Editorial Roundup
Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:
Aug. 18
The Record, Hackensack, N.J., on auctioning off landing and departure times at airports:
Get ready for another round of airfare price hikes, compliments of U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters.
As the Bush administration's leading advocate for privatizing roads and highways _ and funding new highways with tolls _ Peters wants to know how much landing and departure time slots at the nation's airports are worth on the open market. So she's pushing an experiment, and those who use Newark Liberty International Airport are the guinea pigs. Using chronic congestion and flight delays as a pretext, she wants to start auctioning flight slots to the highest bidder next month.
It is one of the most harebrained ideas to have come out of Washington in the past seven years, as ideological purity and political spin have all too often trumped sound reasoning and proven results. Rather than targeting the underlying problem _ insufficient capacity _ the Peters plan attempts to fix the nation's overcrowded airways by pricing passengers out of the market. Granting takeoff and departure rights to whoever is willing to pay the most means higher operating costs for financially strapped airlines. And that translates into ticket price hikes estimated at 12 percent. ...
If the Newark experiment goes through, the lame-duck Bush administration intends to auction 70 to 80 slots at each of the three area airports before it leaves office in January. Increased airfares _ add them to the list of Bush administration legacies.
___
On the Net:
___
Aug. 18
The Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel, on exotic animals:
A few years back, the public was treated to a widely published photo showing the icky results of a python's ill-advised attempt to eat a 6-foot alligator in the Florida Everglades. ...
A few days ago came the alarming news that the venomous lionfish is tearing through the native Caribbean fish population like it was a Chinese buffet.
These critters all have something in common: They don't belong here.
The blame lies not only with irresponsible pet owners and breeders though they deserve a lot of it but with lawmakers who have failed to adequately deal with the problem. ...
A bill introduced in Congress would take a fairly obvious step toward solving the problem by assessing the potential dangers of exotic species before they are allowed to enter the country rather than waiting until the problem already is established. ...
With its warm climate, Florida is an ideal breeding ground for exotic species. Lawmakers need to deal with the problem before another unwanted bio-invader becomes part of the landscape.
___
On the Net:
___
Aug. 19
The Advertiser, Lafayette, La., on the dead-zones in U.S. waters:
... Scientists, the fishing industry and the media in this country have reported extensively on the huge dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. In 2006, it covered almost 6,700 square miles. Last year, it reached nearly 8,000 square miles, one of the largest in history. This year, researchers say it could grow to 10,084 _ the largest in almost a quarter-century.
A federal-state task force created to address the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico originally pledged to reduce it to a quarter of its size by 2015. There has been no reduction. It is still growing.
The zone is created primarily by soil erosion, fertilizer runoff from farms along the Mississippi River and its tributaries, urban runoff and dumping of sewage into the river. These elements create hypoxia, a lack of oxygen in the water. In the oxygen-depleted zones, fish flee and bottom-feeding marine life is killed.
Now we learn that there are also dead zones in South America, Africa and parts of Asia. Diaz and co-author Rutger Rosenberg of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden report in a recent edition of the journal Science that there are more than 400 dead zones around the world, double what the United Nations reported just two years ago.
It is time to take the search for a solution to the dead zone problem worldwide. There could be new information and new approaches if a global task force brings together global expertise. ...
___
On the Net:
___
Aug. 15
Chicago Sun-Times, on Sen. Hillary Cinton and the Democratic National Convention:
We're all for compromise and diplomacy, but the announcement on Thursday that Sen. Hillary Clinton's name will be placed into nomination at the Democratic National Convention for a roll call vote leaves us with a sense of unease.
Clinton and her historic candidacy must get its due, no doubt.
That's why she is expected to be the headline speaker on Tuesday night during the week of the convention, a perfect opportunity for her to shine before millions of viewers while her supporters celebrate.
The roll call vote, though, looks like nothing more than an opening for the bitterness that lurks beneath her loss to rise to the surface again.
We've never been much for summer reruns.
Sen. Barack Obama won. Clinton lost.
Time to move on.
____
On the Net:
___
Aug. 18
The Dallas Morning News, on NATO expansion:
John McCain and Barack Obama disagree on many things, but in response to Russia's invasion of Georgia, they were of one mind about what the United States should do: Redouble efforts to bring Georgia into NATO.
They're wrong, and dangerously so.
Consider that if President Bush had gotten his way over European objections, Georgia would already be a NATO member country. The recent Russian invasion would have committed NATO to go to war with Russia which, despite its weakened state, still has a sizable army and thousands of nuclear missiles to defend Georgia.
