BUSH WATCH...TODAY'S NEWS AND OPINION

Tuesday, July 5, 2005

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New York Times (click here)

Washington Post (click here)

Yesterday's Headlines

G8 Conference

On Eve of Summit Talks, Leaders and Protesters Prepare
by ALAN COWELL
4 Jul 2005 at 10:00pm
Leaders of the world's most industrialized nations are to meet Wednesday through Friday at a luxurious golf estate in Scotland.

Bush Advises Blair Not to Expect Special Treatment at G-8 Summit
by Post
LONDON, July 4 -- President Bush told British Prime Minister Tony Blair to expect no favors at this week's Group of Eight summit of major industrialized countries in return for backing the war in Iraq. Blair, who has made tackling global warming and relieving African poverty the goals of his...

Brown plays down G8 hopes
Chancellor plays down expectations ahead of G8 conference at Gleneagles after being accused of over-hyping debt deal offered to African nations.

Brown accused of 'furious spin' on poverty deal , Elliott, MacAskill and Wintour

George Monbiot: Africa's new best friends
George Monbiot: The US and Britain are putting the multinational corporations that created poverty in charge of its relief.

Too Much of a Good Thing: Choking on Aid Money in Africa, Wiedemann, Thielke
G8 Summit: More Aid Sought for African People, Not Gov'ts , Suri
Who pays Africa's bribes? , Nutt
G8 Summit: A Wristband and a Concert Aren't Enough, Say Activists , Milan
Bush Cool to Blair on Climate, John Daniszewski and Ron DePasquale
Canada will urge U.S. at G8 summit to accept climate change is reality, Martin Othanlon
Waiting in the wings: the other leaders who must take a giant leap for the planet, McCarthy
Icecaps and hurriances: the proof of climate change, Lynas
Bush, the obstacle to a deal on global warming, McCarthy

Senators Clash on Questioning a Court Nominee
by CARL HULSE and ADAM NAGOURNEY
3 Jul 2005 at 10:00pm
Lawmakers are battling over the proper line of questioning at confirmation hearings and the right of Democrats to filibuster.

After O'Conner who will defend abortion, gay rights and post-9/11 civil liberties? , Salon Staff
Departure of O'Connor sets the stage for a nasty judicial confirmation battle, Kuhn

Your Land Is My Land
by JOHN TIERNEY
4 Jul 2005 at 10:00pm
To the candidates for Sandra Day O'Connor's job: I recommend a trip to my hometown of Pittsburgh to see the long-term effects of eminent domain.

Washington's Deadly Bridge
4 Jul 2005 at 10:00pm
If the Bush administration and Congress are serious about homeland security, they will get a chemical transportation law passed at once.

An Endangered Act
4 Jul 2005 at 10:00pm
The law, and our environment, deserve far better than the guerrilla warfare with which the opponents of the Endangered Species Act have tried to undermine it.

North Korea's Rising Urgency
by Carl Levin and Hillary Clinton
It's been a year since the United States and its negotiating partners sat down with North Korea to discuss the elimination of North Korea's nuclear weapons program. In the meantime Porter Goss, the director of central intelligence, has reported to the Senate Armed Services Committee (on March 17) that the number of nuclear weapons North Korea possesses has increased and that there is now "a range" of estimates above the one or two weapons that may have been produced in the early 1990s. His testimony implies that the intelligence community believes North Korea reprocessed the 8,000 fuel rods that had been kept under strict surveillance from 1994 to 2003 in accordance with the Agreed Framework between North Korea and the United States. If so, this could mean that North Korea has many times the number of nuclear weapons it did before the Bush administration took office.

Private Spy and Public Spouse Live at Center of Leak Case
by SCOTT SHANE
4 Jul 2005 at 10:00pm
As the investigation into the leak of her name has unfolded clamorously, Valerie E. Wilson has kept her silence.

NATION IN BRIEF
by Post
CHICAGO -- Teenagers need access to birth control and emergency contraception, not the abstinence-only approach to sex education favored by religious groups and President Bush, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics' updated policy on teen pregnancy.

The Inescapable Digital Me
by Richard Cohen
In the future no one will ever die. This is what a friend once told me. He said that as a person aged -- maybe when he got very old -- the contents of his brain would be downloaded onto a computer disk and his decrepit body would be discarded (or maybe recycled -- who knows?). Then everything on the disk, which is to say our mind, our brain, our personality with all its quirks and disorders, would be transferred to a new, synthetic body, which would -- if servicing was done on schedule -- last approximately forever. I am here to say part of this has already happened to me.

