The Larry Kane Report

Alexander Litvinenko, a former KGB spy and political dissident,  dies from an apparent case of radioactive poisoning

An award winning reporter, also a dissident, is shot to death in her Moscow apartment. There are no known suspects.

Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, promises President Bush he will try to restrain Iranian nuclear development. He takes no action and tries to block sanctions against the Iranian hard-liners.

The Russian government openly arranges sales of deadly submarines to Iran.

The Russian foreign ministry does little to control the Syrian government as it spreads its terror message in Lebanon and Gaza.

With these developments as a backdrop, a reporter has to ask the question: Is it time for us to include Russia in the Axis of Evil, or are we just buying time? The Russian government has drifted away from democracy, with Putin using strong arm tactics to stifle and arrest his opposition.

The problem with this return to strongman policy is that it breeds a foreign policy of recklessness and danger.

Another overseas note: Have you seen Citgo’s adds offering free heating oil to American homes? Citgo is owned and operated by Venezuela and its leftist President Hugo Chavez is playing the game again. There is little need for refined heating oil in sweltering Venezuela. That’s why it is easy to offer freebies to needy Americans. Chavez’s public relations gimmick is designed to soften his image as one of the world’s great haters of America.

Chavez is up for re-election next week. Polls show he is ahead, but if it gets too close, he will simply use his military to rig the election. Being King with full dictatorial powers has its rewards,

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Hopefully you have the day off and will be able to relax and enjoy the rest of the holiday weekend.

While we mark the busiest shopping day of the year and enjoy the company of family and friends, the news overseas that might be ignored this busy weekend will no doubt underscore the absolute necessity for a thorough review of what our policy should be in Iraq.

One day after PM Maliki, a weak and tainted leader, agreed to talks with Iran and Syria, the Sunni insurgents launched perhaps the worst attack ever. The three car bombs killed over 150 people in Sadr City, the Shiite slum area in Baghdad that is home to some of the most violent militias in the country. There is no doubt that by the time you read this massive retaliation will have already happened.

The news is even worse because of the the cycle of violence that threatens more of our young men and women who are service in Iraq, and whose lives are endangered by the civil war. Yes, I call it a civil war, because that is exactly what it is. No poitical spin master can distort that reality.

Overriding all of this are the forces of danger whose efforts are merging at an intersection of possible nuclear confrontation. An Iraq weakened by civil disorder precipitates a stronger Iran and an emboldened Syria. Surrounding these nations are moderate countries like Jordan and Egypt and the Gulf states who feel threatened by the radical Islam that has enveloped Iraq. If Iraq falls into total chaos, there is even the possibility that armies from Iran and Syria will occupy the shattered country, and that Iran will again threaten to make the bomb.

This is a powder keg that requires careful and reasoned planning, a high level of military readiness and leaders who act with a real plan and not the impulsive reactionism that marked the begining of the Iraqi war.

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This space is usually reserved for analysis, commentary and frank opinion on the news that affects us.

Since this a holiday of giving thanks, I would like to move in a different direction. Sometimes news people appear to be jaded because we don’t trust much of what we see. We may see life in more stark images, but most of us have a real appreciation of what’s really important.

This is a day to accent the positive. So, in the spirit of the holiday, some thanks for the gifts we may take for granted.

We thank our families for the wisdom of candor and the usually unqualified love that they give us.

We should be thankful that, with all of its challenges, we live in the most democratic country in the world where opportunities wait, and freedom gives us the chance to choose.

We give thanks to the men and women who fight our wars. Controversy is part of the freedoms that we have always fought for without compromise. Just as we wage war, we need te embrace the ability to debate the merits.

We should appreciate the roots of education, even though much of it is unequal in parts of the nation.

Thanksgiving Day is a day when American should appreciate the differences among us that make this place so creative and interesting.

Thanks is also required to the forgotten people whose jobs keep us going: police and firefighters, trash collectors and power crews who keep us out of the dark and shed new light on neighborhoods that need them.

Our freedoms to pray our way, and speak out against injustice, are speciisl treats in a world filled with anixiety.

I feel priviledged to have written and broadcast the news for 44 yearss.
I’m proud of that, but I’m also mindful that withut a free press, our nation would deteroriate into a country without moral courage.

I hope you share the joys of the day with a real vision of how good we are good as people, and how far we need to go, ever mindful that we live in the greatest democracy in the world.

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The assasination of Lebanese cabinet member Pierre Gemayel is the fifth killing in the last two years aimed at anti-Syrian officials in Lebanon, and in a way, it is the most conniving. Gemayel is a member of one of the most prominent Christian families in Lebanon. This has Hezbollah and Syria written all over it. The killng’s timing is amazing. It comes as leaders of the world are demanding a full scale investigation of the murder of a former Lebanese Prime Minister, a killing already linked to the highest levels of the Syrian goverment.

But there is another event that is even more frightening - the summit between Iran, Syria and Iraq that promises to undermine most of the American efforts, politically and otherwise.

What a betrayal from Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki. His agreement to meet with the Iranian terror gang is further proof that the harder we try, the worse it gets in Iraq. So, I ask these questions: What kind of deals will the ineffective leader of Iraq make with the Iranians? Will their talks include secret intelligence on American military plans in Iraq? And finally, does the Beirut killing signal to the world that Syria and Iran are only interested in brute force to settle their issues?

If Hezbollah and its Syrian and Iranian allies make an attempt to include the government of Iraq in a triple dose of terror, the United States should either exorcise the current Iraqi government, or pull our forces back to Kuwait where they can await the next challenges in the Middle East.

The fact is that the Iraqi PM is meeting with our enemies. That is simply not acceptable.

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In Philadelphia, as I’ve always said, you’re only as good as your last show, or in the case of the Philadelphia Eagles, your last game.

It is kind of sad not to appreciate a champion. And although he was injured again, it would be sad for local fans not to savor the career of Donovan McNabb. The guy has been fearless, creative, and is a fantastic role model. He plays like a champion. What people in this town don’t see is the big picture. Sure, we have not had a championship here since 1983, but we have been given more thrills per minute from McNabb than any sports fans have in the country.

I hope he recuperates well.

On the Monday after the Eagles loss of Donovan McNabb to injury, we got the word that another class player was named the Most Valuable Player in the National League. What Ryan Howard gave to the fans can never be measured by the standard measurements of baseball - a pennant and a World Series. The young star gave us something to cheer about in a season marked by distractions and frustrations. And in the middle of it all, there was none of that ego-maniacal behaviour that is the mark of many in pro sports. Howard is now a Philadelphia legend, and like Donovan McNabb, stands for the best in sports - hard work and an ethic of teamwork.

We don’t have championships yet. But we DO have champions. This is a city that has Donovan McNabb, Ryan Howard and Alan Iverson. Can you ask for a better trio of superstars?

I think the big problem is the fact that some of the sports writers in this town are so darn negative. They feed the frustrations of angry sports fans. Anger is not healthy. Winning and losing are part of life, and sports.

On the subject of losing:
There was good news in the publishing world.
The decision by Fox to cancel the O.J. book entitled. “If I Did It”, is the rightful ending to a sad chapter in publishing history. Along with the scheduled TV specials, the entire project is now in the waste bin. This is a victory of public opinion over a sickening attempt to make a buck off the backs of two murder victims.

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