The End of a Revolution


KAREN TUMULTY

Sex, lies and power games are just the latest symptoms of a Republican Party that has strayed from its ideals

Every revolution begins with the power of an idea and ends when clinging to power is the only idea left. The epitaph for the movement that started when Newt Gingrich and his forces rose from the back bench of the House chamber in 1994 may well have been written last week in the same medium that incubated it: talk radio. On conservative commentator Laura Ingraham's show, the longest-serving Republican House Speaker in history explained why he would not resign despite a sex scandal that has produced a hail of questions about his leadership and the failure to stop one of his members from cyberstalking teenage congressional pages. "If I fold up my tent and leave," Dennis Hastert told her, "then where does that leave us? If the Democrats sweep, then we'd have no ability to fight back and get our message out."

That quiet admission may have been the most damning one yet in the unfolding scandal surrounding Florida Congressman Mark Foley: holding on to power has become not just the means but also the end for the onetime reformers who in 1994 unseated a calcified and corrupted Democratic majority. Washington scandals, it seems, have been following a Moore's law of their own, coming at a faster clip every time there is a shift in control. It took 40 years for the House Democrats to exhaust their goodwill. It may take only 12 years for the Republicans to get there.

If you think politicians clinging to power isn't big news, then you may have forgotten the pure zeal of Gingrich's original revolutionaries. They swept into Washington on the single promise that they would change Capitol Hill. And for a time, they did. Vowing to finish what Ronald Reagan had started, they stood firm on the three principles that defined conservatism: fiscal responsibility, national security and moral values. Reagan, who had a few scandals in his day, didn't always follow his own rules. But his doctrine turned out to be a good set of talking points for winning elections in a closely divided country, and the takeover was completed with the inauguration of George W. Bush as President.

But after controlling both houses of Congress and the White House for most of Bush's six years in office, the party has a governing record that has come unmoored from those Grand Old Party ideals. The exquisite political machinery that aces the elections has begun to betray the platform. To win votes back home, lawmakers have been spending taxpayer money like sailors on leave, producing the biggest budget deficits in U.S. history. And the party's approach to national security has taken the country into a war that most Americans now believe was a mistake and that the government's own intelligence experts say has shaped "a new generation of terrorist leaders and operatives."

One of the problems is that after the Republicans got into power, the system began to change them, not just the other way around. Among the first promises the G.O.P. majority broke was the setting of term limits. Their longtime frustrations in the minority didn't necessarily make them any better at reaching across the aisle either. Compromise, that most central of congressional checks and balances, has been largely replaced by a kind of calculated cussedness that has left the G.O.P. isolated and exposed in times of crisis.

The current crisis arrived with a sex scandal that has muddied one of the G.O.P.'s few remaining patches of moral high ground: its defense of family values and personal accountability. Although Hastert and other Republican leaders say they heard last fall about the "overfriendly" approaches of a not-so-secretly-gay Congressman to a 16-year-old former page--both majority leader John Boehner and campaign chairman Tom Reynolds say they brought it up with Hastert last spring--they insist they never imagined anything like the more graphic instant messages that subsequently came to light. Boehner spokesman Kevin Madden said his boss was told only that there had been "contact" between Foley and a page, and that his knowledge of even that much came from a fleeting conversation on the House floor. But shouldn't someone have got chills at learning that a 52-year-old man had sent a teenager a creepy e-mail asking for a "pic of you"? Certainly the page understood what the e-mail meant, which is why he forwarded it in August 2005 to the office of Louisiana Congressman Rodney Alexander, who had sponsored him for the page program and who was alarmed enough to take his concern to Boehner. "This freaked me out," the teenager wrote. "Sick sick sick sick sick sick sick sick sick sick sick sick sick."

The House response was political from the start. Last November, Jeff Trandahl, then clerk of the House, told John Shimkus, the Republican head of the board that oversees the page program, about the less incriminating e-mails. But nobody bothered to inform the board's lone Democrat. Shimkus and Trandahl appear to have done nothing more than give Foley a private warning. When Alexander expanded the circle of those aware of the e-mails the following spring, one of the two people he chose to loop in was Reynolds, head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, whose job is managing the election. Foley wasn't even stripped of his co-chairmanship of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children.

Even after a batch of truly sleazy instant messages was discovered by ABC News, Reynolds' chief of staff Kirk Fordham, who was also a former aide to Foley, tried to solve the political problem by attempting to talk the network out of publishing the worst of the messages. Fordham resigned last week, but he didn't go quietly, the way House leaders had hoped. On his way out, he threw fuel on the political fire by announcing that he had warned Hastert's staff of Foley's "inappropriate behavior" at least three years ago--a charge that Hastert's chief of staff, Scott Palmer, denied.

All this suggests that the Republican leaders were motivated much more by fear of electoral fallout than concern for the young pages in their care. And if they were worried that the revelation would hurt their chances of holding on to the House, they turned out to be right. Before the scandal broke, they were beginning to believe that the clouds were finally clearing for them. Their fabled get-out-the-vote and fund-raising operations were nearing full stride just as gas prices were dropping and the national debate was refocusing on their home-court issue of terrorism.

It seems likely that the party will instead need to reckon with sex and scandal throughout the final weeks of the election. As conservative George F. Will, writing in the Washington Post last week, put it, the Foley affair is "a maraschino cherry atop the Democrats' delectable sundae of Republican miseries." In the latest TIME poll, conducted the week after the news broke, nearly 80% of respondents said they were aware of the scandal, and two-thirds of them were convinced that Republican leaders had tried to cover it up. Among the registered voters who were polled, 54% said they would be more likely to vote for the Democratic candidate for Congress, compared with 39% who favored the Republican--nearly a perfect reversal of the 51%-40% advantage the G.O.P. enjoyed as recently as August. There was even worse news in a poll by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center that showed a precipitous drop in Republican support among frequent churchgoers, one of the most important and loyal elements of the G.O.P. base. There's no indication that they are clamoring to be Democrats, but the risk is that they will simply stay home on Election Day.

One of the victims may turn out to be campaign chairman Reynolds, who suddenly found himself running as many as 8 points behind in his upstate New York House-seat re-election bid, which had appeared fairly safe a week earlier. Hastert's job seems secure for the moment, barring any big new revelations, in part because the House Speaker is not merely a party leader; the role was established under the Constitution. It would be difficult to replace Hastert without summoning Congress back into town from the campaign trail. Nor would an ugly fight over who would succeed him be good for the party's prospects in November. Still, Republicans are not particularly eager to be seen with him. His campaign schedule is starting to look a lot lighter, as House candidates across the country are turning down his offers to do fund raisers for them. Even the leadership's much vaunted discipline seems to be in tatters. Majority leader Boehner defended himself last week by attacking Hastert: "My position is, it's in his corner, it's his responsibility." And the third in command, whip Roy Blunt, suggested that things would have been different if he had been informed. Not incidentally, both men are expected to consider making a bid for the top job if Hastert ultimately steps down--and maybe if he doesn't. But by then the job description may be House minority leader.

G.O.P. leaders are so desperate to find someone else to blame that they have been reduced--with no indication that they see the irony--to blaming a vast left-wing conspiracy. "The people who want to see this thing blow up," Hastert told the Chicago Tribune, "are ABC News and a lot of Democratic operatives, people funded by George Soros," the liberal financier who has become a bogeyman of the right. Hastert went on to say, without producing any proof, that the revelation was the work of Bill Clinton's operatives. But that line of argument, of course, suggests that Republicans would have preferred to keep Foley's secrets locked away, presumably at the pages' peril. And the Democrats for once are showing the good sense to stay out of the way when the other side is self-destructing. Sighed one of the younger House Republican aides who sits in on key meetings: "Foul play on the Democrats' side? If that is the only card left to play, then we are in serious trouble."

THE "DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL" PROBLEM

As Hastert and his forces have been trumpeting their charges against the Democrats, a whisper campaign has been launched in Washington to blame an internal culprit: a "velvet mafia" at the upper levels of G.O.P. leadership on Capitol Hill. Foley, that line of argument went, had been protected by gay staff members like Fordham, Trandahl and others whose names were being widely circulated. Says a top aide: "It looks like they may have tried to handle this among themselves because they were similarly situated."

In many ways, that story line is the product of the strains within the party over homosexuality. It's a tension nearly as deep and tortured as those the Democrats grappled with over race a half-century ago, when they tried--unsuccessfully--to keep an uneasy coalition of Southern segregationists and Northern civil rights advocates from tearing their party apart. Even though many of the G.O.P.'s policies have been hostile to gay rights, its leaders have long followed a "Don't ask, don't tell" policy with what pretty much everyone in Washington knows is a sizable number of closeted Republicans among members of Congress, upper-level staff and top party operatives. Says Patrick Sammon, executive vice president of the gay group Log Cabin Republicans: "There are a lot of gay Republicans who are working behind the scenes to advance the priorities of this party."

Until now, Republicans were able to manage the conflict. And they managed it by ignoring it. That even became part of an electoral strategy dating back to the 2000 election that suggested there was nothing to be gained by moderation. In a memo he wrote to Karl Rove, Bush pollster Matthew Dowd estimated that truly independent voters had fallen to a mere sliver of the electorate. There were, Dowd concluded, not enough percentage points in being "a uniter, not a divider." The key to winning in a polarized country was mobilizing the conservative base. That year, Bush refused to meet with the Log Cabin Republicans, choosing instead to see a handpicked group of gay Republicans, but only after the party's nomination was secured. In 2004, even as Vice President Dick Cheney's daughter Mary was a potential symbol of the party's openheartedness, Republicans put anti-gay-marriage measures on 11 state ballots to drive voter turnout.

But the Foley scandal is making it difficult for the party to look the other way. Last week some conservatives went so far as to insinuate that Foley proves that every gay person is a pedophile waiting to happen. "You don't need 'gaydar' to understand he has certain dispositions," Utah Congressman Chris Cannon told the Deseret News. Televangelist Pat Robertson recommended that G.O.P. leaders simply explain the situation this way: "Well, this man's gay. He does what gay people do."