Boston Globe

The Declaration of Independence, ED
Senators won't rule out filibuster, Milligan
For Iraqi family, scars slow to heal, Cambanis

Clinton: Legalizing immigrants would benefit system, Hammer
Police out in force for march G8 protesters, Johnson

Picture Liberals In Charge, Edward Epstein
Blair seeks to soothe G-8 discord over climate, Robert Collier

Schwarzenegger Turns Up Heat in Global Warming Fight, Louis Sahagun
Comet Show Leaves NASA Speechless, Thomas H. Maugh II
Bush Tries to Remake Image as Team Player, Warren Vieth
Scientific political expediency, Editorial

Early Results Show PRI with Huge Lead over Opponents , Hayward

Tories raise twice as much cash as Liberals, CBC News
All systems go for same-sex marriage in New Brunswick, CBC News
G-8 protesters clash with police in Edinburgh, CBC News
Indepth: G-8 defined, CBC News Online

G8 leaders confront new China challenge, Barrie McKenna

Africa's new best friends , Monbiot
Cartoon: Quid Pro Quo, Bell
Bush goes with flow of rightwing tide , Borger
Homeless and hopeless: bulldozers carve out a bleak new reality for poor Zimbabweans , Campbell
A fiction as powerful as WMD , Ramadani
Einstein's pacifist dilemma revealed , Shingo Ito, Associated Foreign Press
UK firms named over arms flights , Norton-Taylor
Snow White and the seven kung fu monks: Disney sets sights on China, Watts
US bombing kills Afghan villagers as search continues for soldiers , Walsh
Swiss Army Knife Cut down by 911 , Harding
Cola wars as Coke moves on Baghdad , Carroll
Murdoch looks into a free future, Marriner
No end to poverty without farm subsidy cuts , Tran
Guardian journalists nominated for six Amnesty awards, Johnston

Anger in Okinawa as US airman faces child sex charges, McNeill
Crocodiles swept into Indian city as monsoon flooding kills 132, Huggler
China: Mind-Numbing damage, McNeill
India: Smog hides deeper fear, Huggler
Firm hiring UK graduates to staff Indian call centres, Kollewe

Lost in the middle ground of America's abortion war, Reid
The battle of Princes Street, Duncan
TV 'switching off young minds', Bannerman
Bird flu outbreak 'at key stage' for people, Yoong
Chirac cooks up a storm, Settle
Science to the rescue?, Editorial comment
The trouble with anarchy, Editorial comment
A woman who delivers hope, Puttick
Reid hints at UK troops' early return home, Settle
Bush now ready to recognise climate change, MacLeod
That audience back home calls the shots, Rowat
Who will build Blair's nuclear power plants?, Young

Bush's Challenge: Drop Farm Subsidies, Button
Financial Firms On Alert For Summit Violence, Martin
Bird Flu Widens Its Wingspan, AAP

Living in the shadow of American occupation, Glanz
Two wars of the worlds, Rich
Saddam does good xenophobia, nyt
Africa at the summit, nyt
Senators spar over hearings, Hulse, Nagourney

Colombia: Indigenous Women Help Preserve Biodiversity , Vieira
South America: Amazon Nations Gear Up to Fight Biopiracy , Osava
Health: Asian Housewives Now at High-Risk for HIV/AIDS Infection , Kakuchi

Latin America: Biotech Crops' 'Brave New Frontier', americas
PRI claims two key gubernatorial victories , El Universal
PAN, PRD, react to losses , El Universal
Banking scandal: A national disgrace takes its final bow, El Universal
Guatemalan Government Accused of Postponing Agrarian Reform, Prensa Latina
'What is El Salvador doing in Iraq?', Prensa Latina
Nicaraguan President Urged to Avert Crisis, Prensa Latina
What is happening in Jamaica?, Jamaica Observer
CARICOM Summit for Integration and against Crime Begins, Prensa Latina
Colombian Government Tries to Woo UK Investors, Colombia Journal
Indigenous Women Help Preserve Biodiversity in Colombian rainforest, IPS
Enrique Bolaños of Nicaragua and Hugo Chavez : a tale of two Presidents, Znet
Brazil Says AIDS Patent Breaking Is Inspired By US Anthrax Example, Brazzil
What Brazil's Sambadrome Bleacher Taught Me, Brazzil
New deaths in Rio slum clashes spark protests, Rueters
Chile subsidizes electricity to low income homes, Mercosur
Chile wrestles with transparency in government contracts bill , Santiago Times
Illegal loggers murdered in Peru, Noticias Aliadas

Germany Primes for the 'Most Unusual' Election in History, German papers

Iran the Topic in Baltic Sea Meeting , AFP
Einstein Ambiguous About the Bomb , DW staff / AFP (tt)

