comely personalize: June 2013

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Israel's Netanyahu cautions against seeing big change in Iran

Israeli analysts, however, say that the election of a more moderate president in Iran will force Israel to adjust its public posture on the Islamic Republic.

By Joshua Mitnick,?Correspondent / June 16, 2013

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem Sunday. Netanyahu called on Sunday for no let-up in international pressure on Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions after the election of a new president widely seen as a moderate.

Uriel Sinai/Reuters

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For years, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad spooked Israelis with talk of wiping the Jewish state off the map. But the victory of Hassan Rohani, known as a moderate, could pose an even bigger challenge for Israel, analysts say.

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The shift from the incendiary Mr. Ahmedinejad to a president who advocates "constructive engagement" with the West over Iran?s nuclear program will require Israel to adjust its public posture toward Iran, say analysts.

Though Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said?Sunday?that the elections heralded little change and that Iran?s nuclear program is the top threat to world peace, the ascendance of Mr. Rohani could turn the tables in the mind of the international community.???

"Israel has lost an asset in Iran. That asset was Ahmedinejad. With his belligerent talk, he did the work for Israel by creating international consensus against Iran?s nuclear program," says Meir Javedanfar, a lecturer on Iranian politics at the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center, a college in a Tel Aviv suburb. "Now we have the anti-Ahmedinejad as a president: Someone who is moderate and talks about rapprochement. That means there is a change in Iran and it is probably going require a change in Israel regarding its narrative toward Iran."

The moderate image of the new Iranian president could recast Mr. Netanyahu ? who repeatedly reminds the international community that Israel is ready to use force if necessary against Tehran?s nuclear program ? as the leading proponent of armed conflict, the analyst said.

Speaking to the Israeli cabinet on Sunday morning, Netanyahu said that only heightened pressure and the threat of military action would deter Iran.

"Let us not delude ourselves. The international community must not become caught up in wishful thinking," said Prime Minister Netanyahu, who insisted that the Iranian regime still considers Israel a "Zionist Satan." ?"Fifteen years ago, the election of another president, also considered a moderate by the West, led to no change in these aggressive policies."?

Netanyahu, who brags about rallying the West against Iran, noted?Sunday?that policymaking regarding foreign affairs normally resides with Iran?s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, and not the president.

But Israeli analysts noted that Rohani?s experience as a negotiator will likely give him input on strategy regarding ongoing negotiations with the international community on Iran?s nuclear program. The president elect?s approach is liable to lead to an agreement with Iran not to Israel?s liking, wrote Ephraim Kam, an Iran expert at the Institute for National Security Studies.??

Many Israeli critics of the government?s posture have stressed Iran?s internal opposition to the regime since the 2009 protests against the presidential election results. On Sunday, former Israeli Mossad chief told Israel Radio that the vote was the biggest blow to Mr. Khamenei?since becoming the Supreme Leader. Israeli officials should size up the fallout of the election more carefully before dismissing the results, he said.

Whatever the result, Israeli officials are likely to miss the days of the outgoing Iranian president, analysts noted with sarcasm.

"What will we do without the Persian Hitler? What will Bibi draw at the UN?" wrote Yigal Sarna in the daily Yediot Ahronot. "We will have to rewrite the old narrative that contended that the Revolutionary Guard is the all-powerful force leading Iran toward the future and toward the bomb."

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/ezp65jQPl64/Israel-s-Netanyahu-cautions-against-seeing-big-change-in-Iran

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Obama, Putin face tough talks on Syria

By Guy Faulconbridge

LOUGH ERNE, Northern Ireland (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will seek the help on Monday of Russia's Vladimir Putin, Syria's most powerful ally, to bring Bashar al-Assad to the negotiating table and end a two-year civil war.

At their first private face-to-face meeting in a year, Obama will try to find common ground with Putin on the sidelines of a G8 summit in Northern Ireland after angering the Kremlin by authorising U.S. military support for the Syrian president's opponents.

During talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron in London on the eve of the summit, Putin renewed his criticism of the West's position in startling tones, describing Assad's foes as cannibals.

"I think you will not deny that one does not really need to support the people who not only kill their enemies, but open up their bodies, eat their intestines, in front of the public and cameras," Putin said at a joint news conference with Cameron.

"Are these the people you want to support? Is it them who you want to supply with weapons?"

