SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS AT U.S. CHAIRMANSHIP OF THE ARCTIC COUNCIL RECEPTION

FROM:  THE STATE DEPARTMENT
05/21/2015 09:10 PM EDT
Remarks at the U.S. Chairmanship of the Arctic Council Reception
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Benjamin Franklin Room
Washington, DC
May 21, 2015

SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you very much. Well, Admiral Papp, thank you for a way over the top introduction, which I’ll take any day of the year. (Laughter.) We don’t get enough of those in public life.

I want you all to know I began sailing when I was about five years old, which was way before Jack Kennedy became President of the United States, so – (laughter) – it was no model there. It was my dad, actually, who dragged me out and let sail, crossed the ocean several times, actually, as a sailor.

I knew somehow Admiral Papp was going to get some icebreakers into that introduction, too. (Laughter.) But we need him, and I’m honored that so many coasties are here. Thank you all very much. And Navy, if you’re in there, we appreciate it very, very – whoops. What happened? Well, it’s not a sign of the times, I want you to know. (Laughter.) It rolled way out there. That’s all right. Don’t worry about it. Seriously, don’t worry about it. I have the job without that, so – (laughter).

I am really thrilled to see so many of you here. I mean that. We did not know who would respond to this sort of call to gather only a short time after the passing of the gavel in Iqaluit, and we’re deeply grateful to our friends from Canada for their great stewardship and for helping our team so much – Admiral Papp and company – to be able to do that in a seamless way and with a great deal of cooperation with respect to the agenda ahead. I know Lynne Yelich, minister at the House of Commons, is here tonight. Lynne, I don’t know where you are. Where’s your hand? But you’re representing Chair Leona Aglukkaq, and we’re very grateful to you. And thank you to Canada for all you did, and we appreciate your being here today. Thank you very much. (Applause.)

And I had a chance before we came out here to present a couple of certificates of appreciation to Susan Harper and to Vincent Rigby, who’s the chair of the Arctic officials, and we’re very grateful for their stewardship. They were really the ones who worked so closely and helped to pass that baton, and I say thank you to them.

I also want to say I talked to Foreign Minister Lavrov earlier this morning. We did talk a little about the Arctic. And he couldn’t be here because Prime Minister Abadi is in Moscow, but he is 100 percent looking forward to working with us and committed – Moscow – you all saw that they indicated they’re going to sign the treaty. And we are looking forward to that continued participation.

But I’ll tell you there is no greater test of the collegiality of this council – or, frankly, of a personal gesture of friendship and support for this effort – than the three foreign ministers who have traveled to be here all this distance, one of whom came all the way from Tel Aviv in Israel, where he was on a visit. I’m talking about the distinguished foreign minister from Norway, Borge Brende. Thank you so much for your being here and making that effort. (Applause.) The foreign minister of Iceland, Gunnar Sveinsson – they’re right here. Thank you so much for being part – raise your hand so everybody can see you. (Applause.) There you are. And my friend from Finland, who announced to me because of the change of government this will be his sort of last journey here for the moment as a foreign minister, but Erkki Tuomioja – where are you? Erkki. There he is. Thank you very, very much. (Applause.) Thanks for being here.

And we’re privileged to have our ambassador from Canada who does such a great job here, Gary Doer. Thank you, Gary, for being here. And the American ambassador to Canada, Bruce Heyman – Bruce, thank you for being here very, very much. Appreciate it. (Applause.)

I want to begin by saying that I love a man who can’t say no to serving when he’s asked to. And when I called him literally the night before he was about to retire, I didn’t know whether I was on a fool’s mission, in the sense that he already had his life planned out and he was locked in and clear where he was going to go. But what a terrific phone call that turned out to be, and what a stroke for all of us that the admiral is prepared to continue almost doing what he was doing in many ways, only with a closer, more narrowed focus, but on a focus of passion and a focus of his own heart. He is 100 percent into this, my friends. And after years – you don’t become commandant of the Coast Guard without years of extraordinary service, and now he is putting in overtime, so to speak. We’re deeply appreciative to Admiral Papp. Thank you for being our special representative to the Arctic. Appreciate it. (Applause.)

And I want to join the admiral in welcoming all of you who are here – friends from the diplomatic community, the Executive Branch, Capitol Hill. I want to introduce two senators. The senator from Maine, Angus King, is here somewhere, over there. (Applause.) Angus, thank you for being here. (Applause.) And from Alaska, the senator from Alaska, Lisa Murkowski, is here. (Applause.) And I am deeply appreciative to both of them. They have started the Arctic caucus in the United States Senate. They took the time to travel with me when we went to Iqaluit and took on the chairmanship. It helped us – I think it helped them – to get a sense of the energy and enthusiasm that exists for this enterprise. And we will need the United States Senate and the Congress, and we’re deeply appreciative for your leadership.

I also thank the folks from the private sector, from the scientific, from the academic worlds, worlds of academia who are here, especially those of you, literally, who have traveled thousands of miles to be with us this evening. And we’re very grateful you could make it.

For those of you who haven’t been here before, this is sort of the great hall of our State Department, where we are privileged to entertain foreign dignitaries or have events like this. The room was named for Benjamin Franklin, and you can see him up there on the wall above the fireplace. He had something to say about just about everything except the Arctic. (Laughter.) But there is a connection. And that is, during his storied career – and it was a remarkable career and he is really known as sort of the first diplomat, if you will, the founder of the diplomatic service – he crossed the Atlantic many times back when it was not an easy task, my friends. And if you read the history of John Adams and his young son leaving Massachusetts to sail over to become ambassador, and literally escaping a British frigate and pumping down in the hold to keep the ship afloat because it sprung a leak, this was hairy business – these guys, the way they did this.

And he loved to fill up the hours at sea by conducting experiments with water temperature. And he used the most sophisticated equipment of the era, which was a thermometer put in a bucket. And he would lower the bucket into the waves, and with help from a Nantucket sea captain who happened to be his cousin – Franklin, actually, was raised partly by an aunt on Nantucket – he became the first person to publish, as a result of his findings, a chart of what he called “a river in the ocean,” which, of course, we know as the Gulf Stream. So it’s a powerful current that affects all of our climate, including the conditions in the Arctic itself. So without knowing it – he didn’t talk about it, but he did something about it. (Laughter.)

And there is, of course, a second connection between Franklin and this reception. And that is that he liked to have a really good time, folks. (Laughter.) And he didn’t spare the booze, and while he was in Paris he led a life that clearly meant that had he lived today and been nominated, he would never have been confirmed for office. (Laughter.) Anyway, it just goes to show how the times change. (Laughter.)

So I’m not going to give a long speech. I just want to say a few words about this wonderful opportunity to take over this chairmanship, which I totally respect, is a consensus-driven structure and will stay that way, obviously, and which is really a moment of stewardship. It’s a shared responsibility. It’s a rotating chair. We get to be chair; we bring some ideas to the table, but none of them work if we don’t have the same collegiate spirit that brought these three great foreign ministers here to Washington tonight. That’s the spirit with which we approach this.

And the council is a unique body. It was established to find practical solutions to some very daunting and rapidly growing challenges, and the United States is really thrilled to take its turn in the chair with a goal of passing the baton on with all of us heading in the same direction and with a great sense of responsibility.

Our priorities include Arctic Ocean safety, security, and stewardship. It includes improved economic conditions for the living conditions of folks in the Arctic communities, and that is a critical concern – indigenous population and what development or changes in the environment might do to those folks. They’re 4 million strong living there for centuries, and believe me, they are an essential part of everything that is critical to the region.

So I begin by being very clear that every nation that cares about the future of the Arctic has to be a leader in taking and urging others to move forward with bold initiatives and immediate, ambitious steps to curb the impact of greenhouse gases.

A few minutes ago we were talking in the back room with my fellow foreign ministers about the importance of our responsibility on climate change and the difficulty of getting people in public life to link in reality to the daunting impacts that the potential catastrophe that comes with that change could bring to people. It’s hard to fathom and it’s hard to grab on, and for a lot of people it’s easier to shove it off and either pretend it’s not happening or let it – somebody else is going to take care of it.

It’s not going to work that way. And if we don’t do this, the current trends of record temperatures – almost every year is a record set ahead of the last year, and that’s true for the last 10 or 11 years. It’s not an anomaly. And we also know that the thawing permafrost, which is releasing methane, which is 20 times more damaging than carbon dioxide, has its own negative impacts, not to mention the impact on living conditions for the people who live there and rely on the frozen tundra and so forth.

Moreover, you have huge acidification that comes, and we’re seeing the increase of that acidification. And scientists are telling us there’s an impact on krill, which is critical to whales and critical to ocean life. And so the cycle itself can be broken here, once again, conceivably by the impact of human beings and the absence of wise stewardship and, in fact, sustainable development practices.

Extreme weather events, which we’re seeing more and more of – we spent about 110 billion or so last year in the United States of America for one year’s damages. I mean, you think, if you start accruing that on an annualized basis, folks, the kind of input we’re talking about in order to put out technology that could reduce those impacts or limit them altogether is miniscule compared to those damages and to what will happen as property disappears, as insurance rates go up, as whole nations like islands in the Maldives or the Seychelles or other places, in fact, are threatened by sea level rise. There’s no mystery to what any of this means.

And so we also see the loss of sea ice, meaning coastal disruptions and storm surges, and in lower latitudes the melting of the Greenland ice sheet, which has real impact because it’s currently above water, on ground. And as that water enters the ocean – or the whole ice sheet or parts of it might start to break off – you are going to see some serious impacts. So nobody can afford to be passive on this issue, and that’s what brings us to the table in this effort for these two years. The responsibility the Arctic Council has to the people who live in the region – as beautiful as it is, it is not just a picturesque landscape. It’s a home. It’s a lifestyle. It has a history. And those folks deserve as much respect for that as anybody else in any other habitat on the earth.

Over the next years, we’re going to focus on the well-being of the indigenous communities, and we’re going to take into account that the melting of the ice is now opening up the possibilities of a great deal more commercial traffic, a great deal more tourism – eco-tourism or otherwise – and a great deal more shipping, fishing, and commercial operations, particularly possibility of extraction of minerals from the ocean and the possibility of conflict as people engage in staking claims for that. So there’s a lot at stake, which is why President Obama did undertake to articulate this in the context of the Coast Guard graduation yesterday. So we have to implement the framework that we have developed to reduce emissions of black carbon and methane in the Arctic, and at the same time we have to foster economic development that will raise living standards and help make renewable energy sources the choice for everybody.

So everybody in this room is connected to the Arctic somehow. That’s what brought you here today. And I think there’s an extraordinary degree of unity of purpose in our beginnings here and in our being here. We want a region where people can live with hope and optimism for the future, where strong measures are being taken to mitigate environmental harm, where natural resources are managed effectively and sustainably, and where the challenges of economic development and social cohesion are being addressed in a creative, sensitive, responsible way. Above all, we want a region where every stakeholder has a voice and a role in making the idea of one Arctic a reality. And I want to thank each of you for the contributions that you are making to this effort and that you will make over the course of these years.

