Monday, August 15, 2005

Headlines

New York Times

Washington Post

Yesterday's Feature Stories And Headlines

Big Bush Lies

Social Security Lessons
by PAUL KRUGMAN
14 Aug 2005 at 10:00pm
The Bush administration sells its policies by misrepresenting its goals and lying about the facts.

Bushonomics

Home prices, oil, wages cause of underlying malaise, Tom Abate
How China can burst U.S. housing bubble, Robert B. Reich
Oil spurts close to $67 on capacity worries, Reuters
Gas prices smack down consumer sentiment, Reuters

Rulings Trim Legal Leeway Given Medicaid Recipients
by ROBERT PEAR
14 Aug 2005 at 10:00pm
In a series of rulings, federal judges are limiting the ability of poor people to turn to the courts to fight for Medicaid benefits.

Big-Government Conservatives
by Post
THREE TIMES in the past quarter-century, conservative leaders have promised to restrain wasteful government spending. President Ronald Reagan tried it and showed he was at least half-serious by vetoing the pork-laden 1987 transportation bill. House Speaker Newt Gingrich tried it and risked his party's electoral standing by battling to restrain the growth in programs such as Medicare. And President Bush has tried it, declaring on numerous occasions that he expected spending restraint from Congress. None of these efforts proved politically sustainable. As The Post's Jonathan Weisman and Jim VandeHei reported Thursday, Mr. Bush's attempt at spending discipline has been especially limp.

Drifting Further Right

A Bad Shift for the Court
by William Raspberry
If you're concerned about the rightward drift of the U.S. Supreme Court, you may be hoping -- as I am -- for a smoking-gun revelation that would disqualify John G. Roberts Jr.

PlameGate

Will the Precedent Set by the Indictment in a Pentagon Leak Case Spell Trouble for Those
Who Leaked Valerie Plame's Identity to the Press?, Klarevas
Plame Investigation: Standing on the Shoulders of Perjury Law, Richard B. Schmitt

U.S. Lowers Sights On What Can Be Achieved in Iraq
by Robin Wright and Ellen Knickmeyer
The Bush administration is significantly lowering expectations of what can be achieved in Iraq, recognizing that the United States will have to settle for far less progress than originally envisioned during the transition due to end in four months, according to U.S. officials in Washington and...

Lives Blown Apart
by BOB HERBERT
14 Aug 2005 at 10:00pm
While families of those who have been wounded in the war in Iraq are losing almost everything, most of us are making no sacrifice at all.

Critics Say It's Time to Overhaul Army's Bonus System
by DAMIEN CAVE
14 Aug 2005 at 10:00pm
Critics described the program as an ineffective tool for attracting troops when the main hindrance to recruitment is war.

Cheated soldiers, bg ed
Ohio mourns more Marines killed in Iraq, AP
Democrats embrace tough military stance, focus on what Bush neglects, Klein

Angered farmer fires shots near Iraq war protest at Bush ranch, AFP
Shotgun Blast Jars Bush Protesters, Warren Vieth
Antiwar sentiment gets champion, Knickerbocker, Axtman
'Wash Post' Hit For Sponsorship Of 'Freedom' March, Strupp
Papers Increasingly Note Antiwar Views in Covering Funerals of the Fallen , Staff
Cindy Sheehan, Bill Mitchell and the Lost Boys, Mitchell

Shots Fired Near Bush Farm, Anti-Iraq-War Protestors (with photos)
by Iconoclast
14 Aug 2005 at 10:00pm
As I walked to my car to call the office with an update, I heard a popping sound. When I turned around, I saw a man with a shotgun aimed upward. He looked over his shoulder and then back and fired more shots. Even though I was only about 20 feet from him, it took seeing him with the gun to realize what I was hearing. He put the gun into the cab of the pickup and walked back to his house without saying anything.

