Brilliant Body Mind Spirit

Obama Warns of Trillion-Dollar Deficit Potential

2009-01-07T09:58:00.003-06:00

By JEFF ZELENY and EDMUND L. ANDREWSWASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday braced Americans for the unparalleled prospect of “trillion-dollar deficits for years to come,” a stark assessment of the budgetary outlook that he said would force his administration to impose tighter fiscal discipline on the government.Mr. Obama sought to distinguish between the need to run what is likely

A Pitch for Mass Transit

2009-01-05T11:29:00.001-06:00

Unlike President Bush, Barack Obama is going to enter office with a clear appreciation of the urgent problems of climate change and America’s growing dependency on foreign oil — and a strong commitment to address both.One way he can do this is to give mass transit — trains, buses, commuter rails — the priority it deserves and the full financial and technological help it needs and has long been

Relentless Challenger of Apartheid System, Is Dead at 91

2009-01-02T09:13:00.001-06:00

By JOHN F. BURNS and ALAN COWELLHelen Suzman, the internationally renowned anti-apartheid campaigner who befriended the imprisoned Nelson Mandela and offered an often lonely voice for change among South Africa’s white minority, died in Johannesburg early on Thursday, a family member said. She was 91.Her son-in-law, Jeffrey Jowell, a law professor in London, said she died peacefully at her home in

And the Fighting Continues in the Middle East

2008-12-30T13:47:00.003-06:00

War Over GazaBy ETHAN BRONNER and TAGHREED EL-KHODARYPublished: December 30, 2008Israel must defend itself. And Hamas must bear responsibility for ending a six-month cease-fire this month with a barrage of rocket attacks into Israeli territory. Still we fear that Israel’s response — devastating airstrikes that represent the largest military operation in Gaza since 1967 — is unlikely to weaken the

The Only Thing to Fear is Fear Itself

2008-12-29T10:28:00.007-06:00

In Desperate Times, the Rise to Take the Reins and Take On Fear ItselfBy EDWARD ROTHSTEINHYDE PARK, N.Y. — As winds howl through the empty rooms of failed financial institutions and foreclosed homes, as unemployment statistics spike and stocks plunge, as an era of high hopes stutters with fear, and seeming shelters shake on fraudulent foundations, who would not hope that new leadership might

Angry Youths Become a Force in Darfur

2008-12-23T10:05:00.004-06:00

By NEIL MacFARQUHAR HAMIDIYA CAMP, Sudan — The sheik was in a panic. The agitated youth in this West Darfur refugee camp, young men and adolescents who traditionally would have deferred to his authority, had gotten wind of his presence at a ceremony also attended by an official with the Sudanese government, their longtime antagonists. Terrified that the youths would accuse him of

Obama's choice for U.N. Strong Advocate for Action Against Mass Killings

2008-12-22T16:00:00.002-06:00

By PETER BAKER CHICAGO — President-elect Barack Obama has chosen his foreign policy adviser, Susan E. Rice, to be ambassador to the United Nations, picking an advocate of “dramatic action” against genocide as he rounds out his national security team, Democrats close to the transition said Sunday. Mr. Obama intends to announce Ms. Rice’s selection at a news conference here Monday

W. Mark Felt, Watergate Deep Throat, Dies at 95

2008-12-19T13:55:00.002-06:00

By TIM WEINER W. Mark Felt, who was the No. 2 official at the F.B.I. when he helped bring down President Richard M. Nixon by resisting the Watergate cover-up and becoming Deep Throat, the most famous anonymous source in American history, died Thursday. He was 95 and lived in Santa Rosa, Calif. His death was confirmed by Rob Jones, his grandson. In 2005, Mr. Felt revealed that he was

A humerous look at the Change of White House Décor when Obama Enters Office?

2008-12-18T13:50:00.003-06:00

By PENELOPE GREEN EVER since Mary Todd Lincoln overshot the White House decorating budget by $6,700 (a third of her $20,000 appropriation), infuriating her husband and delighting a press corps that had already turned against her, the redecoration of the president’s house has been a public relations minefield. Some new administrations tiptoe through it unscathed; others are less nimble,

Iowa Justices Hear Same-Sex Marriage Case

2008-12-17T10:58:00.001-06:00

By KIRK JOHNSON In a case that could make Iowa the first Midwestern state to legalize same-sex marriage, the Iowa Supreme Court on Tuesday pressed lawyers for both sides with sharp questions on topics like the 4,000-year-old history of marriage and whether a ruling favoring gay couples would open the door to polygamy. The legal core of the case, Varnum v. Brien, is whether the state’s

Freedom Fighter in Life Becomes Potent Symbol in Death

2008-12-16T10:12:00.001-06:00

One of the first scenes in “Milk” is of a pick-up in a New York subway station. It’s 1970, and an insurance executive in a suit and tie catches sight of a beautiful, scruffy younger man — the phrase “angel-headed hipster” comes to mind — and banters with him on the stairs. The mood of the moment, which ends up with the two men eating birthday cake in bed, is casual and sexy, and its flirtatious

Barred From Zimbabwe, but Not Silent

2008-12-15T09:45:00.005-06:00

By CELIA W. DUGGER JOHANNESBURG — Zimbabwe’s president, Robert Mugabe, 84, managed to keep three members of the Elders, founded by Nelson Mandela to tackle intractable problems, out of Zimbabwe over the weekend. But the members gave Mr. Mugabe and leaders from across southern Africa an earful on Monday about Zimbabwe’s grave humanitarian crisis and their responsibility to act more

