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May 25, 2012
Mark Clayton: Is Hillary's State Dept. hacking Al Qaeda? Not quite
Erika Bolstad: Temple cancels Wasserman Schultz speech
The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman: The former president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, whose members included the likes of Julia Child, is back with contemporary Shavous cuisine: Ruby Fruit Soup, Sweet Noodle Kugel with Cheese, Key Lime Curd, Calsone Casserole Frittata with Wild Mushrooms, Sun-dried tomatoes and Olives, Baked Tilapia with Pepper Cheese Cream and Brown Sugar Shortbread
May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
Tony Pugh: More private colleges offering tuition discounts
Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
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The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
June 21, 2007
/ 5 Tamuz, 5767
Searching for Identity
By
Suzanne Fields
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | LONDON More than 700 nude bicyclists pedaled from Hyde Park to Wellington Arch the other day to protest global warming and excessive emissions from automobiles. Their message was better "nude power" than "nuke power."
This was the fourth annual World Naked Bike Ride, with cyclers in 60 cities participating this year. The bikers want to flesh out the pleasures of fresh air cycling and persuade others to enjoy pedal pushing without pedal pushers.
"Bikes and naked bodies harm nobody," one biker told the BBC. That depends, of course, on your aesthetic sense. These were not necessarily the likes of the beautiful nudes on the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum. But we get the point.
Tony Blair has been giving vigorous farewell speeches in preparation for stepping down as prime minister, but anyone who knew London in an earlier day I lived here for several memorable years in the 1960s senses a country beset with doubts, fears and dark thoughts about what has happened to the culture. The world power is long gone. The royal family has become all too ordinary. Education once hailed for its discipline and rigor is as flabby as some of those exposed bums pedaling past Hyde Park.
A report by the General Teaching Council, an independent regulatory agency appointed by the government, describes children in British schools as unmotivated, intractable and bored. There's plenty of blame to go around, but the prescription ordered by the educationists sounds worse than the ailment: "Let's just stop testing." That's a little like saying to a sick patient that "you're fine as long as we don't take your temperature, your blood pressure and your pulse."
The council wants to abolish standardized tests now mandatory for students aged 7, 11 and 14. The tests are said to be so stressful that psychologists are more and more frequently called on to treat anxiety attacks. Surely these can't be descendants of the English sailors at Trafalgar, of Wellington's legions at Waterloo, or the blokes whose stiff upper lips could not be softened by the Blitz.
Today's teachers don't sound like Mr. Chips, either. They're feeling stress from the pressure to produce students who make high grades on the tests. One teacher under investigation for helping her students cheat on an exam hanged herself.
England's teachers have a problem Americans can recognize teaching so narrowly to the test, requiring memorizing facts and dates students fail to comprehend what actually happened. When test grades are all, teachers and students conspire to achieve high scores on statistical tables without thinking through complex ideas.
"The range of knowledge and skills that tests assess is very narrow, and to prepare young people for them they need a set of skills that are far broader," says Keith Bartley, chief executive of General Teaching Council, in an interview with the London Observer. That sounds about right, but surely it would be better to change the tests, not abolish them. Our own Scholastic Assessment Tests (SATs), for example, have added an essay question to open a wider sample to assess actual learning.
England, like America, suffers from the consequences of political correctness. What it means to be British is lost in a blush of multiculturalism. After the London Underground bombings in 2005 by three native Englishmen of Pakistani origin and one Jamaican immigrant, all Muslims, the government formed a commission to find a way to develop a greater sense of citizenship. The commissioners came up with one obvious suggestion. Along with learning about Martin Luther King Jr., Mohandas Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, great men all, English schoolchildren should also study the greatness of David Lloyd George and Winston Churchill, and how they led the nation through two world wars.
Themes of British identity are being debated now by Tory and Labor parliamentarians. Gordon Brown, soon to follow Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street, sounds like an old-fashioned Englishman, demanding "British jobs for British people" and rebuking firms that prefer to hire low-paid immigrants to Britons. (Sound familiar?) Others have joined him in proposing a national holiday to celebrate what it means to be British. David Cameron, the Tory leader, urged Muslims to take pride in Old Blighty, and suggests copying the American model of shared values found in the daily Pledge of Allegiance, the celebration of the Fourth of July and the observance of Thanksgiving Day. Guy Fawkes, celebrated for trying to blow up Parliament two centuries ago, doesn't quite cut it. It's quaintly satisfying to an American to see the mother country looking to the colonies for inspiration.
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Suzanne Fields Archives
© 2006, Creators Syndicate, Suzanne Fields
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