With some people having booked trips as long as three years in advance , airline seats , rental cars and hotel reservations range from difficult to impossible to get , travel agents and others report. ; `` The closer you get to the event , the less there is '' available , said Paul Kloetzel , president of O'Brien Travel Service in San Jose . `` It 's an event , and it rarely , rarely happens . There is a certain element of traveler out there -LRB- and -RRB- there 's an awful lot of those people . '' ; The eclipse will be seen from Hawaii to central Brazil . If clouds do n't spoil the show , viewers along that path will see the moon slip slowly in front of the sun . The sky will grow darker , as if dusk has fallen , until the sun is completely blocked out for a few minutes as the moon 's shadow falls on the earth . Stars will shine. ; The length of this `` period of totality , '' as it 's known , will depend on where viewers are along the path . The eclipse will last the longest -- six minutes and 58 seconds -- at the center of the shadow in the town of Tuxpan , on Mexico 's west coast . In the Bay Area , the moon will cover about 55 percent of the sun 's surface. ; Among fans of the heavens , a solar eclipse inspires awe , fascination and grandeur . Firm estimates are n't available , but blotted-out-sun watchers are expected to number more than 100,000 -- perhaps 50,000 to 70,000 in Hawaii and an equal number in Baja. ; `` The effect of it -- the view of seeing the sun disappear little by little and then actually having the -LRB- blue -RRB- sky disappear and having the birds stop singing -- it 's miraculous , '' said Irving Hochman , a member of the San Francisco Amateur Astronomers . `` It really is the most spectacular natural phenomenon possible . '' ; Bob Bruynesteyn , head of the San Mateo Astronomical Society , puts it succinctly : `` Not too many people have stood in the shadow of the moon . '' ; It 's romantic images like these that are inspiring a last-minute surge of would-be eclipse-watchers , travel agents say. ; Pamela and Daniel Dei Rossi of Campbell were among those scramblers . Learning of the eclipse only a month ago , they began calling travel agents . `` But they basically said they would n't even try -- everything was booked , '' said Pamela Dei Rossi. ; They called places where relatives had stayed in Mexico . No luck . She called a friend in Hawaii for a place to stay , but airline ticket and rental car problems still loomed . Then , good fortune struck . She called a travel agent who had taken a class with West Valley College astronomy instructor Tom Bullock . Bullock was leading a group to Hawaii , and some late cancellations came up . The Dei Rossis were in. ; `` We are so excited , '' Pamela Dei Rossi said . `` We had given up . '' ; Though travel arrangements are now tough to come by , some opportunities remain. ; One is to go by the back door. ; Hawaii and Baja are the prime spots , because -- statistically at least -- they offer the best chance of cloudless skies . But after enveloping the Big Island and then slicing across southern Baja , the moon 's shadow will cross the Gulf of California and race across the southern flank of Mexico and down the west coast of Central America . Two of Mexico 's biggest cities , Gaudalajara and Mexico City , lie in the path of totality . So does Mazatlan. ; Puerto Vallarta , a resort city , is only a short distance away . Airline ticket availability is reported spotty for the resorts but still available for other destinations. ; Another possibility is to search around for groups making the trip that have had late cancellations , as the Dei Rossis did. ; What probably wo n't work is the overland route to Baja . From the border to the northern edge of where the eclipse will be total is about a 16-hour drive , said Raul Cardenas , the Mexican consul in San Jose . Mexican authorities will have a checkpoint from July 7-15 at Guerrero Negro , about halfway down the peninsula . Travelers who ca n't produce original documents showing they have accommodations will be turned back , Cardenas said . Those staying in private homes must also produce a letter of some kind , he said. ; Even firm reservations may not be all they seem . Airlines routinely overbook seats , in expectation of no-shows . With the eclipse , there 's concern the overbooking could be particularly bad , especially on inter-island flights in Hawaii . That 's important because many eclipse-watchers have n't been able to book a flight directly to the Big Island . They 've had to get flights into somewhere else , like Honolulu , and do a short hop to where they want to be. ; `` These flights are so overbooked it 's actually a laughingstock , '' said O'Brien 's Kloetzel . `` I have a feeling this is going to be an ugly scene . '' ; IF YOU 'RE INTERESTED ; An eight-page brochure on the July 11 eclipse is available for $ 2 from the Astronomical Society of the Pacific , 390 Ashton Ave. , San Francisco , CA 94112 . Special Mylar viewers for safely observing the eclipse are also available for another $ 2 .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O

solar eclipse
mexico city
hawaii
special mylar viewers


But Thomas , who has risen in Republican ranks as an advocate of bootstrap conservatism , would present a striking change from Marshall , a civil-rights pioneer and an anchor of the court 's declining liberal faction. ; Thomas , barely half the age of the man whose seat he was named to fill , came of age in the world that Marshall helped create. ; Now the question is to what extent Thomas would add weight to the court 's new majority that appears willing to dismantle important parts of the legacy that Marshall helped to build. ; While not much is known about Thomas ' views on most issues likely to come before the court , he has made clear his opposition to affirmative action and to policies that can be viewed as incorporating quotas or racial preferences. ; Opposes affirmative action ; In his year as a federal appeals court judge , he has not ruled on affirmative action , but he has long been outspoken in taking the position that government affirmative-action programs are not only unwise but unconstitutional. ; However , in other respects , this nomination is very much a wild card both for conservatives who jumped instantly to embrace it and for liberals whose responses ranged from cautious to hostile. ; His views on other major issues before the court , including abortion , church-state relations and the definition of constitutional due process , are unknown . Those views may well remain unknown through a confirmation process that may be contentious but that in the end is not likely to derail the nomination. ; Studied for priesthood ; Thomas attended Roman Catholic schools through college and studied for the priesthood . Although the Catholic Church vigorously opposes abortion , Thomas has apparently never taken a public position on abortion or on the dimensions of the constitutional right to privacy , on which the right to abortion was based. ; His position on affirmative action is probably sufficient to shift the court 's direction since the court remains closely divided. ; `` My opposition to preferences and quotas not only is a constitutional , legal opposition , it has been a moral , ethical opposition , '' he said five years ago at a conference sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith . ; In its most recent affirmative-action decision , a year ago , the court split 5-4 in upholding a Federal Communications Commission policy that gives preference to blacks and members of other minorities in acquiring some radio and television licenses. ; Justice William Brennan wrote that decision a few weeks before he retired from the court . Marshall joined it . The views of Justice David Souter , Brennan 's successor , remain largely unknown. ; Views on big issues unknown ; Thomas ' views on the other major issues remain unknown , although the 1990 confirmation hearing for his seat on the Court of Appeals was widely viewed on Capitol Hill and in ideological interest groups as a rehearsal for a Supreme Court nomination. ; Some Democratic senators said at the time and again Monday that their votes to confirm him for the appeals court should not be taken as endorsements for the Supreme Court. ; Three years ago , the Senate denied confirmation to Judge Robert Bork despite having voted to confirm him only a few years earlier to the same court on which Thomas now sits. ; Leaders of abortion rights groups said Monday that they would press the Senate to deny confirmation to Thomas unless he expresses his support for the Supreme Court 's abortion precedents , including continued adherence to Roe vs. Wade , the 1973 ruling that established the constitutional right to abortion. ; Abortion faction speaks out ; `` The Souter model of silence and evasion that we saw last year is absolutely unacceptable , '' said Kate Michelman , executive director of the National Abortion Rights Action League. ; Her reference was to Souter 's confirmation hearing last September , during which the nominee gracefully but firmly deflected questions on abortion. ; Sen. Howard Metzenbaum , an Ohio Democrat who serves on the Judiciary Committee , endorsed Michelman 's position. ; `` I 'm through reading tea leaves and voting in the dark , '' he said. ; But the Judiciary Committee includes some of the most conservative Democrats in the Senate as well several combative Republican conservatives . If Thomas maintains his silence , his nomination is unlikely to founder on the abortion issue alone. ; Rights groups cautious ; Civil rights groups took a cautious tone Monday , essentially noting `` concerns '' and saying they would study the record. ; `` We urge the Senate not to rush to judgment , '' said a statement from a Leadership Conference on Civil Rights , an umbrella group of 185 organizations that took an early and leading role in the defeat of the Bork nomination. ; Introducing his nominee to the country at a televised news conference Monday , Bush drew on the powerful appeal of Thomas ' life story as a self-motivated and self-made success. ; `` Judge Thomas ' life is a model for all Americans , '' Bush said. ; At his side stood a black man who was 5 years old when Marshall won his Supreme Court argument in Brown vs. the Board of Education and who was a college freshman when Marshall joined the Supreme Court. ; That was a generation ago , when the court was still rewriting the ground rules by which Americans were to live their lives . Well before Bush presented Thomas to the country Monday , it was clear that that chapter in the court 's history is largely closed and that a new page was about to be turned . After Monday 's nomination , some -- but by no means all -- of the blanks on that page have been filled in. ; CLARENCE THOMAS ; Born : June 23 , 1948 , in Pinpoint , Ga. ; Education : B.A. from Holy Cross College , 1971 ; J.D. from Yale Law School , 1974. ; Career : ; -LRB- box -RRB- 1974 - ' 77 : assistant attorney general , state of Missouri ; -LRB- box -RRB- 1977 - ' 79 : attorney , Monsanto Co. ; -LRB- box -RRB- 1979 - ' 81 : legislative assistant to Sen. John Danforth , R-Mo. ; -LRB- box -RRB- 1981 - ' 82 : assistant secretary for civil rights , Education Department ; -LRB- box -RRB- 1982 - ' 90 : chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ; -LRB- box -RRB- 1990 - : U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for District of Columbia ; Source : Who 's Who Among Black Americans ; WHAT 'S NEXT ? ; Now that President Bush has nominated Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court , the next step is up to the Senate. ; -LRB- box -RRB- The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to begin confirmation hearings in September , after the August recess. ; -LRB- box -RRB- After the committee makes a recommendation , the nomination will be voted on by the full Senate. ; -LRB- box -RRB- If confirmed promptly , Thomas could be on the Supreme Court by the time it begins hearing cases in October. ; Source : Mercury News Wire Services

