KMIR 6 - Palm Springs News, Weather, SportsEditorial Roundup: Excerpts From Recent Editorials

Editorial Roundup: Excerpts From Recent Editorials

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By The Associated Press

Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad:

Feb. 20

The Miami Herald, on global warming:

The weather is unsettling this winter. Florida has had a record number of cold days this year after going through one of the hottest Decembers on record. Meanwhile, massive winter storms have blanketed the Eastern Seaboard and Southeastern United States with record snow falls.

The weird weather has brought out the global warming skeptics. How can the Earth be heating up, they say, if we're having such cold weather?

What they forget is that one of the outcomes of global warming predicted by scientists is more extremes in our weather. Bigger storms, longer and more widespread droughts, excessive precipitation in some places unaccustomed to much rain and so forth. Global warming isn't just affecting our annual weather cycles but, albeit much more gradually, our overall climatic conditions.

Don't look for subtropical South Florida to turn into either equatorial Africa or chilly Northern Canada in the coming decades. But do look for more of what we've seen recently: Weather-wise, the 2000s were warmer than the previous decade - and the 1990s were warmer than the 1980s.

Locally, that means our summer temperatures are climbing into the 90s more often than they did 20 years ago. Right now, sea level is rising about a foot a century thanks to global warming. But some scientists, including Hal Wanless, chair of the University of Miami's Department of Geological Sciences and a renowned expert on climate change, warn that South Florida could see a higher rise in sea level. The cause is the more recent phenomenon of the accelerated melting of Greenland and warming in the Arctic Ocean.

So don't let the skeptics lull you into believing we have nothing to worry about. The primary source of global warming is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels. We must - individually and collectively - become more energy efficient while simultaneously supporting development of renewable energy sources that will sustain, not destroy, Earth.

On the Net:

http://www.miamiherald.com

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Feb. 19

The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer, on America's Cup coming back to America:

In a time of aching unemployment, deep political divisions and a dizzying array of intractable challenges, we're happy to note one delightful diversion: America's Cup, the oldest international sporting trophy, is coming back to America after a 15-year absence.

Named for the pilot schooner America, which was awarded the trophy after an 1851 British regatta, the ornate silver cup stayed in American hands until 1983 when Australia II won it for the Royal Perth Yacht Club. Since then, the cup has stopped at ports around the world, including a stay back on American soil from 1987 to 1995. The periodic competition for the cup is the international maritime version of the Super Bowl, only wetter and saltier.

Now businessman Larry Ellison, CEO of the software firm Oracle, has won the cup back. He did it with a boatload of money, which is what it has always taken to mount a cup challenge, and a sailing vessel that looks nothing like the racing schooners of the 19th century or the graceful deep-keeled monohulls of the 20th century with their billowing spinnakers. And he did it with this premise: This is the American dream, that you can do anything.

High-stakes racing these days involves cutting-edge designs, high-tech materials and innovations in hulls, spars, sails and electronic equipment. The skipperof BMW Oracle, which won America's Cup on Valentine's Day in the Mediterranean Sea, wore sunglasses that featured an electronic readout showing wind speeds and other data on the inside of the lenses.

Most startling to those who still think of sailing as a pleasant pastime in graceful craft are the frail-looking catamarans and trimarans with towering masts and huge sails, all built for speed, not comfort. They require enormous sums of money to operate as well as to pay the armies - and navies - of lawyers who argue about the arcane rules of America's Cup racing.

We'll leave the merits of those questions to the experts. We'll just say, for now, that America's Cup is welcome back on its home shores. Now that that's settled, it's on to simpler things. We suggest fixing the national debt and reforming health care, just for starters.

On the Net:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com

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Feb. 22

The Daily Sentinel, Grand Junction, Colo., on law permitting firearms in national parks:

Some people believe you'll be taking your life in your hands if you head into most of America's national parks and monuments ... . That's because a new law takes effect ... that allows licensed gun owners to carry firearms into parks and monuments if state law allows it.

Because Colorado has a concealed-carry law, it is one of the states where weapons are now allowed.

But we don't believe the sound of gunfire will suddenly erupt across Colorado National Monument or bullets will spray across Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

After all, people have been carrying weapons on lands controlled by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management for many decades - even when it's not hunting season. Random gunfire and firearms negligence have seldom been problems.

