Turkey lifts objection to NATO cooperation with Israel

Turkey has given approval for Israel to participate in non-military NATO activities in 2013, withdrawing an earlier objection driven by an ongoing dispute between the former regional allies, a Turkish official said on Monday.
Relations between Israel and what was once its only Muslim ally crumbled after Israeli marines stormed the Mavi Marmara aid ship in May 2010 to enforce a naval blockade of the Palestinian-run Gaza Strip and killed nine Turks in clashes with activists on board.
The rift has continued despite U.S. efforts to encourage a rapprochement between the two regional powers whose cooperation it needs to address changes sweeping the Middle East.
Turkey, a NATO member, refused to allow Israel to take part in an alliance summit last May because the Jewish state had not apologized for the 2010 killings and Ankara has objected to any increased cooperation.
While not a NATO member, Israel is part of the Mediterranean Dialogue, a NATO outreach program, along with six other non-NATO countries, and had previously participated in summits and training exercises.
Turkey will now agree to Israel taking part in some NATO activities next year but remains opposed to joint military exercises, the official said.
Once close allies, Israel and Turkey, which both border Syria, used to share intelligence information and conduct joint military exercises.
But after a U.N. report into the Mavi Marmara incident released in September last year largely exonerated the Jewish state, Turkey expelled Israel's ambassador and froze military cooperation.
That report was meant to foster a thaw between the countries but ultimately deepened the rift when it concluded Israel had used unreasonable force but that the blockade on Gaza was legal.
Turkey has demanded a formal apology, compensation for victims and the families of the dead and for the Gaza blockade to be lifted.
Israel has voiced "regret", short of the full apology demanded, and has offered to pay into what it called a "humanitarian fund" through which casualties and relatives could be compensated.

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Thousands sign U.S. petition to deport Piers Morgan over gun comments

 More than 48,000 people have signed a petition that they posted on the White House website demanding that British CNN talk show host Piers Morgan be deported over comments he made on air about gun control.
Morgan last week lambasted pro-gun guests on his show, after the December 14 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where a gunman shot dead 26 people, including 20 children.
"We demand that Mr. Morgan be deported immediately for his effort to undermine the Bill of Rights and for exploiting his position as a national network television host to stage attacks against the rights of American citizens," the petition said.
The petition, started on December 21 by a man identified as Kurt N. from Austin, Texas, accuses Morgan of subverting the second amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees the right to bear arms.
U.S. citizens can file a petition on the White House website, whitehouse.gov, if they collect at least 25,000 signatures within 30 days. The White House is then obliged to issue a response.
Morgan, 47, a former newspaper editor in London, shot back at his critics on Twitter. He repeated his past calls for the United States to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and conduct background checks on all gun purchases.
Five days after the Connecticut massacre, Morgan called a guest, Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners for America, an "idiot," "dangerous" and an "unbelievably stupid man" when Pratt argued that more guns were needed to combat crime in the United States.
"I don't care about a petition to deport me. I do care about poor NY firefighters murdered/injured with an assault weapon today. #GunControlNow," Morgan tweeted on Monday, referring to a shooting in New York that killed three people, including the gunman.
Christa Robinson, a CNN spokeswoman, said the network had no immediate comment on the petition.
Publicist Howard Bragman, vice chairman of Reputation.com, said the controversy will get Morgan attention that may translate into higher ratings and wouldn't harm his reputation.
"A lot of it comes from his being British, he's seen the differences between the U.S. and UK, he's passionate and authentic in taking this issue on, and it's probably only going to help him attract more people to his show," Bragman, told Reuters.

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Catholic Church urges Irish to oppose abortion law

