Death of Polish President Leaves His Party Bereft, Too

Abstract: BERLIN — They were practically inseparable. From the time they were born on June 18, 1949, until Saturday, when Lech Kaczynski died in a plane crash in western Russia, the identical twin brothers, Jaroslaw and Lech, did almost everything together. Eye-catching with their blond hair and angelic smiles and distinguishable only by the mole on Lech’s cheek, the twins became famous in Poland by starring at age 12 in a film version of “The Two Who Stole the Moon,” a popular Polish children’s story. Lech went on to become president, Jaroslaw to become prime minister. Jaroslaw has said little since the death of his brother as he ponders the deep sense of loss of a twin brother with whom he shared so much. But just as they shared a particular view of Poland based on patriotism and Roman Catholic values, they had differences in temperament. Jaroslaw was the driving force in 2002 in creating their nationalist, conservative party, Law and Justice, bringing together under one umbrella a motley collection of traditionalist Roman Catholic and populist movements. Lech was the more popular political figure, just as nationalist but more accommodating, willing to make compromises. He even signed the Lisbon Treaty, intended to give the European Union certain powers at the expense of its national governments, something that some of his more nationalist supporters resented. “Law and Justice is in big trouble,” said Eugeniusz Smolar, senior fellow at the Center for International Relations in Warsaw. “The party has no obvious candidate to stand for the presidency. And after the death of Lech, Jaroslaw will be very, very distraught.” Growing up as devout Roman Catholics, the twins went to Mass together. They both studied law. They joined the anti-communist Solidarity underground movement, advising its leader, Lech Walesa, the shipyard worker who was later elected president of Poland. Lech Kaczynski, born 45 minutes after Jaroslaw, was imprisoned when the Polish Communist Party, at the instigation of the Kremlin, imposed martial law in an attempt to crush Solidarity in December 1981, when the twins were 32 years old. Once Lech was released from prison, the twins worked together again, continuing their support for Solidarity. They sat together at the 1989 round table negotiations in Warsaw that paved the way for the peaceful transition from Poland’s one-party state to democracy, a move that helped lead to the collapse of the Soviet empire. “The twins were incredibly close,” said Krystyna Iglicka , a sociologist. “Lech’s death is an immense loss in so many ways for Jaroslaw. It is far from clear what will happen to his political party.” Jaroslaw, supported by Lech, was the driving force in establishing Law and Justice as a party intended to make a clean break with Poland’s communist past. In a major speech he made soon after becoming prime minister in July 2006, Jaroslaw argued that Poland became only “partially democratic” after 1989 because previous governments had been unwilling to rid the security services and the administration of informers and Communists. Law and Justice would change all that, Jaroslaw vowed. Appointed by his brother, who was installed in the Presidential Palace in the center of Warsaw in late 2005 when Law and Justice was swept into power, Jaroslaw embarked on policies aimed at purging the administration and public television of those they viewed as opposed to their hard-right values. But Jaroslaw’s tenure as prime minister ended in failure. His fractious coalition proved impossible to manage. It included the ultra-conservative League of Polish Families, which is linked to the ultra-Catholic and nationalist radio station Marya. The League of Polish Families wanted to outlaw gay schoolteachers and force the schools to adopt a curriculum that was more based on Catholic values. It regarded the European Union, which Poland had joined in 2004, as ultra-liberal, and it complained that Brussels was determined to undermine Poland’s sovereignty and traditions. Law and Justice’s other coalition partner, the peasant-based and populist Movement for Self-Defense, also made many demands on Jaroslaw that he found difficult to meet. And its leader. Andrzej Lepper, hurt the government when he was accused of corruption and unable to explain his mysterious connections to Russia’s secret services. In the end, after two years of scandals, resignations and strident nationalist policies that alienated the European Union and Poland’s two powerful neighbors, Russia and Germany, Law and Justice was ousted from power in October 2007 after it was defeated in parliamentary elections by Donald Tusk’s center-right Civic Platform. Since then, while Lech remained president, his party has been struggling to regain its popularity. But with Lech’s death, the party is now at a loss over whom to choose to run for president against the Civic Platform candidate, Bronislaw Komorowski, who as the speaker of Parliament, the Sejm, is now acting president. “It is too early to say what will happen to Law and Justice and to its leader,” said Marek Cichocki, who was Lech’s foreign policy adviser. “I cannot even speculate. The loss and shock is too great. Maybe we will know more in a few weeks.” Jaroslaw was Lech’s protector and spent all the time he could in advising and helping his brother. “Jaroslaw was always there for Lech,” said Ms. Iglicka, the sociologist. But even though Law and Justice has been plummeting in the opinion polls in recent months, Ms. Iglicka said no one should rule out the possibility that it could revive, carried forward on a wave of public sympathy. “If you look at this outpouring of grief for the death of Lech and all those who died in that plane crash, there must be some feeling of guilt, some feeling of remorse for those who criticized the president so much,” Ms. Iglicka said. “What no Pole can deny is that Lech was a patriot. That might have an impact on the future of Law and Justice.” Much depends on how long Jaroslaw will remain at the helm of the party, and how credible whoever emerges as its candidate for president turns out to be. The elections must be held before the end of June. “There is a need for a conservative party in Poland,” Ms. Iglicka said. “Look at the rest of Europe, where many countries are led by conservatives. Maybe we might have a generation change in Law and Justice that could make it more attractive for the younger generation.”

Kaczynski Lech
Kaczynski Jaroslaw
Poland
Politics and Government
European Union
Twins


Diplomat Without Portfolio in Davos

Abstract: DR. DANIEL VASELLA, chief executive of Novartis, the Swiss pharmaceutical giant, attracted attention in Europe when he questioned Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a videoconference at the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He asked whether the United States was "playing into the hands of enemies" through its tactics in fighting terrorism. Here are excerpts from a recent conversation with him: Q. Are there winners and losers in the process of globalization? A. The concept of winners and losers is wrong. If one looks at economic growth, child mortality and other factors, which you can take as the measure of a country's health, you can see that the number of people living on less than $1 per day has declined steadily, from 38 percent of the world's population in 1970 to 20 percent today. But there has been a very different evolution of various parts of the world. Some countries have benefited much more than others. The advanced countries have benefited more. If you look at Latin America, East Asia and South Asia, their average income per capita has increased significantly. There is one remarkable exception, where we see stagnation, which is Africa. In sub-Saharan Africa, there has been very slow and poor development. Q. Do you think the distribution of wealth needs to be improved? A. There is a maldistribution in the sense that we have about 20 percent of the richest 6.1 billion people in the world getting 74 percent of the income, and 80 percent get 26 percent of the income. If you take the poorest 20 percent, they only have 2 percent of the income. So there is no way we can say it is well distributed. Q. Why would you, as a chief executive, raise these issues with Secretary Rice and other world leaders? A. The first responsibility of a C.E.O. is to run his company successfully and generate products which are useful to your customers, resulting in economic value creation. We also have to act responsibly, respecting not only the law, but also fulfilling legitimate expectations that society has of us. Today these expectations in most instances go beyond short-term profit maximization. What people want is that businesspeople behave in a responsible way in communities in which they live, that they treat employees fairly, respect the environment and demonstrate sensitivity to the problems of other, disadvantaged people in the world. I think corporate social responsibility has taken a much more important role than it used to. Q. What did you say to Secretary Rice about the war on terror? A. It is not a question of whether one should fight terror or not fight terror. Terror is absolutely unacceptable. What we have to stand for is to create and maintain a free and open society. With terror, you destroy open societies. But in an open society, there must be a place for expressing one's opinion. Critiquing is in some ways an expression of respect. If you do not respect somebody, you do not bother to critique them. Having said that, I do believe that if you are economically, politically and militarily a superpower, then you have to be a role model for the world. If you talk about values and you stand for democracy and respect for human rights, then you have to act accordingly. The world will look very closely to see if there is consistency between what you say and how you act. You will empower your enemies and weaken your supporters if you deviate from your values and principles. Q. What do you mean specifically? A. You cannot fight a war without casualties and without taking prisoners. But other questions remain, like, Do you torture? We, the open societies in the world, have to apply the strictest standards. We need to treat people with respect. We need to be very thoughtful about not offering ground for anybody to be against us. We have to be thoughtful about the fact that poverty and the lack of education are excellent breeding grounds for terrorists. They can indoctrinate children. That's what's happening in many countries. The perception in people's minds about who we are gets very distorted. Q. So you're suggesting that there is a connection between poverty and terrorism? A. No question. You are more willing to risk one's life and one's family when you have nothing to lose. People become more thoughtful when they have something to lose. Q. Are your views typical of most European chief executives? A. I don't know about C.E.O.'s, but you would hear these views from many people. I'm certainly not a complete outlier. Q. Do you think you are more willing to discuss these issues publicly than American chief executives? A. I don't know about that. But I think if we want an open society and want to have the freedom to express oneself, we have the responsibility to do so. What does it help if you have the right to express yourself and you don't use that right? One must speak up when you believe you have something to say. Q. Why do you think American chief executives are so reluctant to talk about poverty and the roots of terrorism? A. I don't know. You will have to ask them. I know that some of my fellow C.E.O.'s believe they should not express themselves on political issues at all. They should just do business. I think that is not the right attitude. First of all, we are citizens of whatever country we are from. We have a citizenship responsibility. Secondly, I do believe we have to examine our own beliefs and value systems regularly. We cannot act in a void. I think there is very clear responsibility. Q. Might expressing your views hurt your business in America? A. I don't believe so. I believe the Americans are tolerant and self-assured enough to stand up to these questions. I would say that Secretary Rice was very articulate and very impressive. She is an excellent representative of the U.S. abroad. In some ways, you could even say that only if one is confronted with these questions can you clearly explain your position. Q. But do you think any American chief executive would publicly confront Secretary Rice on these issues? A. Why not? It depends on the understanding of your role as a business leader. Do you just have responsibility for your business and just your people? Or if you are given this kind of job as a result of fate, your skills or whatever circumstances, do you have also to take stands on subjects that are not directly linked to your business but are important? Many think that politics have supremacy over business, but does this also imply that business is just a tool for government? On this, history teaches us some interesting lessons. OFFICE SPACE: ARMCHAIR M.B.A. William J. Holstein is editor in chief of Chief Executive magazine.

