Dr Robert Muller - Tutoring to Excellence in Education: SPECIAL ...

Malala was returning home from school when the men attacked; a fellow-student and a teacher were injured as well. ?A bullet struck her head, but her brain is safe,? a doctor told the Express Tribune newspaper.

Malala was flown in a military helicopter to a military hospital in Peshawar, the insurgency-torn capital of North Western Frontier Province; Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has arranged for her to be flown out of Pakistan to get the complex surgery needed to save her.

Malala was not a random target. A Pakistani Taliban spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, claimed responsibility and threatened to attack her again, if she survives: ?She was pro-West, she was speaking against the Taliban and she was calling President Obama her idol.? He added, ?She was young but she was promoting Western culture in Pashtun areas.?


?She was just the girl who wanted to go to school,? Mirza Waheed, the former editor of the Urdu Web site of BBC World Service, told me.

One foggy winter afternoon in early 2009, when Mirza was working out of the BBC World Service?s Bush House offices in London, he got a proposal from one of his reporters in Pakistan, who was covering the takeover of Swat Valley by the Taliban militants led by Maulana Fazlullah, or ?FM Mullah.?

Fazlullah had banned TV, music, and girls? education; bodies of beheaded policemen were hanging from town squares. Abdul Hai Kakkar, the reporter, had first approached Ziauddin Yousafzai, a local school director, to get a female teacher to write about life under the Swat Taliban. No teacher agreed, but his eleven-year-old daughter, a seventh-grade student, was interested in writing a diary. ?Would they publish the diary?? the reporter asked.

?We had been covering the violence and politics in Swat in detail but we didn?t know much about how ordinary people lived under the Taliban,? Mirza said (he left the BBC to be a full-time novelist; his book ?The Collaborator? is about the war in Kashmir). ?We unanimously decided to publish the diary, but her safety was of utmost concern to us and we decided to use a pseudonym,? Mirza said.

?The Diary of a Pakistani School Girl,? written by Malala Yousafzai, was published under the byline Gul Makki. ?Malala passed on hand-written diary pages to our reporter and he would scan and email or fax them to me,? Mirza said. ?I would edit it to retain its directness, its raw texture, and at times, as I edited her, I would well up.?

I first read Malala?s diary in the summer of 2009, while reporting on the refugee crisis in North West Frontier Province following the battles between the Swat Taliban and the Pakistani Army. Like thousands of others, I knew her by the pseudonym. The scale of her courage struck me, as did the importance of her bearing witness.

As I travelled through refugee camps and in villages and towns, I often read and reread her diaries online. A haunting entry, which was also translated into English (the diaries in Urdu are more detailed) described the psychological price that life under tyranny, and amid violence, exacted:

On my way from school to home I heard a man saying ?I will kill you.? I hastened my pace and after a while I looked back if the man was still coming behind me. But to my utter relief he was talking on his mobile and must have been threatening someone else over the phone.
And another:
I had a terrible dream yesterday with military helicopters and the Taliban. I have had such dreams since the launch of the military operation in Swat. My mother made me breakfast and I went off to school. I was afraid going to school because the Taliban had issued an edict banning all girls from attending schools. Only 11 students attended the class out of 27. The number decreased because of Taliban?s edict.
The Taliban had blown up more than a hundred girls? schools. A video feature by the Times, published in 2009, describing the life of Malala?s family, shows her in her school, a girl with a fair, round face, hazel eyes, carrying a satchel with a Harry Potter picture on it.

She would be featured in two Times videos, which brought her considerable attention, but Malala became a celebrity in Pakistan in October, 2011, when Desmond Tutu announced her nomination for an international children?s prize.

It seems to have been the first time that her identity as the writer of the BBC diary became known to the broader public; the citation for her nomination mentioned her use of ?international media to let the world know girls should also have the right to go to school.?

Her public profile rose further after the Pakistan government awarded her the first National Peace Prize, in December 2011. ?In a situation where a lifelong school break was being imposed upon us by the terrorists, rising up against that became very important, essential,? she told a Pakistani television network.

When the interviewer asked her about fear and danger, Malala, speaking in a clear, forceful voice, said that her father, who worked for women?s education and fully supported his daughter, had inspired her, and that her mother had told her to speak up for her rights. And then, in a rather prophetic moment, she envisioned a confrontation with the Taliban.

