Argument

An organization called the "Holocaust Foundation of Iran" has asked Austria, Germany and Poland to supply documentary evidence of the deaths of Jews during World War II. It's a provocative move, because the purpose of this foundation is to propagate the argument that the Holocaust never happened. And it's easy to see that when the three European countries decline to cooperate, as they surely will, Holocaust deniers in Iran and elsewhere will be quick to argue that they asked for proof of the genocide and none was forthcoming.

WASHINGTON -- One thing never changes in America's post-Cold War foreign policy, and that is the awesome power of the U.S. arms-exporting industries.This month, a joint House-Senate conference committee quietly approved language that could open the way once again for American arms sales to India and Pakistan -- two nations covered by U.S. sanctions as the result of their nuclear weapons programs.Never mind that the Indian subcontinent is one of the world's flash points. Never mind that India and Pakistan conducted nuclear tests last year and that they nearly went to war this year over Kashmir.

A laborer at a Woodlawn apartment complex was fatally stabbed yesterday during an argument with another man, Baltimore County police said.Derrick Shelton Dorkins, 41, of the 4300 block of Liberty Heights Ave. in Northwest Baltimore died of a chest wound at Sinai Hospital shortly after the 2 p.m. incident, police said.According to Cpl. Vickie Warehime, a police spokeswoman, Dorkins and another man were hired by a subcontractor who encountered them sitting on the steps of a temporary employment agency and offered them work at the Security Park apartment complex in the 7400 block of Fairbrook Road.

Howard County police charged a Columbia woman with attempted murder yesterday in the stabbing of her former boyfriend during an argument.Police said a woman and a man were arguing at Carters Lane and Guilford Place at 6 p.m. Monday, when the man began throwing large rocks at her car."They were having an argument over a set of keys," said Sgt. Morris Carroll, a police spokesman. "She then returned to her car and pulled out a knife."Adrianne Abron, 32, of 8800 block of Flowerstock Row is accused of stabbing Richard Matthews, 39, of Columbia once in the abdomen, police said.

WASHINGTON -- In one of the stranger episodes of the impeachment trial, Sen. Tom Harkin raced through the hallways of the Capitol last evening in hot pursuit of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist."

Angels: Manager Terry Collins was ejected by umpire Jim Evans in the eighth inning during an argument following a close play at second base. Tim Salmon went 0-for-3 and is hitless in 21 at-bats.Athletics: Oakland has held a lead in all 14 games it has played since the All-Star break, going 8-6.

A laborer at a Woodlawn apartment complex was fatally stabbed yesterday during an argument with another man, Baltimore County police said.Derrick Shelton Dorkins, 41, of the 4300 block of Liberty Heights Ave. in Northwest Baltimore died of a chest wound at Sinai Hospital shortly after the 2 p.m. incident, police said.According to Cpl. Vickie Warehime, a police spokeswoman, Dorkins and another man were hired by a subcontractor who encountered them sitting on the steps of a temporary employment agency and offered them work at the Security Park apartment complex in the 7400 block of Fairbrook Road.

A laborer at a Woodlawn apartment complex was fatally stabbed yesterday during an argument with another man, Baltimore County police said.According to Cpl. Vickie Warehime, a police spokeswoman, two men were hired by a subcontractor who encountered them sitting on the steps of a temporary employment agency and offered them work at the Security Park apartment complex in the 7400 block of Fairbrook Road.They began cleaning apartments about 9 a.m. and a dispute broke out between them at 2 p.m., she said.

AS THE millennium approaches, Americans are concerned about a number of serious issues, including computer crashes, the possibility of Social Security funds being drained by retiring baby boomers, and scary scenarios of genetic engineering.Our concerns about these issues are justified. However, one serious problem is already upon us: the severe shortage of qualified public school teachers, especially at the secondary level.State Superintendent Nancy Grasmick, in a Nov. 12 Op-Ed column in The Sun, wrote that Maryland colleges produce about 2,500 new teachers a year, but that number is woefully inadequate.

The Detroit Free Press said in an editorial Thursday:PRESIDENT Clinton ought to accept the ruling that his aides cannot claim executive privilege on the Monica Lewinsky investigation and address whatever substance there is in the argument. That claim may have bought him a little time, but it is ultimately a losing argument and obscures more serious privilege questions.Judge Norma Hollaway Johnson has evidently ruled that the dTC president cannot claim executive privilege for Bruce Lindsey, Nancy Hernreich or Sidney Blumenthal.

