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1. Activists: Syrian Sculptor Dies Under Assad Loyalist Torture by Chana Ya'ar  Syrian artist Wael Issa Kaston has been murdered by government security forces, according to activists in Homs. Kaston, a Christian, died under torture, noted the U.S.-based Syrian Expatriate Organization spokesperson Sawsan Jabri, who said the murder refutes the Assad “regime's repeated claim that they protect the minorities.” In a statement sent from West Bloomfield, Michigan, the organization wrote, “The village of Marmarita dressed in black last Sunday in a grief over the martyrdom of their son Wael Kaston, the Syrian sculptor, who was detained in a security branch in Homs and died under torture. His family received his body from a military hospital in Homs. Large crowds of people participated in his funeral from the town and neighboring villages.” Born in the Homs suburb of Marmarita in 1966, Kaston was survived by his wife, Eva Allati and two sons, Yara, 12, and Nowar, age 7. "Rest in peace, Wael!" saluted a follower on the "Yalla Souriya" website. His work was shown in a number of art galleries in the central Syrian city, in addition to special exhibitions held in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Much of his sculpture focused on themes relating to “freedom of women.” The spokesman quoted the artist has having once said in an interview that “he would not prefer to work with 'stone' but loves 'mud' and wood'.' The first is the human being because we emerge from mud, and return to the mud, and the 'wood' because it is the closest to us, born gently, reaches adolescence vigorously, [and] dies wisely...” More on this topic Comment on this story 2. Adelson Campaign Urges Jews to Vote GOP by Rachel Hirshfeld  A Republican group backed by the casino magnate Sheldon Adelson has launched a new campaign in battleground states to persuade Jewish voters to turn their support away from President Obama in favor of Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney. The Republican Jewish Coalition plans to begin a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign in the coming weeks called “My Buyer’s Remorse,” targeting voters in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, aides said. The campaign uses testimonials from people who say they regret supporting President Obama due to his economic policies and his stance toward Israel, in hopes of cutting into the wide advantage Democrats have held over Republicans among Jewish voters, The New York Times reported. Adelson, a staunch supporter of Israel, has vowed to spend as much as $100 million to help Romney win the upcoming elections. In its most extensive electoral effort undertaken by the group, The Republican Jewish Coalition, the party’s leading outreach group for Jewish voters, has spent months developing a campaign to find like-minded voters in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, the three swing states with the largest Jewish populations. “We don’t need to get a majority of the vote to win,” said Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition. “When we take votes away from Democrats, we are taking votes from a key part of their constituency.” Yet, while many Jewish voters may support the Democratic platform on social issues, they are finding themselves feeling increasingly alienated by the party’s unfavorable and hostile policies towards Israel, and in terms of foreign policy, would prefer to align themselves with Republican candidates. The advertising campaign features a testimonial from Michael Goldstein, 48, a community college administrator from New Jersey, who said he enthusiastically supported Obama’s candidacy, but became disillusioned by his administration, The Times reported. “I was enamored with Obama,” Goldstein said in an interview. “I thought he was sharp, intelligent and brought a new sense of wonder to politics. The fact that we were helping elect the first African-American president of the United States made me very proud, but I don’t believe anything he says anymore. I go more by his actions rather than by what he says.” “There is a very large chunk of the Jewish community that is very Democratic that can’t be eaten into,” said Mik Moore, founder of the Jewish Council for Education and Research. “There is a fight for maybe 10-15 percent, but nobody is underestimating the impact that the massive independent spending can have on the campaign.” Comment on this story  3. Sci-Fi Comes Alive in New 'Temporal Focusing' Microscope by Hana Levi Julian, MSW, LCSW-R  A “science-fiction-come-true” microscope has been invented at the Weizmann Institute, one that uses time and space to look at the brain. Professor Yaron Silberberg and Dr. Dan Oron of the Physics of Complex Systems Department have invented a “temporal focusing” microscope, which works by controlling the focus of a laser light beam in time, rather than in space. Light is beamed at the sample in long pulses, which shorten when the beam reaches the desired