Criticism

In vivid contrast to his effusive stopover in Israel, President Bush ended a five-day Middle East trip on Sunday by criticizing Arab nations for political repression and urging them toward economic reforms and women's rights. The president's speech at the World Economic Forum in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheik crystallized an approach that in Arab eyes stubbornly favors Israel over their own concerns and interests.

Still feeling the squeeze of criticism two days after the Angels' season came to an abrupt and painful end, Manager Mike Scioscia on Wednesday vigorously defended his decision to try what some viewed as an unnecessary gamble in the ninth inning of Game 4 of the American League division series. With the potential go-ahead run at third base and one out, Scioscia had Erick Aybar, one of his team's best bunters, attempt a suicide squeeze.

Offensive linemen love it, game officials tend to hate it and some high school athletic associations are plotting to stop it. The A-11 offense has created such a stir since its creation last year that it might as well be known as the A-!! offense. It is a formation in which any of a team's 11 players could become eligible to catch a pass, leading to mass confusion among defensive players, their coaches, fans and, well, just about everyone.

When the irreverent music blog Idolator reveals the results of its inaugural critics poll on Friday (www.idolator.com), it will be watched in the music/media world with more than passing interest. Not only does the survey compile more than 500 critics' opinions on the best recordings of 2006, but it also endeavors to supplant the granddaddy of them all, the Village Voice's whimsically named Pazz & Jop Poll. Not that Pazz & Jop has gone away.

In what appears to be a first in Oscar campaigning, Universal Studios has enlisted real-life film critics to appear in radio ads for its Oscar hopeful, "United 93" -- Paul Greengrass' film about the 9/11 flight that crashed in Pennsylvania. Hence, instead of the ubiquitous voice of Mr.

A Zimbabwean Foreign Ministry official crashed the U.S. Embassy's Fourth of July celebrations to criticize the outgoing ambassador. Samuel Mhango criticized Ambassador Christopher Dell for comments he made about the police assault in March on opposition leaders in Harare, the country's worsening economic crisis, and what Dell called "the growing climate of desperation and oppression" in Zimbabwe. "Diplomats are supposed to be bridge builders, not bridge busters," Mhango said.

Sunday had been targeted as a red-letter day for BET executives. That's the day they'd set aside to unveil an ambitious slate of series showcasing the cable network's move into more diverse programming aimed at a wide range of black viewers to a Beverly Hills gathering of national TV writers. Those plans are still set.

It was 4:12 a.m. Wednesday when Hillary Rodham Clinton finally got her chance to address the Senate in support of a deadline for withdrawal from Iraq. Barack Obama snagged less time to speak, but at least his slot around 10 a.m. was in the daylight hours. After that, the usually loquacious Joseph R. Biden Jr. had just a minute to speak.

No, it's not easy being green, least of all for Hollywood A-listers living in jaw-dropping decadence. Solar panels on a 50,000-square-foot manse in Malibu just don't scream "Live simply!" Ditto hopping onto a private plane to get to the Live Earth concert. Of course, celebrities don't let their lavish lifestyles stop them from preaching to the rest of us about temperance. Eco-friendly living isn't about great sacrifice, they contend, it's about making small but powerful changes.

The May 14 letter to writer-director-producer Wayne Kramer began on an upbeat note: "Congratulations on commencing the production of your upcoming film, 'Crossing Over.' From the details I have gathered thus far, the story line is compelling." But the president of the National Iranian American Council, Trita Parsi, soon got to the point: "I have serious concerns about the portrayal of Iranian-Americans in this film.