That's why this departing editor wishes fervently that his successor's time will see a redoubled American effort in Iraq, a revival of help from other countries in dealing with that conflict and with others, and a firm acknowledgment by politicians everywhere that the case for international engagement and openness needs to be made continually.
At the same time, Michael McCormick, in his "Origins of the European Economy," gave us a wide-ranging economic study which, although beginning with a firm acknowledgment that the ancient world came to a recognizable end, suggests that the evidence for trade and commerce from late antiquity into the Middle Ages shows a continuity that explains the emerging European economy.
But the firm's acknowledgment that its earlier analysis was overly optimistic adds to a chorus of concern about the cost of the new systems and the haste with which they have been adopted.
"While we do not believe that this outcome reflects all of the transformative changes we have made to the firm, there is an acknowledgment in Moody's decision today that real progress has been made at Morgan Stanley, in what is an extremely difficult environment for our industry," he wrote.
In a letter of acknowledgment, the firm wrote: "Certain transactions have been and may further be effected to stabilize the price of the securities covered by this confirmation to facilitate a distribution of securities, in which distribution this firm has an interest.
Up to a dozen times a year, regulators also receive an acknowledgment from firms that they breached the rules on customer money, people briefed on the figures said.
"When you are saving a company, you are saving more than just bricks and mortar," Mr. Bennett said, adding that the firm was comfortable with the acknowledgment that it made.
Small software firms are yet to receive due acknowledgment from the state.
"If true, this is the first acknowledgment from officers of your firm that customer segregated accounts were in fact raided," the committee chairman said.
Michael Larner, senior analyst at public sector market intelligence firm Kable, said the move was an interesting acknowledgment that some district councils won't be able to generate savings by themselves as they are too small.
With Andersen's acknowledgment, the government had agreed to allow the firm to avoid trial or a guilty plea, and instead to place the firm on what amounts to a form of probation.