The resignations of Foley and Fordham sparked fears that other gay Republicans would also soon be forced out of both their closets and their jobs. "Kirk is the fall guy," says gay-rights activist Hilary Rosen. "It's going to be open season on gay Republicans. It's the right wing's perfect storm. They never wanted gays in their party anyway."

RULING WITH AN IRON FIST

Oddly enough, it was a sex scandal in 1998 that brought Hastert from obscurity to the Speaker's chair in the first place. Gingrich had been ousted because his brand of fiery leadership had become such a drag on the party that it lost seats rather than gained them amid the Monica Lewinsky scandal. But his anointed successor, Robert Livingston of Louisiana, suddenly backed out amid revelations of an extramarital affair. That's when the party turned to Hastert, a former high school wrestling coach whose affability and low-key demeanor seemed to guarantee calmer times ahead. He was, after all, the man who said he was too humble to brag about being humble.

And yet the way the House has operated under Hastert has been anything but humble. He quickly came to be viewed as little more than a genial front for then majority leader Tom DeLay, whose nickname--the Hammer--pretty much summed up his leadership touch. "There has been no institutional rule, means, norm or tradition that cannot be set aside to advance a partisan political goal," says Brookings Institution political scientist Thomas Mann, co-author of the recently published book whose title describes Congress as The Broken Branch. In 2003, instead of fashioning a compromise that might woo a few Democrats, Hastert and DeLay held what was supposed to be a 15-min. vote open for three full hours as they squeezed the last Republican votes they needed to pass a bill to provide an expensive prescription drug benefit to the Medicare program. Far more than in the past, they brought bills to the floor with no chance of amendment and allowed the normal appropriations process to be circumvented so that pet projects could be funded without scrutiny. When DeLay faced indictment by a Texas grand jury, Hastert changed the Republican rules so that DeLay could stay on as leader--though in the ensuing outcry, he had to reverse himself. Hastert was successful, however, in purging the ethics committee of its chairman and two Republican members who had reprimanded DeLay for misconduct. Stretching the limits of arcane House rules and shuffling committees around may not seem like earthshaking offenses, but they are the same type of procedural strangleholds and power plays that the G.O.P. had hoped to excise from the body politic 12 years ago.

"The Republican Party of 2006 is a tired, cranky shell of the aggressive, reformist movement that was swept into office in 1994 on a wave of positive change," Frank Luntz, one of the strategists of the G.O.P. takeover, wrote this week in a column for TIME.com "I worked for them. They were friends of mine. These Republicans are not those Republicans."

On policy matters, Hastert's leadership approach has been to act as though the Democrats--and sometimes the Senate--simply do not exist. He squeezes hard-edged partisan bills through the House to please the G.O.P. base, even though they have no chance of ever getting through the Senate and reaching the President's desk. "There have been numerous occasions when bipartisan approaches, which would have benefited our conference more than Democrats, have been rebuffed by the Speaker," complains a senior Republican aide, who says he likes and respects the Speaker. "His strategy seems to be, 'Well, don't worry about it. We'll blame [Democratic Leader Nancy] Pelosi.' That might work in isolated circumstances, but when your party's numbers start to tank, and people want to see that you can govern, that approach is not a solid one."

Party leaders concede the point that their revolution hasn't lived up to everything they promised. But they say voters still see the difference between where the parties stand. Former Republican chairman Ed Gillespie--one of the authors of the Contract with America, on which House Republicans ran in 1994--says, "Our party is still better when it comes to spending than the Democrats, stronger on national security than the Democrats and more likely to share concerns about the coarsening of our culture that a majority of Americans share than the Democrats are." Strategists are putting an optimistic face even on the effects of the Foley scandal, saying their internal polling shows little movement against the G.O.P.

Will the Democrats behave any differently if they retake Congress in November? Some would undoubtedly try to use their majority power to exact revenge for Republican overreach. And history has shown them to be just as capable of the type of ideological drift that is tearing at the G.O.P.

For now, though, the question on everyone's mind is, How do the Republicans find their way from here? A number of conservatives have begun to wonder aloud if it wouldn't be better for the party to lose the House or Senate in November. If the revolutionaries have become the redcoats, then perhaps it's time for another uprising. Send the Republicans back into the wilderness so they can forage for the kind of fresh ideas and guerrilla tactics that made them such a force during their previous march on Washington. They could very well be ready in time for the presidential election in 2008. And while they're out there on the campaign trail, they just might rally around their old general, who will be looking to cap his own hardscrabble journey from political pariah to rehabbed revolutionary. That general, of course, is none other than former Speaker Gingrich, who has been spotted in Iowa, New Hampshire and other battleground states for more than a year now, taking potshots at the Establishment he helped create and rearming himself to storm the next barricade. TIME POLL THE PRESIDENT

Do you approve of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as President?

• Disapprove 57% • Approve 36%

THE CONGRESS

Disapprove of the job the U.S. Congress is doing

• 57% disapprove • 31% approve • 12% Don't know Say they would vote for a Democrat if the congressional election were held today*

• 54% vote for a Democrat • 39% favor a Republican • 7% Other party/ don't know

Think the country would be better off if the Democrats won control of the House

• 49% agree • 38% disagree • 13% Don't know

THE FOLEY CASE 78% of poll respondents were aware of the scandal involving former G.O.P. Congressman Mark Foley. Their views:

Do you think Republican leaders in Congress handled the Foley situation properly, or do you think they tried to cover it up?

• Handled properly 16% • Covered it up 64%

Did the disclosure about Foley's sexually explicit instant messages to teenage congressional pages and the handling of this situation by the House Republican leadership make you less likely to vote for the Republican candidate in your district, more likely, or did it really have no effect on how you will vote?

Less likely 25% More likely 4% No effect 68%

Do you think Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert should resign as Speaker because of his handling of the Foley case?

• Yes 39% • No 38% • Don't know 23%

This TIME poll was conducted by telephone Oct. 3-4 among 1,002 adult Americans by SRBI Public Affairs. The margin of error is 3 percentage points. "Don't know" responses omitted for some questions. *Asked of registered voters

With reporting by With reporting by Mike Allen, Melissa August, Perry Bacon Jr., Brian Bennett, Timothy J. Burger, Massimo Calabresi, James Carney, Ana Marie Cox/ Washington, Jeffrey Ressner/Simi Valley

Sphere: Related Content

0 comments

Campaign '06: On the Attack in Illinois


WENDY COLE

The Incumbent governor and his Republican challenger compete to tar each other with the sins of the state's disgraced former chief executive

Retired politicians frequently return to the campaign trail on behalf of grateful candidates seeking an electoral boost. But former Illinois Governor George Ryan has become the focus of that state's current gubenatorial race in a quite different way. Both Democrat incumbent Governor Rod Blagojevich and GOP challenger Judy Baar Topinka, the three-term state treasurer, are scrambling to show that their opponent most closely resembles the disgraced one-term Republican now facing six and a half years in federal prison for corruption and fraud.

So far the evidence is scant that either politician is benefiting from the tactic, which lately has all but squeezed out meaningful discussion of issues like taxes, education and health care. Instead, in relentless TV ads, Blagojevich and Topinka have tried to impugn the ethical standards of the other by invoking Ryan, the current poster boy of scandal in a state where questionable patronage practices have rarely before been a political liability. Blagojevich uses old footage of Topinka, a former member of the Ryan administration, practically swooning as she praises the former governor as "a damn decent guy." Topinka, who has never been implicated as a participant in Ryan's patronage schemes, counters with references to recent revelations of a $1500 "birthday gift" to Blagojevich's then seven-year-old daughter from a friend whose wife had just received a state job. "Isn't our last governor going to jail over this? " the announcer ominously wonders.

Perhaps if Blagojevich, the first Illinois Democrat elected governor since 1972, had not so strongly vowed to end "business as usual" four years ago in taking over a bloated, corruption-plagued Republican administration, voters might not be so cynical about the current dialogue. For more than a year, the Governor's disapproval ratings have topped 50%. Federal authorities are currently investigating "endemic hiring fraud" at the state level, alleging that more than 2,000 politically connected job applicants got special treatment by the Blagojevich administration. Illinois recently disclosed a $3 billion budget deficit for fiscal 2005 that was the largest in the nation. (To be fair, Blagojevich, 49, has improved on the $5 billion deficit that Ryan bequeathed to him.) And though the PR-savvy incumbent has bragged about being an "education governor" in announcing initiatives to expand preschool opportunities and toughen academic requirements for high school graduates, Illinois continues to rank near the bottom in state education spending.

Still, the pugnacious Blagojevich, a former Golden Gloves boxer, has a few important advantages. Topinka, 62, currently the only statewide GOP office holder, has a brusque, sometimes cartoonish style that has made her uphill battle even steeper. Though the treasurer, a social moderate, clinched enough votes in March to snatch the nomination in the bloody, five-person circular firing squad otherwise known as the GOP primary, her campaign quickly lost steam. In a September poll of 600 likely voters, Blagojevich led Topinka 45% to 33%. "She just hasn't been able to capitalize on the negatives associated with the governor," said Jay Stewart executive director of the of the Better Government Association, a non-partisan watchdog group based in Chicago.

For most of the summer, Topinka's failure to offer specifics about how she would institute fiscal discipline or deal with unsustainable long-range spending obligations that legislators have agreed to — for everything from Medicaid expenses to public employee pensions — kept her from looking like a serious contender. But in late August she took an important step in announcing a four-year revenue plan that depends on the controversial notion of opening Chicago's first casino to help provide billions of dollars for public schools and property tax relief. Topinka, like Blagojevich, has been averse to raising sales or income taxes to generate revenue, though the challenger insists she wouldn't rule out those measures as a last resort.

The governor's supporters were quick to jump on technical flaws in Topinka's proposal. Blagojevich's own education spending plan involves selling or leasing the state lottery to provide a short-term cash infusion for schools, but no sustainable revenue stream. "It's never been clear that he has any real interest or commitment to policy. He's all about winning the next election," said Charles Wheeler, a political columnist and professor of public affairs reporting at the University of Illinois-Springfield.

