Smells Like Teen Spirit

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Smells Like Teen Spirit From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana, and the opening track and lead single from the band's 1991 breakthrough album Nevermind. Written by Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, and Dave Grohl and produced by Butch Vig, the song uses a verse-chorus form where the main four-chord riff is used during the intro and chorus to create an alternating loud and quiet dynamic.

The unexpected success of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" propelled Nevermind to the top of the charts at the start of 1992, often marked as the point where alternative rock entered the mainstream. "Teen Spirit" was Nirvana's first and biggest hit, reaching number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and placing high on music industry charts all around the world in 1991 and 1992.

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" received many critical plaudits, including topping the Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics' poll and winning two MTV Video Music Awards for its music video, which was in heavy rotation on music television. The song was dubbed an "anthem for apathetic kids" of Generation X, but the band grew uncomfortable with the success and attention they received. In the years since Nirvana's breakup, listeners and critics have continued to praise "Smells Like Teen Spirit" as one of the greatest rock songs of all time.

Origins and recording

In a January 1994 Rolling Stone interview, Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain revealed that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was an attempt to write a song in the style of the Pixies, a band he greatly admired. He explained:

“I was trying to write the ultimate pop song. I was basically trying to rip off the Pixies. I have to admit it. When I heard the Pixies for the first time, I connected with that band so heavily that I should have been in that band — or at least a Pixies cover band. We used their sense of dynamics, being soft and quiet and then loud and hard.”

Cobain did not begin to write "Smells Like Teen Spirit" until a few weeks before recording started on Nirvana's second album, Nevermind, in 1991. When he first presented the song to his bandmates, it comprised just the main riff and the chorus vocal melody, which bassist Krist Novoselic dismissed at the time as "ridiculous." In response, Cobain made the band play the riff for "an hour and a half." In a 2001 interview, Novoselic recalled that after playing the riff repeatedly, he thought, "'Wait a minute. Why don't we just kind of slow this down a bit?' So I started playing the verse part. And Dave [started] playing a drum beat." As a result, all three band members are credited as songwriters.

Cobain came up with the song's title when his friend Kathleen Hanna, at the time the lead singer of the riot grrrl punk band Bikini Kill, spray painted "Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit" on his wall. Since they had been discussing anarchism, punk rock, and similar topics, Cobain interpreted the slogan as having a revolutionary meaning. What Hanna actually meant, however, was that Cobain smelled like the deodorant Teen Spirit, which his then-girlfriend Tobi Vail wore. Cobain later claimed that he was unaware that it was a brand of deodorant until months after the single was released.

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" was, along with "Come as You Are," one of a few new songs that had been written since Nirvana's first recording sessions with producer Butch Vig in 1990. Prior to the start of the Nevermind recording sessions, the band sent Vig a rough cassette demo of song rehearsals that included "Teen Spirit." While the sound of the tape was wildly distorted due to the band playing at a loud volume, Vig could pick out some of the melody and felt the song had promise. Nirvana recorded "Smells Like Teen Spirit" at Sound City recording studio in Van Nuys, California with Vig in May of 1991. Vig suggested some arrangement changes to the song, including moving a guitar ad lib into the chorus, and trimming down the chorus length. The band recorded the basic track for the song in three takes, and decided to keep the second one.

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" is written in the key of F minor, with the main guitar riff constructed from four power chords (F5-Bb5-Ab5-Db5) played in a syncopated sixteenth note strum by Cobain. The guitar chords were double-tracked because the band "wanted to make it sound more powerful," according to Vig. The chords occasionally lapse into suspended chord voicings as a result of Cobain playing the bottom four strings of the guitar for the thickness of sound. Due to being neither major nor minor, the occasional use of suspended chords also allows the chord progression used in the riff to be thought of as a I-IV-bIII-bVI major chord progression. The song's chord progression has been described as "an ambiguous, harmonically dislocated sequence," and "it is the asymmetrical nature of Cobain's riff [. . .] that makes it so great." Listeners made many comments that the song bore a passing resemblance to Boston's 1976 hit "More Than a Feeling." Cobain himself held similar opinions, saying that it "was such a clichéd riff. It was so close to a Boston riff or [The Kingsmen's] 'Louie Louie.'"

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" utilizes a "somewhat conventional formal structure" consisting of four-, eight-, and twelve-bar sections that includes an eight-bar verse, an eight-bar first chorus (pre-chorus), and a twelve-bar second chorus (main chorus). Elements of the song's structure are marked off with shifts in volume and dynamics, going back and forth from quiet to loud a number of times during the length of the recording. This structure of "quiet verses with wobbly, chorused guitar, followed by big, loud hardcore-inspired choruses" became a much-emulated template in alternative rock because of "Teen Spirit."

The song begins with Cobain strumming the main riff, adding distortion when the rest of the band joins in. During the verse Cobain plays a sparse two-note guitar line over Novoselic's eighth note bassline, which outlines the chord progression. In the pre-chorus, Cobain begins to play the same two notes on every beat of the measure and repeats the phrase "Hello, hello, hello, how low?" Cobain then resumes the main guitar riff for the chorus, where the band plays loudly and Cobain screams the lyrics. The first and second choruses both end with a brief four-bar interlude where Cobain shouts "Yeah!" twice over a new riff. After the second chorus, Cobain plays a 16-bar guitar solo that almost completely restates his vocal melody from the verse and pre-chorus. The band extends the third and final verse and chorus as Cobain sings the refrain "A denial" repeatedly. At this point Cobain's vocals become strained and his voice is almost shot from the force of yelling. The song ends with the feedback of the guitar.

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" was released on September 10, 1991 as the lead single from Nevermind, the band's major label debut on Geffen Records (DGC). The song was not expected to be a hit, for it was merely intended to be the base-building alternative rock cut. It was anticipated that the follow-up single "Come as You Are" would be the song that could cross over to mainstream formats. However, campus radio and modern rock radio stations picked up on the track, and placed it on heavy rotation. Danny Goldberg of Nirvana's management firm Gold Mountain later admitted that "none of us heard it as a crossover song, but the public heard it and it was instantaneous [. . .] They heard it on alternative radio, and then they rushed out like lemmings to buy it." The video received its world premiere on MTV's late-night alternative rock program 120 Minutes, and proved so popular that the channel began to air it during its regular daytime rotation. As a result, Nevermind began to sell thousands of copies a week, culminating in the album knocking Michael Jackson's Dangerous album from the top spot on the Billboard charts in January of 1992.

