JC Watts Seeks to Honor Slaves Who Built Capitol
More than a year after both chambers passed a resolution calling for the formation of a task force to study ways for Congress to recognize the role of slaves in the construction of the Capitol, momentum is finally building behind the project. In September and October 2001, respectively, the House and Senate passed identical resolutions calling for the establishment of "a special task force to recommend an appropriate recognition for the slave laborers who worked on the construction of the United States Capitol."
Last year's resolution, which was the brainchild of Watts and Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), came as slaves' role in the building of both the Capitol and the White House emerged from relative historical obscurity. Then Edward Hotaling, who at the time was a producer and writer at Washington's WRC-TV, found microfilmed copies of pay stubs from the 1790s that authorized the Treasury Department to pay slave owners "for the hire" of their slaves to work on building the Capitol. The research was groundbreaking in that it established for the first time that a majority of the workers on the Capitol and the White House were African-American slaves.

For affirmative action, the end is drawing near
It's a little early to rank Gov. Jeb Bush among notable leaders of the latest edition of the New South but the coming year will probably demonstrate the foresight of his One Florida initiatives. Democrats seem uninterested or politically unable to prepare for a post-affirmative action era that is sure to come.
One Florida, which marked its second anniversary little noticed this month, effectively ended affirmative action in university admissions and minority preferences in state purchasing. In their place, Bush set up a "talented 20” admissions plan for the top 20 percent of each high school's graduating class and made agency purchasing agents responsible for doing more business with minority-owned companies. The tide is running strongly against affirmative action. It loses at the polls - California and Washington state, for instance - and the courts have been, at best, highly skeptical of minority-preference programs. The question is WHEN and HOW will affirmative-action be ended? Not, IF?

EU considers plans to outlaw racism
Racism and xenophobia would become serious crimes in Britain for the first time, carrying a prison sentence of two years or more, under new proposals put forward by Brussels yesterday. Holocaust denial or "trivialisation" of Nazi atrocities would be banned, along with and participation in any group that promotes race hate. The plans, drafted by the European Commission, define racism and xenophobia as aversion to individuals based on "race, colour, descent, religion or belief, national or ethnic origin".
Leonello Gabrici, the Commission's judicial spokesman, denied that there was any intention of curbing political expression. "This totally respects free speech. It will be up to judges to decide where the balance lies" he said.
I can see people in America trying to duplicate a silly law like this. The racists will just stop being racist, because they do not want to go to jail? More than likely the government will use these laws to arrest anyone.

Media Bias, The headline on this story in The Times: "CIA blunder sparked Taleban revolt that became a mass suicide." What was the blunder, it appears to be asking the prisoner a question. A witness said: “The fighting started when the Taleban were being questioned by two men from the CIA. They wanted to know where they had come from and whether they might be al-Qaeda.” Both CIA operatives were dressed in Afghan robes, had grey beards and spoke Persian. One of them was known as Michael, the other as David. Michael asked one Taleb why he had come to Afghanistan. He replied: “We’re here to kill you”, and jumped at Michael, who killed him and three others with his pistol before being wrestled to the ground.
Now the UN wants to investigate if this is a war crime? Only the UN could possibly consider shooting at escaping prisoners that are shooting a you, a war crime. This is why the International Court would be a mistake.

Africa devastated by Aids Aids is the biggest threat to Africa's development, according to the United Nations. The reason is the large numbers of people in key roles who are dying: teachers; farmers;health-workers; civil servants and young professionals. Sub-Saharan Africa is by far the region worst affected by HIV and Aids, according to the UNAids and WHO's latest report on the disease.

More proof the media is out of step: Putting security ahead of civil rights concerns, six in 10 Americans support using military tribunals to try noncitizens charged with terrorism. And larger majorities endorse other controversial law-enforcement measures....And still more, 86 percent, say the government's detentions since Sept. 11 - with about 600 people still held - are justified.

Overwhelming Support for War Continues
Americans remain highly supportive of the military action in Afghanistan, and are also overwhelmingly supportive of the use of U.S. ground troops in the war. Compared to a month ago, Americans have become more satisfied with the progress of the war, and have become more likely to support the idea of a long-term war against global terrorism that goes beyond just finding those responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks. Three-quarters of Americans favor using U.S. troops to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq. This shows that the media is completely out of step with the average person.

