COMMENTARY | The conventional wisdom among some conservative pundits is that Mitt Romney is more electable than Newt Gingrich because the Democrats would have a harder time demonizing them. The Washington Post begs to disagree.
The Democrats have already developed their plan to destroy Romney should he become the Republican nominee. The smooth, dapper businessman who created jobs and turned around failing companies will be transformed into a heartless capitalist who destroyed lives and dreams in order to enrich himself. Romney will be turned into Gordon Gekko, the villain of the Oliver Stone indictment of capitalism "Wall Street."
It might not work. The Democratic strategy is based on the supposition that large number of Americans share the disdain for capitalism that the Occupy Wall Street protestors have. But the fact the occupier movement started as a public nuisance and is ending as a parody of itself suggests the Democrats are in error.
Of course that is not the point. Just as Gingrich can be attacked for some of his baggage, Romney will be attacked for some of his. If the capitalist pig gambit does not work, the Democrats will play the Mormon card, just as they did when Romney had the temerity to run against Ted Kennedy for the Senate in 1994 despite claims to the contrary. According to Atlantic Wire, Sen. Kennedy's nephew Joe Kennedy assailed the Mormon religion as "racist." The Democrats may use code words like "weird," but it will be understood what is meant by that.
The truth of the matter is that while Democrats are not very good at governing, they are excellent practitioners of political combat. It will not matter who the Republicans nominate. The Democrats will endeavor to paint him or her as a combination of Darth Vader and Chance Gardiner, the Peter Sellers mentally challenged character who seemed profound to those around him, but was not.
Therefore Republican voters should set aside notions of who is the most electable and who is most difficult to demonize. They should instead focus when considering who to nominate on who would make the better president and who can take the fight to President Barack Obama.
LO ANGELES (TheWrap.com) ? Leonardo DiCaprio is coming to HBO -- in a behind-the-camera capacity, anyway.
HBO is developing a drama series based on the 2009 Josh Bazell novel "Beat the Reaper," with DiCaprio executive-producing.
"Ocean's Thirteen" screenwriters Brian Koppleman and David Levien are penning the project, as well as co-executive producing.
Also executive-producing are Jennifer Davisson Killoran, of DiCaprio's production company Appian Way, and Julie Yorn, of LBI Entertainment, along with new Regency's Arnon Milchan and New Regency alum Bob Harper and Hutch Parker.
New Regency initially acquired the rights to the book, as a potential starring vehicle for DiCaprio.
The Bazell novel revolves around a medical resident in the Federal Witness Protection Program, who describes his history as a mafia hitman through a series of flashbacks. In the present time, he must save a mob acquaintance from his past in order to prevent him from revealing the resident's location to the local crime boss.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the first Jew on a major party?s national ticket, said Tuesday he disagrees with Newt Gingrich?s assertion that the Palestinians are 'an invented' people.
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the first Jew to appear on a major party?s presidential ticket, disagrees with GOP candidate Newt Gingrich?s view that the Palestinians are ?an invented? people.
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Mr. Gingrich "expressed one view? of the Palestinians? history, Senator Lieberman said Tuesday at a Monitor-hosted breakfast with reporters. ?There are others, of course, that are quite different. To me the important fact is, the Palestinians are a people today and any resolution of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has to be between two peoples, two nations.?
Last week, former House Speaker Gingrich told an interviewer from cable TV?s Jewish Channel that Palestinians? effort to gain statehood was the result of ?an invented Palestinian people, who are in fact Arabs and were historically part of the Arab community.??
Gingrich came under fire for that comment from other Republican presidential candidates at a debate Saturday in Iowa. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney called Gingrich?s comments ?a mistake.? Gingrich responded that Palestinian groups ?are terrorists,? adding that ''sometimes it's helpful to have a president of the United States who tells the truth.''
R.C. Hammond, a Gingrich campaign spokesman, later released a statement elaborating upon the candidate's views: It said, ?Gingrich supports a negotiated peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians which will necessarily include agreement between Israel and the Palestinians over the borders of a Palestinian state.?
Lieberman, an Independent from Connecticut, was the first Jew to be on a major party ticket, when he was Democrat Al Gore?s vice-presidential pick in 2000. At the breakfast on Tuesday, he said there is irony in the fact that ?a greater majority of Israelis are prepared to accept the idea of a Palestinian state for a Palestinian people than Palestinians are prepared to accept a Jewish state of Israel for the Jewish people. And that, of course, has to be resolved in negotiations.?