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" was a critical and commercial success. The song topped the 1991 Village Voice "Pazz & Jop" and Melody Maker year-end polls, and reached number two on Rolling Stone's list of best singles of the year. The single peaked at number six on the Billboard singles chart the same week that Nevermind reached number one on the album charts. "Teen Spirit" hit number one on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, and has since been certified platinum (one million copies shipped) by the Recording Industry Association of America. However, many American Top 40 stations were reluctant to play the song in regular rotation due to its sound, and restricted it to night-time play. The single was also successful in other countries. In the United Kingdom, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" reached number seven and charted for 184 weeks. The song was nominated for two Grammy awards —Best Hard Rock Vocal Performance and Best Rock Song— though it lost to the Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Give it Away" and "Layla" by Eric Clapton, respectively. Clapton's win over Nirvana would later be named one of the 10 biggest upsets in Grammy history by Entertainment Weekly.

In the wake of Nirvana's success, Michael Azerrad wrote in a 1992 Rolling Stone article, "'Smells Like Teen Spirit' is an anthem for (or is it against?) the 'Why Ask Why?' generation. Just don't call Cobain a spokesman for a generation." Nevertheless, the music press awarded the song an "anthem-of-a-generation" status, placing Cobain as a reluctant spokesman for Generation X. The New York Times observed that "'Smells Like Teen Spirit’ could be this generation’s version of the Sex Pistols’ 1976 single, ‘Anarchy in the U.K.’, if it weren’t for the bitter irony that pervades its title," and added, "As Nirvana knows only too well, teen spirit is routinely bottled, shrink-wrapped and sold." The band grew uncomfortable with the song's success, and in later concerts often pointedly excluded it from the setlist. Prior to the release of the band's 1993 follow-up album In Utero, Novoselic remarked, "If it wasn't for 'Teen Spirit' I don't know how Nevermind would have done," and observed, "There are no 'Teen Spirits' on In Utero." Cobain said in 1994, "I still like playing 'Teen Spirit,' but it’s almost an embarrassment to play it [. . .] Everyone has focused on that song so much."

In the years following Cobain's 1994 death, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" has continued to garner critical acclaim. In 2000, MTV and Rolling Stone ranked the song third on their joint list of the 100 best pop songs, trailing only The Beatles' "Yesterday" and The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." The Recording Industry Association of America's 2001 "Songs of the Century" project placed "Teen Spirit" at number 80, above Miles Davis' Kind of Blue and The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band albums. In 2002, NME awarded the song the number two spot on its list of "100 Greatest Singles of All Time," while in 2003 VH1 placed "Smells Like Teen Spirit" number one on its list of "100 Greatest Songs of the Past 25 Years." The song came third in a Q poll that same year. Rolling Stone ranked "Smells Like Teen Spirit" ninth in its 2004 list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and described its impact as "A shock wave of big-amp purity, [it] wiped the lingering jive of the Eighties off the pop map overnight." In the 2006 VH1 UK poll The Nation's Favourite Lyric, the line "I feel stupid and contagious/here we are now, entertain us" was ranked as the third-favorite song lyric among over 13,000 voters. In contrast, Time magazine proposed in its entry for Nevermind on "The All-TIME 100 Albums" from 2006 that "'Smells Like Teen Spirit' [. . .] may be the album's worst song."

The lyrics to "Smells Like Teen Spirit" were often difficult for listeners to decipher, both due to their nonsensicality and because of Cobain's slurred, guttural singing voice. This problem was compounded by the fact that the Nevermind album liner notes did not include any lyrics for the songs aside from selected lyrical fragments. This incomprehensibility contributed to the early resistance from radio stations towards adding the song to their playlists; one Geffen promoter recalled that people from rock radio told her, "We can't play this. I can't understand what the guy is saying."[38] MTV went as far as to prepare a version of the video that included the lyrics running across the bottom of the screen, which they aired when the video was added to their heavy rotation schedule. The lyrics for the album —and some from earlier or alternate versions of the songs— were later released with the liner notes of the "Lithium" single in 1992. American rock critic Dave Marsh noted comments by disc jockeys of the time that the song was "the 'Louie Louie' of the nineties" and wrote, "Like 'Louie,' only more so, 'Teen Spirit' reveals its secrets reluctantly and then often incoherently." Marsh, trying to decipher the lyrics of the song, felt after reading the correct lyrics from the song's sheet music that "what I imagined was quite a bit better (at least, more gratifying) than what Nirvana actually sang," and added, "Worst of all, I'm not sure that I know more about [the meaning of] 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' now than before I plunked down for the official version of the facts."

"Teen Spirit" is widely interpreted to be a teen revolution anthem, an interpretation reinforced by the song's music video. When discussing the song in Michael Azerrad's biography Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana, Cobain revealed that he felt a duty "to describe what I felt about my surroundings and my generation and people my age." The book Teen Spirit: The Stories Behind Every Nirvana Song describes "Teen Spirit" as "a typically murky Cobain exploration of meaning and meaninglessness." Azerrad plays upon the juxtaposition of Cobain's contradictory lyrics (such as "It's fun to lose and to pretend") and states "the point that emerges isn't just the conflict of two opposing ideas, but the confusion and anger that the conflict produces in the narrator—he's angry that he's confused." Azerrad's conclusion is that the song is "alternately a sarcastic reaction to the idea of actually having a revolution, yet it also embraces the idea."

In Heavier Than Heaven, Charles R. Cross' biography of Kurt Cobain, the author posits the lyrics were influenced by something else besides Cobain's anger, boredom, and cynicism. Cross argues that the song is a reference to Cobain's relationship with ex-girlfriend Tobi Vail. Cross cites the line "She's over-bored and self-assured" and states the song "could not have been about anyone else." Cross backs up his argument with lyrics which were present in earlier drafts, such as "Who will be the King & Queen of the outcasted [sic] teens."

