Artificial spleen to treat bloodstream infections: Sepsis therapeutic device under development

Mar. 30, 2013 ? The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University announced today that it was awarded a $9.25 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to further advance a blood-cleansing technology developed at the Institute with prior DARPA support, and help accelerate its translation to humans as a new type of sepsis therapy.

The device will be used to treat bloodstream infections that are the leading cause of death in critically ill patients and soldiers injured in combat.

To rapidly cleanse the blood of pathogens, the patient's blood is mixed with magnetic nanobeads coated with a genetically engineered version of a human blood 'opsonin' protein that binds to a wide variety of bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites, and toxins. It is then flowed through microchannels in the device where magnetic forces pull out the bead-bound pathogens without removing human blood cells, proteins, fluids, or electrolytes -- much like a human spleen does. The cleansed blood then flows back to the patient.

"In just a few years we have been able to develop a suite of new technologies, and to integrate them to create a powerful new device that could potentially transform the way we treat sepsis," said Wyss founding director and project leader, Don Ingber, M.D., Ph.D. "The continued support from DARPA enables us to advance our device manufacturing capabilities and to obtain validation in large animal models, which is precisely what is required to enable this technology to be moved towards testing in humans."

The team will work to develop manufacturing and integration strategies for its core pathogen-binding opsonin and Spleen-on-a-Chip fluidic separation technologies, as well as a novel coating technology called "SLIPS," which is a super-hydrophobic coating inspired from the slippery surface of a pitcher plant that repels nearly any material it contacts. By coating the inner surface of the channels of the device with SLIPS, blood cleansing can be carried out without the need for anticoagulants to prevent blood clotting.

In addition to Ingber, the multidisciplinary team behind this effort includes Wyss core faculty and Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Science faculty member Joanna Aizenberg, Ph.D., who developed the SLIPS technology; Wyss senior staff member Michael Super, Ph.D., who engineered the human opsonin protein; and Mark Puder, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pediatric Surgery at Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School who will be assisting with animal studies.

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_health/~3/O8CKu3xNkz0/130330130531.htm

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Andrew Padilla, East Harlem Filmmaker, Explores Neighborhood's Gentrification In 'El Barrio Tours' Documentary

A man watches the Three Kings Day Parade in East Harlem January 6, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

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HARLEM ? Andrew Padilla's roots in El Barrio go back to when his grandfather first moved to East Harlem. Now, 60 years on, the filmmaker can barely afford to live there.

The gentrification and blurring of the line between the neighborhood and the Upper East Side, and its impact on longtime residents, are the topics of Padilla's new short documentary

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Pope's foot-washing final blow for traditionalists

Pope Francis, right, looks up to the Crucifix during the Passion of Christ Mass inside St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Friday, March 29, 2013. Pope Francis began the Good Friday service at the Vatican with the Passion of Christ Mass and hours later will go to the ancient Colosseum in Rome for the traditional Way of the Cross procession. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Pope Francis, right, looks up to the Crucifix during the Passion of Christ Mass inside St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican, Friday, March 29, 2013. Pope Francis began the Good Friday service at the Vatican with the Passion of Christ Mass and hours later will go to the ancient Colosseum in Rome for the traditional Way of the Cross procession. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

VATICAN CITY (AP) ? Pope Francis has won over many hearts and minds with his simple style and focus on serving the world's poorest, but he has devastated traditionalist Catholics who adored his predecessor, Benedict XVI, for restoring much of the traditional pomp to the papacy.

Francis' decision to disregard church law and wash the feet of two girls ? a Serbian Muslim and an Italian Catholic ? during a Holy Thursday ritual has become something of the final straw, evidence that Francis has little or no interest in one of the key priorities of Benedict's papacy: reviving the pre-Vatican II traditions of the Catholic Church.

One of the most-read traditionalist blogs, "Rorate Caeli," reacted to the foot-washing ceremony by declaring the death of Benedict's eight-year project to correct what he considered the botched interpretations of the Second Vatican Council's modernizing reforms.

"The official end of the reform of the reform ? by example," ''Rorate Caeli" lamented in its report on Francis' Holy Thursday ritual.

A like-minded commentator in Francis' native Argentina, Marcelo Gonzalez at International Catholic Panorama, reacted to Francis' election with this phrase: "The Horror." Gonzalez's beef? While serving as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Francis' efforts to revive the old Latin Mass so dear to Benedict and traditionalists were "non-existent."

The night he was chosen pope, March 13, Francis emerged from the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica without the ermine-rimmed red velvet cape, or mozzetta, used by popes past for official duties, wearing instead the simple white cassock of the papacy.

He also received the cardinals' pledges of obedience after his election not from a chair on a pedestal as popes normally do but rather standing, on their same level. In the days since, he has called for "intensified" dialogue with Islam ? a gesture that rankles some traditionalists because they view interfaith dialogue as a sign of religious relativism.

This year's Good Friday procession at Rome's Colosseum, which re-enacts Jesus Christ's crucifixion, was dedicated to the plight of Mideast Christians, with prayers calling for an end to "violent fundamentalism."