Honored Iraq Veteran Accused of Firing at Crowd From Home
by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
14 Aug 2005 at 10:00pm
The veteran was charged with attempted murder, after the police said he fired a shotgun from his apartment as a group of noisy revelers stood outside a nightclub.

Women Ill-Treated In Bush Iraq "Democracy"

In 'liberated' Iraq, it's back to the burka, Dowd
Women battle for rights in new Iraq , Carroll
Iraq must reject a constitution that enslaves women, Mahmoud

On Eve of Deadline, Key Disputes Remain On Iraqi Constitution
by Jonathan Finer and Omar Fekeiki
BAGHDAD, Aug. 14 -- Several key issues remained unresolved on the eve of a deadline for a draft of Iraq's new constitution, politicians involved in the discussion said Sunday, increasing the prospect that the document will not be completed on time.

Iraqis Consider Bypassing Sunnis on Constitution
by DEXTER FILKINS
14 Aug 2005 at 10:00pm
Leaders remained deadlocked over major issues, raising the possibility that they would not meet Monday's deadline for completing the document.

Permanent U.S. Bases in Iraq? Experts See a Political Minefield, Ronald Brownstein
Blasts kill five US soldiers in Iraq, BBC
Iraq constitution goes to the wire, Carroll
Iraqi leaders gear up to finalize charter without Sunnis, AFP

America's Muslim Ghettos
by Salam Al-Marayati
Reports that the culprits in the London terrorist attacks were in fact homegrown British Muslim lads are reverberating throughout the U.S. Muslim community. They are forcing Muslims to focus on how to prevent such incidents in this country. The way to do this, it is clear, is to combat the Muslim-ghetto mentality that is proliferating in Western countries these days. This has so far been mostly a European phenomenon, but it could easily take root here.

New Homeland Security Work Rules Blocked
by Stephen Barr
The Department of Homeland Security, after more than two years of work on new workplace rules, may have to scrap the plan after a federal judge questioned whether it protects union and employee rights.

Complaints Signal Tension Between F.B.I. and Congress
by ERIC LICHTBLAU
14 Aug 2005 at 10:00pm
The disputes are spurring tensions at a time when the Justice Department is seeking to remake its antiterrorism operations.

Gaza Pullout

Only the Beginning
14 Aug 2005 at 10:00pm
President Bush must not allow Ariel Sharon to maneuver him into blessing an indefinite Israeli occupation of the West Bank.

Twilight Falls for Settlers in Gaza
by Scott Wilson
GUSH KATIF, Gaza Strip, Aug. 15 -- Israeli forces sealed the Gaza Strip Sunday night and soldiers fanned out across Jewish settlements in the first scripted steps of a military evacuation that thousands of settlers in tent cities and abandoned homes here have vowed to defy. By Monday morning, they...

Gazans Harbor Modest Dreams Amid Concerns
by JAMES BENNET
14 Aug 2005 at 10:00pm
On the eve of the scheduled departure of Israeli settlers, Gazans are contemplating the unfamiliar possibility of new freedom.

Thousands of Settlers Remain in Gaza, Defying Israeli Orders; Military Moves In
by GREG MYRE
14 Aug 2005 at 10:00pm
Israel's security forces were poised to evacuate the settlers in a huge operation that has sharply divided the nation.

Defiant Young People Vow to Resist the Gaza Pullout
by DINA KRAFT
14 Aug 2005 at 10:00pm
Young, proud, and dismissive of the state's authority, Jewish teens have vowed resistance to the pullout, which they say is against God's will.

