Sunday, February 9, 2003

Venezuela's Oil Industry and the Strike. The strike has reduced Venezuela's oil capabilities. 4:47:44 PM

Iraq's Ties to Terror Aren't Easy to Read. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell's evidence of Iraq-Al Qaeda links offered the U.N. only hints about how Saddam Hussein might make use of them. By Yossi Melman. 4:47:44 PM

In the City of Love, Seduction Lessons. At L'[infinity]cole Fran[Y¨]aise de S/duction V/ronique J., it is assumed that men and women are from the same planet. By Kerry Shaw. 4:47:43 PM

A Lexicon of Francophobia, From Emerson to Fox TV. Critics of the French position on Iraq have trotted out every calumny in the antique armoire of Francophobia. By Geoffrey Nunberg. 4:47:43 PM

Secretary Powell Made a Point. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell's presentation of recorded conversations in Iraq, satellite photographs and intelligence was met with support and skepticism. By Steven R. Weisman. 4:47:43 PM

More Advice for Curing Japan's Ills. Richard Katz, author of "Japanese Phoenix: The Long Road to Economic Revival," likens Japan's economy to a driver thrown from a speeding car. By Ken Belson. 4:47:42 PM

In Europe, One Continent Under God. Or Not.. After a week of deliberations, the jury is still out on whether the European Union will include a reference to God in its constitution. By Thomas Fullerinternational Herald Tribune. 4:47:42 PM

She Sings the Body Desperate for a Smoke. In "Little Fish," Michael John LaChiusa's new musical, quitting smoking is a metaphor for gaining self-knowledge. By Don Shewey. 4:47:41 PM

Rebels in Nepal Drive Down Tourism. The tourism industry in Nepal is threatened by the Maoist insurgency that controls more than a third of the countryside and is seeking to abolish the monarchy. By Philip Shenon. 4:47:41 PM

Everybody Has a Mother. The mother of the accused terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui is fighting to keep her youngest out of the electric chair. By Susan Dominus. 4:47:40 PM

War P.R. Machine Is on Full Throttle. A public relations campaign to gain American support for war includes carefully timed speeches and monitoring of public opinion. By Elisabeth Bumiller. 4:47:40 PM

Annan Appeals to U.S. for More Talks Before War. The United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, appealed on Saturday to the Bush administration to take time for "patient" negotiations before rushing into war with Iraq. By Julia Preston. 4:47:39 PM

A New Tactic Against War: Renew Talk About Draft. A pugnacious liberal House member from Northern California is trying a new antiwar approach advocating a return of the draft. By Carl Hulse. 4:47:39 PM

Over Tea and on Velvet Sofas, Kuwaitis Discuss and Debate. Political change in Kuwait incubates at opulent, private town meetings. By Clifford Krauss. 4:47:38 PM

Venezuelan Oilman: Rebel With a New Cause. Al[base '] Rodr[base ']guez may look like an oil executive, but he sees himself as a revolutionary. By Juan Forero. 4:47:38 PM

German Demonstrators Oppose War, Not U.S.. Despite snow and icy streets, several thousand antiwar demonstrators turned out in Munich on Saturday. By Richard Bernstein. 4:47:37 PM

Sharon Resumes Direct Talks With Palestinians. Israeli officials described the contacts, which include lower-level meetings, as an effort to arrange a cease-fire. By James Bennet. 4:47:37 PM

Islamists in Iraq Offer a Tour of 'Poison Factory' Cited by Powell. A militant Islamic group that occupies a part of northern Iraq briefly opened access to a military compound that the U.S. has described as a poisons and explosives factory. By C. J. Chivers. 4:47:36 PM

Peronist Party Losing Its Grip on Argentine Politics. Unable to resolve the growing divisions that threaten to rip their movement apart, party leaders will instead let Argentine voters try to sort out the mess. By Larry Rohter. 4:47:36 PM

Satellite TV Tries to Bridge a Culture Gap. A studio audience gathered in Indonesia last week to seek commonality with American counterparts via a satellite hookup. By Jane Perlez. 4:47:35 PM