Facing up to the Failure of "Racial Democracy" in Brazil
A DNA study by Brazilian scientists found that 80 percent of the population has at least some African ancestry, and fully half of the nation's 165 million inhabitants consider themselves to be of African descent. Brazil, the largest country in South America, is home to the largest black population outside of the African continent.
In an effort to address the racial disparities, Brazil's government (led by sociologist/president Fernando Henrique Cardoso) recently initiated legislation to create a groundbreaking affirmative action/racial quotas program that would guarantee blacks 20 to 25 percent of the positions at universities, in the civil service and even on television programs.
The Racial Equality Statute, currently being debated in the Brazilian congress, also attempts to rectify the under-representation of Afro-Brazilians in the government (less than 5 percent of Brazil's mayors, governors, senators and members of congress are black) by insuring that political parties allot 30 percent of candidacies for public office to blacks.

Black Leaders Meet in Atlanta
Black leaders will attempt to thrust reparations and the Florida 2000 election into the national spotlight at the State of the Black World Conference this weekend in Atlanta. They will basically condemn Bush, blame white people for everything, then retire to their 5 star hotel rooms, and fly home first class feeling like they accomplished something.

Terror Fight Ideas Flood Task Force
This is why capitalism will always triumph. No government program can replace the ceativity of free people. Think about it, a guy in his garage has come up with something that will help national security.
A federal task force seeking new technologies to fight terrorism has received more than 700 proposals since the Sept. 11 attacks, including an exciting idea from "some guy in his garage," Pentagon officials said Thursday.
The lone inventor's idea has so much potential it got passed to senior Pentagon officials and generals immediately, said Jeffrey David of the Pentagon office that develops anti-terrorism technology. He would not discuss the innovation in detail but said it was hard to categorize and would need some development and testing before it could be used.
Last month, the interagency Technical Support Working Group asked private industry for ideas to enhance the current anti-terrorism fight, from identifying suspects by voice prints to protecting soldiers in remote, hostile areas.
David said he expects to receive 10,000 to 20,000 ideas before the Dec. 23 deadline. The lone inventor hasn't been told how interested the Pentagon is in his idea, because the submission deadline has not passed, David said.
Despite complicated federal contracting rules and a relatively small $70 million budget, the task force can bring new technologies to those who need them within a year, David said.
"If we get good ideas, we'll find a way to make it happen," David said at a Pentagon news briefing.
The task force's October request for ideas stressed the need to develop ways to detect chemical or biological warfare agents before they can be released by terrorists. It set a goal of gaining a two-minute warning against several top-priority agents, including nerve gases, blister agents and bacteria, including anthrax and plague. One priority is to detect and map underground and concealed cavities , another is to find ways to protect small military units deployed in remote areas, in rugged terrain in the presence of hostile forces, for extended periods. Another priority is to develop a system for tracking an individual through multiple sequential video images or through multiple cameras. A related request is for a system to use voice prints to locate, track and correlate suspected terrorists.

West's feminists under fire from female general
Instead General Suhaila Siddiq, 60, sighs with exasperation at Western feminists and their obsession with the burka. General Siddiq is Afghanistan’s only woman general, a surgeon, hospital director and heroine to a generation of young women ..., she is scornful of exiled Afghan women’s rights campaigners and Western feminists who champion their agenda. Of Hillary Clinton, another supposed advocate, she simply says: “She cannot defend her own rights against her husband. How can she defend the rights of my country?”

Behind the Bling-Bling: Are Diamonds Worth It?
What I like most about this article, is the solution is not based on getting government to do something. Courtland Milloy exposes how in Sierra Leone children as young as three have had limbs chopped off by people needing the land for its diamonds. "As African Americans become more affluent, one way of showcasing -- or is it showing off? -- has been to purchase diamonds. Go to any Black church on Sunday or any social function and you'll see some of the biggest rocks around...African Americans need not be complicit in the destruction of Africa and her peoples. Indeed, by better understanding the issues, pooling resources and being disciplined in the way we shop, African Americans could exert tremendous influence on this issue. Say, instead of just going out and buying any old diamond -- not knowing where it came from -- black churches could arrange mass purchases of diamonds with a stipulation that they be clean and that the profits be put to good use. We can't afford to keep our heads in the sand. After all, what kind of person can chop off a toddler's hand to get a diamond? Just as bad, what kind of people wear diamonds that drip with blood?"

UN powers ready to squeeze Iraq
The powerful permanent members of the UN Security Council raised the pressure on Iraq yesterday by agreeing to set a June 1 deadline for toughening UN sanctions against the Middle Eastern country. The UN is such an ineffective organization, I see why Europeans and liberals like them. JUNE? That is not putting the squeeze on him. Why wait? Has Saddam given any indication that he is even willing to negotiate?

Syrian Foreign Minister warns U.S.
Farouk Sharaa, Syria's foreign minister warned Tuesday that any U.S. military action against any Arab country following its campaign in Afghanistan would be "a deadly mistake. First I had to stop laughing. Does this guy own a TV? Think about it, would you threaten the most powerful country on earth? Lesson number 1: Do not start a fight that you cannot win.

