Resignation with more corruption to follow

This week Yaron Zelicha has announced his resignation. As readers of this blog may have guessed, I am a bit of a fan of his. I support his championing of anti-corruption right up to the point where the fight literally cost his job. He announced his resignation today saying, according to Arutz 7 “I intended to wait until the investigation (of then-Acting Finance Minister Ehud Olmert) was over.

This investigation has finally been handed over to the police to investigate now Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Olmert is currently under 3 separate police investigations; the first is the purchase of a house in Jerusalem, alleged political appointments through the small business unit of the Ministry of trade and industry ,and now this - trying to rig the sale of Bank Leumi whilst he was Finance Minister.

The prime minister who is currently undergoing criminal investigations whilst at 2 former ministerial posts, and 1 currently, whilst Prime Minister (the house purchase). In most countries political leaders are meant to set examples, show leadership, moral standings, but it would seem Israel is exempt from such leaders.


If you read today's Haaretz there is an article about the investigation into the former finance minister Abraham Hirchson.

As some background .."On March 20, 2007, Hirschson was investigated for seven hours by Israeli police regarding an alleged embezzlement at a non-profit organization while serving as the chairman of the National Workers Labour Federation.He suspended himself from May to July while Israeli police investigated him for embezzlement,before resigning on 1 July."

The article in today's paper relates how a researcher in the archives of the case was sorting through all the documents prior to their computerisation, came across an envelope with 576 old Shekels marked for Ovadia Cohen, who was one of the organisations senior executives.

If you remember that the new Israeli Shekel only came into existence in 1985, and the suspicions of which he is being investigated are from the 90s, we can get an idea of the people who are making there way into government even today.

How can we stop this crippling, demoralising, illegal corruption ?
Do we have a new Zelicha-like figure to be able to work on stamping out these crimes ?


There was a joke circulating round about a year ago which is sadly going to need a lot more lines added to it.
I just hope we can find some true leaders of Israel ..

Your comments, as always, appreciated

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If Arik (Sharon) would wake up today….

It is a rainy night and we are at Tel Hashomer Hospital. Only one assistant is around, named Shmiel. He is on night duty tonight in the room of “sleeping” former PM Sharon.

Everybody, but Sharon himself, knows he is no longer the Prime Minister of Israel. Shmiel is sitting peeling an apple and G the Shaba”k agent is nodding off.

Suddenly, all the machines start to beep. The PM is waking up!

Sharon says, “I haven’t slept like that for a long time! Get me [Reuven] Adler, I have some ideas for a new direction.”

Shmiel says, “Good morning, sir. How do you feel?”

Sharon answers, “I am dying of hunger. Where am I?”

The shabak agent continues to sleep while Shmiel explains to Sharon what had happened to him.

Sharon does not take him seriously and says, “So tonight you fooled with the PM, eh Shmiel?”

Shmiel says, “Sorry sir but you are really no longer the PM.”

After a few minutes Sharon asks, “So who replaced me?”

Shmiel answers, “Ehud Olmert.”

Sharon reacts, “Olmert? That Jerusalemite putz? What will happen if war breaks out, he does not know how to run the army! At least Shaul [Mofaz] is still there!”

Shmiel answers, “Mofaz is the Minister of Transportation.”

“So who is the Defence Minister?”

Shmiel says, “Peretz.”

“That old man is still alive?!” asks Sharon in wonderment.

Shmiel whispers trembling, “not Peres, Peretz. Amir Peretz.”

“What? Are you crazy? I close my eyes for a minute and you guys let a labor leader take over the defence of the country?! Not all the factories in Dimona are the same. Does he know that? Listen, get Omri here right away. He will fix everything.”

“Sorry sir, Omri is on his way to jail.”

“Jail?? for that shtus? I do not believe it. So get me my lawyer quickly. Get Klagsbald.”

Shmiel responds, Klagsbald is on his way to jail.”

Sharon calms down and says, “I knew I could count on Klagsbald. he will get Omri out of it.”

Shmiel corrects him and says, “No, sir. Klagsbald is also on his way to jail. He was driving and not paying attention and caused an accident unintentionally running over and killing a young woman and her son.”

Sharon said, “So bring me [Avigdor] Yitzchaki. He always knows how to fix these situations.”

“Sorry, sir. Yitzchaki is under his own investigation for tax fraud. He fixed things too much this time.”

“Can’t be. I know Yitzchaki. They must be framing him. So get me the Head of Police.”

“Sorry, sir, but Karadi is in investigation.”

“Of course he is. He is the head of police. I am sure he is in the middle of a number of investigations!”

“No, sir. Thi s is an investigation against him!”

