Can an upper-respiratory infection make you fat? If it’s caused by adenovirus 36, maybe.

Some researchers believe that adenovirus 36, a cause of upper-respiratory infections, is a major factor in many cases of obesity. Infection by this virus “is certainly not the cause of all obesity, but it will contribute to your weight,’’ says Richard L. Atkinson, head of the Obetech Obesity Research Center in Richmond and a clinical professor of pathology at Virginia Commonwealth University. “It’s a slow process that works by changing your metabolic rate. It takes a year or two to get really obese after you’ve been infected.’’ The virus prompts adult stem cells in fat tissue to make more fat cells, which store more fat, Atkinson says. “If you look at a given fat pad from an infected animal and compare it to an uninfected animal, it’s got bigger fat cells and more of them,’’ he says. “We can infect human adult stem cells in tissue culture, and even without differentiation agents added to the media, the cells differentiate into fat cells. Infected animals have larger fat pads than uninfected, with not only larger fat cells but more fat cells.’’ A number of recent studies in humans have shown that adenovirus 36 is associated with obesity, especially in children. These bolster earlier research showing that adenovirus 36 causes weight gain and, especially, fat gain in chickens, mice, rats and monkeys. Paradoxically, while promoting weight gain, the virus also seems to lower cholesterol and triglycerides, raising intriguing questions about whether some component of the virus might prove valuable in developing a treatment for diabetes or high cholesterol. While counterintuitive, since obesity is a risk factor for diabetes and heart disease, it is likely that the infection-fueled fat “finds a storage space in the adipose tissue and doesn’t wander into your heart or muscles,’’ says Nikhil Dhurandhar, a professor of health promotion at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University. Dhurandhar and colleagues conducted a study published last year that followed 1,400 people; it found that those who tested positive for antibodies to the virus — meaning they had been infected at some point — gained significantly more body fat over a 10-year period than those who had not been infected. Equally important, their blood-sugar levels were lower than those of the uninfected group. This does not mean that the virus might become a diabetes treatment. However, “perhaps we could identify a protein in the virus that is driving this,


DISTRICT Man charged in killing at park A man has been arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing of a man Sunday night in a park in Northwest Washington’s Truxton Circle, D.C. police said. Deon Anthony Thomas, 37, of Northeast was charged with second-degree murder while armed. The victim, John Thomas Tillman, 63, of Southeast, died at an area hospital shortly after he was stabbed about 10:10 p.m. at Florida Avenue and North Capitol Street Northwest. Police have not disclosed a motive in the attack. — Peter Hermann Officer in porn case cleared to leave jail A District police officer charged last week with producing child pornography has been cleared to be released from jail pending his trial, according to documents filed in federal court on Monday. A federal court judge ordered Officer Marc L. Washington, 32, to be placed into the high-intensity supervision program, put on electronic monitoring and ordered to keep a 24-hour curfew for the first 21 days. The judge also ordered that Washington stay away from minors other than those in his immediate family, with “no movement for work or school.” After three weeks, Washington will be under reduced supervision. It was not known when Washington would be freed. Washington was arrested after police said he had responded to a house in Southeast Washington after a mother called to say her missing 15-year-old daughter had returned safely. Washington told the mother he had to investigate and took the girl into her room and took pictures of her in various states of undress, according to court papers. Washington’s attorney, Michelle Peterson, could not be reached for comment Monday. The officer has been suspended from duty. — Peter Hermann MARYLAND 25-year term in attack on Pr. George’s woman A man who pleaded guilty to robbing and assaulting an 84-year-old woman in her Prince George’s home last year has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. A Maryland judge sentenced Rodney William Blanton, 57, to 15 years for robbery and 10 years for first-degree burglary, the Prince George’s County state’s attorney’s office said. Blanton forced his way into the woman’s home after knocking on the door and pretending to be a neighbor, the statement said. He stuffed a scarf into the woman’s mouth and robbed her. She spent more than 24 hours on the floor before someone found her. During the assault, the woman bit Blanton, and police found


What to do about marauding Bambis?

White-tailed deer, those magical, delicate creatures with big, inky eyes and long lashes, have basically become the rats and pigeons of the suburbs. Their poll numbers plummeted over the weekend, when a freak accident in Loudoun County sent a buck that had just been hit by an SUV flying through the air and right into a runner. The runner, who had logged only five of the seven miles she planned to run in her neon orange shoes that night, was knocked out cold. She’s better now. But isn’t it about time to do something about all these deer? Fairfax County alone has about 4,000 to 5,000 deer-vs.-car crashes a year, according to a county report on wildlife and the environment. Deer devour suburban gardens — at the rate of about a ton of vegetation a year for every mouth. Their favorites include violets, roses, tulips, hydrangeas, crab apples, pansies, Indian Hawthorn and English ivy. There’s really not much they won’t eat. Carnations, daffodils and ornamental grasses, the county suggests. What? Who wants that kind of low-rent garden? The only solution is to shoot them, of course. Over the weekend, Fairfax sent letters to residents announcing a round of deer killings. It will begin Dec. 15 and go until February. Whoa. Watch out, Rudolph! Some of the hunts — carried out by police — will happen in the lovely, family-friendly Frying Pan Farm Park. “I’m really trying to evolve on this,” said Gwyn Whittaker, who was shaken by the announcement of deer kills in the park. She has lived near the park for 23 years and frequently sees “the beautiful deer, fox, owls and other wildlife” on her daily walks. She’s earnestly doing a lot of research — she went to talk to the police on Monday — to learn why more and more people in her county are in favor of the kills. Whittaker is on the board of the Washington Humane Society and has been a vegetarian most of her life. She’d rather see expensive but humane contraception programs used to curb the deer population. She’s not alone. When the folks from the National Park Service started deer kills at Rock Creek Park this spring, protesters were outraged not only by the kill itself but also by the cruel methods. It was right before Easter and Passover, and the does were probably pregnant. The shooters lured them out with


Many blacks, Latinos have no retirement savings, report finds

to African Americans, who make up a disproportionate share of government workers. Similarly, trimming retirement benefits will disproportionately hurt the retirement prospects of black workers, even as they struggle with lower housing values and homeownership rates than whites. Many policy makers calling for future Social Security increases to be curbed also support tax breaks and other policies to encourage people to save for their own retirements. But researchers have found that those breaks mainly accrue to married, well-educated workers with better-than-average wages. Given that, an increasingly vocal cadre of policy makers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), has pushed back against the argument for Social Security cuts. Given the retirement insecurity facing many Americans, they say, federal retirement benefits should be bolstered, not trimmed. “There is a need for Social Security to be growing, not shrinking, because the other parts of the retirement stool have fallen apart,” said Monique Morrissey, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal research organization. Many Americans are on course to struggle financially in retirement even though the overall amount of money being set aside for retirement is growing. As of mid-2013, Americans had more than $20 trillion in retirement assets through 401(k)-type plans, traditional defined benefit pensions, IRAs, and annuities, according to a report released earlier this month by the Investment Companies Institute, which represents mutual funds, and the American Benefits Council, and the American Council of Life Insurers. But that money, while growing, is not distributed equally, many argue. Most of the money is being saved by higher income Americans, while many working class and low-wage workers are struggling to even earn regular full-time hours at work. The NIRS report said that among households headed by blacks and hispanics between the ages of 55 and 64, the average retirement savings account balance was $30,000. Among whites on the verge of retirement, it was $120,000. Meanwhile, investment and human resource firms typically recommend that retirees have assets worth anywhere from eighth to 11 times their annual wages in order to adequately prepare for old age. “One of the big issues here is a gap in access,” Oakley said. “We have what is essentially a voluntary retirement system and what we know is when we look at minority households, their access to retirement plans on the job is much less than that for whites.” Related: Most Americans accumulating debt faster than they’re saving for retirement


What Wall Street is looking for in the Volcker rule

After years of debate, federal regulators are hashing out the final version of a politically charged rule that means big changes for the banking industry. Wall Street is anxiously awaiting federal regulators’ expected approval Tuesday of a sweeping rule that would restrict banks’ ability to make risky investments with their own money. The centerpiece of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial overhaul law, known as the “Volcker rule,” was stalled for years amid government infighting and intense lobbying by banks to weaken it. But after several drafts, policymakers are expected to unveil a tougher-than-expected rule on “proprietary trading” that could have a significant impact on the operations of financial firms. “Limiting proprietary trading is going to increase costs to our institutions, which will be passed on to consumers,” said Anthony Cimino, head of government affairs for the Financial Services Roundtable, one of Wall Street’s most prominent lobbying groups. He continued, “If you force banks to limit the types of investments they can provide, whether its from a hedging or investment perspective, you’re diminishing the amount of capital in the market.” The warnings slowed down the rule-writing process, but Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has pushed for a robust policy. Lew told an audience at Pew Charitable Trusts on Thursday that the proposed rule will include “tough restrictions” on banks’ trading and be “true to President Obama’s vision and the statute’s intent,” signaling that there may be few concessions to Wall Street. Proprietary trading has produced tremendous profits for financial firms but was also blamed for huge losses during the financial crisis. Supporters of the rule say that banks with government backstops such as deposit insurance should not trade for their own account, because the risky bets could endanger taxpayers. Industry groups have argued that the rule, named after former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker, unnecessarily limits some safe forms of trading and will sink profits at some of the nation’s largest banks. They have called for broad exemptions, but the efforts were weakened when JPMorgan Chase lost $6.2 billion in the “London Whale” trading debacle. The bank described the trade as a portfolio hedge — trades designed to protect against losses held in a broad portfolio of assets that could be used to bolster profits. In his speech, Lew said the rule would prohibit “risky trading bets like the London Whale that are masked as risk-mitigating hedges.” Regulators will also likely track where


