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We have a lot of passionate debates hereabouts on the subject of Israel, but I defy even the most doctrinaire AIPAC-style Israel supporter to defend this. Personally I'm in favour of NATO intervention & an international inquiry. Not even Iran has sunk to these depths. Really folks, you just aren't helping yourselves here.
Israelis Corner the Vuvuzela Market - by Marc Tracy > Tablet Magazine - A New Read on Jewish Life
Israeli company leads charge to supply world with vuvuzelas - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News
Israelis Corner the Vuvuzela Market
Yes, those horrific soccer horns
By Marc Tracy | Jun 16, 2010 12:01 PM | Print | Email / Share
I do not believe that if one of Israel’s policies is angering the rest of the world, that is reason in and of itself for Israel to halt that policy. The Gaza blockade, for example: The effect it has on the world’s view of Israel is not unimportant, and ought to be factored in to any decision over whether or not to keep it; but ultimately, it is at least arguable that Israeli policymakers could legitimately determine that the pros outweigh the cons and that the blockade should stay.
But today I’m making an exception. Apparently several Israeli Internet entrepreneurs figured out last year that they could make a lot of money acting as middlemen for the buying and selling of vuvuzelas—those horrible, noxious, bzzzzzzz-sounding cheap plastic horns that South African “fans”* have been playing incessantly during World Cup matches—and, so yeah, Buy-Vuvuzelas.com (please don’t) is Israeli-owned.
This may not be why some hate Israel. But it sure ain’t helping.
*Any notion that the horns have anything to do with rooting for one team, or rooting for good play, is B.S., because the noise doesn’t change no matter what is happening on the pitch, or no matter which team is doing what. I don’t even see how you can pay attention to what’s happening on the pitch if you spend the whole game blowing on your damn horn. It’s not like football, where the home crowd makes more noise when the other team has the ball to try to force a false start. It’s just horrible and stupid and wrong and it’s probably partly responsible for how few goals there have been and FIFA is going to regret not having banned them. End rant.
Yes, those horrific soccer horns
By Marc Tracy | Jun 16, 2010 12:01 PM | Print | Email / Share
I do not believe that if one of Israel’s policies is angering the rest of the world, that is reason in and of itself for Israel to halt that policy. The Gaza blockade, for example: The effect it has on the world’s view of Israel is not unimportant, and ought to be factored in to any decision over whether or not to keep it; but ultimately, it is at least arguable that Israeli policymakers could legitimately determine that the pros outweigh the cons and that the blockade should stay.
But today I’m making an exception. Apparently several Israeli Internet entrepreneurs figured out last year that they could make a lot of money acting as middlemen for the buying and selling of vuvuzelas—those horrible, noxious, bzzzzzzz-sounding cheap plastic horns that South African “fans”* have been playing incessantly during World Cup matches—and, so yeah, Buy-Vuvuzelas.com (please don’t) is Israeli-owned.
This may not be why some hate Israel. But it sure ain’t helping.
*Any notion that the horns have anything to do with rooting for one team, or rooting for good play, is B.S., because the noise doesn’t change no matter what is happening on the pitch, or no matter which team is doing what. I don’t even see how you can pay attention to what’s happening on the pitch if you spend the whole game blowing on your damn horn. It’s not like football, where the home crowd makes more noise when the other team has the ball to try to force a false start. It’s just horrible and stupid and wrong and it’s probably partly responsible for how few goals there have been and FIFA is going to regret not having banned them. End rant.
Israelis Corner the Vuvuzela Market - by Marc Tracy > Tablet Magazine - A New Read on Jewish Life
Israeli company leads charge to supply world with vuvuzelas
Internet entrepreneur Oron Barber has been working since June 2009 on the Buy Vuvuzelas Online - Cheapest Prices for World Cup 2010 Vuvuzela! site in preparation for the World Cup, and is now reaping the fruits of the efforts.
By Guy Grimland
Spectators from all over the world may be complaining that the horrible noise from the horns blown at the World Cup games in South Africa is keeping them from enjoying the matches. But a number of Israeli Internet entrepreneurs have found a way to make money off the phenomenon.
Oron Barber of AllDings has been working since June 2009 on the Buy Vuvuzelas Online - Cheapest Prices for World Cup 2010 Vuvuzela! site, and now is reaping the fruits of the efforts.
