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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 June 5, 2007 / 19 Sivan, 5767

‘Soft Power’ unplugged

By Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.


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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | There is a growing appreciation of several facts about the war we are in. First, we are most immediately up against an ideology — Islamofascism describes it well — that has unmistakable totalitarian political characteristics and ambitions. It is in the service of the goal of global domination of this theo-ideology that adherents employ terrorism. Terror is a means to an end, not a goal in its own right, let alone an enemy.


Second, to wage successfully a counter-ideological war requires means other than military ones. Taken together, these instruments have come to be called "soft power" (as opposed to the traditional kind of "hard power" represented by armies, navies, air forces and nuclear weapons).


Third, given that the stakes in this war are nothing less than the survival of the Free World, every effort must be made to strengthen the effectiveness and impact of those instruments of soft power particularly relevant to challenging, undermining and, with luck, defeating a virulent totalitarian ideology. This is quintessentially true of those relevant to the dissemination of information that serves such purposes.


Given these insights, it is peculiar, not to say confounding, that the United States has failed so miserably over the past five years of this War for the Free World to value properly the role of government-sponsored international broadcasting in its outcome. In fact, the history of this period is one in which America's leaders have allowed the systematic dismantling of much of its capacity for waging the war of ideas via such broadcasts and woefully misapplied much of what remains.


Consider just the latest rounds of cuts being proposed in the Fiscal Year 2008 budget for the Voice of America (VOA, the United States' official information network) and the "freedom radios" — government-underwritten international broadcasters intended to operate as though they were truly independent, reliable sources of information in countries where that is not otherwise assured, namely Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and Radio Free Asia (RFA).


The Bush Administration's planned cuts would:

  • Eliminate virtually all English-language VOA broadcasts world-wide, apart from Africa, which would see its service cut nearly in half. This is occurring at the same time as governments in Russia and China that are increasingly assertive have launched 24/7 propaganda radio services in our native language.

  • Reduce by a third RFE/RL's Russian-language broadcasts to Russia from 24- to 18- hours a day, and take VOA's Russian-language radio off the air altogether. This would come at a time when the authoritarian Vladimir Putin is making a comprehensive effort to deny his people access to truthful information about their country and the world. What is more, Putin's repressive measures could end the Voice of America's remaining TV broadcasts in Russian at any moment.

  • Drop altogether broadcasts by: the VOA in Cantonese, Croatian, Greek, Georgian, Thai and Uzbek; RFE/RL's Macedonian service; and Radio Free Asia's broadcasts in Cantonese. American interests in China, Southeastern Europe, Central and Southeast Asia would be negatively affected.

  • Eliminate the VOA's radio broadcasts in Ukrainian, Serbian, Albanian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Hindi. Given the ongoing turmoil in Ukraine, the Balkans and Kashmir can we afford to do anything that might reduce our presence or influence there?

  • Reduce radio broadcasts by: the Voice of America to China in Tibetan and to Africa in Portuguese; RFE/RL's services in Ukrainian, Romanian, Kazakh and South Slavic languages in Kazakh; and RFA's broadcasts in Tibetan.


The cumulative effect of these cuts alone would be to write-off more than 18 million listeners each week around the world. Who could possibly choose voluntarily to eliminate such an audience, much of which is in places critical to the future course of this war?


Sadly, such prospective, painful reductions in service would come on the heels of years of earlier, similarly ill-advised decisions that have already: placed greater priority on building audience share in the Mideast by substituting pop music for much of the news and information programming so vital to counter-ideological struggles; dismantled the short-wave broadcasting systems that remain critical to reaching some critical audiences; permitted our enemies in Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran to use U.S.-broadcasting arms like the Arabic-language Al Hurra television network as a propaganda platform; and made taboo certain topics — such as the prospects for and necessity of the overthrow of Iran's regime.


Unless reversed, the cumulative effect of these past and pending actions will be the unplugging of some of the most important conduits of America's soft power. Such behavior amounts to an egregious example of unilateral disarmament in War of Ideas. The notion that budgetary austerity requires such cuts is laughable. The $26 million it would require to prevent the 2008 cuts is chump-change in a $2.9 trillion budget. And the costs associated with yielding the battlespace to our ideological foes will be incalculably higher.


Fortunately, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Agencies has a chance on Tuesday to prevent such a mistake and, better yet, to begin rebuilding the information part of America's soft power capabilities. Chairwoman Nita Lowey and her ranking Republican colleague, Frank Wolf, are fully aware of the need for a true war of ideas. If they can prevent our further disarmament in this war, and set the stage for the substantial expansion of America's capacity to delegitimize our foes and inspire and empower their opponents, there may yet be hope for defeating the Islamofascists and their enablers.


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.

JWR contributor Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. heads the Center for Security Policy. Comments by clicking here.

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America has been at war for years, but until now, it has not been clear with whom or precisely for what. And we have not been using the full resources we need to win.

With the publication of War Footing, lead-authored by Frank Gaffney, it not only becomes clear who the enemy is and how high the stakes are, but also exactly how we can prevail.

War Footing shows that we are engaged in nothing less than a War for the Free World. This is a fight to the death with Islamofascists, Muslim extremists driven by a totalitarian political ideology that, like Nazism or Communism before it, is determined to destroy freedom and the people who love it. Sales help fund JWR.

© 2006, Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.

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