Sharon takes a deep breath. It can’t be. The whole justice system has been ruined! We must get them out of this. Get me the minister of Internal Security, Tzachi [Hanegbi].”

“Sir, Hanegbi has been indicted for fraud, bribery and job fixing.He is not a minister anymore.”

“So get me the Justice Minister. Who did Olmert appoint?”

“Haim Ramon”

“So get him here!”

“Sorry sir. I can’t. He has been indicted and is on trial for misconduct.”

“What? So get me the president. That is still Katzav, right?”

“sorry sir, but Katzav is under investigation as well, formisconduct and wiretapping.”

“So get me the Chief of Staff, Boogie [Moshe Ayalon]. Sorry I mean Halutz, right?”

” Sir, he got into some trouble in the Lebanon War. Nothing criminal. he sold some stocks. He will soon be giving testimony to an investigative committee.”

“Halutz?? he was a young Piper pilot during the Lebanon War!”

“Sir, that would be the second Lebanon War, while you were sleeping. We… how should I say? lost the war but the PM said we should be patient, victory is coming.”

Sharon looked around his room. “What is your name and what is your position?”

“Shmiel, sir. I am a hospital attendant.”

“Ok, Shmiel. Do not tell anyone about this conversation.”

“You can count on me, sir.”

“I am going back to sleep.”

Egypt Vs Iran -- is there a difference

On Monday Egypt announced their plans to begin developing Nuclear Energy power plants.

To quote an article by the AP "President Hosni Mubarak said the aim was to diversify Egypt's energy resources and preserve its oil and gas reserves for future generations. In a televised speech, he pledged Egypt would work with the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency at all times and would not seek a nuclear bomb.

But Mubarak also made clear there were strategic reasons for the program, calling secure sources of energy "an integral part of Egypt's national security system."

At what point does the aim to diversify fuel needs become an integral part of security.- according to the Egypt State Information Service, Oil production accounts for 92% of all fuel, and as of 2006, they discovered even more sites, so, even long term, i am not really worried about Egypt suddenly becoming dependant on other countries for fuel needs.

In a discussion on the BBC World Service programme World have your Say"

Most of the calls were concerned with 2 main issues:
Firstly - are they really prepared for the long term secure storage of spent nuclear rods - -can they guarantee that militant factions wont be able to get them and turn them into weapons (after all, they don't actually need to do much to make it dangerous)

and secondly- the regime, currently its stable, moderate and peaceful, but who is to say that in a few years time, when the reactor is going live, or in times after, that Egypt does not have a leader akin to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose anti-everything rhetoric, in the words of Nick "the scariest man in power".

With one popular view being that more Muslim countries are leaning towards the extreme ideals,(I am not getting into a discussion on the religious leanings of Israel) do we want Egypt to have this capability. They state, in the same AP article above that they will be doing it with the full cooperation and assistance of the IAEA, which, in comparison with Iran's attitude, is definitely more promising.

Of course, it is hard to question why anyone in the middle east should not have it when Israel is allegedly storing the 6th largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world.

Your thoughts ?

Tenor Luciano Pavarotti dead at 71

Sad news for the Opera world, and for culture in general.
Luciano Pavarotti died today, aged 71, from Pancreatic Cancer

You can see a wonderful performance of the aria for which he is known best( at least by the commoner such as myself) here



Or him singing Ave Maria



And finally, is the slightly more bizarre performance with James Brown

Whats the point in being honest ?

An excellent article appeared in a weekend edition of Haaretz back in February 2007. The main story in the weekend section that edition was not about a traditional political figure, but rather the Accountant General Yaron Zelekha. I urge you all to read this article. Its a little long, but well worth it. The article can be found here This article extols the honesty, integrity and dedication this man has given to the state.

Bibi Netanyahu in his blog post tells also of examples of how much he as been able to save the state, after appointing him to the position and the benefit to the country in having this man in this position.

His decisions have not made him popular (he was assigned a full time body guard due to the corruption he was uncovering and other such noble activities which made him such an easy target for Israeli politicos and other characters. (It was Zelekha who discovered the Bank Leumi scandal,in 2005, which implicates, amongst other people, our Prime Minister, Olmert.)

So, in today's papers, and online sites ynet, haaretz and others, it tells the story of how his contract is not being renewed.

The only person in the government who is taking political corruption seriously, including publishing a comprehensive anti-corruption plan, being a star witness against olmert in the Bank Leumi case and other major innovations within Israeli political circles, is being fired.

The Finance minister has decided not to keep on his employment. The State Prosecutor has stated that he will not intervene. The state comptrollers office has yet to make their decision.

