The Christian Science Monitor back issues from November 2007:
Farmers deserve better.(EDITORIAL)(agricultural bill)
Nov 01, 2007 ... Every five years, Congress rethinks its role in farming. Next week, the Senate debates a bill from its agriculture panel that perpetuates subsidies for a few crops and many well-off farmers. This time, however, it has a fresh choice. Farming in the US is no longer simply a ...
Letters to the Editor.(EDITORIAL)(Editorial)
Nov 01, 2007 ... Gender and race matter less in '08 than ever before Regarding the Oct. 26 article, "Clinton's gender poses challenge in Iowa": Voting based on gender is nothing new in this country. We've been doing it since 1788, when George Washington was elected. At that time, the ...
College bound: When schools reply, the real decision looms.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)(college admissions)
Nov 01, 2007; ... Byline: Lesley Bannatyne Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor Each fall, hundreds of thousands of high school seniors navigate an admissions process that begins with a list of colleges and ends with a life-changing decision. Though each application is but ...
Nation must adapt to greater wildfire risk.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)
Nov 01, 2007; ... Byline: Peter N. Spotts Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Droughts, floods, severe storms, and sea-level rise often get the lion's share of attention in the litany of projected effects from global warming. But October's disastrous wildfires in California - part of ...
Colleges pledge support for low-income students.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)(National Association of System Heads)
Nov 01, 2007; ... Byline: Stacy Teicher Khadaroo Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Higher education leaders hear the rumbling - the steady complaints that college is too expensive, and that even for those who manage to find funding, too many fail to graduate. In response, ...
On the Horizon: news from the frontiers of science.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)(Comet 17P/Holmes)
Nov 01, 2007; ... Byline: Peter N. Spotts Comet brightens the night sky Skywatchers are enjoying an unexpected treat: Comet 17P/Holmes has blossomed from an invisible object some 25,000 times too faint to be viewed with the naked eye to naked-eye brightness in less than a week. ...
Stitching an Afghan-American connection.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)
Nov 01, 2007; ... Byline: Teresa M㩮ez and Mark Sappenfield Staff writers of The Christian Science Monitor Alexandria, Va.; and Herat, Afghanistan -- In the thick of a 12-day sewing flurry in a makeshift workshop in Herat, Amin Ullah could only imagine who might one day wear the clothes he ...
A look at loneliness.(THE HOME FORUM)
Nov 01, 2007 ... "Alone." Peace and quiet, or sadness and isolation? It probably depends on whether you've been surrounded by noisy children all day or left without friendship for longer than you'd like. A man I know was terribly lonely after he was drafted into military service. There were a ...
Demoted planet, dejected boy.(THE HOME FORUM)(Pluto)
Nov 01, 2007; ... Byline: Robert Klose When Pluto was downgraded last year from a planet to a so-called dwarf planet, my son was thunderstruck and quickly joined the counter-revolution seeking to restore Pluto to its traditional place. "I don't understand," he anguished. "How can they just not ...
Middle East racing to nuclear power.(WORLD)
Nov 01, 2007; ... Byline: Dan Murphy Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Cairo -- This week Egypt became the 13th Middle Eastern country in the past year to say it wants nuclear power, intensifying an atomic race spurred largely by Iran's nuclear agenda, which many in the region and the ...
Kenyan slum saves trees, cleans streets with big trash oven.(WORLD)
Nov 01, 2007; ... Byline: Rob Crilly Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor Nairobi, Kenya -- Deep in the sprawling slum of Kibera, volunteers shovel a stinking pile of garbage into one end of a giant concrete oven while a queue of people clutching packets of tea and saucepans tries to ...
Did murdered ex-spy Litvinenko work for British intelligence?(WORLD)(Alexander Litvinenko)
Nov 01, 2007; ... Byline: Fred Weir Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor Moscow -- The case of Alexander Litvinenko, who was poisoned with a lethal dose of radioactive polonium-210 in a London bar a year ago, just keeps getting murkier. Last weekend, the London-based Daily ...
Reporters on the Job.(WORLD)
Nov 01, 2007 ... * Shock in Madrid: Correspondent Lisa Abend was at the courthouse when Spain handed down the verdicts on 28 people charged with the 2004 Madrid train bombings (see story). Many family members of victims of the bombings were there as well - and they were angry. "They've been ...
