| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"maff" |
| Date: |
26 Mar 2007 03:45:33 PM |
| Object: |
OT: No Retreat on School Reform |
No Retreat on School Reform
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/25/AR200703250=
0910.html
By Edward M. Kennedy
Monday, March 26, 2007; Page A15
Five years ago, Congress and President Bush made a bold and historic
promise. We pledged in the No Child Left Behind Act that the federal
government would do all in its power to guarantee every child in
America, regardless of race, economic background, language or
disability, the opportunity to get a world-class education.
We have made progress toward fulfilling that commitment. Before the
act was passed, most states lacked ways to track student progress and
teacher effectiveness. Many state accountability requirements had no
commitment to improving education for every child. Only four states
had approved assessments that tracked and reported the achievement of
every group of students in their schools.
A President All Alone
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/25/AR200703250=
0912.html
By Robert D. Novak
Monday, March 26, 2007; 12:00 AM
Two weeks earlier on Capitol Hill, there was a groundswell of
Republican demands -- public and private -- that President Bush pardon
Scooter Libby. Last week, as Alberto Gonzales came under withering
Democratic fire, there were no public GOP declarations of support amid
private predictions of the attorney general's demise.
Republican leaders in Congress, who asked not to be quoted by name,
predicted early last week that Gonzales would fall because the Justice
Department botched the firing of eight U.S. attorneys. By week's end,
they stipulated that the president would not sack his longtime aide
and that Gonzales would leave only on his own initiative. But there
was still an ominous lack of congressional support for the attorney
general.
Obstacle or Opportunity?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/25/AR200703250=
0913.html
How the Palestinian Unity Government Offers a Path to Peace
By Daoud Kuttab
Monday, March 26, 2007; Page A15
When Henry Kissinger coined the term "constructive ambiguity" during
his attempts to negotiate Arab-Israeli peace, he couldn't have
expected that one day Palestinians would use it in their own peace
initiative. The ambiguity in the agenda of the new Palestinian "unity
government" depends on whether one sees the cup as half full or half
empty. If Israel and the United States want to move forward on the
peace process, the cup is half full. But if there is no real will to
pay the price for peace, the cup is half empty.
More than a year ago, with international encouragement, the
Palestinian people adopted electoral democracy, even before they
enjoyed sovereignty and the end of the Israeli occupation. They threw
out their longtime Fatah secularist leaders and replaced them with
Hamas. The unjust freeze on Palestinian aid that followed sparked a
social revolt and the beginnings of a civil war; this was stopped in
part by the recent Fatah-Hamas coalition that produced the unity
government.
The Fall Replacements
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/25/AR200703250=
0911.html
By Fred Hiatt
Monday, March 26, 2007; Page A15
So will we have two presidential campaigns this quadrennium, as some
politicians now seem to hope?
The first would have started, oh, several eons ago and will wrap up
sometime this summer, when we tire of the first round of leading
candidates and send them limping to their locker rooms. Then, as Newt
Gingrich and Fred Thompson and who knows how many others imagine it,
fresh teams will suit up and run onto the field.
Hope for Illegal Immigrants
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/25/AR200703250=
0883.html
A bill in the House sounds the opening bell for real reform.
Monday, March 26, 2007; Page A14
THE BATTLE over immigration reform was joined in Congress last week
with the introduction of sweeping legislation that would toughen
enforcement, tighten border controls and provide eventual citizenship
for millions who entered the country illegally. That the opening
legislative salvo came in the House, where real reform went nowhere in
the last Congress, and that the bill has bipartisan sponsors generated
fresh optimism that the broken-down immigration system may be replaced
by a workable one. The optimism will be justified, though, only if the
White House, which has been trying to coax a consensus on immigration
from divided Republican lawmakers, sticks to its guns and fashions a
blueprint for action that is both practical and comprehensive.
The House bill, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican,
and Luis V. Gutierrez, an Illinois Democrat, is a sound starting point
for the debate. It should appeal to Republicans concerned about
enforcement and border security, whose support will be needed in both
houses of Congress. And it should also be attractive to Democrats
determined to provide a pathway to citizenship for the 12 million
illegal immigrants already here and for future immigrants who will
enter the country on legal work visas.
The Cloud Over Mr. Gonzales
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/25/AR200703250=
0882.html
The attorney general has a few things to explain.
Monday, March 26, 2007; Page A14
ATTORNEY GENERAL Alberto R. Gonzales's death by a thousand cuts
continues. A newly released e-mail revealed that he participated in an
hour-long meeting with senior Justice Department officials about a
plan to dismiss seven U.S. attorneys. This appears to contradict Mr.
Gonzales's assurance that he participated in no such discussions.