Israelis seal off Gaza for pullout, CBC News
Violence erupts as Israeli army begins Gaza pullout, Mark MacKinnon
Israel Begins Gaza Pullout, Ken Ellingwood and Laura King
Thousands Mass in the Hope of Thwarting Eviction, Ken Ellingwood
Palestinians Mull Post-Pullout Life, AFP
Will Disengagement Put An End to Gazans’ Suffering?, Erica Silverman
Palestinians braced for Gaza pullout, staff
Gaza fisherman hoping pullout ends stifling Israeli restrictions, Laila al-Haddad
The Gaza withdrawal is right because it conforms to international law, Editorial
IDF hands eviction notices to Gaza, W. Bank settlers, Jonathan Lis
Some 400 youths block road to Gush Katif, delay IDF convoy, Amos Harel
Despite heavy PA deployment, mortar shells hit Gaza enclave, Agencies
Sharon's divorce from the settlers and farewell to Greater Israel, Yoel Marcus
This is a revolt, not a protest, Editorial
The other uprooting, Danny Rubinstein

Iran Rejects U.S. Warning on Nuclear Effort
by Ali Akbar Dareini
TEHRAN, Aug. 14 -- Iran urged European governments on Sunday to open discussions about its intention to enrich uranium and dismissed as psychological warfare a veiled Bush administration warning of possible military action against its nuclear operations.

Iran's New Leader Turns to Conservatives for His Cabinet
by NAZILA FATHI
14 Aug 2005 at 10:00pm
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad nominated a cabinet dominated by conservatives as officials warned Iran would not give in to pressure from the West over its nuclear program.

Why the India Deal Is Good
by Selig S. Harrison
In their attack on the White House decision to ease restrictions on the transfer of civilian nuclear technology to India ["A Bad Deal With India," op-ed, Aug. 3], Lawrence J. Korb and Peter Ogden emphasize two arguments: that the United States "secured so little in return" from India and that the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which India did not sign, has been irreparably damaged. Both of these arguments are fallacious. Moreover, Korb and Ogden ignore the compelling realities of geology and arithmetic that lie behind the administration's controversial departure.

Israel's Nuclear Puzzle Resolved, Baroud
How Bush would gain from war with Iran , Plesch
Iranian president appoints hardline new cabinet , Tait

Boston Globe

A strange week for GOP hopefuls, Oliphant
Deportation surge leaves void in Brooklyn's Little Pakistan, Robertson

Iran: Enrichment is on the table, but not conversion, AP
Bob Casey Jr. currently leads incumbent Santorum., AP

Schwarzenegger's advisers hired to push for offshore terminal, Christian Berthelsen
Deal unlikely on ballot measures; Partisanship driving agenda, Lynda Gledhill
On Eve of Exodus From Gaza Strip, Matthew B. Stannard
A risky step to Mideast peace, Editorial
Mother's vigil raises hope for renewed national momentum, Joe Garofoli
After Gaza disengagement, then what? Speculation intensifies, Jack Epstein

Iraqi Constitution Panel Fails to Deliver a Draft, Borzou Daragahi and Alissa J. Rubin
London Bomb Suspects Stood Out as Radicals, Jeffrey Fleishman and Sebastian Rotella

Liberals maintain lead over Tories, Sean Gordon
Leaders push a new national dream: highway to Arctic Ocean, ROBert Benzie and Sean Gordon
Settler youths riot as Gaza sealed off, Mitch Potter
Innocent detainee leaves Guantanamo as invalid, Carol D. Leonnig
Devils Lake deal defeat for Canada, Editorial

Iraq parties fight for final deal, BBC
Israel begins Gaza Strip pullout, BBC
Vanishing ice: Why Greenland's changing landscape is causing concern, Rchard Hollingham, BBC

World peace at last: Japan surrenders , Archived article from Aug. 15, 1945
No love or peace in destructive Britain, so maharishi pulls out , Honigsbaum
The benefit of bad news, Greenslade
Playboy Inc. aims at children, Bell
What's in your mozzarella?, Arie
Gettysburg in new civil war over casino, Wilson
How high can the oil price go? And when will it start to hit us where it hurts? , Seager
'We are changing the nature of news', Mattin