Cobain has said, "The entire song is made up of contradictory ideas [. . .] It's just making fun of the thought of having a revolution. But it's a nice thought." Drummer Dave Grohl has stated he does not believe the song has any message, and said, "Just seeing Kurt write the lyrics to a song five minutes before he first sings them, you just kind of find it a little bit hard to believe that the song has a lot to say about something. You need syllables to fill up this space or you need something that rhymes."

The music video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was the first for director Samuel Bayer, who would go on to direct videos for artists including Green Day, Metallica, and The Smashing Pumpkins. Bayer believes he was hired because his test reel was so poor the band anticipated his production would be "punk" and "not corporate."[14] The video was based on the concept of a school concert which ends in anarchy and riot. Inspiration was taken from Jonathan Kaplan's 1979 movie Over the Edge, as well as the Ramones film Rock 'n' Roll High School. Filmed on a soundstage in Culver City, the video featured the band playing at a pep rally in a high school gym to an audience of apathetic students on bleachers, and cheerleaders wearing black dresses with the Circle-A anarchist symbol. The video ends with the assembled students destroying the set and the band's gear. The demolition of the set captured in the video's conclusion was the result of genuine discontent. The extras that filled the bleachers had been forced to stay seated through numerous replays of the song for an entire afternoon of filming. Cobain convinced Bayer to allow the extras to mosh, and the set became a scene of chaos. "Once the kids came out dancing they just said 'fuck you,' because they were so tired of this shit throughout the day," Cobain said. Cobain disliked Bayer's final edit and personally oversaw a re-edit of the video that resulted in the version finally aired. One of Cobain's major additions was the next-to-last shot of the video, which was a close-up of his own face after it had been obscured for most of the video. Bayer noted that unlike subsequent artists he worked with, Cobain did not care about vanity, rather that "the video had something that was truly about what they were about."

Like the song itself, the music video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was well received by critics. Rolling Stone writer David Fricke described the video as looking like "the greatest gig you could ever imagine." In addition to a number one placing in the singles category, "Teen Spirit" also topped the music video category in the Village Voice's 1991 "Pazz & Jop" poll. The video won Nirvana the "Best New Artist" and "Best Alternative Group" awards at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards, and in 2000 the Guinness World Records named "Teen Spirit" the Most Played Video on MTV Europe.[49] In subsequent years Amy Finnerty, formerly of MTV's Programming department, claimed the video "changed the entire look of MTV" by giving them "a whole new generation to sell to." VH1 placed the debut of the "Teen Spirit" video at number eighteen on its list of "100 Greatest Rock & Roll Moments on TV," noting that "the video [ushered] in alternative rock as a commercial and pop culture force." In 2001, VH1 ranked the video fourth on its "100 Greatest Videos" list. The video has been parodied at least twice: in "Weird Al" Yankovic's music video for "Smells Like Nirvana" and in Bob Sinclar's 2006 music video for "Rock This Party (Everybody Dance Now)."

"Smells Like Teen Spirit" was first performed live on April 17, 1991 at the OK Hotel in Seattle, Washington. The performance is featured on the DVD of the 2004 boxset With the Lights Out, while shorter clips are included on the Nevermind Classic Albums DVD, as well as the documentary film Hype!. As the song's lyrics had not yet been entirely written, there are notable differences between it and the final version. For example, the first performance started with "Come out and play, make up the rules" instead of the eventual opening of "Load up on guns, bring your friends." A recording of the earlier version appears on With the Lights Out and again on Sliver: The Best of the Box. A similar early live performance of the song is found in the documentary 1991: The Year Punk Broke, filmed during a 1991 summer tour in Europe with Sonic Youth.

Nirvana often altered the song's lyrics and tempo for live performances. Some live performances of the song had the line "our little group has always been" changed to "our little tribe has always been," which can be heard on the 1996 live album From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah. Rolling Stone remarked that the Wishkah version of "Teen Spirit" "[found] Cobain's guitar reeling outside the song's melodic boundaries and sparking new life in that nearly played-out hit." A notable alternate performance of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" occurred on BBC's Top of the Pops in 1991, during which the band refused to mime to the prerecorded backing track and Cobain sang in a deliberately low voice and altered numerous lyrics in the song (for example, "Load up on guns, bring your friends" became "Load up on drugs, kill your friends"). Cobain would later claim he was trying to sound like former Smiths frontman Morrissey. The Observer stated Nirvana's performance was responsible for "Teen Spirit" entering the UK top ten the following week; when Top of the Pops was cancelled in 2006, The Observer listed Nirvana's performance of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" as the third greatest in the show's history. This performance can be found on the 1994 home video Live! Tonight! Sold Out!! and on the bootleg Outcesticide IV: Rape of the Vaults.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article, Smells Like Teen Spirit

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Confirmation Hearings on Michael Mukasey LIVE VIDEO

Update: 10/18/07 - Senate Judiciary Cmte. Nomination Hearing on Michael Mukasey to be Atty. Gen. - AM Session. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) presides over a confirmation hearing on the nomination of Michael Mukasey to be the next attorney general of the United States. 10/17/2007: WASHINGTON, DC: 2 hr. 20 min.

Senate Judiciary Cmte. Nomination Hearing on Michael Mukasey to be Atty. Gen. - PM Session Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Pat Leahy (D-VT) holds a confirmation hearing on the nomination of Michael Mukasey to be attorney general of the United States. 10/17/2007: WASHINGTON, DC: 1 hr. 50 min.