Cameron conceded London and Moscow remained far apart.

Russia does not buy the West's assertion that Assad's forces have used chemical weapons and crossed a red line in doing so, saying U.S. military support for Syrian rebels would only escalate violence.

Washington said on Saturday it would keep F-16 fighters and Patriot missiles in Jordan at Amman's request, prompting Moscow to bristle at the possibility they could be used to enforce a no-fly zone inside Syria.

Putin's rhetoric has become increasingly anti-Western since he regained the presidency last year but he appeared upbeat in London, stressing several areas of cooperation between Russian and Britain.

At the Lough Erne golf resort in Northern Ireland, Cameron will bring together leaders of the United States, Japan, Canada, Russia, Germany, France and Italy - representing just over half of the $71.7 trillion global economy.

Syria will inevitably dominate the Monday-Tuesday talks but persistent worries about the global economy will also be central to the discussions.

MARKET TURMOIL TO FOCUS MINDS

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders will likely discuss the role of central banks and monetary policy.

They are likely to say they are not content with progress so far in fixing their economies in the wake of the global financial crisis, according to a draft communique seen by Reuters.

Japan's Abe will use the opportunity to explain his cocktail of fiscal and monetary stimulus known as 'Abenomics' to the leaders as investors try to absorb the implications of a signal by the U.S. Federal Reserve that it may start to slow its money-printing.

Fed chairman Ben Bernanke will not attend. He and his colleagues hold a two-day policy meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Bond yields have climbed and share prices have sagged globally since Bernanke shocked investors on May 22 by saying the bank might ?take a step down' in the pace of bond purchases - a blow to a global economy still growing well below trend due to the after effects of the great financial crisis.

"Japan's decisive moves to reflate its economy will support growth in the near term, but it will need to manage the twin challenge of providing near-term stimulus and achieving longer-term sustainability," the draft communique said, although the version circulated by Britain and seen by Reuters was put together before the recent market turmoil.

The leaders of the European Union and United States are likely to announce the start of formal negotiations on a free trade deal that could be worth more than $100 billion a year to each economy.

EU and U.S. negotiators aim to finish their work by the end of next year.

TREASURE ISLAND TAX

Cameron has made tackling tax avoidance - which campaigners say costs about $3 trillion a year - one of the key parts of the formal agenda at the summit.

He has turned up the pressure to clamp down on secretive money flows by pressing Britain's overseas tax havens into a transparency deal and announcing new disclosure rules for British firms.

"It is important we are getting our house in order," Cameron said on Saturday after representatives of overseas tax havens linked to Britain agreed to sign up to an international transparency protocol.

Aid campaigners said Britain's action will count for little if the rest of the G8 does not follow suit.

G8 leaders will probably shy away from adopting a measure aimed at curbing tax avoidance by highlighting when companies channel profits into tax havens, and will include a watered-down alternative, according to the draft communique.

Tackling corporate tax avoidance has become a political goal internationally following public anger about revelations over the past year that companies like Apple and Google had used structures U.S. and European politicians said were contrived to minimise the amount of taxes paid.

But the draft summit text suggested there will be no agreement on a rule that would force companies to publish their profits, revenues and tax payments on a country-by-country basis.

Global tax evasion could be costing more than $3 trillion a year, according to researchers from Tax Justice Network while as much as $32 trillion could be hidden by individuals in tax havens.

(Writing by Maria Golovnina, editing by Mike Peacock)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-putin-face-tough-talks-syria-g8-summit-230407848.html

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Mapping a room in a snap: Four microphones and a computer algorithm are enough to produce a 3-D model of a simple, convex room

June 17, 2013 ? Blind people sometimes develop the amazing ability to perceive the contours of the room they're in based only on auditory information. Bats and dolphins use the same echolocation technique for navigating in their environment.

At EPFL, a team from the Audiovisual Communications Laboratory (LCAV), under the direction of Professor Martin Vetterli, has developed a computer algorithm that can accomplish this from a sound that's picked up by four microphones. Their experiment is being published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). "Our software can build a 3D map of a simple, convex room with a precision of a few millimeters," explains PhD student Ivan Dokmani?.