I think of it often and imagine the scene clearly. Even if they come to kill me, I will tell them what they are trying to do is wrong, that education is our basic right.
The growing fame and her determination to speak out for girls? education put her on the Taliban radar. Malala was active on Facebook under her own name, and the extremists would threaten her online. ?They created fake profiles for her,? Nighat Daad, a Lahore based women?s-rights specialist with U.N. Women told me.

?She had to delete her personal Facebook page and was worried about digital security.? Malala attended several digital-security sessions with Daad and became part of a campaign ?Take Back the Tech,? which focused on violence against women in online spaces. Unfazed by the threats, she had told Daad that she would ?never stop working for education for girls.?

?She said that she wants to build schools for girls in Swat where they can get education without any fear. This is her biggest dream ever, but at the same time she was extremely focused on her studies as well,? Daad said.

The cover photo of a public Facebook page dedicated to her is an exhortation to primary education, a cause she embraced and lived from a very young age: ?One in ten of the world?s children who don?t go to primary school live in Pakistan.?

And a flood of messaging is expressing support, saying prayers for her. ?plz stay with us. we need the girls like u fo betterment of Pakistan,? a young girl wrote. Pakistan will be richer, if Malala Yousafzai makes it.

Source: http://tutoringtoexcellence.blogspot.com/2012/10/special-education-report-girl-who.html

Yunel Escobar Irish Daily Star

Fast walking and jogging halve development of heart disease and stroke risk factors

Fast walking and jogging halve development of heart disease and stroke risk factors

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

The findings indicate that it is the intensity, rather than the duration, of exercise that counts in combating the impact of metabolic syndrome - a combination of factors, including midriff bulge, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, higher than normal levels of blood glucose and abnormal blood fat levels - say the authors.

Genes, diet, and lack of exercise are thought to be implicated in the development of the syndrome, which is conducive to inflammation and blood thickening.

The authors base their findings on more than 10,000 Danish adults, between the ages of 21 and 98, who were initially assessed in 1991-94 and then monitored for up to 10 years. All the participants were quizzed on the amount of physical activity they did, which was categorised according to intensity and duration.

At the initial assessment, around one in five (20.7%) women and just over one in four (27.3%) men had metabolic syndrome. Prevalence was closely linked to physical activity level.

Among the women, almost one in three of those who had a sedentary lifestyle had the syndrome whereas only one in 10 of those who were very physically active had it. Among men, the equivalent proportions were just under 37% and just under 14%

Of the remaining 6,088 participants without metabolic syndrome, just under two thirds (3,992) completed the fourth and final survey and assessment, by which point one in seven (15.4%; 585) had developed it.

Again, the prevalence was higher among those leading a sedentary lifestyle, with almost one in five (19.4%) affected compared with around one in nine (11.8%) of those who were very physically active.

It was not only the amount of exercise, but also the intensity which helped curb the likelihood of developing the syndrome.

After taking account of factors likely to influence the results, fast walking speed halved the risk, while jogging cut the risk by 40 per cent. But going for an hour's walk every day made no difference.

"Our results confirm the role of physical activity in reducing [metabolic syndrome] risk and suggest that intensity rather than volume of physical activity is important," conclude the authors.

###

BMJ-British Medical Journal: http://www.bma.org

Thanks to BMJ-British Medical Journal for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/124314/Fast_walking_and_jogging_halve_development_of_heart_disease_and_stroke_risk_factors

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Rice University experts available to comment on vice presidential ...

David Ruth
713-348-6327
david@rice.edu

Jeff Falk
713-348-6775
jfalk@rice.edu?

Rice University experts available to comment on vice presidential debate

HOUSTON ? (Oct. 9, 2012) ? Thursday?s vice presidential debate between Vice President Joe Biden and Republican nominee Paul Ryan is expected to cover a range of domestic and international issues. The following Rice University experts are available to comment on the major topics at play:

Presidential politics, policy and the role of government:

Douglas Brinkley, a fellow in history at Rice University?s Baker Institute for Public Policy and a professor of history, can comment on the history of presidential debates in the United States and their impact on the race for president.

Paul Brace, the Clarence L. Carter Professor of Political Science, can discuss the American presidency, political parties, debates, public opinion polls, electoral politics and candidates? positions on the various issues.?

Mark Jones, professor and chair of political science and a fellow at the Baker Institute, can comment on local news angles, including Texas? role in the 2012 presidential race.

