The earliest signs of people on Jamaica are the remains of the Arawak, an AmerIndian society that originated on the north coast of South America. Arawak peoples migrated to various Caribbean islands, arriving in Jamaica by the beginning of the eighth century. They were peaceful and lived by "slash-and-burn" farming. For meat, they bred pigs and ate iguana, both native to the island. They were highly skilled in such manual activities as thatching and weaving. In fact, the hammock was an AmerIndian invention that remains with us today; it is an object which, more than any other, evokes an image of a warm sunny day on a tropical isle. The Arawak left a legacy of paintings in places such as Runaway Caves near Discovery Bay, and shards of pottery found at their settlements near Nueva Sevilla and Spanish Town have added a little to our knowledge about them. Over 200 Arawak sites have been identified, and it is said that when the Spanish arrived in Jamaica there were approximately 100,000 Arawak living on the island. They called Jamaica "Xaymaca" ("land of wood and water"). Columbus and the Arrival of Europeans Columbus first arrived in Jamaica on 5 May 1494 at Discovery Bay, where there is now a small park in his honor. He stayed for only a few days but returned in 1502, landing here when the ships of his fleet became unserviceable; he waited at St. Ann's Bay for help to arrive from Cuba. After the death of Columbus in 1505, Jamaica became the property of his son Diego, who dispatched Don Juan de Esquivel to the island as Governor. Esquivel arrived in 1510 and created a base called Nueva Sevilla near St. Ann's Bay, from which he hoped to colonize the rest of the island. The Spanish immediately began subjugating the Arawak population, many of whom died under the yoke of oppression and of diseases carried by the Europeans. A number of them committed suicide rather than live the life created for them by the Spanish. The site of Nueva Sevilla proved to be unhealthy and mosquito-ridden, and in 1534 the Spanish founded Villa de la Vega, today known as Spanish Town. Pig breeding was the main occupation of these early settlers, but they also planted sugar cane and other crops that required large numbers of laborers. The number of Arawak had already fallen dramatically, so the Spanish began to import slaves from Africa to work the land; the first Africans arrived in 1517.

Question: "In what ways was the coming of the Europeans to Jamaica bad for the Arawak people?"

Answer: "Death from disease"

Response: yes

American Airlines Flight 11: FAA Awareness. Although the Boston Center air traffic controller realized at an early stage that there was something wrong with American 11, he did not immediately interpret the plane's failure to respond as a sign that it had been hijacked. At 8:14, when the flight failed to heed his instruction to climb to 35,000 feet, the controller repeatedly tried to raise the flight. He reached out to the pilot on the emergency frequency. Though there was no response, he kept trying to contact the aircraft. At 8:21, American 11 turned off its transponder, immediately degrading the information available about the aircraft. The controller told his supervisor that he thought something was seriously wrong with the plane, although neither suspected a hijacking. The supervisor instructed the controller to follow standard procedures for handling a "no radio" aircraft. The controller checked to see if American Airlines could establish communication with American 11. He became even more concerned as its route changed, moving into another sector's airspace. Controllers immediately began to move aircraft out of its path, and asked other aircraft in the vicinity to look for American 11. At 8:24:38, the following transmission came from American 11: American 11: We have some planes. Just stay quiet, and you'll be okay. We are returning to the airport. The controller only heard something unintelligible; he did not hear the specific words "we have some planes." The next transmission came seconds later: American 11: Nobody move. Everything will be okay. If you try to make any moves, you'll endanger yourself and the airplane.

Question: "What did the supervisor tell the controller to do when the controller told the supervisor something seriously was wrong?"

Answer: "Follow standard procedures for handling a "no radio" aircraft"

Response: yes

Taliban and American aid. After the September 11 attacks, it was necessary for conservatives to somehow explain away the fact that the US government gave 245 million dollars to the new evildoers du jour. Never mind the fact that authors such as Robert Scheer warned of aiding the Taliban as early as in May 2001. Never mind that they did so not out of some humanitarian motivation, but because of the Taliban's violent enforcement of the ban on opium poppies. Never mind that in a regime that is controlled by warlords, it does not matter who is authorized to distribute the aid -- the ruling regional warlords will seize control of it and use it to their own advantage. Never mind that this very argument has been used by hawks in opposition to sending humanitarian aid to Iraq's Saddam Hussein. Never mind that the Taliban continued selling opium in spite of the deal. Never mind that this is all documented on Michael Moore's website about the film. Gun homicides. Statistics are Moore's weakest point, and it is surprising that his critics don't dwell on them longer. That's because they know all too well that Moore is correct: The United States have a far greater homicide rate (both gun- and non-gun) than most other first world countries. His main mistake is that he does not use population corrected data, his second mistake is that he does not cite his sources (and, as you correctly point out, he probably uses different reporting methods for the different countries). A good comparison of international homicide rates can be found on the relatively neutral guncite.com website.

Question: "What was the $245 Million in aid to the Taliban intended to be used for?"

Answer: "Reducing the Gun homicides"

Response: no

Right after the Pentagon was hit, NEADS learned of another possible hijacked aircraft. It was an aircraft that in fact had not been hijacked at all. After the second World Trade Center crash, Boston Center managers recognized that both aircraft were transcontinental 767 jetliners that had departed Logan Airport. Remembering the "we have some planes" remark, Boston Center guessed that Delta 1989 might also be hijacked. Boston Center called NEADS at 9:41 and identified Delta 1989, a 767 jet that had left Logan Airport for Las Vegas, as a possible hijack. NEADS warned the FAA's Cleveland Center to watch Delta 1989. The Command Center and FAA headquarters watched it too. During the course of the morning, there were multiple erroneous reports of hijacked aircraft. The report of American 11 heading south was the first; Delta 1989 was the second. NEADS never lost track of Delta 1989, and even ordered fighter aircraft from Ohio and Michigan to intercept it. The flight never turned off its transponder. NEADS soon learned that the aircraft was not hijacked, and tracked Delta 1989 as it reversed course over Toledo, headed east, and landed in Cleveland. But another aircraft was heading toward Washington, an aircraft about which NORAD had heard nothing: United 93. United Airlines Flight 93 FAA Awareness. At 9:27, after having been in the air for 45 minutes, United 93 acknowledged a transmission from the Cleveland Center controller. This was the last normal contact the FAA had with the flight. Less than a minute later, the Cleveland controller and the pilots of aircraft in the vicinity heard "a radio transmission of unintelligible sounds of possible screaming or a struggle from an unknown origin." The controller responded, seconds later: "Somebody call Cleveland?"This was followed by a second radio transmission, with sounds of screaming.

Question: "At what time did the last normal contact between United 93 and the FAA?"

Answer: "9:29"

Response:
no