Q&A: In Libya, From 'Divide And Rule' To Crackdown

Violent clashes have broken out between demonstrators and security forces in several Libyan cities. Despite the dramatic developments, a leading historian of the country doubts that the regime of President Moammar Gadhafi will fall.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/02/18/133841733/q-a-in-libya-from-divide-and-rule-to-crackdown?ft=1&f=1004

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The Root: Black Progress Soars, Even Without Help

Black businesses have increased by 60 percent in the last decade, and more minority students are taking A.P. exams. John McWhorter of The Root argues that African Americans have stepped up their efforts without any special help from a "black agenda."

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/02/18/133863588/the-root-black-progress-soars-even-without-help?ft=1&f=1057

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FBI Faulted For Overstating Science In Anthrax Case

During the next seven years, the task force expended more than 600,000 investigator work hours, interviewing thousands of witnesses on six continents and evaluating a mountain of evidence. In the end, however, the agency's case against Ivins was largely circumstantial.

Ivins killed himself in July 2008, just as the Justice Department was about to formally indict him.

Before his death, Ivins was a microbiologist and researcher at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, the federal facility that develops countermeasures for potential biological weapons agents.

The evidence gathered against him confirms that there were anthrax spores in Ivins' laboratory, and Ivins made a series of unusual, after-hours visits to his lab just before the attacks occurred. But no one reported seeing him mail the letters; no one said they saw him prepare the anthrax spores found in the letters; and no one could provide a clear motive for why he would carry out such an attack.

The FBI and Justice Department have maintained that a scientific analysis of the particular batch of anthrax spores found in the letters and the spores found in a flask in Ivins' lab showed that they were identical.

But after carefully reviewing the evidence, the committee of independent scientists convened by the National Research Council concluded that it was not possible to rule out other sources for the anthrax.

"Although the scientific evidence was supportive of a link between the letters and that flask, it did not definitively demonstrate such a relationship, for a number of reasons," said Dr. David Relman, a bioterrorism expert at Stanford University School of Medicine who served as vice chair of the review committee. "Our overarching finding was that it is not possible to reach a definitive conclusion about the origins of the B. anthracis in the mailings based on the available scientific evidence alone."

The expert panel also disputed the FBI's claim that Ivins was the only person with the specialized knowledge needed to prepare the spores that were used in the attack.

The committee was not asked, and did not attempt to determine, whether Ivins was indeed the perpetrator of the attacks. As the National Academies' website notes, "The new report is limited to an evaluation of the scientific evidence and does not assess the guilt or innocence of anyone connected to the case."

In a written response to the findings, the FBI and Justice Department said, "The FBI has long maintained that while science played a significant role, it was the totality of the investigative process that determined the outcome of the anthrax case."

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/02/15/133775495/fbi-faulted-for-overstating-science-in-anthrax-case?ft=1&f=1007

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Family Breadwinner Finds Her Place: With The Men

In 1974, Dee Dickson was separated from her husband and raising two children by herself in Biloxi, Miss. Needing a job, she set her sights on becoming an electrician at a nearby shipyard. But she soon found out that it wasn't an easy job to land.

"The guy that was interviewing told me I was too little; that I wouldn't get along with the guys; that they would make life hard for me," Dickson says.

"He didn't think I needed to be doing it."

Eventually, Dickson's father stepped in to offer his help. His uncle Alf was a superintendent at the docks.

"Finally, at the end of that week, I let my dad take me to see Uncle Alf," Dickson says.

They talked — and on the next Monday, Dickson reported to work at Ingalls Shipbuilding.

"The guy said, 'Look, I got the word from the top. I don't like it, but you're hired.' "

When she went to work on her first ship, Dickson hit another obstacle. As an apprentice, she needed to learn on the job. And to do that, she needed to be paired with a "buddy."

"But none of the guys would work with me," Dickson says.

She recalls them telling her, "These are men's jobs. You're taking jobs away from men who have families."

Her answer was simple: "I said, 'I have a family and no man — and I need money.' "

Ingalls had employed women as shipbuilders before — but that was during World War II, when many male workers were serving in the military.

In Dickson's case, "It took about two weeks before I started proving myself. And the guys were doing better with it. They would work with me.

"I had several guys who told me, 'You need to slow down — you're making us look bad,' " she says with a laugh. "You know? And I'm like, 'I'm here to work!' "

And her hard work paid off.

"We had to go to school two nights a week. And I was the first apprentice who had ever become supervisor before graduation. And they were mad, because I got a raise. And I got a position they thought was theirs.

"I had a knack for getting stuff done on time, and getting it done right."

Dickson had that knack, despite not being able to do everything most of her male co-workers could — or, at least, not in the same way.

For instance, she says, "I couldn't lift an 80-pound transformer. But I found a way to do the same things they were doing. And it kind of made me better than I probably would've been if I was a guy."

Dickson went on to work at the shipyard for a total of five years — her first stint lasted three years, and then she returned for another two after working at a nuclear power plant.

Now retired, Dickson is in the process of becoming a Methodist preacher.

Audio produced for Morning Edition by Jasmyn Belcher.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/02/18/133836714/family-breadwinner-finds-her-place-with-the-men?ft=1&f=1003

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