Live Confirmation Hearings on Michael Mukasey C-SPAN 3 Real Media and in Windows Media Format On Wednesday 10/17/07, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a confirmation hearing on the nomination of Michael Mukasey to be U.S. Attorney General. Live Coverage begans at 10:00 am.ET. The confirmation hearing will re-air later that night at 10pm ET on C-SPAN2 in Real Media Format and in Windows Media Format, our coverage will continue during the week as necessary. Michael B. Mukasey Biography

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State Department Daily Press Briefing, 10/15/07 VIDEO, PODCAST, TEXT

Daily Press Briefing. Tom Casey, Deputy Spokesman. FULL STREAMING VIDEO. Washington, DC. September 26, 2007, 1:42 p.m. EDT. PODCAST OF THIS ARTICLE

MR. CASEY: Okay. Well, good afternoon, everybody. Happy Monday. I just wanted to start you out -- we'll be putting out a paper version of this statement a little later today. But I just wanted to you let you know we've got a statement on Burma and the arrests of pro-democracy activists over the weekend.

The United States condemns the Burmese regime’s arrest on October 13, 2007, of pro-democracy activists, including prominent 88 Generation Student leader Htay Kywe and activists Aung Thoo, Thin Thin Aye, and Zaw Htat Ko Ko. By unjustly imprisoning organizers of peaceful demonstrations, Burma’s ruling generals continue to blatantly disregard the international community’s concerns and calls for halt to its crackdown.

We reiterate our call for the full release of political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi and others and equally importantly for a genuine dialogue between the regime and the leaders of Burma's pro-democracy and ethnic minority organizations. So with that, I'll take your questions on this or other subjects.

Sue.

QUESTION: The India nuclear deal seems to be slipping away. I wonder what is your assessment of it. It appears that the Indian Government isn't, you know, pushing as hard as it was and that the Congress seem to be sort of winning on this. Just wonder --

MR. CASEY: Well, Sue. I'll leave it to Indian officials to talk about their own internal political discussions on this. As you know, we believe that this a arrangement that is a positive one and a good one for the United States, for India and for the broader efforts of nonproliferation. Certainly, there are steps that Nick talked to you about previously that the Indian Government will need to take and that we’ll need to take on our side as well to complete this. But in terms of where people are or what discussions are or how that's proceeding within India's political system, I'm just going to leave it to them.

QUESTION: But – yeah go on.

QUESTION: I'm sure the U.S. is interested in how fast the Indian Government goes ahead with adapting IAEA safeguards and also to get the Nuclear Suppliers Group to approve the deal.

MR. CASEY: Well, those are parts of what we've talked about before. One of the things that the Indian Government needs to do on its side to implement the agreement is to work with the IAEA and establish a safeguards arrangement. On our side, we'd of course need to work out an appropriate arrangement with the Nuclear Suppliers Group. And certainly we want to see that get accomplished. But again in terms of the timing and the discussions internally within the Indian political system, I'll leave that to them.

QUESTION: But Tom, can we basically assume from what you say that the U.S. is not pushing India to have this deal done as quickly as possible, so that you can get ahead with --

MR. CASEY: Look, I think what you can assume from that is that we continue to support this agreement and I'm sure that that's the point that Nick and others make in their discussions with the Indians on it.

QUESTION: But aren't you becoming a little impatient with the Indians? I mean, you're expecting this to go through a lot more quickly? I mean, this could actually hang over until a new -- new U.S. administration as well as a new Indian administration.

MR. CASEY: Look, you know, each one of these agreements is complicated. They've got a whole variety of things associated with them. I'm not going to try and tell the Indians how to manage their own internal process on this. We certainly think this is again an arrangement that's positive for both countries and the broader international community and we'd like to see it done as soon as possible, but that's within the context of what each country has to do and has to accomplish.

QUESTION: So you're looking at this as glass half-full, versus glass half empty? It sounds as if you have a bit of -- kind of rosy sort of approach to --

MR. CASEY: As Under Secretary Burns has told you, as diplomats we are always hopeful.

QUESTION: Are you satisfied with the efforts of the Singh government so far to push the deal through and do you -- does it undermine your ability to overcome opposition in this country and Congress if the Indian partners aren't pushing as hard as they might be?

MR. CASEY: Well, again, I think they have to work their side of this. We have to work our side of this. I think we believe again that when you look at both the support that this has had here in the United States in a bipartisan way, I think we have expectation that when we get to that point, we'll be able to have a broad bipartisan support for this as well.

QUESTION: So you are or are not satisfied with the efforts of the Singh government so far?

MR. CASEY: I believe it's up to the Government of India to talk about their efforts. Again, I think we're going to continue to work on our part and we assume they're going to continue to work on theirs and it'll be done in a time that is appropriate for both sides.

QUESTION: So you don't think that the Singh Government just kind of caved into domestic pressures and --

MR. CASEY: Look, again, I’ll let other people do the Indian political analysis for you. We believe this is an important arrangement. I think it will be good for both sides, once it's implemented. And in terms of the timing and the process internally in India, I’ll just defer to the Indians on it.

QUESTION: In terms of the steps that the U.S. is taking parallel to the Indian Government in relation to the IAEA and the Nuclear Suppliers Group, what has the U.S. done in terms of these two parallel tracks?

MR. CASEY: Well, in terms of the IAEA inspections regime, that's really for the Indians to work out. That's their part of the arrangement. We of course have had continued conversations with individual members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Certainly we want to be in a position once those safeguard arrangements are in place, to make the necessary procedural changes within the Nuclear Suppliers Group so that India can be provided fuel under those terms. I think we've had a number of good conversations with some of the individual nations involved there. But again, obviously, the formal discussions as the Nuclear Suppliers Group will have to wait until this other piece is completed.

Yeah.

QUESTION: Yeah. On North Korea, it is reported unless United States remove North Korea from the list of the terrorist states, within the end of this year, North Korea does not have any intention to disable their nuclear facility. Would you comment on that, please?

MR. CASEY: Well, I think we've talked about this at length in the context of the six-party talks. Certainly, this is an issue that is going to be pursued as the disablement and the overall denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula moves forward. I certainly don't have any timeframe to offer you on that, though, beyond the strictures that are within the agreement itself.

Yeah, Libby.

QUESTION: Switching topics.

QUESTION: Libby, can I just --

QUESTION: Yeah.