The head of Ireland's Catholic Church urged followers in his Christmas Day message to lobby against government plans to legalize abortion.
Ireland, the only EU member state that currently outlaws the procedure, is preparing legislation that would allow limited access to abortion after the European Court of Human Rights criticized the current regime.
The death last month of an Indian woman who was denied an abortion of her dying foetus and later died of blood poisoning has intensified the debate around abortion, which remains a hugely divisive subject in the predominantly Catholic country.
"I hope that everyone who believes that the right to life is fundamental will make their voice heard in a reasonable, but forthright, way to their representatives," Cardinal Sean Brady said in a Christmas message on Tuesday.
"No government has the right to remove that right from an innocent person."
Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, a regular Mass goer, is bringing in legislation that would allow a woman to have an abortion if her life was at risk from pregnancy.
The country's Supreme Court ruled in 1992 that abortion was permitted when a woman's life was at risk but successive governments have avoided legislating for it because it is so divisive.
The death of Savita Halappanavar, who repeatedly asked for an abortion while she was miscarrying in an Irish hospital, highlighted the lack of clarity in Irish law that leaves doctors in a legally risky position.
Halappanavar's death re-ignited the abortion debate and prompted large protests by groups both in favor of and against abortion.
Kenny and his conservative Fine Gael party have been criticized for tackling the abortion issue and some party members have indicated that they may not be able to back the law.
Relations between the Irish government and the once dominant Catholic Church are at an all-time low in the wake of years of clerical sex abuse scandals.
Kenny told parliament last year that the Vatican's handling of the scandals had been dominated by "elitism and narcissism" and accused it of trying to cover up the abuse. The speech prompted the Vatican to recall its ambassador, or nuncio, to Ireland.
Brady, who has faced calls this year to resign over accusations he failed to warn parents their children were being sexually abused, said in his Christmas message that he wanted relations with government to improve.
"My hope is that the year ahead will see the relationship between faith and public life in our country move beyond the sometimes negative, exaggerated caricatures of the past.

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Ambushed NY firemen shot dead; two police killed elsewhere

A gunman, who spent 17 years in prison for murder, ambushed and killed two volunteer firefighters and wounded two others on Monday near Rochester, New York, as they responded to a house fire he deliberately set, police said.
William Spengler, 62, shot and killed himself after a gunfight with a police officer in Webster, a Rochester suburb, Webster Police Chief Gerald Pickering said.
"It was a trap set by Mr. Spengler, who laid in wait and shot first responders," Pickering told a news conference.
Separately, a police officer in Wisconsin and another in Texas were shot and killed on Monday, according to police and media reports.
The attacks on first responders came 10 days after one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history that left 20 students and six adults dead at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, and intensified the debate about gun control in the United States.
Spengler was convicted of manslaughter in 1981 for beating his 92-year-old grandmother to death with a hammer, according to New York State Department of Corrections records. After prison he spent eight years on parole.
"We don't have an easy reason" for the attack on the firefighters, Pickering said, "but just looking at the history ... obviously this was an individual with a lot of problems."
Spengler opened fire around 5:45 a.m. after two of the firefighters arrived at the house in a fire truck and two others responded in their own cars, Pickering said.
Pickering appeared to wipe tears from his eyes at an earlier news conference when he identified the dead firefighters as Lieutenant Michael Chiapperini and Tomasz Kaczowka. Chiapperini was also a police lieutenant.
The injured firefighters, one of whom was in critical condition, were identified as Joseph Hofsetter and Theodore Scardino. Off-duty Police Officer John Ritter was hit by gunfire as he drove past the scene.
Pickering said police had found several types of weapons, including a rifle used to shoot the firefighters. As a convicted felon it was illegal for Spengler to own guns.
Police had not had any contact with Spengler in the "recent past," Pickering said.
Four houses were destroyed by the fire and four were damaged, Pickering said.
COPS TARGETED
Police Officer Jennifer Sebena, 30, was found dead on Monday in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, suburb of Wauwatosa, police said.
Sebena was on patrol between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. and wearing body armor when she was shot several times, police said. She was found by another officer after she did not respond to calls from the police dispatcher.
In Houston, Texas, an officer with the Bellaire Police Department died after a shootout at around 9 a.m. and a bystander was also killed, according to local media reports.
A spokesperson for the Houston Police Department was not immediately available for comment. A police officer answering the telephone confirmed media reports but declined further comment. A suspect was in the hospital, according to reports.
Before Monday's killings, the Washington-based National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund reported that 125 federal, state and local officers had died in the line of duty this year.
Forty-seven deaths were firearms-related, 50 were from traffic-related incidents, and 28 were from other causes, it said.

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Japan's policy veteran Motegi likely to serve as trade minister: media

Incoming Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is likely to pick policy veteran Toshimitsu Motegi as trade minister, who will also take charge of energy and other key economic policies, media reported on Tuesday.
Motegi, 57, a former policy affairs chief for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), will tackle energy problems after last year's Fukushima nuclear crisis, as well as issues such as the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade pact, public broadcaster NHK said.
Motegi was a leading member of the LDP's panel tasked with drafting an economic revival plan aimed at tackling the strong yen, deflation and preventing Japanese firms from shifting overseas.
The LDP returned to power in the December 16 election for the lower house, calling for radical monetary easing and big spending on public works.
First elected to parliament in 1993 as a member of a small opposition party, Motegi joined the LDP shortly thereafter and has served posts including parliamentary vice-minister for the trade ministry and senior vice-minister for foreign affairs.
Motegi's formal appointment is likely to be made on December 26, when Abe is expected to be elected as prime minister in parliament and form a new cabinet.