Chicago Symphony’s endowment to $473 million, up $70 million since she took the post. In 2012, she demonstrated a tough negotiating style with the musicians’ union, which staged a two-day strike over its contract. Despite tensions, musicians praise her leadership. “We wish her the best going forward in her new position and we’re very happy for her — it’s been a good relationship,” said Steve Lester, a double bass player with the symphony for 35 years. “Like any relationship in these circumstances there can be ups and downs, but generally it’s been very positive. There’s no question that the orchestra is in a stronger position now than it was 10 years ago.” Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has worked closely with Rutter on arts initiatives in public schools. “As president of the Kennedy Center, I know that she will usher in a wonderful rebirth of this national treasure, just as her tenure here marked a rebirth of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra,” he said in a statement. Although Rutter’s experience is mostly in the classical world — orchestras, chamber music and opera — Rubenstein noted that the selection committee was more focused on finding a candidate with proven managerial skills than programming breadth. “It’s very rare to find an individual who has years of programming experience in opera, ballet, symphonic music and theater, among other things,” he said. “We weren’t looking for a programming expert as much as someone who can run a large organization while focused on community outreach, fundraising and visibility.” Still, the scope of the Kennedy Center is one of its largest challenges, with a $200 million budget and 2,000 performances each year. Kaiser, who is leaving to take his DeVos Institute of Arts Management to the University of Maryland, compares the position to that of “a portfolio manager.” Although the Kennedy Center has run a surplus in recent years, Rutter’s financial acumen will be a great asset to the center, he said. “I always say that the Kennedy Center can afford to do anything we want, but we can’t do everything we want, so the president has to make difficult choices about what we will and won’t do each year,” he said. Before she ran the Chicago Symphony, Rutter was executive director of the Seattle Symphony for 11 years, during which time she oversaw the building of that orchestra’s home, Benaroya Hall. While the Kennedy Center has already


Evan Lysacek, reigning Olympic figure skating champ, will miss Sochi Games because of injury

his training, the pain level increased, as well. And he was running out of competitions in which he could earn a qualifying score, with only the Dec. 18 Ukraine Open remaining. Lysacek won Olympic gold at the 2010 Olympics, after finishing fourth at the 2006 Games, without performing a quadruple jump, compensating for the absence of the high-scoring feat by delivering beautifully choreographed programs that were virtually glitch-free. His performances showcased his interpretive gifts while making a personal statement about the primacy of artistry over acrobatics. Not all of his rivals shared that philosophy. Looking to Sochi, it was an open question whether Lysacek could have been a viable medal contender without a quad. The Olympic flame, which by tradition was lit in Greece, is on a four-month trip to Sochi, Russia, the site of the 2014 Winter Games. As the relay progressed across the Russian Far East, an Olympic torch took a swim in a vast Siberian lake. Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Lysacek voiced unqualified support for pushing the boundaries of the sport’s technical limits and said he had devoted the last three years of training to “keeping up.” “Unfortunately I wasn’t able to show that because I have had my obstacles and setbacks,” he said. “But I was able to get there, and it wasn’t easy.” Figure-skating champions such as Michelle Kwan, Scott Hamilton and Johnny Weir voiced their empathy and admiration via Twitter moments after the decision was announced. Weir, a three-time U.S champion who retired from the sport in October and will serve as an NBC commentator in Sochi, was among the first to salute via social media, tweeting: “Very proud of a great champion, @EvanLysacek, and his graceful bow-out of the Sochi Olympics this morning on @TODAYshow.” Based on past performance, the United States will send two male singles skaters to Sochi. With Lysacek officially out, the field for those two spots is wide open. Reigning U.S. champion Max Aaron boasts the most technically difficult programs, chocked with quadruple jumps, but his go-for-broke style results in frequent spills. Others in the mix include Ross Miner, silver medalist at the 2013 U.S. Championships; three-time U.S. Champion Jeremy Abbott; Richard Dornbush; Adam Rippon, who impressed at Skate America in October; and 18-year-old Jason Brown of Chicago, a fast rising talent with a knack for energizing audiences and impressing judges with his panache and palpable love of performing.


New Kennedy Center president Deborah Rutter is seen as ‘team builder’

As executive director of the Seattle Symphony from 1992 to 2003, she wiped out a $2.5 million deficit, doubled the budget, and oversaw construction of a new hall. As president of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association, she helped usher out Daniel Barenboim and bring in Riccardo Muti through a search process that Andrew Patner, a Chicago-based critic for the Sun-Times and WFMT radio, describes as “a new model of how to hire a music director,” involving musicians, board and staff. She also oversaw a host of new initiatives, from sending performers into prisons to helping spearhead an arts education plan in all of Chicago’s public schools, with the full participation of the mayor and the city government. “What’s funny,” Ma said, “is that she’s so collaborative that it’s hard to actually think of who” was responsible for actually implementing some of the orchestra’s most innovative programs. “One of her biggest accomplishments,” he added, “is to turn vision into reality. If there’s a single thing [she did] there, she kind of broke down the four walls of the symphony center. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra has always been” a jewel of the city. But now, “everyone knows what the Chicago Symphony Orchestra does in the community, in different neighborhoods; when they go on tour, they go visit orphanages. The musicians take this on with great pride. They call it ‘citizen musicianship.’ I think this is something that really puts into practice what musicians learn: you serve something bigger than yourself.” While most of the accolades for Rutter focus on teamwork and outreach — both buzzwords in today’s classical music world — she has also done a considerable amount to empower artists. The composer Mason Bates, named one of two composers-in-residence at the CSO in 2010, came in with big plans to reimagine the orchestra’s contemporary music series. “The MusicNow series had been doing well under Augusta Read Thomas and Osvaldo Golijov,” he said. “You can imagine that someone else would have been nervous about changing the recipe. We were given freedom to reimagine the format and program a really wide range of composers.” From the mighty to the humble, these women made a mark on the world this year, according to The Washington Post’s She the People blog. Let us know who else is deserving of recognition. He added that “the thing that struck me was how much she trusted the people


Zoo report cites lapses that led to 3 animal deaths, vulture escape, attack on keeper

A Grevy’s zebra grazes at the National Zoo in Washington on Nov. 18, 2013. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP) The director of the National Zoo said Tuesday that the recent deaths of three animals and a Grévy’s zebra’s attack on a keeper indicate that the zoo’s resources and staff are stretched too thin. The comments by Dennis Kelly came as the zoo concludes reviews of two internal reports into several serious incidents at its Cheetah Conservation Station within the last year. One of the worst mistakes was the death of a female red river hog that died of septicemia in the zoo hospital Dec. 17 after she had lost a quarter of her weight in eight weeks, apparently because of improper nutrition. When the hog, named Holly, was taken to the hospital, she bore cuts and scabs of unknown origin. She weighed 110 pounds when she arrived last year and 79 pounds when she died. “We lost her,” said zoo spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Masson. “We shouldn’t have.” Two tiger cubs make their debut at the National Zoo. Kelly said the lapses are largely the result of stretched resources. “I can’t spread this staff any more thin than it is now,” he said. The second animal death was that of a pregnant kudu, a type of antelope. It apparently became spooked by something, ran into a paddock wall and broke its neck. The animal arrived at the zoo May 10 and was found dead June 16. Neither death was announced at the time because the animals were not yet on public display, the zoo said. The details of those deaths are in a report on conditions at the cheetah station, an exhibit near the Connecticut Avenue entrances to the facility that has cheetahs and other animals. Parts of the report were summarized by a Smithsonian official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the report was still being reviewed. The report was sparked by complaints in June from a volunteer who brought a series of concerns to Kelly and the head of animal care, Don Moore, who set up a committee to conduct the probe. “That process was a good one, and [it] resulted in some things that are making us better,” Kelly said Tuesday. “We are spread too thin, is the conclusion that I’ve come to,” he said. “Not just that area. It’s really the whole zoo — I dare say the whole


Smithsonian . . . as a result of the almost three years now of budget uncertainty and budget cuts.” The zoo’s giant panda cub, Bao Bao, turns 1 year old. “My staff is as good as anybody in the zoological community,” Kelly said. “We’re well-trained. People know what they’re doing. They’re dedicated. For the collection that we have, we’re spreading ourselves too thin at the moment.” The report, which was completed Sept. 3, also details last spring’s escape of a female non-flying vulture named Natalie, who apparently was able to use a wind gust to soar out of her enclosure. A “code green” alert for an escaped animal was issued, and the vulture was caught moments later in an adjacent parking lot. The zoo said it now keeps the bird’s flight feathers better clipped. In a later incident, a red panda escaped from in June by using overhanging tree branches and got some distance away before it was captured. The report also discloses the case of two Abyssinian ground hornbills who were kept in an inadequately sized indoor holding area for eight months. The zoo said that situation has been rectified. The third animal death was that of a Dama gazelle, which perished after it apparently ran into the wall of an enclosure after being startled by the zebra attack in an adjoining compound, the zoo has said. On Nov. 18, Wayne Millner, a veteran zookeeper, was attacked by the Grévy’s zebra after entering the animal’s compound. Zebras are dangerous and can weigh up to 900 pounds. Millner, who was bitten and kicked, was hospitalized with severe injuries, the zoo has said. He has returned home but not to work. It was not clear how the zebra came to be in the compound with Millner, but a zoo safety report on that incident is due this week. The reports contrast with the hoopla and money the zoo has spent on its higher-profile exhibits, such as those containing its wildly popular giant pandas and Asian elephants. On Dec. 1, the zoo hosted an elaborate ceremony, featuring a video greeting from first lady Michelle Obama, to announce the name of its female giant panda cub, Bao Bao. The pandas reside in the David M. Rubenstein Family Giant Panda Habitat, named for the local philanthropist who donated $4.5 million to the giant panda research and reproduction program. And the zoo recently spent $56