Even if Topinka finds her mojo with a Windy City casino, the governor has another big advantage. Over the past few years, Blagojevich has amassed a campaign war chest of more than $20 million. Over the summer, he had $12 million on hand while Topinka reported just $1.5 million in the bank. In a match-up where neither candidate's policy agenda has found much traction, it's hard to bet against the one whose budget for attack ads is virtually limitless.

Sphere: Related Content

0 comments

Turning Hunger Into Hatred


TIM MCGIRK

With Israeli bombs still falling on Gaza and gunmen feuding in its streets, dreams of peace are fading fast.

The Palestinians in Gaza have come to dread the phone ringing at midnight. Too often a stranger's voice, in flawless Arabic, will say, "I'm from the Israel Defense Forces. This is a warning. We're going to bomb your house in 15 minutes. Leave and tell your neighbors." Usually the Israeli intelligence is accurate--Gaza seethes with Palestinian informers--and the bombs, dropped by an F-16 fighter circling this narrow coastal strip on the Mediterranean, will destroy a hideout, weapons cache or hidden tunnel.

But often those warnings aren't enough to save the innocent. One day last month, the Israelis dropped two enormous charges on a house in the southern Gaza town of Rafah, where smugglers were trying to tunnel into Egypt under a 25-ft.-high concrete wall built by the Israelis. There had been the usual telephone heads-up, but the blasts were so fierce that flying debris injured 50 neighbors. A spear of shrapnel flew more than 500 yds. away and killed a 14-year-old girl, Damilaz Hamad. According to the Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights, Damilaz is among 60 women and children killed in air strikes since June, when Israel launched its assault on the Gaza Strip in response to the abduction of an Israeli soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit. At Damilaz's funeral, militants in black T shirts fired AK-47s in the air. On a white wall, someone had sprayed the words CONGRATULATIONS TO THE FAMILY FOR THE MARTYRDOM OF DAMILAZ HAMAD. The only genuine grief was from the girl's paraplegic mother, who lay crumpled on a mattress on a dirty floor, wailing for her lost daughter. I listened to friends trying to convince the family that Allah had singled out Damilaz, instead of all the ruffians and murderers in this blighted stretch of Gaza, for an early death because her suffering was sure to be rewarded in paradise. Otherwise, my interpreter explained to me, "her death will seem pointless, and her family will grieve more."

For the Palestinians, sorrow has become routine. While the international community has committed itself to enforcing the two-month-old cease-fire between Israel and Hizballah in Lebanon, the siege of Gaza and its 1.4 million inhabitants goes on, battering the territory's infrastructure, paralyzing its economy and leaving what's left of the Palestinian government in chaos. As Israeli warplanes attack from the air--all told, their bombs have destroyed 43 buildings and killed more than 220 people, most of them suspected militants--the two rival Palestinian political factions, the Fatah movement of President Mahmoud Abbas and the Islamic militants of Hamas who back Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, have engaged in daily gun battles that left more than a dozen dead in three days of fighting last week. At this point, Palestinians seem to think they are closer to seeing civil war than to realizing their dream of a viable, independent state. "We are used to blaming our mistakes on others," says Hamas spokesman Ghazi Hamad in a moment of candor. "But we have all been attacked by the bacteria of stupidity."

If so, the world isn't offering much in the way of treatment. When U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Israel and the Palestinian territories last week, she offered $26 million in aid to bolster Abbas' security forces. But she also outraged Hamas leaders by encouraging Abbas to dismiss Haniya and his Cabinet and scrap efforts to forge a coalition government with Hamas. Now Hamas militants are threatening more trouble if the Prime Minister is forced out. Meanwhile, the living conditions continue to deteriorate. Because of a blockade imposed by Israel after Hamas was elected to the Palestinian government in January, only Israeli foodstuffs and humanitarian aid are allowed into Gaza. (Palestinians are barred from exporting any homegrown products, and Israeli shells have destroyed more than 40 greenhouses built by the aid agency CARE International.) The Israelis also imposed a sea blockade after its navy stopped arms smugglers and two suicide bombers trying to reach Israeli shores. John Dugard, U.N. Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied territories, concluded in late September that "Gaza is a prison, and Israel seems to have thrown away the key."

A tour through Gaza provides glimpses of the miseries faced by ordinary people. Because of the Israeli clampdown, fishing boats cannot venture more than a mile into the Mediterranean without getting shot at by Israeli warships. But the fishermen go out anyway. Abu Audah, a Palestinian boatman, points to three large-caliber Israeli bullet holes in the hull of his vessel and explains, "If I stay at home, I'll die of hunger. So it's better to die at sea, feeding my children." A boat strayed too far out last week, and a fisherman was killed by shots from an Israeli vessel.

Since June 28, when Israeli fighter jets bombed Gaza's main power station, most people have had only four hours of electricity a day. Gaza's hospitals are pitiful, and more than 400 Palestinians with life-threatening illnesses or injuries were made to wait three weeks before the Israelis opened up the Rafah crossing to allow Palestinians into Egypt for urgent medical treatment. Gaza has food, but few Palestinians can afford it, since the government can no longer pay the salaries of the police, teachers and bureaucrats. More than 70% of Gazans are dependent on international food aid to survive. As poverty tightens, many families have run out of friends to borrow from and are starting to sell their furniture and even dowry jewelry to put food on the table. Some have gone further; secondhand-clothing shops are now all over Gaza's poorest neighborhoods.

For Israel and the U.S., the squeeze on Gaza was intended to have corollary benefits: sowing discontent with the Hamas-led government and strengthening Abbas, whom Israel sees as its only viable negotiating partner. But neither has happened yet. Sources close to Abbas say Rice has promised that sanctions will be lifted and funds will flow back to the Palestinians once the Israeli corporal is freed and the President dissolves the Hamas government. But Abbas, despite being the Bush Administration's favorite, could end up the loser. Many Palestinians see him as weak and fickle. Hamas' gunmen are more numerous and better disciplined than Abbas' Fatah fighters, who have splintered into rival militias whose main activity in Gaza these days is stealing cars and kidnapping. "Our image in the streets is very bad," concedes a senior Fatah official. "We are seen as self-interested and collaborators [with Israel], not fighters for Palestine. And this is what Abbas is ignoring. You can't confront your political adversaries without the support of the masses."

Here's how a civil war could start. Islamic preachers under Hamas' influence begin denouncing Abbas in mosques as a stooge of the U.S. and Israel, undercutting his credibility. Hamas would then use its majority in the legislative body to try to oust Abbas as President. If that were to fail, Hamas' fighters would take to the streets in Gaza and the West Bank territories. Such an internecine conflict would devastate the Palestinians, since many families have fathers who support Abbas and sons who belong to Hamas. And the consequences for Israel could be just as dire. A senior Hamas commander says the rift with Abbas is unmendable. Although Hamas has agreed to halt its campaign of suicide bombings in Israel, the commander says, "I'm afraid that [pressures from the] Americans and Israelis are pushing radicals inside Hamas to resume such attacks." And if that happens, Israel's wrath against the Palestinians would surely be even more terrible.

The danger for Israel--and the world--is that the longer the siege of Gaza lasts, the more likely it is to strengthen radicals who have little interest in a peaceful settlement of the dispute with Israel. Despite the blockade of Gaza, many Palestinians still have a few good memories of Israelis. Feheme, an 11-year-old Palestinian boy with blood cancer, was twice treated in Jerusalem and still gets follow-up calls from his doctor. A farmer whose orange groves were shelled 12 times by Israelis after militants set off a rocket in a nearby field still talks fondly of his Israeli friends. But although he opposes the Palestinian militants and the rain of destruction they attract from the Israeli side, he says that "if I start complaining about the militants' setting off these rockets, they'll shoot me."

If the Israelis thought their siege of Gaza might break Palestinian support for Hamas, they were wrong. It has only made Palestinians angrier and more desperate. Says Gaza resident Omar Shabani, an economist: "My kids ask me why the Israelis are doing this to us, and I can't answer them. I don't want to increase their hatred toward Israel, but the truth is, the Israelis are doing everything to make us hate them."

With reporting by With reporting by Jamil Hamad / Nablus, Aaron J. Klein / Tel Aviv

Sphere: Related Content

0 comments

Today in History - Oct. 9


The Associated Press

Today is Monday, Oct. 9, the 282nd day of 2006. There are 83 days left in the year. This is Columbus Day, as well as Thanksgiving Day in Canada.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 9, 1888, the public was first admitted to the Washington Monument.

On this date:

In 1635, religious dissident Roger Williams was ordered banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

In 1701, the Collegiate School of Connecticut — later Yale University — was chartered.

In 1776, a group of Spanish missionaries settled in present-day San Francisco.

In 1930, Laura Ingalls became the first woman to fly across the United States as she completed a nine-stop journey from Roosevelt Field, N.Y., to Glendale, Calif.

In 1936, the first generator at Boulder (later Hoover) Dam began transmitting electricity to Los Angeles.

In 1946, the Eugene O'Neill drama "The Iceman Cometh" opened at the Martin Beck Theater in New York.

In 1958, Pope Pius XII died. (He was succeeded by Pope John XXIII.)

In 1967, Latin American guerrilla leader Che Guevara was executed while attempting to incite revolution in Bolivia.

In 1975, Soviet scientist Andrei Sakharov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1985, the hijackers of the Achille Lauro cruise liner surrendered after the ship arrived in Port Said, Egypt.

Ten years ago: Vice President Al Gore and Jack Kemp debated in St. Petersburg, Fla. Two Americans, Robert F. Curl Jr. and Richard E. Smalley, and a Briton, Harold W. Kroto, shared the Nobel Prize in chemistry while three Americans, David M. Lee, Robert C. Richardson and Douglas C. Osheroff, won the physics prize. In the opening game of the American League Championship series, 12-year-old Jeffrey Maier turned a probable fly out into a game-tying home run by reaching over the right-field wall at Yankee Stadium and sweeping the ball into the stands with his baseball glove (the Yankees defeated the Baltimore Orioles 5-4, in 11 innings).