Bob Stein, the Lena Gohlman Fox Professor of Political Science and a fellow in urban politics at the Baker Institute, can discuss public opinion polls, voting behavior, electoral politics and public policy.

The art and science of debate:

David Worth, director of Rice?s speech and debate team, the George R. Brown Forensics Society, and a lecturer in the School of Humanities, can discuss the foundations of debate, argumentation and persuasion.

Jobs, the economy and taxes:

John Diamond, an economist and the Edward A. and Hermena Hancock Kelly Fellow in Public Finance at the Baker Institute, can discuss federal tax and expenditure policy and its implications.

Russell Green, an economist and the Will Clayton Fellow in International Economics, can discuss the role of international finance in the 2012 election, including issues surrounding the Chinese exchange rate and its impact on the U.S. economy.

Foreign policy:

Richard Stoll, the Albert Thomas Chair of Political Science, can discuss the major foreign policy issues currently facing the U.S. and how the country?s foreign policy could evolve under a future Democratic or Republican presidential administration.

Health care policy and economics:

Vivian Ho, the James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics, can discuss the key health care reform issues affecting the nation in the aftermath of the Supreme Court?s ruling on the Affordable Care Act last summer and how this reform could evolve under a future Democratic or Republican presidential administration.

Elena Marks, the Baker Institute scholar in health policy, can discuss Texas news angles and policy issues, including health insurance exchanges, Medicaid expansion and the number of uninsured people.

Energy:

Ken Medlock, the Baker Institute?s James A. Baker III and Susan G. Baker Fellow in Energy and Resource Economics, can discuss the major energy issues at play in the 2012 election.

Rice University has a VideoLink ReadyCam TV interview studio. ReadyCam is capable of transmitting broadcast-quality standard-definition and high-definition video directly to all news media organizations around the world 24/7.

To schedule an interview with any one of these experts, contact Jeff Falk, associate director of national media relations at Rice, at jfalk@rice.edu or 713-348-6775.

-30-?

Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews.

Founded in 1993, the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University in Houston ranks among the top 20 university-affiliated think tanks globally and top 30 think tanks in the United States. As a premier nonpartisan think tank, the institute sponsors more than 20 programs that conduct research on domestic and foreign policy issues with the goal of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of public policy. The institute?s strong track record of achievement reflects the work of its endowed fellows and Rice University scholars. Learn more about the institute at www.bakerinstitute.org or on the institute?s blog, http://blogs.chron.com/bakerblog.?

Source: http://news.rice.edu/2012/10/09/rice-university-experts-available-to-comment-on-vice-presidential-debate/

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Combining online learning and the Socratic method to reinvent ...

A piece published yesterday in Inside Stanford Medicine takes a closer look at the efforts of a core group of Stanford professors, education technology specialists and collaborators from the Khan Academy to develop a new online learning initiative to reinvent medical school courses. We also reported on the work on Scope last week.

The first step in the Stanford Medicine Interactive Learning Initiatives (SMILI) is to reverse the traditional teaching method of class time being reserved for lectures and problem-solving exercises being completed outside of school as ?homework.? Under the new model, online learning is combined with the Socratic method to ensure that medical students are fully comprehending new information in a meaningful way. The model was first proposed by Charles Prober, MD, senior associate dean for medical education at Stanford, and Chip Heath, PhD, a professor of organizational behavior at the Stanford Graduate School of Business an article (subscription required) in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The story offers more details on how the initiative may be expanded beyond campus:

Part of Prober?s vision is that video instruction could be shared by the country?s leading medical schools ? they all teach essentially the same material to first- and second-year students. Representatives of those schools are discussing shared curriculum, he said, and they are all reconsidering how they deliver knowledge.

Griff Harsh, MD, a professor of neurosurgery and associate dean of postgraduate medical education, said at a recent SMILI meeting that as many as nine online pilots will be produced this year for practitioners enrolled in continuing medical education. They include units on critical care ultrasound, clinical trials, antibiotics, sepsis, dermatitis and cardiac crisis management.

The benefits of online learning also could extend far beyond the School of Medicine; the videos for Patterson?s course on cardiovascular physiology will be watched by students in Rwanda, a project made possible thanks to Patterson?s longtime collaboration with medical professionals in that battered country who have, nearly miraculously, established a medical school.

