AP News, July 18th, 2007
Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:
July 17
The Knoxville (Tenn.) News-Sentinel, on the Bush administration and the surgeon general:
The Bush administration has long been accused of cooking the books, as it were, when it comes to science _ suppressing and censoring reports on subjects like global warming and stem-cell research, for example.
Some of these claims have been overheated, but now comes Bush's first surgeon general, Dr. Richard H. Carmona, who served from 2002 to 2006, telling a congressional committee last week that top administration officials repeatedly squelched his efforts to express his views about pressing health issues.
Carmona said the White House wouldn't allow him to speak or issue reports on such topics as emergency contraception, sex education and global health issues, among others. ...
The notion, fashionable in some circles, that scientists are somehow the sacrosanct moral arbiters for society is a barren one.
Still, there is a difference between actively undermining the administration you work for and respectfully disagreeing with it.
Would it really have hurt the Bush White House to have let Carmona have his say?
___
On the Net:
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2007/jul/17/surgicalcensoringof-officials/
___
July 16
The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J., on the Miss New Jersey photos:
The suspense was more titillating than the reality: Just what was Miss New Jersey, Amy Polumbo, doing in those photos that had the pageant in a tizzy and her crown in presumptive jeopardy?
As it turned out, not much more than other college students do. Her poses weren't ladylike, as Polumbo had said. Some shots were in bad taste, the pageant committee decreed, but not bad enough to take her title from her. ...
Anywhere but in Miss America World _ which includes Miss New Jersey Land _ the tension over Polumbo's so-called embarrassing pictures would have been short-lived. With the exception of the most conservative granny, anyone who received them would have been embarrassed to make them an issue.
So was it necessary for the state Attorney General's Office to start an investigation? Yes. Whether this incident was a true blackmail attempt, a prank or some other kind of stunt, the law is obligated to find out who did it and impose appropriate consequences.
As for Miss America, the beauty pageant must face an ugly truth. Barring some kind of scandal or controversy, the aging beauty queen pageant is not the draw it used to be. Post-photo caper, interest may sag back to where it was, which was not high enough to get a TV contract or, as of now, a place to hold the live show. This is a sad twilight for what used to be an annual marquee event in Atlantic City. ...
___
On the Net:
http://www.nj.com
__
July 16
Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune, on food safety inspections and terrorism:
Shortly after the Sept. 11 attacks, federal policymakers and security experts identified the nation's food supply as one of the many aspects of American life vulnerable to terrorism.
Congress and the Bush administration responded by bolstering funding for the Food and Drug Administration and passing the Bioterrorism Act of 2002, which included a call for substantial increases in the number of inspectors who monitor imported and domestic food supplies.
Unfortunately, the effort has been shoved to the back of the refrigerator, figuratively speaking, and now shows signs of serious decay.
The post-Sept. 11 initiatives added 600 inspectors to help ensure the safety of food brought in from other countries. But, as Newsweek's Sharon Begley recently reported, those positions have been gradually cut back. The number of inspectors has returned to pre-Sept. 11 levels.
Consumers won't have to search their memories long for examples of significant and, at times, deadly breakdowns affecting the safety of the nation's food supply. ...
Congress and the White House need to revisit food safety and take steps to ensure that the safeguards promised after Sept. 11 are put back in place and are kept in place.
If consumers can see the gaps in security, terrorists can, too.
___
On the Net:
http://heraldtribune.com/
___
July 16
Morning Journal, Lisbon, Ohio, on U.S.-Russian relations:
Russian President Vladimir Putin clearly has studied his history _ in particular the relationships among great-power leaders during World War II. In doing so, he probably has noted that Winston Churchill, then prime minister of Great Britain, was able to talk amicably with then-Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, but remained wary of Stalin's motives. At the same time, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt seemed to have been won over, at least to some extent, by Stalin.
It developed that Churchill's viewpoint was the correct one. ...
Earlier this month, Putin met with President George Bush at the Bush home at Kennebunkport, Maine. Analysts noted that it was not the first time the two leaders have held meetings stressing their personal friendship. Bush has made no secret of the fact that he believes he understands the Russian leader. "I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy," Bush has said of Putin. ...
Policy, not personality, is the key to U.S.-Russian relations. We hope the president continues to remember that.
___
On the Net:
http://www.morningjournalnews.com
___
July 13
The Watertown (N.Y.) Daily Times, on firing of federal prosecutors:
Two White House aides have been placed in a difficult position that may take a court ruling to sort out. Congressional committees have subpoenaed former White House aide Sara Taylor and White House counsel Harriet Miers to testify on the administration's firings of federal prosecutors.
