Israellycool

The Israeli process for producing energy from oil shale will cut its oil imports by one-third, and will serve as a guide for other countries with oil shale deposits, according to one company.

 

A.F.S.K. Hom Tov presented its oil shale processing method on Tuesday, outside Haifa and just down the street from one of the country’s two oil refinery facilities.

 

“Because the patents for this process belong to (the company), Israel is the most advanced in the world in the effort to create energy from oil shale,” Moshe Shahal, a Hom Tov legal representative and a former Israeli energy minister, told United Press International.

 

Shahal estimated that the company’s Negev Desert facility would begin full-scale production in three to four years, while other countries with oil shale deposits will need five to six years to reach production.

 

Oil shale is limestone rock that contains hydrocarbons, or fossil fuels — about 20 percent of the amount of energy found in coal. Using the rock as a raw material and coating it with bitumen, a residue of the crude oil refining process, the company can produce natural gas, fuel, electricity, or a combination of the three.

 

Older technologies squeezed the hydrocarbon material out of the rock, with extremely high pressure and at high temperatures.

 

According to Professor Ze’ev Aizenshtat, an oil shale expert, the Hom Tov process is more environmentally friendly than other methods of converting oil shale into energy. It also allows for more flexibility in the kind of fuel produced, produces less waste and operates at lower temperatures than other methods.

 

Though the production process may be more environmentally friendly, the end product is still a fossil fuel, similar in quality to a high-grade diesel when in liquid form.

 

Israel’s shale is low-quality, however — its “caloric value” is only about 15 percent, while shale in other countries yields 20 percent, according to a report in BusinessWeek earlier this year. As a result, more Israeli shale is needed to produce the same amount of fuel.

 

Hom Tov isn’t worried, however. “This is a much lighter (substance) than what gradually comes out of an oil field,” Aizenshtat told UPI, as Hom Tov company owners Israel Feldman and Shimon Kazansky posed for photographs with their fingers dipped in a plastic pitcher of the stuff.

 

Because fewer refining processes are necessary with oil shale than with crude oil, the final product is a higher quality fuel at a lower price, Aizenshtat said.

 

The company estimates it will consume 6 million tons of oil shale and 2 million tons of refinery waste each year, for an annual production of 3 million tons of product.

 

It would cost about $17 to produce a barrel of synthetic oil at the Hom Tov facility, meaning giant profit margins in a world of $45 to $60 per barrel crude. Yearly earnings are forecasted to be between $159 million and $350 million, Shahal said.

 

Israel has 15 billion tons of oil shale reserves. Jordan, on the other hand, has about 25 billion tons, and the oil shale in Jordan is of higher quality. Shahal met with Jordanian Energy Minister Azmi Khreisat earlier this year, to discuss setting up a plant there.

Introducing our latest weapon: Zionist Die-Pod^TM (Hat tip: Town Crier).

Abu Musab al Zarqawi, al-Qaida’s top terrorist in Iraq, was killed with

help of Israeli target acquisition technology fitted onto a US Air

Force F-16. Rafael Armament Development Authority Ltd.

supplies Litening advanced airborne infrared targeting and navigation

pod to Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC), which installs them on combat jets

under a cooperation agreement. The Israel Air Force also uses the

Litening.

According to a report by senior US Air Force officers, al

Zarqawi was killed by a pair of USAF F-16s on a routine mission in

central Iraq, when the decision to act was taken. USAF commander in

Iraq, Lt.-Gen. Gary North said the fighters carried a variety of laser

and GPS-guided ordinance and the Litening pod.

The Litening pod

has target-acquisition capability, laser spot detection and tracking

and a video camera. For the Zarqawi strike, the pilot activated the

system from 20,000 feet, guided a 250kg. bomb to its target, and then

used pod’s video camera to examine the resulting damage. A second bomb

was then dropped, which killed al Zarqawi.

In a media briefing,

senior USAF officers mentioned Litening’s role in locating the target.

