New York -- Iran's Missile Tests Send a Message

After yesterday's test firings of nine missiles, Iran test-fired another round of missiles this morning. Iran's state radio says these were medium and long-range missiles including some with what it calls "special capabilities." Whatever that means. 

If it means capable of carrying nuclear weapons, this would be extremely threatening to several American allies,including Israel. Last month, Israel carried out a large military exercise widely seen as a signal that it was prepared to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. What's goes on here?

A reporter asked, "Are we any closer to a military confrontation with Iran?"

No, I don't think so," U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.

"The reality is that there's a lot of signaling going on, but I think everybody recognizes what the consequences of any conflict would be," Gates said.

Iran says that among the missiles it has test-fired is a new version of the Shahab-3, which they say has a range of 1,250 miles. Weapons experts like John Pike of Global Security.org understand what that message is.

"It's ideally suited for attacking targets in Israel.  It's got just the range you'd need for it," John Pike, GlobalSecurity.org said.

But a message is all it is, says Karim Sadjadpour of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"To an extent, all of this is a PR game:  each side sending, flexing its muscles and showing the other side what it's capable of..." Sadjadpour said.

As for U.S. policy?

"We in the Administration are fully committed to diplomacy with regard to the Iranian nuclear issue." William Burns, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs testified yesterday of Capitol Hill.

"We view the use of force as an option that's on the table, but as a last resort.  And no one underestimates the potential consequences of that kind of an option." Burns said.

Airlines Ask Customers To Help Curb Oil Spectators

The airlines in this country, overwhelmed by the staggering cost of jet fuel, are trying to recruit their customers as allies.

"We are asking the customers to engage themselves in an issue that not only affects their travel --- the price they pay --- but their everyday lives." David Castelvetter, Air Transport Association said.

"We'll have tens of millions of e-mails sent to frequent travelers, and we hope we get a fairly large response from those travelers," Castelvetter said.

The e-mails, signed by the CEOs of 12 airlines, ask help in leaning on Congress,"we're asking Congress to take action now, not wait --- bring down the price of fuel, bring down the price of oil by stopping speculators from artificially driving up the price of oil," Castelvetter said.

Here's what the airlines are doing.

"We're asking Congress to take action to stop the speculation that's driving fuel prices up," Castelvetter said.

And here's why they're doing it.

"The U.S. aviation industry will have a fuel bill this year of 61-point-two billion dollars.  That's 20 billion dollars more than in 2007," Castelvetter said.

And it's killing them.

"You see the carriers are making very painful announcements of laying off employees and reducing service --- and the economy will suffer greatly as the airline industry is forced into reducing its service," Castelvetter said.

It won’t solve all their problems, but --- "If we stop this increase in the price of oil and we can return the industry to profitability, it allows them to grow their capacity, not reduce it," Castelvetter said.

The election isn't until November.

"We think that if Congress takes action now, stops the speculation, we can begin this process of reducing the price of fuel by as much as 30 to 60 dollars per barrel," Castelvetter said.

What do you say? 

How Food Can Keep The Brain Healthy

My mother used to tell my brother and sister and me that fish was "brain food."  She also used to give us a spoonful of cod liver oil every day. It tasted just awful, but that was supposed to be "brain food," too. Mom had no knowledge, no special training --- but it was folk wisdom more than 70 years ago that these things were nourishing for the brain.  

Is there really such a thing as "brain food"? Is there anything we can eat or anything we can do that will make our brains work better?   

Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a professor of neurosurgery and physiological science at UCLA, has compiled a new review of the latest research --- and the answer is "yes." Folk wisdom isn't always wise, but it was in this case. Gomez-Pinilla says food "is like a pharmaceutical compound that affects the brain --- and Omega-3 fatty acids positively affect the expression of several molecules related to memory and learning."  

What do you know, Mom was right!

Eating too much, especially of the wrong things like junk food, puts excess calories into your body --- which, according to Dr. Gomez-Pinilla, can reduce the flexibility of the synapses of the brain.  

Controlled meal skipping or intermittent caloric restriction can protect the brain from the damage done by free radicals.  Antioxidants like blueberries seem to be beneficial for the brain's molecules, he says. 

You know, in the summer when we were kids, we used to pick blueberries from our grandparents' back yard in Marshfield, Massachusetts. Maybe that's why we're so smart! 

Dr. Gomez-Pinilla goes on to say that sleep and exercise are also important to the brain. Do I get enough sleep? No! Do I get enough exercise? No, not enough. Maybe that's why sometimes I'm not so smart!

The point is that the brain is definitely affected by what we do and what we eat. 

"Sleeping Over" With Voting Machines in Ohio

We talk about the presidential election as if it were one thing. It's actually 50 things. The federal government doesn't run the election; the states do. And the traditions, rules and procedures are different from one state to another.  

Sometimes that turns out to be important, especially when it's a very close election. One state can decide who gets to live in the White House, by throwing the Electoral College --- and therefore the presidency --- to one candidate or another.  

The State of Ohio is now reconsidering a plan to prohibit poll workers from taking machines home with them in the days leading up to Election Day, a practice known as "sleepovers." 

The Secretary of State of Ohio wanted to scrap voting machine "sleepovers" because of security concerns, but county election officials complained bitterly. And now, her office says if security precautions are taken, the voting machine "sleepovers" may be permitted again this November.  

"Sleeping over" with a voting machine doesn't sound very attractive to me. They're not very soft and cuddly.  

But so-called "sleepovers" with touchscreen voting machines are prevalent in Ohio, and are sometimes used in counties that use paper ballots, too. Poll workers can pick up the voting machines and other equipment --- such as memory cards --- in the days before the election, and then take them to the polling locations on Election Day.  

Keith Cunningham, the past president of the Ohio Association of Election Officials, says that without the "sleepovers," counties would have to hire a company to distribute the machines --- and that would cost thousands of dollars that they can't afford.  

One poll worker took a machine home for safekeeping and voted on it there. Cunningham says, "You've got two choices:  you're either going to have a machine unattended at a polling place for a few days. Or  you're going to have a machine in the hands of a poll worker. Pick your poison."