Document Reveals Growth of Cyberwarfare Between the U.S. and Iran

Abstract: WASHINGTON — A newly disclosed National Security Agency document illustrates the striking acceleration of the use of cyberweapons by the United States and Iran against each other, both for spying and sabotage, even as Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart met in Geneva to try to break a stalemate in the talks over Iran’s disputed nuclear program. The document, which was written in April 2013 for Gen. Keith B. Alexander, then the director of the National Security Agency, described how Iranian officials had discovered new evidence the year before that the United States was preparing computer surveillance or cyberattacks on their networks. It detailed how the United States and Britain had worked together to contain the damage from “Iran’s discovery of computer network exploitation tools” — the building blocks of cyberweapons. That was more than two years after the Stuxnet worm attack by the United States and Israel severely damaged the computer networks at Tehran’s nuclear enrichment plant. The document , which was first reported this month by The Intercept , an online publication that grew out of the disclosures by Edward J. Snowden, the former N.S.A. contractor, did not describe the targets. But for the first time, the surveillance agency acknowledged that its attacks on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, a George W. Bush administration program, kicked off the cycle of retaliation and escalation that has come to mark the computer competition between the United States and Iran. The document suggested that even while the high-stakes nuclear negotiations played out in Europe, day-to-day hostilities between the United States and Iran had moved decisively into cyberspace. “The potential cost of using nuclear weapons was so high that no one felt they could afford to use them,” said David J. Rothkopf, the author of “National Insecurity,” a new study of strategic decisions made by several American administrations. But the cost of using cyberweapons is seemingly so low, Mr. Rothkopf said, that “we seem to feel we can’t afford not to use them” and that “many may feel they can’t afford ever to stop.” The N.S.A.’s new director, Adm. Michael S. Rogers , has declared that his first task is to deter attacks by making it costly for countries like Russia, China and Iran to wage cyberwar. But a former senior intelligence official who looked at the two-page document prepared for General Alexander after it was published 10 days ago said it provided “more evidence of how far behind we are in figuring out how to deter attacks, and how to retaliate when we figured out who was behind them.” Timeline on Iran’s Nuclear Program Whether Iran is racing toward nuclear weapon capabilities is one of the most contentious foreign-policy issues challenging the West. The document declares that American intercepts of voice or computer communications showed that three waves of attacks against American banks that began in August 2012 were launched by Iran “in retaliation to Western activities against Iran’s nuclear sector,” and added that “senior officials in the Iranian government are aware of these attacks.” The main targets were the websites of Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase. By 2015 standards, those were relatively unsophisticated “denial of service” strikes that flooded the banks with data, so overloading them it was impossible for a time for customers to access their accounts. American officials — with the exception of then-Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, who was the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security committee — never publicly identified Iran as the culprit, though it was widely reported as the prime suspect. More recently, the Obama administration, in an effort to deter attacks, has grown less reticent about naming countries that the administration believes are responsible for such attacks. In May, five members of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army were indicted on a charge of stealing intellectual property from American companies. And in December, President Obama said he had evidence that North Korea’s leadership was behind an attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment, though he did not provide details. The New York Times later reported that the N.S.A. had gathered the evidence from implants that it had placed in North Korean computers beginning in 2010. But just as American officials woke up to North Korea’s abilities last year, the newly disclosed document makes clear that by early 2012, American officials were increasingly alarmed by the successes of Iran’s new “cybercorps.” The background briefing for General Alexander, who is now running his own cyberdefense firm, said flatly that Iran was responsible for the “destructive cyberattack against Saudi Aramco in August 2012, during which data was destroyed on tens of thousands of computers,” an attack that appeared to pave the way for a technically similar strike on Sony last year. The N.S.A. document suggests that the attack on Saudi Aramco was in response to “a similar cyberattack” against Iran’s oil industry earlier that year; it did not indicate who launched that attack. The document refers to a major program at the N.S.A. to prepare for traditional or cyberwar “contingencies” with Iran, including a “planned battle rhythm” that would allow it to feed data to the White House and the military’s commands. That is fairly standard planning, but the document underscored that the plans depended on “both our access and Iran’s capabilities,” meaning that there is a constant reassessment of how deeply the N.S.A. and its military partner, United States Cyber Command, have penetrated Iranian systems. The core of the document urges General Alexander to tell his counterpart at the Government Communications Headquarters that the two organizations have “worked multiple high-priority surges” against Tehran. GCHQ, as it is known, is the British intelligence agency that is famous for breaking Germany’s Enigma codes, recently portrayed in the movie “The Imitation Game.” But it hints at discord. GCHQ wanted to set up “a trilateral arrangement to prosecute the Iranian target,” the memo said. But the United States “has been opposed to such a blanket arrangement,” the document said, and hints that both the N.S.A. and GCHQ “have agreed to continue to share information gleaned from the respective bilateral relationships” with Israel’s Unit 8200, also known as the Israeli Sigint National Unit. “Sigint” stands for “signals intelligence.” The relationship between the N.S.A. and its Israeli counterpart has always been testy. Both American and Israeli intelligence agencies spy on each other, even while working together. The joint development of Olympic Games was their proudest moment of collaboration, but it was also marked by disagreements about how, and how vigorously, to press cyberattacks on Iran.

Cyberwarfare
Iran
Spying and Intelligence Agencies
NSA
Computers and the Internet
Tech Industry
International relations
US


Gazprom Reaches Deal With EDF to Invest in European Power Plants

Abstract: ST. PETERSBURG — Gazprom , the Russian natural gas company, reached a deal Friday with EDF of France to jointly invest in gas-fired power plants in Europe, gaining an important toehold for its exports at a time when competition from shale gas and liquefied natural gas is disrupting its main business. Under the agreement, the power plants would use natural gas supplied exclusively by Gazprom. The company is under intense pressure to develop a new business model as prices for gas and competing energy sources decline. Gas for sale on the European spot market costs less than the oil -linked prices under the Russian company’s long-term contracts. At the same time, global economic stagnation and a boom in shale gas in the United States are driving down the price of coal , a competitor to gas. Aleksei B. Miller, chief executive of Gazprom, called the agreement with EDF a “strategically important sphere” for the Russian company, which would help secure smooth relations with Europe on pipeline politics and energy trade. “This is very important in the larger strategic perspective,” said Thane Gustafson, an energy analyst with IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates. “It’s something the Russians have been working to do for the last 20 years.” The announcement Friday did not specify any purchases of electricity plants. It offered only that the two companies would explore options for building or acquiring gas-fired facilities that would be owned on an equal basis, and that any plants would burn Gazprom’s fuel. The Russian company, more than half of which is owned by the state, had been in talks with RWE, a big German utility, to build and operate power stations in Germany, Britain and the Netherlands. But the discussions petered out last year with no tangible results. Gazprom already provides the European Union with about a quarter of its natural gas. It wants to get into power generation because it “seems to believe that there’s a margin that they’re just not getting by selling gas at the border,” said Howard V. Rogers, director of the gas program at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. That might not be the case, he said, as the electricity market opens up further and prices fall. EDF, 85 percent of which is owned by the French state, is the world’s largest operator of nuclear power plants, but it is seeking to keep its long-term energy options open. The EDF chief executive, Henri Proglio, who signed the deal with Mr. Miller at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, said the agreement fulfilled a goal of forming a tight partnership with an important energy supplier. EDF is also a partner with Gazprom in a proposed pipeline in the Black Sea, called South Stream, that would provide an alternative for the pipeline system in Ukraine, a key conduit to Western Europe. Gazprom has yet to make a final decision on building the exceptionally expensive bypass. One concern for banks and partner companies is that demand in Europe for Russian gas may not justify the cost. The statement Friday provided no indication of how large an investment Gazprom might make, or at what price it might provide gas to a partially owned subsidiary. In Germany, Gazprom operates a distribution network with BASF, the German chemical giant. BASF is also a partner in the Nord Stream pipeline in the Baltic Sea, which has already been completed. German utilities are locked into long-term contracts with Gazprom that are used in part to pay for the cost of the pipeline’s construction, a project supported by the former German chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, a close ally of President Vladimir V. Putin. Because Gazprom gas is now more expensive than competing sources, German utilities are losing money and passing on higher electricity costs to consumers. Mr. Rogers said Gazprom had “a huge disconnect in its strategy,” because the price at which it currently supplies gas to Europe is more than double the price at which gas-fired plants would be competitive with current coal-fired plants. To make money, he said, the company would need to set an internal transfer price for gas-fired plants at “about half of what they’re selling to third parties now.” Further, once-expected growth is now uncertain because of the effects of the shale gas boom and the economic crisis. European countries have taken different approaches to shale gas so far, with some, like Poland, moving aggressively ahead, and others, like France, advancing more cautiously. Maria van der Hoeven, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, who was also attending the forum, said Russian energy company executives were publicly dismissive of shale gas, underlining its environmental drawbacks. “They don’t like shale gas because it’s a competitor,” Ms. Van der Hoeven said. David Jolly reported from Paris.