A missive dated Nov. 21, from Kyle Sampson, then chief of staff to the
attorney general, to Andrew Beach, an assistant in Mr. Gonzales's
office, emerged in a 283-page document dump Friday night. "Meeting for
next Monday. Re: U.S. Attorney Appointments. 1 hour. AG's conference
room. Thx." It lists six people who would attend, including the AG,
Mr. Gonzales.
Foreclosure Wave Bears Down on Immigrants
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/25/AR200703250=
1323_pf.html
Economic Success Story Turns Sour as Thousands May Face Losing Homes
By Kirstin Downey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 26, 2007; A01
Immigrants are emerging as among the first victims of a growing wave
of home foreclosures in the Washington area as mortgage lending
problems multiply locally and across the country.
Nationally, 375,000 high-interest-rate loans were made to Hispanics in
2005, and nearly 73,000 of them are likely to go into foreclosure,
said Aracely Panameno, director of Latino affairs for the Center for
Responsible Lending. About 1.1 million homes in the United States are
expected to go into foreclosure in the next six years, and many native-
born Americans are likely to be stuck with burdensome loans. But
immigrants are getting hit first in part because their incomes tend to
be lower and many have lost construction jobs.
GSA Chief Is Accused of Playing Politics
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/25/AR200703250=
1048_pf.html
Doan Denies 'Improper' Use of Agency for GOP
By Scott Higham and Robert O'Harrow Jr.
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, March 26, 2007; A01
Witnesses have told congressional investigators that the chief of the
General Services Administration and a deputy in Karl Rove's political
affairs office at the White House joined in a videoconference earlier
this year with top GSA political appointees, who discussed ways to
help Republican candidates.
With GSA Administrator Lurita Alexis Doan and up to 40 regional
administrators on hand, J. Scott Jennings, the White House's deputy
director of political affairs, gave a PowerPoint presentation on Jan.
26 of polling data about the 2006 elections.
American Leads a New Generation of Polish Jews
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/25/AR200703250=
1007_pf.html
By Craig Whitlock
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, March 26, 2007; A01
WARSAW -- The anti-Semitic hooligan picked on the wrong guy when he
yelled a slur, hurled a punch and fired pepper spray at a Jew walking
near a synagogue here last May.
The target -- short, skinny, middle-aged Michael Schudrich -- was a
native New Yorker who didn't believe in turning the other cheek. He
retaliated with a left cross, and despite being blinded by the pepper
spray, gave chase as the assailant turned tail and fled. "I went into
automatic New York mode," Schudrich recalled.
If New Mexico Builds It, Will Space Travelers Come?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/25/AR200703250=
1385_pf.html
Voters to Decide on Plan for Commercial Spaceport
By Marc Kaufman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 26, 2007; A01
LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- Come April 3, the voters of this sun-baked area
near the Mexican border will have an unusual question to answer: Are
they happy enough as home to some hardy cotton and chile farmers, a
branch of the state university and a growing population of retirees
from up north? Or do they want quite literally to blast into a very
different future?
In a referendum, the people of Las Cruces and surrounding Do?a Ana
County will be voting on a proposal to slightly raise their county
sales tax, a highly unpopular idea these days. But in return, southern
New Mexico, one of the poorest regions in the nation, would jump on a
fast track to hosting the world's first all-commercial spaceport.
Study Says Preschool Child Care Affects Vocabulary, Behavior Later
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/25/AR200703250=
1194.html
By Associated Press
Monday, March 26, 2007; Page A02
Children who got quality child care before entering kindergarten had
better vocabulary scores in the fifth grade than did youngsters who
received lower-quality care.
Also, the more time that children spent in child care, the more likely
their sixth-grade teachers were to report problem behavior.
Ex-Prosecutor Says He Faced Partisan Questions Before Firing
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/24/AR200703240=
1122.html
By R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 26, 2007; Page A03
One of the eight former U.S. attorneys fired by the Bush
administration said yesterday that White House officials questioned
his performance in highly partisan political terms at a meeting in
Washington in September, three months before his dismissal.
John McKay of Washington state, who had decided two years earlier not
to bring voter fraud charges that could have undermined a Democratic
victory in a closely fought gubernatorial race, said White House
counsel Harriet Miers and her deputy, William Kelley, "asked me why
Republicans in the state of Washington would be angry with me."
Bettors and Pundits: Never Wrong, Just Unlucky
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/25/AR200703250=
1001.html
By Shankar Vedantam
Monday, March 26, 2007; Page A03
The NCAA men's college basketball championship game was on the line.
People in office pools around the country were holding their breath.
Louisville was down by four points with a few minutes left on the
clock. A UCLA player stole a pass and raced down the court where,
after being bumped by a Louisville player, he missed an easy basket.
UCLA fans cried foul. Louisville fans saw only incidental contact --
and the referees agreed. Moments later, Louisville stormed back and
won the game.