Randomly placed microphones

As incredible as it may seem, the microphones don't need to be carefully placed. "Each microphone picks up the direct sound from the source, as well as the echoes arriving from various walls," Dokmani? continues. "The algorithm then compares the signal from each microphone. The infinitesimal lags that appear in the signals are used to calculate not only the distance between the microphones, but also the distance from each microphone to the walls and the sound source."

This ability to "sort out" the various echoes picked up by the microphones is in itself a first. By analyzing each echo's signal using "Euclidean distance matrices," the system can tell whether the echo is rebounding for the first or second time, and determine the unique "signature" of each of the walls.

The researchers tested the algorithm at EPFL using a "clean" sound source in an empty room in which they changed the position of a movable wall. Their results confirmed the validity of the approach. A second experiment carried out in a much more complex environment -- an alcove in the Lausanne Cathedral -- gave good partial results. New tests using more microphones are very likely to yield improved results.

Mobile localization in buildings

The team's initial conclusions already point to interesting potential applications. "Architects could use this to design rooms -- for example concert halls or auditoriums -- based upon the specific acoustics they would like to create," says Dokmani?.

Applications in forensic science are also on the horizon: based on several recordings of the same setup, audio waves could yield information on elements in the room that cannot be seen. In the same vein, analyzing a telephone call from a person who is moving around a room could allow investigators to identify where the person is calling from.

Finally, it might be possible to implement this algorithm in mobile devices and use them to deduce location information inside buildings -- a place where GPS signals do not penetrate well. "There are already many applications, and we foresee many more. This is only the beginning!" concludes Dokmani?.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/UuQ7FjICAm4/130617160856.htm

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Monday, June 17, 2013

Protein essential for normal heart function identified

June 17, 2013 ? A study by researchers at Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Department of Pharmacology at the University of California, San Diego, shows that a protein called MCL-1, which promotes cell survival, is essential for normal heart function.

Their study, published in the June 15 online issue of the journal Genes & Development, found that deletion of the gene encoding MCL-1 in adult mouse hearts led to rapid heart failure within two weeks, and death within a month.

MCL-1 (myeloid cell leukemia-1) is an anti-apoptotic protein, meaning that it prevents or delays the death of a cell. It is also a member of the BCL-2 family of proteins that regulate mitochondria -- the cell's power producers -- and cell death. Aberrant expression of anti-apoptotic BCL-2 family members is one of the defining features of cancer cells, and is strongly associated with resistance to current therapies. Thus, these proteins are currently major targets in the development of new therapies for patients with cancer.

But, while MCL-1 is up regulated in a number of human cancers, contributing to the overgrowth of cancer cells, it is found at high levels in normal heart tissue. Additionally, the researchers found that autophagy -- a process which deals with mitochondrial maintenance and is normally induced by myocardial stress -- was impaired in mice with MCL-1 deficient hearts.

In summary, the study demonstrated that the loss of MCL-1 led to rapid dysfunction of mitochondria, impaired autophagy and heart failure, even in the absence of cardiac stress.

"Cardiac injury, such as a heart attack, causes levels of MCL-1 to drop in the heart, and this process may increase cardiac cell death," said ?sa B. Gustafsson, PhD, an associate professor at UCSD Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. "Therefore, preserving normal levels of this protein in cardiac tissue could reduce damage after a heart attack and prevent progression to heart failure."

By compromising both autophagy and mitochondrial function, MCL-1 inhibitors are likely to affect the cells' energy supply. "Our findings raise concerns about the potential cardiac toxicity of drugs that block MCL-1 -- drugs that have entered clinical trials because they increase cancer cell death," said the study's first author, Robert L. Thomas.

Additional contributors to the paper include David J. Roberts, Dieter A. Kubli, Youngil Lee, Melissa N. Quinsay, Jarvis B. Owens and Shigeki Miyamoto, UC San Diego; and Kimberlee M. Fischer, Mark A. Sussman, San Diego State University.

The study was supported in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health (grants R01HL087023 and 715 R01HL101217).

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/oLzPaLOztVo/130617122504.htm

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UNCOLLECTABLE: A Pop-Up Sound Art Experience

UNCOLLECTABLE is a two-night performance that will combine elements of an art gallery reception and musical experience. It is a show that seeks to expand the vocabulary of songwriting and highlight the the rising importance of sound art.

