August 20, 2007  nº 530  -  Vol. 5  
 

It Couldn't Be Done

"Somebody said that it couldn't be done,
But he with a chuckle replied
That 'maybe it couldn't,' but he would be one
Who wouldn't say so till he'd tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it. 

Somebody scoffed: 'Oh, you'll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it';
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he'd begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn't be done, and he did it. 

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you, one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That 'cannot be done,' and you'll do it."

Edgar A. Guest (1881-1959)
British born American

 

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• Top News

Concern over wider spying under new law

Broad new surveillance powers approved by Congress this month could allow the Bush administration to conduct spy operations that go well beyond wiretapping to include — without court approval — certain types of physical searches on American soil and the collection of Americans' business records. Administration officials emphasized that there would be strict rules in place to minimize the extent to which Americans would be caught up in the surveillance. The dispute illustrates how lawmakers, in a frenetic, end-of-session scramble, passed legislation they may not have fully understood and may have given the administration more surveillance powers than it sought. It also offers a case study in how changing a few words in a complex piece of legislation has the potential to fundamentally alter the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, a landmark national security law. The new legislation is set to expire in less than six months; two weeks after it was signed into law, there is still heated debate over how much power Congress gave to the president.

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• Brief News

Turkey holds new presidency vote

Voting starts in the newly-elected Turkish parliament on Monday to choose the country's next president. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul is standing again, challenged by a nationalist and a left-wing candidate. Gul's first bid to become president was blocked in April amid claims that he was a threat to the secular system.

Trade worries cloud Nafta talks

Plans to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) will take centre stage when the leaders of the US, Canada and Mexico meet on Monday. The 14-year old agreement, which has generated $700bn in cross-border trade, has come under increasing fire in the US where it is seen to have cost jobs. The trade deal is a cornerstone of a broad-ranging Security and Prosperity Partnership agreed by the trio in 2005.

Amnesty ends abortion neutrality

Amnesty International has confirmed its controversial decision to back abortion in some circumstances, replacing its previous policy of neutrality. The human rights group will campaign for woman to have access to abortion in cases including rape and incest. The initial decision was taken in April, but Amnesty delegates meeting in Mexico gave it overwhelming support. Christian organizations, including the Roman Catholic Church, have threatened to withdraw support from the group.

US rate cut boosts global markets

World shares swung firmly back into positive territory following the US Federal Reserve's move to cut the rate at which it lends to commercial banks. The 0.5% cut, which will help to increase the flow of money in the US financial system.  Relief was also felt in Wall Street, where shares opened sharply higher, and elsewhere in Europe.

Huge payout in US stuttering case

Six US citizens who, as children, were used in an experiment that tried to induce stuttering have been awarded nearly $1m in compensation. In 1939, the plaintiffs - all orphans in state care - were tormented for six months by Iowa University researchers. The study was testing the theory that children develop speech impediments because of psychological pressure. In 2001, those involved learned the truth behind their treatment, and sued, originally seeking $13.5m in damages. The six, now in their 70s and 80s, said the experiment had left them with psychological and emotional scars.

Russia restarts Cold War patrols

Russia is resuming a Soviet-era practice of sending its bomber aircraft on long-range flights. Putin said the move to resume the flights permanently after a 15-year suspension was in response to security threats posed by other military powers. A few days ago Moscow said its strategic bombers had begun exercises over the North Pole.

Fighting fakes in a virtual world

Go to a city market stall, and there's a good chance that you will be able to pick up a watch or a pair of sunglasses, being passed off as made by Rolex or Oakley. The goods will invariably be cheap and, almost certainly, bootleg - or fake - versions of the real thing. Now go on a shopping spree in the virtual world of Second Life - the 3D world populated by on-screen representations (avatars) of real life people, and you will see a similar phenomenon. Here, the possessions don't physically exist. They are computer-generated adornments for your avatar, in the game. But products like these are appearing - often without the permission of the brand owner. "There are definitely risks for firms which get involved in virtual worlds, but there also great opportunities too."

Two UK supermarkets in e-mail probe

Two of the UK's supermarket giants have been ordered to hand over millions of e-mails and letters as part of a Competition Commission investigation. The watchdog is looking into claims that Tesco and Asda have been pressurising suppliers to cut prices. It is part of larger inquiry launched last year into the sales methods of Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons. The supermarkets deny any wrong-doing and say they follow a strict code of conduct when dealing with suppliers.

Psychologists scrap ban on aiding in interrogations

The American Psychological Association on Sunday abandoned a measure that would have forbidden its members from assisting military interrogators at Guantanamo Bay and other U.S. military detention centers.

