The Christian Science Monitor back issues from December 2007:
Warmageddon.(EDITORIAL)(children on global warming)
Dec 03, 2007 ... The discourse on global warming, such as this week's talks in Bali, needs to look at its impact on children. How, for instance, might an 8-year-old react to the UN secretary-general's depiction of one prediction in the latest climate-change report: "As frightening as a science-fiction ...
Letters to the Editor.(EDITORIAL)(Editorial)
Dec 03, 2007 ... Those who lured the poor to buy homes must give back The Nov. 11 article, "To cool a market meltdown, apply aid carefully," should be noted by the Feds. The banks and mortgage companies bought themselves the problems by allowing agents to write these mortgages, which ...
Seven year-end financial moves that could lower your tax bill.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)
Dec 03, 2007; ... Byline: G. Jeffrey MacDonald Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor The holiday season has arrived, so deck the halls, hang the mistletoe, and make sure to act on a few lessons from last year's tax return. Even though taxes for 2007 aren't due until April 15, ...
How to build your vocabulary - and feed the world.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)(Freerice.com)
Dec 03, 2007; ... Byline: Caitlin Carpenter Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor It began as a way for John Breen to help his son prepare for the SAT. Today, some 500,000 people daily visit the vocabulary-quiz website the Indiana-based computer programmer set up. And while word-game fun ...
'Body art' gains acceptance in workplace.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)(tattoo)
Dec 03, 2007; ... Byline: Marilyn Gardner Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor For 12 years, Ann Kinder has sported a two-inch square tattoo on the inside of her left ankle. Because she regularly wears pants, many of her co-workers are hardly aware of the vibrant design, a peace dove ...
A Week's Worth: Quick takes on the world of work and money.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)(business)(Brief article)
Dec 03, 2007; ... Byline: Robert Kilborn * Expectations of another cut in federal interest rates fueled a three-day trading binge that pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 3 percent last week, helping to recoup about half of what it lost in the past seven weeks. * Counting on a ...
Social Security in crisis? Hardly.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)
Dec 03, 2007; ... Byline: David R. Francis columnist Presidential candidate Barack Obama got himself into hot water with some in his own party when he recently said that Social Security faces a "crisis." Senator Obama's problem is that the nation's most popular social safety net ...
Financial Q&A: A hunt for a low-interest loan, separated couple ponders how to file taxes.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)
Dec 03, 2007; ... Byline: Steve Dinnen Q: Do you know of a philanthropist or company that can offer me a low-interest loan to pay off credit-card debts - even if my credit score is at an all-time low of 525? I pay my bills, but I had to temporarily stop paying some credit cards in order to ...
In this college course, a focus on homemaking.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)(Biblical Model for Home and Family class)
Dec 03, 2007; ... Byline: Carmen K. Sisson Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor FORT WORTH, Texas -- It's a familiar scene: Women gathered around the table, talking about men, talking about children, talking about life. Some are barely out of high school, too young to know the joys, or ...
Expecting peace in the Middle East.(THE HOME FORUM)(Middle East peace conference)
Dec 03, 2007 ... Before it began last week, the Middle East peace conference was greeted by many with low expectations for accomplishing much that would be genuinely helpful. After the conference began, however, a more expectant tone emerged. This newspaper, reporting on the first day of the ...
Pomegranate.(THE HOME FORUM)(Poem)
Dec 03, 2007; ... Byline: Temple Cone Pomegranate <P/> At first glance, a pomegranate looks like it should burst with monsoons of juice the moment your teeth graze it, or looks perhaps not like fruit at all but a ...
Holiday wreaths weave family connections.(THE HOME FORUM)
Dec 03, 2007; ... Byline: Stefanie Wass "Make sure that the wreath is centered," I instructed my husband as we finished the last of our Christmas decorating. Looking around the house, I was proud of our day's work: stockings hung by the fireplace, colorful candles sat atop our mantel, and bright ...
Adobe, a link to the land.(THE HOME FORUM)(Casa de Estudillo)
Dec 03, 2007; ... Byline: Victor Walsh One by one the landmarks have disappeared from the old Plaza .... Its glory is departed with its departed people. - Lillian Whaley, Old Town San Diego pioneer, 1893. Shadows climb up the whitewashed wall as the sun passes slowly ...
