The 2003 hurricane season is here, and that means a whole new list of names such as Larry, Sam and Wanda ready to make tropical-storm history.

Although Spanish and French names are included in this year’s lineup, among them Juan and Claudette, which struck Texas last week, popular African American names, like Keisha, Jamal and Deshawn, are nowhere to be found.

Some black lawmakers don’t seem to mind, but Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) does. “All racial groups should be represented,” said Lee.

The World Meteorological Organization began naming tropical storms after women in 1953. That made sense to scientists at the time who thought women and storms were both unpredictable. After feminist groups protested, men’s names were added in 1979.

The National Weather Service says hurricane names are derived from languages spoken in areas that border the Atlantic Ocean, where such storms occur. Yet that doesn’t explain why Gaston, Ernesto and Cindy were chosen and Antwon, Destiny and Latonya were passed over.

Lee said she hoped in the future the weather establishment “would try to be inclusive of African American names.”

That could take a while. The current roster of hurricane names isn’t due to be updated until 2007.

…John Poindexter is not the problem. Poindexter is a symptom of a larger disease, the idea that liberty is incompatible with fighting terrorism, in fact if not in rhetoric.

Let me repeat this one more time. You don't fight fire with fire. You fight fire with water or sand. You choke off fire's oxygen. You reduce the causes of fire. If you only fight fire with fire, the ground is burned and a lot of brave men are dead

lmost lost in the sumptuous display of Mesopotamian antiquities in the "Art of the First Cities" exhibition now at the Metropolitan Museum is a small limestone fragment, triangular in shape and delicately carved.

The piece shows Naram-Sin, a king of the ancient Akkadian empire, seated beside Ishtar, goddess of love, fertility and war. In the show's catalog it is described as an "extraordinary" example of the era's art.

It also has another distinction. In terms of its archaeological pedigree, it might as well have fallen out of the sky.

Until about four years ago, when a scholar spotted it in the Upper East Side home of a prominent collector, the Naram-Sin limestone was essentially unknown. No record of its excavation or history of ownership has emerged. In antiquities circles, that empty space amounts to a warning label: this piece may be the fruit of plunder.

The "First Cities" show opened in May, on the heels of the ransacking of the Iraq Museum and as pretty much everyone in the archaeological community was vowing to stanch the trade in stolen antiquities. But as the story of the Naram-Sin limestone shows, the everyday world of buying, selling and exhibiting is often a lot more ambiguous than that. The marketplace is full of objects with mysterious pasts — a lot of them indeed looted — and it's often anything but clear which ones are legitimate and which are not.

How to handle such orphan objects — is it ethical to buy them, to show them, even to write scholarly articles about them? — is one of the central, and most divisive, issues in the hothouse world of museums, collectors and archaeologists. But the debate has become increasingly public and pointed with the recent events in Iraq.

…Statistical machine translation - in which computers essentially learn new languages on their own instead of being "taught" the languages by bilingual human programmers - has taken off. The new technology allows scientists to develop machine translation systems for a wide number of obscure languages at a pace that experts once thought impossible.

Dr. Knight and others said the progress and accuracy of statistical machine translation had recently surpassed that of the traditional machine translation programs used by Web sites like Yahoo and BabelFish. In the past, such programs were able to compile extensive databanks of foreign languages that allowed them to outperform statistics-based systems.

Traditional machine translation relies on painstaking efforts by bilingual programmers to enter the vast wealth of information on vocabulary and syntax that the computer needs to translate one language into another. But in the early 1990's, a team of researchers at I.B.M. devised another way to do things: feeding a computer an English text and its translation in a different language. The computer then uses statistical analysis to "learn" the second language.

Compare two simple phrases in Arabic: "rajl kabir'' and "rajl tawil.'' If a computer knows that the first phrase means "big man," and the second means "tall man," the machine can compare the two and deduce that rajl means "man," while kabir and tawil mean "big" and "tall," respectively. Phrases like these, called "N-grams" (with N representing the number of terms in a given phrase) are the basic building blocks of statistical machine translation.

The announcement last night that Serena Williams would not defend her United States Open title created a wide-open tournament while depriving the field of the most compelling player in women's tennis.

The Associated Press reported that Williams, the top-ranked women's player, had had surgery to repair a partial tear in the middle portion of the quadriceps tendon of her left knee. Her spokeswoman said she was resting at her home in Los Angeles, and Dr. Rodney Gabriel, who performed the operation, said she would be out six to eight weeks.

The operation puts at least a temporary halt to a remarkable run by Williams, who has won five of the last six Grand Slam titles, all of them in finals against her older sister Venus. In their most recent Grand Slam meeting, in the Wimbledon final, Serena prevailed by 4-6, 6-4, 6-2; Venus was bothered by a strained abdominal muscle.

The WTA Tour said that Serena Williams was now certain to lose her No. 1 ranking to Kim Clijsters, who is currently ranked second, or No. 3 Justine Henin-Hardenne between next week and the first week of September.

LOS ANGELES, July 25, 2003 -- Nationally renowned playwright, filmmaker and political activist Brian Flemming today officially announced his intention to run as a candidate for governor in California's October 7, 2003, recall election.

"I have one plank in my platform," said Flemming. "If elected, I will immediately resign. This action will make Lieutenant Governor Cruz M. Bustamante the Governor of California."

Because most prominent Democrats, including Bustamante, have refused to run, out of solidarity with Gov. Gray Davis, there will likely be few choices for Democrats on the recall ballot. Flemming intends to be the focus of those who vote against the recall, while several announced Republican candidates may split the pro-recall vote.

Word of Flemming's unique candidacy leaked out through his personal weblog earlier this week, and words of encouragement are pouring in from the "blogging" community, especially those in the Golden State.

"The people of California are furious at the right-wing attempt to hijack our democracy. My platform is a novel solution that has a lot of appeal. People can still vote against recalling Davis--but then, on the second vote in that election, they can choose my name from the list as a backup plan, and the person whom Californians already elected to replace Davis will take the governor's office as soon as I resign, which will be the same minute I am inaugurated."

Flemming's campaign already has a website ( http://www.slumdance.com/flemmingforgovernor/ ), a logo, and a motto: "choose democracy."

By civilrights.org staff
civilrights.org
July 25, 2003

Although the public tends to assume that youth apathy towards politics is a result of ignorance, panelists at the "Take Back America Conference" pointed instead to the fact that many young people do not "see the process as being legitimate" or connected to their own lives. Young political activists criticized politicians and parties as they speculated about the root of youth apathy in politics in one session at the conference, which was held by Campaign for America's Future.

Speakers attributed the lack of youth participation in the electoral process to the lack of attention politicians pay to issues relevant to young adults. One example given was the failure to adequately tackle the sources of youth criminality instead of focusing on punitive measures against juvenile delinquency after the fact.

Other panelists argued that youth culture is being ostracized instead of embraced by the political community. Instead of attempting to utilize and understand hip hop culture as an integral part of connecting with youth today, it is often seen as a menacing social force that causes more cleavage than unity. Panelists fought this misconception, giving examples of how to utilize hip hop culture in various capacities to mobilize youth and provide a medium in which they can become more politically involved.

Most importantly, panelists argued that politicians must not take their constituents for granted, regardless of age, making a specific reference to black voters. To make this happen, activists must increase efforts to raise issue awareness among both elected officials and potential voters.

