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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 2005)
PaseA2__________________________ B B lack H istory M onth 2 f c : X - ____________________ February23.200s California Storms Kill Six 7,16 Port land O bserver Floods, tornadoes, avalanches wreak havoc USPS 9 5 9 -6 8 0 Established 1970 4 7 4 7 NE M a rtin L u ther King, Jr. Blvd., Portland, OR 9 7 2 1 1 E ditor - in -C h ie f , P ublisher : Charles H. Washington E ditor : M ic h a e l L e ig h to n D istribution M anager : M ark W a sh in g to n C reative D irector : P aul N e u fe ld t (A P) - A deadly series o f storm s across C alifornia spaw ned every thing from tornadoes toavalanehes, flooding freew ays w ith steady rain and sending rivers o f m ud crashing through homes. At least six deaths have been blam ed on the storm, including a w om an buried by an avalanche north o f Lake Tahoe and others who were victims of landslides, traf fic accidents, falling trees and flood ing. M udslides forced A m trak o ffi cials to suspend service from Los A ngeles to Santa Barbara. D ozens o f hom es w ere evacuated or red- tagged - m arked as uninhabitable - because they w ere threatened by sliding hillsides, authorities said. N orthern C alifornia also w as hit by severe thunderstorm s, hail and at least tw o afternoon tornadoes in the Sacram ento area that uprooted tre e s an d d a m a g e d ro o fs an d fences. T he C alifornia H ighw ay Patrol reported m ore than 300 crashes in a 14-hour period in Southern C alifor nia, com pared w ith 50 to 75 acci dents on a norm al, dry day. A section o f the H ollyw ood Free w ay in Los A ngeles w as shut dow n for several hours late M onday b e cause it w as flooded by as much as 5 feet o f water. M ore than 31 inches o f rain has fallen since July 1, the start o f the reg io n ’s annual “w ater year” m ea suring period, the fifth w ettest on record. T he record is 38.18 inches, setin 1883-84. ■MMM O ffice M anager : K a th y L in d e r A large rock slide closes Malibu Canyon Road near Los Angeles. A deadly series o f storms across California spawned everything from tornadoes to avalanches to flooded freeways. (AP photo) N M M M N M H M M I Iraq War Debated in Portland Forum A ssistant E ottor : Katherine Kovacich The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads become the sole property of the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent of the general manager, unless theciient has purchased the composition of such ad. © 1996 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER. ALL R IG H T S RESERVED, REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN P A R T W IT H O U T P E R M IS S IO N IS PROHIBITED. The Portland Observer—Oregon's Oldest Multicultural Publication—is a member of the National Newspaper A ssociation- Founded in 1885, and The National Adver tising Representative Amalgamated Pub lishers, Inc, New York, NY. and The West Coast Black Publishers Association • Serv ing Portland and Vancouver. Protester throws shoe at war supporter (A P) - H ow ard D ean, the new ly m in ted lead er o f the D em o cratic P arty , and fo rm e r P en tag o n ad viser Richard Perle m ade clear their o p p o sin g v iew s on the w ar in Iraq d u rin g a d eb a te m arred by a p ro te ste r w ho to ssed a shoe at P erle. P erle had ju s t started his c o m S c h n itz e r C o n c ert H all w h en a p ro te ste r threw a shoe at him b e f o r e b e in g d r a g g e d a w a y , scream ing, “Liar! L iar!” P ostmaster : S end address changes to Portland O bserver PO B ox 3 1 3 7 Portland, 0 R 9 7 2 0 8 Periodical Postage paid in Portland, OR Subscriptions are $60.00 per year 5 0 3 -2 8 8 -0 0 3 3 FAX 5 0 3 - 2 8 8 0 0 1 5 news@portlandobserver. com subscriDtion@Dortlandobserver.corr, ads@portlandobserver. com classifieds@Dorttandobserver.com Howard Dean (left) debated Richard Perle a t the annual forum held by Pacific University to honor Tom McCall, former governor o f Oregon. m ents T h u rsd ay at th e A rlen e P erle w as a m ajo r p ro p o n en t o f g o in g to kick S a d d a m ’s b u tt,” ing fru it in Iraq an d d id n o th in g ” said , ad d in g th at he d id n o t deny D ean sa id T h u rs d a y , d ra w in g ab o u t th e o th er, m o re d an g e ro u s th at the a d m in istra tio n had m ade ch eers from the crow d. reg im es, he said. m istak e s in Iraq. P e rle sa id th e w a r in Ira q w as P erle w as fo rc ed by o n e o f th e But, P erle ad d ed , “ I w ill be su r D ean w as am o n g th e w a r’s m ost ju s tif ie d b a se d on th e in te lli q u e stio n e rs to rec ast a co m m en t p rised , y et a g a in , if w e d o n ot see p ro m in e n t op p o n en ts. the U S .-le d invasion o f Iraq, w hile g e n c e a v a ila b le at th e tim e . he m ade on S ep t. 22, 2 003, in a sq u are in B ag h d ad n am ed after In his new ro le as ch a irm an o f “ S o m e tim e s th e th in g s w e h a v e w h ich he p red ic ted th a t w ithin th is p r e s i d e n t . ” H e d id n o t the D em ocratic N ational C o m m it to d o are o b je c tio n a b le to o th o ne y ear, th e re w o u ld be “a g ran d sp ecify a tim e. tee, D ean has stressed that D em o e r s ,” he sa id . sq u a re in B ag h d ad n am ed fo r cra ts are stro n g er th an R e p u b li ca n s on defen se. D ean also said th e B ush a d P re sid en t B u sh .” m in is tr a tio n h as ig n o re d th e T h u rs d a y ’s d e b a te w as p art o f the an n u al fo ru m held by P acific “ I ’d be a fool n ot to reco g n ize U n iv ersity to h o n o rT o m M cC all, “ D efen se is a lot b ro ad e r than m o u n tin g th reat in Iran and N orth th