Israel, South Africa launch Classic qualifiers

What Team South Africa lacks in proven talent at the Major or Minor League level, it makes up for in experience at the World Baseball Classic. And, naturally, what first-time participant Team Israel lacks in experience at the Classic, it makes up for with a wealth of talent.

The two teams are a study in contrasts, and they will officially get the 2013 World Baseball Classic started at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla., opening the first of four modified double-elimination qualifying rounds that lead up to the main tournament in March. All of the qualifiers will be streamed live on worldbaseballclassic.com.

The South African team returns 13 players from the 2009 Classic team, six of whom were also on the 2006 roster. South Africa was winless in both of its attempts in the tournament and lost all its games by a combined 45 runs. The team also returns manager Rick Magnante, hitting coach Brian McCarn, bench coach Alan Phillips, first-base coach Neil Adonis and third-base coach Mike Randall.

Brett Willemburg was the team’s leading hitter in 2006 and ’09, but perhaps the most intriguing talent on the South African roster, as well as one of the few playing at the professional level in America, is infielder Mpho Gift Ngoepe, who just finished his season with the Class A Bradenton Marauders, part of the Pirates organization.

Ngoepe posted a .232/.330/.668 batting line in 2012, his first full year in the Florida State League, but he has more than just personal success on his mind in the Classic.

“It’s one of those things that you dream about one day — to play for my national team,” the 22-year-old Ngoepe said. “It would be more than winning a few games in a tournament. It would be winning games for my country.”

Team Israel, meanwhile, is perhaps most notable for its former Major Leaguers, including manager Brad Ausmus and outfielders Shawn Green and Gabe Kapler. Israel has been considered the front-runner in this qualifier thanks to them and the other Jewish-American players added to the team from the Minors.

This qualifying round might be the most difficult step for Team Israel on the way to the Classic. If the Israeli team advances, it could benefit from the addition of big league stars like Ryan Braun, Ian Kinsler and Kevin Youkilis in the main tournament in March, giving them about as much talent as any team could hope to assemble. But first, Ausmus is quick to point out, Team Israel has to survive this week.

“Having bigger names certainly brings more attention to the sport and would help the sport grow, but I’m not looking past our first game. March is a long ways off,” Ausmus said. “If we don’t win here, it means nothing.”

Ausmus spoke several times of promoting the sport back in Israel, trying to get more native Israelis involved. That’s one thing both of these teams, however different their circumstances might be, can share: bringing the game they love back to their home country.

“We hope that it helps grow the sport in Israel. We hope that 25, 30 years from now, Israel will field a team of native Israelis,” Ausmus said. “That’s the ultimate goal: to not have mostly American-Jewish ballplayers, but to have Israeli native citizens.”

“If we win this qualifier, it’s going to be a big deal,” Ngoepe said. “They’ll be able to watch the games over there on their TVs and radios, and there’s going to be big publicity over there for the people. It would say, ‘Hey, baseball is in South Africa.’”

 Source: MLB.com

Happy Rosh Hashana from IDF

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IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz extends his best wishes for Rosh Hashana to the Jewish people in Israel and around the world.


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On the occasion of the Jewish new year, an international group of IDF soldiers wishes the Jewish people a happy Rosh Hashana and Shana Tova.

For more from the IDF:
http://www.idfblog.com/
http://twitter.com/idfspokesperson/
http://www.facebook.com/idfonline/
http://www.idf.il/english/

Red Hot Chili Peppers visit Western Wall + Amazing welcome video by Israeli fans!

Members of American rock band land in Israel ahead of Tel Aviv gig, travel straight to Jerusalem holy site

Pics by Ohad Zwigenberg

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Revolutionary Israeli toilet gets Gates Foundation grant

Earmarked for homes in developing nations, the device needs no water and generates its own power to turn waste into sterile, odorless compost.

An Israeli-invented toilet that needs no water and leaves no waste caught the interest of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which awarded parent company Paulee CleanTec $110,000 “to create next generation sanitation technology to help make sanitation services truly safe and sustainable for the poor.”

“We are one of only very, very few Israeli companies that have received any grants from this foundation,” points out Oded Halperin, one of the company’s original investors.

The toilet is based on the same principle as the high-tech pooper-scooper featured on ISRAEL21c last October.

Invented by renowned Hebrew University biotech innovator Prof. Oded Shoseyov based on an idea Halperin thought up, the device gathers droppings and turns them into odorless, sterile powder within seconds after the dog-walker pushes a button to release an activation capsule from the cartridge inside the unit. The resulting powder is a fertile composting material.

Earmarked for developing countries by the Gates Foundation, the toilet will go a step further.

No water or electricity needed

“For the solid waste, which also can include toilet paper, we are mixing it with our chemical formula for not more than 30 seconds and it will turn immediately into odorless, sterile fertilizer,” Halperin tells ISRAEL21c.

“The fertilizer will be automatically dropped into a removable canister where it can be collected from time to time and than be used for field and/or home crops.”

