New York Times Upfront articles from April 2004

New York Times Upfront archives from April 2004

With her trademark fingernails.(news & Trends)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With her trademark fingernails, U.S. sprinter Gail Devers prepared to start a 60-meter race (which she won) at the World Indoor Athletic Championships in Hungary in March. Devers, an Olympic gold medalist, sometimes...

Never squawk alone.(Science)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... In a family, children often learn that collaboration is one way to get what they want. One child begging to have pizza for dinner may be little more than an irritant to a parent, but when two or three all plead together, the parent may give in....

Numbers in the news.(news & Trends)
April 5, 2004... 23% Decline in the last year in undergraduates choosing computer science and computer engineering as their majors. (see p. 21) SOURCE: COMPUTING RESEARCH ASSOCIATION 55 Age of former boxing champion and grill pitchman George...

Nice work if you can get it.(Business)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... Testimony in recent court cases involving top American executives has revealed details of the perks they receive. Martha Stewart was said to have asked Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, which produces her how-to magazine and other products, to...

Rewarding honesty.(Japan)(Tokyo Metropolitan Police Lost and Found Center)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... The Japanese are serious about their honesty. Consider the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Lost and Found Center. In 2002, people found and brought to the center a total of $23 million in cash, 72 percent of which was returned to the owners, in a...

Noted & quoted.(Soundbites)
April 5, 2004... 'There's musicianship in actually doing it. And like music is supposed to do, it opens up ideas.' --Brian Ellis, 21, a voice major at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, on a new course that teaches students to use DJ turntables to...

867-5309: for now, it's on hold.(Music)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... It's been more than two decades since Tommy Tutone scored a pop hit with "Jenny," but the phone number made famous by the song's catchy chorus--867-5309--still has a hold on fans. In February, a New York law student tried to auction off the...

Fear Factor's brave taste tester.(Q&A)(Josh Silberman)(Interview)
April 5, 2004... It's hard to gross-out 23-year old Josh Silberman, a production assistant for NBC's Fear Factor. He samples cow eyeballs, pig uteruses, and crickets before contestants get to rise to the challenge. Silberman spoke to UPFRONT about his unusual...

Princess beware.(Amphibians)(frogs)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... Not all frogs are as easy to handle as the common North American bullfrog. South Africa's giant bullfrog has been known to attack lions and elephants. Zaire's goliath frog can grow as big as a small cat. BIG NORTH AMERICAN BULLFROG...

Changing your address for college.(Technology)
April 5, 2004... When Jeremy Woolf applied to college, his e-mail address had to go. "SexyJer13 [was] inappropriate," Woolf says. He set up a new address, JerWoo, and got into Washington University in St. Louis. Nancy Borowick, now a freshman at Union College...

Cruising, Syrian style.(Wheels)
April 5, 2004... While many Syrians consider the U.S. an enemy, they haven't wavered in their love of old American cars. "They are gorgeous," says Majed Aboud, 47, of Damascus, Syria's capital. Vintage American cars are everywhere: big DeSotos; the Dodge Dart,...

France's new dress code: a ban on religious symbols in schools shows how differently France and the U.S. think about religion and pluralism.(International)
April 5, 2004... For weeks this winter, a French proposal to forbid most religious symbols in public schools, including the head scarves and veils worn by many Muslim girls, attracted heavy media attention and led to large street protests. In March, the French...

War & remembrance: the U.S. and Mexico share a long, sometimes-troubled history that goes back to the Mexican-American War--which still resonates on both sides of the border.(Cover Story)
April 5, 2004... Almost no one in the U.S. remembers the war that Americans fought against Mexico more than 150 years ago. In Mexico, almost no one has forgotten. The Mexican-American War of 1846-48 cut Mexico in two, and "the wound never really healed,"...

Lessons from the supermarket.
April 5, 2004... A supermarket is a curious window into a country's history. When I was growing up, Mexico had one brand available for every product: a Mexican one. The soap was Roma, the soup was La Moderna, and for the sweet tooth there were Carlos V...