The tragic murder of City Councilman James Davis brought great attention to his career. He is rightfully mourned, if only because of how far ahead of the civil rights establishment this highly principled man was. He was willing to face the epidemic of urban violence, push for better alliances between the police and communities and bring together hip-hop writers and entertainers opposed to the oppression of those communities by murderous thugs.

Given Davis' example, you might ask what the civil rights leaders and black elected officials who represent terrorized urban neighborhoods are doing about this problem. Largely nothing, from what I can tell.

Let us say that Davis was just another hardworking black man who was highly regarded by his friends. Let us say that he was gunned down in a public place in East Harlem or inner Brooklyn or the South Bronx. Let us add that he, like a recent Brooklyn victim, was killed by a member of the Bloods because he was going to testify against a gang member in a murder trial.

Would the civil rights establishment or local black elected officials or the Rev. Al Sharpton have made much of his murder? I don't think so, because there is no substantial record of their showing any overt concern about such issues, which is why Davis' sustained campaign against violence was unique.

…As historian Leon Litwack observes, 4,742 black people were lynched between 1882 and 1968, a period of 86 years. Thugs in Los Angeles have more than doubled that number in just 20 years. Had the Los Angeles culprits been white gangs, they would not have been allowed to kill even 100 people.

Therein lies the sin of silence on the part of the civil rights establishment. Think about it.

Despite studies showing this "industry" delivers few long-term economic benefits, prisons are often seen as an economic lifeline-especially in rural communities, making prison budgets hard to touch because many powerful local political arrangements are built on them. Recently, however, states' need to conserve funds has produced the first decline in new incarcerations in 30 years via the early release of nonviolent offenders, even as many of the sentencing policies that built and filled these prisons continue unabated.

There are serious questions about the effectiveness of mass incarceration in reducing crime. On the other hand, substantial research indicates that the massive scale of imprisonment and the long sentences are having disastrous effects of their own. This includes the creation of a large and embittered population of ex-offenders who return to their communities changed for the worse. Given the high rates of recidivism among ex-offenders generally-more than two-thirds of ex-offenders end up back in prison within a few years of their release-this dynamic virtually guarantees a higher crime rate in many urban neighborhoods for years to come.

Mass incarceration in our society disproportionately targets African Americans and Hispanics. African Americans, while only about 12 percent of the total population, constitute nearly 50 percent of the prison population; and approximately forty percent of all black men age 20 to 29 are currently in prison or jail, or on parole or probation. Incarceration is now becoming the norm for a substantial proportion of black American men; more black males go to jail than to college.

Drug-enforcement policies are particularly important for understanding mass incarceration, because during the last twenty-five years, they've produced the largest and most racially disparate increases in incarceration rates. Nationally, more than 450,000 people incarcerated for non-violent drug offenses. In New York State, despite the lack of any evidence of significantly higher rates of illicit drug use for blacks and Hispanics, drug-related incarcerations of young black and Hispanic males is 40 and 30 times the rate, respectively, of young white males. Since the so-called Rockefeller drug laws took effect in 1973, the rate of drug incarcerations in New York increased from 8 percent of the prison population to more than 30 percent. Ninety percent of that group are male; 78 percent are New York City residents; 94 percent are black and Hispanic (although blacks and Hispanics are just 12 percent of the total state population); and 70 percent of them come from just six New York City neighborhoods.
Studies which use a public-health approach to systematically assess the impact of mass incarceration policies show the huge scale of the harm the dynamic of mass incarceration policies-especially those driven by draconian drug laws-is doing to specific black communities and Black America as a whole.

Further intensifying the negative collective impact of mass-incarceration, little support is expressed for the communities and families most affected by the dynamic. Each prisoner's family must carry its own burdens and find ways to compensate for the loss. When this phenomenon occurs on a large scale and for an extended period of time, it may significantly damage the mental and physical health of individuals, families and entire communities-and create or intensify the very social conditions that enable crime to flourish
Felony convictions also mean the loss of the right to vote-which currently affects almost 3.9 million Americans, half of whom are African American. That means that thirty to forty percent of black males age 18 to 30 are disenfranchised. Given that the usual voting rate of this age group, regardless of race, is about 25 percent, it may be that in those areas with high incarceration rates, the number of young black men barred from voting may be greater than those who are legally eligible. This is political disempowerment writ large, not just of individuals but of entire communities.

Further, felony conviction usually means a greatly reduced chance of gainful employment after prison, and being barred from a range of rights and opportunities other Americans enjoy. Obviously, these extensions of incarceration into the post-sentence life of felons affects their families, too-underscoring the possibility that, far from conferring any protection by fighting crime, mass incarceration systematically undermines black family life by destroying a substantial part of Black America's social capital.

From a public-health perspective, we must consider America's high rates of incarceration a negative measure of the society as a whole-akin to such other societal problems as AIDS, infant mortality, addiction, homicide, or school failure. We must recognize that incarceration must be used sparingly-especially for non- violent drug offenders. One way to ameliorate this crisis is to immediately repeal many of the draconian mandatory sentencing laws-especially those for nonviolent drug offenses-and replace the old drug laws with new ones that allow judges the discretion to discriminate between dangerous criminals and the vast number of those defendants with drug-dependency problems. We must also reduce the collateral damage to the children, families, and communities most affected by enacting policies and establishing programs to help them when their family members are sent to prison and when they are discharged from prison.

America must learn to limit the use of incarceration itself and find other means to enforce even just laws. This means reducing the number of Americans behind bars through the use of more effective and less damaging social policies. And it means abolishing the many laws that are patently unjust and counter productive-especially our discredited drug laws, which have led us to make imprisonment "normal" for large groups of Americans.

July 31, 2003

Someone is gunning for Marion "Suge" Knight.

The head of Death Row Records grew famous glamorizing gang violence. He called his artists "inmates." His company logo depicted a hooded convict strapped into an electric chair. His producers grafted violent lyrics onto driving rhythms, punctuated by shotgun blasts and wailing sirens.

That was make-believe mayhem. Now, Knight is being stalked by the real thing.

A string of gang shootings has claimed the lives of eight people since 1997, including four of the rap entrepreneur's closest associates. Investigators believe the killers' ultimate target is Knight himself.

In the most recent slaying, gunmen ambushed Wardell "Poochie" Fouse, a longtime Knight confidant, on July 24, firing 10 shots into his back as he rode a motorcycle in Compton.

Previous victims include Knight's best friend and chief bodyguard, who was gunned down at a gas station in Compton, and the creator of the Death Row logo, who was shot dead near a fried-chicken stand in South-Central L.A.

All the killings remain unsolved. Police suspect that at least three were ordered or carried out by a pair of gang members pursuing a vendetta against Knight. One is a former Death Row bodyguard whom Knight fired.

"If I was Suge Knight, I'd be worried someone was out to get me," said Sgt. Fred Reynolds, a gang investigator with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. "When so many people so close to you get killed, it's no coincidence. If I was in his shoes, I'd be looking over my shoulder everywhere I went."

Knight, 37, said he intended to do no such thing. He dismissed the idea that his life was in danger but in terms that conveyed resignation more than defiance.

"I don't believe anyone is hunting me. But even if they were, so what?" Knight said over dinner at the Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills in late May. "The only guarantee a man has in life is that you are born to die. I'm from the ghetto, where black men get killed every day.

"It's like Jesus. [p6: HELL no, it ain't]Anyone who reads the Bible knows Jesus was no punk. He didn't hide from nobody. The threat of danger didn't stop him from doing what he had to do. That's how it is with me too. I fear no man. Only God."

