November 04, 2009

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on local law enforcement authorities and the FBI to investigate the possibility of a bias motive for vandalism of a Durham, N.C., mosque. An official of the Jamaat Ibad Ar-Rahman mosque, the largest mosque in Durham, told CAIR that two reinforced glass doors on the exterior of the building were smashed sometime late Sunday or early Monday, as were a number of other doors and windows in the facility. The vandals also stole computers and printers. Worshipers first noticed the vandalism when they arrived for morning prayers at the mosque on Monday. This was reportedly the third incident of vandalism targeting the mosque. Local police had asked mosque officials to alert them to any incidents that may be related to recent arrests of area Muslims on terrorism charges. Full release.

Riki Ellison, President and Founder of the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance (MDAA) www.missiledefenseadvocacy.org went on record today praising President Barack Obama and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on their decision to build and complete 14 additional ground-based interceptor silos in Alaska. His comments on this significant national decision are as follows: "It is with great respect to the Department of Defense and to the Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, that their decision to only field half of the Ground Based Interceptor (GBI) silos in Missile Field 2 at Fort Greely, Alaska, has been reversed, as the Department of Defense will now fully construct, complete and field all of the 14 silos in Missile Field 2. This decision by the Secretary of Defense is sound, cost-effective for the U.S. tax payers and a forward risk reduction position for our nation and our public for their security against threats of long-range ballistic missiles. The United States can now have the capability and capacity to deploy 44 Ground-Based Interceptors (GBIs) in 44 silos. This is a significant decision that will allow our nation to have a 'hedge' and lower the risk to our national security if in the future Iran, North Korea or other rouge nation states choose to threaten the United States with intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMS)." Full release.

Chad Griffin, Board President of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which is leading the federal court challenge to California's Proposition 8 being argued by attorneys Theodore Olson and David Boies, made the following statement today in response to the results of the Maine election on same sex marriage: "Our founding fathers did not intend for people's Constitutional rights to be determined by political campaigns. The results in Maine underscore exactly why we are challenging California's same sex marriage ban in federal court. When the Supreme Court ruled in Loving v. Virginia, more than 70 percent of Americans disapproved of interracial marriage. The U.S. Constitution guarantees equal rights to every American, and when those rights are violated, it is the role of our courts to protect us, regardless of what the polls say." In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court ended race-based restrictions on marriage with its ruling in the Loving v. Virginia case. Proposition 8 eliminated Californians' right to same sex marriage and was passed on the November 2008 ballot. The American Foundation for Equal Rights' case against Proposition 8 is scheduled for trial in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California in San Francisco on January 11. The plaintiffs in the case are two same-sex couples -- Paul Katami & Jeff Zarrillo and Kris Perry & Sandy Stier -- who wish to be married but, because of Proposition 8, have been denied marriage licenses. Full release.

Tom Parker, Amnesty International USA's policy director for (counter) terrorism and human rights, issued the following statement in response to the Italian court's decision to convict 23 Americans in the CIA kidnapping case of Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr, known as Abu Omar: "Today, U.S. intelligence officers have been convicted of serious criminal acts by a close ally. In addition to underscoring just how far beyond the law the previous administration was willing to venture in its 'rendition' program, this decision is a graphic illustration of just how damaging practices such as kidnapping and torture are to America's national security. "Continuing these practices will inevitably have a chilling effect on countries' willingness to work with the United States until nations can be sure that America will no longer operate as a rogue nation outside the law. Full release.

According to a study presented November 4, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), a shortened, more intensive course of radiation given to the whole breast, along with an extra dose of radiation given to the surgical bed of the tumor (concomitant boost), has been shown to result in excellent local control at a median follow up of two years after treatment with no significant side effects. "The observations to date suggest that a three-week course of radiation therapy with concomitant boost results in outcomes comparable to that of a five to seven week course for early stage-breast cancers. Additional studies with a larger body of data and longer follow-up period will help establish whether this type of radiation treatment should be routinely used," Manjeet Chadha, M.D., lead author of the study and a radiation oncologist at the Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, said. This shorter treatment, called accelerated hypofractionated whole breast irradiation, is an especially attractive option because women can receive a full course of radiation therapy in half the time -- three weeks of daily treatments vs. five to seven weeks. In addition, the cost of this treatment is lower relative to the cost of the standard whole breast radiation and is also less expensive than other new approaches, such as partial breast irradiation (breast brachytherapy). Full release.

