The decision by the Boy Scouts of America to stop seeing homosexuality as a moral failing and accept gay boys raises an important question for troops from Sheboygan to Atlanta: Will Cub scouts and Eagle scouts exodus en masse, and, if so, to where?
The wrenched decision by an organization founded in 1910 on quasi-military and Christian values came after months of debate and member polling, and the final vote looked much like America's general feeling on gay rights: Sixty percent supported the decision, which does not extend to gay adults. But the minority 40 percent may have stronger feelings, fueling a potential search for a new "character" organization for boys.
That debate had already begun this weekend in places like northern Virginia, where the Arlington Catholic Diocese is "prayerfully considering" leaving the Boy Scouts, as Bishop Paul Loverde told the Washington Post.
RECOMMENDED: How much do you know about gay rights in America? Take the quiz!
Boy Scout troops are sponsored by third party groups, the majority of which are churches. About 110 million Americans have been Boy Scouts since the organization was founded as part of the international Scout movement. In the 1980s, the organization went through a series of sex abuse scandals, and last year it was forced to release 20,000 pages of internal documentation of some 1,200 sex abuse cases that took place between 1965 and 1985.
That background explains in large part why the Boy Scouts of America has struggled to repair its image, and why the organization voted to continue excluding gay leaders.
But that concession isn't enough for some critics of the decision, including some in Baptist churches, which sponsor over 100,000 of the Boy Scouts' current 2.6 million members.
?Frankly, I can?t imagine a Southern Baptist pastor who would continue to allow his church to sponsor a Boy Scout troop under these new rules,? Richard Land, a senior Southern Baptist Conference official, said Friday in an interview with the Baptist Press, the Southern Baptist Convention's news agency.
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The Assemblies of God says that its own Royal Rangers youth group could be a "positive alternative" to the Boy Scouts under the new rule. The Royal Rangers, which have a similar skill-testing program as the Boy Scouts, has a stated purpose to "evangelize, equip and empower the next generation of Christlike men and lifelong servant leaders."
That push by some to leave the Boy Scouts ? which, if it happens, will be felt when the policy takes effect at the beginning of 2014 ? reveals a paradox of the long-awaited decision: By becoming more accepting, will membership be hurt or bolstered?
And that question seemed to undergird the internal debate, given that Boy Scouts membership under the old policy had fallen 27 percent since 1997. And the Boy Scouts aren't alone among religious and conservative organizations pushing back against past injustices. In order to stem membership dips, the Southern Baptist Convention last year elected its first black leader, the Rev. Fred Luter, in a major move for an organization that once backed segregation.
Some observers suggest the fallout may be milder than the rhetoric that preceded Friday's vote.
"I'm sure many [Scout] units will have meetings to decide what this means for them," Aaron Chusic, a spokesman for the National Capital Area Council of Scouts, told the Washington Post, but added that so far he had not heard from any group that has decided to leave.
The drive to allow gay boys came from deep within the organization itself, especially given that the Boy Scouts had the full legal right to say no. In 2000, the US Supreme Court upheld the Boy Scout policy, saying private organizations don't need to accept members or leaders in violation of their own moral creed, specifically a line in its bylaws that says that gay people should be excluded because they are not "morally straight."
Indeed, a deeper look at the Boy Scouts, which are highly decentralized into near-autonomous "units," is that the de facto acceptance of gay boys or gay families is a quiet fact in many troops, from rural Wyoming to the suburbs of Atlanta.
"I don't think it's going to impact scouting because there are already gay members," Melanie Mork, the mother of Alex Mork in Wyoming's Troop 101, told the Wyoming News on Friday. "Young men have come out and said, ?I am gay and I?m a Scout,? and it didn?t impact their ability to become an Eagle Scout. And I think we?ll hear more of those types of stories as they become free to do that under this change.?
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New York Knicks guard Raymond Felton, right, shoots under Indiana Pacers forward Paul George during the third quarter of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinal NBA basketball playoff series in Indianapolis, Saturday, May 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
New York Knicks guard Raymond Felton, right, shoots under Indiana Pacers forward Paul George during the third quarter of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinal NBA basketball playoff series in Indianapolis, Saturday, May 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert, left, dunks over New York Knicks guard James White during the third quarter of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinal NBA basketball playoff series in Indianapolis, Saturday, May 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert (55) is fouled by New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler, right, as he shoots in front of Knicks guard Pablo Prigioni during the third quarter of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinal NBA basketball playoff series in Indianapolis, Saturday, May 18, 2013. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
New York Knicks' Tyson Chandler (6) reacts after being called for a foul by referee Ken Mauer, left, during the first half of Game 6 of an Eastern Conference semifinal NBA basketball playoff series against the Indiana Pacers, Saturday, May 18, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony (7) shoots against Indiana Pacers' Roy Hibbert (55) and George Hill, right, during the first half of Game 6 of an Eastern Conference semifinal NBA basketball playoff series Saturday, May 18, 2013, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? Indiana spent the entire season perfecting its defense.
On Saturday, it produced the biggest payoff for the Pacers in nearly a decade.
Roy Hibbert's block of Carmelo Anthony's dunk attempt midway through the fourth quarter spurred an 11-2 run that rallied the Pacers to a 106-99 victory in Game 6 of their second-round series, sending them into their first Eastern Conference final since 2004.
New York native Lance Stephenson scored nine points in the run, finishing with a playoff career-high 25.
"That's why they pay me the big bucks this summer, so I have to protect the paint," said Hibbert, who signed a $58 million contract last summer. "If all else fails, meaning the offense, I have to protect the paint."
With players from both teams standing on the court as the final seconds ticked off and Pacers fans roaring in appreciation, the sellout crowd wasted little time breaking into chants of "Beat The Heat!"
For Indiana, it sets up a postseason rematch with the defending NBA champs, the team that eliminated them last May after the Pacers had taken a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven semifinals. The Heat wound up winning Game 4 at Indiana and followed that with two more wins as Danny Granger struggled with a knee injury.
Indiana used the lessons from that series as motivation to improve this season and wound up beating the Heat twice at home before losing the third game of the season series at Miami. The Pacers will return to South Florida for Game 1 on Wednesday night.
With Granger missing all but five games this season because of the lingering knee injury, the Pacers put an even greater emphasis on playing defense and it showed.
Indiana led the league in rebounding, defensive field goal percentage and defensive 3-point percentage while finishing second in points allowed per game during the regular season. It was no different in the playoffs, as the Knicks found out.
New York had another subpar shooting night Saturday, making just 40 percent of its shots, and again wound up on the wrong side of a 43-36 rebounding discrepancy. In the paint, New York was outscored 52-20, and Anthony, who finished with 39 points, scored just four points in the final 12 minutes when he went 2 of 7 from the field.
Iman Shumpert added 19 points, hitting five 3-pointers, and J.R. Smith scored 15. Nobody else was in double figures.
The combination, as it had been in the previous three losses to Indiana, produced the same frustrating result.
"They have a hell of a defense. They hold down the paint. They do a great job, do a hell of a job of controlling the paint, closing it down, making it tough for guys," Anthony said. "You've got to give them guys credit, especially when they got a chance to set. Roy Hibbert gets to sit in the paint, causes havoc."