Hamas rejects invitation to join Abbas government, AP
Injunction allows trying over illegal W. Bank posts, Akiva Eldar
Real estate prices in high demand areas near Gaza settlements skyrocket, Aarnon Regular
The silly season is early this year, Yoel Marcus

Iraq fighters name joint spokesperson, staff
Bahrain envoy hurt in Baghdad attack, more violence, staff
US troops found dead in Afghanistan, AP
Syria: Troops fight ex-Saddam guards near Damascus, staff
Hamas not to join unity government , agencies
PA, Israel discuss security transfer, agencies
Israelis begin leaving settlements, staff

Crown Prince Abdullah Vows to Wipe Out Terrorists, P.K. Abdul Ghafour,
US Admits Killing Afghan Civilians in Airstrike, AFP
Afghan Quagmire, Editorial
Why the Iranians Wanted Ahmadinejad, Reem Al-Faisal
Women’s Department Stores: A Solution With Problems, Somayya Jabarti

Iraq launches new crackdown on insurgents, D S staff
Looming Gaza pullout shatters stability of the shekel, Glackin, Rasmussen
Why have Syria's economic reform efforts failed to produce results?, editorial
A free Palestinian media will help cut through the lies, Ali Abunimah

Letter To The President, Jihad El Khazen

Bush’s man in Central Asia , Stephen Zunes

Taliban out to disrupt Afghan polls, dawn staff reporter
Spread of fundamentalism and democracy, Tariq Fatemi
Woman pilot’s appointment termed un-Islamic, Syed Rashid Husain
When the oil wars blow, Will Hutton
Al Qaeda chief in S. Arabia killed, dawn correspondent
Delay in Gaza pullout rejected, reuters

China Angered by US Oil Sale Intervention, Telegraph.co.uk
China Adheres to Peaceful Development: Premier, People's Daily Online
Region: China, Kazakhstan Plan Gas Pipeline and Railway, Daily Times
Japan's White Paper Adds Chill to China Ties, Xinhua
Car Makers Move Production into Russia , China Daily

Should a Woman be Named to Succeed Sandra Day O'Connor? What Her Own Opinions Suggest, Dorf

The G8's African challenge, Staff

Footprints rewrite history of first Americans, Adler
Suicide bombers not easily foiled by technology, Graham-Rowe
Bizarre stand-off in battle of the sexes, Staff

Niagra Falls Decline Has Even An Optimist Ready To Deliver the Eulogy, Frank Thomas Croisdale

Scrimmage on the Border, Scherer

Independence Under Winner-Take-All, Glick
Withdrawal Would Cripple U.S. Credibility, Solomon
Enrique Bolaños, Hugo Chavez : a tale of two Presidents, solo
Faust in Central Asia, Grosso

Helicopter downing highlights upsurge in Afghan armed resistance, Cogan

Supreme Court: Decisions, Decisions, Menand
China's Bid For Unocal, Surowiecki

Death of Knight Ridder Reporter, Other Civilians in Iraq, Draws Official Criticism , Staff

Breaking the Chains of Monkish Ignorance and Superstition, Brenner
The Mass Media, Symbols and Ownership, Landau

Boycotting is My New Drug ofCchoice, Heather Mallick
Farmer Battles Big Pharma, Chris Mondics
A Drug Called Money Can Kill Research, Avinoam Reches
Blockbuster Drugs Are So Last Century, Alex Berenson
Pfizer Drops Development of HIV, Asthma Drugs , Reuters
Apocalypse Cow: Vaccines, Mad Cows and the New York Times , Michael Zezima
Big Pharma Controls US TV News, Tim Bolen
State May Restrict Preservative in Vaccines, Mark Sommer
Pharmaceuticals in Waterways Raise Concern, Juliet Eilperin
Researchers Urge Caution on Ritalin-Cancer Link Finding , Amanda Gardner
SafeMinds Challenges IOM to Back up Words with Actions, SafeMinds

New York Times

Internet Sales Taxes
4 Jul 2005 at 10:00pm
Sales tax collection by online retailers is an idea whose time is way overdue.
A Serious Look at Her Depression (6 Letters)
4 Jul 2005 at 10:00pm
To the Editor:.
The Heterosexual Revolution
by STEPHANIE COONTZ
4 Jul 2005 at 10:00pm
Traditional marriage, with its long history, was upended by heterosexuals. Gays and lesbians simply noticed that with its new norms, marriage could work for them, too.
Red, White and Bamboo
by ALAN LIGHTMAN
4 Jul 2005 at 10:00pm
By helping to finance the first brick-and-mortar school in a small Cambodian town, I felt proud to be an American.