... Guns will be allowed in 372 of the parks, monuments and other facilities maintained by the National Park Service. Firearms will still be prohibited inside park visitor centers and rangers' offices because guns are banned in federal buildings. State laws will regulate whether they can be carried into private lodges or concession stands on park grounds.

The prohibition on guns in parks, especially in backcountry locations, has never made a great deal of sense. Requiring park patrons to abide by the same laws they do on other federal lands is far more reasonable.

On the Net:

http://www.gjsentinel.com

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Feb. 18

The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, on the national debt:

If federal officials think they can simply continue to run up the national indebtedness with impunity, they should reflect on the fiscal crisis caused by four European countries that face a similar problem.

A couple of weeks ago, world financial markets fell substantially and the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average closed below 10,000 for the first time in three months as investors worried about Greece's creditworthiness. ... And speculation turned to Italy, Spain and Portugal as the next in line to face budget crises because their deficits far exceed what is allowed under the European Union treaty.

... Greece owes its creditors 300 billion euros - about $408 billion, or 125 percent of its gross domestic product.

... Consider the situation of the U.S.: The total debt is $12.4 trillion, $7.8 trillion of which is considered the public debt. That accounts for 60.8 percent of GDP.

... If countries such as China, a major buyer of U.S. debt, lose faith in Washington's ability to pay that money back, the U.S. will have to raise interest rates to entice lenders or find itself unable to borrow. Higher interest rates could depress theU.S. economy. ...

Any budget fixes implemented now will hurt, but that's nothing compared to the pain that awaits if the U.S. continues to blunder along the path to fiscal crisis.

On the Net:

http://www.dispatch.com

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Feb. 19

The Star-Ledger, Newark, N.J., on Southwest Airlines removing filmmaker Kevin Smith from a flight:

Southwest Airlines has a policy that requires fuller-figured fliers to buy more than one ticket. Flight attendants are trained to be on the lookout for passengers who can't buckle their seat belts or put both arm rests down. But determining whether a person is too big to fit in a single seat should happen at the check-in desk, not on the plane.

Southwest instituted its "customer of size" policy more than 25 years ago. Like many other carriers, it requires passengers who need extra space to pay for a second seat. If the flight ends up having vacancies, the cost of the second ticket is refunded.

But Southwest blundered ... when it ejected Kevin Smith, the Red Bank-born movie maker, from a flight from Oakland to Burbank, Calif. Smith had paid for two seats on a later flight but was on standby for the earlier plane; he was allowed to board even though only one seat was available.

The check-in crew at the gate was wrong to let Smith board without making sure he could be accommodated. That left it to the flight crew to remove him from the plane, embarrassing Smith and inconveniencing other passengers. The airline later apologized.

Brandy King, a spokeswoman for Southwest, acknowledges that when it comes to asking portly passengers to purchase a second seat, "Ideally, that conversation should take place before the passenger boards the plane." Indeed, an airline that prides itself on customer service should take a far more diplomatic approach with its "customersof size."

On the Net:

http://blog.nj.com

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Feb. 23

The Buffalo (N.Y.) News, on Obama Administration policy in the Middle East:

Maybe the tide is turning. For the first time in years, the two American wars in the Middle East are trending in the right direction. The war in Iraq appears to be winding down, due to the work of both the Bush and Obama administrations, while the war in Afghanistan - against both the Taliban and al-Qaida - is showing signs of a decisive turn. For that, President Barack Obama gets full credit.

As Vice President Joe Biden fairly crowed, drone attacks in Pakistan are significantly up since Obama took office, as are their successes. Most recently, the brother of a senior Afghan Taliban commander was killed in a drone attack that narrowly missed the leader - killing his brother - even as Marines in Afghanistan seized a fortified Taliban compound in Marjah. Officials say several hundred militants have been killed since the beginning of 2009, including several high-placed ones. The attacks have ravaged the leadership of the Taliban in Pakistan.

New cooperation from Pakistani authorities is producing intelligence that leads to the attacks, but also to important arrests, such as that of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban's second in command to Mullah Mohammad Omar. Baradar is talking, some reports say. ...

