Brawnpower, or Gene gets testy with the NFL

which you are extravagantly paid should not be cause for unseemly celebration. But also, I’d be concerned that I might have caused a disabling injury. As players, we are in this violent sport together, and take no joy from inflicting pain on others. (By Eric Shansby) __ I’d start with a your basic bump-and-grind imitation of male sexual domination in the animal kingdom, then pantomime digging the quarterback’s grave, and end with my crowd-pleasing, signature, wag-in-the-face buttock-taunt. 2. You are recording the short video that plays at the beginning of each game, in which the players serially recite their names and what college they played for. How would you do this? __ I’d say the name of my college, but with some humility, inasmuch as I went for only two years, majored in “kinesthesiology,” which I still cannot spell, and then left for the bucks of a professional career. I recognize that my bragging about the college I “attended” makes about as much sense as George W. Bush bragging about having won the Vietnam War. __ I’d first pause for effect, as though the information I was about to disclose was Tibetan mountaintop wisdom. Then I would say, “THE Uni-VER-si-TEH of Southwestern LOO-siana, home of the Fightin’ Prawns,” as though I were talking about Harvard Law School and I were an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. 3. You are an offensive tackle. You have eaten yourself up to 330 pounds, with a belly the size of one of those used-car-lot advertising blimps, which helpfully lowers your center of gravity, but which makes it impossible for you to look down to see your own personal region. How do you carry yourself on the field? __ With some embarrassment. It would bother me that to get an “edge” in my chosen career I must literally distort my body into an unnatural and unhealthful state of corpulence; I would also fear that I might be subtly endorsing the lamentable American epidemic of obesity. __ With all the pride of the pregnant Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, carrying the heir to the British throne. 4. When interviewed by the news media after a game, how will you express yourself? __ I will speak from my heart, trying to explain the thrills and disappointment of athletic competition plainly, in an honest way that people can understand and relate to their own lives. __


World Digest: June 25, 2013

RUSSIA Europe may impose Magnitsky sanctions A report on the death of Russian whistleblowing lawyer Sergei Magnitsky that was presented to a European human rights body on Tuesday severely criticized Russia’s failure to hold anyone accountable for his death in pretrial detention. Swiss lawmaker Andreas Gross, who prepared the report for the Council of Europe, said at a news conference that it would provide material for the council’s Parliamentary Assembly to consider when it debates possible sanctions against Russia at its winter session. Magnitsky, who died in Moscow in November 2009, accused Russian officials of using documents stolen from the Hermitage Capital investment fund to pull off a $230 million tax fraud. Instead of pursuing the officials, authorities charged Magnitsky with the fraud. Recently, Russia opened a new case against him — posthumously — and brought charges against Hermitage founder William Browder. Gross said the evidence he accumulated convinced him that Magnitsky was innocent and that responsibility lay with “a group of criminals, including the persons he had accused before these persons took him into custody, where he died.” Six months ago, the United States passed the Magnitsky law, imposing financial and visa sanctions on certain Russian officials. — Kathy Lally KOREAN PENINSULA Web sites shut down in North and South Major government and media Web sites in South and North Korea were shut down for hours Tuesday on the 63rd anniversary of the start of the Korean War. Seoul said its sites were hacked, while it was unclear what knocked out those north of the border. Seoul said experts were investigating attacks on the Web sites of the South Korean presidential Blue House and premier’s office, as well as some media servers. The attacks in the South did not appear to be as serious as a March cyberattack that shut down tens of thousands of computers and servers at South Korean broadcasters and banks. The North Korean Web sites shut down Tuesday included those belonging to the national airline, Air Koryo; the Rodong Sinmun newspaper; the official Uriminzokkiri site; and Naenara, the state-run Internet portal. All but Air Koryo’s site were restored a few hours later. — Associated Press TURKEY Premier denounces protesters; 20 held Police on Tuesday detained at least 20 people allegedly involved in violent protests, in the second sweep in Turkey’s capital, Ankara, this week, as the prime minister continued to lash out at protesters who


Bear captured in Northwest Washington, released into the wild

spotted Monday in Vienna, and another sighting was reported in Bethesda the next day. Earlier this month, one was seen strolling through Gaithersburg. “No one’s going to believe me if I don’t take a picture,” said McLean resident Diane Casey-Landry, who on Monday reported that a bear had climbed onto her deck. May through July are peak months for bear movement, according to Sgt. Brian Albert of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Two bears in the Washington area is normal, said Scott Bates, a wildlife biologist with the National Park Service, but four or five would be atypical. Those who have seen the bears agree. Janalee Redmond of Bethesda said she spotted a bear Tuesday night through the window of her home on MacArthur Boulevard. Redmond and her husband, John, were watching television about 8:30 p.m. when “this black shape” lumbered by the window, she said. “It took me a minute to realize what I was seeing,” she said. She couldn’t tell if it was a male or female, but she was sure it was a bear. They hurried to the next room to snap a photo of it. “He was just kind of looking around, ambling along,” Redmond said. When the bear had moved away from the house, she opened the sliding-glass door and whistled at it. It looked around, seemingly confused, before lumbering into the bamboo behind their house. “It’s a surprise to see him,” Redmond said. They often see deer, foxes and other animals in the area, but a bear is unusual. “I’ve lived here almost 20 years and never seen a black bear here.” The bear caught Wednesday, which Animal Control officials described as a year and a half old, weighing 100 pounds and “very harmless,” was caught near a residence in the 4900 block of Indian Lane. Initially, it was spotted running on Rockwood Parkway about 9 a.m. Police closed several streets in the neighborhood, and drivers and pedestrians were urged to avoid the area while Animal Control officers searched for the animal. It was caught at 10:30 a.m. The bear was released into western Montgomery County about two hours later, Giacoppo said, guessing that it was the same bear that had been in Bethesda the day before. Kathryn Kincaid, 51, was walking her dog on Indian Lane after the bear was taken away. “I had no idea” there was a bear in the


D.C. news in brief

registering. For information on the tax sale process, call 202-727-4829, or go to the office at 1101 Fourth St. SW. Fire department warns against opening fire hydrants As summer temperatures climb, the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services reminds residents that tampering with a District fire hydrant is a crime, subject to a $100 fine. Opening a hydrant can severely limit the water pressure available for fighting fires. The force of pressurized water coming out of a hydrant can also cause serious injury. When the temperature or heat index reaches 95, D.C. residents who lack air conditioning can take refuge at a District swimming pool, cooling center, recreation facility, senior center or other air-conditioned building. The utility D.C. Water offers a misting tent and cooling stations, scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis, for large community events. To register, call 202-787-2200 or go to dcwater.com/mistingtent. DMV offices in the District will be closed July 4 All D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles locations will be closed next Thursday. DMV services will resume July 5. The days before and after a holiday are often among the busiest for the DMV. The Nannie Helen at 4800 opens in Deanwood The Nannie Helen at 4800, a mixed-use development with 70 affordable housing units at 4800 Nannie Helen Burroughs Ave. NE, opened in Ward 7’s Deanwood community June 19. The new building includes 1,790 square feet of retail space, 1,900 square feet for an adult-education and fitness center, and 3,438 square feet of office space. The affordable housing units are one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments in a five-level building with elevator access. The project also includes 41 residential parking spaces and replacement units for residents of Lincoln Heights. A community room and outdoor playground are among amenities. For information, go to dcbiz.dc.gov. D.C. office offers self-help conference scholarships The D.C. Department of Mental Health is offering a limited number of scholarships for Alternatives 2013, Dec. 4 to 7 in Austin. The conference offers in-depth technical assistance on self-help and recovery methods, peer-delivered services, networking opportunities and healing through the arts. The scholarships cover the registration, airfare and hotel costs. To apply, submit a written statement on reasons for attending and a letter of reference by July 26 to vivi.smith@dc.gov. Statements may also be hand-delivered to the department office at 64 New York Avenue NE, third floor. For information, go to www.power2u.org/alternatives2013. — Compiled by Terence McArdle


Outwitting the pesky flea beetle

to spare. Some recover, some don’t, and for our broccoli the future did not look bright. There are many species of flea beetles, and most favor a particular vegetable or vegetable family. Among plants in the nightshade family (potatoes and their relatives), we’ve consistently had trouble with flea beetles on eggplants. Among the brassicas, arugula is the most susceptible. Broccoli had never been a major target before. So we’re focusing on prevention. Apart from basic common-sense maneuvers such as good soil fertility, irrigation and crop rotation, there are strategies a gardener can try. A mulch that reduces access to the soil might help break the egg-laying cycle. Plant populations with umbel-shaped flowers, such as fennel and Queen Anne’s lace, will attract braconid wasps and syrphid flies, both of which parasitize flea beetles. Growing a trap crop of something the beetles prefer, such as the Chinese mustard Southern Giant, works for some people. But we find that timing a planting can be the biggest help. The first generation of beetles, in spring, tends to be the most damaging. Fall plantings of arugula are beetle-free. It also helps to sow arugula in a greenhouse, where the beetles seldom go. Theflea beetle attacks eggplant, arugula and broccoli. (Natasha Wright, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Bugwood.org) With the other brassicas, and with eggplants, we grow them from transplants, whose larger size gives them a better chance of outgrowing an attack. We’re hoping that a second, slightly later planting will do the trick for our broccoli. As a precaution, we’ve set out the transplants under floating row covers, to screen out the pest altogether. This must be done immediately after planting, with the sides well weighted down to prevent beetle entry, and in a spot where that plant family has not previously grown. As for the first planting, things are still hopping in that row, but a number of plants are showing healthy new green growth, and we’re rooting for that, as summer sets in. Damrosch’s latest book is “The Four Season Farm Gardener’s Cookbook.” Tip of the week Roses that have flowered should be pruned to promote reblooming and general health. Use hand pruners to remove flower clusters back to just above a lower leaf, and take out suckers and wayward stems. Any leaves showing signs of blackspot also should be removed. Wear thorn-proof gloves and a long-sleeved shirt. — Adrian Higgins