Are Americans willing to engage in a shooting war with Russia over this former Soviet republic? What is the vital U.S. interest at stake worth paying that kind of price?
Others say that were Georgia in NATO, Russia never would have invaded. Maybe. Maybe not. Is that a chance worth taking? If the U.S. is not prepared to fight for Georgia, it has no business extending security guarantees to it. ...
Despite American warnings, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili rashly attacked South Ossetia, giving Russia an excuse to invade. Were Georgia in NATO, treaty obligations would likely have made this local dispute an event that either shattered the alliance or a fuse that ignited World War III.
Georgia's fight with Russia is not our fight, nor should it be. Russia has drawn a line in the sand, right in its own back yard. We would be prudent not to cross it.
___
On the Net:
___
Aug. 14
Vindicator, Youngstown, Ohio, on Iraq's surplus:
... When it comes to American taxpayer dollars, Iraq is a sieve.
That is why the report by the Government Accountability Office on the Iraqi governments estimated $79 billion budget surplus at the end of the year has caused such an uproar on Capitol Hill and around the nation. ...
The excuses from the administration for why Iraq is not being forced to pay for its own reconstruction are at once not persuasive and insulting. To contend that the Iraqis do not have the knowledge or the wherewithal to spend their own money on their own needs there are parts of the country that still lack all-day electricity supply and clean water is to beg the question, "If not now, when?" ...
Given the shaky economy ... and the high price of gas, Americans are justified in asking why oil rich Iraq isnt supplying the U.S. at bargain prices, seeing as how their oil industry has been revived by American taxpayers. ...
___
On the Net:
___
Aug. 17
The Denver Post, on U.S. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps:
Once in a lifetime, there comes an athlete who accomplishes the impossible _ or, at least, what had been considered impossible.
If you've been following the summer Olympic games in Beijing, you know that the athlete for this generation is Michael Phelps.
On Sunday, the U.S. swimmer won his eighth gold medal in these games in a breathtaking march that has set new world record marks and demolished opponents.
We are awed by his accomplishments, yet the seeming contradictions and complexities of this gifted 23-year-old also make him intriguing.
He's a ferocious competitor but also a good sport (which shouldn't be contradictions, but unfortunately they often are).
He's a self-effacing, regular guy who is anything but normal once he hits the water. He has prepared himself with a superhuman training regimen yet makes racing, winning and smashing world records all look so casual.
So the question must be asked: Is he the greatest U.S. Olympian of all time? ...
The debate will rage over technological and training improvements and money in sports that allows athletes to be full-time professionals. And you could talk all day about which sports are harder on the body and which make it easier to rack up multiple medals by virtue of relay opportunities.
In the end, we'll never all agree on the superlatives, but we should be able to concur on one thing: Seeing Phelps swim in these games has been a rare opportunity to watch a phenomenal athlete create sports history.
It has been awe-inspiring.
___
On the Net:
http://www.denverpost.com/editorials/ci_10231697
___
Aug. 18
San Antonio Express News, on shield legislation:
A federal shield law for journalists has become essential in this era of trolling prosecutors and civil lawyers looking for shortcuts to make their cases.
Despite passing by a large margin in the House, the Free Flow of Information Act failed to get enough support to be debated on the Senate floor late last month.
The Society of Professional Journalists reported that the measure was held hostage by senators who were trying to force amendments onto an energy bill.
When senators return from their August break, they should bring the bill to the floor and pass it on its merits.
The shield law would give journalists the qualified right to protect confidential sources without the threat of going to jail except in certain situations.
The exceptions include cases where national security is at stake. Journalists could be forced to testify when a court is convinced that all non-media sources are exhausted and the testimony is essential to the investigation or case, the SPJ noted. ...
Without the protection, whistleblowers would be far more reluctant to step forward, and Americans would learn much less about how their government is actually functioning. ...
___
On the Net:
___
Aug. 20
Dagens Nyheter, Stockholm, Sweden, on NATO's reaction to the crisis in Georgia:
What is NATO, a new discussion club or an alliance that rests on old laws? The crisis in Georgia made NATO meet _ after 10 days. The result appears unclear.
What does one buy with a NATO membership? Strong company and good friends in case one should be attacked? The payment consists of a duty to stand by the other members. ...