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

clarence thomas
supreme court
nomination
affirmative action
racial preferences


Bank of Boston Corp. 's decision to treat its Third World loans much more conservatively is expected to have significant domestic and international repercussions , bankers and analysts say . Domestically , the move reflects the competitive advantage that regional banks with large loan-loss reserves have over their big brothers in such money centers as New York , Chicago and San Francisco . Internationally , it appears that it will be even more difficult for economically troubled developing nations to attract new bank loans . U.S. banks are increasingly splitting into two groups . On one hand , there is a small group of money-center banks with comparatively thin reserves against large loans to developing countries . On the other hand is a group of regional institutions which , with relatively small exposure to developing countries , are willing to establish big reserves against such loans or , as Bank of Boston decided Monday , to completely write off some loans as uncollectible . `` It 's a parting of the ways between the money centers who are out to collect on their assets and the regionals who want to get out , '' says Lawrence Cohn , an analyst at Merrill Lynch & Co. . The Bank of Boston decision `` may well drive a wedge between the money-center banks and the regional banks , '' adds James J. McDermott , Jr. , director of research at Keefe Bruyette & Woods Inc. , a securities firm which specializes in bank stocks . `` It 's created an enormous quandary for many money-center banks , '' Mr. McDermott says . Actions such as that taken by Bank of Boston highlight a potential competitive edge that regional banks have over money-center banks . Management could use their reserve position to emphasize stength when competing for deposits and banking business against larger banks . The reserve action also could make it easier for institutions like Bank of Boston to attract investors to their stock and other securities , bank analysts said . While the large banks are eager to remain competitive with such regionals as Bank of Boston , they also want to ensure that the regionals continue to lend to heavily indebted developing nations . Earlier this year , Bank of Boston proved one of the more difficult regionals to corral into a $ 6 billion bank loan for Mexico , according to New York bankers . Now that Bank of Boston has reserved and written off most of its loans to less-developed countries , it 's likely to be much less willing to join any such new efforts . That could add to the lending burden for the biggest U.S. banks . Moreover , most of the nation 's big banks could n't afford to follow Bank of Boston 's lead without crippling their capital , and reducing their common equity-asset ratios to unacceptably low levels . For instance , if Manufacturers Hanover Corp. imitated Bank of Boston 's action , it would have to add $ 3.13 billion to reserves and would have a common assets ratio of only 0.69 % , Keefe Bruyette estimates . In order to take steps similar to Bank of Boston 's , large money-center banks would have to sell assets , shrink balance sheets and slash dividends -- and they show little sign of doing that . Yesterday , Manufacturers Hanover announced a regular quarterly dividend of 82 cents a share , offering investors a yield of more than 13 % annually . Manufacturers Hanover declined to comment on whether it might follow Bank of Boston 's action . Other large New York banks also declined to disclose their plans , although a spokeman for Chase Manhattan Corp. , said , `` We 're obviously looking at it . '' Mellon Bank Corp. said yesterday that it expects a fourth-quarter loss of about $ 220 million , and that it would increase loan-loss reserves by about $ 180 million to cover troubled foreign loans . The stocks of several major money-center banks fell sharply yesterday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading . Chase Manhattan skidded $ 2.25 to close at $ 20.125 , Manufacturers Hanover fell $ 2.375 to $ 24.25 , and J.P. Morgan & Co. was off $ 1.50 to $ 30 . Bank of Boston closed up 50 cents at $ 20.75 , while Mellon fell $ 1 to $ 26.25 . Analysts expect that other regional banks may copy the action taken by Bank of Boston . `` I would n't be surprised if some of the medium-sized regionals decided to follow , '' said Cheryl Swaim , an analyst and vice president at Oppenheimer & Co. . In Boston , there were rumors Bank of New England might announce a similar move , but a company spokesman said `` reserve levels are appropriate . '' Bank of Boston announced Monday that it was writing off $ 200 million of loans to less-developed countries and that it was placing all but a small portion of its loans to the Third World on a non-accrual basis . When a loan is placed on non-accrual , a bank only credits interest it actually receives , and does n't automatically accrue interest due . Bank of Boston also placed on non-accrual $ 470 million in loans to less-developed countries that are unrelated to trade . Along with $ 330 million in such loans previously put on non-accrual , Bank of Boston has now either charged off , or put on non-accrual , all of its $ 1 billion loans to heavily indebted developing countries . This does n't include $ 170 million in trade-related debt . While Bank of Boston 's action is the most striking to date to remove Latin exposure from its balance sheet , smaller similar actions began at other banks around mid-year . First Bank System Inc. , Minneapolis , the nation 's 15th biggest banking concern , charged off $ 25.4 million in troubled foreign loans during the third quarter . First Chicago Corp. , the 11th largest banking concern , charged off $ 48.9 million in Third World loans during the quarter . And even before the big reserves were set aside , banks were quietly charging off Latin debt , though on a smaller scale . Last March , Continental Illinois Corp. said it had charged off about half of its $ 100 million of loans to Peru . Continental would n't comment yesterday on Bank of Boston 's action . -- Jeff Bailey contributed to this article . -- The Cost to Big Banks of Following Bank of Boston -LRB- All dollar figures in millions -RRB- Bank of Boston *** TOTAL THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE ... $ 800 -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- * EXISTING THIRD WORLD RESERVE ... $ 430 -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- * ACTUAL RESERVE COVERAGE OF THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE * . . 54 % ADDITIONAL PROVISION NECESSARY TO COVER ... $ 0 54 % OF THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE * COMMON EQUITY ASSETS ... 4.77 % -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- ** COMMON EQUITY ASSETS ... 5.02 % -LRB- As of 3/31/87 -RRB- Citicorp TOTAL THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE ... $ 14,000 -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- * EXISTING THIRD WORLD RESERVE ... $ 3,342 -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- * ACTUAL RESERVE COVERAGE OF THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE * . . 25 % ADDITIONAL PROVISION NECESSARY TO COVER ... $ 4,093 54 % OF THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE * COMMON EQUITY ASSETS ... 2.37 % -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- ** COMMON EQUITY ASSETS ... 4.00 % -LRB- As of 3/31/87 -RRB- Bank of America TOTAL THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE ... 10,054 -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- * EXISTING THIRD WORLD RESERVE ... 1,808 -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- * ACTUAL RESERVE COVERAGE OF THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE * . . 18 % ADDITIONAL PROVISION NECESSARY TO COVER ... 3,596 54 % OF THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE * COMMON EQUITY ASSETS ... 0.58 -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- ** COMMON EQUITY ASSETS ... 3.42 -LRB- As of 3/31/87 -RRB- Manufacturers Hanover TOTAL THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE ... 9,234 **** -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- * EXISTING THIRD WORLD RESERVE ... 1,833 **** -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- * ACTUAL RESERVE COVERAGE OF THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE * . . 20 ADDITIONAL PROVISION NECESSARY TO COVER ... 3,130 54 % OF THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE * COMMON EQUITY ASSETS ... 0.69 -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- ** COMMON EQUITY ASSETS ... 4.17 -LRB- As of 3/31/87 -RRB- Chase Manhattan TOTAL THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE ... 8,670 -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- * EXISTING THIRD WORLD RESERVE ... 1,970 -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- * ACTUAL RESERVE COVERAGE OF THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE * . . 23 ADDITIONAL PROVISION NECESSARY TO COVER ... 2,690 54 % OF THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE * COMMON EQUITY ASSETS ... 1.79 -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- ** COMMON EQUITY ASSETS ... 4.47 -LRB- As of 3/31/87 -RRB- Chemical TOTAL THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE ... 5,945 **** -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- * EXISTING THIRD WORLD RESERVE ... 1,505 **** -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- * ACTUAL RESERVE COVERAGE OF THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE * . . 25 ADDITIONAL PROVISION NECESSARY TO COVER ... 1,690 54 % OF THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE * COMMON EQUITY ASSETS ... 1.61 -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- ** COMMON EQUITY ASSETS ... 4.74 -LRB- As of 3/31/87 -RRB- J.P. Morgan TOTAL THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE ... 5,367 -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- * EXISTING THIRD WORLD RESERVE ... 1,317 -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- * ACTUAL RESERVE COVERAGE OF THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE * . . 25 ADDITIONAL PROVISION NECESSARY TO COVER ... 1,568 54 % OF THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE * COMMON EQUITY ASSETS ... 4.91 -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- ** COMMON EQUITY ASSETS ... 6.33 -LRB- As of 3/31/87 -RRB- Bankers Trust TOTAL THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE ... 4,000 -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- * EXISTING THIRD WORLD RESERVE ... 1,000 -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- * ACTUAL RESERVE COVERAGE OF THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE * . . 25 ADDITIONAL PROVISION NECESSARY TO COVER ... 1,150 54 % OF THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE * COMMON EQUITY ASSETS ... 3.58 -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- ** COMMON EQUITY ASSETS ... 4.90 -LRB- As of 3/31/87 -RRB- First Chicago TOTAL THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE ... 3,100 -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- * EXISTING THIRD WORLD RESERVE ... 930 -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- * ACTUAL RESERVE COVERAGE OF THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE * . . 30 ADDITIONAL PROVISION NECESSARY TO COVER ... 736 54 % OF THIRD WORLD EXPOSURE * COMMON EQUITY ASSETS ... 2.38 -LRB- As of 9/30/87 -RRB- ** COMMON EQUITY ASSETS ... 5.16 -LRB- As of 3/31/87 -RRB- * Data used in calculations are net of previous -LRB- or intended in BKB 's case -RRB- Third World charge-offs . ** Resulting Common Equity/Asset ratio reflecting the additional provision . A common equity/assets ratio of 4 % is generally regarded as the minimum prudent level . *** BKB 's exposure excludes short-term trade-related credits . **** As of June 30 , 1987 . Source : Keefe Bruyette & Woods Inc. . -LRB- Revised WSJ Dec. 22 , 1987 -RRB-