It’s my pleasure now to introduce to you somebody who has probably gained the title as the guest who came the furthest even. Forgive me. It’s only the second visit that Byron Nicholai has made to the Lower 48, as it’s called, and it’s his first to the East Coast. And the reason it’s his first is he only just turned 17 years old, folks. (Laughter.) Byron’s home is the village of Toksook Bay in Alaska, where he was a star basketball player. He was the leader of the high school drum group. And as we will soon see and hear, he also sings. And when he posted a song on Facebook, his world suddenly got a lot bigger. (Laughter.) After graduation, Byron hopes to do more traveling to teach students about his culture and hopefully to inspire them to learn more about their ancestral traditions. Tonight he is here to help us celebrate the next chapter in the work of the Arctic Council. And unity is our watchword, so please put your hands together and welcome Byron. (Applause.)

(Mr. Nicholai performs three songs.)

SECRETARY KERRY: That was wonderful. What a strong, resonant, extraordinary voice. And most importantly, thank you for really not just giving a person and a face to the Arctic, but also a voice and especially a spirit. And I think everybody here is deeply appreciative for you coming and singing. Thank you so much. Thank you. (Applause.) Have a good time, everybody.

Oh, I’ve just been handed a note. I wasn’t aware of this; I apologize. But the Swedish Minister for Research and Higher Education Hellmark Knutsson is here. Where is she? There. Thank you so much. (Applause.) Thank you very, very much. Thank you.

Folks, now you get to the Ben Franklin part of the party. Have fun.

TELEMARKETING SCAMMERS BANNED BY COURT FROM THE TELEMARKETING BUSINESS

FROM:  U.S. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Court Orders Ringleader of Scam Targeting Seniors Banned From Telemarketing
Court Imposes $10.7 Million Judgment

A U.S. district court has permanently barred the ringleader of a multi-million dollar fraud that targeted seniors from all telemarketing activities, agreeing with the Federal Trade Commission’s allegations that he illegally withdrew money from U.S. consumers’ accounts and funneled it across the border to Canada.

The summary judgment entered against Ari Tietolman and the related default judgment entered against associated U.S. and Canadian corporate entities also impose a judgment of $10.7 million.

“Callers working for Ari Tietolman lied to older people and took their money without permission,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Their actions were abhorrent. We’re gratified that the court banned Mr. Tietolman from any future telemarketing and awarded over $10 million.”

According to the evidence upon which the court based its findings, Tietolman and his associates established a network of U.S. and Canadian entities to carry out their scam. The defendants used a telemarketing boiler room in Canada, where Tietolman lives, to cold-call seniors claiming to sell fraud protection, legal protection, and pharmaceutical benefit services for $187 to $397.

The court found that Tietolman’s telemarketers deceived consumers to obtain their bank account information. Sometimes the telemarketers even convinced consumers they were affiliated with banks or government entities. The defendants then used consumers’ bank information to create checks drawn on the consumers’ bank accounts. They deposited these “remotely created checks” into corporate accounts set up by defendants in the United States, thus debiting consumers’ accounts without permission. The U.S.-based defendants then transferred the money to accounts in Canada.

The court found that these actions violated the FTC Act and the agency’s Telemarketing Sales Rule. The court found that Tietolman’s scheme caused $10,734,255.81 in consumer harm and awarded the FTC a judgment for that amount.

In addition to the monetary judgment, the court’s orders bar Tietolman and the corporate defendants from all telemarketing activities, ban them from using remotely created checks and payment orders, prohibit them from charging consumers without their express informed consent, and bar them from making misrepresentation during the sale of any goods or services.

The corporate defendants in the case include First Consumers LLC; PowerPlay Industries LLC; Standard American Marketing, Inc.; 1166519075 Quebec Inc., doing business as (d/b/a) Landshark Holdings Inc.; and 1164047236 Quebec, Inc. d/b/a Madicom, Inc.

Last month, two defendants in the scheme who were operating in the U.S., Marc Ferry and Robert Barczai, agreed to stipulated orders settling the charges against them.

The FTC would like to thank the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Centre of Operations Linked to Telemarketing Fraud (Project COLT) for their valuable assistance. Launched in 1998, Project COLT combats telemarketing-related crime and includes members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Sureté du Québec, Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal, Canada Border Services Agency, Competition Bureau of Canada, Canada Post, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Secret Service), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Since its inception, Project COLT has recovered $26 million for victims of telemarketing fraud.

CANADIAN CEO EXTRADITED IN CASE INVOLVING NEW JERSEY SUPERFUND SITE

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Monday, November 17, 2014
Canadian Executive Extradited on Major Fraud Charges Involving a New Jersey Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Site

John Bennett, a Canadian national, was extradited Friday from Canada on a charge of participating in a conspiracy to pay kickbacks and commit fraud at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-designated Superfund site Federal Creosote, located in Manville, New Jersey.  He was also charged with a related count for major fraud against the United States related to contracts obtained at the Federal Creosote site, the Department of Justice announced today.

Bennett was the former Chief Executive Officer with Bennett Environmental Inc., a Canadian-based company that treated and disposed of contaminated soil.  According to a felony indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey on Aug. 31, 2009 Bennett carried out the conspiracy by providing kickbacks to Gordon McDonald, the project manager at the Federal Creosote site, in order to influence the award of sub-contracts at the site and inflate the prices charged to the EPA by the prime contractor.  The kickbacks were in the form of money transferred by wire to a co-conspirator’s shell company, lavish cruises for senior officials of the prime contractor, and various entertainment tickets.  The department said the conspiracy began at least as early as December 2001 and continued until approximately August 2004.

The clean-up at Federal Creosote is partly funded by the EPA. Under an interagency agreement between the EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers, prime contractors oversaw the removal, treatment and disposal of contaminated soil as well as other operations at the Federal Creosote site.

Bennett arrived in the District of New Jersey, in Newark, on Nov. 14, 2014 and made his initial appearance today in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark.

“The defendant is charged with thwarting the government’s competitive contracting practices,” said Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.  “This extradition demonstrates our resolve to pursue those who undermine competition.  And it is yet another example of our longstanding cooperation with our enforcement colleagues in Canada’s Department of Justice, which helps ensure that those who subvert competition in the United States and elsewhere are brought to justice.”

The fraud conspiracy that Bennett is charged with carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  The major fraud against the United States charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine for individuals.  The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

As a result of the department’s investigation, three companies, including Bennett Environmental Inc., and eight individuals have pleaded guilty.  Bennett’s co-conspirator, Gordon McDonald, was convicted on Sept. 30, 2013, on 10 counts, including the two charges pending against Bennett.  McDonald was sentenced on March 4, 2014 to a 14-year term of imprisonment.

The investigation was conducted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Field Office, the EPA Office of Inspector General and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation with assistance from the Antitrust Division’s Foreign Commerce Section and the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs.

U.S.-CANADIAN OFFICIALS DISCUSS GLOBAL SECURITY

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Release No: NR-571-14
November 14, 2014

Readout of Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work's meeting with the Canadian Deputy Minister of Defense Richard Fadden

Deputy Secretary of Defense Spokesperson Navy Lt. Cmdr. Courtney Hillson provided the following readout:

Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work met with the Canadian Deputy Minister of Defense Richard Fadden this afternoon at the Pentagon.

Work led off the meeting by extending his personal condolences for the loss of Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent and Corporal Nathan Cirillo last month.

The two defense leaders then discussed global security challenges and their collaboration on counter-ISIL operations in Iraq. Work commended Canada for its contributions, particularly in conducting air strikes against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) targets, and the delivery of humanitarian aid to Kurdish forces in Northern Iraq.

Deputy Secretary Work and Deputy Minister Fadden also discussed the situation in Ukraine, noting their ongoing efforts to provide assistance to Ukraine and both nations' contributions to NATO reassurance measures.

Deputy Secretary Work provided Deputy Minister Fadden with an overview of the department's review of our nuclear enterprise. He highlighted that our nuclear arsenal is safe, secure, and effective and that the department is taking action to address the issues identified in the review.

They concluded the meeting by reaffirming their commitment to sustaining a strong bilateral relationship and to continue working together on issues that transverse their shared borders.

EXPORT-IMPORT BANK GUARANTEES LOAN FOR EXPORTING TRANSMISSION TOWERS TO CANADA

FROM:  U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK 

Ex-Im Bank Guarantees $21 Million Export Loan

Transaction Supports Hundreds of U.S. Jobs in Texas

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) today announced its guarantee of a $21 million revolving loan facility by Cadence Bank to Jyoti Americas LLC for the export to Canada of lattice transmission towers to be constructed by U.S. workers in Conroe, Texas.

The 220,000 square-foot Jyoti Americas manufacturing plant already employs about 159 workers. As a result of this transaction, an additional shift of skilled workers will be added to the present workforce for this export production.

“We’re pleased to support both Jyoti’s direct investment in America, and the jobs that open up when U.S. manufacturers export,” said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. “This transaction also illustrates how exporters like Jyoti Americas can get fast export credit through one of Ex-Im’s delegated-authority lenders, Cadence Bank. Ex-Im’s guarantee helped clinch the sale, and paved the way for more business and U.S. jobs.”

Jyoti Americas LLC is wholly-owned subsidiary of Jyoti Structures, Ltd., India, which directly invested $41 million to establish a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Conroe. The Texas employees will source U.S.-produced steel to fabricate up to 54,000 metric tons annually. Jyoti Americas’ customer in Canada requires electric transmission towers for the Labrador-Island Link LP, an element of the Lower Churchill Project which generates and distributes hydroelectric power to Canada’s Atlantic provinces. Jyoti Americas will design, manufacture, and test eleven different types of high-voltage towers weighing a total 34,000 metric tons.

“We are delighted to receive this support from Ex-Im Bank which paved the way for us to secure and smoothly execute this prestigious export to Canada,” said Ashok Goyal, Joint Managing Director at Jyoti. “With Ex-Im Bank’s guarantee support along with Cadence Bank’s working capital facilities, we look forward to many more such successes globally.”

READOUTS: PRESIDENT OBAMA'S CALLS WITH PRIME MINISTER ERDOGAN OF TURKEY AND PRIME MINISTER HARPER OF CANADA

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 

Readout of the President's Call with Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey

The President spoke today with Prime Minister Erdogan to congratulate him on his election as the 12th President of the Republic of Turkey and wish him well as he begins his term later this month.  The President praised the Prime Minister’s speech on Sunday and noted that as Turkey’s first directly elected President, the Prime Minister has an historic opportunity to further move Turkey forward.  The President and Prime Minister agreed on the importance of close cooperation on Syria and Iraq and the terrorist threat emanating from the region.  They also discussed ceasefire efforts in Gaza.  The President welcomed Turkey’s humanitarian aid to vulnerable Syrians and Iraqis, and both agreed on the need to ensure cooperation and such assistance continue.  They also expressed hope that a new Iraqi government will bring all communities together.