Gazprom
Europe
Natural Gas
Shale
Pipelines
Russia
Electricite de France


Seton Hall Rolls Past UMass to Improve to 7-0

Abstract: Seton Hall ’s Herb Pope, who said he felt sick in the hours before the game, had 22 points and 15 rebounds as Seton Hall rolled past Massachusetts, 86-68, on Monday in Newark. “He was pretty sick and we didn’t know if he was going to play,” Seton Hall Coach Bobby Gonzalez said, referring to Pope. Seton Hall (7-0) opened a season with seven wins for the first time since 1988-89, the last time it went to the N.C.A.A. final. Pope, a transfer from New Mexico State, has double figures in points and rebounds four times this season. “Maybe we need him to be sick more often,” Gonzalez said. The Pirates traded baskets with the Minutemen (4-5) before going on two long runs to take a 44-19 halftime lead. TEXAS 107, LONG BEACH ST. 74 The freshman Avery Bradley scored 17 points as No. 2 Texas (7-0) won easily at home. MICHIGAN STATE 69, CITADEL 56 Kalin Lucas had 17 points as No. 12 Michigan State won on the road. The Citadel (6-5) made its first seven 3s and finished 12 of 20. But the Spartans (7-2) held the Bulldogs to two baskets over the final eight minutes. TEXAS A&M 75, NORTH TEXAS 65 Donald Sloan scored 21 points to lead four Texas A&M players in double figures and the No. 16 Aggies (8-1) won at home. Texas A&M, which has won four in a row, went on a 26-4 run at the end of the first half. MARSHALL 69, BINGHAMTON 55 Tyler Wilkerson scored 19 points for visiting Marshall (6-1). Binghamton (3-6) rallied from a 37-20 halftime deficit, and a dunk by Kyrie Sutton made the score 48-44 with 8 minutes 57 seconds left. But Binghamton came no closer. SIENA 73, IONA 60 Edwin Ubiles scored 19 points and led four players in double figures for visiting Siena. The Saints (6-3) shot 50 percent from the field in their Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opener. Scott Machado scored 9 points for Iona (4-4, 0-2). VERMONT 72, YALE 60 Nick Vier scored 17 points for visiting Vermont (6-4), which has won four in a row. Michael Sands led Yale (3-6) with 15 points. ARMY 61, F.D.U. 40 Julian Simmons scored 17 points for visiting Army (6-2), which opened the game on a 14-0 run. Louis Larizza and Kamil Svrdlik each scored 8 points to lead Fairleigh Dickinson (1-8).

Basketball
College Athletics
Seton Hall University
University of Massachusetts
Pope Herb


St. John’s Adds No. 4 Pittsburgh to Its List of Garden Victims

Abstract: St. John’s has burnished its N.C.A.A. tournament résumé by making a habit of upsetting top-10 teams at Madison Square Garden. Now, with the Red Storm seemingly assured a bid, it is most likely playing for style points and seeding. And that was why St. John’s 60-59 victory over fourth-ranked Pittsburgh on Saturday at the Garden amounted to another milepost for a program that has re-established itself after nearly a decade’s absence from the national conversation. “I don’t want to say that yet,” St. John’s forward Justin Burrell said. “We’re just playing games. I don’t want to say we’ve arrived yet.” But the results do not lie. In front of a pulsating crowd, St. John’s (17-9, 9-5 Big East) knocked off its fourth top-10 opponent at the Garden, with Pittsburgh (24-3, 12-2) in good company with Notre Dame, Duke and Connecticut. The crowd of 14,514 went into a frenzy after an up-and-under layup by Dwight Hardy gave St. John’s the lead with 1.2 seconds remaining. A missed half-court heave by guard Brad Wanamaker set off a raucous Red Storm celebration at center court. Not only did the victory rattle the conference-leading Panthers, it added luster to the Red Storm’s tournament credentials and could put St. John’s in the Associated Press top 25 for the first time since 2000. Aside from receiving a technical foul for arguing a call in the first half, St. John’s Coach Steve Lavin managed his players with a steely composure. In a tense timeout late in the game, Lavin told his players to enjoy the moment, to take mental snapshots, to forget about winning and losing. “Life will never get better than this moment,” Lavin said he told his team. “It’s still a game. I felt there was a stretch we were playing joyless basketball. I said: ‘This is Madison Square Garden. You’ve got this place electrified, and you’re playing with your best friends. This is fun.’ ” Burrell laughed and said, “He doesn’t really coach.” Lavin exudes calm all the way to his toes: St. John’s coaches have worn white sneakers instead of dress shoes, and no ties, with their suits for the last seven games, favoring comfort over style. The Red Storm has won six of those games. Although forward D. J. Kennedy got into foul trouble early, he scored 4 of his 11 points in the final six and a half minutes. Although guard Paris Horne did not score a point, he grabbed a key offensive rebound to start the possession that gave the Red Storm a lead with 27.6 seconds left. But it was Hardy who put an exclamation point on the win. Hardy started his drive near midcourt, cut to the right and spun past guard Gilbert Brown underneath the basket. Television replays appeared to show that Hardy, who led St. John’s with 19 points, stepped out of bounds before making his underhanded shot. “I was just trying to create contact and get to the basket,” Hardy said. “The defense gave me a great opportunity to get to the hole. I just had to go with my instinct.” Although Panthers guard Ashton Gibbs made six 3-pointers in scoring 26 points in his return from a knee injury, it was a 3-pointer from guard Travon Woodall that gave Pittsburgh a 59-58 lead with 11.3 seconds to play. But St. John’s, with Hardy and its eight other active seniors, did not give in. In victories at Cincinnati on Sunday and at Marquette on Tuesday, St. John’s had to display a similar toughness. The Red Storm did not score a field goal in the final nine minutes in beating the Bearcats, and it won at Marquette in a game that featured 16 lead changes. “One of the traits that’s beginning to develop with our team is resiliency,” Lavin said. “There’s a resolve to problem-solving and using ingenuity and finding ways to generate enough stops and enough points to pull out victories against tough opponents.” Lavin noted that such a characteristic would be important in postseason tournaments, when winning each game is the only way to guarantee there will be another. Still, the Red Storm will need to replicate those performances away from the Garden. St. John’s has probably assured its first berth in the N.C.A.A. tournament since 2002 because of its long (and growing) list of victories over ranked opponents and its two Big East road wins last week. The Red Storm’s performance Saturday will only help its cause. “I think they’re probably playing for a seed at this point,” Jerry Palm, who runs CollegeRPI.com, said recently by telephone, adding, “Now the question is, can they continue to play well and maybe do some damage in the conference tournament?” The answer could be yes. St. John’s has announced a return that has reverberated in New York, and beyond.

Basketball
St John's University
University of Pittsburgh
NCAA Basketball Tournament (Men)


Spring Is Due at 6:45 P.M., With Snow

Abstract: Go home. Spring will officially arrive at 6:45 p.m. But this afternoon, winter is coming. Tim Morrin, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, said the forecast called for as much as five inches of snow in New York City, with the first flakes falling just before noon. The one bright spot: Perhaps the promise of a messy evening commute will give New Yorkers an excuse to skip out of work early. “Any chance of getting into that drive home earlier than possible is a good thing,” Mr. Morrin said. You can quote him on that. At 10 a.m., it was 37 degrees in Central Park, but temperatures were expected to fall with the snow. By around 4 p.m., just in time for the evening rush, the storm is expected to be at its strongest. Because the ground is not particularly cold, Mr. Morrin said, it is unlikely that there will be much accumulation on roadways until nightfall. But the heavy snow will affect visibility and could cause problems on less traveled roads. The storm is a weak low-pressure system making its way into the region from the Ohio River Valley, but with it moving relatively quickly, the snow should start to taper off around 10 p.m. Some freezing rain may make an appearance. Even this relatively weak system could set records. The record snowfall for this day is 4.7 inches and was set in 1958. The next highest total was 2.8 inches in 1944. The snow was forecast to still be falling at 6:45 p.m., the vernal equinox — the moment the sun’s rays are most directly focused on the Equator. Twice a year, in March and September, the Northern and Southern Hemispheres are bathed in equal amounts of sunlight. After the spring equinox, the sun’s rays shine more directly on the Northern Hemisphere, meaning longer days in the north. Mr. Morrin said that after the snow ended, it would be a few more days before New Yorkers could expect to see things warm up significantly. On Saturday, the temperature will not break 50 degrees. On Sunday it will hover around 40. By Thursday, with temperatures over 55 degrees, it should start to feel like this cold, dark winter is finally gone.


Virginia: Jury Recommends Six Months for Lawyer

Abstract: A military jury recommended that a Navy lawyer spend six months in prison and be dismissed from the Navy for sending a human rights lawyer the names of 550 Guantánamo Bay detainees in a Valentine’s Day card. The defendant, Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Diaz, was convicted Thursday at his court-martial of communicating secret information about detainees that could be used to injure the United States and three other charges of leaking information. The jury recommended that Commander Diaz receive his pay and benefits while incarcerated, but the sentence must be approved by Rear Admiral Rick Ruehe. The dismissal will also be reviewed by a military appellate court, the Navy said.

Courts-Martial
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base (Cuba)
Prisons and Prisoners
United States Armament and Defense
Decisions and Verdicts


Abruptly, P.&G. Chief Ends Career of 33 Years

Abstract: In a surprise move, Procter & Gamble, the world’s biggest consumer products company, said on Thursday that its chief executive had resigned and was being replaced by his predecessor, Alan G. Lafley. Robert A. McDonald, 59, the company’s chief executive and president since 2009, notified the board a few days ago of his decision to retire, said a P.& G. spokesman, Paul Fox. Procter & Gamble had been under pressure from the prominent hedge fund manager William A. Ackman, who has criticized Mr. McDonald for the company’s poor stock performance. Mr. Ackman is known for publicly challenging management teams, having agitated for change at the likes of J. C. Penney and Fortune Brands. Mr. Fox said he was unaware of any health or personal reasons behind the abrupt decision by Mr. McDonald, who had worked at the company for 33 years. He also said that Mr. McDonald’s decision was not spurred by pressure from company directors. Image Alan G. Lafley is Procter & Gamble’s new chief, a post he once held for about 10 years. Credit Shannon Stapleton/Reuters The company said that Mr. Lafley, 65, would immediately replace Mr. McDonald. Mr. Lafley served as chief executive and president from 2000 to 2009. Mr. Fox said that members of the company’s board sought out Mr. Lafley after learning of Mr. McDonald’s decision. As part of his return to the company, Mr. Lafley was also elected chairman. Mr. Ackman has made P.& G. one of his big bets. His 27.9 million shares, worth nearly $2.2 billion as of Thursday, are one of the largest investments that his hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital, has ever made. He has argued that the company was burdened with bloat, inefficiency and excessive marketing expenses. Mr. McDonald has been one of his chief targets. In a presentation this month, Mr. Ackman said that Mr. McDonald had been distracted by outside commitments, including seats on other organizations’ boards. He called upon Procter to replace Mr. McDonald if the company’s fortunes had not materially improved by the end of June. “As we’ve said all along, we have confidence in the board of Procter & Gamble to do the right thing for the company and the shareholders,” Mr. Ackman said in a brief telephone interview on Thursday.

