Mr. Wall Street goes to Washington

from the May 31, 2006 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0531/p01s03-uspo.html

President Bush named Goldman Sachs CEO Henry Paulson Jr. Tuesday as his pick for the next Treasury chief.

By Ron Scherer and Linda Feldmann Staff writers of The Christian Science Monitor

NEW YORK AND WASHINGTON - President Bush has lined up a Wall Street heavyweight as chief spokesman for the economy. He's Henry Paulson Jr., who has been running finance powerhouse Goldman Sachs - and as the designated next Treasury secretary, he'll have a big job ahead of him.

Despite the current strong economic statistics, he must try to lift public sentiment that polls show is distinctly negative about the economy. At the same time, he will have to convince the world's investors that they should continue to finance the swollen US budget and trade deficit. And Wall Street analysts say his extensive dealings with Chinese leaders make him one of the most qualified to persuade China to loosen control of its currency - a hot topic in Washington.

"His job between now and the election is to get out and tell everybody, I'm captain of the universe and I'm telling you everything's OK. Just trust me," says Stanley Collender, a Washington budget expert and a managing director at Qorvis Communications.

One of the toughest challenges of Mr. Bush's second term has been to eliminate the public's perception gap on the economy - the seeming disconnect between strong economic numbers and low public opinion of the state of the economy. Recent polling by Gallup shows that investor optimism remains at its lowest point since last November, and consumers' optimism about their credit situation remains low.

"This is all tied to gas prices," says Dennis Jacobe, chief economist at the Gallup Organization, based in Princeton, N.J.

Overall, the public remains pessimistic about the economy. In mid-May, 29 percent of the public rated the economy at excellent or good, down from 38 percent in mid-April, according to Gallup. Among those who viewed the economy positively, 47 percent cited job availability as the top reason. Among those who viewed it negatively, the price of fuel was the top reason at 26 percent, followed by unemployment (21 percent) and inflation (14 percent).

"What the overall economic numbers show is that there's a particularly upper- and middle-income group that continues to do very well, and the economy reflects how that better-to-do group is faring," says Mr. Jacobe. "What is happening in terms of middle- and lower-income groups isn't reflected in average economic data as much as it is in polling data."

One way Mr. Paulson can help to change the perception of the economy is to work through Wall Street. A confident Wall Street could help boost confidence on Main Street. Analysts compare him to Robert Rubin, Treasury chief under President Clinton, and also a former chairman of Goldman Sachs. Mr. Rubin often stressed that it was in America's interest to have a strong dollar. The strong dollar helped spur the economy by providing less-expensive raw materials from abroad and lower prices for consumers.

"That policy was good in the 1990s because the Fed was experiencing a very strong economy - unemployment fell below 4 percent - and there was concern about rising prices and inflation," says Richard DeKaser, chief economist at National City Corporation in Cleveland. "A strong dollar helped control inflation and reduce prices."

Today, however, one of the major economic issues facing the administration is managing the large trade deficit. Under President Reagan, Treasury chief James Baker engineered a devaluation of the US dollar. "The US is confronting a risk of significant further declines in the dollar," says Mr. DeKaser. "For this reason [Paulson] is a very good selection at this point in time."

Paulson could well encounter some kind of financial crisis in the next year or two as the effect of rising interest rates courses through the economy, says Mark Zandi, chief economist of Economy.com. "There was always some concern about former Treasury Secretary John Snow's ability and stature to play that kind of role," says Mr. Zandi.

During a time of large federal budget deficits, Paulson may be under pressure to make the president's tax cuts permanent. "Making the tax cuts permanent is Bush's economic legacy, and therefore Paulson has to wake up every morning figuring out how to make that happen," says Michael Franc, an analyst at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington.
Mr. Franc has confidence in Paulson's skills in playing ball with Congress. "He's scaled the private sector's version of Mt. Everest and he does not understand failure and won't tolerate it," he adds.

With his extensive knowledge of the financial markets, Paulson may also engineer new ways of dealing with financial and economic problems, says Anthony Chan, chief economist at J.P. Morgan Private Client Services in Columbus, Ohio. "Bringing the ingenuity of Wall Street to Washington is a big positive," he says. "For example, there might be different ways to package our debt."

However, there are also some limits to how much Paulson can accomplish. For example, energy analysts expect gasoline prices to remain high no matter who is running the Treasury.
Paulson also comes to the job with no economic self-interest, says Mr. Chan. Last year, his total compensation came to $16.4 million, which ranked him 81st in executive pay. "He's already wealthy, so he's coming with a desire to try to make a difference versus to enhance his own value."

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In a June race for Congress, shades of fall

from the June 01, 2006 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0601/p03s02-uspo.html

Tuesday's election in a California district is an early test of voters' views.

By Randy Dotinga Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

SAN DIEGO - By the numbers, Democratic congressional candidate Francine Busby shouldn't expect to get a federal paycheck anytime soon.

She's running, for the second time, in a conservative district where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by more than 4:3. In the 2004 general election, she snagged just 36 percent of the vote. And her opponent's political experience outpaces hers by about two decades.

Then again, the Republican who walloped Ms. Busby in 2004 - disgraced congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham - is now behind bars, sparking a special election on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the handling of both the war in Iraq and hurricane Katrina have scuttled President Bush's approval ratings and dampened Republican prospects. The result: Busby has a shot at winning a race widely seen as a bellwether for the fall elections.

"If a Democrat were to win it, it would be a clear sign of discontent with Republicans in general," says Gary Jacobson, a political scientist at the University of California at San Diego. "It's a district Republicans should never lose."

Polls show a tight race, and Busby's mild, suburban-mom persona appears to be winning voters. Still, the hill she must climb to election is a big one. Democrats have won only four of 195 races in Republican-dominated congressional districts in the Golden State since 1966, says Dr. Jacobson. Each time, the GOP had only a slight registration advantage.

There's another obstacle for Busby: a colorful, high-profile opponent. Brian Bilbray, a moderate Republican who beat back more conservative opponents in the primary, first made news 30 years ago by becoming a councilman in a San Diego-area beach town at the age of 24. The surfer-turned-environmentalist became mayor at 27, then a county superviser and finally a congressman before recently venturing into lobbying.

Even by the standards of congressional politics, the race has been nasty. One ad supporting Mr. Bilbray accused Busby, a school board member in Cardiff, Calif., of "praising" a teacher charged with trying to possess child pornography. Her comments had appeared in a newspaper article in which she expressed shock because the teacher had done a good job teaching.

For his part, Bilbray has come under fire for taking a junket to Australia and missing votes while serving in Congress. Busby, meanwhile, is under attack as a "taxing liberal" who favors rights for illegal immigrants and opposes English as an official language. She responded with footage of Sen. John McCain (R) of Arizona, whose immigration plan she supports.

"Both sides are trying out their heavy artillery to see what works for them in the fall," says political scientist Carl Luna of Mesa College.

Despite the millions of dollars pumped into the race, it's not clear that voters are paying much attention in the 50th District, which covers a wide swath of San Diego's northern suburbs - a Republican bastion, except for some Democratic pockets along the coast - and a bit of the city itself. Turnout is expected to be light, and a debate at a San Diego senior center last weekend attracted only a few dozen people.

The candidates didn't discuss Mr. Cunningham, the former longtime congressman convicted in a bribery scandal, nor did they touch on issues they agree on, such as support for abortion rights. Instead, they tackled illegal immigration and the war in Iraq.

"We can't send a message to the terrorists that we'll split and run," said Bilbray, who stands by the president in Iraq and who invited Vice President Dick Cheney to a fundraiser.

Brenda Bowman, a former Republican who recently switched parties, wasn't impressed and plans to vote for Busby. The Republicans "only care about big business and more money into their pockets," says Ms. Bowman, who works for a defense contractor. "They've stopped thinking for themselves."

Voters like Bowman pose a threat to Bilbray from his left flank, but he also faces potential problems on the right. Bill Hauf, a Republican, has targeted Bilbray with mailers accusing him of being "a Big Government Republican who represents politics as usual."

The winner of Tuesday's special election will serve only until the end of Cunningham's congressional term - and will have to run again in November. In a strange twist, the primary election to decide who will be on the ballot in November is also on Tuesday. In the GOP primary, Mr. Hauf is running against Bilbray.

Ultimately, Republicans disgruntled by Bush and Congress may be the deciding factor in Bilbray versus Busby. "The real question for the conservative wing is: Are they willing to ... suck it up and vote to help the party?" Dr. Luna says. If the Republicans can't win "with their home-field advantage, that's a sign the fans are deserting the home team."

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Bush's new team scores A-list names

from the June 02, 2006 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0602/p01s01-uspo.html

By Linda Feldmann Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

WASHINGTON - These are hardly the waning days of the Bush White House, but in some ways, time is running short for major new policy initiatives. And in the inevitable changing of the guard, as top appointees move on, it might seem a tough sell to lure A-listers onto the team. The pay isn't much to write home about, especially for those used to a healthy private-sector paycheck, and the administration remains deeply unpopular with much of the public.

But something has happened on the way to the makeover of Team Bush: The president has managed to bring in some first-string players, at a time when two-term White Houses are typically moving to the bench, analysts say. Exhibits A and B are Goldman Sachs chairman Henry Paulson, tapped to take over Treasury, and FOX TV commentator Tony Snow, the new press secretary. Joshua Bolten, the new chief of staff, is also getting high marks for his energetic retooling work - including helping snag his former colleague, Mr. Paulson - and setting his sights on upgrading the White House's communications and domestic policy shops.

"The conventional wisdom - which is sometimes right - is that it gets more and more difficult to hire from the outside," says Stephen Hess, a veteran of the Eisenhower White House and a Brookings Institution scholar. "Time is short, it's not as much fun, policy has already been made. People give up big things to do government service, not just money, but going through confirmation. So you usually just get people from within, and you wind up with the Peter Principle - people rising to their level of mediocrity."