... President Bush has ordered current and former aides not to discuss any deliberations about the firing and replacement of the prosecutors.
Ms. Taylor struggled to satisfy both Senate interrogators and remain loyal to President Bush's directive. ...
Ms. Miers decided not to appear before a House Judiciary subcommittee at all, causing the panel to begin contempt proceedings against her. ... The full Judiciary Committee would have to find her in contempt for the matter to go forward.
House Democrats want to ask Ms. Miers, a longtime friend of the president, about the White House's role in the firings. But the president ordered her to skip the hearing, invoking executive privilege. Mr. Bush said that he needed to keep confidential the advice he receives from aides.
A congressional subpoena should not be ignored. But does a presidential order trump that?
A court should decide.
___
On the Net:
http://www.watertowndailytimes.com
___
July 17
Los Angeles Times, on the aftermath of a $660 million settlement for victims of sexual abuse:
... For the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the price tag of a "global settlement" with victims of sexual abuse is $660 million. ...
In announcing the settlement, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony offered "my personal apology to every victim who has suffered sexual abuse by a priest, religious, deacon or layperson in this archdiocese." We have no doubt that the apology was a heartfelt one. But the cardinal also bears responsibility for his excessively defensive legal strategy. As recently as last year, the L.A. Archdiocese was asking the U.S. Supreme Court unsuccessfully to rule that it had a 1st Amendment right not to provide the personnel files of two accused priests to a grand jury.
... He (Mahony) also points out fairly that, in step with the national church, the archdiocese now takes elaborate measures to prevent abuse by clergy and church workers and to report it to law enforcement when it does occur. This is a sea change in the church's attitude.
Unfortunately, as Mahony recognizes, it comes too late for the victims. And it will be credible with men and women in the pews only if the church in Los Angeles and elsewhere owns up in the most forthright way possible to the sins of the past.
___
On the Net:
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/
___
July 16
Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram, on a U.S.-Mexico border fence:
Building hundreds of miles of fence along the U.S.-Mexico border would be extraordinarily expensive and a diplomatic disaster. It would be detrimental to cross-border commerce and wouldn't provide any guarantee of stopping illegal immigration.
But there's another important reason that the border fence is misguided: It would be an environmental and aesthetic tragedy.
This is especially true in the Lower Rio Grande Valley area of far South Texas. This fast-growing, impoverished region is home to exceptional wildlife refuges, a sizable ecotourism industry and large-scale farming interests that rely heavily on the Rio Grande for irrigation.
These elements make it a haven for more than 400-plus bird species (including the exotic green jay and chachalaca) and approximately 300 kinds of butterflies. Animals from the endangered ocelot to the white-tailed deer occupy these protected areas, which also are home to diverse plant life ranging from prickly pear cactus to rare sabal palms. ...
America needs comprehensive immigration reform that includes a beefed-up Border Patrol and technologically enhanced capabilities along the border (such as cameras, sensors and aerial surveillance). We need much stronger workplace enforcement against those who hire illegal immigrants. But we don't need mile after mile of border fence in environmentally sensitive areas where large numbers of local residents object to it for a variety of legitimate concerns. ...
___
On the Net:
http://www.dfw.com
___
July 17
The Deseret Morning News, Salt Lake City, Utah, and questionable gun purchases:
It's one of the oldest debates in the book public health and safety versus personal freedom. Smokers and non-smokers went the rounds over that issue, as have people concerned about the Patriot Act.
Now the National Rifle Association is reading from the same books.
This debate comes down to how much information is too much information for the government. If law enforcement officials can curb violent acts against innocent people by gaining more access to the who, what and where of shady gun purchases, isn't that a good thing?
We think so.
The NRA and various members of Congress differ. And they have won a round. ...
Not every new law has to be a slippery slope that erodes basic rights. Sometimes, common sense measures can be put in place without leading to abuses. We feel the fears expressed over shared information were overblown. This isn't about the right to bear arms. It's about the right of citizens to feel safe. Putting gun dealers out of business who cynically traffic in weapons they know will be used to intimidate, injure and kill innocent people shouldn't cause such heartburn.
___
On the Net:
http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,695192518,00.html
___
July 17
Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo, on the earthquake:
Monday's earthquake off the Sea of Japan demonstrated anew the vulnerability of nuclear power plants when nature unleashes its fury. The temblor had an intensity of upper 6 on the Japanese seismic scale of 7.
Some reactors at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) automatically shut down.
Although TEPCO assured the nation that the radiation in the spilled water was too negligible to have any effect on the environment, it was nevertheless deeply disturbing that radiation leaked in such an unforeseen manner.