Readout of the President’s Call to Prime Minister Harper of Canada

President Obama spoke by phone with Prime Minister Stephen Harper regarding the situation in Iraq. The two leaders agreed to work with other partners in the international community to provide additional, immediate humanitarian assistance, and to continue developing options to secure the safety of the civilians on Mount Sinjar.  They discussed efforts to counter the threat posed by ISIL against all Iraqis and agreed on the need for Iraqi political leaders from all factions to put aside their differences and to form an inclusive government capable of pulling the country together.

HAGEL URGES U.S., CANADA, MEXICO WORK TOGETHER ON THREAT ASSESSMENT AND CYBERSECURITY

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Right:  Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel lays a wreath with Mexican Ministers of National Defense Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda and Adm. Vidal Francisco Soberón Sanz at the Squadron 201 Memorial in Mexico City, April 24, 2014. Hagel participated in the wreath-laying ceremony after attending the second North American Defense Ministerial trilateral meeting among defense ministers of Mexico, Canada and the United States to discuss issues of mutual importance. DOD Photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo.  

Hagel Urges Trilateral Work for Threat Assessment, Cybersecurity
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service

ABOARD A MILITARY AIRCRAFT, April 25, 2014 – At the second North American Defense Ministerial, with his counterparts from Canada and Mexico, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel urged a quick start to trilateral work on continental threat assessment and cybersecurity, and closer work among the three nations on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

The secretary also offered to host the next defense ministerial in Washington in 2016 to continue the important trilateral dialogue.

Meeting in Mexico City yesterday during his first forum with Canadian Defense Minister Rob Nicholson and Mexico’s Secretary of National Defense Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos Zepeda and Naval Secretary Adm. Vidal Francisco Soberón Sanz, Hagel observed in prepared remarks that a dynamic defense partnership that builds on successes and shared interests, and respects sovereignty concerns, will create a more resilient North America.

“Our presence here today and our commitment to advancing our defense partnership is a recognition that together we can more effectively address the complex security threats facing our countries,” the secretary said during the ministerial plenary session.

Beginning with common challenges, Hagel said the ministers should support a Canadian proposal to produce a digest of collective defense activities and policies.

Similar to an effort begun after the inaugural 2012 North American Defense Ministerial to develop an updated continental threat assessment, he added, such a digest could provide a starting point to coordinate efforts to avoid duplication and maximize scarce resources.

The initial effort to develop a continental threat assessment was a good start to identifying common threats and interests, the secretary said.

“There is merit to updating that assessment to reflect current and future threats and deepen our understanding of our security challenges. I propose that we establish a working group to provide principals an updated, non-binding, continental threat assessment within a year after this ministerial,” Hagel said. “It’s something we can assess when we next meet at the ministerial level.”

Cybersecurity is another common challenge that knows no borders, the secretary said.
Each U.S. defense institution works individually to address potential cyber threats, he said, adding that the Defense Department has worked to elevate the importance of cybersecurity in the National Security Strategy.

In its recently released Quadrennial Defense Review, the department said it would dedicate more resources to cybersecurity, Hagel noted.

“While our defense institutions do not have the lead in our respective countries for cybersecurity, we all share a common interest in [protecting] military communications,” the secretary said. “I propose that we establish a cyber working group to identify potential opportunities to work together to share best practices and lessons learned.”

On humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, Hagel said natural disasters also recognize no national borders and defense institutions provide critical support to lead civilian agencies under such circumstances.

“Each of our nations faces constrained defense budgets [but] the demand for military support to civilian agencies continues to increase as we experience more frequent and larger-scale natural disasters,” the secretary said.

“This was a key … subject of discussion at the [Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or] ASEAN Defense Ministers meeting I attended earlier this month in Hawaii. We are making important progress with our Southeast Asian partners in coordinating military responses to disasters,” Hagel told the ministers, “and I am pleased that we are beginning to do the same in our hemisphere.”

Recalling relief efforts after Hurricane Mitch in 1998, the 2010 Haiti earthquake and the 2004 Indonesian 9.1-magnitude earthquake whose Indian Ocean tsunami killed as many as 230,000 people, the secretary said these natural disasters demonstrate the challenges any one country faces in trying to meet enormous demands for humanitarian assistance in the wake of such events.

The capabilities and experience militaries collectively bring in response to natural disasters can’t be overstated, he added.

“I would like to see our three countries work more closely together in the area of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief,” Hagel said.

“We should commit to focusing attention on developing our capacity to coordinate, with a goal of maximizing our resources,” the secretary added. “This is an area that would benefit from establishment of a permanent working group tasked with identifying areas of cooperation and implementing coordination protocols as we move forward.”

During their meetings, the ministers agreed with a working group determination that combating transnational crime at the strategic level is best addressed by the security group under the North American Leaders Summit process.
But, Hagel said, “We need to ensure that coordination at the tactical and operational levels continues.”

A Canadian proposal to establish and serve as the initial chair of a permanent secretariat was an important step toward institutionalizing the North American Defense Ministerial, Hagel said.

As members of a regional organization, the secretary said, the ministers should work individually to strengthen hemispheric forums such as the Organization of American States’ Inter-American Defense Board, an international committee of defense officials who develop collaborative approaches on defense and security issues facing North, Central and South American countries, and the Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas, created in 1995 to provide a forum of debate for Northern Hemisphere countries.

“The upcoming October conference of defense ministers in Peru will address hemispheric defense cooperation in key areas such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, search and rescue, and military health,” Hagel added.

After the meeting, in comments to the press, Hagel said, “These kinds of dialogues and conferences are important for many reasons but especially important it gives the ministers themselves an opportunity to personally exchange ideas and thoughts about our world, about our common interests and about our common challenges.”
The secretary said he and the other ministers have tasked their defense agencies to go forward and put together plans and programs based on initiatives agreed to during the meeting.

After the ministerial, Hagel joined Zepeda and Sanz at a somber wreath-laying ceremony for some of the 250,000 Mexican citizens who served in the U.S. armed forces during World War II.

The memorial to El Escuadron 201 in Mexico City's Chapultepec Park celebrates the 36 experienced combat pilots and the 250 or so electricians, mechanics, radiomen and armament specialists who made up the ground crew of Mexican Fighter Squadron 201, called the Aztec Eagles, who fought alongside U.S. troops in the last months of World War II in Europe.

The squadron left Mexico for the United States in July 1944 and received five months or more of training at facilities around the country. It was the first time Mexican troops had been trained for overseas combat.

The 300 volunteers of the Aztec Eagles were attached to the U.S. Army Air Forces 5th Air Force's 58th Fighter Group during the liberation of the main Philippine island of Luzon in the summer of 1945.

The pilots flew P-47D "Thunderbolt" single-seat fighter aircraft, carrying out tactical air-support missions, according to a 2003 American Forces Press Service article and interview with former Aztec Eagles pilot, retired Mexican air force Col. Carlos Garduno, who said the pilots flew close-air support missions for American and Filipino infantry troops on the ground.

The Aztec Eagles flew 59 combat missions, totaling more than 1,290 hours of flight time, participating in the allied effort to bomb Luzon and Formosa, now Taiwan, to push the Japanese out of those islands.

Immediately after the wreath-laying ceremony, Hagel told a press gathering that the memorial is “a pretty special monument to a country that participated with the allies, with the United States, in World War II.”

He added, “[It was] a brave thing that Mexico did. The service rendered, represented by this memorial, should be remembered.”

The secretary said he was honored to be part of the ceremony and shared a personal connection to the Aztec Eagles and their service to the nation.
“I know what memorials mean to countries and how they reflect their history and their sacrifices, Hagel said. “In fact, the 201st … that represented the expeditionary force of Mexico was attached to an Army Air Corps unit in the Pacific that my father served in, in World War II, with the 13th Army Air Corps.
“So I have some family and special recognition as to what this unit meant and also a personal appreciation,” he continued. “And on behalf of the United States I want to thank the country of Mexico for their contributions to all of our efforts in World War II.”

DEFENSE SECRETARY HAGEL WANTS TO STRENGTHEN TIES WITH CANADA AND MEXICO

FROM:  THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, left, greets Canadian Defense Minister Robert Nicholson before meeting in Mexico City, April 23, 2014. Hagel will attend a defense ministerial conference with Mexico, Canada and the United States before traveling to Guatemala. 

Hagel Looks to Strengthen Ties With Canada, Mexico.
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service

MEXICO CITY, April 24, 2014 – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel met here last night with Canadian Defense Minister Rob Nicholson, ahead of today’s North American Defense Ministerial conference, which brings together the defense leaders from the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The conference is the second since 2012, when Canada hosted the first North American defense ministers meeting, and on the flight here, Hagel told reporters traveling with him that it’s important to keep the momentum going.
“Every time we meet,” he said, “we add muscle and sinew --substance -- to what we’re doing and what we could be doing.”

Hagel said the defense ministerial arose from President Barack Obama’s attendance in February in Toluca, Mexico, with Mexican President Pena Nieto and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper at the North American Leaders Summit. There, the leaders discussed their vision for a prosperous and secure future for North American citizens and a shared commitment to work together to realize that vision. The leaders announced initiatives by the three countries to enhance competitiveness in the global economy, expand opportunities for North American citizens, and promote peace, security and development through multilateral action.
The secretary said his visit here would focus on the importance of the region and specific relationships within the region -- in particular, the trilateral relationship among the United States, Mexico and Canada.

“I don't think over the years we've done enough to reach out to our Latin American partners, partly because we suffer from a pretty good relationship,” Hagel said. “The places that get most of the attention around the world are the trouble spots.”
A senior defense official traveling with the secretary said the focus on the North American trilateral relationship “is the defense component of what we're trying to do in the [Western] Hemisphere -- drawing the United States, Mexico and Canada closer together as three partners.”

“We've always had very strong bilateral relationships with both countries, and it's not meant to supplant those … relationships, but we're trying to leverage the capabilities of all three countries,” the official added.

And because the three nations share threat perceptions and interests in so many places in the region and increasingly around the world, the defense official said, the focus on the trilateral partnership is an effort to build on those shared interests.
The official said the defense ministers would meet in several different kinds of meetings, large and small. Though the trilateral conference involves three countries, four ministers will attend the meetings, because in Mexico, two government ministries are directly responsible for national defense: the Mexican National Defense Secretariat, shortened as SEDENA in its Spanish acronym, and the Navy Secretariat, SEMAR.

Hagel’s counterparts in Mexico are Secretary of National Defense Gen. Salvador Zepeda Cienfuegos and Naval Secretary Adm. Vidal Francisco Soberon Sanz, and the secretary will meet with them for the first time today.

These military officers hold Cabinet rank and have regular and direct access to the Mexican president, who also is supreme commander of the armed forces.
Hagel has met with his Canadian counterpart several times, the defense official said, most recently in February during a NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels.

When the two leaders met here today, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said, they discussed a range of issues of mutual concern, including the situation in Ukraine, recent developments in the Asia-Pacific region, and common security challenges in the Western Hemisphere.