Montgomery County Animal Watch

This was among cases received recently by the Montgomery County Animal Services Division. For information, call 240-773-5054. That number provides recorded information on topics such as the Montgomery County Animal Shelter hours and location, adoption and licensing procedures, rabies clinics and low-cost neutering. Investigating defiled deck: German shepherd adoption event Reduced fees for cat adoption: Cats and kittens will be available at the next open house of Friends of Montgomery County Animals at the following location. For information, visit www.fmca.org, call 301-977-4833 or visit facebook.com/fmcainfo. Germantown Shelter has adoptable cats: Cats and kittens will be available for adoption through the Animal Welfare League of Montgomery County shelter at the following location. For information, call 301-740-2511 or visit www.awlmc.org. Gaithersburg Animal Welfare League of Montgomery County no-kill shelter12 Park Ave.6 to 8 p.m. FridayNoon to 3 p.m. Saturday 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday — Compiled by Lisa M. Bolton


The U.S. Army’s job is not to act as a social experiment

Regarding Anne M. Coughlin and Ellen L. Haring’s June 21 Washington Forum column, “The Army’s disservice to women”: The Army is not a social cauldron subject to experimentation with progressive ideology’s latest notions of equality. Neither is the Army a job corps, nation builder or relief agency. Its mission, pursuant to a congressional declaration of war, is to kill people and break things in defense of U.S. strategic interests and security. There is nothing about this mission that argues for more women at West Point, nor for us to “look forward to an Army in which 100 percent of occupational specialties will soon be open to women.” This will almost certainly lead to a compromise of standards in the Combat Arms and Special Operations specialties, followed by the inevitable ideological rationalizations as to why they are not compromises, while readiness and capabilities suffer. But Ms. Coughlin and Ms. Haring go further to promote their ideas as a cure for sexual harassment and rape. An argument could be made that the situation could worsen, as young men and women are put together in increasingly intimate situations, from serving together on submarines to sharing foxholes. There is absolutely no military rationale for either; it is purely a feminist fantasy of equality. Donald J. Mitarotonda, Lorton The writer is a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel.


Equalizing opportunity and obligation

Michael Gerson [“A service to our nation,” op-ed, June 25] reported that Gen. Stanley McChrystal is concerned with “the growing disconnect between the less than 1 percent of Americans who serve in the armed forces and the rest of the country.” One result of that disconnect is that the costs of our wars, measured in human injuries and deaths, are not spread equally across our society. If they were, there might have been wide protests against our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as there were against our war in Vietnam. We should have a national service, if not a military draft, to equalize both opportunity and obligation for our citizens, and to shorten, if not eliminate outright, our wars of aggression. Steve Lane, Bethesda


Rusty’s escape attempt from Washington

Regarding the June 25 Metro article “In D.C., panda-monium over Rusty’s great escape”: Perhaps Rusty the red panda took one look at Washington politics and decided to head back to Nebraska. I wouldn’t blame him. Giuliana Reed, Bethesda


David Ignatius: Fallout from Snowden’s sharing of NSA secrets

in their “cloud” of servers. Long before Snowden, two European cloud companies were pitching in their advertising “safe haven from the reaches of the U.S. Patriot Act,” according to former NSA attorney Stewart Baker’s blog, Skating on Stilts. The media focuses on Edward Snowden instead of his NSA leaks. Certainly the stock market doesn’t see any big loss of value post-Snowden. Amazon and Microsoft, two big cloud providers, are trading close to where they were in early June, before the world had heard of Snowden. Goldman Sachs isn’t going to store its trading algorithms in the cloud, but it wouldn’t have done so anyway. As Joel Brenner, the former inspector general of NSA, told me: The computing world has different kinds of clouds, at different levels and privacy protections. And the cost and efficiency benefits of cloud computing are overwhelming. So, no, the cloud probably isn’t dead. (2) Where does the Internet live? Not so simple: The Internet, as we imagine it, is a border-less space. But the stream of bits is subject to collection when it is in motion, through fiber-optic cables, mostly, and when it is at rest, in servers. Whose laws apply in these spaces? Some of Snowden’s most damaging revelations concern collection of data moving through Internet “backbones.” The Guardian revealed a program known as “Tempora,” run by the British equivalent of the NSA, that was said to be able to survey metadata traveling on 1,500 of the 1,600 high-capacity cables passing through the United Kingdom, and to be actively sharing this information with the NSA. The South China Morning Post revealed an NSA program to tap Internet backbones in Beijing and Hong Kong. No surprise, really; this is what intelligence agencies do. But as an American, I want to be sure that whatever foreign laws the NSA may break to keep us safe, it won’t violate U.S. law. Data “at rest” in servers also poses an interesting puzzle. Does the U.S. company Amazon control data stored in servers that are in, say, Germany? Or will Germany and other nations now impose “Digital Residency Requirements” that make Internet data stored there subject to local law? The “big data” business is likely to get more complicated, either way. (3) Can the government protect secrets? After the Snowden and WikiLeaks revelations, the answer would obviously seem to be “no.” This raises problems even for people who aren’t particularly


PayPal Galactic looks to corner the space payments market

PayPal announced the launch of a new mobile payments option Thursday — really, really mobile. With PayPal Galactic, the company wants to dominate the extraterrestrial payments market. It sounds slightly nutty, but in an announcement Thursday that featured astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the company laid out some clear ideas about why it wants to pursue this right now. Space tourism, while not exactly a widely popular getaway option, now firmly falls into the realm of possibility, thanks to companies such as Virgin Galactic, PayPal co-founder Elon Musk’s Space X, and Space Adventures, which provide civilian space services or sell tickets to the stars. “We want to make sure that PayPal is the preferred way to pay from space and in space,” said David Marcus, PayPal’s president, in a promotional video for the service. There’s money to be made out there — particularly if you’re the first to solve the obvious problems of connectivity, security and, well, the fact that space doesn’t have a recognized currency, fiscal regulatory agency or really any payments infrastructure at all. PayPal is working with the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute on the project, and astronomer Jill Tarter — a former SETI director who now serves as an endowed chair at the institute — said in a statement that it’s important for companies like PayPal to “facilitate commerce” in order to set up a functioning society outside of this planet. And, the company argues, there’s already a need for a payments system in space to serve astronauts whose bills and desire for good music and books haven’t stopped simply because they’ve left the atmosphere. This article has been updated. Related stories: Innovations: NASA offers look forward to Orion and Kennedy Space Center offers look back at Atlantis Innovations: White House announces new innovation efforts in materials science Innovations: Lone Signal will beam your messages into space (where no one will read them) Sign up today to receive #thecircuit, a daily roundup of the latest tech policy news from Washington and how it is shaping business, entertainment and science.


The Circuit: Microsoft follows Google with motion to publish data; Aereo sets sights on Chicago; spectrum hearing in the House

Microsoft files complaint over FISA: The move follows a similar action from Google last week that, as The Washington Post reported, challenged standing gag orders preventing it from sharing the information by saying the order interfered with its First Amendment rights. Aereo sets Chicago launch date: The firm’s service is expected to come to the Washington area “soon.” Spectrum: In his opening statement, subcommittee chair Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) said that he is “convinced we can upgrade federal systems while freeing spectrum, thereby promoting both our nation’s safety and economic well-being.” Meanwhile, the Federal Communications Commission Thursday voted to adopt rules to be used in the eventual auction of a block of spectrum known as the H Block. FTC data protection: “This [memorandum of understanding] with Ireland’s privacy agency is a step forward for the FTC in cross-border privacy enforcement,” said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez in a statement. “Working closely with our international partners in this area benefits both consumers and companies.” PayPal in space: The firm offered some early details on its plans Thursday, highlighting that there are still several issues to work out, such as how to maintain the stability and security of payments made from space, as well as various regulatory issues that still require evaluation. But, the company said, now is the time to jump into the market and get ahead of the space tourism curve. “We want to make sure that PayPal is the preferred way to pay from space and in space,” said David Marcus, PayPal’s president, in a promotional video for the service. Sign up today to receive #thecircuit, a daily roundup of the latest tech policy news from Washington and how it is shaping business, entertainment and science.


Voyager 1 finds that edge of solar system isn’t as defined as scientists once thought

This artists rendering provided by NASA shows the Voyager spacecraft. Launched in 1977, the twin spacecraft are exploring the edge of the solar system. (NASA/Via AP) The edge of the solar system has no edge, it turns out. It has a fuzzy transitional area, not quite “solar system” and not quite “interstellar space.” This basic fact of our star’s environment has been discovered by Voyager 1, one of the most remarkable spaceships ever built. Our premier scout of deep space, Voyager 1 is currently 11 billion miles from the sun, beaming data to Earth as it scoots at 38,000 mph toward the constellation Ophiuchus. Scientists had assumed that Voyager 1, launched in 1977, would have exited the solar system by now. That would mean crossing the heliopause and leaving behind the vast bubble known as the heliosphere, which is characterized by particles flung by the sun and by a powerful magnetic field. The scientists’ assumption turned out to be half-right. On Aug. 25, Voyager 1 saw a sharp drop-off in the solar particles, also known as the solar wind. At the same time, there was a spike in galactic particles coming from all points of the compass. But the sun’s magnetic field still registers, somewhat diminished, on the spacecraft’s magnetometer. So it’s still in the sun’s magnetic embrace, in a sense. This unexpected transitional zone, dubbed the “heliosheath depletion region,” is described in three new papers about Voyager 1 published online Thursday by the journal Science. “There were some surprises,” said Ed Stone, who has been the lead scientist of NASA’s Voyager program since 1972. “We expected that we would cross a boundary and leave all the solar stuff behind and be in all the interstellar stuff. It turned out, that’s not what happened.” How big is this transitional zone at the edge of the solar system? “No one knows,” said Stone, 77, a professor of physics at the California Institute of Technology and the former head of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Voyager’s home base. “It’s not in any of the models. We don’t know. It could take us a few more months, it could take us several more years to get through it.” The dimensions and nature of the heliosphere are not a wholly esoteric matter. The sun’s magnetic field deflects much of the radiation coming from other parts of the galaxy that was created in supernova explosions. Interstellar


“north,” as astronomers would describe it. (There’s no up or down in space, but there is a north or south relative to the orbital plane of the planets.) Voyager 2 went past Jupiter and Saturn and flew by Uranus and Neptune before heading “south.” The images of those planets and their moons, now taken for granted, were stunning triumphs of the Voyager mission. And in 1990, Voyager 1 , nearly 4 billion miles from the sun, turned its camera toward Earth and took an image of what Carl Sagan called the “pale blue dot” of our home planet. Now Voyager 1 is 124 astronomical units from the sun — one AU being roughly the mean distance from Earth to the sun, or about 93 million miles. Voyager 2 is at 102 AU. These spacecraft are not immortal, even if sometimes they act like it. They have a power supply from the radioactive decay of plutonium-238, which generates heat. The half-life of that system is 88 years. Small thrusters occasionally are fired to keep Voyager 1’s 23-watt radio antenna pointed toward Earth, where the faint signals are picked up on huge arrays of radio telescopes in the United States, Spain and Australia. But Stone anticipates that weakening power will force scientists to start shutting down scientific instruments on Voyager 1 in 2020 and that by 2025, the last instrument will be turned off. “It changed the way we view our place in the cosmos,” said Bill Nye, the “Science Guy” who is chief executive of the Planetary Society in Pasadena, Calif. He said the new discovery by Voyager 1 is a classic example of why we explore: “What are you going to find over the unknown horizon? We don’t know. That why we explore out there.” NASA’s associate administrator for space technology, Michael Gazarik, said of Voyager 1’s durability: “It is amazing, especially in the harsh environment of space. This piece of hardware has a life of its own.” In 40,000 years, Voyager 1 will be closer to another star (with the romantic name AC+79 3888) than to the sun. And then what? It will just keep going — a silent, dark craft on a seemingly eternal journey. “It will be orbiting the center of the Milky Way galaxy essentially for billions of years, like all the stars,” said Stone of what has been, for him, the spacecraft of a lifetime.


Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev indicted on 30 counts

Information is emerging on the two brothers, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, suspected in the Boston Marathon bombings. A federal grand jury Thursday returned a 30-count indictment against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the suspect in the April 15 Boston Marathon bombings, providing new detail about his interest in radical Islamist literature and describing for the first time messages he scrawled inside a dry-docked boat just before his capture. “The U.S. Government is killing our innocent civilians,” Tsarnaev wrote on the walls and beams of the boat, which was in a back yard outside a police cordon he had slipped through in Watertown, Mass. He also wrote: “I can’t stand to see such evil go unpunished.” Tsarnaev, a naturalized U.S. citizen Seventeen of the charges carry the death penalty or life in prison, the U.S. attorney’s office in Boston said. The Justice Department will have to decide whether to pursue a capital prosecution, a decision that ultimately rests with Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., according to Carmen Ortiz, the U.S. attorney in Boston. “I do want to say that I have met several of those that were injured on April 15th as well as members of the deceased families,” Ortiz said Thursday at a news conference in Boston. “Their strength is extraordinary, and we will do everything that we can to pursue justice not only on their behalf, but on behalf of all of us.” Tsarnaev, who was hospitalized with a throat wound after his arrest, is scheduled to be arraigned July 10 in federal court in Boston. The indictment describes how Tsarnaev, 19, and his older brother, Tamerlan, who was killed after a shootout with police April 19, allegedly moved toward the finish line at the Boston Marathon, carrying improvised bombs in black backpacks. At 2:40 p.m. Tamerlan, 26, walked to the front of Marathon Sports on Boylston Street as his brother moved to a position in front of the Forum restaurant, according to the indictment. The bombs were placed by low metal barriers along the edge of the street where hundreds of spectators were watching the runners. At 2:48 p.m. Tsarnaev called his older brother on a cellphone; they communicated for just a few seconds, the indictment says. Seconds later, Tamerlan detonated the first bomb, killing Krystle Marie Campbell, a 29-year-old native of Medford, Mass., who was cheering on her boyfriend. After a few more seconds, Tsarnaev detonated the second


Cracking down on the Phantom Planter

Regarding Robert McCartney’s June 23 Metro column, “Metro edict choking Phantom Planter’s blooms”: How selfish can one be to all those at Metro who must work to make sure our subway system is safe? Henry Docter’s flower-planting may seem benign, but think of all the harm that could come from all that allergy-inflaming pollen. Or suppose an admirer were to be enticed to venture onto the slope to pick one of these beauties and tumbled down and injured himself or herself, causing millions to be paid from Metro’s meager accounts because the transit system had been negligent in allowing these rogue seeds to bloom. Close the station, remove the flowers as soon as possible, restore safety and send this misguided botanist a bill for all the trouble he has caused! Mike Termini, Rockville


Financial challenges for black students

Regarding the June 23 front-page article “Loan rules bring pain to black colleges”: The Education Department has promulgated a policy governing federal loans to parents to support their children’s college education that is antithetical to its own education goals. As a result of this policy, the number of parents of students at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) eligible for loans has declined by 47 percent; the decline nationwide was 19 percent. HBCUs saw a reduction in such loans of $154 million; among HBCUs, Howard University experienced the largest decline, of $7.5 million. An Obama administration priority has been to increase the number of professionals in science, technology, education and math (STEM). From 2002 to 2011, Howard was the leading undergraduate feeder institution for African Americans who earned doctorates in science and engineering. The decline in enrollment because of the denial of federal loans to parents will affect the number of black graduates in STEM fields. HBCUs enroll a higher proportion of poor and minority students than other schools, and their parents face greater financial challenges. Now these families face private-sector loans at a higher rate or the prospect of no college education. Judith A. Winston, Washington The writer was an undersecretary (1999


In search of China’s alpine wildflowers

about two hours from Hanoi, where we live, to Guangzhou, a megacity on China’s southern coast, and another two hours from Guangzhou to Yunnan’s capital, Kunming. Then we’d rise before dawn the next morning to catch an hour-long flight to the mountain city of Zhongdian, also known as Diqing, or Shangri-la. And on the third day, after joining Robbie and Elsa in Shangri-la, we’d take a five-hour Jeep ride along extra-bumpy roads to reach a Himalayan base camp ringed by Tibetan prayer flags and snow-capped summits. Persuading Cat to come along required delicate diplomacy: She’s a Londoner and a self-described “urban girl” who has lived in Southeast Asian capitals for much of the past decade — in large part because she dislikes snow and cold weather. And although she loves to walk, she doesn’t own hiking boots and has avoided tents most of her adult life. She eventually agreed, on the condition that we also take a vacation on southern Vietnam’s Phu Quoc Island. Deal, I said. It seemed like a win-win, at least for me. Hello, rhodies In China, our flights took off on schedule, and as the last plane taxied toward Shangri-la’s tiny airport, Cat was Instagramming a photo of a rainbow she’d taken with her iPhone from her window seat. She seemed to be in excellent spirits. But when we left baggage claim, the air temperature was hovering at around 50 degrees — or about 40 degrees cooler than it had been in Hanoi. Cat then developed a sudden and severe case of cold feet. “Why are you taking a girl who loves the beach to a cold mountain?” she asked sharply after we checked into a modestly insulated guesthouse in Shangri-la’s touristy old town. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that we were only at about 10,500 feet and that it would be significantly chillier when we hiked — and camped — more than half a mile above our present elevation. We met Robbie and Elsa for lunch the next day, Saturday, and after reviewing last-minute logistics concerning tent rentals, water filters and extra layers, spent the rest of the weekend drinking yak butter tea and shopping for prayer flags. On Monday morning, we searched for nuts and fruit at a bustling market, and Cat bought a palm-size cone of fresh yak cheese from a sidewalk street vendor. That tickled her, because she’d never


Cellphone-jamming technology to be installed at Baltimore City Detention Center

Maryland corrections officials are working toward installing cellphone-call-blocking technology at the Baltimore City Detention Center following a scandal in which a violent prison gang reigned over the state-run jail. It could be up to a year before the technology is deployed, department spokesman Rick Binetti said. The Black Guerrilla Family gang is accused of working with 13 corrections officers to launder money and smuggle drugs and cellphones into the jail, according to a federal indictment. Four guards had children with one incarcerated gang member, prosecutors have alleged. Lawmakers on a special panel to investigate the state’s correctional facilities met for the first time Thursday, listening to testimony from Gary D. Maynard, the state corrections secretary, and David B. Juppe, Department of Legislative Services operating budget manager. The group is scheduled to visit the detention center July 25. Maynard told the panel that thousands of calls have been blocked over the past three months at the Metropolitan Transition Center, a medium-level security facility in Baltimore, where the system has been in full use since April. Because the technology has been successful there, Gov. Martin O’Malley directed the department to deploy the technology at BCDC, Binetti said. Del. John W.E. Cluster Jr. (R-Baltimore County) saw the Metropolitan Transition Center’s high rate of blocked call as cause for alarm, suggesting there might be problems with phone smuggling at that facility as well. Cellphones can help detainees plot assaults and escapes, law enforcement officials say, and allow inmates to coordinate criminal activity outside the facility. State lawmakers have repeatedly killed legislation to crack down on cellphone smuggling into detention facilities, but O’Malley (D) plans to push it again in the next legislative session. More than 1,300 cellphones were found across the correctional system in fiscal year 2012, Maynard said, but increased investigations have led to 600 cases, with more than 350 people found guilty. The detention center has also recently updated its security cameras after a review found some cameras not working, Binetti said. The cameras were updated to allow 45 days of high-definition recording. The hearing focused on an overview of the corrections department and a policy analysis of Maryland’s criminal justice system, often comparing Baltimore City’s statistics with the rest of the state’s. The indictments out of BCDC were rarely mentioned. Legislators questioned Maynard and Juppe after their presentations on a range of topics, including corrections officers’ recruitment, retention, training and salaries,


District luxury apartments: The new hot address in D.C.

says she’s interested in finding the right people or organization who will appreciate the natural setting, shoreline, and the property’s array of animals and waterfowl. For more information, contact Gasparovic at nancy@titleprofessionalsltd.com. Beazer Homes buys Wincopia Farms One of the largest land deals in Howard County took place this week when Beazer Homes finalized its purchase of the 127-acre Wincopia Farms. According to Fraser Forbes Real Estate Services, which represented the seller, G&G Land, the property on Gorman Road in Laurel sold for $41 million and included a deferred compensation plan. Plans for Wincopia Farms call for 171 single-family houses and 49 townhomes. Eighty-eight of the single-family houses will be “executive homes” with 2,500 to 3,500 square feet of living space, and 83 others will be newly designed models with more than 4,000 square feet. The townhomes will have more than 2,000 square feet and two-car garages. “The property has a really beautiful rolling terrain that backs to the Patuxent River, so many of the larger homes will be on lots that back to the river,” says Ed Gold, division president for Maryland and Delaware for Beazer Homes. “A lot of the homes will back to natural woods.” Sales are expected to begin in January, with the first settlements taking place in the fall of 2014. Landmark Mall to look more like its 1970s self It’s back to the future for Landmark Mall in Alexandria. In the mid-1960s, Landmark opened as the first mall in the area with an open-air design. In the 1990s, the shopping center was enclosed as part of an upgrade. Now it’s slated for transformation back into an open-air design. The Howard Hughes Corp. was granted rezoning approval by the Alexandria City Council this month to create a mixed-used development including 285,000 square feet of retail space for shops and restaurants, an upscale movie theater and 400 apartments. Landmark Mall will continue to be anchored by Sears and Macy’s. Howard Hughes owns the two-story central section of the mall, which will be demolished and replaced. The redeveloped area will have a traditional street grid, sidewalks, trees and open space. Construction is expected to begin next spring, with the first phase expected to open by the spring of 2016. As part of the redevelopment, Howard Hughes will contribute $4.5 million to projects in Alexandria, including the Landmark Transit Center, pedestrian and bike paths, public art projects, “bus


