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August 6. 2008
PagcA9
L aw & J ustice
Few Black Military Officers in Ranks
CRIME STOPPERS
(5 0 3 ) 823-HELP 111 S.W. 2nd Avenue, Portland, Oregon
Protect Your Vehicle
Police offer
prevention tips
I f you own o r drive a 1995
Honda C iv ic , a 1991 Honda A c
cord, a 1997 Ford F-150 o r a 1989
Toyota C aniry, you may he sur
prised to know that, despite their
age, these cars are among the
m ost p o p u la r cars stolen by
thieves across the country.
No matter what make o r model
o f car you own there are a number
o f things you can do to improve
the security o f your vehicle. The
Portland Police Bureau recom
mends the fo llo w in g a basic pre
vention policy to help ensure your
vehicle is not an easy target fo r
thieves on the prow l:
Never leave your car running
w ith the keys in the ig nition when
you ’ re away from it, even fo r "just
a m inute.”
A lw a ys ro ll up the w indow s
and lock the car, even i f it's in
front o f your home.
Never leave valuables in the
car. I f you must, never leave them
in plain view .
Park in busy, w ell-lighted areas.
C arry the registration and in
surance card w ith you when
you leave your vehicle.
When paying to park in a lot
or garage, leave just the ignition
key w ith the attendant. Make
sure no personal inform ation is
attached. Do the same when
you take your car fo r repairs.
For added auto theft protec
tion you can also etch the V e
hicle Id e n tific a tio n N um ber
(V IN ) on (he windows, doors,
fenders and trunk lid. This helps
to d isco u ra g e p ro fe s s io n a l
thieves who have to either re
move o r replace etched parts
before selling the car.
Install a mechanical locking
device - com m only referred to
as clubs, collars o r j-bars - that
locks to the steering wheel, c o l
umn o r brake to prevent the
wheel from being turned more
than a few degrees.
Consider installing a secu
rity system i f you live in a high
theft area or drive a vehicle that
is popular among thieves.
For more in fo rm a tio n on
keeping your vehicle secure
visit portlandpolice.com to ac
cess A Guide to Home and V e
hicle Security.
60 Years after
desegregation
G
l
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111
J
( A P ) - Sixty years after Presi
dent Truman desegregated the
m ilita ry , senior black officers are
s till rare, particularly among the
highest ranks.
Blacks make up about 17 per
cent o f the total force, yet ju st 9
percent o f all officers. That frac
tion falls to less than 6 percent fo r
general officers w ith one to four
stars.
The rarity o f blacks in the top
ranks is apparent in one startling
statistic: O n ly one o f the 38 four-
star generals o r admirals serving
11
II
H b
«W Wr j
K
•
z
f
a s o f M ay was black. A nd ju st 10
black men have ever gained four-
star rank— fiv e in the A rm y, four
in the A ir Force and one in the
Navy, according to the Penta
gon.
The dearth o f blacks in high-
ranking positions gives younger
A frican-A m erican soldiers few African American airmen train at Tuskegee Airfield in Alabama In 1943.
mentors o f their own race. A nd as
the overall percentage o f blacks stars is retired Gen. C olin Powell, cation.
sky's the lim it when they look up
in the service falls, particularly in who later became the country's
As a young recruit, he found and don't see anyone" who looks
combat careers that lead to top first black secretary o f state, un that the older, black noncom m is like them.
posts, the situation seems un der President Bush. A nother is sioned o ffice rs were eager to
The A rm y has led the way w ith
lik e ly to change.
retired Gen. Johnnie E. W ilson, guide him . and they urged him to black officers, w ith nearly double
S till, o fficia l s can point to some who in 1961, at age 17, spied an try fo r O ffic e r Candidate School. the percentage at times over the
historic gains by blacks in the "Uncle Sam Wants Y ou" poster O ver the next 38 years, he rose past three decades as the other
services as the Pentagon com and joined the A rm y.
through the ranks to become a services. Blacks represented 11
memorates Trum an’s signing o f
The second o f 12 children, four-star general.
percent to 12 percent o f all A rm y
an executive order on July 26, W ilson grew up in a housing
W hy haven't more done the officers during that tim e, com
1948, mandating the end o f segre project outside Cleveland. E nlist same?
pared w ith 4 percent to 8 percent
gation in the m ilita ry.
ing in the A rm y, he said, was the
For one thing, W ilson said, in the Navy, A ir Force and M a
Best known among the four- only way he'd get a college edu "it's hard to tell young people the rines.
