Contributing Editor to the Columbia Journalism Review
Contributing Editor to the Columbia Journalism Review and regular contributor to the New York Review of Books
PROFILE
Michael Massing
Guest
FROM Michael Massing
To the Point
Middle East Peace and the So-called 'Israeli Lobby' Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in the Middle East this week, meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas . That is something Israel has said it will not do, since Abbas' Fatah faction formed a unity government with the more radical Hamas, which refuses to recognize the Jewish state. Meantime in the US, there's heated debate over the so-called "Israel Lobby," epitomized by the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee . Some influential Jewish Americans contend that AIPAC and its allies are too conservative, but say that AIPAC and its allies are so powerful they have squelched debate about American policy in the Middle East. They say that's bad for both the US and Israel itself where, ironically, debate is much more open.
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Left, Right & Center
President Trump: US to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord Trump says he was elected to serve Pittsburgh, not Paris.
To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
To the Point
Venezuela spirals into economic and political chaos Venezuela, a country whose potential for prosperity is unmatched, finds itself on the verge of civil war. What sustains the repressive government? With time running out, guest host León Krauze looks at what the international community can do to pull the country from the edge of collapse.
To the Point
Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.