College debt is making it tougher for young people to buy starter homes

13.4 percent. That depresses credit scores and makes it more difficult to qualify for a mortgage under today’s toughened underwriting standards, where average FICO scores for buyers using conventional mortgages top 760. Even financial regulators are now acknowledging the troubling linkage between student-debt loads and declining home purchases. In a recent report, researchers at the New York Federal Reserve said heavy student-loan balances that limit access to credit “may have broad implications for the ongoing recovery of the housing and vehicle markets, and of U.S. consumer spending more generally.” Total outstanding student debt now exceeds $1.1 trillion. Debt loads for recent graduates average just under $27,000, but an estimated 13 percent of outstanding balances range from $54,000 to $100,000. Student debt troubles are hardly the only barrier keeping first-timers out of the market, however. Stan Humphries, chief economist for Zillow, the online real estate site, says there are three additional important reasons behind the trend: ●High down payment requirements for conventional loans, averaging just below 20 percent. The Federal Housing Administration’s lower down payment options are attractive, but recent premium hikes can make FHA loans more expensive than competing conventional mortgages. ●Persistent negative equity problems among the owners and potential sellers of the lower-priced start-up homes that first-time buyers traditionally could afford are keeping those properties off the market because owners don’t want to take a loss at settlement. Roughly 43 percent of owners in the 35-to-39 age bracket are still underwater on their mortgages, nearly double the rate for homeowners overall. ●Cash-rich investor competition. For those affordable homes that do come on the market, first-time buyers frequently are losing out to investors who can pay hard cash, with no financing contingencies. Problems like these aren’t likely to go away anytime soon, Humphries believes, but they might improve gradually. For example, financing terms might loosen up as interest rates rise and lenders who have been feasting on refinancings are forced to reach out to purchasers — including first-timers — with more-favorable deals. Similarly, as home prices rise, investors are likely to cut back on purchases of starter homes they turn into rentals, thereby opening new doors for first-time buyers. Student debt burdens are a much tougher nut, though. Until the unrelenting increases in higher education costs get under control, it just may be that some first-timers will have to enter the market later than they have done traditionally. Ken Harney’


Rusty the red panda likely used tree and bamboo bridge to escape zoo

The male red panda that escaped from the National Zoo and was apprehended in Adams Morgan is back on display. He left no note, no tracks and no clues. But Smithsonian National Zoo officials believe Rusty the red panda, who decided Monday was a good day to get out and take in the sights, may have used overlapping, rain-heavy tree limbs and tall bamboo as a bridge to the outside world. In a news release issued Friday, zoo officials said they have reviewed visitor photos and security footage of the red pandas’ enclosure and concluded that it was “highly likely” that Rusty had left during the night of Sunday, June 23, or early Monday, June 24, through the tree canopy. They said the rain had lowered trees limbs enough so that he could reach the edge of the enclosure. And since red pandas have climbing agility and ability, freedom — and a tasty bamboo snack — was just a hop, skip and a jump away. There is no video of Rusty’s escape, according to zoo spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Masson, and zoo officials didn’t see any overlapping branches in the exhibit Monday. A visitor provided photos Tuesday. Zookeepers discovered Rusty missing at 7:30 a.m. Monday and sent Washington into a panda panic. A lunchtime sighting in Adams Morgan led to his capture shortly after 2 p.m. and a visit to the animal hospital, where he’s doing well. Officials hope to return him to the exhibit by July 4. Rusty is one of the zoo’s two red pandas The zoo has started trimming the bamboo, trees and other plantings near the exhibit to prevent future escapes, and will construct an additional visitor barrier. Don Moore, the zoo’s associate director for animal care services, said medium-size carnivores generally stick close to home, but Rusty was found about a mile away from the zoo — which Moore said is “particularly far if you’re a panda who eats bamboo.” Moore had expected to find Rusty lying in vegetation near the exhibit, and was “certainly not expecting to see a picture on Twitter of him walking down the street in Adams Morgan.” This article has been updated.


A FORT OF NINE TOWERS An Afghan Family Story By Qais Akbar Omar

A smile appeared on his face and soon transferred to mine; but he continued his prayers without looking at me, and I started mine feeling his smile all around me.” Omar’s idyllic childhood ended in 1991 with the arrival of the mujahideen, the American-backed holy warriors who drove out the Russian-supported puppet government. Initially, the 8-year-old Omar “had expected to see heroes in uniforms and shiny boots.” Instead, the mujahideen dressed “like villagers,” in baggy pants and tunics, “their waistcoats filled with grenades and bullets . . . and smelly shoes that wrapped up stinky feet.” Food prices skyrocketed, and female singers were banned from the airwaves. Kabul became a lawless place, with snipers on rooftops and warlords exchanging constant rocket fire and plundering private homes. The mujahideen robbed Omar’s grandfather of his 6,000 carpets, but this was only the beginning. As the dangerous conditions in their neighborhood reached the breaking point, Omar’s family fled, burying their gold in the garden in the middle of the night, hoping that they would be able to return for it later. The family began its exile in the fort mentioned in the book’s title, the home of Omar’s father’s business partner, in a neighborhood temporarily free from the fighting. For a short while they resumed the semblance of a normal existence, but life had irrevocably changed. Attempting to return to the family house during a cease-fire, Omar and his grandfather were detained by warlords headquartered in a neighbor’s house. Only a few years earlier, Omar attended an engagement party in a courtyard of that house, where roses were flanked by rooms that “had beautiful lamps in them that sent a glow over their fine furniture.” Now, where a platform for musicians once stood, “there was . . . a ditch filled with the heads of men and women.” ‘A Fort of Nine Towers: An Afghan Family Story’ by Qais Akbar Omar (FSG) How Omar managed to escape this situation, and others far worse, constitutes much of the suspense and the miracle of his story. His quiet optimism, despite the unspeakable horrors he experienced, is astounding. Yet despite such grim subject matter, the book illuminates the author’s fierce love for Afghanistan. Attempts to flee Kabul for a safer place led to fascinating detours, including a stint living high up in caves behind the 6th-century Bamyan statues of the Buddha (later dynamited by the Taliban)


Red panda likely used trees to flee; Pr. George’s introduces schools chief

THE REGION THE DISTRICT Red panda likely used trees to escape Rusty, the red panda who decided Monday was a good day to get out and take in the sights, may have used overlapping, rain-heavy tree limbs and tall bamboo as a bridge to escape his Smithsonian National Zoo enclosure, officials said. In a news release issued Friday, zoo officials said they have reviewed visitor photos and security footage of the red pandas’ enclosure and concluded that it was “highly likely” that Rusty left Sunday night or early Monday through the tree canopy. The officials said the rain had lowered trees’ limbs enough for him to reach the edge of the enclosure. Zookeepers discovered Rusty missing at 7:30 a.m. Monday. He was safely captured shortly after 2 p.m. The zoo has started trimming the bamboo and other plantings to prevent future escapes and will construct an additional visitor barrier. — Stefanie Dazio MARYLAND Pr. George’s schools chief introduced Anne Arundel County School Superintendent Kevin M. Maxwell returned to the Hyattsville high school where he served as principal more than a decade ago to be formally introduced Friday afternoon by Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D) as the new schools chief. Maxwell, who was lauded for his work in Prince George’s, Montgomery and Anne Arundel counties, will take the helm of Maryland’s second-largest school system after seven years of leading Anne Arundel schools. “Today we are here to celebrate a new beginning,” said Baker, referring to his plan to turn around the county school system. Maxwell, who submitted his resignation Thursday to the Anne Arundel County Board of Education, will become the county’s eighth schools chief in 14 years. He will replace former superintendent William R. Hite Jr., who left the position last year to take the top job in Philadelphia. — Ovetta Wiggins VIRGINIA Chef’s lawyers seek Cuccinelli subpoena Attorneys for the chef accused of pilfering food from the governor’s mansion in Virginia are asking a judge to let them subpoena Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II to testify at a hearing next month. They want to question Cuccinelli, the Republican candidate for governor, about his ties with Jonnie R. Williams Sr., the chief executive of Star Scientific Inc. Cuccinelli brought embezzlement charges against Todd Schneider, who served as the mansion’s chef until last year. Schneider’s defense team contends that the charges should be dropped because Cuccinelli had


James Martin, British philanthropist and technology guru, dies at 79

James Martin, a British philanthropist and technology guru who was once the highest-selling author on books about computing, died near his private island in Bermuda. He was 79. Authorities in the British territory said June 27 that Dr. Martin’s body was found by a kayaker in waters near his home on Agar’s Island. The police have said they do not believe a crime is involved. An autopsy was pending. Dr. Martin was the largest single private donor in the centuries-long history of the University of Oxford. He donated more than $150 million to help establish the Oxford Martin School, where researchers study global challenges and opportunities facing humanity in the 21st century. Project topics range from climate change to quantum physics to the future of food. Dr. Martin also was a Pulitzer Prize nominee for a 1977 technology book, “The Wired Society,” which Oxford University said contained descriptions about the use of computers and the Internet that were still timely a quarter-century later. The university also noted that Dr. Martin was ranked fourth in the Computer World 25th anniversary edition’s most influential people in computer technology. He was also credited with helping automate software development. “You rarely meet someone who’s such an incredible philanthropist whose sole interest is doing good at the highest level,” said Anthony Knap, director of the Geochemical and Environmental Research Group at Texas A&M University. Dr. Martin traveled around the world to give lectures, and he was an honorary life fellow of the British Royal Institution and a fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science. He wrote more than 100 textbooks. His published works included “The Meaning of the 21st Century,” which was made into a film narrated by actor Michael Douglas. The book analyzes technological, political, ethical, social and environmental issues of modern times. Ian Goldin, director of the Oxford Martin School, said in an e-mail to the Associated Press that Dr. Martin had a passion for changing the world for the better and described his intellect as extraordinary and wide-ranging. — Associated Press