Knight was arrested in late June on charges that he punched a parking lot attendant outside a Hollywood club. He has been in jail since then. And Thursday, a state parole panel deemed the incident a violation of Knight's parole from an earlier assault conviction and ordered him to serve 10 months in prison.

Through much of the 1990s, Death Row was the nation's No. 1 rap label, home to the biggest hip-hop stars, including Dr. Dre, Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg.

Knight strutted into award shows draped in gold chains and diamond medallions, puffing on Cuban cigars. He mugged with celebrities and chief executives for magazine covers. He was backed by some of the biggest names in corporate America, including Time Warner and Seagram Co.

Today, all that seems a distant memory. Shakur is dead. Dre and other Death Row artists have long since defected. The label has not introduced a new star in seven years. Knight's latest release, the movie soundtrack "Dysfunktional Family," didn't even register on the national pop charts.

Knight, who has five children from different relationships, owes the Internal Revenue Service $6 million in back taxes.One bank has threatened to seize Death Row's headquarters over delinquent mortgage payments. Another has repossessed Knight's 90-foot Hatteras yacht. Staples Center revoked his luxury box over missed lease payments.

Death Row's Beverly Hills headquarters, which once teemed with employees, artists and their entourages, is silent and mostly empty now. In May, the building was raked by gunfire in the middle of the night, causing no injuries but leaving a bullet-pocked facade.

At the height of his fame, Knight embraced more than the imagery of gang violence. He surrounded himself with gangmembers and tried to become a player in their world. In so doing, police investigators and gang members say, he became entangled in their feuds and unwittingly made himself a target.

By Bryan Bender, Globe Correspondent, 8/1/2003

WASHINGTON -- Senior Bush administration officials are debating whether to order military commanders to kill rather than capture Saddam Hussein to avoid an unpredictable trial that could stir up nationalist Arab sentiments and embarrass Washington by publicizing past US support for the deposed Iraqi dictator, according to defense and intelligence officials.

Trying Hussein before an Iraqi or international criminal court would present an opportunity to hold the Ba'ath Party regime accountable for its repression and murder of thousands of people over the past three decades.

Iraq's new US-backed Governing Council said this week it wants to try Hussein in an Iraqi court, something the occupation authority there has said it supports. The New York Times, citing unnamed State Department officials, reported today that the administration favors creating a tribunal of Iraqi judges to try Hussein for crimes against humanity if he is caught.

But as US troops step up the hunt for Hussein near his hometown of Tikrit, the prospect of an open trial that puts him on a public stage has given pause to some in the administration, according to government officials with knowledge of the high-level meetings. Among those said to have taken part in the discussions are Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld.

One of the officials, who is involved in the Iraq reconstruction effort, described at least one of the leaders as having ''mixed feelings'' about whether to kill or capture Hussein.

Cheney, whose office would not comment on the issue last night, and senior Bush advisers are said to worry that a trial would be a spectacle in which Hussein could tap into Arab anxieties about the American occupation, try to implicate the United States for previously coddling the regime, and assert Iraq's compliance with United Nations resolutions outlawing weapons of mass destruction -- measures that the administration says gave legal justification for the war.

…Such a prospect, however, raises concerns that a trial would create problems for the United States. One worry is that a host of embarrassing charges might be leveled at the United States. Washington supported Hussein's regime during Iraq's war against Iran between 1980 and 1988 -- including providing satellite images of Iranian military formations -- at a time when Iraqi forces used chemical weapons against troops and civilians. The United States may have even given Hussein the green light to attack Iran, according to Said K. Aburish, author of ''Saddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge.''

A trial might also raise uncomfortable questions about Iraq's suspected weapons of mass destruction. So far, the United States has failed to find the alleged chemical and biological arms used as justification for the war.

Hussein could try to take advantage of the controversy surrounding the search for unconventional weapons, claiming before the court of world opinion that he had abided by the UN resolutions that barred him from having such weapons -- thus putting the United States and Britain on the defensive.

Aburish, who was involved in business deals with Iraq in the 1970s, said that the weapons programs that are the focus of such scrutiny had roots in American assistance. For example, he said that in 1976 -- when former president George H. W. Bush was director of the CIA -- Hussein's government was sold the blueprints for what was described as a pesticide plant but was later determined to have more nefarious purposes.

''We gave them the design for how to build a chemical warfare plant,'' Aburish said. ''The initial effort involved US government approval -- in the second phase, someone woke up and said we can't do it. But [Hussein's] people put it together piecemeal,'' based on that design.

Hulsman said: ''Saddam knows the background of America far too well to make it comfortable for the Americans. He can claim victimhood in a region replete with victimhood.''

US government officials, as recently as last fall, denied having knowledge that the United States provided Iraq with materials for chemical and biological weapons -- some as recently as 1992 -- ostensibly for legitimate medical research. Rumsfeld told a Senate panel in September that he doubted its validity.

JERUSALEM, July 31 — The Israeli Parliament voted today to block Palestinians who marry Israelis from becoming Israeli citizens or residents, erecting a new legal barrier as Israel finished the first section of a new physical barrier against West Bank Palestinians.

Supporters of the legislation called it a necessary bulwark against infiltration by terrorists. "We are in a state of war — not with the English, or the Americans, or the Dutch, or the Slovaks — we are at war with our neighbors, the Palestinians," Gideon Saar, of the dominant Likud Party, told the Parliament in debate before the vote. "It's a tragic reality."

Proponents also called the law a way to preserve Israel's Jewish majority.

Opponents called it a racist measure that threatened to divide thousands of families or force them out of Israel. Roughly 1.2 million of Israel's 6.7 million citizens are Arabs, and they are far more likely than Israeli Jews to marry Palestinians.

By Charlie Gesell, The Times

Bishop Fred Caldwell says he will pay $5 per hour for Sunday services and $10 an hour for the Thursday service. The idea came to him during his sermon Sunday.

"Our churches are too segregated, and the Lord never intended for that to happen. It's time for something radical," Caldwell says.

He is basing the initiative on a parable from Matthew 20:1-16, the story of the workers in the vineyard. A landowner hired men to work in his fields for the day and throughout the day kept seeking more workers. No matter what time they came to work, the workers were all paid the same.

Caldwell says he has had several positive responses from the white community and expects to put out extra chairs Sunday.

One man who called didn't want the money; he just appreciated the invitation.

It's easy to condemn discrimination, segregation and racism. It's harder to agree on what practical steps are needed to combat them.

We all believe that everybody should be judged on his or her own merits, but many people, including a majority of Supreme Court justices, say race should be used as a "plus factor" in admitting students to public universities. And though everybody says we should strive for a colorblind society, some people still use racial and ethnic categories to describe why some people are different from others.

One way to end the problem, in the opinion of University of California Regent Ward Connerly, is to abolish the use of race and ethnicity as identifying factors. His Racial Privacy Initiative, slated to be voted on in October, would prohibit any government agency in California from collecting data on race, ethnicity, color or national origin and using it to classify those involved in public education, public contracting or public employment.

…I recall how frustrating it was to study law enforcement in Britain, where, at the time, the racial and ethnic identity of victims and suspects was not disclosed. You got the impression there that race made no difference when, in fact, it made a very large one - a fact that finally came home to the British when London was convulsed by racial tension occasioned, in part, by police action.