DAVOS (SWITZERLAND)
NOVARTIS AG
VASELLA DANIEL
RICE CONDOLEEZZA
UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS AND TRENDS
TERRORISM


Funeral Leads to More Greece Mayhem

Abstract: ATHENS — A fourth day of rioting erupted here and around Greece on Tuesday, as a 15-year-old boy killed by the police over the weekend was buried and the nation’s shaky government grappled with how to contain the worst civil unrest in decades. While clashes between the police and students have been common in Greece for decades, the ferocity of the reaction to the boy’s death took the nation — and its crippled government — by surprise. Outrage over the death was widespread, fueled by what experts say is a growing frustration with unemployment and corruption in one of Western Europe’s consistently underperforming economies, worsened by global recession. But it was expressed in violence in the streets by student anarchists, who had been quiet for several years but seemed revived by the crisis. Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis, hanging on to power in Parliament by only one vote, seemed frozen, his government, once popular but now scandal-ridden, pushed a step closer to collapse. “He’s seriously troubled” about the riots, said Nicholas Karahalios, a strategy adviser to the prime minister. “Whereas before we were dealing with a political and economic crisis, now there’s a third dimension attached to it: a security crisis which exacerbates the situation.” Another day of demonstrations was expected in a national strike that was called for Wednesday. On Tuesday, bands of militant youths threw gasoline bombs and smashed shop windows in downtown Athens, as rioters battled with the police here in the capital and in Salonika, Greece’s second largest city. In the port city of Patras, residents tried to protect their shops from rioters, while other rioters blocked the police station, the authorities said. While widespread and violent, the protests on Tuesday were seen as slightly smaller than those the day before, when after dark hundreds of professed anarchists broke the windows of upscale shops, banks and five-star hotels in central Athens and burned a large Christmas tree in the plaza in front of Parliament. At the Athens police headquarters, a spokesman said 12 police officers had been wounded in fighting with demonstrators that flared at 10 major locations around the Greek capital on Monday night. He said 87 protesters had been arrested and 176 people briefly detained because of the confrontations. In the shattered city center on Tuesday, street-cleaning trucks tackled the mess. Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis advised Athenians not to drive into the city center and asked them to keep their trash indoors; rioters burned 160 big garbage containers in the streets on Monday night. On Tuesday, the opposition leader, George A. Papandreou, a Socialist, renewed his call for early elections. Yet it remained unclear whether the riots would cause the government to fall or whether the current stalemate would continue. “What I foresee is a prolonged political crisis with no immediate results for two or three years,” said George Kirtsos, a political commentator and the publisher of City Press, an independent newspaper. “In that time, the country will be going from bad to worse.” On Tuesday, as youths scuffled with the police outside Parliament, Prime Minister Karamanlis met with his cabinet council and opposition leaders in an effort to get their backing for security operations. But he seemed uncertain exactly how to contain the disturbances. The authorities seem to fear that cracking down on the demonstrators may lead to other unintended deaths, provoking more rioting. Asked why the riots had not been contained, a spokesman for the national police, Panayiotis Stathis, said “violence cannot be fought with violence.” But in a news conference, Mr. Karamanlis issued warnings somewhat stronger than his actions, saying there would be no leniency for rioters. “No one has the right to use this tragic incident as an alibi for actions of raw violence, for actions against innocent people, their property and society as a whole, and against democracy,” Mr. Karamanlis said after an emergency meeting with President Karolos Papoulias. Mr. Karamanlis faced criticism for not acting with a stronger hand earlier, with some suggesting that this gave credibility to the rioters’ anger. “They chose to show tolerance, which backfired,” said Nikos Kostandaras, the editor of Kathimerini, a daily newspaper. The riots, he added, “were radicalizing every sector of the population.” On Tuesday, schools and universities were closed, and thousands of teachers and students joined generally peaceful protests through Athens. George Dimitriou, 22, a member of the agriculture students’ union, said the teenager’s death was an opportunity to protest other issues. “Our generation is facing a tougher future than our parents,” Mr. Dimitriou said as he stood outside Athens University. “This is unheard of, because normally things get better.” Demonstrations, even occasionally violent ones, are nothing new in Greece, which has a long history of political protest and has been relatively tolerant of the professed anarchist groups that routinely hold antigovernment demonstrations. To many Greeks, scarred by the memories of military rule in the 1970s, the police remain a hostile remnant of the military junta. While Greece has a comparatively high ratio of more than 45,000 police officers for 10.7 million people, in the popular imagination, they are seen as ineffective and corrupt, so many Greeks view the police as a fair target for regular demonstrations. The 15-year-old whose death is at the heart of the disturbances, Alexandros Grigoropoulos, was fatally shot on Saturday night while carousing with friends in the Athens neighborhood of Exarchia, where youths routinely battle the police. The police have said he died when officers clashed with a mob of some 30 youths. One police officer has been charged with premeditated manslaughter in the case and another as an accomplice. On Tuesday, thousands lined the street outside the small whitewashed chapel and the cemetery where he was buried in Paleo Faliro, a residential neighborhood where he had grown up in an upper-middle-class family. His father is a bank manager and his mother a jeweler. Although the funeral passed peacefully, with mourners bearing wreaths of white carnations, afterward dozens of militant protesters smashed car windows and skirmished with police officers who sprayed tear gas, although no one was injured. Earlier on Tuesday, two demonstrations by teachers, students and workers wound their way largely peacefully through downtown Athens, where some shop fronts remained shuttered after Monday night’s riots. When some students neared the Parliament building, they shouted, “Down with the government of murderers!” and “Let it burn, let it burn, the brothel, the Parliament!” Other militant protesters scuffled with the police. For much of his tenure, Mr. Karamanlis has been popular, even if his government is less so. He won by a wide margin in 2004 promising reform after two decades of Socialist rule. He was narrowly re-elected in 2007, when his center-right party’s lead fell to two votes in Parliament. Yet this fall, the government has been stung by a corruption scandal in which it is accused of having sold prime Athens real estate to a monastery ahead of the 2004 Olympics in exchange for cheaper land elsewhere. Last month, two top ministers resigned over reports of more than 250 land swaps, and lawmakers unanimously agreed to start a special investigation. The scandals have deeply weakened the government and curbed the prime minister’s chances of reform. This week’s riots have weakened it even further.

Greece
Demonstrations and Riots
Funerals
Politics and Government
Police


ESPN Host Skip Bayless Appears Headed for Fox

Abstract: Skip Bayless — like Stephen A. Smith, his partner on ESPN2’s “First Take”— is loved and loathed. He takes sides. He fulminates. He says things he shouldn’t. His daily face-offs against Smith are chronicled online as if they were 21st-century Lincoln-Douglas debates gone mad, with a lot of Tim Tebow talk thrown in to drive us crazy. And now he is leaving, heading almost certainly to the only network that wants and needs him: FS1, which is trying to build its own debate-show culture, with Bayless as its leading town crier. Bayless’s “First Take” finale will be the day after the N.B.A. finals, but he will leave ESPN when his contract expires, at the end of August. This is the latest loss of big-name talent at ESPN: Last year, for various reasons, Keith Olbermann, Bill Simmons, Jason Whitlock and Colin Cowherd left. Earlier this week, Mike Tirico chose to say goodbye after a quarter-century and move to NBC Sports, where, it appears, he may get a shot at replacing Al Michaels on “Sunday Night Football” and Bob Costas as the Olympics prime-time host. I don’t get the sense that Bayless is leaving because of any concerns at ESPN about paying high-priced talent while it is losing subscribers to cord-cutting. This is, it seems, Bayless flush with nearly a decade of rising success at ESPN, looking to receive greater riches and, possibly, more control at Fox-owned FS1. The deal with FS1 is not done yet, but there is no reason to think it will unravel. Bayless turned down ESPN’s offer last Friday and he is talking to FS1 executives, chiefly Jamie Horowitz, the former coordinating producer of “First Take,” who is the president of Fox Sports national networks. He has worked with Bayless and, since going to Fox, coveted him. Now, it appears, he has him. Horowitz cannot reunite Bayless with Smith, who renewed his contract last year for over $3 million annually. ESPN is left with a major question: Who, among its talking heads, is capable of replacing Bayless? It may not be easy to find the right person. Chemistry is difficult to manufacture. You need the right mix of intelligence and bloviating. ESPN can’t throw just anyone onto “First Take” and expect him or her to match hardheaded wits against Smith, a verbal force who occasionally gets into trouble with his bosses. His remarks about domestic violence during the Ray Rice scandal earned him a suspension. ESPN’s former ombudsman Robert Lipsyte wrote in 2014 that the positives of a show like “First Take” (a growing audience and some “thought-provoking, entertaining television”) also mean that ESPN has to “live with — or at least take more responsibility — when that particular septic tank overflows.” By the cold analysis of Nielsen viewership, the debates — septic or otherwise — bring in lots of viewers. “First Take” attracted 412,000 viewers in the first three months of 2016, a record for the show during the first quarter; the show hit its peak average viewership in the fourth quarter last year with an average of 483,000 viewers. By comparison, “Mike & Mike,” the two-man show that precedes “First Take,” saw its viewership rise 16 percent in the first quarter this year, to 274,000. Maybe Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic should get red-faced more often. “I don’t mean to be flippant about replacing Skip easily,” said Norby Williamson, ESPN’s executive vice president for production. “But I feel very confident that we’ll continue to innovate the show and build on the success that the two of them had. It’s not like we haven’t faced things like this before. But we’ve been pretty adept at navigating successful change.” ESPN will also have to replace Tirico, a likable versatile announcer who probably could have called “Monday Night Football” for another 15 or 20 years. But Tirico’s role is less personality-driven than Bayless’s was. Those who watch “First Take” tune in for Smith vs. Bayless. Tirico sets up Jon Gruden, he doesn’t debate him, which doesn’t mean ESPN won’t miss him. “He’s contributed a ridiculous level to virtually every platform we have — college football, ‘Monday Night Football,’ ‘SportsCenter’ — and he means a lot to the fabric of this place,” Williamson said. “But this creates opportunities for other people. Not to minimize what he’s contributed to us, but I’m very confident we have people who can step up and build on his work.”