Procter & Gamble
Robert A. McDonald
Appointments and Executive Changes
Alan G Lafley
William A Ackman


College Football Around the Country

Abstract: AARON MURRAY The Georgia quarterback threw for two touchdowns in a 45-6 home win over Appalachian State. He became the Southeastern Conference career leader in touchdown passes, with 115. Danny Wuerffel had 114. NELSON AGHOLOR His punt returns of 75 and 93 yards for touchdowns helped Southern California win, 62-28, at California. JERRON SEYMOUR His three touchdown runs fueled Vanderbilt’s 34-17 victory, the team’s first win at Florida since 1945. It was the Commodores’ first win over the Gators in 23 meetings. ANDRE WILLIAMS The Boston College running back rushed for 295 yards and scored on 80- and 47-yard runs in a 48-34 victory at New Mexico State. SHANE CARDEN The East Carolina quarterback threw for five scores and ran for two in a 58-24 home win over Tulsa. KAPRI BIBBS His 312 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns led host Colorado State to a 38-17 win over Nevada. Fired for a Slur Ron English, fired as Eastern Michigan’s coach Friday for using “wholly inappropriate language,” expressed regret for using a homophobic slur in a film session with defensive backs last month. Image Aaron Murray Credit David Goldman/Associated Press “As a man who has coached 21 years, obviously, on this occasion and particular meeting, I lost my poise, got upset and used language that was inappropriate, particularly as it pertains to homosexual slurs,” said English, who was 11-46 as the Eagles’ coach. “I regret that. I apologize to the university for putting it in this position.” With Stan Parrish as the interim coach, Eastern Michigan (2-8, 1-5 Mid-American Conference) gained a 35-32 overtime victory at home over Western Michigan (1-9, 1-5). 4-0 Without Coach Minnesota won its fourth straight game since Coach Jerry Kill went on leave to treat his epilepsy, winning at home against Penn State, 24-10. “I didn’t know if we could move quite this quick, but I think that’s a credit to our staff and our players,” said Kill, who has eased back in to the job by supervising from the coaches’ booth instead of being on the sideline. He added, “We knew we were getting better.” David Cobb had 27 carries for 139 yards and a touchdown for the Golden Gophers (8-2, 4-2 Big Ten). It is the first time Minnesota has won four straight conference games in a season since 1973. The Nittany Lions (5-4, 2-3) have been outscored, 131-48, in three Big Ten road games. Setting the Stage Duke will face a tough test at home against Miami next Saturday, but at least the Blue Devils have already cleared one big hurdle. DeVon Edwards scored three touchdowns, two on interception returns in a stretch of 16 seconds and one on a 100-yard kickoff return, to help Duke win at North Carolina State, 38-20. The Blue Devils (7-2, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) are assured of their first winning season since 1994. ■ Ameer Abdullah’s 5-yard scoring catch with 2 minutes 3 seconds left gave Nebraska (7-2, 4-1 Big Ten) a 17-13 win at Michigan. The Cornhuskers host Michigan State (8-1, 5-0) next Saturday in a battle for first place in the Legends Division.

College football
Aaron Murray
Andre Williams
Boston College
University of Georgia
University of Mississippi
USC
Vanderbilt University
University of Florida


Texas: Deal Reached Over Claims That Company Misused Visas

Abstract: Federal prosecutors in Texas have reached a civil settlement with Infosys, an Indian outsourcing company, over charges that it misused temporary visas to bring Indian technology workers to the United States, justice officials said. In an investigation started in February 2011, prosecutors have examined whether Infosys systematically used short-term visitor visas to bring software programmers and technology engineers from India to work in American companies, instead of more costly H-1B visas, deceiving immigration authorities and undercutting wages for American workers. Infosys has said it set aside $35 million for the settlement, which will be announced on Wednesday.

Texas
Visas
India
Foreign Workers
Infosys Technologies


One Day After Wreck, Increased Funding for Amtrak Fails in a House Panel

Abstract: WASHINGTON — The bodies had not yet been fully recovered from the Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia before Capitol Hill erupted hours later into its usual partisan clash over how much money to spend on the long-struggling national rail service. As investigators picked through the rubble on Wednesday morning, Democratic lawmakers in Washington angrily demanded an increase in Amtrak funding, calling Tuesday night’s accident a result of congressional failure to support the rail system. Republicans refused, defeating the request in a morning committee hearing and accusing Democrats of using a tragedy for political reasons. “It was beneath you,” Representative Mike Simpson, Republican of Idaho, snapped at a Democratic colleague after the funding increase was defeated in a 30-to-21 vote. The scene in the hearing room was a replay of the swirling politics that have threatened to consume Amtrak in the four decades since it was nationalized by the United States government. Like the rest of the country’s crumbling public infrastructure, its aging rail beds and decades-old trains are sagging under increased use, especially in the Northeast, where nearly three-quarters of all travel takes place on the trains, not on planes. And the immediate political rancor foreshadowed another fight to come soon: whether Congress will delay a mandate to install equipment that would have automatically reduced the speed of Northeast Regional train No. 188. The deadline for installing the system, called positive train control , is the end of 2015, but Congress is considering extending the deadline to 2020 at the urging of freight and passenger rail systems that say the costs could rise to $10 billion. Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, said in a statement on Wednesday that delaying the technology “only leads to preventable and predictable tragedy.” Investigators said they were examining the speed of the derailed Amtrak train, which they said was going 106 miles an hour on a stretch of track where the speed limit was half that. But they said no firm conclusion had been reached on what caused the derailment. Edward G. Rendell, the Democratic former governor of Pennsylvania, lashed out at Republican lawmakers on Wednesday for refusing to increase Amtrak funding. He said the requested increase of $251 million over the Republican budget of $1.14 billion could significantly improve safety by upgrading tracks and installing positive train control systems in the busiest part of the system. Image The scene Wednesday at the accident site in Philadelphia. Some say better funding could have prevented the derailment. Credit National Transportation Safety Board “It is absolutely stunning to me,” Mr. Rendell said of the funding vote. “It shows that ideology trumps reality, and it shows that cowardice reigns in Washington. The callousness and disregard was shockingly contemporaneous.” Representative Steve Israel, Democrat of New York, also criticized his Republican colleagues, saying they should have used the aftermath of the Amtrak accident “as an opportunity to do the right thing, instead of sticking to their ideology.” The Northeast Corridor is the nation’s busiest rail corridor and accounts for more than a third of Amtrak’s ridership. It is also the most profitable part of its national network. But some bridges, like the Portal Bridge near New York, for instance, are more than a century old and in desperate need of replacement. Trains come to a crawl when they travel through Baltimore’s 100-year-old tunnel. Some parts of the tracks still have wooden ties. Meanwhile, the Acela — Amtrak’s high-speed train that runs between Washington and Boston — can reach its top speed only in a handful of places. On a 30-mile stretch near Cranston, R.I., for example, the Acela speeds up to 150 m.p.h. About five minutes later, it needs to slow down. Why an Amtrak Train Derailed in Philadelphia The engineer in the crash in Philadelphia last year became distracted and entered a curve at more than twice the speed limit, the National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday. “These trains have to be thought of as a national asset,” said Rosabeth Moss Kanter, a professor at the Harvard Business School. “Amtrak is a political whipping boy for Congress. But how much is it going to take to wake up Congress that this stuff has to be invested in? It is aging, it is not properly maintained.” Amtrak has its passionate supporters, including Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who often joins many lawmakers who race to Union Station for a quick trip home. But the rail system also has many detractors, who say its annual losses are a drain on the public treasury. Many argue that privatization of the rail lines would improve service, cut costs and create innovation that could rival the gleaming train systems in Japan, China and across Europe. Representative John L. Mica, Republican of Florida, is pushing a plan to privatize the improvement of Amtrak’s system in the Northeast region. He said that the rail system needed money for improvements, but that lawmakers did not trust Amtrak to spend it well. “What they own is poorly maintained and outdated infrastructure,” Mr. Mica said. But he added, “They don’t have the trust of Congress to get substantial money because they’ve not spent the money well that they’ve gotten.” Video The United States Naval Academy’s superintendent said Thursday that Justin Zemser, the midshipman who died in an Amtrak train derailment, was a talented and highly respected young man. Credit Credit U.S. Naval Academy, via Associated Press “When you give them money, they squander it,” he said. In the meantime, however, Amtrak’s funding is failing to catch up to its ridership, which peaked at 32 million last year, up nearly 50 percent since 2000. In 2014, its latest fiscal year, Amtrak lost $1 billion with revenue of $3.2 billion. “Amtrak has really suffered from congressional schizophrenia over funding levels,” said Ray LaHood, the Republican former member of Congress who served as President Obama’s first secretary of transportation. Mr. LaHood said much of the blame rested with lawmakers who came to Washington from states where Amtrak does not run. “They think Amtrak is just the easy place to cut,” he said, adding that he had little optimism that anything would change without pressure from voters during election time. “All Americans should be concerned that there is no vision,” Mr. LaHood said. “There is no plan. There is no courage for taking up what needs to be done in terms of fully funding infrastructure. We are limping along.” Since the passage of the Rail Passenger Service Act of 1970 , the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, as Amtrak is officially called, is the only provider of national passenger rail service in the country. Successive Amtrak chief executives — there have been six since 2002 — contend with a dual mandate: to provide a public service while also trying to make money, which has proved an impossible task, Ms. Kanter said. Her latest book, “Move: Putting America’s Infrastructure Back in the Lead,” addresses the importance of investing in transportation infrastructure. “We have to do something big instead of just repairing. We need to repair, of course, but we have to reinvent, too, because the whole model is broken,” she said. “We don’t want to be stuck with the same crummy, shabby system after we fix Philadelphia. We have to do something more, and better.”