Francis, however, chose to stress Christians' positive relations with Muslims in brief remarks the end of the ceremony. He recalled Benedict's 2012 visit to Lebanon when "we saw the beauty and the strong bond of communion joining Christians together in that land and the friendship of our Muslim brothers and sisters and so many others."

Francis also raised traditional eyebrows when he refused the golden pectoral cross offered to him right after his election by Monsignor Guido Marini, the Vatican's liturgy guru who under Benedict became the symbol of Benedict's effort to restore the Gregorian chant and heavy silk brocaded vestments of the pre-Vatican II liturgy to papal Masses.

Marini has gamely stayed by Francis' side as the new pope puts his own stamp on Vatican Masses with no-nonsense vestments and easy off-the-cuff homilies. But there is widespread expectation that Francis will soon name a new master of liturgical ceremonies more in line with his priorities of bringing the church and its message of love and service to ordinary people without the "high church" trappings of his predecessor.

There were certainly none of those trappings on display Thursday at the Casal del Marmo juvenile detention facility in Rome, where the 76-year-old Francis got down on his knees and to wash the feet of 12 inmates, two of them women. The rite re-enacts Jesus' washing of the feet of his 12 apostles during the Last Supper before his crucifixion, a sign of his love and service to them.

The church's liturgical law holds that only men can participate in the rite, given that Jesus' apostles were all male. Priests and bishops have routinely petitioned for exemptions to include women, but the law is clear.

Francis, however, is the church's chief lawmaker, so in theory he can do whatever he wants.

"The pope does not need anybody's permission to make exceptions to how ecclesiastical law relates to him," noted conservative columnist Jimmy Akin in the National Catholic Register. But Akin echoed concerns raised by canon lawyer Edward Peters, an adviser to the Vatican's high court, that Francis was setting a "questionable example" by simply ignoring the church's own rules.

"People naturally imitate their leader. That's the whole point behind Jesus washing the disciples' feet. He was explicitly and intentionally setting an example for them," he said. "Pope Francis knows that he is setting an example."

The inclusion of women in the rite is problematic for some because it could be seen as an opening of sorts to women's ordination. The Catholic Church restricts the priesthood to men, arguing that Jesus and his 12 apostles were male.

Francis is clearly opposed to women's ordination. But by washing the feet of women, he jolted traditionalists who for years have been unbending in insisting that the ritual is for men only and proudly holding up as evidence documentation from the Vatican's liturgy office saying so.

"If someone is washing the feet of any females ... he is in violation of the Holy Thursday rubrics," Peters wrote in a 2006 article that he reposted earlier this month on his blog.

In the face of the pope doing that very thing, Peters ? like many conservative and traditionalist commentators ? have found themselves trying to put the best face on a situation they don't like lest they be openly voicing dissent with the pope.

By Thursday evening, Peters was saying that Francis had merely "disregarded" the law ? not violated it.

The Rev. John Zuhlsdorf, a traditionalist blogger who has never shied from picking fights with priests, bishops or cardinals when it concerns liturgical abuses, had to measure his comments when the purported abuser was the pope himself.

"Before liberals and traditionalists both have a spittle-flecked nutty, each for their own reasons, try to figure out what he is trying to do," Zuhlsdorf wrote.

But, in characteristic form, he added: "What liberals forget in their present crowing is that even as Francis makes himself ? and the church ? more popular by projecting (a) compassionate image, he will simultaneously make it harder for them to criticize him when he reaffirms the doctrinal points they want him to overturn."

One of the key barometers of how traditionalists view Francis concerns his take on the pre-Vatican II Latin Mass. The Second Vatican Council, the 1962-65 meetings that brought the church into the modern world, allowed the celebration of the Mass in the vernacular rather than Latin. In the decades that followed, the so-called Tridentine Rite fell out of use almost entirely.

Traditionalist Catholics who were attached to the old rite blame many of the ills afflicting the Catholic Church today ? a drop in priestly vocations, empty pews in Europe and beyond ? on the liturgical abuses that they say have proliferated with the celebration of the new form of Mass.

In a bid to reach out to them, Benedict in 2007 relaxed restrictions on celebrating the old Latin Mass. The move was aimed also at reconciling with a group of schismatic traditionalists, the Society of St. Pius X, who split from Rome precisely over the Vatican II reforms, in particular its call for Mass in the vernacular and outreach to other religions, especially Judaism and Islam.

Benedict took extraordinary measures to bring the society back under Rome's wing during his pontificate, but negotiations stalled.

The society has understandably reacted coolly to Francis' election, reminding the pope that his namesake, St. Francis of Assisi, was told by Christ to go and "rebuild my church." For the society, that means rebuilding it in a pre-Vatican II vision.

The head of the society for South America, the Rev. Christian Bouchacourt, was less than generous in his assessment of Francis.

"He cultivates a militant humility, but can prove humiliating for the church," Bouchacourt said in a recent article, criticizing the "dilapidated" state of the clergy in Buenos Aires and the "disaster" of its seminary. "With him, we risk to see once again the masses of Paul VI's pontificate, a far cry from Benedict XVI's efforts to restore to their honor the worthy liturgical ceremonies."