Mr. Bolten's promotion-from-within belies that principle. But in that case, analysts say, it was probably wise for President Bush to bring a familiar face into the chief of staff hot seat - someone with whom he is already personally comfortable and who knows the president.

The Treasury slot is one that Mr. Bush has struggled to fill to his liking from Day 1. His first pick, Paul O'Neill, had a propensity for straying from the company line, and the current secretary, John Snow, failed to convince the public that the economy is strong. As Treasury secretary, Paulson would fill one of the four principal Cabinet slots - the others being State, Defense, and Justice - but under Bush, the Treasury job has not been viewed as a power center.
Paulson signed on only after much wooing, and reportedly only after receiving assurances that he would have access to Bush and serve as more than just a cheerleader for the economy. Still, why would someone at the top of the financial world worth a reported $700 million take that leap?

"Paulson's an older guy, probably close to retirement anyway," says Bruce Bartlett, an economist who served under Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush. "And there's a certain prestige and cachet - not literally, but figuratively - to sitting in Alexander Hamilton's chair."

The Treasury job also entails lots of global travel and no shortage of serious policy issues, including budget and trade deficits and the rise of China. Party loyalty is another likely factor; Paulson has donated and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Bush and other Republicans.

For all the new Bush appointees, too, entering the fray while the president is at a low point means there's no place to go but up. For an outsider like Tony Snow, jumping in now means he is free of the uncomfortable questions his predecessor, Scott McClellan, faced over various controversies, including the Valerie Plame scandal - the case of the CIA employee whose exposed identity has entangled top White house officials. Early on, Mr. McClellan said things that later proved to be untrue.

The early reviews on Mr. Snow have been positive - at least as an articulate, telegenic public persona for an administration under fire.

"Snow had a presence right away," says Paul Light, a public-policy professor at New York University.

How much Snow can prove to be the "full-service press secretary" he says he intends to be remains an open question. For now, that involves fiddling with reporters' malfunctioning tape recorders on the podium during briefings. But will he improve the press corps' access to officials and information? Bush's communications strategy has already been evolving for some time: He has been more open to taking potentially hostile questions in public forums, and more willing to admit mistakes. When USA Today broke the story about data mining of phone calls, Bush was out responding within hours.

"They're all good appointments," Professor Light says, referring to Paulson, Snow, and Bolten. But "I don't think they reshuffle the deck in terms of public approval so late in the term."

Among other recent personnel changes, many have involved old faces taking new assignments: US Trade Representative Rob Portman is now budget director, replacing Bolten. Mr. Portman's deputy, Susan Schwab, has been tapped for the top trade job. Political guru Karl Rove lost his policy portfolio, which was taken over by Joel Kaplan, former deputy budget director. Michael Hayden was easily confirmed to replace Porter Goss at the CIA, after an initial burst of controversy over General Hayden's role in secret surveillance programs from his days running the National Security Agency.

But another recent appointee who would never have gained much notice outside the Beltway did cause a flap. Two days after Karl Zinsmeister was announced May 24 as Bush's domestic policy director, it was revealed that he had doctored some quotes in a profile of himself posted on the website of the magazine he edited, The American Enterprise. Mr. Zinsmeister later told The Washington Post that what he did was "foolish."

Talk continues that Bolten might retool the White House's congressional liaison office and bring more change to the communications team. But discussion that Bush might bring a "graybeard," perhaps a former senator, into the White House as a senior adviser to help improve relations with Congress and project an image of stability has died down. Still, some analysts suggest the retooling so far may not be enough for Republicans eager for major change - especially heading into a tough campaign season.

"I don't think it's the shake-up the Republicans were longing for," says Light. "But it may be enough to stop further conversation for more shake-up."

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When your company retirement plan doesn't include socially responsible funds

from the June 05, 2006 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0605/p25s01-wmgn.html

Has this happened to you? You want to invest responsibly, but your employer's retirement plan only offers funds that don't screen out objectionable companies. Is there a solution? Rob Thomas, founder of Social(k) in Springfield, Mass., has one. Here are edited excerpts of his talk with the Monitor's Laurent Belsie:

Is it common for investors to have no 401(k) money in funds that reflect their values?

Mr. Thomas: Very common. I've been doing retirement plans for about eight years. [Back when I started] different companies that run their business in a sustainable and socially responsible way weren't finding they could take that same philosophy into their retirement plans. The employee would look at the 401(k) kit and say: "I work with you because of what you do and how you do it. And you're asking me to invest in these companies that we are very vocally fighting in the front of our store?"

So even ethical companies had trouble creating an ethical 401(k)?

Thomas: Exactly.

What about big companies? A study last year showed that only 3 percent of S&P 500 companies with retirement plans had a socially responsible investing (SRI) option.

Thomas: It's small, but growing faster than the mainstream mutual funds.

How many clients does Social(k) have?

Thomas: We went live Sept. 1, 2005. The 401(k) business cycle tends to close down by mid-October because a lot of people tend to shoot for Jan. 1 conversion or installation of a new plan. So we missed the 2005 fourth quarter. We have 25 plans with another five that [we are picking up]. Thirty plans doesn't sound like a lot. But for something's that come from nowhere in five months, it's getting a lot of notice in the industry.

Are these small companies or large companies?

Thomas: They're everything. We do start-ups, which a lot of people won't touch because of the economics of the 401(k). We do one-person start-ups, five-person, 10-person. We're also quoting on a 3,200-person start-up and a 1,700-person existing plan, which happens to have $17 million as well.

What does Social(k) offer?

Thomas: There's about 200 [screened] funds out there, whether they're screening for social concerns or Judeo-Christian and faith-based [issues]. We hope to have all of them. Right now, we have about half of those. It's about 60 funds that have social screens and about 40 funds with faith-based funds.

So this runs the gamut from conservative to liberal funds?

Thomas: Exactly. Our job is not to say you should be here or you should be there. Our job is to make sure we have a choice for everybody.

At best, most company retirement plans only offer one or two ethical funds.

Thomas: It doesn't make sense. You may want to have screens of some sort applied to your funds. But having one fund that happens to be a catchall large-cap growth ... just doesn't fit the bill. No investor would argue that one fund does everything well.

Why don't companies offer more choices?

Thomas: The economics of a 401(k) are such that typically [plan providers] have to come up with $180 of revenue per participant. That's the cost of providing a 401(k). They'll do that by having a fair amount of the assets in their own funds.... Even if they have 2,000 or 3,000 funds to choose from, at the end of the day, you might only have six slots available for something other than the home fund family.

How can employees convince their employer to broaden the ethical-investing options?

Thomas: You need to go to your [human-relations] person and say: 'There are opportunities out there to expand.' And if enough of the employees go to the person and say: "We want more than one choice," that person will have an obligation to figure out a way to do it.

Does that pressure work?

Thomas: That's why we came up with this. We were hearing over and over again that there was not enough of a variety of screened funds available. It was that demand of people saying - "We want more than one choice; we want more than one fund family represented" - that gave us the concept.

Once employees get a diversified plan, what do they choose?

Thomas: They don't know what to do. It's the classic example. If you walk in a supermarket and there's three jams, you pick the one you like. When there's 13, you can't make a decision.So they want the options.

But they rarely use them?

Thomas: But that's true of [all] 401(k)s. What they've done is go from three or four non-SRI [funds] to three or four all-SRI [funds].

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Gay marriage looms as 'battle of our times'

from the June 01, 2006 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0601/p13s01-lign.

As Senate prepares to argue marriage amendment, room for compromise between religious freedom and equal rights seems thin.

By Jane Lampman Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

The battle over same-sex marriage is shaping into something more than deep societal tradition vs. civil rights. It is becoming a conflict of equality vs. religious liberty.

As gays make gains, some religious institutions are coming under pressure. For instance:

• A Christian high school in Wildomar, Calif., is being sued for expelling two students on suspicion of being lesbian. The parents' suit claims that the school is a business under state civil rights law, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation.

• Catholic Charities in Boston, where same-sex marriage is legal, recently shuttered its adoption agency rather than serve gay and lesbian couples in conflict with church teaching. The church's request for a religious waiver from state antidiscrimination rules has made no headway.

• Christian clubs at several universities are fighting to maintain school recognition while restricting their leadership to those who conform to their beliefs on homosexuality.

Meanwhile, the Christian Legal Society and similar groups are mounting a national effort to challenge antidiscrimination policies in court, claiming they end up discriminating against conservative Christians.

"The fight over same-sex marriage - and two very different conceptions of the ordering of society - will be a knock-down, drag-out battle," predicts Marc Stern, a religious liberty attorney at the American Jewish Congress.

Both sides are pursuing their agendas in state legislatures, courts, and public schools. Both sides tend to view the struggle as a zero-sum, society-defining conflict. For supporters of gay marriage, it represents the last stage in America's long road to equality, from racial to gender to sexual equality. For opponents, traditional marriage stands as the God-ordained bedrock of society, essential to the well-being of children and the healthy functioning of the community.

While no one expects the courts to force unwilling clergy to perform weddings for same-sex couples, some see a possibility that religious groups (other than houses of worship) could lose their tax-exempt status for not conforming to public policy, as did fundamentalist Bob Jones University, over racial issues in 1983.

Legal experts of various views met last December, hosted by the Becket Fund, a nonpartisan institute promoting religious free expression, to consider the implications of same-sex marriage for religious liberty. Writing about the conference in The Weekly Standard, Maggie Gallagher quoted participants as seeing the coming litigation as "a train wreck," "a collision course," and "the battle of our times."

To ameliorate such conflict, some insist that, given the nation's commitment to both equal rights and religious liberty, accommodations must be found.

"This set of issues tests us in new ways, and I don't think either side is going to win the day," says Charles Haynes, of the First Amendment Center in Washington, in an interview. "For the foreseeable future, we are going to be living with two important claims, and we have to find ways to protect the rights of people on all sides."

Douglas Laycock, of the University of Texas Law School, suggests a modification to the current joint administration of marriage by the state and religious groups.