This multicultural performance will take place on 21st and 22nd June in New York and will kick off a month-long?art exhibit hosted at the Hotel Particulier co-curated by Murtaza Vali, an independent Art Critic, Historian and Curator.

The project is aiming to raise USD 11,000 through crowdsource funding to help bring the performance to life (the art exhibition and an online magazine is already taken care of).

Here?s a video featuring +Aziz, a Kuwaiti songwriter and one of the performing artists explaining his reasons behind this project.?

?Indie musicians in the Middle East need to look beyond the entertainment industry to create impact. Arab musicians in particular are constrained by a pop scene that regurgitates what I?d like to call plastic surgery pop. My goal is to leverage trend outside entertainment industry to establish myself as an Arab musician.?

If you are tired of a pop scene that regurgitates ?plastic surgery pop?, and whether you live in New York or not, please show some support. So far, USD 9300 of the required USD 11,000 has been raised. You can donate as little as USD 5 to as much as you want and there are some interesting perks for all the contributors.

The funding campaign ends on Saturday, 22nd June at 11:59pm US Pacific Time.

More info about UNCOLLECTABLE:

WHAT I BELIEVE
By looking at trends outside the entertainment industry, musicians can breathe new life into the Middle East?s passive music and arts industry. By collaborating with sound artists or chefs (for example) we can introduce innovation and ideation into the music industry.

IMPACT
By bringing sound art and music together, we can deepen the conversation about the future of indie music, particularly in the Middle East.

The principles driving UNCOLLECTABLE are supported by a robust PR program and content strategy that will ensure this work has impact. For example, arrangements are being made to convey findings to Mideast Tunes and Knooz Room. Moreover, these principles are brought to light in an eMagazine already published on ArteEast.

Participating?Performers
Joshua Liebowitz (artist), +Aziz, Matthew Halley, Sammi Ali, Jie-Song Zhang, Seif Al-Din, KRUSSIA (musicians)

$11,000 COST BREAKDOWN
- Video Crew + Content Development $4500
- Transportation Costs $1200
- Venue $1500- Equipment $1000
- Props $500
- Catering $1000
- PR $1500
- Payment to sound artist TBD
- Remainder of money raised will be divided amongst the musicians
-?Indiegogo/ Paypal/ the bank will scrape off a good 5-9%

THE SPACE
Hotel Particulier is an art salon, an establishment where encounters, cross-pollination of ideas, disciplines and collaboration can take root and grow in a space that is different ? and where there is a freedom of experimentation. It is a place of hospitality, of decompartmentalization, of conversations, and where not only artworks are exhibited but also ideas. Ticket prices for the event are to be decided.

www.indiegogo.com/projects/uncollectable-a-pop-up-sound-art-experience
www.plusaziz.tumblr.com
www.about.me/plusaziz
www.hotelparticulier.com

Read Full Blog Post

Source: http://www.uaeblogging.com/2013/06/uncollectable-a-pop-up-sound-art-experience/

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IRS supervisor in DC scrutinized tea party cases

WASHINGTON (AP) ? An Internal Revenue Service supervisor in Washington says she was personally involved in scrutinizing some of the earliest applications from tea party groups seeking tax-exempt status, including some requests that languished for more than a year without action.

Holly Paz, who until recently was a top deputy in the division that handles applications for tax-exempt status, told congressional investigators she reviewed 20 to 30 applications. Her assertion contradicts initial claims by the agency that a small group of agents working in an office in Cincinnati were solely responsible for mishandling the applications.

Paz, however, provided no evidence that senior IRS officials ordered agents to target conservative groups or that anyone in the Obama administration outside the IRS was involved.

Instead, Paz described an agency in which IRS supervisors in Washington worked closely with agents in the field but didn't fully understand what those agents were doing. Paz said agents in Cincinnati openly talked about handling "tea party" cases, but she thought the term was merely shorthand for all applications from groups that were politically active ? conservative and liberal.

Paz said dozens of tea party applications sat untouched for more than a year while field agents waited for guidance from Washington on how to handle them. At the time, she said, Washington officials thought the agents in Cincinnati were processing the cases.

Paz was among the first IRS employees to be interviewed as part of a joint investigation by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee.

Congressional investigators have interviewed at least six IRS employees as part of their inquiry. The Associated Press has reviewed transcripts from three interviews ? with Paz and with two agents, Gary Muthert and Elizabeth Hofacre, from the Cincinnati office.