Five years ago: In the first daylight raids since the start of U.S.-led attacks on Afghanistan, jets bombed the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar. Letters postmarked in Trenton, N.J., were sent to Sens. Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy; the letters later tested positive for anthrax. Americans Eric A. Cornell and Carl E. Wieman, and German-born U.S. resident Wolfgang Ketterle won the Nobel Prize in physics. Director and choreographer Herbert Ross died in New York at age 74. Dagmar, who parlayed her dumb blonde act into television fame in the early 1950s, died in West Virginia at age 79.

One year ago: Dozens of foreign tourists fled devastated lakeside Mayan towns as Guatemalan officials said they would abandon communities buried by landslides and declare them mass graveyards. A driverless Volkswagen won a $2 million race across the rugged Nevada desert, beating four other robot-guided vehicles that completed a Pentagon-sponsored contest aimed at making warfare safer for humans. Comedian Louis Nye died in Los Angeles at age 92.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Fyvush Finkel is 84. Sen. Trent Lott (news, bio, voting record), R-Miss., is 65. Singer Jackson Browne is 58. Actor Gary Frank is 56. Actor Richard Chaves is 55. Actor Robert Wuhl is 55. Actress-TV personality Sharon Osbourne is 54. Actor Tony Shalhoub is 53. Actor Scott Bakula is 52. Musician James Fearnley (The Pogues) is 52. Actor John O'Hurley is 52. Actor Michael Pare is 47. Rock singer-musician Kurt Neumann (The BoDeans) is 45. Country singer Gary Bennett is 42. Singer P.J. Harvey is 37. Country singer Tommy Shane Steiner is 33. Actor Steve Burns is 33. Sean Lennon is 31. Actor Randy Spelling is 28. Actor Brandon Routh is 27. Actor Zachery Ty Bryan is 25. Actor Tyler James Williams ("Everybody Hates Chris") is 14.

Thought for Today: "If we would only give, just once, the same amount of reflection to what we want to get out of life that we give to the question of what to do with a two weeks' vacation, we would be startled at our false standards and the aimless procession of our busy days." — Dorothy Canfield Fisher, American author and essayist (1879-1958).

Sphere: Related Content

0 comments

Castro Is Reported to Have Cancer



SALLY B. DONNELLY AND TIMOTHY J. BURGER

U.S. intelligence reports now say the Cuban leader's condition appears terminal, government officials tell TIME

Ever since President Fidel Castro was sidelined for what was said to be abdominal surgery last July, Cuban officials have maintained that the country's leader will return to his post. ''We will again have him leading the revolution,'' said Foreign Minister Felipe P�rez Roque just two days ago, speaking at an outdoor rally to protest the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba, according to the Communist Party daily newspaper Granma.

But U.S. officials tell TIME that many in the U.S. government are now convinced that Castro, 80, has terminal cancer and will never return to power. "Certainly we have heard this, that this guy has terminal cancer," said one U.S. official.

Of course, such intelligence reports could be wrong, and one official cautioned that definitive proof is nearly impossible for the U.S. to come by. Yet the fact that the Cuban government removed Castro from the public stage before his death could suggest that Castro and his would-be successors were aware of a terminal condition and wanted to gauge public reaction to his absence. "They got to see how people would react," says one U.S. official. "They have had a chance to see how things might work without out him functioning day-to-day."

Contacted by Time, the Cuban government denied the imminent demise of its leader. One high ranking official said, "The United States Intelligence Services have been wrong for more than 47 years in their predictions not only in relation to the health of the Cuban President but also in all aspects regarding our country." He referred to Castro's July 31 statement as the only definitive assessment of the President's health. In it, Castro declared that surgery and treatment for intestinal bleeding "obliges me to spend several weeks in repose, away from my responsibilities and duties." Cuban sources say that preparations continue for a belated but elaborate celebration of Castro's 80th birthday on Dec. 2.

The U.S. government has been preparing for Castro's departure for half a century. That doesn't mean that things will change much. Fidel's brother Raul, 75, has been acting president since Fidel went into the hospital and has given no indication that he will change the policies of the isolated Communist government that has tormented the U.S. since taking power in 1959. Though he has until recently kept a very low profile, Raul Castro — not Fidel — was feted as the host of the non-aligned nations' summit on Sept. 15. Then Raul called a high profile meeting of the country's local, provincial and national leadership at what he called "this historic moment in our country's history." In another sign of his increasing prominence, two weeks ago Raul delivered his first televised national speech at the close of a trade union federation congress.

Sphere: Related Content

0 comments

Today in history - Oct. 7

The Associated Press

Today is Saturday, Oct. 7, the 280th day of 2006. There are 85 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 7, 1765, the Stamp Act Congress convened in New York to draw up colonial grievances against England.

On this date:

In 1777, the second Battle of Saratoga began during the American Revolution. (British forces under Gen. John Burgoyne surrendered 10 days later.)

In 1849, author Edgar Allan Poe died in Baltimore at age 40.

In 1916, in the most lopsided victory in college football history, Georgia Tech defeated Cumberland University 222-0 in Atlanta.

In 1949, the Republic of East Germany was formed.

In 1954, Marian Anderson became the first black singer hired by the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York.

In 1960, Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy and Republican opponent Richard M. Nixon held the second of their broadcast debates.

In 1981, Egypt's parliament named Vice President Hosni Mubarak to succeed the assassinated Anwar Sadat.

In 1985, Palestinian gunmen hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro in the Mediterranean. (The hijackers, who killed an elderly Jewish American tourist, surrendered two days after taking the ship.)

In 1991, University of Oklahoma law professor Anita Hill accused Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of making sexually inappropriate comments when she worked for him, and urged the Senate to investigate her claims; Thomas denied Hill's allegations.

In 1998, Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, was beaten and left tied to a wooden fence post outside of Laramie, Wyo.; he died five days later. (Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney are serving life sentences for Shepard's murder.)

Ten years ago: The effects of a Canadian Auto Workers strike against General Motors Corp. spread across the border as 1,850 workers were laid off at two U.S. parts plants. The Irish Republican Army detonated two car bombs inside the British army's headquarters in Northern Ireland, wounding 31 people. Fox News Channel made its debut.

Five years ago: The United States and Britain launched military strikes in Afghanistan. In a videotaped statement, Osama bin Laden praised God for the Sept. 11 attacks, but did not claim responsibility for them. The Emmy Awards telecast, delayed three weeks by the Sept. 11 attacks, was again postponed. (The awards finally took place on Nov. 4, 2001.) Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants wrapped up his record-breaking season with his 73rd homer. San Diego's Rickey Henderson became the 25th player with 3,000 hits. Herbert Block, the Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist known as "herblock," died in Washington at age 91.

One year ago: The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the International Atomic Energy Agency and its chief, Mohamed ElBaradei.

Today's Birthdays: Singer Al Martino is 79. Retired South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu is 75. Former National Security Council aide Oliver North is 63. Rock musician Kevin Godley (10cc) is 61. Country singer Kieran Kane is 57. Singer John Mellencamp is 55. Rock musician Ricky Phillips is 55. Actress Mary Badham is 54. Actress Christopher Norris is 53. Rock musician Tico Torres (Bon Jovi) is 53. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma is 51. Gospel singer Michael W. Smith is 49. Recording executive and TV personality Simon Cowell ("American Idol") is 47. Rock musician Charlie Marinkovich (Iron Butterfly) is 47. Country singer Dale Watson is 44. Rhythm-and-blues singer Toni Braxton is 39. Rock singer-musician Thom Yorke (Radiohead) is 38. Rock musician-dancer Leeroy Thornhill is 37. Actress Nicole Ari Parker is 36. Singer Taylor Hicks ("American Idol") is 30.

Thought for Today: "The human mind is like an umbrella — it functions best when open." — Walter Gropius, German-American architect (1883-1969).

Sphere: Related Content

0 comments

Cambodia's Child Sex Crackdown


KEVIN DOYLE
Long a haven for foreign sexual predators, the war-ravaged country is suddenly taking a hard line with a number of high-profile arrests.

In his 17 years on the Cambodian police force, Keo Thea has seen a lot. But nothing quite prepared the deputy chief of Phnom Penh's anti-human trafficking police for the raid on the home of German national Karl Heinz Henning in August.

At Henning's apartment, tucked away in a leafy neighborhood favored by foreign aid workers in the Cambodian capital, Keo Thea sifted through the country's largest ever haul of hardcore child pornography. Amongst the bondage gear, handcuffs, whips and battery-operated sex aids, Keo Thea's unit found soft cuddly children's toys. There was also video and photographic cameras, and 18 videotapes, each one hour long, depicting the S&M-style rape and torture of young local children by the tall, gaunt 61-year-old and another German, Thomas Engelhardt, 42, who was arrested a day later. Eight computer hard-drives were also bagged for the court. (Karl Heinz Henning's lawyer has denied his client's guilt and the Phnom Penh Municipal Court prosecutor said that Engelhardt told the prosecutor that he had probably taken drugs at the time and didn't know what happened.)

"It was very disturbing," Keo Thea recounted on a recent morning at his small unit's headquarters. A father of two, the 35-year-old deputy police chief, who looks older than his years and stockier than most Cambodians, had just returned from Miami, Florida, where he had given evidence in the case of a U.S. national arrested and deported from Cambodia on child abuse charges in 2004.

"I am sending a message to pedophiles to not come here. I promise you, you will be arrested and sent to jail in Cambodia or you will be extradited and jailed in your own country," he said.

Strong words, and he means it. But to fulfil that promise, Keo Thea has his work cut out. Not only are resources tight to fight child trafficking, especially in the rural provinces, but the courts in Cambodia are notoriously corrupt, and whether they actually carry through with prosecutions is entirely another story. Cambodia has been a haven for foreign sexual predators since the U.N. brought peace to the war-ravaged country in 1993, and more recently , since its neighbor Thailand started its own crackdown on child sex abuse over the last couple of years. But the arrest of at least eight alleged foreign pedophiles since the beginning of this year may signal that Phnom Penh is finally getting serious about stopping the sexual abuse of children.

