New York Times Upfront articles from February 2003

New York Times Upfront archives from February 2003

Quotes.
February 7, 2003... "This is the price of preparedness. It's going to cause some delays and slow the progress of other public-health programs... " --DR. ED THOMPSON of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on meeting the demands of the nation's...

Death penalty for young people. (letters).(Letter to the Editor)
February 7, 2003... Emma Welch says 16-year-olds often lack a "fully developed awareness of the consequences of their actions." ("Should the Death Penalty Apply to Juveniles?" 12/13/02). Millions of adults have bank accounts and vote, but lack responsibility and...

New assault on Civil Liberties. (letters).(Letter to the Editor)
February 7, 2003... Excuse me, but does it not state clearly in the Fourth Amendment that people have a right to be "secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures"? ("The New Shape of Civil Liberties," 12/13/02). I...

No clocks at the SAT, please. (letters).(Letter to the Editor)
February 7, 2003... I don't think the SAT should be timed ("Should the SAT Remain Timed?" 11/22/02). When you have a time limit to a test and the time is running out, you get rushed and you start to guess and get wrong answers. If there weren't a time limit on the...

Nuclear waste is just too close. (letters).
February 7, 2003... I find it quite ironic that where they plan to store nuclear waste ("Nuclear Waste by the Ton," 11/22/02) is quite close to where I live. How the government is transporting k is quite impressive, considering that each giant bin is loaded with...

What racial profiling feels like. (voices).(Column)
February 7, 2003... DECATUR, GEORIA--Over the summer, I was invited to a pool party at a friend's house in the Atlanta suburbs. My friend lives in a predominantly white neighborhood, but that had never been an issue. I yelled to my mother, "I'm leaving now, I'll...

Reimagining the World Trade Center. (Visions).(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... SOME OF THE WORLD'S LEADING ARCHITECTS have unveiled designs for rebuilding Ground Zero, the site of New York's World Trade Center. As these three architectural renderings show, the proposals vary greatly. Some instantly recall the twin towers...

Sobering times for teens. (Society).(survey shows drug abuse down among teens)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... For the first time, teenage smoking, drinking, and illegal drug use all fell last year, according to a survey conducted for the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The survey also found a drop in the use of Ecstasy, the dub drug, after several...

One woman's drive. (Sports).(Suzy Whaley qualifies to compete in Professional Golfers' Association tournament)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... For the first time in 50 years, a woman has qualified to play in a men's PGA (Professional Golfers' Association) tournament. Suzy Whaley, 36, who teaches at a Connecticut golf course, plans to play in the Greater Hartford Open in July. Get...

Punishing absentees' parents. (International).(law would charge parents for truancy of children)(Brief Article)
February 7, 2003... Worried by a surge in school absences, the British government has proposed to give principals, police, and welfare officials the right to fine parents whose children are chronic absentees. Under the plan, some parents would have to sign...

Human copies. (Q/A).(ethicist Ronald Green discusses human cloning)(Brief Article)(Interview)
February 7, 2003... Clonaid, a company founded by a sect that believes space aliens created life on Earth, recently announced it had cloned two humans. Scientists were skeptical, but the claim heightened concern about such efforts. Upfront spoke to Ronald Green,...

Burning the Mideast oil: it fuels your car, and is the raw material for everything from CDs and jet fuel to shower curtains and the nylon in your socks. American life depends on a resource that's out of our control.
February 7, 2003... The United States may be the world's largest economy and greatest military power, but it depends,on a ceaseless flow of oil from other countries--about 9 million barrels arriving every day, enough to fill a hole the size of a football field...

What about alternative energy? New power sources and conservation could curb America's dependence on foreign oil. But it would require government help.
February 7, 2003... The possibility of an Iraq-related oil crisis is breathing new life into dreams of alternative energy. A combination of expanded domestic oil drilling, more fuel-efficient engines, and greater use of unconventional and renewable power sources...

Packaging the President: what the public sees of the nation's chief executive is carefully manipulated by the spin doctors at the White House.
February 7, 2003... A somber, dark-suited President George W. Bush cuts through row on row of stark white crosses in Normandy, France. He stands so close to that other George's carved-rock face at Mount Rushmore that he seems already immortalized there. In China,...

Illuminating the struggle for civil rights: to those who ask, what was it like? One Southern state answers: see for yourself.
February 7, 2003... A tourist brochure describing the Edmund Pettus Bridge, which crosses the Alabama River between Selma and Montgomery, says "civil rights marchers and law enforcement personnel met here in confrontation. Sang Pham, 14, a student at Southside...