Why Turks no longer love the U.S.(WORLD)(United States)
Nov 01, 2007; ... Byline: Yigal Schleifer Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor Istanbul, Turkey -- The US has hailed Turkey as moderate Islamic democracy, the kind it would like to see develop elsewhere. It's a key NATO ally, with US aircraft stationed here. Yet, as ...
Deep divisions over Madrid verdict.(WORLD)(train bombings)
Nov 01, 2007; ... Byline: Lisa Abend Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor Madrid -- A mixed verdict in the trial of 28 suspects in the 2004 Madrid train bombings threatens to underscore the deep divisions that have opened in Spain since the attack, which killed 191 people and prompted a ...
China: Keep your Olympic promise.(OPINION)
Nov 01, 2007; ... Byline: John Hughes Provo, Utah -- China sees the 2008 Olympics as an opportunity to present a positive and smiling image to the outside world. (It actually has launched an international photo competition for children with smiling faces, but typically declines to indicate how ...
South's public school children are now mainly low income.(USA)
Nov 01, 2007; ... Byline: Patrik Jonsson Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Atlanta -- The plight of the South's school-reform movement now hangs on kids from families that make less than $36,000 a year. For the first time in 40 years, two new studies show, more than half ...
More curbs on private Iraq guards.(USA)(Blackwater USA)
Nov 01, 2007; ... Byline: Peter Grier Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Washington -- Six weeks after a fatal shootout in a Baghdad square involving contractor guards from Blackwater USA, private security firms in Iraq may no longer be able to operate quite as privately as they used ...
Within Democratic field, Iran is the new Iraq.(USA)
Nov 01, 2007; ... Byline: Linda Feldmann Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Washington -- A day after Tuesday night's Democratic presidential debate, the most contentious of the seven staged thus far, Hillary Rodham Clinton cannot be blamed if she still feels like a human punching ...
As gaming grows, many tribes get left behind.(USA)(casinos)
Nov 01, 2007; ... Byline: Tom A. Peter Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Tucked into a peaceful corner of Connecticut, Foxwoods Resort and Casino offers far more than gambling. It boasts Chanel and Ralph Lauren boutiques, among other shops; a 36-hole golf course; headline acts like ...
California fires: blame game.(USA)
Nov 01, 2007; ... Byline: Brad Knickerbocker The wildfires that raced through southern California have turned up the political and scientific heat about climate change's possible role in the conflagrations. The United Nations-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ...
Sea treaty needs safe passage.(EDITORIAL)(Law of the Sea Convention)(Editorial)
Nov 02, 2007 ... For the second time in three years, a Senate panel has given the nod to a treaty that governs the oceans. Last time, alarmist concerns about the loss of US sovereignty kept the treaty from a floor vote. This time, the Senate must steer past those criticisms, or America will be left high ...
Letters to the Editor.(EDITORIAL)(Editorial)
Nov 02, 2007 ... What's behind US denial of a visa for an Arab academic In response to Tariq Ramadan's Oct. 31 Opinion piece, "The US blacklisted me. Let's talk," it is clear that he has a definite understanding of the importance of freedom of speech. It makes one wonder why our ...
New in theaters.(FEATURES)(WEEKEND)(Rails and Ties)(Movie review)(Brief article)
Nov 02, 2007 ... New in theaters Rails and Ties (PG-13) Director: Alison Eastwood. With Kevin Bacon, Marcia Gay Harden. (101 min.) Alison Eastwood's directorial debut, set in a hushed California railroad town, follows the lives of two families, one ravaged by loss, and ...
Despite buzz, 'Bee Movie' is a 'C' movie.(FEATURES)(WEEKEND)(Movie review)
Nov 02, 2007; ... Byline: Peter Rainer Film critic of The Christian Science Monitor Who could have predicted that, a decade after the end of his hit TV series, Jerry Seinfeld would reenter show business as an animated bee? A gnat, maybe, or a louse - but a bee? "Bee Movie" is best ...
In Hollywood, Dali's films are reappraised.(FEATURES)(WEEKEND)(Salvador Dali)
Nov 02, 2007; ... Byline: Gloria Goodale Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Los Angeles -- Spanish surrealist Salvador Dali, both the painter and the man, are familiar icons of 20th-century art. The madcap Catalan with the exclamation-mark mustache as well as his images of melting ...