The arrests began in February with U.S. national Michael John Koklich, 49, who was apprehended after plowing his motorcycle into a police barricade — and badly injuring Keo Thea's leg in the process — as he tried to escape arrest. Koklich was charged with having sex with children in a Phnom Penh slum and deported to the U.S. He defended himself to reporters by saying that he only had sex with the children for "a very short period." Those working to protect children in Cambodia agree that the police force has recently shown a far stronger commitment to targeting pedophiles. But it's not just law and order that is doing the trick. A> new political will to root them out is the result of diplomatic incentives and pressures, both the carrots of international donors and the stick of the U.S. State Department, say child protection workers.

Cambodia's generous donor governments and international organizations have invested a substantial amount of money in anti-trafficking and child protection training for Cambodian officials. But the stick came in 2005 when the U.S. State Department, fed up with the impunity enjoyed by traffickers here, relegated Cambodia to it lowest tier three rating on its global trafficking report. Cambodia was lumped in with Burma, Cuba and North Korea, and Washington threatened sanctions against Phnom Penh for its inability to comply with "minimum standards" to combat human trafficking and convict officials involved.

Chastened by its international dress down, Cambodia's police started to make a number of high-profile arrests, including:

- In April, a German national was charged with sexually abusing young homeless boys in the coastal resort town of Sihanoukville; the man has strongly denied the charges. The same month, a Belgian national, who claims he is innocent, was arrested at his Phnom Penh guesthouse with a 13-year-old boy; according to Cambodian police, he had previously been jailed in Belgium on sex abuse charges.

- U.S. citizen Michael Joseph Pepe, 53, was arrested in June and charged with sexually abusing girls ranging in age from eight to 13 years. Pepe, who has remained silent since his arrest, is still in a Cambodian prison awaiting deportation to the U.S.

- Most recently, US national Terry Darrell Smith, 55, was arrested in Phnom Penh on Sept. 20. He had been charged by Cambodian police with sexually abusing (and filming 10 hours of footage of the abuse) two girls, 13 and 14, at his "Tramp's Palace" bar in Sihanoukville. The girls had been allegedly held as sex slaves for five months by Smith and his 26-year-old Cambodian girlfriend before they were rescued by police, who were tipped-off by the low-key, but highly effective, US-based anti-pedophile organization International Justice Mission. Smith's Cambodian lawyer has denied the charges against his client. Already by June of this year, Cambodia was elevated slightly on the latest State Department tables to a tier 2 "watch list." Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said that the government has its sights set even higher. "We don't want to stay on tier 2. We want to go to tier 1," he said. "We have the political will. Cambodia will not be a place for child sex tourists."

When it comes to Cambodia's new hard line, the writing is on the wall — literally. Posters on display at the airport warn foreign visitors that abusing children will be paid for with as many as 20 years in prison. Some posters tout the slogans "Turn a sex tourist into an ex-tourist" and ``Abuse a child in this country, go to jail in yours." Child predator message boards on the Web have also taken note, said the IJM investigator who staked out Smith's bar and spoke on condition that his identity remain a secret due to the nature of his undercover work.

"Two years ago, Cambodia was the number one destination for pedophiles," the investigator said. Now, he added, the Web sites identify the country as a risk. Cambodia is still a destination for child abusers but it has been surpassed in the last two years by even more lawless places such as the Dominican Republic, Bosnia and Guatemala.

"Ten years ago they would come here with impunity to do what they want and leave," the investigator said. "They are still coming to Cambodia but...they've got> to be a little bit smarter."

For Chanthol Oung, executive director of the Cambodian Women's Crisis Center, the recent arrests are a cause for celebration. But, she says, it's far too early to declare a victory against pedophiles.

Rather than cease coming to Cambodia, pedophiles will become smarter and also harder to track, as they branch out of Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville and into the provinces, such as the tourist town of Siem Reap and free-wheeling Koh Kong and Poipet on the Thai border, she warned. The majority of the country's rural areas don't have a specialized anti-trafficking and juvenile protection force like that operated by Keo Thea in the capital.

And though the government may have the political will to combat pedophiles, it will also need to allocate physical and legal resources, Chanthol Oung said. Pedophiles are adapting to the new regime, and are working together in networks for safety and studying the loopholes in Cambodia law that could see them walk free if they are arrested, Chanthol Oung warned. "They are still coming, but they are being smarter," she said. Which means the authorities will have to stay even smarter if they are to have more success rooting out "tourists" who are no longer welcome.

Sphere: Related Content

0 comments

Cleaning Up the Iraqi Police

Analysis: Prime Minister Maliki has suspended an entire brigade to cleanse it of corruption. But is it any more than a political gesture?

The suspension this week of an entire Iraqi police brigade of roughly 700 men is the most dramatic step as yet taken by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government to deal with its corrupt and inept security forces. But TIME's correspondents in Baghdad, Aparisim Ghosh and Brian Bennett, warn that this may be no more than a fig leaf, designed to shore up al-Maliki's political standing, rather than the start of a substantial clean-up.

Says Bennett: "Malaki's under a lot of pressure to reign in the militias and clean up the Ministry of Interior. He's got pressure from the Americans and the Sunni bloc in Parliament. Disbanding a corrupt unit of the police force looks good and proactive and decisive. He's making the right noises. The question is how far can he really go? His main political support comes from the Sadr movement, which is connected to the militia that is doing a lot of the sectarian killing and infiltrating the police. He can only crack down on this so far before he crosses a line and loses his political backing. Dissolving a police could be window dressing. It looks good. But there's a lot more to clean up."

The Iraqi police force, hastily recruited and poorly trained by the U.S. military, is widely thought to be infiltrated by Shi'ite fighters from militias that have been conducting a campaign of kidnapping, torture and murder of Sunnis. Policemen are routinely accused of looking the other way — or even joining in — when Shi'ite death squads run amok in Sunni neighborhoods. U.S. military commanders have in the past acknowledged this to be a problem in at least six of the 25 national police brigades; many Iraqis say that is an underestimate.

For months now, U.S. commanders have been planning to take some police brigades "off-line" — bring them into a training base, replace the bad apples and retrain the rest before sending them back into service. But the spiraling violence in and around Baghdad had made it difficult to implement such a program.

TIME's correspondents say taking one brigade out of action may be a positive step, but it raises some serious questions.

Says Ghosh: "First, where are they going to find the replacements for the bad cops? Al-Maliki's government has repeatedly said it aims to absorb Shi'ite militias into the security forces. So chances are, one set of rogue policemen will simply be replaced by another. Second, what are they going to do with the cops who will be fired? If they are simply allowed to go back to civilian life, they will rejoin their militias — the only difference is, they won't be in uniform."

Sphere: Related Content

0 comments

TIME Poll: The Foley Sex Scandal Has Hurt G.O.P. Election Prospects


TONY KARON

Two-thirds of those aware of the scandal believe Republican leaders attempted a cover-up, according to a new survey.

Two-thirds of Americans aware of the congressional-page sex scandal believe Republican leaders tried to cover it up — and one quarter of them say the affair makes them less likely to vote for G.O.P. candidates in their districts come November. Those are among the findings of a new TIME poll conducted this week among 1,002 randomly-selected voting-age Americans.

The poll suggests the Foley affair may have dented Republican hopes of retaining control of Congress in November. Among the registered voters who were polled, 54% said they would be more likely to vote for the Democratic candidate for Congress, compared with 39% who favored the Republican — a margin that has jumped by 11 points from a similar poll conducted in June. That increase may be fueled by the rolling scandal over sexually explicit e-mails sent to teenage pages by Republican Representative Mark Foley. Almost 80% of respondents were aware of the scandal, and only 16% approve of the Republicans' handling of it. Those polled were divided, however, on whether House Speaker Dennis Hastert should resign over his handling of the Foley affair, with 39% saying he should resign and 38% saying he should not.

Iraq, meanwhile, is continuing to be a problem for the Republicans. Only 38% of respondents in the TIME poll now support President Bush's decision to invade Iraq, down from 42% three months ago. A similar number believe that the new Iraqi government will succeed in forming a stable democracy, while 59% believe this is unlikely. Almost two-thirds (65%) of respondents disapprove of President Bush's handling of the war, while 54% believe he "deliberately misled" Americans in making his case for war — a figure that has increased by 6 points over the past year. President Bush's overall approval rating, according to TIME's poll, now stands at just 36%, down from 38% in August.

Sphere: Related Content

0 comments

Could North Korea's Nuke Test Threaten the U.N. Frontrunner?


JENNIFER VEALE


TIME talks to South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki Moon, the leading candidate to become the next U.N. Secretary General, about Pyongyang's provocations.

On Monday, the United Nations Security Council holds its final vote to elect a successor to Secretary General Kofi Annan, an election South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki Moon is widely expected to win. Ban talked with TIME'S Jennifer Veale at his official residence in Seoul about his candidacy, North Korea's latest provocations and what he can bring to one of the world's toughest jobs.

How do you feel about North Korea's recent nuclear pledge? Do you think it will affect your candidacy or your ability as Secretary General to deal with Pyongyang?
Officially and personally, I am very troubled by North Korea's announcement that they would go ahead with a nuclear test. I hope this situation will not cause any problems to my current candidacy and I hope that member states of the United Nations will understand the situation. There are two possibilities: [that the tests are] a negotiating ploy, or a real attempt at nuclear testing. We are taking the necessary measures on both possibilities. I've already discussed this matter with [U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza] Rice, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and in two hours I'm going to have a telephone discussion with the Japanese Foreign Minister. North Korea must stop these kinds of negative announcements, and they should stop if they have any plans [to actually conduct a nuclear test]. They have made a firm commitment to a de-nuclearization of the Korean peninsula contained in the joint statement adopted in September last year. This is a serous breach of that commitment, to the whole Korean nation—both North and South—and the whole international community. We will take necessary diplomatic measures, as much as we can.