He's managed to put the site at the top of Google's search rankings when you search for "buy vuvuzela" or "where to buy vuvuzela" by using search engine optimization techniques. Even typing in just the word "vuvuzela" puts them high up on the first page of search results.
"We worked on setting up the site for three months before the World Cup, after last year when we realized that FIFA approved the horns, it would be a good business," Barber told TheMarker.
The site does not actually sell the horns, but merely serves as an intermediary to connect buyers and sellers. In other words, buyers order and the site sends the orders on to suppliers it works with - and pays AllDings.
Barber admits that it is possible to order directly from suppliers, and the price may even be lower.
"There is no doubt that everyone can buy [directly] from the supplier. We simply offer a convenient way for those who want to buy vuvuzelas over the Internet," he said.
So far the site has sold some 20,000 to 30,000 horns.
"We are sending vuvuzelas to the entire world, but very few in Israel," said Barber. "We have sales to Pakistan, Jordan, Egypt and Algeria. Most of our sales are to Europe, particularly Britain."
Barber is not the only ones trying to make money off of vuvuzelas, and there are competitors on the Internet - Israeli and otherwise. ??????? is all in Hebrew, but is also packed with information and history - as well as how to order. The site's owner, Avi Hazan, said he now works only with wholesalers such as toy shops.
"We saw the vuvuzelas a year ago at the Confederation Cup, we saw clips on YouTube and it excited us," he said. Hazan says he has already sold thousands in Israel, and they go for about NIS 30 in stores. Hazan and his partners are actually in the business of building Internet sites and interactive marketing, but say it is fun to sell the horns.
As to whether the vuvuzelas take away from the game, Hazan disagrees: "As soon as you have one you will no longer be annoyed. Maybe now that it has reached Israel, 2,000 fans at a league game will sound like 20,000 fans."
Internet entrepreneur Oron Barber has been working since June 2009 on the Buy Vuvuzelas Online - Cheapest Prices for World Cup 2010 Vuvuzela! site in preparation for the World Cup, and is now reaping the fruits of the efforts.
By Guy Grimland
Spectators from all over the world may be complaining that the horrible noise from the horns blown at the World Cup games in South Africa is keeping them from enjoying the matches. But a number of Israeli Internet entrepreneurs have found a way to make money off the phenomenon.
Oron Barber of AllDings has been working since June 2009 on the Buy Vuvuzelas Online - Cheapest Prices for World Cup 2010 Vuvuzela! site, and now is reaping the fruits of the efforts.
He's managed to put the site at the top of Google's search rankings when you search for "buy vuvuzela" or "where to buy vuvuzela" by using search engine optimization techniques. Even typing in just the word "vuvuzela" puts them high up on the first page of search results.
"We worked on setting up the site for three months before the World Cup, after last year when we realized that FIFA approved the horns, it would be a good business," Barber told TheMarker.
The site does not actually sell the horns, but merely serves as an intermediary to connect buyers and sellers. In other words, buyers order and the site sends the orders on to suppliers it works with - and pays AllDings.
Barber admits that it is possible to order directly from suppliers, and the price may even be lower.
"There is no doubt that everyone can buy [directly] from the supplier. We simply offer a convenient way for those who want to buy vuvuzelas over the Internet," he said.
So far the site has sold some 20,000 to 30,000 horns.
"We are sending vuvuzelas to the entire world, but very few in Israel," said Barber. "We have sales to Pakistan, Jordan, Egypt and Algeria. Most of our sales are to Europe, particularly Britain."
Barber is not the only ones trying to make money off of vuvuzelas, and there are competitors on the Internet - Israeli and otherwise. ??????? is all in Hebrew, but is also packed with information and history - as well as how to order. The site's owner, Avi Hazan, said he now works only with wholesalers such as toy shops.
"We saw the vuvuzelas a year ago at the Confederation Cup, we saw clips on YouTube and it excited us," he said. Hazan says he has already sold thousands in Israel, and they go for about NIS 30 in stores. Hazan and his partners are actually in the business of building Internet sites and interactive marketing, but say it is fun to sell the horns.
As to whether the vuvuzelas take away from the game, Hazan disagrees: "As soon as you have one you will no longer be annoyed. Maybe now that it has reached Israel, 2,000 fans at a league game will sound like 20,000 fans."
Israeli company leads charge to supply world with vuvuzelas - Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News
Somewhere in the depths of the Versailles/Geneva/Mars/Venus/ or Crab Nebula convention there MUST be a law banning the inhuman use of these implements of torture.
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