The moral of this story goes well beyond basketball and sports,
although anyone who is part of an NCAA office pool could take away a
lesson from it. After the game, a psychologist conducted an
experiment. He asked UCLA and Louisville fans whether they thought
their team would win a rematch of the 1980 final. Only 23 percent of
UCLA fans said that UCLA would win.
Iran Feels Pinch As Major Banks Curtail Business
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/25/AR200703250=
1084.html
U=2ES. Campaign Urges Firms to Cut Ties
By Robin Wright
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 26, 2007; Page A10
More than 40 major international banks and financial institutions have
either cut off or cut back business with the Iranian government or
private sector as a result of a quiet campaign launched by the
Treasury and State departments last September, according to Treasury
and State officials.
The financial squeeze has seriously crimped Tehran's ability to
finance petroleum industry projects and to pay for imports. It has
also limited Iran's use of the international financial system to help
fund allies and extremist militias in the Middle East, say U.S.
officials and economists who track Iran.
Blair Calls Detention of British Forces 'Unjustified and Wrong'
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/25/AR200703250=
0368.html
By Mary Jordan
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, March 26, 2007; Page A10
LONDON, March 25 -- Prime Minister Tony Blair on Sunday called Iran's
detention of 15 British sailors and marines "unjustified and wrong" in
the third day of an increasingly tense standoff between the two
countries.
British officials said they did not know exactly where their naval
personnel -- 14 men and one woman -- were being held and that they had
not been allowed access to them.
Rice Plans to Conduct 'Parallel' Mideast Talks
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/25/AR200703250=
0243.html
Secretary of State Would Meet Separately With Israeli, Palestinian
Officials on Outline of Political Future
By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 26, 2007; Page A11
RAMALLAH, West Bank, March 25 -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
shuttled between Palestinian and Israeli officials Sunday, seeking to
lay the groundwork for a diplomatic initiative in which she will
conduct "parallel" discussions with both parties on the contours of a
Palestinian state.
The new plan, which Rice is expected to formally announce Monday in
Jerusalem, represents a step back from her earlier ambition of
bringing the Palestinian and Israeli leaders together to sketch what
she called the "political horizon." That approach fell apart after
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas struck an accord with
the militant group Hamas in February to form a unity government.
Iran Partly Suspends Nuclear Pledges
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/24/AR200703240=
0576.html
Move Follows Imposition of U.N. Sanctions
By Nasser Karimi
Associated Press
Monday, March 26, 2007; Page A11
TEHRAN, Iran, March 25 -- The Iranian government announced Sunday that
it was partially suspending cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog
agency, citing the "illegal" sanctions the Security Council imposed on
the country Saturday for its refusal to stop enriching uranium.
Gholam Hossein Elham, a government spokesman, said on state television
that the suspension would "continue until Iran's nuclear case is
referred back" to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Thousands Rally for Change in Belarus
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/25/AR200703250=
1006.html
By Peter Finn
Washington Post Foreign Service.
Monday, March 26, 2007; Page A12
MOSCOW, March 25 -- As many as 10,000 protesters took to the streets
of Minsk, the capital of Belarus, on Sunday in one of the largest
demonstrations ever staged against the authoritarian rule of President
Alexander Lukashenko.
The demonstrators marched in three groups to a meeting away from the
city center after riot police prevented them from entering a central
square. No injuries were reported, but several activists were
arrested, organizers said.
Europeans Urge New Sanctions On Sudan
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/25/AR200703250=
1210.html
By Alfred De Montesquiou
Associated Press
Monday, March 26, 2007; Page A12
ES SALLAM, Sudan, March 25 -- European leaders called Sunday for new
international sanctions against Sudan over its treatment of civilians
in Darfur, where the new U.N. humanitarian chief warned that efforts
to help refugees were at risk of collapse.
Speaking at a refugee camp on his first tour of Darfur since becoming
the United Nations' top humanitarian official, John Holmes said such
efforts could fail if the situation deteriorates and aid workers are
prevented from doing their work. Some 45,000 people have taken refuge
in the camp from the region's spiraling violence.
Professor Gingrich on the Nation's 'Annihilating Capabilities'
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/25/AR200703250=
0934.html
By Al Kamen
Monday, March 26, 2007; Page A13
Ne wt Gingrich may not have had time to page through the 10-volume
works of Abraham Lincoln while he was designing the "Contract With
America" or running the House of Representatives. But now that he's
just looking for solutions to all the nation's problems while mulling
running for president, he's got plenty of time on his hands.
So here is Professor Gingrich's reading list, all titles the former
speaker tossed out in a conversation last week with a group of
Washington Post reporters and editors:
Justices Are of an Opinion, but Not Often
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/25/AR200703250=
0932_pf.html
By Robert Barnes
Monday, March 26, 2007; A13
When Justice Antonin Scalia met with members of a Northern Virginia
business organization in December, he told them about an important
case the Supreme Court had recently heard and then teased them a
little.
