STATE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES BUYER-SUPPLIER HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHINESE WORK PLACE INITIATIVE

The following excerpt is from a U.S. State Department e-mail: 
March 9, 2012
Department of State
Public Notice
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Request for Proposals: Program for China
SUMMARY
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) announces a Request for Proposals (RFP) from organizations with the capacity to launch of buyer-supplier dialogues in China through a cooperative agreement. The purpose of the dialogues is to identify and develop innovative approaches to address root causes of labor rights violations in the buyer-supplier relationship in order to improve working conditions. Participants will include U.S. manufacturers subcontracting operations to China (“buyers”) from relevant industries, Chinese suppliers, researchers from the U.S. and China, CSR and labor rights advocates, representatives from Chinese civil society and unions representing worker interests, and, in consultation with DRL, representatives of the U.S. and PRC governments.

REQUESTED PROPOSAL PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
DRL invites organizations to submit proposals outlining program concepts and capacity to manage projects targeting the issues outlined below; all requests are subject to the availability of funding.
This is an open call for organizations that have past experience and expertise with similar initiatives, dialogues, and seminars; demonstrated ability to convene relevant academic, civil society, and company stakeholders; and experience identifying and implementing practical solutions to improve working conditions in supply chains. DRL has up to $350,000 for a project up to one year in length.
Proposed funding should support the following specific activities:
Coordinate and manage at least at least two buyer-supplier dialogues (with at least one taking place in China) with participation from relevant researchers (preferably based in the United States and China), NGOs, companies, and unions. The objective of the dialogues is to bring together multiple stakeholders to improve working conditions in supplier factories. Dialogues should strive to identify innovative, practical strategies for addressing the root causes of labor rights violations and seek to secure commitments from stakeholders to implement such strategies. Potential topics might include, but are not limited to:
Demand, workforce, and material forecasting
Costing techniques and communication
Best practices for remediating health and safety violations
 Effective grievance and dispute resolution systems
Produce a written summary of both dialogues and a final report. The final report should include recommendations to buyers, suppliers, and the U.S. and Chinese governments on innovative tactics to improve working conditions through the buyer-supplier relationship. At the grantee’s discretion, the final report may be co-authored with Chinese academics or academic institutions
Develop action plans for implementation of the recommendations developed in the final report.
Dialogue participants should include:
U.S. buyers from relevant industries as determined by topics
Chinese suppliers
Researchers from the United States and China
CSR and labor rights advocates and unions
Representatives from Chinese civil society
U.S. Government – determined in consultation with DRL
PRC Government - determined in consultation with DRL
The proposal will be evaluated against the specific needs identified above, as well as the technical requirements listed in the attachment. As described in the technical requirements, your proposal should demonstrate robust knowledge and experience coordinating dialogues of a similar nature.

The proposal will be evaluated against the specific needs identified above, as well as the technical requirements described below. Proposals should demonstrate robust knowledge and experience coordinating dialogues of a similar nature. Organizations that demonstrate past experience and expertise with similar initiatives, dialogues, and seminars; experience identifying and encouraging implementation of practical solutions to improve working conditions in supply chains; and an ability to convene other academics, civil society organizations, and companies will be deemed most competitive, particularly those exhibiting such experience and expertise within the China context.
Organizations may request up to $350,000. Proposals that do not meet the requirements of the announcement and PSI may not be considered. Programs that focus solely on academic research, without practical or actionable outputs, will not be highly considered.

The Bureau is committed to the containment of administrative expenses, consistent with overall program objectives and sound management principles. Additional budget guidelines are explained in the PSI. In any cases where the guidelines in the PSI differ from this request, this document takes precedence.
Note: To ensure all applications receive a balanced evaluation, the DRL Review Committee will review the first page of the requested section up to the page limit and no further. DRL encourages organizations to use the given space effectively.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The bulk of funding activities should take place during a one year time frame. DRL welcomes programs that leverage resources from funds internal to the organization or other sources. Cost sharing is strongly encouraged, and cost sharing contributions should be outlined in the proposal, budget, and budget narrative.
DRL will not consider proposals that reflect any type of support, for any member, affiliate, or representative of a designated terrorist organization, whether or not elected members of government.”

MILITARY HEALTH CARE REFORM

T

he following excerpt is from a Department of Defense American Forces Press Service e-mail:

Health System Seeks Savings While Retaining Excellence

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 9, 2012 - Iraq and Afghanistan have been dangerous places over the past decade, but deployed troops often passed a saying on to new arrivals: "If you've got to get shot, this is the best place to do it."

The saying spread because the medical care for wounded service members was state-of-the-art, with the survival rates significantly higher than in previous conflicts.

Dr. Jonathan Woodson, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, told the House Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee yesterday that he wants to retain this excellence while controlling spiraling costs.

"Over the last 10 years, the men and women of the Military Health System have performed with great skill and undeniable courage in combat," Woodson said. "Their contributions to advancing military and American medicine are immense. The Military Health System's ability to perform this mission and be able to respond to humanitarian crises around the globe is unique among all military and nonmilitary organizations on this globe."

All department leaders are committed to sustaining this precious resource, Woodson said. But he acknowledged that military health care is now more than $51 billion of the yearly defense budget. The 2011 Budget Control Act calls for $487 billion in defense cuts over the next 10 years, and the health care system is not immune, he said.

Military health System officials are taking four roads to savings, Woodson told the panel. The first is to find efficiencies inside the system. The second is a continuation of efforts to appropriately pay for private-sector providers. A third initiative promotes healthy lifestyle choices while seeking to reduce illnesses, injuries and hospitalizations. The last is proposed changes to beneficiary cost-sharing under the TRICARE military health plan.

The fiscal 2013 defense budget request includes this recommended path to reorganize the military health system, Woodson said. "We have learned a great deal from our joint medical operations over the last 10 years," he added, "and we recognize that there is much opportunity for introducing even a more agile headquarters operation that shares common services and institutes common clinical and business practices across our system of care."

Woodson noted that the recommended changes to TRICARE fees came about only after officials had explored other avenues of potential savings. "Before we even considered TRICARE fees, there were a number of initiatives and considerations taken," he told the committee.

DOD health affairs is looking to control headquarters costs, Woodson said, and it has had some success eliminating 780 full-time equivalent positions from the headquarters. Other efforts, he added yielded further savings.

"We put in a number of management reforms that have yielded very positive results in reducing costs, including a robust fraud and recuperative program that has yielded $2.6 billion over the last four years," he said.

In addition, Woodson said, a pharmacy management program has saved $ 3.4 billion, medical supply and acquisition standardization has saved $31 million, and an amalgamation of other efficiencies that saved about $1 billion.
 

SMALL BUSINESS BENEFITS FROM STREAMLINED EXPORT-IMPORT BANK LOAN APPLICATIONS

The following excerpt is from an Export-Import Bank e-mail:

Export-Import Bank Issues over 200 Express Insurance Policies in First Year 

Small Businesses across the Country Benefit from Streamlined 

Application for Short-Term Export Credit Insurance

WASHINGTON, D.C. --- When Martin Weinberg, President of Xamax Industries of Seymour, Connecticut, was encouraged by his accounting firm to look to the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) for export financing, he was skeptical - “We wanted to go a month or two to see if Ex-Im Bank was for real,” stated Weinberg. “Now I know that Ex-Im Bank products are a no-brainer. What Ex-Im Bank charges for insurance and what the policy actually meant for my company, it wasn’t a hard sell for me.”

