British journalist Robert Fisk once stated, “The story of the Armenian genocide is one of almost unrelieved horror at the hands of Turkish soldiers and policemen who enthusiastically carried out their government’s orders to exterminate a race of Christian people in the Middle East.” The extermination of one and a half million Armenian Christians during … Read more
Much has been made of the Islamic State’s claim to the caliphate. But the Islamic State is fast losing ground in Syria and Iraq, and without a territorial claim, its claim to the caliphate is a shaky one. According to some sources, ISIS has already been preparing its followers for the fall of the caliphate. … Read more
The bombing of a Russian passenger jet over the Sinai was most probably the end result of a stealth jihad operation. That might seem like a strange way of putting it, because we usually think of stealth jihad as something that radical Muslims do to subvert non-Muslim societies. Yet, unless there were already a stealth … Read more
On June 7, the bombast of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan finally caught up with him. In violation of Turkish campaigning laws, Erdoğan publicly and vehemently warned Turks of the disaster that would ensue in their country if they did not give his party, the AKP, the 367 seats in Parliament necessary to act unilaterally. … Read more
Property restitution is an indispensable step to right the wrongs of the past and, thus, to legitimize one’s system as free and just; hence a democracy. The Republic of Turkey projects itself as a modern democracy, a state that has successfully fused secular and religious elements and aspires not only to represent the Muslim world … Read more
U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul, Obama’s man in Moscow, who just took up his post, has received a rude reception. And understandably so. In 1992, McFaul was the representative in Russia of the National Democratic Institute, a U.S. government-funded agency whose mission is to promote democracy abroad. The NDI has been tied to color-coded or … Read more
People are sometimes confused by my accent. “Are you English?” they ask. Not with a name like mine! No indeed. I am a Yank through and through. I was brought up in Pennsylvania and went to college in South Carolina, but the English accent thing is because I overdosed on C.S. Lewis and T.S. Eliot … Read more
What’s the common thread between Europe’s financial mess, particularly among the PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain), and the financial mess in the U.S.? That question could be more easily answered if we asked instead: What’s necessary to cure the financial mess in Europe and the U.S.? If European governments and the U.S. Congress … Read more
When Pope Benedict deplanes in Great Britain, he should probably wear a gas mask, and keep it on all through his visit. Sure, it might mar his public appearances, making the Vicar of Christ seem even more alien than he already does, on an island whose sense of national identity was formed in large part … Read more
The Challenger disaster, the shooting of Ronald Reagan, the fatal crash of Ayrton Senna, and the assassination attempt of Pope John Paul II — I remember exactly what I was doing for these events. But while I don’t remember exactly where I was when I heard of the pontiff’s forgiveness of Mehmet Ali Agca, I … Read more
Thanksgiving is traditionally a time to gather with family, enjoy the sweet aromas of turkey and stuffing, and remember all the things for which we are grateful. But with the recent economic downturn, many people will have their holiday darkened by financial crisis. Families that usually host a lavish Thanksgiving dinner may have to cut … Read more
The hallway on Christmas morning: We children stood, youngest in front of oldest, not allowed past an invisible line on the floor separating the hall from the living room. We were close enough to see the lighted tree, the fireplace, and the wrapped presents — but not close enough to see the unwrapped presents left … Read more
Last month I began a look at the flood of fantastic summer releases, which only confirms for me that we are indeed in a golden age of recording. This month I’ll pick up where we left off. Three new CPO releases convince me that only now are we getting a fuller glimpse of the … Read more
I have just returned from Rome, where a senior member of the Curia asked me to tell readers of The Window the following story. You may have already heard its beginning, but in all likelihood not its end. On Sunday, February 5, 2006, while praying in his church, an Italian priest by the name of … Read more