___

Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-03-29-Vatican-Pope-Traditionalists/id-66c184b42fcb456c96ec1262566b1325

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NCAA Sweet 16: South, Midwest regions feature top-flight teams

There's NCAA royalty: Duke and Kansas. There are NCAA perennials: Florida, Michigan State, and Louisville. Michigan and Oregon have worked hard to get here. And then there's Cinderella, otherwise known as Florida Gulf Coast University, taking part in Friday night's Sweet 16 action.

By Pat Murphy,?Staff / March 29, 2013

Louisville guard Russ Smith shoots during practice for a regional semifinal game in the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 28, 2013, in Indianapolis. Louisville plays Oregon on Friday.

Michael Conroy/AP

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Friday night, NCAA tournament action continues with regional semi-final action in the South and Midwest regions, taking place in Arlington, Texas, and Indianapolis respectively.

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In the Midwest, top seed Louisville will face Oregon, seeded a debatable 12th this year. After reaching the 2012 Final Four, the Cardinals are looking to go back-to-back for the first time since they did it in 1982 and 1983. They easily dispatched North Carolina A&T in their first tournament game, then ran past Colorado State to reach the Sweet 16.

The Cardinals are paced by guard Russ Smith, whose continual drives to the basket put tremendous pressure on the other team's defense.

The Ducks, coming off an impressive win in the Pac-12 conference championship game, downed both Oklahoma State and Saint Louis to punch their ticket to Indy. Third year head coach Dana Altman, who previously had taken Creighton to the NCAA tournament, has his team playing at a high level.

Also in the Midwest Friday night, second seed Duke takes on third seed Michigan State. This game could be considered an old-school match-up, as both teams have veteran lineups and coaches with extensive NCAA tourney experience.

Mike Krzyzewski's Blue Devil squad beat both Albany and Creighton, while Tom Izzo's Spartans have looked solid in wins over Valparaiso and Memphis.

Kansas is still alive as the top seed in the South region. The Jayhawks will meet fourth seed Michigan in Cowboys Stadium outside Dallas. KU had to scrap its way to?a win over Western Kentucky in the second round. Then, they had to overcome a poor first-half shooting performance against North Carolina before finally pulling away from the Tar Heels.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/7cLpiFjZV3Q/NCAA-Sweet-16-South-Midwest-regions-feature-top-flight-teams

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Sunrise Update Brings LinkedIn Profiles, Recurring Events And Notes To The Calendar App

iOS calendar app Sunrise received its first update a month after its release, bringing more info and flexibility to your calendar. The team has pushed the LinkedIn integration a step forward by bringing the entire profile into the app. Now you can check previous work experiences and education from Sunrise’s interface. “The feedback we got from our launch is that Sunrise really changes your calendar,” co-founder Pierre Valade said in a phone interview. “Using your calendar becomes a true pleasure,” he continued. During its initial development, the team really focused on the user experience because they found that other apps were lacking in this area. But the company also received two other pieces of feedback regarding Facebook Connect and event features. Users didn’t want to use their Facebook account to create a Sunrise account. So it added the ability to log in with Google — Sunrise only works with Google Calendar for now. Heavy calendar users also requested two new features that come with today’s update. You can now create recurring events directly from your phone and you can add notes to your events. This data is synchronized with your Google Calendar. “There are still a lot of features that we want to implement,” Valade said. “This update shows that we are still adding value to your calendar by using existing data from LinkedIn and other services,” he continued. Now, when you create an event and invite someone, you’ll get LinkedIn information, links to Facebook, your address book and LinkedIn, and the ability to text, call or email someone very easily. The app also uses Facebook profile pictures and cover photos. While Sunrise is not an address book, that contact info is very informative yet doesn’t require any effort on your part. The New York-based company now plans to release regular update addressing top feature requests more or less every month. It remains to be seen whether they’ll port the app to other platforms in the future as well.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/tYtrs1Di2vE/

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Microsoft allows Windows 8 to run on smaller displays: is a reader-sized Surface on its way?

Until now, Windows 8's official hardware requirements have been understandably ruthless: devices with anything less than 1,366 x 768 pixels need not apply. That policy was changed in a recent newsletter, however, to permit the creation of Windows 8 devices with a resolution of 1,024 x 768 -- likely representing a very different size and shape. Microsoft says the policy switch isn't meant to "encourage partners to regularly use a lower screen resolution", and it warns that such dimensions will be incompatible with Windows 8's split-screen feature, known as "snap". Which raises the question -- why mess with the rules?

Ed Bott over at ZDNet has an interesting theory. 1,024 x 768 matches the size and aspect ratio of many popular reader-sized tablets, like the iPad Mini, which are meant to be used in both portrait and landscape orientations. There's no official confirmation either way, of course, but Bott believes Microsoft's move could be deliberately aimed at allowing the development of 7- or 8-inch Windows 8 (or RT) tablets, possibly with the close help of Nook-maker Barnes & Noble. Indeed, Mary Jo Foley spotted that Redmond and B&N have registered a new joint venture, "NewCo", that explicitly mentions the creation of a "Microsoft reader". Considering all these clues, can a Wook (WiNook?) really be that far off?

Filed under: Tablets, Software, Microsoft

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Source: ZDNet, Windows Certification Newsletter

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/LLsu5u348ns/

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Workplace Knowledge Consultant 1 Herman Miller, Inc ...

