Nasra Hassan, who speaks for a U.N. commission heading the inquiry, also said investigators want to interview former Syrian Vice President Abdul-Halim Khaddam "as soon as possible."

Khaddam alleged in a television interview broadcast Friday from Paris that the Syrian president had threatened former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri several months before Hariri was assassinated in a Feb. 14 truck bombing.

"The U.N. commission has already sent a request to interview Syrian President Bashar Assad and Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa, among others," Hassan told The Associated Press.

"The commission is waiting for a response from the Syrians," she said. She refused to say when the request was made.

There was no immediate Syrian government comment on the request, the first time the probe has touched directly on the president.

The commission has said several people whom Hariri spoke to after he met Assad in August 2004 said he told them the Syrian leader had threatened him over his opposition to extending the term of Lebanon's pro-Syrian president.

Syrian officials, including Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa, have denied any threat was made.

But after Khaddam's interview, Syria's ruling Baath Party stripped him of membership and joined parliament in demanding his trial on a charge of high treason, the official news agency SANA reported Sunday.

While Khaddam, who is in France, said Friday that he planned to return to Syria with his family to write a book, it was unclear if he would go back facing a treason charge. Conviction would bring the death penalty.

"Khaddam has joined the band of enemies who are targeting the country and its attitudes," the Baath Party said in a statement. "Khaddam has betrayed the party, the country and the (Arab) nation. The National Leadership has decided to dismiss Khaddam from the party and put him on trial."

In two interim reports published late last year, the commission accused Syrian and Lebanese intelligence officials of being involved in the killing of Hariri. In an interview with the media, the outgoing commission chairman, Detlev Mehlis, has said Syrian "authorities were behind the assassination.

Syria has repeatedly denied the charge and tried to discredit those who testified to the commission.

The assassination of Hariri, in a blast that killed 20 other people in central Beirut, was a turning point in modern Lebanese history.

As he was seen as a quiet opponent of Syrian influence in Lebanon, his killing provoked mass demonstrations against Syria. Combined with international pressure on Syria, these protests forced Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon in April, ending a 29-year military presence in the country.

But the bombings targeting anti-Syrian figures have continued, with at least 14 attacks on prominent Lebanese since the death of Hariri. Lebanon has asked the United Nations to investigate those as well but the world body has declined.

January 2, 2006

Mass transit: The CTA, Metra and Pace are on Sunday/holiday schedules.

Banks: Some are open.

Financial markets: closed.

Postal service: no delivery except for express mail; post offices closed.

Schools: closed. Chicago public schools reopen Jan. 9. Most archdiocesan schools reopen Tuesday.

Libraries: Chicago Public Library branches are closed.

Parking: Parking-meters must be fed.

Driver's license offices: closed.

Garbage: no garbage pickup in Chicago.

Government offices: closed.

Courts: closed, except for some bond calls.

So four or five seconds after midnight on New Year's Day, little Jeslin Varghese decided she was ready to enter the world via Evanston Hospital. She arrived with a title to boot: the first baby born in the Chicago area in 2006.

Jeslin beat her due date by a week. She weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces and measured just over 20 inches long.

Varghese, 36, is a nurse in the hospital's comprehensive cardiac care unit. She had been having mild contractions for the last three days and arrived at the hospital with her husband, Matthew, around 8:30 p.m. Saturday. But the Morton Grove mom still didn't think she'd be giving birth as the clock struck.

Retty Varghese holds Jeslin, who weighs 7 pounds, 6 ounces. (KEITH HALE/ SUN-TIMES)

"When we came, I was hoping we'd stay for another day, because the contractions were really far apart," Varghese said. But once she got an epidural, "it didn't take long."

Jeslin joins brother Jobin, 8, and sister Jasmine, 4, who gazed at their new sibling as TV cameras rolled and photographers clicked away.

Coming on Jeslin's heels -- or at the same time, depending on who was watching the clock -- was a baby boy born at midnight at St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital. No further details were available.

Rounding out the top five were Kennedy Nicole Lewis-Muhammad, born at 12:06 a.m. at the University of Chicago Hospitals; Isabela Bolanos, born at 12:17 a.m. at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights, and Logan Arceo, born at 12:19 a.m. at St. Joseph Hospital.

Kennedy Nicole was premature, weighing only 3 pounds, 5 ounces. U. of C. Hospital spokeswoman Catherine Gianaro said she and her mom were "doing OK."

