Cuba has poured cold water on hopes that Alan Gross will be released from a Cuban prison cell anytime soon. In a statement released November 28 Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials insisted that Gross’s health — which has been a recent cause for growing concern according to his family — is normal. Gross, a Jewish…
The Cuban government announced Alan Gross would not be freed, dashing hopes of a breakthrough for the Jewish American contractor jailed for three years on spying charges. After promising an “announcement” about Gross, Cuba issued a statement Wednesday morning claiming that he was in good health. It made no mention of plans to free him….
“Lulu,” the unlikely collaboration between Lou Reed and Metallica, rapidly went from being one of the year’s most anticipated releases to being the most reviled album of 2011. USA Today called it “arty sludge” and gave it one star. Writing in Grantland, Chuck Klosterman lambasted it as “a successful simulation of how it feels to…
Call it the “Mad Men” syndrome: These days, we’re nostalgic for other people’s youth. The symptoms present themselves most clearly when it comes to music. Since the world went digital, the recording industry has spent a lot of time in the vaults, coming up with packages that are meant to appeal to the completist in…
It is impossible to overstate the intensity of emotion felt in Israel at the news of Gilad Shalit’s impending release. Many of us have been glued to the television screen with unrelenting tears in our eyes since we first heard about the imminent deal. It feels like we just let out a collective breath, like…
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