| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"maff" |
| Date: |
08 Jan 2007 04:44:19 AM |
| Object: |
A Labyrinth and A Way Out |
A Labyrinth and A Way Out
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/sally_quinn/2007/01/a_labyrinth_and_a_way_out.html
Some years ago, I went to a health spa in California. I was exhausted
and depressed from caring for a chronically ill and severely learning
disabled child. One of the activities offered was a walk on the
labyrinth.
I had never heard of a labyrinth, the kind you walk on. I thought it
was a maze or a puzzle. The walk was described to me as a form of
meditation. At first I refused, thinking it sounded too hokey for
words. But finally out of curiosity I decided to try it.
War Against Time
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/07/AR2007010701163.html
Once Again, a U.S. Plan for Iraq Envisions Months Where Years Are
Required
By Jackson Diehl
Monday, January 8, 2007; Page A15
The new plan for Iraq that President Bush will announce this week will
suffer from the same fallacy that has infected each of his previous war
strategies -- and also most of the counterproposals sprouting up in
Washington. That is, the notion that American action can produce
decisive results in Iraq in six to 12 months.
The administration's original war plan -- to the extent one existed --
foresaw the creation of an Iraqi administration and the withdrawal of
most U.S. troops within six months of the invasion. When that failed,
the administration wagered that it could oversee the election of an
interim Iraqi government, the writing of a constitution, that
constitution's ratification and the election of a permanent government
in 12 months. Insistence on that timetable produced the half-baked
constitution that now hamstrings the "unity" government. A year ago the
administration supposed that it could train enough Iraqi police and
military forces in 2006 to draw down U.S. troops to 100,000 or fewer.
It came no closer than it did in 2005, when it had much the same plan.
A Bad, Bipartisan Tax Plan
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/07/AR2007010700978.html
By Sebastian Mallaby
Monday, January 8, 2007; Page A15
Way, way back, which means before the midterm elections, the House
Democrats waxed indignant about the rights of the minority party. When
they assumed majority status last week, they barely gave Republicans a
chance to speak, and all of Washington tut-tutted. Meanwhile, in the
Senate, there was an outbreak of bipartisanship fit to make the angels
sing. This posed a far more serious problem.
The outbreak came from Max Baucus, the new Democratic chairman of the
Senate Finance Committee, and Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican.
Standing shoulder to shoulder, manfully defying the mad partisan
cleavage of our times, the two senators called for repeal of the
alternative minimum tax -- a prescription so fiscally crazy that not
even the Bush administration supports it.
Scientists See Potential In Amniotic Stem Cells
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/07/AR2007010700674.html
They Are Highly Versatile And Readily Available
By Rick Weiss
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, January 8, 2007; Page A01
A type of cell that floats freely in the amniotic fluid of pregnant
women has been found to have many of the same traits as embryonic stem
cells, including an ability to grow into brain, muscle and other
tissues that could be used to treat a variety of diseases, scientists
reported yesterday.
The cells, shed by the developing fetus and easily retrieved during
routine prenatal testing, are easier to maintain in laboratory dishes
than embryonic stem cells -- the highly versatile cells that come from
destroyed human embryos and are at the center of a heated congressional
debate that will resume this week.
As Grip of Censors Endures in China, A Satirical Poem Leads to Jail
Time
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/07/AR2007010701120_pf.html
By Edward Cody
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, January 8, 2007; A01
PENGSHUI, China -- All his life, Qin Zhongfei has been an ardent
reader, a lover of literature and an amateur poet. But the drama he
lived in this little mountain town, Qin said, has taught him that
putting his thoughts into verse can be dangerous in China.
"I used to write poetry all the time, but I haven't written any
lately," he said with a wan smile, repeatedly wringing his hands and
wiping his high forehead during a recent interview. "This was a huge
disaster."
Wars Ultimately Measure Tolerance of Pain
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/07/AR2007010700842.html
By Shankar Vedantam
Monday, January 8, 2007; Page A02
Here's a question with three different answers. The first answer is
derived from arithmetic. The second comes from common sense. The third
is based on psychology.
Let's say you and I are generals of opposing armies. You have 10
divisions and I have four. If your troops are as good as mine, when
would our hypothetical war end? The simplest answer is that the war
will be over once four divisions of yours neutralize my four divisions;
you have six divisions left, so you win.