Xamax Industries is the 200^th small business to be approved for an Ex-Im Bank Express Insurance policy. The company is a manufacturer of raw materials including rolled goods such as paper, plastic, and nonwoven fabrics. The materials are sold to manufacturers abroad where the final product is assembled. According to Weinberg, Xamax will expand its workforce as business grows overseas.

After attending a Global Access for Small Business forum in New Haven, Conn., Weinberg was convinced. He learned that with Ex-Im Bank insurance, his company could increase foreign sales overseas without elevating the risk. The $1 million policy was brokered by Export Risk Management of Salisbury, Conn.

With export markets worldwide, Xamax is now willing to pursue additional buyers. “We can extend better terms to our customers,” commented Weinberg. “For example, we now have a positive balance in China – in other words, we sell more in China than we purchase, which is basically unheard of.”

 “Our efforts to encourage more small businesses to export are paying off through the use of Bank products like Express Insurance,” said Fred P. Hochberg, chairman and president of Ex-Im Bank. “With the exporting success of companies like Xamax Industries, I am optimistic that our products are effective solutions for small business exporters seeking financing for themselves and their foreign buyers.”

Express insurance was launched in April, 2011 and has soared in the past year as a reliable tool for small business. Express insurance streamlines the process of acquiring short-term insurance. Small businesses are able expand into new foreign markets, add new buyers, and transfer foreign buyer credit decision making to Ex-Im Bank at an economical cost. The online application provides a policy quote and two foreign buyer credit decisions up to $300,000 within five workdays. More information on how to apply for the policy is available on the Ex-Im Bank website.

In fiscal year 2011, small business financing rose over 70 percent from $3.3 billion in FY 2008 to $6 billion in FY 2011. As part of its efforts to increase this portfolio, Ex-Im Bank's Global Access for Small Business initiative has held more than 30 forums across the country since its launch last year.

Recently, while in Seattle with Chairman Hochberg, President Obama announced two new Ex-Im Bank products, Global Credit Express (GCE) and the Supply-Chain Finance Guarantee program for Boeing small business suppliers. Through GCE, small business exporters may be eligible for a revolving line of credit, up to $500,000 for 6 to 12 months. The product is specially designed to finance the business of exporting rather than specific export transactions. During its pilot phase, GCE will be offered by a select number of lenders nationwide.

The Supply-Chain Finance Guarantee program provides competitively priced working capital financing to suppliers of goods or services to U.S. exporters. The program enables suppliers to receive early payment of their accounts receivable that are due from participating exporters in exchange for a small discount fee that is paid to the lender. Ex-Im Bank provides a 90 percent guarantee of the invoices while the lender bears 10 percent of the risk.

Under the Ex-Im program, approved lenders must have an existing supply-chain finance program. Ex-Im Bank has set a target that at least 50 percent of the credit be extended to suppliers that meet the definition of a small business as defined by the U.S. Small Business Administration by the end of the 12-month term. The end products must be for export and must meet Ex-Im Bank's requirements for U.S. content.

Small business exporters interested in additional information on GCE and other Ex-Im Bank products may contact the Bank by calling toll-free to 1-800-565-EXIM (3946) and selecting option 2.

ABOUT EX-IM BANK

Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that helps create and maintain U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. In the past five years, Ex-Im Bank has earned for U.S. taxpayers nearly $1.9 billion above the cost of operations. The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees, export-credit insurance and financing to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and services.

Ex-Im Bank approved $32.7 billion in total authorizations in FY 2011 -- an all-time Ex-Im record. This total includes more than $6 billion directly supporting small-business export sales -- also an Ex-Im record. Ex-Im Bank's total authorizations are supporting an estimated $41 billion in U.S. export sales and approximately 290,000 American jobs in communities across the country. 

U.S. GOVERNMENT SEEKS TO SHUT DOWN GROUP CODE NAME "ANONYMOUS"

The following excerpt is from the U.S. Department of Justice website:
Prosecution of Internet Hacktivist Group "Anonymous"
by Melinda Haag
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California
The United States Attorney's Office (USAO) for the Northern District of California and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have been active in investigating and prosecuting the cyber attacks initiated by members of the Internet activist group "Anonymous" and/or its associates.

In late November 2010, WikiLeaks released a large amount of classified United States State Department cables on its website. Citing violations of its terms of service, and in response to WikiLeaks' release of the classified cables, PayPal suspended WikiLeaks' accounts so that WikiLeaks could no longer receive donations via PayPal. In retribution for PayPal's termination of WikiLeaks' donation account, Anonymous coordinated and executed distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against PayPal's computer servers. DDoS attacks are attempts to render a computer unavailable to users through a variety of means, including by saturating the target computers or networks with external communication requests, thereby denying service to legitimate users. The attack lasted from December 6, 2010 through December 10, 2010, and used an open-source computer program that the group made available as a free download on the Internet.

On January 27, 2011, the FBI executed twenty-seven search warrants in twelve states and the District of Columbia as part of the investigation of the DDoS attacks against PayPal. On July 13, 2010, a federal grand jury in San Jose, California, returned a fifteen-count indictment against Dennis Collins, Christopher Wayne Cooper, Joshua John Covelli, Keith Wilson Downey, Mercedes Renee Haefer, Donald Husband, Vincent Charles Kershaw, Ethan Miles, James C. Murphy, Drew Alan Phillips, Jeffrey Puglisi, Daniel Sullivan, Tracy Ann Valenzuela and Christopher Vo for conspiracy and causing intentional damage to PayPal's computer servers. The case, United States v. Dennis Collins, et.al., No. CR 11-00471 DLJ, is currently pending before the Honorable D. Lowell Jensen .
On July 19, 2011, the FBI arrested fourteen defendants. On that same day, the FBI executed an additional twenty-one search warrants in eleven states, also in connection with the DDoS attacks against PayPal. Investigation into the subjects of those searches is continuing.

On December 16, 2010, members of the "People's Liberation Front" (PLF), a hacking group associated with Anonymous, coordinated and executed a DDoS attack against Santa Cruz County's computer servers. The PLF launched the DDoS attack in retaliation for the City of Santa Cruz enacting and enforcing an anti-camping statute against the homeless and disbanding protests related to the anti-camping statute.
On September 21, 2011, a federal grand jury in San Jose, California, returned a three-count indictment against Christopher Doyon and Joshua John Covelli for conspiracy and causing intentional damage to the Santa Cruz County computer servers. The case, United States v. Christopher Doyon, et. al., No. CR 11-00683 DLJ, is also currently pending before the Honorable D. Lowell Jensen. On September 22, 2011, the FBI arrested Christopher Doyon.

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS SPEAKS ON U.S.-BRAZILIAN RELATIONS

The following excerpt is from a U.S. State Department e-mail:

Remarks Roberta S. Jacobson

Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars

Washington, DC

March 12, 2012 

Good morning. Thank you, Ambassador Harrington, for the kind introduction and for the Wilson Center hosting this event, and to Ambassador Vieira, Dan Restrepo, and Leo Martinez-Diaz for joining us this morning. I’d also like to thank all of you for being here today—the number of people in this room, and the need to have an overflow room clearly speaks to the huge interest in the important and growing relationship between the United States and Brazil.