I wish we lived in a colorblind society but we do not. I take comfort from the fact that more and more college applicants, like more and more citizens, are refusing to select a single racial or ethnic identity when they fill out a form. These changes, accompanied by intermarriage, may in time make this a country in which ethnicity does not matter very much.

But we are not there yet. If you are a liberal, racial data are important in order to learn about social progress or its lack; if you are a conservative, they are useful to learn whether a national identity is or is not superceding separatist ones. Knowing in what direction we are moving is essential.

By Eun-Kyung Kim, Associated Press, 7/31/2003

WASHINGTON -- China is boosting its missile stocks and increasing military budget to prepare for what could be a quick and brutal showdown with Taiwan, and to prevent US forces from getting in the way, the Pentagon said yesterday.

Defense officials said China was emphasizing a "surprise, deception, and shock" doctrine in its campaign against Taiwan, which Beijing considers a renegade province.

"Preparing for a potential conflict in the Taiwan Strait is the primary driver for China's military modernization," the Pentagon said in its annual evaluation of China's military.

"We will retry this case to bring this matter to some sort of just resolution for the community," said Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley. "Given seven voted guilty here, it was an easy decision to make."

The decision to try the case again came the day after a jury deadlocked after three days of deliberations, telling the judge their 7-5 split in favor of conviction was insurmountable.

One juror interviewed yesterday said the discussions were contentious but civil, with all but one participant sticking to their initial judgment about Morse throughout deliberations. Given the near-even split vote, he questioned whether another jury can come to a unanimous verdict.

The expanded powers that Congress gave the FBI to search and seize private records—as well as other personal information and belongings—have been a source of criticism since the new authorities were enacted as part of the Patriot Act shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. More than 140 towns and other localities around the country have voted in opposition to the Act, and today, the American Civil Liberties Union is challenging the new powers in court.

The focus of the lawsuit is Section 215 of the Act, which gives the FBI greater powers to secretly procure records of people in the United States, including citizens. The FBI does not have to show probable cause that the target of an investigation is a criminal suspect or a foreign agent, and it never has to notify the target. The suit names Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller as defendants.

JOHANNESBURG, 30 Jul 2003 (IRIN) - Should talks resume between Zimbabwe's rival political parties, the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) is likely to insist on the government restoring the "rule of law", analysts told IRIN.

Efforts to reopen the dialogue between the ruling ZANU-PF and the MDC have intensified in recent weeks with the country's clergy stepping in as mediators.

The MDC on Wednesday confirmed that its president, Morgan Tsvangirai, had met with local church leaders in a bid to get the stalled talks restarted, as a first step on the road to a negotiated settlement of the Zimbabwean crisis.

The clergy was awaiting written responses from both parties, which could lead to a formal meeting, the local Daily News newspaper reported.

Zimbabwe Council of Churches president Bishop Sebastian Bakare is leading the church delegation. He is accompanied by Trevor Manhanga, the head of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe and Patrick Mutume of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference.

The apparent "public" thaw in relations between the opposition and the government came last week after the MDC attended the opening of parliament. Opposition MPs last year boycotted the occasion, saying they did not recognise the legitimacy of President Robert Mugabe as the head of state.

The MDC is challenging Mugabe's victory in court, alleging that the polls held in March 2002 were marred by violence, intimidation and vote-rigging.

Noting recent statements made by the MDC, observers said Mugabe's legitimacy would continue to surface throughout the proposed dialogue, but it would take a back seat to some of the more pressing issues facing the country.

The MDC's legal affairs secretary, David Coltart, told IRIN: "If the talks between the MDC and ZANU-PF are done in an earnest way, and endorsed by the international community, we will consider holding in abeyance the presidential challenge. We have also said if the talks yield a final agreement with constitutional guarantees then the MDC will withdraw the election petition."

The court challenge is due to start on 3 November.

"The key issue the MDC is likely to raise during the talks is the restoration of the rule of law, and that includes repealing repressive laws which restrict political activity," chairman of the Zimbabwe Election Support Network Reginald Matchaba-Hove said.

Human rights groups argue that the Public Order and Safety Act, for example, pushed through parliament in 2001, severely curtails political expression. The act bans any political gathering without police consent.

Another issue which should be urgently addressed, Matchaba-Hove added, was the humanitarian crisis now affecting close to five million Zimbabweans. "It is important that the leaders consider the seriousness of the humanitarian needs in the country and jointly produce a solid programme to sell to donors. Inflation is now close to 365 percent, which is an indication of how badly the economy is doing."

"In tandem to all of the other pressing issues, there should be a discussion of the drawing-up of a new constitution which is democratic, and allows for checks and balances. The discussion should focus on addressing electoral reform to ensure that the next election would be substantially free and fair. Mugabe's legitimacy is a detail which can be discussed at a later stage," he said.

Crisis in Zimbabwe spokeswoman Everjoyce Win agreed, saying that changes to the country's constitution were key to resolving the political impasse.

"The talks should not focus on who has the right to govern or not, but address fundamental shortcomings of the constitution. Talks should consider how the rule of law has been subverted, and what can be done to restore some legitimacy to the state," she said.

Mugabe's government walked out of political talks with the MDC in April 2002 after the opposition went to court to challenge the presidential election result, saying mediation efforts must wait until the courts ruled on the case.

Harare

31 July 2003 11:30

President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has ordered top officials in his party to relinquish farms if they have acquired more than one under a controversial land reform programme, a newspaper said on Thursday.

The state-controlled Herald newspaper quoted a spokesperson for Mugabe's ruling Zimbabwe African National Union -- Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) as saying Mugabe issued the directive at a politburo meeting on Wednesday.

"President Mugabe said he would not allow people to have more than one farm," Nathan Shamuyarira told the Herald.

"He advised those with multiple farms to choose one and give up the rest to the government for resettlement," he added. The paper reported that Mugabe wanted the farms to be relinquished within two weeks.

2) Moreover, Sacerdote freely acknowledges that there is no 1920 convergence between blacks and whites on his measures. This could be, as he thinks, because of Jim Crow barriers. (Take it away, Professor Bernstein.) If so, that might mean that reparations need to be understood as reparations for slavery plus Jim Crow, not just for slavery; but what of that? Alternatively, the lack of convergence between blacks and whites could mean that slavery by itself inflicted harm that had enduring intergenerational effects on education, literacy, and occupation-- again, with a convergence over time between those whose ancestors were freed earlier and those whose ancestors were freed later, but with no convergence between descendants and non-descendants of slaves. I certainly favor the Jim Crow explanation. But neither explanation forms any part of an argument against reparations.

3) The items on which convergence occurs are certainly important ones. But Sacerdote has no good measure of wealth available. (He does have home ownership, but, as he explains, it's effectively worthless as a wealth measure, since home ownership in 1920 was heavily influenced by employment in agriculture.) And surely we would need this. Even if after two generations the descendants of slaves were as educated, as literate, and in the same professions as the non-descendants of slaves (which, remember, is not the finding of the paper), that would not mean that there was nothing to compensate. Wouldn't we still expect there to be a significant wealth difference between those whose families could not have accumulated more than two generations of capital and those whose families could? As is well-known, there is a very large wealth difference even today between blacks and whites today even after controlling for education and current income. If white wealth was accumulated with stolen black labor (note: I have no ability to judge the debate among economic historians about whether slavery was in fact economically beneficial for whites), then a convergence of literacy rates doesn't seem especially interesting or relevant to the reparations debate. It's not illiteracy that reparations are being demanded for.