Is the U.S. now ready for talks with Syria?(WORLD)(United States)
Dec 03, 2007; ... Byline: Nicholas Blanford - Correspondent and Howard LaFranchi - Staff Writer Beirut, Lebanon; and Washington -- It's too early to gauge the impact of last week's Middle East peace summit in Annapolis, Md., on its intended goal: Israeli-Palestinian peace. But after the ...
In Bali, new urgency for a climate change accord.(WORLD)(Indonesia)
Dec 03, 2007; ... Byline: Peter N. Spotts Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor NUSA Dua, Indonesia -- Talks to frame global efforts to fight climate change begin here Monday, as delegates from more than 180 countries try to design an agreement that picks up where the 1997 Kyoto Protocol ...
Explanation of MS Explorer's sinking doesn't hold water.(WORLD)(cruise ship)
Dec 03, 2007; ... Byline: Colin Woodard Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor People familiar with the Antarctic tourism industry weren't surprised that a cruise ship sank there. What stunned them was that the ship in question was the MS Explorer, a veteran of the polar ...
Reporters on the Job.(WORLD)
Dec 03, 2007 ... * Getting into a Fight: Correspondent Joseph Schatz had only seen boxing matches on TV before he went to watch Esther Phiri's match in a stadium on the outskirts of Lusaka, Zambia. The title fight (see story) wasn't as scary as the experience of getting into the stadium, says Joe. There ...
Sanctions weighed again on Iran.(WORLD)
Dec 03, 2007; ... Byline: Scott Peterson Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor TEHRAN, IRAN; and ISTANBUL, TURKEY - -- Six world powers led by the United States are considering a further set of UN sanctions against Iran over its disputed nuclear program, after European foreign-policy ...
In Zambia, woman boxer emerges as a new role model.(WORLD)(Esther Phiri)
Dec 03, 2007; ... Byline: Joseph J. Schatz Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor Lusaka, Zambia -- The surge of young Zambian girls chanting "Esth-ah, Esth-ah, Esth-ah!" told the story Saturday night as Esther Phiri waved triumphantly to the crowd at Woodlands Stadium in the Zambian ...
Landslide win looks likely for Putin's United Russia party in parliamentary elections.(WORLD)(Vladimir Putin)
Dec 03, 2007; ... Byline: Fred Weir Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor Moscow -- President Vladimir Putin's United Russia party looked headed for a landslide victory in parliamentary elections Sunday, with officially sponsored exit polls suggesting the party would win a massive ...
For Mideast peace, think bigger.(OPINION)(Middle East peace talks)
Dec 03, 2007; ... Byline: Helena Cobban Washington -- Four-and-a-half years after the invasion of Iraq, President Bush has launched another, equally high-stakes, gamble in the Middle East. This time, it is a gamble for peace, the one he started at the Nov. 27 conference in Annapolis, Md. ...
Let policy follow science: Tie a carbon tax to actual warming.(OPINION)(climate change policy)
Dec 03, 2007; ... Byline: Ross McKitrick Guelph, Canada -- Climate change is one of the most complex topics in science. New insights arise every month. Key discoveries are anticipated in the next few years. Yet politicians seem to think we've learned everything there is to know about the climate ....
Writers' strike: As reruns take over television, eyes shift to new media.(USA)
Dec 03, 2007; ... Byline: Gloria Goodale and Daniel B. Wood Staff writers of The Christian Science Monitor Los Angeles -- Bill Jones says demand is up 30 percent in the past month for his Georgia-based Air2Web, which provides technology for cellphone users to cast votes for reality-show ...
The candidates on energy: hot topic, diverse views.(USA)
Dec 03, 2007; ... Byline: Mark Clayton Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor With gasoline at more than $3 a gallon, energy has emerged as a top issue in the presidential campaign for the first time since the 1970s, with all major presidential candidates including it in their stump ...
What's a fair sentence for Jose Padilla?(USA)(Al Qaeda recruit)
Dec 03, 2007; ... Byline: Warren Richey Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Washington -- This week, convicted Al Qaeda recruit Jose Padilla will stand before a federal judge in Miami to receive a punishment that fits his crime. Such sentencing hearings are usually routine, ...
A Muslim-Christian handshake.(Editorial)
Dec 04, 2007 ... An unprecedented outreach from top Islamic leaders to Christians is meeting a positive response. This budding dialogue has the potential to correct misunderstandings and foster trust among each faith's followers - which the world sorely needs. The overture began in October with ...