South Korea Has Too Much Rice and a Sticky Political Problem. On the Korean Peninsula, millions of people in the North are suffering for lack of rice, while people in the South face the opposite problem. By Don Kirk. 4:47:35 PM

India and Pakistan Expel 5 Diplomats Each. India expelled Pakistan's acting high commissioner on Saturday after accusing him of providing money to Kashmiri separatists. By Amy Waldman. 4:47:34 PM

Inspectors Will Press Iraq for Hard Data That Could Avert War. In Baghdad, the chief U.N. inspectors are pushing Iraq to make a serious move toward compliance with U.N. resolutions. By Ian Fisher. 4:47:34 PM

Khatami Says Iran Mines Uranium for Nuclear Plant. TEHRAN (Reuters) - President Mohammad Khatami said on Sunday Iran had mined uranium for use in its nuclear power plants and would reprocess the spent fuel itself, but insisted its nuclear program was solely for civilian use. By Reuters. 4:47:33 PM

Large Underground Lake Said Found China. BEIJING (AP) -- Scientists have discovered a massive underground lake in China's arid northwest, giving hope for the reduction of poverty in one of the country's most remote and sparsely populated regions, state media reported Sunday. By The Associated Press. 4:47:33 PM

Car Explodes in Gaza Strip, Killing 3. A car driven by three suspected Palestinian militants blew up today next to an Israeli army post in the Gaza Strip. The men were killed when the bombs exploded inside the vehicle. By Reuters. 4:47:32 PM

Israel Offers Palestinians Phased Truce. Israel has offered to withdraw from Palestinian areas where militants have been subdued by Palestinian security forces, a senior Israeli government official said today. By The Associated Press. 4:47:32 PM

Blast at Social Club Struck at Colombia's Elite. The bomb that killed about 20 people in the most fashionable social club in Colombia's capital on Friday could signal a new wave of terrorist attacks. By Juan Forero. 4:47:30 PM

Canadians Split on U.S. Pilots. Though angry, most relatives of the four Canadians killed by a U.S. bomb in Afghanistan were not urging punishment. By Clifford Krauss. 4:47:29 PM

Islamic Group Kills Kurdish Parliament Minister. SULAIMANIYA, Iraq, Feb. 9 The Islamic group Ansar al Islam assassinated a minister of the Kurdish parliament and two other government officials on Saturday night, and seized two hostages whose fate remained unknown today. By C. J. Chivers. 4:47:28 PM

Saudis Plan to End U.S. Presence. Saudi officials said the departure of U.S. troops would set the stage for the first significant democratic reforms at home. By Patrick E. Tyler. 4:47:27 PM

Inspectors See 'Change of Heart'; U.S. Says Progress Is Not Enough. U.N. inspectors said they made progress during talks with Iraq, but Bush administration officials dismissed the cooperation as insufficient. By Brian Knowltoninternational Herald Tribune. 4:47:27 PM

For Republicans, Deficits Are Nothing to Be Ashamed Of. The idea of a balanced budget ranks high in the hierarchy of American political virtues. So how could President Bush submit a budget that included a $304 billion deficit? By Robin Toner. 4:47:25 PM

War P.R. Machine Is on Full Throttle. Carefully timed speeches, close monitoring of public opinion and the use of television in crucial markets are all part of a public relations campaign to gain American support for war. By Elisabeth Bumiller. 4:47:24 PM

Secretary Powell Made a Point. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell's presentation of recorded conversations in Iraq, satellite photographs and intelligence was met with support and skepticism. By Steven R. Weisman. 4:47:23 PM

Dukakis Rides Again. Now that Gary Hart and Dick Gephardt have once again tossed their hats into the ring, it is only natural for people to recall Mike Dukakis's run for president. By Mark Katz. 4:47:23 PM

In Towns That Slowed Growth, Backlash Stirs. Policies that limited how fast towns could expand were all the rage in boom times, but the recent economic downturn has changed thinking on land-use in many towns. By Michael Janofsky. 4:47:22 PM

A President Puts His Faith in Providence. Over the last two weeks, President George W. Bush has delivered several speeches laced with references to his religious beliefs. By Laurie Goodstein. 4:47:21 PM

