India and Israel

“The Bond Between India and Israel Grows - Amy Waldman
On Monday Ariel Sharon became the first sitting Israeli prime minister to visit India, which established diplomatic relations with Israel in 1992. The relationship has been strengthened by an ideological affinity for Israel by the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Hindu nationalist party that leads the Indian government, and especially by the perception of a shared threat in Islamic terrorism. The two countries share intelligence and Indian special forces are being trained in Israel. Nonmilitary trade reached $1.27 billion in 2002, up from $202 million in 1992. India has also been spending an estimated $1.5-2 billion annually on Israeli military technology and equipment. India floundered in the post-cold-war years as the Soviet Union, long its major military supplier, fragmented. In 1999, Israel became a critical source, not least because it had specialized in upgrading Russian equipment.
For decades, fear of alienating its Muslim population helped prevent India from normalizing relations with Israel, historians say. About three million Indians work in Arab states in the Persian Gulf, and those states supply India with about one-fourth of its oil. But Gerald Steinberg, a professor of political science at Israel's Bar-Ilan University, argues that "the fact that this [relationship with Israel] is public, and they are interested in making it public and visible, is a recognition that opposition to ties with Israel is no longer significant." (New York Times”

“How many of you have ever slept out in the open, no tent, no tarp, no nothing?

I've done it a few times, it's quite refreshing. Bugs have to be minimal though.”

“i did it in the middle of a baseball field. very cool thing to do. wish i could do more of it”

“Anyone ever really wiped their ass with a stone?”

“I have always been worried about morning dew. You guys have that problem at all?”

“funny part was that there were something like 100 boy scout and leaders running around while i was crashed out. funny”

“I've never been to Spain,
But I've been to Oklahoma”

“Not really, then again everytime I've slept in the open, it's been really dry out (very little humidity).”

“I've slept out several times. It is interesting, and yes laqtis, waking up with dew in the face is a unique experience.

It's fun when you wake up several times in the middle of the night and the stars are in different positions than they were the last time you woke up.”

“NO tent, tarp or ANYTHING! Try that in ISRAEL is my suggestion! Israel HAS few bugs I can tell you! Just watch out for those crazy Palestinians. They love to kill for Allah!”

“"i did it in the middle of a baseball field."

Sounds like a scene from a teen movie. Care to elaborate? LOL!

Normally if I'm sleeping out in the open it's in a hammock. I had thought about getting a cheap bivie so I could sleep out in the open a bit more but theirs always the weight factor. I've seen LeSubtil do this quite a bit.”

“Geobeet, very true.”

“Nigal - if you find a good deal on a bivy, let me know. I've always wanted to try one, but I've always found them to be pretty pricey...”

“Nigal, do you have a Hennessey?”

“Mine is easy but it ain't cheap, lol.”

“Q- Binks has some fairly reasonable prices at BackPackingDeals.com.


No I don't have the Hennesy but I have been tempted to get one. I kind of prefer to have all the same components but have them seperate too. I use a nylon/poly hammock (18 oz), a sil tarp (16 oz) and a bug net I made (3 oz). This allows me to use the tarp seperate or the hammock seperate. And I save a bunch of money too.”

“Thanks for the link. I like buying
gear from a budding entrepeneur!”

“Sounds like a cool set-up. I think I'm just going to get the Hennessey though, and you're right, Binks does have good prices.”

“JO, don't use a stone. Use moss. Just peel some off a stone as you hike and shove it in your pocket for later use. It's nature's baby wipe!”

“Good idea on your set-up. I have the Hennessey, but sometimes I'd like to have w/ out the net.”

“For sure Artex. Those things are sweet. If I didn't have my tarp already I might have bought one but I don't think the Henessy's tarp would give the best coverage on the ground.”

“I tried wiping my brain pan with
pine needles eeewww! what a mess!
Stone moss,well I learned something
today! thanks.”

“look at the clark hammock then, not quite the same design, but allows a little more flexibility by zipping off the mozzie net”

“The Hennessey tarp does seem a wee bit small, but I'll deal, or just upgrade and get a bigger one.”

“I have a 20 yr old army nylon hammock that mates with a poncho. I
used for lots of different trips.
I gotta shop around for a new camera so I can post some pictures.”

“What the heck's a brain pan?”

“The lady at the backcountry permit office at Lodgepole in Sequoia NP says she gets "Creating with rocks".

nnnnn-k”

“make that "creative with rocks"”

“Watch out for that Spanish Moss. I think it has chiggers in it.”

“What the heck's a brain pan?"
Creek Dancer
02:27:30 PM
09/09/03
Go to an autopsy, you'll find out real quick.

I slept out in the open once. It was before I was into backpacking. A bunch of guys I work with were camping, and I didn't want to sleep in a tent with a rather large male, so I threw my bag down on the ground next to the fire. It was one of those cheap 6 pound coleman rectangulars, but I thought it was the cat's meow. Lucky I didn't wake up on fire.”

“Brain pan?!?!? Wait, I think Elfskin is from Boston? That would make sense, Bostonians always have crazy names for stuff. Everything is "wicked cool" or "wicked awesome", and they call water fountains "bubblahs".”

“Cmon,I thought brain pan was universal.”

“I try to avoid sleeping outside without shelter if I expect a heavy dew. I hate waking up wet.”

“Don't you mean wicked universal, Elfskin?”

“So, has anybody slept out in the open in Palestine?”

“If you sleep out in the open in some parts of India, you have to worry about tigers and/or cobras.”

“Not for long with the tigers, they'll be extinct in about ten years. :-(”

“I saw a show this weekend where they caught a 19 foot pythonin some Indian village. They were afraid that it might eat a child.”

“I heard that in the desert, rattlers will climb into your sleeping bag at night to escape the cooler nighttime air. Tent's definitely a good idea if that's true.”

“I'd really like to sleep out in the open in Israel. I think that would be so pimp!”

“Just cinch your mummy bag up real tight and the snakes can't get in.”

“Geo, you could sleep outside in parts of Memphis that would allow you to observe the Pimp.”

“Hell, I could do that anywhere in Philly Chili!”

“I've just heard that it's especially nice to sleep outside in Israel.”

“thanks Creek - sounds delightful.

India and Israel huh? Curried Matza Balls?

Boy I'd be using some moss then.”

“Thanks Jo. Now I've gotta find sumthin' else to prepare for TC3. Thought I was the only one to submit curried Matza balls. How about gefilte curry, then?

Oy, what a monsoon we live in!”

“How's about some curried gizzard --- as a throwback to TC 1 ?”