"I know how that one comes out, but I'm not going to tell you," he
said.
The Hamas Conundrum
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/opinion/26mon1.html
If Hamas wants American aid restored, it must meet the three
conditions on ending terrorism, recognizing Israel and accepting past
agreements.
Of Senate Snails and Scriveners
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/opinion/26mon2.html
The Senate clings to its slo-mo evasion of the campaign finance law's
prompt disclosure duties by burying information for weeks upon weeks
in the paperwork era.
A Disputed Fee
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/opinion/26mon3.html
A dispute has been raging between elderly Holocaust victims and Burt
Neuborne, a lawyer who helped win a $1.25 billion settlement from
Swiss banks, over the size of the fees Mr. Neuborne has requested.
Mr. Puck's Good Idea
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/opinion/26mon4.html
Wolfgang Puck, the universal restaurateur, has decided that his
culinary businesses will now use products only from animals raised
under strict humane standards.
A High Price for Freedom
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/opinion/26lardner.html?pagewanted=3Dall
By GEORGE LARDNER Jr.
No matter what one thinks of the folks in the White House, it seems
clear that they have been put in a bind by the Supreme Court's bad
decisions on presidential pardons.
In China, Fight Over Development Creates a Star
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/world/asia/26cnd-china.html?ref=3Dworld
By HOWARD W. FRENCH
A homeowner drew nationwide attention by staring down the forces of
redevelopment that are sweeping China.
Meager Efforts to Protest Meet Subterfuge and Nightsticks
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/world/europe/26russia.html?ref=3Dworld
By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ
The Russian government has employed quiet but effective subterfuge to
undermine even meager attempts at mobilizing dissent in the country.
U=2ES. Envoy Says He Met With Iraq Rebels
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/world/middleeast/26sunni.html?ref=3Dworld=
&pagewanted=3Dall
By EDWARD WONG
The departing senior envoy in Iraq held talks with men he believed
represented major insurgent groups in a drive to bring militant Sunni
Arabs into politics.
For Many Palestinians, 'Return' Is Not a Goal
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/world/middleeast/26palestinians.html?ref=
=3Dworld
By HASSAN M. FATTAH
Many Palestinians are now saying the right to return to the homes they
left in 1948 is becoming less feasible.
India Attracts Universities From the U.S.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/world/asia/26india.html?ref=3Dworld&pagew=
anted=3Dall
By SOMINI SENGUPTA
American universities, eager to expand to markets abroad, are training
their sights on India.
European Union, at 50, Seeks Footing as the World Shifts
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/world/europe/26europe.html?ref=3Dworld
By MARK LANDLER
Festivities were shadowed by a sense that the European Union has a
divided present and an uncertain path ahead.
As Egypt Votes on Laws, Cynicism Rules the Street
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/world/africa/26egypt.html
By MICHAEL SLACKMAN
Issues of politics were overshadowed by more basic concerns, like lack
of jobs, inadequate housing and the price of food.
Colombia Rejects Paramilitary Report
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/world/americas/26colombia.html?ref=3Damer=
icas
By SIMON ROMERO
The government disputed a report of leaked C.I.A. intelligence linking
the chief of the army to paramilitary death squads.
Sri Lankan Rebels Bomb Air Base
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/world/asia/26lanka.html?ref=3Dasia
By REUTERS
Tamil Tiger rebels bombed an air force base next to Sri Lanka's
international airport, killing two airmen and wounding 17.
G=2EO.P. Senators Lug Weight of War Toward '08
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/washington/26warvote.html?ref=3Dus&pagewa=
nted=3Dall
By JEFF ZELENY
The war in Iraq has become the key to the political future of many
Republicans seeking re-election next year.
A Fresh Face Vows to Revive the G.O.P.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/washington/26putnam.html?ref=3Dpolitics
By MICHAEL LUO
At 32, Representative Adam H. Putnam of Florida has become the
unlikely mouthpiece for the beleaguered minority in the House.
Glare of Publicity Finds an Inspector General
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/washington/26inspector.html?ref=3Dwashing=
ton
By SCOTT SHANE
As inspector general for the Justice Department, Glenn A. Fine must
confront agency colleagues with the excruciating details of how they
have failed.
Detainee's Lawyers Seek Removal of Prosecutor
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/world/26gitmo.html?ref=3Dwashington
By WILLIAM GLABERSON
A dispute over the proper role of military defense lawyers is
intensifying as military commissions reopen at Guant=E1namo Bay, Cuba.
Texts That Run Rings Around Everyday Linear Logic
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/26/arts/26conn.html?ref=3Darts&pagewanted=3D=
all
By EDWARD ROTHSTEIN
A British scholar finds patterns where others have seen only chaos.
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