During the 30-minute meeting, Kirby added, both Hagel and Nicholson “expressed eagerness to discuss in more detail ways in which all three nations can work more closely together to deal with the threats posed by criminal networks, cyberattacks and natural disasters.”

Hagel also thanked Nicholson for his leadership and for Canada's strong contributions to the NATO alliance, the press secretary said, including the International Security Assistance Force mission in Afghanistan.

The senior defense official characterized Hagel’s visit here as a great opportunity to establish relationships with partners in the Western Hemisphere and to continue to work with Mexico on the bilateral relationship with the United States.
“The Mexicans are our regional partners, regional leaders, and increasingly, in the world they're becoming more of a global player,” the defense official said.
“The relatively new president of Mexico made quite a splash on the world scene, and he's got big challenges at home with the economy,” he added, “but he's an impressive leader, and President Obama had a good meeting with him a couple of months ago.”

As indicated by the potential sale of 18 Black Hawk helicopters by the United States to Mexico, as announced this week by the State Department, the Mexicans are interested in acquiring a range of U.S. capabilities, the official said.
The potential Black Hawk sale is a high-visibility request by Mexico, he added, “but we are talking to them about a range of capabilities that they are interested in, … like our assistance in their own security.”

“There are partnership things we can do and things we can do together,” he added, “but they also want to acquire their own capabilities, and we're interested in helping.”

When Hagel leaves Mexico, he’ll travel to Guatemala to meet with defense and government leaders.

U.S. & ALLIES WILL NOT ATTEND G-8 SUMMIT IN SOCHI, RUSSIA

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 

The Hague Declaration

1. We, the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission met in The Hague to reaffirm our support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.

2. International law prohibits the acquisition of part or all of another state’s territory through coercion or force.  To do so violates the principles upon which the international system is built.  We condemn the illegal referendum held in Crimea in violation of Ukraine’s constitution.  We also strongly condemn Russia’s illegal attempt to annex Crimea in contravention of international law and specific international obligations.  We do not recognize either. 

3. Today, we reaffirm that Russia’s actions will have significant consequences.  This clear violation of international law is a serious challenge to the rule of law around the world and should be a concern for all nations.  In response to Russia’s violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to demonstrate our determination to respond to these illegal actions, individually and collectively we have imposed a variety of sanctions against Russia and those individuals and entities responsible.  We remain ready to intensify actions including coordinated sectoral sanctions that will have an increasingly significant impact on the Russian economy, if Russia continues to escalate this situation. 

4. We remind Russia of its international obligations, and its responsibilities including those for the world economy.  Russia has a clear choice to make.  Diplomatic avenues to de-escalate the situation remain open, and we encourage the Russian Government to take them.  Russia must respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, begin discussions with the Government of Ukraine, and avail itself of offers of international mediation and monitoring to address any legitimate concerns.

5.  The Russian Federation’s support for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine is a step in the right direction.  We look forward to the mission’s early deployment, in order to facilitate the dialogue on the ground, reduce tensions and promote normalization of the situation, and we call on all parties to ensure that Special Monitoring Mission members have safe and secure access throughout Ukraine to fulfill their mandate.

6.  This Group came together because of shared beliefs and shared responsibilities.  Russia’s actions in recent weeks are not consistent with them.  Under these circumstances, we will not participate in the planned Sochi Summit.  We will suspend our participation in the G-8 until Russia changes course and the environment comes back to where the G-8 is able to have a meaningful discussion and will meet again in G-7 format at the same time as planned, in June 2014, in Brussels, to discuss the broad agenda we have together.  We have also advised our Foreign Ministers not to attend the April meeting in Moscow.  In addition, we have decided that G-7 Energy Ministers will meet to discuss ways to strengthen our collective energy security.

7.  At the same time, we stand firm in our support for the people of Ukraine who seek to restore unity, democracy, political stability, and economic prosperity to their country.   We commend the Ukrainian government’s ambitious reform agenda and will support its implementation as Ukraine seeks to start a new chapter in its history, grounded on a broad-based constitutional reform, free and fair presidential elections in May, promotion of human rights and respect of national minorities.

8. The International Monetary Fund has a central role leading the international effort to support Ukrainian reform, lessening Ukraine's economic vulnerabilities, and better integrating the country as a market economy in the multilateral system.  We strongly support the IMF's work with the Ukrainian authorities and urge them to reach a rapid conclusion.  IMF support will be critical in unlocking additional assistance from the World Bank, other international financial institutions, the EU, and bilateral sources.  We remain united in our commitment to provide strong financial backing to Ukraine, to co-ordinate our technical assistance, and to provide assistance in other areas, including measures to enhance trade and strengthen energy security.

U.S., CANADA AND MEXICO DISCUSS ANTITRUST ENFORCEMENT

FROM:  JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Thursday, February 13, 2014
U.S., Canada and Mexico Antitrust Officials Participate in Trilateral Meeting in Washington to Discuss Antitrust Enforcement

The heads of the antitrust agencies of the United States, Canada and Mexico – Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, Chairwoman Edith Ramirez of the Federal Trade Commission, Canadian Commissioner of Competition John Pecman and President Alejandra Palacios Prieto of the Mexican Federal Competition Commission – met today in Washington, D.C., to discuss their mutual efforts to ensure continued effective antitrust enforcement cooperation in our increasingly interconnected markets.

The discussions covered a wide range of topics, including recent enforcement developments, cooperation and mutual support, and priority setting and efficiency in resource constrained environments.

“Working with our antitrust colleagues across both United States borders to ensure effective antitrust enforcement is good for businesses and consumers,” said Assistant Attorney General Baer.  “The department values its close law enforcement relationships with Canada and Mexico, and I look forward to our continued efforts to work together to combat anticompetitive activity.”

The meetings build on the foundations laid by the 1995 antitrust cooperation agreement between the United States and Canada, the 1999 agreement between the United States and Mexico and the 2001 agreement between Canada and Mexico.  The agreements commit the antitrust agencies to cooperate and coordinate with each other to make their antitrust policies and enforcement as consistent and effective as possible.

The three nations also are parties to the North American Free Trade Agreement, which includes a competition chapter that provides for cooperation among them in antitrust investigations.

CDC NOTES HISTOPLASMOSIS OUTBREAK IN QUEBEC WHEN OLD HOUSE RENOVATED

FROM:  CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION 

Histoplasmosis Outbreak Associated with the Renovation of an Old House — Quebec, Canada, 2013

Weekly

January 3, 2014 / 62(51);1041-1044

On May 19, 2013, a consulting physician contacted the Laurentian Regional Department of Public Health (Direction de santé publique des Laurentides [DSP]) in Quebec, Canada, to report that two masons employed by the same company to do demolition work were experiencing cough and dyspnea accompanied by fever. Other workers also were said to be ill. DSP initiated a joint infectious disease, environmental health, and occupational health investigation to determine the extent and cause of the outbreak. The investigation identified 14 persons with respiratory symptoms among 30 potentially exposed persons. A strong correlation was found between exposure to demolition dust containing bat or bird droppings and a diagnosis of histoplasmosis. Temporary suspension of construction work at the demolition site in Saint-Eustache, Quebec, northwest from Montreal, and transport of the old masonry elements to a secure site for burial were ordered, and information about the disease was provided to workers and residents. To prevent future outbreaks, recommendations included disinfection of any contaminated material, disposal of waste material with proper control of aerosolized dust, and mandatory use of personal protective equipment such as gloves, protective clothing, and adequate respirators.

Histoplasmosis is an infectious disease caused by inhalation of spores produced by the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum (HC) (1,2). The organism can be excreted by bats and birds in their droppings and can persist in the environment for several years (3). Pulmonary infection sometimes causes symptoms typical of pneumonia (e.g., dyspnea, fever, and thoracic pain). The incubation period varies ranges from 7 to 21 days. Renovation of old houses that have sheltered colonies of bats has been associated with histoplasmosis resulting from worker exposure to aerosolized spores of the fungus (4–6). Disseminated histoplasmosis is a rare form of the infection that can be fatal, even if properly treated.

On May 19, 2013, a consulting physician contacted DSP to report that two masons employed by the same company were experiencing cough and dyspnea accompanied by fever. Other workers were also reported to be sick. A joint infectious disease, environmental health, and occupational health investigation was initiated by DSP. The objectives of the investigation were to describe the demolition work, the workers, and other persons involved, and the medical history of persons who became ill, to determine the extent and cause of the outbreak.

Initial questioning revealed that the two workers became ill 48 hours earlier. Because of the severity of the symptoms, both patients were referred to the emergency department of a Montreal tertiary-care center. One of the two patients was hospitalized. Further investigation revealed that during May 18–20, 2013, six masons were evaluated in the emergency department for similar symptoms, and two were hospitalized. All the masons had recently carried out demolition of the exterior walls of a century-old brick house and had seen a large quantity of dried bird or bat droppings behind the bricks. The demolition work was reported to have caused a cloud of dust in the immediate environment. Given the history of exposure to droppings, the diagnosis of histoplasmosis was considered.

The investigation led to the identification and questioning of the 30 persons believed to have been exposed to HC from work-site debris during April 29–May 14, 2013. Those 30 included 21 men and nine women, with a mean age of 39 years (median: 30.8 years, range: 16–77 years). A standardized questionnaire was used to record symptoms and determine potential exposures. Half of the exposed person were workers: six masons who demolished the brick walls, four bricklayers, one debris sorter working for a container company from outside the Laurentian region who picked up the demolition debris and transported it to a sorting site away from the demolition site, two other debris sorters from the same company who cleaned the bricks, and two metal workers from a third company who carried out repairs to the roof eaves. The other 15 persons included the homeowner and his wife, who lived on the ground floor of the house, and two tenants living upstairs; three visitors who walked around on the site for 10–90 minutes; and eight neighbors.

Of these 30 persons, 14 experienced respiratory symptoms: six masons, three debris sorters, the two residents on the ground floor, the two neighbors whose bedroom faced the demolition site, and one of the visitors to the site (Table). These 14 persons consulted a physician. Two workers were hospitalized. Symptoms began to appear during May 2–17, with a peak occurring May 13–17 (Figure). In order of frequency, the symptoms were dyspnea (100%), chills (86%), headaches (86%), sweating (79%), chest pain (79%), asthenia (79%), fever (71%), cough (71%), myalgia (57%), nausea (43%), diarrhea (36%), erythema (29%), abdominal pain (14%), and vomiting (14%). The average duration of respiratory symptoms was 12.6 days (median: 13.5 days; range: 5–20 days). All the symptomatic persons recovered without any specific treatment for histoplasmosis.

A clinical case of histoplasmosis was defined as the presentation of at least four of the following symptoms: dyspnea, chest pain, cough, fever, chills, sweating, asthenia, or myalgia, with onset during April 30–May 19, 2013, in a person exposed to the demolition site or involved in the handling of demolition debris during April 29–May 14, 2013. A confirmed case was defined as a case meeting the clinical case definition plus detection of HC antigen in a serum or urine specimen. All of the 14 persons who had respiratory symptoms met at least the clinical case definition. Hospitalized patients underwent radiologic investigation, in conjunction with blood and microbiologic analysis, to rule out other viral, bacterial, or fungal infections, including legionellosis and tuberculosis.