This is consistent with two possible explanations:

1) each group of former slaves recovered from its slavery heritage, once freed (albeit still suffered under a more general burden of racism, which may be huge)

2) The earlier freed slaves made some progress, the later freed slaves then matched that same progress, both suffered about the same lasting amount from slavery.

Jacob points out, correctly, that 2) is possible. But 2) suggests that having a longer slave heritage, across previous generations, is not a bad thing for a later generation. This is not intuitive. If you believe "a slave heritage has persistent bad effects" you probably also should believe "having a longer slave heritage has especially bad persistent effects." But the data don't show the latter. And intuitively, think about it: there ought to be some long-term progress as you move away from a (relatively) short slave heritage.

So either a slavery heritage doesn't add much to the racism explanation (and other alternatives), or the persistent intergenerational costs of slavery kick in at a constant level, once your ancestors have seen a threshold level of enslavement in the past.

GREENVILLE, S.C.-- A former North Greenville College art professor has sued the school, saying he was fired because he belongs to an organization that seeks the independence of Southern people.

…Goldsmith claims art department chairman Jim Craft told him on June 20 that he could no longer work at the college because he was a member of the League of the South.

…The League of the South seeks to "advance the cultural, social, economic and political well-being and independence of the Southern people by all honourable means," according to its Web site. It has been labeled a neo-Confederate hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The designation is unfair and has caused "employment problems" for a number of its members, according to one of the League's founders, University of South Carolina history professor Clyde Wilson.

"The league has repudiated violence and racism, and all of its activities have been peaceful and open to public scrutiny," Wilson said.

DIMONA, Israel (AP) -- Israel's "Black Hebrews," a close-knit group of vegan polygamists who arrived in the country from the United States in 1969, are celebrating the government's announcement that they are finally eligible for citizenship in the Jewish state.

In the desert town of Dimona in southern Israel, home to about 1,500 Black Hebrews, there was a feeling Monday that a 34-year history of statelessness was coming to an end with news of their permanent resident status.

"There's going to be a lot of dancing, singing, shouting and eating," said former Chicagoan Adiv Ben-Yehuda. "It's the greatest day since the community arrived in Israel."

Other members of the 2,500-strong group live in Arad and Mitzpeh Ramon, other towns in Israel's south.

As permanent residents, members will be able to serve in the Israeli army and establish their own residential communities, an Interior Ministry statement said. Ministry spokeswoman Tova Ellinson said that under normal practice, permanent resident status would lead to full citizenship after an unspecified period of time.

"We're ready to take on responsibilities and obligations as permanent members of the community," said Ben-Yehuda, 50, a former college basketball player with two wives and 12 children. His American drawl is undimmed after 30 years in Israel.

"How much do sins visited upon one generation harm that generation's future sons, daughters, grandsons and granddaughters?...I find that it took roughly two generations for the descendants of slaves to "catch up" to the descendents of free black men and women."

But it's interesting that here is a Washington reporter, plugged in to politics, stating quite clearly that the people using a particular site are rocking his world, but they're not part of any campaign. They're volunteers. They're people who in other years would be licking stamps or knocking on doors. But here they are, impacting political coverage, directly impacting the political debate.

This is a tipping point. This is a major story. This one bit Kurtz on the bum and said I'm here.

And Kurtz still missed it. When you're accustomed to seeing things in one way, it may be impossible to change your worldview. This is why you need turnover in newsrooms.

A new mental disorder has been born. (Either that or its an old disorder with a new application.) Like all newborns, this new mental disorder needs to be named. Its official name should be a catchy, clinical-sounding term. The term should contain reference to each of the multiple characteristics that converge with one another to form this mental disorder. It should be self-definitional and worthy of its uniqueness in human behavior. Those characteristics include (1) ill-fated policy, because that’s the symptom of this mental disorder; (2) self-delusion, because that’s the cause of the disorder; (3) collective, because this behavioral disorder has reached epidemic proportions; and (4) nationalistic, because the common denominator of those in this collective is national origin. Space for this new category should be reserved for inclusion in the next edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Until a more media-savvy term is coined, perhaps its working title can be National Collective Self-Delusional Foreign Policy. And since heads of state, their advisers and citizens of any country can suffer under this mental disorder, its name should be generic, rather than specific to any one nation-state. Therefore, “U.S.” will not be included in its name. However, to mark the point on the historical timeline at which this mental disorder was discovered and to honor its most famous victim, it’s only fair that it be nicknamed The George W. Bush Self-Delusional Syndrome, or, for short, Bush SS; or, if that’s not short enough, BSS. In the next edition of the DSM, this new category of mental disorder, Bush SS, should be perfectly placed between two new companion disorders; that is, (1) Those Who Laugh At Their Own Jokes; and (2) Those Who Bask In The Smelling Of Their Own Broken Wind. And it can be cross-referenced with Those Who Don’t Know When To Quit.

At the age of 71, I am a member of the progressive sector of African-American intellectuals, the post-World War II civil rights generation. The civil rights organizations I identified with were the NAACP, the National Council of Negro Women, the Congress of Racial Equality, the A. Philip Randolph Institute, the National Urban League, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, among others. The leadership personalities I looked up to and revered were W.E.B. Du Bois, James Weldon Johnson, Walter White, Roy Wilkins, Whitney Young, Mary McLeod Bethune, Dorothy Height, James Farmer, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Jesse Jackson, Julian Bond, John Lewis, Medgar Evers, and Fannie Lou Hamer, to mention only a few.

However, just recently several articles have appeared by members of the post-civil rights era generation of Black academics that amount to tossing poisoned darts at African Americans’ mainline civil rights tradition and its courageous leadership figures. One of these civil rights tradition-offending articles, penned by Michael Eric Dyson, a professor of Afro-American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, appeared in the New York Times, September 27, 2002. In the op ed piece, Dyson claims he belongs to a new generation of Black intellectuals who consider leadership personalities like Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks fair game for anyone’s comedic dishonoring. He defended such dishonoring of King and Parks in the Black people-offending MGM film, “Barbershop.”

Supporting the mindless hip-hop style irreverence toward African-American civil rights leadership, Prof. Dyson considers it some kind of new freedom for Black actors and entertainers to verbally dishonor Dr. King, Rosa Parks, and others. Dyson approaches the analytically bizarre in his article when he claims “that the barbershop…may be one of the last bastions of unregulated speech in black America.” He also claims that, “at the worst [civil rights organizations] are antidemocratic institutions headed by gifted but authoritarian leaders.”

It. Does. Not. Matter. What. We. Actually. Do.

We could sign on to a 0% tax rate for millionaires, repeal of Social Security, prison terms for homosexuality and oil rigs in the middle of San Francisco Bay and they would still say we are liberal, tax and spend, tree hugging, treasonous pacifists because it is in their interest to do so. Until we stop tugging our forelocks and sniveling around like beaten dogs, thereby validating their lies, they will be believed by a fair number of Americans. People who turn the other cheek when they are being unfairly and relentlessly attacked are either saints or pussies ... and the DLC aren’t saints.

The way to change the Republican propaganda-created perception that the Democratic Party is a bunch of namby pamby, liberal, pacifist big spenders is to FIGHT BACK.