Following court ruling, Brazil provides free sex-change operations

Brazil's public health system will start providing free sex-change operations in compliance with a court order, the Health Ministry said Friday. The government would not appeal Wednesday's ruling by a panel of federal judges giving the government 30 days to offer the procedure or face fines of $5,000 a day. Federal prosecutors from Rio Grande do Sul state had argued that sexual reassignment surgery is covered under a constitutional clause guaranteeing medical care as a basic right. Gay activists applauded the decision.

Brazilian church leaders get US jail time for cash smuggling

A married couple who lead one of Brazil's largest evangelical churches were sentenced to nearly five months in prison Friday after pleading guilty to smuggling more than $56,000 into the United States hidden in luggage, a child's backpack and a Bible case.

Foreign investors view dollar as 'refuge currency' despite recent tumult

Financial markets have shown little worry over one of the U.S. economy's greatest vulnerabilities: its appetite for foreign money to finance the huge gap between what it spends and what it earns. That gap, known as the current-account deficit, requires inflows of more than $2 billion a day into U.S. stocks, bonds and other investments to keep things in balance. If a financial panic like the one now unfolding caused the money to stop flowing, the logical result would be a precipitous drop in the value of the dollar, a sharp rise in interest rates and a deep recession. But so far that hasn't happened. Economists offer two competing explanations for the trend in the U.S. current account. Some put the emphasis on the profligate behavior of U.S. consumers and government, faulting America's appetite for foreign televisions and foreign wars for getting the country perilously deep into debt. Others see the U.S. as providing a necessary service to the rest of the world, offering the only financial markets large and resilient enough to safely absorb all the savings flowing in from countries such as Russia and China. As of 2005, the total value of the U.S. debt and equity markets stood at about $41 trillion, about twice the size of the comparable euro-area markets, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Uncertain Ground

Recent recalls of toys believed to contain dangerous levels of lead paint have raised a prickly legal question: Should families be allowed to sue toy makers for medical-monitoring funds, before their children show any kind of injury? The answer has been split along state lines.

Lawyerless Litigation: is more of it on the way?

According to National Center for State Courts statistics, there are courts in the US in which at least 80 percent of the cases have at least one person without a lawyer. You’d be amazed how far the courts have come in the past decade. There’s now a network of courts which have implemented self-help centers designed to help people put together their pleadings and prepare for court. Of course, judges would much rather have cogent and typed pleadings than handwritten scrawl that many self-represented litigants might otherwise produce. Lawyers fees continue to go up — an increasing number of folks can’t afford lawyers for family-law issues, landlord-tenant disputes, even civil rights claims. Still, they have a right to the nation’s courts, and an increasing number of pro-se litigants are taking advantage. So judges are realizing that it’s only going to make their jobs easier if they make things easier for pro se litigants. In other words, courts are starting to see themselves as access-to-justice institutions. That’s an enormous change.

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• Weekly Magazine Review

Time

The Genius problem. Are We Failing Our Geniuses? In U.S. schools, the highest achievers are too often challenged the least. Why that's hurting America — and how to fix it

Newsweek

Dreaming of Zzzzz's: Counting sheep instead of enjoying sleep? Six ways to ruin your night.

Business Week

The Future Of Work. How we will master technology, manage companies, and build careers in the era of the global, 24-7 workplace

The Economist

On the cover: Modern finance is undergoing its harshest test. It will not be pretty but it is necessary.

L’Express 

L'amour au temps des Grecs et des Romains.

Der Spiegel

Europas coole Städte: Europas coole Städte wetteifern um die Kreativen. Der britische Stadtentwickler Charles Landry über den Zwang der Metropolen zu ständiger Selbsterneuerung

• Daily Press Review

Taylor trial may face long delay
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England

Southern African Leaders Face Worsening Zimbabwe Crisis
CongoPlanet.com, Independent online news aggregator

The Nigerians are coming - investing in  Ghana
GhanaWeb, Online news portal, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Darfur Needs Most Efficient, Trained Troops Immediately
Human Rights Watch (Africa), International news press releases

KZN casino robbed of R1.5m
iafrica, Online news portal, Cape Town, South Africa

Mayor claims he received death threats
Independent Online, News portal, Cape Town, South Africa

Nzimande: I never received the R500,000
Mail & Guardian Online, Liberal, Johannesburg, South Africa

Singer shocked by 2 attacks
News24.com, Online news portal, Cape Town, South Africa

