Friday September 8, 2006

The Final Word: “Talk is Cheap and So Am I 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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Lawyers and G.O.P. Chiefs Resist Proposal on Tribunal:

"In the midst of the current conflict, we simply cannot consider sharing with captured terrorists the highly sensitive intelligence that may be relevant to military-commission prosecutions," said the lawyer, Steven G. Bradbury, the acting assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel.

Questions Raised About Bush's Primary Claims: Human Rights Watch has also identified 20 other men it said were at the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and who the group believes were once in C.I.A. custody.

Interrogation Methods Rejected by Military Win Bush's Support:

The proposed legislation in any event represents a further retreat from international legal standards by an administration already hostile to them, some scholars said. "It's strong evidence that this administration doesn't accept international legal processes,'' said Peter J. Spiro, a law professor at Temple University.

Europeans' Views Mixed on News of C.I.A. Camps: The government, she said, still owed an answer to the question: "What did the federal government know when about these secret prisons?"

Blair to Give Up Post as Premier Within One Year:

As he seeks to emerge from the current crisis, Mr. Blair risks being seen as losing authority, not just at home but also abroad. He is planning a visit to Israel, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories in the next few days but, reports from the West Bank said on Thursday, Palestinians are reluctant to welcome him because of his refusal to seek an early cease-fire in the Lebanon war.

Blair's Statement:So as I say it has been a somewhat difficult week, but I think it's time now to move on and I think we will.
Another Tilt in an Uneasy Partnership: "He's the unknown prime minister."

Mental Activity Seen in a Brain Gravely Injured:

Without this context, Dr. Fins said, the imaging tests could create some confusion, because like any medical tests they may occasionally go wrong, misidentifying patients as exhibiting consciousness or lacking it. "For now I think what this study does is to create another shade of gray in the understanding of gray matter," he said.

City Ad Firms Agree to Hire More Black Managers:

The company has promised to spend, for instance, at least $2.35 million to finance a diversity development program that will include an institute at Medgar Evers College from which the company will hire graduates. And it has pledged to recruit at historically black colleges around the country. The City Council has agreed to put up matching funds of $1 million for the institute.

After Years Behind Bars, Now a Life on the Run:

They shopped, and washed the clothes, and he returned to her home for a few short hours. His departure bore little resemblance to that teenager's hopeful arrival in the driveway 30 years earlier, played in reverse this time and drained of light. "We said goodbye," she said, "and he walked away in the dark, toward the car."

Other News

Conservatives Help Wal-Mart, and Vice Versa:

"These are certainly not organizations created and controlled by the corporation or the family and promoted as somehow authentic when they aren't," Mr. Cohen said. "More important, I think, is the disclosure of the funding in whatever's written, a sort of disclaimer."

Lebanese Ports Still Blocked:

Few people expect it will reach that size, however, and Mr. Annan said Thursday that 5,000, along with the 16,000 Lebanese troops being sent to the south of the country, would constitute a "credible force."

Echoes of 9/11 Define Life 5 Years Later:

Some echoes define a country at five years in ways many Americans have stopped even thinking about, because they are just life now. Here are five people in five cities — all of them uncertain in different ways about where they have come to, but resolved to some action or declaration on the nation's road forward.

The TV Watch: Laying Blame and Passing the Buck, Dramatized:

Hindsight is heartbreaking and disturbing to watch, even in a made-for-television movie. But it's even harder to take when those steps continue to contaminate the present.

Blake Has a Moment; Federer Has the Match:

Next challenge: the world's best tennis player.

Danish Investigators Fear Evidence Is Insufficient to Hold 5 Suspects in Possible Bombing Plot:

Asked in an interview in Politiken on Saturday how she could equate Islam with Nazism and communism, Ms. Jespersen responded: "We compare it to underline what kind of forces we are up against. It doesn't matter how many or how few there are. The link between politics and religion makes Islam a totalitarian movement, and it is gaining ground in the Middle East and Europe."

Hewlett-Packard Spied on Writers in Leaks:

Investor reaction to the Hewlett-Packard board furor has been muted. The company's stock closed Thursday at $35.42, down 2.85 percent from its close before news of the board's turmoil was reported. Indeed, at a Citigroup investor conference where Mark V. Hurd, the chief executive, spoke and answered questions Wednesday, no securities analyst asked about the problems.

Redesigning Crops to Harvest Fuel:

"After all," the journal Nature Biotechnology said in a recent editorial, "it's difficult to oppose a technology that's helping to save the planet."

International

Al Jazeera Shows Tape of bin Laden and Planners of 9/11:

Al Jazeera, a satellite broadcaster based in Qatar, did not say how it received the video, and it was not available on the Web sites normally used by militant Islamic groups, including Al Qaeda, to post messages.

AIDS Cited in the Climb in South Africa's Death Rate:

She caused a stir at last month's international conference on AIDS in Toronto when South Africa's national exhibit highlighted baskets of those foods. Critics charged that vials of antiretroviral drugs were added to the baskets only after the contentious nature of the exhibit became clear. The government has said the vials were initially omitted because a shipment was late.

Europe Envoy to Meet Iranian Negotiator:

A diplomat familiar with the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity said, "The E.U.-3 and the U.S. are singing from the same sheet."

In Washington, Ex-President of Iran Calls for Tolerance:

"Today no other course is before us but that of recognition of the right of humankind to rule its own destiny, and the manifestation of this right in democratic systems ought not to be limited to liberal democracies," Mr. Khatami said in his address. For dialogue among civilizations to materialize, he said, "the East should no longer be the 'object' of understanding in the West," but should be "recognized as a partner in dialogue and communication."