Amtrak
Philadelphia
Congress
Train wreck
Federal Budget
Infrastructure,public works
US Politics
House of Representatives


Aaron Katz, Advocate for Rosenbergs, Dies at 92

Abstract: Aaron Katz, who for more than 50 years relentlessly and publicly sought the exoneration of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, the central figures in the nation’s most controversial spying case, died on Sept. 28 in Venice, Fla. He was 92 and lived in North Port, Fla. The death was confirmed by his wife, Cynthia. Mr. Katz was director of the National Committee to Reopen the Rosenberg Case for 42 years, repeatedly leading demonstrations outside the federal courthouse on Foley Square in Manhattan on the anniversary of the couple’s execution in Sing Sing’s electric chair on June 19, 1953. They had been found guilty of conspiring to give the Soviets atomic bomb secrets. Mr. Katz was the director of the group, originally called the Committee to Secure Justice in the Rosenberg Case, from 1963 to 2005. He had been active with the committee since the early 1950s. Year after year, on or about the execution date, Mr. Katz organized a picket line outside the courthouse, calling for a new investigation into the conviction of the Rosenbergs and their friend Morton Sobell. The Rosenbergs and Mr. Sobell were found guilty in 1951 on charges of conspiring to deliver classified military and industrial information to the Soviet Union. The demonstrations ended only in 1992, after the death of Judge Irving R. Kaufman, who had presided over the Rosenberg case. Mr. Sobell served more than 18 years in prison, and for years Mr. Katz worked to clear his name. But last month Mr. Sobell, 91, after maintaining his innocence for 57 years, admitted that he and Julius Rosenberg had been spies for the Soviets during World War II, when the Soviets were allies of the United States. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, call it that,” he said of the espionage label, making his admission in an interview with The New York Times. “I never thought of it as that in those terms.” Mr. Sobell also said that Ethel Rosenberg had been aware of her husband’s espionage but had not participated in it. “She knew what he was doing,” he said, “but what was she guilty of? Of being Julius’s wife.” On Tuesday, Mrs. Katz said she had not told her husband of Mr. Sobell’s admission. “He would have been very upset, mortified, to know that all 50 years he was spending defending the Rosenbergs and Morton, and to find out that now Morton is saying he and Julius were guilty,” Mrs. Katz said. “He really believed in Morton’s innocence, as well as the Rosenbergs’. He also believed Ethel was framed.” The Rosenbergs had two young sons, Robert and Michael, who later took the last name of their foster parents: Meeropol. Michael Meeropol, now chairman of the economics department at Western New England College in Massachusetts, said that Mr. Katz had “always argued that if Ethel and Julius, in fact, had done anything, it was not the secret of the atom bomb and certainly didn’t warrant the death penalty.” “Nor did it justify breaking the rules by which American justice is supposed to be administered,” Mr. Meeropol said. A consensus among scientists maintains that the atomic bomb information that prosecutors said the Rosenbergs had conspired to give to the Soviets was of little value, except to corroborate what the Soviets already knew from other spies. In addition to leading annual protests to refocus attention on the Rosenberg case, Mr. Katz lobbied all three branches of the federal government, wrote dozens of letters to editors, gave interviews and helped establish support committees in other countries, said Leonard Lehrman, co-director of the Rosenberg committee. “It was thanks to Aaron,” Mr. Lehrman said, “that the struggle to get Ethel and Julius Rosenberg exonerated regarding the crime for which they were unjustly executed 55 years ago has continued to have international focus.” In part because of Mr. Katz’s efforts, Mr. Lehrman said, 26 towns in France have a street, a square or a school dedicated to the Rosenbergs. Aaron Katz was born in Manhattan on Oct. 22, 1915, one of two sons of Max and Leah Feller Katz. His brother, Chaim, was killed in Spain in 1938 while fighting with the American Lincoln Brigade against the nationalist forces of Gen. Francisco Franco. Like his father, Aaron Katz became an insurance broker. He served in the merchant marine in World War II. Mr. Katz’s first marriage, to Dorothy Kaminof, ended in divorce. In addition to his wife, the former Cynthia Willis, he is survived by a daughter, Sara Rowe; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Mr. Katz was in Israel when the Rosenbergs were executed. The reaction of friends and relatives there pushed him to join the Rosenberg committee when he returned home. But his advocacy went beyond the Rosenberg case. He joined civil rights and anti-Vietnam War marches and lobbied against the death penalty. “Aaron believed in fighting injustice wherever he saw it,” Michael Meeropol said. “He was tireless: the old joke about a bulldog on a bone who won’t let go.”

Espionage
Sobell Morton
Rosenberg Julius
Deaths (Obituaries)
Katz Aaron
Rosenberg Ethel


Riesch Extends Lead Over Vonn

Abstract: Maria Riesch of Germany and Tanja Poutiainen of Finland shared a slalom victory at a World Cup run at night in Flachau, Austria. Lindsey Vonn, the three-time overall champion, straddled a gate and failed to finish her first run for the fourth straight race. Riesch extended her lead over Vonn in the overall standings to 196 points.


Work Up a Sweat, and Bargain Better

Abstract: If better health isn’t enough incentive to take a brisk walk, perhaps there is another one: it may get you a better deal. New research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology offers a twist on the adage “never let them see you sweat,” says Jared Curhan , associate professor of organization studies at M.I.T.’s Sloan School of Management, and one of the study’s co-authors. “If you’re sweating, and your heart rate is up, it’s seen as a sign something is going wrong, that you’re too nervous, off-balance, flustered,” he said. “Whereas we’re showing that something could be very right.” Professor Curhan and his colleagues found that a person who negotiates while moving — say, pacing while bargaining over job terms on the cellphone — can see improved results. But there is, of course, a rub. The better outcomes seen with exertion tend to come only to people who are confident heading into the negotiation in the first place. If, instead, they are nervous, walking may actually hamper performance. The study , published recently in the journal Psychological Science, involved two experiments. One compared the experience of subjects who negotiated to buy a car on a cellphone while walking briskly on a treadmill (their heart rates averaged 117 beats a minute) against the experience of others who walked at a more modest pace (88 beats a minute). A second experiment compared the experiences of subjects negotiating for job terms on a cellphone; some subjects took a casual walk, while others sat in a chair. Image Credit Michael Waraksa As conventional wisdom would suggest, those who dreaded negotiation performed even worse when they exerted themselves. What was more surprising was that those who looked forward to negotiation displayed the opposite results: In the job-negotiation experiment, they performed better and felt better about their performances when they were walking. And in the treadmill experiment, the confident negotiators felt that they performed better when their heart rates were elevated — more so than equally confident people who walked at a modest pace. The results provide a real-world application to a decades-old body of science about the relationship between physical and mental states. It turns out that it’s very easy to confuse the two. That is because, broadly speaking, emotions consist of two factors: a physiological response and how a person experiences and labels it. In other words, one person might call a racing heart and sweaty palms anxiety and another might call it excitement. Recent research from Alison Wood Brooks , a scholar now at the Harvard Business School, shows that people perform better in a range of pursuits — singing, public speaking, math — if they can take note of the physiological responses and relabel their feelings as excitement as opposed to anxiety. Ms. Brooks said the research would apply to negotiation. Her advice is for people to “reappraise” anxiety as excitement. This can be accomplished, she said, even by simply saying “I’m excited.” Earlier research shows that anxiety can be so debilitating that it causes people to “make low first offers, exit early and earn less profit.” She said the new M.I.T. research showed a way to counter these forces. “Get on the treadmill, get your heart racing and once it’s racing, appraise the feeling as excitement — tell yourself ‘I am excited, not anxious,’ ” she said. “And then go forth and prosper.” One thing that is not clear from the M.I.T. study is just how much physical exertion makes sense in negotiation. For now, said Ashley Brown, the lead author of the study who is now a psychology researcher at Stanford, “I wouldn’t suggest doing a marathon.”

Research
Heart
Psychology
Anxiety and Stress
MIT
Psychological Science Journal
Exercise,Fitness


Esquire Network Debut Is Postponed

Abstract: The new Esquire Network has pushed back the first day of its newly branded cable channel until sometime in the summer, the top executive at the channel said on Monday. The channel was to have had its debut next week. The news of the delay, first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, an entertainment industry Web site, was confirmed in a statement by Adam Stotsky, general manager of the Esquire Network. Mr. Stotsky tied the decision to an opportunity to begin the new channel with more original programming than would have been possible by next Monday. The Esquire Network had announced a program schedule that was heavy on acquired shows, with only two original series. By June, one executive with the network said, the channel ought to be able to increases that to at least five. But the start date might still be put off past June, said the executive, who asked not to be identified because no final decision on a start date had been made. NBC Universal announced in February that it would rebrand the existing G4 network, a video gaming channel, as the Esquire Network, working in conjunction with Hearst Magazines, which owns the Esquire print publication.

Esquire Network
G4 Network
Hearst
Cable television


The Key to Success in Formula One, or Just a ‘Souped-Up PlayStation’?