Lakshman Kadirgamar: The Tamil who took on the Tigers, Huggler
Chinese look back in anger at Japan's wartime atrocities, Eimer
Gay Mexican granted asylum in US over risk of persecution back home, Usborne
Is commercial pet food ethical or even healthy?, Bray
Animal rights campaigners target Oxford, Brown
The Ten Best: Fair trade websites, Hall
Happiness is keeping up with the Joneses, Radowitz

'The pilot has turned blue. Farewell', Tinning
Plane that flew itself into oblivion, Tinning
Needle exchange at police stations, Adams
Poison ordeal of Beslan siege journalist, Miller
Terror law watchdog attacks 'advice' to judges, Summers
How witchcraft made America, Reid
Letters: Mockery is the way to deal with Omar Bakri, Forrester

U.S. agrees to share information on generic AIDS drugs with WHO, Donnelly
Iraqi leaders struggling to finish constitution, ap
Iran vows not to yield as Western leaders split, Fathi

Women breaking new ground in Latin America, Newsweek
Citizens: Mexican cops untrustworthy, El Universal
PRI presidential hopeful Montiel meets with Jeb Bush in Florida , El Universal
Marcos' attacks on PRD, López Obrador, continue , El Universal
The Zapatistas: Betrayal and autonomy, El Universal
Guatemala Government apologizes for 1982 massacre, Inforpress Centroamericana
CAFTA, Another Washington Deception, Nicaraguan Lawmaker Says, Prensa Latina
Caribbean crime wave fueled by gangs and deportees from US, Canada, Caribbean Net News
Castro reaches 79 still driving Cuba's revolution, Caribbean Net News
U.N. Peacekeeping More Assertive, Creating Risk for Civilians, WP
Lavalas party stands by Aristide, rejects sham elections, Haiti Action
Venezuelan President proposes resurgence of socialist ideas, Prensa Latina
World Youth Festival: Technology and Science Should Be Used for Human Development, Prensa Latina
Community TVs Showing Chavez's Revolutionary Telesur in Brazil, Brazzil
Remains of Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo found, women were thrown from airplane, IPS
Pinochet bank account in Florida impounded, $1 million part of hidden wealth, Santiago Times

Violence erupts as Israel formally begins Gaza pullout, AFP
Iraqi leaders set to finalize charter despite Sunni stalemate, AFP
Armstrong says no to politics, AFP
US Lutherans rebuke Israel over separation barrier, AFP

Iraqis rush to wrap up constitution, Agencies
Settlers defiant as Israeli army moves in, Agencies
Jerusalem tense ahead of Gaza pullout, Khalid Amayreh
Beirut killing stokes Lebanese fears , Cilina Nasser

Withdrawal from Gaza a Defining Moment, Editorial
Increasingly defiant Iran Wants Open Talks With Europe, Agencies
Another Taleban Commander Captured, 4 Killed, Agencies
Italy Begins Iraq Withdrawal Early: Report, AP
Ministry Warns of Jail Term for Abuse of Maids, P.K. Abdul Ghafour

Majlis speaker urges EU to use language of logic not threats, staff
Iran accuses U.S., Britain over ethnic clashes , Agencies

Totally dismantle terror infrastructure: PM to Pakistan, The Hindu
'We can produce massive nuclear power': PM, The Times of India
'No doubts about popeline project': PM, Deccan Herald
President Kalam calls for energy independence, The Hindu
President Kalam pushes for river-linking project, Hindustan Times
Guraranteeing action for employment, The Hindu
Job guarantee: 65 pc don't get minimum wage, The Indian Express
Patriotrism, The Times of India
From pity to fear: How western perceptions of India have changed, The Times of India
Freedom from poverty (experts), The Indian Express
Human rights: Girl-running in the tribal belt, Deccan Herald
India, Pak jointly celebrate I-Day at border post, Kashmir Times
British Foreign Office plotted to kill Netaji in 1941, says historian, The Hindu
'Mangal Pandey' irks nationalist Britons, The Hindu
Connecting Africa: IGNOU will be content provider, The Indian Express
Reject retrogressive elements, Musharraf tells countrymen, The Hindu
Kadirgamar: Death of a master diplomat, The Hindu
Iran calls for talks with EU on uranium enrichment, The Hindu
Ahmadinejad nominates hard-line Cabinet team, The Hindu
Palestinians begin celebrations as Israeli withdrawal nears, The Hindu
Iraq Constitution talks deadlocked, Deccan Herald