NOI concludes with incisive concert by National Festival Orchestra

The University of Maryland ended its month-long 2013 National Orchestral Institute on Saturday with a concert by the National Festival Orchestra that was most notable for the incisive and focused playing of its young members. Saturday’s program, at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center’s Dekelboum Concert Hall, paired two seminal works by composers teetering on the brink of stylistic rethinking — Schoenberg’s “Chamber Symphony No. 1” in its rewritten version for full orchestra and John Adams’s “Harmonielehre.” The structural elegance of Schoenberg’s farewell to romanticism is a lot easier to appreciate in its original chamber version, but even with a huge string section overpowering the winds, conductor Alan Pierson and his forces did a good job of highlighting Schoenberg’s architecture. “Harmonielehre” is also an early work. Born of Adams’s dreams and struggles with a strict adherence to minimalism, it moves between a slowly evolving rhythmic stasis and rich lyrical counterpoint, along the way taxing the concentration of the players to their utmost. That they handled this beautifully, however, is due in large part to Pierson, not the most graceful conductor to watch but nonetheless a model of clarity, who gave them all the help they needed. As a balm between these two, Ravel’s “Daphnis and Chloe,” Suite No. 2, got a texturally balanced and nicely paced reading that was highlighted by some absolutely gorgeous flute-playing. The institute gives aspiring instrumentalists (100 of them this year between the ages of 18 and 27) an opportunity to study and perform important chamber and orchestral repertoire under a number of fine conductors and with the mentoring of a faculty of some of this country’s top orchestral players. Alan Pierson (Photo courtesy of the UMD School of Music) Reinthaler is a freelance writer.


Butterfly decline signals trouble in environment

that we need to be watching butterflies more closely.” At least one species of butterfly has vanished from the United States, along with the two subspecies in South Florida. Seventeen species and subspecies are listed as endangered nationwide, and two are listed as threatened. Habitat loss is a major problem, as are bug sprays, especially those used by municipalities and homeowners to control mosquitoes. “We know that it’s becoming increasingly popular for individual homeowners to use misting systems to spray low levels of pesticides. As those become more abundant, we have to evaluate if those are contributing to the decline,” Williams said. To Laurie Davies Adams, executive director of Pollinator Partnership, a group dedicated to the conservation of insects such as bees, moths and butterflies, the explanation for the butterfly decline is simple. “If you don’t have a place to nest, if you don’t have a place to lay eggs, if you don’t have a place to get the floral resources you need, because they’re absent because of drought or early bloom, you’re in trouble,” Adams said. The same issues plaguing butterflies are also causing populations of frogs, salamanders and toads to plummet, along with bees and other insects. A recent U.S. Geological Survey study estimated that seven species of amphibians will drop by 50 percent if the current rate of decline, fueled by pesticide use and loss of habitat, continues. Pesticide use has also led to a collapse of other pollinators — wasps, beetles and especially honeybees. At least 25,000 bumblebees were recently found dead at an Oregon parking lot, ironically during National Pollinator Week, which started June 18. Why should anyone care about losing butterflies, asked Robert K. Robbins, a research entomologist at the Smithsonian Institution’s Museum of Natural History. Although the insect looks fragile, like most bugs it clings to existence more ferociously than mammals. If butterflies are going extinct, “it’s a strong indicator that we’re messing up the environment around us,” Robbins said. Numerous animals such as Carolina parakeets and passenger pigeons have vanished, but butterflies have been known to disappear in one place and show up in another, which is why the Fish and Wildlife Service waited at least a decade to announce the extinction of the skippers. The last confirmed extinction of a butterfly species was of the blueberry-colored Xerces blue, which disappeared from San Francisco sand dunes that were commercially developed, Robbins said.


Like all flora and fauna, humans stand to gain a lot from the presence of a butterfly species — a possible medical breakthrough from study and biomedical research, for example, Robbins said. But he sees a bigger picture. When an entire line dies off, “it’s a report card on the health of the environment around us,” Robbins said. “We depend on fresh air and food that isn’t full of chemicals. I think that’s a more important aspect than maybe we would’ve discovered a gene that would’ve cured some disease. It’s our general survival.” Eighty percent of food crops are pollinated by insects such as bees, moths and butterflies, according to scientists. Nearly a third of the nation’s honeybees have disappeared, and scientists theorize that pesticide use is a contributing factor in their decline. It’s not that butterflies will be wiped off the face of the Earth anytime soon. There are 650 to 750 species in the United States and slightly fewer than 20,000 species worldwide. Peru has a quarter of those, and species explode in tropical areas such as the Caribbean. But their estimated decline is rapid and troubling in the United States. “Every single day the number of butterflies in the United States decreases, because every day a meadow is developed into a lot,” said Jeffrey Glassberg, president of the North American Butterfly Association. “And then I would say second is pesticide use,” he said. It doesn’t have to be this way, he said. “It would be really easy for people to make a significant difference in the environment just by the way they planted their suburban yards. Many butterflies would be increased by planting your yard with the right native plants.” Butterflies live a few days or a few weeks, depending on the species. Females lay a few hundred eggs in a lifetime, Williams said. Generally, they lay about a half-dozen at one time. A larva emerges and slowly feeds on plant leaves. Even those are threatened by invasive species introduced by humans, such as the green iguana in Florida, which eats the plants along with the larva. Mark Salvato, a Fish and Wildlife Service biologist, hacked his way through pine scrub at Bahia Honda State Park in the Florida Keys and discovered that first-hand with the endangered Miami blue butterfly. “A very large iguana population was eating the Miami blue host plant,” Salvato said. After a two-year


Triathlons may be especially risky for men age 40 and older

journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings. “The swim seems to be a particularly dangerous time,” said marathoner Andre La Gerche, a cardiologist at Melbourne’s St. Vincent’s Hospital. “Paradoxically, in the marathon, it’s the opposite: It’s the last mile of the event where the vast majority of fatalities occur.” Researchers speculate that sprinting to the finish produces a rush of adrenaline that may trigger an abnormal rhythm in runners with susceptible hearts. The swim leg of the triathlon, often held in open water, can be “extraordinarily stressful,” said La Gerche, who has competed in more than 100 triathlons. “You have people climbing all over you. Sometimes you’re fighting to breathe, and that’s not something the body is used to.” Open-water racing triggers a clash of two mechanisms of the involuntary nervous system, according to researchers at England’s University of Portsmouth. A “fight or flight” response activated by physical exertion, cold water temperature or anxiety tries to speed up the heart rate and causes hyperventilation; this occurs just as the body tries to slow the heart rate to conserve oxygen in response to facial wetting, water entering the mouth, nose and throat, and extended breath-holding, the scientists said. “Normally, the two responses don’t happen at the same time, but when they do, the heart can go into abnormal rhythms, which can cause sudden cardiac death,” Mike Tipton, who runs the Extreme Environments Laboratory at the University of Portsmouth, wrote in a commentary for the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Runners should maintain their pace or slow down in the last mile and not sprint unless they have trained for it, the International Marathon Medical Directors Association said in 2010 in response to race-related sudden deaths. Running appears to lower mortality risk when an athlete doesn’t cover more than 20 miles a week, exceed 5 to 7 mph or run more than two to five times a week, researchers at the Ochsner Health System in New Orleans and the University of South Carolina found last year. More than 2 million Americans participate in long-distance running races each year, a number that has doubled since 2000. Even though the risk of death from running marathons is small, increased participation has resulted in a higher incidence of sudden death at the events, according to a study published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine. Of 11 million long-distance runners, 59 suffered cardiac arrest, 51 of


at the same time, but when they do, the heart can go into abnormal rhythms, which can cause sudden cardiac death,” Mike Tipton, who runs the Extreme Environments Laboratory at the University of Portsmouth, wrote in a commentary for the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Runners should maintain their pace or slow down in the last mile and not sprint unless they have trained for it, the International Marathon Medical Directors Association said in 2010 in response to race-related sudden deaths. Running appears to lower mortality risk when an athlete doesn’t cover more than 20 miles a week, exceed 5 to 7 mph or run more than two to five times a week, researchers at the Ochsner Health System in New Orleans and the University of South Carolina found last year. More than 2 million Americans participate in long-distance running races each year, a number that has doubled since 2000. Even though the risk of death from running marathons is small, increased participation has resulted in a higher incidence of sudden death at the events, according to a study published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine. Of 11 million long-distance runners, 59 suffered cardiac arrest, 51 of them men. By middle age, most people have developed some underlying early-stage vessel disease, such as hardening or plaque buildup in their coronary arteries, said Kade Davison, who teaches clinical exercise science at the University of South Australia in Adelaide. “If anyone is going to have a cardiac event, they’re far more likely to have one during exercise,” said Davison. A person is seven times as likely to have a heart incident while exercising as they are while at rest, he said. Intense exercise for periods longer than one to two hours can cause overstretching and tiny tears of heart tissue, said James O’Keefe, a sports cardiologist and head of preventative cardiology at the Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo. Such repeated injury over years can cause irregular heart rhythms, increased inflammation, scarring and stiffening of the arteries, he said. Athletic overachievers tend to think that more is better, though “moderation is almost always best,” O’Keefe said. As a precaution, getting a computerized tomography, or CT, scan of the heart to look for calcified plaque is a good way for endurance athletes to check if their workouts are putting their heart at risk, O’Keefe said. Yet there is


