The Center for Public Integrity

Soon after last summer's Olympics in Sydney, indigenous Australian senator Aden Ridgeway said the "groundswell of good feeling" from the reconciliation theme of the games and aboriginal athlete Cathy Freeman's gold medal victory, heavy with symbolism, were responsible for a new commitment to a treaty between Australians and Aborigines setting out native rights.

Nancy Aldrich has a plaque sitting on an 18-foot, floor-to-ceiling bookcase full of her most cherished items, which dominates her living room. The plaque reads, "A Superior Pilot is one who uses her Superior Judgment to avoid situations which would require her Superior Skill!"

Some of the pilots forced to retire at 60 aren't as fortunate as their peers who have good pension plans when the bell tolls.

Accounts of airplane "saves," especially when veteran captains overcome the errors of less-experienced crew members, are mostly anecdotal. Their quick actions avert the crashes or injuries that would otherwise trigger public investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board, which determines what causes a crash and recommends safety measures, or the Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates aviation.

Minutes after the TWA Boeing 727 had taken off from New Yorks LaGuardia Airport and was climbing above 10,000 feet, the flight engineer shifted his attention from the control panel to the cockpit window. He caught a glimpse of death. The jetliner inadvertently had caught up with a Beechcraft Bonanza, a single-engine, private aircraft.

LONDON — In early November, the United States came within a pen stroke of dramatically curtailing the news medias freedom of inquiry into government affairs. Had the Intelligence Authorization Act of 2001 been signed into law as passed by Congress, it would have completed an astonishing reversal of the common observation that the American press is the freest in the world and Britain's the most restricted.

MANILA — Many years ago, he built one for the first lady, a sprawling mansion at 1 Polk St. in North Greenhills in San Juan. Expanded and renovated over the years, the official family home now covers three adjoining lots with a total area of 2,000 square meters. There, surrounded by his collection of expensive crystal, Estrada likes to hold court for his clan and cronies.

This article was originally published in the Nov. 13, 2000 edition of Outlook India. It is reproduced with permission.

Sometimes government officials treat the American people like growing mushrooms - keep them in the dark and cover them with manure. And whenever that happens, it is infuriating and inexcusable.

The most beloved American president, Abraham Lincoln, once said, "I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts."