Impressions

Candid reporting

Feb 23, 2000 by James M. Wall

If you want to correctly interpret the news, stop assuming that the mainstream media know it all; pay attention instead to voices speaking quietly over in the corner. Read, for example, people like Amira Hass, a Jewish reporter who covers the West Bank and Gaza for Ha’aretz, a Jerusalem newspaper.

Where they belong

Feb 02, 2000 by James M. Wall

The four front-runners for the presidency are following what has become a political pattern: candor when there are no votes to be lost, extreme caution when votes are at risk. This pattern of choosing expediency over courage is in plain view in the current debate over a Confederate flag and a Cuban child. The two issues have an obvious solution—send them back where they belong.

Film picks of ’99

Jan 26, 2000 by James M. Wall

Bringing Out the Dead, director Martin Scorcese’s frenetic examination of three days in the life of a paramedic, is easily my choice for the best film of 1999.

Public passions

Jan 05, 2000 by James M. Wall

Linda Tripp and Virginia Woodhull, living more than a century apart, were central figures in two public scandals involving high-profile figures. Tripp is facing a Maryland jury on charges she secretly taped her telephone conversations with Monica Lewinsky.

Missing connections

Jul 14, 1999 by James M. Wall

If you want to understand why Americans are largely indifferent to the plight of the Palestinians, consider the focus of two recent news stories.