O O B I O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

third world loans
boston corp
regional banks
developing countries

loan-loss reserves
money-center banks
u.s. banks


St. Martin 's , 306 pp. , $ 18.95 ; CHARLIE Francis , testifying in 1988 in Toronto at a federal inquiry about the use of performance-enhancing drugs in sports , seemed a mad scientist , something on the order of Dr. Frankenstein . Francis , the Canadian national sprint coach , knew the polysyllabic names and complex characteristics of steroids -- furazabol , stanozolol , Dianabol -- as if they were members of his family . And although he spoke of his athletes as if they were family members , too , he made it plain , under oath , that he had given them every steroid combination imaginable , his experiments all carefully calibrated , charted and analyzed. ; His system had worked remarkably . On Sept. 24 , 1988 , Francis ' most famous pupil , Ben Johnson , who immigrated to Toronto from Jamaica as a scrawny 14-year-old , ran 100 meters in 9.79 seconds at the Olympics in Seoul , South Korea . The time was a world record and gave Johnson the gold medal , ahead of the defending champion , U.S. star Carl Lewis. ; But the Francis system , like all systems , was not foolproof . `` About 42 hours after my life 's greatest moment , '' Francis writes on the first page of his confessional , `` Speed Trap , '' his `` nightmare began . '' ; Johnson , the world 's fastest man , had tested positive for illegal steroid use . Suddenly he was the world 's fastest cheat . Millions of dollars worth of endorsements shriveled up . His gold medal was revoked , and his world record was , too. ; Because Johnson was caught , the Canadians were embarrassed . Because they were embarrassed , they conducted a federal inquiry . Because they held an inquiry , Francis had to testify . And because of that testimony , we have `` Speed Trap , '' an elaboration of what Francis said at the inquiry and a history of his remarkable path through the world of track and field. ; He argues , essentially , that to be a world-class sprinter , you must use steroids -- he makes this argument even as Johnson attempts a comeback for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona , Spain , without them. ; Steroids do not make a runner run faster , Francis explains , but they enable a runner to train harder . The desire for speed comes with incredible costs , and they are the trap . By encouraging his athletes to use steroids -- and Francis maintains that they all wanted to do so and knew about steroids before the coach brought the subject up -- Francis argues that he is simply helping to create a level playing field. ; We learn that the use of performance-enhancing drugs is nothing new in the world of sports -- that cocaine and arsenic and codeine were used by athletes in the 1896 Olympic Games . We learn that Johnson harmed his own world-record times by raising his hand jubilantly as he approached the finish line . We learn that if athletes take steroids on their own , independent of an official -LRB- but still illicit , of course -RRB- program , it 's called `` free-lancing . '' That 's one of Francis ' theories for why Johnson got caught. ; But , Francis says , there is no logical reason for Johnson to have been caught . After all , he had never been caught before . No one of Johnson 's standing had been caught before . Francis offers theories for the positive test result -- free-lancing , sabotage , a screw-up by the team doctor -- but there is no clear answer. ; For all its candor , answers and revelations are not forthcoming in `` Speed Trap . '' Francis , without naming names , convinces us that steroid usage is rampant , but he tells us what that means to him only in a technical sense . The book lacks a strong sense of character development . It does not take any moral stand ; it lacks passion . How did Francis feel violating the rules ? What drove him ? What did he really feel toward Johnson ? ; After a two-year ban , Johnson is running again without Francis ' coaching . The early word is that he is still extremely fast , probably one of the fastest men in the world -- but no longer the fastest . Francis would have us believe that without steroids , Johnson can not be the fastest . -LRB- Johnson disagrees . -RRB- ; At the end of `` Speed Trap , '' Francis says that steroids can not be simply banned -- their use is too prevalent , they can be disguised too easily and they work too well . The dangers have been exaggerated , Francis says . People who want running to be a `` natural '' sport are naive . `` We ceased being natural ages ago , the moment we stopped running barefoot on dirt paths , '' Francis writes . `` It is a formidable challenge to distinguish between nature and artifice , a task I would leave to the philosophers . '' ; But `` Speed Trap '' left me wishing Francis had at least tried his hand at philosophy . Is n't that everyone 's responsibility ? To ask why we do the things we do ? `` But I was a sprint coach , and I had a different job , '' he concludes . `` To help a few gifted people run as fast as they could . '' ; They ran fast , all right . But he never seems to have asked himself : Is it worth it ? -LRB- box -RRB-