First twins

Eleven minutes later, Isabela made her suburban debut at 6 pounds, 14 ounces and 21 inches long. Parents Julio Bolanos and Teresa Ruis of Wheeling weren't expecting her for another 12 days. Bolanos said nurses reminded them more than a few times that if the baby was born before midnight, they qualified for a tax break next year.

"But me and my wife said we weren't too concerned about that. As long as she was healthy, that's what matters," he said.

Bolanos, a truck driver, said given Isabela's early arrival as the fourth Chicago area baby, they now have a good story they can tell her when she is older.

But forgive dad for wanting to embellish. "I'm just gonna tell her she was first," Bolanos laughed.

Adam and Victoria Erickson of Lockport are parents of the area's first twins of the year, Hunter Logan and Courtney Elizabeth. (KEITH HALE/ SUN-TIMES)

The first twins of the year honor goes to Victoria and Adam Erickson of Lockport, who had joked to each other Saturday about the possibility Victoria would go into labor early -- even though she wasn't due until Feb. 2. They joked as they enjoyed the fancy meal she'd cooked of lobster tail, steak and shrimp, with their sons, Cody, 7, and Jacob, 6.

"After dinner, all of a sudden, I started having contractions. I told my husband, and he started laughing at me like, yeah, right," said Victoria, 30.

No joke for the Erickson family. Twins Hunter Logan and Courtney Elizabeth were born at 1:02 and 1:04 a.m., respectively.

While the Chicago FBI just added a third public corruption squad in September to make the unit the largest in the country -- it still isn't enough.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Grant said he and U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald have asked Washington, D.C., for more resources to help root out public fraud.

"We asked headquarters to give us more bodies," Grant told the Chicago Sun-Times. "If [they're] going to give out bodies, we would like to have them and we would like them for public corruption."

Though new corruption cases continue to hit the Dirksen federal courthouse at a brisk pace, "there are areas we want to explore that we haven't even gotten to yet," Grant said.

Grant reorganized the Chicago FBI office in September to add the third public corruption squad, giving Chicago one more squad than even Los Angeles and New York. Each squad typically has eight to 12 agents.

"Money's not really the issue with us, it's personal resources. The agents make these cases," Grant said. "They're the ones that interview people and develop the cases [with] prosecutors, working side by side."

The U.S. attorney's office would not comment.

Flurry of subpoenas

Since early 2004, prosecutors have brought charges against 37 people tied to the city's scandal-plagued Hired Truck program, and 26 have pleaded guilty.

That investigation mushroomed into a probe of hiring practices under Mayor Daley. In 2005, Daley's patronage chief in the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs and three other city employees were indicted for allegedly falsifying test scores so those with clout could snap up city posts.

As the office came under fire, federal investigators paid Daley a visit at City Hall for a two-hour interview.

Grant told the Sun-Times at the time that the mayor was not a target in the probe, but he was a "logical interview."

"We had to ask: What do you know, when did you know it? How involved are these organizations in city business?" Grant said at the time.

Separately, a flurry of subpoenas continues to hit state agencies -- including the Department of Children and Family Services and the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority -- requesting information about political allies of Gov. Blagojevich.

Grant wouldn't say how many additional agents he's seeking. But he said he thinks Chicago has a good chance of getting the boost in manpower because public corruption has become a bureau priority nationally and "they know we're doing such a good job here."

Andrew is one of the many international students interviewed and profiled on America’s Global College Forum, a unique radio show that examines the experiences of international students studying at colleges and universities throughout the United States.

There are more than 500,000 international students currently enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities, and every one of them has a unique story. “By telling these stories, VOA gives listeners a personal glimpse of how American schools work, from our international audience’s perspective,” says program host Marsha James. Program consultant Sherril Taylor created America’s Global College Forum, which first aired in September, 2004.

America’s Global College Forum is available for on-demand listening on the Internet at http://www.VOANews.com/english/AmericanLife/global_college_forum.cfm. The page also offers past interviews and valuable links to information on studying in the U.S., and the latest education news. See page 5 of the online Program Guide for program schedule information.

On America’s Global College Forum...