The videos for the cardiovascular physiology unit will be made by the professors with the assistance of Khan Academy, a nonprofit organization that since 2006 has been producing free videos about a variety of academic (and medical) topics. Khan Academy is involved with Stanford in other areas as well ? for example, problem sets on Stanford?s open-source course-hosting platform, Class2Go, use the Khan exercise framework ? but it has been particularly active with the School of Medicine.

Previously: Using the ?flipped classroom? model to re-imagine medical education, Rethinking the ?sage on stage? model in medical education and Stanford professors propose re-imagining medical education with ?lecture-less? classes
Photo by Brian Tobin

Source: http://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2012/10/09/combining-online-learning-and-the-socratic-method-to-reinvent-medical-school-courses/

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Decide.com offers $200 price guarantee on purchases

6 hrs.

If you take?a systematic approach to tech product pricing, you will find that prices don?t just slowly rise and fall over a period of days or months. They can also jump up and down over the course of a day, changing as many as twenty times, according to the price-tracking site Decide.com.

Decide tracks these fluctuations, crunches the numbers, predicts whether the price of a product will rise or fall, and tells you whether to buy or wait. And now Decide will back up those predictions with a price guarantee that pays you the difference to the tune of up to $200 per product if they get it wrong and the price drops lower than what you paid within two weeks of when you made the purchase.

So how does it work? The guarantee applies to any product Decide predicts is a good time to buy, but only if you buy it from the retailer listed with the lowest price. You then forward your email receipt to Decide before midnight PST the same day. Decide automatically tracks the price across thousands of retailers??including Amazon, Best Buy and Walmart???for the next 14 days. If the price drops, Decide will notify you and pay the difference.

Right now, the guarantee covers 200,000 products in more than 75 categories across electronics, appliances, sports & outdoors, tools, and lawn and garden. And, for now, the service is free. Soon, Decide will require a paid subscription to get the price guarantee.

In addition to pricing advice, Decide also helps you select which product to buy. On each product page you?ll find a ?Decide Score,? which takes into account user and expert reviews.

For instance, this Canon EOS Rebel T4i gets an 87 and is considered highly rated. You can read the reviews the score is based on and see comparable products. And, you?ll also see news and rumors related to the product.

With much of the shopping leg work done for you, all that will be left is for you to decide.

More from Techlicious:

Get Suzanne's free daily Techlicious Newsletter or chat with her on?Facebook.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/decide-com-offers-200-price-guarantee-purchases-1C6341122

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Harvard's Pastor: "It Does Not Matter if Christianity is True..."

Jonathan Walton

Jonathan Walton has some giant shoes to fill. ?The new Pusey Minister at Harvard?s Memorial Church, and the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, he is stepping into the dual role formerly occupied by the dearly departed Peter Gomes. ?At Harvard, Gomes was a veritable institution unto himself. ?The recipient of 39 honorary degrees, one of America?s most renowned preachers and successful preacher-writers, and a brilliant and idiosyncratic African American intellectual, Gomes spoke with a kind of deliberate grandiloquence that charmed, elevated and inspired. ?He outlasted numerous Harvard Presidents and taught a fantastic course on Harvard?s history (which I had the pleasure of helping him teach, one year); his Wednesday afternoon teas were one of Harvard?s finest traditions; and, while never uncontroversial, Gomes was welcoming to people of all faiths, and evangelicals knew they always had a seat at his table.

Recently Walton delivered the ?Freshman Sunday? sermon, his inaugural sermon, and the?Harvard Gazette?reports on his articulation of the Epistle of James:

?Faith as defined in this epistle is not a mere cognitive assent to a belief in a divine being,? said Walton, who succeeded the late Rev. Peter J. Gomes in the influential pulpit. ?Nor should faith be conceived as blind allegiance to a perceived sacred yet illusive reality. No, ? such conceptions of faith are as morally vacuous as they are ethically inept. Rather, James is referring to faith in a sacred reality that reveals itself in human activity.?

Belief is revealed by action, Walter said. ?It does not matter if Christianity is true, but rather can we, as those informed by the teachings of Jesus, make it true. Hence at the end of the day, our faith is not something to be professed, as talk is cheap, but something primarily to be done.?

If I were not a man of conscience, I would take the soundbite ? ?It does not matter if Christianity is true? ? and exploit it to make all the usual points about Harvard?s abandonment of its ancient and original Christian commitments and its obeisance to postmodern relativities. ?After all,?Veritas???the Latin for ?truth? ? is emblazoned on Harvard?s shield of arms. ?The official motto, adopted in 1692 (84 years prior to the Declaration of Independence) is even more ironic:?Veritas, Christo et ecclesiae?? truth, for Christ and the church. ?Yet here is Harvard?s minister declaring in the heart of Harvard Yard that the truth of Christianity is insignificant.