You can make a salary making furniture. Or you can make a difference. Or you can work at Herman Miller and make both. Speak up, solve problems, lead others, and be an owner. All while giving back to the community and caring for a better world. Join us and make your mark.

?

General Purpose:
Under general direction, delivers knowledge-based expertise and consulting that add value to the customer, deepen relationships, contribute to sales of both products and services, and differentiate Herman Miller as a knowledge leader and solution provider.

Essential Functions:

• Provides services: Learns, maintains, and delivers service offerings. Leverages intellectual capital to position Herman Miller as the thought leader regarding the workplace.
• Markets capabilities to external and internal audiences. Actively promotes the HMI brand and workplace knowledge and consulting to customers, outside organizations and the community. Serves as internal resource to marketing, sales, facilities and other areas of the company.
• Engages with customers to identify needs. Cultivates strong relationships, identifies or develops new customer solutions and delivers customized versions to meet specific engagement requirements.
• May manage consulting portion of all engagements: accountable for building and a sound business proposal, including income and costs estimates, writing contracts and achieving margins.
• Manages vendor relationships and performance. Identifies, develops relationships, obtains vended services and ensures timely completion and quality.
• Shares knowledge: Responsible for knowledge transfer to internal and external audiences via case studies, white papers, published articles and presentations, and may serve as keynote speaker in area(s) of expertise. May write comprehensive customer reports.
• Achieves and maintains technical proficiency. Contributes to projects, initiatives and service line development. Consistently and regularly applies new knowledge in customer engagements. Monitors market trends / conditions and ensures Herman Miller is the industry leader on relevant leading edge best practices.
• Serves as an internal knowledge / consulting resource.
• Performs additional duties as assigned.
• Combines expertise in organizational development, real estate/facilities, and design for the benefit of customers and Herman Miller.
• Provides full range of expertise and deep-dive consulting to customers ? in the areas of organizational development/human systems, employee engagement, real estate and facilities, design/work environment solutions, and analytical expertise based on quantitative studies of the work environment.
• Leads full range of performance environments services for customers to include visioning, space utilization services and analysis and pre/post-occupancy workplace evaluation, place mapping, financial modeling, survey data, report creation, synthesize complex data, develops comprehensive recommendations for customers, and change management.
• Connects and translates customer needs and consulting engagements to work environment solutions to include applications, floor plate solutions, conceptual designs. Connects customer needs, space utilization data and trends to real estate strategy, financial modeling, and decision making.
• Interprets customer workplace strategy into work environment and performance environments solutions.
• Aligns and leads dealer, sales, HMS and performance environment cross functional, cross disciplinary teams project-by-project.

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor degree or equivalent experience typically acquired through a minimum of 5 years working in a directly related area (e.g. management consulting, facilities, office furniture, design, communications, HR or corporate real estate). Master's degree or Ph.D. are excellent credentials, but not required.
• 2-7 years successful exempt-level experience in management consulting relationships.
• Outstanding interpersonal and relationship building skills-with both internal partners and external customers and vendors.
• High task / high relationship orientation necessary, including ability to manage client relationships to conduct strategic planning, link engagement goals to client's business objectives and create buy-in for deliverables. High level of responsiveness and flexibility required.
• Proven presentation / facilitation and negotiation skills at all levels within a client organization.
• Requires time management / prioritization skills and the ability to handle stress in a proactive manner.
• Organizational, planning and project management skills with demonstrated follow-through and results. Ability to ensure phenomenal quality in deliverables, e.g. meeting timetables, etc.
• Thorough knowledge of the HMI organization, products and services.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Technical writing skills helpful.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively use office automation/communication software and tools currently being used in the HMI office environment.
• Ability to travel up to 50% of the time.
• Must be able to perform all essential functions of the position with or without accommodations.
• Bachelor degree in Organization Development, Interior/Architecture, or related field of study. Equivalent level of experience will be considered
• 5-10 years successful exempt-level experience in management consulting relationships.
• Thorough knowledge of culture and ability to apply knowledge of issues/application of work environment solutions.
• Thorough knowledge of organizational development, human systems, and employee engagement practices.

Herman Miller is committed to diversity and inclusion. We are an equal opportunity employer.

Source: http://www.selectleaders.com/candidate/viewjobdetails.do?jid=28121

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Black smoke at Sistine Chapel; no decision on pope

Vincenzo Pinto / AFP / Getty Images

Black smoke rises from the chimney on the roof of the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday.

By Alastair Jamieson, Staff writer, NBC News

VATICAN CITY ? Black smoke rose above the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday, signaling that 115 Roman Catholic cardinals failed to agree on a new pope during the first day of the papal conclave.

The "princes of the church" began deliberating inside the Vatican after swearing an oath of secrecy and entering the papal conclave at about 5 p.m. local time (12 p.m. ET).

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The smoke?was created by the burning of ballot papers used by the cardinals in their deciding vote, with chemical cartridges being added to ensure the smoke did not appear to be white ? the sign that a decision has been reached.?It means the conclave will reconvene on Wednesday morning.?

None of the 115 cardinals will be seen or heard, nor will they have any contact with the outside world, until they have chosen a successor to Benedict XVI,?who abdicated on Feb. 28.