Why I want to be Stephen Colbert's running mate.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)
Nov 02, 2007; ... Byline: James Tuten I want to be a part of Stephen Colbert's historic monument to inclusion. I want to be his vice president. Why, you ask, does the native South Carolinian - comedian, pundit, and self-promoter extraordinaire, who is running for "president of the ...
Change your life with a tote box.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)(humor)
Nov 02, 2007; ... Byline: Jeffrey Shaffer Insight comes at unexpected moments. A typical example happened recently while I was casually scanning a promotional insert in the local daily newspaper and my gaze fell upon an ad for plastic "tote boxes" in 10-, 18-, and 30-gallon sizes. There was also ...
In 'American Gangster,' true crime doesn't pay off.(FEATURES)(WEEKEND)(Movie review)
Nov 02, 2007; ... Byline: Peter Rainer Film critic of The Christian Science Monitor The self-importance of Ridley Scott's "American Gangster" announces itself with its title. This is not intended to be just any old crime thriller. It's going to be archetypal. The fact that it's "based ...
Youth orchestra of Venezuela's poor wows the world.(FEATURES)(WEEKEND)(Bolivar Youth Orchestra)
Nov 02, 2007; ... Byline: Ami albernaz Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor The studios and rehearsal halls of Boston's New England Conservatory are far from the nucleos scattered throughout Venezuela - some of them converted factories or prisons where underprivileged children as young ...
NBA hopes for an image rebound.(FEATURES)(WEEKEND)
Nov 02, 2007; ... Byline: Erik Spanberg Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor You probably heard about the National Basketball Association's nightmare of a summer vacation. But you probably haven't heard about the off-season exploits of Emeka Okafor, a forward for the Charlotte Bobcats ....
Monitor Picks.(FEATURES)(WEEKEND)(Brief article)
Nov 02, 2007 ... A treasure hunt <P/> The Rape of Europa documents how the failed Austrian painter Adolf Hitler and his generals meticulously pillaged the great galleries and museums of Europe and Russia with a list of plunder meticulously drawn up before the war. Equally riveting is ...
Jens Lekman's kalediscope of sound.(FEATURES)(WEEKEND)(Night Falls Over Kortedala)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
Nov 02, 2007 ... Jens Lekman - Night Falls Over Kortedala (Secretly Canadian): Jens Lekman has been called a Swedish Burt Bacharach, and a Morrissey spin-off. Mostly, this is due to a confluence of vocal styles: His songs are big, roomy, and he sings with heart. But on "Night Falls Over ...
Don't call it ping-pong...(FEATURES)(WEEKEND)(Forehand Smash Mastery and Forehand Loop Mastery)(Brief article)(Video recording review)
Nov 02, 2007; ... Table tennis has come a long way in recent years, from dusty basement ping-pong to mainstream Olympic competitive sport in 1988. Two new DVDs from Xtreme Table Tennis are aimed directly at the aspiring pros among us - "Forehand Smash Mastery" and "Forehand Loop Mastery." Based on ...
Trendspotter.(FEATURES)(WEEKEND)(hulu)(Brief article)
Nov 02, 2007; ... Byline: Gloria Goodale This week, NBC and Fox fired a new salvo in the ongoing battle for the eyeballs and wallets of viewers. The media giants have joined forces in a new online video venture dubbed hulu, which launched a beta test period Monday. It offers premium content from ...
Fall fiction roundup.(FEATURES)(WEEKEND)(books)(Book review)
Nov 02, 2007 ... Interred With Their Bones, by Jennifer Lee Carrell Attention conspiracy theorists: Take a break from Templar mysteries and try some poetry for a change. In London, someone is taking their Shakespeare a little too seriously: The Globe Theater has been set on fire and a killer is ...
Steven Pinker's Bright 'Stuff'.(THE HOME FORUM)(The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature)(Book review)
Nov 02, 2007; ... Byline: Ruth Walker I do not have a carburetor in my head - or a trombone, or even a doorknob. None of us does, really. And what a relief it is to find this out. Harvard linguist Steven Pinker explained all this to a campus audience last week as he was trying to ...
Treat invasive species - through prayer.(THE HOME FORUM)
Nov 02, 2007 ... Say the word "kudzu" to someone who lives in the American South, and that person might describe something resembling the city-gobbling plants of old B movies. Originally used in the 1940s to control erosion in the South, kudzu can grow as much as 60 feet in a season. Similarly, the aquatic ...