World Digest: July 1, 2013

AFGHANISTAN Casualties mount among police forces Insurgents killed nearly 300 Afghan local and national police officers in the span of a month, the Interior Ministry said Monday, as casualties continue to mount among local forces, which last month formally took over responsibility for nationwide security operations from NATO-led coalition troops. Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry, told reporters at a regular news conference that 299 police officers were killed from May 10 to June 13 and that 618 were wounded. In the same period, Sediqqi said, 753 militants were killed in joint operations with the military and others and more than 300 were arrested; 180 civilians also were killed. Sediqqi did not provide any figures from previous months for comparison, but according to an Associated Press count, the violence this year is similar to the worst levels seen in nearly 12 years of war. As Afghan forces have become more involved in security operations, they have experienced a sharp rise in casualties, while deaths among the U.S.-led military coalition have fallen as the international forces pull back to let the Afghans take the lead. According to an AP count, 807 members of the Afghan security forces — including soldiers and police officers — and 365 civilians have been killed this year through May. Sixty-three coalition troops also have been killed in that span. — Associated Press VATICAN CITY Troubled bank’s director steps down The director of the embattled Vatican bank and his deputy have resigned after the latest developments in a broadening finance scandal. The Vatican said Monday that Paolo Cipriani and his deputy, Massimo Tulli, offered to step down “in the best interest of the institute and the Holy See.” Cipriani and the bank’s then-president were placed under investigation by Rome prosecutors in 2010 on suspicion of violating Italy’s norms against money-laundering after financial police seized $30 million from a Vatican account at a Rome bank. Neither has been charged, and the money was eventually ordered released. But the bank, known as the Institute for Religious Works, has remained under the scrutiny of prosecutors — and Pope Francis of late — amid fresh concerns that it has been used as an offshore tax haven. — Associated Press Hong Kong protesters call for reforms: U.S. diplomat denounces Hezbollah’s role in Syria: African troops folded into U.N. mission in Mali: U.S. doctor returns Vietnamese vet’s amputated arm: —


Local digest: Impact of relocating FBI, 2 Md. officers die in plane crash

crashed. The other victim, Joshua D. Adickes, 27, was likely seated behind Geoghegan. Both worked as Ocean City police officers and were off duty at the time of the accident. Crews from the Maryland State Police, Maryland Natural Resources Police, Coast Guard, Ocean City Police and the salvage company Sea Tow Delmarva searched by air and sea for the wreckage of the plane. “We’re on the scene and trying to pull the wreckage out of the water,” said National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Terry Williams. “There were witnesses, and we expect to interview them. We also understand there is some video footage, most likely taken by someone on the beach. We want to take a look at that too.” — Julie Zauzmer and Ashley Halsey VIRGINIA Voter registration training underway Mandatory training for third-party groups seeking to register voters in Virginia begins this week. The General Assembly passed a law requiring the training for individuals or groups obtaining 25 or more voter registration applications from the State Board of Elections or local voter registration office. In-person training begins Wednesday at the elections board in Richmond. Other scheduled sessions are July 9, Aug. 13, Aug. 22, Sept. 11 and Sept. 25. Online training is expected to be available later this month. — Errin Whack Jogger fights off attacker in Fairfax A jogger fought off an attacker in the Hayfield area over the weekend, Fairfax County police said. The woman was running along Hayfield Road approaching Old Telegraph Road about 10 p.m. Saturday, when she was grabbed from behind by an unknown man, police said. The woman sprayed the man with mace and fought him off before fleeing, police said. The man fled in the opposite direction. The woman then went home and called police. The suspect was described as wearing a dark, long-sleeved shirt and cream-colored pants. — Justin Jouvenal Missing diver found dead in Potomac The body of a man who went missing after jumping into the Potomac on Saturday was found dead Monday by police and fire officials. Vincent Crapps, 21, dove off the cliffs on the Virginia side of the river near Bear Island, police said. His friends called 911 when he did not resurface. His body was found at 2:25 p.m. Monday. Crapps was a member of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, also known as the Old Guard, and was stationed at Fort Myer. — Trishula Patel


Russian rocket breaks up on liftoff, threatening next space station launch

A man looks in Moscow on July 2, 2013, at a computer screen while watching a footage showing the flight of the Proton-M rocket, which veered off its trajectory and exploded today on takeoff at the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty) MOSCOW — The rocket’s dramatic disintegration leaves in doubt a scheduled launch this month of a cargo vessel carrying water and other supplies to the international space station. On Tuesday, Russian officials put a hold on launches from the leased space center at Baikonur, in Kazakhstan, while they investigate the cause of the explosion and the damage to the launch site. A spokesman for the space agency Roscosmos said it is too soon to know how long the hold will be in effect. But the RIA Novosti news agency quoted an unnamed official in the space agency as saying that there would probably be no launches for two to three months. The next crew change at the space station is scheduled for Sept. 25, also by way of Baikonur. The United States has relied on Russian rockets to ferry astronauts to and from the station. Analysts here say Russia has been careful to maintain standards in its manned-spaceflight program. But unmanned launches, they say, have been plagued by obsolete design, sloppy engineering, poor training and management, and conspicuous corruption. The rocket that exploded Tuesday, on live television, was a Proton-M, derived from a 1965 Soviet predecessor. In February, a Zenit naval-launched rocket carrying a telecommunications satellite veered into the ocean. A Defense Ministry satellite also failed this year, the Interfax news agency reported. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev demanded the names of those responsible for Tuesday’s crash. A criminal investigation also was opened. In Kazakhstan, an environmental commission was formed over fears of widespread rocket-fuel contamination at the site. A Kazakh official told Interfax that the rocket was carrying 600 tons of toxic substances. When it hit the ground, it left a crater 150 to 200 yards across. Interfax calculated the financial loss to Russia from the launch failure at about $140 million.


OSCE supports U.S.-Russian adoptions

MOSCOW — The Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, founded during the Cold War to mediate disputes over arms and human rights, avoided singling out Russia by name. But the resolution, passed in an overwhelming vote, took clear aim at the ban on U.S. adoptions Russia imposed Jan. 1. The resolution refers to intercountry adoptions and “urges participating States to resolve differences, disputes, and controversies related to intercountry adoptions in a positive and humanitarian spirit.” It also asks for special efforts to “avoid disruption of intercountry adoptions already in progress that could jeopardize the best interests of the child, harm the nascent family or deter prospective adoptive parents from pursuing an intercountry adoption.” The measure was introduced at the OSCE annual meeting in Istanbul by U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), who told the assembly it was unfair to change the rules after parents and children had met. The resolution carries moral authority rather than force of law, but Wicker said in a telephone interview that it sent a strong message that would support the United States in negotiations with Russia over the children who had bonded with families. “It adds legitimacy to the concerns,” he said and gives weight to U.S. arguments when Secretary of State John F. Kerry discusses the issue with his Russian counterparts. Although a Russian delegate spoke against the resolution, a show of hands for the vote gave it widespread support. Before the debate, delegates were shown a film, “The Dark Matter of Love,” about an American family adopting three Russian children, which documented how the attachments formed by a loving family deeply affect childhood development. “All of these families deserve a happy ending,” Wicker told the assembly.


Beer: Dogfish Head moves headlong into brew-centered foods

Web site. They’re also available through specialty food chains from New York down through Virginia. Dogfish Head might be ahead of the curve, but other regional breweries are branching into beer cuisine. St. George Brewing in Hampton, Va., area is known for its English-style ales and for the Tuppers’ Hop Pocket Ale it brews under contract. But the brewery’s bestseller is a malty red ale that you won’t see in six-packs. It’s diluted to an alcohol content of 0.3 or 0.4 percent, then shipped to Newport News, where High Liner Foods processes it into a beer batter for its Icelandic Seafood line. Elsewhere in the Chesapeake Bay area, Parfections, a Cockeysville, Md.-based confectioner, teams with brewer Heavy Seas in Halethorpe, Md., to market a line of beer-infused truffles. Parfections’ Web site lists seven varieties, including the Loose Cannon Ale Truffle, which matches the beer’s citrusy hop content with dark chocolate and orange zest, and the Peg Leg Truffle, made with imperial stout and garnished with crushed coffee beans. Heavy Seas founder Hugh Sisson says he’s happy with the collaboration but has no plans for additional beer comestibles. “I’d like to go down that path, but there aren’t enough hours in the day,” he sighs. Calagione, whose operation is in the midst of an expansion that will boost capacity to more than a half-million barrels, can understand how the pressure to pump out liquid overwhelms all else. His first foray into packaged food, in 1999, was pints of ice cream flavored with Raison d’Etre. “But we didn’t have the space to continue it. That’s why we’ve decided to partner with other food companies.” Project Bunyan is also a philosophical statement on how small businesses can compete in an economy dominated by mega-corporations. A brewery press release reads: “If Dogfish Head is to have lasting meaning and lasting distinction in an increasingly challenging beer industry, where foreign companies continue to gobble up marketshare, we need to focus more on local, on human scale, on resources that come from the mid-Atlantic region and on things that haven’t been done before.” Although his hands are full at the moment, the entrepreneurial Calagione sees almost limitless possibilities in broadening his offerings: “Our lineup of 34 beers is like a giant liquid spice rack,” he says. Kitsock is the editor of Mid-Atlantic Brewing News. More from Food: The Immigrant’s Table Smoke Signals Spirits Column Beer Column


See it all, far from the madding Mall: Great views of D.C. fireworks from a distance

is limited. Road closures in the area will also hinder vehicular traffic. If you’re packing light or have a bike, the park is about 21 / 2 miles from the Arlington National Cemetery Metro station, and two miles from the Crystal City Metro station — both via the Mount Vernon Trail. Washington National Cathedral Wisconsin and Massachusetts avenues NW. 202-537-6200 On the southern end of the cathedral grounds is a hill with great views of the District skyline. The cathedral also plans on keeping its parking-garage bathrooms open until 8 p.m. Holy Rood Cemetery 2100 Wisconsin Ave. NW Owned by Georgetown University, this large cemetery is on the southern end of the District’s Glover Park neighborhood. It has impressive views of the Washington Monument, and locals congregate on the hillside overlooking Wisconsin Avenue to watch the fireworks display. National Parks Marine Corps Memorial N. Meade Street, Arlington. 703-289-2500 The Marine Corps Memorial (commonly referred to as the Iwo Jima Memorial) is a National Park Service landmark in Virginia. Walk or bike from the Rosslyn Metro station to a spot that offers a clear view of the display close to the city but far from the Mall crowds. Meridian Hill Park 16th and Euclid streets NW. 202-619-7111, 202-619-7256 Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1994, this National Park Service park is a picturesque spot, despite the steep climb to the top. But the walk is worth it — the upper half of the park is perfect for scoping out the fireworks. There are trees and limited grassy spots for sitting, so get there early with a blanket and friends. Washington Sailing Marina 1 Marina Dr., Alexandria. 703-548-9027 Just south of National Airport, the National Park Service marina will open at 9 a.m., with two separate security checkpoints. No alcohol, fireworks or firearms will be allowed, but food and coolers are okay. The main parking lot of the marina is for boat owners and visitors with reservations to the marina’s restaurant. There are two overfill lots, but they fill up fast. When no parking spots are left, the marina will be closed to all car traffic. Want to walk? The marina is a bit more than a mile from the airport along the Mount Vernon Trail. Rooftop Bars Rock and Roll Hotel 1353 H St. NE. 202-388-7625 Opening at 6 p.m. and closing at about 12:30 a.m., the H Street nightclub and