"We can never resolve the debate over same-sex marriage until we separate legal marriage from religious marriage," he says in a conference paper. "The state should administer legal marriage, and its rules ... should be made through the political process. Religious organizations should administer religious marriages," making their own rules. The legal relationship "could be called 'civil union' for gays and straights alike."

Ms. Gallagher, head of the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy, worries about any delegalizing of marriage. "That would be a good solution if there weren't a great public purpose to marriage that needs legal support to sustain.... If you chop it into pieces, that's a powerful statement by the law that there's no important purpose to marriage as a public institution."

The most immediate skirmish in the battle takes place next week, when the US Senate will debate and possibly vote on a federal constitutional amendment defining marriage as only between a man and a woman. While the amendment may not gain the needed two-thirds majority, the debate positions the issue as a hot-button topic for the coming political campaign.
Religious leaders on both sides of the Marriage Protection Amendment have formed coalitions, demonstrating that religious perceptions vary considerably.

Some 50 leaders from Roman Catholic, Mormon, Southern Baptist, Orthodox, Evangelical, and Orthodox Jewish traditions formed the Religious Coalition for Marriage, focused on strengthening its traditional role in society. They see the amendment as essential to protect "marriage from ... activist courts determined to reinterpret this fundamental institution ... against the will of the American people," says Richard Land, a leader of the Southern Baptist Convention.

(A recent Gallup poll found 58 percent of Americans opposing same-sex marriage and 39 percent favoring it. The country is split on a constitutional amendment: 50 percent in favor, 47 percent opposed.)

On the other side, Clergy for Fairness - including leaders from mainline Protestant and Reform Jewish denominations - says that people of faith disagree on same-sex marriage and that religious denominations, not the federal government, should decide whether they'll sanctify marriages. The group also says it opposes the amendment because it would mark the first time the Constitution would be used "to restrict the rights of an entire group of Americans."

Chai Feldblum, a Georgetown University law professor active on gay rights issues, argues that the government should view both heterosexuality and homosexuality as morally neutral - "though how you 'deploy' your sexual activity can be very morally laden," she says.

"It's an incredible stain on the government that it is denying governmental structures for loving relationships and families," she adds. Yet she acknowledges the genuine difficulty that same-sex marriage presents for some religious people.

"I'd like gay people to understand that when religious people have to do something against their belief," Professor Feldblum says, "that impinges on their deep sense of self, just as I would like religious people to understand that when gay people are told they ... can't marry their loved one, that impinges on that person's deep sense of self." She's wary of granting religious waivers on these issues, however.

In Gallagher's view, "We are in a situation where courts are declaring our great historic, cross-cultural understanding of marriage to be a form of bigotry. That's a very destructive message," when research shows that children do much better in households with a mother and a father.

Others worry about the harm litigation battles could do. "People on both sides see this as good vs. evil," says the First Amendment Center's Dr. Haynes, "and those positions are going to tear us apart, deeply hurt the nation and our commitment to civil rights and religious freedom."

Haynes has just worked with groups on both sides to develop sexual-orientation guidelines for public schools.

"I've been involved in brokering nine different guidelines on issues like the Bible and religious holidays, and this has been the hardest," Haynes says. After eight months, Christian educators and a gay group involved in school issues did agree on a process for local districts to use that each side thought was fair. Whether local districts pick up on the guidelines remains to be seen.

Clamor over textbooks, for example, has erupted in Massachusetts and in Canada, where kindergartners are being introduced to stories about families with same-sex parents. Although schools must reflect the legal status of such relationships in the curriculum, some parents are demanding notice and protections.

"Some will ask why those parents should be given consideration," Haynes says. "The answer is that this is America, and we try to do the best we can to protect the religious liberty of even the smallest minority.... This takes more work than simply saying 'winner takes all.' "

Yet who is going to broker common ground is the question as advocates on both sides seek complete victory. Legal experts expect a patchwork of legislation and court decisions to emerge.
"Then we will have to worry about how to deal with the fact we have different rules in different states," Mr. Stern says. "If two or three big states move to same-sex marriage, however, it's not going to work to have different definitions across the US."

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GOP targets gay marriage

from the June 06, 2006 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0606/p01s01-uspo.html

The Senate has begun debate on a constitutional amendment banning it.

By Linda Feldmann Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

WASHINGTON - Gay marriage is back in the political spotlight, as the Senate begins debate on a constitutional amendment banning it and President Bush speaks out on behalf of the measure.
But from the outset, the outcome is nearly certain: There are probably not enough votes in the Senate to build the two-thirds majority needed to pass a constitutional amendment, members of both parties agree. And so, as debate began Monday, analysts were hard put to see any other motive than political for putting the issue forward now.

"It's connected to the fall elections and the situation in the Republican Party," says James Guth, a political scientist at Furman University in Greenville, S.C. "There's no way around that."

With Mr. Bush struggling to win back support of fellow Republicans who have grown discouraged, the president has been under increasing pressure to advocate forcefully on an issue that religious conservatives consider of utmost importance, especially with state court cases under way that could lead to legalization of same-sex marriage. Congress faces even larger political stakes: low public approval ratings, and, unlike Bush, danger of low voter turnout this fall in the midterm elections among social conservatives that could hurt Republicans seeking to maintain their majority.

At the same time, the GOP's efforts at creating a "big tent" image will be put to the test. Some of the most vulnerable members of Congress - many of them moderate Republicans from the Northeast - could be hurt by the debate, as it highlights a point of view less resonant in that part of the country than in others.

The debate could also reverberate further into the future, into the 2008 presidential contest. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, a likely GOP contender, opposes a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman, arguing that the issue should be left up to the states. He has long faced hostility from social conservative leaders over this and other positions, and his recent efforts at reconciliation with this activist wing of the party could be set back by the debate.

Sen. Bill Frist (R) of Tennessee, who is retiring from the Senate at the end of the current term, also may run for president, and so his advocacy for the Marriage Protection Amendment is also seen through the lens of his own possible ambitions. Senator Frist has also scheduled a vote this week on a constitutional amendment banning flag-burning, another measure seen as highly political.

For Bush, after a flurry of action this week on gay marriage, the question could be, what next? If the amendment fails in the Senate, as presumed, he will face continuing pressure to push for this and other measures important to religious conservatives. During his presidency, his pattern usually has been to hold positions consistent with those of religious conservatives, but not to advocate for them as fiercely as religious leaders would like. On constitutional amendments, the president plays no formal role - his signature is not required - so any power he may wield would come through the bully pulpit.

The amendment consists of two sentences: "Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the constitution of any State, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman."

Speaking to a bipartisan group of amendment supporters at the White House on Monday afternoon, Bush repeatedly castigated what he called "activist judges" for thwarting the will of the people on same-sex marriage. "Marriage is the most fundamental institution of civilization, and it should not be redefined by activist judges," Bush said.

But not all religious conservatives are happy with the amendment's wording. One opponent, the Rev. Louis Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition, says the amendment amounts to a "hollow gesture" when it comes to protecting marriage and argues that the second sentence, in particular, would in fact allow civil unions and other forms of "counterfeit marriage" in the states.

"Saturday the president said in his [weekly radio] message that this Marriage Protection Amendment does fully protect marriage. It doesn't," says Mr. Sheldon. "So why would you want to break your back and spend millions of dollars in 38 states passing it, even if it did pass the Congress, if it gives the states the right to do the thing that has totally brought all this to a head, civil unions and domestic partners?"

Sheldon represents a minority view among social conservatives, however, and for now, Bush and supporters of the current language are pressing ahead. But even if the measure dies for now in the Senate, the issue will remain alive at the state level. At least six states will have measures on the ballot this year, most of them banning gay marriage, and activists in other states are working on fulfilling requirements for similar measures. In New York, the state's highest court is considering an appeal that could end up legalizing gay marriage there.

Unlike public opinion on other hot-button social issues, such as abortion, Americans' views of gay marriage have been evolving. In March 1996, 27 percent of Americans believed homosexual marriage should be recognized by the law as valid, according to the Gallup Poll. Today that number is 39 percent.

Amendment history

Most recent amendment: 1992, the 27th, limiting congressional pay raises.

Last two serious attempts:

• The Equal Rights Amendment, proposed in 1972. It read in part: "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." It cleared both chambers of Congress and at one time was ratified by 35 states - short of what was needed.

• The District of Columbia Voting Rights Amendment, proposed in 1978. It would have granted Washington, D.C., the full voting rights in Congress of a state. It expired unratified in 1985.

- Staff

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Backstory: 'Don't break my heart!'

from the May 31, 2006 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0531/p20s01-litr.html

The bazaar sales pitch - it's the chattering art at the crossroads of serious shopping in Istanbul.

By Amelia Thomas Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - The streets around Istanbul's central Grand Bazaar seethe with a heady, colorful mixture of Turks, tourists, and touts. Huge reinforced brassieres flap sternly from the awnings of lingerie shops; cheeses, dried fruit, and writhing fish plucked fresh from the Bosphorus share space on crowded grocery stalls; hawkers selling cheap plastic children's toys, spinning tops, and pendants to ward off the "Evil Eye" vie for the public's attention, while an army of corncob broilers, chestnut roasters, and cucumber peelers, call to the hungry shopper.
Women in full black chadors - only their painted toenails peeping from glitzy sandals beneath - brush up against British backpackers in skimpy shorts; men in shabby traditional dress sell aftershave to up-and-coming Istanbul gents in cheap three-piece suits.

This is one of the greatest shopping cities in the world, the gateway between Europe and Asia, where you can buy a fur hat from a former Soviet soldier, an emerald direct from the mines of Afghanistan, or unearth a dainty antique armoire in a backstreet junk shop. There are no less than a dozen markets to entice shoppers of all kinds, from Byzantine scholars looking for rare books to stout headscarved housewives in search of a new plastic fly-swatter. In the center of the maelstrom, the highlight on every tourist's itinerary, is the Grand Bazaar, billed as a labyrinthine warren of 4,000 individual establishments, a place where you can pick up exotic bargains to help tip your luggage over your airline allowance. At least, that's what the tour guides tell you.

