This German duo is out to prove that Yiddish music can be made modern and cool
Shalom Life recently held a contest for a lucky fan to interview Bedouin Soundclash backstage before their concert in Toronto
Shalom Life recently had a chance to interview Mac Miller and talk about his new album, favorite Jewish food, and making a Hanukkah song with Drake.
Sammy and Amy Bouzaglo may have to leave the United States
This 12-year old 'Touch' star has a rare combination of incredible ambition, determination, and talent.
The 63-year-old was given the € 50,000 award for being "one of the driving forces of world photojournalism".
1,700 year old Lod Mosaic the star of The Paris Museum
Organizers Want to Ensure Participation Regardless of Financial Situation
Anthony Weiner Makes Announcement Via YouTube Video
The 19 year old sophomore sat on the exam table looking at the floor. A college student with obvious charm
In 1971, researchers set up a prison in the basement of Stanford University's Psychology Department. The idea was to
As I have tried to make abundantly clear the United States is the only country in the industrialized world that
Alright, that does it.Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Americans have been willing to do their part for
A study appeared in a journal titled “Obesity” which was reported by a group from the University of Colorado. In
Sixty-five years ago today, World War II officially came to an end. On September 2, 1945, Japanese Foreign Minister
What does Victory Look Like?
It was a formal and solemn ceremony, coming weeks after atomic bombs had been dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, concluding six years of warfare, with some 70 nations fighting on three continents.
Today, we find ourselves in another global conflict, and it is broadly understood that there will be no such official declaration if and when we win.
Who would sign the surrender, and where? Would Osama bin Laden apply his imprimatur to some document at Ground Zero, perhaps in the Great Hall of Faisal Abdul Rauf’s planned “community center”?
In 1945, Japan’s leaders, like countless signatories to surrenders of centuries past, were agreeing on behalf of an entire population that hostilities would cease. In today’s war, where terrorist cells attack civilian and military targets all over the world, no leader is empowered to make that peace, even if he cared to.
Without a surrender, how will we know when we have won? Victory will take years, if we can manage it, but what will it look like and how do we achieve it?
Military might alone cannot win this war. And so, the adage goes, we will conquer by the strength of our ideas. Swell – but what’s that mean?
Often, the delineation of “our ideas” takes one of two forms. First, there are people like me, banging on about “freedom,” whatever that might be. Or, we are told, standing up for “our ideas” means making some absurd concession to antagonistic forces, in hopes our good intentions and intellectual bio-diversity will green the souls and stay the hands of our enemies (Mayor Bloomberg, call your office).
Political correctness is no match for radical Islam. The latter has shown its commitment, time and again in locations around the world, to winning this conflict. The former, meanwhile, is a tiresome modern reflex, whereby poseurs take a quick assessment of common sense, then put all their energy behind the contrary view. This tic can manifest itself in straightforward fashion – as in, when people aver it is offensive to erect a nativity display at Christmastime – or abstractly – such as, you demonstrate how a cut in capital gains tax rates spurs the economy, then someone calls you a racist.
In either case, this is no way to win a war.
That brings us back to freedom. But the question remains: Just what would the victory of “freedom” mean to us? Would we breathe a little easier? Would the Kabuki dance of airport security be curtailed? Most important, would the brave members of our armed forces be spared from injury and death on foreign soil?
Intelligent and experienced people have struggled to define victory in Iraq, where the US combat mission has just ended, and Afghanistan, where human rights abuses abound and military casualties continue – to say nothing of the almost-nuclear, terror-sponsoring Iran. What does “freedom” look like for Afghans, Iraqis, Iranians, and others?
There will be no top-hats and ceremonies when this war ends. And so I put the question to you, gentle readers – what does victory in the war on terror look like?
theo@halfgreat.com
Theo Caldwell is the author of Finn the half-Great.
ABOUT THIS EXPERT
Theo Caldwell, B.A., M.Sc., is President of Caldwell Asset Management Inc., an author and columnist, and an investment advisor in the United States and Canada.
Share This Story With Your Friends!
Friend's Name:
Friend's E-Mail:
(This information will not be displayed publicly)
Optional Message:
