My Last Appeal

Election day is just around the corner, and this is my last appeal to friends, some of which praise me for being open minded, but who have a hard time showing the same degree of open mindedness.

We are facing one of the most important presidential elections in U.S. history. It is not just important due to the political, social, economic and security circumstances that we are living, but also because one of the candidates is the front runner not by virtue of what he has demonstrated in the past, but rather because of his exceptional debate and rhetoric persuasion capabilities, allied to a $750 million war chest, an extremely well run marketing campaign, but more importantly, a phenomenal thirst for change by all of us, and a phenomenal thirst of power by the leaders of the Democratic Party.

Yes, we need change. Yes, we need a leader that will take us to the correct direction (notice that I avoided the words "right direction", so that there is no pun intended). But in the process of moving towards this change that we all need, some of us are at risk of making a questionable decision. A decision that is driven not by who the candidate is, but driven by what we want him to be, by what we need him to be. This is the danger of the situation that we are living.

If we remove ourselves from the "want" and the "need", and try to make an objective verification of the facts, I believe we have enough elements to make us concerned about Obama's character. From his sitting at the benches of the Trinity Church for over 20 years, to his remarks to Ali Abunimah: "Hey, I'm sorry I haven't said more about Palestine right now, but we are in a tough primary race. I'm hoping when things calm down I can be more up front", and going through the overwhelming number of times that he voted "Present" at the legislature, failing to show his true positions. Are we willing to see what he means by "when things calm down I can be more upfront" not just in regard to Israel, but in all other national and international issues?

There are many, many other points that I could raise about his character, but I will mention one gesture that he could have made this past month: having received a record $150 million for his campaign in September, he could easily say "I am taking $100 million and donating to charities". Instead, he bought 30 minutes of network time. Do you really think that those 30 minutes were essential to reassure his potential victory?

This is my last appeal to you: I take pride of the fact that I am independent. Over the course of the years since I became a US citizen, I always voted according to my conscience, and never straight for a party. The same happened during this election, as I have already cast my ballot and voted for both republicans and democrats. Please open your minds as well and try to see the man, beyond of what we "want" and what we "need" him to be. And then, make a decision to vote for someone who may not be the ideal one, who may have his flaws as we all do. But whose agenda is clear and whose character is well known.

I humbly ask you to vote for McCain.

Bob Barr for President?!?!!

OK... so I guess that Bob Barr's "successful" participation in Borat's movie was a big enough incentive for him to launch his candidacy for President of the United States. Where is he exposing himself to more ridicule? During his appearance in the movie, or by launching his candidacy? Scroll down to vote in the poll below. (By the way, I suggest he pick Borat as his spokesperson).
For those who want to remember his memorable appearance at the movie, here it is:

2010 - An Electric Car Odissey

The year 2010 is packed with promises in the field of alternative fuel, more specifically - plug-in cars.

The most exciting promises seem to come from alternative groups, with names such as "Think Global" and "Project Better Place".

Think Global, a Norwegian based company funded among others by Rockport Capital Partners, Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Biers (early investors in Google, AOL, and Amazon.com to name a few) and General Electric, is planning to introduce their cars in the US market by the end of 2009. Price tag: about $25,000 and range per charge 110 miles.

Project Better Place, an Israeli based partnership that includes the Government of Israel, Nissan and Renault, led by the visionary entrepreneur Shai Agassi (former President of Products and Technology at SAP AG) presented its working prototype this Sunday in Israel, and is planning to have "large numbers of the fully electric prototype in the streets of Israel at the end of 2010". The price that Israelis will have to pay for the car his yet to be determined, but it looks like it will be in the range of their current sedans, between $25,000-$40,000.

The Project was also launched in Denmark this past March, in partnership Danish company DONG Energy, planning to have the cars available for the public in early 2011. A fully charged battery will have a range of 125 miles.

One can only expect that if between now and 2010 these two projects prove to be in the right direction, we will be seeing massive investments so that larger markets can be targeted.

2010 is also the year when when Toyota and GM with their planned plug-in hybrid cars, Prius and Volt respectively, are preparing to hit the US market. Ford is working on their Escape plug-in hybrid but no date has been set for its planned launch. I am sure that competition will accelerate Ford's plans.

History shows that times of crisis lead to technology breakthroughs. The truth, however, is that this technology has been available for quite a while already. The current oil crisis is just making those technologies resurface as worthy of attention. If not by our government acting more firmly to alleviate the oil crisis, clearly by a consumer driven market.