The Christian Science Monitor back issues from December 2003:
Schools with a view; Are some charter schools using public funds to promote private interests?(FEATURES)(LEARNING)
Dec 02, 2003 ... Byline: April Austin Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor San Diego parent Lonecia Landry has sent her daughter to Nubia Leadership Academy, a charter school, for five years. She's aware the school leases its facilities from Bayview Baptist Church, and that many of the ...
Setback in Northern Ireland.(EDITORIAL)
Dec 02, 2003 ... The good news from last week's Northern Ireland elections is that no one expects a resumption of violence. That elections were held at all is a triumph. The bad news is that the peace process of the 1998 Good Friday accord is stalled. In a bitter irony for the moderates who have ...
Staying Power in Iraq.(EDITORIAL)
Dec 02, 2003 ... President Bush's shocker Thanksgiving visit to Baghdad came just in time. Last month, coalition casualties in Iraq spiked, while a US plan to hand over authority by July verges on a meltdown. Too much in Iraq still rests on Mr. Bush's willingness to stick it out rather than the ...
He strikes a chord with little rockers in New York.(FEATURES)(LEARNING)
Dec 02, 2003 ... Byline: Jennifer Wolcott Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor NEW YORK -- 'I played piano as a kid. Wish I'd stuck with it." Strike a chord? The instrument might have been different - perhaps clarinet, violin, or flute instead - but many people express a similar ...
A call to curb cellphones in class.(FEATURES)(LEARNING)
Dec 02, 2003 ... Byline: Cathryn J. Prince Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor WESTON, CONN. -- Is the answer true or false? Respond to that via cellphone during class, and you could wind up in the principal's office. Cellphones may rank as important status symbols among ...
The labor pains of democracy; Two novels about the US Revolutionary War - one looks broadly, the other concentrates on a female soldier.(FEATURES)(BOOKS)
Dec 02, 2003 ... Byline: Ron Charles Two Southerners have published novels about the American Revolution this season. Robert Morgan is a poet who teaches at Cornell University, and Jimmy Carter is an ex-president who builds homes for poor people, and they bring their respective sensibilities to ...
Marquez begins 'one hundred years of popularity'; The master of magic realism revisits his childhood to embroider a personal myth.(FEATURES)(BOOKS)
Dec 02, 2003 ... Byline: Christopher Carduff In 1982, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Latin America's premier conjurer of tales, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. The Swedish Academy called their new laureate "a rare storyteller, richly endowed with a material, from both imagination and ...
Beloved and hated, but mostly friendless; Abraham Lincoln kept the nation together, but held his friends at arm's length.(FEATURES)(BOOKS)
Dec 02, 2003 ... Byline: Gregory M. Lamb Here's a man with real intimacy issues: a father who ignored him, a beloved mother who died when he was only 9, and a childhood with no known close friends. "If we have no friends, we have no pleasure," Abraham Lincoln once said, "and if we ...
Past performance is no guarantee; A stock trader looks across 500 years of market turmoil - and blames government.(FEATURES)(BOOKS)
Dec 02, 2003 ... Byline: Carlos Lozada New communications technologies paved the way for an astonishing stock market boom. Ordinary citizens quit their jobs and devoted themselves full-time to playing the market. And major corporations fell apart amid corruption and fraud scandals. A ...
Commercials worth not changing the channel for.(WEB)
Dec 02, 2003 ... Byline: Jim Regan csmonitor.com HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA -- One of the larger organizations dedicated to convincing you to buy things you don't need, The World Federation of Advertisers recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. Why this should be of any interest to you or me is the ...
Hide and seek, galaxy style.(WEB)
Dec 02, 2003 ... Byline: Michelle Thaller csmonitor.com PASADENA CA -- The Milky Way Galaxy, home to our Sun and a few hundred billion other stars, is definitely a place to be proud of. As galaxies go, it's one of the larger ones, and, although opinions are sure to vary, it is also one of the ...
A love letter to my friend; For kids.(THE HOME FORUM)
Dec 02, 2003 ... Dear Caitlin, I know you're going through a tough time right now. The kids at school are making fun of you and making you feel bad about the way you look. I think I know how you're feeling. When I was your age, just like you, I was bigger and taller than all the ...
Where in the world am I?(THE HOME FORUM)
Dec 02, 2003 ... Byline: Nancy Humphrey Case Jim McMahon got hooked on geography in fifth grade. "My teacher was a geography goon," he says. "When the class got unruly, he'd line us up against the walls, take his big floor map-puzzle of the United States, and throw it across the room. Then he'd ...