A New Tactic Against War: Renew Talk About Draft. A pugnacious liberal House member from Northern California is trying a new antiwar approach advocating a return of the draft. By Carl Hulse. 4:47:20 PM

Judge Backs Deal to Retire California Farms. A federal judge has agreed that the United States Bureau of Reclamation no longer needs to provide drainage for about 34,000 acres of farmland in California. By Dean E. Murphy. 4:47:19 PM

Rumsfeld Rebukes U.N. and NATO on Approach to Baghdad. The defense secretary urged the U.N. to stop Iraqi defiance of U.N. resolutions and warned NATO to stop delaying plans to defend Turkey. By Thom Shanker. 4:47:18 PM

Bush Seeks Tax Cuts He Had Scorned. President Bush's tax plan include dozens of tax breaks for special interests that could total hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue losses. By David E. Rosenbaum. 4:47:17 PM

After Moon, No Giant Leaps in Space Allure. Space has no big constituency, NASA's budget has been flat for a decade, and no president has put space travel on the national agenda since Lyndon B. Johnson. By Todd S. Purdum. 4:47:17 PM

Cryptic Clues and New Questions Face NASA in Columbia Inquiry. A blurry silhouette of the Columbia in its last moments and a series of sensor readings renewed focus on the theory that damage to the orbiter's left wing led to its destruction. By James Glanz. 4:47:14 PM

Bad Seed or Bad Science: The Story of the Notorious Jukes Family. For more than a century, the Jukes clan has been presented as America's most despised family. It turns out that many family members were the victims of distorted research. By Scott Christianson. 4:47:13 PM

U.N. Warns of Mideast Conflict's Harm to the Environment. The conflict in the Middle East is having grave effects on the environment of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. By Marc Lacey. 4:47:12 PM

Logistics and Criticism in Panel's First Week. Some lawmakers in Washington say changes are still needed in the board NASA has named to head the Columbia investigation, in order to ensure a more independent inquiry. By Matthew L. Wald with Richard A. Oppel Jr.. 4:47:11 PM

From Earth, Special Photos of Columbia. A telescope at the Starfire Optical Range at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque photographed the space shuttle Columbia in its last minutes. By George Johnson. 4:47:10 PM

Cold and Foam Are Called a Dangerous Mix. The large chunk of foam insulation that flew off the Columbia's external fuel tank and hit its left wing during blastoff may have caused more harm than NASA realized. By William J. Broad. 4:47:10 PM

'Significant' Piece of Shuttle's Wing Is Found in Texas. Officials were uncertain whether the section was from the left wing, where sensors had indicated ever-worsening signs of distress. By David E. Sanger with John M. Broder. 4:47:08 PM

Can Energy Ventures Pick Up Where Tech Left Off?. Several former Internet entrepreneurs have quietly migrated to the emerging field of alternative energy over the past several months. By Amy Cortese. 4:47:07 PM

From Excitement to Horror: Columbia's Last Flight Online. The 1986 space shuttle disaster happened live on network television. Last weekend's shuttle disaster also unfolded live, but the primary medium was the Internet. By Tom Kuntz. 4:47:07 PM

Searchers Seek Lab's Remains. Engineers from Spacehab are sifting through metal fragments for the remnants of the laboratory that was the main payload carried by the shuttle. By Edward Wong. 4:47:06 PM

Sexy It's Not, but Big Science Thrives on Earth. Unlike many recent shuttle flights, this one was promoted as a research mission, its primary purpose being the expansion of human knowledge. By George Johnson. 4:47:05 PM

Lunar-tics. With the help of digital-editing software, postmodern skepticism and Fox TV, Bart Sibrel and other media-friendly moon-landing doubters are driving NASA crazy. By Jack Hitt. 4:47:04 PM

Our Future in Space Is History. Except for those arresting images of planets and stars from unmanned probes, the old excitement about space flight is gone. By John Noble Wilford. 4:47:03 PM

The Week's Economic Events. MONDAYNone. 4:47:01 PM

Equity Sales This Week. The following equity offerings are expected this week:. 4:47:01 PM

