UPI Perspectives articles from May 2004

UPI Perspectives archives from May 2004

Theater at it best: 'Intimate Apparel'.
May 1, 2004... Byline: FREDERICK M. WINSHIP NEW YORK, May 1 (UPI) -- As the 2003-04 theater season winds down, a drama of haunting beauty has opened about a black seamstress in New York in 1905 that outshines most of the plays that preceded it for deeply...

Richard Dreyfuss plays two Broadway roles.
May 1, 2004... Byline: FREDERICK M. WINSHIP NEW YORK, May 1 (UPI) -- Showcasing Richard Dreyfuss in two roles in a single play, "Sly Fox," is the best bargain on Broadway. The 56-year-old Academy Award-winning actor has returned to the stage in a...

Slovakia motors towards EU.
May 1, 2004... Byline: GARETH HARDING BRUSSELS, May 1 (UPI) -- European leaders breathed a collective sigh of relief Sunday after Slovaks blocked a comeback by authoritarian former premier Vladimir Meciar in a presidential runoff vote that handed power...

Feature: Sudetens gone but not forgotten.(UPI Science Report)
May 1, 2004... Byline: GARETH HARDING VISNOVA, Czech Republic, May 1 (UPI) -- Anyone who thinks that history is dead and the end of the Cold War has laid to rest the ghosts of Europe's past should visit the tiny town of Visnova in the Jizera mountains of...

Commentary: Tutwiler's mission impossible.(UPI Science Report)
May 1, 2004... Byline: ARNAUD DE BORCHGRAVE WASHINGTON, May 1 (UPI) -- The shameful pictures of U.S. soldiers humiliating naked Iraqi prisoners were the final straw for Margaret D. Tutwiler. Moved out of her post as Ambassador to Morocco last December to...

Plucky, lucky Slovenia poised to join EU.
May 1, 2004... Byline: GARETH HARDING BRUSSELS, May 1 (UPI) -- Recent history has been kind to Slovenia, a small former Yugoslav republic that joined NATO last month and is set to become a member of the European Union on May 1. It broke free from...

Analysis: Europe united.
May 1, 2004... Byline: GARETH HARDING BRUSSELS, May 1 (UPI) -- Europe started to breathe with two lungs again Saturday as the eastern and western halves of the continent were reunited after over half a century of division. At the stroke of midnight...

Latvia braced for EU minus Russian aliens.(UPI Science Report)
May 1, 2004... Byline: GARETH HARDING BRUSSELS, May 1 (UPI) -- With NATO membership in the bag, European Union accession around the corner and growth rates of more than 6 percent -- over three times the European average -- the future looks rosy for...

Estonia wired up for EU entry.(UPI Science Report)
May 1, 2004... Byline: GARETH HARDING BRUSSELS, May 1 (UPI) -- By any standards, Estonia has come a very long way in a very short time. Less than 15 years ago, this small Baltic state of 1.4 million people was a Soviet Republic ruled with an iron fist...

Analysis: Not so Hungary anymore.
May 1, 2004... Byline: GARETH HARDING BRUSSELS, May 1 (UPI) -- As Hungary prepares to cross the finish line in its 15-year race to join the European Union, it is showing all the symptoms of a long-distance runner who sets off at a cracking pace only to...

What now for the new Europe?
May 1, 2004... Byline: ROBIN SHEPHERD BRATISLAVA, Slovakia, May 1 (UPI) -- The re-unification of Europe with the accession of 10 mainly former communist countries to the European Union on May 1 was one of those occasions replete with epoch-making...

Pushy Poland poised to join wary EU.
May 1, 2004... Byline: GARETH HARDING BRUSSELS, May 1 (UPI) -- "Extremely stubborn," "very aggressive," "difficult to deal with," "major laggards," "the ones who will argue most" -- and those are just some of the nicer things anonymous European...

Frank Langella stars in Broadway thriller.
May 1, 2004... Byline: FREDERICK M. WINSHIP NEW YORK, D.C., May 1 (UPI) -- Something as old fashioned as a comedy thriller has turned up on the New York theatrical scene in the campy form of "Match," Stephen Belber's Broadway debut play that has the...