As Mark D. Roberts?explains, among Harvard?s ?Rules and Precepts? adopted in 1646 was that every student should be ?plainly instructed? that the ultimate purpose of his life and scholarship is ?to know God and Jesus Christ which is eternal life,? and thus to make Christ ?the only foundation of all sound knowledge and Learning.? ?Students were encouraged to pray, required to read the scripture twice weekly, and to submit to theological examinations. ?The original seal had three books on the Harvard shield, with the top two books face-up and the bottom book face-down, to indicate the limits of human rationality and the necessity of divine revelation. ?Today the three books are all face-up.

It would all be so easy. ?A university intended to illuminate Jesus Christ as the beginning and end of all knowledge now detaches Christianity from the question of truth and appears to disregard the question of truth entirely. ?The blog post practically writes itself.

What Walton was saying, however, was not that the truth of Christianity is inconsequential,?period. ?One has to read the rest of the sentence. ?He was saying something more subtle than that ? and yet, at least to my mind, still troubling.

The Epistle of James reminded early Jewish converts to Christianity, ?begotten by the Word of Truth,? that the possession of the truth of God?s grace in Christ does not mean that they could abandon the works of love to which Christ called his followers. ?A living faith transforms us from the inside out, resulting in a life that imitates Christ. ?In the absence of transformation, action, and works of love, our faith is either false or dead. ?Yet Walton spoke to a generation already skeptical of ultimate metaphysical truths and told them that?the truth of Christianity is in its living out.

The Christian faith, in Walton?s teaching, is ?faith in a sacred reality,? so there is an assertion of the?reality?of some sacred other. ?This sacred reality ?reveals itself in human activity,? and so ?faith is not something to be professed, as talk is cheap,? but faith is instead ?something primarily to be done.?

This is not necessarily the denial of truth, but is at least its displacement. ?It?s one thing to say that we experience the truth of God in Christ when we live the life of Christ. ?It?s another to say that the only ?truth? that matters is found in serving others. ?It?s one thing to say that?we?come to the truth through participation in the life of Christ. ?It?s another to say that there is no truth of Christianity apart from what we make true. ?The truth is the truth, whether or not anyone believes it or acts upon it. ?Christians historically have understood that they make the truth?known?through their deeds. ?But they do not make the truth?true?through their deeds.

And when Walton denigrates the importance of profession, he?s departing not only from Christian tradition, in which the proclamation of the Word and the confession of the gospel are paramount, but he?s departing from the tradition of Christ, who spent an awful lot of time ?professing? as well as ?doing.? ?Christ?s talk was not cheap. ?The Word is not cheap ? and the Word was true eternally, long before there were people to ?make it true.?

Walton?s sermon was consistent with the general trend of reducing Christianity to a social justice program, and justifying the presence of churches at secular universities by framing them as community organizers. ?Yet what was so refreshing about Peter Gomes was that he was willing to be counter-cultural. ?Reverend Gomes took his immense learning and his towering standing within the Harvard community and used them to stand against the stream. ?My friend Jeff Barneson?related this story?after Gomes? death:

On one occasion [Gomes] spoke at one of the regular meetings of the?Harvard Graduate School Christian Fellowship?the InterVarsity group I advise. He told the graduate students packed together in Phillips Brooks House that their calling was to ?Say the intolerable thing to a generation whose only value is tolerance.? During the discussion following his remarks, I asked what he meant by ?the intolerable thing.? ?Jeffrey,? he said, ?the intolerable thing is that Jesus Christ is Lord.?

Reverend Walton will preach hundreds of sermons in his term as the Pusey Minister and Plummer Professor of Christian Morals at Harvard. ?He is just beginning in his new role, which calls for grace and welcome, not a rush to judgment. ?Surely the evangelical community there will seek to build a friendly and productive relationship. ?But if he follows in the admirable tradition of his predecessor, Reverend Walton will be willing to press into the tide, to stand for truths immutable in a time of whirling change, and to defend what sounds indefensible to a generation that needs to hear it more than ever.

As one of the students?said?after the service, ?He fits into the community here.? ?Let?s hope he does not fit in too much.