It's not just that.
The biggest question coming into Saturday's game was whether starting point guard George Hill would play. He took part in the team's morning shootaround, was cleared by the team doctors and wound up returning two days after missing Game 5 with a concussion. His return gave the Pacers a big boost.
Hill finished with just 12 points on 2-of-10 shooting but had five rebounds and four assists, and kept the Pacers composed enough to commit only nine turnovers ? 10 fewer than Thursday night's loss in New York.
The results showed up everywhere on the floor.
Paul George had 23 points, five rebounds and four assists. David West added 17 points, five rebounds and four assists, and Hibbert finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks, none bigger than the stuff on Anthony that changed the game. Stephenson had 10 rebounds and three assists in his best postseason game ever.
The reason: He wanted to avoid a trip home.
"I just didn't want to go back to New York and play Game 7," Stephenson said. "Just get it done with now and I'd do whatever it takes to do that today. It showed tonight."
The New York native made sure of it.
After George grabbed the rebound off of Hibbert's block, Stephenson took a pass from West and scored on a layup to tie the score at 92 with 4:51 left in the game. Stephenson followed that with a steal and drove in for a layup, drawing a foul and completing a three-point play. After grabbing another rebound and making two more free throws, West tipped in a miss and Stephenson closed the decisive spurt with another layup. Suddenly, the Pacers led 101-94 with 1:53 to go.
New York never got another chance to tie the score or take the lead again despite making a far more typical 13 of 30 from 3-point range.
"It's tough to go out this way," coach Mike Woodson said. "I didn't make it happen for us and that's what's disappointing."
The Pacers have a far different goal now as they get ready to face LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Miami.
"We're not satisfied with where we're at," coach Frank Vogel said. "We feel like there's no ceiling on this team this year."
Notes: New York failed to become the ninth team to rally from a 3-1 deficit. ... Indianapolis 500 pole winner Ed Carpenter made the short trip from the track to Bankers Life Fieldhouse, where he is a regular attendee. ... Colts coach Chuck Pagano also attended the game. ... The Knicks were 18 of 18 from the free throw line.
May 15 (Reuters) - Post positions for the 138th running of the Preakness Stakes, to be run at Pimlico on Saturday (Post Position, Horse, Jockey, Trainer, Odds) 1. Orb, Joel Rosario, Shug McGaughey, even 2. Goldencents, Kevin Krigger, Doug O'Neill, 8-1 3. Titletown Five, Julien Leparoux, D. Wayne Lukas, 30-1 4. Departing, Brian Hernandez, Al Stall, 6-1 5. Mylute, Rosie Napravnik, Tom Amoss, 5-1 6. Oxbow, Gary Stevens, D. Wayne Lukas, 15-1 7. Will Take Charge, Mike Smith, D. Wayne Lukas, 12-1 8. Govenor Charlie, Martin Garcia, Bob Baffert, 12-1 9. ...
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With a barrage of legal briefs, a coalition of business groups and Republican-leaning states are taking their fight against Obama administration climate change regulations to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other industry groups, along with states such as Texas and Virginia, have filed nine petitions in recent weeks asking the justices to review four U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations that are designed to cut greenhouse-gas emissions.
If the court were to take up any one of the petitions, it would be the biggest environmental case since Massachusetts v. EPA, the landmark 2007 decision in which the justices ruled that carbon dioxide is a pollutant that could be regulated under the Clean Air Act.
The court's decision on whether to take up any of the petitions, likely to come in October, could help shape or shatter the administration's efforts to solidify its climate change agenda before President Obama leaves office in 2017.
The EPA regulations are among Obama's most significant tools to address climate change after the U.S. Senate scuttled in 2010 his effort to pass a federal law that would, among other things, have set a cap on greenhouse gas emissions.
The petitions give the court various options for cutting back on, or even overturning the 2007 ruling, according to John Dernbach, a law professor at Widener University in Pennsylvania, who represented climate scientists in the 2007 case.
If the court decides to hear any of the petitions, it "would be opening a really big can of worms," he said.
The rules being challenged apply to a cross-section of polluters, from vehicles to industrial facilities. A federal appeals court in Washington last summer upheld the rules, which were issued by the EPA under the Clean Air Act.
The EPA is a federal agency responsible for protecting human health and the environment.
The number of petitions filed is unusually large.
The court only had five petitions to choose from in 2011 when it chose to review Obama's landmark healthcare law, which various states and business groups opposed. Lawyers involved in the process say the petitions, which raise different arguments, are not part of a centrally-coordinated plan, and that parties that joined the same petition are working closely together.
The petition filed by Texas, for example, was joined by 12 states. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's brief was joined by the American Farm Bureau Federation and Alaska. Other business-oriented groups either filed their own briefs or joined another organization's brief.
COMPLAINTS OVER ECONOMIC BURDEN
Those challenging the rules all cite the economic burden of the regulations and note that the EPA is making plans to regulate power plants. "The extension of these rules will cost tens, perhaps hundreds, of billions of dollars," lawyers for the conservative Southeastern Legal Foundation said in its petition.
The administration has a May 22 deadline to file its response to the petitions but is expected to ask for an extension, meaning the court's decision on whether to take up one or more of the petitions is likely to come no sooner than October, the start of a new term after the its summer break. The Justice Department declined to comment on the litigation.
The claims made in the petitions vary from broad attacks on the concept of regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act to more nuanced arguments about the specific language of that law.
Some of the challengers specifically ask the court to consider overturning Massachusetts v. EPA. They point out that the Clean Air Act, which passed in 1970, was not designed to tackle climate change. At least one brief, by the state of Virginia, challenges the EPA's evaluation of the climate change science that underpinned its decision to regulate greenhouse gases. Others contend the Supreme Court's holding in the 2007 ruling, which specifically addressed automobile emissions, did not give the EPA the authority to issue greenhouse gas rules that affect such a broad cross-section of the economy.
If the justices were to accept one of these broad petitions and side with challengers, they could make it impossible for the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases and could open the door to attacks on the air pollution regulations the agency has formulated for 30 years, according to Dru Stevenson, a law professor at the South Texas College of Law.
"It will probably go into the textbooks as Massachusetts v. EPA Part Two," he said.
NARROWER GROUNDS
Most experts believe such broad action by the court is unlikely, though they say there is a chance the justices could take a case on narrower grounds. They point to a petition by the American Chemistry Council which does not attack the science behind climate change but questions whether the EPA had the authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under a specific program that issues permits for new or modified polluters, such as power plants and steel mills.
A ruling reversing the EPA on the permit program would be a significant win for industry interests. "It would be a big improvement over the immediate problem of oppression by permit," said Eric Groten, a lawyer with Vinson & Elkins who represents the industry-backed Coalition for Responsible Regulation, which has filed its own brief.
However, such a ruling would leave the architecture of greenhouse gas regulation in place, which - from the industry perspective - "would do little to prevent other abuses," Groten said. As the American Chemistry Council noted in its petition, under its interpretation of the law, the vast majority of greenhouse gas emitters currently subject to the rules would still be covered by them.