The senator, an observant Orthodox Jew, said the bottom line is that ?whatever one?s view of history, the Palestinian people-hood is a reality today, and we have to both respect and deal with that reality as we try to resolve the conflict.?
'I'm coming into the party, I'm going to be somebody and you can't stop me,' actor says of his career pursuits. By Kara Warner, with reporting by Sway Calloway
John Leguizamo Photo: MTV News
Triple-threat talent John Leguizamo has made a career out of pushing boundaries, not being afraid to speak his mind and never taking no for an answer. As such, we were proud to have him as part of our MTV Pioneers Speaker Series, where he sat down with MTV News' Sway Calloway to talk about breaking the mold, not being typecast and what success means to him over a career that has included roles in film, television and on Broadway.
"I just went all out. I wanted awards and sh--, so I wasn't playing," he joked about his motivations for taking on the character. "I was going to take no prisoners. I was on a vegetarian no-protein [diet], so all my muscles would disappear. I stopped training, I would just run like crazy. In the movie, they were great, we did a lot of research. We went to all the drag queen clubs, like Escuelita, which used to exist here [in New York City], with all the Latin drag queens, and we had a godmother drag queen who would put us through the paces every day," he recalled of his transformation with co-stars Patrick Swayze and Wesley Snipes. "We worked every day for hours and hours every day until we could get it perfectly drag queen-like."
When asked about how he approached being a minority and how that affected his decisions, Leguizamo said that you have to know what you want and go for it.
"You've got to be thoughtful about your career. When you're a minority — and I don't really even like that word anymore because we're not as minority as we used to be — you have to think about what you're saying and what you're leaving behind. When I was a little kid, we didn't see [ourselves] on TV or anywhere. It was weird because you didn't feel like you were a part of the American fiber," he recalled. "Latin people, we have a 45 to 50 percent dropout rate in this country, and I understand that. It's a tragedy and shouldn't be happening, but you understand it. You don't feel connected in that positive way that your people and you are going to make it, and 'this is your chance and this is your opportunity,' no, you feel like you're not really a part of it.
"You have to crash into the party even if you're not invited," he said, indicating that those who have dreams of "making it" have to carve out their own career paths. "I was going to be that guy, I didn't care I wasn't invited. 'I'm coming into the party, I'm going to be somebody and you can't stop me.' "
This story is part of a reporting partnership that includes KUHF, and Kaiser Health News.
MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston has lured 55 scientists away from Boston?s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The personnel grab will help the academic hospital jump quickly into the field of cancer drug development.
MD Anderson ? part of the University of Texas ? has pledged $75 million for the effort, called ?The Institute for Applied Cancer Science.? At Dana-Farber, the scientists worked at the very similarly named ?Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer Science.?
MD Anderson leaders, who prefer the more politic term ?recruit? for the coup they?ve pulled off, are gaining 28 scientific researchers, who bring a retinue of 27 post-docs and PhD students.
For onco-observers, it wasn?t a huge surprise: MD Anderson just installed a new president in September, luring him from ? you guessed it ? the Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer Science. In fact, hiring Dr. Ron DePinho indicated just how badly MD Anderson wanted to beef up its basic genetic research and translational capacities. So now a large part of the Belfer gang has joined DePinho, who also brought his wife, Dr. Lynda Chin, an expert in cancer genetics. Chin will be scientific director of the new Institute.
As if to underscore what could be cast as a victory over his presidential rival Mitt Romney, Governor Rick Perry took time out from his campaign to attend the official announcement in Houston. He said nothing overtly political, but emphasized that Texas was setting itself up to compete with traditional bio-tech hubs like, well, Boston.
Perry said: ?We?re creating a culture that will help ensure that great ideas that are born in Texas will stay in Texas. From the laboratory to the marketplace. And then we will export them around the world.?
But beyond needling Bay Staters, what does MD Anderson accomplish by doing this? Well, for years, cancer docs have complained about a slowdown in the development of new oncology drugs.
?Pharmaceutical companies have downsized their internal research programs,? DePinho said. ??Biotechnology companies, which serve as the pipeline from academia to large pharma, are under significant stress due to the economic crisis.?
Now MD Anderson will be doing more of what pharmaceutical and biotech companies used to do ? conducting basic research to find new cancer drugs and then shepherding the drugs through the early stages of testing, DePinho said.
