Al-Qaeda terrorists have held 72-year-old Warren Weinstein since mid-August 2011. On Wednesday, Al Qaeda released a video with Dr. Weinstein asking President Obama to negotiate his release. We know that he was alive when the video was made, but we don’t know when it was made and if he is alive now. The mainstream media covered the release of the video, but I knew Warren Weinstein; he is a human being, a good one at that. more

The latest Edward Snowden revelation is that the NSA and GCHQ, the British equivalent, were spying on the communications of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his cabinet, including Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak and his chief of staff, Yoni Koren. Reaction from senior members of the Israeli Cabinet has been muted, perhaps because they operate on the assumption that they are being monitored. more

The American Studies Association, the nation’s oldest and largest association devoted to the interdisciplinary study of American culture and history, announced today their membership has decided to participate in the world’s oldest hatred...anti-Semitism. The way they are exhibiting their hatred is via an academic boycott of the Jewish State. more

Before Anwar Sadat took over, Egypt and the majority of the “moderate” Arab world were satellites of the Soviet Union. Sadat dumped the Soviets for the West, upsetting the Egyptian military (but American dollars earned their love and respect). Egypt’s move enticed other “moderate” Arab nations to come over to the Western side. more

Norway’s Health Ministry is considering a proposal to regulate the circumcision of boys. Some political parties are calling for a complete ban of the practice on minors.Two years ago, the ministry was tasked with reviewing circumcision and how it should be practiced in Norway. It has yet to finalize its stance, but it promises a proposed bill by Easter 2014, Health Minister Bent Hoie told Aftenposten, Norway’s largest newspaper. more

How bad is the deal that the Obama Administration made with Iran? It is so bad that leading Senate Democrats have attacked it. Within hours of the announcement that an agreement was made, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the No. 3 Senate Democrat, said he was “disappointed” by the pact and opined that Iran won more from the deal’s loosening of economic sanctions than the international community gained by slowing down the country’s nuclear program. more

In a closed door meeting with the Senate Banking Committee last Wednesday, Secretary of State John Kerry, Vice President Joe Biden, and officials from the State and Treasury departments provided a briefing on the talks to halt the Iranian nuclear program and to urge the committee to back away from any discussion of new sanctions. more

In March 2012, President Obama had a bit of an open mike gaffe. At a Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea, he whispered to then Russian President Dmitri Medvedev that he would have “more flexibility” to deal with controversial issues such as missile defense after the 2012 elections. At the time many wondered if that would also apply to other issues, such as his dealings with Israel. In the past week we learned the answer. more

It’s been an awful week for the President and his signature legislation. Between revelations that, back in 2009, the administration discussed whether Obama should make his “you can keep your health care, period” promise, leaked memos of warnings about the introduction of the Obamacare website, and attacks on a cancer victim who complained about losing her plan, the administration seems to be out of touch with the public. more

Finally, there is a movement developing to fight back against Al Sharpton, the professional bigot and racial agitator, not only within his own African-American community but also by a new media watchdog group that is reminding Sharpton’s MSNBC advertisers of the type of person with whom they are dealing. [Al Sharpton’s bigotry, especially toward the Jewish Community in Crown Heights and at Freddy’s Fashion Mart in Harlem, was covered over the summer by this column in The Jewish Star.] more