A diagnosis of histoplasmosis was confirmed for the two hospitalized masons through a positive serum and a positive urinary HC antigen test. The diagnosis for the two debris sorters was confirmed by a urinary HC antigen test. Five of the other 11 workers received a clinical diagnosis of histoplasmosis resulting from exposure to the same material as the confirmed cases, the presence of compatible clinical manifestations and chest radiographs demonstrating abnormalities. Among the 15 residents, visitors, and neighbors, the illnesses of five were considered clinical cases of histoplasmosis.

Exposure was categorized as high in persons who directly manipulated contaminated material during the demolition, transportation, or debris removal, and in persons who lived in the house during the renovation. If not present during those activities, persons were considered to have experienced low exposure.

Among the 13 persons categorized as having been highly exposed, 11 experienced symptoms, compared with three of 17 persons with a low level of exposure (relative risk = 4.8, 95% confidence interval = 1.7–13.7) (Table). Simply being present during the demolition (April 29–May 1) was also strongly associated with infection. Of 23 persons present, 14 experienced symptoms, compared with none of the seven persons exposed after demolition (relative risk = ∞, 95% confidence interval = undetermined; p<0.005).

The recommendations made by DSP consisted of temporarily suspending any further construction work and informing the workers and the residents about the disease. The risk for additional contamination from the house's environment was assessed. The old bricks from the demolition debris were contained and buried underground at a secure site. The debris around the house was removed by workers before involvement of DSP. The house's surroundings were washed by heavy rains during the following days. The Laurentian Regional Occupational Health and Safety Commission also made recommendations to the employers concerning similar work in the future: communicate health risks to workers and insist on preventive measures, particularly the constant use of a respirator. Although the masons were provided with respirators, they wore them intermittently because of the hot weather; respirators were not made available for the three debris sorters.

Reported by

André Allard, FRCPC, Denise Décarie, MD, Jean-Luc Grenier, MD, Marie-Claude Lacombe, MD, Francine Levac, MD, Laurentian Regional Dept of Public Health, Saint-Jérôme, Québec, Canada. Corresponding contributor: Jean-Luc Grenier, jean-luc_grenier@ssss.gouv.qc.ca, 

Editorial Note

A wide range of activities have been associated with histoplasmosis outbreaks: construction, maintenance, renovation, excavation (4–6); caving (7); school activities or day camp (8); search for treasure (9); and agricultural activities (10), among others. The common variable inherent in these activities is the exposure to bird or bat droppings (1) or contaminated soil.

When buildings, particularly old houses, have previously sheltered colonies of bats or birds, appropriate measures should be taken before starting renovation work to protect the health of persons in and around the area.

In this investigation, the confirmation of a diagnosis of histoplasmosis for debris sorters who did not work at the demolition site but handled contaminated materials away from the site demonstrates that the radius of exposure might be greater than expected. As a result, protective measures should be recommended to all workers who might be exposed to contaminated material.

The findings in this report are subject to at least two limitations. First, a conservative approach to risk assessment was adopted by including persons such as residents of the house in the high exposure scenario, and by including clinical cases that could be related to an etiology other than histoplasmosis. Second, the small number of persons involved in this outbreak limits the power of analysis and the conclusions that can be drawn from the investigation. Moreover, the even smaller number of symptomatic persons who were tested for HC antigen reduces the specificity of the diagnosis. Despite these limitations, the high relative risk shows a strong correlation between demolition dust exposure and the onset of disease.

This outbreak highlights the importance for employers to understand the health risks associated with renovation of old houses in areas where bats or birds roost. Employers should also be made aware of the recommended health measures for their workers, such as wearing a respirator (1).

Acknowledgments

Bruno Cossette, Linda Montplaisir, Francine Veilleux, Laurentian Regional Dept of Public Health, Saint-Jérôme, Québec, Canada.

References

1. Public Health Agency of Canada. Histoplasma capsulatum: pathogen safety data sheet-infectious substances. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Public Health Agency of Canada; 2011. Available at http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/lab-bio/res/psds-ftss/histoplasma-capsulatum-eng.php.
2. McKinsey DS, McKinsey JP. Pulmonary histoplasmosis. Semin Respir Crit Care Med 2011;32:735–44.
3. CDC. Histoplasmosis. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2013. Available athttp//www.cdc.gov/fungal/histoplasmosis.
4. Fernandez Andreu CM, Martínez Machín G, Illnait Zaragozi MT, Perurena Lancha MR, González L. Outbreaks of occupational acquired histoplasmosis in La Habana province. Rev Cubana Med Trop 2010;62:68–72.
5. Anderson H, Honish L, Taylor G, et al. Histoplasmosis cluster, golf course, Canada. Emerg Infect Dis 2006;12:163–5.
6. Huhn GD, Austin C, Carr M, et al. Two outbreaks of occupationally acquired histoplasmosis: more than workers at risk. Environ Health Perspect 2005;113:585–9.
7. Lyon GM, Bravo AV, Espino A, et al. Histoplasmosis associated with exploring a bat-inhabited cave in Costa Rica, 1998–1999. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2004;70:438–42.
8. CDC. Notes from the field: histoplasmosis outbreak among day camp attendees—Nebraska, June 2012. MMWR 2012;61:747–8.
9. Corcho-Berdugo A, Muñoz-Hernández B, Palma-Cortés G, et al. An unusual outbreak of histoplasmosis in residents of the state of Mexico. Gac Med Mex 2011;147:377–84.
10. CDC. Outbreak of histoplasmosis among industrial plant workers—Nebraska, 2004. MMWR 2004;53:1020–2.

What is already known on this topic ?

Histoplasmosis outbreaks can occur when demolition work produces dust containing bird or bat droppings.

What is added by this report?

During the renovation of an old house in Quebec, Canada, 14 of 30 workers and residents exposed to dust from bird or bat droppings experienced respiratory symptoms consistent with histoplasmosis. Of the four persons whose infection was laboratory-confirmed, two were hospitalized. Illness was highly correlated with exposure to dust during demolition of the exterior walls, and with the handling of contaminated debris away from the work site.

What are the implications for public health practice?

Employers need to provide the appropriate protective equipment and reinforce to employees the necessity of applying protective measures during demolition work, including when handling debris away from the work site.

NGX NOW PERMITTED TO PROVIDE MEMBERS IN U.S. WITH DIRECT ACCESS TO TRADING SYSTEM

FROM: U.S. COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION

CFTC Issues Order of Registration for the Natural Gas Exchange Inc.

Washington, DC — On May 2, 2013, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued an Order of Registration to the Natural Gas Exchange Inc. (NGX), a foreign board of trade located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Under the Order, NGX is permitted to provide its identified members or other participants located in the U.S. with direct access to its electronic order entry and trade matching system. The Order is the first issued by the Commission pursuant to Part 48 of the Commission’s regulations, which provide that such an Order may be issued to a foreign board of trade that possesses, among other things, the attributes of an established, organized exchange and that is subject to continued oversight by a regulator that provides comprehensive supervision and regulation that is comparable to the supervision and regulation exercised by the Commission. NGX submitted an application for registration that included, among other things, representations that NGX and its regulatory authority, the Alberta Securities Commission, satisfy the requirements for registration set forth in regulation 48.7. Commission staff, in reviewing the application, found that NGX has demonstrated its ability to comply with the requirements of the Act and applicable Commission regulations thereunder. Accordingly, the Commission granted NGX an Order of Registration to permit NGX to provide direct access, subject to the terms and conditions specified in the Order, to its identified members or other participants located in the U.S. The terms and conditions applicable to the Order include, among others, that NGX shall comply with the applicable conditions of registration specified in Commission regulation 48.8 and any additional conditions that the Commission deems necessary and may impose, and that NGX shall fulfill each of the representations it made in support of the application for registration. NGX has operated in the U.S. as an Exempt Commercial Market (ECM), under then current section 2(h)(5) of the Commodity Exchange Act, since November 5, 2002, and has been registered as a derivatives clearing organization since 2008.

BAFFIN ISLAND OVERFLIGHT BY P-3B

FROM: NASA
IceBridge Flight Over Baffin Island

IceBridge closed out the fourth week of its Arctic campaign with a flight over the striking landscape of eastern Greenland's Geikie Peninsula and a survey of a Canadian ice cap before taking two days off over the weekend. Soon the mission will return to Thule to finish up Arctic flights for 2013.

The morning of April 12, 2013 saw the P-3B take off for a flight to the west, across the Davis Strait to Canada's Baffin Island. This island, the largest one in Canada, is home to an ice formation known as the Penny Ice Cap. This mission was a repeat of airborne surveys by the ATM and radar teams flown in 1995, 2000 and 2005, and added new survey lines along ICESat ground tracks. Previous airborne surveys showed the ice cap thinning and glaciers retreating in the area and the April 12 mission aimed at measuring several glaciers in the area to see how much the Penny Ice Cap has melted in recent years.

The image captures ice covered fjord on Baffin Island with Davis Strait in the background. Image Credit-NASA-Michael Studinger

TOP LAW ENFORCEMENT FROM U.S. CANADA, NEW ZEALAND, THE UNITED KINGDOM AND AUSTRALIA MEET

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Attorney General Eric Holder was in Ottawa today for meetings with Attorneys General and Justice Ministers from Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Australia.

Today’s meeting of the Quintet of Attorneys General was the fourth to be held since the inaugural Quintet meeting in the United Kingdom in 2009 and the first to be hosted in Canada. The Attorneys General discussed legal issues of mutual interest, including cybercrime, national security and legal cooperation.

Continuing their discussion from last year’s Quintet meeting in Sydney, the Attorneys General discussed ways that law enforcement agencies could improve their ability to combat terrorism, cybercrime, and transnational organized crime — including through mutual legal assistance. The global nature of these crimes makes cooperation with our key allies a critical component of response efforts.

Discussions on cybercrime, forced marriages, digital copyright enforcement, data protection and deferred prosecution agreements were also held.

The 2012 Quintet was attended by:

• Eric H. Holder, Jr. – Attorney General, United States of America        
• Hon. Rob Nicholson P.C., Q.C., M.P. – Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada
• Hon. Chris Finlayson – Attorney General, New Zealand
• Rt. Hon. Dominic Grieve Q.C., M.P. – Attorney General, United Kingdom
• Hon. Jason Clare, M.P. – Minister for Home Affairs and Justice, Australia, representing the Attorney-General of Australia

TWO INDIVIDUALS ACCUSED OF COMMISSION RIP-OFF IN $163 MILLION DOMINICAN RESORT INVESTMENT SCHEME

Photo:  Dominican Republic.  Credit:  Wikimedia.
FROM:  U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
May 31, 2012
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged James B. Catledge and Derek F.C. Elliott, and certain of their related entities, with making material misrepresentations to investors in connection with the unregistered sale of interests in two resorts in the Dominican Republic.