QUESTION: -- the North Koreans seem to be a bit perturbed by the U.S. President's remarks at the UN General Assembly, calling North Korea -- calling Kim Jong-il's regime brutal. Do you consider the regime brutal?

MR. CASEY: I consider whatever the President's remarks are to be the President's remarks and representative of the Administration's policy and you can ask my friends at the White House about them.

Libby.

QUESTION: On Blackwater, when do you expect Pat Kennedy to be ready with a report of recommendations for the Secretary? Do you have any timeframe on that?

MR. CASEY: Well, as we've said, the Secretary told Pat she wanted this done in a matter of weeks. I would point out as I did this morning, that two of the members of Pat Kennedy's distinguished group of outside experts, General Joulwan and Ambassador Stapleton Roy arrived in Baghdad over the weekend, so we're pleased that they're there. They will be working with Pat and Ambassador Eric Boswell who has already been on the ground for a week and will be making their own assessments and adding in to it. So certainly I think we need to give them some time to be able to participate in the evaluation and make their own assessments before recommendations are ready. But again, I think it'll be in a short period of time. And the Secretary again was very clear in her instruction that this be done fairly quickly.

QUESTION: And what about this -- just another one on this -- U.S.-Iraqi Joint Commission, where is that work? And what is the ultimate sort of goal for the Commission? I mean, aren't they supposed to be coming forward with a report about what happened in the incident?

MR. CASEY: Well, no, what the commission is supposed to be doing -- again, this is a U.S.-Iraqi joint commission that was established after the September 16th incident. Certainly, they will look at any information from the various investigations that are going on into that as well as talk about any other individuals incidents that are of concern. But the primary objective of this commission is to come up with joint recommendations to both our governments, the Iraqi Government and the U.S. Government, on how we might be able to move forward in terms of being able to assure for the protection of our diplomats while at the same time making sure that all appropriate consideration is given to the protection of Iraqi lives and property.

That commission has met a couple of times, I believe. You can check with Embassy Baghdad in terms of the latest on it. And there have been a number of discussions at the working level as well. I don't have a timetable for when they intend to conclude their work. But certainly, we think it's very important that what we do in terms of our own efforts to look at this issue, as well as to investigate the individual incident, be complemented by a joint effort with the Iraqis. Because ultimately, we both share the same objective here, which is to make sure that we can do the necessary diplomatic work here and our people can be adequately protected, but at the same time that we do so in a way that's respectful of Iraqis' rights and privileges, respectful of their government and their laws.

QUESTION: If the Iraqi Government continues to push for Blackwater to have -- to get Blackwater out and to end its contract, are you prepared to phase Blackwater out or -- and phase out security contractors in general?

MR. CASEY: Well, first of all, as far as I know, there have been press reports about deadlines being set or other things. As far as I know, that's not a request or a recommendation that's been shared with us in any formal way. So I'll leave it to the Iraqis to talk about that.

In terms of our own process and procedures, look, we've got a -- we do have a number of pieces in motion here, the investigation itself, the joint commission as well as the senior-level review that Pat is leading with his outside experts. And I think we need to let them finish their work and finish their assessment before we're really going to be in a position to talk about what kinds of changes might occur. Certainly, we're going to make sure that our diplomats have the protection necessary to be able to do their work. And we're going to do so in a way that makes sure that we also can have that done in complement and in coordination with the Iraqis.

Sue.

QUESTION: Have Diplomatic Security agents started riding along with convoys? Has that all gone into place and have cameras yet been mounted on vehicles?

MR. CASEY: My understanding is that the various interim recommendations that Pat made -- specifically, sending additional DS agents to be able to ensure that there is a Diplomatic Security agent riding along in each of the convoys, the installing of cameras on each of the vehicles, the recording of the audio transmissions, the radio transmissions that go on, as well as the recording of the electronic tracking of vehicles movements -- are in train but not yet complete. I think you'll understand that there's a significant -- just logistical issue involved in making sure, for example, that you get all the cameras purchased and then actually installed and mounted.

I know DS has sent a number of additional people to Baghdad, though I believe there are still several more that need to go. As far as the recordings are concerned, I believe that's already happened but I'll check for you just to make sure.

QUESTION: So when do you think these video cameras will be mounted and all this logistical stuff cleared up? And are Diplomatic agents on each convoy? Or do you not know specifically whether they're all on each convoy? Does staffing currently allow a Diplomatic agent to be on each convoy?

MR. CASEY: Well, Sue, my answer was to try and give you some help with where the process is. But I will, in fact, check for you and find out exactly where we stand today. I am not sure what the procurement schedule is for the cameras and I'm not sure how much time it will physically take to install them on each vehicle. I'm not sure how that meshes in with the need, of course, for vehicles to continue to move out and back on a daily basis. I think you'll understand, too, that I didn't get a chance to check with DS this morning to find out exactly how many of the additional people required to meet this order is done. My basic common sense understanding is if the additional people have not been fully deployed, and if we were not in a position to have people ride along without that additional deployment, that I can't tell you for certain and I doubt that we have now been able to put ourselves in a position where there is, in fact, a Diplomatic Security agent in each and every convoy.

QUESTION: So -- I'm sorry to be dim about this but --

MR. CASEY: That's okay.

QUESTION: So in other words, Blackwater can currently go out without Diplomatic agents accompanying them if staffing levels are insufficient for you to allow that to happen?

MR. CASEY: I think it would be correct to say that if there aren't -- if there aren't people to ride along, there aren't people to ride along, yeah.

QUESTION: Tom, are these Diplomatic Security agents coming into Iraq from different posts around the world? Are they being reassigned? Are they coming from Washington? Where are they --

MR. CASEY: I don't know. I honestly don't know. I mean, they are -- we are not hiring new Diplomatic Security agents to do this. That means they are coming from somewhere else among Diplomatic Security's resources elsewhere in the world. I'm not sure whether that's being done by reassignment of folks in Washington or from elsewhere. And I -- without checking, I don't think I could really give you an assessment. My assumption is it's probably a mixture of both, but I can check for you if you want.

Yeah, Nina.