Philip Jenkins argues that anti-Catholic bigotry is on the rise-even among Catholics

By Christopher Shea, Globe Columnist, 7/27/2003

…Philip Jenkins, a professor of history and religious studies at Penn State, pretty much saw this coming. Last fall, in a much-discussed cover story in The Atlantic Monthly titled ''The Next Christianity,'' Jenkins argued that the varieties of Christian faith thriving in the Third World were far more conservative than those in the United States. The next Christianity was on a collision course with the tolerant American creed, he wrote, and Catholic liberals in particular were demographically doomed.

''If we get an African pope, as we may before not too long, Americans may look back with nostalgia to the good old days of Pope John Paul II,'' Jenkins, reached at his office in State College, Pa., said recently. The Georgetown grads may have gotten a literal glimpse of the future: Cardinal Arinze has been named as a possible successor to the pontiff.

These days, Jenkins is promoting a book that will give Catholic liberals further fits. In ''The New Anti-Catholicism: The Last Acceptable Prejudice'' (Oxford), he argues that many leading Catholic critics of the church hierarchy-including the historian Garry Wills and the Globe columnist James Carroll-use such ferocious language that, in rhetoric if not in deed, they've become morally indistinguishable from Klansmen and 19th-century nativists.

''In modern American history,'' he writes, ''no mainstream denomination has ever been treated so consistently, so publicly, with such venom.'' Today, he argues, an unholy alliance of feminists, homosexual activists, and radical secularists-together with a fifth column of people who call themselves Catholics but who hate the church deeply-has seized upon the sex-abuse scandal in order to drive the church out of public life once and for all.

The 29-page federal indictment charges Sergeant Joseph A. LeMoure, who allegedly carried out the beating, with violating the civil rights of Peter Fratus on June 24, 2000, and then, along with Patrolman Joseph F. Polito, tampering with witnesses, obstructing justice, and suborning perjury.

LeMoure, 42 and a 14-year veteran from Saugus, and Polito, 29, of Boston, were placed on leave without pay yesterday.

''These are serious allegations against these officers,'' Boston Police Commissioner Paul F. Evans said in a written statement about the indictments. ''The Boston Police Department will not tolerate this behavior, and has assisted the US attorney's Office in their investigation.''

Fratus, now 21, welcomed the indictments of the two officers, who last November settled a civil suit filed by Fratus for an undisclosed sum.

''I always knew I was telling the truth,'' said Fratus, who was living in East Boston at the time of the alleged beating and now resides in Revere. ''It doesn't surprise me that they lied. But it surprises me to see how many people were involved. I'm happy that people who are supposed to enforce the law are held accountable when they break the law.''

M'BANZA CONGO, Angola — The journey took only a few hours — a brisk, bumpy ride of 60 miles in the bed of a truck along a rutted, red dirt road. It was a nanosecond compared with the five years that Emmanuel Antonio, his wife and six children had spent as refugees across the border in Congo.

This was the ride home. As the convoy bounced along, Mr. Antonio's older children slumbered at his feet, oblivious to the bone-rattling bumps, and his 32-year-old wife, Madelena Merneza, cradled their youngest, Dani, 2, in her arms.

Finally setting foot again on Angolan soil, in the border town of Luvo, and waiting in line for a stamp from immigration officials, Mr. Antonio searched the moment for joy. He found only worry.

"My family must come home because we are Angolans," said Mr. Antonio, 38, a farmer. "Now we have peace. We can only hope that there will be peace until the end."

The civil war, which killed at least half a million Angolans and displaced more than a third of this country's 13 million people, has been over for more than a year. Since then, more than a million people like Mr. Antonio have returned to a country physically, politically and economically in ruins.

Their return is perhaps the clearest sign yet that the worst of Angola's troubles are over. But relief officials warn that some of Angola's biggest challenges may still lie ahead.

WASHINGTON, July 29 — Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel today rebuffed pressure from President Bush to halt construction of a security fence on the West Bank and called on Mr. Bush to persuade Palestinian leaders to do more to dismantle terrorist organizations.

After meeting with Mr. Sharon at the White House, Mr. Bush said his commitment to Israel's security was "unshakable." Last week, the president called the fence a "problem" that could undermine efforts to build confidence between the sides; today he referred to it as a "sensitive issue" that he would continue to discuss with Mr. Sharon.

But the president also suggested that Israel do more to help the Palestinian people and urged Mr. Sharon to show restraint as the two sides each weigh difficult steps in advancing the latest peace plan.

The meeting was the eighth between the leaders at the White House, and they referred to each other by their first names, reflecting Mr. Bush's deepening involvement as a peace broker.

But behind the cordial tones, both sent clear messages. Mr. Sharon signaled that he was unwilling to make painful compromises without more concrete progress by the new Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, in cracking down on terrorism. For his part, Mr. Bush indicated that his support for Israel required Mr. Sharon to show patience and flexibility.

July 27 2003

Even before a note is played on a massive pipe organ, the imagination is stirred by the sight of three, four or more broad keyboards stacked one above one other, panels of 20, 40 or more pullstops alongside to control an amazing variety of sounds, and a row of 30 or more foot pedals at the base of the console.

And when such an organ begins to resonate through the architecturally dazzling space of, say, the new Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles, the experience can be thrilling. Seeing that instrument, and its unconventional new counterpart — a French-fry splay of pipes installed in Walt Disney Concert Hall — it's not difficult to imagine the excitement that pipe organs once regularly inspired in America, attracting massive audiences.

That period is evoked in sumptuous detail by Craig R. Whitney in his book "All the Stops" (Public Affairs), a fascinating, contentious history of the organ.

July 30, 2003

WASHINGTON - Democrats from automobile-making states and Republicans wary of government regulation blocked a Senate proposal Tuesday to toughen fuel-mileage standards for motor vehicles, virtually ensuring the provision will be left out of any new energy bill.

The 65-32 vote against the higher requirements culminated a fierce lobbying effort that pitted environmentalists against car manufacturers and the auto workers union.

Environmentalists have called tougher fuel-economy rules the most important step Congress could take to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and emissions of carbon dioxide, a gas linked to global warming.

"How can you have a serious energy bill and not ... address the fuel efficiency of vehicles?" asked Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.).

But with the House rejecting a similar measure earlier this year, environmentalists held little hope that the energy legislation would include the stiffer mileage standards.

Auto makers and auto union leaders contended that the proposal would hurt their industry's competitiveness - resulting in job losses - and lead to lighter, less safe vehicles.

"This is not the place, on the Senate floor, to make a complex decision that should involve a whole host of factors," said Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.).

…This was truly a collaborative effort from start to finish. It began with the notion of running a week-long marathon of Bush administration lies at my online Bush Wars column (bushwarsblog.com). Along the way my e-mail box delivered more research assistance than I've ever received on any single story. I need to thank Jeff St. Clair and the Counterpunch website (counterpunch.org), which featured the Lies marathon in addition to posting valuable reportage and essays every day; I also received lots of lies entries and documentary links from BW readers Rob Johnson, Ted Dibble, and Donna Johnson, as well as my colleagues Mark Gisleson, Elaine Cassel, Sally Ryan, Mike Mosedale, and Paul Demko. Dave Marsh provided valuable editing suggestions.

I also found loads of valuable information through Cursor and Buzzflash, the two best news links pages on the internet, and through research projects on the Bushmen posted at Cooperative Research (cooperativeresearch.org), Whiskey Bar (billmon.org), and tvnewslies.org.