The SEC alleges that Catledge, a Nevada resident, and Elliott, a Canadian citizen and resident of the Toronto area, raised more than $163 million from approximately 1,200 investors between the fall of 2004 and 2009. The securities offered, called “Residence” and “Passport” investments, represented timeshare and ownership interests, respectively, in the Cofresi and Juan Dolio resorts in the Dominican Republic

The complaint alleges that Catledge and Elliott promised investors a secure return of 8% to 12% annually on the Residence investment and 5% on the Passport investment. Investors were assured that their principal was safe, and that they would share in the projected appreciation in the value of the resorts. According to the SEC’s complaint, investor funds were not used to construct the properties, as had been represented, but instead were largely used for other purposes, including the payment of exorbitant undisclosed commissions and promised returns to earlier investors. The SEC alleges that, of the nearly $164 million raised from investors, approximately $59 million (36%) was used to pay commissions to Catledge, Elliott and several of their related entities, among others.

The SEC’s complaint seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, financial penalties, and permanent injunctive relief against Catledge, Elliott, Sun Village Juan Dolio, Inc., EMI Sun Village, Inc. and EMI Resorts (S.V.G.), Inc. to enjoin them from future violations of the federal securities laws. As to Catledge and Elliott only, it also seeks an injunction against acting as an unregistered broker-dealer. The complaint also names D.R.C.I. Trust, which was beneficially owned by Catledge, as a relief defendant in this matter.
The SEC’s investigation was conducted by staff attorney Alison J. Okinaka and senior staff accountant Norman J. Korb in the Commission’s Salt Lake Regional Office. Senior trial counsel Thomas M. Melton is leading the litigation.

The SEC acknowledges the assistance of the Ontario Securities Commission, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

TRANSCANADA SUBMITS NEW PIPELINE APPLICATION

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
New Pipeline Application Received from TransCanada
Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC
May 4, 2012
The State Department has received a new application from TransCanada Corp. for a proposed pipeline that would run from the Canadian border to connect to an existing pipeline in Steele City, Nebraska. The new application includes proposed new routes through the state of Nebraska. The Department is committed to conducting a rigorous, transparent and thorough review.

Under Executive Order 13337, it is the Department’s responsibility to determine if granting a permit for the proposed pipeline is in the national interest. We will consider this new application on its merits. Consistent with the Executive Order, this involves consideration of many factors, including energy security, health, environmental, cultural, economic, and foreign policy concerns.

We will begin by hiring an independent third-party contractor to assist the Department, including reviewing the existing Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) from the prior Keystone XL pipeline review process, as well as identifying and assisting with new analysis.

We will cooperate with the state of Nebraska, as well as other relevant State and Federal agencies, throughout the process. Nebraska has stated that their own review of the new route will take six to nine months. Previously when we announced review of alternate routes through Nebraska this past fall, our best estimate on when we would complete the national interest determination was the first quarter of 2013.

We will conduct our review efficiently, using existing analysis as appropriate.
The application will be available on the Keystone XL project website: www.keystonepipeline-xl.state.gov, and a notice that the Department has received the application will run in the Federal Register.

U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT DAILY PRESS BRIEFING

Mark C. Toner
Deputy Spokesperson
Daily Press Briefing
Washington, DC
April 18, 2012
TRANSCRIPT:
1:17 p.m. EDT
MR. TONER: Everyone, welcome to the State Department. Just quickly at the top, I do want to note that World Press Freedom Day is approaching. I’m sure it’s something you all have a date on your calendars that you all have, given your profession. And UNESCO will be hosting its annual conference in Tunis beginning on May 3rd. I believe Assistant Secretary for International Organizations Esther Brimmer will be attending that on behalf of the United States and will deliver the keynote address on May 3rd.
But every year, the U.S. Government, as you know, we mark World Press Freedom Day. This year we’re trying something a little bit different in light of the large number of journalists who have been jailed, attacked, disappeared, or forced into exile or even murdered. As part of our Free the Press campaign, we’ll be highlighting some of these freedom of expression cases on our website, which is HumanRights.gov.
Today, for example, there’s a profile of the jailed Vietnamese blogger Dieu Cay. And as the – and continuing this run-up to World Press Freedom Day, we’ll continue to roll out cases from around the world that are emblematic of the problems facing your counterparts and colleagues as they try to do their job throughout the world.

I would also note if you’re really interested in a deeper dive on this subject, Under Secretary Sonenshine, as well as Assistant Secretary Posner, gave a press conference earlier today at the Foreign Press Center, and I’m sure there’ll be a transcript available of that.

Matt. By the way, I missed you yesterday. I apologize.

QUESTION: Well, thank you for – (laughter) – the apology. I’m not sure you’re really telling the truth that you miss me, but –

MR. TONER: (Laughter.)

QUESTION: I actually don’t have anything that really warrants starting the briefing with, so I’ll defer to whoever.

MR. TONER: Okay. Shaun, you got anything?

QUESTION: Sure. Well, to begin with, in Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi, she’s going to be traveling for the first time overseas since her house arrest, to speak – going to be going to Norway and to the UK. I was wondering – presumably, the Secretary invited her during her trip last year. Are there any plans in the near future for Aung San Suu Kyi to come here?

MR. TONER: Well, Shaun, as you correctly noted, we – she certainly would always have an open invitation to carry on the dialogue that began when the Secretary was in Burma. I don’t know that there’s any plans at this time, but certainly we welcome, in fact, her ability to go out and travel to these countries and to engage in a dialogue with these governments; view it as a positive sign.

QUESTION: Sure. Could I switch topics --

MR. TONER: Sure thing.

QUESTION: -- to Sudan? Just want to see if you could have any update on Princeton Lyman’s visit there, and also a look at the developments now. President Bashir earlier today gave a speech where he was talking about the potential overthrow of the South Sudanese authorities. I think he referred to them as insects. Just what your read is on the situation and what Princeton Lyman’s been able to do, or not do?
MR. TONER: Well, as you noted, there’s a lot of unconstructive rhetoric being thrown around. We’ve also seen reports of new fighting along the Sudan-South Sudan border. Our central message is the same as it was yesterday. We continue to call for an immediate and unconditional cessation of violence by both parties, and that means we want to see the immediate withdrawal of South Sudanese forces from Heglig, and we want to see the – an immediate end to all aerial bombardments of South Sudan by the Sudanese armed forces.
Just – you asked about Princeton’s travels. He was, as you noted, in Khartoum. He has held high-level meetings with the Government of South Sudan, as I mentioned yesterday, including President Kiir, and he is in Khartoum today meeting with Sudanese officials.

QUESTION: Do you know whom he met?

MR. TONER: I don’t have a list of the officials with whom he met. I’ll try to get that for you.

QUESTION: Is he still there? Is he planning to continue his work, or is that --

MR. TONER: He’s still there for the time being. I don’t know where he’ll go from Khartoum.

QUESTION: Follow on that, please.

MR. TONER: Yeah. Sure.

QUESTION: In that rally, President al-Bashir said that his main target is now to liberate the people of Southern Sudan from the SPLM. Does that raise concerns about what you think Khartoum’s respect for that new border?

MR. TONER: Well, I mean, obviously, given the escalation of violence over the past few weeks, given the rhetoric that’s being thrown about, we’re very concerned. We continue to, as we’ve said, through Princeton on the ground as well as publicly here, call for both sides to get back to the AU process. The Secretary spoke about this a few weeks ago, where she said it’s absolutely in both sides’ interests to get back to the negotiating table to settle borders, to talk about resources, and sharing of those resources. The situation such as it is right now gains nothing for either side.

QUESTION: Could I --

MR. TONER: Yeah. Go ahead, Andy.

QUESTION: Just another one on that because, I mean, you have been making this comment for quite a while now, and yet it seems to be falling on deaf ears. Is there any backup plan or second strategy that you guys might have to try to get these guys back to the negotiating table? I mean, it seems like the Thabo Mbeki initiative isn’t going anywhere. Princeton Lyman hasn’t been able to get them to do what everyone says they should do, which is pull back. Why – I mean, isn’t there anything else that the international community can do to get this together?

MR. TONER: Well, as you know, we’ve already – we still are – have sanctions in place against the Government of Sudan. I think part of this is trying to remind both parties what there is to gain to a peaceful resolution of this conflict and these contested areas. As I just said, there’s absolutely no military solution to the present situation. We’re going to continue with the on the ground diplomacy from Princeton. I know that Mbeki was in – at the UN, I believe, yesterday where he briefed the Security Council on the situation. People are concerned about the situation there. I think they’re concerned about the escalation and fighting, but we remain engaged with both sides.
Yeah. In the back.

QUESTION: Different subject?

MR. TONER: We can go ahead with a different subject.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) from The Guardian. The story in The New York Times this morning about China and Bo Xilai. I know the State Department has said repeatedly it doesn’t discuss asylum-seeking requests, but The New York Timestoday – a few wrinkles that make it different. There’s discussion – why did the State Department or the consulate agree to cooperate with the authorities and hand him over to someone in Beijing rather than in Chengdu? Why was a discussion with the White House about the – whether this would impact on the visit with Biden?

Sorry, just a related thing. There’s also a report in the last few days suggesting that Bo Xilai’s son was taken from his apartment under escort. Was he taken into custody for his own protection or what?

MR. TONER: I’ll start with your second question first. I – we’ve had inquiries about his son. As far as we know, there’s nothing to those reports. I can recommend you contact local authorities, but as far as we know, there’s nothing to those reports. He remains at school at Harvard.

In response to your first question, I agree it was an interesting read based on anonymous sources within the U.S. Government. Obviously, I can’t speak to the credibility of any of their statements. I can only say that, as we’ve said previously, that Wang Lijun requested a meeting with U.S. Consulate General Chengdu officials in early February. That meeting was scheduled accordingly. He was there, I believe, on Monday, February 6th and Tuesday, February 7th, and left of his own volition. But I can’t talk about the contents of that meeting.

Yeah.

QUESTION: Can I follow up on that?

MR. TONER: Sure.

QUESTION: Wang Lijun – his current status and – are there any concerns about his status right now? He was taken into custody after --

MR. TONER: Well again, we don’t – we have no contact with him since his departure from the consulate. So I’d just have to refer you to the Chinese Government for any information.
Yeah, go ahead.

QUESTION: I have a Canada question, if I may.

QUESTION: Well, wait.

MR. TONER: Sure. We can stay on this topic. We’ll stay. We always finish the topic and then --
QUESTION: Okay. Sure. Fantastic.

QUESTION: Sorry. What – you can’t speak to the credibility of colleagues of yours? You’re saying that they’re incredible?

MR. TONER: I said I can’t speak to quotes from anonymous sources in a newspaper article.

QUESTION: Well, let’s not talk about their quotes.

MR. TONER: Okay.