The site of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant has been the source of controversy because it may sit on a potentially dangerous active fault. Now, as matter of some urgency, this situation must be addressed. We also believe that this and other nuclear power plants again need to be checked for structural safety against temblors.
Some support nuclear power, saying that unlike thermal power generation plants that emit massive amounts of carbon dioxide, nuclear power plants, which generate clean energy, are useful in preventing the expansion of global warming. However, what occurred Monday at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa should be taken as a warning over hasty moves toward dependency on nuclear power generation.
___
On the Net:
http://www.asahi.com/english/index.html
___
July 17
Winnipeg Free Press, Manitoba, Canada, on the Van Doos soldiers going to war:
Two hundred soldiers from the Royal 22nd Regiment left for Afghanistan this week. They will be deployed in Kandahar, the hot zone of that war. By summer's end there will be 2,000 Van Doos, as they are famously known, in Afghanistan, forming the bulk of the Canadian combat group there. There is nothing unusual in this. Canadian soldiers have been going to the war in Afghanistan for years, as Manitobans know. ...
That contribution continues today, as the departure of the Van Doos attests. The conflict continues, too, with protests in the streets of Quebec and public opposition to the Afghan war higher than in any other province. ...
Quebec may be ahead of the march here. As the list of casualties from Afghanistan grows, the number of Canadians uncomfortable with this country's role in the Afghan war increases. ... That Quebec would be uncomfortable with the war in Afghanistan is no surprise _ it is not always at ease with Canadian wars.
That the rest of Canada is beginning to emulate Quebec is perhaps a signal of an unfortunate shift in the understanding of what this country's role in the world should be. The Van Doos, the Patricias, all the other soldiers who have bravely done their job there, know what their role is and what their country's should be. This is a time when Canadians should perhaps listen to their soldiers rather than political opportunists and pundits.
___
On the Net:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/
____
July 18
Politiken, Copenhagen, Denmark, on Britain's decision to expel Russian diplomats:
Russia replied yesterday in a surprisingly moderate way to Britain's extradition of four diplomats as a reaction to Moscow's refusal to hand out Andrei Lugovoi, who is suspected for the radioactive murder of Alexander Litvinenko.
Russia will "very soon inform Britain" about the Russian countermeasures, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry in Moscow.
The unusual moderate official tone indicates that the Kremlin needs a thinking break while media faithful to the Kremlin direct violent attacks at Britain.
... Was the extradition of the diplomats the correct British reaction?
Yes, if we're talking about people who worked for the Russian intelligence service FSB which monitors Russian critics in Britain.
And London had to react following the arrogance that Moscow has shown in a murder case where all the leads go back to Russia.
The big problem, not only for Britain in this case but for everyone with relations to Russia, is the country's president who cannot grasp why the rest of the world is concerned about his critics being murdered.
___
On the Net:
http://www.politiken.dk
___
July 18
The Independent, London, on Zimbabwe:
The news that a mass exodus from Zimbabwe is under way should surprise no one. The political and economic crises in the country, which was once the bread-basket of southern Africa, are worsening at an alarming rate. More than four million people need food. Inflation is officially 4,500 per cent, but unofficially, it is double that. Some 85 per cent of the population are unemployed and 90 per cent are below the U.N.'s official poverty line. Foreign reserves are almost exhausted. Life expectancy, which was the age of 60 in 1990, has plummeted to 37, the lowest in the world. ...
There are various reasons for this, including drought and an HIV/AIDS epidemic which has infected one-third of people aged between 15 and 49. But the chief problem is economic mismanagement. President Robert Mugabe's decision to evict more than 4,000 white farmers in his controversial land redistribution seven years ago has undermined Zimbabwe's ability to feed itself.
Much of the land was redistributed to incompetent Mugabe cronies, producing a sharp decline in agricultural exports, previously the country's leading source of income. Zimbabwe's ill-conceived four-year war in the Congo drained hundreds of millions of dollars. Mugabe's decision to print $230m-worth of currency to pay international debts made matters worse. ...
President Mugabe has an answer for all this. Zimbabwe has been "sabotaged" by foreign governments and the sanctions imposed on the country by the EU and the U.S.A. Britain, the former colonial power, is behind it all, he maintains. By playing this card _ and exploiting the respect automatically due to him by other African leaders as a former hero of the independence struggle _ Mugabe has managed to fool a lot of the people for a lot of the time. But it looks as though his days in office may be numbered. ...
___
On the Net:
http://comment.independent.co.uk/