RELUCTANT COURT
Some observers say the flood of petitions may not be enough to get the court's attention. The justices "have a fair amount of confidence" in the federal appeals court in Washington, which handles regulatory cases all the time and has some expertise in the area, according to Jonathan Adler, an expert on regulatory law at Case Western Reserve University School of Law.
The Supreme Court, which hears less than one percent of the petitions that are filed, is generally reluctant to wade into highly technical government regulations, especially when it comes to the Clean Air Act. Air quality regulations focus on detailed scientific analysis of data on various pollutants in the air and their relative impact on public health.
"It's very convoluted," said Daniel Farber, an environmental law professor at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. "The court typically doesn't like all this complicated stuff."
The court has only heard two Clean Air Act-specific cases since 2005, including Massachusetts v. EPA, although in 2011 it heard a climate change-related case.
In contrast, it has heard seven cases on the Clean Water Act, a law that environmental lawyers say is less complex, during the same period.
There is little sign the EPA is concerned about an adverse ruling. The agency is now looking at pushing ahead with regulating carbon dioxide from new and existing power plants, which account for nearly 40 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States.
If the EPA doesn't act, noted David Doniger, climate and clean air policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, it would leave itself vulnerable to legal attack from environmental groups.
"The legal pathway is quite clear and the need is there for the administration to move forward quickly on power plants," he said.
(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley and Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Amy Stevens, Howard Goller, Mary Milliken and Paul Simao)
Art of Science exhibit celebrates the 'unpredictability of beauty'Public release date: 16-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Teresa Riordan triordan@princeton.edu 609-258-9754 Princeton University, Engineering School
Online gallery features images from research
The Princeton University Art of Science 2013 exhibit can now be viewed in a new online gallery. The exhibit consists of 43 images of artistic merit created during the course of scientific research:
The gallery features the top three awards in a juried competition as well as the top three "People's Choice" images.
The physical Art of Science 2013 gallery opened May 10 with a reception attended by about 200 people in the Friend Center on the Princeton University campus. The works were chosen from 170 images submitted from 24 different departments across campus.
"Like art, science and engineering are deeply creative activities," said Pablo Debenedetti, the recently appointed Dean for Research at Princeton who served as master of ceremonies at the opening reception. "Also like art, science and engineering at their very best are highly unpredictable in their outcomes. The Art of Science exhibit celebrates the beauty of unpredictability and the unpredictability of beauty."
Adam Finkelstein, professor of computer science and one of the exhibit organizers, said that Art of Science spurs debate among artists about the nature of art while opening scientists to new ways of "seeing" their own research. "At the same time," Finkelstein said, "this striking imagery serves as a democratic window through which non-experts can appreciate the thrill of scientific discovery."
The top three entrants as chosen by a distinguished jury received cash prizes in amounts calculated by the golden ratio (whose proportions have since antiquity been considered to be aesthetically pleasing): first prize, $250; second prize, $154.51; and third prize, $95.49.
The first prize image was "East-West, West-East" by Martin Jucker in the Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. Second Prize went to "Crushed birch," by Michael Kosk, Class of 2016, in the Woodrow Wilson School. Third Prize went to "Web of Art and Science" by Paul Csogi of the Lewis Center for the Arts and Chris Cane of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.
The juried prize winners were selected by a distinguished panel of judges: David Dobkin, Dean of the Faculty; the photographer Emmet Gowin; the poet Paul Muldoon; Shirley M. Tilghman, molecular biologist and President of Princeton University; and Katherine Bussard, Peter C. Bunnell curator of photography at the Princeton Art Museum.
Bussard said she was delighted to see the range of subject matter in the 2013 exhibit. "This year's theme of 'connections' generated such an array of images," she said. "The exhibit includes structural diagrams that resemble flowers, a close-up of cellulose that looks like an aerial photograph, and lots of pictures of worms!"
Bussard said she was particularly enchanted by a photograph of C. elegans worms under a microscope that undergraduate Meredith Wright '13 snapped with her cellphone camera. "She cleverly titled her work 'C. instagram' to drive home the way such a image shared through social media can instantly connect new audiences with science," Bussard said.
The People's Choice award winners were selected by paper ballots filled out by those attending the Art of Science 2013 opening reception. Out of 139 ballots cast, first prize for People's Choice went to "Messenger Meshwork," by Shawn C. Little, Kristina S. Sinsimer, Elizabeth R. Gavis, and Eric F. Wieschaus in the Department of Molecular Biology. Second People's Choice prize went to "Bridging the Gap," by Jason Wexler and Howard A. Stone of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Third prize went to "Medusa," by Jamie Barr and Cliff Brangwynne of the Departments of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Molecular Biology.
Victoria Sanchez, a graduate student in chemical and biological engineering and one of the 2013 organizers, noted that the winners selected by the jury and those selected by visitors to the opening reception were completely different. "It is a very nice example of how subjective art is," she said. "The way you view an image can be strongly influenced by your own scientific background since each image has scientific merit as well as an aesthetic one."
The physical exhibit is located in the Friend Center on the Princeton University campus in Princeton, N.J.. The exhibit is free and open to the public, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
###
Art of Science 2013 is sponsored by the David A. Gardner '69 Fund in the Council of the Humanities, the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and the School of Engineering and Applied Science. It is co-sponsored by the Office of the Dean for Research, Lewis Center for the Arts, PICSciE, Keller Center, Office of the Vice President for Facilities, Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, the Cooperative Institute for Climate Science, and the departments of Astrophysical Sciences, Computer Science, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Molecular Biology, Physics, and Psychology.
The organizers for Art of Science 2013 are Zach Donnell, Department of Molecular Biology; Adam Finkelstein, Department of Computer Science; Teresa Riordan, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Victoria Sanchez, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Andrew Zwicker, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.
###
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Art of Science exhibit celebrates the 'unpredictability of beauty'Public release date: 16-May-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Teresa Riordan triordan@princeton.edu 609-258-9754 Princeton University, Engineering School
Online gallery features images from research
The Princeton University Art of Science 2013 exhibit can now be viewed in a new online gallery. The exhibit consists of 43 images of artistic merit created during the course of scientific research:
The gallery features the top three awards in a juried competition as well as the top three "People's Choice" images.
The physical Art of Science 2013 gallery opened May 10 with a reception attended by about 200 people in the Friend Center on the Princeton University campus. The works were chosen from 170 images submitted from 24 different departments across campus.
"Like art, science and engineering are deeply creative activities," said Pablo Debenedetti, the recently appointed Dean for Research at Princeton who served as master of ceremonies at the opening reception. "Also like art, science and engineering at their very best are highly unpredictable in their outcomes. The Art of Science exhibit celebrates the beauty of unpredictability and the unpredictability of beauty."
Adam Finkelstein, professor of computer science and one of the exhibit organizers, said that Art of Science spurs debate among artists about the nature of art while opening scientists to new ways of "seeing" their own research. "At the same time," Finkelstein said, "this striking imagery serves as a democratic window through which non-experts can appreciate the thrill of scientific discovery."
