November Monitoring Times

I've received a few emails from folks upset by the photo caption: "Israeli Defense Forces female soldiers slouching toward Jaffa with guns and radio." I was at fault in not putting "slouching toward Jaffa" in quotation marks as this was the exact description by photographer Helena Cobban. I just liked the way it sounded...

I did not intend the phrase as a political comment, but Helena no doubt did. The phrase is apparently a reference to a poem "The Second Coming" by W.B. Yeats, in which the last two lines read:
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

My apology to anyone who was offended; no offense was meant.

Beginners Corner

Sharp-eyed readers will have noted that the captions under the lawnmower monitoring post installation were reversed. Also, one reader noted that dust and dirt can be a problem with electronics. So now you can picture this installation enclosed in a zippered plastic bag!