The liquid waste will be sterilized separately in another reservoir, and then pumped up to flush the toilet – powered by heat energy created from the solid-waste process and stored in a battery. According to the still-secret drawings of the patent-pending device, the internally created heat would even power a light inside the stall.

“Just to back up the energy source, we will also use a small solar panel on the roof,” says Halperin. “There’s no need for any sewerage or electricity infrastructures or connections. No need for water to flush. No special maintenance — the chemicals can be put in its dispenser once a month, and the cost of one use is only a few cents.”

‘Reinvent the Toilet Challenge’

These features are a good fit for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s “Reinvent the Toilet Challenge,” which aims to improve on the limitations of the 18th-century toilet still in use today, for 2.6 billion people lacking access to sanitation.

According to the foundation, reinventing the toilet could save millions of lives and help end poverty. About 80 percent of human waste goes into rivers and streams untreated, and 1.1 billion people don’t use a toilet.

The winning solution must be hygienic and sustainable, with an operational cost of no more than five cents per user, per day. It may not discharge pollutants and must generate energy and recover salt, water and other nutrients. It may not rely on water to flush waste or a septic system to process and store waste.

The one-year Gates grant is first-phase funding. If the foundation likes what it sees, Paulee CleanTec will then submit a second proposal for a $1 million or $1.5 million grant to complete development and build a prototype.

Meanwhile, Paulee CleanTec signed a deal with a major international player in the pet market, which will allow for the development of different kinds of devices for collecting and disposing of dog and cat droppings based on the existing patents.

In addition, the Ramat Gan-based company is considering opportunities for raising funds from private and strategic investors as it looks to widen its potential applications to hygienic solutions for trains, airplanes, boats, motor homes and other modes of transportation.

Source: israel21C

Tel Aviv taking over Yokohama, Japan

This year we celebrate the 60th anniversary of Japan-Israel relations. In that spirit…

NYC to Tel Aviv

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In the spirit of the new year, and the hopes of peace, health and happiness… Kenyan Children Sing a Hebrew Song About Peace

In the spirit of the new year, and the hope for a year full of peace, happiness and health, a very moving clip…

Here is a video of seventh grade students of Maina Primary School in the Kiamaina slum of Kenya singing a song in Hebrew. The song “Od yavo shalom aleinu” is a song about peace all over the world. Kenya Reads (http://kenyareads.weebly.com/) co-founder, Shauna, taught the students this song after the students asked to learn a song in Hebrew.

To learn more about Kenya Reads and the literacty and youth mentorship work that we are doing in rural slums of Kenya.
visit our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/KenyaReads
visit our website: http://kenyareads.weebly.com/

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A Carefully Scheduled High-Fat Diet Resets Metabolism And Prevents Obesity, In Hebrew University Research

New research from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem shows that a carefully scheduled high-fat diet can lead to a reduction in body weight and a unique metabolism in which ingested fats are not stored, but rather used for energy at times when no food is available.

The research was conducted by Prof. Oren Froy along with Prof. Zecharia Madar, research student Yoni Genzer and research fellow Dr. Hadas Sherman at the Institute of Biochemistry, Food Science and Nutrition, at the Hebrew University’s Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment. The results were published in FASEB Journal under the titleTimed high-fat diet resets circadian metabolism and prevents obesity.

Previous research has established that disrupting mammals’ daily rhythms, or feeding them a high-fat diet, disrupts metabolism and leads to obesity. The researchers wanted to determine the effect of combining a high-fat diet with long-term feeding on a fixed schedule. They hypothesized that careful scheduling of meals would regulate the biological clock and reduce the effects of a high-fat diet that, under normal circumstances, would lead to obesity.

For 18 weeks they fed a group of mice a high-fat diet on a fixed schedule (eating at the same time and for the same length of time every day). They compared these mice to three control groups: one that ate a low-fat diet on a fixed schedule, one that ate an unscheduled low-fat diet (in the quantity and frequency of its choosing), and one that ate an unscheduled high-fat diet.

All four groups of mice gained weight throughout the experiment, with a final body weight greater in the group that ate an unscheduled high-fat diet.

The mice on the scheduled high-fat diet had a lower final body weight than the mice eating an unscheduled high-fat diet. But surprisingly, the mice on the scheduled high-fat diet had a lower final body weight than the mice that ate an unscheduled low-fat diet, even though both groups consumed the same amount of calories.

In addition, the mice on the scheduled high-fat diet exhibited a unique metabolic state in which the fats they ingested were not stored, but rather utilized for energy at times when no food was available, such as between meals.

According to Prof. Froy, “Our research shows that the timing of food consumption takes precedence over the amount of fat in the diet, leading to improved metabolism and helping to prevent obesity. Improving metabolism through the careful scheduling of meals, without limiting the content of the daily menu, could be used as a therapeutic tool to prevent obesity in humans‫.‬”

Source: CFHU.org

Statements by Canadian PM Stephen Harper, Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair and Liberal Leader Bob Rae on Rosh Hashana

Statement by PM Stephen Harper

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today issued the following statement on Rosh Hashanah:

“This weekend marks the beginning of Rosh Hashanah and the Jewish New Year, signifying the time for a new beginning.