Europe's illegals trapped in Catch-22; Tougher new asylum laws leave immigrants stuck in the streets.(WORLD)
Dec 02, 2003 ... Byline: Peter Ford Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor CALAIS, FRANCE -- Nobody needs to tell Ali, a young refugee from Iran, how hard European governments are cracking down on illegal immigrants these days. "I got that from a French policeman when he caught me in the ...
Trial Mideast peace deal offers template; Israelis and Palestinians gathered in Geneva Monday for a signing ceremony.(WORLD)
Dec 02, 2003 ... Byline: Nicole Gaouette Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor JERUSALEM -- Israelis and Palestinians gathered in Geneva Monday to sign an unofficial peace agreement that could breathe new life into official efforts to end this conflict. The Geneva accord may ...
Citizens of Hong Kong flex their new political muscle.(WORLD)
Dec 02, 2003 ... Byline: Robert Marquand Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor HONG KONG -- Life in competitive Hong Kong runs fast. In Asia's commercial hub, people set their watches five minutes ahead; they trade, eat, work, drive, and play at a relentless pace. So when a ...
UN aims to disarm Afghan fighters; After months of delay, the UN campaign is beginning to yield small successes. But top commanders are reluctant to turn in guns.(WORLD)
Dec 02, 2003 ... Byline: Ilene R. Prusher Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor KUNDUZ, AFGHANISTAN -- Islamuddin has been a soldier for nearly half his life - and he is only 22. Now, the young man whose education had primarily consisted of how to handle a kalashnikov has ...
Reporters on the Job.(WORLD)
Dec 02, 2003 ... * Partial Recall: The Monitor's Peter Ford found himself dredging up 35-year-old German lessons the other day in Calais, France, while reporting on immigrants trying to reach Britain (page 1). One of his interviewees, a French social worker, was at the train station trying to help a ...
Russia's communist evolution; The party casts itself as democracy's defender in a vote set for Sunday.(WORLD)
Dec 02, 2003 ... Byline: Fred Weir Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor MOSCOW -- Russia's Communist Party, which proudly bears the hammer-and-sickle mantle of its Soviet predecessor, has recently discovered a surprising new mission: to champion democracy and civil society against the ...
Letters.(OPINION)
Dec 02, 2003 ... Don't fight your neighbors - team up with them Dante Chinni's commentary on the dangers of our becoming distracted by issues of lesser moment during the upcoming presidential election - issues of who can marry whom, say - is pertinent and important ("Culture war: Brain drain on ...
An American road trip in a real tin lizzie.(OPINION)
Dec 02, 2003 ... Byline: Godfrey Sperling WASHINGTON -- That was some trip that Horatio Nelson Jackson took from San Francisco to New York City back in 1903. He was the first to make it across the country by automobile, an almost forgotten journey that Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan have brought to ...
Get a grip on college prep.(OPINION)
Dec 02, 2003 ... Byline: Nancy Heiser BRUNSWICK, MAINE -- It's that season again when most college-bound seniors are preparing their applications. Even though my own two children are successfully ensconced at college, I still wonder: What is the source of the anxiety about college admissions? Is ...
US-China trade tensions rise; Cheap imports draw growing complaints from US companies, prompting Congress and the White House to weigh new tariffs.(USA)
Dec 02, 2003 ... Byline: Ron Scherer Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor NEW YORK -- The Bush administration is starting to target the "Made in China" label. After listening to businesses complain about losing orders to Chinese companies, the US is starting to impose tariffs ...
A case of faith and college aid; The high court Tuesday considers whether a religion student can be denied state funds.(USA)
Dec 02, 2003 ... Byline: Warren Richey Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor WASHINGTON -- When Joshua Davey graduated from high school in 1999, he won a Washington State scholarship to help pay for his college tuition. But when he declared he wanted to major in theology and become a ...
In Oz, Kansas finds fame, fortune, and itself.(USA)
Dec 02, 2003 ... Byline: Leita Walker Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor WAMEGO, KAN. -- The first thing visitors will see when they enter this small town's new museum is the drab facade of a farmhouse. Brown and white and tidy, it could be any Kansas dwelling: The mailbox reads Gale ....
States out of the red but still seeing red; Budgets nationwide are improving after three years of shortfalls. Yet the long-term climate grows harsher.(USA)
Dec 02, 2003 ... Byline: Daniel B. Wood Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor LOS ANGELES -- States are finally bottoming out from a wrenching three-year dip in tax revenues - a shock made even more jarring by comparison to their 10-year run of record black ink in the 1990s. ...