Alarms have been raised for years about the dwindling ?pipeline? in pharmaceutical invention, but the problem seems particularly acute in oncology. DePinho says less than 10 percent of cancer drugs ever make it through clinical trials.
What?s more, the new revolution in ?cancer genomics? has thrown the field into an energizing disarray. There?s a new understanding that cancer is not one disease, but hundreds of diseases ? and that these cancers can be attacked at the genetic level. That means new types of drugs targeting specific mutations and proteins.
Chin says academia seems poised to work out the scientific complexities involved in developing these future cancer drugs. Freed from investor pressure, academics can work together across disciplines, combining biochemistry, genetic engineering, statistics and other disciplines. But make no mistake ? the goal is to invent new drugs, patent them and pull in pharma-partners along the way, with the hope of sharing the eventual profits.
Dana-Farber did not respond to requests for comment on the scientific defection. But Chin says that more than half of the institute?s scientists are still in Boston. Still, Houston got most of the leadership, so Belfer will have to rebuild.
This entry was posted on Monday, December 5th, 2011 at 6:28 am.
The whitefly in Texas may be sending up a surrender flag to tomato processors in the state thanks to a Texas AgriLife Research scientist developing a new variety that resists the virus spread by this pesky insect.
A 10-year battle against the insect all but wiped out the tomato industry in Texas, but the new tomato already is encouraging small processors to stay in business, according to Dr. Kevin Crosby, AgriLife Research vegetable breeder.
"We first saw this new virus around 2002 or so," Crosby said. "There were strains of this virus complex always in the Rio Grande Valley, but they weren't nearly as easily spread by the whitefly as this new strain that originated in the Middle East and then went from Florida to Mexico and then came to Texas.
"It spreads like wildfire. I've seen a 50-acre field just plowed under because they couldn't get a single tomato out of them. There are so many whiteflies down there in that subtropical region, you really can never completely eliminate whiteflies. You can't do it."
Dr. Kevin Crosby
The researcher said tomato plants as young as three weeks old can be infected by the whiteflies, causing leaves to curl and turn yellow, ultimately killing the entire plant.
Tomato processing in the Rio Grande Valley pulled the plug rather than fight the prolific fly, industry officials said.
"Whiteflies just devastated the tomato industry here," said Buddy Ault, owner of Rio Valley Canning Co. in Donna. "At one time the Rio Grande Valley was producing about 40,000 acres of tomatoes until the whitefly came along. Acreage plunged. Then, about five years ago we noticed that plants were dying just when the fruit was about to mature. The leaves turned yellow and cut off nutrients to the fruit, causing tomatoes to stay green on the inside."
Growers first blamed the whitefly, then realized a virus carried by whitefly was to blame, Ault said.
"So, we asked Texas AgriLife Research about the possibility of developing an open-pollinated, virus-resistant variety," he said.
Help came from previous research conducted in Texas, aided by national and international vegetable breeding networks, Crosby said.
"Dr. Paul Leeper, who was a scientist at (AgriLife Research in) Weslaco for decades, did a lot of the early work on hot climate, processing tomatoes. As a result, he built a lot of very good varieties for the industry. In fact, his tomatoes at one point were the most popular tomatoes in tropical places because they could tolerate the heat," Crosby noted. "But we found out that they could not tolerate the new viruses that have been brought in by the whitefly."
Crosby called upon colleagues in Florida and Taiwan, who had identified tomato genes that provide resistance to the viral disease, in seeking plants to cross with the Texas varieties. He got a supply to test from Dr. Peter Hansen at the World Vegetable Research and Development Center in Taiwan, as well as from Dr. Jay Scott, a world-famous tomato breeder at the University of Florida.
"We were able to cross those lines with our Weslaco lines and generate material that was adapted to Texas and that had good processing qualities," Crosby said.
For now, the new variety called T-5 is being tested by some producers in the Rio Grande Valley and Crosby said the results are promising.
"Because it combines two distinct virus-resistance genes, resistance has been outstanding," he said.
"The new variety is impressive," said Ault, whose company cans a mixture of diced tomatoes and green peppers for H-E-B's Hill Country Fare label.
"We like the T-5 very much," he said. "It is highly productive, has good flavor, good color and is virus resistant. What we don't like about it is that it is an indeterminate variety, meaning not all the fruit sets and matures on the plant at the same time. As a processor, we prefer one that sets fruit all at the same time. But considering we had little to work with prior to the T-5, we're optimistic Dr. Crosby's good work will prevail."