The IRS declined comment for this story.

A yearlong audit by the agency's inspector general found that IRS agents had improperly targeted conservative political groups for additional and sometimes onerous scrutiny when those groups applied for tax-exempt status.

The audit found no evidence that Washington officials ordered or authorized the targeting. But the IRS watchdog blamed ineffective management by senior IRS officials for allowing it to continue for nearly two years during the 2010 and 2012 elections.

Since the revelations became public last month, much of the agency's leadership has been replaced and the Justice Department has started a criminal investigation. Both Paz and her supervisor, Lois Lerner, who headed the division that handles applications for tax-exempt status, have been replaced.

Agency officials told congressional aides that Lerner was placed on administrative leave. They did not disclose the status Paz, other than to say she was replaced June 7.

Lerner is the IRS official who first disclosed the targeting at a legal conference May 10. That day, she told The AP: "It's the line people that did it without talking to managers. They're IRS workers, they're revenue agents."

On May 22 ? the day after Paz was interviewed by investigators ? Lerner refused to answer questions from lawmakers at a congressional hearing, citing her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself.

Paz told congressional investigators that an IRS agent in Cincinnati flagged the first tea party case in February 2010. The agent forwarded the application to a manager because it appeared to be politically sensitive, Paz said. The manager informed Paz, who said she had the application assigned to a legal expert in Washington.

At the time, Paz headed a technical unit in Washington that provided guidance to agents who screened applications for tax-exempt status. The agents worked primarily in Cincinnati. One of their tasks was to determine the applicant groups' level of political activity.

IRS regulations say tax-exempt social welfare organizations may engage in some political activity but their primary mission cannot be influencing the outcome of elections. It is up to the IRS to make that determination.

"It's very fact-and-circumstance intensive. So it's a difficult issue," Paz told investigators.

"Oftentimes what we will do, and what we did here, is we'll transfer it to (the technical unit), get someone who's well-versed on that area of the law working the case so they can see what the issues are," Paz said. "The goal with that is ultimately to develop some guidance or a tool that can be given to folks in (the Cincinnati office) to help them in working the cases themselves."

By the fall of 2010, the legal expert in Washington, Carter Hull, was working on about 40 applications, Paz said. A little more than half had "tea party" in the name, she said.

IRS agents in Cincinnati were singling out groups for extra scrutiny if their applications included the words "tea party," ''patriots" or "9-12 project," according to the inspector general's report. Paz said she didn't learn that agents were targeting groups based on those terms until June 2011, about the time Lerner first ordered agents to change the criteria.

Paz said an IRS supervisor in Cincinnati had commonly referred to the applications as "tea party" cases. But, Paz said, she thought that was simply shorthand for any application that included political activity.

"Since the first case that came up to Washington happened to have that name, it appeared to me that's why they were calling it that as a shorthand," Paz told congressional investigators.

Paz said she didn't think the agents in Cincinnati were politically motivated.

"My impression, based on, you know, this instance and other instances in the office is that because they are so apolitical, they are not as sensitive as we would like them to be as to how things might appear," Paz said.

"Many of these employees have been with the IRS for decades and were used to a world where how they talked about things internally was not something that would be public or that anyone would be interested in," Paz added. "So I don't think they thought much about how it would appear to others. They knew what they meant and that was sort of good enough for them."

For several months in 2010, Hull worked closely with Hofacre, the agent in Cincinnati, to review the tea party cases, Paz said. In Hofacre's interview, she complained that Hull micromanaged her work.

Hofacre left for a different IRS job in October 2010 and was replaced by an agent whose name was blacked out in the transcript. Paz said the new agent sat on the tea party applications for more than a year because he was waiting on guidance from Washington on how to proceed. Officials in Washington, however, thought the agents in Cincinnati were still processing the cases, she said.

As a result, many applications languished for more than a year, which, the inspector general said, hurt the groups' ability to raise money.

"I knew they were waiting for guidance," Paz said. "I did not know that they were not working the cases because what had been done previously was, they were working the cases in consultation with Washington. And I was under the impression that that was continuing."

Hull was to be interviewed by congressional investigators on Friday. Efforts to reach Hull and Paz for comment were unsuccessful.