TV
Skip Bayless
ESPN
Fox Sports
FS1
Cable television


SEC Teams Rule B.C.S. Race After Weekend of Upsets

Abstract: Perhaps the most fitting image from a chaotic weekend of college football came from the sideline of Oregon’s Autzen Stadium on Saturday night. Southern California receiver Robert Woods paid homage to the sideline guest LeBron James, whose Nike ties brought him to the Pacific Northwest to check out Phil Knight’s pet program. Woods re-enacted James’s pregame ritual, in which he tosses powder in the air. Thanks to the play of Woods, U.S.C. and other upset-minded programs around the country, the national title chances of several top teams disappeared like a cloud of dust. Three of the top five teams lost this past weekend, the first time that has happened since October 2008. The developments overhauled the Bowl Championship Series race: a rematch of two Southeastern Conference teams went from improbable to likely. When the B.C.S. released its standings Sunday night, the Southeastern Conference West stalwarts No. 1 Louisiana State, No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Arkansas topped the rankings. It’s an unprecedented show of power for one division in one league. The B.C.S. guru Jerry Palm said there was a 20 percent chance that the best-positioned non-SEC West interloper, Oklahoma State, could fight its way into the national title game. “What I’ve been saying is for there to be a rematch, there pretty much had to be no other good choice,” said Palm, who publishes CollegeBCS.com . “We’ve got to the point where people are looking at it and thinking: ‘There really is no other good choice. Oklahoma State is the last hope for another good choice.’ ” The Cowboys, who are now No. 4 in the B.C.S., kicked off a cat-bites-dog weekend by squandering a 17-point lead in a double-overtime loss against Iowa State on Friday night. That storm-the-field upset proved a harbinger for a weekend defined by them, as U.S.C. held off a furious charge by the Ducks to win at Oregon, 38-35. That game led right into Baylor’s first victory over Oklahoma, which came only after Sooners Coach Bob Stoops inexplicably called a timeout with less than a minute remaining when it appeared that Baylor was going to run out the clock and force overtime. (A similarly overly aggressive timeout undid Wisconsin in its loss to Michigan State earlier this season.) The place where the cheers rang the loudest was Tuscaloosa, Ala.; a Crimson Tide victory at Auburn this week would basically assure the Tide a spot in the national title game. Last year, Auburn came back from 24 points down to stun Alabama in the Iron Bowl on its way to the national title. Palm said that if Alabama won Saturday, the only way he could see the Tide being left out of the title game was if the voters drastically changed their pattern and rated Oklahoma State higher because they did not want a rematch of SEC teams. “I’m not saying Alabama controls its own destiny, but I really like their chances,” Palm said. Perhaps the most amazing part of the weekend’s fallout is that three teams from the SEC West are atop the standings. That did not surprise Mississippi State Coach Dan Mullen, who remarked earlier in the year that he thought Alabama was the best team in the country last season when it finished fourth in its own division. “To get in the top half of the SEC West, which we’re trying to accomplish, means that you’re a top 3 team,” Mullen said by phone Sunday. “You have to be a national championship caliber team.” Some separation between the three teams could happen this weekend, as No. 3 Arkansas plays at No. 1 L.S.U. on Friday. With a victory, L.S.U. would clinch a spot in the SEC title game. The Tigers could also end up there with a loss, depending on a complicated SEC tiebreaker that is based mostly on head-to-head meetings and B.C.S. rankings. Arkansas is one of the few teams talented enough on offense to throw successfully against L.S.U.’s secondary. “Both teams don’t let you run the ball on them, so you have to throw the ball to be successful,” said Mullen, who has faced each team this season. “Arkansas matches up pretty well with them.” No matter the result of that L.S.U.-Arkansas game, an SEC rematch in the national title game appears likely. Unless, of course, the whole college landscape experiences upset tremors again and the logical scenarios disappear in a cloud of dust. Miami Sitting Out Bowls Miami announced that it would not participate in a bowl game, in response to the N.C.A.A. investigation of its football program and athletic department. Miami, which is 6-5, was projected to go to a middling bowl on the level of the Kraft Fight Hunger in San Francisco. The decision will probably end up saving Miami a significant amount of money in travel costs and unsold tickets.

College Athletics
Football
Bowl Championship Series
Southeastern Conference
Louisiana State University
Football (College)


New York State Tightens Drug Rules for Racehorses

Abstract: The New York State Racing and Wagering Board enacted a series of new rules on Thursday that significantly restrict the use of legal drugs on horses and require trainers to disclose what treatments their horses have received. The rule changes were recommended two weeks ago by a task force requested by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to investigate the dramatic increase of fatal breakdowns at Aqueduct Racetrack earlier this year. The four-member panel concluded that more than half of the 21 racehorses that died might have been saved had racing authorities more closely monitored their health and the liberal use of prescription drugs to keep them racing for purses inflated with money from the track’s adjacent casino. The new rules are among the most aggressive in the nation and come as racing wrestles with a drug culture that many of its most experienced officials contend is diminishing the sport. They come in the wake of Congressional hearings, calls within the industry for stricter drug rules and, from some quarters, an outright ban of drugs in the sport. A New York Times investigation found that 24 horses a week die at America’s racetracks , a rate greater than in countries where drug use is severely restricted. “New York has the most effective, meaningful rules regarding equine health and safety, thanks to the Task Force on Racehorse Health and Safety,” said the board’s chairman, John D. Sabini. The new rules put limits on when horses can be given corticosteroids or other substances that can mask the pain a horse may be experiencing. In April, The Times found numerous instances of corticosteroids being injected in horses in the days leading to their fatal races at Aqueduct, according to veterinarian records. Under the new rules, corticosteroids are prohibited within five days of a race, and cannot be injected into a horse’s joints within seven days of a race. One of the strongest corticosteroids, Depo-Medrol, cannot be given to a horse within 15 days of a race. In addition, records of corticosteroid treatments must be submitted to racing authorities within 48 hours of administration. The task force concluded that the drugs could compromise the ability of regulatory veterinarians to detect whether a horse was sound during prerace exams. The board also adopted a rule prohibiting the use of clenbuterol — a bronchodilator — within 21 days of a race. The old rule allowed it to be administered within four days of a race, but the task force concluded that clenbuterol was being given almost daily to horses by private veterinarians to exploit its muscle-building qualities. Clenbuterol is approved for only the short-term treatment of respiratory disease, and is very effective. But when used in large amounts over a lengthy period, it can also cause health problems or death. State authorities also enacted new rules discouraging trainers and owners from relying on anti-inflammatory and pain medications to get a horse into a race where it can be “claimed,” or sold. Now, a trainer of a claimed horse must provide the new owner with records of any corticosteroid treatments for the previous 30 days. Sabini said that the new rules were only a beginning and that the board was working to put in place other protocols recommended by the task force. It will hire a state equine medical director to oversee veterinarians at New York racetracks. At the forefront of the overhaul is a plan to give regulatory veterinarians — whose job is to make sure the horses that race are healthy — more independence from racetrack officials, allowing them to more easily report misconduct and prevent sore horses from racing. “We are optimistic that these actions will be the beginning of a new chapter for the nation’s horse racing industry,” said Dr. Scott E. Palmer, chairman of the task force and an equine surgeon.


Leap Second Will Extend the Day, and Might Roil the Internet

Abstract: To balance out a very gradual slowing of the Earth’s rotation, scientists are adding an extra second to the day on Tuesday. The so-called leap second is imperceptible to humans — there have been 25, most of them uneventful, since 1972 — but lately it has been known to throw many of the systems we use out of sync. For some people in science and technology, the practice of adding extra seconds to the day with relatively little advanced warning is more disruptive than helpful. At its most harmless, the practice is criticized as anachronistic. (If humans can’t tell the difference and it will be thousands of years until a shift is noticed, is it really necessary? a writer at Quartz argued .) At its worst, the leap second can disrupt entire computer systems that were not made to account for flexibility in time. For many computers, even a small wrinkle in time, like an additional second, can shut down an entire operation. During the last leap second, in 2012, sites including Foursquare, Reddit and LinkedIn reported service interruptions . Travelers flying Qantas Airways experienced delays when a global airline reservation system failed. What’s That Science Thing: Pluto Flyby Edition What is the SWAP instrument aboard the New Horizons spacecraft and how much energy does it use? Try our quiz if you think you know the answer. This year, a few big plans are in place to prevent any Y2K-style havoc. Since roughly $4.6 million is traded on global exchanges in any given second, the markets are looking to prevent any glitches: Stock markets in the United States will end after-hours trading early , and markets overseas are resetting their clocks well in advance. And since 2011, Google has been developing a technique referred to as “leap smear,” in which the extra second is divided into even tinier bits of time spread over the course of the day. The decision on whether to add a leap second is made by a group of scientists who make up the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service. The group decides whether to adjust the length of a day based on changes in the Earth’s rotation. “In the short term, leap seconds are not as predictable as everyone would like,” Chopo Ma, a member of the group’s directing board, told NASA. Some scientists say the relatively short lead time from I.E.R.S. can lead to more glitches. Others say making sure time is precisely coordinated with computers is the right thing to do. Udo Seidel, who was working at Amadeus Software when its reservations system crashed at Qantas, is now working to simulate the effects of leap seconds on computer systems. “If we cannot manage to make our systems handle a leap second,” Mr. Seidel told Wired, “then we have bigger problems.” As scientists spent the day keeping a wary eye out for the glitch that could undo the Internet, nonscientists were using the Internet to fritter the time away. The crew at the HBO show “Last Week Tonight” built a website of one-second videos — one clip includes Nicolas Cage in a bear suit — called Spend Your Leap Second Here . In another corner of the Internet, people posted one-second selfies . And on Twitter, people shared their ideas for how to spend the extra time:

