Saturday August 26, 2006

The Final Word: “Character Assassination 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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Europe Pledges a Larger Force Inside Lebanon:

It is unlikely that Russia's military, whose manpower and budget are already stretched thin, would be able to send a significant force.

Clergywomen Find Hard Path to Bigger Pulpit:

"I've felt depressed sometimes, but the support of friends and colleagues got me through," she said. "I'd ask them, 'Is what I'm feeling about what is happening real or am I just crazy?' and they would tell me I'm not crazy."

Weary Iraqis Face New Foe: Rising Prices:

"Most people buy half what they used to," he said. "The vegetables sit here and rot."

Despite Steps, Disaster Planning Still Shows Gaps:

"You would have thought that now that we are five years past Sept. 11 that someone would have addressed this," Mr. Tomlinson said. "It is a little scary."

After Smooth Sales Talk, Stores Take Macy’s Name:

To Mr. Slay, the mayor of St. Louis, the experience must have seemed strangely familiar. "That is," he said, "a political approach."

Other News

Director at Ford Steps Down:

Ford shares rose 24 cents, to $8, on word of Mr. Rubin's resignation as well as reports that Ford's former chief executive, Jacques A. Nasser, may lead an investment group to bid for some of Ford's assets. Mr. Suris said the reports were speculation.

News Analysis: Sudan Balks at Taking Peacekeepers:

"I don't mean to pretend there is any fix here," he said. "What is an option is to face up to a fact that we are in a slide right now and we need to push back and contain the slide to prevent a catastrophe."

Issues Await if Democrats Retake House:

"Our country can't afford to let Nancy Pelosi, John Murtha and Barney Frank reverse the progress we've made," Speaker J. Dennis Hastert of Illinois wrote in a recent appeal for contributions.

A Power Hitter. And a Source of Jewish Pride.:

"I haven't been this proud of a Jew since my brother's bar mitzvah," he said.

International

After 9 Months Adrift at Sea, Survivors Tell Their Stories:

Mr. Rendón, who friends say is shy and lives with his grandmother, does face charges here in connection with stealing several pounds of shrimp with some friends, but no evidence has surfaced of other criminal activity. Friends of Mr. Ordóñez, a gregarious man with a sense of humor, say his biggest crime was abandoning two children in southern Oaxaca with his first wife. Little is known of Mr. Vidaña's background.

Jets Grounded in U.S. and Ireland; Alert Raised at Houston Airport:

The tribunal's decision represented a rare legal victory for the authorities in their handling of terrorism cases.

The Saturday Profile: For an Ex-Dentist, the Age of Exploration Treks On:

"There falleth ouer it a mightie riuer wich toucheth no parte of the side of the mountaine but rusheth ouer the toppe of it, and falleth to the grounde with terrible noyse and clamor, as if 1,000 great belles were knockt one against the other."

2 Serbs Charged With Killing 3 Albanian-American Brothers in 1999:

Serbian and United Nations investigators have said they believe that he is hiding in Moscow.

Italy Is Roiled by Murder of a Pakistani Woman and Other Violence Involving Immigrants:

"We don't live in Pakistan, we live in Italy, and it's about finding a middle way," Mr. Naqvi said. It was, above all, a question of accepting reality and opening a dialogue. "Maybe it will change something. Maybe the situation will improve."

Appeal Likely for Journalist at The Times:

He said the fraud conviction helped "save face" for state security and other law enforcement agencies that handled the investigation.

Palestinians Say Headway Is Made on Captured Journalists:

Mr. Katsav, who many expect will have to resign the presidency, said: "I don't know which is worse: when under a nondemocratic regime people are lynched and physically murdered, or a democratic regime, when a person's soul is murdered and he is publicly lynched without trial and investigation."

Russia Says It Opposes U.N. Sanctions on Iran:

Voicing a similar fear, the French foreign minister, Philippe Douste-Blazy, said in Paris that Iran's response was "not satisfactory" but warned that it would be worse "to lend fire to a confrontation between Iran on one side — the Muslim world with Iran — and the West."

Japan Accuses 5 of Exporting Equipment With Nuclear Uses:

The sophisticated machines, normally used in the precision manufacture of parts for commercial products like autos, can also be used in making the centrifuges that enrich uranium for weapons. Because of this potential use, the devices cannot be exported without government permission, the police said. Mitutoyo is one of the world's largest makers of the most advanced types of coordinate measuring devices.

Obama Gets a Warm Welcome in Kenya:

"And nothing so far," he said, ever so slightly stressing those last two words, " has changed my mind."

National Report

Hawaii Takes Up a Persistent Peril: Drownings:

"This is a very cutting-edge approach, to combine research with practical lifesaving capability,'' he said. "It recognizes that our scientific and academic research can be translated into usable products that speak to the man on the street."

Restaurant Robbers Unsettle a Swath of Los Angeles:

"This is a highly coordinated effort," said Christopher Bates, a valley resident and business owner who said he had been in two restaurants, including the Valley Inn, during holdups. "It doesn't feel like just a bunch of druggies to me."

DNA Battle May Lead Off Ramsey Case:

In a separate filing, Mr. Temin asked the judge to order the prosecution to turn over a huge volume of documents, if charges are filed, including transcripts, materials, exhibits and witness statements "from any grand jury that investigated any aspect of this case," as well as any statements attributed to Mr. Karr, including e-mail correspondence.

A Punch Line Who Refuses to Fade Away:

"I'm always going to be the guy during Katrina," he said, not characterizing what kind of guy that is. "I'm always going to be that guy, Brownie."

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