Entering the Grand Bazaar is a peculiar experience, a Las Vegas version of the "Thousand and One Nights." The Kapali Çarsi is one of the largest covered markets in the world. Parts of its lofty domed structure date to the 15th century, though much was rebuilt after an earthquake shook its foundations in 1894. Divided into distinct districts that specialize in pottery, jewelry, lamps, leatherwear, and carpets, the market's main corridors are the singular domain of tourist hoards seeking an "authentic" shopping experience in their baseball caps and shepherded by harried, umbrella-wielding guides.

Its smart shop fronts and shiny marble floors feel like a sanitized version of what it once must have been. It now serves up mass-produced souvenirs to anyone willing to be beaten down by relentless sales patter.

So, what's there to do after you've seen your 20th kilim carpet and your 50th belly dancing outfit, if you're not in the market for a fake Versace T-shirt or Gucci bag, or if you don't have a sudden urge to collect Ottoman ceramic tiles and teapots? Well, there's one thing any visitor to the Grand Bazaar can collect, without spending a single Turkish lira: sales pitches.

Grand Bazaar workers are consummate salesmen, employing myriad tactics to implore shoppers to buy, in an attempt to distinguish themselves from the shop selling exactly the same stuff next door. Here, perhaps more than anywhere, the art of enticing the shopper has evolved into an art form, with an array of techniques as distinct as the shopping districts themselves. Using only pencil and paper (rather than paper and plastic), the casual browser at Kapali Çarsi can easily compile a list of pitches pages long during a leisurely afternoon.

The first category of pitches are, of course, the most direct. Those courteous first attempts that succeed, or fail, across-the-board, no matter the gender, age, or nationality of the potential shopper: "Come in, my dear friend, and see my carpets/ceramics/leather suitcases." "Be my guest, my old friend, only looking - no buying." "No obligation, sir, but cheap price guaranteed." "Genuine Turkish hospitality: no need to purchase." "Come, Madam: drink a Turkish apple tea with me ... while you look at my carpets."

Moving one step upward, are those salesmen - and they're always sales men - whose basic tactic involves stopping the shopper in his tracks, even for a split-second, with a question: "Hello, excuse me, where are you from?" "You like Turkey, sir?" "Do you have time, madam, to peruse my humble collection of goods within?" "Can I ask you a question?"

Further again up - or down - the evolutionary sales ladder, is a distinct breed: Young, confident, with slicked-back hair and tight jeans, these are the type that concentrate on the females in the crowd, with tactics based on flattery. "Please don't walk by," cries one, clasping his chest, "You break my heart!" "A beautiful necklace for a beautiful lady?" purrs a second. "I wish I were a fish," says a particularly suave seller, "so I could swim in your deep blue eyes." Of course, there will always be those who take this technique a step too far: "Would you dance with me?" woos one young man, reaching for a female wrist, only to be batted off with a stuffed toy camel. "What are you doing tonight?" asks his friend, "Coming to disco with me?" "I'm a great lover," boasts another, "All tourist ladies agree. Bargain of the century - don't miss out!" "I know what you need," says a fourth, "You need me ... No charge."

After this is the territory of the tailored pitch, seduction through a distinctly personal approach. If, for instance, you're eight months pregnant while tramping around the market, you may hear these choice attempts: "The baby looks cold: come inside and buy him a pashmina!" "The baby looks hungry: Come inside and buy him a kebab!" "It's a boy, Madam, I'm sure: Buy him a T-shirt!"

At the end of the day and the periphery of the market, however, is a final category. These young salesmen, tired, worn-down or desperate, have dropped the banter for a more self-deprecating approach. Their shops sell the same wares as their more brazen comrades, but they simply don't have the wherewithal to compete on their level. Deep in the heart of the market, the bold, brash salesmen are already heaving mountains of carpets back inside their stores and shuttering up shop. But here, on the outskirts, stalls are still open for business.

"Need a way to get rid of your hard-earned cash?" smiles a tired-looking young man sitting outside a store piled high with woven cushions. "Step inside, and take a look at my rubbish," grins his friend, waving toward his inlaid backgammon sets and bright red fezes. "Do you want to buy some things you don't need today?" questions another near an exit arch framing swallows flitting in the approaching dusk. "We're still open!" another calls to tourists, laden with shopping bags, hurrying to their air-conditioned bus.

But it's here, on the fringes, that it's best to make a purchase. Sellers seem beyond desperation, and won't bother browsers; most are happy simply to have someone inside their shop.

"I've got everything," remarks a smiling spice merchant. "All I'm missing is some customers." And for that - be it brutal honesty or the most cunning sales pitch of all - he's rewarded with a sale. Half a pound of pistachio Turkish delight, apple tea, a bunch of cinnamon sticks, and a package of bright red seasoning for kofta kebabs all disappear fragrantly into a paper bag, and his cash register rings up perhaps his only, perhaps his final sale of the day, while the strains of Istanbul's many muezzins echo the evening call to prayer through Kapali Çarsi's emptying halls.

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The secrets of Florence, unraveled

from the June 01, 2006 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0601/p18s02-hfes.html

By Diana Roome

If anyone glimpsed me staring down at the paving stones in the Santa Croce quarter of Florence, Italy, last summer, they might have thought me a little odd. After all, there are so many more attractive things to look out for - from Santa Croce's Gothic basilica for great art and the tombs of the famous to the celebrated Gelateria Vivoli for the indulgence of the taste buds.

But for me, these well-worn stones held a more interesting secret. They were giving me the opportunity to literally walk in the footsteps of Dante, who held the down-to-earth job of supervisor of public works here in the early 1300s.

I knew this as a result of an Italian history class I was taking in Cupertino, Calif. Our professor would vividly recount to his mostly middle-aged, eager-to-learn students the details of Dante's life in Firenze (Florence) and his later wanderings in exile. All this came while guiding us through selected chapters of "The Divine Comedy."

As a result of these weekly classes, I'd become fascinated by people and places from hundreds of years ago and thousands of miles away.

Michelangelo and the poet Petrarch entered my dreams at night and walked beside me during my day.

In fact, the "fab three" - Petrarch, Dante, and Boccaccio - were like rock stars to me.

My newest imaginary friend, Alessandra Strozzi, was a noble Florentine lady whose family's male members had been exiled by the Medicis in the early 1400s. This matriarch's letters to her sons are so vivid that I found myself poised to seize a pen and write back to her, offering sympathy and a tentative invitation to stop by for tea.

Inside the Church of Santa Maria Novella, I imagined the dignified Alessandra at mass scoping out marriageable girls suitable for her reluctant sons. I even sympathized with her worries about the barrel of highly perishable plums she'd sent to them in Naples from the family farm outside Florence.

Through the skills of a gifted teacher, I'd learned to feel the pain and pleasures of Signora Strozzi and the ordinary citizens of Florence who were living through extraordinary times.

I had tuned into the lives of people I'd once only known by their names - Piero della Francesca, Lorenzo de' Medici, Nicolo Machiavelli, and Pico della Mirandola.

I'd been to Italy several times, but after my class, I arrived like a sleuth. I had lecture notes in my suitcase along with summer clothes - and scores of questions to be answered.

I wanted to see for myself the streets where Michelangelo played as a boy and the Pazzi Chapel where he studied Giotto's frescoes.

In Santa Maria del Carmine, south of the Arno, I saw that Masaccio's frescoes are as fresh (since restoration) as if they had been completed a month ago. But this time I knew where to find the painter's brooding self-portrait (gazing out at us to the right of the boy raised from the dead by St. Peter). His face is so strong, so certain of itself that I wondered about the cause of Masaccio's sudden departureto Rome, and his death at just 27.

A budding understanding of this painter's importance in the progress of art drew me on to see his bold, brilliant experiment in perspective, the "Trinity," at Santa Maria Novella.

Between these two points, I walked beneath the arch under which the goldsmith and sculptor Benvenuto Cellini, in a fit of frustration with his domineering father, tried to run away to Rome.
In his autobiography, he said he took the wrong gate through the city's formidable walls and ended up walking to Pisa instead.

Later, climbing the 463 steps between the two shells of the Duomo's daring dome, I looked for the little niches Brunelleschi planned in the dome's interior for food vendors to set up stalls so that laborers would not have to descend hundreds of steps to get their lunches.

The architect took decades to build this huge edifice against initial opposition and near-impossible challenges. But the human details - his worries about his workmen and the effects of wind - seemed especially poignant now that I knew about his pride, irascibility, and irrepressible creativity.

Understanding a little about the quests that animated its citizens' lives brought the stones of Florence alive for me. I felt the time dimension shrink to a point where centuries seem to evaporate enough to catch an imagined glimpse of people I'd met in lectures and readings.

Italy is a saga of marvels. You can love it without knowing anything beyond what your guidebook tells you. But there is an extra frisson of excitement in slipping out of the tourist mind-set, going back in time, and entering the lives of those who gave the country its extraordinary history.

For me, Florence came alive anew in light of its history, which explains how some of the greatest ideas, art, and architecture the world has ever seen came to be forged in a white heat of creative innovation.

For the investment of a few months of study, any place can buzz with the voices of the past as well as the present.

Now that I've heard those echoes, I'll be seeking out this hidden dimension wherever I travel.

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It's best to see the Taj Mahal in 'living Technicolor'

from the June 02, 2006 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0602/p18s03-hfes.html

By Jayne Hanlin

Mrs. Rose, my teacher, begins our new social studies unit: the study of India. Sitting in the third desk in the row, I open my blue and orange world history textbook to the page she requests and see an amazing black-and-white photograph I have never seen before: It is the Taj Mahal.

But why is it a black-and-white photograph in this era of ubiquitous color? The answer is that I am recalling one of my sixth-grade experiences from 1955. And this precise moment of introduction to the monument is still so vivid that it doesn't seem out of sync to write about it as if it were in the present.