QUESTION: Let’s talk about what they actually said. I mean, is it correct that he brought with him documents that were related to – or that you presume that the consulate employees presume to – or that he said had to do with corruption and investigation into --

MR. TONER: Again, I’m not going to get into the discussions that were held. I can only confirm that he was at the consulate in Chengdu on the dates that I just specified. I can’t get into the contents or what we discussed or --

QUESTION: There wasn’t any concern – well, there was no request for asylum?

MR. TONER: I couldn’t speak about it if it were.

QUESTION: There – is it correct that the U.S. Government does not like to give asylum to people with – who have somewhat checkered records?

MR. TONER: There’s no way for me to – I mean, asylum cases are all – follow a precise legal framework, and in fact, many of those – almost all asylum cases – speaking now globally or largely about the issue, all asylum cases, I believe, are carried out within the United States.

QUESTION: Did the Embassy actually make it – facilitate his phone call to officials in Beijing?

MR. TONER: I can’t comment on that.

QUESTION: You can’t comment because you don’t know or because you --

MR. TONER: I can’t comment on it because I don’t know --


QUESTION: Because that’s the purview of anonymous officials speaking in The New York Times.

MR. TONER: -- but it would also be within the purview of our diplomatic exchanges with another individual and a country. So we don’t need to --

QUESTION: Oh okay. So --

MR. TONER: -- talk about the substance of those conversations.

QUESTION: -- when he showed up --

MR. TONER: Or those meetings.

QUESTION: -- at the consulate, he was acting on behalf of the Chinese Government?

MR. TONER: Matt, I think I’ve gone about as far as I can on this. He came to the consulate, he requested a meeting --

QUESTION: Right.

MR. TONER: -- it was scheduled --

QUESTION: As a member of the Chinese --

MR. TONER: He was there on the dates --

QUESTION: -- Government? Or as an individual?

MR. TONER: It was in his capacity as vice mayor.

QUESTION: In his capacity as vice mayor. And you regard the vice mayor of Chengdu to be an official of the national --

MR. TONER: A local government official, yes.

QUESTION: A local government official, which is that --

MR. TONER: And again, those conversations would be confidential, absolutely.

QUESTION: Except when your colleagues speak about them to The New York Times.

MR. TONER: Again, I can’t speak to the veracity of any of the --

QUESTION: I’m just curious if you can’t speak to the veracity of them because you think that – because they’re not true, or you can’t speak to the veracity of them because you were told that you can’t speak to the veracity.

MR. TONER: Let’s try to end this line of conversation, because I don’t think it’s productive. I can’t speak to the veracity of any anonymous officials being quoted in newspapers.

QUESTION: You could speak to the veracity of what those people said, though.

MR. TONER: And I can’t speak to the substance of any of this issue – this story. I can’t talk about what was discussed in the meeting for reasons I just gave. I can only confirm there was a meeting. He left there on his own volition. We’ve not had contact with him since.

QUESTION: Did you understand that he left alone, as he came?

MR. TONER: I don’t know that.

QUESTION: Have you sought to make contact with him since then?

MR. TONER: I don’t know.

QUESTION: You don’t know.

QUESTION: Well, is it correct that the Administration believes that it has been put into a position that it was – in other words, put into a position that it doesn’t want to be in, involved in the middle of a power struggle in the Chinese Government, or the Chinese couldn’t --

MR. TONER: Well, again, that wouldn’t be – it wouldn’t be my position to comment on internal Chinese politics.

QUESTION: Well, no, I’m not asking you about internal Chinese politics. I’m asking about --

MR. TONER: I thought you were.

QUESTION: No, no. I’m saying is it correct – the statement in the story says that it’s pressed the Administration into a position that it doesn’t want to be in, that it really doesn’t want to have anything to do with power struggles and internal Chinese power struggles.

MR. TONER: Well, I’m not going to --

QUESTION: Is that correct? Do you not --

MR. TONER: To talk about some of the implications of this – that are discussed in this story would be to, I think, address the substance of the story, and I said I’m not going to get into that.
Yeah, go ahead.

QUESTION: Mark, move back to Syria?

MR. TONER: We can go to Syria.

QUESTION: Okay. Well, France has pulled for tougher sanction and Secretary Clinton will be tomorrow in Paris. First, will she join the Friend of Syria meeting? Secondly, will she propose something new in light of the new escalation on the ground?

MR. TONER: Thank you. You stole my top line, but you already heard the Secretary from Brussels said she will be attending tomorrow, Thursday, the ad-hoc meeting taking place in Paris with a group of foreign ministers to discuss next steps on Syria. I think she spoke to this; Ambassador Rice spoke to it earlier in New York, of our concern that the ceasefire is showing signs of eroding, that the other conditions laid out in the Annan plan are not being fulfilled.

That said, the Secretary was clear that she didn’t want to prejudge the success of the monitoring mission. It is moving forward. There are more monitors on the ground and there will be more in the coming days. And we’re going to look to their reporting back, as well as, I believe the Secretary General himself is going to provide a report on the monitoring mission, the scope and the size of it in the coming days.

QUESTION: Mark, just wanted to – the Secretary also said that the international community’s response to Syria is at a critical point and that --

MR. TONER: She did.

QUESTION: -- Assad can either let the monitors do their job or squander his last chance. And the question is: Or what? Squander his last chance or what happens? More expressions of outrage, or is there actually a plan?

MR. TONER: Well, I think the plan going forward – there’s going to be this meeting. We’ve always had a two-track approach to this, as you well know. We’ve – well, actually three tracks. I mean, there’s been our unilateral sanctions against Assad, but there’s also been the UN track, which we saw bear fruit with the latest Security Council resolution. And we’ve also been pursuing this Friends of Syria track and working with likeminded countries and organizations around the world.

And that’s what the goal of tomorrow is, is that she’s going to be there talking about what possible next steps we can do, undertake, to put more pressure on Assad. I think the sanctions working group met yesterday in Paris and had the chance to talk about further coordination on – and sanctions. So our basic thrust here is the same. We’re going to continue to work to implement the Annan plan, while at the same time, we’re going to continue to look at ways we can add more sanctions, more pressure on Assad as we move forward.

QUESTION: So I’m curious about --

MR. TONER: Yeah, go ahead.

QUESTION: -- your choice of words. You said the ceasefire is showing signs of eroding. Really? Showing --
MR. TONER: Is that too much passive voice? I’m sorry.

QUESTION: Well, I don’t know. No, no. Not too much passive voice. I mean, just think it’s -

PARTICIPANT: I mean, I think it’s --

QUESTION: -- because seems like it’s a total mudslide. It’s not just showing signs of erosion. It’s like it didn’t – it’s a Grand Canyon-type erosion that we’re talking about here.

MR. TONER: Well, you are correct, Matt, that we have seen a lot of violence, almost to pre-ceasefire levels throughout the past 24 hours. I think I’ve seen that 70 people were killed in Syria yesterday and today, reports that at least 24 were killed.

QUESTION: Right.

MR. TONER: I don’t mean to downplay that at all.

QUESTION: Well, I mean, isn’t – this ceasefire seems to have been an increase fire, in fact, because it doesn’t look like – I mean, things have gotten worse rather than better since it happened. So I just don’t understand why you all have any confidence that adding an additional 30 or 25 monitors in the short term and then presumably, if the Syrians even agree to it, adding another 250 or 300 is actually going to do anything. It just seems to be, to use one of your words, Pollyanna-ish to think that that’s --
MR. TONER: One of my words?

QUESTION: Yeah.

MR. TONER: In any case, look, we aren’t under any illusions here. It is very clear that the violence is beginning to return. The Secretary, Ambassador Rice both spoke to the fact that the onus is on Assad. He needs to comply with the Annan plan. He needs to take steps to meet its conditions. He hasn’t done so. Even with the ceasefire, it wasn’t enough. There are other aspects to the plan, including the release of political prisoners and access for international media and international humanitarian assistance.
There’s been no progress on any of those fronts, so we’re going to continue, as I just said to Andy, to look at Plan B or Option B, which is ways to increase the pressure on Assad as we move forward. But that said, we’re not going to prejudge the outcome of the Annan plan and this monitoring mission. If we can get 250 monitors on the ground reporting back credible information about the situation there, then that’s valuable.

QUESTION: So you don’t think that it’s already failed?

MR. TONER: I think we’re --

QUESTION: Even though it’s shown no – even though nothing – none of the conditions have been met, and one of them, the ceasefire, has actually gotten worse, not better, you don’t think that’s a sign of abject failure?

MR. TONER: I think we’re going to wait to hear back from the monitoring mission, from the secretary general, and even from Kofi Annan, but we are very concerned.

QUESTION: Because somehow, they can tell you what you don’t know already?

MR. TONER: No, Matt, but just to understand and to appreciate --

QUESTION: Because – well, I – okay, I get that you want to hear back from the guy whose plan it is, but frankly, that’s not going to be for another four or five days, right? I mean, he’s not expected to report back until at least the weekend, right?

MR. TONER: Well, it’ll be up to --

QUESTION: So that’s another four or five days that people are going to get slaughtered.

MR. TONER: Matt --


QUESTION: Am I right or am I wrong?

MR. TONER: I don’t think I’m trying to couch this in any other terms than a realistic expectation here that the ceasefire plan, as I just said, is eroding. I mean, we are very concerned about the situation there. The Secretary is going to Paris talking about next steps.

QUESTION: But I guess – my question is --

MR. TONER: Yeah.

QUESTION: My question is why not say this is --

MR. TONER: You’re saying why don’t we declare it --

QUESTION: Yeah, say, “All right, all right, we tried this one plan and it hasn’t worked. Clearly it hasn’t worked. And it’s now time to move to the next stage,” instead of waiting for another --
MR. TONER: Well, we’re not --

QUESTION: -- 150, 200 people to get killed?

MR. TONER: The bottom line is we’re not waiting. We’re going to continue to work with the Friends of Syria Group to put pressure on Assad. At the same time, we’re going to try to give the Annan plan more opportunity to work.

Yeah.

QUESTION: Did you get in touch with Moscow and exchange view with respect to this deterioration in the last 24 hours?

MR. TONER: I don’t believe the Secretary’s had any calls or contacts with Lavrov. Of course, I don’t know that – whether Ambassador Rice has spoken to her Russian counterpart in New York.
Yeah.

QUESTION: New topic, (inaudible)?

MR. TONER: Oh, sorry. Yeah, finish it (inaudible).

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

QUESTION: I just – I was wondering – and I apologize if you addressed this last week, but there was this – that German ship that’s been towed to a port in Turkey --

MR. TONER: Right.

QUESTION: -- suspected of taking Syrian arms – arms to Syria. Do you guys have anything on that?

MR. TONER: Well, we have seen these reports that you mentioned. It’s a Ukrainian charted ship that’s now in a Turkish port that is apparently or allegedly carrying munitions to Syria. If true, this would be a violation of the EU arms embargo on Syria, and any aid to the regime’s violent capacities supports the killing of innocent victims, so we want to see the – we want to see it stopped and sanctioned.

QUESTION: But you don’t have any independent reason to believe that this is (inaudible)?
MR. TONER: I don’t at this point.

QUESTION: Sorry. How is it a violation of the EU arms embargo?