In Congress, pork is always on the menu: spending bills are traditionally filled with special-interest items known as pork. This year, lawmakers' pet projects could cost a record $23 billion.(National)
April 5, 2004... Like most members of Congress, Representative Jim Gibbons (R-Nev.) tries to do what he can for the folks back home. So when the House passed a catch-all spending bill in December, Gibbons wasted no time in announcing that he had secured...

Bankrupt by 25: people under age 25 make up the fastest-growing age group filing for bankruptcy. Easy credit, bigger student loans, and financial, illiteracy are fueling the trend.(National)
April 5, 2004... Vivienne Decker, an 18-year-old freshman at the University of South Carolina, doesn't have a ,credit card and doesn't want one, for now anyway. "I'm a shopaholic and I know I can't trust myself," she says. But Decker isn't surprised to...

Marriage proposals: while the attitudes of many Americans about gays are changing, recent court rulings, weddings, and proposals to amend the Constitution have started a difficult national debate on gay marriage.(National)
April 5, 2004... >From Hollywood to Madison Avenue, from Washington to Wall Street, and in communities across America, attitudes toward homosexuality have changed dramatically in recent years. There are now gay characters on many TV shows, including sitcoms...

Give tech a chance: with the number of computer-science majors declining, Bill Gates is touring colleges to talk up the computer industry.(Education)
April 5, 2004... Bill Gates, who founded Microsoft at age 19, has been on a campaign tour recently, trying to reinvigorate his base, as they say in politics. The number of students majoring in computer science is falling. So Gates went stumping at...

The Truman surprise: in the election of 1948, Harry Truman fooled pollsters (and almost everyone else) when he beat Thomas Dewey to win a full term in the White House.(Times Past)
April 5, 2004... On Nov. 4, 1948, The New York Times published a letter from James Reston that was unusual for two reasons: Reston was the newspaper's own political correspondent; and his letter represented a public admission that the press was as guilty as all...

Have game, will travel: high-school sports teams in Alaska go by land, sea, and air to play ball.(Sports)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... It took 90 minutes at sea in a small boat, 5 hours in two vans, and 75 minutes on a commuter jet before the boys' and girls' basketball teams from Seldovia in south central Alaska reached Bethel in a remote western part of the state. ...

Should the draft be reinstated? Since ending the draft in 1973, the U.S. has had an all-volunteer military. Now, a bill in Congress proposes bringing back the draft.(Debate)
April 5, 2004... YES Nobody should ever have to face the cruelties of war. But if Americans must fight, the draft is necessary to ensure that the burdens of war are fairly shared. The majority of those serving in the volunteer armed forces are from...

Why allowing snowmobiles in Yellowstone is green.(Perspectives)(Yellowstone National Park)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... In the battle over snowmobiling in Yellowstone National Park, the Bush administration has been pushing for a sensible compromise: Snowmobiles would be allowed--but mostly new machines which cut hydrocarbon emissions by 90 percent and noise by...

To speak to a young Indian with aspirations, press 1.(Perspectives)
April 5, 2004... I recently sat in on an "accent neutralization" class in India. Watching enthusiastic young Indians prepare for call-center jobs is an uplifting experience, especially when you hear from their friends how such jobs have transformed their lives....

Bush campaign takes to the air.(Perspectives)(George W. Bush)(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... With up to $60 million to spend by convention time, Bush's re-election campaign is plotting the most expensive political advertising seduction in history. In scary/gauzy images, the President does his best to shift the blame, take the credit,...

Facing 'growing pains' and overcoming them.(Voices)
April 5, 2004... As long as I can remember, I had always been able to outrun my classmates and teammates. But starting when I was in the eighth grade, suddenly I had to outrun knee pain. After scoring great soccer goals, strange and excruciating knee pains...

Cartoons.(Comic)(Cartoon)
April 5, 2004... ... MEANWHILE, AMERICANS WHO HAVE JOBS CLING TO THEM DESPERATELY... Mike Lane * The Baltimore Sun * Caglecartonns.com [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] USING A TRAGEDY LIKE 9-11 TO SCORE POLITICAL POINTS! MR. BUSH, HAVE YOU NO SHAME?!! ...