No "living Technicolor" was needed then to inspire me with an immediate desire to see what Shah Jahan built in memory of his wife, Mumtaz. That morning I distinctly remember saying to myself, "One day I am going to see the Taj Mahal."

Although it took me more than a half-century to fulfill that promise, I finally did get to Agra.
Was I disappointed with the "live" view after all that time? No! The structure exceeded my long-held expectations.

What is it about this glistening Moghul structure that compels attention and even elicits reverence? Its symmetrical beauty, balanced proportion, elegant immensity? Its silhouette reflected in the lotus pool? Its contrast with the surrounding trees? Its framing quartet of 135-foot-high minarets?

Indeed, all of these make the Taj Mahal breathtaking. Its captivating Indo-Islamic architecture inspires awe. The entire panorama - as intended - represents paradise on earth.

Our guide, Veejay, said that it contains 1,100 poundsof gold and cost approximately 40 million rupees. It took more than 20,000 workers to build the monument between 1631 and 1653. The results of their structural expertise and exquisite craftsmanship have survived the centuries.

From afar, this mausoleum looks as if it's built all in white Makrana marble. That is what I had always thought was the sole material of its construction. I walked past one of its four reflecting pools and finally reached the Taj itself. There I discovered carved reliefs of flowers and foliage, as well as calligraphic passages from the Koran in black marble inlay.

Yet, the biggest surprise was yet to come. Using a Florentine technique called pietra dura (hard stone inlay) decoration, skilled craftsmen had created sprays or arabesque patterns of tulips, narcissus, irises, and poppies using various shades of lapis lazuli, turquoise, malachite, agate, jasper, carnelian, and jade. Then they polished these designs with fine emery.

Next fall, my oldest grandson will be in the sixth grade. I hope there is still a social studies unit about India and that his world history textbook will have a close-up "living Technicolor" photograph showing these intricate patterns on the Taj Mahal in addition to the one - perhaps in black and white - from the familiar perspective.

But even if he doesn't study India in class, my digital photos have already convinced him that he must not miss seeing this magnificent masterpiece one day. I told him that if he follows my timing, he will visit Agra in 2057.

With a sparkle in his eyes, he assured me he would get there sooner.

I told him that was one youthful dream he should definitely fulfill - even if he takes as long as I did.

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Britain, off the Eastern seaboard

from the June 02, 2006 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0602/p14s01-litr.html

David S. Hauck spent five days in Bermuda.

Where did you go?

Bermuda, a world away, but only an hour and a half from Boston.

Where did you stay?

The Grotto Bay Beach Resort, near St. George's. Rooms are comfortable, if modest. The resort has a pool, a small beach with a shipwreck for diving, tennis courts, an exercise facility, and Internet access. Breakfast is included with certain travel packages.

What did you do?

Saw nearly every corner of the island. Visited the artist colonies at the Dockyard on the west end. Snorkeled off the pink sands of Church's Bay, full of parrot fish. Hiked 90 feet below the surface in the Crystal Caves. In the capital, Hamilton, we observed a Parliament modeled after Britain's raucous legislature, complete with powdered wigs. Buses and ferries go everywhere, if you don't mind waiting. Scooters give flexibility - for $75 a day.

Where did you eat?

There was no shortage of good food to be found. Tom Moore's Tavern, built in 1652, offered succulent steamed mussels in a chili cream sauce, and a signature chocolate soufflé. For $52 a person, the Pompano Beach Club in Southampton served a five-course prix fixe menu, with the filet outdone only by the stunning sunset. And the Broadway Bistro at La Coquille had a divine cheese plate and tuna tartare that melted in your mouth. The island may have had cheaper eats, but we couldn't seem to find them.

• Where have you been? Write us at Weekend

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Earth's ozone shield is poised for recovery

from the June 01, 2006 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0601/p02s01-sten.html

Two new studies credit a 1987 international agreement, which phased out harmful gases, for the improvement.

By Peter N. Spotts Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

Earth's sunscreen appears poised for recovery after decades of assault from man-made chemicals.

After years of decline, global concentrations of ozone in a key region of the stratosphere have held steady for the past eight to nine years, according to two new, independent studies.

Scientists noted initial signs of this trend three years ago. But these latest efforts benefit from an additional three years of measurements. And they appear to be the first to specifically attribute the changes to the Montreal Protocol, a 1987 international treaty that phased out key chemicals known to destroy ozone.

Although a range of man-made gases can deplete ozone, the main targets so far have been chlorine-carrying compounds used as coolants in refrigerators and for fighting fires.

"It's clear that the Montreal Protocol has reduced the total amount of chlorine entering the atmosphere," notes Derek Cunnold, an atmospheric scientist at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta and a member of one of the two research teams. Those reductions, he continues, should first arrest the decline, then allow the ozone layer to rebuild.

"We are now seeing that kind of a response," he says, referring to the stabilization of ozone levels.

Ozone concentrations are still quite low and are allowing historically high levels of damaging ultraviolet light to reach Earth's surface, researchers caution. Moreover, once the upswing begins, a recovery is likely to come only in fits and starts over 50 to 60 years. And scientists say it's highly uncertain whether the effort will overshoot or undershoot the protocol's target of returning stratospheric ozone concentrations to pre-1980 levels.

Global warming is expected to present ozone with a far different environment than the one that existed before 1980. Several factors - changing circulation patterns, temperatures, and the rise or fall of methane, nitrous oxides, and water vapor reaching the stratosphere - will affect the outcome.

Still, "we're on the cusp" of recovery, says Elizabeth Weatherhead, a researcher at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the lead author of the second study. She and colleague Signe Andersen published their review of the data in the May 4 edition of the journal Nature. Dr. Cunnold and his colleagues are publishing their results in an upcoming edition of the Journal of Geophysical Research.

Ozone is an atmospheric Janus. Made up of three oxygen atoms, ozone at ground level can trigger bad air days in urban areas across the planet. But in the stratosphere, ozone intercepts ultraviolet light from the sun, reducing the amount that reaches Earth's surface.

Both studies rely on ground-based and satellite measurements of ozone for trends, and to varying degrees on computer models for attributing trends to what the data reveal. The strongest evidence for the protocol's effect comes at altitudes ranging from 11 to 16 miles.
There, chlorine has leveled off, and so has ozone decline, Cunnold's team reports.

However, both teams note unexpectedly large improvements in ozone concentrations in the part of the stratosphere below 11 miles. These improvements, though still relatively small, appear over mid-latitudes in the northern hemisphere, where the fastest recovery rates are expected. This surprise has less to do with the protocol, however, than with changes in atmospheric circulation patterns, both teams hold.

At the poles, by contrast, recovery is expected to take the longest, particularly over Antarctica, with its infamous ozone hole. There, total-column ozone - the amount over any one location - also appears to have halted its decline.

But Dr. Weatherhead offers that the decline has halted largely because the region has little stratospheric ozone left to lose. Recovery at both poles is expected to take far longer than at lower latitudes.

Even as they continue to monitor the protocol's impact on ozone levels, researchers are now struggling to factor the impact of climate change and natural variations of stratospheric ozone into estimates of how long recovery will take and how close to the mark it will reach.

For David Doniger, the climate-policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington, these results indicate that when it comes to the environment, "global treaties work." But he holds that the battle to curb ozone-depleting chemicals isn't over.

Production of another potent ozone-eater - methyl bromide - initially was to have ended in 2000. Farmers use the compound as a fumigant and the Environmental Protection Agency continues to grant waivers for its production and use in the US.

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Coming to a pump near you: clean diesel

from the June 05, 2006 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0605/p02s01-sten.html

Refineries are beginning to make low-sulfur fuel, under a new EPA rule. Cleaner engines to follow.

By Mark Clayton Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

For as long as people have cared what wafts from vehicle tailpipes, diesel motors have had the rap as the dirtiest, smelliest, noisiest engines on the road. That could soon change.

In a move that may presage diesel's Cinderella-like transformation, the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday required US refineries to begin making ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD), a fuel with 97 percent less sulfur than ordinary diesel that, as a result, slashes soot emissions.

The rule, which mandates that 80 percent of the diesel produced for highway use be ULSD-compliant, was just the first step. By Oct. 15, all filling stations now selling diesel will be required to sell ULSD instead of or in addition to diesel.

All who drive diesel vehicles - which account for only about 3 percent of sales of light-duty vehicles - will immediately emit about 10 percent less pollution upon shifting to ULSD. But the biggest pollution abatement - as much as 90 percent cleaner - will come with the EPA-mandated debut of "clean diesel" engines, probably late next year or early in 2008.

That moment, say environmentalists, is the transformation everyone is waiting for.

The new EPA rule "is the biggest step toward cutting vehicle pollution since lead was taken out of gasoline two decades ago," says Richard Kassel, director of the Clean Fuels and Vehicles Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group based in Washington.

Though environmentalists say they've not had much to cheer about during the Bush administration, they give credit to the EPA for pushing past political obstacles to cement a major antipollution rule.

Heavy-duty trucks and buses will be first to take full advantage of the new fuel, with new clean-diesel engines slated to hit the road in early 2007 - cutting soot and nitrous-oxide (smog-forming) emissions by 90 percent, Mr. Kassel says. Some city bus fleets, like New York's, already use ULSD.

Off-road diesel vehicles - including farm and construction equipment - won't be required to shift to ULSD immediately. Their emissions requirements will be phased in from 2007 to 2010.

Diesel engines have always had their virtues: high torque, durability, and good mileage. They also produce less greenhouse gases per mile than do gasoline-powered engines because of their greater fuel efficiency, says Kassel.

But the clouds of soot particles that spew from buses, garbage trucks, and 18- wheelers have been an environmental and health hazard, officials say. The new clean-diesel vehicles are expected to be no louder or dirtier than gasoline engines, but they get 20 to 40 percent better mileage per gallon.

Will that put more diesels on the road? Perhaps.