The levels of corruption in Israeli politics is growing. According an article in the IHT in 2006, (I am sure there are more, but this is the first one i found, the last parliament, when Sharon was in power, was the most corrupt one ever. The main political players are still involved in politics now. We are suffering from a severe lack of ethical and moral leaders. This is meant to be the country which shows the others the way. Instead we can be more compared to the corrupt nations of the world, rather than the honest ones.

The political system is set up to fail the people. Its all about the party. How good you are in the party, how well the party perceive you. At the last elections, there were several good people, with good ideas for reform, who were all conveniently a little bit too low down on their lists to actually make a difference. Instead, the usual suspects were at the top. This is not change, it makes no difference who you vote for. It would take a landslide victory of 1 party in order to get new people, new ideas into Israeli politics.
Electoral reform is discussed every election, primarily amongst olim; those who came from representative based systems. Those from where the elected officials are responsible to the people they represent, not the party line they have to tow. There is Little incentive to work for the people if you don't directly represent them. So in order to get ahead, you need a few bribes here, a few favours handed out there. Every office seems to do it. Its all a "if you help me now, if i get this position, i'll help you" mentality. This is not the Israeli protexia, where having good contacts will get you almost anything you need, this goes far beyond it.


And the govt is getting rid of the man trying to stop the corruption.
I don't know what the public in Israel can do. I don't know if we have the ability to petition the government - saying that WE want him in the position. Telling them that WE want and need someone digging out the corruption within the system. We need to be able to trust our leaders. One of my colleagues at work mentioned today that for him, a bigger issue than security, is trusting the people who make those decisions. If all your choices are based on what stock options you need to get rid of, or what friends you need to tip-off before you make the decisions -- the person may have the experience, but are they really thinking of the country, or just the best way to line their own pockets.

This is the coolest cooking thing i think i have ever seen

I've not tried it, but random browsing of internet came up with this gem today... popcorn-on-the-cob


Popcorn On The Cob - Funny blooper videos are here

I'll have to persuade Ruth to let me potentially explode our microwave and have a go

Shooting in jerusalem

This is a post written really without all the facts.
I am currently on holiday, not fully reading all the facts, but none-the-less shocked by the footage released of the shooting in Jerusalem
I found the footage online and wanted to post and share with those who did not see it.




I will get back to writing more later.

Trip to the UK

Last week Elal took possession of the first of 2 new 777's.
A short film of the maiden flight can be seen here.



I did not take any videos on the plane as we flew on "Sderot", the brand new, one week old plane. (The 2nd one is Kiryat Shmona). I used to travel more often for work, now, not so much, but never have I flown on a brand new, 1 week old plane.

The features include V.O.D for all seats, touchscreen entertainment centre, new and better seats.

My 1 year old child tested everything as best he could - the remote control still worked after being given the 2 tests -- the Dribble and the Bashing test.
The touchscreen still functioned after the hitting-with-the-remote-control test


Ilan showed his appreciation for it by being sick.
6 times

I apologise to anyone who has to sit in row 51 -- it was not my intention to ruin ElAl's new toy, but you can be assured that all the equipment was tested to the highest of child standards

Avram Wedding Videos

Yes Yes it finally happened. After sitting next to and listening to lots about it, it finally took place.
Avram and Talya got married and what a great wedding it was.
So Avram and Talya -- I wish the 2 of you all the best in your new life together. I wish you only the best things in life and as they say you get to build your "bayit neeman beyisrael"

Talya -- you need to introduce Avram to some new music, because, well -- wedding music can only be listened to for so long before it gets tedious.

On another note once again my own "aishes chayil" proved invaluable at the wedding as she remembere the camera, so as the saying goes " Wives - don't leave home without one"

anyway - here are some videos

Avram's Wedding

Tisha B'Av thoughts

I know it's a little late, but this is the first time i have had to write this...

If we go back to the origins for Tisha B'av the whole eternal damning of this day came out of negative propaganda and people believing it. 10 leaders were able to persuade the whole nation that Israel was not worth fighting over, not worth working hard for. They painted a gloomy picture
"and they spread an evil report of the land which they had spied out unto the children of Israel, saying: 'The land, through which we have passed to spy it out, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature"

This, some may say is still true today -- the land definitely "eats its inhabitants" in more ways than you could really imagine.

With Israel fighting boycotts, a negative media image, NGO's criticising Israel for anything it does, and countless other negative vibes, it is very easy to think that this is the spies again coming back out and saying - its not worth it.

Sitting in Shul on Tisha B'av its clear to see that its always been like this.
This antisemitism is sadly told of over and over in the kinot read -- how the nations of the world will cause problems (i cant find the exact wording right now), how they will jeer and reject us.
The problems described are as old as the destruction itself.
I think its one of the reasons why Sinat Chinam( baseless hatred) destroyed the temple. But i see it on a national level, not just a personal level.

