Thursday August 31, 2006

The Final Word: “Cut-Off Nose Spites Face 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.)

Page 1

Officials Reach California Deal to Cut Emissions:

His strategy seems to be to appeal to the sensibilities of voters that have long driven the state's politics and to distance himself openly from President Bush. Recent polls suggest that Mr. Schwarzenegger enjoys a wide lead.

Shaky Darfur Peace at Risk as New Fighting Looms:

But the rains end in the next couple of weeks.

U.S. Drafts List of Sanctions as Iran Ignores Deadline:

But despite the private assurances American officials say they have received, the public comments of senior Russian and Chinese officials have remained ambiguous. Russia's defense minister said last Friday that it was premature to consider punitive actions against Iran, adding that the issue was not "so urgent" that the Council should consider sanctions and expressing doubt that they would work in any case.

Man From Google Joins Apple's Board:

"It's part of the classic yin-yang competition in Silicon Valley, where innovators cross-fertilize each other's thinking and then go out and clash in the marketplace," said Paul Freiberger, a Silicon Valley historian.

Live Long? Die Young? Answer Isn't Just in Genes:

But all was well. Mrs. Tesauro answered the phone the next morning and explained why they had had such trouble. She was out running errands.

Students' Paths to Small Colleges Can Bypass SAT:

"Human intelligence and ambition is more complex, more multifaceted, than any standardized testing system can capture," Mr. Hiss said.

Other News

Violence Grows, Killing 52 Iraqis, in Face of Security Plan:

"The battle may be over," he said. "But the campaign to clean that city up and to restore it to Iraqi government control isn't finished."

Naguib Mahfouz, 94, Nobel Laureate in Literature, Dies:

In an interview with The New York Times in 2002, Mr. Mahfouz said he no longer feared death and no longer fretted that it would come before he had the chance to finish his work. But he sounded melancholy when enumerating the pastimes that old age had denied him. "That is the way of life," he said. "You give up your pleasures one by one until there is nothing left, then you know it is time to go."

Ohio to Delay Destruction of Presidential Ballots:

But the report said those and other frustrated voters "would not have erased Bush's 118,000 vote margin in the state."

No Rain, No Upsets, Little Suspense. Just Top-Seeded Players Playing Well.:

The former Open champion Lleyton Hewitt and the British veteran Tim Henman also advanced, but Henman, who defeated his soon- to-retire compatriot Greg Rusedski, will not be favored in his next match. He plays Federer.

A Choice for New York Priests in Abuse Cases:

In the retreat house itself, a man answered the door, and three others inside got up from couches and scattered. There will be no interviews, he said.

Glenn Ford, Leading Man, Is Dead at 90:

As Mr. Ford grew older, he was cast less frequently, but in "Superman" (1978) he appeared in a brief scene as Superman's Earth father. He also did some television work, including the series "Cade's County" (1971); "Punch and Jody" (1974); "The Disappearance of Flight 412" (1975); "Evening in Byzantium" (1978) and "The Sacketts"(1979). In 1978, he was the host of a television series, "When Havoc Struck."

International

In Uruguay, the President Also Reads Mammograms:

"I don't see working in these two realms as schizophrenic, since both are forms of service to society," he said. "To me, politics is an extension of what I do in medicine,'' he said. ''But society is also a human organism, and politics is a way of dealing with the pathologies that a society can have. You have to act on that society as you would a human being."

China Jails Reporter for 5 Years as Spy:

Reporters Without Borders, the journalism advocacy group, led an international campaign calling for Mr. Ching's release.

Berlin Journal: War Exhibit Further Strains German-Polish Relations:

"They have been silent about this," said Adam Krzeminski, a columnist for Polityka. "That already means something."

Bush Shifting Public Focus to Terrorism and Iraq War:

Organizers said they raised more than $1.5 million from the dinner on Wednesday.

Marine Accused of Murder in Iraq Will Not Face the Death Penalty:

The charges say that some of the marines then stole a shovel and an AK-47 assault rifle and planted them next to Mr. Awad's body, trying to make it look as if he were an insurgent digging a hole for a roadside bomb.

Monitors Say Troops Killed Aid Workers in Sri Lanka:

Five journalists have been killed in the last 16 months, four of them ethnic Tamils. None of the cases have been solved.

Israel Says Blockade of Lebanon Will Continue:

"Lebanon will be the last Arab country that could sign a peace agreement with Israel," he said. "There will be no agreement with Israel before there is a global peace deal that is just and lasting."

Israeli Raid Kills 9 in Gaza; Tunnel Is Found:

The border is supposed to be controlled by Egypt and the Palestinians, with Europeans monitoring the formal crossing terminal at Rafah. But the Europeans are not responsible for patrolling the border itself.

National Report

Park Service to Emphasize Conservation in New Rules:

Americans for Responsible Recreational Access says on its Web site that it was formed "to ensure that outdoor enthusiasts can keep their right to enjoy and use public lands and waterways."

Los Angeles Mayor Gains Control of the Schools, but Hardly Total Control:

While the governor has said he will sign the bill, it will almost certainly face a legal challenge: the State Constitution stipulates that cities cannot control local school systems. But the bill's supporters say that with Mr. Villaraigosa required to share power with the council of mayors from elsewhere in the county, the legislation will withstand a court challenge.

2nd Huge Georgia Drug Find Points to Pattern, Officials Say:

Agents are still looking for Socorro and Sacarias Martinez-Menera.

Storm Fizzles as It Heads for Carolinas:

The minor nature of the storm did not become fully clear in South Florida until late Tuesday.

President Set to Renominate Five for Appeals Courts:

"It's very possible we could spend a couple of days on judges," the aide said, "but we'll just have to see how things go."

Police Chiefs Want U.S. Aid in Crime Fight:

"We see this as the front end of an epidemic, if you will, of violence that seems to be gripping many parts of the country," Chuck Wexler, executive director of the forum, said. "The good news is that we're much more sensitive to picking up on these trends quicker."

Flight Controller Had Little Sleep Before Crash:

This dispute over staffing comes after a recent defeat for the controllers' union. The F.A.A. declared an impasse in contract negotiations this year and imposed a new contract. The agency is seeking to lower staffing levels, and especially to lower overtime, saying it cannot afford previous levels of staffing, because of changes in airline economics.

Three Polls Find Workers Sensing Deep Pessimism:

One factor increasing anxiety is the corporate trend to send job overseas. The Pew poll found that 31 percent of respondents said it would be possible for their employer to hire someone outside the country for their job. Seventy-seven percent said outsourcing jobs to other countries hurt American workers, while 13 percent said it helped.

Gerald Green, 84, Author and Screenwriter, Is Dead:

In July 1979 the West German Parliament voted to revoke the statute of limitations on murder, allowing the prosecution of Nazi war criminals to continue indefinitely. Though similar proposals had been debated for years, "Holocaust," which had recently been broadcast there, was widely credited with having solidified public opinion.

William F. Quinn, 87, Governor Elected as Hawaii Became State, Is Dead:

From 1965 to 1972, Mr. Quinn was the president of the Dole Company, one of the biggest companies in the state.

Support
The Final Word:
Buy A Bumper Sticker

Page 1

Other News

International

National Report

Previously...