Abstract: If Lewis Hamilton does not win the drivers’ title this year in his dominant Mercedes, a clue to why he failed may prove to have come in a talk he had last month with journalists before the European Grand Prix in Baku, Azerbaijan. The previous Sunday, he had triumphed in the Canadian Grand Prix, and two weeks before that, he had won the Monaco Grand Prix. In three races, he had reduced the 45-point lead of Nico Rosberg, his teammate, to just 9 points, and for the first time all season, Hamilton appeared to have regained his full confidence. He even revealed to the news media that he had not prepared to race on the new tight, fast circuit through the Baku city streets with the same diligence as the other drivers had on the racing car simulators at their team factories. “I did eight laps,” Hamilton said. “And I had learned it already. It took me five or six to learn it, and then I already did the best lap time, and I couldn’t beat it after that.” That same day, several other drivers said that they had driven at least 10 times as many laps as Hamilton on the simulator. Sebastian Vettel, the only driver still racing in the series who has won more drivers’ titles than Hamilton’s three — Vettel has four — said that he had driven nearly a hundred laps on the simulator. Formula One teams have used simulators as a regular part of car and driver development for the past decade and a half. First among them, the McLaren team began developing a simulator in the late 1990s, partly because the team understood that Ferrari had an advantage with its own test track near the team factory in Italy. But it took years before other teams — including Ferrari — followed McLaren’s lead. That happened when teams began to face testing restrictions imposed by the International Automobile Federation as a cost-cutting measure. All the teams quickly began developing simulators and using their own software to mimic track and car functions. The concept originated in the aviation industry, where flight simulators have long been used to develop flying skills and to develop aircraft. The Formula One teams are constantly developing the simulator to make the racing experience more realistic. The driver sits in a cockpit that resembles that of a Formula One car. The cockpit is perched on hydraulic pylons programmed to replicate the sensations of driving around each track on the racing calendar, as the view on the screen proceeds along the track. It is impossible to simulate the G-forces that are experienced in a real car. But padding can be inflated to push the driver’s sides to mimic the sensation of cornering. In the simulator, the driver generally wears his helmet and racing clothes, communicates with his engineers, receives instructions and comments on the sensations. The driver hears the sound of the gearshift changes, and the simulator uses data collected by the car during the races to mimic the entire experience. But Hamilton said these costly and advanced technological tools were nothing but “a souped-up PlayStation.” “The simulator is not very good,” he said. “It’s a very bad computer game, basically.” Formula One teams spend vast amounts of time and money developing and using the simulators to train new drivers and help the regular drivers. Most teams also use test drivers to operate them. Gary Paffett, a Briton who raced successfully in several series and test-drove Formula One cars from 2001 to 2013, was hired this season by the Williams team to focus solely on driving the simulator. “His level of testing knowledge and ability to analyze data will significantly help to drive forward development of the FW38 throughout the season,” said Claire Williams, the deputy team principal, referring to the Williams car. But in Hamilton’s opinion, the simulator will never help a driver. “There is a difference between driving a simulator and driving the real thing — no emotion,” he said. “When you get in a simulator, you have to adjust yourself to the simulator. When you get in a Formula One car, you don’t have to adjust to anything, you just drive it. When you get in a simulator, you have to adjust all of your feelings because you don’t get the same feelings, you don’t get the movement, you don’t get the same bumps. “You drive the same track the day before, and then on the Monday, you drive the track on the simulator and the bumps aren’t there, the curbs are different, the speed is different, you don’t feel the speed, you don’t feel the physicality.” Since Hamilton won his third drivers’ title, at the United States Grand Prix in October, some observers have suggested that he has lost a bit of the edge that is needed to regularly win Formula One races. He has been accused of partying too much and of spending too much time on personal activities. But as he continued to score pole positions, other observers argued that if he could party at night and succeed by his natural talent the next day, then why not? Rosberg, meanwhile, won the final three races last season and the first four this year. But in May, Hamilton and Rosberg bumped each other off the track on the first lap at the Spanish Grand Prix, and Max Verstappen won the race. Hamilton’s Monaco and Canada triumphs followed, and he finally appeared to be regaining his edge. At the European Grand Prix, in Baku, the Hamilton who had dismissed the need for diligent preparation for the new track made a mess of qualifying, making a bad choice and crashing into a wall. He then struggled through the race and found himself with problems on his engine settings, which is something drivers practice in the simulator. And while Hamilton finished fifth in Baku, Vettel, who had spent the most time practicing on the simulator, finished second. Rosberg won the race. “Hamilton seems less applied and involved than he was in the past,” said Franck Montagny, a former driver and a commentator on French television. “In Baku, he seemed to arrive having decided not to use the simulator and relying on his talent alone. “Hamilton is probably faster than Rosberg, but he doesn’t work as hard.” The teams — and even Hamilton — agree that the simulator serves a purpose in developing the car and saving time . Thanks to the precision and speed of the simulator, about 80 percent of the components that a team designs now become part of the car, whereas in the past only about 20 percent would make it. “The engineers use it for the fuel usage and the power usage and, I think, the aerodynamics,” Hamilton said. “They learn that stuff on there. So they learn the most.” Whether Hamilton’s natural talent will triumph in the end over the talent, hard work and simulator learning of drivers like Rosberg remains to be seen.


Jets’ Helicopter Coaching Hurts Could-Be Leaders Like Sanchez

Abstract: Phil Simms remembers a harsh lesson in leadership as if it happened yesterday. During a mundane practice in 1987, the season after the Giants won Super Bowl XXI, the offense, especially the offensive line, seemed to be sleepwalking . Coach Bill Parcells angrily stopped practice and lit into the linemen. “I was like, go yell at them because they’re not playing as well as they should,” Simms said. But Parcells saved his harshest criticism for his quarterback. “He turns around and looks at me and goes, ‘And it’s your fault,’ ” Simms said. “ ‘They used to be afraid of you, but they’re not anymore. You’re not their leader, you’re just a friend. They used to respect you, but now you pat them on the butt and tell them it’s O.K. Why don’t you take them out to dinner again? That’ll really help.’ ” Simms fumed. But during the drive home, he realized that Parcells was right. He had abdicated his leadership role. He had gone from a sharp-tongued field general who spared no feelings, to a pal. So he recalibrated. “It was a great lesson,” Simms said last week. “Whether you’re going to be a head coach, a leader of the team or the father of your own household, it is not about being friends; it is about actually being a leader.” Whether it’s politics or sports, leadership consistently emerges as a central theme in determining success. A team whose quarterback is not a leader will struggle to succeed. “Whatever and however you define leadership in this business, it is never validated until you win,” Simms said. “You can’t really be a leader until you show everybody that you are the man on the field, that you can get it done.” Quarterback is by definition a leadership position, but not every quarterback is a natural leader. This conundrum plays out each week of the football season in New York, where the Giants and the Jets — in quarterbacks Eli Manning and Mark Sanchez — demonstrate two dimensions of leadership, one of them deficient. Manning, laid-back and publicly unassuming, led the Giants to the Super Bowl title last year for the second time in five seasons. It’s not a stretch to believe he can win another before he retires. At 31, he has grown into a leadership role, overcoming early criticism with hard work and perseverance. “The guys around here know how hard he works, whether it’s on or off the field,” said Kevin Boothe, an offensive lineman for the Giants. “He’s one of those guys who is the first one in here in the morning and the last one to leave. He’s always somebody you can go to to ask a question, whether it’s about an opponent or our offense. It’s almost like having another coach in the locker room.” He added: “There are things that you guys don’t see. He talks when he has to talk; usually when he talks, it’s a strong message. It’s very easy to follow somebody when he sets that example.” Sanchez, unlike Manning, did not grow into his success. He was a winning N.F.L. quarterback right out of the blocks, taking the Jets to the A.F.C. title game in his first two seasons. But protected by a cocoon of veteran players and a blustery first-year coach in Rex Ryan , he was largely kept on a short leash on the field. Sanchez was often a brash risk taker in his one full season as a starter at Southern California , but after a freewheeling start with the Jets, his instincts were suppressed by a conservative system designed to enhance his development while still keeping the team competitive. But the very coddling designed to ease Sanchez’s transition to the pro game might have come at a price. He was unable to stretch and grow. His early rookie exuberance was replaced by a reserved, workmanlike approach that hardly moved the needle on the inspiration meter. Still, it is hard to argue with success, and despite the team’s struggles last season and inconsistent play in 2012, not to mention the presence of an army of Sanchez detractors, his supporters say he has shown he has what it takes to run an N.F.L. offense. “How much more does he need to do?” Simms said. “He’s been the starter for four seasons. He took the Jets to the championship game. During that time, he was the best player on the Jets team. He made all the big throws, he brought them from behind. He played the most consistent, timely football of anybody on the team.” Four seasons later, though, Sanchez, 26, has still not cut loose, or been allowed to, while Manning roams unfettered. Other young quarterbacks, including Cam Newton and the rookies Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Russell Wilson, are learning on the job and drawing raves. On Sunday, Sanchez led the Jets to an ugly overtime win over Miami in what has become Sanchez’s style: efficient, not inspirational, just enough to get critics off his back for a week. This is treading water, not leadership. Sanchez is no longer the hot, young quarterback. Despite the Jets’ best efforts to avoid controversy, he is being challenged by Tim Tebow , the unorthodox left-hander who oozes an easy confidence that Sanchez seems to have lost, if he ever had it. Neither as skilled nor as polished as Sanchez, Tebow plays with passion, and an aplomb that comes with having had success early and often. Tebow won two national titles at Florida . He won the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore. He captured the nation’s imagination last season when he came off the bench to lead the floundering Denver Broncos to the playoffs with a string of improbable performances. He does not look to others for validation of his leadership. Love him or hate him, Tebow is the type of visceral leader who can help the Jets reverse the up-one-week, down-the-next pattern that has distinguished the last two seasons. “There were only a few plays that if those plays don’t happen, there is no Tebowmania, but they did happen and they showed Tebow at his best: inspirational and gritty,” Simms said. “He said: ‘Follow me. Right or wrong, here’s where we’re going. You with me?’ He won over a lot of people, and it won over players. He does it with his attitude and toughness.” In that way, Tebow is reminiscent of old-school quarterbacks like Joe Kapp and the raucous Billy Kilmer, hardly polished passers but leaders with heart and grit who led their teams to the Super Bowl. “Everybody knows you will do whatever it takes to win,” Simms said. “That sells. Players respect that style and appreciate it.” If he had to affix a picture to his definition of leadership, Simms said it would be one of Peyton Manning , Tebow’s successor in Denver and Eli’s older brother. “He leads with his actions and he’s not worried about being the friend to everybody,” Simms said. “He puts everybody on edge. He’s meticulous, hardworking, and he’s not afraid of ruffling some feathers.” Leadership is defined by winning. Simms learned that lesson a quarter-century ago. The Mannings practice it. Tebow seems on his way, if given the chance. Sanchez has yet to deliver, and might never do so until the Jets let him off the leash.