They may account for 7 to 15 percent of vehicle sales by 2010, some analysts say. But diesel vehicles no longer have a fuel-cost advantage, the factor that propelled more Americans to buy them after the 1970s oil embargo. Today, diesel fuel sells for about what gasoline does.

As the number of clean diesels on the road grows, so might the number of drivers filling up with even cleaner biodiesel fuel from organic sources. The hope is that more fuel options will help put a big dent in US dependence on foreign oil.

"We're learning that we need all these options - ethanol, hybrids, fuel cell, and a clean-diesel option," says Allen Schaeffer of the Diesel Technology Forum, an industry group. "There's no silver bullet for reducing reliance on imported oil, but there are silver pellets - and clean diesel is one of those."

One caveat is that because diesel motors are long-lasting, it may take decades for older, more-polluting vehicles to be replaced by new clean-diesel ones. Another is that old-technology diesel vehicles are now seeing a sales spurt. It all adds up to slow-motion change.

Once the new diesel rule is fully implemented in 2030, it is expected to yield a 90 percent cut in pollution from the nation's 13 million diesel trucks and buses. That would mean more than 8,000 premature deaths averted each year and about $70 billion annually in health benefits as a result of cleaner air, the EPA estimates.

For some, such as Robert Issem of Roanoke, Va., the move to clean-diesel engines can't come soon enough.

The tennis-tournament administrator drives a diesel Volkswagen Golf that gets 60-plus miles per gallon on the highway - and he's been going out of his way to make it burn clean by using biodiesel. The trouble is that the nearest biodiesel outlet is three hours from home, so Mr. Issem fills five-gallon jugs with the fuel and totes them in his back seat.

Now, with clean-diesel fuel coming to nearby filling stations, he plans to use a mix of biodiesel and ULSD for a lower- pollution ride. He also plans to be at the showroom to take a look when clean-diesel cars arrive in a year or so. "We'll definitely be looking at clean diesel."

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Can oil companies handle more storms?

from the June 06, 2006 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0606/p03s03-usgn.html

As they brace for next hurricane season, a manpower shortage slows efforts to secure offshore facilities.

By Kris Axtman Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

HOUSTON - While the US Army Corps of Engineers scrambles to defend the Gulf Coast against hurricanes on land, oil companies are preparing to avoid the havoc that last year's big storms wreaked offshore.

They are fortifying mobile platforms and drilling rigs, putting backup communications systems in place, and working out advance contracts with tug and helicopter services.

But a manpower shortage is hampering these efforts. The shortage is so acute that many companies are still working on last year's equipment failures. Nine months after hurricanes Katrina and Rita moved through, 21 percent of the Gulf's oil production and 13 percent of its natural-gas production remain offline.

Even more disconcerting to consumers is that oil and natural gas prices could rise even higher if another strong storm hits the Gulf.

While last year's hurricane season destroyed 113 offshore facilities and damaged 53 others, the most problematic were jack-up rigs and mobile drilling units, says the Minerals Management Service (MMS), which regulates the industry in federal waters.

So along with the US Department of Energy and API, the industry's primary trade association, the offshore industry just adopted recommended practices for these more vulnerable structures in time for this hurricane season.

Fortifications to jack-up structures are largely complete, but modifications to floating structures are only a third done, MSS says.

"I don't think there are any lackadaisical attitudes this hurricane season," says Allan Pulsipher, director for the Center for Energy Studies at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. "Oil companies have a tremendous financial incentive to learn what lessons they can from last year's hurricane season. These structures are billion-dollar investments, and they don't want to see them upside down in the water."

Oil companies always take hurricane season seriously, but even more advance planning will be necessary with the busy forecast in coming years, says Tim Sampson, coordinator for drilling and production operations with API.

Predictions are for as many as 16 named tropical storms this season, with four to six forming into Category 3 hurricanes or higher.

The Gulf of Mexico produces 30 percent of the nation's oil and 21 percent of its natural gas, so a major hurricane can have a severe effect on prices. Last year, gasoline prices rose to almost $3 a gallon, with natural-gas prices jumping as well.

In addition the challenge of moving employees inland and shutting down drilling operations, companies face having damaged platforms or drilling rigs out of operation for months.

Part of the problem, says Jim Hooper, an engineer and oil industry consultant in Houston, is that the industry as a whole is so short of workers right now that many companies are still working to fix last year's equipment failures.

But companies make every effort to ensure that production comes back quickly, says Mr. Sampson with API. "These companies are in the business of producing oil and gas, and every day they are not is costing them money."

Chevron, which has a large presence in the Gulf, is adding structural bracing to several platforms and raising the height of critical production equipment on others. The company has also obtained more backup office space and equipment in case onshore operations have to be moved, and increased the amount of temporary housing for the 3,000 employees it has in the Gulf at any one time.

"Chevron has been working in the Gulf of Mexico for 60 years and we have a tremendous amount of experience with hurricanes," says company spokesman Mickey Driver. "But we learned a lot last year about what to do onshore as well as offshore."

Houston-based Trans-ocean, the world's largest offshore driller, is trying to better ensure that its equipment will still be there when the storm passes.

On two of its deep-water rigs, the company is expanding the mooring system from the traditional eight-point system to a 12-point one - hoping to better secure them in place.
Both were knocked off location last season and had to be tracked down using the onboard GPS systems. Some companies say even that is not enough, and that they are putting more than one GPS system on board this hurricane season.

But of the more than 4,000 platforms in the Gulf, the majority of those damaged were built before 1988, when stricter construction standards were put in place.

They remain the most vulnerable, says Mr. Hooper. "For the most part, the new platforms were built to handle what hit them" (with the exception of Shell's massive Mars platform, which accounts for about 5 percent of Gulf oil and gas production. It only resumed limited operations this month).

Perhaps even more susceptible are the pipelines that run along the sea floor. Currents can easily break them. Some even washed up on shore during the last hurricane season.

If New Orleans hadn't flooded, Dr. Pulsipher believes the big story would have been the significant onshore oil spills caused by the hurricanes.

"Hurricanes have no doubt been a contributing factor to higher gasoline prices in the United States," says Pulsipher. "But keep in mind that this was a tremendous hurricane season. It's remarkable that as many remained operable as they did."

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A tale of two cities that offer insight into Mozart

from the May 24, 2006 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0524/p13s01-litr.html

By Ray Chatelin Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor

VIENNA - If you want to know Mozart, you have to know Salzburg and Vienna. It's the only way to discover what made the man tick and why his music endures. When you walk in his footsteps, you'll understand more about him, the times that influenced his music and the two Austrian cities he called home.

This is an excellent time to discover - or rediscover - Mozart, as Austria celebrates the famed composer with a variety of events throughout the country.

But no matter where you go within Austria, you'll find one of the world's most user-friendly countries. There's an endless abundance of cows, plus barns with small, cozy houses attached to the front, narrow mountain roads, and plenty of picturesque towns and villages.

It's this sense of place and size that was instilled in Mozart at an early age - a view of the world that he couldn't have rejected in his own music even had he chosen to.

To understand why Mozart produced music that was so unpretentious, explore Salzburg, where he was born, and Vienna, where he produced his most important works.

Vienna

Once the center of Europe's greatest power, the Austrian Empire, Vienna is now the world's largest and most charming museum. It's a city where there's a never-ending supply of the past. Visitors go to see where Beethoven, Schubert, the Strausses, Bruckner, and Brahms worked, and where Mahler conducted. Mozart is one of many important figures with roots in the city.

If you're tracing Mozart's 10 years in Vienna (1781-91), begin at St. Stephen's. The cathedral's 448-foot-high tower is a city landmark. After its completion in 1433, it became the center of the medieval city, and the square around it was the central trading place. The aristocracy and suppliers to the court took up residence between the cathedral and the court.

In 1782 Mozart married Constanze Weber in St. Stephen's, and later five of their six children were baptized there. Mozart earned a living there at times as assistant Kapellmeister(church master).

If you want to see the Vienna that Mozart saw, take the elevator to the observation platform in the north tower. Look down on the courtyards, the winding streets, and the shops in the old city. That was Mozart's town.

Behind St. Stephen's is Mozarthaus (formerly Figarohaus), the grandest of the 13 residences in which Mozart and his family lived.

In this apartment he composed 12 quintets, four quartets, three trios, two piano quartets, three sonatas for piano and another two for violin, 11 piano concertos, a horn concerto, the "Fantasy in C Minor," the cantata "Davidde penitente," and "The Marriage of Figaro."

Salzburg

In Salzburg, Mozart seems to be everywhere. A fairy tale city with a large castle looking down on the old town, it looks much the same as in Mozart's time.

Back then it was a commercial center, named for its salt mines. In the beginning, it started as a monastic settlement and was once a walled city impregnable to attack. All of these factors are still evident and combine to make Salzburg a city that's made for exploring.

Considering that Mozart disliked Salzburg - and after he left for Vienna returned as few times as possible - the city fathers have been downright forgiving.

Mozart's Geburtshaus (birthplace) dominates the inner city, and it's here, in the third-floor apartment, that the Mozart saga begins. Then, as now, the street was a narrow lane of shops.
The apartment is a museum, of course, and undoubtedly the busiest place in town.

Both Wolfgang (christened Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus) and his sister Maria Anna, nicknamed "Nannerl," were born at the Getreidegasse apartment, though the family later moved across the Salzach River to a bigger place at Marktplatz 8.

Among the pictures, autographs, documents, and various relics in the Geburtshaus are Mozart's Hammerflügel and clavichord. The clavichord was given to the museum by Constanze in her will. Pasted in it is a note in her own hand that says: "On this instrument my husband Mozart composed within five months the Magic Flute, La Clemenza de Tito, the Requiem, and a new freemasons cantata. I, Mozart's widow and present wife of Councillor Nissen, confirm this."

For a taste of the way Mozart might have heard his own music, head for the Mirabell Palace where chamber concerts are held throughout the year in the ornate, intimate surroundings of the concert hall.

In this hall, Wolfgang, Nannerl, and Leopold, their father, gave concerts.

