Tuesday, May 8, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Hanging by a thread

After surviving three “no confidence” motions in the Israeli parliament yesterday, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is clinging to power for now. Will the blame for last year’s war in southern Lebanon cost him his job? Dr. Karen Petersen, political science, says the more pressing issue might be the fate of Kadima, Olmert’s party. “With the blame extending from the Prime Minister down to the Minister of Defense and perhaps to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Olmert’s cabinet is badly damaged,” Petersen says. “Israeli society is already politically fragmented with 12 parties represented in the Knesset and Kadima with a slim plurality. The Winograd report (a commission’s assessment of the war and the mistakes made) may serve to rally the opposition and end Kadima’s reign.”

Contact Petersen at 615-494-8662.
kpeterse@mtsu.edu

North and south

When it comes to science, many of us don’t know which end is “up.” But Dr. Preston MacDougall, chemistry, definitely knows “north” from “south.” “Below its Curie temperature—named after Mr. (Pierre) Curie, not Mrs. (Marie)—a permanent magnet has north and south poles,” MacDougall says. “If you break it into pieces, each of the pieces will still have north and south poles. Positives can be separated from negatives, but there has never been a north without a south. Theoretical physicists still debate whether it is even possible.” What is certain is that a magnetic material that is heated past its Curie point will lose its overall magnetism because the alignment of the atoms responsible for the magnetism will become distorted.

Contact MacDougall at 615-898-5265.
pmacdoug@mtsu.edu

Turkish tension

Turkey’s parliament yesterday gave initial approval to electoral reforms sought by the ruling AK party. Dr. Sean Foley, history professor and Middle East expert, says tensions between Islamic and secular visions of Turkey grew after the AK party won the 2002 elections for Turkey’s national assembly. “The party championed Turkey’s Islamic identity, but also sought strong ties with Washington, economic reform and liberalization, and Turkish membership in the European Union,” Foley says. What ramifications could this have for the U.S. relationship with Turkey, an important ally? “Washington, which is seeking to stabilize Iraq with the help of the nation’s neighbors, may not receive as much assistance from Turkey as U.S. officials had hoped,” Foley says.

Contact Foley at 615-904-8294.
sfoley@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

WE PAWS FOR THIS MESSAGE OF INTEREST.--MTSU’s Office of Student Organizations & Community Service will present the second annual See Spot Run at 8 a.m. Saturday, May 12, on campus. The 5K run/walk will give humans and their canine companions a chance to exercise at the same time. All proceeds, including entry fees, admissions, and sponsorships, will go to Habitat for Humanity. The goal is to raise the $50,000 necessary to sponsor a “blitz build,” an intensified construction effort, on campus. The entry fee is $15 before May 1 and $20 thereafter. Entry fees include T-shirts to the first 250 participants. Registration will begin at 6:30 a.m. on race day at Peck Hall. Also, registration is available at http://www.mtalumni.com or 615-898-5812.