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November 05, 2003
Army Accused of Double Standard
'W B
An unidentified gunman, fires several shots at his attorney in
this television from Court TV, Friday, outside the Los Angeles
courthouse. (AP photo)
Camera Rolls as
Attorney Gets Shot
Victim feels fortunate to be alive
(AP) — A lawyer who survived
a gunman’s attack that was cap­
tured on videotape said he hadn’t
met the suspect before the assault
and feels fortunate to be alive.
Gerry Curry, 53, was released
Sunday from a hospital after being
shot at close range by a man iden­
tified by police as William Strier, 64.
Curry was shot in his arm and neck.
Dramatic television hxitage from
crews covering Robert B lake’s
murder case Friday showed Curry,
o f Sinii Valley, trying to hide behind
a tree as Strier fired a revolver out­
side the Van Nuys courthouse.
"It's weird. It’s the kind of thing
that always happens to someone
else,” Curry said. “This is the thing
you see on TV, but this time it
happened to me. But the main thing
is that 1 survived, so I’m very grate­
ful.”
After the attack, Curry staggered
from behind the tree, blood on his
face, and held up his hands before
collapsing. An off-duty sheriff's
reserve officer tackled Strier.
Strier was arrested, btxiked for
investigation of attempted murder
and was being held on $1 million
bail. He was scheduled to appear in
court Tuesday.
With scars on his face and his
arm in a sling, Curry told report­
ers that he had never met Strier
before, but had heard about prior
threats.
JFK Conspiracy Theories Persist
40"' anniversary' o f assassination approaches
Forty years after the event, John F. Kennedy’s assassination on
Nov. 22, 1963, remains the most popular subject for conspiracy
theories in America, says a UC Davis scholar who is writing a book on
such theories during the 20th century.
In fact, only 10 percent of Americans believe Lee Harvey Oswald
was acting alone when he shot the 35th president, says Kathryn
Olmsted, author of "Challenging the Secret Government: The Post
Watergate Investigations of the CIA and FBI.”
“Throughout their history, Americans have been concerned about
excessive government power, and you can see conspiracy theories
dating back to the founding o f the nation,” Olmsted says. “But it isn’t
until World War I, when you get a really powerful government, that
conspiracy theories became more extreme and widespread.”
Conspiracy theories about JFK 's murder didn’t really gain steam until
the Church Committee in 1975 revealed government cover-ups in the
original 1964 Warren Commission report on the Kennedy assassination.
J Tracking JFK conspiracy theories is now a major hobby, with
¿Kindreds o f books offering various theories of who killed the presi-
Black soldier’s
disability much
smaller than
counterpart
(A P)— The fatherof former pris­
oner of war Shoshana Johnson has
accused the Army of shortchang­
ing his daughter of disability ben­
efits after she was offered a smaller
paycheck than fellow POW Jessica
Lynch.
"She is not getting what she
deserves,” Claude Johnson said.
Family members confirmed that
Lynch, a private first class who was
snatched from her Iraqi captors on
April I in a rescue by Special Forces,
is receiving an 80 percent disabil­
ity. Johnson, a specialist who was
released on April 13 with four other
American POWs, has been offered
30 percent, Claude Johnson said.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, who
consulted the Johnson family, said
race was playing a part in Arm y’s
decision. Lynch is white; Johnson
is black.
"There’s a long history of blacks
not receiving fair and adequate rec­
ognition in the military,” said Jack-
son. "The first black female POW
who survived is about to be dis­
charged and suffers the trauma, the
A file photo
shows
Shoshna
Johnson after
being freed as
a prisoner of
war in Iraq.
emotional injury and has a 3-year-
old daughter to raise. She deserves
more.”
The NAACP has called for an
explanation from the Army.
“U nless there is an honest ra­
tionale, thediscrim inatory double
standard the U nited States Army
has applied to Iraqi war heroin
Shoshana Johnson is disgrace­
ful," said Julian Bond, chairm an
of the NAACP Board o f D irec­
tors.
Army spokesman Maj. Steve
Stover said Shoshana Johnson’s
payment can lie appealed.
Stover said the two cases are
different and race is not an issue.
Military officials said Lynch was
hurt after her Humvee utility ve­
hicle was hit by a rocket-propelled
grenade and crashed into another
vehicle. She suffered multiple bro­
ken bones and other injuries and it
was four months before she could
walk again.
Shoshana Johnson was shot in
both ankles and was held by Iraqi
captors for 22 days. She still peri­
odically uses a walking cast, has a
Widow Testifies in
DC Sniper Trial
(AP) — The widow of a bus
driver slain in last year’s sniper
attacks testified Monday she saw
his empty bus on television but
couldn't get to the hospital fast
enough to say goodbye.