Islamic art emerges as cultural bridge.
May 2, 2004... Byline: FREDERICK M. WINSHIP NEW YORK, May 2 (UPI) -- Museums around the globe are strengthening their displays of Islamic art now that there is a cruelly awakened interest in the culture of the Muslim world shared by nearly a third of...

Pioneer industrial designer remembered.(UPI Science Report)
May 2, 2004... Byline: FREDERICK M. WINSHIP NEW YORK, May 2 (UPI) -- Christopher Dresser may be an unfamiliar name but attention must be paid to this pioneer 19th century British industrial designer now that the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum has...

Outside View: Winning the peace.
May 3, 2004... Byline: ED FEULNER WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- None of us would want John Negroponte's next job. President Bush recently tapped Negroponte, the current U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, to be our next ambassador to Iraq. He will...

Outside View: The myth of grade inflation.
May 3, 2004... Byline: JONATHAN BYDLAK PRINCETON, N.J., May 3 (UPI) -- The academy has been carping about grade inflation for years. Sometimes it really seems like a professors' version of other overdone debates like the degradation of morals in society...

Walker's World: Europe's coming battle.
May 3, 2004... Byline: MARTIN WALKER WASHINGTON, May 2 (UPI) -- Walker's World for May 3 The real question about the weekend's grand enlargement of Europe to 25 member states is whether this vast new entity of 450 million people with an $11 trillion...

U.S. military deaths in war on terrorism.
May 3, 2004... WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- List of U.S. military personnel who have died while serving with units assigned to Operation Enduring Freedom: Andrews, Evander Earl; Air Force master sergeant; 36; Solon, Maine; Oct. 10, 2001; heavy equipment...

Holier than thou? UK in troop photo shame.
May 3, 2004... Byline: PETER ALMOND LONDON, May 2 (UPI) -- "Shock, Horror!" are standard fare for the British tabloids, but few revelations in recent years have come as such an embarrassing shock as Saturday's front page photo in the Daily Mirror...

France reacts to new anti-Jewish acts.
May 3, 2004... Byline: ELIZABETH BRYANT PARIS, May 3 (UPI) -- The shadow of anti-Semitism has returned to stalk France with a particularly ignominious desecration of a Jewish cemetery in the Alsace region, and accusations by France's finance minister...

Review of the Arab press.
May 3, 2004... AMMAN, Jordan, May 3 (UPI) -- Arab press roundup for May 3 Arab newspapers Monday focused on the two hottest issues in the region: Iraq and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Jordan's semi-official al-Rai commented in its editorial on the Israeli...

Interview: Syria sticks to its positions.
May 3, 2004... LONDON, May 2 (UPI) -- A top Syrian official said her country would stick to its national and pan-Arab positions regardless of American "pressures and threats" through the Syria Accountability Act, which threatens sanctions against her country...

The Bear's Lair: The demographic dilemma.
May 3, 2004... WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- Phillip Longman, author of "The Empty Cradle" (Perseus Books, 2004) is worried by declining birth rates worldwide, but particularly in the United States. His problem isn't really a problem, but one particular variant...

Foreign fighters in unstable Fallujah.
May 3, 2004... Byline: P. MITCHELL PROTHERO FALLUJAH, Iraq, May 3 (UPI) -- While U.S. Marine commanders are hopeful that patrols of local fighters will bring peace to Fallujah, -- a city wracked by anti-coalition activity since the arrival of U.S. forces...

Human-machine links could operate robots.(UPI Science Report)
May 3, 2004... Byline: CHARLES CHOI NEW YORK, May 3 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have developed a technique to record brain signals that could lead to controls for robotic limbs for patients suffering from paralysis or neurological diseases. Scientists...

Court eases civil rights filing time.
May 3, 2004... Byline: MICHAEL KIRKLAND WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- The Supreme Court of the United States took care of business in a number of cases Monday, but most importantly made it easier to file suits under federal civil rights law. The...

Afghan rebels shift support to Karzai.
May 3, 2004... Byline: ANWAR IQBAL WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai made a major political gain Monday when key members of a dangerous rebel group switched loyalties to back him. The Hizb-e-Islami Party was responsible for the...