There is a huge caveat, though. As a mistaken attack on a civilian convoy just proved, it is absolutely essential to make sure targeting is accurate and civilians are protected as much as possible in combat with an enemy that doesn't hesitate to use civilians as shields, or to take advantage of already-strict engagement rules to simply walk away from firefights unhindered, so long as the people are not seen to be carrying weapons.

But there are real gains. Obama took a lot of heat - not without justification - for federal agents' decision to give a Miranda warning to Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, charged with attempting to blow up an airplane over Detroit on Christmas Day. Obama has yet received the credit he deserves for engineering what may be the start of a new, more hopeful phase of the fight against terrorists.

On the Web:

http://www.buffalonews.com

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Feb. 20

San Francisco Chronicle, on Tiger Woods:

Whether it was Tiger Woods' newfound sense of decency or Elin Nordegren's enduring disgust, the decision to keep the golfer's wife and children out of view for his semi-confessional was one saving grace of a highly controlled event.

Shake your head in sadness, shake your head in cynicism or shake your head in tired familiarity at the scene of public remorse and contrition. Woods was not the first ultra-wealthy celebrity athlete whose shining public image proved to be a charade. His was merely the most spectacular fall from grace. Ex-NBA star Charles Barkley put it best: Parents, not athletes, are role models.

Woods surrounded himself with friends and sympathetic writers, and fielded no questions. But the superstar of golf's very presence in this break from rehab seemed to answer one loud and clear: He will return.

On the Net:

http://www.sfgate.com

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Feb. 24

Chicago Sun-Times, on health care reform:

As Republicans gear up to discuss health care reform with President Barack Obama, we'd like to remind them of one essential fact:

Health care reform is not in peril because the vast majority of American have rejected it, as many Republicans like to say.

Health care reform is in peril because the Democrats lost one senator.

Ted Kennedy, the 60th Democrat in the Senate, died and was replaced by a Republican. That's what changed the political equation in Congress, that's what ground momentum on reform to a halt.

A sweeping loss of appetite for comprehensive reform it was not.

Just months ago, majorities in the House and the Senate - officials elected by the public to represent their interests - really did vote for health care reform. It was a historic moment that reflected the undeniable truth that most Americans, though they may disagree on details, want a health care insurance system that is far more reliable and inclusive.

A poll released by the Kaiser Family Foundation, like several earlier polls, affirms as much. According to the poll, at least 60 percent of Americans of all political stripes - Democrats, Republican and Independents - support key elements of reform.

These include reforming the way health insurance works (such as ending the practice of excluding people with pre-existing conditions); creating a health insurance exchange or market place; providing tax credits to small businesses, and expanding high-risk insurance pools for people who cannot get coverage elsewhere. ...

The Kaiser poll found that the public is evenly split on the Senate and House proposals, with 43 percent in favor and 43 percent opposed. But it also found that the most prevalent public reaction to the stalled legislation was dismay, with 54 percent saying the delay leaves them feeling "disappointed."

The majority of Americans want the essential reforms Obama is peddling. So do slim majorities in the Senate and the House, as evidenced by recent reform bill votes.

Carry on, President Obama. In a democracy, the majority rules.

On the Net:

http://www.suntimes.com

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Feb. 24

South China Morning Post, Hong Kong, on U.S. nuclear power production:

A world worried about climate change needs a strong signal from a powerful leader to take the next step in tackling the problem. U.S. President Barack Obama's announcement of loan guarantees to build his country's first nuclear reactors for three decades is such a beacon. Safety concerns have kept many democratic states from ending bans on the technology. His giving the go-ahead proclaims in the clearest possible way that it is time to set aside reticence.

Debate rages over the best alternatives to the fossil fuels blamed for causing rising temperatures. Heavy investments have been made in hydro, wind and solar plants. Billions more dollars are being poured into experimental technologies. But for all the talk of alternatives to fossil fuels, only one - nuclear - can reliably generate electricity to satisfy the energy intensive lifestyles that virtually all communities desire.

Obama well knows this. With half of the U.S.' electricity coming from the most polluting fuel, coal, he has made weaning citizens onto alternatives a priority. Emissions from the combustion of oil, gas and biofuels cause pollution and have been blamed for global warming. And, the U.S. relies heavily on imports of oil. Hydroelectricity is of use only where there is an abundance of flowing water; no way has yet been found to store power from wind and solar, which are dependent on weather conditions. The 104 U.S. nuclear stations in operation produce 20 per cent of the nation's power with minimal climatic consequences. ...

