
 |
|
May 25, 2012
Mark Clayton: Is Hillary's State Dept. hacking Al Qaeda? Not quite
Erika Bolstad: Temple cancels Wasserman Schultz speech
The Kosher Gourmet by Ethel G. Hofman: The former president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, whose members included the likes of Julia Child, is back with contemporary Shavous cuisine: Ruby Fruit Soup, Sweet Noodle Kugel with Cheese, Key Lime Curd, Calsone Casserole Frittata with Wild Mushrooms, Sun-dried tomatoes and Olives, Baked Tilapia with Pepper Cheese Cream and Brown Sugar Shortbread
May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
Tony Pugh: More private colleges offering tuition discounts
Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
Tina Susman: The wig wasn't enough: Man gets 13 years for posing as his dead mom
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
|
| |
Jewish World Review
Jan. 18, 2006
/ 18 Teves, 5766
When all else fails, make like a fool
By
Kathleen Parker
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
The camera may not steal the human soul, as some aboriginal peoples believe. But the camera may steal one's intelligence, as British politician George Galloway recently demonstrated by pretending to be a four-legged feline on television.
Galloway, the flamboyant left-wing socialist and antiwar critic also known as "Gorgeous George," has always been a bit of a showstopper reputedly fond of fancy suits and limousines as he pursued egalite for the masses but he has outperformed himself this time. What could he have been thinking?
For decades now, Galloway has been in the thick of things in the Middle East, especially with Iraq and Saddam Hussein, though it's sometimes tricky following his trajectory with Saddam. In the 1970s, he was critical of Saddam's human rights abuses, and he later criticized American and British support of Saddam during the Iran-Iraq war.
Then in 1991, apparently having switched sides, he opposed the Gulf War and vehemently opposed sanctions against Iraq. During a 1994 meeting with Saddam, Galloway famously told the tyrant: "Sir, I salute your courage, your strength, your indefatigability."
More recently, Galloway appeared before a U.S. Senate subcommittee to deny charges that he had benefited from Iraq's oil-for-food program. Now widely viewed as a Saddam apologist or a hero, depending on one's point of view Galloway regularly articulates arguments embraced by the antiwar left.
And then last week, apparently, he lost his mind.
The performance in question was via a television game show called "Celebrity Big Brother," where people you've never heard of or vaguely recall from some long-ago past enter an isolated house for a lockdown and let the public watch whatever it is they do. The goal is to not be evicted by viewers. The last man standing wins a large cash prize.
In last Thursday's episode, the show's orchestrators decided to test whether human beings can communicate with animals. I'm not sure how that translated into Galloway's making like a cat, but there he was looking like someone ready to be hustled up to the attic away from the startled gazes of curious neighbors.
Down on all fours, Galloway politician, provocateur, polemicist purred while pretending to slurp imaginary milk from the cupped hands of one Rula Lenska. Of course you remember Rula Luce Habit in "Queen Kong"? 1976? Perhaps this memorable line will nudge your memory: "Sanga banga wanga danga! Him? No! But I pay you much to see Konga."
That Rula Lenska.
It's hard not to be catty at times like this, but really. Say what you will about the two men Galloway frequently reviles President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair but you never have to worry that either Bush or Blair will abandon all dignity for a moment in the spotlight.
Granted, world leaders as opposed to the random politician don't have to pose as house pets to grab an audience's attention. Still. If you can't get heard on the merits of your arguments, perhaps your argument isn't worth hearing.
Whatever Galloway may have had in mind, to put it charitably, there may be a lesson somewhere in here for the rest of us, and it has to do with fame, narcissism, self-awareness and that blasted camera. When the red eye of the camera seeks us out, we do lose something of our "selves," if not our very souls.
Trained from childhood to "smile for the camera," we are easily disarmed by the desire to please the lens, to flatter the viewer by our cooperation, or in Galloway's case, allegedly, to charm an audience. His spokesmen claim Galloway was trying to reach Britain's young audience with his antiwar message.
At the same time, the allure of fame and celebrity has become a near-pathological obsession in the postmodern world. Thanks to the Internet, videocams and the blogosphere, everybody's famous or almost.
Andy Warhol was more prescient than he could have imagined when he predicted decades ago that everyone someday would enjoy 15 minutes of fame. If you don't mind being viewed as a desperate has-been or a wannabe willing to play the fool, you're virtually assured of millions willing to watch.
But if you intend to be taken seriously, best think of poor ol' George Galloway and contact your local Humane Society. The world has plenty enough attention-starved stray cats already.
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 Kathleen Parker can be reached by clicking here.
Kathleen Parker Archives
© 2005, Tribune Media Services
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Alan Douglas
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
Marybeth Hicks
A. Barton Hinkle
David Horowitz
Jeff Jacoby
Renee James
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ed Koch
Ch. Krauthammer
Michael Ledeen
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Pat Sajak
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Ben Stein
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Ben Wattenberg
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
ZeitGeist
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
Lisa Benson
John Branch
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Walt Handelsman
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
David Horsey
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Chan Lowe
Jimmy Margulies
Jack Ohman
Michael Ramirez
Drew Sheneman
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Scott Stantis
Ed Stein
Danna Summers
John Trever
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters
Dan Wasserman

Mr. Know-It-All
Ask Doctor K
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
Tech Maven
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|