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Why we should politicize the Newtown school shooting, starting right now

Two events, each more than a century old, instruct us about how we should act in the face of what happened Friday in Newtown, Conn.
On March 25, 1911, fire broke out in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in lower Manhattan. Because the owners had locked the doors and stairwells, in an effort to prevent theft and unauthorized work breaks, the garment workers were trapped in the fire; 146 of them, almost all young female immigrants, died.
In the wake of the disaster, New York politicians–including future Gov. Al Smith and future Sen. Robert Wagner–“exploited the tragedy.” How? By helping push through a series of reforms that made New York state a model of workplace safety.
Little more than a year later, on April 15, 1912, the unsinkable ocean liner Titanic struck an iceberg and sank, taking 1,522 passengers and crew members to their deaths. After the disaster, regulators and public officials “exploited the tragedy.” How? By insisting that ships carry enough lifeboats for all passengers (the Titanic, operating under then-current rules, had barely enough for half); by insisting that ships man their radios 24 hours a day; by better designs of hulls and bulkheads.
A shocking event is exactly the right time to start, or restart, an argument about public policy. A story like the Newtown killings rivets our attention, forces it to the front of our consciousness, insists that we sweep aside the thousand and one distractions that compete for our brain space, and demands that we ask: Is this how we want things to be, and, if not, what do we do about it?
Consider a more recent example. On March 7, 1965, voting rights demonstrators on a march in Alabama from Selma to Montgomery were met by a phalanx of state troopers at the Edmund Pettis Bridge. They met the marchers with fists and billy clubs. A week later, President Lyndon B. Johnson spoke to a joint session of Congress. He made no apologies for “politicizing the tragedy.” Instead, he said:
“At times, history and fate meet at a single time in a single place to shape a turning point in man's unending search for freedom. So it was at Lexington and Concord. So it was a century ago at Appomattox. So it was last week in Selma, Ala.”
The speech—which borrowed the famous assertion that “we shall overcome”—propelled the Voting Rights Act into reality and effectively ended 100 years of state-sanctioned repression.
What those images from Selma did—as the images of police dogs and fire hoses in Birmingham had done in May of 1963—was to make real what for most of us had been an abstraction. The images said, This is what it means to be black in Alabama and seek the most elemental of civil rights.
What happened in Newtown, I think, was very much the same story. The day after the shooting, I was with my grandson at his elementary school’s book fair; I would wager that every parent, every teacher, every school staff member there looked at the kids, with their painted faces and their fists filled with cookies, and thought: This could happen to them. Those same thoughts were going through the minds of every parent dropping a child off at school on Monday, I imagine.
This is why the words of President Barack Obama on Sunday struck such a responsive chord. But it must not be forgotten that in the days, months and years before Newtown, the president has been something less than a profile in courage on the gun question. His response to a question on assault weapons during October’s town hall debate with Mitt Romney is best described as craven: “What I’m trying to do is to get a broader conversation about how do we reduce the violence generally,” Obama said in part. “Part of it is seeing if we can get an assault weapons ban reintroduced. But part of it is also looking at other sources of the violence.”
You can understand the thinking: I can’t get a bill through Congress, it’s a waste of political capital, there are lots of Democrats who hunt and shoot in Ohio. But it does not change the fact that the triumph of the gun lobby has been a bipartisan affair. To be fair, Republicans have been at the forefront of a never-ending effort at the state and federal level to permit guns of all sorts at all sort of venues, from schools to national parks. Before Newtown, it was only a matter of time before some zealot proposed letting citizens purchase Predator drones with Hellfire missiles.
The culture of hunting, and the legitimate case for self-protection, have too often been brushed aside by advocates of restricting gun ownership. But when a Second Amendment stalwart like Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia endorses a national commission on gun violence and tweets, "This awful massacre has changed where we go from here. Our conversation should move beyond dialogue," you know the Newtown murders can act as a hinge moment.
Newtown forces us to look at the consequences of decisions–or indecision–squarely, unflinchingly. It forces us to ask ourselves, “What do we do in the face of this new evidence?” That is as far from exploitation as you can get.

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A memory of Robert Bork: A bracing, imaginative teacher

Robert Bork, who died today, will be best-remembered for two things: First, he was the solicitor general who, the night of the 1973 "Saturday NIght Massacre", obeyed Richard Nixon's directive to fire Archibald Cox, the Watergate special prosecutor, when Attorney General Eliot Richardson refused to do so. Second, he was rejected by the Senate after President Ronald Reagan nominated him to the Supreme Court; the Democratic majority considered his constitutional views to be outside the mainstream.