Rescuers end search as Peru's quake toll edges to 540
Brazil Sun, Independent online news aggregator

Beenie Man and D'Angel in Mafia House standoff
Caribbean News Portal, Online news aggregator

El Salvador: Terrorism Law Misused Against Protesters
Human Rights Watch (Americas), International news press releases

Satellites Show Logging Decline in Peru's Amazon Region
IPS Latin America, International cooperative of journalists, Rome, Italy

Dean's coming! Jamaica braces for hurricane hit
Jamaica Gleaner, Independent daily, Kingston, Jamaica

Orcs of the world, unite! The video game championship is beaming into town
The Globe and Mail, Centrist daily, Toronto, Canada

Bomb kills Canadian soldier
Toronto Star, Liberal daily, Toronto, Canada

British Muslims want Islamic books from Indonesia
Antara News, News agency, Jakarta, Indonesia

Box Office (3rd Week of August, 2007)
Chosun Ilbo, Conservative daily, Seoul, South Korea

SC grants interim bail to Sanjay Dutt
India Express, News portal, Mumbai, India

2 crore ransom for Mumbai teenager
India Times, Conservative daily, New Delhi, India

Okubo added to squad
Japan Times, Independent centrist, Tokyo, Japan

Four more held over lorry driver's murder
Malaysian Star, Online news portal,  Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia

All safe after Tokyo plane fire - police
New Zealand Herald, Conservative daily, Auckland, New Zealand

40 injured in accident in western Nepal
People's Daily Online, English-language, Beijing, China

Car seller's 'criminal past'
Sydney Morning Herald, Centrist daily, Sydney, Australia

UPA leaves it to Sonia, Manmohan
The Hindu, Left-leaning daily, Chennai, India

Hurricane batters Jamaica's south
BBC News, Centrist newscaster, London, England

Young man and woman killed Wexford crash
BreakingNews.ie, Online news portal, Cork, Ireland

Madeleine police 'to arrest new suspect in Britain'
Daily Mail, Conservative daily, London, England

Telefonica's O2 to launch cheap mobiles for German market
DMeurope, Online news portal, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Put city trams back on agenda'
icLiverpool, Online news portal, Liverpool, England

Kazakh vote is called a litmus test
International Herald Tribune, Independent daily, Paris, France

Splashing success for swim kids
Isle of Wight County Press, Independent daily, Isle of Wight, England

Tributes to teenager
Manchester Online, Independent daily, Manchester, England

Body found on workington beach
News & Star, Independent daily, Carlisle, England

Go-ahead for dock scheme
North-West Evening Mail, Independent daily, Cumbria, England

Letter from Prague
Radio Prague, Online news portal, Prague, Czech Republic

Jamaica Pummelled As Hurricane Dean Hits
Sky News, Independent newscaster, Middlesex, England

Pedal to the Metal: Porsche Zooms Ahead of the Pack
Spiegel International, Liberal newsmagazine, Hamburg, Germany

Thousands flee Jamaica as Hurricane Dean hits
The Guardian, Liberal daily, London, England

UK public finances set record surplus
The Irish Times, Centrist daily, Dublin, Ireland

Tories try to regain political ground
The Scotsman, Moderate daily, Edinburgh, Scotland

Passengers escape plane blast
The Sun, Conservative tabloid, London, England

Hurricane Dean wreaks havoc in Jamaica
The Telegraph, Conservative daily, London, England

Labor leader caught in lap dance club scandal but does Australia care?
Times Online, Conservative daily, London, England

Gov't 'Defending' Ashkelon with 'Panic Button' System
Arutz Sheva, Online, right-wing, Tel Aviv, Israel

Shiite Militia Expands Grip in Baghdad
Asharq Al-Awsat, Pan-Arab daily, London, England

Turkish parliament votes on Gul again
Gulf News, Independent daily, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

UN peacekeepers in Lebanon unlikely to get greater authority
Haaretz, Liberal daily, Tel Aviv, Israel

Mideast: U.S. Arms Create New Divisions
IPS Middle East, International cooperative of journalists, Rome, Italy

Khalfan leaves for Amman to attend Afro-Asian Organisation meet
Middle East North African Network, Online financial portal, Amman, Jordan

Hurricane Hits Jamaica, Prompting State of Emergency
Nahamet, Online news portal, Beirut, Lebanon

Khaddam slams Syria over row with Saudi Arabia
The Daily Star, Independent daily, Beirut, Lebanon

Saleh threatens Houthis with war 
Yemen Times, Independent weekly, Sana'a, Yemen

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