Crosby plans to continue the virus-resistance research for the fresh tomato types and to develop varieties suited for growing in the different climate across the state.
"Growers of fresh market tomatoes are interested in our work because there's little to nothing in the vine-ripe class or heirloom-type cultivars, which are well-adapted to the heat and have the virus resistance," Crosby said.
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Whitefly, tomato growers find truce in new Texas varietyPublic release date: 5-Dec-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
The whitefly in Texas may be sending up a surrender flag to tomato processors in the state thanks to a Texas AgriLife Research scientist developing a new variety that resists the virus spread by this pesky insect.
A 10-year battle against the insect all but wiped out the tomato industry in Texas, but the new tomato already is encouraging small processors to stay in business, according to Dr. Kevin Crosby, AgriLife Research vegetable breeder.
"We first saw this new virus around 2002 or so," Crosby said. "There were strains of this virus complex always in the Rio Grande Valley, but they weren't nearly as easily spread by the whitefly as this new strain that originated in the Middle East and then went from Florida to Mexico and then came to Texas.
"It spreads like wildfire. I've seen a 50-acre field just plowed under because they couldn't get a single tomato out of them. There are so many whiteflies down there in that subtropical region, you really can never completely eliminate whiteflies. You can't do it."
Dr. Kevin Crosby
The researcher said tomato plants as young as three weeks old can be infected by the whiteflies, causing leaves to curl and turn yellow, ultimately killing the entire plant.
Tomato processing in the Rio Grande Valley pulled the plug rather than fight the prolific fly, industry officials said.
"Whiteflies just devastated the tomato industry here," said Buddy Ault, owner of Rio Valley Canning Co. in Donna. "At one time the Rio Grande Valley was producing about 40,000 acres of tomatoes until the whitefly came along. Acreage plunged. Then, about five years ago we noticed that plants were dying just when the fruit was about to mature. The leaves turned yellow and cut off nutrients to the fruit, causing tomatoes to stay green on the inside."
Growers first blamed the whitefly, then realized a virus carried by whitefly was to blame, Ault said.
"So, we asked Texas AgriLife Research about the possibility of developing an open-pollinated, virus-resistant variety," he said.
Help came from previous research conducted in Texas, aided by national and international vegetable breeding networks, Crosby said.
"Dr. Paul Leeper, who was a scientist at (AgriLife Research in) Weslaco for decades, did a lot of the early work on hot climate, processing tomatoes. As a result, he built a lot of very good varieties for the industry. In fact, his tomatoes at one point were the most popular tomatoes in tropical places because they could tolerate the heat," Crosby noted. "But we found out that they could not tolerate the new viruses that have been brought in by the whitefly."
Crosby called upon colleagues in Florida and Taiwan, who had identified tomato genes that provide resistance to the viral disease, in seeking plants to cross with the Texas varieties. He got a supply to test from Dr. Peter Hansen at the World Vegetable Research and Development Center in Taiwan, as well as from Dr. Jay Scott, a world-famous tomato breeder at the University of Florida.
"We were able to cross those lines with our Weslaco lines and generate material that was adapted to Texas and that had good processing qualities," Crosby said.
For now, the new variety called T-5 is being tested by some producers in the Rio Grande Valley and Crosby said the results are promising.
"Because it combines two distinct virus-resistance genes, resistance has been outstanding," he said.
"The new variety is impressive," said Ault, whose company cans a mixture of diced tomatoes and green peppers for H-E-B's Hill Country Fare label.
"We like the T-5 very much," he said. "It is highly productive, has good flavor, good color and is virus resistant. What we don't like about it is that it is an indeterminate variety, meaning not all the fruit sets and matures on the plant at the same time. As a processor, we prefer one that sets fruit all at the same time. But considering we had little to work with prior to the T-5, we're optimistic Dr. Crosby's good work will prevail."
Crosby plans to continue the virus-resistance research for the fresh tomato types and to develop varieties suited for growing in the different climate across the state.
"Growers of fresh market tomatoes are interested in our work because there's little to nothing in the vine-ripe class or heirloom-type cultivars, which are well-adapted to the heat and have the virus resistance," Crosby said.
###
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
LONDON (AP) ? WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was granted permission by judges Monday to continue his legal battle to avoid extradition to Sweden over sex crimes allegations ? but was warned that his chances of success are slim.