NYT > National
United Church of Christ Backs Same-Sex Marriage
by SHAILA DEWAN
4 Jul 2005 at 10:00pm
The United Church of Christ became the first mainline Christian denomination to support same-sex marriage officially.
Aruba Judge Frees Two and Holds One in Tourist Case
by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
4 Jul 2005 at 10:00pm
A judge ordered the immediate release of two brothers held since June 9 in the disappearance of a woman from Alabama.
O'Connor Leap Moved Women Up the Bench
by ADAM LIPTAK
4 Jul 2005 at 10:00pm
When President Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O'Connor as the first woman to the Supreme Court in 1981, he did not have a lot of other women to choose from.

NYT > International

G.I.'s Recover Bodies of 2 on Seal Team in Afghanistan
by CARLOTTA GALL and ERIC SCHMITT
4 Jul 2005 at 10:00pm
U.S. forces have recovered the bodies of two members of a Navy Seal reconnaissance team that was reported missing after coming under fire in eastern Afghanistan.
Sunni Group in Iraq Urges Members to Vote
by JAMES GLANZ
4 Jul 2005 at 10:00pm
A major Sunni umbrella group called on its people to register for the next round of elections and take part "despite our reservations."
Corruption Hampers Mexican Police in Border Drug War
by GINGER THOMPSON
4 Jul 2005 at 10:00pm
Mexico has been forced to take another hard look at its police force as the country struggles against a devastating crime wave.
First Gay Couples Apply for Marriage Under New Spanish Law
by RENWICK McLEAN
4 Jul 2005 at 10:00pm
Gay and lesbian couples in Madrid lined up to apply for marriage licenses four days after Parliament passed a law giving same-sex couples the right to marry.
Syrians Clash With Fighters Linked to the Iraqi Insurgency
by HASSAN M. FATTAH
4 Jul 2005 at 10:00pm
Syrian security forces clashed with men believed to be militants connected to Iraq's insurgency and former bodyguards for Saddam Hussein.

NYT > Washington

Pentagon Weighs Strategy Change to Deter Terror
by THOM SHANKER and ERIC SCHMITT
4 Jul 2005 at 10:00pm
The Pentagon's most senior planners are challenging the longstanding strategy that requires the armed forces to be prepared to fight two major wars at a time.
Presidents, Picking Justices, Can Have Backfires
by TODD S. PURDUM
4 Jul 2005 at 10:00pm
Presidents don't always get what they bargain for when they grant even seemingly close allies a place on the Supreme Court.
At N.A.A.C.P. Helm, an Economic Approach to Rights
by JAMES DAO
4 Jul 2005 at 10:00pm
Black business leaders cheered loudly when the N.A.A.C.P. announced plans to make Bruce S. Gordon, a retired Verizon executive, its new president.
Fireworks Crowd in Washington Provides Test of Evacuation Plan
by BRIAN WINGFIELD
4 Jul 2005 at 10:00pm
As thousands of people rushed to their cars to beat the traffic, many also happened to take part in Washington's largest evacuation drill since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.

washingtonpost.com - Today's Op-Ed Columns

Waiting To Explode
by Eugene Robinson
So did the woman who wrote the book on players get played?
We Must Put More on the Plate to Fight Poverty
by Susan E. Rice
An unusual groundswell is being felt. Evangelical groups, activists and celebrities are joining forces to urge leaders of the Group of Eight industrial nations this week to "make poverty history." Live 8 concerts rock the planet to press these nations to commit 0.7 percent of their gross national income to overseas development by 2015, eliminate agricultural subsidies and eradicate disease. For a rare moment, global poverty reduction is near the top of the international agenda. It's hip. It's moral. And it's smart policy.

washingtonpost.com - US government, national security, science and national n...