"It really is an experience to me because even (though) I thought I was independent in Japan my mom was doing my laundry and cook for me and my parents paid everything, but when I came to America I have to do everything especially since I am living in the dorms. So I have to do my laundry like everybody else does and I think it is great. It makes me stronger.”
– Waki (Japan), Stephens College, Kansas

“I wasn’t interested in just a research doctoral program – I wanted to be able to do some coursework, and looking at the different kind of initiatives that has been done in education and peace studies, the United States offered me the most variety of options that I could come across.”
– Karambu (Kenya), University of Denver, Colorado

“I find it amazing how in one day you can meet people from all over the world – from Chile, Peru, Ecuador, African countries (like) Nigeria, Ghana – it is just amazing how by interacting with those people you can get to know their country, you don't even have to travel to their country.”
– Zamira (Tajikistan), University of Notre Dame, Indiana

“Don’t worry too much about not succeeding, because if you just come with dedication, with heart, and an open mind, you will be fine. You can achieve great things here, especially if you come from a less economic developed country, [things] you probably wouldn't be able to achieve if you didn't come here.”
– Marcio (Brazil), University of California Berkley

A major problem for the government is that many Ghanaians view African Americans as foreigners rather than as long-lost relatives and even refer to African Americans as “obruni” or “white people.”

To counter these perceptions and make Ghana more welcoming, the government is running an education campaign for its citizens. Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Ghana’s minister of tourism, explained the nature of the campaign to English to Africa’s Ruby Ofori.

“We’re using mass media to teach people about the Africans when they left here and … went to the Diaspora. And then in teaching them, we’re making them realize… the blood ties. Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey said they aim to teach Ghanaians to replace the taunt of “obruni” with a more welcoming word, “Anyemi,” meaning “brother” or “sister” in the Ga language.

Mr Obetsebi Lamptey also said they plan to ease travel to Ghana for Africans in the Diaspora with new immigration rules. “We’re starting off initially with a visa-free arrangement by introducing the Diasporan stamp. Once you come in to Ghana as a Diasporan you can apply for the Diasporan stamp, which allows you visa-free entry at any time in the future.”

The program applies only to calls or e-mails where someone in the United States is in contact with a person abroad who is believed to have links to al-Qaida. Under presidential order, the requirement for a court warrant in order to conduct a wiretap, in essence, is waived.

The New York Times newspaper broke the story of the secret monitoring operation in mid-December. Since then, the president has gone to great lengths to vigorously defend the program, saying those who revealed its existence have damaged the national security of the United States.

He spoke of it again when he met with reporters New Year's Day after a visit with wounded soldiers in his home state of Texas. "We're at war, and as the commander-in-chief I have to use the resources at my disposal within the law to protect the American people," said President Bush, "and that is what we are doing."

But some critics suggest the administration may have stretched the law. They cite the constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, and note that even in cases where time is of the essence, a retroactive warrant is an option.

During a brief question and answer session at a military hospital in San Antonio, President Bush was asked about new reports that a senior official at the Justice Department raised serious concerns about the program long before its existence became public. Mr. Bush responded by saying it is an important program that is constantly under review and limited in scope. "The [National Security Agency] program is one that listens to a few numbers called from the outside of the United States in, from known al-Qaida or affiliate people," he said. "In other words, the enemy is calling somebody, and we need to know who they are calling and why."

Hearings are planned in the U.S. Senate. The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Charles Schumer of New York, says he wants top administration officials to testify and hopes the White House will cooperate with the investigation.

"I hope the White House won't hide behind saying, 'oh, executive privilege, we can't discuss this'," said Mr. Schumer speaking on the Fox News Sunday television program. "That is the wrong attitude. A discussion, perhaps a change in the law, those are all legitimate. Unilaterally changing the law because the vice-president or president thinks it is wrong without discussion or change - that is not the American way."

Mr. Schumer noted that the balance between security and liberty is a delicate one, but he added if the president thought there was a problem with existing law governing wiretaps, he should have worked with Congress to come up with a solution.

One of the groups that’s been battling the pandemic in KwaZulu-Natal Province is the Philanjalo Home Based Care Program. It’s located in the rural town of Tugela Ferry. Dr. Tony Moll runs the program. English to Africa’s Joe De Capua spoke with him several years ago about HIV/AIDS. Thursday, he asked Dr. Moll for an update on whether the fight against AIDS has made any progress.