Books for the gardener on your list

you how to make a bison grass cocktail, the book has more fascinating lore than recipes, assembled with the same wit you’ll find in Stewart’s blog entries on Gardenrant.com. Then double the fun with Judith Glover’s “Drink Your Own Garden: A Homebrew Guide Using Your Garden Ingredients” (Batsford). The gorgeously designed book is an update of a 1979 classic. In food books, there’s a healthy trend toward using wholesome ingredients — if not from the garden, then at least from local farms — and employing traditional methods. Four stood out for me in this year’s crop. First is one I’ve heralded in this column before: Jo Robinson’s “ Eating on the Wild Side: Th e Missing Link to Optimum Health” (Little, Brown), a guide to choosing the most nutritious foods, even down to specific vegetable and fruit varieties. Michael Pollan’s “Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation” (Penguin), like everything Pollan writes, is an absorbing and enlightening quest for knowledge about food. This time he takes to the kitchen, apprenticing himself to a series of master cooks. And one of those masters is Sandor Ellix Katz, author of the next book on my list, “The Art of Fermentation” (Chelsea Green), for which Pollan wrote the foreword. Katz is the fermentation god at our farm. Everywhere, concoctions wrought by our apprentices bubble, ooze, rise and ferment in countless ways, as these young adventurers follow in his footsteps — with great results. Finally, there’s “The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying & Start Making” (Clarkson Potter) by Alana Chernila, a very personal book written by a down-to-earth cook with a delicious sense of humor. One more: I was given a copy of “Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life,” a book I might have imagined too sentimental or cute to buy, but Marta McDowell’s story of Potter, a roly-poly farmer-writer-painter, drew me in. The photo of her as a solemn girl of 19, holding her pet dormouse, is alone worth the price. Damrosch’s latest book is “The Four Season Farm Gardener’s Cookbook.” Tip of the week Christmas cactus may drop blooms if stressed by radical shifts in light or watering regimes, though this isn’t a sign that the plant is dying. Keep plants in a bright room but away from direct sunlight. As with poinsettias and cyclamen, the blooms will last longer in a room that is kept on the cool side. In flower,


Food policy group tracks lawmakers’ votes on SNAP cuts, GMO labeling, more

in. So we have to start talking about our shared values. We need to talk about what’s important to us as a country, not what is important as a person who is on one side of the aisle or the other.” The organization’s second scorecard looked at such issues as food stamps, international food aid and genetically modified foods. Lawmakers were awarded points for voting “no” on cuts to SNAP, for instance, or “yes” for labeling on genetically modified foods; legislators who voted the other way were awarded no points. More lawmakers scored a perfect 100 this time — 87, compared with 50 last year — but 254 members of Congress also scored worse this year compared with the 2012 scorecard, Cook said. The chairman noted that 138 House and Senate members saw their scores increase this year. Maryland’s U.S. senators, Democrats Benjamin L. Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski, both scored 83. Democrats Timothy M. Kaine and Mark R. Warner, Virginia’s members in the U.S. Senate, scored 50 and 40, respectively. You can see how the states’ U.S. lawmakers scored here. Asked whether Food Policy Action would eventually campaign to unseat members of Congress who don’t support its goals, Cook said: “There is interest on the board . . . to take the organization to the level where we can begin making a difference by informing voters intensively around specific races. We have made no commitments to doing that yet.” Then Colicchio walked back to the podium and said he would speak for himself, not the nonprofit group. He said he would like to see Food Policy Action actively campaign in congressional races. The “Top Chef” judge said he wants to “find people who have the same values to coalesce around all food issues, not just hunger.” “I think that’s where we need to head, where people will go to a ballot box and will vote around that single issue,” Colicchio added. “I think once that happens, then we can start moving the needle.” Stier from the National Center for Public Policy Research said he doesn’t put much stock in the scorecard or its potential to affect political races. “I think they are playing to their base,” he said. Check the National Food Policy Scorecard online to see how the group rated each member of Congress. More from Food: Weeknight Vegetarian The Immigrant’s Table Smoke Signals Spirits Column Beer Column


Zoo announces death of endangered horse at Front Royal campus, 4th animal death in a year

Two newborn Przewalski's foals explore their pasture at the National Zoo’s Conservation and Research Center. (Mehgan Murphy/National Zoo) The National Zoo said Wednesday that another animal under its care had been found dead, this time a young Przewalski’s horse in a barn at the zoo’s Conservation Biology Institute, a sprawling research site in Front Royal, Va. The horse — which is critically endangered in the wild — appears to have charged into a fence inside the barn, where it lived with its mother, and broken its neck, the zoo said. The colt was 4 months old. It was found Wednesday morning, lying beside the fence, which was bowed outward. Preliminary necropsy revealed a traumatic neck fracture. The death comes after the recent deaths of three other animals at the main zoo campus in Northwest Washington. Two of those, a Dama gazelle and antelope-like animal called a kudu, also died after smashing into walls and breaking their necks. The third death was that of a malnourished red river hog that perished as a result of skin and other infections and improper nutrition. All the animals died within the past year — the gazelle in an incident where it was spooked when a keeper was attacked by zebra in an adjoining compound. All but the horse death happened in the Cheetah Conservation Station exhibit. The zoo has said it conducted an investigation into prior animal deaths and bears responsibility. But zoo Director Dennis Kelly blamed the lapses, and others turned up in the investigation, largely on federal budget cuts and stretched staff and resources. At the same time Wednesday, the zoo released its investigative report. The 17-page document details two of the deaths and portrays an institution, famous for its high-profile giant panda and elephant exhibits, that seems badly frayed at the edges. It reviews lack of proper space to house lower-profile animals, and hints at inexperience, friction and poor communication among the zoo’s staff. In its response document, the zoo said it is working to enlarge and improve enclosures, improve communication and procedures, and notes that it had just been reaccredited by the Association for Zoos and Aquariums.


D.C. community calendar, Dec. 12 to 19, 2013

Thursday, DEC. 12 Walking club, “Baby Rex’s Holiday Surprise,” Cathedral Creche Exhibition: What Child is This, “Seasons of Light,” Behind-the-scenes cathedral tour, “Hare and Tortoise Race to the Moon,” Weight-loss surgery seminar, Sculpture on the Moon, Belgian sculptor Paul van Hoeydonck discusses “Fallen Astronaut,” a three-inch aluminum figure placed by the crew of Apollo 15 in 1971. 1 p.m., National Air and Space Museum, Sixth Street and Independence Avenue SW. Free. 202-633-1000. Computer skills class, 50+ Program: Finances 50+, 50+ Program: Adaptive Services, Parkinson’s support group, Vigil and remembrance, Ulrich Drechsler in concert, Blood pressure checks and HIV screenings, Anacostia Waterfront Initiative transportation master plan update, “A Christmas Carol,” Sound: The Encounter – New Music from Iran and Syria, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” “A Commedia Christmas Carol,” age 9 and older, Faction of Fools Theatre Company performs the Matthew R. Wilson adaptation of the classic tale with a blend of masks, acrobatics and historical Commedia archetypes in a foolish festive fable. 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, continues through Dec. 22, Gallaudet University, Elstad Auditorium, 800 Florida Ave. NE. $30; students, military, seniors and groups, $18; age 12 and younger, $12. 202-503-9760 or www.factionoffools.org. Friday, DEC. 13 Seniors line dancing, age 50 and older. 10 a.m. Fridays, Woodridge Library, 1801 Hamlin St. NE. Free. 202-541-6226. Friday Morning Music Club recital, a performance of works by Scott Pender, Sharon Guertin Shafer, Mark Simon, Leslie Bennett and Ron Dicus. Noon, Calvary Baptist Church, 755 Eighth St. NW. Free. 202-333-2075. Berlin Philharmonic Digital Concert Hall, Gustavo Dudamel conducts the orchestra in a performance of works by Stravinsky, Schubert and Beethoven. 1 p.m., Goethe-Institut, 812 Seventh St. NW. Free, reservations requested. 202-289-1200, www.goethe.de or goetheinstitutwashington.eventbrite.com . “Christmas in Art,” Coral Cantigas in concert, D.C.’s premier Latino chorus performs an array of holiday songs from Latin America, Spain and the United States. 6 p.m., Kennedy Center, Millennium Stage, 2700 F St. NW. Free. 202-467-4600. Symmetry in carpets and textiles, research associate Carol Bier discusses the differences among symmetry, asymmetry and symmetry-breaking traditions in woven textiles known today as Oriental carpets, an important skill for collecting, connoisseurship and curatorial practice, to help distinguish between handmade and industrial products. 6 p.m., Textile Museum, 2320 S St. NW. $25, registration required. 202-667-0441, Ext. 64. Sip and paint art workshop, “Shadow Kill,” Christmas in New Spain: Early Music of Mexico and Peru, “An


Hubble Space Telescope sees geysers on Jupiter’s moon Europa

alone in the universe?’ ” said John Grunsfeld, NASA’s top official for space science. The discovery, detailed in a paper published Thursday online by the journal Science, was the subject of a news conference in San Francisco on Thursday morning, at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union. Over the past 12 months, scientists have captured stunning images of the planets, a galaxy, a planetary nebula and more from space. Since the 1980s, shortly after the Voyager probes first ventured to the outer planets, scientists have suspected that Europa has a global ocean, perhaps with more water than in all the oceans on Earth, hidden beneath a shell of ice. The Galileo probe found the signature of a subsurface ocean through an analysis of Europa’s magnetic field. The surface ice of the moon has brown stains that could be the result of organic material snowing from the plumes, scientists said Thursday. Late last year, a team of scientists (the lead author on the new paper is Lorenz Roth of the Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio) used the Hubble, and specifically an instrument repaired by Grunsfeld and fellow astronauts in the final Hubble servicing mission, to take a closer look at Europa. The scientists didn’t see a geyser directly, but rather saw a striking surplus of hydrogen and oxygen appearing in a spatially confined area — a plume, in effect — over roughly seven hours. The implication is that tidal forces within the moon — created by Jupiter’s immense gravity — cause Europa to contract and expand, a bit like a tennis ball being squeezed and released. The Hubble spotted the signs of plumes when Europa was farthest from Jupiter in its elliptical orbit of the planet. The likely scenario is that, when the crust decompresses slightly, liquid water squeezes up through a crack. As it hit the vacuum of space, the water would flash freeze and some of it would turn into water vapor. Those water molecules would be split into atomic hydrogen and oxygen in the harsh radiation environment of the Jupiter system. But it wouldn’t just be water in the plume: Whatever else was in that ocean would be squirted into space, too, said James Green, head of NASA’s planetary science division. “For a planetary scientist, it’s huge,” Green said of the news. This is not the first moon to show signs of geysers. Another candidate for