Kenya's brand new day: after 24 stifling years under an autocratic leader, Kenyans have elected a new President who promises reform. The move toward democracy could set an example for several other African nations.
February 7, 2003... NAIROBI, Kenya--A Kenyan police officer stopped a minibus full of passengers the other day and demanded a bribe from the driver, which is rather routine behavior in Kenya. But what happened next is completely new: The passengers poured out of...

So, this is reality? They're cheap to produce and feed our appetite for snooping. No wonder reality shows are filling up the television airwaves. (arts).
February 7, 2003... It was the sort of intimate family conversation that, until recently, would never have been filmed as television entertainment. Aging rocker Ozzy Osbourne was confronting his 18-year-old daughter, Kelly, about her real-life partying ways and...

Avoiding asteroid Armageddon: How do you stop an asteroid from hitting Earth? Hollywood envisions nuclear weapons, but scientists favor a gentler approach. (science times).
February 7, 2003... Sooner or later, scientists say, it's bound to happen: Astronomers will discover an asteroid that has a significant chance of striking Earth. Unlike several recently discovered asteroids that were given very long odds for a collision, in...

A violent crusader in the cause of freedom: John Brown and his guerrilla force raided Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in hope of starting a slave uprising across the South. (times past).
February 7, 2003... On the morning of Oct. 17, 1859, the people of Harpers Ferry, Virginia, awoke to discover that their town had been invaded. During the night, a small band, led by a fiery antislavery crusader named John Brown, had occupied a gun factory and...

Should high schools use Indian names for their sports teams? Hundreds of school teams have Indian names. Some say it's offensive to root for the "Redskins." Others say lighten up, no harm intended. (opinion).
February 7, 2003... YES LeBron James, the nation's most celebrated high school basketball player, and his team, the St. Vincent-St. Mary Fighting Irish of Akron, Ohio, recently played in Los Angeles. Roughly 13 percent of California's population is Irish-American,...

Turmoil in oil countries hits Americans in their wallets. (Graph Exercise).
February 7, 2003... News about Iraq, the Arab-Israeli confrontation, strikes in Venezuela, and wars in West Africa all take their toll on Americans in a very down-to-earth fashion. Virtually every time conflict erupts in oil-producing areas, it means that...

Upfront quiz show.(current events quiz game)
February 7, 2003... 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....

Quotes.(Brief Article)
February 21, 2003... "This is me... I'm not a twig and I refuse to be one. I'm happy with the way I am." --Actress KATE WINSLET, criticizing men's magazine GQ for digitally retouching photographs to make her look slimmer. (MSNBC.com, Jan. 13) "You...

Let the U.S. learn from Iran. (letters).(Letter to the Editor)
February 21, 2003... Many of Iran's laws are faulty, but I support Iran's attempts to control women's garb, censor the Internet, and ban alcohol ("Iran: The Next Revolution?" 1/10/03). In doing so, Iran has prevented social problems faced by the U.S., such as the...

Open the door for immigrants. (letters).(Letter to the Editor)
February 21, 2003... Many people are concerned about immigrants since the 9/11 attacks ("U.S. Closing the Door on Immigrants," 1/10/03). But every foreigner is not a terrorist. Most people are good, and are just looking for a place to live. Diversity is what makes...

Hit the brakes on snowmobiles. (letters).(Letter to the Editor)
February 21, 2003... I think snowmobiling should not be allowed in national parks ("Should Snowmobiling Be Allowed in National Parks?" 1/10/03). The main appeal of a national park is that it is a quiet place and a safe haven for wildlife. These would disappear as a...

Eminem is destined to fade. (letters).(Letter to the Editor)
February 21, 2003... Eminem is not like Elvis ("The New Elvis?" 12/13/02). Elvis was liked by most people of his generation; some still like him. Only a small part of the population likes Eminem's use of coarse language and insults. He is one of those who are...

Ditch the stress, young grasshopper. (voices).(yoga)
February 21, 2003... MERION, PENNSYLVANIA -- American teens are pushed into believing that if we fail to participate in every possible activity, we won't succeed in life or, worse yet, we won't get into Harvard. This has created a generation of exhausted,...

Forty acres and a spool. (Photo).(Cambodia downsizing military)(Brief Article)
February 21, 2003... SEW NICE: A man guards the motorcycles and sewing machines that await discharged soldiers, at a ceremony in Takhmau, Cambodia. The impoverished nation is shrinking the army's ranks, from about 135,000 to about 80,000, in return for foreign aid....