Phil Simms
Football
Eli Manning
Mark Sanchez
Tim Tebow


Interviewer Sparks a Memorable Moment

Abstract: It is normally the realm of the cliché, a forgettable blip on the radar of a televised sports broadcast. A sideline reporter asks an athlete a few dull questions immediately after an event, evoking some yawn-inducing answers. But make that sideline reporter the irreverent Michael Barkann, who started his United States Open career getting to the bottom of a controversial hamburger stand, and a new realm is born: the postmatch interview becomes entertaining enough to become a YouTube clip. Novak Djokovic brought the house down when Barkann asked him to share his impressions of other players with the crowd Thursday night and he did hilarious renditions of Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal. Those interviews, which Barkann does as a member of the USA Network broadcast, are heard live by the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd. “That was all Novak,” Barkann said yesterday. “He is incredible.” Djokovic, a 20-year-old from Serbia, had been doing his impressions for smaller audiences — usually in locker rooms — for awhile, but he had never put them on such a big stage. “They made me do it,” Djokovic said, laughing. But there are a growing list of players who seem to enjoy the give-and-take with Barkann, who even coaxed a few lighthearted comments out of the usually earnest Roger Federer this week. This Open started with Barkann allowing the old friends Andy Roddick and Justin Gimelstob to interview each other after their first-round match and culminated in Djokovic’s comedy routine. “Tennis has some of the smartest, most talented, funniest, most athletic players of any sport,” said Arlen Kantarian, the United States Tennis Association’s chief executive for professional tennis. “We just have to do more to show that to the audience, to show that to the fans.” The Open has added elements to peel away that anonymity. The players are interviewed on their way onto the court before televised matches; the winners are interviewed afterward. Barkann does those for the USA Network. Mary Joe Fernandez conducts most of them for CBS. After matches, the players also autograph three balls and hit them into the crowd, another fan-friendly touch. Barkann has been a part of the United States Open broadcast coverage since 1991, when the USA Network first asked him to roam the grounds here for unusual stories. He unearthed one that Goran Ivanisevic, a top player at the time, was complaining about a hamburger stand near Court 5, where the smell of frying hamburgers wafted into his match. Barkann interviewed the vendor, who explained that everything would be O.K. if Ivanisevic would just come eat one of his hamburgers before his match. “That showed them that I could do some things that were fun,” said Barkann, who has been back for every Open since. “It’s really been a blast.” He also roams through the stands interviewing celebrities in Ashe Stadium. Some interviews go poorly, like Jerry Seinfeld’s chilly responses this week. And some become classics, like the 1992 interview he did with Barbra Streisand, who was then rumored to be dating Andre Agassi. Streisand said of Agassi: “He’s very evolved, more so than in his linear years. He plays like a Zen master out there.” After Barkann elicited Djokovic’s impressions, the USA commentator Ted Robinson said, “You just topped Streisand!” Barkann said: “Streisand is definitely the No. 1 moment I’ve had out there, but this was in the top three. I’ll live off this for a couple of years.” Barkann laughed and credited John McGuinness, the USA Network’s coordinating producer, with the idea. McGuinness is the one who told Barkann about Djokovic’s impressions and gave Barkann a few extra seconds after the match to ask Djokovic if he would do some of them for the crowd. Djokovic’s response: “Just ask me.” “He’s unbelievable, that kid,” Barkann said. “If you saw his face when I asked him to do Sharapova, he rolled his eyes like, ‘You really want me to go there?’ But he was great.” Now that CBS takes over most of the broadcast for the final weekend, Barkann is home in Philadelphia, where he has a show on Comcast SportsNet. He has done many sideline gigs for different networks during his career, including at three Olympics. At the Open, he has become part of the plan to make the stars more human. “In an interview with Michael, the player loosens up a bit and then there’s a connection with the fans and hopefully the home viewer,” Kantarian said. “That just lifts the sport.” And for a rare change, it makes a postmatch interview worth waiting for.

USA Network
Tennis
United States Open (Tennis)
YouTube.com
Djokovic Novak
Sharapova Maria
Nadal Rafael
Federer Roger


What Alexis Tsipras’s Announcement Means for Greece

Abstract: A tumultuous summer in Greece could lead to an uncertain autumn as voters may have to decide who would best navigate the next phase of the country’s financial struggle. What Is Happening in Greece? Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called for new elections . In a nationally televised address on Thursday, Mr. Tsipras said that he would submit his resignation to Greece’s president, a move he hoped would clear the way for his radical left Syriza party to win a new mandate. Officials said he would seek to schedule the vote for Sept. 20, but it might be later as politicians from other parties jockey for influence. The country’s main conservative opposition said it would try to avert elections by forming a government, as is their right, under the Greek Constitution. Why Did Tsipras Do This? It is a bid to consolidate his power and press ahead with the bailout plan he agreed to this summer with European creditors. Mr. Tsipras has been weighing new elections for weeks amid a deep split within his Syriza party over his embrace of the bailout plan that was approved just last week by the Greek Parliament. The contentious vote on the bailout after an all-night parliamentary debate exposed a growing schism within Syriza, which splintered on Friday. Twenty-five Syriza lawmakers announced the formation of a party, Popular Unity, declaring in a letter to Parliament that they intended to “remain true to our pre-election promises.” It was a reference to the anti-austerity movement that brought Mr. Tsipras and Syriza to power in January — a cause that his critics say he abandoned in negotiating the bailout. That bailout package, worth 86 billion euros, or about $98 billion at Friday’s exchange rate, puts in place strict spending limits, new tax increases and changes in the way Greece manages its economy in exchange for money to pay the country’s crippling debts. What Does This Mean for the Bailout? In calling for the vote after Greece received some €13 billion, or about $14 billion, of new funds from the bailout package, Mr. Tsipras is hoping that voters will endorse his approach — and effectively ratify the bailout. Explaining Greece’s Debt Crisis European authorities have agreed to disburse $8.4 billion in fresh funds to Greece, allowing the country to keep paying its bills in the coming months. The money arrived just in time to repay €3.2 billion owed on government bonds held by the European Central Bank. Much of the bailout money will go to repaying debts, not to rebuilding the country’s economy. However, avoiding default could help restore consumer and investor confidence, which could, eventually, improve the economy. How Did Greece Get to This Point? Mr. Tsipras was elected in January as an anti-austerity renegade , vowing to challenge Greece’s creditors and win a better deal to pay back and, perhaps, forgive some of the country’s crippling debt. After several tumultuous months that included heated negotiations with the country’s creditors — the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the other members of the eurozone — the prime minister reversed course and agreed to the bailout plan . The deal infuriated Syriza’s far-left factions and was approved by Parliament only with the help of opposition parties. Many of the breakaway Syriza lawmakers oppose the bailout plan because it proposes raising the retirement age and opening parts of the Greek economy to greater competition. Will Tsipras Be Able to Stay in Power? That is the gamble he is making. Despite his reversal on the bailout plan, Mr. Tsipras has remained popular, with the most recent opinion polls from late July showing no other leader in a strong position to challenge him. Mr. Tsipras said Thursday that he would resign as prime minister — a constitutional requirement for new elections. But he will not resign as head of his party, now smaller without his former Syriza allies. Syriza was left on Friday with 124 lawmakers in the 300-seat Parliament, but local news reports speculated that four more legislators were preparing to abandon the party. Popular Unity will be led by a former energy minister, Panagiotis Lafazanis, the leader of Syriza’s radical Left Platform faction, with which about 40 of Syriza’s lawmakers were loosely aligned. Mr. Tsipras is counting on his connection to ordinary Greeks, and hoping that his personal popularity can help his party win enough votes to maintain power without the support of the radical parties. If he does not, he might have to form a new coalition with other centrist parties in Parliament, some of whom he has depicted as part of Greece’s corrupted establishment.

Alexis Tsipras
Greece
Election
Euro Crisis


On Tour of New York, Paterson’s Ears Get a Workout

Abstract: Gov. David A. Paterson came to Niagara Falls eager to explain his budget plan. But a social studies teacher, Ric Marasco, had something else on his mind: the state’s purchase of a $200 toaster for the governor’s mansion. “A good way to lead is by example,” Mr. Marasco, 58, said scoldingly at a town meeting. “You’re not demonstrating how you’re feeling our pain — if at all you’re feeling our pain.” Such is the political reality facing the governor these days, when a home appliance can touch off an angry public tongue-lashing. Mr. Paterson embarked on a statewide tour of town hall meetings late last year, viewing it as a chance to sell his budget to voters and showcase his trademark wit and approachable demeanor. But with his poll numbers low and the economic outlook worsening day by day, the meetings lately have at times erupted into displays of distress over his leadership and the direction of the state. Radio ads broadcast before the meetings urge people to attend and voice their views about Mr. Paterson’s proposed budget cuts. He is greeted by protesters, sometimes by the dozens, who pass out instructions telling the crowd to stand up and chant at certain points in his remarks. Mr. Paterson, who is flanked by two state troopers on each end of the stage, has been heckled and jeered to the point where he has had to ask the audience to settle down. No one from the governor’s office screens the questions, and the lack of vetting, which has created some concern inside the administration, has led to some unexpected moments. At the Niagara Falls meeting, Mr. Paterson was confronted by a retiree who asked why lawmakers could not sacrifice, given that people like her were having to get by with less. Mr. Paterson then agreed to cut his $179,000 salary by 10 percent. Because of a large presence at the meetings by people affiliated with groups that are promoting an income tax increase for the wealthy — something Mr. Paterson has said he opposes — the volume in the room can get rather loud. At a meeting in Rochester last week, which several hundred people attended, he was shouted at as he tried to explain why he was not in favor of a tax increase for the highest income bracket. “What I’m trying to tell you is let’s take that off the table for a moment,” he said, defending his position that an income tax increase is not a solution to avoid cutting the state’s $45 billion Medicaid budget. But he was unable to finish his thought before more hecklers interrupted him, crying out “Not on grandma’s back!” and “Tax the rich, not the poor!” The governor, who was somewhat rattled by the shouting, was able to calm the noisy members of the crowd and finish his answer, for which he received modest applause. Mr. Paterson, whose willingness to accept the occasionally harsh treatment from the public makes him seem at once like an earnest public servant and a glutton for punishment, insists that if the governor is going to ask the public to accept bad news, the governor should be delivering that news himself. “We are really up against it,” he told the crowd in Rochester. “I know that it’s a hard message to take to people. So I didn’t send any surrogates down here. I came down here myself because if you’re going to have to deliver news, then the leader of the state should come.” Mr. Paterson typically takes about an hour’s worth of questions from the audience and then lingers until every willing hand has been shaken and every suggestion has been given a sympathetic ear. And people take him up on that opportunity, seeing the meeting as their only chance to talk face to face with the governor. They approach him with stories of losing their jobs, their health care coverage and their peace of mind. “I feel this is the closest I can get,” said Roberta Voelkl, 53, of Spencerport, who waited for a half hour after Mr. Paterson’s town meeting in Rochester last week so she could tell the governor how the state was shortchanging the assisted-living facility where her disabled son resides. “I do think they need to hear it,” Ms. Voelkl said. “The truth gets filtered out someplace. There are too many people filtering out what they hear.” In an interview after a town hall meeting last week at the State University of New York at Geneseo, where students pelted Mr. Paterson with questions about why he raised tuition, the governor said he believed these interactions helped him stay attuned to the public mood. “I work in the governor’s office. I don’t go to block meetings, community meetings,” he said. “I’m the one who raised the tuition. So I wanted to hear specifically how it affected a lot of the students.” He said that while the crowd was raucous at times, it never got him rattled. “Even when they were yelling out “Tax the rich” and that kind of thing, that was just their way of sending a message,” he said. When he was mingling with students after the meeting, Mr. Paterson said a few even complimented him. “Some of the people who were very critical of me told me they thought I was doing a good job,” he said, adding, “I really enjoy these types of events.” Then he said with a smile, “Hardest working man in show business.”

