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VENICE - Journalist/political activist Mumia Abu-Jamal,
who has been on Pennsylvania's death row for 14 years, was
conferred honorary citizenship by the city's council October
18.
Venice's deputy mayor, Emilio Rosini, said the city wished
"to affirm its protest against the institution of the death
penalty, which is immoral, useless and harmful." Italy has
ended the death penalty calling it "homicide by the state.”
In 1982, Abu-Jamal was found guilty in the killing of a police
officer. His supporters have been fighting for a new trial,
accusing the police of using intimidation to force false
witnesses against Abu-Jamal in his original trial.
GENEVA - The ozone hole over Antarctica has widened to
record size this year, nearly as large as the combined area of
the United States and Canada, according to the World
Meteorological Organization.
The hole peaked at 7.7 million square miles in early October,
the agency reported November 1. The agency's report
coincides with scientists' prediction of ozone depletion. Any
recovery of the layer is not expected for another 15 to 20
years, the organization reported.
CALCUTTA - A herd of elephants, in search of water, raided
a nearby town and sent its citizens fleeing as it ransacked
homes and businesses. The elephants did not find water,
but did stumble into several illegal breweries. After drinking
their fill, the drunken pachyderms sauntered back into the
forest.
NORTH CAROLINA - Duke University ranked No. 1 in
the nation for healthful campus food, in a study done by
the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in
Washington. The study sampled menus from 38 schools
nationwide, in an attempt to inspire healthier eating by
young people.
University of Pennsylvania came in second, followed by
Notre Dame. Columbia and Brown rounded out the top five.
West Point, where ''high fat, cholesterol entrees like fried
chicken tenders or hot dogs" are offered, ranked dead last,
causing one Morehouse student to quip "Maybe Chivers
wasn't surveyed."
SOUTH CAROLINA - A statue of a Klansman and a
Confederate battle flag adorned the front yard of a white
man charged with firing into a mostly Black crowd at a
nightclub. Clayton Spires, Jr. was arrested along with Joshua
England in the shootings late last month that injured two
people and left a 17-year-old hospitalized. Officials are
investigating whether Spires and England can be charged
under federal hate crime statutes.
Afghan Women Oppressed under Taliban Rule
By Louis Clotman
Campus News Editor
KABUL, Afghanistan -
Since their September 27
takeover of the Afghanistan
capital of Kabul, the Taliban
Islamic militia has imposed a
strict Islamic rule — closing
girls' schools, banning women
from the workplace and
requiring them to dress in full
hijab (clothing themselves
from head to toe). Men have
been given 45 days to grow a
beard and have been ordered
to pray five times a day.
The Taliban has ordered
women to wear the all-
enveloping burqa, a shroud
like veil that leaves only a
small slit to see out of.
Chiqueba, a 30-year-old
employee at a Kabul weaving
facility, said she was beaten by
the Taliban shortly after its
arrival for being improperly
dressed.
"I was traveling on a bus
when some Taliban pulled me
off and beat me for not
wearing a burqa," she said. "It
cost me 500,000 Afghanis ($33)
to buy one. I had to sell a pair
of earrings to raise the money."
Razia, a 19-year old who
was a former student and part-
time medical receptionist until
the Taliban closed her high
school, said her job provides
the only income for her family.
"My father disappeared in
the war and my mother was
wounded in a rocket attack
and my brother and sister are
too young to work," she said.
Since its birth two years
ago, the Taliban has been a
fierce reformist force devoted
to Islamic issues. Their
fundamentalist regime is
guided by a strict adherence to
Islamic law. Amputations and
executions are standard
punishment for criminals.
Television has been banned
because the Taliban sees it as a
symbol of Western decadence.
Although the Taliban has
promised to reopen girls'
schools and allow women to
return to work, its track record
says otherwise. In Kandahar,
200 miles south of Kabul,
school is only open to girls
four through eight. They
receive just enough education
to enable them to read the
Koran, Islam's holy book.
Very little is known about
the Taliban's founder and
elusive leader, Maulana
Muhammad Umar, who runs
the capital from his base in
Kandahar. But Kabul's 35,000
widows who are now trapped
in their homes because they
can't be seen in public without
their husbands, know his goal.
He is determined to create his
own version of Islamic
Afghanistan, at any cost.
Richard Jewell to take on the FBI, Media
By Saeed Ahmed
Staff Writer
Let the lawsuits begin!
Finally cleared of
suspicion in the Centennial
Park bombing after 88
wrenching days, the world's
most famous out-of-work
security guard Richard Jewell
— and his lawyers — believe the
tables are now turned and it's
time to put the FBI and the
media on the hot seat.
In a news conference
October 28, Jewell's attorneys
lashed out at the media for its
coverage in the aftermath of
the bombing, and said they
will "definitely sue" the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, NBC and
its anchorman Tom Brokaw.
They are also
looking into
possible
lawsuits
against other
media outlets,
the person
who leaked
Jewell's name
to the press,
and the FBI.
"Every
American
ought to be
scared to
death about
how little it
takes for the
government to search you and
seize your property," said
Jewell's attorney, Wayne
Grant, about the FBI's conduct.
"I think it's unbelievable that
they can conjure up probable
cause in this manner."
Both the FBI and the AJC
refused to comment on the
probable suits, but in a
prepared statement, the
Atlanta daily defended its
coverage of the bombing,
calling it "accurate and
appropriate."
Legal experts have said
Jewell's chances of reaping
rewards from such lawsuits
are minimal, noting that it will
be hard to prove the news
media defamed his character
on purpose.
For now, the hero-turned-
suspect-turned-victim is once
again basking in the media
spotlight. And at least one
They are also looking into
possible lawsuits against
other media outlets, the
person who leaked Jewell's
name to the press, and the
FBI.
radio station, Atlanta's 96
Rock, has offered Jewell
positions both as a security
guard and as an on-air
personality.
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Intern w ith grassroots coalitions working for
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