At a hearing at London's High Court, senior judges John Thomas and Duncan Ouseley said Assange would be allowed to apply to Britain's Supreme Court to argue that Europe's process of carrying out extradition was flawed.
The WikiLeaks' chief now has 14 days to submit a written request for a hearing at the country's highest court, Gareth Peirce, a lawyer for Assange, said outside court.
The decision means Assange won't face immediate deportation, and is likely to spend a second Christmas living under curfew at a supporter's country estate in eastern England.
Assange's legal team argue that police and prosecutors ? like the Swedish prosecutor seeking to bring Assange back to the country for questioning ? are not a proper judicial authority, and shouldn't have the right to order extraditions.
Judges said Assange's lawyers had raised a legal question of "general public importance," which is necessary to win an audience at the Supreme Court. But Thomas added that the appeal's "chances of success may be extraordinarily slim."
Assange, who listened attentively and scribbled notes throughout the hearing, was cheered by a small group of supporters ? including several demonstrators from the nearby Occupy London encampment ? as he left the court.
"The High Court has decided that an issue that arises from my own case is of general public importance and may be of assistance in other cases and should be heard at the Supreme Court," Assange said on the steps of the courthouse.
"I think this is the right decision and I am thankful. The long struggle for justice for me and for others continues," he said.
Assange, 40, leads the foundering WikiLeaks anti-secrecy movement, which has been hit with a series of legal and financial setbacks. He was accused of rape, coercion and molestation following encounters with two Swedish women in August 2010. Swedish authorities issued a European Arrest Warrant on rape and molestation accusations, and Assange was arrested in London in December 2010.
Assange was released on bail on the condition that he lives under curfew and wears an electronic tag.
In February, Judge Howard Riddle ruled that Assange can be extradited to Sweden to face questions about the allegations, rejecting his claims that he would not receive a fair trial there.
Assange appealed against the decision. He also insists that the sexual encounters were entirely consensual, and legal in the context of English law.
Judges said Monday that they believed Assange would have faced charges if the incidents had taken place in Britain.
Per E. Samuelsson, Assange's Swedish lawyer, hailed the court's decision to allow him to continue his legal fight.
"This is positive news for Julian Assange and means he will remain in the U.K. while the court assesses his appeal," Samuelsson said. "It is something we have fought for."
Claes Borgstrom, the lawyer representing the two women bringing sex crime charges against Assange, called the decision regrettable.
"My clients have waited for over a year for a legal conclusion of this and now they will have to wait even longer," Borgstrom said. "Then it will still end with Assange being transferred to Sweden. The rules are very clear about this."
"I regret he himself doesn't choose to hand himself over," Borgstrom added.
He said the two women had hoped that the case would have been settled at Monday's hearing. "Now they have to wait for another few months. We are hardened by now, but of course this is still stressful," he said.
Peirce said a panel of three Supreme Court judges will review Assange's appeal for a hearing at the court. If accepted, it could be several more months before his fate is decided conclusively. However, if the judges reject the plea for a hearing, Assange could be sent to Sweden within 10 days, she said.
The High Court judges appealed to their colleagues at the Supreme Court to resolve the case as speedily as possible.
"We would, for obvious reasons, ask that the point is decided as quickly as possible," Thomas told the hearing.
Outside the court, masked members of the hacker group Anonymous and supporters of the Occupy protest ? some of whom wore the cartoon-style masks that have become synonymous with the demonstration, mingled with WikiLeaks activists.
One banner draped over railings outside the court read "Free Assange. Free Manning," referring to U.S. Army analyst Bradley Manning who is in custody at Fort Leavenworth prison in Kansas, suspected of disclosing secret intelligence to WikiLeaks.
_____
Associated Press writer Malin Rising in Stockholm contributed to this report.
and Kaiser Health News.
Alarms have been raised for years about the dwindling ?pipeline? in pharmaceutical invention, but the problem seems particularly acute in oncology. DePinho says less than 10 percent of cancer drugs ever make it through clinical trials.![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tu3IGMPYXe3ZPdnnf8mlxDygqxcVntzb6Fmza4rIOj4_zw-apTH2hvqi_DOKIcrlpxO_IGdamnXD98EYTn8XhqipIuK8q1S2jF7Tu8EyM=s0-d){kind=small}
Public release date: 5-Dec-2011
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