11.29.08 -- Symmetry

Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci, often used as an implied symbol of the essential symmetry of the human body, and by extension, to the universe as a whole.

-----------------

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Puzzle by Barry C. Silk, edited by Will Shortz

A dozen ten-letter entries in sets of three each with a tag-along nine-letter entry in the four corners constitutes the bulk of this Saturday crossword, graced by a very friendly center allowing pleasant passage from one set to the other in a crossword of beautiful symmetry!

Upper left across -- LITMUS TEST (1. Sole deciding issue); OCEAN LINER (15. The United States, for one); CONSCIENCE (17. Angel on one’s shoulder); INTERPRET (19. Construe) -- with downs of LOCI; ICON (2. Elvis, e.g.); TENT; MASER (4. Electromagnetic wave enhancer); UNCROSS (5. Remove from the lotus position); SLIPON (6. Get into easily); TIER; ENNE; SECTS; TRE.

Upper right down -- ABDICATOR (11. King Edward VIII, e.g.); REEXAMINED (12. Like cold cases for which new evidence arises); PACESETTER (13. Leader); STORM DOORS (14. Added protection against winter weather) -- with acrosses ARPS; BEAT; DECO; SIXER; SARCASM (22. It might drip from a crack); ROAMED (30. Was vagarious); TITO; ONTO; GREER; DRS.

Lower left down -- MADAGASCAR (24. “The eighth continent,” to ecologists); AM I TO BLAME (25. Question that may be answered “No, you’re not responsible”); NECTARINES (26. Smooth-skinned fruit); SENTIMENT (32. Feeling) -- with acrosses MAN (24. “Phew!”); 31. Elvis’s “A MESS of Blues“; DICE; ATTN; GOATEE (42. The devil is often depicted with one); ABRIDGE (47. Cut down); SLIMY (51. Vile); CANE; AMEN (60. Period of prayer?); REST.

Lower right across -- MINESHAFT (52. What takes a pit crew down?); ACCESSIBLE (59. Easy to get into); BEER COOLER (61. Container at many a cookout); SELDOM SEEN (63. Rare) -- with downs ABS; EMCEE; ICEL; NERD; ENESCO (45. “Oedipe” opera composer, 1936); GRISSOM (41. Second American to fly in space); CHIOS (50. Greek island in the Aegean); ABLE; FLEE; TERN.

The center of the crossword contains seven across entries: ROO, SNAP, RIOT, DIZZY (37. Swimming), RAZZ, AYER and NIC (49. Actor Cage, informally) -- always thought Nicolas abbreviated to Nick! A group of four Z’s sits off- center. The center entries down: SRO, ARTY, ARIA, PIZZA, OZZY, DREG and EDY (43. Last name in ice cream) -- no “s” today for Edy’s!

Save the “s” for Silk, Shortz and symmetry!

------------------

For today’s cartoon, go to The Crossword Puzzle Illustrated.

Click on image to enlarge.

Puzzle available on the internet at

THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games

If you subscribe to home delivery of The New York Times you are eligible to access the daily crossword via The New York Times - Times Reader, without additional charge, as part of your home delivery subscription.

Xword search information -- Across: 11. The sculptures “Cloud Shepherd” and “Coquille Crystals”; 16. Ready to crash; 18. Like the Empire State Building; 20. Net rival; 21. Bush jumper, informally; 27. Polaroid; 31. Elvis’s “___ of Blues”; 33. Comic who kills; 35. Defier of Stalin; 36. Shooter’s equipment; 37. Swimming; 38. Not taken by; 39. Letter routing abbr.; 40. Heckle; 41. 20-Across in the Hall of Fame; 44. Philosopher who promoted logical positivism; 46. Many members of prestigious faculties: Abbr.; 58. Means of support; 62. Break. Down: 1. Points; 2. Elvis, e.g.; 3. Safari setup; 7. Arena ticket specification; 8. Cousin of -trix; 9. Some offshoots; 10. Middle of the afternoon, in Milan; 20. Exceeding capacity, briefly; 23. Like many indie films; 28. “William Tell” component; 29. Kind of oven; 34. “The Osbournes” dad; 37. Small remnant; 48. One making introductory remarks; 53. Place to find fjord explorers: Abbr.; 54. Square type; 55. Au fait; 56. Cut out; 57. Arctic ___; 59. Trunk supporters.

British Intelligence is Behind Mumbai Massacre Find Out What Else They're Doing: This is Urgent

Mumbai comes during the last days of the Bush Administration, Lyndon LaRouche said today, in which we are expecting the very worst to strike globally. And the British are also in heat right now. Therefore, you are looking for the very worst at this time. And, because of the Pakistan ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence)/British MI-6 involvement, Mumbai could not have happened at this time, unless the British were involved in it.

"It would be British intelligence," he said. "They're the only ones who would do this. Someone says they're Pakistani? Yeah, so what! It's British intelligence."

"Don't look at it as coming from a propaganda line, to an action," LaRouche warned. "The propaganda line may have nothing to do with the action. Don't look for a propaganda algebra that will give you the key to who's behind it. In a situation like this, propaganda algebra doesn't work. The EFFECT does. What is the EFFECT? Who wants the effect?

In a situation like this, ask whether British intelligence and their assets are active around this thing. If they are active at all, you don't have to know what their line is. If they're active, they're guilty.

Now ask: Are they active, for example,-- are they active in the region? Are they targetting Iran? Are they targetting a destabilization in Iraq, from the present situation? That's what you look for. Or another attack on Syria. Why did Ehud Olmert reverse himself when he returned to Israel from the US, to turn around and deny that Washington had warned him against attacking Iran? You aren't looking for a propaganda line; you are looking for simply an involvement.

Cheney is the bellwether in this. Cheney's involvement, or his group's involvement in it. And remember, they're the same thing as the British.

Turning now to East Asia, first of all, in Thailand, the situation there has been chaotic for some time; it's coming to a ripening now. You've got extreme instability in China because the Chinese don't know how to deal with this crisis they're facing. So that's another little part of the problem.

So you've got, also, a tremendous instability in trade, economy and so forth throughout the world, especially in Eurasia and Africa. And also now, in the United States.

So you've got all these factors going, so you have a combination of a willful malice on one hand, but also you've got circumstances which are ignitable. So the friction between malice and ignitables, is something which is hard to sort out here. All you can do is look for these factors. Just get some degree of temperature reading of what's going on, from the two kinds of things. That is, the ignitable character of the situation, and the factor of the malicious operations underway.

http://www.larouchepac.com/news/2008/11/27/larouche-british-intelligence-behind-mumbai-massacre-find-ou.html