![]() ![]() "Verizon’s new love of prepaid likely has something to do with its rapidly emptying CDMA network," Fitchard writes. So what's behind Verizon's introduction of the Basic Plan? Well, over at GigaOM, Kevin Fitchard points out that the prepaid market is growing, making it a ripe target for the carrier, which is seeing some shrinkage in its 2G and 3G customer base. Still, 35 bucks is a bargain when it comes to a phone, and if you're not a heavy e-mail or Web user – if you're one of those rare folks who actually uses their phone mostly to make phone calls – then this deal may be very appealing indeed. Instead, it's only available on four extremely basic phones, which range in cost from the $49.99 LG Cosmos 2 to the $69.99 LG Extravert. But there is a catch: The Basic Plan isn't compatible with the iPhone 5 or the Samsung Galaxy S3 or any of the high-end smart phones that currently dominate the market. For an extra $15 – $50 a month, total – you can add unlimited voice minutes. Or, as he puts it, “Israel is not Hungary.”īeginning this week, Verizon Wireless will offer a monthly "Basic Plan," which will allow consumers to purchase 500 minutes of talk time and unlimited text messaging and data for $35. Largely spontaneous, they have drawn newcomers to political engagement – young people, leaders of the technology sector, and members of elite military units. And the message he believes they have sent out is that the Netanyahu government’s “coup from above” will fail. He believes its proposed “judicial reform” would make Israel the kind of electoral autocracy that Viktor Orbán has created in Hungary.Still, I was struck by the sense of optimism he has taken from the protests. Ehud argues that permanent control over the West Bank will mean Israel either ceases to be a Jewish state or is no longer a democracy.But the immediate threat to democracy, he is clear, comes from the Netanyahu government. And he served later as defense minister in a Netanyahu-led coalition government.The two men differ profoundly on many issues, including the need for a negotiated peace with the Palestinians. Netanyahu under his special forces command a half-century ago. But I helped him write a remarkable 2018 memoir – appropriately called “My Country, My Life” because he has lived through, and helped shape, the entire history of Israel.He’s also well placed to know what makes the current prime minister tick. It took in what Israelis call the matzav – the situation – back home.There, unprecedentedly large protests were forcing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far-right coalition to postpone plans to gut the independent oversight role of the Supreme Court.I didn’t cover Ehud Barak when I reported from the Middle East. So “catching up” covered more than just life, work, and family. And this week was like no other in Israel’s history. Ehud is the country’s most decorated soldier and a former prime minister. ![]() So when Ehud and Nili Barak visited London from Israel this week, it was a welcome opportunity to catch up at a little restaurant beside the Thames.But Ehud and Nili aren’t just any Israelis. Like so many long-distance relationships, this one had grown sporadic and virtual during the pandemic. ![]()
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