Computers and the Internet
Tech Industry
Earth
Space
Time


Arizona’s Ban on Abortions Struck Down in Federal Court

Abstract: A federal appellate panel struck down Arizona ’s abortion law on Tuesday, saying it was unconstitutional “under a long line of invariant Supreme Court precedents” that guarantee a woman’s right to end a pregnancy any time before a fetus is deemed viable outside her womb — generally at 24 weeks. The law, enacted in April 2012 despite vociferous protest by women’s and civil rights groups, made abortions illegal if performed 20 weeks after a woman’s last menstrual period, or roughly 18 weeks after fertilization, even if the woman learned that the fetus had no chance of surviving after birth. At 18 weeks, many fetal abnormalities can be detected through sonograms. In its opinion, the panel of three judges assigned to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco wrote that a fetus’s viability “varies from pregnancy to pregnancy,” which should be determined by doctors, not legislators. “While the state may regulate the model and manner of abortion prior to fetal viability, it may not proscribe a woman from electing abortion, nor may it impose an undue burden on her choice through regulation,” wrote Judge Marsha S. Berzon, the opinion’s author. The American Civil Liberties Union and other organizations challenged the law in federal court last year on behalf of three physicians and their patients. On Tuesday, Talcott Camp, deputy director of the A.C.L.U.’s reproductive freedom project, welcomed the court’s opinion. “Politicians do not have the right to interfere in serious and personal decisions that should only be made by a woman with the help of her family and her doctor,” she said. In arguments Nov. 5, the defendants — the state’s attorney general, Tom Horne; the Maricopa County attorney, Bill Montgomery; and the Arizona Medical Board — said the law’s main purpose was to protect a mother’s health and shield fetuses from pain. Mr. Montgomery, in a statement, said he would seek review from the Supreme Court, “given the compelling and important interest Arizona has in protecting the health and well-being of expectant mothers from the dangers of abortions after 20 weeks and to protect children in the womb from needless and horrific imposition of pain.” Arizona is one of 10 states to pass an abortion ban at 20 weeks, based on theory, rejected by many medical groups, that a fetus feels pain then. Many of those bans have not yet been challenged; Dan Pochoda, legal director of Arizona’s chapter of the A.C.L.U., called the ruling “the strongest and most definitive” so far on recent laws placing restrictive limits on abortions. The decision applies to Arizona and the eight other Western states under the Ninth Circuit’s jurisdiction, including Idaho, where similar legislation had already been deemed unconstitutional. North Dakota, which falls under the authority of a different appellate court, passed the country’s most far-reaching abortion law in March, banning women from terminating a pregnancy once a fetal heartbeat is detectable, which can be as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. A ban at 12 weeks in Arkansas has been blocked by court because it violates the viability rule.

Decisions and Verdicts
Abortion
Arizona
ACLU


At the Taliban Office, Waiting for Progress on Talks

Abstract: DOHA, Qatar — The start of peace talks between the United States and the Taliban was delayed on Thursday, with no clear picture of when — or even if — they will restart. Diplomats were still engaged in discussions about how the Taliban are presenting themselves at their new office here. After Afghan officials angrily announced they would not participate in the talks because the Taliban raised their flag along with a banner reading “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” American officials asked the Qataris to get the Taliban to remove such emblems of legitimacy. The banner was removed by Wednesday night, and the flag — on a pole in the compound of the Taliban office — disappeared from view around the same time. But Thursday morning, in better light, it became apparent that their flag was still flying, albeit on a flagpole that had been shortened a couple of yards so the flag could not be seen above the wall by the general public. It could be seen only through gaps in the high wall — which is where Afghan Embassy officials were seen Thursday morning, snapping photographs of the scene. An Afghan official in Doha refused to comment on whether the Taliban had met the government’s terms in a way that would reinstate the Afghan delegation to talks. Senior officials close to President Hamid Karzai made clear in conversations late Wednesday that they wanted the Taliban, at the least, to remove all the visible signs that suggested that the insurgent group believed they were still the legitimate Afghan government. Video The Taliban’s latest move toward peace talks shows they are willing to come to the table but leaves questions about what they are willing to offer. “We are determined not to allow the cover of a political process to be used to undermine our authority, our sovereignty,” said a senior official close to Mr. Karzai, noting that at the least the Taliban flag and Islamic Emirate sign needed to stay down. Asked whether that would be enough to allow the delegation to go, the official said, “Yes, if that negotiations office functions in accordance with the terms that we set out.” Meanwhile, several of the Taliban delegates were giving telephone interviews on Thursday. The Associated Press quoted one of the top representatives, Ahmad Suhail Shaheen , as saying that the Taliban were ready to release their only American prisoner of war, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, in exchange for senior Taliban prisoners being held at the Guantánamo Bay prison camp in Cuba. The release of the Guantánamo prisoners has been a central sticking point in moving the peace process forward for roughly 18 months, American and Afghan officials said. Taliban officials have made the release a prerequisite for both talks and the release of Sergeant Bergdahl, who has been held by insurgents since 2009. The American negotiator who was expected to begin the first round of talks with the Taliban, James Dobbins, remained in Washington on Thursday. And although Secretary of State John Kerry was due here on Saturday, that was for an international conference on Syria, not the Taliban. Officials in Washington said they hoped the talks could move forward as planned in the next few days. Even if the main American negotiators do show up soon, the Afghans have said they are still unhappy with the terms of the new office’s existence after Taliban delegates there gave a succession of interviews. Mr. Karzai had made it clear that his government was only reluctantly agreeing to the idea of a Taliban office in Qatar — and then only to start peace talks so they could be moved to Afghan soil, which the Taliban have rejected. Once the Taliban declared that they viewed the office as a place to give interviews to the news media, meet international officials and diplomats, the Afghan government rejected any talks there. A statement by the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, quoted by the Qatar News Agency , said that the Taliban office should be known as “the Political Bureau of the Afghan Taliban in Doha and not the political bureau of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.”

Afghanistan War
Taliban
Doha
Terrorism
International relations
Guantanamo Bay


Move Over, Bedbug: The Stink Bug Has Landed

Abstract: SABILLASVILLE, Md. — When they retreated from the Battle of Gettysburg, Confederate troops passed by the area that is now Richard Masser’s orchards. If only the latest enemy — the brown marmorated stink bug — would follow suit. Damage to fruit and vegetable crops from stink bugs in Middle Atlantic states has reached critical levels, according to a government report. That is in addition to the headaches the bugs are giving homeowners who cannot keep them out of their living rooms — especially the people who unwittingly step on them. When stink bugs are crushed or become irritated, they emit a pungent odor that is sometimes described as skunklike. Suddenly, the bedbug has competition for pest of the year. Farmers in Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and other states are battling a pest whose appetite has left dry boreholes in everything from apples and grapes to tomatoes and soybeans. Stink bugs have made their mark on 20 percent of the apple crop at Mr. Masser’s Scenic View Orchards here. Other farmers report far worse damage. “They’re taking money out of your pocket, just like a thief,” said Mr. Masser, flicking stink bugs off his shirt and baseball cap as he overlooked his 325 acres, a few miles south of the Pennsylvania border. “We need to stop them.” No one seems to know how. Government and university researchers say they need more time to study the bug, which has been in the United States since about 1998. Native to Asia, it was first found in Allentown, Pa., and has no natural enemies here. Some people noticed an increase in the stink bug population last year, but all agreed that this year’s swarm was out of control. Researchers say the bugs reproduced at a faster rate this year, but they are unsure why. “These are the hot spots right now, but they’re spreading everywhere,” Mr. Masser said. “They even found them out in Oregon.” Populations of the brown marmorated stink bug — different from the green stink bugs that are kept in check by natural predators here — have been found in 15 states, and specimens in 14 other states, according to the United States Department of Agriculture. The bug travels well, especially as it seeks warm homes before the onset of cold weather. “It’s an incredible hitchhiker,” said Tracy Leskey, an entomologist with the Agriculture Department’s Appalachian Fruit Research Station in Kearneysville, W.Va. “The adults are moving and looking for places to spend the winter.” The research station is among three laboratories looking for a solution. Government and university researchers also formed a working group this summer. But Kevin Hackett, national program leader for invasive insects for the Agriculture Department’s research arm, said no immediate solution was in sight. “We need to do considerable more research to solve the problem,” he said. “We don’t even have a way to monitor the pests. I’m confident that we have excellent researchers. I’m not confident we’re going to find a solution immediately.” The department is spending $800,000 this fiscal year on stink bug research, double last year’s budget, Mr. Hackett said. But he estimated that seven more full-time researchers were needed, at a cost of about $3.5 million a year for salaries and research expenses. In Asia, a parasitic wasp helps control stink bug populations by attacking their eggs. Unleashing those wasps here, however, is at least several years away because they would first need to be quarantined and studied. There has been limited success using black pyramid traps in orchards, Ms. Leskey said. The traps contain scents that trigger sexual arousal. The nymphs, or young bugs, respond seasonlong, Ms. Leskey wrote in a recent report, but adults respond only late in the season, in late August. Representative Roscoe G. Bartlett, Republican of Maryland, convened a meeting last week of officials from the Agriculture Department and the Environmental Protection Agency. He is pushing to have the stink bug reclassified, which would allow farmers to use stronger pesticides, and is advocating that the Agriculture Department reallocate $3 million of its budget for research. A problem that can arise when more pesticides are used, experts and farmers say, is that many years’ worth of effective “integrated pest management” can be ruined in the process. Farmers kill some pests but allow others to live because they prey on yet other pests. Wasps, for example, eat worms that otherwise would kill crops. “It is a way to use nature’s own defenses against pests in orchards,” said Steve Jacobs, an urban entomologist at Pennsylvania State University. “That’s been finely tuned and works well. This brown marmorated stink bug blows all that out the window. You kill them today, new ones come tomorrow. So this is a serious problem.” Meanwhile, homeowners in the region are coping with this latest nuisance. Vicky Angell of Thurmont, Md., said she first noticed the stink bugs last year, but “not in flocks” like this summer. She kills about six a day and suspects that they get inside her home when she leaves the door open to let the dog out. Ms. Angell said she flushes them down the toilet after catching them in a napkin. Other people use their vacuum. And many have turned to exterminators. Stink bugs, whose backs resemble knights’ shields, do not bite humans and pose no known health hazards — even the fruit they have gotten to is edible, once the hardened parts are cut out. They leave small craters on the surface of an apple or pear, and the inside can get brown and corklike. Females can grow to nearly the size of a quarter. “Marmorated” refers to their marbled or streaked appearance. Still, sometimes they are just too close for comfort. Ms. Angell said she got a surprise when she put on her pants Friday morning, having washed them and left them to dry in her laundry room. She felt something in the right rear pocket. “I thought I left a piece of paper in them when I washed them,” she said. But it was not paper. “Pulled it out. He was alive. Stink bug. Flushed him down the toilet,” she said. “I thought, I’m glad I didn’t sit on that.” Kelli Wilson of Burkittsville, Md., said her home had been overrun by the bugs, especially in the past week. In the afternoon sun, the north-facing exterior of the house “is black with stink bugs,” she said. “It looks like the wall is crawling.” Mrs. Wilson’s husband, Raymond, skipped services on Sunday at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Burkittsville to remove stink bugs from the house. Mrs. Wilson discovered a little hitchhiker as she and her children arrived at the church. “I just pulled into the parking lot and there’s one on my purse,” she said. “They travel with me now.” Mr. Jacobs, the urban entomologist, said the response to stink bugs so far is not an overreaction. “I’m standing here in my living room watching some of them crawl up my walls,” he said. “The best thing to do is make your house as tight as possible. Use masking tape to seal around sliding glass doors, air-conditioners.” Mr. Masser, the Sabillasville farmer, said that he had not yet raised his prices to offset losses, but added that it was a possibility next year if a solution to the stink bug invasion was not found. “Stink bugs are going to destroy a lot of food — it’s just starting,” he said. “When Joe Blow starts hollering because he can’t find the food he wants, they’ll respond then.”

