In a greeting to the Iranian people on the occasion of the traditional New Year (Nowruz) holiday last week, Secretary of State John Kerry exposed a secret that journalists and academics have been agonizing over for the past six weeks: the fact that his daughter has married an Iranian-American who has extensive family ties to Iran. Continue reading
Author Archives: jimmy
Passover on the battlefields of the US Civil War
It was April 24, 1864, at the height of the American Civil War, and in between his duties as an infantryman, young Isaac J. Levy sat down in camp on one of the intermediate days of Passover to write a short letter to his sister back home. Continue reading
Weekend Interviews – Mar 23, 2013
Weekend Interviews – Mar 16, 2013
Saddam’s specter lives on in Iraqi landmarks
The soaring half domes of the Martyr Monument stand out against the drabness of eastern Baghdad, not far from where Saddam Hussein’s feared eldest son was said to torture under-performing athletes. Continue reading
‘Facebook, Twitter are the true leaders of the Arab Spring’
Many people realize that social media has transformed the Middle East; few understand just how much change has been wrought. Not only was the old order undone by tools such as Facebook and Twitter, but it is those tools that continue to promote political and social unrest, to the extent that many of the countries touched by the Arab Spring are no longer countries in the conventional sense, said Defense Ministry’s director general, Udi Shani. Continue reading
Van Rompuy to retire from EU politics next year
EU council chief Herman Van Rompuy on Sunday (17 March) said he will retire from politics when his mandate ends next year. Continue reading
Mariana Trench: Deepest ocean ‘teems with microbes’
The deepest place in the ocean is teeming with microscopic life, a study suggests. Continue reading
Why Obama visiting the Dead Sea Scrolls is important
US President Barack Obama appears to be warming up to Israel ahead of his visit later this week. And while many of Obama’s scheduled stops during his 48-hour visit wouldn’t seem to suggest a particularly pro-Israel slant, the opposite is actually true if one only reads between the lines. Continue reading