That is no surprise. As two of the world’s largest economies and democracies, with values we share and goals that converge across a whole range of issues, Brazil and the United States are natural partners. Even that simple sentence: that we are natural partners, would not have been obvious just 5 years ago. Building a deeper and more comprehensive partnership with Brazil is a high priority for the United States. Secretary Clinton has described our relationship as the foundation of a new global architecture of cooperation. Our engagement with Brazil centers on how our two countries can work together to achieve inclusive prosperity not just in our nations but throughout the Western Hemisphere and around the world. You will hear today about economic, energy, and education cooperation—just some of the areas in which we want to increase our investment -- and by this I mean not only financial investment, but investment in people, through support for innovation that will bring us the next generation of technological advances.

I couldn’t agree more with Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns’ statement during his visit to Brazil a few weeks ago that “[Brazil] is an essential player in a world in which shared global challenges are met with more resilient twenty-first century partnerships. For Brazil is a society that has not just embraced democracy, but draws on and celebrates its diversity as a source of strength, a tool for overcoming inequality and expanding opportunity. It is an economy that has brought millions out of poverty and into the middle class while creating world-class innovators and companies. It is a success story and an example that can inspire solutions elsewhere.”

Deputy Secretary Burns’ words echo President Obama’s message in Rio almost exactly one year ago today: “the American people don’t just recognize Brazil’s success – we root for Brazil’s success. …let us stand together – not as senior and junior partners, but as equal partners, joined in a spirit of mutual interest and mutual respect, committed to the progress that I know that we can make together.” In the year since President Obama’s visit, we have partnered with Brazil to deepen our relationship and make good on the commitments made by our two Presidents. In a time of shrinking budgets, we are looking at opening new consulates in Brazil to keep up with exponential growth in visa demand and engage more throughout Brazil.

You will hear today about the literally dozens of dialogues we have created with Brazil to advance our mutual interests—dialogues on economic and financial issues, on energy, on non-proliferation, on science and technology, on racial discrimination, and on global affairs, to name just a few. A prime area of engagement between our two countries—and one that has room for even greater expansion—is economic cooperation. We have expert exchanges on clean and conventional energies, including biofuels, in the context of our Strategic Energy Dialogue. We collaborate on sustainable urban development and planning as part of the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas. We recently launched a Joint Initiative on Urban Sustainability that will leverage investments in sustainable infrastructure, green building, intelligent transportation, and clean energy projects. We have also increased our trilateral collaboration on issues as diverse as food security and agricultural biotechnology in Africa and counternarcotics cooperation with Bolivia. We collaborate on women’s issues, specifically promoting economic empowerment, addressing gender-based violence, improving women’s health, and increasing their participation in science and technology.

But a theme running through nearly all of those dialogues is that of social inclusion: How can we bring all members of our diverse societies into the mainstream social and economic life of our nations to empower them to reach their full potential. As our populations and economies grow, it is important that the benefits accrue to all sectors. This includes historically marginalized sectors such as women, people of African descent, indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, and LGBT people. We have elevated this issue to become a bilateral priority through the Joint Action Plan on the Promotion of Racial and Ethnic Equality, which takes a comprehensive approach to expanding opportunities for all. This includes extending this theme across areas of collaboration—as we did last year when we agreed to share best business and labor practices and training to assist Afro-Brazilian and U.S. ethnic minority businesses find opportunities leading up to the World Cup and Olympic Games.

When we talk about economic growth and expanding the range of opportunities, we have to take a serious look at education and how we are building the work force we need for the 21st century. This reality places educational cooperation high on the list of our bilateral priorities with Brazil. When President Obama visited Latin America last year, he announced 100,000 Strong for the Americas, a goal to increase the number of Latin American and Caribbean students in the United States, and students from the United States studying in the region, to 100,000 each year in each direction. Soon after that announcement, we welcomed President Rousseff’s Science without Borders Initiative, a perfect complement to 100,000 Strong in the Americas. We are working diligently with Brazilian partners to expand opportunities for Brazilian students and welcome them to our campuses. We have put into place a framework that spans educational advising, consular services, and English language programs to prepare these students to go to the United States. We are proud that the United States was the first country to work with our Brazilian counterparts to welcome the first group of Science without Borders students last January, over 650 of them and we look forward to receiving thousands more. But beyond just those students ‘formally’ part of the Science without Borders, we are opening up exchange opportunities to those who might never have had them before. When Secretary Clinton and I welcomed the 40 most recent ‘Youth Ambassadors’ to the State Department after their month in communities throughout the United States, I am proud to say that they reflected the diversity of Brazil—diversity they found mirrored in the United States. And hearing their stories of community action and ideas for making a difference in their own communities upon return was the best return on investment we could imagine.

Even with all the progress in our bilateral cooperation since President Obama’s visit to Brazil last year, President Rousseff’s upcoming visit to Washington represents an opportunity to do even more. I know that Dan Restrepo will discuss her visit in more detail. But President Rousseff’s visit will not end this intense engagement; Secretary Clinton will travel to Brazil on April 16 for the next meeting of our Global Partnership Dialogue, as well as the Open Government Partnership, which we were proud to co-chair in its inaugural year with the Brazilian government. Her engagement will explore further ways to expand our bilateral and trilateral cooperation on regional and global issues.

The United States and Brazil have a long and productive relationship, built on almost two centuries of partnership and trust. But we are taking that partnership to a new level, one that brings concrete benefits to our citizens and to the world. We look forward to welcoming President Rousseff and continuing to work with her administration and Brazil’s dynamic private sector to embrace our broad agenda and new challenges together. Our ongoing cooperation will chart a mutual course for a more open and prosperous international community, and for better lives for our people.

DOJ, HUD AND OTHERS ANNOUNCED $25 BILLION SETTLEMENT WITH FIVE LARGEST U.S. MORTGAGE SERVICERS

The following excerpt is from the U.S. Department of Justice website:
Monday, March 12, 2012
$25 Billion Mortgage Servicing Agreement Filed in Federal Court
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and 49 state attorneys general announced today the filing of their landmark $25 billion agreement with the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers to address mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure abuses.
The federal government and state attorneys general filed in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia proposed consent judgments with Bank of America Corporation, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Company, Citigroup Inc. and Ally Financial Inc., to resolve violations of state and federal law.    

The unprecedented joint agreement is the largest federal-state civil settlement ever obtained and is the result of extensive investigations by federal agencies, including the Department of Justice, HUD and the HUD Office of the Inspector General (HUD-OIG), and state attorneys general and state banking regulators across the country.

The consent judgments provide the details of the servicers’ financial obligations under the agreement, which include payments to foreclosed borrowers and more than $20 billion in consumer relief; new standards the servicers will be required to implement regarding mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure practices; and the oversight and enforcement authorities of the independent settlement monitor, Joseph A. Smith Jr.
The consent judgments require the servicers to collectively dedicate $20 billion toward various forms of financial relief to homeowners, including: reducing the principal on loans for borrowers who are delinquent or at imminent risk of default and owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth; refinancing loans for borrowers who are current on their mortgages but who owe more on their mortgage than their homes are worth; forbearance of principal for unemployed borrowers; anti-blight provisions; short sales; transitional assistance; and benefits for service members.