Next Steps for Illegal Immigrants.(EDITORIAL)
Dec 03, 2003 ... California's legislature, facing the wrath both of voters and a new governor, has repealed a law it passed just three months ago that would have granted driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. The law, passed in a moment of desperate ethnic politics, didn't save Gov. Gray Davis ...
Closing Gun-Control Loopholes.(EDITORIAL)
Dec 03, 2003 ... The Supreme Court Monday refused to hear a legal challenge to California's ban on assault weapons. The decision sends another powerful signal to those who would use the Second Amendment as an argument for the rights of individuals to own guns, including the National Rifle Association. ...
Christmas trees and poinsettias.(FEATURES)(LIVING)
Dec 03, 2003 ... Byline: Compiled by Ross Atkin To avoid choosing a "lemon" from your favorite local Christmas tree lot, be prepared to shake those needles. That helps determine freshness. If needles fall to the ground when the tree is bounced on its stump, it isn't a good choice. You also can ...
Won't you be my neighbor?(FEATURES)(LIVING)
Dec 03, 2003 ... Byline: Stacy A. Teicher Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor BALTIMORE -- On a clear day, all of Baltimore is visible from Adam Meister's flat roof. So are trashed alleys and boarded-up row houses. But where others may see ghosts of a happier time in the city's ...
The year's best garden books; A new crop of gardening guides combines beauty and usefulness.(FEATURES)(LIVING)
Dec 03, 2003 ... Byline: Judy Lowe Staff Writer This time of year, it's not "visions of sugarplums" that are dancing about in gardeners' heads. For people whose passion is growing things, December dreams are more likely to focus on plants (heuchera, hosta, hibiscus), tools (geared loppers, a new ...
The roots of the issue.(FEATURES)(LIVING)
Dec 03, 2003 ... Byline: Marilyn Gardner Aaron Brown of CNN does. Tom Brokaw doesn't. Larry King did, but doesn't anymore. Barbara Walters does. So do Judy Woodruff, Paula Zahn, and Andrea Mitchell. In fact, it could be hard to find a female newscaster who doesn't. Does? Doesn't? ...
Forget about rubies - she wanted cycads; A former opera singer used her wealth to create a dramatic, one-of-a-kind garden.(FEATURES)(TRAVEL)
Dec 03, 2003 ... Byline: Jennifer Wolcott Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor MONTECITO, CALIF. -- Some people might sell diamonds or rubies to pay for a mortgage, a child's college tuition, or a spiffy new set of wheels. But rare is the woman who hawks $1 million worth of jewels for ...
California's Russian outpost.(FEATURES)(TRAVEL)
Dec 03, 2003 ... Byline: Tom O'Brien Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor JENNER, CALIF. -- Not that America needs another security headache, but three hours north of San Francisco, the Russians have landed. Or, at least, they once did. My family and I were 12 ...
Part of San Francisco for 227 years.(FEATURES)(TRAVEL)
Dec 03, 2003 ... Byline: T.J. DeGroat Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor SAN FRANCISCO -- Walking down San Francisco's Dolores Street for the first time, I stopped and admired the large, ornate basilica I assumed was the 227-year-old Mission Dolores. I didn't realize I was staring at ...
Here, the arts take center stage.(FEATURES)(TRAVEL)
Dec 03, 2003 ... Byline: Judy Florman Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor COSTA MESA, CALIF. -- Located 25 miles southeast of Los Angeles and 15 minutes from Newport Beach, Costa Mesa has been dubbed the City of the Arts. It's a magical, art-filled cultural and even shopping mecca - ...
Dick Gephardt campaign manager Steve Murphy; Excerpts from a Monitor breakfast on the Democratic presidential campaign.(WEB)
Dec 03, 2003 ... Byline: David T. Cook Dick Gephardt's campaign manager, Steve Murphy, got his start in politics as a University of Delaware student volunteering for Joseph Biden's 1972 Senate campaign. Mr. Murphy is now a partner in the political consulting firm of Murphy Putnam Media. Before ...
Restoring public trust; Originally published as an editorial in the Christian Science Sentinel.(THE HOME FORUM)
Dec 03, 2003 ... In recent weeks, there have been troubling allegations of a breach of trust by traders on the New York Stock Exchange and by the mutual-fund industry. As the Monitor reported, the scandals have included "insider trading, sweetheart deals for special clients, and accounting ...
The night I knew that I'd grown up a little.(THE HOME FORUM)
Dec 03, 2003 ... Byline: Joyce D. Wethe Robertson Children grow in many ways and rarely feel it, but whenever I see one of those little glass balls with snow in it I am reminded of a winter night in my childhood when I grew up a little and felt it, even then. A Greyhound bus stopped at our ...