As a South Korean Secretary General, will it be more difficult for you to deal with North Korea, or for other countries to trust your impartiality and ability to deal with North Korea?
As I've gained a deeper experience and understanding into this complex issue, I'll be in a much better position as secretary general than as South Korean Foreign Minister to deal with inter-Korean relations. Having known all the history and background and having known people in both the South and North, I can do a much better job [on the North Korean issue] than any other person. Even though I am just a candidate at this time, should I be elected I'll take very seriously what kind of role I can play to deal with this matter.

How will you respond as South Korea's Foreign Minister to Pyongyang's latest provocation?
We've already made strong statements that North Korea should stop these provocative activities and they should abide by Security Council resolution 1695. This is a total breach of the commitment they made in the joint declaration for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula adopted in 1992, a declaration I helped negotiate. This is a total breach of that commitment—a commitment to the whole nation and the whole international community. Should they go ahead, despite our appeals, North Korea should be entirely responsible for all consequences coming from their nuclear test.

Is a nuclear test likely?
I'm not sure. We are taking it very seriously.

How do you respond to criticism that under your watch as foreign minister, South Korea's relations with Japan, the U.S., North Korea and China have all worsened? I've been frustrated by the negative perception that our relationships with Japan and the U.S. have not been smooth, although I believe we've developed a very close relationship with China and Russia. With the U.S, we've been maintaining an excellent relationship during the last fifty years; I think our relationship is still very sound and healthy. People only have negative perceptions at this time. People should understand we are going through a very important transformation period, a realignment in our relationship. This transformation or realignment comes from both countries, the U.S. and South Korea. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. has been realigning all their global forces, as part of a Global Posture Review, known as a GPR. That has affected Korea too, and we have agreed to it; it does not undermine the security situation on the Korean peninsula. We've agreed to allow strategic flexibility, while we made it quite clear the Korean government would not like to be involved in any regional conflict where South Korean people and government would not want regional conflict. We've agreed to partial withdrawal of American forces and we've agreed to the relocation of all American bases into two major hubs. These have been all important changes. Considering South Korea's political and democratic maturity and economic development, we really want to have a more mutually beneficial relationship between the U.S. and South Korea. But I think people have had different feelings during this important process, which has caused certain negative perceptions.

In the case of Japan, this is mainly because of the insincere Japanese attitude toward past history issues. Japan occupied Korea for 35 years. South Korean people—all Korean people—can never forget this. Our leadership has agreed that we should work toward a future-oriented relationship regardless of what happened in the past. But repeated visits by Prime Minister Koizumi to the Yasukuni Shrine, where 14 Class-A war criminals are honored, are disrespectful to South Koreans and other East Asian countries suppressed and oppressed by Japanese colonialism. They should have cared much more, should have been more thoughtful of neighboring countries. They should have been able to gain the trust and confidence of neighboring countries. This is the main reason why it's unfair for any responsibility to be levied on South Korea for the strained relationship between Korea and Japan. We are ready to have a committed and improved relationship with Japan. We're looking forward to this summit meeting which will be held next Monday.

Why do you want to be Secretary General?
Personally and officially, Korean people have a longstanding faith in the United Nations. If you look at the special ties Korea has had with the United Nations since independence, you'll easily understand what kind of attachment the Korean people have. Now, as a fully democratic, politically mature and economically developed [country], Korea wants to do more for the UN. That's why my government has nominated me as a candidate. I'm a career diplomat who has served our country and the international community for the last 37 years. I'm very much committed.

Sphere: Related Content

0 comments

Time to Close the Book on Washington Pages?

TRACY SAMANTHA SCHMIDT

In the wake of the Foley scandal, some House members are calling for the suspension, if not the end, of Congress' venerable study program

If former Speaker Tip O'Neill still led the House of Representatives today, the Congressional page program might be shut down once and for all. In 1983, he threatened to do just that in the wake of another scandal involving a Congressman and a teenage page. At the time, the House was investigating allegations that two Congressmen had sexual relations with teenage pages. Representatives Daniel Crane, an Illinois Republican, and Gerry Studds, a Democrat from Massachusetts, were eventually censured for having had sex with a female page and male page respectively.

The scandal led to changes in the page program — including raising the age of pages from 14 to 16, housing the pages in a supervised dormitory, and establishing a page board to oversee the program. "I think we have everything under control now," O'Neill was quoted in the New York Times. "I don't think we ought to abolish the system. But I will say this: One more scandal and bam! The page system is through."

At least some members are coming around to the view he might be right. Republican representatives Ray LaHood of Illinois, Jon Porter of Nevada and Kay Granger of Texas are all calling for an evaluation of the page program, which could mean its ignominous end after 177 years.

"This is a flawed program," LaHood told TIME. "The fact that a member of Congress is sending e-mails to a page and that he can get away with it shows that obviously there are problems."

On Sunday, LaHood e-mailed House Speaker Dennis Hastert and recommended that the page program be temporarily suspended until an outside team could evaluate its security protocol. He reiterated the recommendation in a conference call with Has> tert on Monday. Hastert, busy trying to save his own job, has not yet responded to the recommendation, but both Porter and Granger have backed it.

One problem is that the approximately 70 House pages are also in school. When Congress is in session during the school year, the pages attend private, junior-level classes each morning at the Library of Congress. In order not to disrupt their studies, Porter's chief of staff Mike Hesse suggested the pages' legislative duty be suspended while they finish up the semester at the Library of Congress.

No changes for the House page program have yet been announced, though an investigation is being launched, according to Salley Collins, press secretary for the Committee on House Administration, which oversees the Office of the Clerk that runs the House page program. "It is the Committee's intention to work with the Office of the Clerk, the Page Board director and Congress to step back and reevaluate, examine the program and make any necessary changes," Collins said. In the meantime, the Office of the Clerk has established a toll-free hotline for current or former pages — and their parents — to report any tips related to Mark Foley or to the page program. The hotline is Hastert's own doing. "As the Speaker, I take responsibility for everything in the building," he said in a statement Thursday morning. "The buck stops here. The safety and security of the students in the Page program is imperative."

The House's page program is separate from the Senate's program. Approximately 30 pages are a part of that program, which is run by the Sergeant of Arms Office in the Senate. Calls inquiring possible changes to the Senate page program were not returned.

Both page programs trace their roots to 1829, when Senator Daniel Webster appointed a 9-year-old boy to be his personal gopher. Since then thousands of young men — and eventually young women — have come to Washington to run errands for the members of Congress. Like many jobs in Washington, getting hired as a page often means having the right political connections. The work is also grueling, especially during the school year when pages start class at 6:45 a.m. and can stay on the House or Senate floor late into the night.

Many pages have only fond memories of their experiences on Capitol Hill. Megan Smith recalls how much closer she got to representatives as a House page than later as a Legislative aide. "The experience was much different as a page — we were sitting on the House floor for six or seven hours a day," says Smith, 23, who was a page from 1999-2000.

Yet it's exactly that intimacy with congressmen that worries LaHood. "I think this an antiquated program — it's been over 100 years and needs a total evaluation for the sake of the kids," he said. "Having 15 and 16-year-old young men and women come to Washington, work on the House floor, and work in an environment where members of Congress if they want to can prey on them is not a healthy situation."

Of course, Foley has so far been linked via e-mails and instant messages only to former pages, not to teenagers who were in the program at the time. Which means that even if the page program were terminated immediately, the potential for problems will not disappear. But it will prove that former Speaker O'Neill was more foresightful than he knew.

Sphere: Related Content

0 comments

Did a Critic of Islam Go Too Far?



A teacher in France is the latest to face death threats for daring to criticize the religion and its prophet's emphasis on violence.

The French are always quick to quote Voltaire, but for the last week one of his bon-mots has been particularly pertinent: "Even if I don't agree with what you say, I'm ready to fight to my death so you can say it."

What calls the phrase to mind is the plight of Robert Redeker, 52, a writer and high-school philosophy teacher who has been under police protection and in hiding with his family since the newspaper Le Figaro published his op-ed piece about Islam on Sept.19. Entitled "Faced with Islamist intimidations, what should the free world do?," Redeker's article called the Koran "a book of extraordinary violence" that shows the prophet Mohammad to have been "a pitiless warlord, pillager, massacrer of Jews and polygamist." The very day the piece came out, Redeker started receiving e-mail death threats. In a letter to a friend published this week in Le Monde, Redeker wrote that one website condemning him to death included a map showing exactly where he and his family lived, along with photos of him and his workplaces. In the letter, published as part of an appeal of support signed by French intellectuals including Bernard-Henri Lévy, André Glucksmann, and Elisabeth Badinter, Redeker writes that he and his family are being forced to move every two days. "I'm a homeless person," he complains. "I exercised a constitutional right, and I'm being punished for it right here on the territory of the Republic."

Redeker is only the latest in a lengthening list of Europeans who have been subjected to death threats from Muslims outraged by criticism of their faith and prophet. British writer Salman Rushdie survived the Ayatollah Khomeini's 1989 fatwa only by adopting a quasi-clandestine existence. Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh was gunned down on the street two years ago in Amsterdam for insulting Islam. His co-filmmaker, Ayaan Hirsi Ali, frustrated at living under constant police protection, resigned earlier this year from the Dutch parliament and moved to the United States.

The outcry over Pope Benedict XVI's recent comments about Islam, Redeker wrote, underlined that the religion was trying to stifle "that which is most precious to the West and which doesn't exist in any Muslim country: liberty of thought and expression." He claimed that France was "more or less consciously submitting itself to the dictates of Islam" by such gestures as banning string bikinis during this summer's Paris Plage, the annual beach party in Paris; setting up times when only women can visit public pools; and allowing Muslim schoolchildren to get special food in school cafeterias.

But Redeker expanded his critique from these examples to a broadside against Islam as a religion. He acknowledged that violence was commonly committed in the name of Christianity, but claimed that "it is always possible to turn back to evangelical values, to the mild personage of Jesus, from the excesses of the Church." Muhammad, he claimed, offered no such recourse: "Jesus is a master of love, Muhammad is a master of hate."