Letters to the Editor.(EDITORIAL)(Editorial)
Dec 04, 2007 ... Is occupation necessary to cure fragmentation? In response to the Nov. 30 article, "Bosnia's latest political crisis": The United Nations is doing the same thing in Bosnia that the United States has been trying to do in Iraq. That goal is to prevent, through occupation, the ...
Military chaplains: Prayer and humor hold a combat trauma unit together in Afghanistan.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)(Kurt Bishop)
Dec 04, 2007; ... Byline: Lee Lawrence Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor Forward Operating Base (FOB) Salerno, Afghanistan -- Reporter Lee Lawrence spent three months embedded with US military chaplains in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is the last of six weekly print and Web video ...
The 2007 books we liked best: fiction.(FEATURES)(BOOKS)(Bibliography)
Dec 04, 2007 ... PAULA SPENCER, by Roddy Doyle (Viking, 279 pp., $24.95) In this warm and wryly humorous sequel to "The Woman Who Walked Into Doors," Man Booker Prize-winner Roddy Doyle tells the story of Paula Spencer's sobriety. (Reviewed 1/2/07)ZOLI, by Colum McCann (Random House, 352 pp., ...
The 2007 books we liked best: nonfiction.(FEATURES)(BOOKS)(Bibliography)
Dec 04, 2007 ... Made to Stick, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath (Random House, 289 pp., $29.95) A Stanford Business School professor and his brother examine the basics of the effective - and memorable - presentation of ideas. (1/23/07)A LONG WAY GONE: MEMOIRS OF A BOY SOLDIER, by Ishmael Beah ...
What we liked best: history.(FEATURES)(BOOKS)(Bibliography)
Dec 04, 2007 ... NIXON AND MAO: THE WEEK THAT CHANGED THE WORLD, by Margaret MacMillan (Random House, 432 pp., $27.95) This thorough, absorbing account of Nixon's 1972 trip to China includes telling details and delicious anecdotes. (3/27/07)NIXON AND KISSINGER: PARTNERS IN POWER,by Robert Dallek ...
The 2007 books we liked best: memoirs.(FEATURES)(BOOKS)(Bibliography)
Dec 04, 2007 ... ABOUT ALICE,by Calvin Trillin (Random House, 78 pp., $14.95) Calvin Trillin's moving tribute to his wife of almost 40 years is a slender, graceful volume that most readers will find hard to read without tears. (1/2/07)STEALING BUDDHA'S DINNER,by Bich Minh Nguyen (Viking, 256 ...
The 2007 books we liked best: thrillers.(FEATURES)(BOOKS)(Bibliography)
Dec 04, 2007 ... FIELDWORK,by Mischa Berlinski (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 368 pp., $24) A freelance journalist living in Thailand becomes obsessed as he tries to discover the truth about a Christian missionary's death in this top-notch mystery debut. (3/9/07)Stalin's Ghost,by Martin Cruz Smith ...
What we liked best: short stories and essays.(FEATURES)(BOOKS)(Bibliography)
Dec 04, 2007 ... Shakespeare's Kitchen,by Lore Segal (The New Press, 225pp., $22.95) Lore Segal's genius for observation dazzles in this collection of 13 interlinked stories about a woman who leaves New York to take a job at a Connecticut think tank.(4/10/07)Cheating at Canasta,by William ...
A chaplain's ministry of presence.(THE HOME FORUM)
Dec 04, 2007 ... We were driving down the hill to what would be my new home in Vietnam. The two senior chaplains escorting me were in conversation in the front of the jeep: "Do you think we ought to tell him?" The other replied, "I think we'd better." Obviously, they had my total attention. I ...
Nuts about English walnuts.(THE HOME FORUM)
Dec 04, 2007; ... Byline: Keely Parrack Are you someone who likes nuts in your brownies or Christmas cookies? Have you ever wondered where those nuts come from or how they're grown? You may know that lots of nuts grow on trees, and there are even orchards where farmers grow nothing ...
Hugo Chavez suffers a blow to his 'revolution': reforms defeated in election.(WORLD)
Dec 04, 2007; ... Byline: Daniel Cancel and Sara Miller Llana Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Caracas, Venezuela; and Bogot㡬Colombia -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez suffered an unprecedented defeat after voters on Sunday ...
Reporters on the Job.(WORLD)
Dec 04, 2007 ... * Hugo Buzz: Staff writer Sara Miller Llana says that she is in Colombia at the moment - but everyone is talking about Hugo Chavez's loss in his bid to change Venezuela's Constitution to end presidential term limits and declare a socialist state (see story). "Many people are ...
