National News from Muncie Free Press

WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Department of State has launched the first Information Technology Intern Exchange program. The Iraq Information Technology (IT) Intern Program is the first IT exchange program bringing six Iraqi information technology professionals to work and study in the U.S. from January 24 to April 27.

The six Iraqi technology interns will spend 12 weeks working with some of the leading technology firms in the country, acquiring critical IT and entrepreneurial skills that they will use to help develop the technology industry in Iraq.

Among the leading companies participating in the pilot program are AT&T, Howcast, Mercy Corps, Engine Yard and Blue State Digital. During the 12-week internship program, the interns will meet with government officials, visit such leading universities as the University of California-Berkeley, Stanford University, the University of Maryland and develop hands-on experience at leading companies such as Google and Twitter.

The Iraq Information Technology Intern Program was created as a result of a Tech Delegation visit to Iraq in April 2009, and was announced at the U.S. Iraq Investment Conference, held in Washington DC on October 20-21, 2009.

MARYLAND - Researchers at the National Institutes of Health and other institutions discovered last week the third in a sequence of genes that accounts for previously unexplained forms of osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), a genetic condition that weakens bones, results in frequent fractures and is sometimes fatal.

The newly identified gene contains the information needed to make the protein Cyclophilin B. This protein is part of a complex of three proteins that modifies collagen, folding it into a precise molecular configuration, before it is secreted from cells. Collagen functions as molecular scaffolding that holds together bone, tendons, skin and other tissues.

Most types of osteogenesis imperfecta result from a dominant mutation in collagen itself, requiring only one copy of the mutated gene to bring about the disorder. Osteogenesis imperfecta involving the Cyclophilin B gene is a recessive trait, requiring two defective copies of the gene to cause the disorder.

"The discovery provides insight into a previously undescribed form of osteogenesis imperfecta," said Alan E. Guttmacher, M.D., acting director of NIH’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). "The advance also provides new information on how collagen folds during normal bone formation, which may also lead to greater understanding of other bone disorders."

The finding was published online January 20, 2010 in the New England Journal of Medicine. The investigation involved a collaboration between researchers at the NICHD, led by Dr. Joan Marini, and the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. There, Dr. Cathleen Raggio diagnosed the children in the study as having a novel form of OI. In addition, researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle and the NIH's National Human Genome Research Institute also took part in the study.

The NIH’s National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases estimates that in the United States a minimum of 20,000 and possibly as many as 50,000 people are affected by osteogenesis imperfecta (http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Bone/Osteogenesis_Imperfecta/default.asp). About 85 percent of all OI cases are caused by mutations in the genes that contain the information needed to make collagen.

In the current study, the researchers determined that a 12-year-old boy and his 4-year-old sister had mutations in the gene for Cyclophilin B. The children’s parents were immigrants from Senegal, consanguineous (blood relatives) and were living in New York. Although the children's bones were brittle and highly susceptible to fracturing, they did not have shortening of the upper portion of limbs (rhizomelia) seen in the children with mutations in CRTAP and P3H1.

Proteins must be carefully folded into distinct configurations needed to function. Dr. Marini explained that a previous study concluded that Cyclophilin B was essential for folding collagen into its final form. In the current study, however, she and her coauthors found that the collagen from the two children was folded into its usual configuration, strongly suggesting that Cyclophilin B is not uniquely involved in its role in collagen folding, and that another, currently unknown, protein must also be involved.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

MIAMI, FL - The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Dolphin interdicted 630 pounds of marijuana Tuesday December 8, 2009, while on patrol in the Caribbean Sea.

The Dolphin crew conducted a boarding of an 18-foot, Florida-registered pleasure craft about nine miles west of Bimini, Bahamas, and located 12 duffel bags and three trash bags filled with bricks of marijuana.

The Dolphin crew transferred the marijuana, the suspected smugglers and their boat to the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Chandeleur.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is investigating the case.

The Dolphin is an 87-foot patrol boat homeported in Miami.

The Chandeleur is a 110-foot patrol boat homeported in Miami.

After being shuttered due to censorship threats, A Soldier's Perspective returns as a leading blog for candid military commentary.

CHESTERFIELD, MO - Cat5 Commerce, a niche online retailer, has acquired A Soldier's Perspective, a top military blog currently at the epicenter of a controversial free-speech battle.

