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Dec. 1, 2008

Max Freidlander, as told to Jacklyn C. Wadler: India Inkings

Mark Steyn: Whodunit!?

Nov. 28, 2008

Rabbi Ahron Rapps: An evil seed that didn't have to be

Melanie Phillips: Carpe diem --- or can we all relax now?

Nov. 26, 2008

Michael Feldberg: Meet the Orthodox Jew who laid groundwork for scientific development of ordnance that undergirds America's current world leadership

Andrea Simantov: Shades of life

Nov. 25, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Getting Emotional For Influence

The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman : Thanksiving feast!

Nov. 24, 2008

Rabbi S. Binyomin Ginsberg: 'I just Became a grandchild!'

Barry Rubin: Don't flatter your enemies, protect your friends

Nov. 21, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Money matters?

Caroline B. Glick: Civilization walks the plank

Nov. 20, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: Bronfman's blindness

The Kosher Gourmet By Linda Gassenheimer: Portobellos add a hearty flavor to pasta with pesto

Nov, 19, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Spread the wealth? Jewish tradition and income equality

Elliot B. Gertel: 'Mad Men': Tackling prejudices or reinforcing them?

Nov, 18, 2008

Dr. Debby Schwarz Hirschhorn: The End of the Age of Reason

Jonathan Tobin: Does Barack + Bibi = Disaster?

Nov, 17, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The End of the Age of Reason

Diana West: Gulling Americans into making terror legit?

Nov, 14, 2008

Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: The Power of Spiritual Inertia

Caroline B. Glick: The perils ahead

Nov, 13, 2008

Stratfor Intelligence Briefing: How Bush and Obama together could change the Middle East dynamic

The Kosher Gourmet by JeanMarie Brownson: Sweet and savory, crispy and meltingly tender bestilla

Nov, 12, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Tyrannical Co-Workers

Michael Doyle: High Court to consider today donated monuments that may have religious messages in public parks

Nov, 11, 2008

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Will Obama stop government officials considering institutionalizing financial jihad?

Jonathan Tobin: They Will Decide Their Own Fate

Nov, 10, 2008

Rabbi Avi Shafran: $8 billion, modern-day Tower of Babel being built?

Barry Rubin: A letter to the president-elect from a Middle East realist

Nov, 7, 2008

Rabbi Francis Nataf: Of Children and Immortality

Caroline B. Glick: Livni's Obama strategy

Nov, 6, 2008

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: How I tricked a classroom of apathetic students into grasping the fallacy of moral relativism

The Kosher Gourmet By Gina Kim: Tips for making the perfect soup --- includes recipes

Nov, 5, 2008

The Jewish Ethicist By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Destitute Debtors

Bruce Weinstein: 'Religulos': Bad title,even worse movie

Nov, 4, 2008

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Treasury Dept. submits to Shariah law

Frida Ghitis: A surprise for Obama in the Middle East

Nov, 3, 2008

Jonathan Rosenblum: Who says Jews are Smart?

Jonathan Tobin: Was He Wrong About Everything?

March 22, 2007

J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !)

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review Sept. 11, 2008 / 11 Elul 5768

Late Summer Notes and Asides

By Greg Crosby


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | In reading the Los Angeles Times this past Sunday I couldn't help but notice a couple of erroneous statements in two of their stories. Now I must tell you that I didn't read the ENTIRE newspaper so in all likelihood, within the paper as a whole, there were undoubtedly more than just those two errors that I found. However, the two that I site for you here are interesting in that they are not what most people would refer to as "typos" or common mistakes in punctuation, grammar, or other such things.


In a story in the main section entitled, "Hollywood Sees Politics as a Plot," the piece mentions a new Oliver Stone movie, "W," which is a made-up story on the life of George W. Bush. In the body of the article the writer correctly refers to the film as a "fictionalized presidential biography." But the caption under one of the photos from the film, states that the movie is "a fictional autobiography of the president directed by Oliver Stone." A fictional AUTOBIOGRAPHY? So that would mean that George W. Bush actually wrote the fake movie himself for Stone, right?


Mistakes like that are not typos, they're just plain stupid. Individually they might seem trivial and inconsequential, but when they occur over and over again, day in and day out, that has to be a big problem for a major newspaper. Here's another one in the same paper, different section - the California section. An ongoing feature in that section each Sunday is "LA Then and Now." This particular installment dealt with minstrel show performers.


The opening sentence of the piece began, "Seventy years ago, on Aug. 20, 1938, The Times published an editorial mourning the death of Thomas K. Heath, one of vaudeville's biggest stars in what is now the largely vanished phenomenon of the minstrel show." The LARGELY vanished phenomenon of the minstrel show? That means that it is MOSTLY gone, but not completely. Excuse me, but where exactly are minstrel shows being performed today?


I could be wrong, but I don't believe that minstrel shows have been performed in this country for well over half a century - and possibly more like 80 years or more. Again, this sort of writing shows ignorance, and worse, a lack of fact checking on the part of the newspaper. I'm convinced that sloppy writing like this, along with a transparent leftist bias in hard news reporting, has undoubtedly contributed to the paper's decline in readership over the years.


Anita Page passed away this week at the age of 98. Miss Page was an MGM actress who appeared in films with the likes of Clark Gable, Walter Huston, Lon Chaney, Buster Keaton and Joan Crawford. Her movie career spanned 84 years, beginning in 1924 when she started as an extra.


Her big break came in 1928 when she won a major role in "Our Dancing Daughters," with Joan Crawford, a film that propelled them both to stardom. Two sequels followed, "Our Modern Maidens" and "Our Blushing Brides" with Miss Page and Miss Crawford appearing in all three pictures.


She co-starred in "The Broadway Melody" in 1229 - a history making picture that holds the distinction of being the very first true film musical and was the first talkie to win the Academy Award for best picture.


Miss Page's daughter Linda Sterne said her mother had been good friends with Marion Davies and Jean Harlow, and for about six months in the 1930s lived as a guest in William Hearst's massive castle on the Southern California coast. "She was the best mother I could have," Sterne said. "She was wonderful."


Miss Page was married for a short time to composer, Nacio Herb Brown in the early thirties. In 1936 she quit the acting business when she fell in love with Navy aviator, Herschel House. The couple married six weeks later and Page happily adapted to life as an officer's wife, hosting many parties at their home in Coronado. They had two children, daughters Linda and Sandra and were married over 55 years until Herschel's death in 1991, at which time she returned to acting and made several pictures over the years.


Amazingly, she worked right up until the end. Her last film, "Frankenstein Rising," is due to be released later this year! Lucky Anita Page died in her sleep, in her own bed, at home in Van Nuys at the age of 98 this past Saturday. She was the last surviving attendee of the first Academy Awards ceremony. What an interesting life she must have led. What a shame that in all this time, she lived and worked in relative anonymity. I don't recall ever seeing an interview with her, not even on the classic movie stations.


Do you think the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences might recognize her at their next awards show? Yeah, right. It would be nice, but don't hold your breath. I'll take all bets.

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.


JWR contributor Greg Crosby, former creative head for Walt Disney publications, has written thousands of comics, hundreds of children's books, dozens of essays, and a letter to his congressman. A freelance writer in Southern California, you may contact him by clicking here.

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