Almost every house, building, and street in Salzburg seems to have a colorful history. On the right bank is the house where Joseph Mohr was born.

That would have been the last the world ever heard of Mohr, except for the fact he later wrote a song called "Silent Night" in Oberndorf at the parish church of St. Nicola not far from Salzburg.

When compared to Vienna, life in Salzburg was almost innocent for Mozart. In Salzburg, he was a big fish in a small pond, and in Vienna a middle-size fish in a very big pond. Not the way we think of him today, but if you visit Austria, you'll find that he - and his times - come alive in an entirely new way.

Mozart sites in Vienna

At the Mozart 2006 Information Center beside the State Opera House on Kärntner Ring, find out about concerts, buy tickets, and pick up a map, guide, and a "Calling Mozart" phone for accessing the audio information at Mozart sites throughout Vienna. www.wienmozart2006.at. To learn more about the self-guided walking tour, see www.callingmozart.at.

Mozarthaus is at Domgasse 5 near Stephansplatz. Mozart lived with his family there at the height of his career. www.mozarthaus vienna.at. Phone: 011-43-1-512-1791.

The Albertina museum is featuring a special Mozart exhibit. Located at Albertinaplatz. www. albertina.at. Phone: 011-43-1-53483-0.

Schloss Schönbrunn offers a special Mozart package every evening: a tour of the palace, dinner in the Orangerie, and a concert. The Mirror Room is where young Wolfgang played for Empress Maria Theresa (see page 15). www.schoenbrunn.at. The Marionette Theater at Schönbrunn offers shows of "The Magic Flute" several times a week. www. marionettentheater.at. Phone: 011-43-01-81732-47.

Concerts by the Vienna Philharmonic will take place at the Musikverein at 011-43-1-50581-90 or visit www.musikverein.at/ konzerte/ spielplaene.asp. Located at Karlsplatz.

Mozart Operas will be performed at: the State Opera House on Kärntner Ring ( www. wiener-staatsoper.at; phone: 011-43-1-51444-2250); Volksoper Wein, at Währingerstrasse 78 ( www.volksoper.at; phone: 011-43-1-51444-3670); and Theater an der Wien, at Linke Wienzeile 6, ( www.theater-wien.at. Phone: 011-43-1-588-30660).

a marble Mozart Walk into the Burggarten for a look at the marble Mozart statue sculpted in 1896 by Viktor Tilgner. Note the treble-shaped flower bed. On Opernring between the State Opera House and the Hofburg.

For additional information, stop by the Tourist Information Office at Albertinaplatz, near the Mozart Cafe.

- Nancy Humphrey Case

If you go: Mozart sites in and around Salzburg

Mozart's Geburtshaus Getreidegasse 9, is where he and his sister were born. It's now a museum.

Mozartplatz In the center of Mozart Square is a statue of the famed composer and musician, which was unveiled in 1842, marking belated appreciation for him.

Mozart Wohnhaus Mozart lived here from 1773 to 1780, Makrtplatz 8. Phone: 011-43-0662-874227. Website: www.mozarteum.at.

Mirabell Palace's concert hall Mozart, his sister, and their father gave dinner concerts here. Off Makrtplatz. Phone: 011-43-0662-889-87-330.

Salzburg Museum (Neugebäude) was renovated for the 2006 celebration. In one wing of the Residenz Neubau, enjoy the "Viva! MOZART" exhibition. In another is housed the excellent collections of the former Carolino Augusteum Museum. Don't miss the original composition of "Silent Night." Mozartplatz 1. Phone: 011-43-0662-620808-200. Website: www. smca.at.

Dom St. Rupert (Salzburg's Cathedral) Mozart's parents were married in this cathedral, and he was baptized there. Domplatz. Phone: 011-43--0662-844189. Website: www.kirchen.net/ dommuseum.

St. Gilgen, the village where Mozart's mother was born The Konditorei Dallmann is the place to pick up a piece of the cake baked by his mother for him to take on his journeys. Mozartplatz 2a, St. Gilgen. Phone: 011-43 -6227 2208. Website: www.dallmann.at.

- Compiled by Judy Lowe

There's more to Salzburg than just Mozart

Once you've visited the Mozart sites, here are suggestions for getting more of the flavor of Salzburg.

Castle: It's impossible to miss the imposing Fortress Hohensalzburg, which dominates the Salzburg skyline. Built about 1077 and enlarged many times afterward, this medieval fortress is fascinating. It's also kid-friendly, with a marionette museum. (See page 14.) Mönchsberg 34; 011-43-0662-842430-11; www.salzburg- burgen.at.

While you can walk up the Festungsburg to the fortress, it's more fun to take the funicular (railway). Festungsgasse 4; 011-43-0662-842682; www.festungsbahn.at.

Food: You'll want to try the sweet marzipan balls, Salzburger Mozartkugeln (see page 14). Look for them at Konditorei Fürst, Brodgasse 13, at the Alter Markt (Old Market) on Mozartplatz (011-43-0662-843759-0) and Konditorei Schatz, Getreidegasse 3 (011-43-0662-842792). As you wander the city, try the wares at one of the many sausage stands. The city's signature dessert, found all over, is the meringue known as Salzburger Nockerln.

Exploring: Walking tours set out daily, usually at midday, from the tourist information center in Mozartplatz. If you want to wander on your own, pick up a map there. For a true feel of the city, don't miss the Old City and the Alter Markt with its colorful houses and businesses dating to the mid-1700s.

The famous glockenspiel (carillon) atop the Salzburg Museum plays music by Mozart, Haydn, and von Weber at 7 and 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Mozartplatz 1.

Garden: The extensive Mirabell Gardens are well worth a visit for flower lovers. Fans of "The Sound of Music" will want to head for the rose garden to see if they recognize a scene from the film. The gardens also offer a lovely view of the city. Off Marktplatz.

For more information: Auerspergstrasse 6, Salzburg; Phone: 011-43- 662-8898-70; e-mail tourist@salzburg.info; or see www.salzburg.info.

- Compiled by Judy Lowe

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To follow in Mozart's footsteps, let his music lead the way

from the May 24, 2006 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0524/p13s02-litr.html

By Richard Varr Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor

SALZBURG, AUSTRIA - The sweet harmony of a dueling violin and viola echo within the marble walls of the 17th-century Mirabell Palace in Salzburg, Austria, as two musicians bow their instruments.

An exuberant finale leads to a burst of applause in this gold-studded baroque concert hall, as an enraptured audience keeps clapping and clapping - not wanting to let go of the passion brought on by the music of this town's favorite son.

"He's a genius," exclaims viola player Thomas Riebl, when asked how this duet by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has touched him. "It represents a likeness and connection with heaven."

The spirited concert is a preview of what will be taking place through the rest of this year to celebrate the anniversary of Mozart's birth. Salzburg and Vienna have organized grand concerts, festivals, and galas that would have no doubt made the maestro proud.

"Mozart was filled with music like no other person," says Salzburg tour guide Horst Reischenbock. "Even during his day, people [said] that such genius would appear on this earth [only] every 1,000 years."

Events in Salzburg, Mozart's birthplace, kicked off in late January with the Mozart Week winter music festival. The annual one-week event was extended to 14 days this year to mark the composer's Jan. 27 birthday.

The sound of Mozart's music

Highlights included opera performances, orchestral concerts, chamber music, and solo recitals in the city's three main concert halls. But there's much more in store for visitors who couldn't be there for the kickoff of the year-long celebration.

During the summer, musicians and performers will take on the challenge of staging all the composer's 22 operas during the Salzburg Festival - all within a period of less than six weeks.
The festival runs from July 24 to Aug. 31 and will feature such dramatic operas as "The Magic Flute," "Don Giovanni," and "The Marriage of Figaro."

From now through November, special concerts will take place on weekends. All of Mozart's masses - most of them written in Salzburg - will be performed in the city's cathedral and churches.

Valuable archival material and the score of Mozart's first work are on display year-round at the "Viva! MOZART" exhibition at the city's history museum, the Carolino Augusteum, in the Residenz Neubau.

On any day, however, visitors can retrace the footsteps of a young Mozart who lived in Salzburg from his birth in 1756 until he permenently moved to Vienna in 1781.

On the pedestrian-packed Getreidegasse, the home in which he was born (see page 16) features original portraits of the maestro, his parents, and his sister, Nannerl. It also includes the unfinished 1789 portrait of the composer that was said to best capture his likeness.

Also on display in this house, with its original 18th-century creaky wooden floors, are several musical instruments that the composer played. These include the violin he had as a child (it dates back to 1746), his concert violin from 1780, and his soft-sounding clavichord, donated by his wife. (See page 16.)

"Mozart composed parts of 'The Magic Flute,' the 'Requiem Mass,' and the 'Freemason Cantata' on this clavichord at night as the family slept," says Mr. Reischenbock.

On the walls are original prints of different cities that were brought back by father Leopold Mozart after the family's grueling 3-1/2-year tour through Western Europe.

"Leopold wanted to show Wolfgang the world, and at the same time, present him to the world after he realized the young Mozart's outstanding talent and genius," explains Reischenbock.

When the Mozart family needed a larger home, they moved across the Salzach River. Now known as Mozart's Residence in the city's New Town, this museum showcases a 1780 family portrait, authentic family letters and diaries, and an original family piano. An audio-guided tour plays selected excerpts of Mozart's music while explaining the exhibits.

Reminders of Mozart may also be found at Salzburg's old churches. He first performed his "Mass in C Major" at the splendid baroque Abbey Church of St. Peter.

"Mozart played the organ, [and] directed the choir and orchestra at the same time, and his wife, Constanze, sang the first soprano part," says Reischenbock.

Mozart was baptized in the imposing Salzburg Cathedral (Dom St. Rupert), where the same baptismal font remains today. He worked as an organist in the cathedral for the last year and a half he spent in Salzburg, composing festive masses and vespers.