Obama administration cracks down on Iran sanctions violators

have assisted Iranian companies by transporting petroleum products or acting as middlemen in transferring payments to Iranian banks — actions that violate economic sanctions enacted over the past two years. Administration officials also blacklisted several Iranian companies involved in the country’s uranium-mining sector. A senior U.S. official, in briefing reporters about the measures, sought to distinguish the administration’s efforts to enforce existing sanctions from the attempts by some in Congress to impose additional restrictions on Iran’s battered economy. “The sanctions framework that remains in place will allow us to continue to apply pressure on the Iranian government and the Iranian economy,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the legal underpinnings of the enforcement measures. By cracking down on Iran’s foreign business partners, the official added, the White House was sending a “loud and clear message that we are quite serious about taking action against anyone who engages in this activity.” The announcement of the enforcement actions came amid maneuvering in Congress as lawmakers debated whether to push for new sanctions legislation in defiance of the administration’s warnings. Key Republicans, including Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.), have criticized the interim nuclear agreement with Iran on grounds that it doesn’t go far enough in dismantling the country’s nuclear infrastructure. Iran has said that its program is for peaceful energy-producing purposes, but the United States and others suspect it is seeking to develop the capacity to build a nuclear bomb. The legislative skirmishing coincided with talks in Geneva on how to implement the first phase of the landmark nuclear deal reached Nov. 24. That agreement freezes key parts of Iran’s nuclear program for six months while diplomats try to hammer out a permanent accord on deeper cuts to the program. Negotiators from Iran and six major powers have been hashing over details such as schedules for intensive inspections of the country’s nuclear facilities, including its uranium enrichment plants and uranium mines. The head of the Iranian delegation to the technical talks in Geneva, Hamid Baeedinejad, described the tone of the meetings as “very smooth.” Wendy Sherman, the undersecretary of state for political affairs and one of the two administration officials who testified at Thursday’s Senate hearing, said those talks could collapse if Congress imposes new sanctions. Both Iran and key U.S. allies abroad would perceive the United States as acting in bad faith, potentially undermining international support


Approval of Wal-Mart Supercenter in Bowie in doubt

An artist’s rendering is seen of a proposed 186,000-square-f0t Wal-Mart Supercenter in Bowie, Md. (Courtesy of Wal-Mart) Wal-Mart faces a major hurdle in its plan to open a new, bigger store in Bowie. The chain wants to build a Supercenter as part of a development at the corner of U.S. 301 and Mill Branch Road. But Prince George’s County planners reviewing the proposal say a Wal-Mart is not what the county envisions for the 74-acre site. The county planners’ recommendation to reject the project is at odds with the position of Bowie’s City Council, which voted recently in support of the new store. The city can make recommendations, but it has no legal authority over land-use matters. County planner Thomas Lockard said the county’s 2006 master plan for Bowie discourages big-box discount stores at the site and calls for “high-quality commercial retail” and “quality department stores.” The plan does not specify what kind of store would meet that criteria. The proposed 186,000-square-foot store would replace a 20-year-old, 117,000 square-foot Wal-Mart just across the street, at 3300 Crain Highway. Wal-Mart spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said the 250 employees at the old Wal-Mart would relocate to the new store and the company would hire an additional 80 workers. The design of the proposed store has three entrances and features a lot of glass to provide a modern feel, with skylights throughout the building, she said. The store would contain a grocery. “Grocery is an area that customers have come to expect from Wal-Mart because they know it’s an area where we can offer a broad assortment of fresh food at a low price,” she said. The Prince George’s County Council passed legislation last year limiting the size of big-box stores with groceries to 85,000 square feet, so Wal-Mart is seeking an exception. Such cases are reviewed by the county’s zoning hearing examiner, who could hear the case early next year. If Wal-Mart’s request is approved by spring, the new store could open as early as fall 2015. The expansion is one of several Wal-Mart is pursuing in the region. In the District, the company is building one store and is planning to build three others. It has proposed a store in Aspen Hill in Montgomery County. And in Prince George’s, where it operates three stores, it wants to build a Supercenter in Oxon Hill, near National Harbor. The chain, which has about 30


Chevy to leave Europe as the region struggles to put an end to an era of bailouts

dismal fact: Regional economic output remains below where it was before the 2008 crash, and is not projected to return to earlier levels for at least another year. Had the euro zone performed simply the same as the United States in the past five years, its annual gross domestic product would be about $2.7 trillion higher than it is today. This is a massive loss of wealth, buying power and tax revenue that has left a hole in the world economy and become a major headache for American firms plotting a global strategy. It is a region of “deep scars” from what now has been five years of crisis and an only recently ended recession, Mark Otty, Ernst & Young managing partner for Europe, wrote in a recent forecast. He projects that the current pattern of low growth and high unemployment will settle in like a stalled weather system. On Sunday, Ireland will begin writing what should be the epilogue of the euro zone’s troubles when it exits from its International Monetary Fund bailout. One of five euro-zone countries to need outside help in recent years, the island nation is the first to complete its three-year bailout program. It is stable enough to once again sell bonds on the open market to finance its government deficits. Its levels of government debt are expected to decline next year, and its economy is growing — slowly. More notably, said Irish jobs minister Richard Bruton, private companies are adding jobs and foreign firms are investing at record levels. “There is a lot of optimism that most of the heavy lifting is done,” Bruton said in a telephone interview from Dublin. Yet that positive development is an isolated one in a sea of disagreement over how the euro zone — and each country — should conduct itself. There are other bits of good news — Spanish exports and productivity are growing, and investors are no longer gun shy. Just as U.S. tech firms are pumping new capital into Ireland, American casino magnate Sheldon Adelson is laying plans for a $20 billion “EuroVegas” development outside Madrid. But there also is a steady drizzle of downsides: declining industrial production in France and Germany, an ongoing contraction in bank lending, slow progress in paring household and government debt. For every bit of political progress — a long-debated banking union is taking shape — major disputes remain. Much


Chinese prosecutors file charges against leading activist Xu Zhiyong

the demonstrations, according to lawyer Zhang Qingfang. He said the authorities seemed to be in a hurry to deal with the case. “Normally, in a case like this, with 1,000 pages of material, it takes the prosecutor’s office 11 / 2 months to go over it” and file charges, he said. “I’m very surprised they handled it this fast. It is neither reasonable nor normal. It looks like it is just for show, and on orders from a higher level.” Zhang said he was informed that charges were filed by the prosecutor’s office but had not seen the written charge sheet. He said a charge of disturbing public order carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. An official in the prosecutor’s office declined to comment. Shortly after his arrest in July, Xu released a video from prison vowing to pay any price for “freedom, public interest and love” and urging Chinese citizens to unite to promote “democracy, rule of law and justice.” His friend and fellow member of the movement, leading entrepreneur Wang Gongquan, was arrested in September and is expected to be tried separately, said activist Chen Min. Authorities apparently want to avoid one large trial at which all the dissidents could stand together, Chen said. On Monday, Secretary of State John F. Kerry said the U.S. government was “deeply concerned” about the arrests of activists, including Xu and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, “for peacefully exercising their universal right to freedom of expression.” China’s Foreign Ministry rejected Kerry’s appeal for the activists’ release, arguing that Liu and Xu had violated Chinese laws and implying that Xu’s conviction was a foregone conclusion. “They deserve to be punished by law,” spokesman Hong Lei said at a routine news conference Tuesday. “I need to emphasize that only the 1.3 billion Chinese people are best qualified to pass judgment over China’s human rights condition.” The nationalist Global Times newspaper also criticized Kerry’s comments in an editorial Wednesday. “The U.S., in hopes of seeing China’s legal system crashed by the combined force of globalization and the Internet, is labeling extremist views of activists in the country as free speech,” it said. Liu was detained in December 2008, convicted of subversion the following year and sentenced to 11 years in prison for writing an appeal for democracy. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010. Liu Liu contributed to this report.


As Sochi Winter Olympics near, rich Russians bankrolling Games spar with Vladimir Putin

Polyana and Adler on the coast, both of which are part of Sochi’s sprawling Adler district. Russian Railways chief executive Vladimir Yakunin, a close associate of Putin, says the government ordered him to construct the road even after the Transport Ministry concluded that the project was too difficult. “I was very reluctant,” Yakunin says. “They decided we were a sacrificial goat.” If the hoped-for influx of post-Olympics tourists doesn’t materialize, Putin’s government may end up with heavily indebted ghost towns around Adler and Krasnaya Polyana. “There’s massive infrastructure, and there’s no plan to attract business,” Macro Advisory’s Weafer says. Basic Element, the holding company of United Co. Rusal’s Deripaska, has made one of the biggest private investments. It oversees Sochi projects worth $2.4 billion, using about $1 billion in loans from VEB. Among them: a $778 million Olympic athletes village on the coast; a $186 million cargo port that the 45-year-old billionaire wants to turn into a yacht marina; and a $440 million overhaul of Sochi International Airport, with two VIP terminals, one built just for Putin and the government. Deripaska’s Olympics headaches mounted in October 2012, when his Port Sochi Imeretensky defaulted on a VEB loan of about $118 million. In one of a flurry of Olympics-related lawsuits, the port company sued Olympstroy, the state firm building most venues, in April and VEB in May. Deripaska’s company claimed that just 2 percent of the planned 14 million tons of Olympic cargo was shipped via sea from 2010 to 2013. Without sufficient cargo, the port has been unable to keep up with loan payments. In October, VEB countersued the port company and Olympstroy for about $150 million. Relaxing on a brown leather chair in Sochi airport’s main VIP terminal, Andrey Elinson, deputy chief executive of Basic Element, says the government invited the company to build a port to get Olympics-related goods into Sochi. Basic Element would never have pursued it without Olympstroy outlining minimum expectations. No promises “We’re in a bit of a disagreement with the government,” he says. “They have pushed more cargo through railways and invested in extending railway cargo capacity while the port was underloaded.” The government made no promises, Kozak says. “No one guaranteed a flow of goods,” he says. “Neither Olympstroy nor anyone else forced Oleg Deripaska to build the port.” For his part, Russian Railways’ Yakunin says the port wasn’t up to the Olympics