Army Scientist Tied to Anthrax Terror, Takes Own Life
(A P ) -- A nthrax-laced letters
that k ille d five people and se
verely rattled the post-9/11 na
confounded the FBI for nearly
seven years.
Las, month, the Justice De
partment cleared I v ins' col league,
Steven H a tfill, who had been
w rongly suspected in the case,
and paid him $5.8 m illio n .
tion may have been part o f an
A rm y scientist's warped plan to
test his cure fo r the deadly toxin,
o fficia ls said.
The b rillia n t but troubled sci
e n tist c o m m itte d suicide last
week, know ing prosecutors were
closing in.
The sudden naming o f scientist
Bruce E, Ivins as the top — and
perhaps only — suspect in the
anthrax attacks marks the latest
bizarre tw ist in a case that has
House
Apologies
for Slavery
( A P) — The U.S. House o f Rep
resentatives issued an unprec
edented apology to black A m e ri
cans las, week fo r the wrongs
com m itted against them and their
ancestors w ho suffered under
slavery and Jim C row segrega
tion laws.
The re s o lu tio n , passed by
voice vote, was the w ork o f Ten
nessee Democrat Steve Cohen,
the only white lawmaker to repre
sent a m a jo rity black district.
Congress has issued apolo
gies before — to Japanese-Ameri-
cans fo r their internment during
W orld W ar II and to native Ha-
waiians fo r the overthrow o f the
Hawaiian kingdom in 1893. In
2005, the Senate apologized for
fa ilin g to pass anti-lynching laws.
Five states have issued apolo
gies fo r slavery, but past propos
als in Congress have stalled,
partly over concerns that an apol
ogy w ould lead to demands for
reparations — payment fo r dam
ages.
The Cohen resolution does
not mention reparations. It does
com m it the House to rectifying
"the lingering consequences o f
the misdeeds com m itted against
African-Am ericans under slavery
and Jim C row ."
Classified Ads
Contact: Kathy Linder
Phone: 5 0 3 2 8 8 0 0 3 3
Fax: 5 0 3 2 8 8 0 0 1 5
cording to papers filed last week
in local court by a social worker.
The letters contained anthrax
powder were sent on the heels o f
Ivins worked at the A rm y's
biological warfare labs at Fort
Detrick. Md., fo r 18 years until his
death on July 29.
He was one o f the government's
leading scientists researching
vaccines and cures fo r anthrax
exposure. But he also had a long
history o f hom icidal threats, ac-
Bruce E. Ivins
the terror attacks o f Sept. 11,2001,
and turned up at congressional
offices, newsrooms andelsewhere,
leaving a deadly trail through post
offices on the way. The powder
killed five and sent numerous vic
tims to hospitals and caused near
panic in many locations.
It’s not your standard funeral home...
it’s the new standard in funeral homes.
RRY FAMILY
UNERAL H O M
Lay Witness Night
o f the
African Methodist Episcopal Church,
Pacific North West Conference
The Lay Organization
Invites you, your fam ily & friends from the Portland,
Tacoma & Seattle Areas To Celebrate with us!
You see, when we went into business we
aspired to be so far and away the best
that a new level of excellence was to be
created. We w ould like you to know that
we've achieved our goal.
In a business where things seemingly stay
the same, a change has taken place. A
change that may raise the bar on the
level of service a family can experience
from a funeral home.
T erry
i
Í
2337 N Williams Ave
(503) 249-1 7BB •
www.terrytjmilvtuner.ilhnrne.crim
The Conferenace Lay Organization
Presents
"Gospel Music in a Nu Way”
Featuring National Recording Artist
Eddie H unt& NuEra • Gospel Ensemble Ministry
From The C hristian Faith. Federal Way & Seattle
Under the Leadership o f Pastor Casey Treat
r .
Royal Priesthood
Ministries
People o f Boyalty fkptinditig The King
dom o f God
Sundays
"Come Enjoy 4 Free Salad Bar"
(a 2:00pm
Worship (a 3:00pm
Wednesdays
Kingdom Knowledge « 7:0<)pm
Worshipping u
M att Dishman ( «immunity ( enter
77 \ I KnoM St
Portland O K 97211
Office (360)213-9892 Web: w w w .n n nlpm.org
♦August 8th, 2008*
Friday Evening
Doors Open @ 6:30 pm - Event is Free Free Free
Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel
8235 Northeast Airport Way
Portland Oregon 97220, United States
Phone: (503) 281-2500
Contact: Simeon Rhoden (206) 380-1794
or jim m y Brown (206) 5 5 1 -5757
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