Thursday August 17, 2006

The Final Word: “'Go Fish' Edition”

(The media experiment in which we conjoin the headline and last paragraph of each bylined article in the A-section of today's New York Times.)

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Insurgent Bombs Directed at G.I.'s Increase in Iraq:

"Everybody in the administration is being quite circumspect," the expert said, "but you can sense their own concern that this is drifting away from democracy."

Iraqi and British Troops Clash With Shiite Militias: The military has charged a Marine officer with assaulting three Iraqi civilians in April, accusing him of beating and choking them and placing a pistol in one victim's mouth, Reuters reported. The officer, Second Lt. Nathan Phan, was charged with three counts of assault and one count of making a false statement relating to the matter, on April 10, near Hamdania, a town west of Baghdad.
A New Blast at a Horrific Memory Salts a Father's Wounds: "It is the fate of humankind always to suffer," he said. "Nothing happens without the order of God."

Eye on Election, Democrats Run as Wal-Mart Foe:

"It's clear that the contributions did not have any influence on how he has approached this issue," said Dan Pfieffer, a spokesman for Mr. Bayh.

Lebanon Sends National Army to Patrol South:

"For the next two or three years, Hezbollah will be like the Salvation Army, tied up in rebuilding," said Michael Young, the opinion editor at The Daily Star, an English-language newspaper published in Beirut. "But the party cannot put Shiites through such trauma again for the foreseeable future, maybe a decade, which means its ability to attack Israel will be limited. The reason Hezbollah is so eager to rebuild is that they know the condition of Shiites today could turn the community against them if it's not dealt with effectively."

South Lebanon Towns Reclaim Their Dead and Hold Funerals: "The history of this town is built on resistance," said Adil Mahmoud, Halusieh's mayor. "Today we offered 11 martyrs, but we know we will continue to give more."

Breaking Through Adoption's Racial Barriers:

"I don't want to appear over the top, trying too hard, like we think we're cool because we have black friends." she said. "And who is to say what any birth mother will think is important or how any one views or defines diversity and culture. These things are different for everyone."

Schoolteacher Arrested in JonBenet Ramsey Case:

The Ramseys eventually released the results of polygraph tests. The expert who administered the tests said the polygraph did not register deception. The Ramseys maintained in a book, "Death of Innocence," that the slaying had been the work of an intruder. In 2003, a federal judge in Atlanta reached the same conclusion in dismissing a lawsuit against the Ramseys. Ms. Lacy later released a statement saying she concurred with the ruling.

Faces, Too, Are Searched at U.S. Airports :

"It is like throwing a big fishing net over the side of the boat: You catch what you catch," said Carl Maccario, an agency official helping manage the SPOT teams. "But hopefully within that net is a terrorist."

Other News

Children Slip Through Cracks of AIDS Efforts:

But, Dr. Dybul cautioned, "We're not guaranteed billions of dollars more, and we need to work" for any additional funds. "There are a lot of important priorities in the world."

Alfredo Stroessner, Paraguayan Ex-Dictator, Dies:

In 1992, Mr. Almada discovered a trove of government documents that came to be known as the Archives of Terror, which detailed the political arrests of thousands of Paraguayans and unveiled the workings of Operation Condor. "Fear became our second skin," Mr. Almada said.

Steinbrenner Retreats From the Spotlight:

In remarks at the groundbreaking, which coincided with the 58th anniversary of Babe Ruth's death, Trost said, "We bring to a close the chapter on the House that Ruth Built and raise the curtain on the House that the Boss Built."

Fall Fashion: A Special Issue: Piling on Allowed:

"Yeah, I'd wear that," she said, "but I'd cut it off."

Günter Grass Under Siege After Revealing SS Past:

While this explanation may seem farfetched, Mr. Grass's publisher, Gerhard Steidl, has nonetheless brought forward the publication date of "Peeling the Onion" by two weeks. The book went on sale in Germany on Wednesday.

International

Fundamentalists: Hungry for Fresh Recruits, Cult-Like Islamic Groups Know Just When to Pounce:

"A lot of conversion happens at life changes, and there's no doubt that you have radical recruiters who see new converts who come in to the faith as really good targets for their perverted ideologies," Mr. Birt said. "The crucial thing is getting them near the time of their conversion, when they're not settled in, where there's a lot of feelings and emotions."

Islamabad: Pakistan Confirms Many Details About Key Figure Under Arrest:

As Pakistan cracked down on jihadi groups after Sept. 11, 2001, Jaish-e-Mohammed changed its name and split into two groups. Those groups were also banned because of continued pressure from the United States. A splinter group of Jaish-e-Mohammed was blamed for masterminding an assassination attempt against President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan in 2003.

Security: Europe Says It Will Unify Effort in Fight on Terrorism:

Scotland Yard later said a person arrested on Tuesday as part of its investigation had been released without charge, The Associated Press reported. Another detainee was released without charge on Friday.

Relics: Bodies Yield Evidence of Hussein-Era Killings:

That work, they hope, will be taken up by other organizations if the violence eases. But so far no group has come forward, and until then, the hundreds exhumed by the mass graves team will have to speak for the tens of thousands of others who remain buried.

National Report

Unruly Passenger Causes Diversion of a Flight From London:

Some passengers said their travel plans had already been delayed for days because of backlogs and security concerns at Heathrow.

Highway Safety Agency Unveils New Campaign Against Drunken Driving:

But before the device can be installed, the drunken driver must be caught, Ms. O'Connor said, and "in many cases, it's after someone has been killed.''

Elite U.S. Teams Sent to Wyoming to Fight Wildfire:

Federal contractors are moving to the city to transport fire crews up and down the mountain, and to provide showers, sanitation and food. A refinery, oil storage tanks, oil pipelines and the city's large oil field service industry are not threatened by the blaze.

U.S. Officials Arrest Suspect in Top Mexican Drug Gang:

"Javier was not an important capo," said Jesús Blancornelas, the editor of Zeta, a Tijuana magazine, who has devoted his life to writing about the cartels. "He's a member of the family, nothing more, dedicated to partying. I'd call him a playboy."

Immigrants Hired After Storm Sue New Orleans Hotel Executive:

The foreign workers are receiving $6 or $7 an hour, said Jennifer J. Rosenbaum, a lawyer with the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is representing 82 of the guest workers. "That is not what you have to pay a desk clerk in your luxury hotel here, and it is not a living wage to live here," she said from New Orleans.

President Joins in G.O.P. Attacks on Democrats About Terrorism:

Phil Singer, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, responded by saying, "Misstating the Democrats' position on Iraq doesn't change the fact that the White House's Iraq policy has been a tragic failure." More Articles in Washington ť Explore TimesSelect with a no-risk 14-day free trial.

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