The consent judgments’ consumer relief requirements include varying amounts of partial credit the servicers will receive for every dollar spent on the required relief activities.  Because servicers will receive only partial credit for many of the relief activities, the agreement will result in benefits to borrowers in excess of $20 billion.  The servicers are required to complete 75 percent of their consumer relief obligations within two years and 100 percent within three years.

In addition to the $20 billion in financial relief for borrowers, the consent judgments require the servicers to pay $5 billion in cash to the federal and state governments.  Approximately $1.5 billion of this payment will be used to establish a Borrower Payment Fund to provide cash payments to borrowers whose homes were sold or taken in foreclosure between Jan. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2011, and who meet other criteria.
The court documents filed today also provide detailed new servicing standards that the mortgage servicers will be required to implement.  These standards will prevent foreclosure abuses of the past, such as robo-signing, improper documentation and lost paperwork, and create new consumer protections.  The new standards provide for strict oversight of foreclosure processing, including third-party vendors, and new requirements to undertake pre-filing reviews of certain documents filed in bankruptcy court.  The new servicing standards make foreclosure a last resort by requiring servicers to evaluate homeowners for other loss mitigation options first.  Servicers will be restricted from foreclosing while the homeowner is being considered for a loan modification.  The new standards also include procedures and timelines for reviewing loan modification applications and give homeowners the right to appeal denials.  Servicers will also be required to create a single point of contact for borrowers seeking information about their loans and maintain adequate staff to handle calls.

The consent judgments provide enhanced protections for service members that go beyond those required by the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).  In addition, the servicers have agreed to conduct a full review, overseen by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, to determine whether any service members were foreclosed or improperly charged interest in excess of 6 percent on their mortgage in violation of SCRA.

The oversight and enforcement authorities of the settlement’s independent monitor are detailed in the court documents filed today.  The monitor will oversee implementation of the servicing standards and consumer relief activities required by the agreement and publish regular public reports that identify any quarter in which a servicer fell short of the standards imposed in the settlement.  The consent judgments require servicers to remediate any harm to borrowers that are identified in quarterly reviews overseen by the monitor and, in some instances, conduct full look-backs to identify any additional borrowers who may have been harmed.  If a servicer violates the requirements of the consent judgment it will be subject to penalties of up to $1 million per violation or up to $5 million for certain repeat violations.

The consent judgments filed today resolve certain violations of civil law based on mortgage loan servicing activities.  The agreement does not prevent state and federal authorities from pursuing criminal enforcement actions related to this or other conduct by the servicers.  The agreement does not prevent the government from punishing wrongful securitization conduct that will be the focus of the new Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group.  In the servicing agreement, the United States also retains its full authority to recover losses and penalties caused to the federal government when a bank failed to satisfy underwriting standards on a government-insured or government-guaranteed loan; the United States also resolved certain Federal Housing Administration (FHA) origination claims with Bank of America as part of this filing and with Citibank in a separate matter.  The agreement does not prevent any action by individual borrowers who wish to bring their own lawsuits.  State attorneys general also preserved, among other things, all claims against the Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS), and all claims brought by borrowers.

Investigations were conducted by the U.S. Trustee Program of the Department of Justice, HUD-OIG, HUD’s FHA, state attorneys general offices and state banking regulators from throughout the country, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado, the Justice Department’s Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program and the Federal Housing Finance Agency-Office of the Inspector General.  The Department of the Treasury, the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Agriculture made critical contributions.

The joint federal-state agreement is part of enforcement efforts by President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.  President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.  The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources.  The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.

COALITION FORCES IN AFGHANISTAN CAPTURE ROADSIDE BOMB LEAD PLANNERS

The following e-mail is from the U.S. Defense Department American Forces Press Service e-mail:

Combined Force Captures 2 Haqqani Leaders

From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan, March 12, 2012 - An Afghan and coalition security force captured two Haqqani network leaders and five additional suspected insurgents during a March 10 operation in the Pul-e Alam district of Afghanistan's Logar province, military officials reported.

One leader oversaw the construction of roadside bombs and the other directed the emplacement of those bombs for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces, officials said.

The two Haqqani leaders also are suspected in plotting the assassination of an Afghan army division commander.

The security force also seized a suicide vest, bomb-making materials and mortar rounds during the operation.

In other March 10 Afghanistan operations:

-- A combined force captured a Taliban facilitator and detained two suspects in the Kunduz district of Kunduz province. The Taliban facilitator provided weapons and supplies to insurgents operating in Khanabad district. The captured facilitator also is suspected in a plot to conduct a prison break to free an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan terrorist.

-- In a separate operation in the same district, a combined force captured a Taliban leader and detained another suspect. The leader coordinated roadside-bomb attacks against Afghan and coalition troops and is suspected in planning suicide attacks.

-- A combined force captured a Taliban leader and detained another suspect in the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand province. The leader directed attacks against Afghan and coalition security forces.

-- A combined patrol found an assault rifle, 800 rounds of small-arms ammunition, 132 pounds of homemade explosives and bomb-making components in the Tarin Kot district of Uruzgan province.

-- A combined force detained five suspects while searching for a Taliban leader in the Gelan district of Ghazni province. The leader directs roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition security forces along Highway 1.

In a March 9 operation, a combined force found 10,890 pounds of explosive materials in Ghazni's Ghazni district.

MILITARY SAYS BUDGET MAKES CUTS IN SPACE CAPABILITIES

The following excerpt is from a U.S. Defense Department American Forces Press e-mail:
Official: 2013 Budget Targets Space Capability Resilience
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 9, 2012 - The $9.6 billion for space programs within President Barack Obama's fiscal year 2013 budget request will boost resilience for U.S. space capabilities but cut some modernization and other programs, Air Force Gen. William L. Shelton, commander of the Air Force Space Command, told a House panel yesterday.

Shelton testified on national security space activities before the House Armed Services Committee's strategic forces subcommittee, along with Ambassador Gregory L. Schulte, deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy, Gil I. Klinger, deputy assistant secretary of defense for space and intelligence, and other experts.

The president's budget request, Shelton said, "invests in programs that enhance the resiliency and effectiveness of our space capabilities, namely missile warning, positioning, navigation and timing, satellite communications, space situational awareness and space launch."

A 22 percent drop in the 2013 request from 2012 represents mainly "fact-of-life programmatic changes," the general said, along with "some very difficult budget decisions leading to cuts to some modernization programs, and restructuring our approach" to the Operationally Responsive Space Office, or ORS, and the Space Test Program.

Congress established the ORS in 2007 to shorten the space acquisition cycle while responding to urgent warfighter needs. The Space Test Program has been providing access to space for the DOD space research and development community since 1965.

The command, Shelton said, also seeks to speed the acquisition process for the Advanced Extremely High-Frequency Program, a joint service satellite communications system for high-priority military ground, sea and air assets, and the Space-Based Infrared System, a key part of North America's missile early warning and defense system.