Paterson David A
Polls and Public Opinion
Budgets and Budgeting
Taxation
New York State


Gods of a Fish-Eat-Fish World

Abstract: Felix the Fish Guy’s Fourth of July plans were dashed by a middle-of-the-night phone call from a frantic client. The man’s aquarium pump was dead. “He’s like ‘Dude, nothing is coming through the overflow — you’ve got to come over,’” said the fish guy, whose name is Felix Miranda. “I had no choice.” He raced to the man’s home in the Bronx and diagnosed the problem: The pump’s impeller was jammed with bearded fireworms, maybe 500 of them, writhing, two-inch-long caterpillar-looking things covered with glassy spines. Mr. Miranda soaked the pump assembly in vinegar. The worms died. He threw them out — carefully, lest he get a handful of painful, itchy needles — and reinstalled the pump. The client’s $7,000 coral collection was saved. The next day, another fish guy, Jimmy Hoehlein, got off the subway in TriBeCa carrying a scalpel-tailed fish in four thicknesses of plastic bag. “I quadruple-bag him because I don’t trust him not to tear through these bags,” Mr. Hoehlein said. The fish, a naso tang, was replacing another species that had to be yanked from a client’s $50,000 aquatic environment after it started eating its way through colonies of fancy coral. So go the adventures of a fish guy (they tend to be guys), formally known as an aquarium service technician — a cross between a plumber, a veterinarian and the undersea god of an artificial world cobbled together from beautiful things that were not meant to live in harmony. “We’re like homemade scientists,” said Mr. Miranda, 44, who is entirely self-taught and runs Best Aquarium Service NYC out of an office on the East Side. Most of the job, in truth, consists of routine maintenance — cleaning tanks, checking salinity levels, changing dirty filter socks — but even so, death, chemical imbalance, chain reaction and ecosystem collapse lurk around every corner and coral stalk. “Part of my job is making sure disasters don’t happen,” said Mr. Hoehlein, 30, who has a marine biology degree from Brown and works for a high-end custom-aquarium installer and maintainer called City Aquarium . “But sometimes they do. So I’m on call 24/7.” On Tuesday, as a tropical morning unfurled over the city, Mr. Hoehlein made the day’s first house call, to a vast blond multistory modernist condo near Washington Square Park. (“This job gives you a nice perspective into how the other half lives,” Mr. Hoehlein said.) The 3-by-5 foot, 160-gallon tank took up much of a wall in a study. A blue hippo tang — the “Finding Dory” fish — along with six polka-dot pajama cardinals and a dozen other saltwater species of various rainbow hues flitted through a forest of imitation coral. Mr. Hoehlein pulled three plastic-bagged fish out of his paper shopping bag, added them to the tank and watched for mayhem. “Fish tanks are a lot like street gangs,” Mr. Hoehlein said. “The new guy’s always going to get jumped in.” An old-timer in the tank, a brilliant blue-and-yellow fireball angelfish, harassed each newcomer in succession, including a bannerfish with a dramatically long ponytail-like dorsal fin. The tank’s biggest fish, a flamefin tang, chased off the aggressor. Peace was restored. At the apartment of the TriBeCa mogul with the $50,000 setup, Mr. Hoehlein explained that even international political unrest found its way into the tanks. The man’s coral-gobbling fish was a sohal tang , found only in the Red Sea and nearby waters. “Collection points in the Red Sea are hard to come by because of instability in the region,” Mr. Hoehlein said. “So we had to tell him: ‘We have this problem fish. We know you really like it. We know it’s hard to find. But if you like your coral, we need to get him out of here.’” Catching the tang, using a baited trap, took multiple visits — “That was a very tedious month,” Mr. Hoehlein recalled. Even weeks later, one of the duncan corals the tang had nibbled still had most of its lime-green polyps retracted. “It seems that they haven’t really gotten over their victimization,” Mr. Hoehlein said. Then it was off to a tank on Fifth Avenue along Central Park, where a pair of Nemo-like clown fish played in the folds of a magical-looking purple-pink spread called a carpet anemone (anemones are colony-dwelling invertebrates of the same class as coral). Mr. Hoehlein fed two minnowlike silversides to the anemone, and they disappeared into its folds as the clown fish watched. Mr. Hoehlein was also compelled to perform a burial. “I’m going to have to take a coral out today,” he said. A hammer coral had been stung so relentlessly by a bubble-tip anemone that there was nothing left but its skeleton. Mr. Hoehlein scooped the coral out and placed it in a trash bag with the dirty filter socks. Fish guys enjoy swapping stories of catastrophes seen and diverted. Mr. Miranda has many of them. There was the mystery of the suffocating tankful of fish — the culprit turned out to be a large catfish that had been crushed in a gravel avalanche, its body undiscovered as its decomposition filled the tank with ammonia. There was the big oscar who tried to eat a small oscar only to get it stuck in its throat. Mr. Miranda poked a tweezer through the big fish’s gills, pressed down the smaller fish’s lodged dorsal fin and extracted the fish. “I saved both their lives,” he said. Sometimes, disaster visits the fish guy at his own tank. Last Christmas, Mr. Miranda got himself a new pair of black ice clown fish. He put them in a tank with a tubeworm anemone, hoping the fish would find shelter in its long tresses. “The clown fish go to the anemone and kind of nibble the tentacles to ask for permission,” Mr. Miranda said. The anemone grabbed one fish, and then the other. “It was a $300 meal,” Mr. Miranda said. “At least I got some pictures of the anemone eating my clown fish.”


U.S. Program to Verify Worker Status Is Growing

Abstract: LOS ANGELES — The number of businesses taking part in a voluntary program that allows them to verify electronically their newly hired employees’ legal authorization to work in the United States is soaring, the federal government said Tuesday. About 52,000 employers are now using a Web-based system, known as E-Verify, compared with 14,265 a year ago. The system has been growing in the past year by 1,000 employers a week, said the United States Citizenship and Immigrations Services, which runs the program with the Social Security Administration . Although the tally is a small fraction of the 5.7 million employers nationwide, program officials said it proved the system was catching on. “This program is proving to be a key component in promoting the integrity of the employment verification process of our workforce,” Emilio Gonzalez, the director of citizenship and immigration services, said in a statement. The system, which is free, verifies documentation like Social Security cards and immigration papers that people need to work in the United States. About a third of the employers, 18,000, are in Arizona, where a new state law requires businesses to use the program to verify the right to work for new employees. Business and immigrant rights groups in Arizona have sued to block the law, saying in part that E-Verify prompts employers to dismiss workers who may be authorized to work but do not have their paperwork in order. A federal judge upheld the law, but the groups have appealed. In a separate case, a federal judge in December issued a stay in a lawsuit filed by the federal government against Illinois, which had passed a law prohibiting employers from using the system over questions about its accuracy. About 93 percent of the employees checked in the program receive authorization in a manner of seconds.

Social Security Administration
Decisions and Verdicts
Immigration and Refugees
Computers and the Internet