a t it d id n o t h ap p e n on the a fo rm e r R e p u b lic an g o v e rn o r o f sw ag g erin g aro u n d say in g y o u ’re K orea. “W e pick ed th e low h ang- sc h ed u le I had in m in d ,” P erle O regon. Hanging Blamed in Iraqi Death (A P) - An Iraqi w hose corpse w as photographed with grinning U.S. soldiers at A bu G hraib died u n d erC IA interrogation w hile in a hanging position condem ned by hum an rights groups as to r ture - suspended by his w rists, with his hands cuffed behind his back, according to reports re view ed by T he A ssociated Press, T he death o f the p riso n er, M a n a d e l a l-J a m a d i, b e c a m e know n last year when the Abu G hraib prison scandal broke. The U.S. m ilitary said back then that the death had been ruled a hom i cide. B u tth eex actcircu m stan ces under w hich the man died were not disclosed at the time. T he prisoner died in a position know n as “Palestinian hanging,” the docum ents review ed by The A P show . It is unclear w hether that position w as approved by the Bush adm inistration for use in C IA interrogations. T he spy agency, w hich faces congressional scrutiny o ver its detention and interrogation o f terror suspects at the Baghdad prison and elsew here, declined to com m ent, as did the Justice Departm ent. Non-Combat Deaths Increase Soldiers in Iraq at peak levels There's a better way to get money from your home: a Home Equity Loan from U.S. Bank. I t ’s time to make a change. A Home Equity Loan from U.S. Bank is the easiest way to start any project. (A P) - U.S. troops in Iraq have suffered a rash o f fatal vehicle acci dents and other non-com bat deaths in recent w eeks, even as the num ber killed in insurgent attacks has declined. A lthough d etails o f recent acci dents have not been m ade public, som e officials believe the ju m p in their num ber can be explained in part by turbulence from the troop rotation that is now approaching its peak, with tens o f thousands o f troops arriving and like num bers going home. “T he sheer volum e o f soldiers on the ground and high volum e o f vehicular traffic m ay reflect a higher rate o f individual accidents o r non battle injuries,” said Maj. R ichard G oldenberg, spokesm an for the 42nd Infantry D ivision o f the New Y ork Arm y N ational G uard, w hich is com m anding a mixed Guard/regu- lar Arm y task force responsible for even start a new business. Plus, the interest on the loan may be tax-deductible. And it’s all backed by our Five Star Service Guarantee. Take advantage of this offer without the worry of closing costs, points, or fees. No coin counting necessary. Go online at usbank.com, visit a local branch, or call 1-888-444 BANK (2 2 6 5 ) ext. 4100 for any other questions. • 5 .7 9 % fixed APR available for terms up to 20 years on home equity loans with a U.S. Bank checking account with ACH and loan-to-value (L T V ) of 8 0 % or less Higher rates apply for higher LTVs. Minimum loan amount or increase of $ 1 0 ,0 0 0 required. Consult your tax advisor regarding deductibility of Interest. On a $ 1 0 ,0 0 0 , 20-year loan at 5 .7 9 % APR, monthly payments would be $ 7 0 44 Rates subject to change Offer Is subject to normal credit qualifications. Some additional restrictions may apply. Not available with other discounts Home equity loans are offered through U.S. Bank National Association ND. Member FDIC wm I 4 an area o f north-central Iraq. There currently are about 155,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, according to the U.S. m ilitary. T hat is the highest num ber o f the entire war, including the initial invasion. The num ber o f troops is expected to drop to about 135,000 over the next month or tw o as units that com plete their one-year tours o f duty in Iraq pack up and head for home. NAACP in Social Security Fray You can get loans up to 125% of your home’s value. W ith competitive rates, you’ll enjoy an easy way to manage debt, build an addition, or U.S. Army soldiers gather around the crater left by a roadside bomb attack on a U.S. Army convoy in Mosul, Iraq. (AP photo) Bush proposal would hurt blacks, leaders say (A P ) - D en o u n c in g P resid en t B u sh ’s plan fo r S o cial S ecu rity refo rm as on e th a t w o u ld d is p ro p o rtio n ately hurt b lack s. N A A C P le ad ers ask ed to m eet w ith the p resid e n t to d isc u ss th e issue, the N A A C P c h a irm a n an n o u n ced S atu rd ay . Julian Bond, speaking at a new s co n feren ce d u rin g the N ational A ssociation for the A dvancem ent o f C olored P e o p le 's annual m eet ing here, also said he expects to nam e th e B a ltim o r e - b a s e d o rg an izatio n ’s new president by July. “ I want someone with the fund raising ability of Bill Gates, with the oratorical ability ofM artinlajtherKing and the managerial ability o f someone who’s managed big, big things suc cessfully and done well,” said Bond, who has repeatedly declined to iden tify potential candidates. A search com mittee has inter viewed more than 200 candidates to replace Kweisi Mfume, who was NAACP president for nine years and resigned in December. Last week, NAACP leaders asked to meet with the president, submitting a letter to the White House that de tailed their concerns over education and unem ploym ent, but focused largely on Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security. “This proposal is extremely dan- gemus to us," said Hilary O. Shelton, the N A ACP’s Washington bureau chief. Among married couples, twice as many blacks as whites rely on Social Security for their entire retirement in come, and blacks in their 50s are twice as likely tobecomedisabled as whites, he said.