Should the law punish Adultery? The Troubling Case of General Kevin Byrnes, Dorf

US shoots ahead in stun gun design, Hambling

Voice and Silence in the First Nuclear War, Tanter
Contraceptive Equity, Meister

'NY Times' Suit Finally Produces 9/11 Oral Histories, AP

The al-Dubya Training Manual, Blum

Drug Company Spends Millions to Promote Birth Control Patch, Martha Mendoza
Secrets of the FDA Revealed by Top Insider Doctor, Dr. Joseph Mercola
Alternatives: Vaccine Safety Concerns, Part I, Louise Valentine
August 24 DC Protest - Vaccine-Autism Activists Join In, Evelyn Pringle
FDA Places Very Tight Restrictions on Acne Drug Accutane, Pharmaceutical News
Abortion Pill Investigated in Four California Deaths, Maria L. La Ganga
Changes to Drug Ads May be on the Horizon, Joe and Teresa Graedon
Silicone Critics Seek Investigation of FDA, Santa Barbara News-Press

New York Times

41 Days in Jail and Counting
14 Aug 2005 at 10:00pm
If Judith Miller is not willing to testify after 41 days, then she is not willing to testify. It's time to let her go.
Oysters on the Brink
14 Aug 2005 at 10:00pm
There needs to be a comprehensive approach to the oyster overharvesting problem, but the Eastern oyster should not become another spotted owl.
Fat Chance
by JESSICA SEIGEL
14 Aug 2005 at 10:00pm
Dove isn't telling the truth about its firming lotions: Anticellulite creams don't work.
What You Can't Say Will Hurt You
by GEOFFREY R. STONE
14 Aug 2005 at 10:00pm
Even speech glorifying violence should be heard.

NYT > National

Living Large, by Design, in the Middle of Nowhere
by RICK LYMAN
14 Aug 2005 at 10:00pm
America is growing fastest at the margins of metropolitan areas, where planned communities are becoming a prime focus, almost a fetish, for election strategists.
Midwest Drought Threatens Crops and Shuts River
by ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO
14 Aug 2005 at 10:00pm
The worst drought in the Midwest since 1988 has turned parts of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers into virtual sandbars.
First Woman Is Selected as Executive Chef at White House
by MARIAN BURROS
14 Aug 2005 at 10:00pm
After a lengthy selection process, Cristeta Comerford, a Filipino-American, became the first female White House executive chef.
Alexander Kossiakoff Dies at 91; Developed Guided Missiles
by JEREMY PEARCE
14 Aug 2005 at 10:00pm
Dr. Kossiakoff helped develop radar-guided missiles for Navy ships and later supervised the building of satellites and radar systems.
Many on Base-Closings Panel Question Estimate of Savings
by ERIC SCHMITT
13 Aug 2005 at 10:00pm
The Defense Department may have overstated the nearly $50 billion in projected savings, perhaps by nearly half.

