Outburst on Bush and Blair threatens foreign policy rift
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article1786839.ece
By Andy McSmith
Published: 04 October 2006
Tony Blair should cut the "umbilical cord" tying him to George Bush's
administration, pull British troops out of Iraq and open negotiations
with radical Muslims, Michael Ancram, a former Tory spokesman on
foreign affairs, has said.
His remarks at a fringe meeting shattered the unity of the Conservative
front bench. David Cameron and the shadow Foreign Secretary, William
Hague, have been trying to convince voters that a Conservative
government would be pro-American but would not be as "slavish" as Tony
Blair, and would be tough in dealing with radical Muslims.
If you think 'breast is best' for your child's intelligence then think
again, say scientists
http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,,1887079,00.html
=B7 Study finds mother's milk has little or no effect on IQ
=B7 Baby's brainpower 'more a matter of inheritance'
Sarah Hall, health correspondent
Wednesday October 4, 2006
The Guardian
Breastfeeding your baby has little or no effect on its intelligence,
the largest study ever conducted on the issue reveals today.
For almost 80 years research has found that children who are breastfed
have higher IQs than those fed formula or cow's milk, leading to the
belief that breast milk confers intelligence. But the new study
suggests the reason could be simpler: breast-fed babies are smarter
because their mothers are more intelligent. Higher levels of education
and stimulating home environments also have an effect.
Japan Leader's First Diplomatic Bow Is to Asian Neighbors
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/04/world/asia/04japan.html?ref=3Dworld
By MARTIN FACKLER
The newly installed administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is
moving rapidly to improve estranged relations with China and South
Korea.
Experts Press Chinese Leader to Halt Attacks on Dissenters
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/04/world/asia/04china.html?ref=3Dasia
By JOSEPH KAHN
An open letter to President Hu Jintao asked that he enforce the rule of
law and rein in retaliatory policies against lawyers, journalists and
rights advocates.
Iran's Proposal to End Nuclear Standoff Is Rejected by the West
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/04/world/middleeast/04iran.html?ref=3Deurope
By ELAINE SCIOLINO
Iran proposed that France organize and monitor the production of
enriched uranium inside Iran. The U.S., France and Britain rejected the
proposal.
Software Being Developed to Monitor Opinions of U.S.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/04/us/04monitor.html?ref=3Dus
By ERIC LIPTON
A consortium of major universities, using Homeland Security Department
money, is developing software that would let the government monitor
negative opinions of the United States overseas.
A Look Back at 2004, When Ohio Was Up for Grabs
http://movies2.nytimes.com/2006/10/04/movies/04nati.html?ref=3Dus
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS
A "what went wrong?" documentary that succinctly and ruthlessly
dissects the battle for Ohio in the months leading up to the 2004
presidential election.
Ohio: Court Rejects Campaign Case
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/04/us/politics/04brfs-001.html?ref=3Dpolitics
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The State Supreme Court said it did not have jurisdiction to rule on a
lawsuit seeking the names of donors backing a group that ran
advertisements critical of the Democratic candidate for governor.
'Dean Acheson'
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/04/books/04isaa.html?ref=3Dwashington
By ROBERT L. BEISNER
Reviewed by WALTER ISAACSON
Robert L. Beisner has produced a solidly researched and balanced
account of the diplomat who was as responsible for the Truman Doctrine
as President Truman.
Demoting Advanced Placement
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/04/education/04EDUCATION.html?ref=3Deducatio=
n&pagewanted=3Dall
By Joe Berger
The public school in Scarsdale, N.Y., which is known for turning out
some of the nation's finest college prospects, is contemplating
eliminating Advanced Placement courses.
Film on a Revolution Was a Revolution Itself
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/04/movies/04reds.html?ref=3Darts
By A.O. SCOTT
"Reds," the three-and-a-half-hour historical epic Warren Beatty
wrote, directed and starred in 25 years ago, remains a superior history
lesson.
North Korea's nuclear wake-up call
John Gittings
October 4, 2006 11:32 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/john_gittings/2006/10/north_koreas_nucl=
ear_wakeup_ca.html
Are we now approaching the much-predicted "nuclear tipping-point" if -
or as it now seems more likely - when North Korea carries out its first
test? Of course Pyongyang will not be the first breakout: the
"international community" which will condemn it has long ago condoned
Israel, India and Pakistan when they went nuclear. Looking back over
the past decade and a half since the end of the cold war, the
historical verdict will be that the major nuclear powers fatally muffed
their chance to set the world on a non-nuclear road. In effect the five
have made it clear that there are no conditions under which they will
de-nuclearise, and that the implicit bargain in the Nuclear
Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) (that they would move in good faith
towards nuclear disarmament while the rest of the world remained
non-nuclear) is dead.