The general said the Air Force Space Command is working closely with NASA and the National Reconnaissance Office to "bring stability and predictability to our launch programs."

Schulte told the panel that three elements are critical to the U.S. strategy in space: resilience, promoting responsible behavior in space, and energizing the space industrial base.

Examples of resiliency, he said, include hosted payloads, commercial augmentation, international cooperation and backup capabilities in other domains.
In 2008, the European Union published a draft Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities and a revised draft in 2010.

"The EU's draft is a promising basis for an international code," Schulte said.
"It focuses on reducing the risk of creating debris and increasing transparency of space operations. It is not legally binding and recognizes the inherent right of self-defense. It addresses behavior rather than unverifiable capabilities and better serves our interests than the legally binding ban on space weapons proposed by others," he added.

"As we participate in the development of an international code," Schulte told the panel, "the department is committed to ensuring that it advances our national security."

The ambassador said the United States could energize the space industrial base by allowing industry to compete internationally for the sale of satellites and technologies that are already widely available.
Today, some commercial satellite components reside on the Munitions List, a registry of items subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations because they are considered dual-use exports -- those that can be used for peaceful and military ends. The State Department strictly regulates and licenses such exports.

Last year, Schulte said, the departments of Defense and State concluded that commercial communications satellites and related components, with a few exceptions, can be moved from the U.S. Munitions List to the Commerce Control List without posing an unacceptable security risk.

The forthcoming final report, he added, will identify more items that can be safely moved.
"This approach -- higher fences around fewer items -- will require new legislation," he told the panel.

"Your support can help energize our industrial base and thereby enhance our national security," Schulte added. "Giving our industrial base new commercial opportunities is particularly important at a time of defense spending constraints."
Deputy Assistant Secretary Klinger told the panel that DOD is recapitalizing virtually all its space lines of business, "and doing so at precisely a time of sharply constrained resources and as the nation remains at war."

The department is doing the following:
- Executing oversight earlier in the acquisition process so program managers can achieve authority to proceed early and then focus their energies on program execution.
- Using fixed-price contracts, more innovative contracting and evolutionary upgrades where those make sense.

- Pursuing a block buy for the Advanced Extremely High-Frequency 5 and 6 satellite programs and developing a plan to use the savings to improve the capability of military satellite communications overall.

"This is extremely important as we plan ahead to maintain the resources to protect our seed corn of promising technologies," Klinger said. "We intend to use competition where and when it makes sense."

DEFENSE PLANS TO CONSERVE ENERGY

The following excerpt is from the Department of Defense American Forces Press Service:

Defense Department Releases Energy Conservation Roadmap

By Lisa Daniel
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 9, 2012 - The Defense Department today released an implementation plan for cutting energy consumption in military operations.

Officials released a strategy in June outlining the need for energy conservation in military operations. In the plan released today, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta reiterates that the department must do its part to reduce U.S. fuel consumption not only to save money, but also to have less reliance on foreign oil and to improve security for U.S. forces who transport fuel into battle spaces.

"Energy security means a reliable, secure and affordable supply of energy for military missions, today and in the future," the secretary said.

The implementation plan outlines a three-part strategy of reducing the demand for energy, securing diverse options beyond fossil fuels, and building energy security considerations into all military planning.

"This is a question of making sure the whole department is executing this strategy and using energy to support military operations better and interoperable and in a way that supports the whole department better," said Sharon E. Burke, assistant secretary of defense for operational energy plans and programs.

The plan creates a Defense Operational Energy Board to oversee the department's progress. Military services and DOD agencies are to report to the board on their energy consumption last year and projected consumption for the next five years, the plan says. The board will work with the services and agencies on actions needed to improve their consumption baselines.

The services have reported goals for:

-- The Army to have 16 "Net Zero" installations by 2020 and 25 by 2030 -- installations that do not use more energy or water than they produce and reduce waste by recycling;

-- The Navy to reduce fuel consumption afloat by 15 percent by 2020;

-- The Air Force to increase aviation energy efficiency by 10 percent by 2020; and

-- The Marine Corps to increase energy efficiency on the battlefield by 50 percent by 2025, and, as a result, reduce daily fuel consumption per Marine by 50 percent in the same time.

The combatant commands will then report to the board on how they guide their forces to improve energy performance and efficiency, such as the ability to field fuel quickly and the use of alternative energy technologies.

The board is to develop departmentwide energy performance metrics in consultation with the DOD components and based on consumption baselines.

The assistant secretary of defense for research and engineering is to assess the department's gaps in energy science and technology and report recommendations to the board.

The plan also calls for:

-- Improving operational energy security at fixed installations;

-- Promoting the development of alternative fuels;

-- Incorporating energy security considerations into requirements and acquisitions; and

-- Adapting policy, doctrine, military education and combatant command activities to support reduced demand of energy.

"Even though the strategy and implementation plan is new," Burke said, "the department has been making progress for some time in using less energy – more fight for less fuel. We haven't been standing still on this."

Soldiers and Marines have reduced their energy consumption in Afghanistan by using solar rechargeable batteries, solar microgrids, more efficient tents and better fixed shelters, Burke said. Also, she added, the Army is using generators at its forward operating bases that are 20 percent more efficient, and become even more efficient by being wired together. The Navy, too, has made good progress by incorporating energy considerations into its acquisitions process, Burke said.

Less demand for energy and more conservation lessens the risk to troops to transport fuel through battle zones, she said.

"When you're focused on the fight, the most important thing is that the energy be there -- and that's how it should be," Burke said. "But people also are beginning to understand there is a cost to using and moving that much fuel."

Stateside, Fort Bliss, Texas, and Fort Carson, Colo., as well as the Oregon National Guard, are showing progress toward the Army's Net Zero goal, the plan released today says.

"There's a lot of good things going on, and a lot more needs to happen," Burke said. The department's energy conservation effort, she added, is both a challenge and an opportunity. "Energy ... shapes our missions, and we can shape it," she said.

As part of the implementation plan, Panetta wrote that the rising global demand for energy, changing geopolitics and new threats will make the cost and availability of energy even less certain in the future.

"Energy security is an imperative – our economic well-being and international interests depend on it," he said.

GRAIL TWIN SPACECRAFT BEGIN MOON STUDY

The following excerpt is from the NASA website:

“WASHINGTON -- NASA's Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL)
spacecraft orbiting the moon officially have begun their science
collection phase. During the next 84 days, scientists will obtain a
high-resolution map of the lunar gravitational field to learn about
the moon's internal structure and composition in unprecedented
detail. The data also will provide a better understanding of how
Earth and other rocky planets in the solar system formed and evolved.


"The initiation of science data collection is a time when the team
lets out a collective sigh of relief because we are finally doing
what we came to do," said Maria Zuber, principal investigator for the
GRAIL mission at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in
Cambridge. "But it is also a time where we have to put the coffee pot
on, roll up our sleeves and get to work."

The GRAIL mission's twin, washing-machine-sized spacecraft, named Ebb
and Flow, entered lunar orbit on New Year's Eve and New Years Day.
GRAIL's science phase began yesterday at 8:15 p.m. EST (5:15 p.m.
PST). During this mission phase, the spacecraft will transmit radio
signals precisely defining the distance between them. As they fly
over areas of greater and lesser gravity caused by visible features
such as mountains, craters and masses hidden beneath the lunar
surface, the distance between the two spacecraft will change
slightly. Science activities are expected to conclude on May 29,
after GRAIL maps the gravity field of the moon three times.

