Blog

My running commentary on events: local, national, and international. Areas of special interest include Israel, Iraq, and dissidents in the Muslim world.

Don’t go back, Amanda Knox

May 8, 2013

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Just finished watching Chris Cuomo’s interview of Amanda Knox, the University of Washington student who was convicted of the murder of her flatmate and acquitted last year. I’m planning to write a longer piece soon but for...

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Amanda Knox: what happened to me was surreal, but it could have happened to anyone

April 30, 2013

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Amanda Knox, the University of Washington student who was tried, found guilty, then acquitted two years ago on appeal in Italy for the murder of her college flatmate Meredith Kercher in 2007 broke her silence in a long awaited interview with...

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In aftermath of Boston marathon bombing

April 15, 2013

My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the dead and injured in today’s bombing at the Boston marathon. It is always a dilemma whether to even write about terrorism, given that terrorists’ motives are to utilize media coverage...

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Iraqi ally of Israel’s headquarters attacked last Saturday

April 11, 2013

The headquarters of the Iraqi Nation Party were attacked by a military unit of Iraq’s government over the weekend, according to former Iraqi Parliamentarian Mithal al Alusi, who believes that the assault was ordered personally by Iraqi...

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Heckler makes some points, as does Walter Russell Mead

February 28, 2013

Last night at Committee for Accuracy in Mideast Reporting (CAMERA)’s talk at Manhattan’s 92nd Street Y featuring Prof. Walter Russell Mead and Warren Kozac, journalist, called, “Political Earthquake in the Middle East: Are There...

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Alusi on Hagel: ‘This is not a minister of defense, it’s a minister of chaos’

January 18, 2013

Spoke today with former Iraqi Parliamentarian Mithal al Alusi. Alusi, who has championed counterterrorism cooperation and normalized relations between Iraq and Israel and lost his two sons as a result, is dismayed by what he sees as President...

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After Sandy Hook, are principles more precious than children?

December 22, 2012

On Friday, National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre called for a national effort to place armed security guards in every U.S. school, and offered the NRA’s assistance to the federal government for such an...

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In the wake of Newtown, prioritize protecting children

December 20, 2012

In the aftermath of the massacre of 27 people last week at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, including 20 small children, it’s difficult to write anything. It is simply overwhelming, especially the savage...

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In the aftermath of Operation Pillar of Defense

December 4, 2012

How tragic and terrible it is when Israel is forced to act in self-defense and, in so doing, despite best intentions, kills and injures civilians along with the terrorists. This piece from The Times of Israel explains with great humanity–as...

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Why New Yorkers respect the NYPD as New York’s finest

November 30, 2012

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NYPD Police Officer Larry DePrimo’s act of kindness has by now been broadcast on numerous talk shows. The 25-year-old police officer saw a homeless man walking without shoes, shaking on a 35 degree night (November 14) here in Manhattan,...

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