O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O B O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I I O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

ben johnson
charlie francis
federal inquiry
steroid combination
world record
illegal steroid use
steroids
toronto
canadian national sprint coach
gold medal


Thomas and his brother made it in the white world . Their sister , reared by an aunt , had four children and went on welfare. ; Thomas , 43 , credits everything he has achieved to his grandparents . He choked up twice on national television Monday when he mentioned them . In a hostile world , they taught him to rely on himself . They shaped his views on individualism , race and society , views that guide him today. ; `` I was raised to survive under the totalitarianism of segregation , '' Thomas wrote in a paper for the Heritage Foundation , a conservative public policy institute in Washington . `` We were raised to survive in spite of the dark , oppressive cloud of governmentally sanctioned bigotry. ; Self-sufficiency , security ; `` Self-sufficiency and spiritual and emotional security were our tools to carve out and secure freedom , '' he added . `` Those who attempt to capture the daily counseling , oversight , common sense and vision of my grandparents in a governmental program are engaging in sheer folly . '' ; The very beliefs that have brought Thomas to the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court make him suspect to black political activists , veterans of the struggle to make government accountable for the wrongs done to blacks. ; Yet as Washington Post journalist Juan Williams has pointed out , Thomas is firmly grounded in the black intellectual tradition of Booker T. Washington , who advocated education , self-reliance and mutual support as the principal means of advancement. ; Clarence Thomas was born June 23 , 1948 , in Pinpoint , Ga. , a town in the marshes near Savannah . His mother , Leola , 18 at the time , lived in a house that had no plumbing. ; Before Thomas ' second birthday , his father moved to the North and left the family behind . His mother remarried , and her second husband did not want the children of her first marriage. ; Taken in by grandparents ; At age 7 , Thomas was sent to live with his grandparents . His grandfather , Myers Anderson , had little formal schooling . But life had taught him a lot. ; `` He could barely read and write -- read enough to read the Bible , '' Thomas said in a 1983 interview with the Washington Post . `` But he was a tough old man . '' ; He elaborated in the Heritage Foundation paper : `` Of course , I thought my grandparents were too rigid and their expectations were too high . I also thought they were mean at times ... . The most compassionate thing they did for us was teach us how to fend for ourselves in a hostile environment . '' ; But the world that lay beyond the confines of poverty and segregation was not totally closed to Thomas . His grandfather , a Catholic , enrolled him in an all-black school run by the church . On Monday , Thomas also made sure to thank `` the nuns . '' ; As a young man , he wanted to become a priest . In 1967 , he was accepted at the all-white Immaculate Conception Seminary in Conception Junction , Mo. . He was in for a shock . Other seminarians referred to him as the `` black spot on a white horse . '' Disgusted , he left at the end of his first year. ; Flirts with ` black power ' ; Thomas went on to attend Holy Cross College in Worcester , Mass. . In the 1960s , he flirted with the politics of `` black power '' and considered himself a follower of Malcolm X . But his true interest was in the law . He received his law degree from Yale University in 1974. ; As a young lawyer , Thomas worked in the office of Missouri Attorney General John C. Danforth . He later joined Monsanto Co. ; Thomas ' introduction to Washington came in 1979 . By then , Danforth was a Republican senator . Thomas , a former Democrat , joined his staff as a legislative assistant. ; In 1982 , after a year as assistant education secretary for civil rights , Thomas was named by President Reagan to lead the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. ; His tenure at the commission , which investigates discrimination complaints , was controversial . Critics said the agency went soft under Thomas . Abandoning support for hiring goals and timetables , Thomas focused on resolving thousands of individual discrimination complaints . He took credit for improving efficiency. ; When President Bush nominated Thomas to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia , a steppingstone to the Supreme Court , a contentious confirmation process was forecast . But the hearings went smoothly , perhaps because Thomas was never among the Reagan administration 's most outspoken critics of civil rights . He took his seat on the appeals court in March 1990. ; Thomas , who lives in suburban Virginia , is married and has a son. ; `` In my view , '' he said of his life Monday , `` only in America could this have been possible . ''

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

clarence thomas
grandparents
black power


In his State of the Union address last January , President Reagan announced that welfare reform would be a priority of his administration in its final three years . He instructed his charges to draw up plans for `` immediate action '' that would enable poor families to achieve `` real and lasting emancipation '' from welfare dependency . `` The success of welfare , '' he said , `` should be judged by how many of its recipients become independent of welfare . '' The president 's convincing message raised hopes that something would finally be done to break the cycle of poverty and dependency that afflicts several million welfare families . Americans have become increasingly exasperated by the enormous amount of money the federal government devotes each year to anti-poverty programs , with little apparent abatement in poverty . The president correctly sensed that the public wants reform . If the president lets up on welfare reform , he will disappoint those whose hopes he raised last January , a group that surely includes many of the poor who understand better than any politician how deficient the current system is . To build on the momentum he created a year ago , the president must make plain his commitment in the State of the Union message next Tuesday . To pull away now would be to undercut the welfare-reform movement just as it has hit its stride . The president ought to challenge Congress to respond to his initiatives . His Domestic Policy Council has drafted a blueprint . It would give the states wider latitude to experiment with welfare programs . Many of the governors seem to like the plan , as they have already unveiled their own proposals for welfare reform . The president and the governors should be natural allies on this issue , and the chances of success would be enhanced if they could jointly commit themselves to a plan of action . The president will need all the help he can get if he is to convince Democrats in Congress to go along . Most have paid lip service to the idea of welfare reform but nary a bill has been put on the docket . This suggests that the Democrats are n't as serious about welfare reform as the governors and the American public are . There is a reason for this . The Democrats have long been beholden to the welfare lobby , whose interests now have less to do with alleviating poverty than with enlarging the welfare bureaucracy . This past December , a coalition of some 80 organizations , most with headquarters in Washington , issued a `` statement of principles '' calling for increased spending for poverty and jobs programs . It also insisted that the federal government has `` primary responsibility '' for operating welfare . Congressional Democrats seem to be in agreement with the welfare lobby . However , the public wants the system changed . It will be difficult for Congress to sell restored or additional spending on current poverty programs when the American people are already spending more than $ 100 billion a year on these programs . The president should take up his case for reform directly with the American people . With the alliance of reform-minded governors and the support of the public , the president can press Congress to move off the deadening status quo . With the ball in its court , Congress can decide either to work with the president and the governors , or it can continue to place the interests of the welfare lobby ahead of the interests of the poor .

