NATIONAL
CBC outraged over rejection of justice
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Congressional Black Caucus recent
ly held a ne,ws'conference to voice its outrage over the 54-45 vote by
the Senate to reject Missouri Supreme Court Judge Ronnie White's
nomination.
"We are here today to urge that the Senate stop playing politics
with judicial appointments - stop holding minority and female can
didates hostage and stop denying qualified candidates their day in
court," said Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., chair of the CBC. "It's just
not fair for the Senate to hold a nomination in limbo for so long. It
undermines the confirmation process.
"I call upon President Clinton and the administration to continue
. to nominate more qualified minorities and women to the federal
bench and not be deterred by the Senate's action or lack of action."
The president, in a statement, said, "I will continue to fulfill my
obligation to nominate and press for the confirmation of the most
qualified candidates possible for the federal bench.
"By voting down the first African American judge, who was
already serving - the first African American judge to serve on the
Missouri State Supreme Court - the Republican-controlled Senate is
adding credence to the perceptions that they treat minority and
women judicial nominees unfairly and unequally."
White's is just one of the many nominations that the Senate had
not acted upon until the Oct. 6 rejection vote. Judge Marsha Berzon.
who has been waiting 20 months, and Judge Richard Paez, who has
been waiting 44 months, still have not had their nominations taken
before the Senate for a vote.
Shalala urges seniors to get flu shots
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Each winter an influenza epidemic
sweeps the country, killing an average of 20,000 people, most of them
over 65 years of age, according the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services. While 65 percent of senior citizens receive their flu
shots, millions remain unprotected.
"The flu poses a serious potential hazard to older Americans, but
it's a hazard we can all protect against," said Secretary Donna Sha
lala. "Every senior citizen needs to know that flu and pneumonia
shots are convenient, free under Medicare and sometimes life-sav
ing."
The flu shot miist be given every year, and it is recommended for
those at-risk of developing serious complications as a result of the
infection: those 65 and older; those in nursing homes; those with
chronic diseases of the heart, lungs or kidneys; those with diabetes,
immunosuppression or severe forms of anemia.
For information about receiving a shot covered by Medicare, call
1-800-638-6833 or visit medicare.gov. For information about influen
za, call the Centers for Disease Control at 1-800-232-2522 or visit
cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/flu/weekly.htm.
INTERNATIONAL
Cholera ravages Sierra Leone
PORT LOKO, Sierra Leone (IPS) - Sierra Leone's northwestern
district of Port Loko has been hit by a cholera epidemic that is taking
a serious toll on the local population.
Health authorities told IPS that the deaths of more than 40
women and children have been recorded as a result of the outbreak.
"The death toll is expected to rise because of the lack of pure
drinking water and run-down sanitary conditions in the area," said
Clifford Gamanga, acting district medical and community health offi
cer.
"Taps and purified water sources were destroyed and the remain
ing population has been forced to depend on impure water fetched
from shallow wells," said Gamanga. "During the fighting earlier this
year, dozens of dead people were abandoned on the streets or buried
in shallow graves, and this may be another cause for the epidemic."
Port Loko is situated about 115 kilometers northwest of the capi
tal of Freetown and had been the scene of repeated clashes between
rebel and government forces during Sierra Leone's eight-year conflict.
The situation has been further worsened by the sale of palm nut
oil mixed with caustic soda by unscrupulous traders. Unable to afford
palm oil or ordinary cooking oil, customers have reported to buying
the cheap and poisonous mixture.
It could take quite a while before the situation is brought under
control. The authorities have to address the burning issue of malnu
trition and hunger in a community that is constantly being harassed
by marauding rebels who, like the impoverished civilian population,
want food and medicine. - Lansana Fofana
Group appeals for journalist's release
LUANDA, Angola (IPS) - An international media watchdog
group has appealed to President Jose Eduardo dos Santos of Angola
to release local journalist William Tonet, who was picked up by the
Angolan secret police in the capital of Luanda earlier this month.
According to journalists at the biweekly Folha 8, the newspaper
edited by Tonet, no charges have been filed against him since he was
detained on Oct. 2.
"We respectfully call on you to ensure that Mr. Tonet is immedi
ately and unconditionally released from jail and that the harassment
of him and his colleagues is halted." said Bengt Braun of the World
Association of Newspapers, which represents more than 17,000 pub
lications in 93 countries.
The Department of Criminal Investigations, which is holding
Tonet, has not given a reason for his arrest.
"However, we are concerned at reports suggesting that he is being
held in connection with a recent article which appeared in Folha 8
See Mows IrWi on A5
INDEX
OPINION ^ _ A6
SPORTS _ ?l
RELIGION B7
CLASSIFIEDS _ _ ill
HEALTH _ _ C3
ENTERTAINMENT __ C7
CALENDAR AIO
Thit Week In Black Hittory... .