Gay Marriage and a Moral Minority

2008-12-11T09:50:00.002-06:00

By CHARLES M. BLOW Published: November 29, 2008 We now know that blacks probably didn’t tip the balance for Proposition 8. Myth busted. However, the fact remains that a strikingly high percentage of blacks said they voted to ban same-sex marriage in California. Why?There was one very telling (and virtually ignored) statistic in CNN’s exit poll

Proposition 8: Gay Marriage Ban Inspires New Wave of Activists

2008-12-10T09:54:00.003-06:00

By JESSE McKINLEY Published: December 9, 2008SAN FRANCISCO — They’re calling it Stonewall 2.0.Outraged by California voters’ ban on same-sex marriage, a new wave of advocates, shaken out of a generational apathy, have pushed to the forefront of the gay rights movement, using freshly minted grass-roots groups and embracing not only new technologies but also old-school methods like sit-ins and

Odetta, Voice of Civil Rights Movement, Dies

2008-12-04T09:27:00.003-06:00

Odetta, the singer whose resonant voice wove together the strongest songs of American folk music and the civil rights movement, died on Tuesday in Manhattan. She was 77.The cause was heart disease, her manager, Doug Yeager, said.Odetta, who lived in Upper Manhattan, had been admitted to Lenox Hill Hospital three weeks ago with a number of ailments, including kidney trouble, Mr. Yeager said. In

Puck's Gay Love Potion Splashed Across Town

2008-11-21T10:47:00.006-06:00

A Note From Alan:Puck's love potion sprinkled in the eyes of all who voted for Proposition 8 . Might turn this world into a love friendly world versus a hate filled world. (In regards, to California's Gay Marriage Ban.)By STEPHEN HOLDEN Published: November 21, 2008What teenager hasn’t fantasized about wielding magic to transform an indifferent object of desire into a besotted lover? In “Were the

Everybody Knows the Trouble I've Seen

2008-11-21T10:38:00.002-06:00

Joe Biden has been a Senator for 36 years. He has vast understanding of constitutional law and foreign affairs, among other topics. But his most important qualification for Vice President is that his wife and daughter were killed and two sons badly injured in a tragic auto accident in 1972. At least that is the impression you get from listening to Barack Obama and other Democrats as they tout

Obama Affirms Climate Change Goals

2008-11-20T10:04:00.003-06:00

By JOHN M. BRODER Published: November 18, 2008 President-elect Barack Obama, in strongly-worded remarks to a gathering of governors and foreign officials on Tuesday, said he had no intention of softening or delaying his aggressive targets for reducing emissions that cause the warming of the planet.Speaking by video to a climate conference in Los Angeles, Mr. Obama repeated his

Across U.S., Big Rallies for Same-Sex Marriage

2008-11-19T10:41:00.005-06:00

By JESSE McKINLEY Published: November 15, 2008 SAN FRANCISCO — In one of the nation’s largest displays of support for gay rights, tens of thousands of people in cities across the country turned out in support of same-sex marriage on Saturday, lending their voices to an issue that many gay men and lesbians consider a critical step to full

Military Retirees Call for Repeal of Policy on Gays

2008-11-18T10:36:00.003-06:00

More than 100 retired generals and admirals called Monday for the repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays so they can serve opnely, according to a statement obtained by The Associated Press.The move by the military veterans confronts the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama with a thorny political and cultural issues that dogged former President Bill

Sister Emmanuelle, Revered in France for Candor and Caring, Is Dead at 99

2008-11-17T09:40:00.002-06:00

A Note from Alan: A Great Example of Moral IQ in Today's World. Serving the Poor and Needy.By BRUCE WEBER Published: October 24, 2008“When you hear this message, I will no longer be there,” the voice, characteristically spirited, confident, just a little bit cheeky and familiar to all of France, said on a tape released this week. The words were those of Sister Emmanuelle, a nun revered for her

A New You....When I Snap my Fingers Twice You Will...

2008-11-14T10:19:00.005-06:00

By JANE E. BRODY Published: November 3, 2008 My husband, Richard, smoked cigarettes for 50 years, having failed several attempts to quit on his own. When a friend told him in August 1994 that hypnosis had enabled her to quit, he decided to give it a try.“It didn’t work; I wasn’t hypnotized,” he declared after his one and only session. But it did

They’ve Got Your Number

2008-11-13T10:09:00.004-06:00

By ROB WALKER Published: October 31, 2008Maybe you’re the kind of person who doesn’t believe that the kind of person you are can be deduced by an algorithm and expressed through shorthand categorizations like “urban youth” or “hearth keeper.” Maybe I’d agree with you, and maybe we’re right. But the kind of people — “crack mathematicians, computer scientists and engineers” — whom Stephen Baker

Finally, a Thin President

2008-11-12T09:42:00.004-06:00

By COLSON WHITEHEAD Published: November 5, 2008OVER the coming days and weeks, there will be many “I never thought I’d see the day” pieces, but none of them will be more overflowing with “I never thought I’d see the day”-ness than this one. I’m black, you see, and I haven’t gained a pound since college. I skip breakfast most days, have maybe half a sandwich for lunch, and sometimes I forget to

Our Founding Father's Eternal Revolution

2008-11-11T11:21:00.004-06:00

By ORLANDO PATTERSON Published: November 7, 2008BARACK OBAMA’S victory marks the end of another magnificent chapter in America’s experience of democracy. But rather than being seen as a radical transition, it is best viewed as part of an ever-evolving process that began with the election of George Washington in 1789. To interpret it as a foundational change, ushering something new and unknown,