O O O O O O O O O O B I O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

welfare reform
president reagan
federal government
americans
welfare programs
welfare dependency


A jet trainer crashed Sunday on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier Lexington in the Gulf of Mexico , killing five people , injuring at least two and damaging several aircraft , the Navy said . The crash of the two-seat T-2 Buckeye caused several fires on the World War II-era ship that sailors quickly brought under control , officials said . Cmdr. Dennis Hessler , spokesman for the chief of naval education and training at Pensacola , said he did not know whether the plane was taking off or landing at the time of the crash . It was unclear how many people were aboard the jet . The crash also did major damage to two aircraft on the flight deck and minor damage to another , a Pentagon spokesman said . The Lexington , the Navy 's oldest aircraft carrier , was 17 miles south of its home port of Pensacola when the accident occurred , Coast Guard Lt. Mark Kasper said in New Orleans . The jet was assigned to Training Squadron 19 , based at the Meridian , Miss. , Naval Air Station , the Navy said . The victims ' identities were being withheld pending notification of next of kin . Navy helicopters took the injured to hospitals , Kasper said . A burn victim was taken to the University of South Alabama Medical Center in Mobile . Kasper said that the Coast Guard sent a jet from Mobile to fly a team of ordnance experts in Panama City to Pensacola because the Navy apparently was concerned that fuel cells aboard the jet might explode after being damaged in the crash . The 46-year-old Lexington is the only aircraft carrier used by the Navy exclusively for training .

O B I O O O O B I O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O B I O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

crash
jet trainer
flight deck
major damage
aircraft carrier lexington
victims


The health department said it is providing tuberculosis testing and treatment for the Human Resources Administration 's program for the homeless , and will train staff members on tuberculosis prevention and control . The department also has an established residence for homeless tuberculosis patients , and is working with substance-abuse treatment services to extend tuberculosis prevention in its programs . The Board of Health approved a resolution last year requiring all children entering city schools to be tested . The Health Department estimates that one million New Yorkers may be infected by the TB germ . But only a fraction of a percent of those who have active tuberculosis disease can spread the infection to susceptible individuals . The germ is inactive in more than 99 % of those infected . Those at high risk for contracting TB are people whose capacity for resisting infection is weakened , either through diseases such as HIV infection , by drug or alcohol abuse , serious illness such as cancer , or by poor nutrition . The greatest concentration of tuberculosis was in the 25-to-44 age group , accounting for 57 % of the total . Men outnumber women two to one in the caseload .

O B I O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

active tuberculosis disease
health department
tuberculosis testing
tuberculosis prevention
control


The Reagan administration moved to deal with the worsening drought , and a top trade official said that farm export subsidies may have to be curbed . Meanwhile , fears mounted that the fragile recovery of agriculture-related industries will be derailed by continuing lack of rain . Concern that the drought could fuel inflation drove stocks and bonds sharply lower yesterday . The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 37.16 points to close at 2094.24 , while U.S. government bonds fell more than 1 1/2 points . Grain and soybean futures continued their drought-driven rally . President Reagan appointed an interagency group to deal with the drought and Agriculture Secretary Richard Lyng authorized farmers in drought parched counties in 13 states to harvest hay on idled crop land in the government 's Conservation Reserve Program . White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said that the president is `` very concerned '' about the drought , and `` wants to make certain that everything that the federal government can do to assist will be done . '' While he would n't predict what kind of disaster relief might be authorized , Mr. Fitzwater said the drought `` certainly is going to drive up food prices . We 've already seen some increases in some products . '' But he said the administration does n't believe the drought will have `` overall implications for the economy . '' At a news briefing , Special Trade Representative Clayton Yeutter warned that the administration may have to curb its so-called export enhancement program if the drought becomes even worse . This program is designed to boost farm exports by reimbursing U.S. exporters for the difference between the prices they receive for grain and other commodities in world markets and higher U.S. prices . `` Clearly , we will have to appraise very carefully the desirability of using export enhancement funds at a time when -LRB- U.S. -RRB- supplies are unpredictable , '' Mr. Yeutter said . Shrinking soybean stockpiles and soaring prices have stirred speculation that the government may impose an embargo on exports of soybeans and soybean products . Growers still complain about the 1973 embargo , which they say hurt the nation 's reputation as a reliable supplier . But Mr. Yeutter said he would `` vigorously '' oppose any embargo on U.S. soybean exports . Earlier this week , Agriculture Secretary Richard Lyng took an equally adamant stand against such an embargo . Before the drought began damaging crops this month , the year was shaping up as one of the best in the decade for rural industries that depend on farmers . Hefty government subsidies on last year 's strong harvests put a record amount of cash into farmers pockets . But bankers that lend to farmers suddenly are worrying anew about their borrower 's financial health . Farm equipment makers say they are concerned that sales could suffer . Realtors in rural areas say that land prices , which had just begun to turn around , may be affected . For many , the drought could n't come at a worse time . `` This is probably putting a damper on one of the most optimistic years in the last eight years , '' says Richard Hahn , president and chief executive of an Omaha , Neb.-based farm management concern . In April , the price of good-quality Iowa farm land was one-third higher than it was a year earlier . Tractor sales by farm equipment dealers were up 12.8 % during the first five months of the year . Now , with farmers in many Midwest states expecting smaller harvests this year , these businesses are seeing their new-found trade evaporating . `` Everybody is watching the dollars they have , '' says Allen Olson , a vice president of the National Bank of Harvey , N.D. , where the drought has already halved the potential yield of the local wheat crop . `` People are borrowing minimal amounts . '' Few in farming expect the drought to trigger an agricultural recession , although more farmers could go bankrupt because of it . But all bets are off on how farmers will fare at the end of this year 's harvests . While crop prices are soaring on weather-worries , yields may be so low in many areas that farmers wo n't do nearly as well as expected . If farmers are strapped for cash this year , the effects would ripple throughout the farm economy . Bob Pfiefer , owner of a Massey-Ferguson farm equipment dealership in Sioux Falls , S.D. , says he has already canceled some orders for fear that sales will soon begin dropping off . If the drought continues , he says , `` it could bring us to our knees again . '' In Franklin , Tenn. , implement dealer Larry Holt is slashing his fall orders by one-third , even though sales so far this year are up roughly 25 % . He expects sales for the rest of this year to drop 10 % to 20 % from the second-half of 1987 . J.I. Case , the farm implement-making unit of Tenneco Inc. , is considering cutting production schedules if the drought continues through July . `` It 's already getting harder to sell farmers tractors because of the drought , '' says James K. Ashford , Case president and chief executive officer . He said that if the drought continues , industrywide tractor sales could turn flat next year instead of climbing the 5 % to 6 % that was originally forecast for 1989 . Among rural banks , loan problems are expected to rise and profits to fall . `` Before the drought we expected a very solid year '' for farm lenders , says Mark Drabenstott , an economist at the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank . `` There are a lot of question marks right now . '' Many rural lenders this spring were banking on farmers losing some of their post-farm crisis inhibitions about going into hock . One of the biggest problems for farm banks has been that their number of loans , a major source of bank income , has shriveled as farmers paid off their debts with last year 's profits . In Anadarko , Okla. , bankers worry now that ranchers are going to make less money this year because crop damage is escalating the cost of feeding cattle . `` The drought is going to hurt us because it hurts the cattle market , '' says Lance Shenold , a vice president of Anadarko Bank & Trust Co. . The land boom is wilting . Because of the drought , Iowa realtors expect land prices to rise somewhat less than the 5 % to 10 % they had been expecting . `` Everybody has just kind of pulled in their horns , '' says Jim Frevert , vice president of Hertz Farm Management Inc. , Nevada , Iowa . A big drop in harvests this year could squeeze investors who had planned on good yields to help pay their real estate loans . Most of the farmers who have bought land recently did so for cash , but many of the urban investors got in on credit , real estate agents say . Among all the uncertainty , however , some are looking for a silver lining . `` I will be hurt a bit , '' says Mark Dadd , an economist who is buying a 420-acre farm in Missouri . `` But I regard this as a distinctly positive thing . '' He is hoping that drought damage and rising crop prices will fan inflationary fears so high that land again will be a hot commodity . `` I 'm here for the capital gain over the long haul , '' he says . The drought is also fanning wildly different predictions of how the farm economy will turn next year . Some economists think high crop prices will spark more planting , which would benefit agribusiness , while others think farmers will start the next growing season more conservative . Paul Prentice of Farm Sector Economics Associates , a forecasting concern , thinks the drought could so deplete U.S. stockpiles that the Agriculture Department would drop much of its farm crisis-era planting restrictions . He is projecting that the number of acres planted with corn could rise by about one-fifth and soybean acreage could increase by one-sixth . Others , however , see little chance that recession-weary farmers would be willing to take the risk of planting fence-row to fence-row like they did a decade ago . `` I do n't see us getting on a late '70s bandwagon , '' says Mr. Drabenstott of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank . `` Both borrowers and lenders have developed pretty good memories . '' The decision by Mr. Lyng , the secretary of agriculture , to allow hay-mowing for 30 days on Conservation Reserve Program land came as farmers and ranchers in North Dakota , Minnesota and other states continued to sell off livestock in response to shortages of hay and other forage crops . Nationwide , pasture conditions on June 1 were the worst they have been since 1934 , according to the Agriculture Department . Mr. Lyng 's order covers counties where livestock-grazing and hay-mowing on so-called set-aside acres already has been authorized , and the drought 's effects have been rated as `` severe . '' Every county in North Dakota meets these criteria . The department said it wo n't allow livestock-grazing on land in the soil-conservation program , under which farmers are paid to take erodible acreage out of crop production .

