Monday September 18, 2006

The Final Word: “Gettin' Medieval On Your Ass 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

Bid to Stockpile Bioterror Drugs Stymied by Setbacks:

"A torturous labyrinth of federal fiefdoms into which billions disappear," Representative Christopher Shays, Republican of Connecticut, said of the program. "Yet few antidotes have yet to emerge."

Hewlett Review Is Said to Detail Deeper Spying:

The company, in a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, said it had received an outside counsel's opinion that the investigative methods were legal, but it did not identify the source.

In a Rare Step, Pope Expresses Personal Regret:

"I think one may say, if it is not too impolite, that it is time to bring back Monsignor Fitzgerald," said Mr. Melloni, the Vatican scholar.

As Senator Falters, a Democrat Rises in Virginia:

The anxieties on both sides point to a central truth: Virginia, at the moment, is a very competitive race.

China Competes With West in Aid to Its Neighbors:

"When we came here four years ago, we would leave at breakfast time from Kratie and we would arrive here for dinner — eight hours," Mr. Ge said. "It now takes two hours."

Unearthing a Town Pool, and Not for Whites Only:

A hundred yards away, Mr. Carmichael's business partner, Tom Sebring, kicked away some dirt and looked over at the partially exposed pool. "Look at all the years it's been buried," Mr. Sebring said, "and of no use at all."

Other News

Compromise Called Possible on Interrogations:

Mr. Hadley said, "The challenge is to be able to continue to prosecute and bring to justice terrorists where a lot of the evidence is classified evidence." He said the administration had addressed the issue by making sure the evidence was provided to the suspect's lawyer and, where possible, by giving the accused a declassified summary of information.

Most Tribes in Anbar Agree to Unite Against Insurgents:

Firefighters battled flames at collapsed buildings and charred bodies lay in streets littered with twisted car parts, Reuters reported.

Patricia Kennedy Lawford Dies at 82; Had Front Seat to History:

In addition to her brother Edward and two of her sisters, Jean Kennedy Smith and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Mrs. Lawford is survived by her son, Christopher, of California, and three daughters, Sydney, of Washington, Robin, of New York, and Victoria Frances, of Washington, and 10 grandchildren.

A Chip That Can Transfer Data Using Laser Light:

Photonics industry experts briefed on the technique said that it would almost certainly pave the way for commercialization of the long-sought convergence of silicon chips and optical lasers. "Before, there was more hype than substance," said Alan Huang, a former Bell Laboratories researcher who is a pioneer in the field and is now chief technology officer of the Terabit Corporation, a photonics start-up company in Menlo Park, Calif. "Now I believe this will lead to future applications in optoelectronics."

Minister of Riverside Church to Step Down:

"Maybe that can't happen until after he's no longer president," Dr. Forbes said, "but I do think that top political leaders need to have conversations with people on both the right and the left, and I think that the left has probably been so contemptuous of those who had conservative leanings that we did not pressure or push to have that dialogue. I think that's necessary. That's part of the work I want to do."

Sweden's Governing Party Voted Out After 12 Years:

"It's time for a change, to see what someone else can achieve," she added.

International

Troops in Afghan District Find Anger at Lax Government:

Violence continued with two suicide bombers striking Sunday, killing a Pakistani laborer in Kandahar and wounded eight civilians. Another suicide bomber threw himself at an American convoy on the east side of Kabul, wounding two American engineers and two of their Afghan colleagues.

Mogadishu Journal: Business and Islam: Allies Against Anarchy in Somalia:

He said he had faith that the Islamists would continue to deliver peace — and prosperity.

Israel Forms Committee to Investigate Lebanon War:

Hamas officials say they believe talks with Mr. Abbas and Fatah will resume when the president returns.

Israeli Visa Policy Traps Thousands of Palestinians in a Legal Quandary:

"I still don't know what I'm going to do," he said. But he will not leave if he can help it. "If I walked away now," he said, "I feel I would be letting my community down."

In a Blow to Merkel's Christian Democrats, Far-Right Party Wins Seats in an East German State:

"Up until now, he hasn't been a strong voice in politics on the national level," Uwe Andersen, a political scientist at Ruhr University, said of Mr. Wowereit. "He may think this result strengthens his position."

National Report

Reactors Prone to Long Closings, Study Finds:

But Mr. Fertell, of the Nuclear Energy Institute, said an extended reactor shutdown often became "a monster can of worms." "You were basically under a magnifying glass," he said, with inspectors finding issues faster than management could resolve them.