Things are more tricky for NATO. There is no unity about how to act. Russia has to feel a reaction. And that should be sharp, says one camp. Unwise, says the other, we should not hurt our financial relations.
The debate sounds more like those in the U.N.'s security council than the reasoning within a military alliance. Is NATO developing into yet another international discussion club? Yes, it looks like it. ...
___
On the Net:
___
Aug. 20
London Telegraph, on Britain's economy:
The collapse of the property market has plunged one businessman into the gloomiest of moods.
Tim Wheeler, chief executive of Brixton, one of the country's biggest warehouse owners, has adorned the cover of his half-yearly report with an illustration of the four horsemen of the apocalypse accompanied by the words of Bob Dylan's 1967 song, "All Along the Watchtower." "Businessmen, they drink my wine/ ploughmen dig my earth,/None of them along the line know what any of it is worth."
Few people understand the meaning of the lyrics. Some have seen the influence of the Book of Revelations, others of Tarot. Dylan himself would only say they came to him during a storm.
Mr. Wheeler clearly associates them with despair. As a seasoned veteran of the property world he has been warning that the slump will be longer and deeper than many appreciate.
Britain is, indeed, facing a bleak period. Small business leaders now expect a recession; inflation is rising, as is unemployment a toxic combination known as stagflation last seen in the 1970s. ...
In addition, we are more in debt as individuals than ever and have accumulated greater external debt than almost any country in the world except America.
The publication of the minutes of the most recent meeting of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee showed that one member voted to increase interest rates while most decided to stay at five per cent to avoid making the downturn "unnecessarily deep".
As debt increases, the pressure for higher interest rates to kill off inflationary pressures may become impossible for the MPC to resist. At that point, Bob Dylan's lyrics may not be gloomy enough.
For his next report, Mr Wheeler may well opt instead for "The End" by The Doors.
___
On the Net:
___
Aug. 19
The Daily Nation, Nairobi, Kenya, on the death of President Levy Mwanawasa:
As chairman of the Southern African Development Community, President Mwanawasa played a leading role in seeking a mediated settlement to Zimbabwe's political crisis.
The death of Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa marks the exit of a rare African leader one not content to pay lip-service to the principles that established the African Union, Nepad and the African Peer Review Mechanism.
President Mwanawasa was almost alone amongst African Heads of State willing to criticise Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe who has run down a neighbouring country into economic collapse.
The Zambian leader broke an unwritten pact that binds African leaders to close their eyes to misrule and repression by brother leaders.
The African Union was created as successor to the Organisation of African Unity, and deliberately did away with the rules that forbade interference in the internal affairs of another country.
It also pushed initiatives such as Nepad and the peer review mechanism that encouraged African leaders to behave well and nudge their colleagues to observe basic principles of democracy and good governance.
As chairman of the Southern African Development Community, President Mwanawasa played a leading role in seeking a mediated settlement to Zimbabwe's political crisis. ...
He was a leader who stood on principle, and for that reason alone, he will be sorely missed.
___
On the Net:
http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Editorial/-/440804/460850/-/qlmulaz/-/index.htm
___
Aug. 20
Jyllands-Posten, Aarhus, Denmark, on Russia and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's role:
The crisis in Georgia shows all too clearly that any illusion that Vladimir Putin as prime minister is out of the picture, is naive.
It is still Putin who controls Moscow's foreign policy. It could be tempting to call his successor in the presidential job, Dmitry Medvedev, a puppet. But that is not the case.
Medvedev has been supporting the Russian aggression in Georgia. He has called the US-Polish missile deal a direct threat against Russia. He has threatened anyone who crosses Russia's interests with retaliation.
The picture that now surfaces by Russia's emerging comeback in the international arena, is that of a Russia that will use all its resources to achieve its goals. A Russia that does not fear a confrontation with the West.
Russia has long used an aggressive strategy in its relations with the West.
Its dominance on Europe's oil and gas markets is part of this strategy. The same applies to the use of military force against Georgia.
Not so long ago, Vladimir Putin threatened to direct Russia's nuclear arsenal against Georgia and Ukraine, if these nations also joined NATO.
The interruption of Russian energy supplies to former Soviet satellite states who did not want to close ranks according to Moscow's wishes, is not only a clear warning that Russia wants to continue its domination of the Soviet Union's former territory.
It is also a warning to the West that Russia's policy is not guided by a new president who is willing to move closer to the West.
But by a former president, whose policy more belongs to the Cold War era than in the new world order. ...
___
On the Net
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