O B I O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

reagan administration
worsening drought
disaster relief
food prices
export enhancement program
export enhancement funds
drought damage
farm export
farm economy


World Bank President Barber Conable was so well regarded during his 20-year career as a Republican congressman from New York that some journalists nicknamed him `` H.R. '' -- for `` highly respected . '' And to many on Capitol Hill , Mr. Conable still is . Rep. Tom Foley , a liberal Democrat from Washington State , calls him `` a very strong asset '' to the 151-nation institution `` because of the enormous respect he has on both sides of the aisle . '' But at the World Bank , Mr. Conable finds himself under fire . After a year and a half in office , he has failed to move the bank into a leadership role on the Third World debt problem . `` The World Bank has been reluctant to step out on this issue in confrontation and conflict with the Treasury , '' charges Sen. Bill Bradley , a New Jersey Democrat and Congress 's leading voice on the debt problem . Rep. John LaFalce , a New York Democrat and another leader on the issue , agrees . `` There surely is a much larger role for the World Bank in the debt problem than it has played so far , but they just ca n't get out ahead of the administration , '' he says . While the debt morass has deepened , Mr. Conable 's World Bank has looked inward , shuffling its organization charts around in a disruptive reorganization and then campaigning for a $ 74.8 billion increase in its capital . As Congress considers the increase , liberal critics on Capitol Hill are demanding that Mr. Conable show he is ready to use the bank 's vast resources to make some direct impact on reducing the huge burden of Third World debt . House Democrats , in fact , cut out of the foreign-aid bill passed last month all $ 70 million the administration had sought for the first year of the U.S. share of the increase in capital . The deletion was made pending action by a committee looking into the bank 's approach to the debt crisis . So far , Mr. Conable has approached the debt crisis more like a cautious financier than a bold politician . He has clung to the bank 's traditional role of a conventional lender and adviser to developing nations and has deferred on ideas about the debt to the man who picked him for his job -- U.S. Treasury Secretary James Baker . Mr. Conable subscribes to the `` Baker Plan , '' which stresses new lending by commercial banks and the World Bank to debtor countries that adopt growth-oriented , market-based economic reforms . The bank has tried to help the countries by tiding them over with some new loans . That policy contrasts sharply with some of the more aggressive debt-reduction plans . Sen. Bradley , worried that the debt burden stalls growth and threatens political stability in developing countries , proposes that Third World debtors be required to make certain economic reforms ; in return , their lending banks would forgive some of the loans and write them down on their books . Even the World Bank 's longtime financial wizard , Eugene Rotberg -- who quit the bank for Merrill Lynch over Mr. Conable 's reorganization plan -- proposed last month that the World Bank guarantee new 20-year commercial-bank loans to Third World countries . Other experts advocate a `` debt facility '' to buy and refinance the debts . Defending his approach to the debt problem , Mr. Conable explains : `` We are n't a financial institution but a development institution . We ca n't go to our member countries and say , ` Give us a tremendous capital increase so we can assume the obligations of all these other creditors that a developing country owes . ' Obviously , that would be viewed as our not performing a development function but our simply accepting other people 's risks . '' But critics reject that view . Jeffrey Sachs , a Harvard economist who has offered one of many debt-reduction plans , says the World Bank 's officials `` have the great potential to play a central role in the problem , but they 're basically ducking . There is a lack of intellectual leadership within the bank itself . '' Even some Reagan administration officials privately despair of Mr. Conable 's leadership and fear that it may have been a mistake to appoint him . While financial experts often urge the bank to do more , the ponderous institution has intervened only about half a dozen times in debt crises , usually just to guarantee a small portion of a commercial-bank loan package . Mr. Conable makes it clear that it wo n't do that often . Recently , commercial-bank lenders to Brazil tried to get the World Bank to insure a portion of a big new loan package they were negotiating . But the U.S. Treasury was firmly opposed to the idea , saying it was unnecessary in Brazil 's case and might foster the impression that such guarantees should be common . Secretary Baker says Mr. Conable is being criticized largely by legislators and academicians who favor grand debt-relief schemes that would `` take the debt and put it on the backs of the taxpayers . I 'll tell you who 'll pay for it : you and me when we file our 1040s . It 's a bad idea . They want Barber to subscribe to it , and I think that he sees that it 's a bad idea . '' Yet even inside the bank , there is increasing worry that the Third World debt -- totaling $ 1.19 trillion last year -- frustrates the bank 's goals . Because of `` chronic debt problems ... the development process in these countries has stalled , '' the World Bank said earlier this year . Also within the bank 's own ranks , there is talk that could lead to a more aggressive role on debt once President Reagan leaves office . `` Baker 's approach has to be adapted to the circumstances of today , '' says the bank 's No. 2 man , Operations Vice President Moeen Qureshi . `` Perhaps we have excessively underplayed our own role . '' He adds , `` It seems to me it will be desirable , in the present environment , to see what can be done '' to reduce debt , rather than just lend new money . Partly in response to the external and internal pressures , Mr. Conable sent a debt study to his board early in April . `` The likelihood is that the bank will need to play a more extensive and diversified role in two areas : new money packages and facilitating other forms of financial relief , including debt-reduction schemes , '' declares the study , which was drafted by David Bock , a vice president and the bank 's debt expert . The document even says that for a few debtors , `` consensual debt relief , '' including `` outright forgiveness , '' might be the only workable solution , but it stresses that the bank must avoid moves that threaten the `` preservation of the bank 's prime standing in financial markets . '' The bank 's own annual world-debt report illustrates its determination to stick to a back-seat role on the issue . Published early this year , the report noted that the debtor countries ' position `` has stubbornly failed to improve , '' said `` imagination and resolve are needed , '' and emphasized that `` leadership will itself be crucially important . '' But conspicuously absent from the report , which discussed debt-relief proposals from Secretary Baker , Sen. Bradley and others , were any ideas from the bank itself . The World Bank 's ethos is decidedly traditional . Founded in 1944 , it has evolved into a well-paid bureaucracy of 6,000 working in 17 buildings a few blocks from the White House , ignored by tourists but a mandatory stop for finance ministers and bankers visiting Washington . The bank earns more than $ 1 billion annually , sports a top credit rating in securities markets and lent nearly $ 18 billion last year . The U.S. is its biggest shareholder and controls the president 's job . The idea of the bank was to finance a wide range of economically basic construction across the developing world : roads in Africa , power projects in Asia , schools in Latin America , irrigation in India . Under Robert McNamara , the bank began aiding efforts to alleviate rural poverty , control population growth and fight illiteracy . Under A.W. Clausen , his successor , it increased its loans to finance structural adjustments -- rather than specific development projects -- in Third World economies and also disbursed money more quickly . Under Mr. Conable , a low-key , thoughtful man with a self-deprecating sense of humor , new policies have been harder to discern . He has continued to increase the quick-disbursing , non-project loans but has n't introduced any new type of lending . He also has set a goal for alleviating poverty in Asia and has won new financing to help the poor countries of Africa . But his main achievements have been bureaucratic . He set up staffs to handle environmental and women 's issues . One of these is the `` Safe Motherhood Initiative , '' a project designed to lower the high rate of deaths during childbirth , especially in Africa . Funds will be increased for related health and nutrition programs . Mr. Conable spent roughly a year reorganizing the bank so that project experts and country experts would work more closely . The new organization is more in tune with current Third World problems , but the change paralyzed the bank for months and delayed loan processing . Mr. Conable contends that the reorganization `` has helped a great deal in recapturing the support of our member countries , '' which had refused to approve the bank 's budget just before he took office . `` We have had a pretty good year , '' he says . `` We had a 100 % support of our budget ... and we are well on the way toward a substantial general capital increase . '' And , he adds , `` I have changed a lot of emphasis in our programs . '' Traditionally , conservatives have criticized the bank , charging that its policies promote central planning and thus discourages market forces . But the debt crisis is causing liberals to question Mr. Conable 's leadership from a different direction . `` Who is calling the shots on debt policy in the administration ? The Treasury . And who was responsible for appointing Conable ? The Treasury , '' Sen. Bradley contends . `` They appointed somebody that they knew they could control . Maybe Conable genuinely agrees with Baker , in which case he should be lumped in with Baker for criticism . If he disagrees , maybe we 'll see some new ideas at the World Bank . '' Mr. Conable insists that even though he backs the Baker debt strategy , he and the Treasury secretary `` have had strategic disagreements . '' Bank staffers cite a loan to Chile last year over U.S. opposition . The bank has accelerated lending to the 17 most heavily indebted countries . But the new money is being swamped by interest payments , and commercial banks are putting up little new money of their own . In 1986 , the 17 nations paid back lenders $ 18 billion more than they got in new loans . Also that year , the World Bank took back in repayments $ 291 million more than it pumped into the three largest Latin debtors -- Brazil , Mexico and Argentina . Last year , that was reversed ; the three countries received a $ 719 million inflow . However , that again was more than offset by commercial-bank outflows . Rep. Joseph Kennedy III , a Massachusetts Democrat , charges that `` the World Bank is just laundering funds that go back to the banks . '' Like Secretary Baker , Mr. Conable instinctively dismisses sweeping debt-relief plans as coercive or non-market-oriented . He rejects any notion that the bank might get involved in directly refinancing or providing security for debt on a broad scale . `` We are not there to try and handle their short-term debt problems , and if you think we are , then I think you misunderstand the nature of this institution , '' he says . But Mr. Conable 's own nature still is n't clear , Rep. LaFalce argues . `` Barber Conable is an outstanding person , '' he says . `` He had a strong identity here in Congress , which he earned . But he does n't have his own identity as president of the World Bank . He was created by Jim Baker and George Bush in this job . His reputation now rests on how he defines himself . ''