I have another memory: He was a professor at the Yale Law School. In that capacity, he was as bracing a figure as a student could hope to find.

Without question Bork was out of the mainstream of the Yale Law School in the mid-1960s, when I was a student there. He was possibly the only member of the faculty to support Barry Goldwater for president. But that made him exactly the right person to teach, and to challenge, the assumptions of an overwhelmingly liberal group of students. I still remember the last question he posed to his first year constitutional law class: "Write a dissenting opinion in Brown v. Board of Education,” the Court's 1954 opinion that outlawed racial segregation in public schools.

Was this evidence of Bork's Neanderthal views on civil rights? I thought (and still think) otherwise. He was asking students to wrestle with legal concepts on which the opinion itself--which was unanimous--cast no light. He was asking us to go beyond our own convictions, and to think imaginatively. And yes, I'm sure there was an element of puckishness as well.

That same spirit was on display in a seminar Bork conducted, along with another legendary Yale law professor, Alexander Bickel. We spent weeks arguing--or, rather, listening to Bork and Bickel argue--about a single hypothetical case. A group of passengers flee a sinking ship for a lifeboat on which there is one passenger too many. A very wealthy passenger offers a deal to an impoverished crew member: Give up your seat to me and I will ensure your family financial security for generations. The question: Should American courts allow that contract to be enforced?

In the years after his Supreme Court rejection, Bork became a dyspeptic, partisan figure. On this day, I choose to remember him as a teacher who succeeded in the single most important job: He taught us how to think.

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5 important facts and misconceptions about Asperger's syndrome

Crucial info about the developmental disorder that reportedly afflicted the alleged shooter in the Newtown massacre — and has been linked, incorrectly, to violent tendencies
We have a natural, if often regrettable, tendency to fear the things we don't understand. In the aftermath of the Newtown shootings that claimed the lives of 20 young children, the blogosphere seized on unconfirmed reports that the alleged shooter, Adam Lanza, was once diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, and the term rocketed up Google's search charts. A controversial first-person essay titled "I am Lanza's mother," which illustrated a mother's fear of violence from her own Asperger's-afflicted son, was widely distributed by websites ranging from Gawker to the Huffington Post, garnering millions of pageviews and inciting bloggers everywhere to weigh in (some more successfully than others). But what do we really know about the developmental disorder, which was hastily conflated with Sandy Hook's bloodshed. Five facts and misconceptions:
1. Asperger's is considered a form of autism, but differs in a few key ways
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) defines Asperger's syndrome, first identified in 1944, as an "autism spectrum disorder (ASD), one of a distinct group of complex disorders characterized by social impairment, communication difficulties, and restrictive, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior." Recent revisions to the Diagnostic and Statistic Manual (DSM-5) have merged Asperger's syndrome with autism, says Dr. Manny Alvarez at Fox News. However, one of the main differences is that Asperger's does not typically involve a speech delay, and autistic symptoms are typically less severe. Individuals with Asperger's often have strong language skills, "but their speech patterns may be unusual, and they may not pick up on subtleties such as humor or sarcasm." Sometimes Asperger's is referred to as "high-functioning autism." It shouldn't, under any circumstances, be confused with a mental illness like clinical depression.
2. We still have no idea what causes it
The root of Asperger's, like autism, is largely a mystery. Current research suggests it's connected to early developmental changes in brain structure, which may be caused by "abnormal migration of embryonic cells during fetal development" that "rewires" a person during early childhood, according to the NIH.
3. Asperger's individuals can be remarkably intelligent
People with Asperger's typically have an "unusual preoccupation" with very specific subject matter. "Basically, you get an individual who might have a real restricted repertoire of things they are interested in," Henry Roane, a specialist in the treatment of behavior disorders, tells ABC News, and that's why individuals with Asperger's often get bored easily or shy away from socializing. In fact, what separates Asperger's from many other forms of ASD is that individuals often demonstrate normal or above-normal levels of intelligence, and often perform well academically. For example, in a 2007 study measuring fluid problem-solving abilities, 17 children with Asperger's scored much higher than their age- and sex-matched peers.
4. The diagnosed often self-alienate
Individuals growing up with Asperger's often shy away from human contact, which can kick off a vicious cycle of social alienation. "Today, if you met me, you would think I'm a bit odd but you wouldn't guess that I have Asperger's," says an affected individual in a first-person iReport on CNN. "Because we alienate ourselves at first, and then society alienates us, we have no good reason to seek out friendships other than the basic human need to belong. It is unsurprising to me that many with Autism and Asperger's alienate themselves by choice." He continues: "We want what anyone in their right mind wants: We want to be loved. And we are stubborn people."
5. The connection between Asperger's syndrome and violence is misleading
Autism expert Dr. Ami Klin of the Emory University School of Medicine says that the link that's been drawn between the Newtown shootings and Asperger's is "an enormous disservice" to those affected by developmental disorders. "Any human condition can coexist with violence," but no correlation should be drawn, he tells New York Times public editor Margaret Sullivan. Now, experts are speaking out, saying that the carefully calculated attack carried out in Sandy Hook last Friday is out of character for someone suffering from Asberger's. "I have known a lot of people with Asperger's and I have never known one who is violent," Dr. Travis Thompson at the University of Minnesota tells NBC News. "They have a lot of problems with anxiety and they have problems with relationships with other people too but that doesn't translate into violence. When they are little kids, they have tantrums because they don't know what to do and they feel adults don’t understand them. When they become older they develop mechanisms and since they are usually very verbal they can ask questions."