United Russia wins, Putin sees 'moral mandate' in vote.(WORLD)
Dec 04, 2007; ... Byline: Fred Weir Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor Moscow -- Vladimir Putin appears well on his way to reinventing himself as Russia's parliamentary leader when he leaves the Kremlin early next year, after his United Russia (UR) party won a massive two-thirds ...
Mandela shines brightly at all-star AIDS concert.(WORLD)
Dec 04, 2007; ... Byline: Scott Baldauf The 89-year-old man walked slowly onto a stage crowded with rock stars, looked out at the audience of nearly 50,000 concertgoers, and broke into a smile. He still has it, the charisma that held his people together on the Long Walk to Freedom. In ...
Why China cracked down on my nonprofit.(OPINION)(Nick Young)(Column)
Dec 04, 2007; ... Byline: Nick Young London -- "You can be the government of China's friend or our enemy; there is no other way." This chilling message - and it is a direct quote - was delivered to me in Beijing this summer by an apparently high-ranking Chinese security official who ...
Adroit online, Ron Paul backers hit the streets of N.H.(USA)
Dec 04, 2007; ... Byline: Ari Pinkus Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Manchester, N.H. -- They're coming from Miami and Seattle, from the "big sky" state of Montana, and from close to home here in New Hampshire. They're coming to help political iconoclast Ron Paul get elected ...
Dollar slips, euro gains credibility as viable rival.(USA)
Dec 04, 2007; ... Byline: Peter Grier Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Washington -- For over half a century, the US dollar has been the preeminent form of legal tender in the world. Much of today's global trade is priced in dollars, even if the item in question isn't being sold or ...
U.S. organizing an adjustable-rate freeze.(USA)
Dec 04, 2007; ... Byline: Mark Trumbull Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Help is coming to address one of the most important factors hammering the US housing market: the large number of homeA-owners at risk of foreclosure because their interest rates will soon reset upward. ...
How hard can judges crack down on bias?(USA)
Dec 04, 2007; ... Byline: Warren Richey Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Washington -- A Louisiana death-row inmate is asking the US Supreme Court to throw out his murder conviction because the prosecutor in his 1996 trial excluded all African-Americans from the jury - and then ...
Does U.S. tolerate anti-Muslim speech?(USA)
Dec 04, 2007; ... Byline: Omar Sacirbey Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor Lu Gronseth listens regularly to WWTC, a conservative talk-radio station in Minneapolis, and even advertises his mortgage-loan business on the station. But when he learned that a nationally syndicated radio ...
U.S. military more open to gays serving openly.(USA)
Dec 04, 2007; ... Byline: Brad Knickerbocker Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Is the US ready to join Britain, Israel, most NATO nations, and other countries in allowing gay men and lesbians to openly serve in the armed forces? Most likely not any time soon. But the US ...
Mulling the nuclear intent of Iran's mullahs.(EDITORIAL)(Editorial)
Dec 05, 2007 ... Why did Iran stop - if it really did stop - a nuclear-bomb project four years ago, as American spy agencies now estimate? Was it the US invasion of Iraq, economic sanctions, Iranian doubts, or what? Should the answer really affect the next steps for further pressure on Iran? To ...
Letters to the Editor.(EDITORIAL)(Letter to the editor)
Dec 05, 2007 ... Did the Jena 6 nooses constitute a hate crime? The Oct. 24 Opinion piece by Craig Franklin, "Media myths about the Jena 6," stated that no hate crime could be prosecuted at Jena and that the nooses were not aimed at black students but instead at white rodeo-team members. ...
Fine chocolate is getting a new twist with unusual pairings.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)
Dec 05, 2007; ... Byline: Sarah Leech-Black Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor A steaming mug of hot cocoa topped with a billow of whipped cream and stirred with a stick of peppermint has long been a holiday favorite. But the next time you come indoors to escape winter's frosty air, ...
Sufism may be powerful antidote to Islamic extremism.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)
Dec 05, 2007; ... Byline: Jane Lampman Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Images of Islam have pervaded the news media in recent years, but one aspect of the faith has gotten little attention - Islamic spirituality. Yet thousands in America and millions in the Muslim world have ...
'Tis the season when generosity visits an 'invisible world'.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)
Dec 05, 2007; ... Byline: Marilyn Gardner Columnist Some of the most heart-tugging stories every December can be found in the charitable appeals various newspapers make to collect money for needy families. Without such donations, the papers say, many children would have no gifts to open. ...