More than a dozen leading U.S. corporations -- including Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG), DB Climate Change Advisors (Deutsche Bank Group), Gap Inc., and National Grid -- announced the launch of a new initiative to support Congressional action on clean energy and climate change legislation. The goal of the new group, called American Businesses for Clean Energy (ABCE), is to offer a platform for leading U.S. businesses to express their support for meaningful and effective legislation that will drive clean technology innovation, create jobs, and address the threat of global climate change. ABCE's message is bold and clear: "We are businesses from a broad cross-section of American industry that support Congressional action to enact clean energy and climate legislation that will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Now is the time to act." Some of the first signatories to the ABCE pledge of support include Aspen Skiing Company, Avista, Calpine Corporation, Conservation Services Group, DB Climate Change Advisors (Deutsche Bank Group), FPL Group, Gap Inc., National Grid, New York Power Authority, PNM Resources, and Public Service Enterprise Group. Full release.

Dr. Steven A. Wartman, president and CEO of the Association of Academic Health Centers (AAHC), urged Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to ensure that health reform create an integrated, coordinated national health workforce policy by incorporating four AAHC recommendations into Senate health reform legislation. "... House Speaker Pelosi released a health reform bill that now incorporates the first (and most important) of these recommendations," Wartman said in a letter to Reid this week. "The AAHC urges you to incorporate all four recommendations in any health reform legislation scheduled for a Senate floor vote." Full release.

Public Campaign President Nick Nyhart released the following statement this morning regarding the New York City mayoral election and New Jersey governor's race. "Voters sent a message on Election Day: they are tired of self-financed, Wall Street-connected candidates. Mayor Mike Bloomberg was expected to win by a wide margin, but he barely crossed the 50 percent mark after spending well more than $100 million running for re-election. Governor Jon Corzine easily outspent his opponents, but the tens of millions he spent became an issue in the election. In both cases, the challengers were participants in public funding programs that provided them substantial resources to be able to reach voters with their message. "While the New Jersey gubernatorial and the New York City mayoral public funding systems fall short of what other successful programs provide in resources, there is no doubt that Bill Thompson in New York City would not have come as close as he did, nor would Chris Christie have had the ability to respond to negative advertising, without these public financing systems in place. Full release.

Responders to the 2001 World Trade Center (WTC) terrorist attacks, who were exposed to caustic dust and toxic pollutants following the 9/11 disaster, suffer from asthma at a rate more than twice that of the general US population, according to new research presented at CHEST 2009, the 75th annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP). As many as 8 percent of the workers and volunteers who engaged in rescue and recovery, essential service restoration, and cleanup efforts in the wake of 9/11 reported experiencing post-9/11 asthma attacks or episodes, compared with 4 percent of the general population. Furthermore, the lifetime prevalence of asthma in WTC responders was marked by a dramatic increase from 3 percent pre-9/11 to a high of 16 percent in each of the years from 2005 through 2007. Full release.

Although statins are widely used to prevent heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular disorders, new research shows that the class of drugs may actually have negative effects on some cardiac patients. A new study presented at CHEST 2009, the 75th annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), found that statins have beneficial effects on patients with systolic heart failure (SHF), but those with diastolic heart failure (DHF) experienced the opposite effect, including increased dyspnea, fatigue, and decreased exercise tolerance. "Systolic heart failure is most often due to coronary artery disease and appears to have more of an inflammatory component than diastolic heart failure," said Lawrence P. Cahalin, PhD, PT, Northeastern University, Boston, MA. "It is possible that statins would help patients with systolic heart failure more than patients with diastolic heart failure due to the cholesterol-lowering and anti-inflammatory effects of statins." Full release.

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