plane, producing the needed illumination, according to the two scientists. In this manner, a single exposure to a light source can illuminate an entire brain area. The method allows for outstanding precision: pulses lasting several femtoseconds – each femtosecond is a millionth of a billionth of a second – target specific neural network components in a millimeter-thick sample of brain tissue, they explain. A licensing agreement for developing the invention into a commercial product has been signed between Yeda, Weizmann's technology transfer arm, and Intelligent Imaging Innovactions (3i) in the United States. "We look forward to incorporating temporal focusing in several upcoming products designed for optogenetics, as well as for other photomanipulation applications,” said Dr. Karl Kilborn, co-president of 3i. "In all such applications, a simultaneous illumination of numerous cells, or numerous parts sof one cell in a single plane, is critical. It is essential for understanding the behavior of complex neural circuits or other biological phenomena that occur too fast for studying them with sequential illumination approaches.” The research of both scientists is being supported by numerous sources. More on this topic
Comment on this story 4. Israel's Olympic Windsurfer Shahar Tzuberi is 'Peaceful, Calm' by Chana Ya'ar  Israel's best hopes for Olympic glory are found in the diversity and versatility of its athletes competing in London 2012, as presented to you in a fascinating series of seven new clips. In this profile, Israeli windsurfer Shahar Tzuberi, the Jewish State's hope for an Olympic medal in London this summer, says he feels "peaceful and calm" when he's sailing on the water. Tzuberi demonstrates his windsurfing skills and talks about his hometown Eilat, as well as the most important influences on his approach to the sport. The 26-year-old competitor was taught by his father, starting from the age of six.  More on this topic
Comment on this story 5. Another Syrian Ambassador Defects by Chana Ya'ar  Arab media reported Sunday that the Syrian Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Abd Allaltif Dabaj, has defected to the opposition. The ambassador to the UAE joined his wife, the Syrian Ambassador to Cyprus, Lamyaa Hariri, who defected last Tuesday, both traveling to Qatar. Hariri, a Sunni Muslim from the southern province of Dera'a, the birthplace of the 16-month-old uprising, is the niece of Syrian Vice President Farouq al-Shara'a, whose role is ceremonial in a power structure dominated by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite minority sect. Numerous ambassadors from the regime have abandoned President Bashar al-Assad, including the Syria's ambassadors to Iraq and Belarus, and a top diplomat, Nawaf al-Fares. The pan-Arab satellite television network Al-Jazzeera ran a video one week ago showing the Syrian Ambassador to Iraq announcing his resignation and defection to the side of the Syrian rebels. Fares, a Sunni tribal figure from eastern Syria, defected to Qatar through Jordan two weeks ago, according to diplomatic sources. “From now, I support the Syrian revolution. Where is the honor in Killing your own people? where is national unity? Loyalty is to the people, not to a murderous dictator,” said Fares. A Syrian general and one-time friend of President Bashar al-Assad also fled Damascus this month and appeared in France. After the news was confirmed last week by President Francois Hollande, Brigadier-General Manaf Tlas, a member of Syria's Sunni Muslim majority, called on the Syrian army to denounce the crimes committed by Assad's forces. Tags: defections. UAE ,Qatar ,Syria ,civil war More on this topic
Comment on this story 6. Massacre of Syrians Discovered in Fields Around Damascus by Chana Ya'ar and Reuters  Syrian human rights activists report that rebels this week uncovered evidence of a Syrian government massacre in a suburb of Damascus. The gruesome discovery of the bodies of at least 24 men showed that all had apparently been tortured prior to their execution. The men were probably killed where they were left by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, in the fields surrounding the capital in the surburb of Deriya'a. The Arabic Human Rights Information Network has reported the massacre, according to the U.S.