Master Sgt. C.J. Grisham, one of the first and most prominent military bloggers, has sold the rights and domain name for A Soldier's Perspective to Cat5 Commerce in an attempt to keep the blog running under new ownership. Grisham, an active-duty U.S. Army non-commissioned officer, has candidly shared personal opinions and stories on the blog since its launch in December 2004.

"I'm pretty happy with the fact that Cat5 Commerce is going to continue to maintain the integrity and traditions of A Soldier's Perspective," said Grisham, who has received numerous awards during his service, including a Bronze Star. "It's encouraging to have the backing from a company like Cat5, which will help to move the site forward and possibly reach an even wider audience."

After a dispute involving Grisham and his children's school PTA, which he documented on the blog, and an investigation from the U.S. Army's Office of the Inspector General, Grisham announced that he was shutting down A Soldier's Perspective.

"As a firm believer in first amendment rights, I found C.J.'s situation to be compelling and astonishing," said Chad Weinman, Cat5 Commerce President. "We will do everything in our power to preserve this tremendous outlet he created."

Grisham and other blog contributors have vowed to return to A Soldier's Perspective and continue to share personal experiences, adding to the ongoing online conversation about military developments. With no major changes planned, Cat5 Commerce will maintain and support A Soldier's Perspective as an uncensored platform where active-duty soldiers and veterans alike can voice their opinions.

"The followers of ASP as well as new readers can be confident that the quality and style of writing will not change as a result of new management," Grisham adds. "I hope to be able to come back and continue writing for ASP."

Source: Press Release

Des Moines, Iowa - Hon. Randall T. Shepard, Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, has been selected as the recipient of the Sixth Annual Dwight D. Opperman Award for Judicial Excellence.  Chief Justice Shepard was chosen by a three-member panel: Hon. Judith S. Kaye, former Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals; Justice Ronald Robie, California Court of Appeal-Third Appellate District; and Judge Frederic Rodgers, Gilpin Combined Courts, Colorado. The award will be presented in early 2010.

Chief Judge Kaye, chair of the selection panel and last year's Opperman Award recipient, said of Chief Justice Shepard, "He is a shining star of the American justice system, the pride of lawyers and judges--especially State Court judges--in and well beyond Indiana, and an example of the success of the great objectives of the American Judicature Society."In his nomination letter, Hon. John G. Baker, Chief Judge of the Indiana Court of Appeals, said of Chief Justice Shepard: "[he] makes those of us from Indiana proud to be Hoosiers."

Chief Justice Shepard, a seventh-generation Hoosier, started his judicial career in 1980 as a judge of the Vanderburgh Superior Court in his hometown of Evansville, Indiana.  He was appointed to the Indiana Supreme Court in 1985 and was named Chief Justice eighteen months later at the age of 38, then the youngest chief justice in the nation.  He is a graduate of Princeton University and Yale Law School and earned an LL.M. from the University of Virginia School of Law. 

Chief Justice Shepard has authored more than 850 majority opinions and has taught and lectured at Yale Law School, New York University School of Law, and Indiana University School of Law at Indianapolis.  He is recognized as a national authority on judicial ethics and legal professionalism.  Among his leadership roles at the national level, he has served as President of the Conference of Chief Justices and the National Center for State Courts, Chair of the Appellate Judges Conference of the American Bar Association, and Chair of the ABA Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar.  In addition to leading the state courts of Indiana for more than two decades, he has been an active force in historic preservation, state and local government reform, and improvement of children and family services.  He has received numerous national awards for his work to promote professionalism and diversity in the legal profession and to educate the public about the role of the courts.

The American Judicature Society (AJS) created the Opperman Award to honor state trial and appellate judges for distinguished judicial service.  The award is named for Dwight D. Opperman, former chairman and CEO of West Publishing Company. Opperman is a former AJS vice president, director, and executive committee member and currently serves on the AJS Board of Directors as a Distinguished Lifetime Director.

COB BASRA, IRAQ - Few things put a smile on a Soldier's face faster than getting a care package during a deployment.

For Soldiers, these boxes are a reminder of home, a wanton luxury, a treasure chest filled with cookies and cakes and treats.

While many boxes come from family and friends, some boxes hail from unfamiliar addresses, from men and women back home who chose to adopt and supply Soldiers they do not know.

These men and women are "care package quartermasters," home front philanthropists who mail their appreciation overseas. These postal patriots want to do what they can for Soldiers, like the women from the Good Samaritan Society Senior Center in Maplewood, Minn., who send cookies.

Anne Carson, the Good Samaritan Society Health Information Coordinator, said the residents came up with the idea.