Insects Farmers Agriculture Bedbugs Fruit stinkbug


UConn Sends Message With a Rout of No. 1 South Carolina

Abstract: STORRS, Conn. — The showdown got away, as so many Connecticut women’s basketball games do, before the Huskies’ opponent realized what was happening. A 3-pointer. Two free throws. A layup. Another 3. Then another. The game, a highly anticipated battle between the top two teams in N.C.A.A. Division I, was over just like that. In two minutes midway through the first half Monday night, No. 2 UConn turned a tie score into an 8-point lead. South Carolina, ranked No. 1, missed a few shots, and suddenly the edge had doubled. Soon the Huskies were coasting to an 87-62 victory, on their way back to their accustomed spot atop the national polls. This is nothing new around here. UConn (23-1) improved to 17-3 in these No. 1-versus-No. 2 matchups, and 11-1 in its last dozen such games. It also extended its overall winning streak this season to 22 games. “We’re UConn,” the junior forward Breanna Stewart said. “We want to be the No. 1 team in the country.” Stewart, UConn’s rail-thin national player of the year candidate, drove the Huskies with 22 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks. Her fellow forwards Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis (23 points) and Morgan Tuck (17) were nearly as dominant, and point guard Moriah Jefferson (16 points) set a blistering pace that the Gamecocks simply could not match. As the lead grew, South Carolina’s bigger players started to look winded. UConn’s, spurred on by an announced crowd of 10,167 that braved a New England snowstorm to watch the show, seemed to get fresher. Stewart called it a statement game, a chance to show the rest of the country that the Huskies — who play in the lightly regarded, and sometimes derided, American Athletic Conference — can contend with the best teams that power leagues like the Gamecocks’ Southeastern Conference have to offer. Mosqueda-Lewis said plainly, “We’re as good as people think we are.” South Carolina Coach Dawn Staley was even more frank. “They humbled us,” she said. Connecticut Coach Geno Auriemma may have planted the seeds for a big performance by his frontcourt players by benching them for most of Saturday’s 46-point victory at Memphis. Tuck (four minutes), Stewart (a career-low five) and the Huskies’ top rebounder, Kiah Stokes (eight), barely played against the Tigers. None took the court in the second half. It was an easy day for Auriemma to send the message, given the Huskies’ margin of victory, but it was unmistakable: Play hard, or you won’t play. Stewart and Tuck understood the lesson, which left them a bit chastened — and possibly a bit hungrier — for the game against the Gamecocks. Stewart had what would have made for a solid night — 11 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks — in the first half alone. With Mosqueda-Lewis (5 for 6) and Tuck (2 for 3) hitting from the outside and Jefferson slashing through the lane, South Carolina saw nothing but the Huskies’ taillights. “You don’t go into any game expecting four of your best players to play their A game,” Auriemma said. “When we get that, that’s a tough task for anybody.” South Carolina fought back, scoring the first 6 points of the second half, but the outcome was never in doubt. Moments after Auriemma took off his sport coat with 10 minutes left, his team edged its lead past 20 points. With the Huskies ahead by 24 with two minutes left, the fans chanted, “We’re No. 1!” That had been the Gamecocks’ position for the past 12 weeks. South Carolina has enjoyed a steady rise under Staley, a former W.N.B.A. star and an Olympic gold medalist who took over the program in 2008. The team, which last season held a campaign to draw 5,000 fans to its games to impress a recruit, now regularly attracts three times that many. The Gamecocks have back their entire starting lineup from last season, when they reached the N.C.A.A. tournament’s round of 16, and they bolstered their roster by persuading A’ja Wilson, now a star freshman, to turn down Auriemma and stay home to play in Columbia. South Carolina took over the No. 1 ranking after UConn lost to Stanford in its second game of the season and has barely been tested, beating opponents by an average of 28.1 points per game entering its matchup with the Huskies. But Auriemma’s team is winning by more than 40 a game, and he has other sly ways to reassert the Huskies’ dominance. Before the game, with both teams on the court and itching to begin, UConn took time to honor Auriemma for leading the United States women’s team to the world basketball championship last year and to confirm that he would return as coach of the Olympic team next summer. Moments later, he was called back onto the court to be honored for earning his 900th career win last week. The crowd at Gampel Pavilion roared its approval and chanted his name. The Gamecocks stood in a line in front of their bench and watched. Again, the message was clear: Auriemma and UConn have done a lot of winning. And they plan to do a lot more.

College basketball
Geno Auriemma
University of Connecticut
University of South Carolina


Maryland Ousts Syracuse to Reach the Semifinals

Abstract: Unseeded Maryland beat top-seeded Syracuse, 6-5, in Foxborough, Mass., to advance to the N.C.A.A. men’s tournament semifinals when Grant Catalino took a pass from Ryan Young behind the net and beat Orange goalie John Galloway with 32 seconds left in overtime. The Terrapins (12-4) will play defending champion Duke, a 7-5 winner over Notre Dame, in a semifinal in Baltimore on Saturday. Duke (14-5) broke a 4-4 tie with three goals in the fourth quarter.

Lacrosse
College Athletics
Syracuse University
University of Maryland
NCAA Lacrosse Championships


Royal and Ancient Golf Club Selects Seven Female Members

Abstract: In 2007, Louise Suggs said she was glad to have lived long enough to see the Women’s British Open played for the first time on the St. Andrews Old Course. For the 91-year-old Suggs, the wonders never cease. On Tuesday she was one of seven women offered honorary membership in the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, which voted last September to end its all-male policy. The other women so honored were Annika Sorenstam, Laura Davies, Renee Powell, Lally Segard, Belle Robertson and Princess Anne. For Sorenstam, a 10-time major winner from Sweden, the membership closes a circle that rounded into shape when she competed in the 2007 Women’s British Open. At the time, Sorenstam described the decision to welcome the best female professionals to the Old Course as “a big step in women’s golf.” Tuesday’s news represents an equivocal leap forward. Suggs, a founding member of the Ladies Professional Golf Association, is an 11-time major winner. If any woman is worthy of belonging to the world’s most exclusive golf clubs, it is Suggs, who was friends with Bobby Jones, one of the most revered figures in the game and a founder of Augusta National. So far she has been overlooked by Augusta National’s membership, which over the past 30 months has added its first three women, all of whom are titans of business or politics. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club deserves credit for matching Augusta National’s gender-inclusive membership and raising it a fair bit by offering honorary status to Suggs and handful of women whose golf credentials are incontrovertible. Image Louise Suggs playing in 1951. She helped found the L.P.G.A. Credit Associated Press The pity is that Suggs is past the age of enjoying the privileges of her membership. So is Segard, 93, a native of France who became a top amateur golfer and has been a tireless administrator for the sport as part of what is now the International Golf Federation. Davies, 51, is a four-time major champion from Britain and a former No. 1 player who will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame this year. Robertson, 78, was a top Scottish amateur player in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s. Powell, 68, was the first African-American woman to be a Class A member of the P.G.A. of America and was the first female head professional at a golf course in Britain. Princess Anne, the 64-year-old daughter of Queen Elizabeth II, was a curious choice given that a quotation often attributed to her is critical of the game: “Golf seems an arduous way to go for a walk. I prefer to take the dogs out.” She is the only one of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club’s seven sisters not to come from a golfing background. Her father, Prince Philip, and her brother Prince Andrew belong to the club, so she had that going for her. The organization might have sent a stronger message of inclusivity while also injecting youth into its rolls by extending membership to Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, 33, who met Prince William while they were students at St. Andrews University. The presence of Princess Anne and two nonagenarians gives new meaning to Royal and Ancient Golf Club. At 44, Sorenstam is the youngest of the female members, who average 70 years of age. Image Annika Sorenstam in 2007. She won 10 major championships. Credit Matt Dunham/Associated Press The organization missed an opportunity to right a couple of wrongs by offering memberships to Judy Bell, 78, a fine amateur player who in 1996 became the first woman to head the United States Golf Association, and Louise Richardson, who in 2009 became the first female principal at St. Andrews University. The men who preceded Bell and Richardson in their jobs were granted honorary club memberships. The university released a statement, saying, “We wish the R&A every success and look forward to the resumption of the tradition by which previous principals of St. Andrews were invited to become honorary members.” The club’s membership roll matters because it is not just another private club. Like Augusta National, it is one of the most high-profile organizations in the sport. Before 2004, the Royal and Ancient Club was one of golf’s governing bodies, a responsibility since taken over by the R&A, which takes its name and many representatives from the club but is a separate entity. The R&A also organizes the British Open, which has three courses in its regular tournament rotation with an all-male membership, including Muirfield, site of the 2013 event. At a time when the sport is striving to appeal to a younger, more diverse, crowd, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club could have aided the cause by offering a membership to Se Ri Pak, the 37-year-old from South Korea whose success on the L.P.G.A. Tour is largely responsible for the golf boom in Asia. Before Pak lit up golf like a comet, the sport’s popularity in Asia was largely limited to Japan, whose best female golfer, Ayako Okamoto, a World Golf Hall of Fame member, would also have been a worthy pioneering member. In 1987, Okamoto became the first non-American to win the L.P.G.A. player of the year honors. In her heyday, she was the Tiger Woods of Japan, sating the country’s immense appetite for a golf superstar. In a statement, George Macgregor, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club’s captain, said, “This is an historic day for the club.” He added that the seven women “are extremely worthy additions to our roll of honorary members and will become ambassadors for the club as they have been for the sport of golf throughout their careers.” The pool of worthy women is deep, deep enough for more and frequent dips into the sea of equity by golf’s ruling clubs.

