Jan. 9, 2009 Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Why there's hope amidst the destruction Martin Peretz: At War, Not at War Charles Krauthammer: Will Olmert screw it up yet again? Jan. 8, 2009 Stratfor Geopolitical Intelligence Report: Arab regimes secretly rooting for Israel? Larry Elder: Israelis and Palestinians: Who's David, Who's Goliath? Jeff Jacoby: Yes, it's anti-Semitism Jan. 7, 2009 Jonah Goldberg: Who are the real Nazis? Anne Applebaum: Pointless Peace Proposals Jan. 6, 2009 Caroline B. Glick: Iran's Gazan diversion? Dennis Prager: Dissecting Dershowitz Jan. 5, 2009 Mark Steyn: Gaza has its version of rocket scientists Mona Charen: The So-called International Community Jan. 2, 2009 Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Having a holy tongue Caroline B. Glick : Hamas' march to victory Dec. 31, 2008 Dore Gold: Is Israel Using 'Disproportionate Force'? Renee Enna:: Succulent 'stewp' is quick, easy fix Dec. 30, 2008 Jonathan Mark: Israel's Response Is Disproportionate Wesley Pruden: It's time once more to blame the Jews Dec. 29, 2008 Rabbi Hillel Goldberg: Chanukah: 'Give me Judaism or give me death' Michael B. Oren: A crisis and an opportunity Dec. 26, 2008 Rabbi Yonason Goldson: When the past meets the future Caroline B. Glick: Iran and Hamas do Christmas Dec. 24, 2008 Rabbi Dovid Zauderer: Judaism's Santa problem The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman CHANUKAH FORK-FINGER FOOD FEAST Dec. 23, 2008 Caroline B. Glick: Repeating failure in Gaza Dec. 22, 2008 Rabbi Boruch Leff: Too many Jews today are missing the intended purpose of one of Judaism's most beloved holidays Barry Rubin: Liar, liar, pants on cease-fire Dec. 19, 2008 Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The Final Battlefield Caroline B. Glick: Betting on a dead horse Dec. 18, 2008 The Kosher Gourmet by Steve Petusevsky: Juicy Chef's hella top, hella bottom, hallelujah in the middle Craig Crossman : More gifts for geeks --- and those who love them Dec. 17, 2008 Dion Nissenbaum: Israel kicks out outrageously biased UN official Craig Crossman : Gifts for geeks --- and those who love them Dec. 16, 2008 Jonathan Rosenblum: The Gift of Joy Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Uncle Shariah Dec. 15, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Expert witnesses who put themselves first Barry Rubin: What they say isn't what you hear Dec. 12, 2008 Rabbi Hillel Goldberg: Can the Bible be a secular language? Caroline B. Glick: What a PM Netanyahu faces from Washington Dec. 11, 2008 Rabbi Leiby Burnham: Our role in the Divine's global corporation, World Inc. The Kosher Gourmet by Steve Petusevsky: A retro-tasting pareve pot pie made with a light hand Dec. 10, 2008 Rabbi Paysach J. Krohn: Groom admits he was caught "red handed" Kara McGuire: No money for gifts? No problem Dec. 9, 2008 The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Can I make my boss treat me fairly? Stratfor Geopolitical Intelligence Report: Next Steps in the Indo-Pakistani Crisis Dec. 8, 2008 Rabbi Avi Shafran: 'Chanukah Bush' flap and graciousness Mark Steyn: Jews get killed, but Muslims feel vulnerable Dec. 5, 2008 Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Truth --- The Key to Gratitude Jeff Jacoby: UN's obsession is grotesque and Orwellian Oct. 29, 2003 Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review May 5, 2006 / 7 Iyar, 5766 Tired of celebs? Blame yourself, the media By Leonard Pitts, Jr. http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | In the first place: if I never see another stupid, cutesy shorthand (i.e., Billary, TomKat and Bennifers I and II) applied to another celebrity couple, I will light candles of thanksgiving. In the second place: Namibia? As you know unless you, well, have a life, that South African nation is where Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie — Brangelina to the cognoscenti — have ensconced themselves with their two young children while they await the birth of their baby. They've been followed by a phalanx of photographers eager to get shots of them and — the holy grail — the aforementioned baby. But it seems the paparazzi are not getting along well with the couple's bodyguards, variously described as "thugs" and "goons" in press reports. Apparently, the photographers have been such a nuisance that Pitt and Jolie had to issue a statement pleading for privacy. This prompted Namibia's prime minister, obviously kept insufficiently busy by affairs of state, to ask that the two be left alone. At least four photographers have reportedly been given a choice between departing the country and spending time in one of its fine penal institutions. But the camera crews soldier determinedly on, even following the family to the local KFC because, you know, inquiring minds want to know what they had for lunch. One imagines some loser with a Nikon staking out a chicken joint and phoning in urgent bulletins by satellite phone. ("It looks like ... yes! Brad's going with the hot & spicy, and we have now confirmed Angelina ordered the extra crispy.") I have trouble figuring out what I think about all this. Part of me thinks it's hysterical. Part of me thinks it's pathetic. Part of me thinks it's hysterically pathetic. And part of me simply remembers how it felt, nine years ago in August, to see that awful news bulletin. A car carrying Princess Diana and her boyfriend, Dodi al-Fayed, had raced into a tunnel in Paris, reportedly trying to elude paparazzi. The car, piloted by a drunk driver, never emerged. Maybe you remember how it felt, too, that sickening, sobering crunch of reality and frivolity colliding, lives of gossip, glamour and gossamer brought to an end in a cry of brakes and a cruelty of asphalt. Angry celebrities like George Clooney and Rosie O'Donnell used the tragedy to point out that it's no fun being camera stalked and that while fame means many things, it should not mean surrender of one's right to use the toilet unmolested by inquiring minds. There followed much hand-wringing and soul searching from editors who bought invasive pictures and readers who bought magazines such pictures appeared in. Out of this came vows to turn away from the practice and support of intrusion journalism. Nine years later, there's a stakeout at a KFC in Namibia. ("Code Red! Angelina has changed her order! Do you copy?") A man asked me the other night why media are like this. Why, with mass murder in Sudan, an insurgency in Iraq, the national debt scaling nosebleed heights, they spend so much time, talent and treasure on ephemera. I told him media are like this because the people are, because this is what people want, what matters most to them. They are less interested in the news that impacts them, the news that determines how and sometimes, if, they live. Yes, the entertainment industry is an influential multibillion-dollar concern. And yes, too, gossip is eternal. But don't you sometimes get the sense that we have become conspirators in our own distraction, eagerly ingesting a media opiate that discourages too much thinking, too much digging, too much asking? It's a sign of how distorted are our priorities, how shallow our concerns, that two actors have to flee to Africa to have their baby in peace. And that they can't do so, even then. Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here. Comment on JWR contributor Leonard Pitts, Jr.'s column by clicking here. Leonard Pitts, Jr. Archives © 2006, The Miami Herald Distributed by TMS

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