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June 19, 2013

Peter Grier and Harry Bruinius: In the end, NSA might not need to snoop so secretly after all

Howard LaFranchi: Taliban peace talks hold glimmer of hope, but also unanswerable questions

Warren Richey: Supreme Court: For right to remain silent, a suspect must speak
Meredith Cohn: Leeches are making a comeback as medical helpers

Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D.: How to pick the healthiest breakfast cereal

The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: Spicy Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

June 17, 2013

Rabbi Simcha Weinstein: Black to the Future: American Apparel Gets Biblical

Patrik Jonsson: Minnesota Nazi: How did Nazi hunters miss Michael Karkoc?

Kate Irby, Ali Watkins, Trevor Graff and Kevin Thibodeaux: All the ways you're being watched
Don Lee: G-8 meeting will test NSA leaks' effect on U.S. influence

Patrik Jonsson: Fort Hood shooting: Judge nixes Nidal Hasan defense strategy. What now?

Stacey Burling: Why the stigma for migraine sufferers?

The Kosher Gourmet by Lisa Abraham: Does it work? 5 new kitchen gadgets put to the test

June 14, 2013

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: A spiritual budget: Religious economics and being a ruler

John P. Martin: Hitler insider's missing diary found

Matt Pearce: NSA surveillance disclosure could affect court cases
Peter Tinti: US bounties changes strategy on (Wild, Wild) West African jihadis

Daniel Pendrick, M.D.: Memory loss? Old age may be the least of it

Lauren F. Friedman: But it's all natural! Should we have an instinctive preference for herbal remedies?

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Streisand and Alicia Keys in Israel; "Girls" Stuff; Mel Brooks, Another TV special; Superman (who is Jewish) returns --- Israeli plays his mom

The Kosher Gourmet by Sharon K. Ghag : Bored with salad? Bling it up a bit (4 effortless recipes that will result in a 'WOW!')

June 12, 2013

Stephanie Hanes: Little girls or little women? The Disney princess effect

Fred Weir: In tweak to US, Russia would 'consider' asylum for Snowden

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: What's so special about Omega-3 supplements?
Morgan Housel: What newspapers were saying when you should have been buying

Pete Spotts: How cockroaches evolved so as to bypass 'roach motels'

The Kosher Gourmet by Anjali Prasertong: Deep-dish cookie: Warm, gooey and a little over the top

June 10, 2013

Joseph A. Slobodzian: Faith healing and third degree murder: Thorny legal case
Lindsay Wise: Few options for online users to avoid spying, experts say

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: There are plenty of nutritional food bargains out there
Harvard Health Letters: Can bariatric surgery control diabetes?

Zach Murdock: Superglue helps doctors save infant's life

The Kosher Gourmet by Celebrated chef Mario Batali : As good as grilling gets: Rib eye with dry mushroom spice rub

June 7, 2013

Rabbi David Aaron: Beating jealousy

Caroline B. Glick: Wounded . . . and dangerous

Clifford D. May: Al Qaeda vs. Hezbollah
Harvard Health Letters: Fighting back against allergy season

Kimberly Lankford: Grandparents who use FSA to cover grandkid's braces and other must-know info

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom:J ewish Tony Nominees/Tony Awards; Jewish Teen Actor In Sci-Fi Flick; Jewish singer in "Voice" finals

The Kosher Gourmet by Anjali Prasertong: A tart filling so good it might not make it to the crust

June 5, 2013

John Rosemond: Mom, Dad: Talk More and listen less

Kristen Chick: Egypt court sentences 43 pro-democracy workers to prison

Sharon Palmer, R.D.: Mushrooms Have Medicinal As Well As Culinary Value
Morgan Housel: Why you never learn from your investment mistakes

Don Lee: In China, kindergarten rivalry takes deadly turn

The Kosher Gourmet by Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan: 30-Minute Coq au Vin isn't a dream

June 3, 2013

Molly Hennessy-Fiske: Military judge to consider letting Fort Hood shooting defendant represent himself

Richard A. Serrano: Pvt. Bradley Manning's WikiLeaks trial also a test for government

Mark Trumbull: Have degree, driving cab: Nearly half of college grads are overqualified
Kim Lankford: What to do when long-term care insurance premiums rise

Deborah Netburn: Study: Adults' mouth bacteria may help babies

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom: Jewish Contestant on 'The Voice'; Will Smith's 'Jewish movie family'; Bravo Gives Long Island Jews the Jersey Shore Treatment; Magicians and More

The Kosher Gourmet by Bill Ward: How to be as refined as the wines at a wine tasting

May 29, 2013

Andrew Connelly and Helene Bienvenu: The Little Synagogue that Refused to Die

Dennis Prager: The 'Muslims-Killed-by-the-West' Lie

David Clark Scott: Open war on teachers?
Morgan Housel: If you know only five things about investing, make it these

Sara Reardon: AGenome detectives change the donation game

Deborah Netburn: A one-way ticket to Mars? 78,000-plus and counting apply by video

The Kosher Gourmet by Bev Bennett: CHEDDAR AND CHERRY MUFFINS --- your mouth is already watering

May 24, 2013

Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb: When I didn't so 'humbly disagree'

Caroline B. Glick: Thank you, Hafez al-Assad

Diana West: From the Brooklyn Bridge to London
Morgan Housel: Why spotting bubbles is so much harder than you think

Environmental Nutrition editors: NuVal labeling to the rescue?

Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Memorial Day: Jews Serving and KIA in War on Terror; Liberace Bio-Pic; Jew Wins "Survivor"; Shalom, Dr. Brothers; More

The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen: HIDE THESE FROZEN TREATS FROM THE KIDDIES!: Sangria pops; Irish cream pudding pops; mango Lassi pops

May 22, 2013

John Thorne: They launched the 'Arab Spring' but now yearn for the good old days of a strongman

John Rosemond: 'Disciplinary math' adds up to parental successl

Warren Richey: Are prayers before public meetings OK? Supreme Court to decide
Rick Montgomery: Use of ADHD drugs as study aid raises concern on campuses

Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D.: 6 convincing reasons you should keep carbs in your diet

Eoin O'Carroll: Scientists examine nothing, find something

The Kosher Gourmet by Carole Kotkin: This soup is made from one of the great pleasures of spring: A wonderful pairing of rosy color and earthy tang

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


Jewish World Review March 12, 2010 26 Adar 5770

Two Votes for Life

By Suzanne Fields




http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | On the night gold dust fell on the stars in Hollywood, millions of men and women were putting their lives on the line in Iraq merely by casting a vote. Hollywood nervously measured the size of the television audience for its Academy Awards ceremony while a different statistic was measured in Iraq, where 62 percent of the eligible voters demonstrated courage at the polls.


Accepting his Oscar for writing the best original screenplay, Mark Boal said he tried, in writing "Hurt Locker," to capture the essence of the experience of "men on the front lines of an unpopular war." He was a journalist embedded with American soldiers before he was a screenwriter, and his story reflected his true-life experiences with the men assigned to the grim and fearful task of dismantling the roadside bombs that have killed dozens of Americans.


To earn its gold, the Hollywood Reporter observed, "Hurt Locker" had to break "the Iraq War Curse." This was a war that had failed to find an audience, and it's a delicious irony that "Hurt Locker," with its celebration of the American soldier, beat out "Avatar," a stale tale of an imperialist America exploiting innocents on another planet.


Neither should we lose sight of the irony that the curse was broken at the moment Iraqis of rival religious sects and political parties defied the terrorists in their midst. The violence continued — more than three dozen Iraqis were killed on election day. But the elections were nevertheless a triumph of the spirit and the will of the people to satisfy their hunger for freedom.


If the popular culture is a footnote to history, democratic elections are the text, the real thing and the right stuff. No matter how Americans felt, and feel, about the Iraq War, only the most cynical partisans now refuse to share the celebration of the triumph of the Iraqi people. Preserving the democratic way of life is always messy business, wherever it takes place, and it's particularly difficult in the Middle East, where the seeds of democracy are just now taking root in a garden of evil.

Letter from JWR publisher


Belaboring ire against George W. Bush for going to war in Iraq no longer serves anyone — including Barack Obama — well. The surge worked. American soldiers are still there to guard the peace, and the results of the election will determine whether they can be withdrawn according to the ambitious timetable set by Obama.


This is a fragile time, as the Iraqi winners attempt to build coalitions for the hard work of governing. There's no George Washington ready to fight for the right, no John Adams to impart stubborn New England values for the right, no Thomas Jefferson to give voice to the inalienable rights for which our Revolution was fought.


But who cannot relish the electoral victory to which we bear witness in a country we hope will continue to grow as an ally of America? Many critics of the United States, ever eager to sow envy, doubt and mistrust, cast us as both arrogantly aggressive and stupidly naive in using military might to topple a dictator, and then foolishly believing we can help the despot's prey to build a participatory democracy. Violent insurgents have for the past seven years taken advantage of both caricatures.


Nevertheless, this fledgling democracy may turn out to be a flashpoint of change in the Middle East, the beginning of a new appreciation for Abraham Lincoln's "last great hope of mankind." A theme of "Hurt Locker" is the tense relationship between American soldiers and the Iraqi people. Deep suspicions are depicted on both sides. But in one dramatic scene, the difference between two cultures is writ plain in tragedy. An Iraqi father appears in the town square with explosives strapped to his body, a suicide bomber who has changed his mind and pleads for someone to save him.


An American soldier tries, but the Iraqi father is imprisoned in straps and wires. The soldier is driven with sympathy for the man cruelly exploited by terrorists contemptuous of all human life except their own. The soldier works until only 30 seconds remain before the bomb is timed to detonate. The drama is a powerful metaphor.


The Iraqi bystanders show appreciation for the American's efforts — no Iraqi watching the drama unfold can be blind to the difference between the two cultures. The Iraqi is exploited by a culture of death, the soldier by a culture of life. The future of their country will be determined by those Iraqis who crave the culture of life. The men and women who risked their lives to cast their ballots, like the soldier who risked his to save the life of an adversary, cast two votes for life.

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© 2006, Creators Syndicate, Suzanne Fields

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