“Aviation Week” said that the pod was Northrop Grumman’s but did not

mention that the technology was Israeli, developed at Rafael.

Glad to be of service.

United Press International reports:

Scientists at Israel’s Hebrew University in Jerusalem say they have discovered a new species of invertebrate animals.

Just what we need in this country - more spineless creatures.

Introducing our latest weapon: Zionist search algorithm.^TM

Search engine giant Google recently acquired an advanced text search algorithm invented by Ori Alon, an Israeli student. Sources believe Yahoo and Microsoft were also negotiating with the University of New South Wales in Australia, where Alon is a doctoral student in computer science.

Google, Alon and the university all refused to comment, though Google confirmed that “Ori Alon works at Google’s Mountain View, California offices.”

The University acknowledged that Yahoo and Microsoft had conducted negotiations with its business development company.

Alon told TheMarker in an interview six months ago that the university had registered a patent on the invention.

Orion, as it is called, which Alon developed with faculty, relates only to the most relevant textual results. In addition the software, which currently operates only in English, offers a list of topics directly related to the original source.

“For example, if you search information on the War of Independence, you’ll receive a list of related words, like Etzel, Palmach, Ben-Gurion,” he explained. The text will only appear on the results page if enough words relevant to the search and the link between them is reasonable. Orion also rates the texts by quality of the site in which they appear.

Sounds harmless enough, but don’t you worry. Before you know it, those anti-Israel Google ads will be a thing of the past…

Update: Let the bragging rights battle begin:
Ha’aretz: Google buys search algorithm invented by Israeli student
The Sydney Morning Herald: Google wins rights to Aussie algorithm.

A traditional dish of rice and meat, which causes serious constipation to elderly residents of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbijan, has met its match.

 

Trima, the pharmaceutical company at Kibbutz Ma’abarot, has signed a deal worth tens of thousand of dollars to export its product Novolax to ABC Pharmaceuticals in Tbilisi in the former Soviet republic of Georgia.

 

Novolax syrup, which eases constipation, is made of a type of sugar called lactitol that stimulates bowel movements without being a chemical laxative. It costs only NIS 42 per bottle in Israeli pharmacies.

 

Trima export manager Azgad Dor said that until now, elderly in the Caucusus who eat the pilaf daily, in meat or vegetarian versions, have been taking laxatives, which leads to habituation, or have been eating large amounts of prunes, to treat their rice-related constipation. After trying out the Israeli syrup, they are ready to switch to Novolax.

Israeli astronomers at the Wise Observatory in Mitzpe Ramon supplied the US Monday with useful data on Deep Impact, the first-ever man-made comet collision.

 

Deep Impact was carried out on July 4 to mark American Independence Day, and very few places on Earth were positioned to view the collision - which created a huge crater - at night, the only time it was visible.

 

Observatory director Dr. Noah Brosch and an expert at Tel Aviv University’s department of astronomy and astrophysics told the Jerusalem Post that Israel’s was the only observatory from Australia to Western Europe to supply the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration with quality data. “We are at the right longitude to provide data,” Brosch explained. “China was a partner, but there was rain and they couldn’t see anything. We, of course, have clear skies over Mitzpe Ramon at this time of year.”

While Singaporean scientists are developing a virtual reality way to improve your Pacman skills, Israeli scientists have gone one better, developing a virtual reality way to become smarter.

Israeli troops are now sporting gear that Dick Tracy would be proud of: tiny video screens, worn on the wrist, which display video shot by unmanned airplanes.

 

Similar screens have been in use for close to a year in the Israeli military’s attack helicopters, helping pilots identify and strike Palestinian militants within seconds.

 

The technology, which is also in use in tanks and armored vehicles, was a closely guarded secret until the company that developed it offered reporters a rare glimpse at the system this week.

 

“We are fulfilling the science fiction movies that we see,” said Itzhak Beni, chief executive of the Elisra Group’s Tadiran Electronic Systems and Tadiran Spectralink companies.