Debt Offerings Scheduled for This Week. The Treasury's schedule of financing this week includes today's regular weekly auction of new three- and six-month bills, four-week bills and five-year notes on Tuesday and 10-year notes on Wednesday. 4:47:00 PM

Gaffes on Hispanics, From 2 Well-Known Mouths. Two different media personalities have recently touched a nerve among Hispanics. By David Carr. 4:46:59 PM

HBO Offers Program to Networks. In another indication that cable and network programming are becoming interchangeable, HBO has offered the four major broadcast networks a chance at picking up "Sex and the City." By Bill Carter. 4:46:58 PM

Publishers Give Classics a Makeover. The stiffest competition in the book business may be among the many publishers staking claim to Dickens, Austen, Herodotus and Plato. By Bill Goldstein. 4:46:57 PM

Cost Cuts at Knight Ridder. Top executives at Knight Ridder, the third-largest newspaper company, have drafted their subordinate newspaper executives into an effort to cut $100 million in costs. By Felicity Barringer. 4:46:56 PM

Traditional Country Music Is Bouncing Back on Radio. Slick rock-style tunes have stolen the show in country music. But contemporary country has experienced a backlash, and the radio industry is beginning to respond. By Lynette Holloway. 4:46:55 PM

Y.& R. Hires Executive From BBDO for 2 Posts. Young & Rubicam Advertising is raiding a competitor, BBDO Worldwide, to hire a top creative executive to fill two posts, effective March 1 By The New York Times. 4:46:54 PM

Amazon Tries Word of Mouth. Amazon is asking itself one of the most vexing questions in marketing: Is television advertising worth the expense? Amazon's answer is no. By Saul Hansell. 4:46:54 PM

A Corporate Cliffhanger Starring Disney and Pixar. The most watched drama at the Walt Disney Company these days is not its live-action football hit, "Remember the Titans," but the real-life clash of two executive giants. By Laura M. Holson. 4:46:53 PM

As Animation Goes Digital, Disney Fights for Its Crown. These are anxious times for film animators, who are being roiled by layoffs, new technology and tension between Disney and Pixar. By Laura M. Holson. 4:46:52 PM

Telecom Offer Expected to Be $3.88 Billion. PCCW, the Hong Kong telephone company, is expected to make an informal offer for Cable and Wireless, the British telecommunications firm. By Suzanne Kapner. 4:46:51 PM

Electronic Surveillance Spies a Perfect Gift. Information Awareness coffee mugs, T-shirts and thongs have been the early best sellers, he said. By David F. Gallagher. 4:46:50 PM

E-mail Spam Scam Is Sent in Bush's Name. A geography professor in Wisconsin has written a clever spoof e-mail that has circulated suprisingly widely in the last week. By Matthew Mirapaul. 4:46:49 PM

Looking After Life Without Leaving Office. A new survey has found that people spend more time online finishing office work at home than they do surfing the Web at work for personal reasons. By Elizabeth Olson. 4:46:48 PM

Merchants Outbid for Top Billing. Unscrupulous advertisers are said to outbid reputable merchants for top billings in online searches. By Bob Tedeschi. 4:46:48 PM

Scientists of Very Small Draw Disciplines Together. Nanotechnology, biotechnology, electronics and brain research are converging into a field of science vital to the nation's security. By Barnaby J. Feder. 4:46:47 PM

Proposal Expected on Fees Charged by Bell Companies. Lobbyists besieged the Federal Communications Commission as the agency rushed to rewrite arcane telephone rules. By Stepen Labaton. 4:46:46 PM

As Big Airlines Struggle, Computer Booking System Prospers. As the airline industry heads closer to insolvency, Sabre Holdings, the world's largest computer reservations system, is doing well. By Saul Hansell. 4:46:45 PM

News Industry Plans for War and Worries About Lost Ads. Major media companies, many in a more precarious financial condition than they were a decade ago, are deciding how to cover a war in Iraq. By David D. Kirkpatrick. 4:46:44 PM

Sun Rolls Out Its New Effort to Gain Edge Over 2 Rivals. Sun is set to announce new computer and software offerings in an effort to regain a sense of leadership in the corporate computing business. By Steve Lohr. 4:46:43 PM