Golf
Women and Girls
Royal and Ancient Golf Club
Louise Suggs
Annika Sorenstam
Laura Davies
Renee Powell
Lally Segard
Belle Robertson
Princess Anne


Power-Starved Mets Make a Bid for Jason Bay

Abstract: INDIANAPOLIS — In his first trade after becoming the general manager of the Montreal Expos in 2002, Omar Minaya shipped a promising Class A outfielder to the Mets as part of a package for a utility player named Lou Collier. Collier played 13 games for Montreal and was out of the majors in three years. The outfielder blossomed into a three-time All-Star and is one of baseball’s premier sluggers. His name is Jason Bay , and now Minaya wants him back. In the most tangible sign yet that they are prioritizing offense over pitching this off-season, the Mets offered Bay a four-year contract Thursday. Before leaving the winter meetings, the Mets, as expected, made a formal offer to their top choice at catcher, Bengie Molina , whom they ultimately hope to sign for two years and about $12 million. A deal for Molina could come together quickly, because no other suitors have emerged. Signing the 30-year-old Bay could prove to be more of a challenge since the market for him includes the Boston Red Sox, his former team, and other potential big spenders like the Los Angeles Angels and the Seattle Mariners. The Mets are believed to have offered Bay $65 million, or $5 million more than Boston offered him to stay put and avoid free agency. It is possible that Bay will stay with the Red Sox, with whom he has enjoyed a good deal of success since joining them during the 2008 season. It is also quite possible that the Mets will have to increase their offer to Bay to have any chance of signing him. The right-handed Bay is intriguing to the Mets, because they believe he has the type of power that transcends big ballparks, like Citi Field. But because Citi Field has already developed a reputation as a pitcher-friendly haven, the Mets may have to overpay to land a slugger like Bay. On the other hand, Bay is likely to cost far less than the other premier free-agent left fielder, Matt Holliday, who is represented by Scott Boras, the most daunting agent in baseball. Boras has already compared Holliday to another of his clients, Mark Teixeira, who signed an eight-year, $180 million contract with the Yankees last winter. Bay’s agent, Joe Urbon, did not immediately return phone calls or an e-mail message seeking comment. But Mets General Manager Omar Minaya did speak to reporters before departing Indianapolis, although he did not mention Bay by name. “I think we have a good idea what some of those free agents are looking for,” Minaya said, “and I think it’s fair to say that the process is further ahead than it was when we got here.” Since the beginning of the 2005 season, Bay has averaged 31 homers, 101 runs scored and 103 runs batted in while posting a .378 on-base percentage. He generally excelled for woeful Pittsburgh Pirates teams, and his continued production following his trade to Boston showed that he could thrive for a contending team in a more pressurized environment. He hit .267 with 36 home runs and 119 R.B.I. last season. Bay’s primary drawbacks are his streakiness — last season he batted .288 with 15 homers through May 31, then .213 with 5 homers over the next two months — his somewhat shaky defense and his high strikeout totals. He has ranked among the top six in his league in strikeouts in four of the past five seasons, averaging 148 in that stretch. The Mets, however, may be willing to trade strikeouts for power after becoming only the second team since the 1993 Florida Marlins to hit fewer than 100 homers over a 162-game season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The Mets hit 95. That the Mets appear to be the only National League team competing for Bay probably is not a coincidence. An American League team could use him at least in part as a designated hitter, making his defense less of an issue. In addition, if Bay stays with the Red Sox, he will continue to play half his games in Fenway Park, where left field is so small that it sometimes masks a player’s defensive liabilities. But an outfielder cannot hide in spacious Citi Field, where the high fence in left field poses a challenge on defense. The Mets were burned by Daniel Murphy’s misadventures in left field in 2009, but obviously feel they can get by with Bay. Still, ultimate zone rating , an advanced metric that measures the number of runs above or below average that a fielder is at his position, shows that Bay consistently has been one of the worst defensive outfielders in baseball. His defense would figure to decline as he grows older. As sensitive to public perception as they are, the Mets are no doubt aware that their bid for Bay may temporarily pacify a restive and frustrated fan base, even if he ends up elsewhere. And if they do land him, it would definitely make up for what happened after they stole him from Minaya and Montreal back in 2002. Back then, the Mets shipped Bay to San Diego four months later and got very little in return. Now, seven years later, both Minaya and the Mets are trying to get it right.

Baseball
New York Mets
Bay Jason
Minaya Omar
Trades (Sports)
Free Agents (Sports)


More Americans Are Giving Up Golf

Abstract: HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. — The men gathered in a new golf clubhouse here a couple of weeks ago circled the problem from every angle, like caddies lining up a shot out of the rough. “We have to change our mentality,” said Richard Rocchio, a public relations consultant. “The problem is time,” offered Walter Hurney, a real estate developer. “There just isn’t enough time. Men won’t spend a whole day away from their family anymore.” William A. Gatz, owner of the Long Island National Golf Club in Riverhead, said the problem was fundamental economics: too much supply, not enough demand. The problem was not a game of golf. It was the game of golf itself. Over the past decade, the leisure activity most closely associated with corporate success in America has been in a kind of recession. The total number of people who play has declined or remained flat each year since 2000, dropping to about 26 million from 30 million, according to the National Golf Foundation and the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. More troubling to golf boosters, the number of people who play 25 times a year or more fell to 4.6 million in 2005 from 6.9 million in 2000, a loss of about a third. The industry now counts its core players as those who golf eight or more times a year. That number, too, has fallen, but more slowly: to 15 million in 2006 from 17.7 million in 2000, according to the National Golf Foundation. The five men who met here at the Wind Watch Golf Club a couple of weeks ago, golf aficionados all, wondered out loud about the reasons. Was it the economy? Changing family dynamics? A glut of golf courses? A surfeit of etiquette rules — like not letting people use their cellphones for the four hours it typically takes to play a round of 18 holes? Or was it just the four hours? Here on Long Island, where there are more than 100 private courses, golf course owners have tried various strategies: coupons and trial memberships, aggressive marketing for corporate and charity tournaments, and even some forays into the wedding business. Over coffee with a representative of the National Golf Course Owners Association, the owners of four golf courses discussed forming an owners’ cooperative to market golf on Long Island and, perhaps, to purchase staples like golf carts and fertilizer more cheaply. They strategized about marketing to women, who make up about 25 percent of golfers nationally; recruiting young players with a high school tournament; attracting families with special rates; realigning courses to 6-hole rounds, instead of 9 or 18; and seeking tax breaks, on the premise that golf courses, even private ones, provide publicly beneficial open space. “When the ship is sinking, it’s time to get creative,” said Mr. Hurney, a principal owner of the Great Rock Golf Club in Wading River, which last summer erected a 4,000-square-foot tent for social events, including weddings, christenings and communions. The disappearance of golfers over the past several years is part of a broader decline in outdoor activities — including tennis, swimming, hiking, biking and downhill skiing — according to a number of academic and recreation industry studies. A 2006 study by the United States Tennis Association, which has battled the trend somewhat successfully with a forceful campaign to recruit young players, found that punishing hurricane seasons factored into the decline of play in the South, while the soaring popularity of electronic games and newer sports like skateboarding was diminishing the number of new tennis players everywhere. Rodney B. Warnick, a professor of recreation studies and tourism at the University of Massachusetts, said that the aging population of the United States was probably a part of the problem, too, and that “there is a younger generation that is just not as active.” But golf, a sport of long-term investors — both those who buy the expensive equipment and those who build the princely estates on which it is played — has always seemed to exist in a world above the fray of shifting demographics. Not anymore. Jim Kass, the research director of the National Golf Foundation, an industry group, said the gradual but prolonged slump in golf has defied the adage, “Once a golfer, always a golfer.” About three million golfers quit playing each year, and slightly fewer than that have been picking it up. A two-year campaign by the foundation to bring new players into the game, he said, “hasn’t shown much in the way of results.” “The man in the street will tell you that golf is booming because he sees Tiger Woods on TV,” Mr. Kass said. “But we track the reality. The reality is, while we haven’t exactly tanked, the numbers have been disappointing for some time.” Surveys sponsored by the foundation have asked players what keeps them away. “The answer is usually economic,” Mr. Kass said. “No time. Two jobs. Real wages not going up. Pensions going away. Corporate cutbacks in country club memberships — all that doom and gloom stuff.” In many parts of the country, high expectations for a golf bonanza paralleling baby boomer retirements led to what is now considered a vast overbuilding of golf courses. Between 1990 and 2003, developers built more than 3,000 new golf courses in the United States, bringing the total to about 16,000. Several hundred have closed in the last few years, most of them in Arizona, Florida, Michigan and South Carolina, according to the foundation. (Scores more courses are listed for sale on the Web site of the National Golf Course Owners Association, which lists, for example, a North Carolina property described as “two 18-hole championship courses, great mountain locations, profitable, $1.5 million revenues, Bermuda fairways, bent grass, nice clubhouses, one at $5.5 million, other at $2.5 million — possible some owner financing.”) At the meeting here, there was a consensus that changing family dynamics have had a profound effect on the sport. “Years ago, men thought nothing of spending the whole day playing golf — maybe Saturday and Sunday both,” said Mr. Rocchio, the public relations consultant, who is also the New York regional director of the National Golf Course Owners Association. “Today, he is driving his kids to their soccer games. Maybe he’s playing a round early in the morning. But he has to get back home in time for lunch.” Mr. Hurney, the real estate developer, chimed in, “Which is why if we don’t repackage our facilities to a more family orientation, we’re dead.” To help keep the Great Rock Golf Club afloat, owners erected their large climate-controlled tent near the 18th green last summer. It sat next to the restaurant, Blackwell’s, already operating there. By most accounts, it has been a boon to the club — though perhaps not a hole in one. Residents of the surrounding neighborhood have complained about party noise, and last year more than 40 signed a petition asking the town of Riverhead to intervene. Town officials are reviewing whether the tent meets local zoning regulations, but have not issued any noise summonses. Mr. Hurney told them he had purchased a decibel meter and would try to hire quieter entertainment. One neighbor, Dominique Mendez, whose home is about 600 feet from the 18th hole, said, “We bought our house here because we wanted to live in a quiet place, and we thought a golf course would be nice to see from the window. Instead, people have to turn up their air conditioners or wear earplugs at night because of the music thumping.” During weddings, she said: “you can hear the D.J., ‘We’re gonna do the garter!’ It’s a little much.”