“I do remember the last chat we had a couple of years ago on the Voice of America and things were certainly bleak then. At that time, we had nothing in our hands to treat our HIV patients with. We were in a situation where we were just watching the natural course of the disease and doing what we can in terms of palliative care and supporting the family and managing opportunistic infections. That has turned around. Since March 2004, we have had available to us for the very first time anti-retroviral therapy, which we got through the government and were able to treat our patients free of charge," he says. 

Dr. Moll says the drugs brought major changes in the health of patients. “For the very first time, we could see the disease turn around. And individual patients who were on the medication you could see dramatic differences and changes in weight gain and improvement.”

However, the HIV/AIDS pandemic marches on in KwaZulu-Natal. He says, “The epidemic itself has not really quieted down in any way. The epidemic is still raging on, causing havoc in the community. And just to put it in perspective, we probably have about 12,000 patients with HIV in our direct community. And we only have about 700 to 800 of them now on therapy. So, in a way we’re just touching the surface of it.”

 According to Dr. Moll, many of the AIDS cases he’s seeing today are among people infected 10 to 15 years ago. The effectiveness of current efforts at behavior change and prevention, he says, may not be known for another 10 years.

Dr. Moll adds he can now get a plentiful supply of anti-retroviral drugs for his rural patients, but the problem is he doesn’t have the necessary staff to administer them to all who need it.

The second day of 2006 began with the sound of gunfire and residents of the Riviera district in Abidjan shouting in confusion.

Before six in the morning Monday, artillery fire started to ring out from the Akuedo military camp, just a few kilometers away from the U.S. Embassy.

There was gunfire reported at another nearby camp, as well as in the residential area of Cocody, where President Laurent Gbagbo lives.

Tanks and armored vehicles then rolled through the city, and the firefights stopped. Several parts of the city were blocked off.

Several hours later, the head of the Ivory Coast army, Philippe Mangou, appeared on state television, saying everything was under control.

He said the assailants were unknown but that they were wearing civilian clothing. Because of this, he advised people to stay indoors while heavy patrols take place. He also wished Ivorians a happy new year, and he said he hoped 2006 would be one of peace.

Some students put up barricades, helping soldiers search vehicles.

The unrest comes just several days after a new national unity government was formed to disarm northern rebels and prepare elections before the end of October. Under the latest United Nations resolution, Mr. Gbagbo's term of office was extended one year.

Ivory Coast has been divided in two since soldiers of northern origin started an insurgency in September 2002 asking for equal rights for northerners in the world's leading cocoa producer. U.N and French troops control a buffer zone between rebels and the army.

The good news for the class of 2005 is that 75% of them will be hired within 6 months of graduation.

"This year the market looks better than the last 4 or 5 years," says Andrea Koncz who works with the National Association of Colleges and Employers, a non-profit group that serves as a bridge between campus and workplace. She says their employer members are looking for new hires who have majored in specific fields and that a number of fields are in demand.

"Accounting tops the list," she says. "The engineering degrees are also in demand, electrical and mechanical. Also, computer and chemical engineering, then economics, finance, business administration, and marketing graduates. They are also demanding computer science and information science graduates."

George Washington University

Colleges play a key role not only in preparing students academically, but also in helping them meet the practical criteria for employment. College students often start job-hunting as soon as they arrive on campus, according to Marva Gumbs Jenning, who runs the Career Center at George Washington University.

"When the students enter college," she says, "they would come through my office to work on what we call job search preparation materials: resume, cover letters, interviewing. They'd also meet individually with a career consultant to talk about what they like to gain as experience or what skills they'd like to build."

Networking is another important career tool. Ms. Jenning says George Washington University offers networking workshops and receptions to help students connect with someone -- a friend, a relative, a friend of a friend, an alumnus -- anyone who can help them get an internship or a job.

"The students can meet and talk with alumni in respective fields," she says. "We have quite a number of alumni who come back to meet with students. We have quite a few of them that said to us, 'That's such a good program. I wish that was in place when I was in school.' So, in a reception space, we may have signs that indicate that alumni are in a particular field, in the finance area, in media, public relation, in writing, in public service. The alumni in those fields congregate [around] those signs and that way, students can easily find them."

Other schools offer other networking opportunities.