A Bid by SBC for DirecTV Would Confirm Cable's Reach. Edward E. Whitacre Jr., the chairman of SBC, has good reason to consider making a bid to take over DirecTV. By Andrew Ross Sorkin. 4:46:42 PM

Marcello Truzzi, 67, Sociologist Who Studied the Supernatural, Dies. Marcello Truzzi founded the Center for Scientific Anomalies Research, which is dedicated to investigating unusual phenomena. By Douglas Martin. 4:46:41 PM

Louis Schwartz, Legal Scholar, Dies at 89. Louis B. Schwartz's work helped bring about significant changes in the penal codes of many states. By Paul Lewis. 4:46:40 PM

As Search for Debris Continues, It's Clear Much Work Is Ahead. DALLAS, Feb. 8 The search for space shuttle debris intensified this weekend, with hundreds of volunteers joining the hunt and residents as far west as Dallas pitching in. By Jeffrey Gettleman. 4:46:39 PM

Searchers Seek Lab's Remains. Engineers from Spacehab are sifting through metal fragments for the remnants of the laboratory that was the main payload carried by the shuttle. By Edward Wong. 4:46:38 PM

After Moon, No Giant Leaps in Space Allure. Space has no big constituency, NASA's budget has been flat for a decade, and no president has put space travel on the national agenda since Lyndon B. Johnson. By Todd S. Purdum. 4:46:37 PM

Outside Experts to Aid Review of NASA Work. The board investigating the shuttle disaster will employ independent laboratories and outside experts to review the work performed by NASA and its contractors. By John M. Broder and Matthew L. Wald. 4:46:36 PM

A New Tactic Against War: Renew Talk About Draft. A pugnacious liberal House member from Northern California is trying a new antiwar approach advocating a return of the draft. By Carl Hulse. 4:46:35 PM

Lawyers Say Ashcroft's Death Penalty Edict Could Backfire. Forcing United States attorneys to seek the death penalty could result in unwanted ripple effects, such as more frequent acquittals, some lawyers say. By Benjamin Weiser. 4:46:34 PM

Bush Seeks Tax Cuts He Had Scorned. President Bush's tax plan include dozens of tax breaks for special interests that could total hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue losses. By David E. Rosenbaum. 4:46:33 PM

Disney Town Teems With Segways. Celebration, Fla., is a test market for the Segway, people movers powered by a battery and balanced by a gyroscope. By The New York Times. 4:46:31 PM

War P.R. Machine Is on Full Throttle. A public relations campaign to gain American support for war includes carefully timed speeches and monitoring of public opinion. By Elisabeth Bumiller. 4:46:28 PM

For Drug Abusers, Methadone Has Become a Double-Edged Sword. WESTBROOK, Me. When Michelle, a 24-year-old drug addict, was looking for a fix, methadone, with its minimal, slow-action high, was not her first choice. Her preference was heroin, and she described herself as so hooked on it that she would make her 4-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter By Pam Belluck. 4:46:27 PM

For Students at a Fantasy Space Camp, the Mission Continues. On the campus of the U.S. Space Camp, it is an article of faith that men and women will continue blasting free of Earth's atmosphere. By David M. Halbfinger. 4:46:23 PM

Houston's Troubled DNA Crime Lab Faces Scrutiny. HOUSTON, Feb. 8 A DNA sample that helped convict a 16-year-old rape suspect in 1999 has been added to the mounting pile of evidence called into question in an investigation of the Houston Police Department's crime laboratory. By Nick Madigan. 4:46:22 PM

Judge Backs Deal to Retire California Farms. A federal judge has agreed that the United States Bureau of Reclamation no longer needs to provide drainage for about 34,000 acres of farmland in California. By Dean E. Murphy. 4:46:20 PM

A Scramble to Toughen Security Steps, if Possible. DENVER, Feb. 8 ÷ The Bush administration's decision to raise the terror-alert code on Friday to orange from yellow, signifying a higher possibility of attack, sent local officials scrambling to find ways to tighten security in their communities. For many, there was little more to do. By Michael Janofsky. 4:46:18 PM