Need for leaders at D.C. arts institutions could be a golden opportunity or a squandered one

A marble sculpture, "The Sons of God Saw the Daughters of Men That They Were Fair", by Daniel Chester French, 1923, on the grand staircase of the 19th century Corcoran Gallery of Art building. (Bill O'Leary/Washington Post) One down, so many, many more to go. The Kennedy Center recently announced that Deborah Rutter of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association will become its new president, but many high-profile Washington cultural and arts institutions are still searching for new leaders to fill their top posts. The Smithsonian Institution announced in October that its secretary, Wayne Clough, would be stepping down next year. Richard Koshalek, the former director of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, resigned in May after the demise of his seasonal inflatable structure project, dubbed “the Bubble.” The Corcoran Gallery of Art paused its search for a new director because of a planned merger with the University of Maryland after financial woes and leadership battles. And it seems as though the Obama administration has all but forgotten about the chairmanship vacancy at the National Endowment for the Arts since former chairman Rocco Landesman stepped down last December. In April, former U.S. representative Jim Leach of Iowa departed from the National Endowment for the Humanities, thereby leaving the two national grant-making agencies without appointed leaders. Never before in Washington have leading cultural institutions seen so much simultaneous vacancy and transition at the top. And for many, the vacancy is sheer coincidence, an alignment of slots in a city known for its turnover. But others ask a dreaded question, one that looms over federally funded institutions: In a time of government shutdowns and regular budget brawls, does top talent really want to deal with us? “That’s a genuine concern,” said Ford Bell, president of the American Alliance of Museums. “The tone and tenor in Washington after the government shutdown is something to consider. Candidates may have to ask, ‘Do I want to get into this?’ ” The new year could usher in an arts renaissance in the nation’s capital. Or it could become a squandered opportunity. As always, it’s a question of leadership. In with the new Rutter will take the Kennedy Center helm in September, amid its first expansion project, which is expected to break ground late next year. She will succeed Michael Kaiser, who has been president since 2001. Upon hearing the announcement, many in the classical world praised Rutter


Endowment for the Humanities, thereby leaving the two national grant-making agencies without appointed leaders. Never before in Washington have leading cultural institutions seen so much simultaneous vacancy and transition at the top. And for many, the vacancy is sheer coincidence, an alignment of slots in a city known for its turnover. But others ask a dreaded question, one that looms over federally funded institutions: In a time of government shutdowns and regular budget brawls, does top talent really want to deal with us? “That’s a genuine concern,” said Ford Bell, president of the American Alliance of Museums. “The tone and tenor in Washington after the government shutdown is something to consider. Candidates may have to ask, ‘Do I want to get into this?’ ” The new year could usher in an arts renaissance in the nation’s capital. Or it could become a squandered opportunity. As always, it’s a question of leadership. In with the new Rutter will take the Kennedy Center helm in September, amid its first expansion project, which is expected to break ground late next year. She will succeed Michael Kaiser, who has been president since 2001. Upon hearing the announcement, many in the classical world praised Rutter for her management skills and collaborative spirit. She has been heralded for championing arts education in Chicago public schools, enlisting Yo-Yo Ma to consult on community engagement initiatives. As the first announcement in a class of new Washington arts leaders, her collaborative spirit could set the tone for new partnerships. “I hope we can be a new class and work closely together,” Rutter said in an interview Tuesday. “One of the amazing things about this opportunity is the unparalleled richness of the cultural life here.” Collaboration, she said, will allow each institution to do bigger things. The Smithsonian Institution is now the highest-profile vacancy up for grabs, with its $1 billion-budget, 19 museums and the National Zoo. A national or international leader could replace Wayne Clough by October. But the new leader will meet facilities and fundraising challenges that will require management prowess and political savvy. The position operates “in the biggest of leagues,” said Richard Kurin, undersecretary for history, art and culture, noting that it’s a beloved institution with more than 30 million visitors annually. There are various institution boards, a local, national and even an international community. It requires a facility with media, art critics, science writers and


National Zoo officials say zebra attack was the result of human error

giant panda cub, Bao Bao, turns 1 year old. Millner is out of the hospital but has not returned to work. A woman who answered the door at his house Monday said he could not be interviewed. The report recommends that keepers get individual protocol and first aid training. It suggests making grief counseling available for those involved in the attack. And it urges a zoowide workload analysis. The report comes amid an internal zoo report, released Wednesday, that details other lapses at the Cheetah Conservation Station, including the death Dec. 17 of an African red river hog that died of severe weight loss and chronic skin and mouth infections. Also Wednesday, the zoo announced the death of another animal under its care. A Przewalski’s horse was found dead in a barn at the zoo’s Conservation Biology Institute, a research site in Front Royal, Va. The horse appears to have charged into a fence inside the barn, where it lived with its mother. Przewalski’s horses are critically endangered in the wild. The 4-month-old colt was apparently spooked by something. It was found Wednesday morning, lying beside the fence, which was bowed outward. Preliminary necropsy revealed a traumatic neck fracture. The report released Wednesday found that “animal care and overall organization, accountability, follow-up, and communication are severely lacking” in the cheetah complex. It recounted a broken boiler, a dirty heater, inexperience and poor communication. It reviewed the death of a third animal, a skittish antelope-like kudu, which apparently was startled and rammed itself into a paddock wall, breaking its neck. The animal arrived at the zoo May 10 and was found dead June 16. Zoo Director Dennis Kelly has said the lapses are indications of the zoo’s strapped finances and stretched staff. The report was sparked by complaints in June from a worried volunteer who brought a series of concerns to Kelly and the associate director of animal care, Don Moore. They then set up a committee to conduct the inquiry. That report, which was completed Sept. 3, also details the spring’s escape of a female non-flying vulture named Natalie, who apparently was able to use a wind gust to soar out of her enclosure. A “code green” alert for an escaped animal was issued, and the vulture was caught moments later in an adjacent parking lot. The zoo said it now keeps the bird’s flight feathers better clipped and describes


zoowide workload analysis. The report comes amid an internal zoo report, released Wednesday, that details other lapses at the Cheetah Conservation Station, including the death Dec. 17 of an African red river hog that died of severe weight loss and chronic skin and mouth infections. Also Wednesday, the zoo announced the death of another animal under its care. A Przewalski’s horse was found dead in a barn at the zoo’s Conservation Biology Institute, a research site in Front Royal, Va. The horse appears to have charged into a fence inside the barn, where it lived with its mother. Przewalski’s horses are critically endangered in the wild. The 4-month-old colt was apparently spooked by something. It was found Wednesday morning, lying beside the fence, which was bowed outward. Preliminary necropsy revealed a traumatic neck fracture. The report released Wednesday found that “animal care and overall organization, accountability, follow-up, and communication are severely lacking” in the cheetah complex. It recounted a broken boiler, a dirty heater, inexperience and poor communication. It reviewed the death of a third animal, a skittish antelope-like kudu, which apparently was startled and rammed itself into a paddock wall, breaking its neck. The animal arrived at the zoo May 10 and was found dead June 16. Zoo Director Dennis Kelly has said the lapses are indications of the zoo’s strapped finances and stretched staff. The report was sparked by complaints in June from a worried volunteer who brought a series of concerns to Kelly and the associate director of animal care, Don Moore. They then set up a committee to conduct the inquiry. That report, which was completed Sept. 3, also details the spring’s escape of a female non-flying vulture named Natalie, who apparently was able to use a wind gust to soar out of her enclosure. A “code green” alert for an escaped animal was issued, and the vulture was caught moments later in an adjacent parking lot. The zoo said it now keeps the bird’s flight feathers better clipped and describes the incident as a “learning experience.” In a later incident, a red panda escaped from the zoo in June by using overhanging tree branches and got some distance away before it was captured. Moore, responding to the first report, disagreed that the zoo was “severely lacking” in care, organization, accountability and follow-up. He agreed that there were lapses but said that they had been addressed.


A U.S. agency that nurtures Internet freedom in China

Regarding the Dec. 9 editorial “The China vise”: The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) has played a lead role in expanding Internet freedom in China, Iran, Cuba, North Korea and other societies that censor the media, and we agree with The Post’s editorial board that much more needs to be done. The BBG promotes the free flow of information across borders with objective reporting, journalism training and multimedia content distribution through five networks. This includes an active Internet freedom program for places where authorities devote tremendous resources to choking off access to the Web. Since 2010, the BBG has grown its Internet anti-censorship programs from a modest $1.6 million to $9.1 million with the help of supporters in the Obama administration and on Capitol Hill, and we are in a very strong position to continue this trajectory with additional funds. Still, given what we’re up against overseas, this is far from enough. Our budget proposal currently before Congress includes $12.5 million for Internet-freedom work; it would help us continue to deploy emerging technologies, provide more secure access for people in closed societies and foster partnerships with cutting-edge experts, developers and like-minded funders. We continuously look for budgetary savings to carry out our core mission of supporting audiences in more than 100 countries who strive for the freedom to watch, listen and participate in the global online community. It’s what makes the BBG different from other agencies and commercial media. And it’s why the Chinese and other governments do all they can to stand in our way. Jeff Shell, Washington The writer is the chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors.


