, race or gender.
Widely credited with building Israel's progressive civil society from scratch, we have provided more than $200 million to more than 800 cutting-edge organizations since our inception. What's more, through our action arm, SHATIL, we mentor, train and lead Israeli civil society in an ongoing struggle to empower the underprivileged.
We fight inequality, injustice and extremism because we understand that justice is the precondition for a successful democracy - and the only lasting road to peace.
The Fund, which says powerfully that "the only secure Israel is a just Israel", prioritises social justice and civil rights.
Climate Cover-Up (The Crusade to Deny Global Warming)
Starting in the early 1990s, three large American industry groups set to work on strategies to cast doubt on the science of climate change. Even though the oil industry’s own scientists had declared, as early as 1995, that human-induced climate change was undeniable, the American Petroleum Institute, the Western Fuels Association (a coal-fired electrical industry consortium) and a Philip Morris-sponsored anti-science group called TASSC all drafted and promoted campaigns of climate change disinformation.
The success of those plans is self-evident. A Yale/George Mason University poll taken late in 2008 showed that — 20 years after President George H.W. Bush promised to beat the greenhouse effect with the “White House effect” — a clear majority of Americans still say they either doubt the science of climate change or they just don’t know. Climate Cover-Up explains why they don’t know. Tracking the global warming denial movement from its inception, public relations advisor James Hoggan (working with journalist Richard Littlemore), reveals the details of those early plans and then tracks their execution, naming names and exposing tactics in what has become a full-blown attack on the integrity of the public conversation.
The future of Israeli high-tech: Jewish brains aren't enough (Haaretz Israel News)
- But more than anything, Israel has been devoid of a clear foreign policy. This creates a persistent sense of insecurity about the future. Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed for years that Israel's economic growth is no longer affected by the general political situation; that Israel can continue on its current path for a long time without paying an economic price. This is a highly questionable assumption. Foreign investors may indeed think that the political situation does not constitute a risk factor when it comes to R&D on a small scale: knowledge generated by small companies can be moved very quickly from one country to the next.
The same doesn't hold true for production facilities and large companies; they require huge investment, and they cannot be moved quickly in case of emergency. The option of a third intifada or the resumption of hostilities in some other form looms large because of the political stalemate. This situation is certainly not conducive to a state of mind that leads to development of companies for the long haul.
Israel's lack of a political horizon and long-term planning are the main reasons why our high-tech industry is oriented towards short-term gains. If Israel's citizens are sometimes accused of just living for the day, we cannot blame them anymore than we should accuse the high-tech sector of short sightedness. High-tech entrepreneurs and investors cannot plan further ahead than the infrastructure of the state allows.
Click: 17th October (BBC NEWS Programmes Click)
Tags for:
Click: 17th October
Portus Project
Ground penetrating radar
Polynomial texture mapping
Archaeological Computing Research Group
Autodesk 3ds Max
View extreme software?
Mire software?Israel Water Technologies Can Boost Himachal’s Farm Productivity (Dhumal My Himachal)
Shimla: To boost productivity in agriculture and horticulture crops as well as have technical collaboration on renewal energy, the Himachal government would try and enter into a memorandum of understanding with Israel with approval from the central government, chief minister Prem Kumar Dhumal disclosed here today.
Speaking to the media after returning from the a three day visit to Israel where the chief minister participated in WATEC – Israel 2009, an international exhibition cum conference on water related technologies held in Tel Aviv, he said, “the Israeli government was keen to enter into an early MoU with Himachal and we have asked our diplomatic office in Tel Aviv to prepare a document that could be agreeable to their as well as our union governments.”
Other than the feasibility of technology transfer especially in water management, waste management, opportunities in tourism would be explored as over 50,000 Israeli tourists visit Himachal annually, he said.
The country had emerged a leader in drip and sprinkler irrigation system and by being able to recycle about 75 percent sewage water for irrigation, the small country with a population of 70 lakh people had been able to achieve very high productivity levels in all crops grown including apples, said Dhumal.
TEL AVIV(ISRAEL): Leading players in cutting edge solar energy technology, agriculture, water management fighting the problem of water salination, environmental and water pollution are likely to visit Punjab in the coming days as a follow up to the joint developmental thrust proposed between Israel and Punjab.
The government of India has been approach to facilitate the process.
Earlier, the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal called on the Minister of Industry, Trade and Labour of Israel Binyamin Ben-Eliezer last evening to explore the possibility of joint collaboration between Israel and Punjab in several developmental areas.
Giving the details Chief Minister's Media Adviser Harcharan Bains said that during the meeting with the captains of Industry and Experts, Badal laid special stress on efficient and cost effective treatment of water for domestic as well as agriculture purposes.
Israel water tech thrives in weakened economy (Green Business Reuters)
TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israel's water technology sector has prospered despite the global financial crisis, largely due to global stimulus packages and penetration in developing countries, officials said on Wednesday.
Though affected by a slowdown in spending in the country and throughout the world, Israel's Ministry of Industry and Trade said there is an "opposite and strong trend" in the demand for water technologies that will generate growth in companies.
At least half of Israel's water industry leaders will present sales growth in 2009 despite the global crisis, the ministry projected at its annual WATEC conference in Tel Aviv.
Israel Signs New Agricultural Agreement with the EU (NEW EUROPE The European News Source)
- On Wednesday, November 4, a new agricultural agreement was signed in Brussels between Israel and the European Union, which improves access to both markets.
The new agreement, which updates the original agricultural agreement signed in the 1970's, is the result of lengthy negotiations led by Israel's Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor. Since the original signing, the agreement has been updated several times in order to reflect the significant changes in the needs of both parties.
Access to the markets of both sides has been greatly improved. In the processed agricultural products sector, over 95% of the products will be exempt from all taxes or levies. Considerable liberalization was undertaken in regards to all areas of fresh products and approximately 80% will be exempt from all customs restrictions.
Each year, around one billion euros of Israeli agricultural and processed food products are exported to the EU.
Europe is Israel's most important trading partner in the agricultural field. More than 25% of Israel's agricultural products and more than 75% of its total fresh agricultural products are exported to European countries.
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
No comments:
Post a Comment