Ground Zero flag sent to Afghanistan
An American flag from Ground Zero in New York, signed by relatives of victims of the World Trade Center attack, will fly at the US Marine base in southern Afghanistan. This is called sweet irony. The base was built by Bin Laden, and is being used by the Marines to finish off the Taliban. (11/28)

Iraq says no to UN inspectors
Iraq has rejected U.S. demands to allow U.N. weapons inspectors into the country. "Iraq will not bow to threats but to right, justice and fairness," Lets see if they will bow to B-52's, F-18's, Tomahawk Missiles and Daisy Cutter bombs.

Japan moves to disband public sector
Japan has cleared a plan to reform seven of its state-backed corporations as the country's leader seeks to shrink the government.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has kept his sights on selling off as many as 70 of Japan's 77 state corporations. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda called Tuesday's plan a "breakthrough," but cautioned that Japan still has to review the remaining 156 government-affiliated agencies by the end of the year.
Better late than never. Maybe they can finally end their 10 year recession.

Andrew Cuomo gets geography wrong in Thanksgiving card
Who is the dumb son of a popular politician now? LOL

I saw part of the White House Press Briefing on 11-26. These reporters are so out of touch with reality. Check out what Helen Thomas said.
Q: Does the President feel the United States has the right to bomb or invade any country harboring terrorists? Is he going to invade Spain?
MR. FLEISCHER: Helen, the President, as I mentioned, is focused on phase one --
Q : Eight suspected terrorists --
MR. FLEISCHER: The President is focused on phase one of the war against terrorism. But the President has made it plain to the American people that this a long-term war.
Q: Answer the question. What right do we have to invade any country?
MR. FLEISCHER: I'm not aware that we are invading Spain.

Once Hired, Never Fired
I love Michelle Malkin, she shoots straight. Here she scolds the President for signing the bad airport security bill. "LOOKS like the White House has already traded in its recently adopted motto, "Let's Roll," for a new slogan: "Let's Roll Over."

Nazareth mosque threatens Christian antiquities
Christians in the Holy Land and overseas said today that construction of a mosque near a major Christian shrine in Jesus' boyhood town of Nazareth could be destroying archaeological treasures. Muslims in the city say the building site is Muslim-owned and sits on, or near, the tomb of a Crusader era Islamic sage. They accuse the Vatican and the White House of meddling in local affairs.
They feel its nobody's business when Christian or Jewish sites are destroyed, but blame America when Muslim sites are destroyed.

African American Landmark Demolished by Clinton Library
A historically important freight depot built by former slaves and located on the grounds where Bill Clinton plans to build his presidential library was demolished last Wednesday. Local preservationist Gregory Ferguson was at the federal courthouse in Little Rock, filing a legal challenge to the demolition. When he arrived at court a city representative informed the court that the building had just been destroyed. The freight depot was built at the end of the 19th century by former African-American slaves. The structure is a showpiece for at least two African-American stone and brick craft skills, and WAS the only one of its kind still standing.
Bill Clinton the hero of black America, the man that loves black people could not find space on a 28 acre site for his library to co-exist with a piece of black history.

I found this on Instapundit.com, great analysis by Glenn Reynolds. It shows just how complicated foriegn policy can get. THE OIL WEAPON: Like most weapons, it can point both ways. this Economist article on oil price wars, with this comment: "Maybe Putin and Bush have decided to destabilize the gulf oil emirates by lowering the price of oil so far that they can not afford to maintain their existing structure of parasites." I think he's right. It's a punishment, pure and simple, and a reminder: if you use oil revenues to fund terrorism and terrorist sympathizers, as the Saudi and Kuwaiti royal families do, then perhaps we need to see that you have fewer such revenues.
If I'm right, you'll see a lot of U.S. investment flowing into Russia for exploration and development of Russian oil resources, which poses a serious long-term threat to the gulf Arabs. (There are likely other disguised payments being made, too, probably hidden in military expenditures supporting the action in Afghanistan). And the punishment being inflicted here is more than economic. As Parker notes, while the Saudis' cost of production is low, they have so many expensive subsidy programs shoring up their regime that they really need a price of $15-20/barrel. Keeping the price below that will tend to deparasitize them. Since many of those parasites are terrorists or terrorist sympathizers/front groups/proselytizers there is a direct benefit; since cutting off money to parasites may destablize the regimes, this is also a way of applying the squeeze to those regimes without doing anything too overt. Other Islamic nations might squawk (though perhaps not all that loud) if we sent the Marines to take over Saudi Arabia, but no one will sympathize with them if they're hurting because of low oil prices.

