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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

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 May 28, 2009 / 5 Sivan 5769

Today, North Korea; Tomorrow, Iran

By Paul Greenberg


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | It may be shocking but it could scarcely have been a surprise:


The crazy aunt in the world's attic has been playing around with nuclear weapons again, this time setting off an even bigger underground explosion — possibly one big enough to wipe out a city the size of Hiroshima or Nagasaki. To which the five veto-wielding powers at the United Nations have responded much as they did the first couple of times the North Korean regime defied the UN by setting off nukes: with oh-so-serious, oh-so-official statements.


Just as before, empty words will have no discernible effect on Kim Jong Il's regime and family business. The Kims, freres et fils, know the drill by now: The world huffs and puffs while Kim & Co. become an ever clearer and more dangerous threat.


It's not clear how becoming a nuclear power will help North Korea's starving people, but their welfare has never been of paramount importance to their rulers, or of any importance at all. The Kims run their gulag of a country for their own and their party's benefit. The way the Brothers Castro run Cuba.


North Korea's own Maximum Leader may hope to blackmail the rest of the world into supplying his regime with food, power plants, and associated benefits. Why not? It's worked before. During the Clinton administration, for example. Maybe the formerly pudgy, now ailing little dictator is after something less tangible, like respect — or at least a show of it. Or maybe the current ruling Kim doesn't know exactly what he wants, but just likes to see others quake in fear. Which is how tyrants get their jollies.


The loose coalition being organized to deter Pyongyang — notably South Korea, Japan and the United States — may or may not be able to prevent the North Koreans from exporting their bomb to terrorist groups and regimes. An even tighter watch on North Korea's shipping would help; so would a meaningful attempt to shut that rogue regime out of the world's financial system.


All the idle talk in the world, and there's a surfeit of it, did not prevent the North Koreans from exporting their nuclear know-how to a terrorist regime like Syria's not long ago. It was Israeli action — for the Israelis said not a word — which put an end to that secretive deal. Not till the rest of the world is willing to take action, not just repeat empty phrases, is North Korea likely to cease and desist from its nuclear ambitions.


The failure of deterrence in one part of the world can't be limited to just that part of the world. Iran's regime is watching and learning lessons from North Korea's defiance of the United Nations, which continues to outdo its ill-fated predecessor, the old League of Nations, at doing nothing.


It's not just the UN that has adopted temporizing as a substitute for a policy. The other day Barack Obama gave Iran a green light for its nuclear program by saying Washington will wait till the end of the year before doing anything about the growing nuclear threat from Iran — and even then this country's response may consist only of words, not action.


Meeting with the once and again Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the American president gave Israel a red light. His administration has made no secret of its opposition to the Israelis' acting alone to forestall an Iranian Bomb, but if the Israelis are not for themselves, who will be for them? They learned long ago that, if they're not going to defend themselves, no one else will.


Having just seen how effective Washington has been at preventing North Korea from acquiring and testing nuclear weapons, why should the Israelis believe the United States will do any better at stopping Iran from acquiring its Bomb?


Israel is not likely to pay Washington overmuch attention in the face of this fast developing threat to its existence, for Iran's fuehrer has made no secret of his wanting to wipe the Jewish state off the map. For the Israelis, self-preservation may take priority over even good relations with its powerful and maybe only ally. Especially if they suspect many Americans might be relieved to have someone else thwart Iran's nuclear designs, since successive American administration haven't been able to.


With the West only wringing its hands at prospect of a nuclear weapon in the mullahs' hands, the Israelis may prefer the world's condemnation to risking their own incineration. Whether a nuclear-tipped missile is launched directly from Iran or via intermediaries like Hezbollah or Hamas would seem of little moment to them. They just want to prevent the possibility of its being launched at all. On the theory that one Holocaust was enough.


The moral of this story: North Korea isn't just a danger in itself but by example. Even before the end of the year arrives, things could get entirely too interesting for comfort in the Middle East.

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 Paul Greenberg, editorial page editor of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, has won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. Send your comments by clicking here.

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