Golf
National Golf Foundation
Athletics and Sports
Long Island (NY)


U.S. Imposes Sanctions Against 2 Iranian Officials

Abstract: The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions against two Iranian officials for what it said were human rights abuses against protesters after the disputed 2009 election. The Treasury Department said that the Tehran prosecutor general, Abbas Jafari-Dolatabadi, and the commander of the Basiji forces of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, had been added to its blacklist.

Human Rights and Human Rights Violations


The New High-Tech Dating Technology? Meet in a Bar

Abstract: Online dating services have long promised to help people find a mate by using statistical science to predict personal chemistry. But some of the biggest services are now adding a retro twist. Several sites are bringing people together the old-fashioned way, with singles parties where people can crowd together at bars while consuming alcohol and flirting. “There have been so many times I’ve met up with someone from the Internet in person and didn’t feel a spark,” said Emily Clapp, who was at a recent beer-tasting event organized by the popular dating site OkCupid in a basement bar on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. “It’s so disappointing to invest all that time e-mailing and then... nothing.” Like many others, Ms. Clapp says the offline events can help identify a potential date more quickly. Online, they find they can spend weeks or months exchanging messages with someone and then schedule dinner or drinks — only to realize within minutes that the date is a dud. “There’s only so much you can do with data,” said Susan Etlinger, a research analyst at the Altimeter Group who advises companies on how best to use technology. “There’s always the unknown that has to do with pheromones and human nature.” But why do you need to sign up for a dating site to meet someone in a bar? Ms. Clapp, a 31-year-old tax accountant, said that the sites acted as a filter, making it more likely that the other attendees were also single, looking for romance and not too creepy. But inevitably, she said, “it’s a little more random than regular online dating.” The offline events, for members only, are offered as part of their monthly subscription or for a small fee. While many of the events are held in bars, others revolve around activities like learning to make fresh pasta, going on hikes or playing Skee-Ball. Both Match.com, a pay service, and OkCupid, which was bought by Match last year but operates independently, are getting behind the offline idea. Match bought commercial time during the Olympics to promote “The Stir,” as it calls its gatherings. In one ad , which is said to depict scenes from actual Match events, a bubbly blonde asks a new friend, “U.C.L.A.?” and then clinks glasses: “All right, Bruins!” Match, which has nearly two million paying users, says it has held a few hundred events each month since May in more than 50 cities. OkCupid, which says it has 2.9 million active members, has organized about 100 events in New York since early July and plans to bring the idea to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and a few other cities in October. It also says it is revamping its business to put events at the forefront. Smaller services are also offering gatherings. MeetMoi, whose app lets users broadcast their location and arrange a quick coffee or drink, has been hosting get-togethers to bring more of its users to the same space at the same time. And Nerve, a sex and dating site based in New York, says it is working on a mobile application that will emphasize nearby events. The move toward real-world meetings follows some well-publicized studies that cast doubt on whether personality tests and data can accurately predict whether two people will be compatible. In one such study released in February, psychology researchers said there was “no compelling evidence” that matchmaking software worked better than more primitive methods. The major online services say they are not reacting to those studies. But they are facing competition from services that are skipping the algorithms altogether, including How About We, which lets people look for dates based on first-date ideas, and Grouper, which sends six people on a blind group outing. “We still use our matching algorithms,” said Mandy Ginsberg, president of Match.com . “But maybe it is slightly easier to walk into a room full of people meeting and talking.” Online dating, it seems, may also have hit a plateau. Recent data from comScore, an analytics firm, shows that traffic across the 10 most popular dating sites did not increase over the past year. This may be partly because of the rising popularity of mobile dating apps. Even so, dating services typically have trouble holding onto users. Successful members who find love often delete their accounts. Those who don’t can get weary after one too many bad dates, so the services have to dazzle them and keep them around longer. That is where the social events come in. Some dating sites and apps have been ahead of the curve when it comes to face-to-face gatherings. Grindr, a mobile app geared toward gay men, first spread the word about its service in 2009 by teaming up with local bars to throw parties. It now has four million members. And sites like Meetup have long encouraged people to corral like-minded individuals for get-togethers. But not every company is sold on the idea of throwing people together in a bar and seeing what happens. EHarmony, one of the more established dating services, says it has no interest in moving away from its emphasis on a scientific approach. “We are focused on getting our members to meaningful offline meetings with people who are deeply compatible, not creating large-scale happy hours,” said Becky Teraoka, a company representative.

Online Dating
OkCupid
Match.com
Dating and Courtship


Astros Get to Andy Pettitte Early and Often in Rout of Yankees

Abstract: While the Yankees have been receiving plaudits and tributes for their surprisingly successful start to the season, the Houston Astros have been fulfilling all expectations in their inaugural season in the American League by starting out as the worst team in the league. The Astros came into Monday’s game with mostly anonymous players, the worst record in the league, and the worst pitching staff in the majors with an earned run average of 5.51. The Yankees had won four in a row, and the Astros had lost four straight at Boston, all by at least four runs. These were two teams with widely different aspirations, but for one cold, gloomy night, it was all in reverse. Andy Pettitte, who had been just as good in his first four starts to the season as almost any other pitcher in the league, suddenly lost his celebrated pitch, the cut fastball, which is sometimes also referred to as a slider. It just went poof, disappearing after the second batter of the game. And the Astros hitters made him pay by pounding out seven runs against him as they routed the Yankees, 9-1, in their first game at Yankee Stadium since 2010, and improved — modestly — to 8-18. “I’ve seen Andy since 1996,” Manager Joe Girardi said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him not have his slider. It has been a signature pitch for him for a long time. It just didn’t have the bite tonight that we’re used to seeing, and it’s kind of strange.” Pettitte said he had the pitch in the bullpen before the game and it appeared to be as reliable as ever. He even used it to strike out the second batter of the game, Brandon Barnes, and figured all was well. Then he somehow lost command of the pitch. But he kept throwing it. Pettitte chided himself for his stubbornness in trying to throw it again in the fourth inning to Barnes, who turned it into a two-run double that increased the Astros’ lead to 5-0. “You all know how I feel about this game,” Pettitte said. “You’ve been around me enough. We’ve been playing well. To come out here and give up those five runs that early in the game and not give us a chance to win, it makes me sick to my stomach.” It was the Yankees’ first loss since Pettitte fell to the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla., last week in his first loss of the season. On that night, it was one critical pitch in the fifth inning that cost Pettitte the game — a curveball that Ben Zobrist hit for a two-run double. But on Monday, it was a series of bad pitches. In his worst start of the season, Pettitte gave up 7 runs and 10 hits in four and a third innings against the Astros, the only other major league team he has played for. He came into Monday’s game with a 2.22 E.R.A. But too many of his pitches were up in the strike zone, away from the intended target and easy prey even for the young Astros. His breaking balls had little bite and seemed to roll tantalizingly in front of their hitters, who sprayed them to all fields. Houston catcher Carlos Corporan had a two-run double in the first and a two-run homer in the fifth against relief pitcher Adam Warren. Corporan collected four hits, a career high, and reached base five times, the last on Eduardo Nunez’s error in the ninth. Barnes, the right fielder, had three hits and three runs batted in, both career highs. Astros starter Lucas Harrell held the Yankees to one run and eight hits, struck out four and walked one in what he said was a statement game against one of the iconic teams of his new league. “As a kid, you watch baseball and you see the Yankees and the Red Sox,” Harrell said. “It’s the big stage. The media’s bigger here. You want to show well. Today was one of those days I wanted to show, hey, the Astros — we can play with anybody.” On a night when Pettitte did not have his best pitch, they certainly could. INSIDE PITCH Kevin Youkilis had a magnetic resonance imaging test on his sore back Monday that was negative, Joe Girardi said. Youkilis was scheduled to have an epidural to relieve the pain, and Girardi said the Yankees would soon decide whether to place Youkilis on the 15-day disabled list. ... Austin Romine, called up to replace the injured Francisco Cervelli, made his season debut and went hitless and was hit by a pitch in the abdomen.