Heavy subject: textbooks. (Education).(Brief Article)
February 21, 2003... Schoolbooks have grown so heavy--often five pounds or more--that some states are telling publishers to lighten up and spare the child. In California, textbook weight limits will be set by next year; New Jersey and Massachusetts are considering...

Now, cola wars. (Business).(Brief Article)
February 21, 2003... A French-made Coca-Cola knockoff is being marketed to Muslims upset at U.S. Middle East policy. Mecca-Cola (named for Islam's most sacred city, in Saudi Arabia) began production in November and delivered more than a million bottles in the first...

Ozoned out. (International).(Brief Article)
February 21, 2003... In Punta Arenas, Chile, the ozone layer is so skimpy at times that the government warns residents--through "solar stoplight" alerts--not to go outside. The ozone layer is a thin covering of gas in the stratosphere that absorbs most of the sun's...

Nosy billboards. (Circuits).(Brief Article)
February 21, 2003... What if billboards had ears? A California company is testing freeway signs equipped with sensors that can tell which radio stations are playing in up to 85 percent of passing cars. Alaris Media Network says that from the radio...

Neverbored. (Q&A).(Brief Article)
February 21, 2003... Entertainment Weekly declared Gregory Smith, 19, one of the "breakout stars" of 2002 for his role as angstridden teen Ephram Brown on the hit WB series Everwood. Upfront spoke to Smith about all the attention he's getting as an up-and-coming...

Race matters: this year, the Supreme Court could dismantle affirmative action. Would it be ending an unfair practice or hurting the cause of racial equality?
February 21, 2003... It took years of court orders, bloody demonstrations, and even armed federal marshals to desegregate American schools, lunch counters, and workplaces. That may be hard to imagine these days, when few in mainstream America would defend racial...

After disaster the quest for answers: in the wake of the columbia tragedy, what will become of America' romance with space?
February 21, 2003... When the space shuttle Columbia broke, up on re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard, America's space program cycled again from triumph to tragedy. Few under 25 have any memory of a time when space travel...

What the world thinks America: anti-Americanism is growing, but many still admire the U.S.
February 21, 2003... Think of the United States as a television game show: Its relatively high ratings in much of the world (though down slightly from previous years), would just about guarantee renewal next season. But in many of the world's Islamic countries,...

Taking aim at raves: promoters say the all-night parties are for dancing. Opponents say they're havens for illegal drugs like ecstasy.(Brief Article)
February 21, 2003... The rave on New Year's Eve in San Francisco attracted 10,400 dancers, and was so organized that there were ATMs on hand. It was a huge manic megaparty, and everything went fine until two people collapsed. Peter Hoang, 19, and Michael James...

Inside Indonesia <trouble in paradise>: the world's largest Muslim nation is not in the Middle East. Its tropical islands hold vast potential--and equally vast challenges.
February 21, 2003... Jakarta, Indonesia--In a crowded classroom at an Islamic boarding school, an American visitor interrupts a session on Islamic thought. The teenage boys, dressed in traditional white shirts and sarongs, with Islamic caps perched on their black...

Republicans, Democrats, and race: an uneasy history: in 1948, Southern Democrats rebelled against their party's civil rights agenda. Many of them later joined the party of Lincoln. (times past).
February 21, 2003... In July 1948, the liberal mayor of Minneapolis, Hubert Humphrey, rose at the Democratic National Convention and urged his party to embrace the cause of civil rights for black Americans. In a fiery speech that would echo through American...

Is the United States winning the war on terror? Following Sept. 11, President Bush vowed a global fight against terrorism. Eighteen months later, experts disagree on how it's going. (opinion).
February 21, 2003... YES The U.S. is winning the war on terror. This war has two parts: the protection of the American homeland from attack and the overseas war against terrorists. Let's take protection of our homeland first. Before Sept. 11 there were few...

Drawing on the news.
February 21, 2003... "YOU'RE THE HEART SPECIALIST... DO I HAVE A PROBLEM, DOC?" Joe Holler * Green Bay Press Gazette COME TO THINK OF IT. I AM TIRED OF FEELING "HANDICAPPED" J.D. Crowe * Mobile Register * Artizans.com ... WHY, HECK... SOME...

Racial representation in the workplace. (Graph Exercise).
February 21, 2003... The current debate over affirmative action focuses on higher education, specifically the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to review the race-conscious admissions policy at the University ,of Michigan. But the controversy over affirmative...

Upfront quiz show.
February 21, 2003... 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....