Support for Redeker has been widespread — but sometimes nuanced. Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin called his situation "unacceptable," a message forcefully echoed by French newspapers and teachers' unions. The minister of education, however, said that state employees should be "prudent, moderate and wise in all circumstances" — an implicit criticism that infuriated many of Redeker's supporters.

There was a touch of blame-the-victim in some Muslim reaction, too. Dalil Boubakeur, rector of the Mosque of Paris and president of the French Council of the Muslim Religion, told TIME that Redeker had made "grave errors" in treating questions of religion in a "purely subjective manner." But, he said, "we have to respond with arguments, not threats of violence. I deplore the situation he is in."

Beyond that, Boubakeur deplores what amounts to the further coarsening of relations between Muslims and non-Muslims in Europe. "This helps the radicals on both sides," he says. "The Islamist radicals say, 'See, they're still insulting Islam,' while the anti-Muslim extremists see Islam's propensity for violence confirmed." Boubakeur wants to see more active prosecution of what he calls "acts that provoke religious hatred." The French authorities, meanwhile, are more interested in finding the people who have threatened to kill Redeker.

Sphere: Related Content

0 comments

Today in history - Oct. 6

The Associated Press

Today is Friday, Oct. 6, the 279th day of 2006. There are 86 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 6, 1927, the era of talking pictures arrived with the opening of "The Jazz Singer," a movie starring Al Jolson which featured both silent and sound-synchronized scenes.

On this date:

In 1536, English theologian and scholar William Tyndale, who was the first to translate the Bible into early modern English, was executed for heresy.

In 1884, the Naval War College was established in Newport, R.I.

In 1889, the Moulin Rouge in Paris first opened its doors to the public.

In 1949, President Truman signed the Mutual Defense Assistance Act, totaling $1.3 billion in military aid to NATO countries.

In 1949, American-born Iva Toguri D'Aquino, convicted of treason for being Japanese wartime broadcaster "Tokyo Rose," was sentenced in San Francisco to 10 years in prison and fined $10,000. (She ended up serving more than six years.)

In 1973, war erupted in the Middle East as Egypt and Syria attacked Israel during the Yom Kippur holiday.

In 1976, in his second debate with Jimmy Carter, President Ford asserted there was "no Soviet domination of eastern Europe." (Ford later conceded he'd misspoken.)

In 1981, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was shot to death by extremists while reviewing a military parade.

In 1983, Cardinal Terence Cooke, the spiritual head of the Archdiocese of New York, died at age 62.

In 1989, actress Bette Davis died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, at age 81.

Ten years ago: President Clinton and Bob Dole clashed vigorously over taxes, trustworthiness and spending priorities in a prime-time debate in Hartford, Conn.

Five years ago: Cal Ripken played his last game in the major leagues as his Baltimore Orioles lost to the visiting Boston Red Sox, 5-1.

One year ago: President Bush sought to rally flagging public support for the war in Iraq, accusing militants of seeking to establish a "radical Islamic empire" with Iraq as the base.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Britt Ekland is 64. Impressionist Fred Travalena is 64. Singer Millie Small is 60. Singer-musician Thomas McClary is 56. Rock singer Kevin Cronin (REO Speedwagon) is 55. Rock singer-musician David Hidalgo (Los Lobos) is 52. Actress Elisabeth Shue is 43. Singer Matthew Sweet is 42. Actress Jacqueline Obradors is 40. Country singer Tim Rushlow is 40. Rock musician Tommy Stinson (The Replacements; Soul Asylum) is 40. Actor Ioan Gruffudd is 33.

Thought for Today: "No single man makes history. History cannot be seen, just as one cannot see grass growing." — Boris Pasternak, Russian author (1890-1960).

Sphere: Related Content

0 comments

Today in history - Oct. 5

The Associated Press

Today is Thursday, Oct. 5, the 278th day of 2006. There are 87 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 5, 1947, President Truman delivered the first televised White House address. (Speaking about the world food crisis, Truman called on Americans to refrain from eating meat on Tuesdays and poultry as well as eggs on Thursdays.)

On this date:

In 1830, the 21st president of the United States, Chester Alan Arthur, was born in Fairfield, Vt.

In 1892, the Dalton Gang, notorious for its train robberies, was practically wiped out while attempting to rob a pair of banks in Coffeyville, Kan.

In 1921, the World Series was broadcast on radio for the first time. (By series' end, the New York Giants had beaten the New York Yankees five games to three in the best-of-nine contest.)

In 1931, Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon completed the first nonstop flight across the Pacific Ocean, arriving in Washington state some 41 hours after leaving Japan.

In 1937, President Roosevelt called for a "quarantine" of aggressor nations.

In 1953, Earl Warren was sworn in as the 14th chief justice of the United States, succeeding Fred M. Vinson.

In 1955, a stage adaptation of "The Diary of Anne Frank" by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett opened at the Cort Theatre in New York.

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan signed a resolution granting honorary American citizenship to Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, credited with saving about 100,000 Hungarians, most of them Jews, from the Nazis during World War II.

In 1986, American Eugene Hasenfus was captured by Sandinista soldiers after the weapons plane he was flying in was shot down over southern Nicaragua.

In 1988, Democrat Lloyd Bentsen lambasted Republican Dan Quayle during their vice-presidential debate, telling Quayle, "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy."

Ten years ago: Already under fire for his drug policies, President Clinton revealed that a secret FBI memorandum said the government's anti-drug strategy "had never been properly organized"; Clinton argued that the problems predated his administration.

Five years ago: Tabloid photo editor Robert Stevens died from inhaled anthrax, the first of a series of anthrax cases in Florida, New York, New Jersey and Washington. American statesman Mike Mansfield died in Washington at age 98. Barry Bonds set a new mark for homeruns in a single season, hitting numbers 71 and 72, but San Francisco was eliminated from the playoffs with an 11-10 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Moses Malone was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

One year ago: Defying the White House, senators voted 90-9 to approve an amendment that would prohibit the use of "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" against anyone in U.S. government custody. Americans Robert H. Grubbs and Richard R. Schrock and Frenchman Yves Chauvin won the Nobel Prize in chemistry. Daniel Alfredsson scored twice in the final six minutes of regulation and once during the first shootout in NHL history, leading Ottawa to a 3-2 win over Toronto.

Today's Birthdays: "Family Circus" cartoonist Bil Keane is 84. Actress Glynis Johns is 83. Comedian Bill Dana is 82. Actress Diane Cilento is 73. The former president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel, is 70. Rhythm-and-blues singer Arlene Smith (The Chantels) is 65. Singer Richard Street is 64. Singer-musician Steve Miller is 63. Rock singer Brian Johnson (AC/DC) is 59. Actor Jeff Conaway is 56. Actress Karen Allen is 55. Writer-producer-director Clive Barker is 54. Rock musician David Bryson (Counting Crows) is 52. Rock singer and famine-relief organizer Bob Geldof is 52. Comedian Bernie Mac is 49. Actor Daniel Baldwin is 46. Rock singer-musician Dave Dederer (Presidents of the United States of America) is 42. Actor Guy Pearce is 39. Singer-actress Heather Headley is 32. Rock musician Brian Mashburn (Save Ferris) is 31. Actress Parminder Nagra is 31. Actor Scott Weinger is 31. Actress Kate Winslet is 31. Rock musician James Valentine (Maroon 5) is 28. Rock musician Paul Thomas (Good Charlotte) is 26. TV personality Nicky Hilton is 23. Rhythm-and-blues singer Brooke Valentine is 21.

Thought for Today: "The usefulness of a meeting is in inverse proportion to the attendance." — Lane Kirkland, American labor leader (1922-1999).

Sphere: Related Content

0 comments

Today in history - Oct. 3



The Associated Press

Today is Tuesday, Oct. 3, the 276th day of 2006. There are 89 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 3, 1863, President Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November Thanksgiving Day.

On this date:

In 1226, St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan order, died; he was canonized in 1228.

In 1929, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes formally changed its name to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

In 1941, Adolf Hitler declared in a speech in Berlin that Russia had been "broken" and would "never rise again."

In 1951, the New York Giants captured the National League pennant as Bobby Thomson hit a three-run homer off the Brooklyn Dodgers' Ralph Branca in the "shot heard 'round the world."

In 1952, Britain conducted its first atomic test as it detonated a 25-kiloton device in the Monte Bello Islands off Australia.

In 1962, astronaut Wally Schirra blasted off from Cape Canaveral aboard the Sigma 7 on a nine-hour flight.

In 1981, Irish nationalists at the Maze Prison near Belfast, Northern Ireland, ended seven months of hunger strikes that had claimed 10 lives.

In 1986, the Soviet nuclear submarine K-219 suffered an explosion and fire in a missile tube northeast of Bermuda; the vessel sank three days later.

In 1991, Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton entered the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

In 1995, the jury in the O.J. Simpson murder trial announced its verdicts, finding the former football star not guilty of the 1994 slayings of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman. (However, Simpson was later found liable in a civil trial).

Ten years ago: Polish poet Wislawa Szymborska won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Five years ago: A man aboard a Greyhound bus in Tennessee slashed the driver's throat, causing a crash that killed seven passengers, including the attacker. The Senate approved an agreement normalizing trade between the United States and Vietnam.

One year ago: President Bush nominated White House counsel Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court (however, she withdrew three weeks later after criticism over her lack of judicial experience and Republican concerns about her conservatism). A Russian space capsule with American tourist Gregory Olsen aboard docked with the international space station. Australians Barry J. Marshall and Robin Warren won the 2005 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine.

Today's Birthdays: Author Gore Vidal is 81. Singer Alan O'Day is 66. Rock and roll star Chubby Checker is 65. Actor Alan Rachins is 64. Sen. Jeff Bingaman (news, bio, voting record), D-N.M., is 63. Magician Roy Horn is 62. Singer Lindsey Buckingham is 57. Jazz musician Ronnie Laws is 56. Blues singer Keb' Mo' is 55. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Dave Winfield is 55. Actor Hart Bochner is 50. Actor Peter Frechette is 50. Actor Jack Wagner is 47. Rock musician Tommy Lee is 44. Actor Clive Owen is 42. Actress Janel Moloney is 37. Singer Gwen Stefani (No Doubt) is 37. Pop singer Kevin Richardson is 35. Actress Keiko Agena is 33. Actress Neve Campbell is 33. Singer India.Arie is 31. Actress Alanna Ubach is 31. Actor Seann William Scott is 30. Actress Shannyn Sossamon is 28. Actor Erik Von Detten is 24. Actress-singer Ashlee Simpson is 22.