Kansas State University - Anderson Hall

Kansas State University has an on-line mentoring network, as Kerri Day Keller, of the school's Career and Employment Services, explains. "It is a listing of alumni who have said that they are willing to provide career advice or job networking assistance to our students," she says. "They cover a wide range of career fields and are alumni in many different locations throughout the U.S. Students can access that information through an on-line website that we have. They can contact those alumni by e-mail or by phone or written correspondence, and network with them for job leads or just to gain career advice about what their experience has been as a graduate in a similar kind of field with similar kinds of interest."

One piece of advice students hear often from their career advisors is to explore job opportunities while still in college… through part time jobs, volunteer work, or summer internships. Smita Ruzicka, a career counselor at the University of Texas, says summer internships, in particular, have moved from resume enhancer to resume necessity. She notes that employers increasingly expect graduates to have more than just a degree. "That's an important part," she says, "but I think they're also looking for people who have some professional experience. They're looking for a lot of general skills."

And, says George Washington University's Marva Gumbs Jenning, they're looking for graduates who have been leaders, who have worked in the community, who have done any type of job that demonstrates their ability to work hard and succeed. "What we've discovered from employers is that if they're looking at a number of skills," she says, "it's the ability to communicate well, it's the ability to work well with and be part of a team, also the ability to handle projects individually, so you have to be adaptable enough to go back and forth. If you have a foreign language, it's also helpful. If you have a comfort level with different kinds of technology, that is also helpful. Those are what we call the softer skills because employers discovered that if they have candidates that come with these types of skills, they can actually train in terms of hard-core organization focus skills."

The job market has become more accessible with on-line postings of job announcements and opportunities. However, as more qualified candidates apply for the same jobs, the market has become even more competitive. College career counselors agree the job hunt can be shorter and more successful if students explore the real world early on, and develop the skills that make employers want to hire them.

The reality that for nearly 250 years, people of African ancestry were kept in bondage in this country is hardly a secret. But many lawmakers believe children are not fully grasping the legacy of that enslavement. They have set up study groups to remedy the situation, but some educators believe that approach is the wrong way to get the message across.

The study groups are being called "Amistad Commissions." The Amistad was a ship commandeered by slaves in 1839. The U.S. Supreme Court eventually granted those slaves their freedom, and thanks to Steven Spielberg, who made a film about the incident in 1997, many Americans today are familiar with the story of the Amistad.

But according to Karen Jackson Weaver, executive director of New Jersey's Amistad Commission, the role that blacks played in the entire American experience is often unknown or misunderstood. Ms. Weaver says teachers focus on figures like civil rights leader Martin Luther King every February, because it is African-American History month. But they do not always know how to integrate King's experience - or that of thousands of other African-Americans - into the grand narrative that is America's story.

"African-Americans see themselves as - and indeed are - Americans," Ms. Weaver points out. "They fought in wars, they participated in every type of American activity, but it's unfortunate that we save one month of the year to celebrate and to commemorate the sufferings, as well as the contributions that they've made. What we're doing is really trying to integrate the roles of African-Americans throughout the year."

To that end, the historians and educational professionals who serve on New Jersey's Amistad Commission have organized seminars to teach teachers how to integrate African-American history into their curricula. The commission is also working to identify textbooks that it believes adequately address the African-American experience.

New Jersey's was the first Amistad Commission to be authorized by state lawmakers. It was created in 2003. In 2004, Illinois put together its own Amistad Commission, and earlier this year, lawmakers in New York passed a resolution calling for the creation of one there.

But it has been grappled with - and is being grappled with - by people who have the experience and education to do so, according to Candace de Russy, who serves on the Board of Trustees for the State University of New York. Ms. de Russy says African-American history has been taught to America's children for more than a generation now. She is concerned by the growing number of Amistad Commissions and worries that New York's in particular will become an opportunity for politically-motivated hacks to balkanize the country's past and, in so doing, deny American children an understanding of their common heritage.

"It is very problematic to hand over the determination of curricula to unqualified citizen panels. It practically guarantees that American history will, in fact, be distorted," Ms. de Russy says. "I would add that this trend in education is already pervasive, and indeed there's a growing concern about whether or not Americans are being taught about what unifies us, our traditions - you know, the Constitution, etc."

The concern about having untrained individuals on the commission could be a legitimate one, according to New Jersey's Karen Jackson Weaver. The Amistad Commission she oversees is made up exclusively of educators and historians. But Ms. Weaver says the allegation that Amistad Commissions may balkanize America's history is groundless.