Sept. 21, 1909- Kwame Nkrumah is born in Nkroful, Ghana. A
leader in the African colonial liberation movement. Nkrumah
will become the first prime minister of Ghana.
Sept. 23, 1930 - Ray Charles Robinson it born in Albany, Ga.
Using only his first and middle names, the singer/songwriter will
become one of the preeminent musicians of the 20th cent-ury.
Sept. 26, 1962 - A. Leon Higginbotham becomes the first
African American member of the Federal Trade Commission.
Long, expensive road ahead for Democrats I
Gore not a shoe-in
for presidential nod
BY RON FOURNIER
'THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - The Demo
cratic presidential campaign is
threatening to become a long,
costly battle that could leave the
eventual nominee broke and polit
ically weakened.
Vice President A1 Gore's slide,
rival Bill Bradley's advantage in
fund raising and a highly competi
tive primary calendar all point
toward a race that could last deep
into the spring. Interviews with a
dozen Democrats inside and out
side the campaigns suggest Gore
remains the party favorite, but
Bradley holds appeal in many
early voting states.
"Gore is likely to win, but it's
not going to be an elevating expe
rience," said Democratic consul
tant Geoff Garin, who is not in
either camp.
It all starts, as it always does, in
Iowa and eight days later in New
Hampshire - where momentum
seized by a candidate is more
important than the small number
of delegates awarded by state par
ties
In Iowa, Gore holds a double
digit lead in polls over the former
New Jersey senator. Though
Bradley has narrowed the gap,
both campaigns expect the vice
president's institutional advan
tages - such the AFL-CIO's
endorsement - to give him the
edge on Jan. 24.
Then comes New Hampshire
on Feb. 1
Bradley has rallied to pull even,"
and the vice president is running
scared. He will be in the state for
most of the next two weeks,
preparing for a forum with
Bradley at months end.
For now, consultants say, the
edge goes to Bradley. Who wins
may not matter as much as who
exceeds expectations and heads
into the delegate-rich section of
the calendar with momentum.
The current schedule, which
Democratic leaders are tinkering
with, has no delegates awarded
See Democrats on A5
Asaocociatod Press photo
Vice President Al Gore, flanked by supporter Bill Cosby, trios on a shoo sont to him by NBA siof Shaquillo
O'Nool. Despite support from Cosby and O'Neal, Gore fares a battle to win the Democratic nomination
for president. \
NAACP board votes to boycott South Carolina
Boycott could cost
Palmetto State
$280 million
BY SETH HETTENA
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LINTHICUM, Md. - The
NAACP's national board on
Saturday approved a tourism
boycott of South Carolina until
the state removes the Confeder
ate flag from the Statehouse
dome. i
"The ratification officially
mobilizes all of our chapters
and members to not visit or
spend dollars in South Carolina
until the flag is removed," said
NAACP spokeswoman Sheila
Douglas.
A spokeswoman for Gov. Jim;
Hodges said the boycott deci
sion will make it harder to get a
compromise to resolve the issue.
Nina Brook also criticized
the House, and Republican
Speaker David Wilkins for the
failure to get a compromise.
"A very real * obstacle
remains,: a majority in the House
who say they will not vote for a
compromise, and the speaker of
the House, who says he will not
vote for a compromise," Brook
said.
The House rejected a com
promise to move the flag to a
Confederate monument on the
Statehouse grounds several
years ago.
"I have not seen, a significant
change or shift in the House's
position on that," Wilkins said.
Supporters say the flag repre
sents Southern heritage and
honors South Carolinians who
died in the' Civil War. The
NAACP says it is a symbol of
racism.
The South Carolina branch
of the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored
People proposed the tourism
boycott of the state in July. It
would begin Jan. 1.
The NAACP's national lead
ers say they are working to make
sure South Carolina will feel
economic pain from the national
boycott.
More than S280 million a
year that African American
travelers spend in South Caroli
na could be at stake.
"We know that economic
sanctions work," said Lonnie
Randolph Jr., chairman of the
NAACP's programs and
research committee.
Several groups from across
the nation have already canceled
plans to hold meetings and con
ventions in South Carolina since
the NAACP called for the boy
cott.
Earlier thjs week, the Sev
enth-day Adventist Church can
celed a meeting that would have
brought 7,000 people to Colum
bia for four days in March. Offi
cials said the event would have
brought $500,000 worth of
tourism business.
The flag controversy has
embroiled South Carolina for
years. The state is the only one
in the nation to fly the Confed
erate flag over its Statehouse,
although Georgia and Mississip
pi incorporate part of the design
into their state flags.
Officials at the state NAACP
office in Columbia said 42 state
and national groups have now
joined the boycott, either cancel
ing meetings or holding them
out of state.
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