Holdout states now compliant with Pentagon’s same-sex benefits policy

All states are now processing benefits for same-sex National Guard spouses after several holdouts found ways to implement the policy without violating their constitutional bans on the recognition of gay marriage. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said in an announcement Friday that same-sex spouses in every state can now obtain the military ID cards required to receive benefits for wives and husbands of service members. “All of [the Department of Defense] is committed to pursuing equal opportunities for all who serve this nation, and I will continue to work to ensure our men and women in uniform as well as their families have full and equal access to the benefits they deserve,” Hagel said. A handful of states, including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Georgia, refused to process ID applications for gay spouses after the Pentagon issued a directive requiring the military to treat all legally married couples equally for purposes of federal benefits. The states told same-sex couples they could only apply at federal installations, though heterosexual spouses could submit their paperwork at state facilities. Hagel directed the chief of the National Guard Bureau in late October to work with state officials to reach compliance with the Defense Department’s new policy. The policy came in response to a landmark Supreme Court decision in June overturning a key provision in the Defense of Marriage Act. Slowly, the holdout states and the National Guard Bureau found workarounds to ensure equal treatment of service members without allowing their employees to process same-sex benefits. South Carolina required all National Guard spouses to apply at federal installations regardless of their sexual orientation, eliminating the possibility of unequal treatment at state facilities. In Texas and other states, the bureau agreed to switch some service members to federal status so they could process the benefits without violating state law. Some states with gay-marriage prohibitions complied with the Defense Department policy right away, saying they could process ID applications for gay spouses without violating their constitutions. They included Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina and Virginia. The American Military Partners Association, which advocates for gay rights, commended the Pentagon on Friday. But the group’s president, Stephen Peters, said in a statement that same-sex couples still face other forms of “discrimination and exclusion by state governments,” particularly those that don’t recognize gay marriage.


Turn Ukraine back toward the European Union

Paula J. Dobriansky is a senior fellow at Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. She was undersecretary of state for global affairs during the George W. Bush administration. While it is very late in the game, it is not too late to return Ukraine to the path of European integration. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians The Obama administration is doing a good job of crisis management — stressing the need to respect the right of peaceful assembly and urging calm — but that is not enough. It is essential for the United States to exercise strong leadership, reverse Yanukovych’s turn toward Moscow and spur Ukraine to reengage with the European Union, so as to honor the Ukrainian people’s clear civilizational choice. The administration must also reassure Ukraine’s neighbors, most of which — particularly Poland — view Yanukovych’s decision as a strategic disaster and an invitation for further misbehavior by Moscow in the region. But even as they do these things, U.S. officials must direct their strongest efforts at Russia. Russian tactics To date, Russia’s actions have cost it not an economic or diplomatic penny in terms of its relationship with the United States and the European Union. Indeed, the Obama administration’s business-as-usual posture toward Russia was underscored by the fact that First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov was in Washington in recent days, meeting with high-level administration officials to discuss the prospects of a bilateral investment treaty. This must change. Moscow’s threats to harm Ukraine’s economy violated Russia’s World Trade Organization obligations and other agreements to which Russia is a party. They must be strongly challenged as unlawful. Moscow must be informed, first privately and soon thereafter publicly, that the United States will press for a broad range of measures, including WTO sanctions, Russian expulsion from the Group of Eight and even a boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics by political leaders, unless Moscow abandons its strong-arm tactics toward Kiev. All of these measures would threaten what Putin values greatly: his international stature. Meanwhile, the United States should continue to build on the protesters’ powerful appeal for a Ukraine-E.U. deal. The Obama administration should work with E.U. officials to chart a course of action that provides appropriate financial incentives for Kiev, such as tariff-free access to the E.U. market. They should engage the International Monetary Fund and other international financial institutions to put together an assistance package


China carries out the first soft landing on the moon in 37 years

China completed the first soft landing on the moon’s surface in 37 years Saturday, marking a significant advance in Beijing’s space program and a step toward its ambitions of mounting a manned lunar mission. BEIJING — State television showed scientists in white and pale-blue coats applauding, shaking hands and congratulating each other after the craft, Chang’e 3, landed safely at 9:12 p.m. local time. It also showed photographs of the moon’s surface beamed back from the craft. The landing marked a significant advance in China’s space program and a step toward its ambitions of one day following the United States in mounting a manned lunar mission. On Sunday, a six-wheeled rover named Yutu, or Jade Rabbit, is scheduled to emerge from the landing vehicle and begin a three-month-long mission to explore the moon’s surface. The moon lander, which weighs more than a ton, landed in the right eye of the lunar feature dubbed the Man in the Moon, in a large and relatively flat volcanic crater known as the Sinus Iridum, or Bay of Rainbows. Its rockets shut off when it was about four yards above the surface, and the craft fell the remaining distance. The landing craft, which is designed to remain in place and operate for a year, carries a telescope that will survey space from the moon’s surface and an ultraviolet camera that will observe the Earth and the plasmasphere surrounding it. The rover, which will roam around for three months, will not only analyze the topsoil in a previously unexplored region of the moon but also will collect through its radar system information about the lunar surface to a depth of 100 yards. Dean Cheng, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, said the radar system, in particular, would yield useful data. “China has said that to be a global power, you do have to contribute to the global pool of scientific knowledge,” he said. “The moon, for all that it is our closest celestial neighbor, is rather unexplored. . . . China is, in fact, contributing to the pool of lunar knowledge.” The rover will be powered by solar panels during the lunar day, and atomic energy storage batteries will keep it warm and prevent its electronic systems from freezing during the lunar night, which lasts the equivalent of two weeks on Earth and can see temperatures as low as 180 degrees


designed to remain in place and operate for a year, carries a telescope that will survey space from the moon’s surface and an ultraviolet camera that will observe the Earth and the plasmasphere surrounding it. The rover, which will roam around for three months, will not only analyze the topsoil in a previously unexplored region of the moon but also will collect through its radar system information about the lunar surface to a depth of 100 yards. Dean Cheng, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, said the radar system, in particular, would yield useful data. “China has said that to be a global power, you do have to contribute to the global pool of scientific knowledge,” he said. “The moon, for all that it is our closest celestial neighbor, is rather unexplored. . . . China is, in fact, contributing to the pool of lunar knowledge.” The rover will be powered by solar panels during the lunar day, and atomic energy storage batteries will keep it warm and prevent its electronic systems from freezing during the lunar night, which lasts the equivalent of two weeks on Earth and can see temperatures as low as 180 degrees below zero Celsius, the equivalent of 292 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. “Compared to the last century’s space race between the United States and the former Soviet Union, mankind’s current return to the moon is more based on curiosity and exploration of the unknown universe,” Sun Huixian, the project’s deputy chief engineer told the official Xinhua News Agency. “China’s lunar program is an important component of mankind’s activities to explore the peaceful use of space.” The lander and the rover are named for a Chinese myth about a woman named Chang’e who swallowed magic pills and took her pet rabbit, Yutu, to the moon, where she has lived as a goddess ever since. “Though people have discovered that the moon is bleached and desolate, it doesn’t change its splendid role in Chinese traditional culture,” Zhang Yiwu, a professor at Beijing’s Peking University, told Xinhua. China hopes to mount another mission to the moon in 2017 that would collect rock and soil samples. It also hopes to launch a space station by about 2023 and eventually, perhaps, establish lunar bases and send missions into deep space. Its space program has the advantage of consistent funding and top-level political support, and the successful


Despite Red Line ‘milestone,’ Metro has no timetable for returning to automated trains

speed limit was 30 mph, authorities said. The federal Rail Safety Improvement Act, passed in 2008, requires commuter and freight railroads and Amtrak to implement a computerized system known as “positive train control” by the end of 2015. If a train began traveling above the speed limit, the system would slow the train. In theory, positive train control would have prevented the Bronx derailment. The rail safety law doesn’t apply to subway trains. Excessive speed normally isn’t an issue when a subway train is being operated by a computer. As for subway trains that operate in manual mode, such as Metro’s, electronic systems are in place that automatically enforce speed limits. Some subways that were built long before the computer age — in Chicago and Philadelphia, for example — operate in manual mode. In New York’s subway, the nation’s biggest, computers drive trains on only one of the system’s 25-plus lines. Among newer systems, the Los Angeles subway, opened in the early 1990s, also runs in manual mode. But the subways in Atlanta and San Francisco — which, like Metro, were built in the 1970s — use automatic train operation. Although Metro was designed for automatic operation, the system has been running in manual mode for so long that a vast majority of Metro train operators haven’t experienced computer-driven trains. Of the agency’s 535 operators, a Metro spokeswoman said, 417 started their jobs after the 2009 crash, when automatic train operation was halted. When computers eventually take charge of Metro trains again, those operators, after years of being in control, will be in a strange position. Imagine sitting, more or less passively, in the front cab of a crowded, eight-car rush-hour train — 400 tons of metal and humanity barreling along the rails at up to 65 mph — with little to do as an operator but surveil the tracks ahead while a computer console does the driving. “I think, yes, the newer operators, who’ve only been in manual mode, are going to feel some apprehension at first,” said Jackie Jeter, president of the union representing Metro’s train operators. “Even if you’re an old operator like me” — that was Jeter’s job in the 1980s and ’90s — “that accident in ’09 shook your confidence in what automatic train operation is able to do. I mean, I couldn’t have fathomed that happening.” For an operator, placing life and limb in


Could cutting down some trees help cool the planet?