Trade between the U.S. and Mexico.(Graph Exercise)
April 5, 2004... Tensions between Mexico and the United States stem from several factors. One is the U.S. concern about the traffic in illegal drugs from Mexico to the U.S. Then there is the matter of illegal immigrants. Each year, thousands of Mexicans cross...

Upfront quiz 1.(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... DIRECTIONS: Circle the letter next to the best answer. 1. A scientific experiment with birds demonstrates that you are more likely to get what you want if you a make a logical argument. b act reasonably. c become angry. d...

Upfront quiz show.(Brief Article)
April 5, 2004... Use with articles throughout the issue. Divide the class into 2-4 teams. Read the statements below, which are answers to questions. In this game, modeled after the TV show Jeopardy!, students must give their answers in the form of questions....

Racehorse Haru-urara.(news & Trends)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2004... Racehorse Haru-urara, at a track near Tokyo in March is a sensation in Japan. The horse, whose name means "Glorious Spring," has inspired a pop song, an upcoming movie, and adoring fans. Her claim to fame? Losing 106 races in a row since 1998.

Lost without a sign.(Scotland)
April 26, 2004... The Scottish hamlet of Lost has a problem: Its signs are so coveted by souvenir hunters that they keep disappearing. Five have gone missing In recent years, the longest surviving three months, according to Scottish press accounts. Located 100...

Numbers in the news.(news & Trends)(poll)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2004... 29% Proportion of America in a recent poll who said they were undecided between John Kerry and George W. Bush for President. SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES 1 in 3 Number of Haitian children under age 5 who are malnourished. (see p. 14) ...

Professors at the joystick.(Video Games)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2004... Think video games are just mindless entertainment? Tell that to the academics who are making game studies into a scholarly discipline. In March, Princeton University staged a conference called "Form, Culture, and Video Game Criticism," the...

I give myself 5 stars!(The Internet)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2004... Online shoppers beware: Those anonymous critiques of books and music on Amazon.com and other sites may be less than objective. In February, an Amazon site mistakenly revealed the identities of thousands of people who'd posted reviews under...

On the campaign trail.(Soundbites)
April 26, 2004... 'These guys are the most crooked, you know, lying group I've ever seen.' --Senator John Kerry [D-Mass.), denouncing his Republican critics during a meeting with presidential campaign supporters in Chicago. He later refused to apologize for...

Mental push-ups, anyone?(Science)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2004... If you pump iron with regularity, your arms may took a little more muscular. The right kind of training, it now appears, can do the same for the brain, though the enlargement can be shown off only to observers with magnetic resonance imaging...

Lightning hands, a puzzler's eye.(Q&A)(cubists)(Interview)
April 26, 2004... Three years ago, Andy Camann of Newton, Mass., found a Rubik's Cube and a solution book in his house. Now, the ninth grader solves the puzzle in as little as 12 seconds and competes against the world's top cubists. UPFRONT asked him for some...

Smoking: 2 views.(Health)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2004... The percentage of Americans who smoke has declined steadily in the last 40 years. But the actual number of smokers has not changed dramatically because the overall population has grown. [GRAPHICS OMITTED]

Teens face a tough time getting work.(Job Market)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2004... As the summer approaches, teenagers face their worst job prospects since shortly after World War II. A recent report says that a weak recovery from the 2001 recession has meant fewer new jobs and more adults competing with teens for entry-level...

Gentle cycle, no bleach.(Japan)(Washing machines)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2004... With Japan's population aging, the gadget-obsessed nation is finding new ways to care for the elderly. Take the new $50,000 human washing machine by Sanyo shown above: With the user comfortably nestled on a rolling chair inside, and her head...

'The most insignificant office': John Adams didn't think much of his job as Vice President. But recent Presidents are giving their understudies a lot more to do.(National)
April 26, 2004... Bill Richardson, New Mexico's Governor, is already asking people if he should accept the job if it's offered. Senator John Edwards said he wouldn't take it--but that was when he was running for President. Gen. Wesley K. Clark is said to covet...