The top three entrants as chosen by a distinguished jury received cash prizes in amounts calculated by the golden ratio (whose proportions have since antiquity been considered to be aesthetically pleasing): first prize, $250; second prize, $154.51; and third prize, $95.49.
The first prize image was "East-West, West-East" by Martin Jucker in the Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. Second Prize went to "Crushed birch," by Michael Kosk, Class of 2016, in the Woodrow Wilson School. Third Prize went to "Web of Art and Science" by Paul Csogi of the Lewis Center for the Arts and Chris Cane of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.
The juried prize winners were selected by a distinguished panel of judges: David Dobkin, Dean of the Faculty; the photographer Emmet Gowin; the poet Paul Muldoon; Shirley M. Tilghman, molecular biologist and President of Princeton University; and Katherine Bussard, Peter C. Bunnell curator of photography at the Princeton Art Museum.
Bussard said she was delighted to see the range of subject matter in the 2013 exhibit. "This year's theme of 'connections' generated such an array of images," she said. "The exhibit includes structural diagrams that resemble flowers, a close-up of cellulose that looks like an aerial photograph, and lots of pictures of worms!"
Bussard said she was particularly enchanted by a photograph of C. elegans worms under a microscope that undergraduate Meredith Wright '13 snapped with her cellphone camera. "She cleverly titled her work 'C. instagram' to drive home the way such a image shared through social media can instantly connect new audiences with science," Bussard said.
The People's Choice award winners were selected by paper ballots filled out by those attending the Art of Science 2013 opening reception. Out of 139 ballots cast, first prize for People's Choice went to "Messenger Meshwork," by Shawn C. Little, Kristina S. Sinsimer, Elizabeth R. Gavis, and Eric F. Wieschaus in the Department of Molecular Biology. Second People's Choice prize went to "Bridging the Gap," by Jason Wexler and Howard A. Stone of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Third prize went to "Medusa," by Jamie Barr and Cliff Brangwynne of the Departments of Chemical and Biological Engineering and Molecular Biology.
Victoria Sanchez, a graduate student in chemical and biological engineering and one of the 2013 organizers, noted that the winners selected by the jury and those selected by visitors to the opening reception were completely different. "It is a very nice example of how subjective art is," she said. "The way you view an image can be strongly influenced by your own scientific background since each image has scientific merit as well as an aesthetic one."
The physical exhibit is located in the Friend Center on the Princeton University campus in Princeton, N.J.. The exhibit is free and open to the public, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
###
Art of Science 2013 is sponsored by the David A. Gardner '69 Fund in the Council of the Humanities, the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and the School of Engineering and Applied Science. It is co-sponsored by the Office of the Dean for Research, Lewis Center for the Arts, PICSciE, Keller Center, Office of the Vice President for Facilities, Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, the Cooperative Institute for Climate Science, and the departments of Astrophysical Sciences, Computer Science, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Molecular Biology, Physics, and Psychology.
The organizers for Art of Science 2013 are Zach Donnell, Department of Molecular Biology; Adam Finkelstein, Department of Computer Science; Teresa Riordan, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Victoria Sanchez, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Andrew Zwicker, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.
###
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
The original Skylab space station (left) launched atop a Saturn V moon rocket. Skylab II (right) would blast off atop NASA's Space Launch System.
By Mike Wall Space.com
Four decades after the United States' first space station roared into orbit, a second version of the groundbreaking craft may be on the horizon.
NASA launched the Skylab space station?40 years ago Tuesday, turning the modified third stage of a Saturn V moon rocket into Amerca's first off-Earth astronaut abode. Now, a team of researchers inspired by this recycling ethos has proposed transforming part of another rocket into "Skylab II," which could become the nation's first-ever manned outpost in deep space.
"This one is a big look backwards ? 40 years, in fact," said Brand Griffin, an engineer with Gray Research Inc., who works with the Advanced Concepts Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.?[Skylab: The First U.S. Space Station (Photos)]
From Saturn V to the SLS The original Skylab supported three manned missions in 1973 and 1974, during which three-astronaut crews lived aboard the station for 28, 59 and 84 days, respectively. The 85-ton station continued orbiting Earth until 1979, when it re-entered the planet's atmosphere and famously rained debris down on a stretch of Western Australia.
Nobody was hurt, but the Australian town of Esperance charged NASA $400 for littering. The fine went unpaid until 2009, when California radio DJ Scott Barley took care of it after collecting donations from his listeners.
NASA / MSFC artist concept, Brand Griffin, Advanced Concepts Office
The Skylab II deep-space habitat would be made from the Space Launch System's upper-stage hydrogen tank.
Like the first Skylab, the proposed Skylab II would be built from a piece of a giant NASA rocket ? in this case, the Space Launch System?(SLS), which the agency is developing to blast astronauts toward asteroids, Mars and other destinations in deep space.
Skylab II?would make use of the SLS' upper-stage hydrogen propellant tank, which Griffin said would provide an internal volume of 17,481 cubic feet (495 cubic m) ? roughly equivalent to a two-story house, and significantly more than the original Skylab's 12,713 cubic feet (360 cubic m).
Skylab II could accommodate a crew of four comfortably, and it could carry enough food and gear to last for several years at a time without the need of a resupply mission, Griffin said.
While outfitting the propellant tank as a space station would require some tinkering, its bones are solid and flight-ready, he added.
"It's designed to take all of the launch loads, so no rework needs to be done structurally for this to be able to fly," Griffin said in March during a presentation with NASA's Future In-Space Operations working group.
The first deep-space station? Griffin and other Skylab II proponents envision placing Skylab II at the Earth-moon Lagrange point 2, a gravitationally stable location beyond the moon's far side.
A manned outpost at EM-L2?would give humanity its first toehold in deep space and build momentum for manned pushes even farther out into the solar system, advocates say.
Such a project may seem optimistic in today's tough fiscal environment, when NASA and other government agencies are seeing their budgets squeezed. But Skylab II would be a cost-effective way to make it happen, Griffin said, by taking advantage of existing infrastructure ? just like its namesake did four decades ago.
Skylab "was a project embedded under the Apollo program," Griffin said. "In many ways, this could follow that same pattern. It could be a project embedded under SLS and be able to, ideally, not incur some of the costs of program startup."
Follow Mike Wall on Twitter?@michaeldwall?and?Google+.?Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook?or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.
Copyright 2013 Space.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The actress, who beat ovarian cancer close to a decade ago, shared last month that she had been <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/12/kathy-bates-breast-cancer-double-mastectomy_n_1878208.html">diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy</a>, The Huffington Post reported at the time. "Luckily, I don't have to undergo radiation or chemo," <a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20628972,00.html">she told <em>People</em> magazine</a>. "My family calls me Kat because I always land on my feet and thankfully this is no exception." <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/12/kathy-bates-breast-cancer-double-mastectomy_n_1878208.html">She also shared the news on Twitter</a> -- with her signature sense of humor intact. "I don't miss my breasts as much as I miss Harry's Law. ;-) Thanks for all the sweet tweets," she wrote. "Y?all kept me going."