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President Obama's gun-violence task force: A cop-out?

Some gun-control advocates are displeased that Obama isn't taking immediate action
President Obama on Wednesday launched a gun-violence task force, led by Vice President Joe Biden, that will be charged with offering recommendations by January on how to prevent massacres like the mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. "The fact that this problem is complex can no longer be an excuse for doing nothing," Obama said. "The fact that we can't prevent every act of violence doesn't mean we can't steadily reduce the violence and prevent the very worst violence." Furthermore, Obama called on Congress to vote on several measures that a "majority of Americans support," including a ban on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips, as well as background checks for all prospective gun buyers.
It was Obama's most explicit call for gun control since the Newton tragedy, and represented the first time that a sitting president has even discussed the issue with any seriousness for years. But the creation of another presidential commission — the place where good ideas die before they even get to the mass graveyard of Congress — looked a lot like a classic political dodge. Obama, well aware of the sketchy reputation of task forces and the like, even went so far as to say that his Washington commission "is not some Washington commission."
So is the gun-violence task force a copout? "Appointing a task force on guns seems a little mealy-mouthed to me," says Michael Tomasky at The Daily Beast:
Obama's style is to be deliberative, gather evidence. It's a lot better than shooting from the hip on general principle. But sometimes there's a public mood out just waiting to be caught and exploited before it dissipates and before the opponents can confuse and redirect it.
Right now, there is an opportunity to make a very simple and straightforward statement: We need far, far tougher regulations on the kinds of guns that exist only to kill large numbers of human beings very quickly, and the ammunition that goes in them.
Well, of course the task force "will undoubtedly frustrate many in [the Democratic] party who want immediate action," says Byron York at The Washington Examiner:
Obama's move will likely dissipate the energy behind gun control advocacy on Capitol Hill. It's unlikely that even the most pro-gun-control Democrats would want to get out in front of the Biden Commission and pass specific measures. And the political world, and the emotional intensity behind the gun issue, could be quite different even a month from now. So Obama is stopping Democratic momentum, and he knows it. Republicans know it, too.
However, some liberals are more optimistic. Obama's action "demonstrates what presidential leadership on this issue is supposed to look like," says Greg Sargent at The Washington Post:
Obama didn't take refuge in generalities; he staked out very specific policy goals that need to be achieved. He voiced support for banning the sale of military style assault weapons and high capacity magazine clips, and for requiring background checks before "all" gun purchases… He tasked his Vice President to draw up ways to accomplish these goals, and also called for a Congressional vote on them in January. That means Obama understands the need not to let public sentiment dissipate on the issue, and for a specific time frame for legislative action.

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What the dark side of Saturn looks like

NASA's Cassini spacecraft captures the gas giant from an unusual angle, making for one haunting photograph
Thanks to a rare set of circumstances not unlike a solar eclipse here on Earth, NASA's Cassini spacecraft was able to capture this photograph of Saturn on Oct. 17, 2012, during the craft's 174th orbit around the gigantic ringed planet. Noticeably missing is Saturn's signature brownish orange hue; what the camera captures instead is an expansive, ominous shadow that highlights the gas giant's rings. NASA calls the newly released snapshot a "splendor seldom seen," adding that the "very scientifically advantageous and coveted viewing position... [reveals] details about both the rings and atmosphere that cannot be seen in lower solar phase." "Absolutely remarkable," says Robert T. Gonzalez at io9. We tend to agree.

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