QUESTION: On to Turkey, please. Can you give us some kind of readout of the meeting that Dan Fried had with Turkish officials? What message was he carrying, that kind of thing?

MR. CASEY: Sure. Well, Dan Fried and Under Secretary of Defense Eric Edelman were in Ankara this weekend. They met with a variety of officials, the Deputy Defense Minister and the Under Secretary -- or equivalent of an Under Secretary -- in the Foreign Ministry. Their message was basically the same that you've heard us say here and that the Secretary conveyed directly to the senior leadership in Ankara previously, which is that we regret that this vote took place in the House in committee, we continue to oppose the resolution and we're going to do everything that we can to see that it is defeated once it comes to the House floor.

We've also, of course, continued to urge the Turkish Government to act with restraint in light of this vote and certainly not take any actions that would damage our overall bilateral interests or some of our broader interests in the region, including in Iraq.

I think we are pleased that so far the Turkish response has been restrained, but certainly they have continued to make sure that they make clear to us that should this vote go through and should there be passage of this resolution in the House that there will be consequences for our bilateral relationship.

QUESTION: A follow-up.

QUESTION: In what sense? Can you --

MR. CASEY: Let Nina follow-up to her question and then you can follow up on --

QUESTION: Can you elaborate no what you just said -- the consequences? What kind of consequences?

MR. CASEY: Again, I'll let the Turkish Government talk about that. I don't think anyone has spoken in real specific detail. But they've made it quite clear that this is a very serious, very difficult and emotional issue for them and that they could not anticipate a situation in which this resolution passed and there would not be an effect on our bilateral relations.

Mr. Lambros.

QUESTION: Yes, on Turkey. Mr. Casey, despite your plea for restraint even by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, according to reports, Turkish military forces fired yesterday over 250 artillery shells into areas inside northern Iraq against PKK rebels. Any comment?

MR. CASEY: Mr. Lambros, I think you can talk to the Turks and to the Iraqis about what they think did or didn't happen militarily. I know that there have in the past been incidents along the border. I'm not sure what may have happened here.

QUESTION: It was reported that Massoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani have the power to kick out PKK rebels out of Iraq in a matter of hours, but they had prevented by the U.S. Government since you are arming them up to the teeth against Iran during the upcoming attack. How do you respond to those charges?

MR. CASEY: (Laughter.) I'm not sure who’s making them, Mr. Lambros.

QUESTION: No, it's --

MR. CASEY: No, sincerely, Mr. Lambros, if someone could wave a magic wand and eliminate the PKK from northern Iraq, it would have been done by now, certainly, if we had any ability to do it. The PKK is a terrorist organization. We don't harbor, shelter or otherwise make excuses for terrorist organizations. We want to see them put out of business. We are working with the Turks and with the Iraqis to try and do what we can to respond to this threat and challenge. And again, this is something, as we've said in the past, that needs to be handled through joint effort and joint action rather than unilateral measures.

QUESTION: One more to this attack. P-J-A-K Kurdish rebels, Mr. Casey, near western Iran, during fight last Friday, with Iranian Security Forces killed one Iranian policeman and wounded seriously one Iranian soldier. Since the (inaudible) rebels have taken responsibility for this action, I'm wondering if you support the Kurdish-rebellion inside Iran in the framework of the well-known policy against the present Government of Iran?

MR. CASEY: Mr. Lambros, we support the territorial integrity of all the nations of the region. That includes Iraq and Iran and Turkey.

Yeah, Sue.

QUESTION: Turkey's cabinet asked parliament or who's -- filed a motion with parliament, asking for permission to file attacks into -- to launch attacks into Northern Iraq. And this motion, which is expected to be approved on Wednesday would be valid for a year. I just wondered whether you had any comment on that particular motion and whether you thought that this would further escalate tension?

MR. CASEY: Well, I really don't beyond what we've said before and what I said a little earlier, regardless of what happens internally in the political developments in Turkey, we would encourage the Turks to exercise restraint in how they approach this issue. Again, we don't think that unilateral steps, certainly not unilateral military steps, will get us to where we all want to be, which is to end the threat from the PKK.

Yeah, Michel.

QUESTION: Turkey.

MR. CASEY: Oh, I'm sorry. Still on Turkey?

QUESTION: Yes.

MR. CASEY: Please.

QUESTION: Okay. After all these conversations and discussions occurred during the weekend, can you say that Turkey and the U.S. are in the same track and agree what to do?

MR. CASEY: Well, I can say that Turkey and the United States have been good friends and NATO allies for a long time. And we very much believe that despite these problems that have occurred both in terms of the resolution as well as in terms of the serious issue that we all face in confronting the PKK, that we believe it's important and believe we will continue to be able to work together as friends and allies.

Michel.

QUESTION: Change of subject? Do you have any update on the P-5+1 political directors meeting in Berlin?

MR. CASEY: Yeah. Well, the P-5+1 political directors, were scheduled to get together on Wednesday. That meeting's now been postponed at the request of the Chinese and I'd refer you to the Chinese in terms of why they requested that postponement.

Yeah.

QUESTION: Can I just follow up on the -- based on your comments this morning about hoping that Mr. Putin would prod the Iranians to end their nuclear enrichment activities. In Germany, Putin basically called for patience in talks with the Iranians, saying that the same tactic had paid off with North Korea.

MR. CASEY: Well, actually the United States would agree that conversations with Iran would be a very good thing, in terms of working out a common understanding of how to end their nuclear program and the challenges and threats posed by it. And I would assume that what President Putin was referring to, though you're free to check with him, is the offer that has been on the table now from the P-5+1 for many months, which is if Iran would simply choose to suspend its uranium enrichment activities, then the United States, as well as Russia, as well as the other members of the P-5+1, would sit down with the Iranian Government and negotiate a solution to these issues -- one that would allow the Iranian people to have civilian nuclear power, but that would assure the rest of us that they weren't, in fact, using that program as a cover for a nuclear weapon.

