Articles

British-based reporter Sarah Lyall puts some racial spin into Saturday's "Britain's Plans for Addressing Its Muslims' Concerns Lag," on combating Muslim extremism in that country. Lyall puts the onus not on the Muslim community, but on Tony Blair's Labor government for setting a hostile tone: "The Home Office began holding citizenship ceremonies for immigrants and said it would begin requiring new citizens to take tests on British culture and traditions. Hazel Blears, a government minister,…

An August 13 front-page story by Philip Shenon and Neil Lewis about tensions between British and American investigators had some harsh criticism of ugly Americans overseas mucking up the investigation of the fatalLondon tube bombings: "In one case in particular, last year after the London bombings when New York police officers traveled there to pitch in, the different working style created tension. British police and intelligence officials complained to the F.B.I., C.I.A. and State Department…

As part of the Times' grudging coverage of the successful 10th anniversary of welfare reform comes Eric Eckholm's Tuesday report from Philadelphia, "A Welfare Law Milestone Finds Many Left Behind." "Over the last five years, Mysheda Autry has received welfare checks and food stamps, gone through a welfare-to-work program and briefly held several jobs. She has also given birth to her second and third children. "Ms. Autry, 25, with a 10th-grade education, was finally overwhelmed by the demands…

London correspondent Alan Cowell follows up Tuesday morning on the terror plot to blow up ten passenger planes ("Britain Charges 11 In Plane case; Bomb Fear Cited") and spread his usual unfounded skepticism of how urgent the terror threat really was. "The British authorities charged 11 people on Monday in connection with a suspected plot to blow up United States-bound airliners, and said investigators had discovered 'martyrdom videos' and bomb-making materials in a far-reaching search of homes…

     The global warming debate can be awash with contradicting information – even in separate sections of the same newspaper.        In the August 20 Washington Post, reporter Juliet Eilperin showed that scientists don’t agree whether climate change is causing more powerful hurricanes. Meanwhile, in the Post’s Outlook section, author and global warming promoter Mike Tidwell predicted that a Katrina-like catastrophe is “coming here” to Washington.…

Reporter Randal Archibold outlines California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's political balancing act in his bid for reelection this November in Saturday's "In California Balancing Act, Immigration May Tip Vote." Typically, the paper frames measures that crack down on illegal immigration as mean-spirited: "Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona, a Democrat, has sought to appear tough, declaring a state of emergency last year in the four border counties that bear the brunt of the flow of illegal…

     NBC discovered there are lots of jobs available in this economy after all – in this case, jobs for teachers. According to John Seigenthaler of the “Nightly News,” “200,000 new instructors will be needed this year” and “2 million over the next decade.”      Although reporter Michelle Kosinski showed how far school districts are going to attract teachers, she concluded that “teachers and students deserve better.”      Kosinski’s…

Nashville-based Theo Emery has a story on those poor, persecuted Democratic country-music songwriters in Saturday's "In Nashville, Sounds of Political Uprising From the Left." "Country music videos flashed on a television set at the Idle Hour, a Music Row bar where a Crock-Pot of beef stew simmered for hungry musicians. "Sitting at a table in early August, Bobby Braddock, the longtime songwriter, lamented the conservatism of the country music industry that was demonstrated when the lead singer…

Shocking absolutely no one, the New York Times editorial page last Fridaycelebrated Judge Anna Diggs Taylor's ruling that declared Bush's terrorist surveillance program unconstitutional, under the headline "Ruling for the Law." The editorial absurdly claimed: "The ruling eviscerated the absurd notion on which the administration's arguments have been based: that Congress authorized Mr. Bush to do whatever he thinks is necessary when it authorized the invasion of Afghanistan." And later: But for…

Sabrina Tavernise reports from a village in Lebanon for Friday's "A Girl's Life Bound Close To Hezbollah," and honors the mantra of the terrorist group as a "social services network," just like her colleague John Kifner did on Wednesday - and again, without using the word "terrorism." "Israel's goal of uprooting Hezbollah from southern Lebanon has frequently been questioned by critics who say the group is deeply woven into society and cannot simply be cut out. An afternoon with the Fadlallah…