Conservatives Decry Terror Laws' Impact on Refugees
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/07/AR2007010701144_pf.html
Administration's Interpretation Means Many Asylum-Seekers Are Wrongly
Considered Security Threats, Critics Say
By Darryl Fears
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, January 8, 2007; A03
Conservatives who supported President Bush's reelection have joined
liberal groups in expressing outrage over his administration's broad
use of anti-terrorism laws to reject asylum for thousands of people
seeking refuge from religious, ethnic and political persecution.
The critics say the administration's interpretation of provisions
mandating denial of asylum to individuals who give "material support"
to terrorist groups is so broad that foreigners who fought alongside
U.S. forces in wars such as Vietnam can be denied asylum on the grounds
that they provided aid to terrorists.
Democrats Revise Agenda To Deal With War in Iraq
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/07/AR2007010701097_pf.html
With Bush to Announce New Plan, Domestic Policy No Longer Primary Focus
By Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, January 8, 2007; A04
Democratic leaders who had hoped to emphasize their domestic agenda in
the opening weeks of Congress have concluded that Iraq will share top
billing, and they plan on aggressively confronting administration
officials this week in a series of hearings.
Pushed by House members who want a quick, tough response to the Iraq
strategy President Bush is expected to announce this week, Speaker
Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has backed off from her initial assertion that
nothing should detract attention from the legislation she hopes to pass
in the first 100 hours of House debate.
Democrats Vow To Resist Buildup
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/07/AR2007010700551.html
Coming Iraq Plan to Meet Harsh Scrutiny
By Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, January 8, 2007; Page A04
Democratic congressional leaders vowed yesterday to use their powers of
spending and policy oversight to challenge President Bush's expected
proposal this week, as part of a broad revision of Iraq strategy, for
boosting U.S. military forces in the country by as many as 20,000
troops.
Calling Iraq a nation in "complete chaos," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
(Calif.) and other Democrats cast the anticipated Bush plan as an
escalation of the Iraq war that goes against the advice of senior U.S.
commanders, rather than the significant change of course sought by
American voters, and said that as a result they would treat the plan --
and new funding requests -- with strong skepticism.
Testing the Testers
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/08/opinion/08mon1.html
The government should not be protecting the private interests of
companies that make or test voting machines.
Russia's Extended Winter Holidays: A Binge of Drinking and Spending
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/08/world/europe/08russia.html?ref=world&pagewanted=all
By STEVEN LEE MYERS
Russia's extended January holidays have become a mirror of the
country it has become: confident, indulgent and unforgiving.
Taliban Resume Their Attacks in Afghanistan
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/08/world/asia/08afghan.html?ref=asia
By ABDUL WAHEED WAFA
The Taliban appeared to be resuming their campaign of violence after a
week of quiet over the Islamic festival of Id al-Adha.
China Says It May Be Flexible With Yuan
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/08/business/worldbusiness/08yuan.html?ref=asia
By BLOOMBERG NEWS
China said it may increase the flexibility of the yuan should the
country's trade surplus continue to expand this year.
Bush Tax Cuts Offer Most for Very Rich, Study Finds
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/08/washington/08tax.html?ref=politics
By EDMUND L. ANDREWS
Families earning more than $1 million a year saw their federal tax
rates drop more sharply in 2004 than any group in the country.
Hitchcock, Thrilling the Ears as Well as the Eyes
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/08/movies/08conn.html?ref=arts&pagewanted=all
By EDWARD ROTHSTEIN
The new book "Hitchcock's Music" shows that it isn't just that Alfred
Hitchcock believed that sound should serve image; he believed that
image should serve sound.
The Libeling of a People Surges With a Vengeance
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/08/arts/television/08cent.html?ref=arts
By ALESSANDRA STANLEY
"Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century" tries to explain the origins of
that hate as well as its surge.
The $200 trillion question
Kenneth Rogoff
January 8, 2007 09:00 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/kenneth_rogoff/2007/01/the_200_trillion_question.html
Perhaps the most remarkable trend in global macroeconomics over the
past two decades has been the stunning drop in the volatility of output
growth. In the United States, for example, quarterly output volatility
has fallen by more than half since the mid-1980s. Obviously, moderation
in output movements did not occur everywhere simultaneously. Volatility
in Asia began to fall only after the financial crisis of the late
1990s. In Japan and Latin America, volatility dropped in a meaningful
way only in the current decade. But by now, the decline has become
nearly universal, with huge implications for global asset markets.
Indeed, the main question for 2007 is whether macroeconomic volatility
will continue to decline, fuelling another spectacular year for markets
and housing, or start to rise again, perhaps due to growing
geopolitical tensions. I lean slightly toward the optimistic scenario,
but investors and policymakers alike need to understand the
ramifications of a return to more normal volatility levels.
.
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