July 16, 2009

NAACP at 100:

The NAACP marks its 100th anniversary this year and the civil rights group's convention is highlighted by a speech Thursday from U.S. President Barack Obama.

Obama, the nation's first African-American president, is expected to only lightly touch on the role of the NAACP, the White House said, focusing instead on bigger-picture items on his domestic agenda such as healthcare reform and the economy. Obama's talk comes on the final day of a six-day series of meetings.

NAACP President Benjamin Jealous, at 36 the youngest person to lead the organizations, said the gathering marked the chance to "celebrate our victories from the past 100 years, from Brown vs. Board of Education to the election of Barack Obama."

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was founded in 1909 by a group that included W.E.B. Du Bois. Its stated mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination."

It helped pull the United States from an era of race-based lynchings to what many want to believe is a post-racial society.

Wooing India:

U.S. Security of State Hillary Clinton returns to the road with a trip to India and Thailand.

She'd been sidelined by a broken elbow but returned to the stage, literally, Wednesday with a speech about the Obama administration's first six months in control of U.S. foreign policy. There were no revelations in the talk, other than warning Iran that Obama's offer of dialogue isn't completely open ended.

More telling is her agenda for her next trip. India seems to be the new China. A developing economy, a stable government, strategically important geographically and a potential market of 1.2 billion makes India very attractive to more mature economies.

A case in point, the French this week put about 400 members of the Indian military at the head of its Bastille Day parade. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was on hand and French President Nicolas Sarkozy was able to put in a word or two for French companies looking to help India in its planned military upgrades.

Clinton's visit to India will invite the country to be a partner in helping to solve the world's problems, such as climate change. Showing India to be an equal on the world stage will only improve relations with the country.

China's growth:

Chinese officials said their economy grew at an annual rate of 7.9 percent for the April-June quarter, suggesting the global economic issues haven't affected that section of the world.

A stimulus plan that dumped nearly $600 billion into the Chinese economy is credited with helping the growth. China's National Bureau of Statistics, however, said the "base of recovery is weak," the BBC reported.

The world's most populous country set a goal of 8 percent economic growth for the overall year, which is in sight if exports can recover from the 21.4 percent drop that monthly data indicated in June.

Chicago's Willis Tower:

The Chicago edifice formerly known as the Sears Tower officially takes on its new Willis Tower name Thursday.

Willis Group Holdings, a London insurance broker, agreed to move its offices into the 108-story landmark, taking over 140,000 square feet of space and getting to put its name above the door, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Sears hasn't had offices in the building since 1995 but retained the naming rights through 2003. It's still popularly known as the Sears Towers and it's unclear how long that habit will last.

At 1,450 feet, the Willis Tower was the tallest building in the world when it was completed in 1973. It is now the fifth tallest structure.

138th Open Championship:

Known as the British Open to the United States, the Open is played out this weekend at Turnberry, Scotland. It is the third major golf championship of the year.

World No. 1 Tiger Woods is the betting favorite but toward the end of his first round Thursday 59-year-old Tom Watson was the clubhouse leader at 5-under par. Watson famously dueled Jack Nicklaus 32 years ago at Turnberry in winning the second of his five Claret Jugs.

Woods was at 1-over-par through 16 holes.