Obama Call for Return to ’67 Lines Greeted Icily by Israel

Abstract: JERUSALEM — President Obama ’s endorsement on Thursday of using the 1967 boundaries as the baseline for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute — the first by an American president — prompted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to push back testily and the Palestinian leadership to call an urgent meeting. Mr. Netanyahu said in a pointed statement just before boarding a plane to Washington that while he appreciated Mr. Obama’s commitment to peace, he “expects to hear a reaffirmation from President Obama of American commitments made to Israel in 2004 which were overwhelmingly supported by both Houses of Congress.” Those commitments came in a letter from President George W. Bush which stated, among other things that “it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949,” another way of describing the 1967 boundaries. Mr. Netanyahu, who is to meet with Mr. Obama at the White House on Friday in what seems likely now to be a tense encounter, added that the commitments “relate to Israel not having to withdraw to the 1967 lines, which are both indefensible and which would leave major Israeli population centers in Judea and Samaria beyond those lines,” a reference to large Israeli settlement blocs in the West Bank. Mr. Netanyahu said in Parliament on Monday that Israel needed to hold on to the large settlement blocs in any two-state solution with the Palestinians. Mr. Obama’s new position does not appear to rule out Israel’s retaining settlements. But it suggests that the United States would back the Palestinian position that a solution should be close to the 1967 lines and that any retained land would be compensated with other land, which is one reason Mr. Netanyahu’s government firmly opposes the change in position. Dore Gold, a former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations and a confidant of Mr. Netanyahu’s, lamented by telephone that Mr. Obama’s speech was “a radical shift in United States policy towards Israel.” He said the 2004 letter was endorsed not only by a strong bipartisan majority but by Hillary Rodham Clinton, then a New York senator. “By mentioning the 1967 lines today, President Obama is going back on what had been an American commitment less than a decade ago,” he added. In the West Bank city of Ramallah, Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, issued a general statement of appreciation for “efforts being exerted by President Obama with the objective of resuming the permanent status talks in the hope of reaching a final status agreement on all core issues, including Jerusalem and refugees and within a specified time frame.” He added that President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority “decided to convene an emergency session for the Palestinian leadership as soon as possible and he will consult with our Arab brothers at the same time.” He and other officials declined further comment. Khalil Shikaki, a Palestinian political scientist and pollster, said the Obama speech had created a new situation because it was the first time that a president had declared it to be American policy for the 1967 lines to be the basis for a solution. “This is much tougher for Israel to swallow, and definitely this is a point which Netanyahu, if he didn’t intend to address in his trip, is now being forced to do so,” Mr. Shikaki said. “And if he doesn’t, he will find himself further isolated.” Yossi Beilin, a longtime peace negotiator for Israel and a former government minister who is now in private business, said by telephone that what Mr. Obama said was a “historic precedent.” He said that President Bush had spoken about ending the occupation that began in 1967, but that Mr. Obama’s formulation suggested an equal exchange of territory in a final deal. Mr. Obama stated that the solution should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed land swaps, meaning that if, as expected, Israel held on to some close-in settlements, it would have to yield an equal amount of land to the future state of Palestine from within its borders. This formulation goes beyond what President Bill Clinton called for in 2000 and is in keeping with one of two key Palestinian demands for a return to direct peace negotiations. The other is at least a temporary freeze in Israeli settlement building, which Israel has rejected. Whether the Palestinians could be persuaded to return to talks with only one of their two conditions met was unclear. But Mr. Abbas has made clear that he would prefer negotiations over an appeal to the United Nations this September, the other path he has been pursuing. That path would help the Palestinians gain legal advantage over Israel but it could also lead to unmet expectations in the streets of the West Bank once it became clear that United Nations recognition did not rid the area of Israeli occupation. That could result in frustration and violence. If Mr. Netanyahu was upset by the president’s reference to 1967, politicians to his right — who make up the bulk of his party and his governing coalition — were horrified. Danny Danon, a member of Parliament from Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud party, said: “With his call for Israel to return to 1967 borders before the Palestinians even sit down at the negotiating table, it is now clear that the U.S. president has adopted Yasir Arafat’s infamous ‘Stages Plan’ and the hope to eventually remove the State of Israel from the map. I call on Prime Minister Netanyahu to unequivocally state to the president tomorrow that this vision will never be implemented as it is in direct opposition to the security and strategic interests of the people and land of Israel.” An Israeli official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he had not been authorized to speak, said there was much in the president’s address that would please Israeli ears. In particular, he said, Mr. Obama put the onus on the Palestinians to make sure that the recent unity pact between Fatah and Hamas not torpedo the possibility of peace by insisting that Hamas renounce violence. He also told the Palestinians not to try to isolate Israel at the United Nations or deny Israel’s existence. And he rejected the campaign to delegitimize Israel. On the other hand, Mr. Obama spoke of a “full and phased withdrawal of Israeli military forces,” meaning he seemed to distance himself from Mr. Netanyahu’s desire to keep Israeli troops along the Jordan River in a future Palestine. Much of the initial Palestinian reaction to the speech was dismissive. Mahmoud Zahar, a Hamas leader in Gaza, called it a pure adoption of the Israeli perspective. “Obama tries to give an impression that it is Israel which seeks negotiations and peace, not the Palestinians,” he said. Daoud Netwali, 54, watched the speech in his home in the Aija refugee camp near Bethlehem. Afterward he said: “I don’t trust the speech. If Obama wanted to do something for the Palestinian people he should have done it already. Obama and Clinton and Bush are all the same. They say things on TV but they don’t do it on ground.”

Israel
Palestinians
Israeli Settlements
United Nations
Obama Barack
Politics and Government
International Relations
Netanyahu Benjamin


Violence After Gabon Elections Leaves One Dead

Abstract: DAKAR, Senegal — Postelection violence in Gabon left one person dead on Thursday after officials declared the incumbent president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, the winner in a race that the opposition said had been marked by fraud. A civilian, who was not identified, died as security forces encircled the party headquarters of the opposition candidate, Jean Ping, early Thursday after hundreds of people had taken to the streets of the capital, Libreville. The protesters had set fires and insisted that Mr. Bongo had stolen the vote to claim a second term in office. Violence surged almost immediately after the release of election results Wednesday night that said Mr. Bongo, whose family has held the presidency since the late 1960s, had narrowly edged out Mr. Ping in voting on Saturday. The military was sent in to quell the demonstrations, aiming tear gas at protesters who were demanding a recount. The election took place peacefully, although some voters complained about ballot procedures and polling stations that opened late. Results also took longer than expected to tally. Mr. Ping, a former African Union Commission chairman, pointed to that delay as evidence that Mr. Bongo’s supporters were using the time to concoct a fraudulent victory. “The Gabonese people and the world can clearly see the fraud, lies and manipulation,” he said in a statement released early Thursday. He cited as evidence reports from elections officials that there had been 99.9 percent turnout in some polling places where Mr. Bongo was favored. “ ‘Results’ like Ali Bongo’s are the hallmarks of dictators and tyrants who refuse to give up power — not the cornerstones of democracies, nations, and peoples who respect fairness and the rule of law,” Mr. Ping said in his statement, which called on American officials to reject the results. Before the results were announced, the American State Department had described the voting as professional but cited irregularities. Both the United States and France have called on Gabonese officials to release results from individual polling stations to assure voters the outcome was legitimate. A statement from the president’s spokeswoman said that Gabonese law allowed for numerous legal challenges of the vote, including requesting results from all districts. “At this time, we call on Jean Ping to call off his thugs and stop vandalizing the city,” read the statement, which characterized the spate of violence as premeditated. Despite the strident tone, both sides also issued calls for peace and unity, and representatives from France and the United States issued statements appealing for calm. Mr. Ping’s camp said security officers stormed their headquarters unprovoked just after midnight. But the statement from the president’s spokeswoman said that officers had been fighting back after being attacked with grenades. According to her statement, security officers surrounded the building in an attempt to subdue protesters who had retreated there repeatedly during the night after targeting government buildings in vandalism and arson attacks. One person died, one officer was shot in the leg, and other civilians were injured in the ensuing melee. The government said it did not have full details about the clash. By midday Thursday, residents said the heart of Libreville was eerily calm. Helicopters buzzed overhead, and police officers flooded neighborhoods and warned residents to remain indoors. Internet access and text messaging were blocked starting Wednesday night, but voice calls were operating on telephone lines. More than 1,000 people have been arrested, and some protesters were armed with AK-47 rifles, The Associated Press reported, citing a news conference with the interior minister. Rumors and confusion reigned on the streets. Although news reports said parliamentary buildings had been burned, it appeared on Thursday that the fires had largely been contained to vehicles parked outside the structures, sending smoke billowing across the capital. “We are all scared, and we can’t tell what will happen in the next coming hours,” said Francis Edou Eyene, a member of Mr. Ping’s team. One Libreville resident, Claude Somand-Mayila, said he had seen several people who had been injured during the protests. On Thursday morning, he said, he ventured out from his neighborhood in the city center in search of bread and found open bakeries but bare shelves. The police spotted him and shooed him and other civilians back into their homes, ordering the stores to close. “We are scared of going out,” Mr. Somand-Mayila said. “It’s very dangerous outside.” Mr. Bongo was elected to his first term in 2009 after the death of his father, Omar Bongo, who was president at the time. Clashes also broke out after the election that first put the younger Mr. Bongo in office back then. Mr. Bongo had called the elections on Saturday, “free, transparent and democratic” and said he would accept the results, regardless of the outcome. Gabon, an oil-producing nation with mineral resources and lush forests, has long suffered from extreme inequality. For that, many voters blame the government of the elder Mr. Bongo, who was known for enriching himself while his population suffered. His son has tried to distance himself from his father’s leadership, putting into place programs to combat poverty and cut unemployment, but the benefits have been limited so far to a minority of the country. Some of the population express resentment toward Mr. Bongo’s presidency, saying it was nothing more than proof of a family dynasty. Mr. Ping is the son of a Chinese businessman and a Gabonese mother. He has called himself an outsider, but he served for years in Omar Bongo’s cabinet, only recently broke off from the governing party and has fathered two children with the current president’s sister.

Gabon
Election
Jean Ping
Civil Unrest
Ali Ben Bongo


Iran's Chief Prosecutor Criticizes Planned Rally Backing Revolts

Abstract: TEHRAN — Iran ’s chief prosecutor on Wednesday called an opposition request to hold a rally in support of the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt “divisive” and “political.” His comments suggested that officials would not grant permission for the rally, planned for Monday. “If anyone really wants to support the people of Tunisia and Egypt, they should join the regime and the people and take part in the rally on Feb. 11,” the semiofficial news agency ILNA quoted the prosecutor, Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejehi, as saying. Feb. 11 is the date of the annual government-sponsored rally celebrating the Islamic revolution of 1979. “Setting a different date means that these individuals are separating themselves from the people and creating divisions,” Mr. Mohseni-Ejehi said, apparently referring to the leaders of Iran’s Green opposition movement, Mir Hussein Moussavi and Mehdi Karroubi. They issued an open letter to the Interior Ministry on Saturday, invoking a provision in Iran’s Constitution granting the right to peaceful assembly. Since claiming election fraud after the victory of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the 2009 presidential election, Mr. Karroubi, a former Parliament speaker and Mr. Moussavi, a former prime minister, have been labeled by Iran’s hard-liners as leaders of a “conspiracy” to overthrow the Islamic Republic and usher in the influence of Western powers. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other conservative figures have portrayed the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia as a result of the people’s “Islamic awakening.” Ayatollah Khamenei praised the protesters last Friday, prompting some members of the Iranian opposition to say a refusal to grant permission for their rally would be hypocritical.

Iran
Tunisia
Egypt
Demonstrations Protests and Riots