Phoenix Area Rattled by Booby-Trapped Flashlights

Abstract: PHOENIX — It is a law-enforcement mystery with bizarre overtones: flashlights dropped in seemingly random places that explode whenever someone tries to turn one on. Three have been found since last month here and in suburban Glendale, causing only minor injuries so far, and countless other false alarms have prompted robust responses. The most recent, on Wednesday evening, spurred the authorities to shut an entire city block on the edge of downtown until the flashlight spotted there was deemed to be just a flashlight. It lay in the middle of the street for about an hour, a beam of light illuminating the asphalt in front of the Phoenix Police Department headquarters on Washington Street. Prank or provocation? Nefarious test run or tasteless fun? “These devices are meant to hurt somebody,” said Sgt. Brent Coombs of Glendale, just northwest of the city, where the first detonations occurred. Whatever the motive, these improvised explosive devices — as the authorities here will tell you, that is exactly what they are — have tried the investigative abilities of police officers and federal agents. Lacking decisive clues, they have not been able to find the person behind the crime. But they say one thing is certain: “There’s no indication whatsoever that this is any act of terrorism,” assured Thomas G. Mangan, a spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The first explosion happened on May 13 in southern Glendale, after a woman turned on a flashlight she had found behind a tree while taking a walk. The next day, on the other side of town, a flashlight hissed and then blew up in the hands of a landscaper who had found it while installing sprinklers in a yard. The Salvation Army has suspended donations of flashlights in the region since one exploded on May 24 inside a bin at a distribution center here. In all, five people have been injured, the authorities said. Wednesday’s flashlight was different. It was on, while all the others were off. It was black, while the others were bright yellow. It had no handle, and unlike those that had exploded, it was not an Eveready. The bomber has not issued threats, left notes or followed a recognizable pattern, Mr. Mangan said. It is almost as if the bomber dropped the flashlights at the easiest or most convenient place, giving little or no thought to the location, he said. A.T.F. agents have been left, then, to sift through the bombs’ components — materials like 9-volt batteries and wires — trying to trace their origin. They have interviewed vendors throughout the region and called national distribution centers, Mr. Mangan said, in case someone recalls a suspicious transaction. There is a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest. Though tips have been phoned in to the police in Phoenix and Glendale, as well as to the A.T.F. and the Federal Bureau of Investigation here, “we really don’t have anything substantial that has moved us forward, nothing tangible, really, to help us solve this case,” Mr. Mangan said.


3 Freed Americans Leave Iran; U.S. Places New Sanctions

Abstract: VIENNA — With three Americans long held in Iran flying to Europe on Sunday, President Obama urged young Iranians to “pursue a new path” with the West as he imposed modest new sanctions on the country for banned missile tests. The images of long-delayed freedom and Washington’s double-edged message underscored the uncertainties about the long-term implications of a dizzying 48 hours of diplomacy between Washington and Tehran that yielded a mutual prisoner release. It had hints of a budding era of détente. But there were clearly forces in both capitals arguing against any form of cooperation. By the end of the weekend, the three Americans — a Washington Post reporter, a former Marine and a pastor — were at an American air base in Germany undergoing medical examinations, almost home after languishing in Iran’s worst prisons. The Iranians, for their part, were trying to adjust to a new world in which they were free to sell their oil around the world, but at prices far lower than they had anticipated, and to reconnect with a global financial system that had been closed off to them while they were expanding their nuclear infrastructure. The Iran Nuclear Deal – A Simple Guide A guide to help you navigate the deal between global powers and Tehran. And it was unclear how they would spend upward of $100 billion in newly unfrozen funds — on long-delayed social welfare projects, or on the proxy wars that have expanded Iranian influence. Mr. Obama also announced the resolution of another argument between Tehran and Washington that dates to the Iranian revolution, this one over $400 million in payments for military equipment that the United States sold to the shah of Iran and never delivered when he was overthrown. The Iranians got their money back, with $1.3 billion in interest that had accumulated over 37 years. But perhaps the most notable part of Mr. Obama’s statement on Sunday was its absence of triumphalism and its warning that problems with Iran over ideology, Syria and regional ambitions were not over. “This is a good day,” Mr. Obama said. “We have a rare chance to pursue a new path, a different, better future that delivers progress for both our peoples and the wider world. That’s the opportunity before the Iranian people. We need to take advantage of that.” Image The Swiss airplane that brought three American prisoners freed from Iran after landing in Geneva on Sunday. Credit Denis Balibouse/Reuters It mirrored the words of Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, who, at a news conference in Tehran, wondered aloud whether the United States would take advantage of the opening. He did not mention the prisoner release or the dismantling of a nuclear infrastructure that Iran had spent billions building up. “This success is the result of resistance, integrity, unity and linkage between different branches and pillars of the system,” he said. “Everybody is happy except the Zionists, the warmongers who are fueling sectarian war among Islamic nations, and the hard-liners in the U.S. Congress.” With critics of Mr. Rouhani saying that the latest sanctions reveal Washington’s true stripes, and elections looming in Iran, Mr. Rouhani has to make the case that his outreach to the United States brought tangible economic benefits. With Republican presidential candidates denouncing the prisoner release, Mr. Obama has to make the case that his decision to negotiate created a channel of communication that is in America’s interest. On Sunday, he took a swipe at his critics, recalling Iran’s seizure of Navy boats and sailors last week . “When our sailors in the Persian Gulf accidentally strayed into Iranian waters,” he said, “that could have sparked a major international incident. Some folks here in Washington rushed to declare that it was the start of another hostage crisis.” Instead, he said, a few phone calls were made and the United States “secured the release of our sailors in less than 24 hours.” Image Members of Iran’s Parliament kissed Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, during a legislative session on Sunday after international sanctions against Iran were lifted. Credit Abedin Taherkenareh/European Pressphoto Agency Mr. Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry, who orchestrated the events over the weekend, decided several weeks ago to delay the imposition of sanctions against Iranian companies and individuals for two missile tests, one in October and another in November, that had violated United Nations resolutions. Mr. Obama had vowed to continue to apply non-nuclear sanctions, even after last summer’s nuclear agreement was signed. But State Department officials worried that the prisoner release would be imperiled if the sanctions were announced before the swap was arranged. “We didn’t know how big the risk was,” one senior official said. “But it wasn’t trivial.” While the appearance of the back-to-back sanctions announcements — lifting nuclear sanctions and adding missile sanctions — might seem to suggest that Washington was merely recategorizing old penalties, they are actually not comparable. The lifting of nuclear sanctions on Saturday allowed Iran to re-enter the world’s oil markets; according to some estimates, by the end of the year its exports may increase by a million barrels a day, yielding about $30 million a day in revenue at current prices. Its ships will be able to enter and leave foreign ports, and its citizens will have access to global financial markets. Video Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, called the completed nuclear deal "one of the golden pages" of the country's history. Credit Credit Atta Kenare/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images The new sanctions are aimed mostly at individuals and some small companies accused of shipping crucial technologies to Iran, including carbon fiber and missile parts that can survive re-entry forces. Because the sanctions are focused on those individuals and firms, most Iranians will never feel them, and the penalties are comparatively tiny. The departure of three of the freed Americans — Jason Rezaian, Amir Hekmati and Saeed Abedini — came after a tense day in which the Swiss aircraft sent for them sat on the tarmac in Tehran. The main issue was the American insistence that Mr. Rezaian’s wife, Yageneh Salehi, and his mother be able to fly out with him. They were eventually allowed on the plane. Mr. Rezaian, The Post’s Tehran correspondent, was arrested in July 2014 on vague charges that included spying. The Post and news media advocates around the world defended his innocence and protested increasingly loudly about his case. “I am incredibly relieved that Jason is on his way home,” Mr. Rezaian’s brother Ali Rezaian said in a statement. He said he had received a call from Mr. Obama expressing concern for his brother’s well-being. The Iran Deal in 200 Words A short overview of highlights from the Iran nuclear pact. The fourth American freed in the exchange, Nosratollah Khosravi — whose incarceration had not been reported until the prisoner deal was announced on Saturday — was not on the plane, American officials said. He chose to stay in Tehran, where he has an apartment. A fifth American, Matthew Trevithick, left Iran on Saturday after being freed under an arrangement separate from the prisoner exchange. The family of Mr. Hekmati, 32, a former Marine incarcerated in Iran longer than any of the others, issued a statement expressing relief that he was out of Iran. “It is hard to put into words what our family feels right now,” the statement said. “Today is an incredible day for all of us.” Naghmeh Abedini, the wife of Mr. Abedini, a 35-year-old pastor from Boise, Idaho, said she had been up all night awaiting the State Department’s phone call. “They have finally left Iranian soil!” she said in a text message. In a memo on Sunday to the Washington Post staff, Martin Baron, the executive editor, and Douglas Jehl, the foreign editor, reported that they had had a brief conversation with Mr. Rezaian, who was catching up on the news reports about his release on his mother’s iPad. “Asked how he was doing,” the memo said, he responded, “I’m a hell of a lot better than I was 48 hours ago.”

Iran
Barack Obama
Missiles and Missile Defense
Political prisoner
Nuclear weapon
State Department
Embargoes Sanctions
US
Hassan Rouhani