"We are in a near-polar, near-circular orbit with an average altitude
of about 34 miles (55 kilometers) right now," said David Lehman,
GRAIL project manager from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in
Pasadena, Calif. "During the science phase, our spacecraft will orbit
the moon as high as 31 miles (51 kilometers) and as low as 10 miles
(16 kilometers). They will get as close to each other as 40 miles (65
kilometers) and as far apart as 140 miles (225 kilometers)."

Previously named GRAIL A and B, the names Ebb and Flow were the result
of a nation-wide student contest to choose new names for the
spacecraft. The winning entry was submitted by fourth graders from
the Emily Dickinson Elementary School in Bozeman, Mont. Nearly 900
classrooms with more than 11,000 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico
and the District of Columbia, participated in the contest.

JPL manages the GRAIL mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate
in Washington. The GRAIL mission is part of the Discovery Program
managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver built the spacecraft.”

THE WOMEN IN THE WORLD SUMMIT, SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON AND, "THE DEVIL WEARS PANT SUITS"

The following excerpt is from a U.S. State Department e-mail:
Remarks at the Women in the World Summit
RemarksHillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of StateLincoln Center
New York City
March 10, 2012
SECRETARY CLINTON: So how do you like my jacket? (Laughter and applause.) I cannot believe what just happened. (Laughter.) I really had no idea what was going to be portrayed or done by Meryl. I thought we might get some extraordinary renditions of everyone from Aung San Suu Kyi to Indira Gandhi, a reprise of Margaret Thatcher. And it was quite astonishing because I’ve always admired her. And as she said, we do unfortunately throughout our lives as girls and women often cast an appraising eye on each other. I’m just glad she didn’t do a movie called The Devil Wears Pantsuits. (Laughter.)

But just as I marked various stages of my life by remembering what amazing role she was playing at the time, it is quite a humbling experience to have someone who I admire so greatly say what she said today. Because the work that I’ve done has been work that I felt drawn to for some of the same reasons that Meryl and I share these generational experiences, particularly these big-hearted mothers who challenged us to go as far as our efforts could take us.

So here we are at the end – it truly is the end – of the conference that has brought all of these women of the world, in the world, to New York. And I want to thank Tina Brown and her entire team that worked so hard to enable everyone to see what I get to see all the time. (Applause.) I just can’t thank you enough. (Applause.)

Because for me, it has not been so much work as a mission, it has not been as strenuous as it has been inspiring, to have had the chance throughout my life, but certainly in these last 20 years, to have the privilege of meeting women and girls in our own country and then throughout the world who are taking a stand, whose voices are being heard, who are assuming the risks that come with sticking your neck out, whether you are a democracy activist in Burma or a Georgetown law student in the United States. (Applause.)
My life has been enriched, and I want yours to be as well. I am thrilled that so many of you have taken the time out of your own lives to celebrate these stories of these girls and women. And of course, now I hope that through your own efforts, through your own activism, through the foundations, through your political involvement, through your businesses, through every channel you have, you will leave here today thinking about what you too can do. Because when I flag in energy, when I do recognize that what my friends are telling me – that I need more sleep – is probably true, I think about the women whom I have had the honor to work with. Women like Dr. Gao, who Meryl met, who is about – well, she’s shorter than the podium. She is in her ‘80s now. She did have bound feet. She became a doctor and she was the physician who sounded the alarm about HIV/AIDS despite the Chinese Government’s efforts for years to silence her.

Or I think about Vera, the activist from Belarus whom I met. She’s worked so hard to shine a spotlight on the abuses happening right inside Europe one more time – another regime that believes silencing voices, locking up dissidents, rigging elections, is the only way to stay in power. So she and her allies brave the abuse every single day to say no, there is another way.

Or Inex, who Meryl also mentioned, who I got to know during our efforts on behalf of the peace process in Northern Ireland. And she was reaching across all of these deep divides between the communities there, trying to forge understanding and build bridges. And like Muhtaren, the Pakistani young woman who had been so brutally assaulted for some absurd remnant out of an ancient belief in settling scores between families which should have no place in any country in the 21st century – (applause) – she was expected to kill herself. Well, of course; you’ve been shamed, you’ve been dishonored; through no fault of your own, you are now dead to us, so just finish the job. Well, she not only didn’t, but she is a living rebuke to not only those who assaulted her but to the government that did not recognize it needs to protect all of its girls and women, because without their full involvement in their society, there can never be the progress that is so necessary.
Now, I doubt any of these women would have ever imagined being mentioned on a stage by an Oscar-winning actress. I know I didn’t imagine I would be so mentioned on this stage. (Laughter.) But they are because they are special. We know about their stories. Somehow, we have seen their struggles break through the indifference and the resistance to telling the stories of girls and women who are struggling against such odds across the world.

But they also represent so much more. Because this hall – I know because I know many of you – are filled with women and men who are on the front lines fighting for change, for justice, for freedom, for equal rights. And there are tens of millions more who need our support. So what does it mean to be a Woman in the World? Well, I too believe it means facing up to the obstacles you confront, and each of us confront different kinds. It means never giving up – giving up on yourself, giving up on your potential, giving up on your future. It means waking early, working hard, putting a family, a community, a country literally on your back, and building a better life.

You heard from Zin Mar Aung, the Burmese democracy activist who spoke earlier. When I met her late last year when I, on your behalf, on behalf of our country, went to Burma, I discussed with her and other activists what civil society would now be able to do to further the political and the economic reforms that the people so desperately need. And we did honor her along with nine extraordinary other women as International Women of Courage at the State Department.

She, as you could see, came out of prison not embittered, although she had every right to be so, but determined, determined to make her contribution. She didn’t have time to feel sorry for herself, to worry whether her hair was the right shade or the right length. She got to work. And because of her, she’s founded four organizations, she’s working with young people and women to build civil society and citizenship. She raises funds for orphanages, she helps the families of political prisoners trying to re-enter into society, and she is one of those watering the seeds of democracy.

Or consider the young Nepali woman Suma, who sang so beautifully for us. (Applause.) You know what her story was. Six years old, sold into indentured servitude, working under desperate conditions, not allowed to go to school, not even allowed to speak her own native language. But then finally rescued by an NGO, an organization supported by the United States State Department, your tax dollars, called Room to Read, helped her enroll in a local school. We’ve helped 1,200 girls across India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka complete their secondary education.

So there is much we can do together. And I have to tell you, I thought it was exquisitely appropriate as I woke up and was getting ready this morning to open The New York Times front page and see Christine Lagarde and Angela Merkel there. (Applause.) I know both of them and I think they are worthy of our appreciation and admiration, because boy, do they have hard jobs. Christine, who was here, is demonstrating not only her leadership at the IMF but also sending a message that there is no longer any reason that women cannot achieve in business, finance, the economy. And Chancellor Merkel is carrying Europe on her shoulders, trying to navigate through this very difficult economic crisis.