10 leaders persuaded all the Jews to hate Israel for no good reason
1 unwanted invitee to a party persuaded the Romans to hate Israel
1 rogue photographer in last years war got his photos published on CNN and the world thought much worse of Israel
The stories go on.


Sadly it does not take much to make the world hate Israel, so when G-d said that because we cried on this night for no reason, he would give us a reason to cry -- this is our punishment.
Sinat Chinam destroyed our chance, so sinat Chinam keeps happening.

A footnote on this is to add that i am really against those who equate the tragedy that happened in Gush Katif last year to what happened on Tisha B'av. I think it belittles Tisha B'av. Tisha B'av is about national tragedies happening to the Jews from other nations, not from ourselves.
Israel has made enough mistakes on the part of its own people, without claiming that evicting people from their homes falls under the category of a Tisha B'av proportion.

Eicha ends on a semi-positive note -- a hope that we return to Israel again, so I want to end with a story.

Napoleon was once walking through the streets of Paris. As he passed by a synagogue, he heard the sound of people weeping inside. He turned to his assistant and asked, "What's going on in there?"

"Today is Tisha B'Av," came the reply, "and the Jews are mourning the loss of their Temple."

Napoleon looked toward the synagogue and said, "If the Jews are still crying after so many hundreds of years, then I am certain the Temple will one day be rebuilt!"


Please G-d he will put an end to our suffering and bring about complete salvation

Ilan's 1st Birthday Party

Today we had Ilan's first Birthday party.

Strike

In order to increase the chaos that is about to happen in this country, this Blog is on strike.
The strike will only end once we get better fonts, better templates, more regular readers and more comments.
This blog will not report on the national mood about Tisha B'Av, that the basic problem of Jewish negative attitudes and criticism started the whole problem, and that the day when Israel as a nation takes stock and hears the nations of the worlds comments, reads Eicha and realises the problems never have, and never will go away.

This Blog will also not be commenting on the other thoughts which have occurred to me

Of course -its also (now the 3 weeks are over) reminding about the Jerusalem ROCKS! concert --


I might have my thoughts on Tisha B'Av ready for tomorrow if a late night deal is brokered between my reader.

Friday Brunch

Took part today in a great tradition - the long Friday Brunch.
Mum's out visiting at the moment, so she treated us to brunch at caffit
If you've never done it, do it.
Too much to do before shabbat .. posted up these photos on
facebook . You don't need to be a member to see them
latest ones of Ilan
enjoy.

More about my interests

I like technology.. a lot and love gadgets. I am pleased I have a wife or else I would have no money, but have a great collection of toys and gadgets. (my sort-of impulse purchase before I got married was a great Bose radio alarm clock - it cost a lot but you have never seen soo many features on a clock-radio before)

I like internet related things, but never really got into web design (although i do have domain www.aaronandruth.com which is more of a holding site until i find some time to do things.
I use VoIP services like Jajah and Skype

I work for a telecoms company and for about 2 years was involved in working with VoIP customers in connecting to our network.

I live on facebook now thanks to too many people including my wife who slowly got me addicted -so if you want to join my zombie army, i'll be happy to bite you.

I don't have a television, don't want a television, but will probably lose the argument and eventually get one, but I prefer to pick the programs I want to (download and ) watch. This means I am a big fan of sites such as alluc.org, tv-links.co.uk and really liking DivX Stage 6

I live on websites like The Register, Technology Review, BBC News,
I read Haaretz newspaper

This is a bit more about me .. am sure you'll learn more -- but for now I am off to bed - just got bitten by another mosquito and its really not that fun now.

Introduction

Welcome
This is the start of a brand new blog.
Its not exactly the first blog I've tried and I am sadly sure it won't be the last - -but none-the-less, here we go.
I thought i would start with an introduction.
I am Aaron - 29, originally from Scotland, went to Uni in Manchester (studied Artificial Intelligence), worked in London and then moved here about 3.5 years ago.
I am married to Ruth - who is a Londoner, and we have been married just over 5 years.
We have 1 son called Ilan, who is just under 1 year old, crawling all over the place and generally finding out what life is all about.

I hope you enjoy this blog as much as i might get round to writing it.
I dont have a theme for it other than documenting life in all its forms.


I dont pretend that living here is easy, i dont pretend that everything in this country is perfect.
You'll find my political views shift from one end to the other depending on the issue at hand, and all will become clearer in the future. One thing is clear -- I am where i want to be.
I am happier here than I could ever have been if i stayed in London.