-based Syrian Expatriate Organization which recently began sending statements to media. A Facebook page has been posted showing the photos of the massacre and a poster of at least 13 of the bodies that were found. Readers who understand Arabic are being asked if they recognize and can identify any of those who were murdered. Activists said Wednesday that 11 men were executed by government forces in Damascus as well, and provided video of men with bullet holes in the side of their heads. They said they found on Wednesday the bodies of the 11 men, who were executed by Assad forces in the Damascus district of Qaboun. Footage showed 11 bloodied bodies, some in an alleyway and some inside a building. Three appeared to have been shot through their shirts, which were pulled above their heads, and one was kneeling against a wall. Rania al-Midani, an opposition activist who lives near Qaboun, said that the men were arrested five days ago in a nearby district. "Activists found them today in Tishreen alley. They thought these men were in jail. They could only enter the alleyway today to find their bodies as it was previously occupied by (pro-Assad militia) shabbiha," she told Reuters over Skype. Assad's forces and plain-clothed shabbiha militiamen are accused of several massacres, including the May 25 killing of at least 108 people, nearly half of them children, in Homs province, which was later verified by United Nations monitors on the ground. More on this topic Comment on this story 7. Most Voters Say US Should Help Israel in Attack on Iran by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu  A majority of 51 percent of likely U.S. voters say their country should help Israel if it attacks Iran, according to a Rasmussen poll. Its new survey also reveals that 61 percent of the respondents “think it is at least somewhat likely that Israel will attack Iran in the next year while just 23% see such an attack as unlikely. Of those who think an attack is likely, 22% said it is “very likely.” Rasmussen noted that tensions between Israel and Iran are rising again following last week’s terrorist attack against Israeli civilians in Bulgaria. The respondents answered several questions in the telephone survey, including, ”How likely is it that Israel will attack Iran in the next year?” and “If Israel attacks Iran, should the United States help Israel, help Iran, or do nothing?” In the daily survey tracking the presidential election, President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney remain in a virtual dead heat for the popular vote, but the president has a clear lead in the electoral college vote. The polling organization, which many consider to have a slight Republic bias, determined that President Obama has 180 electoral college votes just about sewn up, compared with only 167 for Romney. However, another 67 electoral college votes are lean towards or are likely for Obama, compared with 24 for Romney. The bottom line is that Obama has 247 electoral college votes in his favor, only 23 short of a majority. Romney has 191, and another 100 are uncertain. The American system of presidential voting gives the winner of the election in every state, regardless of the margin of victory, all of the same state’s “electoral college votes," which are determined according to the population of the state. There have been rare instances that a president has been elected with a minority popular vote but a majority electoral college vote. More on this topic
Comment on this story 8. NY Soda Ban Hearing with a Holocaust Allusion by Rachel Hirshfeld  The New York City board of health held a public hearing on Tuesday regarding Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposal to limit the size of sugary drinks sold at eateries. Queens City Councilman Daniel Halloran, the first speaker, set the tone of the meeting by calling the health board a “kangaroo court,” before making reference to the Holocaust, The New York Times’ liveblog of the hearing revealed. “When they came for the cigarettes, I didn’t say anything, because I didn’t smoke,” Halloran said, echoing an often-paraphrased quote about the Holocaust. “When they came for the M.S..G., I didn’t say anything because I don’t eat it very often.” "Councilman Halloran was quoting a famous speech, done in somewhat tongue-in-cheek fashion. He did not compare City government, or anyone, to Nazis," said Hollaran’s spokesman, Steven Stites. Halloran was rephrasing the famous quote by Martin Niemoller that begins, "First they came for the Communists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Communist..." His somewhat comical attempt at making his point, however, was not entirely well-received. As The Atlantic Wire suggests, “Perhaps Halloran didn't get the memo from the Maine governor, who learned that comparing U.S. government bureaucrats to Nazis is almost never a well-received line of attack." The proposal has sparked a national debate over how far the government should go to mandate healthy eating habits. The city’s Board of Health is expected to vote on the measure in September. Lobbyists of the soft-drink, restaurant and movie-theater industries, which have led petition efforts and a publicity campaign against the proposal, joined City Council members and union workers at a rally on Monday, with some protesters holding signs saying “I can make my beverage choice myself,” The Times reported. While New Yorkers are split on the proposal, with 51 percent in favor and 46 percent opposed, according to a poll in mid-June, a majority of Americans say they wouldn’t want a similar ban in their community, according to Politico. Tags: Michael Bloomberg ,NY ,Holocaust ,Health & Nutrition More on this topic
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