Maura Tierney
Tierney was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009, but she didn't open up publicly about it until earlier this year. "I remember thinking, 'I'm so young, this can't be happening,'" <a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20611140,00.html">she told <em>People</em> magazine</a>. "In 2009, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and found out I would need chemotherapy," <a href="http://www.chemomythsorfacts.com/index.html">she said in a video for the Chemotherapy Myths Or Facts campaign</a>. "I asked myself all these questions and was utterly terrified, not just because of the cancer diagnosis, but the fear of chemo itself." And that sense of the unknown is what triggered Tierney, whose cancer was found in its early stages, to sign up as a spokesperson for the campaign. "It's important that you feel educated and confident during this time," <a href="http://www.chemomythsorfacts.com/index.html">she said in her introductory video</a>.
Judy Blume
The beloved author of favorites such as "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret," and "Tales Of A Fourth Grade Nothing," revealed that she was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma in a <a href="http://www.judyblume.com/blog.php">blog post on her website this past September</a>. "I haven?t eaten red meat in more than 30 years. I?ve never smoked, I exercise every day, forget alcohol -- it?s bad for my reflux -- I?ve been the same weight my whole adult life," <a href="http://www.judyblume.com/blog.php">she wrote</a>. "How is this possible? Well, guess what -- it?s possible." <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/05/invasive-ductal-carcinoma-judy-blume-breast-cancer_n_1858418.html">Blume had a mastectomy</a> on July 30. <a href="http://www.judyblume.com/blog.php">She wrote in her blog</a>: <blockquote>As I've told my friends who've also been treated for breast cancer, I've joined The Club -- not one I wanted to join or even thought I would ever be joining -- but here I am. I?m part of this Sisterhood of the Traveling Breast Cells (apologies to Ann Brashares). Medical diagnoses can leave you feeling alone and scared. When it comes to breast cancer you?re not alone, and scary though it is, there?s a network of amazing women to help you through it.</blockquote>
Ann Romney
Wife to Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, Ann was <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/03/ann-romney-breast-cancer_n_1475950.html">diagnosed with breast cancer in early 2009</a>. "It's great to have loved ones around you," <a href="http://www.americasradionewsnetwork.com/ann-romney-reflects-on-her-personal-battle-with-breast-cancer">she told America's Radio News Network in an interview</a> earlier this year of where she found post-diagnosis comfort. "And you just fight these battles, listen you don't fight them alone. You fight them with friends and with family. And you put your arms around each other and you move forward." Romney, whose mother and grandmother died from ovarian cancer and whose great-grandmother died from breast cancer, told the program <a href="http://www.americasradionewsnetwork.com/uploads/mp3/showclips/05-03-12ANNROMNEY1.mp3">she's most grateful to have been diagnosed early</a> -- she needed surgery and radiation, but not chemo. "Life is an interesting game, and you just always deal with whatever you're dealt with that day or that week or that month or that year," said Romney, who has <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/18/multiple-sclerosis-celebrities_n_1606174.html">also been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis</a>. "No matter what you're living through, we all push forward."
Edie Falco
The TV star was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003, when she was starring in "The Sopranos." "I take very good care of myself (mostly because I didn?t many years ago), and that served me well during chemo," <a href="http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20411264,00.html">she later wrote in an article for <em>Health</em> magazine</a>. "Running every day made me feel calm and strong, even as my self-image suffered from my hair falling out." After her cancer went into remission, Falco decided to adopt -- her baby boy, Anderson, was born in January 2005. She later <a href="http://www.redbookmag.com/fun-contests/celebrity/edie-falco-nurse-jackie">adopted a daughter</a>, as well. "Obviously, it wasn?t meant for me to die of cancer at 40," <a href="http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20411264_2,00.html">she wrote</a> in <em>Health</em>. "Every day my life surprises me, just like my cancer diagnosis surprised me."
Suzanne Somers
The "Three's Company" and "Step By Step" actress was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000. "We were silent, hardly talking, in disbelief, like this can't be happening, wondering is this a little blip or the end of my life?" <a href="http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20134247,00.html">she told <em>People</em> magazine in 2001</a>, of hearing the news for the first time with her husband Alan Hamel. Just earlier this year -- more than a decade since her diagnosis -- Somers shared with <em>People</em> that she <a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20567432,00.html">underwent an experimental breast reconstruction surgery</a>, to repair the damage from a lumpectomy and radiation treatments.
Olivia Newton-John
The "Grease" star and singer was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992 after feeling a lump in a self exam -- <a href="http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/OliviaNewtonJohn.html">her treatment included</a> surgery, chemotherapy, a radical mastectomy and reconstruction. "When you're first diagnosed, people are pulling you in every direction: Do this! Do that! You really have to gather yourself, because you're the one who has to make the hard choices," <a href="http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/OliviaNewtonJohn.html">she said in a Q&A on Susan G. Komen For The Cure's website</a>. "I researched a lot and felt satisfied with my course of treatment. It was sort of an East-meets-West approach." And that meant taking care of her <em>whole</em> body, not just the cancer. "I did everything I could to take care of myself -- body, mind, and spirit," <a href="http://www.everydayhealth.com/breast-cancer/mylife/olivia-newton-john/questions.aspx">she told EverydayHealth.com</a>. "I look at my cancer journey as a gift: It made me slow down and realize the important things in life and taught me to not sweat the small stuff."
Giuliana Rancic
The 36-year-old "E! News" host announced last October on<a href="http://theclicker.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/17/8363134-es-giuliana-rancic-reveals-she-has-breast-cancer" target="_hplink"> NBC's Today show</a> that she has breast cancer, and that she was alerted to the cancer via a mammogram during her third in vitro fertilization attempt. "Through my attempt to get pregnant for the third time, we sadly found out that I have early stages of breast cancer," she said <a href="http://theclicker.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/17/8363134-es-giuliana-rancic-reveals-she-has-breast-cancer" target="_hplink">on the Today show</a>. "It's been a shock. A lot of people have been asking, we saw that you went and got IVF, are you pregnant? But sadly, we've had to put that off." Rancic underwent a double lumpectomy and removal of several of her lymph nodes, but she later went on the TODAY show last December to say that the cancer was not completely cleared by those treatments and that she will <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/05/double-mastectomy-giuliana-rancic-breast-cancer_n_1129433.html" target="_hplink">undergo a double mastectomy</a>. This year, Rancic finally got her happy ending, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/12/edward-duke-rancic-photo-giuliana-bill-rancic-baby-boy_n_1876694.html">with the birth of son Edward Duke</a> via gestational surrogate on August 29.
Wanda Sykes
In a 2011 interview with Ellen DeGeneres, Wanda Sykes revealed that she had been <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/23/wanda-sykes-breast-cancer_n_977761.html#s312402&title=Wanda_Sykes" target="_hplink">diagnosed with breast cancer</a> and underwent a double mastectomy. "I had breast cancer. Yeah, I know it's scary," Sykes said in the interview. "This was in February. I went for the reduction. I had real big boobs and I just got tired of knocking over stuff. Every time I eat ... Oh lord. I'd carry a Tide stick everywhere I go. My back was sore so it was time to have a reduction." After the reduction, the pathology report found ductal carcinoma in situ in her left breast, which prompted Skykes, who has a <a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20531010,00.html" target="_hplink">family history of breast cancer</a>, to opt for a double mastectomy. And while the diagnosis is scary, she hasn't lost her <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/23/wanda-sykes-breast-cancer_n_977761.html#s312402&title=Wanda_Sykes" target="_hplink">signature humor</a>. "I was like, 'I don't know, should I talk about it or what?' How many things could I have? I'm black, then lesbian. I can't be the poster child for everything ... At least with the LGBT issues we get a parade, we get a float, it's a party. [But] I was real hesitant about doing this, because I hate walking. I got a lot of [cancer] walks coming up."