When it comes to my kids' dialogue, Mom's the word.(THE HOME FORUM)
Dec 03, 2003 ... Byline: Kristen Taylor I pick the kids up at 3:30 p.m., and we load the backpacks and lunch boxes into the car. Between the schoolyard and the parking lot, they ask me what we're doing this afternoon, what we're having for dinner, complain about the (still theoretical) dinner, ...
Export labels split Israel; Israel agreed last week to EU demand to specify products made in settlements.(WORLD)
Dec 03, 2003 ... Byline: Ben Lynfield Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor MISHOR ADUMIM, WEST BANK -- It is a clear winter's day in the Judean hills, but clouds are gathering around dozens of Israeli firms in the occupied territories that export to the European Union. Last ...
A Shiite challenge divides Iraqis; US backs elections by March 2005; a key Shiite wants them by July 2004.(WORLD)
Dec 03, 2003 ... Byline: Nicholas Blanford Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor BAGHDAD -- The pace - and nature - of a democratic reform plan announced just two weeks ago is being challenged by arguably the most powerful figure in Iraq today. Ayatollah Ali Sistani, a key ...
Reporters on the Job.(WORLD)
Dec 03, 2003 ... * Interview or Interrogation? Staff writer Scott Baldauf faced a conundrum as he reported Wednesday's piece about an Indian witchcraft group that has sacrificed 25 people, including children (page 7). The local police in the Saharanpur district have outlawed the practice, so how was Scott ...
German money woes hit schools; University budget cuts spawn protests in German cities, as education proposals around Europe continue to draw fire.(WORLD)
Dec 03, 2003 ... Byline: Charles Hawley Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor MUNICH -- The gathering looked almost like a regular university course, with a group of students peering up from notebooks, pens at the ready, as a professor spoke. The only difference was that instead of ...
Deadly rites spark Indian action; Authorities fight Tantrism, linked to 25 killings this year.(WORLD)
Dec 03, 2003 ... Byline: Scott Baldauf Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor DEHRI, INDIA -- Since the disappearance and death of his 6-year-old son Monu in October, Narendra Kumar has learned that he was kidnapped and killed in a ritual human sacrifice. The perpetrators were childless ...
Colombia disarms fighters - again; Its latest demobilization campaign is under way.(WORLD)
Dec 03, 2003 ... Byline: Rachel Van Dongen Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA -- High in the mountains, two hours from this famously violent city, "Stein," a young paramilitary fighter, prepares to disarm after three years at war. Surrounded by 10 ...
Helping hands buoy widow of Russian sub disaster; When the Kursk sub sank in 2000, families of the 118 sailors who died expected little government assistance. But President Putin and the city of Kursk have surprised them.(WORLD)
Dec 03, 2003 ... Byline: Scott Peterson When Russia's Kursk submarine sank to the bottom of the Barents Sea on August 12, 2000, sailors' wives like Lyubov Kalinina had only the lowest expectations from their government. And sure enough, as anguished days of waiting ticked by, hope ...
Letters.(OPINION)
Dec 03, 2003 ... Consider American values before ditching estate tax David R. Francis's article on estate taxes ("Tax the rich heirs - and charities gain") was an interesting exposure of the economic issues involved. The discussion should also involve values. The main argument to eliminate the ...
Dean is probably not the McGovern of Democratic establishment fears.(OPINION)
Dec 03, 2003 ... Byline: Suzanne Nossel NEW YORK -- It's an open secret that most establishment Democrats and liberals in the news media are waiting for someone - anyone - to dethrone former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean as the party's presidential frontrunner. Dr. Dean may or may not be ...
Interim government or not, Iraq needs US for long haul.(OPINION)
Dec 03, 2003 ... Byline: John Hughes SALT LAKE CITY -- It is tempting to think that the Bush administration can set an interim government in place in Iraq around the middle of next year and, as a consequence, start drawing down US troops there. The next seven or eight months are indeed critical ...
Another 'plane,' and legend, to rival the Wrights' flight.(USA)
Dec 03, 2003 ... Byline: Kris Axtman Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor PITTSBURG, TEXAS -- Glenn Gordon learned at an early age that it was best to keep quiet about his grandfather's flying machine. Maybe it was the incessant teasing or the utter disbelief that kept him from telling ...
The Rev. Al Sharpton's latest crusade.(USA)
Dec 03, 2003 ... Byline: Alexandra Marks Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor DENMARK, S.C. -- The Rev. Al Sharpton is late. But you wouldn't know it by looking at him. The preacher and political provocateur, wearing a pin-striped suit and flanked by a handful of aides, strolls into ...