benefits of carbon sequestration from forest growth,” postdoctoral fellow David A. Lutz and professor of environmental studies Richard B. Howarth wrote in their paper. Funded by the National Science Foundation, it was presented at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union last week. Albedo is the reflectivity of Earth’s surface, the amount of solar energy it sends back into space. White surfaces, such as snow, send back more of this shortwave radiation than dark surfaces, such as green, leafy forests. What that means, in a practical sense, is that when managers are trying to determine when to harvest trees, they might want to account for the benefits of the open field they will leave behind. In places where snow remains on the ground for considerable lengths of time and trees grow slowly, limiting the amount of carbon they can take in, it might make sense to take down trees sooner rather than later and leave fields unplanted longer. “In spruce-fir stands, very short rotation periods of just 25 years become economically optimal when albedo is considered,” Lutz and Howarth wrote. They noted that there is a body of research that shows that cutting down boreal forests can produce “net climatic benefits.” “This is an important publication,” said Jonathan Thompson, a senior ecologist at the Harvard Forest at Harvard University, who was not associated with the research. “It starts to quantify the trade-offs between those two” benefits. One place where that may be the case is the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire, where Lutz and Howarth conducted their research, using models to assign values to albedo and carbon capture. High on those mountains, the snowfall is heavy and remains on the ground well into the spring, while tree coverage can be sparse and slow-growing. “This should guide policy into saying, ‘Well, maybe we shouldn’t pay people to grow forests in northern Maine,’ ” Lutz said. “You may be doing the opposite of what you want.” But the pair stressed that their work should not be construed as support for heavy cutting of trees or deforestation. The researchers also considered the value of the timber itself, noting that a forest management decision could come down to whether the wood is used, for example, for furniture or pellets to run a power plant. Only a small portion of the world’s trees are used to produce durable goods, Thompson said. “In


Petition targets ‘rogue’ killings by Wildlife Services

endangered species.” It calls on the Obama administration to develop a policy based on ecological science to ensure that the millions of killings carried out by Wildlife Services aren’t doing more harm than good, that it stops the unintended killing of endangered species and that it makes its operations more transparent. Wildlife Services has existed under various names for more than 100 years. Its original mandate was to remove dangerous animals, particularly those that threatened western expansion. The list included big and small game, from panthers to prairie dogs, otters and gophers. Invasive starlings from Europe that swarm farms to eat and drop waste in cattle feed are a priority target, as are nutria, also known as swamp rats, which destroy wetlands on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. “Not everything this agency does is bad,” said Andrew Wetzler, director of the land and wildlife program at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Whether it’s controlling rabies or feral hogs, there is a role for the federal government.” But Wildlife Services doesn’t stop there. Since the Herbert Hoover administration in the 1930s, it has legally entered into agreements with ranchers, farmers and private industry, which pay half its costs for killing animals. Wildlife Services has consistently declined to disclose who it has entered into agreements with and how the money is spent, Wetzler and other critics say. “We asked them about data. How much do they use poison, where? How much do they spend renting helicopters to gun down coyotes and wolves?” Wetzler said. “The consistent answer we’ve gotten back . . . is: ‘We don’t know.’ There’s a severe lack of transparency.” In the West, the agency targets many top predators — wolves, coyotes and bears — and removes them, Atwood said. Without apex predators to take down big game such as moose, deer and elk, their herds linger in one area, trampling and chewing flora that a wide variety of other animals need to live. A cascading effect casts a shadow over the landscape, said Bradley Bergstrom, a biology professor at Valdosta State University in Georgia. For example, he said, the elimination of native wolves in the Northeast in the 1960s cleared the way for nonnative coyotes. The coyotes pushed out foxes that prey on deer mice, allowing populations of a rodent loaded with ticks that carry Lyme disease to explode. Lyme disease among humans has since become a major health concern.


At Hard Bargain Farm, city kids make connections with the natural world

For almost 60 years, Hard Bargain Farm in southern Prince George’s County has been teaching children how people and nature connect. The city children stepped carefully across the pasture, avoiding mounds of cow manure at Hard Bargain Farm, an environmental center on the bank of the Potomac River in southern Prince George’s County. The 28 fifth-graders from Adelphi Elementary School, most of whom are growing up in apartments, had never seen a river so close before. Or plucked a fresh egg from a hen’s nest. Or encountered real-life sheep. For many of them, farm animals were creatures out of storybooks. “Hey, you guys. Even if you get scared, no shrieking. Okay?” said their instructor, Maya Higgins, a naturalist with the Alice Ferguson Foundation, a nonprofit that runs Hard Bargain Farm. “I know you might get scared, but just stand still and hold it in.” The children moved forward cautiously in the open farm yard, where they were greeted by a goat named Dash. The children stared. Dash stared back with yellow eyes containing black horizontal pupils. In rural Prince George's County, Maryland, local schoolchildren visit Hard Bargain Farm for a class trip. For some of the kids, the experience of meeting farm animals was a first, as The Fold's Henry Kerali found. “Oh, look at his eyes!” exclaimed Deisy Chocon, 10. “In a lot of mythology, goats are often the evil ones” because their eyes remind people of snakes, Higgins said. “But as it turns out, they are playful and silly.” As if on cue, Dash relieved himself. The kids cackled. “Oh, he’s pooping!” Higgins said. “You guys get both ends of the show.” She sliced an apple and showed the group how to use flat hands to feed the goat. “I promise Dash isn’t going to hurt you. He is one of the friendliest animals we have.” Angel Avelar, 10, bundled in a red scarf against the chill of the wind, raised her hand. “You know how you can milk a cow from the udders. How can you milk a goat?” Higgins explained that goats have smaller udders and that poor families often keep goats because a goat takes up less space than a cow. They talked about the farm’s beef herd, which is mostly female. “We have one big steer, and we actually call him Sir Loin,” Higgins said. “Get it?” Silence. “When you are older,” said Higgins,


A humane way to limit deer population

Kudos to Helen Smith [“A deer price to pay,” letters, Dec. 7] for being a decent human being who cares about the welfare of other creatures. Unfortunately, Hilary Donovan’s letter in reply [“The threat posed by gentle deer,” Dec. 10] was a good example of how conceited humanity has become. It was very sad that a deer was hit by a car and, in the process, injured a jogger — sad for all concerned, including the deer. That, however, is hardly a reason to go around killing deer. What about all the joggers who get hit by cars directly, or get mugged or even killed by other people? The crime of eating pansies does not deserve a death sentence, either. Yes, we could do with fewer deer, for their sake as well as ours. But if deer can be lured to their deaths with food, why can’t that food just as easily be laced with contraceptives? Human beings can do many things other life forms cannot. Unfortunately, killing is what we do best. Iris Antin, Silver Spring


Going Out Guide nightlife agenda: Give a Can, Get a Can, plus Daylight’s final bow

Every Tuesday, the Going Out Guide highlights the week’s best DJs, bands, dance nights and parties. Find a longer list of events at www.goingoutguide.com. Give a Can, Get a Can Pizzeria Paradiso’s annual Give a Can, Get a Can fundraiser is one of the most creative and successful holiday charity events. It’s exactly what it sounds like: Bring a canned good to Paradiso’s bar and you’ll get a free can of beer, and we’re talking Dale’s Pale Ale or DC Brau, not Schlitz or Coors Light. Bring two cans of food and you’ll get two cans of beer, and so on. Last year, the three locations together collected 640 cans for the hungry. They also made 100 loaves of bread with DC Brau’s spent grain. This time around, each Pizzeria Paradiso will host its own night of pizza and canned beer. Dupont Circle did its part Monday, and Old Town Alexandria hosts the party Tuesday. Everything wraps up at the basement Birreria Paradiso bar in Georgetown on Wednesday, where beers from California’s popular the Bruery will take over the taps. In addition to canned goods, bring a new, unwrapped toy to donate to Children’s Hospital and you’ll be entered into a drawing for one of six “extremely rare” bottles of the Bruery’s “weird, awesome craft beer,” such as Chocolate Rain or Windowsill, says Paradiso beer director Greg Jasgur. Tuesday at 5 p.m. Pizzeria Paradiso Old Town, 124 King St., Alexandria. 703-837-1245. Wednesday at 5 p.m. Pizzeria Paradiso Georgetown, 3282 M St. NW. 202-337-1245. www.eatyourpizza.com. Admission free; charitable donations requested. B.o.B. Album Release Party B.o.B. has spent 2013 releasing a string of catchy, radio-friendly hip-hop singles — “We Still in This B----,” “HeadBand,” “Ready” — but his rumored album never materialized. “Underground Luxury” finally hits stores today, and B.o.B. (known as Bobby Ray Simmons Jr. to his mom) is heading for the Park at 14th on Thursday night to host the official release party. RSVP at www.park14.com and print a pass for free admission. Show up early for happy hour, with discounted food and drinks from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday at 10 p.m. The Park at 14th, 920 14th St. NW. 202-737-7275. www.park14.com. Free with RSVP. The band “Darkest Hour.” (Pete Duvall/Courtesy of Sumerian Records ) D.C.’s Killer Xmas Show If the endless parade of holiday-themed concerts have you craving something that’s a little less jolly, D.C.’s Killer Christmas Show


Fate of air base in Mansfield, Ohio, reflects larger battle between active duty, reserves

of Vietnam, a force in which many officers and enlisted personnel spend two decades or more continuously in uniform, often acquiring specialized skills and deployment experience. National Guard officials want to protect the role of state-based militias, whose “citizen soldiers” provide a critical link to American society and act as a hedge against wars of choice. “This debate is all about the question of what kind of military we Americans want,” said retired Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, a former chief of the National Guard Bureau. “Are they an expeditionary, foreign-legion force, or are they the defenders of our nation — the people we use to protect our nation’s vital interests?” The path to an answer illustrates an essential challenge in cutting the nation’s defense budget. The Pentagon will have its say on how much could and should be trimmed, but others will as well. Local leaders, seeking to protect jobs, will weigh in, as will governors, who don’t want to lose their airplanes and helicopters. Members of Congress, who traditionally have sided with members of the Guard, will be the ultimate arbiters. The battle is expected to intensify early next year. A congressional commission examining the role of Guard and reserve units in the Air Force is supposed to release its findings by February. The group’s chairman, retired Marine Lt. Gen. Dennis McCarthy, said in an interview that he thinks active forces need to shrink more than the Guard and reserves. Speaking in a personal capacity, he called Guard and reserve units the “most cost-efficient” part of the force, putting him at odds with some active-duty leaders. An even more contentious fight is shaping up in the Army, which is facing pressure from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to make planned personnel cuts even deeper. Army leaders are likely to call for reductions in the Army National Guard, defense officials said, although they would not be as steep as those planned for the active force. Many state officials oppose the idea of any cuts to the Army Guard. Compare the planes C-27 • Payload: 25,353 pounds • Wingpsan: 94 feet, 2 inches • Maximum passenger load: 60 troops • According to the Ohio National Guard, it costs $2,100 an hour to fly the C-27J. Gen. Norton Schwartz, then Air Force chief of staff, told a Senate committee in 2012 that it cost $9,000 an hour. C-130 • Payload: 42,000 pounds


