The twelfth anniversary of the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks seems to have crept up on us, in a way that previous anniversaries did not. Every year of the first decade of the new world, we prepared ourselves for that awful configuration of numbers, 9/11. We stiffened our sinews and watched again, for brief andContinue reading “9/11/13”
Author Archives: Editor
Neocon Zombie War
World War Z (Marc Forster, 2013) Paramount Pictures “The earth belongs to the living and not to the dead,” Thomas Jefferson once counseled, albeit musing on generational obligations rather than zombie property rights. The undead antagonists of World War Z would have bitten his face off and used his powdered wig as a napkin. ForContinue reading “Neocon Zombie War”
Helen Thomas’s right of reply
“You ought not to speak ill of the dead,” a friend chided me. “They have no right of reply.” I had just remarked that Helen Thomas, who died on Saturday aged 92, was a “bigot and journalist”. Of course, my friend was right: in general, one should not speak ill of the dead, or atContinue reading “Helen Thomas’s right of reply”
American Dreamer
The Great Gatsby (Baz Luhrmann, 2013) Warner Bros/Roadshow Entertainment The Great Gatsby is the biggest, brightest, most thrilling movie of the year so far. It sings and swings like a chorus line and smolders with the smoky intensity of a gin-soaked speakeasy. Leonardo DiCaprio captivates as the mysterious millionaire of the title and Carey MulliganContinue reading “American Dreamer”
Isolationists left and right: The new doctrine of avoidance
For America, there will be no going back to the era before September 11th, 2001, to false comfort in a dangerous world. We have learned that terrorist attacks are not caused by the use of strength. They are invited by the perception of weakness. George W. Bush, September 2003 [1] That pull towards extremism appears to haveContinue reading “Isolationists left and right: The new doctrine of avoidance”
The two-state solution and its enemies
Danny Danon, the rising star of the Likud, has been brought down to Earth with a bump. After boasting during an interview with the Times of Israel that he and his fellow right-wingers in the government would block any move towards a two-state solution, the Deputy Defense Minister found himself under attack from the opposition whileContinue reading “The two-state solution and its enemies”
Turncoat in a toga
A Jew Among Romans: The Life and Legacy of Flavius Josephus By Frederic Raphael Pantheon, 368 pages It is no meager feat to defend a man whose own mother could not bring herself to forgive his sins—but this is the task to which Frederic Raphael sets himself in A Jew Among Romans, his apologia forContinue reading “Turncoat in a toga”
Meet the Palestinians
The events in Syria have captured the world’s attention but it would be regrettable if they overshadowed an important study released last week. The World’s Muslims: Religion, Politics and Society, published by the respected Pew Research Center, surveyed social, political, and religious attitudes across the Muslim world. It is an in-depth report worthy of muchContinue reading “Meet the Palestinians”
What’s the point of Israel?
Few countries have achieved what Israel has in its first 65 years. From a war-torn desert has sprung a land of prosperity and innovation; from the brutalities of successive colonial impositions a thriving polity, democratic and disputatious; and from a desperate immigrant refuge a proud Jewish homeland. Achievements, the gleaming medals of past endeavor andContinue reading “What’s the point of Israel?”
Margaret Thatcher, mensch
Margaret Thatcher is being remembered in the United Kingdom and around the world as the fearless conviction politician who rescued Britain from its decline into sclerotic socialism and helped Ronald Reagan bring an end to the Evil Empire and freedom to the enslaved peoples of Eastern Europe. But she should also be remembered as aContinue reading “Margaret Thatcher, mensch”