Three months with US military chaplains in Iraq and Afghanistan.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)
Dec 05, 2007; ... Byline: Lee Lawrence Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor Bagram air base, Afghanistan -- It was 4 a.m. when my partner, Terry Nickelson, and I landed at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan last March to begin a three-month embed with the military. We'd spent three nearly ...
Can prayer help?(THE HOME FORUM)
Dec 05, 2007 ... Not long ago I was watching a wrap-up of the news on CNN. After the host had run through the latest disasters - the war in Iraq, the drought in Atlanta, the earthquake in Chile - he announced a call-in opportunity for the audience. Was it possible, he asked, that prayer could help? At ...
There's only one flaw in this holiday shopping plan.(THE HOME FORUM)
Dec 05, 2007; ... Byline: Joan Morris McNally Open wide, mailbox. Move over, mail. The catalogs are coming, the catalogs are coming! It's an annual phenomenon, The fallout of catalogs for Christmas gifting. Well before we raked up the last fallen leaves, we were raking in the ...
Outdoor holiday decorating made easy.(THE HOME FORUM)
Dec 05, 2007; ... Byline: David Martin Christmas is the season of lights. Drive down any suburban residential street and every second house will feature an illuminated decoration of one kind or another. Some homeowners have a simple yet tasteful display of lights around the front ...
Knitting speaks louder than words.(THE HOME FORUM)
Dec 05, 2007; ... Byline: Dawn Goldsmith A few days ago a friend and knitting fanatic e-mailed me about a knitter who makes cupcakes for knitters and their knitting parties. She even offers easy-to-follow instructions. I'm not sure marzipan knitting will garner as wide an appeal as traditional ...
Heard at Mecca: 'Are you single?'.(WORLD)
Dec 05, 2007; ... Byline: Rym Ghazal Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor Mecca, Saudi Arabia -- In the midst of overlapping murmurs of prayers in a sea of white-cloaked worshipers, a woman's voice interrupts the collective trance as she asks: "Are you single?" For hundreds of ...
In Algeria, Sarkozy condemns colonialism, pushes Mediterranean Union.(WORLD)(Nicolas Sarkozy)
Dec 05, 2007 ... Byline: Jill Carroll Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Cairo -- Since ancient Rome sacked Carthage, North Africa has kept a wary eye on its neighbors across the Mediterranean Sea. Today, that unease influences how many North Africans view French President Nicolas ...
Reporters on the Job.(WORLD)(Brief article)
Dec 05, 2007 ... * Match Point: Contributor Rym Gazel was in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for umrah. "It's a smaller version of hajj," Rym explains, and a spiritual pilgrimage that people perform many times throughout their lives. As she and two friends observed the goings-on, Rym saw a woman - who ...
A plan for monitoring Africa's weather.(WORLD)(Group on Earth Observations)
Dec 05, 2007; ... Byline: Scott Baldauf Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Cape Town, South Africa -- When a massive earthquake shakes some corner of the Pacific Ocean, sensors alert Pacific Rim nations of possible tsunamis. When massive downpours converge on the nations of Central ...
Deadline nears for Kosovo independence negotiations.(WORLD)
Dec 05, 2007; ... Byline: Robert Marquand Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Pristina, Kosovo -- The status of Kosovo has hung fire for nearly eight years since NATO's bombing campaign. Now, as a key Dec. 10 deadline approaches over this highly sensitive, landlocked patch of the ...
In Bali, Germany takes dramatic step on climate change.(WORLD)
Dec 05, 2007; ... Byline: Mariah Blake Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor Hamburg, Germany -- This week, delegates from more than 180 countries are gathered in Bali for a United Nations-sponsored conference, where they will try to hash out a road map for a post-Kyoto climate treaty ....
'The Elders' urge action on Darfur.(WORLD)(13 South African men and women)
Dec 05, 2007; ... Byline: Scott Baldauf Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor Johannesburg, South Africa -- The Elders came, they listened, and now they are recommending how to bring lasting peace to Darfur. Drawing on lessons learned from an October trip to Sudan's restive ...
Save America from the mosh pit.(OPINION)(homecoming dance)
Dec 05, 2007; ... Byline: Pamela Michaels Los Angeles -- I was a flower child. I frequented love-ins, worshiped John Lennon, and helped plan the "Revolution." I never thought I'd be ranting over the music and youth of today, much less championing the cause of polite society. But I ...