Picture of the Week: The shots that won’t make it to the catalog
Filed under: Picture of the Week, Pop Culture, health
Okay, I know it’s supposed to be just one picture in the Picture of the Week, but if you can’t break the rules in a blog, where can you break them? And this seems like an ideal pairing – the photos that WON’T make it into the advertising campaign.
First off we’ve got some poor soul from Holon getting a swine flu shot. A man shrieking in pain as a nurse gives him the flu jab is clearly not the message that the government wants to give. One look at this picture, and my kids wouldn’t have an inoculation again in their lives.
The Israeli health authorities have started vaccinating the population against swine flu. The Health Ministry purchased 7.3 million doses of the swine flu vaccine – enough for every Israeli –but is increasingly perturbed by the reluctance of Israelis to actually take the darn thing.
Only 30 percent of health care officials and personnel took the shot, and the general public seems to be following suit – so far just 160,000 have rolled up their sleeves. No doubt news that three people – all dialysis patients mind you – died shortly after receiving the vaccination, has made the injection a little less appealing.
If this keeps up, millions of expensive doses of swine flu vaccine will simply just go to waste. In response the Health Ministry is now thinking about offering the inoculation in shopping malls and workplaces.
Next up, we’ve got Bar Refaeli posing for Fox’s new summer catalog with Noam Tor. Refaeli and Tor are the current ‘faces’ of Fox, a popular Israeli clothing chain for men, women, kids and babes that offers relatively cheap, fashionable items.
This year’s shoot, for next year’s fashions, was at Mevo Horon, and supposedly in the spirit of Woodstock. Wasn’t the Woodstock revival last year?
While you’d be hard put to find a bad picture of Refaeli, you can be pretty sure that this shot won’t be making it into next year’s catalog. And sorry Fox, but what is that thing she’s wearing?
Pic of the man suffering Trypanophobia (that’s fear of medical procedures involving needles) by Yossi Zeliger/Flash90. Pic of Refaeli and Tor by Yossi Zamir/Flash90.
Israelis love gadgets on Google
Filed under: A New Reality, Blogging, Business, General, Israeliness, Pop Culture, Technology
Ever wonder what Israelis look for on Google? If you thought it was photos of Bar Refaeli, than you’re only partially right.
According to Google Israel Ltd., Israelis are actually nerds – mostly interested in gadgets. The business site Globes reported Google’s assessment of Israeli behavior on the search engine, which found that we’re particularly interested in the…. global cellular market???
The anticipated arrival of the new iPhone in Israel and the expansion of cellular companies into the music content field with Pelephone’s Musix, Cellcom Israel Ltd. Cellcom Media and Partner Communications Co. Ltd. Orange Time have resulted in a high rate of search for these services, Google Israel media and telecom sector head Nir Korchak told the site.
“Without doubt, the biggest new buzz over the last six months was the much talked-about iPhone. The late launch did not curb the appetite of Israelis for the coveted handset and may even have strengthened it. Searches for it were astronomical and broke all records for handset searches.”
Korchak added, “We can draw conclusions from this about Israeli consumers. He loves gadgets and is quick to take up new technologies, and this trend is expressed in the largest number of searches even before the launch. In other words, the enthusiastic Israeli public sees itself as part of the global village, and does not wait for the local launch to get information about something which is already being sold abroad.”
He said, “The Israeli public uses the search engine at every stage in the purchasing process: from initial interest through searches like ‘critique of Nokia N97 through market surveys, ‘iPhone price comparisons’ and onto the order stage ‘buy mobile phone.’”
According to the study, Israelis also use the search terms ‘loans’ and ‘financing’ alot, but not in ways that characterize an economic crisis – 55% of Israelis looked for a loan to finance a vacation, 25% to renovate their home and only 20% in order to repay debts.
And demonstrating that Israelis aren’t just business minded, there have been two peaks in the last six months for searches for swine flu in both English and Hebrew – the first was after the initial outbreak in Mexico and the second was after the outbreak of the virus in Israel.
Of course, what the survey didn’t indicate was that according my own informal polling, after searching for all of the above topics, 93% of Israeli males also typed in ‘Bar Refaeli photos.’
Tears and fears as Madonna ends her Sticky and Sweet tour
Madonna and Livni out on the raz in Tel Aviv.
