Monday October 30, 2006

The Final Word: “It Don't Add Up 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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U.S. Is Said to Fail in Tracking Arms for Iraqis:

There were also significant discrepancies in the numbers of weapons purchased and those in Iraqi warehouses. While 176,866 semiautomatic pistols were purchased with American money, just 163,386 showed up in warehouses — meaning that more than 13,000 were unaccounted for. All 751 of the M1-F assault rifles sent to Iraq were missing, and nearly 100 MP-5 machine guns.

Budgets Falling in Race to Fight Global Warming:

"We're good at rushing in with white hats," said Bobi Garrett, associate director of planning and technology management at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. "This is not a problem where you can do that."

British Government Report Calls for Broad Effort on Climate Issues:

At the moment, many of the three dozen industrialized countries bound by the pact are not on track to meet targets. And there are few indications of a shift toward accepting binding restrictions in the United States, the world's biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, or China and India, which are projected to be the dominant source of emissions in a couple of decades.

At Gallaudet, Trustees Give Up on New Leader After Protests:

Dr. Fernandes had argued that Gallaudet's survival depended on aggressively recruiting among all deaf students, and in harnessing any available technology to help them advance. While she said American Sign Language would play a crucial role at Gallaudet, she also said, in a recent interview, that she could never envision banning spoken language at Gallaudet. In a faculty vote several weeks ago, 82 percent of the faculty demanded that she step down.

In Key House Races, Democrats Run to the Right:

"There's going to be a moderate party for Joe Blow, and whether that party is the Republican Party or the Democratic Party, that's the battle we're seeing," Mr. Yelton said. "I expect to see Hillary Clinton quoting Scripture before it's over with."

Fears of Inquiry Dampen Giving by U.S. Muslims:

"I hope he's right, but I'm afraid he's not," the imam said after being the host of a Ramadan banquet for a cross-section of Michigan's political and religious leaders. "It seems like the terrorists have been able to touch our foundations — our civil liberties are being compromised, our religious freedoms are being compromised."

A Sheik’s Thoroughbred Kingdom Grows on the Kentucky Bluegrass:

"We've had a huge drain on our bloodlines between our great sires dying and being shipped overseas," said Rob Whitely, who breeds under the name Liberation Farm. "He is bringing back some of that quality blood to America and we need it. We also need horses like Bernardini to stay here, and that is what looks like is going to happen."

Other News

Iraqi Family Says Missing Army Interpreter Is Son-in-Law:

"I'm praying," she said. "I'm calling on Allah for his safety."

Mexican Federal Police and Army Move to Retake Oaxaca:

"This is a fight about power, about money, and the problem of poverty, as well," said Rosa Nida Villalobos, the head of Priista Women, a group that supports the governor, in an interview last week. "It's a monster with a thousand heads and a thousand interests."

Despite Tension, Millions Vote in Congo:

When results of the first round of voting were announced, in August, a pitched battle erupted in downtown Kinshasa between supporters of Mr. Kabila and Mr. Bemba, and more than 20 people were killed.

Nigerian Plane Crash Kills 98, Including Top Muslim Leader:

The 2007 presidential election is likely to fan these flames again as the largely Muslim north and the largely Christian south battle over which region the country's next president will come from.

Brazil's President Roars Back to Win Vote:

"Because of all the corruption denunciations, I voted for Alckmin in the first round, based on emotion," said Valmir Moura, a 38-year-old office clerk here. "But this time I stopped to reason things through, and I realized his whole campaign is based on nothing but accusations and that he hasn't presented a program for governing. So I went back to Lula."

A Most Violent Month, and Many Final Farewells:

But such explanations were little comfort to a 6-year-old girl weeping at the grave of her father, a mother clutching the flag from her son's coffin, or a widow walking slowly through the rain behind her husband's honor guard.

Democrats Critical of New Medicare Guide:

Under federal law, the secretary of health and human services is to disseminate information comparing the performance of private plans under Medicare. But Consumers Union pointed out that this information was missing for more than half of the plans listed in the 2007 handbook. Federal officials said some of the data would be made available on the Internet.

Dodging Taxes Is a New Wrinkle in the Stock Options Game:

But Mr. Siegel of the Center for Financial Research and Analysis said that it would not surprise him if investigations into the backdating of exercise dates became a bigger deal. "The whole thing about backdating was that you were in the world of the Internet bubble," he said. "You had inadequate internal controls, a high incentive to make the options package lucrative, war for talent and low regulatory presence. It wouldn't surprise me if both the grants and exercise dates got misreported."

The Media Equation: American Tragedies, to Sell Trucks:

When it comes to selling bars, trucks or even politicians, you can wave the flag or you can drape one over a coffin. You can't do both.

International

Monitors Say Vote on Serbian Constitution Is Too Close to Call:

"The government gambled," said Bratislav Grubacic, a leading political analyst and editor of the VIP news agency in Belgrade. "They hoped by putting Kosovo in the constitution, they would manage to draw out the Serbian electorate."

Neu-Isenburg Journal: A Sooty Trade Hears the Distant Brush-Brush of Change:

"You can't let just anybody into your house these days," she said. "It doesn't have to do with people being foreigners or Germans; it has to do with trust."

Attackers Set Fire to Bus in Marseille, Wounding One:

During last year's violence, there was little unrest in Marseille, a city with a large immigrant population. At the time, some analysts said that Marseille's long tradition of harmonious ethnic relations had spared the city from unrest.

Afghans, Returning Home, Set Off a Building Boom:

"We did military service here and we grew up here," Mr. Sirajuddin said. "If you are a traveler in a strange land, your mouth will be full of soil. But if you are in your own country and your mouth is full of soil, it does not matter."

70 Taliban Killed in Night Battle, NATO Force Says:

At a news conference on Friday, President Hamid Karzai called for better coordination between Afghan and NATO forces during military operations to avoid civilian deaths.

Israeli Official Asks President to Step Aside:

"Egypt is anxious to have calm on its border with Gaza and there are communications to guarantee this between the Egyptian and Palestinian sides," an Egyptian presidential spokesman, Soliman Awad, said in an interview.

Yemen Arrests 8 It Links to Plot by Al Qaeda:

Yemen, where tribal wars and revenge attacks claim up to 1,200 lives every year, has one of the largest ratios of guns per capita in the world, with thriving arms markets in most major towns and cities.

Iranians Find Space Tourist Fascinating:

Last month, they won a major campaign with the passage of a law permitting the children of Iranian mothers and foreign fathers to receive Iranian citizenship after they reach 18. Advocates are continuing to press for the children of such unions to be declared Iranian citizens at birth.

National Report

American Album: As the Jobs Go South, the Hope Goes With Them:

"I'd like to see the politicians come back now," Mrs. Rackley said. "We're hurting bad down here. It's like they used us, then forgot about us."

With the House in the Balance, Pelosi Serves as a Focal Point for Both Parties:

She then emerged, beaming at the crowd, largely female and many of a certain age, and announced, "At last we have a seat at the table."

Liberal Republican Suburb Turns Furious With G.O.P.:

"If you're fighting for freedom outside the U.S. and then you suppress freedom at home," he said, "then what are you fighting for in the first place?"

Bush Shows Potency in Rallying the Faithful:

Mr. Bush won the district over Mr. Kerry in 2004 by nearly 30 percentage points, but the Democrat, Nick Lampson, is favored to win. His main Republican opponent will need all the help she can get from Mr. Bush. She is a write-in candidate with a name that may not be easy to remember: Shelley Sekula-Gibbs.

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