MR. TONER: Against Syria.

QUESTION: I’m sorry; I don’t understand. Turkey is not in the EU and neither is Ukraine, at least the last time I checked. Why would this be a violation?

MR. TONER: Look, I think that --

QUESTION: Turkey wants to be in the EU.

MR. TONER: (Laughter.) I know that they want to be in the EU.

QUESTION: Or at least they did.

MR. TONER: I’m aware of their aspirations. I think that we are calling on all countries that are unified – and certainly, Turkey is with us on our stance against the situation in Syria – to comply with existing embargos. And we would seek in this case --
QUESTION: Well, my understanding is there is not an arms embargo on Syria, a UN arms embargo, so who is the – who would be – I mean, the Russians or whoever the Ukrainians can ship as – whatever they want without violating – I mean, EU – an EU arms embargo, to me, suggests that that means that EU countries cannot send weapons to Syria.

MR. TONER: Well, again, I think it’s a fair question. I’m not sure the legality or the – all the legal aspects to it. I think fundamentally, what we’re trying to say here is that countries like Turkey have played a leadership role in speaking out against Syria and taking action against the regime there, and what they’re carrying out should be willing to comply with this.

QUESTION: You think that the ship is owned by a German company?

MR. TONER: I think it’s owned by a German company, thank you. As you know, these – the ships also – often have a long pedigree.
QUESTION: Venezuela?

MR. TONER: No, let’s do Canada.

QUESTION: Very quickly, I’m just wondering what you can tell us about the request to transfer Omar Khadr from Guantanamo Bay to Canada, how that process will now move ahead, and why the U.S. is so anxious to get this transfer moving.

MR. TONER: Well, I can say that the U.S. Government and the Canadian Government continue to work closely to effectuate Omar Khadr’s application to serve the remainder of his sentence in Canada, which was pursuant to his plea agreement. And the first step, as you know, in this process was completed last year, which was an exchange of diplomatic notes. And those notes continue to govern this transfer. We did recently approve the transfer of Khadr to serve the remainder of his sentence in Canada, and we’ve been in regular contact with the Canadian Government on this case. We’ve worked diligently to take appropriate steps consistent with the treaty, but we’re not going to be able to give you a transfer timeline. But we’re working quickly and deliberately to close this process out.

I think your question was: Why are we working so quickly? Well, as you know, we’re working to close Guantanamo Bay, and as part of that process, we’re trying to find homes, if you will, for the remaining prisoners.

QUESTION: Just a quick follow-up: Is there any more action that the United States has to take in order for this to happen, or is it now entirely in the hands of Canada?

MR. TONER: That’s a good question. I think I’ll have to take that question, frankly. I’m not sure whether we have any more legal steps we need to take in this process.
QUESTION: Thank you.

MR. TONER: Other than, obviously, the physical transfer.
Yeah, go ahead.

QUESTION: Venezuela?

MR. TONER: Sure.

QUESTION: Yesterday the highest official in the Venezuelan Government – Eladio Aponte, supreme court – defected to the United States as serious accusations against the Chavez government – high military officials, the closest aides to Chavez on corruption and drug trafficking. How this changes the dynamic of the U.S. Government relations with Venezuela?

MR. TONER: Well, with regard to his current status and situation, I’d have to refer you to the DEA. As to the larger issue, I don’t really have any comment on the broader implications of his transfer.
QUESTION: Is there a concern about corruption and narco-traffic within the highest echelons of the Venezuelan Government?

MR. TONER: Well, again, I think we talk about our concerns. We’ve talked about them before, about our concerns about drug trafficking and corruption, frankly, in the region and the negative effects of it. But as to this case, because of its legal ramifications, I can’t really talk about any more detail.

Yeah. Go ahead, Scott.

QUESTION: Have you finished studying Argentina’s proposed nationalization of YPF? Can you give us anything on that?

MR. TONER: Well, I can give you a little bit more today, yes. I can say that we’re very concerned about the Government of Argentina’s intent to nationalize Repsol YPF. Frankly, the more we look at this, we view it as a negative development along the lines of what the Secretary said the other day, in that these kinds of actions against foreign investors can ultimately have an adverse effect on the Argentine economy and could further dampen the investment climate in Argentina.

And just to add that we’ve raised this on numerous occasions and at the highest levels of the Government of Argentina; our concerns about these kinds of actions that can affect the investment climate in Argentina. And we would just urge Argentina to normalize its relationship with the international financial and investment community.
QUESTION: Just a quick follow-up on that. The Spanish foreign minister today said that this issue not only affects Spain’s interests or the European Union interests, it affects the interests of the whole international community. Do you agree with that?

MR. TONER: Well, insofar as along the lines of what I just said insofar as that it creates a very negative investment climate. Yes.

QUESTION: Thanks.

MR. TONER: Yeah, go ahead.

QUESTION: Palestinian issue?

MR. TONER: Sure.

QUESTION: According to press report, President Abbas, in his letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu warned that he might go back to the United Nation or he might raise legal issue before the international justice. Do you have any comment on that?

MR. TONER: Well, as we talked yesterday, I am aware that the parties did meet yesterday. Obviously we’re encouraged by these face-to-face exchanges. There was a letter that was exchanged. To your broader question, our position hasn’t changed with regard to going to the UN or other organizations. It’s not productive and conducive to creating the kind of atmosphere that’s going to get both parties back to the negotiating table.

Yeah, go ahead.

QUESTION: Did the U.S. get a copy from President Abbas of the letter he gave to the Israeli prime minister?

MR. TONER: I don’t know. Possibly. I don’t have confirmation. I haven’t spoken with David about that.
Yeah, go ahead.

QUESTION: I have a couple of little ones.

MR. TONER: Sure.

QUESTION: The first is the Indian Government had plans – they’ve now postponed them, but they have plans to test this new missile. Apparently it can carry payloads deep into China or perhaps even as far as Europe. I was just wondering if you’d had any communication with that – on that subject with them.

MR. TONER: Well, look, you know that we’ve got a very strong strategic and security partnership with India, so we obviously have routine discussions about a wide range of topics, including their defense requirements. I’m not aware that we’ve specifically raised this issue with them. We’ve certainly seen the reports that between April 18th and 20th that they plan to test this ballistic missile. As I – I think I understand or saw in press reports that it was postponed.

Naturally, I just would say that we urge all nuclear-capable states to exercise restraint regarding nuclear capabilities. That said, India has a solid nonproliferation record. They’re engaged with the international community on nonproliferation issues. And Prime Minister Singh, I believe, has attended both the nuclear – both of the nuclear summit – security summits, the one in Washington and then Seoul.

QUESTION: So you wouldn’t have any specific concerns on it as a destabilizing factor in the region?
MR. TONER: I think I’ll just stay with – the fact that we always caution all nuclear-capable states to exercise restraint.

QUESTION: Okay. And one other one --

MR. TONER: Yeah, go ahead.

QUESTION: On a separate issue, the Embassy in Abuja put out this morning about Boko Haram and threats to attack hotels. And the Nigerian Government has reacted rather unhappily to this warning, saying that it just fans panic. Did you guys run this by the Nigerians before you put it out? What sort of information was it based on? Can you tell us?

MR. TONER: Yeah. In response to your question about whether we ran this by the Government of Nigeria, I don’t know that we would be obliged to do so. I don’t know if we did in this case. We did receive, however, information that Boko Haram may be planning attacks in Abuja, Nigeria, as you said, against hotels frequently visited by Westerners. We don’t have any additional information regarding the timing of these attacks. But as you know, in accordance with the Department’s no double standard policy, when we deem a threat to any U.S. citizen – safety – rather a threat to a U.S. citizen’s safety or security to be specific, credible, and non-counterable, we do issue these kinds of emergency messages.

QUESTION: Specific, credible, and what?

MR. TONER: Non-counterable, meaning we can’t find any evidence to refute it.

QUESTION: Or non-counterable, meaning it can’t be stopped?

MR. TONER: No. Non-counterable meaning we can’t find any readily available evidence to dispute it.

QUESTION: And you can’t be any more specific?

MR. TONER: I can’t at this – no.

QUESTION: Because --

MR. TONER: Because I don’t know that we have any other information beyond what I just said, which is that – attacks against hotels frequented by Westerners. I’m sorry.

QUESTION: Well, no, I – the source of this information I think it was what the question was.

MR. TONER: I can’t. We don’t comment on the source of our threat information.

QUESTION: Well, do you regard it – you believe it to be specific and credible?

MR. TONER: Yes.

QUESTION: Like, so what you said?

MR. TONER: Yes. What I said.

QUESTION: Specific, credible, and non-counterable?

MR. TONER: Yeah.

QUESTION: On India (inaudible) --

MR. TONER: And I also asked what non-counterable meant, and I think that’s the explanation I was given. If that’s wrong, I’ll let you guys know.

QUESTION: Doesn’t the development of an ICBM cross a certain line?

MR. TONER: I’m sorry. Where are we at again?

QUESTION: India. The missile.

MR. TONER: Look, there’s been no launch; it’s been postponed. I think I gave you all I’m going to say on that.

Yeah, go ahead, Scott.

QUESTION: The French Government has issued an international arrest warrant against the son of the president of Equatorial Guinea. This is the guy who the Justice Department went to court last week seeking to seize as much as $70 million of his assets. He’s a large property owner in California. Has there been any contact by the French Government to the United States Government about this arrest warrant?

MR. TONER: I’m sorry. This is – this individual is --

QUESTION: The son of the president of Equatorial Guinea.

MR. TONER: Okay. I’m not aware of it. I’ll just take the question, Scott.

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

MR. TONER: Yeah, let’s go in the back then.

QUESTION: Yeah. Can I just follow up on Omar Khadr?

MR. TONER: Yeah, sure.

QUESTION: And – yeah. I was just wondering, what was part of the negotiation between the U.S. and Canada regarding – because we were being told that it was a deal – and if Canada was offered something in return.

MR. TONER: I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying – that whether there was some kind of quid pro quo or something or --

QUESTION: No. That there was that – because we were being told that there was a deal regarding his transfer.

MR. TONER: I don’t have anything to add other than that there was – and I would just point you in the direction of there were diplomatic notes exchanged last year that are publicly available that spell out the transfer and the rules that govern it.

QUESTION: But there is nothing newer than that?

MR. TONER: Certainly not that I’m aware of. No.

QUESTION: Different topic?

MR. TONER: Yeah.

QUESTION: North Korea. The Japanese newspaper, the Yomiuri Shimbun, reported today that China has suspended deportations to North Korea of refugees. The article was saying that this was partly in retaliation because North Korea didn’t consult China or inform China about its launch recently. But obviously, the U.S. has had long-standing concerns.

MR. TONER: We have had long-standing concerns. I’m frankly not aware of this particular report, but --

QUESTION: Just if there’s any information about whether those repatriations have actually been stopped.

MR. TONER: I don’t know. I’ll take the question.

QUESTION: Sure, sure.

MR. TONER: Is that it, everyone? Thanks guys.