As the conclave got under way Tuesday, the cardinals' electronic devices were jammed to prevent any communication with the outside world. They will convene again on Wednesday. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.

"They're on their own now," said NBC News Vatican expert George Weigel, referring to the total isolation demanded by church rules.

Shortly after the conclave began, semi-naked feminist activists with the words "pope no more" written on their chests and backs staged a protest right next to St. Peter's Square, directly in front of the Vatican.?

They were tackled by police and detained.

The word "conclave" comes from the Latin meaning "with key". It is a church tradition that began in 1268 when local officials became so fed up with the lack of a decision among cardinals ? they had deliberated for more than two years ? that they locked them away with limited food and water to encourage a result.

Earlier, thousands of pilgrims and tourists waited in line to get inside St. Peter's Basilica for a special pre-conclave Mass with the cardinals.

The "Mass Pro Eligendo Pontifice" began at 10 a.m. local time (5 a.m. ET) in front of a congregation of worshippers who were waiting outside in St. Peter's Square for tickets allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Alastair Jamieson / NBC News

Lois Girten, 55, from Austin, Texas, was among those waiting in line to get inside the pre-conclave Mass.

"It?s in the air! You really feel it," said Lois Girten, 55, from Austin, Texas, who secured a last-minute place on a two-week pilgrimage to Rome through a cancellation.

"It?s God?s gift that I?m in Rome just as the conclave takes place. I?m almost speechless with excitement, it?s a real treat for me."

Several thousand visitors were allowed in to take part in the service, according to Religion News Service correspondent Alessandro Speciale inside the basilica.

'Noble mission'
In his homily, cardinal Angelo Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals, told the congregation: "My brothers, let us pray that the Lord will grant us a pontiff who will embrace this noble mission with a generous heart."

At night, cardinals will walk or be taken by minibus the short distance to the modest rooms in Casa Santa Marta, which John Paul II had built in 1996.

On purpose and by chance, Americans join crowd in St. Peter's Square to watch for signs of a newly elected Pope.

Such is the importance of secrecy that Vatican officials have installed jamming devices to prevent the use of cellphones by cardinals or hidden microphones by anyone wanting to hear their deliberations.

No conclave has lasted more than five days in the past century, with most finishing within two or three days. Pope Benedict was elected within barely 24 hours in 2005 after just four rounds of voting.

Benedict triggered the election last month with his shock decision to abdicate because of his increasingly frail health ? the first pontiff to step down in six centuries.

He leaves his successor a sea of troubles ? including seemingly never-ending sex-abuse scandals, rivalry and strife inside the Vatican bureaucracy, a shortage of priests and a rise of secularism in its European strongholds.

Related:?

?From Rome to Africa: Meet 20 men who could be pope

Conclave smoke signals a bit of a gray area

Full coverage of the papal abdication from NBC News

/

The pope delivers his final audience in St. Peter's Square as he prepares to stand down.

?

This story was originally published on Tue Mar 12, 2013 4:56 AM EDT

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/12/17276360-black-smoke-rises-from-sistine-chapel-no-decision-on-pope?lite

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Hagel to review Air Force sexual assault case

Newly confirmed Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Monday he will review the case of an Air Force lieutenant colonel, convicted of sexual assault, whose conviction was thrown out by the Air Force general overseeing the court martial.

By Richard Lardner,?Associated Press / March 11, 2013

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, seen here at a March 1 press conference, announced Monday he will review a case involving an Air Force general who dismissed charges against a lieutenant colonel convicted of sexual assault.

Carolyn Kaster/AP/File

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A case involving an Air Force general who dismissed charges against a lieutenant colonel convicted of sexual assault will be reviewed at the top levels of the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in a letter released Monday. But it's seemed unlikely that the ruling would be changed.

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Hagel said that under military law, neither he nor the Air Force secretary has the authority to reverse Lt. Gen. Craig Franklin's decision to overturn the conviction against Lt. Col. James Wilkerson, a former inspector general at Aviano Air Base in Italy.

Hagel's letter is dated March 7 and was sent to Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who released it publicly. The Senate Armed Services Committee is holding a hearing Wednesday on sexual assaults in the military and the Wilkerson case is expected to be a major topic of discussion.

Boxer and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., wrote to Hagel last week asking him to look into the case. They called Franklin's decision to overturn the jury verdict "a travesty of justice." Franklin is commander of the 3rd Air Force at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., told Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and Gen. Mark Welsh, the Air Force chief of staff, in a March 5 letter that Franklin's decision "shows ignorance, at best, and malfeasance, at worst." Franklin's decision undermines efforts by the Air Force and the other military branches "to erase a culture that has often turned a blind eye on sexual assault," McCaskill added.

Shaheen and McCaskill are members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The Air Force has been grappling for months with the fallout over a sex scandal at its training headquarters in Texas. Dozens of young female recruits and airmen at Lackland Air Force Base near San Antonio were victimized by their instructors who sexually harassed, improperly touched, or raped them.