A family's privacy vs. public's right to know; High Court weighs whether photos of Vincent Foster must be released under the Freedom of Information Act.(USA)
Dec 03, 2003 ... Byline: Warren Richey Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor WASHINGTON -- Allan Favish is on a mission. The California lawyer wants to expose what he believes is a government coverup involving the July 1993 death of Vincent Foster, deputy White House counsel. ...
Providence moving beyond mob-tied past; The old mayor brought big development but was a convicted racketeer. The new one hopes to maintain the prosperity, minus the kickbacks.(USA)
Dec 03, 2003 ... Byline: Seth Stern Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Mayor David Cicilline doesn't hawk his own marinara sauce like his famous and now imprisoned predecessor, Vincent "Buddy" Cianci Jr. And he'd rather exercise at 5:30 a.m. than trade barbs with ...
War vs. Rights: Bush Bends.(EDITORIAL)
Dec 04, 2003 ... The Bush war on terrorism has many soft fronts. A relatively new one is near the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, in the marbled halls of the Supreme Court. The nine justices have decided to take on one of many cases creeping toward them that challenge the Bush redefinition of ...
Jobs and Illegal Immigrants.(EDITORIAL)
Dec 04, 2003 ... For many years employers have been required to verify that immigrants or temporary residents have the right to work in the United States when hiring them. All job applicants are supposed to sign a federal I-9 form and provide supporting documents to verify their work eligibility. ...
What would Walt do?(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)
Dec 04, 2003 ... Byline: Gloria Goodale Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor SHERMAN OAKS, CALIF. -- Elea Nit, a full-time mother of two, sorts through a pile of Princess T-shirts in a Disney Store here, apparently dissatisfied. "I hear they're closing a bunch of these ...
Key provisions of new Medicare law.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)
Dec 04, 2003 ... President Bush is expected shortly to sign into law the Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act of 2003, which represents the biggest change in the Medicare program since its inception in 1965. It's also one of the biggest pieces of domestic legislation to emerge from Congress in ...
Two hits and you're out: Artists face the sophomore slump.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)
Dec 04, 2003 ... Byline: Lynne Margolis Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor Prognosticators, take note: Alicia Keys's just-released sophomore CD, "The Diary of Alicia Keys," should easily make the Top 5 on next week's Billboard magazine Top 200 Albums chart. It might even knock Britney ...
In Haiti: feed the fish, then the people.(FEATURES)(PLANET)
Dec 04, 2003 ... Byline: Lori Valigra Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor Sweet and flaky tilapia often graces the dinner tables of Americans, surpassing trout as one of the most popular fish to eat. But in its native tropical habitat in countries like impoverished Haiti, the tilapia ...
Who will build our digital future? Galvanized by an idea, networks of strangers are challenging traditional firms with products that are just as good, more flexible - and often free.(FEATURES)(PLANET)
Dec 04, 2003 ... Byline: Peter N. Spotts Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor As far as revolutions go, the opening salvo was muffled. But for those within earshot, the reverberations were far- reaching. Last month, China - the largest single potential market for almost anything - ...
Breaking the silence on immigration.(FEATURES)(PLANET)
Dec 04, 2003 ... Byline: David R. Francis Columnist Immigration is an issue those in power are reluctant to address. It provides cheap labor for rich nations. It pumps huge flows of money into the developing world. And usually it's the politically disadvantaged, lower-income workers who get hurt ...
Peace across the hall; Bringing a spiritual perspective to daily life.(THE HOME FORUM)
Dec 04, 2003 ... During a time of world unrest, our church encouraged each member to pray daily, not just for peace generally, but to be a peacemaker in his or her own life - to forgive someone, to promote a reconciliation, to soothe someone who was angry. After several weeks I had yet to find ...
Hot-air ballooning was a dream come true.(THE HOME FORUM)
Dec 04, 2003 ... Byline: Christopher Andreae I have no idea whether the painter Marc Chagall ever took a balloon ride. Had he done so, he would, I strongly suspect, have felt it was perfectly normal to be held aloft in a basket by nothing but hot air trapped in a multicolored globe-shaped tent, ...
A minivan, a maxi-crisis, and a life lesson from Jim.(THE HOME FORUM)
Dec 04, 2003 ... Byline: Anne Cassidy For some families this is an old story, a compromise made long ago. For us it is a new one. The day we bought our minivan, it rained for the first time in weeks. It's a sign, I said. Even the heavens are crying. We should have swallowed hard and ...