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May 20, 2013

Richard A. Serrano: Is Meir Kahane's assassin now a changed man?

Hannan Adely: Town raises Palestinian flag at City Hall

Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Morgan Housel: When smart investors do stupid things

Sharon Saloman, M.S., R.D.: Hunger games: Eat more, weigh less, without starving

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
May 13, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation

David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church

Emily Alpert: Recession dragged down birth rates for less-educated women
Morgan Housel: The deep downside of home ownership

Peter Teffer: Will Dutch police soon be stalking cybercriminals on your computer?

Heidi McIndoo, M.S., R.D.: Meatless 'meat' can have its own set of problems

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Celebrate! This must-try appetizer is delicate yet has depth of flavor: Corn-Leek Cakes with Caviar, Smoked Salmon and Creme Fraiche

May 10, 2013

Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be

Caroline B. Glick: The dirty little secret about Israel's Arabs

Mona Charen: Hawking's Moral Calculus: The man and the movement he embraces
Morgan Housel: The biggest retirement myth ever told

Sandi Doughton: Eyes may provide new insight into brain problems

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : The Great Gatsby's Jewish Ties; Jews in the "Time 100 list" List; People's Most Beautiful Women

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: A sweet-hot meal: Pear salsa spices up salmon

May 8, 2013

Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas

Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate

Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
Amanda Paulson: Study reveals sad truths about community colleges

Harvard Health Letters: Evidence weak that zinc, echinacea are beneficial

The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility

May 6, 2013

Edmund Sanders and Patrick J. McDonnell: Think Israel's objective in Syria is to weaken Assad or embolden the rebels? Think again

Brian Bennett: Israeli airstrikes may show weakness in Syrian defense

Michael Ollove: Millions of ex-felons, parolees and those on probation are about to be entitled to tax-payer paid health coverage
Karen Kaplan: Most men can skip PSA test for prostate cancer, urologists say

Kimberly Lankford: How to track down a lost life insurance policy

Dream of Mars exploration achievable, experts say

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan M. Selasky: EGGPLANT WRAPS are an easy, sumptuous and scrumptious meal

May 3, 2013

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Human Courage and the Unavoidable, Disturbing Text

Steven Emerson: Attorney General Fights CAIR in Court, Lauds it in Public

Mediterranean diet helps beat dementia: study
Harvard Health Letters: When to be screened for a hearing problem

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Iron Man's Jewish Connections; Marc Maron's New TV Show; Martin Landau Grows Up with Israel; Shalom, Allan Arbus

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: A sweet surprise for Mother's Day dessert

May 1, 2013

Jonathan Rosenblum: An Improbable Journey to Orthodoxy

Jonathan Tobin: Blame Obama, Not Israel for Syria Push

Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Halena M. Gazelka, M.D.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: What you need to know about implanted pain relief devices

Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine

Jessica Shugart: When it comes to math, MRIs may be better than IQs

The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: The celebrated chef on how high-maintenance ASPARAGUS RISOTTO need not be

April 29, 2013

Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust

Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?

Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Morgan Housel: He's rich, smart and old: Listen to him

Thomas Salinas, D.D.S.: Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: The safety of amalgam fillings

Harvard Health Letters: Tomatoes and stroke protection

Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA

The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington: Swing into spring with lemon cream pie

April 26, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The world is a mirror

Caroline B. Glick: Time to confront Obama

Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Kimberly Lankford: New strategies ease pain of paying for long-term care insurance

Howard LeWine, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Too much ibuprofen?

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Major Leaguers, 2013; New Movies and Comedy Show; Shalom, 'Lumpy' (Leave it to Beaver)

The Kosher Gourmet by Emily Ho : A bright and cheerful salad to herald the warmer months ahead

April 24, 2013

Steven Emerson: Boston Bomber Exposes Islamist Secret

Morgan Housel Admit it: No one has any idea what's going on
Harvard Health Letters: Can you get headaches from headache medication?