Source: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/philosophicalfragments/2012/10/09/harvards-pastor-it-does-not-matter-if-christianity-is-true/

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Sarfabad farmers stop work on housing projects ... - Real Estate India

??|?? October 8, 2012 ?? 08:01am ??|Contributed by manoja

NOIDA: Over a hundred farmers disrupted construction work on residential project sites of several developers in Sectors 75 and 120 of Noida on Sunday. The protests by farmers was a result of a stay order granted by the Allahabad high court on projects in the area after petitions alleged that builders were allotted land even though the acquisition process has not been completed.

The Noida Authority had said last week that it would halt construction work after conducting a survey to find out which projects have been affected by the court order. However, as work continued as usual, farmers from Sarfabad village, who had filed the petition in the court seeking the land back, disrupted construction of the projects.

?Construction work should halt immediately since the high court has issued a stay order on projects over land whose ownership is still legally with us,? said Dharampal Yadav, a farmer from Sarfabad. ?We have demanded our land back and do not want to give it to the Authority,? he added.

Farmers alleged that the manner in which lease deeds for land in these sectors were executed, even as the land acquisition process is not fully complete, is a clear case of connivance between Authority officials and builders.

The agitation came to and end after police intervention. Cops from Sector 49 police station reached the spot and dissuaded the farmers from their protests. Police advised the managers at the construction sites to meet Noida Authority officials on Monday and decide on the course of action to be adopted as per the court orders.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/Sarfabad-farmers-stop-work-on-h...

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Source: http://www.indianrealtynews.com/real-estate-india/noida/sarfabad-farmers-stop-work-on-housing-projects-in-noida.html

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Romney: The US must help Syrian rebels oust Assad

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney greets cadets after delivering a foreign policy speech at Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington, Va., Monday, Oct. 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney greets cadets after delivering a foreign policy speech at Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington, Va., Monday, Oct. 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney delivers a foreign policy speech at Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington, Va., Monday, Oct. 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney arrives to make a foreign policy speech at Virginia Military Institute, Monday, Oct. 8, 2012, in Lexington, Va. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney delivers a foreign policy speech at Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington, Va., Monday, Oct. 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney delivers a foreign policy speech at Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington, Va., Monday, Oct. 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

(AP) ? Mitt Romney declared on Monday the U.S. must join other nations in helping arm Syrian rebels to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad, casting President Barack Obama's efforts as weak and part of a broader lack of leadership in the Middle East and around the globe.

Hoping to bolster his own foreign policy credentials, the Republican presidential challenger said he would identify and organize those in the Syrian opposition who share American values, then work with American allies to "ensure they obtain the arms they need to defeat Assad's tanks, helicopters and fighter jets."

"It is essential that we develop influence with those forces in Syria that will one day lead a country that sits at the heart of the Middle East," Romney said.

In a wide-ranging address at the Virginia Military Institute, Romney attempted to establish an image for voters of himself as a man who would be a strong commander in chief. In his remarks, he criticized Obama's policies toward Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Israel.

Nowhere did he emphasize a different course as strongly as in Syria. Romney cast the civil war there as a proxy conflict with Iran ? and said it's in America's interest to court an opposition likely to play a key role in leading a future Syria.

Activists say more than 32,000 people have died in Syria's conflict, which began 19 months ago with Assad's government cracking down on protests. That crackdown was followed by armed rebellion in many parts of the country and, eventually, a full-scale civil war.

Obama's administration still seeks a peaceful political transition, even though the president acknowledged in August that the likelihood of a soft landing for the conflict "seems pretty distant."

Romney aides said he wasn't calling for the U.S. to directly arm the rebels.

Nor has Obama. The president's re-election campaign dismissed Romney's remarks as "saber-rattling" and accused the Republican of refusing to outline just how his policies would differ from the incumbent's.

The administration has been quietly coordinating with partners in the region who want to provide military assistance. But Obama has opposed directly providing weapons to the rebels or using U.S. air power to prevent Syrian jets from flying.

The U.S. role in coordination is currently aimed at maintaining some measure of control over which groups receive weapons. Administration officials have been pressing America's Arab allies for months about the danger of equipment such as shoulder-launched rockets and other heavy weaponry falling into the wrong hands. The official line is that any arms assistance to the rebels only further militarizes a conflict that should be solved through a peaceful transition strategy.

Privately, officials concede that countries such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar have made different decisions, and the U.S. is working with them so that concerns about extremism and the proliferation of certain types of weapons are taken into account in their decision-making.

The head of the Turkey-based Syrian National Council, the main Syrian opposition group, said Romney's comments were the "right statement." Abdelbaset Sieda said he was not disappointed in the U.S. president, but added that "Obama must do more to stop the killing."

When pressed, Romney policy advisers refused to say if the Republican would support or encourage allies to deliver heavier weaponry, including shoulder-fired rockets, to the opposition forces in Syria.

Romney's comments come at a critical time in part because the violence in Syria has spilled over the border and into Turkey, with fighting continuing Monday for a sixth straight day. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned Saturday the conflict between those neighboring countries could embroil the broader region.

There also is turmoil in the wider Middle East and North Africa. Beyond Syria, Iran is believed to be pursuing a nuclear weapon, talks between Israel and the Palestinians are moribund and anti-American protests recently erupted in several countries. Last month, attackers linked to al-Qaida killed four Americans in Libya, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens.

The Republican nominee used his Monday speech to try to paint Democrat Obama as a weak leader who has limited America's influence on global affairs. Still, Romney highlighted the work of "patriots of both parties" and looked to cast himself as a statesman and part of a long and bipartisan tradition of American leadership in the world. He said the U.S. should use its power "wisely, with solemnity and without false pride, but also firmly and actively."

"It is clear that the risk of conflict in the region is higher now than when the president took office," Romney said.

On another international topic, Romney said he wouldn't allow Russian President Vladimir Putin any "flexibility," a jibe at Obama, who was caught on a microphone telling then-President Dmitry Medvedev last March that the U.S. would have more flexibility to work on missile defense issues after the election.

But the bulk of Romney's speech focused on the Middle East, North Africa and Afghanistan.

Romney said American gains in Iraq ? won during the war pressed by President George W. Bush ? have eroded, though he did not say if he would attempt to send U.S. troops back to that country.

He called for tougher sanctions on Iran than those that exist, though he did not say how he would strengthen them. He said he would condition aid to Egypt on continued support for its peace treaty with neighboring Israel. Current law includes such a condition.

Romney criticized Obama for a "politically timed retreat" from Afghanistan, but said he would maintain the same 2014 deadline the president has set for the pullout of U.S. troops and the transition to Afghan security forces.

The Republican nominee also emphasized his commitment to a two-state solution for peace between the Israelis and Palestinians, a process he dismissed during a secretly videotaped fundraiser in May. He also criticized the administration for its handling of the attacks in Benghazi, Libya.

"As the administration has finally conceded, these attacks were the deliberate work of terrorists who use violence to impose their dark ideology on others," Romney said.

The Republican has given several foreign policy speeches during the campaign, including one in Reno, Nev., before a weeklong summer trip abroad during which he offended his British hosts by questioning their security preparations for the Olympic Games. At another stop, in Israel, he raised hackles among Palestinians who accused him of racism after he said culture was part of the reason Israelis were more economically successful than their Palestinian neighbors.

In the fall, Romney faced criticism for his quick and harsh reaction to news of protests at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and near-simultaneous attacks at the consulate in Libya. Before the administration knew of Stevens' death, Romney criticized Obama for sympathizing with the attackers. In the aftermath, top Republicans ? including Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the 2008 presidential nominee ? urged Romney to give a speech laying out his vision for U.S. foreign policy.

___

Kasie Hunt reported from Washington. AP White House Correspondent Ben Feller in Los Angeles and AP writers Karin Laub in Beirut and Bradley Klapper in Washington contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-10-08-Romney/id-c5d2fc3f960b4f72a5c3e45b4362c1e4

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Six Join Bulldogs for 2013 Season - Yale Bulldogs

October 8, 2012

One Junior, Five from Class of 2016 Added to Baseball Roster

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2012-13 Preseason Roster

2012 Fall Schedule

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NEW HAVEN, Conn. ? The Yale University baseball team announced the addition of six players to the roster for the 2012-13 season, including junior outfielder Jake Semones and five freshman, and all six student-athletes are expected to make an immediate impact for the Bulldogs in the spring.

"This year's freshman class has really impressed thus far," said Yale's head coach John Stuper. "The pitchers have shown an ability to pound the zone consistently and should compete for significant time on the mound this spring. The position players have also done a tremendous job showcasing their versatility on the defensive side of the ball, as well as an ability to produce consistent, tough at-bats. All in all, I could not be happier with what I have seen from this group thus far, and expect all of them to contribute to our success this spring."