Character makes a comeback This is an AJC.com editorial that exemplifies the resilence of the country
Turns out we're . . . patient. Who would have thought? Before Sept. 11, the American attention span seemed best-suited for second-rate political scandals, MTV videos, DSL connections and psychic hotlines. Our patience was measured in gigahertz rather than seconds; we were such an antsy, caffeinated society we celebrated the new millennium a year before it actually arrived.....Through most of the '90s, we were bombarded with images of ourselves as apathetic, self-indulgent, soft, silly. Now, hardly a day goes by without an image or report of some act of patriotism, selflessness, courage, sobriety.
But the events of the fall have done wonders for civic responsibility. Voter turnout for Atlanta's mayoral election this month was 41 percent, far in excess of the 28 percent turnout in 1997, when Bill Campbell ran for re-election.

Save the Rats! People really spend their life doing things like this! The Fund for Animals announced that it is suing the Interior Department to block the department's plan to exterminate the rats on Anacapa Island, a part of the Channel Islands National Park located off the coast of Southern California. The offending rats are neither endangered nor unique to Anacapa Island. However, they have been feasting on a native seabird long enough to threaten it with an endangered species listing. Even worse than that, such laughable lawsuits enrich activists and trial lawyers at the expense of taxpayers, whose hard-won income is always a threatened species while the legislature is in session...perhaps it would be more humane to move those rats to the headquarters of the Fund for Animals.

Minority contractors struggle since passage of Initiative 200 Former Seahawk Fred Anderson's concrete-construction business flourished for years, taking in between $4 million and $5 million a year with 10 to 15 people on the payroll. But three years after Washington voters approved Initiative 200, which eliminated state preference for women and minorities in education, hiring and contracting, Leajak is struggling to bring in $1 million a year. That's the key point in a federal lawsuit filed last summer by the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, which cites I-200 in alleging blacks are being illegally shut out.

Who was the President then?( Bill Clinton) Drones saw bin Laden, but couldn’t fire A year before the attacks of Sept. 11, CIA officials sat in Langley, Va., and watched live aerial video images of al-Qaida terrorist training camps 7,000 miles away in Afghanistan. More than once, intelligence officials say they saw a tall turbaned man with a flowing beard and a large security entourage arrive at various camps. Most of those who examined the footage were convinced it was Osama bin Laden, who was already wanted for the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa. What the CIA couldn’t do, though, was act. THE UNMANNED Predator surveillance planes that were feeding the startling footage back to Langley weren’t armed, and the U.S. government had no bombers or cruise missiles in place to strike quickly. Why were they monitoring if they did not have the ability to act on the information?

Graduation rates are inflated Since 1980, for example, the percentage of persons 25 years old and over who have "completed 4 years of high school or more," according to the U.S. Census Bureau, has increased from 66 percent to nearly 84 percent. Among blacks, that percentage has increased from about 50 percent to 77 percent over the same period. The study found that only 56 percent of black students and 54 percent of Hispanic students had graduated from high school by 1998. (The comparable rate for white students was 78 percent, itself a disgrace.) Sixteen of the 50 largest school districts failed to graduate 50 percent of black students, while 35 of the same 50 districts failed to graduate half their Hispanic students.

Arm the Afghan Women Afghan women need to exercise the right of self-defense, including gun ownership. They also need to be recognized as a force of armed resistance against oppressive regimes. That is what some women have done. A woman named Malika, a mother whose family lived on the Taliban front line of Bagram just north of Kabul stated "At night I go up on the roof with my Kalashnikov [a Russian assault rifle] and my hand grenades to protect my house,". The best defense against "guys with guns" is women with guns.A gun in the hand of a mother who is protecting her child may be the most humanitarian relief of all.
The more the issue of gun ownership is looked at, the weaker the anti-gun arguments. It is no accident that the first thing the Taliban did when it came to power was collect guns from citizens

Homeownership Rx for poverty The Kellogg Foundation, as in Kellogg cereals, is putting up $20 million over the next five years to help poor families in Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana buy their own homes.. . Fannie Mae, the federal housing corporation, is going to invest $45 million in this program, and the people at Kellogg say their investment in the Delta could grow to $55 million. Here's an example of private and public philanthropy that's also good business. It's not just the money that's welcome, it's the spirit of this enterprise. Its emphasis on homeownership and self-reliance strikes a note that has been neglected too long by the kind of economic planners whose plans go no further than academic studies, and often amount to little more than bureaucratic empire-building.