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to easily get more Omega-3s in your diet

Melissa Healy: Pot in a pill: All the pain relief without the smoke

The Kosher Gourmet by Susan Russo: Chipotle Chili Butternut Squash Soup is bold, zesty, hot

April 22, 2013

Ken Dilanian: Counterterrorism's future is unclear

US man departing country arrested on terror charges
Barbara Williams: An unorthodox but growing treatment in a 9-year-old's battle against cancer

P.J. Skerrett, M.D.: How to recognize a good whole grain product

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Teen actor Jonah Bobo in New Flick: Hunky James Wolk on Mad Men; Erich Segal's Daughter Writes Prize-Winning Jewish Novel


Jewish World Review June 17, 2009 / 25 Sivan 5769

The mullahs' mettle — and Obama's

By Jack Kelly

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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | You probably haven't heard about the Andijan massacre, because it happened in Uzbekistan, which I doubt many journalists can find on a map. But it has important implications for what's happening now in Iran.


Between 2003 and 2005 — probably not coincidentally just after the U.S. threw out Saddam Hussein in Iraq — there were a series of "color revolutions" in which mostly peaceful popular revolts overthrew authoritarian regimes. There was the Rose Revolution in Georgia in 2003; the Orange Revolution in Ukraine in 2004, the Cedar Revolution in Lebanon in 2005.


The color revolutions came to a screeching halt after Andijan, where security forces loyal to Uzbek dictator Islam Karimov opened fire on a huge, unarmed crowd. A defector from the Uzbek security service estimated 1,500 were killed. Many were buried in unmarked mass graves. Iran is convulsed by its greatest civic unrest since that of 1979, which led to the fall of the Shah. Some news organizations have estimated the number of those in the streets of Tehran protesting the alleged re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at more than a million (the crowd at Monday's protest stretched five miles long). Many hope this portends the fall of the mullahs.


That depends mostly on how ruthless the mullahs are willing to be, and somewhat on the support the protesters receive from the outside world, particularly the United States, because that has an impact on how ruthless the mullahs think they can be. Syria could not do in Lebanon what Mr. Karimov did at Andijan because the world was watching what was happening in Lebanon.


Many in the West have a romanticized notion of what can be accomplished by peaceful protest and world opinion. Really ruthless regimes don't fall to popular protests, no matter how large, because they are willing to kill everyone they need to kill to stay in power.


And world opinion doesn't matter much if the world isn't willing to back up its opinion with more than words. The democracy protests in China in 1989 drew as much attention as the protests in Iran are today, but that didn't prevent the Chinese government from crushing the unarmed demonstators in Tiananmen Square. (China congratulated Mr. Karimov after Andijan, and reportedly is providing advice on security strategy to the government of Iran.)


The young protesters in Iran are as brave as the democracy protesters in Tiananmen were, but whether they triumph, or are beaten to death in dank prisons, depends mostly on whether the security services remain loyal to the regime.


There are some hopeful signs. The army has remained on the sidelines, making it clear it will not turn its guns on its own people. The Cyrus News Agency reported Tuesday 16 senior members of the Revolutionary Guards Corps have been arrested for insufficient repressive zeal. The regime's dirty work has been left largely to the Basiji, a militia composed of young religious zealots from the countryside. But the revolution won't succeed unless significant portions of the army and IRGC get off the fence and support the people.


This is where world opinion can have an impact. If world leaders strongly and unequivocably support the protesters, and credibly threaten the regime with consequences for repression, this could influence many fence-sitters in the army and the IRGC. It could also influence mullahs wavering between more repression and following their Swiss bank accounts out of the country. One reason why Syria didn't do in Lebanon what Karimov did at Andijan is because President Bush had just made it plain he would support democracy with more than words.


The leaders of Canada, France and Germany have harshly condemned the repression in Iran, but President Barack Obama has yet to muster as much indignation for the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as he has expressed for the leader of Israel. And Mr. Obama has made it clear there is nothing so horrible Mr. Ahmadinejad can do that will keep him from pursuing rapprochement with Iran.


Little could encourage the repressive forces more. "Probe with a bayonet," Lenin said. "If you encounter steel, stop. If you meet mush, then push."


The mullahs are probing President Obama. They are not encountering steel.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

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JWR contributor Jack Kelly, a former Marine and Green Beret, was a deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force in the Reagan administration.

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