Monday, February 28, 2005

This morning's New York Times: Hotel Rwanda, Bully Boy and Putin, Dems to the right?, DeLay & Brazil

What to look for in the main section?

On the front page, Paul von Ziebauer continues his probe into problems with the jail system: "Inside City's Jails, Missed Signals Open Way to Season of Suicides." Also don't miss Marc Lacey's "Dramatic Role in '94 Horror Haunts Hotel:"

At the hotel's front desk, a newcomer showed up and was told that there were plenty of vacancies, which was a far cry from the situation in 1994, when all 113 rooms were overflowing and heroic manager at the time, Paul Rusesabagina, stopped charging anyone.
The hotel was more of a refugee camp in those days, with some rooms packed with as many as 10 people and the lobby and corridors lined with bodies and bedrolls as well.

On page A11, check out Elisabeth Bumiller's "For Bush and Putin, a Romance With Signs of Rockiness." She's back to the floating op-ed that is "White House Letter," but more importantly,
Bumiller's undoing some of the strands in reporting (some by her) last week. We'll site
"2 Russian Reporters Challenge Bush" from The Moscow Times again as a suggested reading to round out this "White House Letter."

A14 had David D. Kirkpatrick's "Donors Oppose Senate Choice Over Abortion" which is worth reading for the topic. (Problems with the writing? We're in the middle of the second paragraph before we're informed of the name of the Senate "choice" -- House Rep. Jim Langevin.) Let's see now, that's Rhode Island today and we've already learned that Penn.'s Senate race will (were the election held today) also push an anti-choice Democratic. This "big tent" approach is starting to look more and more like a return to the make up of Democratic senators around the time of Hill-Thomas. Victoria Hopper (one of the "donors") notes that "This is even more important than one precious Senate seat; it is a fight to protect women and families and a fight for the core and soul of our party."

Same page is a should-have-been front page story by Philip Shenon, "Defendants' Ties to DeLay Draw Nation's Eyes to Texas Trial." This is the case involving DeLay and were state campaign laws (which prevent companies from making contributions) broken in the 2002 races for state legislature. Shenon places DeLay on the sidelines. Others may beg to differ.

Larry Rohter's "Success Brings Brazilian Party a Surprise: Disarray" takes a look at Brazilian politics. Read it and weigh in at common_ills@yahoo.com.

The Senate takes up the issue of bankruptcy today (that's from NPR, not the New York Times main section). Interesting segment that showed a not so photogenic side of Joe Biden. If Folding Star doesn't address this today at A Winding Road, we'll discuss it tonight. (Regardless of whether FS addresses it, you're welcome to weigh in at common_ills@yahoo.com and it your comments are meant to be shared, they will be.)