"The residents wanted to do something for the troops," Carson said. "They threw around a few ideas before they decided to make the cookies."

These women, veritable cookie veterans, have been baking cookies for their families for many years and it was an easy switch from baking cookies for little Johnny to shipping cookies to G.I. Joe.

"They are just like grandma's cookies," Good Samaritan resident Helen Malmberg said. "We are all grandmas."

Once mailing has begun, care package quartermasters can quickly find themselves captivated with supplying Soldiers. Laurie Kate Collier, a dentist, started sending care to one Soldier and quickly found herself baking for six, including the author of this article.

"They know me very well at the post office," Collier said.

Sending cookies is not as simple as just baking and folding and stamping, Collier said. Care package quartermasters must gently prepare their gifts for warzone conditions, a task that includes "making sure the custom forms are correct, packing the boxes so the items don't get crushed in transit, waiting in long lines at the post office," she said.

"I had to figure out what baked items would survive the trip to Iraq because it takes a week or two," Collier says. "I went through lots of ice packs also, so the items could survive the heat."

Despite these challenges, Collier said she's "happy to make things a little better over there for the Soldiers."

"It's the least I can do to make things a little better while you all are away from home," Collier said.

Patriotism has never been so delicious.

WASHINGTON - Many of the extra 30,000 U.S. forces deployed to Afghanistan in the coming months will confront continued enemy threats in the country's southern and eastern regions, the U.S. military's senior officer told Capitol Hill legislators here today.

The principal threat to U.S., coalition and Afghan security forces "will continue to remain in the south and in the east" near the border with Pakistan, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Army Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan, will look to NATO forces to handle the bulk of operations in the north and west, Mullen said. McChrystal's main effort is in the south "That really is where he will focus most of his troops, supported by his efforts in the east," he told the senators.

McChrystal will use the 30,000 additional troops to secure key population centers, Mullen said, while taking steps to reduce civilian casualties during anti-insurgent operations and leveraging partnerships with and increasing training of Afghan security forces.

The Afghan military is slated to increase from 134,000 troops in December 2010 to 170,000 by July 2011.

"So, those are fundamental shifts to get at achieving the success that I think is possible with these additional forces," Mullen said.

Meanwhile, the improvised explosive device remains the weapon of choice of insurgent groups in Afghanistan, Mullen said, noting many of the makeshift bombs are fabricated in Afghanistan.

After his testimony before the Senate committee, Mullen appeared before the House Armed Services Committee, where he told legislators that the military would know by July 2011 whether or not the revised Afghanistan strategy was achieving the desired results.

July 2011 is a nonarbitrary date "where we will know, certainly, whether we are succeeding or not in Afghanistan with this strategy," Mullen told House legislators. About 10,000 Marines, the admiral noted, were deployed to Helmand province in southern Afghanistan last July.

After three years, U.S. authorities will "really be able to assess ... how they're doing and where this is going," Mullen said of the Marine contingent in Helmand province.

A major assessment of U.S. operations in Afghanistan will occur about a year from now, Mullen told the House committee, noting that review will look at what happened over the previous 12 months and recommend any changes or adjustments.

Mullen also saluted President Barack Obama's decision to increase U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan from 68,000 to about 100,000 service members. Obama's "decision to commit the forces is one of very, very strong resolve to turn this around," he said.

At the same time, Mullen added, the Afghan government must step up so that its soldiers and police eventually can take the lead for the country's security.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The remains of a U.S. paratrooper reported missing since early this month in western Afghanistan was recovered on November 29, 2009 according to military officials.

The body of Army Sgt. Brandon Islip was recovered from the Bala Murgahab River in Badghis province after a local Afghan resident provided information on his whereabouts, officials said.

Islip, a paratrooper with the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, went missing with another paratrooper Nov. 4 after being swept away by a fast-moving current while on an airdrop re-supply mission in western Afghanistan.

The recovery comes weeks after British divers found the body of Islip's fellow soldier, Spc. Benjamin Sherman, who was posthumously promoted to the rank of sergeant.

"The recovery of Sgt. Islip and Sgt. Sherman would not have been possible without the untiring support and efforts of our fellow international forces, the Afghan national security forces and the local people of Bala Murghab," said Col. Brian M. Drinkwine, commander of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, to which the two soldiers were assigned.

A memorial service for the two paratroopers will be held in Afghanistan in the coming days, officials said.

In other operations around the country, Afghan and international forces detained several suspected militants in Wardak province while pursuing a militant Taliban commander involved in weapons trafficking.