Yet Pyongyang will have passed a new red line, not just in its own
relations with South Korea and its other Asian neighbours, but for the
world, because the Iraq disaster has put proliferation into a new and
more dangerous context. The US invasion allegedly to remove Saddam's
WMD "threat" has demonstrated that is safer to be an actual nuclear
power than a potential nuclear power. Even the remotest chance of
retaliation is likely to buy immunity - which is why North Korea has
been keen (though not yet successful) to demonstrate its long-range
missile capability. At the least it will seem prudent for other
non-nuclear countries especially in Asia and the Middle East to quietly
begin their own feasibility studies.
Chastity and choice
Zenab Eve Ahmed
October 4, 2006 09:42 AM
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/zenab_eve_ahmed_/2006/10/is_britain_too=
_promiscuous_for.html
"British society condones and even encourages sexual promiscuity ...
which is repugnant to the injunction of Islam". This was the claim made
last week by the father of Molly Campbell (also known as Misbah Rana),
the 12-year-old at the centre of an international custody battle
between her Scottish mum and Pakistani dad. He added that a girl
nearing puberty must grow up in an environment where the preservation
of her chastity is ensured, the implication being that this is
impossible in the UK, which is why she must remain in Pakistan with
him.
When I was 12, I too experienced the fear Muslim fathers have of their
daughter's virginity being violated. I have a Pakistani dad and an
English mother and, prior to my reaching adolescence, my life was not
particularly influenced by Islam. We did not eat pork, alcohol was
banned, and when anything vaguely immodest appeared on the TV, it was
sharply switched off.
300 Million Reasons to Worry?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/03/AR200610030=
1110.html
By Robert J. Samuelson
Wednesday, October 4, 2006; Page A25
As always, America is a work in progress. Any day now, the Census
Bureau will announce that the U.S. population has reached 300 million,
39 years after it passed 200 million (1967) and 91 years after it hit
100 million (1915). What is more interesting and less appreciated is
that, according to census projections, it will climb to 420 million by
2050. Virtually alone among big, advanced countries, the United States
is experiencing significant population growth. This is a sign of either
impending calamity or enduring vitality. I'm in the vitality camp, but
I admit that it often seems a close call.
Aging and immigration -- the big population trends -- are vexing. By
2030 the 65-and-over population will be about 20 percent of the total,
up from about 12 percent in 2000, the Census Bureau says. That will
involve staggering costs for Social Security and Medicare. Meanwhile,
the bureau's projections assume annual immigration of about 1 million,
roughly the present level. That will transform the nation's ethnic
profile and could reshape its politics and culture. By 2050 Hispanic
Americans will be almost 25 percent of the total, double their share in
2000, the Census Bureau projects. Asian Americans also will double
their share, to 8 percent, by 2050, while non-Hispanic whites are
forecast to drop from 69 to 50 percent. Blacks are projected to stay
around 13 to 14 percent.
Reach Out To the Red Zone
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/03/AR200610030=
1197.html
By David Ignatius
Wednesday, October 4, 2006; Page A25
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is in the Middle East this week,
trying to bolster America's allies to confront an enemies list that
includes Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, Hamas and the all-party anarchy in
Iraq. My worry is that Rice is becoming a traveling version of
Baghdad's Green Zone, talking about hopeful strategies that are
disconnected from events on the ground.
The focus of Rice's trip is to talk with moderate Arab governments --
Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states -- about how
to form a united front against Iranian-backed extremism. This mission
of containing Iran has become increasingly urgent because of growing
signs that Iran is resisting a diplomatic compromise over its nuclear
program. In recent weeks, European diplomats have offered various
formulas to finesse the West's demand that Iran suspend uranium
enrichment as a precondition for talks, but so far the mullahs in
Tehran haven't budged.
Arabs Pressure Rice On U.S. Peace Efforts
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/03/AR200610030=
1632.html
By Robin Wright
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 4, 2006; Page A20
CAIRO, Oct. 3 -- The Bush administration's effort to foster a bloc of
moderate Arab states to stand against growing militancy in the Middle
East has come up against a brick wall, with several close U.S. allies
bluntly telling Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Tuesday that
they do not want to be pitted against other Arab governments and
movements, according to senior Arab officials. The solution, the allies
told Rice, lies with stronger U.S. leadership in solving the
Arab-Israeli conflict.
During talks Tuesday in both Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Rice was
confronted by friendly but firm pressure from eight Arab governments --
Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar,
Oman and Bahrain -- to follow up on promises by President Bush to help
achieve a two-state solution in the dispute between Israel and the
Palestinians. They also questioned whether the administration still has
the energy or full commitment to pull off a solution to the Palestinian
issue before Bush leaves office, officials said.
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