Make way for wild turkeys.(THE HOME FORUM)
Nov 02, 2007; ... Byline: Sue Wunder Wild turkeys share the farm with us, although sightings of these cunning and secretive birds are rare. Feathers, four-toed prints, and the distant bobble of long necks over a swell of pasture are signs enough that the big birds find our place to their liking ...
After teen suicides, an Argentine tribe outlaws 'white' vices.(WORLD)
Nov 02, 2007; ... Byline: Sara Miller Llana Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Fortin Mborore, Argentina -- Every Saturday night Victoriano Espindola would dance, drink, and often end up in a fight. He lost his left eye in one brawl. But now the 21-year-old spends quiet ...
In key Iraqi area, US starts pulling back.(WORLD)
Nov 02, 2007; ... Byline: Sam Dagher and Gordon Lubold Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Tikrit, Iraq, AND Washington -- The end of the US surge is in sight here. In two key central Iraqi provinces, American units will soon reduce their ...
From Burma to Beijing: Asia's sensitive petrol politics.(WORLD)
Nov 02, 2007; ... Byline: Simon Montlake Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor Bangkok, Thailand - -- A bull oil market has been putting a squeeze on poor households in Asia, even before the recent spike that took crude oil prices closer to $100 a barrel. Now, Asian governments are ...
Reporters on the Job.(WORLD)
Nov 02, 2007; ... * Spanish Isn't Enough: One of the challenges of reporting a story about indigenous people in Latin America is the language barrier. Staff writer Sara Miller Llana went to the village of Fortin Mborore, Argentina, where members of the Guarani tribe didn't speak a lot of Spanish, despite ...
Board in the ring? It's chessboxing.(WORLD)
Nov 02, 2007 ... Byline: Mark Rice-Oxley Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor London -- Andreas Dilschneider was still thinking about his opening moves on the chessboard when his opponent rushed up to him and punched him. Several times. Mr. Dilschneider didn't complain. It ...
Don't blame Blackwater.(OPINION)(security firm)
Nov 02, 2007; ... Byline: R.J. Hillhouse Hilo, Hawaii -- One critical piece has been missing from the debate about Blackwater's behavior in Iraq. The security firm operates as should be expected - as an agent of the US State Department, which it is. It acts just as State has prescribed by ...
'Your call is very important to us... '.(OPINION)
Nov 02, 2007; ... Byline: Donald J. Boudreaux Fairfax, Va. -- Needing help booking a flight, you call your favorite airline's toll-free number. After punching a few buttons to work through the menu of options, you finally connect to the bank of live agents. Sort of. A recorded voice says that ...
US kids get new trend: more active parents.(USA)
Nov 02, 2007; ... Byline: Amanda Paulson Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Chicago -- Every evening, Dan and Cheryl Weese and their three kids sit around the dinner table together and talk about their day. Television is no distraction: The family's TV has been in the ...
More equity in cocaine sentencing.(USA)
Nov 02, 2007; ... Byline: Alexandra Marks Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor New York -- A change in federal sentencing guidelines has quietly narrowed the huge discrepancy in prison time for convictions involving powder versus crack cocaine, after a 20-year battle over the issue. ...
States likely to delay executions until ruling.(USA)
Nov 02, 2007; ... Byline: Warren Richey Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Washington -- When the US Supreme Court agreed in late September to take up a Kentucky case testing the constitutionality of the protocol used for executions by lethal injection, the action raised an immediate ...
Interest-rate cuts: a slow stimulus.(USA)
Nov 02, 2007; ... Byline: Ron Scherer Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor New York -- Thanks to the Federal Reserve's interest-rate reductions over the past two months, consumers could save $3 a month on a $5,100 credit-card bill. And, thanks to the Fed cutting rates, as of ...
When an antiterror ally fails.(EDITORIAL)(Pakistan)
Nov 05, 2007 ... As in love, so in diplomacy, it's wiser to see what people do than what they say. So far, the US has protested much about emergency rule imposed on Pakistan Saturday. But what will it actually do? Not much, if the past is any guide. Pakistani strongman Pervez Musharraf, after ...
Letters to the Editor.(EDITORIAL)(Editorial)
Nov 05, 2007 ... US farm subsidies have negative effects Regarding your Nov. 1 editorial, "Farmers deserve better": As an agricultural economist, I support the Lugar-Lautenberg alternative farm bill. It is time to end wasteful farm subsidies. The majority of subsidies go to corporate ...