The Stakes in Japan's Vote
by Post
JAPAN'S POLITICAL system often generates colorless figureheads who prefer consensus to unpalatable change. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has veered between stretches of torpor and surprisingly feisty interludes. Last Monday, after the upper chamber of Japan's parliament rejected the central plank of his economic reform program, Mr. Koizumi called an early election and in the process split his Liberal Democratic Party. "I will smash the old LDP and forge ahead with a new LDP," he said bracingly. If Japan had seen more of this kind of leadership since its financial system cratered 15 years ago, it might not have spent the interim in an economic funk.
Promises, Promises
by Post
AS ELECTION-YEAR crowd-pleasers go, it's hard to top Virginia Lt. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's proposal for free, universal access to high-quality preschool education. As Mr. Kaine, the Democratic candidate for governor, pointed out, study after study has shown the benefits of early childhood education for 3- and 4-year-olds, especially for children from poorly educated, low-income families. Provided that class sizes are small and teachers well trained, children who get a one- or two-year running start before they enter kindergarten are significantly more likely to stay in school, excel in their classes, go on to higher education and succeed in the workforce. Free preschool for all comers? Why, it's a no-brainer!
Online Lessons on Unprotected Sex
by Andrew J. McClurg
Kiss-and-tell is as old as love itself. Fortunately, most indiscreet paramours limit their blabbing to a few confidants. Not Jessica Cutler. In May 2004, she spilled out the graphic details of her sexual exploits on Capitol Hill on a blog accessible to hundreds of millions of Internet users.
Toque of the Town: White House Names 1st Female Executive Chef
by Candy Sagon
After first lady Laura Bush fired the White House executive chef in February, a group of female chefs and restaurateurs sent her a letter urging her to do what no other first lady has done -- name a woman to the position.
New Mars Orbiter's Strategy: 'Follow the Water'
by Rick Weiss
Every 26 months or so, Earth uses its inside track around the sun to lap its slower-circling neighbor Mars. At that point, the two planets are at their closest, and the amount of energy required to fly from one to the other is tantalizingly modest by interplanetary standards.
Forests' Recreational Value Is Scaled Back
by Juliet Eilperin
Forest Service officials have scaled back their assessment of how much recreation on national forest land contributes to the American economy, concluding that these activities generate just a tenth of what the Clinton administration estimated.

U.S., Afghan Troops Launch Major Offensive
by Daniel Cooney
KANDAGAL, Afghanistan, Aug. 13 -- U.S. Marines and Afghan troops launched an offensive Saturday to seize control of a remote mountain valley from insurgents tied to the deadliest attack on American forces since the Taliban was ousted nearly four years ago.
Indian Mascots: Matter Of Pride or Prejudice?
by Darryl Fears
When Florida State University's Chief Osceola gallops on his horse across the football field with his flaming spear at the school's next home game, Jim Shore and other members of the Seminole Tribe of Florida will welcome the controversial mascot with open arms.
Firefighters, EMTs Kept Up Rescue Work in 9/11 Chaos, Transcripts Show
by David B. Caruso
NEW YORK, Aug. 13 -- Radio communication broke down. Commanders lost contact with their squads. Noise and dust confounded the senses. One paramedic likened it to being in an infantry unit overrun by enemy troops.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Found in Idaho
by Post
SAN FRANCISCO -- Idaho officials said an initial test has indicated one case of naturally occurring Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and five suspected cases are being investigated. But the officials said none of the cases is believed to have been caused by eating infected animals.

U.N. Peacekeeping More Assertive, Creating Risk for Civilians
by Colum Lynch
UNITED NATIONS -- On July 6, about 1,400 heavily armed U.N. peacekeepers from Brazil, Peru and Jordan, backed by Argentine and Chilean helicopters, marched into a Haitian slum for an early-morning raid on the home of Emmanuel "Dread" Wilme, a gang leader who was agitating for the return to power of...
Chinese, Russian Militaries to Hold First Joint Drills
by Peter Finn
MOSCOW -- Russia and China will hold their first ever joint military exercises this week as the once wary neighbors demonstrate their willingness to cooperate in the face of the U.S. military presence in Central Asia.
WORLD IN BRIEF
by Post
BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan -- In his inauguration speech, Kyrgyzstan's new president said Sunday that he will pursue an independent foreign policy and will not be "a place for the fulfillment of someone else's geopolitical interests."