UPI Hears ...
May 3, 2004... WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- Insider notes from United Press International for May 3 In light of events in Iraq the world is suffering from peacekeeping fatigue. India is keeping a wary eye on Sri Lanka, where talks between President...

New detectors can nail smuggled nukes.(UPI Science Report)
May 3, 2004... Byline: DAN WHIPPLE DENVER, May 3 (UPI) -- Physicists have discovered a new signature characteristic of radiation that could be used to detect the gamma ray emissions of smuggled illegal nuclear materials, even if they are concealed among...

Outside View: Disquiete in China.
May 3, 2004... Byline: ROBERT ELEGANT PERUGIA, Italy, May 3 (UPI) -- The new regime installed in Beijing little more than a year ago is avowedly more liberal than its predecessors, and is certainly, less oppressive. It is, moreover, publicly committed to...

Election 2004: The coin's in the air.(UPI Science Report)
May 3, 2004... Byline: RICHARD TOMKINS (This is one in a series of 12 articles that look at the 2004 election from six months out. This article covers the obstacles and possibilities that President Bush will win re-election on Nov. 2.) WASHINGTON,...

Election 2004: Kerry's chances.
May 3, 2004... Byline: MARIE HORRIGAN (This is one in a series of 12 articles that look at the 2004 election from six months out. This article covers the chances that likely Democratic Party nominee Sen. John Kerry will be elected president on Nov. 2.)...

Outside View: What does Iraq teach us?
May 3, 2004... Byline: BARRY RUBIN JERUSALEM, May 3 (UPI) -- Things are not going well in Iraq, though perhaps not so badly -- or for the same reasons - as some may think. The key issue now is defining priorities. American forces attacked Iraq a year...

Prisoner details Abu Ghraib abuses.
May 3, 2004... Byline: P. MITCHELL PROTHERO BAGHDAD, May 3 (UPI) -- U.S. forces regularly leave Iraqi prisoners outdoors naked and tied to poles during daylight hours as a form of discipline, according to a former prisoner of the coalition who was held...

Koreans see necessity of English.
May 3, 2004... Byline: JULIE Y. CHANG WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- The English language has become an essential part of the lives of many South Koreans, and some would say is almost unavoidable anymore in the streets and offices of Seoul. This second...

Outside View: Sinclair forfeited its rights.
May 3, 2004... Byline: ALON BEN-MEIR NEW YORK, May 3 (UPI) -- The decision by ABC to permit its veteran anchorman Ted Koppel to broadcast in a somber and respectful way the names and the photos of fallen soldiers in Iraq was a wise and most timely...

Commentary: Learning to love Europe.
May 3, 2004... Byline: GARETH HARDING STRASBOURG, France, May 3 (UPI) -- "We have to teach people to love Europe," Luxembourg Premier Jean-Claude Juncker, the EU's longest-serving leader and the man tipped to become the next European Commission...

Analysis: Where is Kim Jong Il?
May 3, 2004... Byline: JONG-HEON LEE SEOUL, May 3 (UPI) -- North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong Il made his first public appearance over the weekend since the devastating train explosion on April 22, according to the North's official media on Monday....

UPI's Benjamin honored by veterans group.(UPI Science Report)
May 3, 2004... WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- UPI's Mark Benjamin received an "Award of Excellence" Saturday from a veterans group for his reporting on U.S. casualties of the Iraq war. The award was presented by the National Gulf War Resources Center, a...

Car crashes: Bigger is not always better.(UPI Science Report)
May 3, 2004... Byline: DAN WHIPPLE DENVER, May 3 (UPI) -- Sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks do not necessarily protect their occupants in highway crashes any better than smaller models, according to a physicist who has studied the influence of...

Election 2004: It's the economy and Iraq.(UPI Science Report)
May 3, 2004... Byline: CHRISTIAN BOURGE (This is one in a series of 12 articles that look at the 2004 election from six months out. This article covers the issues that will likely decide for which candidate the voters decide to go on Nov. 2.) ...