B I I B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

third world debtors
third world debt
world bank president
barber conable
debt crisis
debt burden
criticism


Tuberculosis has become the world 's deadliest infectious disease , and the toll could soon rise even more dramatically if controls are not initiated quickly , the World Health Organization said Monday . The U.N. agency , in its first comprehensive look at global tuberculosis in a decade , said the disease kills nearly 3 million people a year , most of them between the ages of 15 and 59 , `` the segment of the population that is economically most productive . '' WHO attributed the sharp rise in part to the growing AIDS epidemic . It estimated that about 3 million people worldwide are dually infected with the human immunodeficiency virus -LRB- HIV -RRB- , which causes AIDS , and tuberculosis . `` It is becoming a parallel epidemic , and it is this trend that has public health officials worried , '' Dr. Hiroshi Nakajima , director general of WHO , said in a statement . The agency estimated that between 15 million and 20 million adults will be infected with HIV by the year 2000 , and it predicted that the number of cases and deaths from tuberculosis will rise sharply as a result , especially in sub-Saharan Africa , Latin America and Southeast Asia . `` These new data have been stunning to everyone , because an awful lot of people had thought that tuberculosis had gone away , '' said Dr. Barry Bloom , a professor of microbiology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and a consultant to the United Nations . Tuberculosis is a highly communicable disease of the lungs and other organs caused by a bacterium transmitted through the air when infected people cough or sneeze . There are about 8 million new cases of tuberculosis a year , according to the U.N. agency . About half of these are infectious . Also , an estimated 1.7 billion individuals worldwide carry the organism but are not infectious to others . In these individuals , the organism can remain dormant without causing active disease for many years unless the immune system is somehow impaired . AIDS , or acquired immune deficiency syndrome , destroys the body 's immune system . An individual does not have to have a damaged immune system to contract an active case of tuberculosis . But when a case of tuberculosis becomes active , as it can in individuals who carry the organism , that person can also infect numerous others . This is what is happening in developing nations , where the AIDS epidemic is raging . `` In many places , more than half the beds in medical wards are patients with tuberculosis , '' Bloom said . `` Many of these people do , in fact , die of AIDS . But if they 're not treated for tuberculosis , those people will be spreading the disease -LRB- tuberculosis -RRB- in their communities . You do n't have to have a depressed immune system to get tuberculosis . '' In the United States , public health officials began to recognize about five years ago that tuberculosis -- after steadily declining since the 1950s -- was making a surprising comeback as a result of the AIDS epidemic . At that time , they noticed a startling and unexpected drop in the rate of decline of tuberculosis cases . This year , Bloom said , the number of cases of active tuberculosis in the United States is up nearly 5 % over last year , with 23,495 new cases . The overall incidence of tuberculosis in the United States is 9.5 cases per 100,000 population , he said . In New York City , which has the highest number of AIDS cases in the nation , the incidence is 36 per 100,000 , Bloom said . Effective drugs to combat tuberculosis cost about $ 30 to $ 50 per person , given over six months . However , the drugs are not always available in developing countries , and compliance is a major problem . The drugs must be taken for the entire six months to eliminate the infection .