And I would hope that whether it's President Putin or other officials from the Government of Russia or any other officials that were visiting Tehran and talking with Iranian officials that they'd convey that message to the Iranian Government that Iran has a real opportunity here to change its relations with the United States and with the rest of the International community. And all it has to do to be able to achieve that is to honor the obligations that it has not only as a member of the international community and under the NPT, but the requirements that have now been placed on it by several unanimous UN Security Council resolutions. And I would expect that since the Russian Government as part of the P-5+1 has very much been a participant in crafting those resolutions and in creating those legal obligations on Iran. I would expect that that's probably the message that Russian officials will carry when they do have those conversations.

QUESTION: But Tom, if I recollect correctly, the U.S. did not impose any conditions on North Korea before asking them to come to the six-party talks.

MR. CASEY: Well, first of all, I would note that these situations are rather different. I mean, the case of North Korea we were looking at a very different situation and one that had been dealt with unsuccessfully unfortunately through bilateral discussions between the United States and the North Korean Government. And we've built a structure through the six-party talks to be able to successfully engage North Korea. Part of that, of course, also included resolutions sanctioning the North Korean Government for some of their actions, including their test last year. Part of it also included using bilateral sanctions, both from the United States as well as other countries to continue to apply pressure on that government.

Certainly, we have a different situation and a different process set up in terms of dealing with Iran. One that involves a different group of six countries, but that's set up to do the same thing -- to pressure the Iranian Government to make the kinds of very basic steps that would allow us to have some understanding that we could have a negotiation and have one in good faith. So I think both of those simply show that the United States is very interested and very willing to work multilaterally with relevant countries and partners to be able to deal with some of these challenges that both North Korea and Iran's nuclear program represent.

Mr. Lambros, one more.

QUESTION: On Kosovo. Mr. Casey, Serb and Kosovo-Albanian officials failed to break the deadlock over the future of the status of Kosovo yesterday in Brussels. Any comment?

MR. CASEY: Well, I know there was a meeting of the troika that brought together representatives from Serbia and Kosovo for a second direct dialogue yesterday. And I know that after that, everybody in the same room meeting, there were then additional meetings of the troika separately with each side and try and work out some areas of agreement. You know, again, this is a difficult issue. But the troika is going to continue its efforts. I understand that the next meeting will be in Vienna on the 22nd and that will be followed by a increasing schedule of discussions as we move forward. As you know, the Secretary General's asked for a report from the troika on December 10th as to the status of their efforts. And we'll see how far we get. We certainly want there to be an agreement among the parties that would be acceptable to everyone. But as we've said, if there is no agreement by the 10th, then what we expect to see happen is for us to move forward, as you know, with supervised independence for Kosovo along the lines proposed by Mr. Ahtissari.

QUESTION: One more follow-up. Mr. Casey, the Serbian side presented again that useful substantial autonomy, but it was rejected immediately by the so-called Kosovar President (inaudible) Fatmir Sejdiu in Brussels. How do you see as a U.S. Government the proposal of autonomy? Since independence so far is not a solution.

MR. CASEY: Well, actually we think independence is the solution and we think independence is the solution that Mr. Ahtissari came up with after an extensive series of meetings between the sides. Look, I think the Serbians at this point are clearly stating their longstanding position on this issue. All that says to me is that we still have some ways to go in terms of negotiation on this. But I think U.S. views on this remain quite clear.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR. CASEY: Joel.

QUESTION: Tom, with the Secretary in the Middle East, Thursday is scheduled a rally by a group called One Voice. These are moderate business leaders amongst Palestinian and Jewish communities. It's a worldwide telecast. Now, part of that particular telecast has been squashed. A telecast portion from Jericho. Are you working with both sides on that? Have you been asked to intercede in any way?

MR. CASEY: Joel, what we're doing is working with Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas and the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian territories to try and help them come to some conclusion in terms of an agreement that they can bring to the broader international community at our conference in late November to be able to show that we can, as an international community, support their efforts and get us closer to what everybody wants to see which is a two-state solution that allows Palestinians and Israelis to live side by side in peace.

Thanks.

(The briefing was concluded at 2:09 p.m.) DPB # 181 Released on October 15, 2007

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stress caused by the 9/11 disaster with low birth weight

researchers have found evidence of an increase in low birth weights among babies born in and around New York City in the weeks and months after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. Writing in the journal Human Reproduction [1], they suggest that stress may have contributed to the effect.

Professor Brenda Eskenazi and colleagues studied data from birth certificates of 1,660,401 babies born in New York between January 1996 and December 2002. They divided the babies into those born in New York City (NYC) – whose mothers would, therefore, have been living closest to the disaster zone – and those born in “upstate” New York, which they defined as anyone living outside NYC, including Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester Counties.

When they compared data from babies born in the week before the disaster with those born in the week after in NYC, they found a shift in the distribution of low birth weights (LBW), with a higher proportion of babies being born weighing less than 2,000g. “Normal” birth weight is considered to be above 2,500g.

Prof Eskenazi said: “In New York City in the week after 9/11 we found there was a slightly increased risk (44%) of new-born babies weighing below 1,500g and a 67% increased risk of babies weighing between 1,500g and 1,999g compared with the three weeks before the disaster. There were no statistically significant changes in any LBW category in upstate NY, or in babies being born preterm in either location.”

However, there was non-statistically significant evidence that the increase in LBW in the first week after 9/11 was due to babies being born early. Gestational age data were provided to researchers in relatively broad categories which limited a more detailed investigation. In addition, the researchers were hampered by unreliable data on gestational age, based on last reported menstrual period, and the lack of medical reasons for LBW. “I think that the measures of gestational age on birth certificates are often not accurate, and the associations we are seeing with birth weight likely reflect shorter gestation and earlier births, rather than a reduction in foetal growth,” explained Prof Eskenazi, who is Professor of Maternal and Child Health and Epidemiology and Director of the Center for Children’s Environmental Health at the School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, USA.

Overall, moderately pre-term births (32-36 weeks) were reduced in both areas for the first month post-9/11. “We think that probably the most vulnerable foetuses were miscarried or born prematurely in that first week after 9/11, leaving behind those who were the strongest,” said Prof Eskenazi. “Another possibility is that one response to stress might be to ‘hold onto’ the foetus and to deliver later.”