Retired? Not for long.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)
Nov 05, 2007; ... Byline: Marilyn Gardner Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor A year after Helen Davis retired, ending a satisfying 22-year career as a marketing official for the Colorado Department of Agriculture, she longed to reenter the workforce. "I've always enjoyed ...
Municipal-bond tax breaks face court challenge.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)(Kentucky Department of Revenue)
Nov 05, 2007; ... Byline: Margaret Price Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor If you've long viewed the municipal bond market as a sleepy, safe tax haven, with rarely much ruckus, you might want to consider what's brewing there now. The US Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a ...
A Week's Worth: Quick takes on the world of work and money.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)(Brief article)
Nov 05, 2007; ... Byline: Robert Kilborn * Despite last week's interest-rate cut, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost ground again, falling 1.5 percent. * Decades of mass layoffs have turned the US into a nation of employees who work only hard enough to keep from being fired, ...
Students apply ethics to college endowments.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)(Excerpt)(Discussion)
Nov 05, 2007 ... Some of the most ardent supporters of ethical investing don't have a portfolio. They're college students deeply concerned about social justice or the environment. Thirty years ago, you might have found them marching in the streets in protest. Today, they're just as likely to be knocking on ...
U.S. falls to No. 15 on income scale.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)
Nov 05, 2007; ... Byline: David R. Francis columnist "Comparisons are odious," that is, hateful, according to a popular phrase about seven centuries old. Comparison, however, is one of the tasks assigned to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris, an international body ...
A native American war hero gets the French Legion of honor award.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)(Charles Shay)(Biography)
Nov 05, 2007; ... Byline: Todd Nelson Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor Old Town, Maine -- In a black frame on the wall in Charles Shay's tidy study is a tattered pink telegram. It's the War Department communique that his mother, Florence Shay, received in early March of 1945. ...
Holiday preparations.(THE HOME FORUM)
Nov 05, 2007 ... After my first phone call from a disgruntled family member about Thanksgiving, I was reminded that holidays can often be trying times for families and friends. And the most important way that I can prepare for the upcoming holidays is to pray. Add to that patience, love, and a good sense ...
Hope.(THE HOME FORUM)(Poem)
Nov 05, 2007 ... Byline: Elizabeth Mata People spill into the open market, elbows collide, hands fly, sellers relentlessly shriek at buyers when a soft bump against my leg veers me off the market current and a child's small plea, ...
A break from everyday life.(THE HOME FORUM)(The Outermost House: A Year of Life on the Great Beach of Cape Cod)(Book review)
Nov 05, 2007; ... Byline: Steve Coronella Until recently I'd always scoffed at the notion that I might benefit in some way from going on a retreat. Retreats, so I used to think, were for tree-huggers, those with alternative lifestyles, and other people who lacked the gumption to endure the ...
Leibovitz: a life in pictures.(THE HOME FORUM)(Annie Leibovitz)
Nov 05, 2007; ... Byline: Katherine Stephen Annie Leibovitz is synonymous with celebrity. As perhaps America's best-known living photographer, she has produced iconic images of politicians, actors, athletes, and writers that, for many, provide the visual definition of fame for our times. ...
Emergency rule in Pakistan: Musharraf's last grab for power?(WORLD)(Pervez Musharraf)
Nov 05, 2007; ... Byline: Shahan Mufti and Mark Sappenfield - Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN; and NEW DELHI -- In a dramatic move that made explicit his desperation to preserve near-absolute power, Pakistani ...
In Mexico's 'Katrina,' volunteers join relief efforts.(WORLD)
Nov 05, 2007; ... Byline: Sara Miller Llana Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Villahermosa, Mexico -- As water rose to the roof of his home - nearly covering it as it has covered 80 percent of the Mexican state of Tabasco - Oscar Durango says there was nothing else to do but pitch in ....
Restive Nablus challenges Fatah's Abbas.(WORLD)(Mahmoud Abbas)
Nov 05, 2007; ... Byline: Joshua Mitnick Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor Nablus, West Bank -- Over the course of the second Palestinian intifada, this city became the West Bank's capital for car thefts, kidnappings, and suicide bombers. Now, with 300 security officers ...