Now, I also heard a report of the call to action and the passion that Leymah Gbowee, our Nobel Peace Prize winner, along with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf from Liberia summoned you to. Now, for those of you who have seen the movie Pray the Devil Back to Hell, you know what happened in Liberia in the spring of 2003. But for others of you who may not yet have seen it, I urge you to do so, because thousands of women from all walks of life – Christians and Muslims together – flooded the streets, marching, singing, praying. Dressed all in white, they sat in a fish market under the hot sun under a banner that said: “The women of Liberia want peace now.” And they built a network and they delivered for their children and for future generations. It was an extraordinary accomplishment. (Applause.)

And when the peace talks finally happened in Ghana – not in Liberia – they went to Ghana. They staged a sit-in at the negotiations, linked arms, blocked the doors until the men inside reached an agreement. So the peace was signed, the dictator fled, but still they did not rest. They turned their energies to building an enduring peace. They worked to elect Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who became the first woman ever elected president of an African country. And in January, I had the honor of attending her second inauguration. (Applause.)

I just saw my good friend, President Jahjaga of Kosovo. She’s a very young president, but already her life is a testament for what women can do to promote peace and security. She was still a student when the war started. She saw so much suffering. She wanted to help. So after finishing her studies, she became a police officer. She worked closely with international troops to forge a fragile peace. She rose through the ranks and eventually became the leader of the new Kosovo police force. And then just last year, she became the first woman elected president anywhere in the Balkans. (Applause.) And she has worked to bring her country together to promote the rule of law, ethnic reconciliation, regional stability – all the while standing up for the rights and opportunities of women and girls.
You can look around the world today and you can see the difference that individual women leaders are making. Dilma Rousseff in Brazil, former Chilean President Michelle Bachelet, who’s now leading UN women. They carry an enormous load for the rest of us, because it is hard for any leader – male or female. But I don’t fear contradiction when I say it is harder for women leaders. There are so many built-in expectations, stereotypes, caricatures that are still deeply embedded in psyches and cultures.

When I sat down alone for dinner with Aung San Suu Kyi back in November, it really did feel like meeting an old friend, even though it was the first time we’ve had a chance to see each other in person. Of course, from afar I had admired her and appreciated her courage. I went to the house where she had been unjustly imprisoned. Over dinner, we talked about the national struggle, but we also talked about the personal struggle. How does one who has been treated so unjustly overcome that personal sense of anger, of the years that were lost, families that were no longer seen, in order to be a leader that unites and brings people together? Nelson Mandela set such a high standard, and he often told me how going to prison forced him to overcome the anger he felt as a young man, because he knew when he walked out that prison door, if he were still angry, if he still was filled with hatred, he would still be in prison.

Now, Aung San Suu Ky, like Nelson Mandela, would have been remembered in history forever if she had not made the decision to enter politics, as he did as well. So there she is at, I think, 67, out traveling in an open car through the heat of the countryside, meeting crowds of tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, absorbing their hopes that they are putting onto her. She knows that when she crosses into politics, even though it is ultimately the way change is made that can last, she moves from being an icon to a politician. I know that route. (Laughter.) And I know how hard it is to be able to balance one’s ideals, one’s aspirations, with the give and take of any political process anywhere in the world.

Now, we can tell stories all night and we can talk about the women who have inspired us. But what inspires me is not just who they are, but what they do. They roll their sleeves up and they get to work. And this has such important implications for our own country and for our national security, because our most important goals – from making peace and countering extremism to broadening prosperity and advancing democracy – depend to a very large degree on the participation and partnership of women.
Nations that invest in women’s employment, health, and education are just more likely to have better outcomes. Their children will be healthier and better educated. And all over the world, we’ve seen what women do when they get involved in helping to bring peace. So this is not just the right thing to do for us to hold up these women, to support them, to encourage their involvement; this is a strategic imperative.

And that’s why at the State Department, I’ve made women a cornerstone of American foreign policy. I’ve instructed our diplomats and development experts to partner with women, to find ways to engage and build on their unique strengths, help women start businesses, help girls attend school, push that women activists will be involved in peace talks and elections. It also means taking on discrimination, marginalization, rape as a tactic of war. I have seen the terrible abuses and what that does to the lives of women, and I know that we cannot rest until it is ended.

In December, we launched a U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security, which is our roadmap for how we accelerate and institutionalize efforts across the United States Government to advance women’s participation. And we’re taking on some really tough problems. We’re trying to build local capacity. We’re giving grants to train women activists and journalists in Kenya in early-warning systems for violence. We’re supporting a new trauma center for rape victims in Sudan. We’re helping women in the Central African Republic access legal and economic services. We’re improving the collection of medical evidence for the prosecution of gender-based violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

And that’s just the beginning, because from around the world, from Iraq and Afghanistan to Sudan to the new transitional democracies in the Middle East and North Africa, we’re expecting our embassies to develop local strategies to empower women politically, economically, and socially.

But we are watching carefully what is happening. We are concerned about the revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa. They held so much promise, but they also carried real risks, especially for women. We saw women on the front lines of the revolutions, most memorably in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. They marched, they blogged, they tweeted, they risked their lives alongside their sons and brothers – all in the name of dignity and opportunity. But after the revolution, too often they have found their attempts to participate in their new democracies blocked. We were delighted that our great Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg went on a State Department-sponsored trip to Egypt and Tunisia. And while there, she rightly said the daughters of the Middle East “should be able to aspire and achieve based on the talent God gave them and not be held back by any laws made by men.” (Applause.)

Just a few weeks ago in a town hall meeting in Tunis, a young woman wearing a head scarf stood up and talked about her experience working in partnership with the U.S. Embassy in a program that we call Bridge to Democracy. She said that often people she met were surprised that a young women wearing a hijab would work with Americans, and that we would work with her. Gradually, she said, these preconceptions broke down and increasingly people are just eager to find new partners to help build their new democracy. I told her that in America, in Tunisia, anywhere in the world, women should have the right to make their own choices about what they wear, how they worship, the jobs they do, the causes they support. These are choices women have to make for themselves, and they are a fundamental test of democracy.

Now, we know that young woman in Tunisia and her peers across the region already are facing extremists who will try to strip their rights, curb their participation, limit their ability to make choices for themselves. Why extremists always focus on women remains a mystery to me. But they all seem to. It doesn’t matter what country they’re in or what religion they claim. They want to control women. They want to control how we dress, they want to control how we act, they even want to control the decisions we make about our own health and bodies. (Applause.) Yes, it is hard to believe that even here at home, we have to stand up for women’s rights and reject efforts to marginalize any one of us, because America needs to set an example for the entire world. (Applause.) And it seems clear to me that to do that, we have to live our own values and we have to defend our own values. We need to respect each other, empower all our citizens, and find common ground.

We are living in what I call the Age of Participation. Economic, political, and technological changes have empowered people everywhere to shape their own destinies in ways previous generations could never have imagined. All these women – these Women in the World – have proven that committed individuals, often with help, help from their friends, can make a difference in their own lives and far beyond.

So let me have the great privilege of ending this conference by challenging each of you. Every one of us needs to be part of the solution. Each of us must truly be a Woman in the World. We need to be as fearless as the women whose stories you have applauded, as committed as the dissidents and the activists you have heard from, as audacious as those who start movements for peace when all seems lost. Together, I do believe that it is part of the American mission to ensure that people everywhere, women and men alike, finally have the opportunity to live up to their own God-given potential. So let’s go forth and make it happen. Thank you very much. (Applause.)”