WASHINGTON - - After months of promoting President Barack Obama's climate plan as a vehicle for creating millions of clean-energy jobs, supporters of the legislation are increasingly pushing another strategy: promoting its benefits for national security. It's a deliberate, anxiety-themed effort to pressure a handful of fence-sitting moderates to support a bill that is likely to be the Obama administration's next great legislative push after health care. A coalition backing the energy and climate bill pending before the Senate has enlisted war veterans to pressure senators in person.

Brad Bergesen's performance was uplifting, and it changed the subject after a disheartening four-game sweep in Boston. But it's not an argument for changing the program of every other prospect in the organization. (For more, go to baltimoresun.com/schmuckblog)

Friday marks 75 years since repeal of the Volstead Act, which made the manufacture, distribution and consumption of alcoholic beverages illegal in the United States. As the anniversary of the end of Prohibition approaches, modern advocates of a similar repeal are calling again for the decriminalization of heroin, cocaine and marijuana - and this time they've come packing a money argument by a Harvard economist. I like money arguments. They are usually a lot more effective than emotional ones or those that exploit stubborn prejudices with the intent of maintaining the status quo. As the American economy recedes, state and local tax revenues fall and government budgets are cut, the money argument for changing the way we do things - from enforcing the laws to educating children - makes the most sense and has the strongest appeal.

You could make a case that losing a player whose pitching career has gone bust, and whose career as a fielder has barely started and is nowhere close to guaranteed, is no reflection on the organization that lost him. Tough break, and better luck with the next player you're trying to keep, or attract. The Orioles had better hope the rest of baseball buys that argument. Available players now and in the future, in particular. Their own, such as Brian Roberts or Nick Markakis, for example.

Man, 24, is fatally shot in Northeast Baltimore A 24-year-old man was fatally shot in Northeast Baltimore early yesterday, police said. Michael Wilson of the 3100 block of Belair Road was found about 2:30 a.m. bleeding on a sidewalk in the Belair-Edison community and was pronounced dead a short time later at a hospital, said Agent Donny Moses, a police spokesman. Moses said an investigation indicates that Wilson was standing in the 3000 block of Belair Road when someone approached on foot from Lawnview Street and exchanged words with him. The other person then produced a handgun and shot Wilson multiple times in the torso.

A Carney man was arrested yesterday evening after his adult son was fatally shot during an argument in the father's Harford Road home, a spokesman for the Baltimore County police said. Their names were being withheld pending notification of relatives, said Cpl. Mike Hill, the spokesman. Hill said the son, believed to be in his late 30s, had been staying with his father in the 9700 block of Harford Road when they became involved in an argument about 5 p.m. yesterday. A 911 call, either from the father or a second man in the house, brought police to the home, where they found the son suffering from a shotgun wound.

WASHINGTON -- Forgotten but not gone, the waste from more than 100 nuclear reactors that the federal government was supposed to start accepting for burial 10 years ago is still at the reactor sites, at least 20 years behind schedule. But it is making itself felt in the federal budget. With court orders and settlements, the federal government has already paid the utilities $342 million. But it is virtually certain to pay a total of at least $7 billion in the next few years and probably more than $11 billion, government officials said.

To punctuate her point during a high school debate competition that gangsta rap has no place in society, Denaya Barnes ended her oral argument with - what else - a rap: I propose that hip-hop has the struggle And you fake MCs need to be muzzled Thanks to your representation Hip-hop needs an emancipation The lyrics were part of a longer rap that Barnes, a 17-year-old City College student, unleashed on her opponents - two other city public high school...

One of the arguments we used to hear about the absence of a playoff system at the highest level of college football is the negative impact of extra games on the academics of student-athletes. Maybe that kind of talk is much quieter these days, with the ever-weakening argument focused more on preserving the bowl system for reasons that don't seem quite clear to Mr. Flip. (Corporations don't have enough sporting events to attach their names to?) In any case, the lead-up to bowl games inevitably includes reports of Fred "40 Yard" Dash being declared academically ineligible to play in the Spacely Sprockets Greater Bedrock Bowl.

An 18-year-old woman told a jury she has no doubt that one of the co-defendants accused of killing her uncle last year at a birthday party was the person who fired the deadly gunshots, according to trial testimony yesterday. Takia Goode testified in Baltimore Circuit Court that she saw Jamal Charles' arm extend from his body during a confrontation with Bryant C. Jones, then saw flashes of light. Charles, 17, is charged with first-degree murder, along with co-defendant Dwayne Drake. Jones was shot to death in April at his home while hosting a Sweet 16 party for his daughter, Tamirra Jones.