D enise Jo h n so n , w idow o f
Conrad Johnson, said she didn't
know right away that it was her
husband's bus but immediately
tried to reach him on his cell phone
without success.
“I thought maybe he had seen
something," she said, testifying for
the prosecution in the trial of John
Allen Muhammad.
She eventually received a call
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for Homeownership (AAAH)
Presents
4th Annual African American
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from her mother-in-law saying that
he had been shot and rushed to the
hospital. Her husband was alive
when she arrived but she didn't get
to see him until after he died.
Defense lawyers objected to her
testimony, as they have to similar
testimony, saying it is unfairly emo­
tional and irrelevant to the case.
Circuit Judge LeRoy F. Millette Jr.
instructed prosecutors to keep the
testimony brief.
Prosecutors are introducing evi­
dence in 16 shootings in Maryland.
Virginia, Alabama, Louisiana and
the District ofColumbia in an effort
to show that Muhammad is respon-
Ì H W ith in Y our R e * h
Saturday, November 8th, 2003
11 am - 3pm
Emanual Hospital Atrium
501 North Graham
Portland
L
Denise Johnson, wife of sniper victim Conrad Johnson, pauses
during her testimony in the trial o f sniper suspect John Allen
Muhammad. (AP photo)
sible for multiple deaths and en­ sniper shooting, were arrested Oct.
gaged in a form o f terrorism - neces­ 24,2002, at a Mary land highway rest
sary conditions for the two death stop. They had been sleeping in a
penalty charges against him.
1990 blue Chevrolet Caprice that
Muhammad, 42. and 18-year-old authorities say was adapted so some­
Lee Boyd Malvo, who goes on trial one concealed inside the car could
Nov. 10 in connection with another fire a rifle through a hole in the trunk.
Combs Supports Kids
with Marathon Finish
..'X
I ’X
Sean P. Diddy' Combs crosses
the finish line of the New York
City Marathon, Sunday. He
raised $2 million for children,
double the amount he planned.
(AP photo)
(AP) — Running on a bum
rig h t knee and after ju s t tw o
m onths o f training, hip-hop en ­
tr e p re n e u r S ean “ P. D id d y ”
C om bs com pleted the grueling
N ew York City Marathon Sun­
day, raising $2 million for chil­
dren - double what he had planned.
“N ever in my life have I ever
experienced anything as crazy as
th is,” C om bs said. “ It w as a
beautiful experience."
C om bs’ official race time was
4:14:54. It was his first marathon.
The producer-rapper said he
had raised $2 million since an­
nouncing in Septem ber that he
would run. The money will be
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NAACP opposes
court nomination
Federal appellate nominee Janice
Rogers Brown is defending her work
as a conservative jurist promising
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Com bs said he gained support
from an N BC reporter covering
the race w ho ran with him, as
well as from children in Harlem
who cheered him on.
“ I definitely w anted to stop,”
C om bs said. "This is definitely a
life-changing experience for me
because I did not stop.”
C om bs shed about 15 pounds
in training, and developed severe
tendonitis in his right knee.
“Tw enty-six m iles isn’t a pub­
licity stunt,” he said after the
race.
Judge Defends Conservative Record
"Don’t get left behind"
Attend one of our workshops to find out about:
tauat aoviw
«
hard time staying on her feet for
any period of time and is not sleep­
ing well, her father said.
In a statement released by her
attorney. Lynch said she was "dis­
appointed for Shoshana."
“When she visited me in West
Virginia last month, we discussed
the extent of our injuries and the
long road back to health, includ­
ing a lifetime commitment to physi­
cal therapy and rehabilitation,”
Lynch said. "I support her efforts
100 percent and wish her a contin­
ued ... recovery.”
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that the opin­
ions she has ex­
pressed in some
of her speeches I
would stay sepa­
rate from herrole gft
on the bench,
i
B row n, a
California Su­
Janice Brown
p rem e C o u rt
justice, has been nominated for the
U.S. Court o f Appeals for the Dis­
trict of Columbia, a court that is
seen by many as a training ground
for the U.S. Supreme Court.
H er co n se rv a tiv e p o sitio n s
worry the NAACP, othercivil rights
groups and Democrats.
But Brown said she would keep
her personal opinions out of her
future work. "I absolutely under­
stand the difference in roles in be­
ing a speaker and being a judge,"
she told the Senate Judiciary Com ­
mittee during confirmation hear­
ings.
A 54-year-old black woman from
the South, Brown supports limits
on abortion rights and corporate
liability and opposes affirmative
action.