In Towns That Slowed Growth, Backlash Stirs. Policies that limited how fast towns could expand were all the rage in boom times, but the recent economic downturn has changed thinking on land-use in many towns. By Michael Janofsky. 4:46:18 PM

Fighting Child Pornography. Digital technology, which helps child pornographers ply their trade, is now being turned against them. By Jennifer 8. Lee. 4:46:17 PM

Suit Claims Discrimination Against Hispanics on Job. Immigration experts say Hispanic immigrants face serious discrimination and other abuses in a fast-growing number of workplaces. By Steven Greenhouse. 4:46:17 PM

Methadone Grows as Killer Drug. A drug long valued for treating heroin addiction is causing an alarming increase in overdoses and deaths. By Pam Belluck. 4:46:16 PM

Amid Quest for a Safer Shuttle, Budget Fights and Policy Shifts. An examination of the shuttle's history since the Challenger disaster shows that NASA's pursuit of a safer shuttle has largely stalled. By David Barstow and Michael Moss. 4:46:16 PM

Disney Town Teems With Segways. Celebration, Fla., is a test market for the Segway, people movers powered by a battery and balanced by a gyroscope. By The New York Times. 4:46:10 PM

Wireless Rivalries Fuel Fight Over a BellSouth Executive. Sprint's effort to hire Gary D. Forsee from BellSouth drew an angry reaction from Cingular Wireless. By Simon Romero. 4:46:08 PM

Computers Driving Shuttle Are to Be Included in Inquiry. Columbia's onboard computer hardware and software not the crew were driving when the craft made its fatal re-entry on Saturday. By Steve Lohr. 4:46:08 PM

F.B.I. Recruits Chinese Students in U.S.. The F.B.I. is recruiting Chinese students at American universities to gain insight into what it says is an intensified effort by the Chinese government to obtain militarily useful technologies. By Matt Richtel. 4:46:07 PM

Computer Holds Chess Star Kasparov to Match Tie. The match pitting star grandmaster Garry Kasparov's chess brain against the computing power of Deep Junior ended in a draw on Friday. By Reuters. 4:46:07 PM

Sprint Is Sued by BellSouth and Cingular. BellSouth and Cingular Wireless said on Friday that they were suing Sprint over its effort to hire BellSouth's vice chairman, Gary D. Forsee. By Bloomberg News. 4:46:06 PM

Quirks and Complexities of a Reality-Based Car. Saab's new 9-3 Vector is happiest in second gear, chasing down yellow traffic lights on the cusp of turning red. In other words, the real world. By Dan Neil. 4:46:06 PM

SBC Said to Be in Talks to Buy DirecTV. SBC Communications has entered negotiations to acquire General Motors' DirecTV satellite-television operation in a deal that could be worth $10 billion. By Seth Schiesel with Andrew Ross Sorkin. 4:46:05 PM

Yet Another Persecuted Architect of the Tech Bubble. Frank P. Quattrone is a relic from the days when no one asked questions and stocks only went up. By Gretchen Morgenson. 4:46:05 PM

Satellite TV Tries to Bridge a Culture Gap. A studio audience gathered in Indonesia last week to seek commonality with American counterparts via a satellite hookup. By Jane Perlez. 4:46:04 PM

Pixar's Box-Office Glow Makes Stock Look Rosy. Pixar, the small animation studio that made "Toy Story" and "Monsters Inc.," has outperformed the competition both at the box office and on Wall Street. By J. Alex Tarquinio. 4:46:04 PM

Tangled Up in Spam. Those unwanted messages have become the bane of the Internet. Why we can't just say no. By James Gleick. 4:46:03 PM

From Excitement to Horror: Columbia's Last Flight Online. The 1986 space shuttle disaster happened live on network television. Last weekend's shuttle disaster also unfolded live, but the primary medium was the Internet. By Tom Kuntz. 4:46:03 PM

Can Energy Ventures Pick Up Where Tech Left Off?. Several former Internet entrepreneurs have quietly migrated to the emerging field of alternative energy over the past several months. By Amy Cortese. 4:46:02 PM

Fighting Child Pornography. Digital technology, which helps child pornographers ply their trade, is now being turned against them. By Jennifer 8. Lee. 4:46:02 PM