Mozart's time in Vienna

Mozart spent the last 10 years of his life in Vienna. To mark the anniversary of his birth, the city offers a large exhibition at the Hofburg Palace's Albertina Museum, opera and orchestral performances of his works, and a host of other musical programs.

The official celebration kicked off with the grand reopening of the "Mozarthaus Vienna" in January.

"It's not just his original apartment, but on the floors above is an exhibition on Mozart's time in Vienna, including social, historical and cultural background," explains Vienna tour guide Rainer Lefevre about the importance of the site. "His years here were the most successful and happiest of his life.

"He had a room that was used for chamber music," Lefevre continues. "Joseph Haydn was here and performed one of the string quartets with him. At age 17, Beethoven came here to be lectured by Mozart and became his student. From a musical point of view, this house is an outstanding place in Vienna."

Vienna's Schönbrunn Palace was two more claims to Mozart fame - beyond his playing there as a 6-year-old. On the same visit, he met a young Marie Antoinette.

Later, in the palace's Orangerie, a 30-year-old Mozart competed in a music contest under the critical eye of Emperor Joseph II and lost to rival and court Kapellmeister (church master) Antonio Salieri.

Today, Mozart's works are performed regularly in the Orangerie by the Schönbrunn Palace Orchestra. "To play or conduct Mozart's music is really a special experience," says orchestra conductor Dian Tchobanov. "You could not add or take away another note. It's very natural and perfect."

"Mozart would be pleased that nowadays they still play his music on every corner," says Lefevre. "I think he would be very pleased to hear how much his music is appreciated, not just in Vienna, but all over the world."

"The music of Mozart is difficult to describe," he adds. "But if I believed in God, I would say his music comes from God."

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Mozart: The life of an icon

from the May 24, 2006 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0524/p14s01-litr.html

Renowned early on as the darling of the Austrian Empire, Mozart had problems later.

By Claire Walter Contributor to The Christian Science Monitor

SALZBURG, AUSTRIA - Mozart was born in Salzburg in 1756 and died in Vienna less than 36 years later. During his short but productive life, he composed more than 600 works and performed before royalty and nobility in much of Europe.

Renowned early on as the darling of Imperial Austria, he had problems later. Although often disdained in his adult years and distrusted by the powerful clergy and royalty for his association with the then-heretical Freemasons, he nevertheless performed continually and composed sonatas, piano concertos, string quartets, sacred music, symphonies, and operas.

The modest Salzburg apartment where Mozart was born has long been a museum, but only a plaque on a Vienna department store commemorates the site where he died.

Austria affixes commemorative plaques and markers on buildings where someone famous was born, died, lived, worked, dined, and so forth. Red-and-white banners mark the most significant so that passersby can't possibly miss them.

Salzburg is in north-central Austria near the German border. Festung Hohensalzburg, a foreboding medieval fortress, guards the oldest section. Begun in 1077, the fortress was already nearly seven centuries old when Mozart was a baby.From kitsch to glorious architecture
In the old district's narrow streets, Mozart's face is everywhere. As you wander, you will run a gauntlet of street vendors and souvenir shops displaying an abundance of a local marzipan-nougat-chocolate confection called Mozartkugeln, Mozart puppets, and other memorabilia.

Narrow lanes spill out onto Residenzplatz, which is surrounded by glorious examples of Renaissance dwellings.

On one side of the square is the magnificent Residenz (begun about 1600). This palace was home to the prince-archbishops of Salzburg, who oversaw both the city's spiritual and temporal life. Young Mozart performed there. Visit the state apartments, see art exhibitions, or attend a concert or lecture in its opulent public rooms.

Across the way is the Residenz Neubau, a late 16th-century building that is new only in the context of such an old city. It is now the home of the Salzburg Museum, recently relocated there.

There will be music everywhere, of course. Even the Marionette Theatre, renowned for clever puppet shows set to opera recordings, highlights Mozart throughout 2006.

To learn more about the composer's background, head for the nearby village of St. Gilgen, where Mozart's maternal grandparents were married and where his mother was born. Her birthplace is now a small museum.

Stop at the Konditorei Dallmann for a slice of Mozart's Reisetorte, a duplicate of the treat his mother baked for him when he went on performance tours. In the time before trains, Mozart is known to have spent 10 years, eight months, and two days - nearly one-third of his life - in stagecoaches. The preservative-free cake, which stays fresh for two months, sustained him during his travels.Vienna celebrates, too

Wolfgang and his wife, Constanza, lived in a dozen places in Vienna. The only building still standing is at Domgasse 5. Once a small museum in an upper-floor apartment of minimal interest, it has been expanded to a three-story museum called the Mozarthaus.

In 1782, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Constanza Weber were married around the corner in the Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral) . Begun in the 12th century as a Romanesque sanctuary, it was later transformed into the massive Gothic cathedral seen today. After Mozart's death on Dec. 5, 1791, his body was blessed here (around the corner from Mozarthaus) and carried through a small back door for burial in an unmarked grave at Markuskirche (St. Mark's Church).

Just four days later, his prophetic but unfinished "Requiem" premièred in the nearby Michaelerkirche (St. Michael's Church). Although Mozart's precise burial place is unknown, a charming angel statue in the cemetery honors his life and his talents.

Venues throughout Vienna have scheduled performances of Mozart's works all year long. The city's two major resident companies, the Vienna State Opera and the Volksoper (People's Opera), are also staging Mozart's most popular operas, including "The Magic Flute," "Don Giovanni," and "The Marriage of Figaro."

The Theater an der Wien, known for its excellent acoustics, has returned to its original function as a true opera house, offering a complete Mozart season.

The Musikverein's opulent Goldener Saal (Golden Hall), from which the Vienna Philharmonic broadcasts its traditional New Year's Day concert, hosts Mozart performances with musicians in 18th-century attire.

Even the Vienna Boys' Choir is singing there this year. They usually appear at the Hofkapelle (Royal Chapel) in the Hofburg, the massive palace complex where the imperial Habsburg family lived.

At Schönbrunn, the Habsburg monarchs' elaborate summer palace on Vienna's southwestern outskirts, the story is told of 6-year-old Mozart enchanting the Empress Maria Theresa. His appearance at a dinner there is meticulously detailed in monumental paintings that hang in a reception room . A small square of Plexiglas protects a section of a large painting where tour guides' wooden pointers began to scrape away at little Mozart's likeness.

At the Albertina, then a palace and now a noteworthy art museum, scholar Ludwig von Köchel catalogued Mozart's works. Musicologists still refer to the "Köchel Listings."

The recently renovated Albertina presents a Mozart Year blockbuster through Aug. 13. Zaha Hadid, 2004 winner of the Pritzker Prize for Architecture, has created a groundbreaking exhibition spotlighting Mozart's internationalism and the ideals of the Age of Enlightenment mirrored in his works.

At the Haus der Musik (Music House), you'll learn that people can hear, see, and touch music. The "areas of discovery" are creative, fun, and child-friendly. One offers music games that are instructive and fun. There's a sound gallery where you can mix your own compositions based on "The Magic Flute" and take it home on a CD.

The melodies of Mozart will resonate everywhere you go in Austria during 2006 - timeless melodies that make everything seem better.

The world celebrates Mozart

Already, hundreds of musical salutes to Mozart's anniversary have taken place, and thousands more are on the calendar.

Here's a sampling:

• You can find a complete listing of Mozart events in Austria at www.mozart2006.net/eng/index. html.

• Mozartfest, Würzburg, Germany, June 2-July 1. www.mozartfest-wuerzburg.de.

• The Power of Mozart, concerts by the Royal College of Music Chamber Orchestra and Choir, through September. On June 27, there will be a 24-hour challenge to write music inspired by Mozart. www.rcm.ac.uk/thepowerofmozart.

• The Berkshire Opera Orchestra, Great Barrington, Mass., July 5, a Mozart Celebration, featuring Metropolitan Opera stars including Maureen O'Flynn. www.berkshireopera. org/mozart.html.

• The 36th annual Mozart Festival in San Luis Obispo, Calif., July 8-24. It offers Mozart and more. They plan to celebrate the year of Mozart's birth with the music of Beethoven and Shostakovich, in addition to Mozart's. www.mozartfestival.com.

• Mostly Mozart Festival from Lincoln Center in New York, July 28-Aug. 11. It will feature the world premiere of a new violin concerto by the Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg, a new production of Mozart's opera "Zaide" staged by Peter Sellars, and the world premiere of Mark Morris's "Mozart Dances." www.lincoln center.org.

• Mozart Festival in Schwetzingen, Germany, Sept. 9-Oct 10. It will be the 31st Mozart Festival of the Mozart Association. It's held at the Schwetzingen Castle. Among the nonmusical highlights will be a record-breaking "magic flute" in the world in the form of a 165-foot-long cake. www.mozartways.com.

• Almost complete for this year (ends May 28), but well worth noting for the future are the activities of German Mozart Society (Deutsche Mozart-Gesellschaft, DMG) in Aügsburg, birthplace of Mozart's father. It has been holding a German Mozart Festival since 1951. www.mozartstadt.de.

• New Crowned Hope Festival, Nov. 14-Dec. 11, Vienna. Orchestrated by famed director Peter Sellars, who has asked artists from different disciplines - architecture, film, and visual arts, as well as music - to interpret Mozart's works, particularly "The Magic Flute," "La Clemenza di Tito," and the "Requiem." Phone: 011-1-589-22-22, or see www. newcrownedhope.org. (Plans are to present this in London and New York later.)

• A website has been set up to help travelers who would enjoy following Mozart's footsteps around Europe. It spotlights spots in Belgium, Britain, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovakia, and Switzerland that have connections to the composer.
(Austria is included, too.) Information includes journeys, places, and a calendar, so you can see what might be available on the dates your trip is planned. A helpful feature is listing concerts by country, as well as by dates. An interactive map shows Mozart's extensive journeys crisscrossing Europe and includes a discussion of what that travel was like.
www.mozartways.com.

- Compiled by Judy Lowe

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