Christina Applegate
In 2008, actress Christina Applegate shared in a "Good Morning America" interview that she had been <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=5606034&page=1" target="_hplink">dagnosed with breast cancer</a> at the age of 36 -- she opted for a bilateral mastectomy instead of radiation or chemotherapy. "I didn't want to go back to the doctors every four months for testing and squishing and everything. I just wanted to kind of get rid of this whole thing for me. This was the choice that I made and it was a tough one," she said <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=5606034&page=1" target="_hplink">in the interview</a>. "Sometimes, you know, I cry. And sometimes I scream. And I get really angry. And I get really upset, you know, into wallowing in self-pity sometimes. And I think that it's all part of the healing." Perhaps the best healing of all came in 2011 when Applegate gave birth to baby Sadie with musician Martyn LeNoble. "She's healed me in so many ways. She's just made my life so much better. I've been kind of sad for a long time, and she's just opened my whole soul," Applegate <a href="http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20467525,00.html" target="_hplink">told <em>People</em></a> in an exclusive interview in 2011.
Melissa Etheridge
In 2005, rock-and-roll artist Etheridge underwent a lumpectomy and five rounds of chemotherapy and radiation to eradicate her breast cancer. "I had been running along in my life at a fast pace. When I heard it was cancer, I just stood still," Etheridge told <em>Shape</em> magazine in a 2009 interview. "My life passed over me like a big wave, and after, I was left there standing. This turned out to be a very good thing. I stopped. I looked at my life, I looked at my body and spirit." In the midst of her treatment, Etheridge found out she was <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6994469/ns/dateline_nbc/t/melissa-etheridges-brave-comeback/" target="_hplink">nominated for a Grammy</a> for her song "Breathe" -- and while she wasn't sure she'd make an appearance at first, Etheridge ultimately decided not only to attend, but to perform in a Janis Joplin tribute. Taking to the stage bald and with no eyebrows -- a side-effect of the chemo -- she belted out Joplin's classic, "Piece Of My Heart." "It was very special that I had been presented with a day, that I could come back into this entertainment world, and show everyone that you are back and okay, and thought, okay," Etheridge told <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6994469/ns/dateline_nbc/t/melissa-etheridges-brave-comeback/" target="_hplink">MSNBC at the time</a>. "I'm going to do this. And I'm not gonna be afraid of the truth. The truth is, yes I had cancer. Yes, I got it out of me. Yes, I went through chemotherapy. Yes, I'm bald." Check out Etheridge's breast cancer causes on her <a href="http://www.melissaetheridge.com/pinkpage" target="_hplink">Pink Rage website</a>.
Robin Roberts
ABC's "Good Morning America" co-host Robin Roberts was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007. "I never thought I'd be writing this. ... <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/CancerPreventionAndTreatment/abcs-robin-roberts-breast-cancer/story?id=3430554" target="_hplink">I have breast cancer</a>," she said in a message released by ABC in August 2007. While working on a tribute to her colleague Joel Siegel, who had died from cancer, Robins reported on how key early detection is -- and, taking her own advice, she did a self breast exam and found a lump. "Much as I was hoping the doctor would say it was nothing, she did a biopsy and confirmed that the lump I'd found was indeed an early form of breast cancer," Robins <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/CancerPreventionAndTreatment/abcs-robin-roberts-breast-cancer/story?id=3430554" target="_hplink">continued in her statement</a>. Robins underwent a partial mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation. In 2008, she told <em>People</em> magazine that she <a href="http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20238177,00.html" target="_hplink">complemented her regular doctor's visits</a> with acupuncture, exercise and advice from a nutritionist. "Yes, I am living with cancer," she <a href="http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20238177,00.html" target="_hplink">told <em>People</em></a>. "But don't go 'woe is me.' I don't want it. Don't need it. I'm still in the game. I don't want to say 'survivor.' I want to thrive." Earlier this year, Roberts announced that she was diagnosed with a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/20/bone-marrow-transplant-robin-roberts-myelodysplastic-syndrome_n_1900324.html">rare blood disorder called myelodysplastic syndrome</a>.
Kylie Minogue
Australian singer Minogue was first diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2005 and underwent surgery and chemotherapy treatment.
"When you are stripped of everything and you have to grow your eyelashes back, grow your hair back, it's just astonishing," Minogue told British <em>Glamour</em> magazine. "It's hard to express what I've learned from that, but a deep psychological and emotional shift has obviously taken place."
This open and honest approach to her diagnosis led Minogue to be voted the <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/09/03/us-cancer-celebrities-idUSTRE6820P120100903" target="_hplink">most inspirational breast cancer celebrity</a> in an online British-based poll, Reuters reports.
Sheryl Crow
Singer Sheryl Crow was <a href="http://articles.cnn.com/2006-10-06/health/crow.cancer_1_breast-cancer-early-detection-cancer-patients?_s=PM:HEALTH" target="_hplink">diagnosed with breast cancer</a> in 2006 and, thanks to early detection, underwent a minimally invasive surgery and seven weeks of radiation therapy. Crow told <em>Health</em> magazine that <a href="http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20411904_2,00.html" target="_hplink">she saw a nutritionist</a> when she was first diagnosed and began a diet full of fish, walnuts, colorful vegetables, fiber and healthy spices. "I kept my breast cancer tattoos -- where the radiation was lined up on my chest," Crow told <em>Health</em>. "Once in a while I look at it to remind myself that I have to put on my oxygen mask first before I put it on anybody else." Today, Crow is focused on spreading the message of early detection. In 2010, she <a href="http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2010/08/sheryl-crow-opsns-breast-cancer-imaging-center-/1" target="_hplink">founded the Sheryl Crow Center</a> as part of the Pink Lotus Breast Center, which was founded by her own surgeon, ABC News reports. This past June, Crow also revealed that she was diagnosed late last year with a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/05/benign-brain-tumor-sheryl-crow_n_1572008.html">benign brain tumor</a>.
Cynthia Nixon
In 2008, the "Sex and the City" star went public with her <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/15/cynthia-nixon-on-her-love_n_96749.html" target="_hplink">cancer diagnosis</a>, revealing that she found a lump in its early stages and had it removed through radiation, The Huffington Post reported at the time. Nixon wrote in a 2008 <em>Newsweek</em> article that her mother was <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2008/10/03/a-family-of-strong-women.html" target="_hplink">diagnosed with breast cancer twice</a> -- the first time, Nixon was just 13. "I feel like I have a very <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/03/slideshow_n_991609.html#s384104&title=Cynthia_Nixon" target="_hplink">concrete story to tell</a>. My story isn't just my story, it's mine and my mother's story," the <a href="http://ww5.komen.org/" target="_hplink">Susan G. Komen for the Cure</a> spokesperson has said.