In all, agents singled out 298 applications for additional scrutiny because the groups appeared to be involved in political activity, the inspector general's report said. But IRS agents in Cincinnati weren't given adequate training on how to handle the cases until May 2012, the report said.

Before the training, only six applications had been approved. Afterward, an additional 102 applications were approved by December 2012, the report said.

Of those 102 applications, 29 involved tea party, patriots, or 9-12 organizations, the report said. Many applications are still awaiting action. None has been rejected, according to the IRS.

___

Follow Stephen Ohlemacher on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stephenatap

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-06-16-IRS%20Investigation/id-fac5af1a33a34c9dbf9ba55235f90e5f

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Is military experience enough to win Gomez Mass Senate seat?

Republican Gabriel Gomez has made his experience as a Navy SEAL a cornerstone of his campaign for Senate against Democrat Edward Markey. But in Massachusetts, a state historically unfriendly toward Republicans, will Gomez's credentials translate to votes?

By Bob Salsberg,?Associated Press / June 15, 2013

Republican Gabriel Gomez, (l.), and Democrat U.S. Rep. Ed Markey, candidates for US Senate in the June 24, 2013 special election, being held to fill the seat vacated when John Kerry was appointed as secretary of state in Massachusetts.

AP Photos

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It's a small group of potential voters but one that Gabriel Gomez is clearly at ease with ? about two dozen people who gathered in a recreation room at the Chelsea Soldiers Home to hear a fellow veteran discuss his uphill fight to become the next US senator?from Massachusetts.

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Gomez, wearing his trademark olive green bomber jacket, chats with the vets about the type of aircraft he piloted before becoming a Navy SEAL and the need to improve health care for service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

He describes his hectic campaign schedule in military terms: "Reveille was 05:00 for me today," he explains. And his quest to defeat Democratic US Rep. Edward Markey in the June 25 special election often sounds more like a military endeavor.

"Where we come from, you're mission focused," he tells the group. "You accomplish your mission, and that's what you're focused on."

He continues: "You don't have 37 years to accomplish a mission." It's a dig at Markey's long tenure in Congress and a reminder of his own pledge to serve no more than two full terms if elected.

While Gomez, 47, has made his military background a cornerstone of the campaign, he'll need more than the support of veterans to win an election in a state where Republicans ? with the notable exception of former Sen. Scott Brown in a 2010 special election to succeed the late US Sen. Edward Kennedy ? have fared poorly in recent years.

A political unknown before entering the?race?to succeed John Kerry, who resigned to become secretary of state, Gomez won a low-key Republican primary over two opponents April 30 but now faces a better financed candidate with the state's formidable Democratic machine on his side.

Gomez, who at times seems to campaign as much against his own party as the Democrats, has sought to position himself as a socially moderate, fiscally conservative alternative to Markey, whom he holds up as a symbol for an entrenched and out-of-touch Washington political establishment.

But Markey has dismissed his opponent's attempts to distance himself from the national GOP, claiming he shares many of the same views as conservative Republicans on issues such as gun control, taxes, Social Security and abortion.

On the latter, Gomez, a Catholic, has explained that he is "pro-life" by faith but has no intention of changing current abortion laws. He hasn't ruled out, however, voting for a US Supreme Court nominee who opposes the landmark Roe. v. Wade decision.

The son of Colombian immigrants, Gomez was born in Los Angeles and was a toddler when his family moved to Washington state, where his father worked as a salesman for a company that sold hops.

Gomez, who did not learn to speak English until kindergarten, enjoys conversing in Spanish with Latino residents on the campaign trail. He often weaves Spanish into speeches and briefly spoke Spanish in a recent debate with Markey in Springfield.

"I saw how this country embraced my parents and gave them a chance at the dream, gave me a chance at the dream," Gomez said during an interview with The Associated Press earlier in the campaign.

Gomez attended the US Naval Academy and served in the Navy for nine years, first as a pilot before pursuing his dream to join the elite SEAL team. It was a risk because Gomez knew he wouldn't be able to return to pilot status.

"I didn't want to have any regrets in life ... and I really had a strong desire to go be a SEAL," he said.

Gomez was stationed in South America, where he met his wife, Sarah, who was working in the West Indies as a Peace Corps volunteer. The couple would later settle in Cohasset and raise four children, the oldest of whom is now 13.

