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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

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 Dec. 31, 2009 / 14 Teves 5770

Asleep on the Terrorist Watch

By Paul Greenberg




http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | It was just as frightening, and in its own way even more infuriating, than the almost successful attempt to blow up Northwest Flight 253 as it approached Detroit on Christmas Day. I'm talking about the wholly unacceptable comment/excuse offered by this country's secretary of supposed Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano: "I think the important thing to recognize here is that once this incident occurred, everything happened as it should have."


Wh-a-a-t? No, ma'am, with all due respect, which is little or none after so flagrant a violation of national security, or rather series of flagrant violations, the important thing to recognize here is that "this incident," as you so discreetly put it, should never have been allowed to occur in the first place.


At one point, the secretary was claiming "the system worked," a phrase sure to follow her wherever she goes. Dots went unconnected all over the world. And for that, Ms. Napolitano bears responsibility — or certainly should as secretary of Homeland Security. A more honorable official would have offered not excuses but her resignation.


Even the lady's reference to a murderous attack as "this incident" is a sad reminder that she doesn't even have the vocabulary to describe this threat, let alone deal with it effectively.


Like her boss in the White House, Ms. Napolitano can't bring herself to say simple phrases like Terrorist Attack, the War on Terror, and certainly not Enemy Combatant. The simple truth must never be spoken. It would be undiplomatic.


But without the right words, this administration isn't likely to adopt the right policies to combat terror. Language is thought, and shapes actions. It would be a big step up if the commander-in-chief set the example by saying outright that we're at war, not in a lawsuit. Oh, if only Barack Obama had room on his enemies' list for somebody besides Fox News.


Instead, our president and commander-in-chief employs every conceivable slip-slide euphemism for the enemy — "violent extremists," for example — to avoid calling Islamic terrorists Islamic terrorists. Is he fighting a war or just being politically correct?

Letter from JWR publisher


Barack Obama is supposed to be an articulate leader, yet he was reduced to saying everything but the right thing when he spoke to the nation about this terrorist attack on the United States — by one count, the most recent of 28 since September 11, 2001. We are threatened by an enemy out to hijack not just airliners but one of the world's great religions, yet the president's words grow hazy whenever he refers to those out to kill as many of us as they can. As if he didn't dare speak some home truths.


The system worked? Everything happened as it should have? Let us count the ways in which nothing happened as it should have, though at this point the list of ways in which the system failed is still incomplete:


The highly suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallah should never have been on that plane, let alone with enough explosives to blow a hole in its side, kill as many people, and do as much damage to the United States of America as the Shoe Bomber had hoped to do back in 2001.


This suspect was in a database of "known or suspected terrorists," yet he seems to have had no difficulty keeping his American visa, buying his ticket with cash, boarding a flight in Nigeria to change planes in Amsterdam, and begin his final approach.


A warning from the suspect's own father, a prominent Nigerian banker, about his son's "radicalization and associations" wasn't enough to prevent the attack. Though the father had alerted not just Nigerian authorities in Lagos but the U.S. Embassy there. The American embassy seems to have done its part (who says the State Department is always at fault?) by passing on the warning to every official agency it could think of: all American diplomatic missions worldwide, State Department headquarters in Washington, the National Counter-Terrorism Center….


The advance notice might as well have been in all the papers. And yet Janet Napolitano and sleepy company, including the counter-terrorism center, failed counter terrorism.


If a father's warning about his son's radical propensities wasn't sufficient to get our security people to act, what would have been? Would the suspect have had to board the plane with a big sign on his back proclaiming I Am a Terrorist?


The explosive the suspect carried (PETN, or pentaerythritol tetranitrate) might have been detected by bomb-sniffing dogs. Or a body search. Or by new technology that blows bits of dust off passengers and examines them. Or with full body-imaging. Or just detailed questioning. The way El Al, the Israeli airline, has maintained its reputation as the safest in the world. No doubt all these possibilities will now be explored by congressional investigators, but only after an airliner full of people was almost blown out of the sky.


For now, the standard operating procedure for airline security in this country remains: Ignore the obvious. Any system that treats the little old lady from Peoria the same as a Nigerian Muslim who bought his one-way ticket with cash — after his father tried to warn the authorities about the threat he represented — has left common sense far behind. But it's the rule: One must never, never profile the enemy. We might come to know who they are.

Paul Greenberg Archives

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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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