During January testimony before a House committee, Welsh likened sexual assault in the Air Force's ranks to a cancer and vowed to tackle the problem by screening personnel more carefully and putting an end to bad behaviors like binge drinking that can lead to misconduct.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/ERtPZp5AfWk/Hagel-to-review-Air-Force-sexual-assault-case

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North Korea threatens 'preemptive nuclear attack' on US as UN readies new sanctions (+video)

The UN Security Council is expected today to approve a new round of sanctions against Pyongyang in response to its nuclear weapon test last month.

By Arthur Bright,?Staff writer / March 7, 2013

North Koreans attend a rally Thursday in Pyongyang to support a statement given on Tuesday by a North Korean military spokesman vowing to cancel the 1953 ceasefire that ended the Korean War. The billboard in background depicts a large bayonet pointing at US army soldiers and reads 'If you dare invade, only death will be waiting for you!'

Jon Chol Jin/AP

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North Korea upped the ante in its vitriolic rhetoric today, threatening to launch a preemptive nuclear strike against the US and other "aggressors," just hours ahead of the United Nations Security Council's expected vote to implement harsh new sanctions against the regime.

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Europe Editor

Arthur Bright is the Europe Editor at The Christian Science Monitor.? He has worked for the Monitor in various capacities since 2004, including as the Online News Editor and a regular contributor to the Monitor's Terrorism & Security blog.? He is also a licensed Massachusetts attorney.

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North Korea vows to launch a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the United States, amplifying its threatening rhetoric hours ahead of a vote by U.N. diplomats on whether to level new sanctions against Pyongyang for its recent nuclear test.

According to North Korea's state news agency, a foreign ministry official warned that?"Now that the US is set to light a fuse for a nuclear war, (our) revolutionary armed forces... will exercise the right to a preemptive nuclear attack to destroy the strongholds of the aggressors," writes Agence France-Presse. The official also said that a second Korean war is "unavoidable."

AFP notes that while North Korea claims to have missiles capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the continental US, they have yet to successfully demonstrate such technology. Most observers believe that North Korea is many years away from such a capacity.

North Korea's latest threat comes amid growing international concern ? including that of longtime ally China ? over the country's continued nuclear testing, its third such test occuring last month. In response, the US and China negotiated a tightening of sanctions against the regime, which is expected to pass later today at the UN Security Council.?

The Monitor reported yesterday that while probably not ready to impose sanctions strong enough to destabilize the Kim regime, China was angered by the decision to follow through with last month's weapons test in spite of Beijing's direct requests otherwise.

The resolution due to be approved Thursday will make it harder for North Korean diplomats to transport large quantities of cash, which they are forced to do by existing financial sanctions that make banks unwilling to deal with Pyongyang.

The resolution will also step up the inspection of North Korean imports and exports, so as to crack down on Pyongyang?s purchase of technology that could help its weapons program and on North Korean military sales abroad.

The sanctions will prohibit the sale of luxury items such as yachts and racing cars to North Korea, in a bid to deny the country?s rulers some of their toys.

Still, experts are dubious that the sanctions will make much difference.

David Kang, an expert on North Korea at the University of Southern California, told the Monitor that "There is zero chance that this new resolution will have any effect on North Korean behavior. Pressure does not work on North Korea."

The sanctions' passage is unlikely to end North Korea's bellicose rhetoric in the coming days, as the US and South Korea are set to engage in two months of war games starting next week. Pyongyang warned on Tuesday that if the games were held, North Korea would "completely nullify" the armistice that has held since the Korean War unofficially ended in 1953. An official peace between North and South Korea has never been enacted.

"The war exercise being done by the United States and the puppet South Korea is a systematic act of destruction aimed at the Korean armistice," the KCNA quoted a top military official as saying.

But the Monitor noted that North Korea's threat "rings hollow," as the government made a similar declaration in 2009 amid an earlier round of international pressure over its nuclear weapons program.

?Maybe North Korea should check its files, because they already abrogated the armistice in May 2009,? says Bruce Klingner, a Northeast Asia expert at the Heritage Foundation?s Asian Studies Center in Washington. ?They said at the time they had abrogated it and were no longer bound by it,? Mr. Klinger says, ?so I guess you could say history is repeating itself.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/ZGiex8e0t4A/North-Korea-threatens-preemptive-nuclear-attack-on-US-as-UN-readies-new-sanctions-video

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In Kenya, dancing, doubt, and sighs of relief as Kenyatta wins presidency

Uhuru Kenyatta got 50.07 percent in an election that stood in sharp contrast to the 2007 vote, which saw deadly outbreaks of violence. His opponent has said he'll challenge the results.?

By Fredrick Nzwili,?Correspondent / March 9, 2013

Kenya's President-Elect Uhuru Kenyatta waves to supporters after leaving the National Election Center in Nairobi, Kenya, Saturday, March 9. He won 50.07 percent of the vote to be Kenya's next president.

Ben Curtis / AP

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Uhuru Kenyatta is poised to become the country's next leader, in an election that has raised concerns about vote-rigging and whose results are being challenged by opponent Raila Odinga.?

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Supporters of Mr. Kenyatta, the son of Kenya's founding president, celebrated his election victory with singing and dancing after the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission declared that the Jubilee Alliance Coalition candidate had won 50.07 percent of the vote, narrowly avoiding a runoff. The election saw a record turnout estimated at 82 percent. Some said it may also be the highest turnout ever in Africa.