Made in the USA? Not anymore: Levi's and Etch A Sketch are just two of the many 'American' products that are now made overseas. How will the increasing outsourcing of jobs affect workers and the economy in the U.S.?(Cover Story)
April 26, 2004... Since it was founded by a German immigrant who began outfitting gold miners in San Francisco 150 years ago, Levi Strauss and Company has turned out more than 3.5 billion of the sturdy denim jeans that have become an American icon right up there...

Making baseballs for millionaires.
April 26, 2004... The game of baseball is a pure product of America. The ball itself is another matter. Every baseball used in the major leagues is made here in Turrialba and the towns in the green hills beyond. They are handcrafted with the precision of a...

In Haiti, hungry lives & early deaths: governments rise and fall, but do little to help the nation's impoverished people and devastated economy.(International)
April 26, 2004... Diplomats call Haiti a "failed state," a nation done in by dictators and disasters. What that means is a hungry life and an early death for many of the 5 million people in Haiti's little villages, places like Plaine Danger, about 500 miles from...

Men on the moon: a view from Moscow: in July 1969, the United States was poised to make history in space. But the Soviet Union had one last Cold War trick up its sleeve.(Times Past)
April 26, 2004... I arrived in Moscow as a correspondent for The New York Times in February 1969, and was named bureau chief in July. This was Cold War Moscow, where the KGB kept tabs on all Western correspondents, and news--except for that provided by Tass, the...

Will anyone stop the ethnic cleansing in Sudan?(Perspectives)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2004... The most vicious ethnic cleansing you've never heard of is unfolding in the Sahara. It's a campaign of murder, rape, and pillage by Sudan's Arab rulers that has forced 700,000 black Sudanese to flee. The culprit is the Sudanese government. Its...

After the attacks on Spain, the Atlantic grows wider.(Perspectives)(Brief Article)
April 26, 2004... The Spanish have suffered a grievous blow, and it was crazy to go ahead with an election three days after the Madrid massacre. There are millions of Americans who believe the swing Spanish voters are shamefully trying to seek a separate peace...

Don't fret, she's off to the movies.(Perspectives)
April 26, 2004... The revisionists of adolescence fret over golf prodigy Michelle Wie, 14. She's missing out. Too much too fast. Many cringe at the thought of so much golf and paycheck temptation. But even as Nike officials circle her, Wie seems in no rush [to...

Does the Patriot Act go too far? A response to the September 11 attacks, the Patriot Act is intended to help the U.S. in the fight against terrorism.(Debate)
April 26, 2004... YES The Patriot Act gives the government too much power to get information on law abiding Americans. Our number-one priority should be protecting Americans from terrorism, but we must also preserve the rights that define our nation. The...

Cartoons.(Comic)(Cartoon)
April 26, 2004... The New Economy *EACH COUNTRY DOES WHAT IT'S BEST AT. China India U.S. I'D LIKE TO TAKE OUT A THIRD MORTGAGE ON MY HOUSE SO I CAN BUY MORE STUFF. KERRY ON DEFENSE OUCH! OW-EEE! OOOOH! OW! SOCIAL SECURITY...

Lower wages lure American jobs overseas.(Graph Exercise)
April 26, 2004... One of the hottest issues in the 2004 presidential campaign is that of American jobs moving overseas. Senator John Kerry, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, has sharply criticized this business practice and vows to end federal...

Upfront quiz show.
April 26, 2004... Use with articles throughout the issue. Divide the class into 2-4 teams. Read the statements below, which are answers to questions. In this game, modeled after the TV show Jeopardy!, students must give their answers in the form of questions....

Made in the USA? Not anymore.(Cartoon)
April 26, 2004... With overseas outsourcing and its impact very much in the news (and a topic in the presidential Campaign) recently, political cartoonists are weighing in. Here are two examples. FELLOW ECONOMISTS--WE NEED TO RETHINK OUR POSITION ON...