After leaving the military, Gomez attended Harvard Business School and launched a lucrative career with the private equity firm Advent International.

While he has touted his business experience, his time at Advent has also been a source of controversy in the campaign as he has come under withering attack from Democrats for revealing little about his clients in financial disclosure forms. He has said that during the time period covered by the forms, he didn't directly provide services to Advent's portfolio companies.

Gomez ? whose only prior foray into politics was an unsuccessful run for selectman in 2003 ? has reacted angrily to campaign ads run by his opponent. He's called Markey "dirty" and once described him as "pond scum."

Markey said the ads were only intended to highlight differences on issues and not attack Gomez personally. Gomez rejects any suggestion of being thin-skinned but concedes that the aggressive tone of the campaign might have caught him off-guard.

"I think the one thing that has surprised me and maybe shouldn't have surprised me is the level of ... misleading and dishonest ads that are out there, mischaracterizations of my positions," he said.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/dxOiMFk-rDM/Is-military-experience-enough-to-win-Gomez-Mass-Senate-seat

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Saturday, June 15, 2013

Accused Fort Hood gunman cannot use defending Taliban defense

By Don Bolding

FORT HOOD, Texas (Reuters) - Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Hasan cannot argue at trial that he was defending the Afghan Taliban when he opened fire in a 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, that killed 13 people, a military judge ruled on Friday.

"There was no evidence that there was any immediate threat to others from your fellow soldiers," Colonel Tara Osborn said, denying Hasan's request to use the defense as he represents himself at his upcoming trial on 13 counts of first-degree murder.

Hasan, a 42-year-old U.S.-born Muslim, is accused of killing 13 people and wounding 32 others in an attack on soldiers at a readiness facility where many of those shot were preparing to deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan.

Fort Hood was a major deployment point for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Hasan himself had been preparing to leave for Afghanistan with a unit assigned to help soldiers deal with mental issues.

"I object," Hasan said when the judge ruled that he could not use his chosen defense argument that he was justified in opening fire on soldiers because he was protecting the Taliban in Afghanistan.

After the hearing, Geoffrey Corn, an expert on military law at the South Texas College of Law in Houston, said Hasan's claim was a non starter.

"I can't see any conceivable set of facts that would raise this defense," Corn said.

Hasan has also asked Osborn to delay the court martial by three months to allow him to prepare a new defense strategy and add to the witness lists. Osborn could rule on that request at a hearing scheduled for Tuesday.

Earlier this month, Hasan was granted the right to represent himself at trial. The selection of a jury from a group of Army officers had been expected to begin two weeks ago, but was delayed while Osborn considered the "defense of others" argument and other issues. Opening statements are scheduled for July 1.

Hasan could face the death penalty if found guilty. He was shot by civilian base police during the attack and left paralyzed from the chest down.

Three military lawyers appointed to serve as standby counsel for Hasan at the trial while he leads his own defense have been trying to determine what their role would be in the proceedings.

The legal team, which he fired, has argued that their role is to be prepared to step back in as his defense attorneys if necessary and to answer his questions on points of law, but not to provide specific legal advice.

Osborn has set a goal of getting the trial schedule back on track after lengthy delays, some due to a dispute over whether Hasan should be allowed to wear a beard in the courtroom in violation of U.S. Army grooming regulations. She set that issue aside.

(Additional reporting by Jim Forsyth in San Antonio; Writing by David Bailey; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/accused-fort-hood-gunman-cannot-defending-taliban-defense-192209901.html

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Saturday, June 8, 2013

Cats Everywhere, Pets-A-Palooza! & Dining with Fido: Steve Dale's ...

Steve Dale's Pet World on WGN Radio on Saturday, June 8 features cats, cats, cats to start - beginning with Jenny Schlueter Schleeter of Tree House Humane Society at 1:05 p.m. CDT.

She'll talk about how Tree House deals with feral or community cats, a unique plan that includes trap, neuter, return as well as a initiative to put these cats to work. She'll also discuss how several shelters in Chicago will combined efforts to help cats, as it is Adopt-A-Cat Month.... as well as the following Tree House events:

Midsommarfest -?5200 N. Clark Street @ Foster
Saturday & Sunday, June 8th & 9th 11:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. both days-
Each year, nearly 50,000 people throng Clark Street from Foster to Catalpa for two days of music, dancing, kids? entertainment, and delicious food. Come stop by the Tree House booth and spin the prize wheel and stock up on our cat toys and care items!?