Even as the celebrations by supporters got under way, however, Mr. Odinga?s Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) told a news conference that he will immediately challenge the results in the Supreme Court, saying democracy was on trial in Kenya.

?The figures in some of my strongholds were reduced, while those of [Kenyatta's] Jubilee were increased,? said Mr. Odinga, citing as an example Dhiwa Constituency in his stronghold of Nyanza County.

For many ordinary Kenyans, however, the declaration of a winner after a tense week of tallying votes came as a relief, given the backdrop of the previous election in 2007, which erupted into violence that killed more than 1,100 people.??

?The President elect is leader for all, and I think he has been elected through a fair contest. Those who have lost the election should concede. I did not vote for Kenyatta, but I will support him. He is my president,? says John Otieno, a young auto-parts dealer who had traveled to Nairobi from the western city of Kisumu, about 350 kilometers (210 miles) away.??I urge all Kenyans to unite and accept the polls. I want the president to embrace all parts of Kenya, even the regions that did not vote for him."?

?Tabitha Ndigirigi, a longtime trader and CORD supporter, was not so charitable, arguing that there had been fraud in counting the votes.

?The win is not authentic. I challenge it. I think the vote has been stolen,? says Ms. Ndigirigi.

But Peter Mwangi, a security guard in Nairobi who voted for Odinga, says he thinks lodging a suit would be futile. Although he is disappointed, he is joining the celebrations.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/DgqdIvXJA70/In-Kenya-dancing-doubt-and-sighs-of-relief-as-Kenyatta-wins-presidency

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Cassini returns images of battered Saturn's moon Rhea

Mar. 11, 2013 ? Following its last close flyby of Saturn's moon Rhea, NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured these raw, unprocessed images of the battered icy moon. They show an ancient, cratered surface bearing the scars of collisions with many space rocks. Scientists are still trying to understand some of the curious features they see in these Rhea images, including a curving, narrow fracture or a graben, which is a block of ground lower than its surroundings and bordered by cliffs on either side. This feature looks remarkably recent, cutting most of the craters it crosses, with only a few small craters superimposed.

Cassini flew by Rhea at an altitude of 620 miles (997 kilometers) on March 9, 2013. This flyby was designed primarily for the radio science sub-system to measure Rhea's gravity field. During closest approach and while the radio science sub-system was measuring the icy satellite's gravity field, the imaging team rode along and captured 12 images of Rhea's rough and icy surface. Outbound from Rhea, Cassini's cameras captured a set of global images from a distance of about 167,000 miles (269,000 kilometers).

Data from Cassini's cosmic dust analyzer were also collected to try to detect any dusty debris flying off the surface from tiny meteoroid bombardments. These data will help scientists understand the rate at which "foreign" objects are raining into the Saturn system.

This was the mission's fourth close encounter with Rhea. The spacecraft will pass the moon, but at a much greater distance, in a few years.

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. JPL is a division of Caltech. For more information on Cassini, visit http://www.nasa.gov/cassini and http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov .

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Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/T5uPdvXmlv0/130311144145.htm

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Kenyatta declared winner of Kenya's presidential vote

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Uhuru Kenyatta, indicted for crimes against humanity, was declared winner of Kenya's presidential election on Saturday, but rival Raila Odinga said he would challenge the outcome in court and asked supporters to avoid violence.

Kenyatta, Kenya's richest man and son of its founding president, faces trial on charges of playing a leading role in the wave of tribal killings that followed the disputed 2007 presidential election. His win on Saturday avoided what could have been a divisive a run-off penciled in for April.

With Kenyatta, 51, in the top job, Kenya will become the second African country after Sudan to have a sitting president who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court.

The United States and other Western powers, big donors to the east African country, said before the vote that a Kenyatta win would complicate diplomatic ties with a nation viewed as a vital ally in a regional battle against militant Islam.

In his acceptance speech, Kenyatta said he and his team would cooperate with international institutions and that he expected the world to respect Kenya's sovereignty.

"We recognize and accept our international obligations and we will continue to cooperate with all nations and international institutions - in line with those obligations."

After saying Kenyatta secured 50.07 percent of the vote, edging over the 50 percent needed to avoid a second round, the chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, Issack Hassan, announced: "I therefore declare Uhuru Kenyatta the duly elected president of the Republic of Kenya."

Shortly afterwards, Hassan handed a certificate of the results to Kenyatta, who had arrived after the declaration. Kenyatta thanked him and went to a nearby university campus in the capital Nairobi where he delivered his acceptance speech.

Many in the election center cheered, although celebrations started in the early hours of Saturday after provisional results indicated Kenyatta's victory. Supporters thronged the streets of Nairobi and his tribal strongholds, lighting fluorescent flares, waving tree branches and chanting "Uhuru, Uhuru".

Violence flared briefly in Odinga's heartlands where police fired teargas at supporters of the defeated candidate who were throwing stones. "No Raila, no peace!" they chanted at the scene near the western city of Kisumu, which was shattered by violence after the 2007 election.

Last time the bloodshed started immediately after the election results, and analysts predicted that Kenya was likely to escape fighting this time around.

CHALLENGE

Odinga, 68, said he would have conceded if the vote was fair, adding that there was "rampant illegality" in the electoral process and that "democracy was on trial in Kenya" and he would challenge it in court.

