why dont we engage in a war that has been declared on us Instead of sitting on our butts?

Israël has probably the fattest prime Minister in the world. He already was chubby when he was in the army, since he's turned politician it's worse. Young tsahal soldiers are probably lean but the bureaucrats have paunches. Put them on a fitness regime!

Why doesn't Tzahal (and the police too) adopt the practices in the rest of the "normal" world - there are weight limits - if a soldier, officer, policeman doesn't meet them - he gets fired - no questions asked --- maybe if we had rules that someone actually has to follow then people would do the right thing.

Here's an idea: anyone who can't cut 10 kg in 13 weeks gets shipped out to a real base for six months.

Haaretz 19.10.2005 | 10:16 Edited from1,350 words By Yannai Cohen and Shuky Sadeh The following is a special report for the Schocken media group, with contributions from Kol Ha'ir, Arim, nd Tsomet Hasharon April 11, 2005 was a gala at Israel Air Force's Ramon base. Officers rubbed shoulders with parliamentarians, ministers and various dignitaries. The reason for the celebration was the deal to buy…: the Apache Longbow developed by Boeing, (IDF named Seraph). The best and brightest military affairs reporters covered the party, which was not depressed at all by the $640 million price tag - $24 million per helicopter. A top Israel Air Force officer, Uzi Rosen, said at the time, "The war in Iraq reinforces the recognition that combat helicopters are a passing phase in battles." Rosen said that investment in helicopters should be minimal, because the working assumption had to be they'd be obsolete by 2020, if not beforehand. The Apache transaction raises eyebrows. The US recently canceled a project to design the future attack helicopter, the Comanche. Tanks for the memories 33 years after the Yom Kippur war ended, the Soviet empire is no more, Syria is weakened, Iraq is no threat and a 20,000 tank battle is the stuff of video games. Our strategic situation and assessments have changed but concepts have fossilized. Yet the taxpayer will still be paying NIS 800 million a year for this defense project, in each of the next 15 years. Some 50 tanks are being produced each year at a cost of NIS 5 million each. Israel is now the only nation in the world making heavy tanks like these. The Israeli army has massive reserves of land, including at the Sde Dov airport in Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv; the Sirkin base in Petah Tikva; an administration base in Ramat Gan; and many more, all on prime real estate. On land right next door to the Millennium skyscraper in the center of Tel Aviv, which is some of the costliest land in the nation, sit grease monkeys, at the Ordnance Corps vehicle garage. Why does the army cling to the priciest lands? And why is it taking so long for the army to relinquish these properties? Shopping in Manhattan "There is no greater scandal than the dozens of envoys in procurement delegations, living abroad at the expense of the taxpayer," says a former treasury official. In the era of cheap long-distance calls, online communications - email and messaging, Skype Internet communications, and other technologies, nobody needs these roughly 40 envoys in Manhattan. Each such envoy cots about $200,000 a year: rent, expenses, salary. And what do they do? Most communicate using email and messaging. The Defense Ministry and army have 28 delegations and representatives in 24 countries, costing NIS 200 million a year. Some of the delegations and representations remain in place because of union pressures: that happened in Europe, where the Israeli unions foiled an attempt to merge the German and Paris delegations. Clinging to khaki "Outsourcing" is the usual answer people come up with when thinking how to pare back defense budgets. The army also boasts that it's transferred whole organizations to civilian hands. Even the State Comptroller complained about how privatization is handled in the army: In the Air Force, for instance, the comptroller found that of 26 "civilianization" projects, only six were carried out. Defense wages are a huge headache for the treasury. Wages eat up about a third of the annual defense budget. The wage cost for a general is NIS 40,000 a month and more, for instance, and Defense Ministry bureaucrats are not left to beg on the streets. Their salaries are typically 60% higher than their counterparts at other ministries earn. But the silliest thing of all is the sports wear budget. Every career soldier has the right to spend NIS 800 a year on sportswear, which translates to NIS 30 million a year on Nike shoes. Well, as long as the boys keep fit�

maybe they should all do a gibush to whip them into shape Not a bad idea eh? Most lose at least 8kgs by the time they finish all the phases of gibush Maybe these fatsos will lose some fat stomach that way Who knows, maybe their wives and girlfriends will be impressed to because now they will at least be able to see their equipment when they shag