Adoption/Outreach Event - Pet Supplies Plus, 3757 N. Lincoln Ave.
Saturday, June 15th, 12:00 - 5:00 p.m. -
Stop by the Pet Supplies Plus and meet some of our wonderful cats available for adoption. We will be there to spread the word about the work we do for the cats of Chicago and to help find some of them forever homes.

Tats for Cats, Insight Studios,?1062 N Milwaukee Ave
Saturday & Sunday June 15th & 16th, Saturday noon - 10:00 p.m., Sunday noon - 8:00 p.m.
Start planning for your next tattoo or piercing! 100% of the proceeds from tattoos and piercings this weekend go to Tree House thanks to Insight Studios!?

Charity Bingo Night ? Hamburger Mary?s, 5400 North Clark Street
Monday, June 17th, 8:00 p.m.
Join us for this charity Bingo night to benefit Tree House! Donations (suggested $15) are collected for each Bingo card from customers and guests. Great prizes will be given to the winner of each game. Take advantage of tasty food and great drink specials, too!

Helping Community Cats Workshop - Tree House Bucktown Branch
Wednesday, June 19th, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. -
Learn how you can help cats in your community, and improve conditions for the cats and their human neighbors. Tree House Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) experts will discuss various topics related to stray and feral cats. Tree House Bucktown Branch, 1629 N Ashland Ave. Call: 773-784-5488 ext. 234 for more information.

8th Annual Stray Cat Strut
Saturday June 22nd, day of registration starts at 9:00 a.m. at our Uptown Headquarters (1212 W Carmen) -
Sign up today to join a group of like-minded individuals who are dedicated to getting the word out about the plight of stray cats while also helping us raise funds for the construction of our new state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly Adoption Center and Low-cost Veterinary Clinic. We'll finish up this year's walk at our current Uptown Headquarters with a big post walk celebration that includes food, drinks, prizes, a costume contest, tours and more!?

1:35: Hopping to It with Animal News about a lost frog species

1:38: The Pet Supplies Plus in Bolingbrook and nearby Culver's Restaurant have joined forces to host their 3rd Annual Pets-A-Palooza, Saturday June 15 from noon to 8 p.m. at 250 and 270 N. Bolingbrook Dr. (Route 53). Patti Papageorge marketing manager Pet Supplies Plus and?Jim DiVerde, owner of the Bolingbrook Culver's Restaurant will be in-studio to talk about it.

Highlights include a Bolingbrook K9 Unit demonstration, live reptile show (Herps alive!), agility demo's from the 'Fly Dogs,' and the Dog Saving Network Wheel of Prices. SPAY Illinois provides microchipping.

For kids activities include face painters, magic shows and much more.

To help raise dollars raffles will be held hourly. Halo Purley Pets will be donating 5,000 meals to participating shelters and pet food pantries. Pet Supplies Plus and Culvers of Bolingbrook will be donating 10 percent of their sales that day as well.

2:05 Launch our newest segment, Dining with Fido - each week featuring a dog-friendly restaurant....with a patio or sidewalk cafe which doesn't only allow dogs, but welcomes them....first up, Old Town Social. This?restaurant/bar with the beer list that goes on forever is as dog-friendly as they get, and Blackhawk friendly too (all games are on with volume). Grant Gedemer of Old Town Social will pop by the studio.

I will also take your phone calls throughout the show, and after 2:15, leading into Cubs baseball.

At 11:30 I am on the air with Bill Moller, answering your pet questions.

Filed under: animal shelters, cats, dogs, pets, TNR - trap, neuter, return, veterinary health

Tags: adopt a cat month, Bill Moller, Culvers Bolingbrook, dining with dogs, dog saving network, dogs at restaurants, eating outside with dogs, Grant Gedemer, Jenny Schlueter, microchipping, Old Town Social, pet adoption, Pet Supplies Plus, Pets-A-Palooza, Steve Dale, Steve Dale's Pet World, Stray Cat Strut, Tree House Humane Society

Source: http://www.chicagonow.com/steve-dales-pet-world/2013/06/cats-everywhere-pets-a-palooza-dining-with-fido-steve-dales-pet-world/

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