The Miracle Continues....Walk Tall Israel

1.Israeli ‘to-do’ app voted best app of 2011


Any.DO, created in 2011 by Omer Perchik, Yoni Lindenfeld and Itay Kahana, was downloaded over 500,000 times during the 30 days following its launch. It was recently voted be best android app for 2011 by Techcrunch, followed by Lightbox and Amazon MP3.  According to theAny.Do team, so far 2.5 million tasks have been added, with more than one million completed. There is an average of 100,000 tasks added every day, and 50 percent are added by voice command.


COMMENT: These kids never cease to amaze me.


2.High-tech investments set 11-year record

In 2011, 546 Israeli or Israel-affiliated high-tech companies raised a total of $2.14 billion from Israeli and foreign VC investors, according to a report by the Israel Capital Venture Research Center (IVC) and KMPG. This is the highest amount raised in the past 11 years since the dot-com crash last decade. The figure reflects an increase of nearly 70% as measured against the $1.26 billion raised by 391 companies in 2010.


3.McAfee: Israel tops cyber-defense survey



Israel, Finland and Sweden top the McAfee cyber-defense survey of leading experts' perception of a nation's defenses, with a score of 4.5 out of 5. The rankings are based on the perceived quality of a country's cyber-readiness - the ability to cope with a range of threats and attacks.
Israel tops the US, UK, Germany, Spain, France, Netherlands and Estonia (which was the target of alleged Russian cyber attacks several years ago) in the rankings, each of which received 4 out 5 points.


4.Better Place readies commercial launch


Israel will be the first country in the world to run an electric car network. Jerusalem will be the first city. The company's network includes 33 stations in operation or being built and 50 firms have ordered electric cars for their fleets. Better Place says that the service cost of its electric cars is more than 40% less than for gasoline powered cars, and that the insurance premiums for the electric cars is 20% less (about NIS 1,000). The electric cars fuel will also save consumers thousands of shekels a year. Read more: http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000723418&fid=1725

5.IAI Elta wins $150m Asian radar contract


The ELM-2032 radar system can identify moving and stationary targets day and night in all weather conditions. In 2002, the Israel Navy stunned the world when it intercepted in the Red Sea the Karine A, a ship carrying arms from Iran to Gaza, and towed it to the Ashdod Port. The state-of-the-art radar systems used in the mission are now being exported, and will be used by the air force of an Asian country. IAI completely refuses to name the customer, or the types of combat jets in which the radars will be installed, citing the contract's confidentially conditions.


6.Kazakh boy will walk again after surgery in Israel


A gifted 12-year-old boy from Kazakhstan whose cerebral palsy (CP) prevented him from walking independently has had a successful operation and is undergoing extensive rehabilitation at Assaf Harofeh Medical Center in Tzrifin – at the hospital’s and the Foreign Ministry’s expense. COMMENT: Walk Tall Israel!


7.US Navy Puts More Bang Into Unmanned Fleet


The special warfare branch of the Navy's expeditionary warfare division is eying plans to arm its small fleet of unmanned boats with an long-range missile, branch chief Capt. Evin Thompson said. The missile -- known as the Spike -- is built by Israeli defense firm Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Thompson said during this week's Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International-sponsored symposium in Washington. COMMENT: Looks like Israel is doing its fair share. 

We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we will always be free - Ronal Reagan