Russia Says Oil Exports Will Be Cut by 50,000 Barrels a Day An OPEC official called the planned cut too small and said OPEC had hoped Russia would reduce production by at least 150,000 barrels per day. The 50,000 barrel figure includes a cut of 30,000 barrels that Russia earlier had announced, meaning that Friday's decision amounted to a further reduction of only 20,000 barrels a day. Russia recently surpassed Norway to become the world's second-largest oil producer. Russia has a total production of 7 million barrels a day.

FEDS FEAR KILLER DELIVERED SPORES The twin mysteries of how two women - one a hard-working Manhattan hospital clerk, the other a frail Connecticut retiree - contracted inhalation anthrax have raised the specter of the saboteur delivering the lethal doses in person, instead of by mail. From the beginning of the outbreak, profilers told investigators the "loner" suspect would attack in stages - and each stage would get bolder and more lethal. A scenario in which the killer singled her out and somehow delivered the dose in person became a possible explanation for how only she, in a city of millions, was sickened.

Special forces get free rein U.S. commandos inside Afghanistan have been given historic autonomy to plan and execute attacks when needed, resulting in "hundreds" of deaths of enemy soldiers, military officials say. Sources say small teams of Delta Force soldiers, and other commando units, have ambushed the enemy and killed them in small batches.
"From the reports I've seen, they have killed in the hundreds," a senior administration official said. "There have been no deaths on our side."
In some cases, soldiers have used sniper fire, taking advantage of stealth and superior night-sight equipment. In other encounters, soldiers used Barret 50-caliber weapons, a heavy sniper rifle that can take out an armored vehicle, or a person, at 1,500 yards.

Move to End Smoking at Sports EventsThe ``Tobacco Free Sports Campaign'' was launched as delegates from 191 nations opened a new round of negotiations on an international treaty intended to combat smoking through such measures as tax hikes, marketing restrictions and labeling controls. The U.N. health agency says sponsorship of sports events targets the young.
Dont they have better things to do with their time?

The CBC (Congressional Black Caucus) supports the federalizing of airport screeners. This is very confusing. These are the same people that have complained about how blacks are treated by airport security, by police, by the FBI,CIA and IRS. Their solution...to create another federal police force with authority to harass African-Americans. This is just more proof that the Democratic party is more important than their community.

Holiday Seatbelt Crackdown by Fed Labeled a 'Waste' -- 11/22/2001
More out of control government interference into our lives. Where does it stop?
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is asking more than 10,000 police departments in all 50 states to use roadblocks, checkpoints and unmarked patrol cars to check for seat belt violators. The program is called Operation ABC Mobilization, "America Buckles Up Children." However, the Libertarian Party says the program is misguided, especially at this time.

"The federal government has warned us that murderous terrorists could strike again at any time. So why are police resources being diverted to stop, harass, ticket or arrest ordinary Americans who forget to wear a seatbelt?" Steve Dasbach, the party's national director, asked.

"It is an absolute outrage that at a time when terrorists have killed 5,000 Americans - and threaten to kill more - the highest priority of law enforcement seems to be setting up random checkpoints in all 50 states to crack down on seatbelt violators," Dasbach said.

Cheap Oil Comes at a Price (washingtonpost.com)
With the global economy teetering on the brink of recession, the prospect of an oil price war would appear to be just the right tonic to pull the United States, Europe and Japan out of a serious economic slump.
For the major industrial powers, economists estimate the $12-per-barrel slide in crude oil prices since the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon should be equivalent to a $250 billion tax cut. And with interest rates now at their lowest levels in 40 years, optimists believe the combination of easy money and cheap oil may trigger a fresh boom and new heights of prosperity in the West.
But lower oil prices also raise the danger of economic turmoil in parts of the world where the United States is seeking help in its war on terrorism. If the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries fails to persuade key non-OPEC oil producers to cut production, a further plunge in oil prices could destabilize much of the Persian Gulf region.
After spiking above $31 a barrel just after the Sept. 11 attacks, oil prices plummeted below $17 a barrel Monday in the wake of OPEC's declaration last week that it would curtail output by 1.5 million barrels a day only if rival producers share the burden by removing at least 500,000 barrels a day from the world market. Prices rose above $18 a barrel today on the news that Russia, Mexico and Norway are rethinking their initial resistance and may agree to limit production to shore up prices.
Even in the United States, a sharp fall in oil prices offers mixed blessings. While motorists may rejoice in paying less to fill their tanks, American oil companies could find their drilling costs prohibitively high if oil falls to around $10 a barrel.

This is an issue that environmentalists do not want to deal with. If the price of oil falls too low, then much of the middle east will become more impoverished. they do not have the capability of changing technologies as quickly as the industrial nations.