French Opposition Backs Lebanon Role; Military Has Doubts:

Gen. Alain Pellegrini of France, who leads the current force, will command the new mission until February, and some senior French officials have said they hope most of the French force will leave with him.

Senate Panel Delays Vote on Bolton Nomination:

Senator Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, said Democrats might again prepare to filibuster.

Search Fails to Find U.S. Major in Kyrgyzstan:

Members of the military stationed in Kyrgyzstan had been allowed to leave the base on unofficial business only with permission and in groups. Captain Carpenter said that since the disappearance, no unofficial travel off the base had been allowed.

Fall in Deaths in Baghdad Not as Steep as Predicted:

The American military announced the deaths of two soldiers and a marine on Thursday. In Anbar Province, a marine assigned to the First Marine Logistics Group died Thursday from wounds from hostile fire on Wednesday, the military said, and a soldier with the First Brigade, First Armored Division, died Wednesday, also from hostile fire. In Hawija, north of Baghdad, a soldier with the Third Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, was killed by gunfire on Wednesday, the military said.

Musharraf Pledges to Pursue Qaeda and Taliban Insurgents:

Asadullah Khaled, the governor of Kandahar, where NATO and Afghan troops are fighting hundreds of Taliban, said he was encouraged because General Musharraf had not differentiated the Taliban attacks from terrorism, as he had in the past. But, the governor said, "I hope what he expressed was meant with sincerity."

National Report

Passions Flare as Broadcast of 9/11 Mini-Series Nears:

Scholastic, the children's publishing company, which had been working with ABC to use "The Path to 9/11" as a teaching tool, said yesterday that it was removing materials related to the film from its Web site. A spokeswoman said a new study guide was being prepared that would explain the difference between a docudrama and a documentary.

Panel Questions BP on Managing Alaska Oil:

"We strive to know the condition of our lines at all times," he added. "Clearly, in retrospect, this was something we missed."

For Pods of Whales, Celebrity Status and Now a Lawsuit:

As Mr. Balcomb and others work on behalf of the larger orca population, they also imagine what it would be like to reunite Corky and Lolita with their pods one day.

Migrant Workers to Get Overtime for Storm Cleanup, Ending Suit:

Jennifer J. Rosenbaum, a lawyer at the law center, in Montgomery, Ala., said the group hoped that the settlement would set a precedent. "We applaud Belfor," Ms. Rosenbaum said, "and encourage other contractors to do the right thing."

Wedding Off, Jilted Bride Turns Party Into a Benefit:

"It's going to be hard, of course," she said of appearing before her guests. "But the end of my story now isn't so awful."

Immigration Overhaul Takes a Back Seat as Campaign Season Begins:

"The president understands this," Mr. Kennedy said, "and should step in to help his colleagues see the shortsightedness of their actions."

Judge Allows Islamic Group to Challenge Wiretapping:

"The existence of the surveillance program is not a secret," he wrote, "the subjects of the program are not a secret, and the general method of the program — including that it is warrantless — is not a secret."

Civil Liberties: In the Defense of Basic Rights, an Official Led a City's Defiance:

"My favorite," he said as he recalled one note, "was that I was 'the Gandhi of Portland.' I kept that."

Religious Bias: It's a Simple Scarf, but Its Meaning Is Much More Than Faith:

"I made the decision when I put it back on that I will never take it off again," she said.

Local Response: Rise of Municipal Preparedness Comes With No Few Headaches:

"It's more like, 'Locals, figure it out,' " he said. "Some have done better than others."

Workplace Jitters: At the Pentagon, a Shared Symbol of Security for the Next Time Darkness Falls:

"I was meeting with a friend of mine who is a lieutenant colonel here and he saw mine and held up his," Mr. Edmond said. "We just sort of both shook our head."

Military Sacrifice: A Son and Soldier Unafraid, a Family Nonetheless in Grief:

"This is an evil world, but good has to stand up, and there has to be a cost," Mr. Larson said. "For us, it was our son."

The Campaign Trail: Candidates Say Bush's Efforts Won't Hurt, but May Not Help:

I think he needs to be doing what he is doing, but I don't think it is going to be all that helpful," Mr. Shays said. "There are very few undecided folks. People have pretty much made up as to how they are going to vote. But do I think it is important the president says what he believes? Absolutely."

Domestic Security: Bush Assures That the Nation Is Safer as Memories Turn to a Day of Destruction:

"The surest way to keep the program," Mr. Bush said, referring to the eavesdropping, "is to get explicit approval from the United States Congress."

Parolee Investigated in Arizona Rapes and Killings:

Last month, the police arrested two men in another series of crimes here, dating from May 2005. Those suspects, Dale S. Hausner, 33, and Samuel Dieteman, 30, have been charged with 2 fatal shootings in what is known as the Serial Shooter case, which the police say includes 7 homicides and 17 other shootings. The authorities have said they do not think that the two series are related.

Source in C.I.A. Leak Case Voices Remorse :

Mr. Armitage said he did not tell prosecutors about his conversation with Mr. Woodward until the fall of 2005 because he had forgotten about it. Mr. Armitage said he did not recall the June 2003 conversation until Mr. Woodward called to remind him about it after Mr. Fitzgerald's news conference at the time of Mr. Libby's indictment.

Shuttle Safe to Launch Friday, NASA Says:

Fuel cell problems have affected several shuttle missions, NASA officials said. In 1995, the launching of the Endeavour was delayed eight days so workers could remove and replace a bad fuel cell. A 1997 flight of the Columbia returned to Earth four days after launching when a cell failed. That cell showed erratic readings before taking off, but the Columbia was cleared to fly.

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