This image provided by NASA shows astronaut Chris Hadfield recording the first music video from space Sunday May 12, 2013. The song was his cover version of David Bowie's Space Oddity. Hadfield and astronaut Thomas Marshburn are scheduled to return to earth Monday May 13, 2013. (AP Photo/NASA, Chris Hadfield)
This image provided by NASA shows astronaut Chris Hadfield recording the first music video from space Sunday May 12, 2013. The song was his cover version of David Bowie's Space Oddity. Hadfield and astronaut Thomas Marshburn are scheduled to return to earth Monday May 13, 2013. (AP Photo/NASA, Chris Hadfield)
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) ? In a high-flying, perfectly pitched first, an astronaut on the International Space Station is bowing out of orbit with a musical video: his own custom version of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
It's believed to be the first music video made in space, according to NASA.
Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield's personalized rendition of "Space Oddity" was posted on YouTube on Sunday, one day before his departure from the orbiting lab. He's wrapping up a five-month mission that began last December.
He returned aboard a Russian Soyuz capsule, along with American Thomas Marshburn and Russian Roman Romanenko, late Monday to Kazakhstan.
Hadfield, 53, a longtime guitarist who played in an astronaut rock 'n' roll band, recorded the video throughout the space station. He had some down-to-Earth help from a Canadian music team.
"With deference to the genius of David Bowie, here's Space Oddity, recorded on Station. A last glimpse of the World," Hadfield said via Twitter.
The spaceman altered some of the lyrics of Bowie's 1969 version, singing "Planet Earth is blue and there's nothing left to do." The Bowie version goes "... and there's nothing I can do." And instead of "Take your protein pills and put your helmet on," it became, "Lock your Soyuz hatch and put your helmet on."
Planet Earth provided a stunning backdrop for many of the scenes.
"It's just been an extremely fulfilling and amazing experience end to end," Hadfield told Mission Control on Monday. "We're, of course, focusing very much on flying the Soyuz home now and looking forward to seeing everybody face to face. But from this Canadian to all the rest of them, I offer an enormous debt of thanks." He was referring to all those in the Canadian Space Agency who helped make his flight possible.
Hadfield, an engineer and former test pilot from Milton, Ontario, was Canada's first professional astronaut to live aboard the space station and became the first Canadian in charge of a spacecraft. He relinquished command of the space station on Sunday.
He sang often in orbit, using a guitar already aboard the complex, and even took part in a live, Canadian coast-to-coast concert in February that included the Barenaked Ladies' Ed Robertson and a youth choir, and featured the song I.S.S., "Is Somebody Singing?"
I.S.S. is NASA's acronym for the International Space Station.
Also last February, Hadfield joined the Irish band The Chieftains and two ground-bound astronauts in a Houston concert, singing the lead on "Moondance."
The five-minute video posted Sunday drew a salute from Bowie's official Facebook page: "It's possibly the most poignant version of the song ever created."
NASA broadcast the video on its daily space station update late Monday morning.
One of the video collaborators was piano arranger Emm Gryner, part of the Bowie band in 1999 and 2000.
"Planet Earth IS blue," she said in her online blog, "and there's nothing left for Chris Hadfield to do. Right. Safe travels home Commander!"
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. (AP) ? A military judge found Army Sgt. John Russell guilty of premeditated murder Monday in the 2009 killings of five fellow service members at a combat stress clinic in Iraq.
Russell now faces a sentencing phase of his court martial to determine whether he will face life in prison with or without the possibility of release.
The 14-year veteran from Sherman, Texas, had previously pleaded guilty to unpremeditated murder in exchange for prosecutors taking the death penalty off the table. Under the agreement, prosecutors were allowed to try to prove to an Army judge at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state that the killings were premeditated.
The judge, Army Col. David Conn, announced his decision Monday, following a streamlined court martial that concluded Saturday, said Army spokesman Lt. Col. Gary Dangerfield.
The shooting was one of the worst instances of soldier-on-soldier violence in the Iraq war and raised questions about the mental health problems for soldiers caused by repeated tours of duty.
Killed in the 2009 shooting in Baghdad were Navy Cmdr. Charles Springle, of Wilmington, N.C., and four Army service members: Pfc. Michael Edward Yates Jr., of Federalsburg, Md.; Dr. Matthew Houseal, of Amarillo, Texas; Sgt. Christian E. Bueno-Galdos, of Paterson, N.J.; and Spc. Jacob D. Barton, of Lenox, Mo.
Russell's lawyers argued that he was deluded by depression and despair at the time. An Army mental health board found that Russell suffered from severe depression with psychotic features and post-combat stress.
Russell had long sought help with sleep troubles and was stammering and crying for help in the days before the shooting. His commanders were so alarmed that they disarmed him and sent him for repeated visits to mental health clinics, said attorney James Culp.
But prosecutors argued that Russell was trying to paint himself as mentally ill in an attempt to win early retirement ? just as he was facing a sexual harassment complaint that could derail his career and his benefits.
The day before the killings, psychiatrist Michael Jones told him that a mental disability retirement would require "some kind of suicidal psychotic crisis," Maj. Daniel Mazzone said during closing arguments, according to the Los Angeles Times (http://is.gd/s087lg ).
But when Russell saw Jones again the next day, the psychiatrist said he had no intention of giving him "a golden ticket" out of the Army.
When Russell returned about an hour later, prosecutors say, he was looking for Jones, but wound up killing two patients, a bystander and two other mental health workers, including Navy Cmdr. Keith Springle, who had also briefly treated Russell in the days before the shootings. Jones escaped injury by jumping out a window.
President Barack Obama gestures during a joint news conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron, Monday, May 13, 2013, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, where they talked about subjects ranging from Syria's civil war to preparations for a coming summit in Northern Ireland. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
President Barack Obama gestures during a joint news conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron, Monday, May 13, 2013, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, where they talked about subjects ranging from Syria's civil war to preparations for a coming summit in Northern Ireland. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
President Barack Obama speaks during a joint news conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron, Monday, May 13, 2013, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, where they talked about various topics including Syria's civil war and the IRS. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Congress was not told tea party groups were being inappropriately targeted by the Internal Revenue Service, even after acting agency Chief Steven Miller had been briefed on the matter.
Miller was first informed on May, 3, 2012, that applications for tax-exempt status by tea party groups were inappropriately singled out for extra scrutiny, the IRS said Monday.
At least twice after the briefing, Miller wrote letters to members of Congress to explain the process of reviewing applications for tax-exempt status without disclosing that tea party groups had been targeted. On July 25, 2012, Miller testified before the House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee, but again did not mention the additional scrutiny ? despite being asked about it.
At the hearing, Rep. Kenny Marchant, R-Texas, told Miller that some politically active tax-exempt groups in his district had complained about being harassed. Marchant did not explicitly ask if tea party groups were being targeted. But he did ask how applications were handled.
Miller responded, "We did group those organizations together to ensure consistency, to ensure quality. We continue to work those cases," according to a transcript on the committee's website.