 

Beni said the communications system has “shortened tremendously” the amount of time it takes to identify and strike a target.

 

“Before it was minutes, 10 to 12 minutes. Now it’s a matter of seconds,” he said.

 

Israel agreed to halt its policy of “targeted killings” under an informal cease-fire declared last month by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. But after a Palestinian suicide bomber killed five Israelis last week, Israel said it would consider resuming the practice.

 

The Israeli army declined to comment about the new technology. But Israeli security officials have acknowledged experiencing a greatly improved ability to carry out airstrikes to the point that targeted militants no longer have time to flee, in contrast to the early days of fighting in late 2000. They cite improvements in many areas, not any single technology.

 

The screen being field-tested by a limited number of footsoldiers is about 3 inches wide, and weighs just a few ounces. Code-named V-Rambo, it’s attached to the wrist by a velcro strap.

 

The LCD screens display color video that is beamed directly from drones in real time at 30 frames per second — the same rate as broadcast TV.

 

Attack helicopters have been fitted with five-inch screens. The “Video Receiver” systems also include small reception units that are installed on the vehicles and helicopters or carried in soldiers’ vests.

 

The new technology is considered much more than a novelty.

 

Military drones have been used by Israel since the early 1980s. But until recently, the information they gathered was sent to a ground command center that interpreted it and then shared it with forces in the field. The Tadiran systems allow the information to be received instantly by the various forces, company officials said.

 

The drones are still controlled by a ground command center, but the various forces have the ability to guide the camera to meet their specific needs.

 

This real-time information has enabled Israel to perfect its ability to attack from the sky. During more than four years of fighting with the Palestinians, Israeli helicopter airstrikes have killed dozens of militants.

 

The system can also greatly reduce combat casualties by allowing troops “to see everything that is behind the hill and around the corner,” Beni said. At the same time, the company said the improved information can help troops minimize civilian casualties in the crowded refugee camps and city streets where Israeli troops and Palestinian militants often clash.

Tadiran only recently received clearance to show the system to the public. It plans to unveil the system formally next week at a Tel Aviv conference on urban warfare and “low intensity” conflict.

 

The company also showed off a system resembling a video game that allows soldiers to control unmanned ground vehicles. The green console has a small flat screen and two joysticks, one on each side. One joystick controls the vehicle, while the other controls the items on the vehicle, such as its cameras. The computer screen shows other information, including video footage from drones and detailed maps of the battlefield.

 

The technology is expected to be part of the “Gladiator” unmanned ground vehicles being developed by the U.S. Marines. The company announced the Gladiator contract, which includes partners Carnegie Mellon University and United Defense Industries Inc., last month.

 

It also has identified NATO countries and nations in the Far East as potential customers for its technologies, Beni said.

 

Next week’s conference, which kicks off Monday, will focus on “how to fight terrorist and guerrilla entities that use force,” said Brig. Gen. Yossi Heymann, one of the planners.

Palestinian lawmaker and human rights advocate Hanan Ashrawi criticized the system. “Nobody doubts Israelis can develop these weapons,” she said. “But is this the kind of sophistication they need against defenseless people? It seems like a case of overkill.”

Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko will have plastic surgery in Israel to correct scars and cysts that have disfigured his face as a result of poisoning.

 

Yushchenko is scheduled to travel to Israel after the repeat Ukrainian elections in late December, and has already been granted a visa, Moscow news agencies reported. Sources told Israel’s Maariv daily Yushchenko aides have been in Israel to make advanced arrangements for his treatment at a private facility in Herzliya.

 

Austrian doctors have confirmed Yushchenko’s mysterious illness and change in appearance was caused by dioxin poisoning.

 

“There is no doubt about the fact that Mr. Yushchenko’s disease has been caused by a case of poisoning by dioxin,” Dr. Michael Zimpfer, director of Vienna’s private Rudolfinerhaus clinic, said.

 

Yushchenko must also be treated for liver problems and other ailments as a result of the poisoning, his doctor’s said.