Federal Reserve approves final Basel rules requiring banks to set aside capital

to determine how much a bank must set aside against different types of assets. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency are scheduled to vote on the final draft next Tuesday. Banks would have to start phasing in the rules in January but have five years to complete the transition. “This framework requires banking organizations to hold more and higher-quality capital . . . while reducing the incentive for firms to take excessive risks,” said Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke. “Banking organizations will be better able to withstand periods of financial stress, thus contributing to the overall health of the U.S. economy.” The rules represented a win for regional and community banks, which lobbied for exemptions with the argument that they did not cause the financial crisis and are a critical source of funding for small businesses. Regulators capitulated by chucking an extensive mortgage proposal that would have forced community banks to raise more capital. Fed staffers said they backed off the proposal to examine the impact of other new mortgage rules on the industry. Small and midsize banks also can opt out of having to count certain types of income in capital calculations. “The new standards will mollify community banks and, with them, congressional critics of this aspect of the U.S. standards,” said Karen Shaw Petrou, managing partner of Federal Financial Analytics, an independent banking consulting firm. “Those advocating for far higher leverage rules for the biggest U.S. banks will remain dissatisfied, but not for long.” Tarullo’s pending proposals would place pressure on big banks to raise more capital. The Fed’s point man on banking regulation said banks will face a tougher leverage standard, a measure of equity to total assets that some regulators say is a better way to judge a bank’s ability to withstand stress. Tarullo said his team is also working on a proposal to force banks to hold a minimum amount of debt that could be converted to equity in the event of a crisis, an idea he has been pitching for months. Regulators also intend to address risks in short-term wholesale funding by requiring firms that rely on the debt markets for financing to hold more capital. “These measures would round out a capital regime of complementary requirements that focus on different vulnerabilities and together compensate for the inevitable shortcomings in any single capital measure,” Tarullo said.


Montgomery County Animal Watch

This was among cases received recently by the Montgomery County Animal Services Division. For information, call 240-773-5054. That number provides recorded information on topics such as the Montgomery County Animal Shelter hours and location, adoption and licensing procedures, rabies clinics and low-cost neutering. Moving day didn’t include cat Shelter has adoptable cats Gaithersburg Reduced fees for cat adoption: Germantown Changes to reporting procedures for animal emergencies and complaints: Calls in Montgomery County are now being answered by Montgomery County Police Emergency Communications Center or MC311 call-takers. Here are the phone numbers for reporting specific issues: ●Call 9-1-1 to report animal-related emergencies, such as animal attacks in progress, an animal locked in a hot car, animal cruelty in progress or an animal creating a traffic hazard. ●Call 301-279-8000, the police non-emergency number, to report animal-related complaints, such as a sick or injured animal, neglect, an animal caught in a trap or an animal nuisance. ●Call 3-1-1 or 240-777-0311 from a cellphone to report dead deer along the roadway. ●Call 240-773-5960, the county animal shelter, for pet adoptions, licensing information and spay/neuter programs. ●Continue to call 240-773-5925 to reach the police’s Animal Services Division, to follow up on a previously reported complaint, and for the Animal Matters Hearing Board. — Compiled by Lisa M. Bolton


Pruning and other summer home maintenance

books you no longer need or have room for is easy. Many local libraries are grateful for donations, which they sell to support their programs. Watch for bats July is the month when bats are most likely to show up indoors in the Washington area. But should you panic if one whizzes by as you’re watching TV? Of course not. A single bat might just be lost. Open a door, switch on a nearby outside light and turn off indoor lights; the furry creature will probably fly out on its own. Never try to pick up a bat — though the risk is low, you might get rabies if it bites. If you see several bats, you might have a colony in your attic. By July, the young bats, called pups, are learning to fly but can’t yet fend for themselves. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources offers tips about how to cope with them; type “bats” into the search box at www.dnr.maryland.gov. Or call in a wildlife control expert to help you figure out where the bats are getting in. They fit through cracks as narrow as a quarter-inch. You can start now to seal potential entries, but wait until September, after the babies leave, to close off active routes. Even then, do it by installing flaps of window screen as one-way doors so you don’t trap any bats inside. Oil your garage door To keep the biggest moving part in your house working smoothly, spray a little lubricant on your garage door’s hinges, rollers and tracks. While you’re at it, look for signs of more serious trouble: Inspect springs, hinges, cables and other parts for signs of wear, and check whether the door is balanced. To do this, close the door and disconnect the opener. Then lift the door manually. Make sure it goes up evenly and stays open. Test the reversing mechanism, which is designed to keep the door from closing on someone. While the door is still open, place a piece of wood directly underneath. Then turn the door opener back on and signal the door to close. It should reverse the instant it touches the wood. If anything’s amiss, call in a service technician from a garage door company. Adjusting a garage door isn’t a DIY project; there’s a serious risk of injury if you don’t do it right. Have a problem in your home?


General Dempsey: The military needs to reach out to civilians

strong. Keeping faith also means investing sufficient resources so that we can uphold our sacred obligations to defend the nation and to send our sons and daughters to war with only the best training, leadership and equipment. We can’t shrink from our obligations to one another. The stakes are too high. We must also remember our shared values. Those of us in the military don’t have a monopoly on service or sacrifice. We need to guard against suggestions that we deserve admiration because we volunteered to serve when others didn’t. We are an all-volunteer force, but we are not all who volunteer. Service has always been fundamental to being an American. Across our country, police officers, fire fighters, teachers, coaches, pastors, scout masters, business people and many others serve their communities every day. Military service makes us different, but the desire to contribute permeates every corner of the United States. Nevertheless, we can’t let our force become disconnected. We must guard against letting military service become a job for others. Children of those in the military are far more likely to join than the children of those who are not. And young men and women in some areas never even consider the military as one of many ways to serve our nation. Some fault lies with us. It can be tempting to stay on our bases and talk only to those we know. But we didn’t stop being citizens when we put on the uniform. We came from small towns and big cities across our country, and we’ll go back one day. Civilians aren’t an abstraction; they’re our parents, grandparents, siblings and friends. Our nation has met similar challenges before and succeeded. We sometimes forget that a volunteer force is normal in U.S. history and that the draft is the anomaly. Since the Constitution was signed, conscription was used for only 35 years. Except in times of great crisis, we have relied on a tradition of selfless service. The all-volunteer force continues that tradition. It has served our nation well for the past 40 years. To do so for the next 40, we’ll have to work at it together. Read more from PostOpinions: Melvin R. Laird: We don’t need a draft Thomas E. Ricks: Toss out the all-volunteer military Elliot J. Feldman: Our all-volunteer military should stay that way Sebastian Junger: Veterans need to share the moral burden of war


Washington area Going Out Guide

‘James Bridle: A Quiet Disposition’ 3Five of the London artist’s research-based projects dealing with drone warfare are displayed. Through Sunday. Corcoran College of Art and Design, Gallery 31, 500 17th St. NW. 202-639-1700. www.corcoran.org. Free. THU 04 Nationals The baseball team finishes a homestand with games against the Milwaukee Brewers (Thursday at 11:05 a.m.) and the San Diego Padres (Friday at 7:05 p.m., Saturday at 4:05 p.m. and Sunday at 1:35 p.m.). Neil Diamond will perform at Thursday’s game, Thompson Square performs after Saturday’s game and Third Day performs after Sunday’s game. Nationals Park, 1500 South Capitol St. SE. 202-675-6287. www.nationals.com. From $10. Marcus Young and Fresh Flights Potomac Nationals FRI 05 “Gettysburg” Eric Scott Harry Connick Jr. The Furious 5 SAT 06 “Escapes” Jamey Turner and His Glass Harp Mystics The Polyphonic Spree BG and the Mojo Hands PVDA Summer Showdown SUN 07 “Anything Goes” “The Real Thing” “James Bridle: A Quiet Disposition” The Uncle Devin Show The Hot Seats “Teddy Bear’s Picnic” Bob Brown Puppets stages a picnic for Baby Bear and his friends as part of the Tiny Tots at 10 series. Sundays at 10 a.m., through Sept. 1. Glen Echo Park, Puppet Co. Playhouse, 7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo. 301-634-5380. www.thepuppetco.org. $5. TUE 09 “America All Better” “Sky and Space: Flying Little Airplanes and NASA’s Hubble James Webb Space Telescopes” Bumper Jacksons “Spin” WED 10 “The Rocky Horror Show” Black Alley Band Daryl Davis’s Roots Music Revue Mac Miller — Compiled by Jillian S. Jarrett from staff reports