Earlier, Rep. Charles Boustany, R-La., had raised concerns with the IRS about complaints that tea party groups were being harassed. Boustany specifically mentioned tea party groups in his inquiry.
But in a June 15, 2012, letter to Boustany, Miller said that when the IRS saw an increase in applications from groups that were involved in political activity, the agency "took steps to coordinate the handling of the case to ensure consistency."
He added that agents worked with tax law experts "to develop approaches and materials that could be helpful to the agents working the cases."
Miller did not mention that in 2011, those materials included a list of words to watch for, such as "tea party" and "patriot." He also didn't disclose that in January 2012, the criteria for additional screening was updated to include references to the Constitution or the Bill of Rights.
The House Ways and Means Committee, chaired by GOP Rep. Dave Camp of Michigan, is holding a hearing on the issue Friday and Miller is scheduled to testify.
The Senate Finance Committee announced Monday that it will join a growing list of congressional committees investigating the matter.
The IRS apologized Friday for what it acknowledged was "inappropriate" targeting of conservative political groups during the 2012 election to see whether they were violating their tax-exempt status. In some cases, the IRS acknowledged, agents inappropriately asked for lists of donors.
The agency blamed low-level employees in a Cincinnati office, saying no high-level officials were aware.
When members of Congress repeatedly raised concerns with the IRS about complaints that tea party groups were being harassed last year, a deputy IRS commissioner took the lead in assuring lawmakers that the additional scrutiny was a legitimate part of the screening process.
That deputy commissioner was Miller, who is now the acting head of the agency.
Camp and other members of the Ways and Means Committee sent at least four inquiries to the IRS, starting in June 2011. Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, sent three inquiries. And Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House oversight committee, sent at least one.
None of the responses they received from the IRS acknowledged that conservative groups had ever been targeted, including a response to Hatch dated Sept. 11, 2012 ? four months after Miller had been briefed.
In several letters to members of Congress, Miller went into painstaking detail about how applications for tax-exempt status were screened. But he never mentioned that conservative groups were being targeted, even though people working under him knew as early as June 2011 that tea party groups were being targeted, according to an upcoming report by the agency's inspector general.
The IRS issued a statement Monday saying that Miller had been briefed on May 3, 2012 "that some specific applications were improperly identified by name and sent to the (exempt organizations) centralized processing unit for further review." That was the unit in Cincinnati that handled the tea party applications.
Miller became acting commissioner in November, after Commissioner Douglas Shulman completed his five-year term. Shulman had been appointed by President George W. Bush.
On June 29, 2011, Lois G. Lerner, who heads the IRS division that oversees tax-exempt organizations, learned at a meeting that groups were being targeted, according to a draft of the report by the Treasury inspector general for tax administration.
At the meeting, Lerner was told that groups with "Tea Party," ''Patriot" or "9/12 Project" in their names were being flagged for additional and often burdensome scrutiny, the report says. Lerner instructed agents to change the criteria for flagging groups "immediately."
However, when Lerner responded to inquiries from the House oversight committee, she didn't mention the fact that tea party groups had ever been targeted. Her responses included 45-page letters in May 2012 to Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who chairs the committee, and Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, who chairs a subcommittee.
Lerner also met twice with staff from the House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee to discuss the issue, in March and in May 2012, according to a timeline constructed by committee staff. She didn't mention at either meeting that conservative groups had been targeted, according to the timeline.
On Monday, President Barack Obama said he first learned about the issue from news reports on Friday. White House spokesman Jay Carney said the White House counsel's office was alerted the week of April 22 that the inspector general was finishing a report concerning the IRS office in Cincinnati. But, he said, the counsel's office did not get the report and the president did not learn the focus until Friday.
"If, in fact, IRS personnel engaged in the kind of practices that had been reported on and were intentionally targeting conservative groups, then that's outrageous and there's no place for it," Obama said Monday at a press conference.
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Associated Press writers Jim Abrams and Henry C. Jackson contributed to this report.
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Ahmadinejad charges??The dispute appears to stem from an ongoing confrontation between?Ahmadinejad?and the ruling clerics in Iran following years of tensions over power struggles.
By Nasser Karimi,?Associated Press / May 13, 2013
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (r.) and his close ally Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, flash victory signs at the start of their press conference, after registering candidacy of Rahim Mashaei for the upcoming presidential election, at the election headquarters of the interior ministry, in Tehran, Iran, May 11.
Ebrahim Noroozi/AP
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Iran's constitutional watchdog said Sunday it will seek possible?charges?against President Mahmoud?Ahmadinejad?for allegedly violating rules by accompanying his chief adviser to the election registry office the previous day.
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The dispute appears to stem from an ongoing confrontation between?Ahmadinejad?and the ruling clerics in Iran following years of tensions over power struggles.
It could also herald potential difficulties for?Ahmadinejad's?protege, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, to be cleared for the June 14 presidential election, which is to pick?Ahmadinejad's?successor.
The president himself is not running since Iran's constitution bars him from seeking a third term in office.
The group that complained on Sunday, the Guardian Council, also vets all candidates for the presidency. Mashaei is among more than 680 hopefuls, but no more than a handful will be selected for the final ballot.
State TV quoted Guardian Council spokesman Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei as saying the claims against?Ahmadinejadwill be referred to the country's judiciary for possible?charges.
The Council's members said that public fund rules were broken when?Ahmadinejad?accompanied Mashaei to the election registration office on Saturday, said Kadkhodaei.
A conviction could bring a maximum punishment of six months in jail or 74 lashes. Kadkhodaei did not elaborate.
Ahmadinejad?has strongly pushed Mashaei as his political heir, but there are serious obstacles to his protege making the final ballot. As part of?Ahmadinejad's?disputes with the ruling clerics, Mashaei has been denounced by hard-liners as leader of a "deviant current" that seeks to undermine Islamic rule.
Mashaei has long been?Ahmadinejad's?close confidant, and the president's son is married to Mashaei's daughter. State TV on Saturday showed a smiling?Ahmadinejad?accompanying Mashaei as he submitted his papers at the registry office, and the president raised his aide's hand in a gesture of support.
Ahmadinejad's?opponents have repeatedly accused him of using any opportunity and public funds for promoting Mashaei.
So far, the slate in the race for the June 14 vote is almost certainly to be heavily stacked with those considered loyal to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has been angered by challenges to his authority by?Ahmadinejad?and the president's allies.
Among the presumed front-runners is senior Khamenei adviser Ali Akbar Velayati, Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, prominent lawmaker Hadad Adel and top nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili.
Also Saturday, a powerful and divisive figure registered to run ? Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former president who still wields enormous influence.
In other election-related developments, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman has stepped down after joining the race.
A report by the semiofficial Mehr news agency said Ramin Mehmanparast resigned from the post. It gave no reason, but the report late Saturday came just hours after the deadline to register for the June 14 race expired.
Mehmanparast will be replaced by Abbas Araghchi, a member of Iran's nuclear negotiators team, the Mehr agency reported. Araghchi would also continue his current job as deputy foreign minister in?charge?of Asia and Oceania.
The British-educated Araghchi, 50, served as Iran's ambassador to Japan in 2008-11.
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Public release date: 16-May-2013
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