Author Archives: arieh

Happy Birthday Spectrum

Posted on 23/04/2012 by arieh

The ZX Spectrum is 30 today, making it a few months younger than I am. Apparently, the Spectrum was the first home computer to break into the mass market in the UK due to its low price-point and decent catalogue … Continue reading →

Posted in Technology | Leave a comment

Get the picture?

Posted on 12/03/2012 by arieh

Avi Mayer called it first, when he asked if the photo below was genuine. He guessed it wasn’t. Over the last few days, hundreds of increasingly sophisticated rockets have been fired into Israel by Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance … Continue reading →

Posted in Internet, Jewish world, Middle East News, Middle East politics | 3 Comments

Romney didn’t ‘win’ the Iowa caucuses

Posted on 04/01/2012 by arieh

Bleary-eyed from watching the Iowa caucuses last night. They started at 3:30am Israel time. C-SPAN carried the Urbandale caucus live, showing a bunch of people in a hall putting bits of paper in a hat, followed by the 300ish voted … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, US politics | 4 Comments

Why Mahmoud Abbas is like Yoko Ono

Posted on 05/10/2011 by arieh

Is Mahmoud Abbas the new Yoko Ono? I ask because it seems very much like he’s trying to break up the Middle East’s very own Fab Four. In 2002, roughly 18 months after the start of the Second Intifada, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Middle East News, Middle East politics, News | Leave a comment

Some legal consequences of UN membership for Palestine

Posted on 23/09/2011 by arieh

Today the Palestinian Authority’s request to be accepted as a UN member state will be submitted to the Security Council. So far, this has proved a good tactical move to embarrass Israel. Strategically, though, in the long run it could … Continue reading →

Posted in Middle East News, Middle East politics, News | Leave a comment

Yvonne Ridley, peanut allergies and the truth

Posted on 21/08/2011 by arieh

Cross-posted from the Fair Play Campaign Group. I’ve been having a Twitter argument with Yvonne Ridley. I know I shouldn’t. This is the second argument I’ve had with Yvonne. The last one was in 2003 or 4, when I was … Continue reading →

Posted in Jewish world, Middle East News | 1 Comment

(Bad) ideas to stop the looters

Posted on 09/08/2011 by arieh

People have lots of ideas about tactics that should be used to quell the mobs. Some of the most common ideas, though,aren’t very good. This is because we keep talking about the “riots”, but what’s happened the last few days … Continue reading →

Posted in News, UK News, UK politics | 1 Comment

London riots and media ‘blackouts’

Posted on 08/08/2011 by arieh

I will write a fuller blog on the London riots later, but just wanted to comment on a theme seen in some of the tweets and chatter: that the media somehow covered up the latest rioting in Enfield and other … Continue reading →

Posted in Internet, News, Technology, the media, UK News, UK politics | 3 Comments

The real evidence on Circumcision and HIV

Posted on 16/06/2011 by arieh

Writing in the Guardian, Neil Howard and Rebecca Steinfeld argue for a ban on circumcision. I disagree with them, but luckily so do many others and they’ve done a good job of responding. See this direct response from Adam Wagner, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Jewish world, News, the media, US politics | 2 Comments

Twitter’s South Tyneside case won’t help Giggs

Posted on 29/05/2011 by arieh

Following a Court Order, Twitter inc handed over details of the owners of Twitter accounts to South Tyneside Council. The Sunday Telegraph wrote this up with the headline: “Twitter reveals secrets: Details of British users handed over in landmark case … Continue reading →

Posted in Internet, News | Leave a comment