Obama has sent a signal the world needs to hear. His government, investors and electricity companies need to put their energies into ensuring plants are funded and built. Other nations have to follow suit. Better alternatives may yet be found, but until they are, nuclear is the most viable option to produce electricity.

On the Net:

http://www.scmp.com

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Feb. 18

London Evening Standard, on the alleged Israeli Dubai killing:

The genteel language of the Foreign Office's "invitation" to Israel's ambassador to "share information" in the case of fake British passports used in the Dubai killing should not obscure the seriousness of the case. Relations with Israel are already strained after efforts by pro-Palestinian groups to issue an arrest warrant here for Israeli opposition leader and former foreign minister Tzipi Livni.

Yet whatever the evasive language of the Israeli government over the murder of Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, there is little doubt that it was the Israeli secret service, Mossad, which was responsible. This was an operation demanding a high level of organization, impossible for rival Palestinian factions, and no other Middle Eastern intelligence service has either the European operatives or the motive to have carried it out. Israel has a long record of such killings - which, of course, remain illegal, whatever the doubtless unsavory record of men like al-Mabhouh.

Gordon Brown ordered an investigation into how the identities of six British citizens with dual Israeli nationality were apparently stolen. It seems unlikely that he will receive much co-operation from Israel. But we must try to find out what happened, not least because the British citizens concerned are liable to experience considerable difficulties traveling abroad in future. Whether Israel is prepared to come clean about its role or not, no foreign government should be able to mistreat Britons living abroad with such impunity.

On the Net:

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk

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Feb. 24

Kathimerini, Athens, Greece, on the country's financial crisis:

We must not look at Greece's financial crisis as a black cloud, because it also presents the country with a new opportunity.

Prime Minister George Papandreou is in a position where he can make important decisions that go beyond fiscal measures and influence more than the economy: Greece needs to be pushed forward, to embrace change, but what it needs to do first is erase the backward mentalities and remove the obstacles that have kept the private sector and entrepreneurship from flourishing.

Papandreou needs to make what significant changes he can now, while he still enjoys the support of the majority of the country's population and a large section of the opposition.

Opening up closed-shop professions, trimming the red tape that keeps so many good and profitable initiatives from moving ahead, and making work regulations more flexible so that they reflect contemporary reality are some of the measures that he must implement very soon. If he waits, he will be making a big mistake, much like his predecessor Costas Karamanlis did.

On the Net:

http://www.ekathimerini.com

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Feb. 24

The Sydney Morning Herald, on terrorism strategy:

Heavy jail terms for five Muslim men, most of them raised in Sydney, will have given many people what they think is a clear idea where the threat of terrorism lies. The federal government's new white paper on counterterrorism, identifying a strand of homegrown violent jihadism, will undoubtedly reinforce this impression.

Yet without becoming complacent, we should remind ourselves that, so far, our intelligence and police agencies have been remarkably effective in detecting and preventing acts of terrorism in the planning and preparation stages, and intervening to protect the public. Given the limits on linguistic and interpretive resources in the intelligence agencies, as they have turned from Cold War concerns to this new threat, this result could not have been achieved without widespread and timely cooperation from Muslim communities across Australia.

This spirit is something that governments and their agencies will have to nurture carefully, it is clear from the white paper, as we move through a period of ideological turmoil in Islam as its societies are exposed to a rapidly changing global culture dominated by the West and East Asia. Those marginalized and alienated in the middle of that culture can fall for the millenarian, violent script of unscrupulous radicals. Those at risk must be noticed and watched. But radical thought is not a crime, nor is it always or even often a lifelong attitude. Support for the security agencies would drop away quickly if they were to intervene before thought turns to active planning. It will always be a tricky game, in which success is measured in negative outcomes.

The foreign threat is always much easier to address, and the public will not begrudge the extra $69 million the government will spend on new biometric identification systems, airport scans and a new anti-terrorism control room to connect the dots - a persistent problem in intelligence, as the alleged bombing attempt on a Detroit-bound aircraft on Christmas Day showed. ...

The instigators of terrorism will always be looking for fresh faces to outflank the technology.

On the Net:

http://www.smh.com.au

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