Concerts Prices listed where available. Orchestras CHESAPEAKE ORCHESTRA CASTLETON FESTIVAL BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Chamber Groups AIR FORCE STRINGS CASTLETON FESTIVAL: CHAMBER MUSIC OF MAHLER THE TEIBER TRIO 21ST CENTURY CONSORT ORGANIST AND HARPSICHORDIST STEPHEN ACKERT, VIOLINIST CLAUDIA CHUDACOFF AND CELLIST BEN WENSEL Choral Groups HEART OF MARYLAND CHORUS “SUMMER SINGS” Pop|Rock|Folk|Jazz|Etc. ERNEST “EC3” COLEMAN AND FRIENDS ECUADORIAN HATUN KOTAMA CULTURAL CENTER YELLOW DUBMARINE PROJECT NATALE JAZZ TRIO CRIMESTOPPERS FOLSOM PRISONERS KINGS PARK BAND PABLO ANTONIA Y LA FIRMA SINE QUA NON HARRY CONNICK, JR. JIMKATA OVER THE LIMIT JAMAICA DAY REGGAE FESTIVAL PROJECT NATALE JAZZ QUARTET ANDREA NAVRATIL BARBARA MARTIN BG AND THE MOJO HANDS DARYL DAVIS’S ROOTS MUSIC REVUE DAUGHTRY 3 DOORS DOWN, HALESTORM, BAD SEED RISING FRANK SOLIVAN AND DIRTY KITCHEN LOUIS HAYES AND THE CANNONBALL LEGACY BAND THE REDWINE JAZZ TRIO DOOBIE BROTHERS THE POLYPHONIC SPREE BIG BOY LITTLE BAND STEPHEN HELLER BOB GIBSON BIG BAND OASIS ISLAND SOUNDS THE RETRO-ROCKETS DAVID PETERSON STEVE HERRERA KOBO TOWN BUMPER JACKSONS LOS LOBOS, LOS LONELY BOYS U.S. AIR FORCE BAND AIRMEN OF NOTE VANS WARPED TOUR NATIVE AMERICA DARYL DAVIS’S ROOTS MUSIC REVUE BIG TIME RUSH, VICTORIA JUSTICE ALEXANDRIA KLEZTET BILL EMERSON SWEET DIXIE COMHALTAS CEOLTOIRI EIREANN MUSICAL ARTS AND DANCE HARMONIA U.S. AIR FORCE CONCERT BAND AND SINGING SERGEANTS HARMONIA WAYNE TAYLOR, MICKEY BASIL DUO FOLK MUSIC OPEN MIKE SILENT DRILL TEAM/DRUM AND BUGLE CORPS UNITY REGGAE BAND THE ALOHA BOYS DAVID COLE AND MAIN STREET JAZZ JULIA HOLTER, JESSICA PRATT SHE HIM, CAMERA OBSCURA MIDNIGHT MOB Dancing SOCIAL BALLROOM DANCE JEFF CARMELLA BAND MORA’S MODERN RHYTHMISTS KIZOMBA DANCE LESSON SOCIAL DANCE BATTLE OF THE BIG BANDS SOCIAL BALLROOM DANCE DESTINO DA ROSA SOCIAL BALLROOM DANCE TK THE DJ ECB BAND SOCIAL BALLROOM DANCE DJ DABE MURPHY TEA DANCE Nightclubs Prices listed where available. Pop|Rock|Folk|Jazz|Etc. The District BIER BARON BISTROT LEPIC AND WINE BAR BLACK CAT BLUES ALLEY DC9 THE HAMILTON HILL COUNTRY THE HOWARD THEATRE THE JEFFERSON 9:30 CLUB THE PINCH ROCK ROLL HOTEL TROPICALIA TWINS JAZZ U STREET MUSIC HALL VELVET LOUNGE Maryland 8 X 10 CLUB THE FILLMORE RAMS HEAD ON STAGE URBAN EATS ARTS AND MUSIC CAFE Virginia BIRCHMERE CARLYLE CLUB JAMMIN’ JAVA


Alain Mimoun, distance runner who won Olympic gold, dies at 92

at Zatopek’s wedding. Emil Zatopek of Czechoslovakia, left, and Alain Mimoun of France during the last lap of the Olympic 10,000 meter run at Helsinki, Finland, July 20, 1952. (AP Photo, File) Two years later, at the European championships in Brussels, Mr. Mimoun trailed Zatopek again, taking second place in the 5,000 and 10,000-meter runs. At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Zatopek made sports history by winning triple gold in the 5,000-meter race, the 10,000-meter race and the marathon. Mr. Mimoun ran in the 5,000 and the 10,000-meter races and won silver in both. By that time, Mr. Mimoun had become known as the Czech runner’s “little shadow.” Their reversal of fortune came in the marathon at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, held on a day when the temperature hovered around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. For Mr. Mimoun, the 26-mile marathon — one of the most storied events of the Olympics — was his first. In the race, Mr. Mimoun ran as No. 13 — a lucky number, he later said. It was a lucky day on more than one account. Hours before the race, Mr. Mimoun learned that his wife had given birth to their first child, a girl. Zatopek, meanwhile, was still recovering from a hernia surgery several weeks earlier. Zatopek and Mr. Mimoun made a striking pair. The former strode in such a way that he looked, it has been written, “like a man wrestling with an octopus on a conveyor belt.” Mr. Mimoun ran with a gentler style and appeared to move easily through the streets of Melbourne past the cheering onlookers. After two hours and 25 minutes, Mr. Mimoun emerged into the Melbourne Cricket Ground where he was greeted by tens of thousands of spectators. He later told an Melbourne newspaper that the applause exploded “comme une bombe atomique.” Mr. Mimoun had won and waited at the finish line for his friend Zatopek. A look at those who died last year. “I was sure Emil was there at my heels,” Mr. Mimoun told Sports Illustrated in 1972. “I was hoping he would be second. I was waiting for him. Then I thought, well, he will be third — it will be nice to stand on the podium with him again.” Zatopek, in the end, came in sixth. “Emil, congratulate me,” Mr. Mimoun later recalled saying. “Now, I am an Olympic champion. I am no longer your


Time to take another look at sherry

“The more I learned about wine, the more I realized that [sherry] is the perfect wine. Now it’s all I crave.” This is a sherry-and-ham bar, not a cocktails-and-ham bar. Tseng selected 54 sherries, organized by style. There are five fino sherries, for example, and four of them cost $6 or less. “You should be able to get a good glass of any kind of sherry for $6, $7 or $8,” she says. Additionally, Tseng created various flights ($10-$12) with small pours based on various themes. Try representatives of the three dominant sherry regions, or three sherries that exhibit flor, the yeast that gives the aged wine its flavor. Snacks include four types of cured ham, including Virginia’s Surryano and one Iberico ham, and cured duck, for those who can’t or won’t eat pork. There are smaller nibbles, such as Virginia peanuts or manzanilla olives for pairing with sherry, or slightly larger snacks, such as manchego cheese with honey and cocoa-covered corn nuts. Expect to graze rather than sit down for a full meal. Both Brown and Tseng are renowned for their mixology skills, but this is a bare-bones bar, with a very small liquor selection, including three wines (one red, one white, one sparkling). If you want a martini, they can make one, but if you want an obscure cocktail, probably not. “We tried to steer away from being a cocktail bar,” Brown says. “We’re a sherry bar.” That said, there are things other than sherry on the menu. Four taps sit behind the bar. Two are reserved for beers from DC Brau and 3 Stars. Another pours a Green Hat gin and tonic, which Brown and bartender J.P. Fetherston created for Red Apron Butchery at Union Market. The last tap is dedicated to Vya vermouth. “I’ve always loved it, but I think it changes the flavor of a cocktail,” Brown says. So at Mockingbird Hill, it will be served with a large ice cube and slice of orange and topped with soda water for a sparkling summer refresher. You can try and learn about sherry for free. There’s no better way to get someone into sherry, Brown says, then to let them try it and then tell them why it’s special. That’s why he offers a free class about sherry every Tuesday in the restaurant’s back room. Sometimes the focus will be on specific grapes or regions, and


Charles Krauthammer: Obama’s global-warming folly

one time — as presumptive evidence of planetary climate change. It’s flat-earthers like Obama who cite perennial phenomena such as droughts as cosmic retribution for environmental sinfulness. Mark Leibovich’s new book, “This Town,” dishes the dirt on some of Washington’s power players. Here’s a selection, courtesy of The Post’s Carlos Lozada and David Beard. For the sake of argument, nonetheless, let’s concede that global warming is precisely what Obama thinks it is. Then answer this: What in God’s name is his massive new regulatory and spending program — which begins with a war on coal and ends with billions in more subsidies for new Solyndras — going to do about it? The United States has already radically cut carbon dioxide emissions — more than any country on earth since 2006, according to the International Energy Agency. Emissions today are back down to 1992 levels. And yet, at the same time, global emissions have gone up. That’s because — surprise! — we don’t control the energy use of the other 96 percent of humankind. At the heart of Obama’s program are EPA regulations that will make it impossible to open any new coal plant and will systematically shut down existing plants. “Politically, the White House is hesitant to say they’re having a war on coal,” explained one of Obama’s climate advisers. “On the other hand, a war on coal is exactly what’s needed.” Net effect: tens of thousands of jobs killed, entire states impoverished. This at a time of chronically and crushingly high unemployment, slow growth, jittery markets and deep economic uncertainty. But that’s not the worst of it. This massive self-sacrifice might be worthwhile if it did actually stop global warming and save the planet. What makes the whole idea nuts is that it won’t. This massive self-inflicted economic wound will have no effect on climate change. The have-nots are rapidly industrializing. As we speak, China and India together are opening one new coal plant every week. We can kill U.S. coal and devastate coal country all we want, but the industrializing Third World will more than make up for it. The net effect of the Obama plan will simply be dismantling the U.S. coal industry for shipping abroad. A collection of cartoons on the environment and climate change. To think we will get these countries to cooperate is sheer fantasy. We’ve been negotiating climate treaties for 20 years and


Veterinarian turned National Zoo into international destination

obtained for the National Zoo in 1972 — a male named Hsing-Hsing and a female named Ling-Ling — were reportedly the first in the United States in more than 20 years. Moreover, they had political clout. They were a goodwill gesture from communist China after then-President Richard M. Nixon’s landmark visit there to renew diplomatic ties. Nixon reportedly selected the National Zoo over at least four other big-city zoos because it was taxpayer funded. In return for the pandas, Dr. Reed agreed to escort two musk oxen to Beijing from the San Francisco Zoo. The Washington Post reported that the oxen — destined for China despite their “unrevolutionary” names of Milton and Matilda — suffered from postnasal drip and a skin condition that was causing them to shed their hair. Dr. Reed diagnosed “culture shock” from their hearing Chinese and recommended antibiotics and “tender loving care.” A look at those who died last year. Not all went as well as predicted back in Washington, either. One of the great hopes for the bears was their potential mating. But their courtship was troubled. “She was willing and he was anxious, but they just couldn’t coordinate their efforts,” Dr. Reed told Time magazine. They repeatedly failed to produce offspring that survived more than a few days. Ling-Ling died in 1992, and Hsing-Hsing died in 1999. (The zoo’s second pair of giant pandas produced in 2005 the zoo’s first surviving cub, Tai Shan.) Dr. Reed recalled seeking advice from other zoo directors, who were less than helpful. “I remember calling the zoo at San Francisco, where they had bred some red pandas,” he told The Post in 1983. “I asked them how they did it and they said: ‘Well, Ted, the first thing is you get a male and a female. Be sure about that because it won’t work otherwise. Then the next thing is you get real lucky.’ “I have come to the conclusion that unlike humans, most animals will not breed if they don’t like each other,” he added. Theodore Harold Reed, whose father was an Army officer, was born July 25, 1922, at the Walter Reed Army hospital in Washington. He grew up all over the world, including the Philippines, but mostly in Norton, Kan. He said that as a young man, he hoped to follow his father and brother into combat during World War II, but, because of color