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#4 ? Nate Adams ? IF/OF

L/R ? 5-9/165 ? St. Louis, Mo./John Burroughs High School

A four-year letterwinner at John Burroughs High School, Adams was a three-time all-league player, leading the Bombers with a .417 batting average and 32 steals in his senior year. Adams was named to the ABC League First Team in 2010 and 2011 and the Metro League First Team in 2011. Adams is listed as a utility player and is expected to see time in the infield and outfield this spring.

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#26 ? Chris Lanham ? RHP

R/R ? 6-3/185 ? Houston, Texas/Lamar High School

Lanham was a star pitcher at Lamar High School and his summer team, the Houston Heat. A four-year letterwinner for the Redskins. Prior to his senior season, Lanham was named to the Preseason All-Greater Houston squad, and he was named to the All-District First-Team, Academic All-State Team and the Houston Area Baseball Coaches Association (HABCA) Senior All-Star Team. As a junior, he was named to the All-District First-Team, All-Greater Houston First Team, All-State Third Team, and the HABCA Junior All-Star Team. Lanham graduated ranked 10th in a senior class of 600 and was an International Baccalaureate Diploma recipient.

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#11 ? Brent Lawson ? C/OF

R/R ? 5-11/175 ? Newport Beach, Calif./Corona Del Mar High School

A four-year varsity starter, Lawson was a star player at four positions (SS, 3B, OF, C) at Corona del Mar High School and was the school's athlete of the year and the winner of the Sea King Pride Award in 2011-12. The Sea Kings captain as a senior, Lawson led his team to the CIF playoffs three times and was named All-Pacific Coast League Honorable Mention, All-PCL Second-Team and All-PCL First Team in his last three seasons. He was the starting catcher for the Pacific Coast League's All-Star Team, the Elite Baseball Series MVP and a two-year member of the Daily Pilot Baseball Dream Team. He was also the Daily Pilot's Dream Team Player of the Year in Football. A member of the National Honor Society, Lawson was also a Boys State-California Delegate and a California Scholarship Federation selection for four years. He also played summer baseball for the Southern California Renegades for four years.

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#32 ? Christopher Moates ? RHP

R/R ? 6-5/220 ? Smithville, Ga./Deerfield-Windsor School

After spending his first two years at Lee County High School, Moates transferred to Deerfield-Windsor School, where he lettered his final two seasons. An honors graduate with a 4.3 grade-point average (4.0 scale), Moates led his Deerfield-Windsor to the state finals in his senior season. He led the Knights with a 9-3 record on the mound with a 1.85 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 61 innings pitched. At the plate, he recorded a .603 batting average with nine home runs and 49 RBIs. The average, home runs and his 15 home runs in his two seasons are all Deerfield-Windsor school records. He was the Ray Knight Player of the Year, the Georgia Independent School Association Player of the Year, the Region Player of the Year and a two-time All-State selection. Moates batted .550 in his two seasons on Lee County High's ninth grade and B-teams.

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#24 ? Tom O'Neill ? IF

R/R ? 6-3/190 ? Baltimore, Md./The Gilman School

A four-year letterwinner at The Gilman School, O'Neill started every game of his high school career at shortstop and led his team to the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association state championship in 2010 as a sophomore. As a senior, he was the captain of the baseball and boys volleyball teams, winning the Baseball Cup and Volleyball Cup awards for athletic performance and leadership. He was named a 2012 preseason "top player" by ESPN High School and played summer baseball for Under Armour Franchise. O'Neill graduated Cum Laude from Gilman and won the Elizabeth Woolsey Prize in 2011.

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#5 ? Jake Semones ? OF

L/L ? 6-1/165 ? Sanpoint, Idaho/Sanpoint High School

Semones joins the Bulldogs for his junior year at Yale. He was a three-year letterwinner at Sandpoint High School and was the team's captain in his last two seasons. He was an All-North Idaho First Team selection and an all-league first team selection in his last three seasons. An honor student in all four years at Sandpoint, Semones also spent one year at Loomis Chaffee in Windsor, Conn., and was an all-league honorable mention selection in his one season.

Report filed by Jon Erickson Jr., Yale Sports Publicity

Source: http://www.yalebulldogs.com/sports/m-basebl/2012-13/releases/20121008b3w93c

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