"Any violence now could destroy this nation forever, but it would not serve anyone's interests," he said.

Odinga, who secured 43.3 percent of the vote, had also questioned the election process before the balloting and during the count his party officials had called for tallying to stop.

The election commission, plagued by technical problems that slowed the count, took five days to announce the result. It dismissed accusations of irregularities.

International observers broadly said the vote and count had been transparent so far and the electoral commission, which replaced a discredited body, said it delivered a credible vote.

Kenyatta, now the deputy prime minister, climbed above 50 percent by just 8,400 of the more than 12.3 million votes cast.

Both sides relied heavily on their ethnic groups in a nation where tribal loyalties mostly trump ideology at the ballot box. Kenyatta is a Kikuyu, the biggest of Kenya's many tribes, while Odinga is a Luo. Both had running mates from other tribes.

John Githongo, a former senior government official-turned-whistleblower, urged the rival coalitions, Odinga's CORD and Kenyatta's Jubilee, to ensure calm. "Jubilee and CORD, what you and your supporters say now determines continued peace and stability in Kenya. We are watching you!" he said on Twitter.

How Western capitals deal with Kenya under Kenyatta and his government will depend on whether he and his running mate William Ruto, who is also indicted, work with the tribunal.

Kenyatta says he is innocent of the charges, which allege that he directed a militia accused of murder and rape during the violence after the last election.

Western capitals were swift on Saturday to applaud Kenya's peaceful vote but avoided mentioning Kenyatta, whose election they had said would complicate relations because of the charges of crimes against humanity he faces.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said America had longstanding ties with Kenya, and "will continue to be a strong friend and ally of the Kenyan people". He congratulated the people of the east African country for holding a peaceful vote.

CALL FOR COOPERATION

Both Kenyatta and Ruto deny the charges and have said they will work to clear their names. Kenyatta had to fend off jibes during the campaign by Odinga that he would have to run government by Skype from The Hague.

"Until now, Kenyatta has been cooperating with the court and we do hope this will continue," said Fadi El-Abdallah, spokesman for the Hague-based court. "This is part of Kenya respecting its legal obligations under international law."

Kenyans hope the vote, which passed off with only pockets of unrest on voting day, will restore their nation's reputation as one of Africa's most stable democracies after killings last time left more than 1,200 dead.

Many Kenyans have said they are determined to avoid a repeat of the post-2007 chaos, which paralyzed the economy.

Church leaders in Kisumu sought to defuse tension this time and some Odinga supporters said it was time to move on. "I urge our candidate to forget the presidency and let the will of God prevail," cloth vendor Diana Ndonga said.

Many shops stayed closed as a precaution in the port city of Mombasa, another Odinga stronghold, but streets were calm.

"We are heading for a bleak future where the economy goes down and international relations sour because of the ICC case," said Athumani Yeya, 45, a teacher in the city.

Some said Odinga's call for non-violence had calmed nerves.

"Now that we have heard Raila's voice, we will maintain peace and give courts time to do their work. I urge people of this area to remain calm and continue with their normal lives," said Robert Ouko, 24, a transporter.

Others were hopeful that Kenyatta could bring change.

"We are celebrating. Even with the ICC case in Holland, the people of Kenya still have faith in him," said Thomas Gitau, 25, a barefoot car washer on a main Mombasa street. "We hope he can fix infrastructure and security so we have more jobs."

Odinga's camp had said even before the result that they were considering a court challenge. In 2007, he said the courts could not be trusted to handle the case. Kenyatta's camp had also complained about counting delays and other aspects of the vote.

But many Kenyans said this race was more transparent. Turnout reached 86 percent of the 14.3 million eligible voters.

(Additional reporting by James Macharia, Richard Lough and Beatrice Gachenge in Nairobi, Hezron Ochiel in Kisumu, Drazen Jorgic in Mombasa and Thomas Escritt in Amsterdam; Writing by Richard Lough, Edmund Blair and James Macharia; Editing by Alison Williams)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kenyatta-declared-winner-kenyas-presidential-vote-035402726.html

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Queen Elizabeth excludes gays, trans from ?non-discrimination? charter (Americablog)

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The View Host Shake-Ups!

Joy Behar and Elisabeth Hasselbeck leaving The View? Yes that is true and the rumor mill is buzzing that Barbara Walters will soon follow and that Brooke Sheilds may end up with a seat on the coveted couch. It has been quite a week for the ABC daytime talk show The View. Walters returned after months off due to illness and soon followed a slew of host change announcements. First up Joy revealed that after 16 years on the show she would be saying good-bye. She made a statement on Good Morning America and tomorrow she will discuss on the show her decision. As you may or may not know Behar along with Barbara, is one of the only remaining original co-hosts left. The next day it was announced that after nine years on the show Hasselbeck too would be departing. However unlike Joy her leaving has caused a lot of speculation that it was not actually her choice to exit The View. Oh yes there are rumors that despite a very PC statement from ABC, Elisabeth’s contract was not renewed because she was too conservative and unlikeable. It is no secret that the former Survivor star is very opinionated [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RightCelebrity/~3/fFIHTQhxaRE/

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