Climate: Global warming's dollar effects.(UPI Science Report)
May 3, 2004... Byline: DAN WHIPPLE A weekly series by UPI examining the potential human impact on global climate change. BOULDER, Colo., May 3 (UPI) -- A warming climate could bring either good news or bad news for the U.S. economy, depending on...

Analysis: The Kaliningrad experiment.(UPI Science Report)
May 3, 2004... Byline: PETER LAVELLE MOSCOW, May 3 (UPI) -- Over the weekend the European Union officially inducted 10 new members from former communist East Europe, including the three Baltic states once part of the Soviet Union. The EU and the new...

U.S. still backs Sharon plan.
May 3, 2004... Byline: KRISHNADEV CALAMUR WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- Acknowledging that a defeat of the Israeli prime minister's disengagement plan was a "setback," the U.S. State Department said Monday it stood by Ariel Sharon's proposal to pull out of...

Analysis: Saudis blaming others.
May 3, 2004... Byline: CLAUDE SALHANI WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- Commenting on the May 1 killing of seven Westerners -- including two Americans -- in the port city of Yanbu to a group of Saudi officials, clerics and members of the royal family, Saudi...

Bush takes campaign on bus ride.
May 3, 2004... Byline: RICHARD TOMKINS WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush took his policy agenda to the Midwest's battleground states Monday, holding town hall meetings and rallies in which he appealed to voters to return him to the Oval...

Analysis: Iraq troops taking center stage.
May 3, 2004... Byline: CHRISTIAN BOURGE WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- With U.S. House and Senate panels writing competing 2005 defense budgets this week, fights over issues the Bush re-election campaign would rather remain out of the public eye until after...

UPI Energy Watch.(UPI Science Report)
May 3, 2004... Byline: JOHN C.K. DALY WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- Brazilian Mines and Energy Minister Dilma Rousseff believes that integration of natural gas production, transmission and markets between Bolivia, Argentina and Brazil will benefit all three...

Analysis: Insurance pricing doctors out.(UPI Science Report)
May 3, 2004... Byline: AL SWANSON CHICAGO, May 3 (UPI) -- Billboards on Interstate 80-55 southwest of Chicago warn motorists "Drive Carefully, No brain surgeon in Will County." Hundreds of doctors say the skyrocketing cost of medical-malpractice...

Hamstrung Sharon tries to keep momentum.
May 3, 2004... Byline: JOSHUA BRILLIANT TEL AVIV, Israel, May 3 (UPI) -- One day after his Likud Party dealt him an embarrassing, numbing defeat, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon behaved like a general who lost a battle but not the war. A party referendum...

Analysis: College admissions game tougher.
May 3, 2004... Byline: LES KJOS Most of the nation's colleges and universities have decided which high school seniors they are going to accept for their incoming freshman classes next year, and it's time for high school juniors to start laying out their...

Analysis: Kerry must pass TV 101.
May 3, 2004... Byline: MARTIN SIEFF WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- First of two parts. Here is John Kerry's problem in a nutshell: He is running his 2004 Democratic presidential campaign as if he were Adlai Stevenson, and President George W. Bush knows...

Six charged, six punished for Iraq abuses.
May 3, 2004... WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- The Defense Department launched five separate investigations into the abuse of Iraqi prisoners when the allegations were made in January, said Pentagon spokesman Larry DiRita Monday, as powerful senators demanded...

Iraq election process underway.
May 3, 2004... Byline: WILLIAM M. REILLY UNITED NATIONS, May 3 (UPI) -- The head of the U.N. electoral assistance team to Iraq said Monday the election process is already underway, "better than on track" and taking nominations for election commissioners....

Analysis: Iran judiciary under reform?
May 3, 2004... Byline: MODHER AMIN TEHRAN, May 3 (UPI) -- In a move much anticipated, Iranian hard-line judiciary initiated a reform plan when it issued last week a directive setting out measures to strengthen the rights of people. A 15-point...

Analysis: Bashir arrest ups Indonesia's risk.
May 3, 2004... Byline: SONIA KOLESNIKOV-JESSOP SINGAPORE, May 3 (UPI) -- The re-arrest of Abu Bakar Bashir brings increased economic and political risks for Indonesia. On the political side, the diminutive cleric could become a touchstone in the July...