As David’s already pointed out in his post below, Israel loves Madonna ‘cos she really likes us. And with so many out there who don’t, you tend to get loyal about those who do.
My brother in law was more concerned about swine flu, however. He looked at the 50,000 people thronging the concert grounds, packed in like sardines and said: “This place is a breeding ground for diseases. Don’t let anyone sneeze on you.”
I had other worries on my mind. “Jeez,” I thought, after watching an ant-sized Madonna dance energetically across the stage, singing at the same time. “I’ve really got to get fitter.” This is the kind of thing my husband says after he’s spent a week doing his miloween (annual army service), and has watched fit 18-year-olds run around his base.
Madonna, however, is older than me, and I was painfully aware that during the two hours that Madonna leapt about the stage on high heels, I got backache just from standing.
Another question that kept popping in to my mind as Madonna appeared in one tiny outfit after another, was what on earth she and Tzippi Livni talked about during their tete a tete the other day.
It’s hard to forget Livni during the election campaign turning up on stage in a leather jacket and dancing stiffly to some rock music in an effort to attract youth voters.
So what did these completely different women discuss? The ancient mysteries of Kabala, the looming crisis with Iran, where Madonna buys her thigh-high boots? Ah, to be a fly on the wall during that dinner.
So the show ended. Tears were dried. And 50,000 people headed for the exits at the same time. At Gate 12 we got caught in a massive but good-natured logjam of people. Not a person could move, and suddenly over the loudspeakers came an announcement. “The show has ended, could you please leave the arena.”
Next up Leonard Cohen.
For more on Madonna in Israel, clickhere.
Israeli vaccine may work against swine flu too
Filed under: Business, General, Medical Breakthroughs, Technology, health
With doctors and nurses around the world now declaring that there’s no way many of them will take the new swine flu vaccine being rushed out this fall because of safety fears, it’s not surprising that interest in Israeli company BiondVax Phamaceuticals is growing fast.
The company is developing a universal flu vaccine that is designed to protect you from every type of flu – whether it’s chicken flu, Hong Kong flu, regular flu, or cat in the hat flu. One shot can last three to five years.
Now the company has announced indications of possible success in a trial on rats against the current H1N1/A flu (swine flu). The company reported that antibodies specific to swine flu were found in blood samples from lab rats injected with the universal flu vaccine.
On rumors of this news alone, the company’s share price on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange rose 18 percent, prompting the exchange to suspend trading.
ISRAEL21c reporter Harvey Stein featured the company in June this year, when fears about the pandemic nature of swine flu were just coming to the fore. You can watch his great video above.
Don’t get too excited though. You won’t be able to sign up for a universal flu vaccine when flu season breaks out in the next few months. There’s still more development ahead.
Other Israelity reports on Swine flu:
It’s flu, but not as we know it
Anatomy of a flu panic
Israel had its first death from swine flu yesterday. It hit the front pages of the online newspapers yesterday in a fairly modest way, and today has already been pushed off the all-important page by stories about foiled terror plots, the chances of a summer war with Lebanon, talks with the Palestinians and the ever-looming threat of Iran.
Compare it to Britain. For the last few weeks the country has been in the throes of swine flu panic, with scare stories predicting 65,000 deaths by Christmas, figures showing 100,000 new cases in one week alone, threats of mass school closures across the country, warnings of a break down in vital services, and pictures of commuters donning face masks on the underground.
Women were advised not to get pregnant during the crisis – then told it was ok, but now the government is threatening to shut down programming on the BBC and replace it with educational programs if schools have to close.
With a trip to various epidemic hot spots in the UK planned for August, and not much sign of swine flu here, I took the opportunity of asking my children’s doctor what she thought. (I had plenty of chances, my children have been sick with assorted bugs every week for the last three).
On the first visit she told me that she’d just seen two patients that she was sure had swine flu from the village next to mine. On the last she told me she thought half the village already had it, and the same was true in Petah Tikva, where she also has a clinic.
So what’s the difference? “We don’t check to see if it’s swine flu unless the person is hospitalized,” she told me. “We won’t ever know the real figures, but maybe it’s better that way, because no-one’s in a panic.”
Whatever the reason, swine flu remains low on the list of news items this summer in Israel. It may not be passing us by, but it definitely isn’t generating many headlines.