O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

deadliest infectious disease
world health organization
global tuberculosis
tuberculosis cases
aids epidemic
human immunodeficiency virus
parallel epidemic


But even as Memphians whoop it up , the prediction that the Big One may come in December is triggering tremors up and down the Mississippi Valley . Shaken , thousands of people are crowding into earthquake survival classes . In Arnold , Mo. , 3,000 people showed up for one course . In Missouri and Arkansas , some schools and businesses have announced plans to close in early December . Entrepreneurs are hawking quake insurance , survival kits and gas-line safety gadgets . Some people are planning to flee . `` You ca n't run from everything , '' says Tammy McCormick , a nurse in Blytheville , Ark. , who will take her two youngsters and spend several days with relatives in North Carolina . `` But it seems stupid to stay on a fault line with a prediction like this . '' Everybody talks about the San Andreas fault in California . But the Midwest actually has had three of the most powerful earthquakes on this continent . In 1811 and 1812 , along a 120-mile zig-zag formation called the New Madrid fault , a series of quakes ravaged the Midwest . Researchers estimate those earthquakes ranked stronger than 8 on the Richter Scale , which had n't been invented yet . They were more than 10 times greater than the 7.1 quake that rocked California 's Bay Area last October . Church bells rang as far away as Boston . Chimneys crumbled in Cincinnati . And as tons of soil and rock bed pitched and rolled in a seismic frenzy , new waterfalls spiked up , causing part of the mighty Mississippi River to flow backward for several hours . The New Madrid -LRB- pronounced MAD-rid -RRB- fault still has 150 small , mostly unfelt , earthquakes a year . In the next 10 years , experts warn , the area has a 33 % chance of a quake measuring 7.1 . That could produce billions of dollars in damage and thousands of casualties . `` We 're overdue for one in the 6s and low 7s , '' says David Stewart , an earthquake expert at Southeast Missouri State University . Over the years , a few pinpoint-on-the map towns have tried to capitalize on the little-known fault . New Madrid , Mo. , the fault 's namesake , draws tourists to a museum with exhibits on the 19th century devastation . And Paragould , Ark. , has held earthquake festivals with events like the `` Miss Faultless '' beauty contest . But as Monday , Dec. 3 , approaches , the whole matter is becoming more serious . That 's because the predictor has gained credibility in some important circles for his work on the climate . Iben Browning , a 72-year-old scientist , predicted October 's Bay Area quake a week before it happened , say people who heard him speak to the Equipment Manufacturers Institute . And he predicted `` geological danger '' on Sept. 19 , 1985 , along a band of latitude that included Mexico City -- where a massive quake struck on that day . Mr. Browning , who has a Ph.D. in physiology , genetics and bacteriology , writes a climate newsletter out of New Mexico . He has clients , such as PaineWebber Inc. , who have long paid for his wisdom on how the weather will affect their agricultural investments . Since 1971 , Mr. Browning says , he has picked the correct dates of four large earthquakes , two volcanoes -- and one day with both a volcano and an earthquake . He bases his forecasts on tidal forces caused by the positions of the sun and the moon -- an old theory , critics say , that does n't wash . On Dec. 3 , those forces are expected to be at a 27-year high . Mr. Browning says that will exert pressure that could trigger faults already ripe to fail . The New Madrid area has a 50-50 chance of producing at least a 7 quake on Dec. 3 , give or take a day or two on either side , Mr. Browning says . At that time , a similar quake has a lesser chance of occurring on California 's San Andreas or Hayward faults , according to Mr. Browning , and an 8.2 quake in Tokyo has a greater chance . Skepticism abounds . `` No responsible scientist can predict an exact day for an earthquake , '' says Brian Mitchell , a quake expert at St. Louis University , echoing the majority opinion . But Mr. Browning should n't be written off so quickly , says Southeast Missouri State 's Mr. Stewart , who recently spent four days with Mr. Browning . `` He has a methodology that can determine , plus or minus a window of a day or two , an enhanced probability of a volcano or an earthquake in certain latitudes , '' says Mr. Stewart . `` No one else has been able to replicate it , but that does n't mean it 's wrong . '' Mr. Browning says it 's not easy being on record with predictions that few other scientists will support . `` I feel like a lonely little petunia in a cabbage patch , '' he says . But asked if he enjoys being right , he says , `` It 's the only damn thing that matters . If one is a business consultant , they do n't pay you for being wrong . '' Plenty of other business people are cashing in on his prediction . Insurance salespeople are peddling earthquake coverage to homeowners and businesses . Salespeople from a Memphis company pop up at survival seminars with a device -LRB- for $ 259 and up -RRB- that turns off gas lines when a quake hits . And entrepreneurs are marketing two kinds of earthquake T-shirts in Memphis . One says , `` I 'm staying , '' the other , `` I 'm leaving . '' All of this has changed life in places like Blytheville , Ark. -LRB- pop : 24,314 -RRB- , tucked amid vast flat farmland , right at the corner of the Arkansas , Tennessee and Missouri borders . So many people plan to skip town on Dec. 3 that the Flexible Technologies tubing plant already plans to shut down for two days , at a cost of thousands of dollars . Says Jimmy Connell , plant superintendent , `` It 's going to be a ghost town around here . '' Robert Edwards , a Blytheville fireman who teaches seminars in earthquake survival , has become a hot property . For five years , most of his classes were lightly attended . Now his phone-answering machine says he is almost completely booked through October . For one recent class , he was in Osceola , Ark. . It is 9 a.m. on a rainy Saturday , and 325 Osceolans , gripping legal pads and spiral notebooks , fill the high school auditorium for an all-day session on earthquake preparedness . With his booming voice , Mr. Edwards lays out a grim scenario : `` One hundred and fifty thousand dead in Memphis instantly -- instantly . And all the federal emergency help is going to go there and St. Louis . You have to be prepared to take complete care of yourself for 24 hours to two weeks . You may be five to six months without power . '' After the seminar , two elderly sisters , both widows , split on what to do . Fearing their home will be looted , Bess Mann , 86 years old , wants to ride it out . But her sister , Hallie Peterson , 83 , wants to stay with their nephew in Mississippi . Scared that the big Memphis-Arkansas bridge that spans the Mississippi River will collapse in a quake , she 's charting an alternate route two hours out of her way . School districts in Earle and Wilson , Ark. , have announced closings around Dec. 3 . Some schools practice earthquake drills , while others sponsor cake sales to buy survival kits for classrooms , with items like blankets , flashlights and radios . Michael Prince , a child psychologist in Jonesboro , says he knows of 10 to 15 children , age four to nine , so unnerved that they 've reverted to bed-wetting or extreme anxiety about being separated from their parents . Trying to calm the fear , the National Earthquake Prediction Evaluation Council , a panel of academic and government seismic experts , will review the Browning claim at a meeting in a few weeks . In 11 years of studying prediction methods , the panel has found no bona fide approach . The group usually ignores claims that are n't scientifically documented -LRB- like the one by the California man who said his goldfish helped him predict quakes -RRB- . `` But this one , '' says Randall Updike , the executive secretary , `` has created such chaos in the mid-continent region that we felt we had to give our advice . '' Mr. Browning says he is tentatively booked to give a talk in Minneapolis on Dec. 3 and he does n't plan to go there via St. Louis . But he adds : `` I highly recommend against panic . That will kill more people than earthquakes . ''

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

new madrid fault
earthquake survival classes
quake insurance
prediction methods
earthquake expert
earthquake preparedness
federal emergency help

national earthquake prediction evaluation cuncil