Brazil: Lula defends his wage hike.
May 3, 2004... Byline: CARMEN GENTILE SAO PAULO, May 3 (UPI) -- For the first time since introducing a much-maligned, minimum-wage hike, Brazil's president defended his decision Monday against those who claim the raise wasn't nearly enough. Last...

Commentary: Warren Buffett among friends.
May 3, 2004... Byline: HIL ANDERSON LOS ANGELES, May 3 (UPI) -- By signing on as an economic adviser to John Kerry, billionaire investor and economic sage Warren Buffett has waded into political waters that are eerily more hospitable than they were last...

DOJ released docs to 'set record straight'.
May 4, 2004... Byline: SHAUN WATERMAN WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- Attorney General John Ashcroft released a series of documents showing the role of one member of the Sept. 11 Commission in decisions about the much-derided "wall" between law enforcement...

U.S. issues intellectual piracy watch list.
May 4, 2004... Byline: DAR HADDIX WASHINGTON, May 4 (UPI) -- In Monday's Special 301 Report by the U.S. Trade Representative on intellectual piracy the same group of countries named last year continued on the government's watch list, with several...

Analysis: No place for God in the EU?
May 4, 2004... Byline: ROLAND FLAMINI WASHINGTON, May 4 (UPI) -- When Poland applied for entry into the European Union some years ago, a delegation of Polish bishops visited the EU Commission in Brussels and met with senior officials. The purpose of the...

Analysis:Who will reel from China slowdown.
May 4, 2004... Byline: SONIA KOLESNIKOV-JESSOP SINGAPORE, May 4 (UPI) -- With increasing fears the Chinese economic slowdown will transform itself into a hard landing, economists are hard at work trying to determine what the implications for the rest of...

Review of the Arab press.(UPI Science Report)
May 4, 2004... AMMAN, Jordan, May 4 (UPI) -- Arab press roundup for May 4 Arab newspapers continued Tuesday to comment on images of Iraqi detainees tortured at the hands of U.S. soldiers in Abu Ghraib prison on the outskirts of the capital, Baghdad. In...

U.S. medical system creates errors.(UPI Science Report)
May 4, 2004... Byline: PEGGY PECK PHILADELPHIA, May 4 (UPI) -- American doctors write about 3.5 billion prescriptions every year and new research suggests nearly one in every 100 of those prescriptions is wrong -- the wrong drug, the wrong dose or the...

UPI Hears ...
May 4, 2004... WASHINGTON, May 4 (UPI) -- Insider notes from United Press International for May 4 Hoping to avoid a replay of the 1972 Munich Olympics, where terrorists murdered 11 Israeli athletes, Australia will send a top intelligence team to Athens...

Analysis: Generational shift in N. Korea.
May 4, 2004... Byline: JONG-HEON LEE SEOUL, May 4 (UPI) -- South Korean delegates who traveled to Pyongyang on Tuesday for the 14th round of inter-Korean Cabinet-level talks were surprised to find a new set of younger faces in North Korea's five-member...

Analysis: How Kerry should craft his ads.
May 4, 2004... Byline: MARTIN SIEFF WASHINGTON, May 4 (UPI) -- Sen. John Kerry launched an ambitious TV ad campaign this week, but the task he faces is awesome: After a month in which nearly 100 U.S. servicemen died in Iraq, and with the gap between the...

Outside view: Iraq is not Vietnam.
May 4, 2004... Byline: JOHN ELSEGOOD PERTH, Australia, May 4 (UPI) -- Leading Democrats such as Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd and sections of the media would do well not to resurrect the Vietnam analogy to Iraq in their criticisms of the Bush...

India to probe ex-soldiers' Iraqi jobs.
May 4, 2004... Byline: HARBAKSH SINGH NANDA NEW DELHI, May 4 (UPI) -- India expressed surprise and dismay Tuesday on how private security agencies have been hiring retired military officials to work in Iraq when New Delhi has officially refused to send...

