Sunday October 1, 2006

The Final Word: “Every Corpus Loves Some Corpus Sometime -- 'Cept For, Y'Know, TERRORIST CORPUS!”

(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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G.O.P. Aides Knew in Late '05 of E-Mail:

"Anyone, including Foley, involved in this type of behavior should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Mr. Cramer said.

Past Scandal in Page Program: "I was never informed of the allegations about Mr. Foley's inappropriate communications with a House page," Mr. Kildee said in a statement released Saturday evening. "And I was never involved in any inquiry into this matter."

Detainee Memo Created Divide in White House:

The element of the new legislation that raised the sharpest criticism among legal scholars and human rights advocates last week was the scaling back of the habeas corpus right of terrorism suspects to challenge their detention in the federal courts. But in dozens of high-level meetings on detention policy, officials said, that provision was scarcely even discussed.

Ruined Towns Look to Beirut, Mostly in Vain:

"We do not believe people will be compensated," he said, flatly. "We do not believe their houses will be rebuilt."

Campaign Cash Mirrors a High Court's Rulings:

"In a perfect world," he said, "you would have justices being selected not based on the amount of money their campaign committees can raise from various interests, but on their character and record — and somewhat on judicial philosophy, certainly, but in a more abstract way."

Case Studies:

Justice Karmeier declined to comment through a spokesman, who said the justice was constrained because the United States Supreme Court was considering whether to hear the Philip Morris case.

Often Parched, India Struggles to Tap the Monsoon:

Tulsi and her family ended up virtually stranded on their rooftop terrace for a week. They ate whatever was left in the pantry and shared with neighbors. They drank what was stored in the rooftop tank, forgoing a bath for seven days.

The Debate in India:

"We have to put in place a set of incentives and disincentives for efficient use of water in agriculture," he said. The government should offer incentives for farmers to install far more efficient drip irrigation, for instance, and do away with subsidized electricity to discourage the overpumping of groundwater. The private sector should be enlisted to improve water management in cities, making certain kinds of water — like drinking water — more expensive than recycled water, which can be used for gardening and outdoor use. Water privatization is controversial, he well knows. "You'll have to change people's mind-sets," he argued. "Everyone in this country thinks access to water is a God-given right. It's a scarce resource which has to be treated as such and, like everything else, come with a price attached."

'Chorus Line' Returns, as Do Regrets Over Life Stories Signed Away:

Like almost all the other dancers, Ms. Lopez, who went on to act in television shows, films and, occasionally, other Broadway musicals, said she loved her experience in "A Chorus Line" and, with the exception of the 1974 contract, would not trade any of it. But, she added, "There's a part of me that says, 'I've had enough.' "

Other News

Of Party Dues and Deadbeats on Capitol Hill:

Mr. Frank has surpassed his dues of $300,000. His current tally? $310,700. And if Democrats win in November, he is poised to become chairman of the Financial Services Committee.

Medicare Insurers to Offer More Options in '07:

Even though UnitedHealth often charged higher premiums than other insurers this year, it won many subscribers because it had a product endorsed by AARP, the lobby for older Americans. UnitedHealth offered one drug plan under the AARP name this year, but in 2007, it will offer three, including a so-called saver plan priced below the cheapest Humana plan in several states.

Black Incomes Surpass Whites in Queens:

"It is wrong to say that America is 'fast becoming two nations' the way the Kerner Commission did," said Professor Nathan, who was the research director for the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders in 1968 and disagreed with its conclusion. "It might be, though, that it was more true then than it is now."

Israel Completes Pullout From Southern Lebanon:

"Nasrallah's life is forfeit," Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer told Israel's Army Radio.

Congressional Memo: Along With Victories, G.O.P. Takes a Few Blows:

And in their most basic function, lawmakers fell far short. They were forced to pass a stopgap measure to keep most of the government operating at current spending levels until Nov. 17 because they did not enact individual spending bills for nearly every federal agency.

In the Magazine: The Inside Agitator:

Most analysts in both parties now believe that Democrats have better-than-even odds of winning at least the House. But if they don't, rather than dissect the mechanical failures that cost them a few thousand votes here or there, Democrats might be forced to admit, at long last, that there is a structural flaw in their theory of party-building. Even a near miss, at a time of such overwhelming opportunity, would suggest that a national party may not, in fact, be able to win over the long term by fixating on a select group of industrial states while condemning entire regions of the country to what amounts to one-party rule. Which would mean that Howard Dean is right to replant his party's flag in the towns and counties along America's less-traveled highways, even if his plan isn't perfect, and even if he isn't the best messenger to carry it out. As another flawed visionary, the filmmaker Woody Allen, once put it, 80 percent of success is just showing up.

Shelter From the Storm:

Hadrick is exploring his chances of attending Bunker Hill Community College in Boston. In speaking with college officials, he is learning about "student loans" and "financial aid" — new words for his new life in America.

Paris la Nuit:

A pair of aging women dressed in black and sensibly heeled dancing shoes owned the floor. They seemed to be a couple. They also seemed as if they had been dancing the tango together forever.

Art: Swimming With Famous Dead Sharks:

"As long as it lasts my lifetime, I'm happy,'' he said. After a pause, he added: "It's got a 200-year guarantee. Or your money back.''

International

Vanishing Venice: A City Swamped by a Sea of Tourists:

"The demand for Venice is inflexible — rising prices won't stop it," said Mr. Davis, the Italian history professor. "People will come anyway."

Baghdad Is Quiet With Strict Curfew in Place:

But at Yarmuk Hospital in western Baghdad, the only patients who came in Saturday had complained of illness, an emergency worker said. It was a rare respite from the normal.

Suicide Bomber Kills 12 Near Kabul Ministry:

"So far the effectiveness is not good," Mr. Karzai said, "but again President Musharraf assured me, and we have to wait and see."

Wreckage of Airliner Is Spotted in Amazon:

Gen. José Carlos Pereira, director of the Brazilian aviation authority, said the investigation would take several months and would likely focus on two issues: why the planes were at the same level and why the anticollision instruments on both planes failed to activate in time.

Brazil Heads to Polls in Shadow of Yet Another Scandal:

But Mr. da Silva's absence did not prevent his rivals from addressing a chair with his name next to it. "If the accusations are proven, will you resign?" asked Mr. Buarque, the president's first minister of education. "Are your supporters voting for you or for your vice president?"

India's Police Say Pakistan Helped Plot July Train Bombings:

Moreover, this past week, the BBC reported on a document, said to have been written by a military research institute sponsored by Britain, accusing Pakistan's security services of playing a dual role by fighting and abetting militants.

National Report

New Orleans Journal: Spumoni Fills a City's Void, and Its Belly:

"People want to support all the old traditions," Mr. Sullivan said. "Anything we have that's an old touchstone that's coming back, the people will come back to."

Experiment Will Test the Effectiveness of Post-Prison Employment Programs:

"By myself I wouldn't have had any of these opportunities," he said.

Powell Tried to Warn Bush on Iraq, Book Says:

"There are people who would like to take me down," he is quoted as saying while motioning toward the White House during his last year in office. "It's been the case since I was appointed. By take down, I mean, 'keep him in his place.' "

Chaplain Prayer Provision Cut From Military Spending Bill:

Spokesmen for the Air Force and the Navy said Friday that they had not had a chance to review Congress' decision and so had no comment on eliminating the guidelines. Maj. Stewart Upton, a spokesman for the Pentagon, said, "We intend to comply with the law."

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