But the heart of the effort was all the readers of Bush Wars who sent along ideas and links that advanced the project. Many thanks to Estella Bloomberg, Vince Bradley, Angela Bradshaw, Gary Burns, Elaine Cole, George Dobosh, Deborah Eddy, David Erickson, Casey Finne, Douglas Gault, Jean T. Gordon, Doug Henwood, George Hunsinger, Peter Lee, Eric Martin, Michael McFadden, George McLaughlin, Eric T. Olson, Doug Payne, Alan W. Peck, Dennis Perrin, Charles Prendergast, Publius, Michele Quinn, Ernesto Resnik, Ed Rickert, Maritza Silverio, Marshall Smith, Robert David Steele, Ed Thornhill, Christopher Veal, and Jennifer Vogel. And my apologies to anyone else whose e-mails I didn't manage to save.

The Acostas of 47th Street in Sunset Park hold their heads high. When they believe someone is disrespecting one of theirs, they bristle. Even when that someone is a police officer.

The three-generation clan freely admit to objecting when a cop interrupted July 4 festivities in front of the three-story walk-up where the grandparents Acosta, natives of Puerto Rico, moved into the first-floor apartment 24 years ago. Some 15 friends and family, including several young children, had congregated on the stoop and sidewalk, spending the humid Friday evening outdoors like many in the neighborhood.

At about 10, a car pulled up, and a police officer emerged. Without a word, the family says, he strode over to a boombox emitting reggae and yanked out the power cord that extended through a window. The machine belonged to 14-year-old Orlando. His mother, Elena, says she confronted the officer, shouting, "Hey, what are you doing? That's my kid's radio!"

The NYPD's version of the outburst, according to spokesperson Inspector Michael Coan, is, "The officers were verbally abused."

Whether Elena swore or said pretty please, her kin say police reacted with unacceptable violence. They claim the Acosta attitude was met with brute force by a swarm of officers from Brooklyn's 72nd Precinct. (A teenage relative, with some quick footwork and a few clicks of the family camera, managed to capture some of the action.)

The dispute escalated into a melee that ended in the injury of at least eight Acostas, ages 12 through 62, and the arrest of five. Four, including grandmother Margarita, are now facing charges of assaulting officers, obstructing justice, and resisting arrest. But their claims of police misconduct have prompted ongoing investigations by the police Internal Affairs Bureau and the Civilian Complaint Review Board. The family is gearing up to sue the city for brutality and false arrest.

Five officers have claimed their own injuries, including an ankle sprain, bruises, and bites. "It escalated when one of the officers was pushed, possibly pricked, although that may have been accidental," says Coan. Told of the family's photos, he says, "it would be good for us to have them."

The Acostas deny assaulting police and say the interaction never had to get so hostile. Says Elena, 35, "[The officer] didn't ask no questions. No, 'we'll give you a ticket' or nothing. He says, 'I'm the law. Shut up or I'll arrest you.' "

This case is now on appeal to the Supreme Court, which will determine whether this president—or his successors until the end of the war on terrorism—can subvert the Bill of Rights to the peril of all of us.

Sue Kennon robbed four pharmacies in southern Virginia with a toy gun. No one was hurt. Ollin Crawford robbed four banks in Fairfax County with a fake grenade. No one was hurt.

Because Kennon's robberies took place over a four-week stretch, they were considered separate crimes, and she became the first white woman convicted under Virginia's three-time loser law: In 1987, she got 48 years in the clink, no parole possible.

Because Crawford's robberies took place over an eight-week stretch, they were considered separate crimes, and she became the first black woman convicted under Virginia's three-time loser law: In 1985, she got 70 years, no parole possible.

Kennon, a former flight attendant and mother of three, had no previous criminal record. Crawford, a former military police officer who was seven months pregnant at her trial, had only a misdemeanor on her record: She shoplifted a roll of film as a young woman in the District.

Kennon earned a college degree in prison. Crawford became a certified paralegal.

Kennon came from a wealthy, politically connected family that drummed up media coverage of her case and paid for lawyers who fought for years to have her sentence commuted. Two years ago, the state Parole Board met in extraordinary session, traveled to the Virginia Correctional Center for Women in Goochland County, interviewed Kennon and decided that the three-time loser law should not have been applied to her case because her crimes were all part of one scheme. The board ordered her released.

Crawford came from a working-class family. Two years ago, when Crawford's mother died, the warden at Fluvanna Women's Correctional Center permitted her to attend the funeral under the proviso that she wear hand and leg irons and the standard prison orange jumpsuit. Crawford's family arranged for all guests at the service to wear orange. [p6: Mad props to the family and guests!] In the funeral photos, Ollin does not stand out. She is now 44, has served 18 years and is scheduled for release in 2020.

…Black has appealed to three Virginia governors for clemency for Crawford, so far to no avail. Last year, the Parole Board chairman, James Jenkins, told Black that he agreed that Crawford's case was pretty much identical to Kennon's. But then the new governor, Mark Warner, fired the entire board. Jenkins wrote to Black that despite a last-minute effort, "I regret to report that I was unable to obtain the votes required" to treat Crawford's case like Kennon's. (Warner is now considering the case.)

"What's frustrating is that those most likely to receive clemency are the very worst criminals, typically the butcher on death row," Black says. As he works to spring Crawford, Black is also lobbying against the release of a child murderer who is now eligible for parole after just 12 years in prison.

… in December, NFL team owners agreed to interview at least one black prospect each time they enter the market for a new head coach. To make sure the teams hold to their pledge, the league commissioner, Paul Tagliabue, announced in May that a violation of the interview policy would earn the guilty party up to $690,000 in fines.

Last week, Mr. Tagliabue followed through on his threat. He smacked Matt Millen, president of the Detroit Lions, with a $280,000 penalty. Last February, Mr. Millen hired Steve Mariucci, a white man, as the Lions' head coach -- without interviewing any black candidates.

In fact, Mr. Millen had contacted no fewer than five African-Americans about the job. None of them, however, would consent to an interview. This was largely thanks to open speculation that the Lions badly wanted the highly regarded Mr. Mariucci.

…What was Mr. Millen supposed to do -- force blacks to go through the interview process? Uselessly parading a black candidate through the Detroit Lions' offices would hardly have struck a blow for minority empowerment, and it comes as little surprise that five African-American coaches refused to lend legitimacy to what would essentially have been an empty, tokenistic ritual.

BELLE GLADE, Fla., July 28 — Dawn was just breaking over the sugar cane fields that surround this town when police responded to a 911 call. A young black man was dead, hanged on an umbrella tree in his grandmother's yard.

The authorities quickly ruled the death of the man, Feraris Golden, 32, a suicide; there were no signs of struggle, and the police said Mr. Golden's grandmother told them that he had threatened to kill himself the night before.

One of the six officers who went to the scene on the morning of May 28 climbed the tree and cut the body down. But the image burned in the minds of the family members who gathered around the tree on that damp morning, and of many other residents of this racially divided town, about 40 miles west of West Palm Beach.

n the gated Queens community of Breezy Point, the summer chatter often revolves around beach parties, a musical performance at St. Thomas More Roman Catholic Church or even such trivial matters as a parakeet that has flown the coop.

But over the weekend, a 41-year-old Breezy Point woman was accused of assaulting a 12-year-old Hispanic girl in this overwhelmingly white community, and prosecutors charged the woman with committing a hate crime. They said the woman, Donna Harding, shoved a plastic wagon into the girl's legs and told the girl and her mother that blacks and Hispanics did not belong in the neighborhood.