S. Asia nuclear rhetoric raised risks.
May 4, 2004... Byline: ANWAR IQBAL WASHINGTON, May 4 (UPI) -- India and Pakistan blocked official channels of communication during the 2001-02 border crisis, increasing the possibility of a nuclear conflict in one of the world's most populous regions,...

Chinatown buses attract travelers, critics.
May 4, 2004... Byline: THOM J. ROSE WASHINGTON, May 4 (UPI) -- Dirt-cheap discount bus lines are picking up an increasing number of passengers from East Coast Chinatown street corners, but some critics say the discounters' prices leave little cash left...

Analysis: Online pharmacies have dark side.(UPI Science Report)
May 4, 2004... Byline: AL SWANSON CHICAGO, May 4 (UPI) -- While Minnesota, Illinois, New Hampshire and other U.S. states lobby for legal importation of cheaper prescription medicines from Canada, addicts are finding it easier to get drugs with the click...

Election 2004:House or a home for the GOP?
May 4, 2004... Byline: PETER ROFF (This is one in a series of 12 articles that take a look at the 2004 election from six months out. This article covers the races for control of the U.S. House of Representatives and the likelihood the Republican Party...

The 2004 Election: Who's No. 2?
May 4, 2004... Byline: MARIE HORRIGAN (This is one in a series of 12 articles that look at the 2004 election from six months out. This article covers the race to find a vice presidential candidate to run on the Democratic Party ticket with Sen. John...

Election 2004: Senate races in flux.
May 4, 2004... Byline: PETER ROFF (This is one in a series of 12 articles that take a look at the 2004 election from six months out. This article covers the races in the U.S. Senate that voters will be asked to decide on Nov. 2.) WASHINGTON, May 4...

U.S. forces clash with Shiite militias.
May 4, 2004... Byline: P. MITCHELL PROTHERO BAGHDAD, May 4 (UPI) -- U.S.-led coalition forces clashed with a radical cleric's Shiite militia in southern Iraq for the second straight day Tuesday, according to military sources. On Monday, fighters...

Vietnam vets slam Kerry.
May 4, 2004... Byline: RICHARD TOMKINS WASHINGTON, May 4 (UPI) -- Sen. John Kerry's accounts of his service in Vietnam and his statements that he witnessed atrocities were attacked as fabrications and political opportunism Tuesday by a group of Vietnam...

Analysis: Will Ecuador's army save Gutierrez?
May 4, 2004... Byline: CHRISTIAN ESPINOSA B. QUITO, Ecuador, May 3 (UPI) -- Ecuador's President Lucio Gutierrez does not look as worried as would be expected about the new political and social demands that he step down. The stability of his...

Commentary: Hale ego bloated by media.
May 4, 2004... Byline: GREGORY TEJEDA Matt Hale faces the prospect of several decades in federal prison, all because he has a bloated ego from years of reading and watching media reports about himself. Hale, 32, used to be nothing more than the...

Low carb craze inspires summit.(UPI Science Report)
May 4, 2004... Byline: JULIA WATSON WASHINGTON, May 4 (UPI) -- Counting calories is so last diet. These slimming days, carbohydrates are the fiends the figure-conscious are keeping tally of. When calories were the thing, chefs rose to the occasion with...

Analysis: Oligarch spotting.
May 4, 2004... Byline: PETER LAVELLE MOSCOW, May 4 (UPI) -- Days before Russia entered the lull called the May holidays, the Moscow rumor mill claimed that the General Prosecutor's Office had questioned Vladimir Potanin, one of Russia's wealthiest...

Fed keeps rate same, hints at change.
May 4, 2004... Byline: T.K. MALOY WASHINGTON, May 4 (UPI) -- The Federal Open Market Committee of the U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged Tuesday. The Fed added in its statement, however, that the "policy accommodation can be removed...

USDA vet: Texas mad cow breach not unique.(UPI Science Report)
May 4, 2004... Byline: STEVE MITCHELL WASHINGTON, May 4 (UPI) -- The recent case of a Texas cow that displayed symptoms consistent with mad cow disease but slipped through the cracks of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's surveillance plan is not an...