Federal Faces: Hamid Jafari

Hamid Jafari Medical officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on loan to the World Health Organization (WHO) Best known for: Two years ago, however, India was declared polio-free — in large part because of the dedicated work of Jafari, who managed a massive public health initiative between India’s government and WHO. Jafari directed a staff of more than 2,300 and oversaw the delivery of about 1 billion doses of polio vaccine to 172 million young children annually from 2008 to 2011. Many of these children were from migrant families or were living in difficult, high-risk areas. Case reports ranged from 559 to 874 a year from 2006 to 2009, about 43 percent of confirmed cases worldwide. In January 2011, no cases were reported, and a year later, India completed a 12-month period without a single occurrence. The next month, India was removed from the list of polio-endemic countries. Polio is a contagious viral illness that affects mainly children and can cause paralysis, difficulty breathing and sometimes death. In the late 1940s and the early 1950s, it disabled about 35,000 people each year in the United States. With the widespread use of vaccines developed in the 1950s, the United States became polio-free by 1979. Colleagues credit Jafari with bringing energy and fresh thinking to the National Polio Surveillance Project in India, including innovative solutions such as providing vaccinations at bus stops and on trains and finding ways to reach the children of migrant workers and those in flood-prone areas. To reach the critical population of newborns, he had workers routinely go house to house to make sure infants were vaccinated. The program required visits to more than 60 million homes several times a year and about 2.3 million vaccinators. Surveys confirm that 99 percent of children in the remotest and highest-risk areas are now protected from the disease. Government work: Motivation for service: Biggest challenge: Quote: “ — From the Partnership for Public Service fedfaces@ourpublicservice.org For a full profile, go to The Fed Page at washingtonpost.com/politics/federal-government.


CDC doctor led polio eradication project in India

India. He is now in Geneva, Switzerland working on programs to eradicate polio in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. Polio is a contagious viral illness that mainly affects children and can cause paralysis, difficulty breathing and sometimes death. In the late 1940s to the early 1950s, polio crippled about 35,000 people each year in the United States alone. With the widespread use of vaccines developed in the 1950s, the United States became polio free by 1979. Dr. Rebecca Martin, director of the Global Immunization Division at CDC, said Jafari brought energy and fresh thinking to the National Polio Surveillance Project in India. “Hamid had innovative solutions such as vaccinations at bus stops and on trains, and he found ways to reach the children of migrant workers. He identified where the populations were and made sure they were vaccinated,” she said. Martin said the multi-faceted approach included targeting high-risk areas for vaccination campaigns, routine immunization, mobile vaccination teams, research that led to development and use of more effective polio vaccines in a setting of poor sanitation and high rates of diarrhea. Jafari said he looked closely in India at the problem of children missed by vaccination teams and decided the best way to tackle it was by “weaving a tight net that did not allow children to slip through the program.” To reach the critical population of newborn babies, for example, he had workers routinely register the babies house to house to make sure they were vaccinated. Jafari said there was a huge problem in the state of Bihar, a very poor region that was “the last refuge of the virus.” He said large areas of the state flooded every summer from snow melting in the Himalayas. Operations had to be adapted to enable supervision and access. Teams used boats and, motorcycles and waded through water to reach children. Besides reaching children through clinics and trains stations, Jafari said the program involved visits to more than 60 million homes several times a year and some 2.3 million vaccinators. Surveys confirm that 99 percent of children in the hardest to reach and highest-risk areas are now protected from polio. “Polio has circulated for millennia in India,” said Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC’s Center for Global Health. “Hamid led the program in India that stopped the spread of poliovirus.” This article was jointly prepared by the Partnership for Public Service, a group seeking


Obamas, Biden to skip the Winter Olympics in Russia

was angered by Russia’s decision to grant temporary political asylum to Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked thousands of classified documents detailing the United States’ broad spying apparatus. In September, Obama canceled a planned bilateral meeting with Putin ahead of an economic summit in St. Petersburg. Among other things, he cited Russian laws, passed in June, that ban the distribution of any materials to minors that suggest homosexual relationships are normal or attractive. The president met at the summit with civil rights activists instead. During a news conference in August, Obama said he did not believe it was appropriate for the United States to boycott the Winter Games altogether, as it did in 1980 by staying away from the Summer Games in Moscow after the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. “We’ve got a bunch of Americans out there who are training hard, who are doing everything they can to succeed,” he said. “Nobody is more offended than me by some of the anti-gay and lesbian legislation that you’ve been seeing in Russia.” Obama added that he hoped some openly gay or lesbian athletes would win a medal, which would “go a long way in rejecting the kind of attitudes that we’re seeing there. And if Russia doesn’t have gay or lesbian athletes, then it probably makes their team weaker.” Cahow, a two-time Olympian, said in an interview with Go Athletes that she believed it made sense for United States to compete in the Sochi Games, comparing it to the example of Jesse Owens, the black track and field star who competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympics in Nazi Germany. “He demonstrated the greatness of who he was as an African-American athlete,” she said.” It’s precisely the same philosophy we should be taking to Russia. I don’t think any athletes are going to go over there just to protest Russian policy. That makes no sense. They’re going to go over there because they want to compete.” Janet Napolitano, the former secretary of homeland security who is now the president of the University of California system, will head the U.S. delegation to the opening ceremonies, while Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns will head the delegation for the closing ceremonies. U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul and Obama aide Rob Nabors are also scheduled to attend, along with Olympic medalists Bonnie Blair, Brian Boitano and Eric Heiden.


Foreign detainees from Afghanistan are being considered for military trial in U.S.

this country for civilian trial several terrorism suspects captured overseas. But it has never attempted to bring a detainee into the United States, from Bagram or elsewhere, for prosecution by the military. A military trial is likely to draw flak from human rights activists, who say that only federal criminal courts offer a full measure of justice. Andrea Prasow of Human Rights Watch said the military commissions system at Guantanamo Bay has been plagued with problems and should be shut down, not imported into the United States. “You can charge people with material support [in federal court] and get a conviction,” she said. “It’s not hard.” But administration officials said that not every case can be made in federal court and that military tribunals are the proper forum for war crimes. Moreover, they said, inaction risks the release of dangerous terrorists, especially if no agreement is reached with Afghanistan on a reduced, long-term U.S. military presence there after next year. Among the many problems of the Iraq withdrawal that the administration does not want to repeat was the transfer to Iraqi custody of third-country nationals. Officials frequently cite the case of Ali Musa Daqduq, a Lebanese citizen suspected of ties to the Hezbollah militant group and Iran, who was captured in 2007 over his alleged involvement in an attack in southern Iraq that killed a U.S. soldier. Four others were kidnapped and later found dead. Daqduq, the last prisoner held by U.S. forces in Iraq, was turned over to the Iraqi government just days before the final American withdrawal in December 2011. In May 2012, an Iraqi court released him for what it said was lack of evidence. The Kabul government’s release of many of the 3,000 Afghan prisoners turned over this year, most of them captured on the battlefield, has been taken by U.S. officials as a warning about the future status of the non-Afghans still in American custody. Some of them have been held from the early days of the 12-year-old war. Unlike in the case of detainees at Guantanamo, U.S. courts have ruled that these prisoners have no right to lodge habeas corpus challenges to their imprisonment. Military officers conduct twice-yearly reviews of their cases in proceedings at which they have no right to outside legal representation, and none has been granted a civilian or full-fledged military judicial process. Although the International Committee of the Red Cross


Giza Zoo in Cairo is beset by poverty, tear gas and suspicious animal deaths

protesters, the irritating vapors inevitably make their way toward the animal enclosures, compelling zookeepers to wrap their faces in scarves on the worst of days. It has gotten to the animals, too, Sedki said. “The sounds of the bullets and the tear gas affect the animals,” Sedki said. Some of the large animals, such as lions and hippos, have displayed “restlessness and tension,” he said. Sedki said zoo authorities had moved some of the animals to different enclosures but found that they had few good options, given that all 80 acres of the zoo are bordered by roaring traffic and gritty urban sprawl. For that same reason, Egyptians see the zoo as a rare — if dilapidated and underfunded — oasis of green. It costs about 70 cents (5 Egyptian pounds) to enter. Families bring picnics and set up camp for the entire day on the grassy medians. Couples stroll hand in hand, and bands of giggling teenagers roam. “I know that in the West, going to the zoo is like going to a museum — you go to get knowledge,” Sedki said. “But here, they come to visit a garden, not a zoo.” Animal rights activists — themselves a rare breed in Egypt — have long been concerned about conditions at Giza, which echo the nation’s widespread poverty and bureaucratic failings after decades of authoritarianism and turmoil. “This is not a zoo,” said Mona Khalil, a founder of the Egyptian Society for Mercy to Animals, which runs two shelters and provides free veterinary care to poor farmers on Cairo’s outskirts. “This is hell for animals.” Many of the zoo’s employees earn less than $60 a month, activists say, and have little experience or training and even less incentive to protect the animals they care for. Instead, the employees follow visitors over the zoo’s muddy and potholed paths, offering scattered “facts” about the animals’ daily lives or an opportunity to get closer to them — in the hope that it will yield tips. On a recent afternoon, some keepers touted the chance to hold a lion cub — or, if the visitor would prefer it, a monkey or a baby crocodile — for the equivalent of about $3.60. Adult lions, cramped in iron-barred cages that resembled the circus pens of an earlier era, crunched on animal carcasses, as visitors used their cellphones to take pictures. Hippos and pelicans drifted through