Yesterday, several residents of this 4,300-person community in the Rockaways said they were skeptical of the charges. While acknowledging that they had not witnessed the exchange, the roughly a dozen people interviewed insisted such an assault did not — and could not — happen in Breezy Point.

"I'm here 22 years, and I've never heard of or seen anything to compare to that," said Msgr. Michael Connelly, a pastor at St. Thomas More Church. "In my mind, I don't believe that is true."

Elizabeth Leib, who has lived in Breezy Point for 25 years, said: "It's a beautiful Christian community. It would be bothersome to think we could be labeled so quickly. The community doesn't want to get maligned."

ost of the earth's surface is covered by oceans, and their vastness and biological bounty were long thought to be immune to human influence. But no more. Scientists and marine experts say decades of industrial-scale assaults are taking a heavy toll.

More than 70 percent of commercial fish stocks are now considered fully exploited, overfished or collapsed. Sea birds and mammals are endangered. And a growing number of marine species are reaching the precariously low levels where extinction is considered a real possibility.

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"It's an incipient disaster," said Richard Ellis, author of "The Empty Ocean."

hey are called smart pills or brain boosters or, to use the preferred pharmaceutical term, cognitive enhancers.

But whatever the name given to compounds created to prevent or treat memory loss, drug companies and supplement producers — eager to meet the demands of a rapidly growing market — are scrambling to exploit what they view as an enormous medical and economic opportunity.

Three drugs being prescribed for Alzheimer's disease — donepezil (Aricept), galantamine (Reminyl) and rivastigmine (Exelon) — have been shown to delay somewhat the loss of mental abilities in people with the illness. So has the drug memantine, which has been used for years in Europe but has not been approved in the United States. Some experts also say that performing mental exercises and adding fish oil to the diet can delay memory decline.

Pharmaceutical companies are investigating dozens of other compounds to see whether they can help people who have memory difficulties but have not progressed to Alzheimer's. Some researchers hope that drugs will eventually prevent the deficits that even healthy elderly people experience.

Much of the excitement among pharmaceutical companies, which have dozens of drugs in development, stems from advances in clarifying some of the brain processes and biochemical pathways that can hinder or help memory storage and retrieval, said Dr. Paul R. Solomon, a professor of psychology at Williams College.

"The basic research into the causes of memory disorders is going very rapidly," said Dr. Solomon, who is also co-director of the Memory Clinic at the Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington.

But it will probably be at least five years before any of those drugs meet the standards for approval by the Food and Drug Administration, researchers said.

By Thomas E. Ricks
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 28, 2003; Page A01

BAGHDAD -- Over the past six weeks a small but intense war has been conducted in the mud-hut villages and lush palm groves along the Tigris River valley, fought with far different methods than those used in the campaign that toppled president Saddam Hussein.

As Iraqi fighters launched guerrilla strikes, the U.S. Army adopted a more nimble approach against unseen adversaries and found new ways to gather intelligence about them, according to dozens of soldiers and officers interviewed over the last week.

[snip]

Col. David Hogg, commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division, said tougher methods are being used to gather the intelligence. On Wednesday night, he said, his troops picked up the wife and daughter of an Iraqi lieutenant general. They left a note: "If you want your family released, turn yourself in." Such tactics are justified, he said, because, "It's an intelligence operation with detainees, and these people have info." They would have been released in due course, he added later.

The tactic worked. On Friday, Hogg said, the lieutenant general appeared at the front gate of the U.S. base and surrendered.

By Liz Kowalczyk, Globe Staff, 7/28/2003

Azucena Sanchez-Scott had just finished chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer, and she was worried about the side effects. Her nails and hair were falling out, hot flashes plagued her, even sleep was difficult. So she went to her oncologist for reassurance. As she undressed in the exam room, he looked on.

So did someone else: a salesman from Alza Pharmaceuticals.

Sanchez-Scott's doctor didn't say who the man was, only that he was ''observing my work,'' she said. At one point, when a hot flash hit, the doctor asked the salesman to operate Sanchez-Scott's pocket fan so she could lie down for the exam. She grew increasingly uncomfortable about the stranger's presence, but it wasn't until she questioned the receptionist afterward that she discovered the visitor was a drug company representative. Eventually, she sued the doctor and Alza for invasion of privacy, a suit that was settled in 2001. Executives at Alza, now a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, would not comment on the case. The doctor could not be reached.

''I still feel hurt,'' said Sanchez-Scott, now 50, a family and marriage therapist who lives in Los Angeles. ''The drug rep didn't have anything to do with me or my care, and he was allowed to come into my exam room. I felt violated.''

Sanchez-Scott's lawsuit was one of the first public challenges to a standard, long-term practice that has come under growing fire in the past year: Pharmaceutical companies paying doctors a fee of several hundred dollars a day to allow salespeople to shadow them as they see patients, a practice called a preceptorship. Drug companies and some doctors say it is an important educational tool, but others believe it is an invasion of patients' privacy and a ploy by drug companies to promote their products.

THE HAGUE, July 25 — With the quiet support of the United States, the Rwandan government has been campaigning to have Carla Del Ponte replaced as chief prosecutor for the tribunal dealing with the mass killing in Rwanda in 1994, Western diplomats and tribunal officials have said in recent days.

They said Rwanda was furious that Ms. Del Ponte had been investigating several senior civilian and military members of the present Tutsi-led government for reported atrocities at the time of the bloodshed.

As many as half a million Rwandans, mostly Tutsi, were believed to be killed in the Hutu-led slaughter that lasted three months. But Tutsi troops who subsequently seized power are believed to have killed more than 30,000 civilians in reprisals.

Until now, all those indicted have been Hutu, and Ms. Del Ponte has often denounced Rwanda for obstructing her efforts to investigate crimes by Tutsi. But she has insisted that the tribunal's mandate is to deal with atrocities on both sides and that she must continue investigating to safeguard the court's credibility and to ward off future revenge killings.

Now Rwanda has apparently won support from the United States and Britain in trying to separate Ms. Del Ponte from the tribunal, which is based in Arusha, Tanzania. The decision is up to the United Nations Security Council, which must debate the issue before Sept. 15, when her four-year mandate ends.

WASHINGTON, July 26 (AP) - Children who are healthy but abnormally short will be able to have injections of growth hormone in hope of gaining one to three more inches of height, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday, deciding an emotionally charged issue.

The drug, Humatrope, is not for normal children yearning for a few extra inches, the agency cautioned. It is for the shortest 1.2 percent.

The drug's maker, Eli Lilly & Company, counts about 400,000 such children ages 7 to 15, but predicts that only 10 percent will receive growth hormone because of eligibility restrictions and because six shots a week are required for years.

"This is not cosmetic use," said Dr. David Orloff, the agency's chief of endocrinology.

There is a cynical precept of politics that says that those who cast the votes decide nothing, but those who count the votes decide everything. [p6: I think Florida proves this precept more practical than cynical]

A third group, though, decides quite a bit, too: those who set the election rules.

New York City's election rules could be rewritten soon, if the voters approve Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg's plan to abolish party primaries in 2009.

The mayor says his push for nonpartisan elections will lead to fairer elections. But fair can be in the eye of the beholder. While the pros and cons of the mayor's proposal will be debated in the coming months, it is worth noting that recent history is riddled with well-intentioned election reforms that ended up having unintended consequences.