“Rosh Hashanah is one of the most sacred days of the Jewish calendar. It is the first of the High Holy Days, a 10-day period of repentance in which the Jewish people around the world reflect on their faith, re-examine the past year and look to the year ahead.

“The Jewish community has greatly enriched our country, and this holy day presents an opportunity to acknowledge their invaluable contributions to all aspects of Canada’s society.

“To all those celebrating Rosh Hashanah, Laureen and I extend our warmest wishes for a healthy, peaceful and prosperous New Year.

“L’Shanah Tovah Tikatevu.”

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DÉCLARATION DU PREMIER MINISTRE DU CANADA SUR ROCH HACHANA

Le Premier ministre Stephen Harper a fait aujourd’hui la déclaration suivante sur Roch Hachana

« Cette fin de semaine, ce sera le début de la fête juive Roch Hachana et du Nouvel An juif, ce qui signifie le moment d’un nouveau commencement.

« Roch Hachana est l’un des jours les plus sacrés du calendrier juif. C’est le premier des grands jours saints, période de 10 jours de pénitence au cours desquels, dans le monde entier, les personnes juives réfléchissent à leur foi, réexaminent l’année qui s’est écoulée et regardent vers l’année qui vient.

« La communauté juive a beaucoup enrichi notre pays, et ce jour saint donne une occasion de souligner ses inestimables contributions à tous les aspects de la société canadienne.

« À tous ceux qui célèbrent Roch Hachana, Laureen et moi offrons nos souhaits les plus chaleureux de santé, de paix et de prospérité pour le Nouvel An.

« L’Shanah Tovah Tikatevu. »

Statement by Opposition leader Thomas Mulcair

As Jewish families gather this weekend in celebration and reflection, I would like to offer my best wishes on behalf of the NDP to all those observing Rosh Hashanah. This holiday is an opportunity for families to remember the past and rejoice in the year to come.

I would also like to take the opportunity of the High Holidays to acknowledge the important contribution people in Canada’s Jewish community have made to enrich Canadian society.

My wife Catherine and I wish you and your family a year filled with health, peace and prosperity.

Shanah tovah!

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Déclaration de Thomas Mulcair, chef du Nouveau Parti démocratique, à l’occasion du Rosh ha-Shana
Au nom du NPD, j’offre mes meilleurs vœux à tous ceux qui se réuniront cette fin de semaine pour célébrer Rosh ha-Shana, méditer sur le passé et accueillir la nouvelle année.

J’aimerais aussi profiter des Grandes Fêtes pour souligner l’importante contribution des membres de la communauté juive à la société canadienne.

Ma femme Catherine et moi vous souhaitons, à vous et votre famille, une année remplie de santé, de paix et de prospérité.

Shanah tovah!

Statement by Liberal Leader Bob Rae

TORONTO— Liberal Leader Bob Rae made the following statement today for Rosh Hashanah:

“Arlene and I would like to extend our warmest wishes to the Jewish community for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

Across the country and around the world, we will come together for prayer and reflection, and to celebrate the promised sweetness of the New Year. Rosh Hashanah is a time to be thankful for the past year’s good fortunes and to remember the common history, traditions and faith that bind us. It is also a time to reflect on the enduring traditions of the Jewish community and to celebrate the tremendous contributions that the Jewish community continues to make to Canadian society.

On behalf of the Liberal Party of Canada, our Parliamentary Caucus and my family, I wish all those celebrating Rosh Hashanah a happy and healthy New Year.

Shana Tova Umetukah!”

_________

Déclaration du chef libéral à l’occasion de Roch Hachana

TORONTO— Le chef libéral Bob Rae a fait la déclaration suivante aujourd’hui à l’occasion de Roch Hachana :

« Arlene et moi-même tenons à offrir nos vœux chaleureux à la communauté juive à l’occasion de Roch Hachana, la Nouvelle année juive.

Partout au pays et dans le monde entier, nous nous rassemblerons pour prier et réfléchir, mais également pour célébrer une Nouvelle année remplie d’espoir. Roch Hachana est l’occasion de nous souvenir avec gratitude des bienfaits dont nous avons profité au cours de l’année écoulée, et de nous rappeler l’histoire, les traditions et la foi que nous partageons et qui nous unissent. C’est en outre l’occasion de réfléchir sur la pérennité des traditions observées par la communauté juive et de reconnaître les éminentes contributions qu’elle continue d’apporter à la société canadienne.

Au nom du Parti libéral du Canada, de notre caucus parlementaire et de ma famille, je souhaite à tous ceux qui célèbrent Roch Hachana bonheur et santé tout au long de la Nouvelle année.

Shana Tova Umetukah! »