At Christmas/New Year and around April/May, the researchers found another increase in the odds of LBW. These periods were when, at the time of the disaster, the babies would have been in either their first or second trimester of gestation or being conceived.

In NYC there was a 36% increased risk of babies being born weighing less than 1,500g in December 2001, and a 28% increased risk in January 2002. In upstate NY, there was a similar peak around the new year, with a 46% increased risk in January of LBW less than 1,500g. In the April/May period in NYC there was a 29% increased risk, and a 32% increased risk in upstate NY.

“We think that the increased incidence in low birth weights is mainly due to stress-initiated early deliveries. We had hypothesised that women further away from the disaster might have less stress associated with the event. We observed immediate effects in NYC, but longer-term effects both in NYC and upstate,” said Prof Eskenazi. “This may indicate that higher levels of stress are necessary to induce acute effects on birth outcome, such as early delivery with the consequent low birth weight, but that, in the longer term, women in both locations suffered stress as a result of the disaster and this is reflected in the later peaks in low birth weights.”

She said it was difficult to explain why these later peaks occurred. “It might be directly related to the disaster having occurred early in gestation, perhaps when the foetus was more susceptible to the effects of stress. Another hypothesis is that the Christmas and New Year holiday was a particularly emotional time after the disaster. The increase in very low birth weights (less than 1,500g) 33-36 weeks after September 11th suggests that exposure around the time of conception may also impact birth outcomes, although the exact mechanisms remain unknown.”

Prof Eskenazi concluded: “We have thoroughly reviewed the literature on preterm birth and low birth weight, and there is, thus far, a paucity of hard data to support the anecdotal information that women are more likely to have a spontaneous preterm birth immediately after a stressful event. Although we can't say for sure that our findings of increased births weighing less than 2,000g immediately after the events of September 11th are directly attributable to preterm delivery, we think that our results support this hypothesis and the paper supports the idea that stressful community events can impact the health of the foetus.”

[1] Low birthweight in New York City and upstate New York following the events of September 11th. Human Reproduction. doi:10.1093/humrep/dem301.

Notes: A PDF of the research paper is available immediately from Emma Mason or from 10am on Wednesday 10 October at: oxfordjournals.org/dem301.pdf

human Reproduction is a monthly journal of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE). ESHRE’s website is: www.eshre.com

Please acknowledge Human Reproduction as a source

Abstracts of other papers in ESHRE’s three journals: Human Reproduction, Molecular Human Reproduction & Human Reproduction Update can be accessed post embargo from oxfordjournals.org/eshre Papers available on request from Emma Mason.

Contact (media enquiries only); Emma Mason. Tel: +44 (0)1376 563090 Mobile: +44 (0)7711 296 986. Email: wordmason@mac.com

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Hey Technorati My Authority is not getting updated! UPDATE

Hey Technorati My Authority is not getting updated! Blogroll

Please Welcome new member Smashed Frog,

• Chapter 1 Technorati wacks Blogrolling, the rest of us are just Collateral Damage
• Chapter 2 Hey Technorati My Authority is not getting updated! Blogroll
• Chapter 3 String Theory and Technorati Forum Edicate

Smashed Frog, This Eclectic Life, Gentle and Compassionate, Faultline USA, Webtalks, The Augmented Reality, Divorced Dads Matter, Popular Fiction, Republican National Convention Blog NYC 2004, Love and Terrorism, Hi3B附設Blog, Anil Gupte's Video Blog, A Billion Monkeys Can’t Be Wrong, Threat Assessment and Management, The Preachers Wife, Amberwood Ambrosia, TIBET DZI BEADS, A Yoga Coffee Outlook, broadstuff, buensancho, Pilates & Reiki In Paradise Blog, Lines from a Floating Life, Getting Out of Debt

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Freedom Calendar 10/13/07 - 10/20/07

October 13, 1858, During Lincoln-Douglas debates, U.S. Senator Stephen Douglas (D-IL) states: “I do not regard the Negro as my equal, and positively deny that he is my brother, or any kin to me whatever”; Douglas became Democratic Party’s 1860 presidential nominee.

October 14, 1890, Birth of Dwight Eisenhower, who as President spearheaded Republican civil rights initiatives including 1957 and 1960 Civil Rights Acts; used federal troops, marshals, and Justice Dept. officials to force Democrat governors to desegregate public schools.

October 15, 1914, African-American Republican James Weldon Johnson, celebrated poet of Harlem Renaissance movement, becomes editor of leading black journal, New York Age; served as Theodore Roosevelt’s Consul in Venezuela and Nicaragua.

October 16, 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt invites Booker T. Washington to dine at White House, sparking protests by Democrats across the country.

October 17, 1989, Appointed by President George H. W. Bush, Antonia Novello becomes first woman and first Hispanic to be U.S. Surgeon General.

October 18, 1871, After violence against Republicans in South Carolina, President Ulysses Grant deploys U.S. troops to combat Democrat terrorists who formed the Ku Klux Klan.

October 19, 1956, On campaign trail, Vice President Richard Nixon vows: “American boys and girls shall sit, side by side, at any school – public or private – with no regard paid to the color of their skin. Segregation, discrimination, and prejudice have no place in America”.

October 20, 1942, 60 prominent African-Americans issue Durham Manifesto, calling on southern Democrats to abolish their all-white primaries.

“We should reach each and every one in the State, so they would all register and vote for the Republican candidates.”

Mary Terrell, African-American Republican and co-founder of the NAACP

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Presidential Podcast 10/13/07

Presidential Podcast 10/13/07 . Subscribe to Our Podcast feed or online podnova Podcast Channel and receive the weekly Presidential Radio Address in English and Spanish with select State Department Briefings. Featuring full audio and text transcripts, More content Sources added often so stay tuned.

Technorati Tags: President Bush and White House radio address or Latin American trade agreements and tariffs or Strategic Agenda Between the United States and Russia VIDEO PODCAST and Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung) and Public awareness of nanotechnology at low level PODCAST