"Really what this commission seeks to do is to fully integrate the roles and contributions of African-Americans into American society," she says. "I think critics probably don't understand the nature of what we're doing, so they probably see it as identity politics because [the commission] is coming from the political realm. But we're fortunate that we don't have that as a problem."

So far, New Jersey, Illinois, and New York are the only states to formally create Amistad Commissions, but lawmakers in other parts of the country have begun to instruct teachers to focus on the history of particular ethnic groups. In New Mexico, for example, children under the age of 12 are required to study Native American history and culture every year, while lawmakers in Rhode Island have directed schools to teach about the Irish Potato Famine of the 1850s and the Armenian genocide at the turn of the 20th century.

"I am the greatest!" was the signature boast of the son of a Kentucky sign painter who took up boxing after neighborhood bullies stole his bicycle. Born Cassius Marcellus Clay Junior, he was soon known as the Louisville Lip for his taunts and homespun poems in an amateur fighting career topped by a light-heavyweight gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Clay shocked the boxing world by winning his first 19 professional fights and knocking out Sonny Liston for the world heavyweight championship in 1964. "You're an old, ugly bear," Clay said to Liston's face.  

A year before the Liston fight, Cassius Clay had joined the Nation of Islam, known as the Black Muslims, and afterward he announced he had changed his name to Muhammad Ali.

"I had been a Negro; I had no confidence," was all he would say on the subject. But he brimmed with self-assurance now.

Using a duck-and-weave style that he called his "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee technique," he was graceful yet ferocious in the ring. Outside it, he kept crowds and reporters laughing. Before his 1975 title fight with Joe Frazier in the Philippines, Ali pulled a toy gorilla out of his pocket. "It'll be a killa', and a thrilla', and a chilla' when I get the gorilla in Manila!" he said, to laughter and applause.

In 1974, a year before the Thrilla' in Manila bout, fans in Zaire had followed his every move surrounding what came to be called the Rumble in the Jungle with George Foreman. "Bomaye, Ali!" the crowd shouted. "Kill him, Ali" -- brutal words for perhaps the world's most famous pacifist, who, in 1967, refused U.S. military service, despite the threat of five years in prison and a hefty fine. He said at the time, "My conscience won't let me go shoot my brother, or some darker people, or some poor, hungry people in the mud for big, powerful America, and shoot them for what? They never called me 'nigger.'"

On college campuses nationwide, Ali spoke out against the Vietnam War while his case was appealed, and ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed his draft-evasion conviction.

Muhammad Ali won 56 of 61 professional fights. In his last two bouts, in 1980 and 1981, he was already showing the debilitating effects of Parkinson's disease, the brain disorder that affects muscle control. In one of his last television interviews, in 1985, the shuffle and slurred speech brought on by the baffling disease were evident.

The Louisville Lip is mostly silent today, replaced by a grinning -- some would say gullible -- man who gives millions of dollars to charities and individuals in need.

His critics say he has become a pathetic tool, escorted onstage to raise sympathy and donations by throwing a few imaginary punches. And those who disliked Ali, the playful braggart, blame him for inspiring today's self-centered, loudmouthed athletes.

But John Walter, an adjunct professor of ethnic studies at the University of Washington, calls Ali the quintessential American -- generous and caring; provocative; courageous physically and in his convictions; and boastful, but backing up his crowing with incredible deeds.

Professor Walter says Ali's influence has reached the world's humblest hamlets. "Down in Australia, among the aborigines," he notes, "these people saw him. They took an example from how he conducted his life, that he's willing to stand up for their rights, so to speak and to excel at the same time. You'll find many, many examples of people saying, 'I owe what I'm doing to this man.' That, to me, is profound."

Other words of admiration tumbled upon each other in November at the dedication of the $80-million Muhammad Ali Center in Ali's hometown of Louisville. Former president Bill Clinton said Ali -- who in 1990 negotiated the release of 15 U.S. hostages in direct negotiations with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein -- was a force for peace. "You proved once again that the power of example matters a lot more than the example of power," he said.

Muhammad Ali -- whom people remember for exuberant outbursts like, "It'll just be a beauuuuutiful fight. Ooh, I'll be dancing. I'll be so pretty. Ooh "-- turns 64 on Jan. 7. He once said of himself: "He talks a lot and boasts indeed of a power punch and blinding speed!"

And he asked, "How could anyone not see 'American' in the following: I am the greatest?"