Perhaps the panic is still to come as more deaths follow. Perhaps it’s just too hot to think about right now. Perhaps we’re all too busy entertaining the kids during the long holidays. Perhaps Israelis don’t worry about their health so much, or perhaps – most likely of all – we’ve just got other more pressing things to worry about. There’s nothing like an existential threat to put things in perspective.
IDF battles swine flu with extra leave
Whether you call it swine flu or Mexican flu, the number of cases of the virus H1N1 in Israel continues to creep up.
Please don't lick that pig...
Earlier this week, the IDF decided to take some preventative measures, after an increasing number of troops came down with the illness.
The problem, the IDF discovered, was with soldiers who had come into contact with Jewish American youngsters as part of the Jewish Agency’s Taglit-Birthright program, where they bring Jewish kids from the US to Israel to experience the country.
According to Ynet, some 20 soldiers working with Taglit youth contracted the H1N1 virus over the last few weeks. These soldiers then returned to their units, and infected their fellow comrades, raising the number of sick servicemen to several dozens. Units affected – including one Navy torpedo boat – had no choice but to declare a temporary shutdown.
Now the IDF has decided not to take any more chances. This is the nation’s security we’re talking about after all. The army’s chief medical officer has ordered soldiers who work with Taglit to take five-days leave to make sure they are flu-free.
Out in the civilian world as well, flu continues to spread. Last week, the PM, Bibi Netanyahu canceled all his meetings after a close associate tested positive for swine flu.
The health maintenance funds (Kupat Holim), now responsible for treating swine flu patients, are also feeling the crunch. When my husband phoned a contact in his health fund to try to bring forward a doctor’s appointment it took him three days to get hold of her, and when he finally did she said she was too busy dealing with swine flu cases to talk.
Now there’s talk of testing all the 5,000 or so visiting athletes due to fly in any day to take part in this month’s Maccabiah games. Any that test positive will be refused entry. Deputy Health Minister, Ya’akov Litzman told reporters: “I don’t want to reach a situation in which another 5,000 people come here and just increase [the incidence of] the disease.”
Well, it’s still early days yet. Like much of Europe, flu season in these parts usually only begins in November. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens next.
It’s flu, but not as we know it
Filed under: Environment, General, Life, Medical Breakthroughs
Well, a few years ago, it looked like avian flu was going to be the great pandemic that would lay waste to the world’s population. Experts debated it, newspapers wrote billions of words on it, and a whole generation of children stopped picking up feathers. As the pandemic failed to materialize, however, gradually the fear subsided.
Is that pig safe?
Now a new flu has suddenly emerged, and it’s spreading fast. There have already been some 80 deaths in Mexico from swine flu, and cases in the US and New Zealand. Now there’s a suspected case in Israel, of an Israeli who has just returned from Mexico.
With the World Health Organization declaring the disease a “public health event of international concern”, with “pandemic potential”, flu is once more the hot disaster story of the season, making rather a nice change from Iran.
Anti-viral drug Tamiflu is being touted as an answer, but Israel also has a possible alternative – Sambucol. This herbal extract has been on the market for years, selling well in the US and in over 17 countries around the world as a remedy for flu.
The herbal remedy, made from elderberry, was developed by Dr. Madeleine Mumcuoglu, a world-renowned Israeli virologist, and is said to cut the duration and severity of flu by up to half.
In 2006, a British medical research institute ran cell culture tests (clinical trials were off the agenda for obvious reasons), and announced that it was 99% effective against the avian flu virus, H5N1.
A year earlier, another study showed that the remedy was not just effective against human and avian flu, but also swine flu as well. Of course at that time no one really cared about flu from pigs.
I interviewed Mumcuoglu after the 2006 tests, and she told me then that it didn’t really matter where the flu originated. “Our research has shown that the antiviral effect of Sambucol is not strain-specific. It was effective against all influenza viruses tested,” she said.
“If you stop the flu virus at the beginning then you stop it going to the lungs, or from creating the additional complications that are normally the cause of death,” she added.
Now we have still to see what actually happens with swine flu. Newspapers love to scare the public, and the public apparently loves to be scared.
In Mexico, the government is recommending that people stop going to public places, kissing friends, or shaking friends with colleagues. Though I’m clearly no expert, if swine flu one day reaches your community, maybe it’s not such a bad idea to also try taking Sambucol as well – just in case.
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