NASA Succeeds In Crashing Craft Into Comet
by Guy Gugliotta
PASADENA, Calif., July 4 -- NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft completed a flawless journey to oblivion early Monday, slamming into an onrushing comet to vaporize itself in an Independence Day blaze of glory.
Bush Urges Persistence On Iraq
by Rosalind S. Helderman
MORGANTOWN, W.Va., July 4 -- President Bush used his annual Independence Day speech to pay homage to America's fighting men and women and to urge the nation to remain firmly behind the effort in Iraq.
Drought Along the Missouri Divides the Senate
by Shailagh Murray
ALTON, Ill. -- Roger Blaske's great-grandfather worked the Missouri River. So did his grandfather, as well as his dad. But last year, Blaske sold the family barges. The river was just too low.
CIA, Pentagon Seek to Avoid Overlap
by Walter Pincus
Growing Pentagon intelligence activities at home and abroad have caused CIA Director Porter J. Goss and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to reach a new written agreement to prevent conflicts and overlap in spying, technical collection and analysis between their two organizations, according to...
FEMA Seeks Return of $27 Million in Fla. Hurricane Aid
by Post
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency has asked thousands of Floridians whose homes were damaged by last summer's four hurricanes to give back more than $27 million in aid overpayments.
Shuttle Crew Is Eager to Test Repair Techniques
by Guy Gugliotta
HOUSTON -- They are a remarkably chatty lot, even for astronauts, who are not known for shyness. Pilot Jim "Vegas" Kelly talks fast enough to give reporters writer's cramp. Australian-born Andy Thomas uses "patent" as an adjective. Charlie Camarda, from Queens, admits, "I'm not an easy person to...

washingtonpost.com - world news, opinion and headlines.

Sunni Clerics Plan Edict On Greater Political Role
by Andy Mosher and Omar Fekeiki
Several senior clerics of Iraq's disaffected Sunni Muslim minority will soon issue a decree calling on followers of the faith to vote in upcoming elections and help write a new constitution.
China Tells Congress To Back Off Businesses
by Peter S. Goodman
The Chinese government sharply criticizes the United States for threatening to erect barriers aimed at preventing the attempted takeover of the American oil company Unocal Corp. by one of China's three largest energy firms, CNOOC Ltd.
'I'm Not Going to Come Home': One Marine's Third Iraq Tour
by Sylvia Moreno
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- Shaded by a towering blue spruce in Wheeler Park stands a gray granite monument that honors this city's men and women who have died in combat from the Spanish-American War to, as the memorial reads, "Iraqi Freedom."
Israel's Bedouin 'Spies' Fear Reprisal in Gaza
by Scott Wilson
DAHANIYA, Gaza Strip -- This collection of shabby concrete homes, hemmed in by razor wire and a military access road buzzing with Israeli army jeeps, is a village of spies.
U.S. Taking More Direct Role on Iraq Crime
by Dan Eggen
ABOARD AIR FORCE TWO, July 4 -- The Iraq anti-crime task force that Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales announced in Baghdad on Sunday marks a significant shift from earlier U.S. efforts to bolster the Iraqi justice system, according to U.S. officials.
AIDS Crisis Brings Radical Change In Iran's Response to Heroin Use
by Karl Vick
TEHRAN -- Fearing an AIDS epidemic, Iran's theocratic government has dropped a zero-tolerance policy against increasingly common heroin use and now offers addicts low-cost needles, methadone and a measure of social acceptance.
WORLD IN BRIEF
by Post
GAZA CITY -- The Islamic militant group Hamas on Monday rejected an invitation to join the Palestinian government, snubbing President Mahmoud Abbas, who had sought a unity government to help him control the Gaza Strip after Israel's withdrawal.

Guardian Unlimited World Latest

Homeless and hopeless
In a special report from Harare, Duncan Campbell witnesses Mugabe's drive to clear the makeshift homes of hundreds of thousands of people.
Call for funds to fight bird flu
Millions of pounds needed to fight potential pandemic, experts warn.
Chirac's reheated food jokes bring Blair to the boil
Chirac lambasts British cuisine, but German Chancellor says he's looking forward to a "decent steak" at Gleneagles
Cola wars as Coke moves on Baghdad
Coca-Cola has returned to Iraq after an absence of nearly four decades, triggering a cola war in a lucrative market.
Nasa snaps its moment of glory as probe hits comet
Scientists hope pictures taken as projectile collided with Tempel 1 will help unlock secrets of the solar system.
Disney sets sights on China
Snow White is about to be transformed into a martial arts epic with Shaolin monks replacing the seven dwarves.

Guardian Unlimited Politics

Revealed: how drugs war failed
Low seizure rates give traffickers vast profits, says report ministers refuse to publish.
Chirac brings Blair to the boil
Take one president, a brace of statesmen and a couple of summits. Heat up a stereotype and simmer.
Bush goes with flow of rightwing tide
President guards his legacy but supporters start to show movement on vital issues.
Violent protests paralyse city centre
Centre of Edinburgh brought to a standstill as hundreds of anti-capitalist demonstrators and anarchist groups clash with police in series of protests against G8 summit.
Benn tells leaders how they must prove themselves
Leaders from the G8 industrial countries and from Africa must all prove to their voters that they can rise to 'the great moral challenge of our generation', according to Hilary Benn.

Today's Headlines, Part II

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