Thought for Today: "No one can build his security upon the nobleness of another person." — Willa Cather, American author (1873-1947).

Sphere: Related Content

0 comments

Google's Growing Grasp


JEREMY CAPLAN

To fend off Microsoft and other foes, the search giant is bulking up on partnerships.
What does Google search for? Over the past few months, the Web titan has been looking for new partners. It has teamed with Intuit to enable small-business owners to manage Google ad campaigns, partnered with eBay to offer "click-to-call" ads that connect online shoppers to sellers, joined with MySpace to supply the social network's search and advertising, and helped MTV distribute video clips with ads tacked on.

Google is seeking growth and security, betting that the coterie of new colleagues on its team will strengthen its ability to live up to its $123 billion stock-market valuation. "Partnerships had not been a core part of the way we were running the company," says Google CEO Eric Schmidt. "When you're a small company, you have to do everything yourself. As you get more established, you realize you'll never get everything done by yourself."

The partner push comes as competition is pushing back. Microsoft is waking to the ad-revenue world, legions of Web 2.0 start-ups are dreaming up useful new tools, and Ask.com and Yahoo! are closing the gap in search. "People have been brainwashed that search can't get any better than Google," says Ask.com CEO Jim Lanzone. Ask has dumped its gimmicky Jeeves icon and zoomed in on search, sensing an opening.

Google realized while negotiating a deal with Dell that it needed to stretch its existing user base. That May agreement will put Google's toolbar on millions of Dell machines, and it prompted Google execs to seek other such alliances. Those partners "have a way of reaching customers that we do not on our own," Schmidt says, "and each represents a different strategic thrust."

MySpace gets Google into the fastest-growing online communities, Intuit helps Google target a whole new market of business users, and MTV gets Google into video distribution. So what's in it for the partners? For one, they get to avoid competing with Google, a good outcome particularly for companies without an alternative means of coaxing revenue out of their content. "It's easy to collaborate with Google," says MTV president Michael Wolf. "They move fast. We'd like to do even more with them."

The alliances will also allow Google to get back to its primary business. Schmidt acknowledges that the company had to redirect resources to search after its famous 70-20-10 policy--70% of the time spent on core issues, 30% on side and new projects--went slightly off-kilter. Marissa Mayer, who manages search products, says the company has assigned more engineers to search than ever before and plans to release a new search tool that will enable users to design and build their own flavor of Google search, scanning just the sites they're interested in.

The company's lack of focus is showing on the balance sheet too. Tim Gaumer, director of fundamental research for StarMine, a financial-analysis firm, notes that Google's pretax return on assets declined to 7.6% in the quarter ending in June, down from 11.8% a year ago. "While significantly above the industry average, that's a rapid decline," Gaumer says. What has changed this year is that Google has ramped up its investment in areas with lower expected returns, such as infrastructure. Still, sales should reach $10 billion this year.

Credit Suisse analyst Heath Terry isn't worried about the odd billion spent on new facilities or the free lunches for which the company is famous. His concern is Bill Gates & Co. "Google knows that their biggest threat is now Microsoft," says Terry. Having dragged its feet on search while Google built an empire, Microsoft has been spending heavily on its Web index and recently partnered with Facebook to provide ads for the popular social site. "To believe that Yahoo!, Ask and Microsoft are not going to improve and take share from Google is naive," says Microsoft spokesman Adam Sohn. He likens this period to the DOS era of search, with a major scramble ahead for the next generation of search tools. Google's Mayer agrees that the vanilla results page that Google and others serve today will probably morph into something categorically different, with images, videos and even conversations among Web users replacing static text links.

To repel the Redmond threat--not to mention Yahoo!, yapping at its heels--Google has executed a rash of acquisitions and product launches tied to its powerful website. From spreadsheet software to online word processing and a digital payment service, the company seems to offer new stuff every day. Free, for the most part, the offerings are dumped onto Google's "more" or "labs" page, in seemingly random order. Mayer wants to streamline that process, helping return Google to its roots in simplicity. "Users aren't going to remember our 50-plus products. They'll remember three to five. We need more features and fewer products," she says.

The idea is that Google wants to organize your life, not just your information, says Oren Etzioni, a professor of computer science at the University of Washington who has consulted for the company on tech development. "In starting up services that haven't been at the core of their business, Google is experimenting to see if they can expand your everyday interaction with them," he says.

Part of that effort means bringing Google to businesses that are still offline oriented. Online advertising, though growing fast, represents just 6% of total ad spending. So Google is going retro, ramping up its video-ad program, launching a major radio-ad service and testing ads in print. "We start with the premise that we should partner with everybody," says Tim Armstrong, Google's vice president of ad sales, who helped close the deal with MySpace.

To some, Google's numerous business deals overshadow the additions on its search side and suggest a slide away from consumers as it seeks new areas of growth. "Google has been an inspiring and innovative company, but the recent alliances seem less creative," says Irma Zandl, principal of the Zandl Group, a marketing and trend-forecasting agency in New York City. "They seem to be going in a less consumer-centric direction, focusing instead on monetizing to the max, which may be a good thing from a Wall Street perspective but perhaps not so good from the consumers' standpoint." Will consumers enjoy using Google less with each new partnership?

David Eun, Google's vice president of content partnerships, insists that consumer interests continue to trump business concerns. He points out that Google recently decided not to place ads at the start of videos on its site because users would expect to see content, not promotions, when they first clicked. "Don't make the customers hate you" is rule No. 1 on the Internet.

Google's biggest challenge in satisfying its partners and staying ahead of its rivals, says Terry, is managing its explosive employee growth rate. There are now 9,000 Googlers, which certainly adds to the Googleplexity. "When it seems like they're bringing in more outsiders than they have insiders every year and doubling the size of the company, it's hard to maintain the corporate culture that made them successful," says Terry.

Schmidt isn't worried about a challenge from the outside. "Maybe we should be, but we're not. As a leading company, the seeds of our own destruction are within us," he says. To keep them from germinating, Google has come up with 30 key questions to direct its strategic focus. A sampling: "What are the next big breakthroughs in search?" and "We have a lot of cash. What should we do with it?" Google just celebrated its eighth birthday with a strategic review. For 2007, the plan is to spend some of that cash on mobile technologies and more new partnerships.

And if it's any consolation, and it probably isn't, Google is not unlike Microsoft at this stage in its corporate life. In 1983, when Microsoft turned 8, it was basically a one-product company with lots of growing pains. The next two products worked out. They were called Word and Windows.

Sphere: Related Content

0 comments

Today in history - Oct. 2

The Associated Press

Today is Monday, Oct. 2, the 275th day of 2006. There are 90 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 2, 1967, Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court; he was the first black appointed to the nation's highest court.

On this date:

In 1780, British spy John Andre was hanged in Tappan, N.Y.

In 1835, the first battle of the Texas Revolution took place as American settlers defeated a Mexican cavalry near the Guadalupe River.

In 1919, President Wilson suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed.

In 1941, during World War II, German armies began an all-out drive against Moscow.

In 1944, Nazi troops crushed the 2-month-old Warsaw Uprising, during which a quarter of a million people were killed.

In 1950, the comic strip "Peanuts," created by Charles M. Schulz, was first published in nine newspapers.

In 1958, the former French colony of Guinea in West Africa proclaimed its independence.

In 1975, President Ford welcomed Japan's Emperor Hirohito to the United States.

In 1985, actor Rock Hudson died at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif., at age 59 after battling AIDS.

In 1986, the Senate joined the House in voting to override President Reagan's veto of stiff economic sanctions against South Africa.

Ten years ago: Mark Fuhrman was given three years' probation and fined $200 after pleading no contest to perjury for denying at O.J. Simpson's criminal trial that he'd used a certain racial slur in the past decade. An AeroPeru Boeing 757 crashed into the Pacific Ocean, killing all 61 passengers and nine crew members on board.

Five years ago: NATO Secretary-General Lord Robertson said the United States had provided "clear and conclusive" evidence of Osama bin Laden's involvement in the attacks on New York and Washington. Acting Massachusetts Gov. Jane Swift unveiled security measures that included a new security chief at Logan International Airport, where hijackers boarded the two planes that smashed into the World Trade Center.

One year ago: A tour boat capsized on New York's Lake George, killing 20 elderly passengers. Playwright August Wilson died in Seattle at age 60. Actor-comedian Nipsey Russell died in New York at age 80.

Today's Birthdays: Country singer-musician Leon Rausch (Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys) is 79. Former Dodgers shortstop Maury Wills is 74. Movie critic Rex Reed is 68. Singer-songwriter Don McLean is 61. Cajun/country singer Jo-el Sonnier is 60. Actor Avery Brooks is 58. Photographer Annie Leibovitz is 57. Rock musician Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike & the Mechanics) is 56. Singer-actor Sting is 55. Actress Lorraine Bracco is 52. Country musician Greg Jennings (Restless Heart) is 52. Rock singer Phil Oakey (The Human League) is 51. Rhythm-and-blues singer Freddie Jackson is 48. Singer-producer Robbie Nevil is 48. Rock musician Bud Gaugh (Sublime) is 39. Folk-country singer Gillian Welch is 39. Country singer Kelly Willis is 38. Rhythm-and-blues singer Dion Allen (Az Yet) is 36. Actress-talk show host Kelly Ripa is 36. Singer Tiffany is 35. Rock singer Lene Nystrom is 33. Rhythm-and-blues singer LaTocha Scott (Xscape) is 33. Actor Efren Ramirez is 23.

Thought for Today: "There's one way to find out if a man is honest — ask him. If he says 'yes,' you know he is crooked." — Groucho Marx (1890-1977).

Sphere: Related Content

0 comments

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)