U.S. CONDEMNS SHOOTING IN AFGHANISTAN

The following excerpt is from a Department of Defense American Forces Press Service e-mail:

Officials Condemn Afghanistan Shooting, Offer Condolences

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 11, 2012 - President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and International Security Assistance Force leaders all condemned a shooting incident in Southern Afghanistan, and pledged to work with Afghan authorities in fully investigating the incident.

"This incident is tragic and shocking, and does not represent the exceptional character of our military and the respect that the United States has for the people of Afghanistan," Obama said in a statement released by the White House.

Panetta spoke with Afghan President Hamid Karzai to offer his deepest condolences and profound regret for the tragic incident in Kandahar province. The incident resulted in the loss of life and injuries to innocent Afghan civilians, including women and children.

ISAF Commander Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, who is here to testify this week, issued a statement today saying he was "shocked and saddened" to hear of the shooting incident.

"I offer my profound regret and deepest condolences to the victims and their families," Allen said in his statement.

In a Facebook post, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Martin Dempsey offered his condolences to the victims of the attack and their families. "I'm confident that General Allen and his staff are taking the appropriate steps to quickly and thoroughly investigate the circumstances of this incident," he said.

Allegedly, an American service member left his base in Kandahar province, entered homes in the area and shot the inhabitants. Karzai said in a statement that the service member had killed 16 and wounded at least five others.

"I condemn such violence and am shocked and saddened that a U.S. service member is alleged to be involved, clearly acting outside his chain of command," Panetta said. "I told President Karzai that the American people share the outrage felt by President Karzai and his fellow citizens. This tragic incident does not reflect the commitment of the U.S. military to protect the Afghan people and help build a strong and stable Afghanistan."

"I cannot explain the motivation behind such callous acts, but they were in no way part of authorized ISAF military activity," said British Lt. Gen. Adrian J. Bradshaw in a written statement. Bradshaw is deputy ISAF commander.

The service member is in ISAF custody and will remain there as ISAF and Afghans conduct an investigation, Allen said. Those wounded in the incident are receiving care from ISAF medics. "I am absolutely dedicated to making sure that anyone who is found to have committed wrong-doing is held fully accountable," Allen said.

Panetta gave Karzai his assurances that U.S. officials will bring those responsible to justice. "We will spare no effort in getting the facts as quickly as possible, and we will hold any perpetrator who is responsible for this violence fully accountable under the law," he said in his statement.

The incident happens just weeks after rioting over the accidental burning of Qurans at Bagram Air Field.

Both Allen and the American embassy spoke of the partnership between the United States and Afghanistan.

"This deeply appalling incident in no way represents the values of ISAF and coalition troops or the abiding respect we feel for the Afghan people," the general said. "Nor does it impugn or diminish the spirit of cooperation and partnership we have worked so hard to foster with the Afghan National Security Forces."

An embassy statement reiterated that the United States is committed to "an enduring partnership with Afghanistan to obtain greater peace and security in the region, which is our common interest. We deplore any attack by a member of the U.S. armed forces against innocent civilians, and denounce all violence against civilians. We assure the people of Afghanistan that the individual or individuals responsible for this act will be identified and brought to justice."

SEC FILES ACTION AGAINST PRIME STAR GROUP, INC. FOR VIOLATIONS

The following excerpt is from the Securities and Exchange Commission website:

“Securities and Exchange Commission v. Prime Star Group, Inc., et al., Civil Action No. 2:12-cv-00371 (D. Nev.) (March 7, 2012)
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil action in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada against Prime Star Group, Inc. and its chief executive officer Roger Mohlman of Las Vegas, Nevada, for violations of antifraud, registration, reporting, and books and records provisions, and against Danny Colon and Marysol Morera of Edgewater, New Jersey, Felix Rivera of Clifton, New Jersey, New Jersey limited liability company DC International Consulting LLC, Kevin Carson of Lake Worth, Florida, Esper Gullatt, Jr. of Aurora, Colorado, Minnesota corporation The Stone Financial Group, Inc., and Joshua Konigsberg of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida for registration violations.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Prime Star illegally distributed more than 18 million purportedly unrestricted Rule 144 shares pursuant to backdated consulting agreements or forged attorney opinion letters. The SEC alleges that in furtherance of a pump and dump scheme, Prime Star and Mohlman issued the shares to consultants Colon, Morera, Rivera, DC International Consulting LLC, Carson, The Stone Financial Group, Inc., and Konigsberg who liquidated Prime Star stock and either kept a portion of the sales proceeds or forwarded proceeds to promoters to tout Prime Star. The SEC’s complaint also alleges that Prime Star and Mohlman made false and misleading statements in Prime Star’s SEC filings and in various press releases during the relevant time period.
The SEC alleges that Prime Star and Mohlman violated Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and that Prime Star violated Sections 13(a), 13(b)(2)(A) and 13(b)(2)(B) of the Exchange Act and Rules 12b-20, 13a-1 and 13a-13 thereunder. The complaint further alleges that Mohlman violated Section 13(b)(5) of the Exchange Act and Rules 13a-14, 13b2-1 and 13b2-2 thereunder and aided and abetted Prime Star’s violations of Sections 10(b), 13(a), 13(b)(2)(A) and 13(b)(2)(B) of the Exchange Act and Rules 10b-5(b), 12b-20, 13a-1 and 13a-13 thereunder. The SEC also alleges Section 5(a) and 5(c) violations against Colon, Morera, Rivera, DC International Consulting LLC, Carson, Gullatt, The Stone Financial Group, Inc., and Konigsberg.

Without admitting or denying the allegations in the Commission’s complaint, and subject to court approval, Konigsberg has consented to the entry of a judgment that would enjoin him from future violations of Sections 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act.

Separately, the Commission today issued an Order Instituting Administrative Proceedings and Notice of Hearing Pursuant to Section 12(j) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 against Prime Star, to determine whether the registration of each class of its securities should be revoked or suspended for a period not exceeding twelve months based on its failure to file required periodic reports. The Division of Enforcement alleges that Prime Star has failed to comply with Exchange Act Section 13(a) and Rules 13a-1 and 13a-13 thereunder by failing to file periodic reports required by these provisions. A hearing will be scheduled before an Administrative Law Judge to determine whether the allegations of the Division contained in the Order are true, and to provide Prime Star an opportunity to respond to these allegations."

MINORITY STUDENTS HAVE TOUGHER TIME

The following excerpt is from the U.S. Department of Education website:
“Minority students across America face harsher discipline, have less access to rigorous high school curricula, and are more often taught by lower-paid and less experienced teachers, according to the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
.
In an event at Howard University attended by civil rights and education reform groups, federal education officials today released new data from a national survey of more than 72,000 schools serving 85% of the nation’s students.  The self-reported data, Part II of the 2009-10 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), covers a range of issues including college and career readiness, discipline, school finance, and student retention.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the CRDC findings are a wake-up call to educators at every level and issued a broad challenge to work together to address educational inequities.

"The power of the data is not only in the numbers themselves, but in the impact it can have when married with the courage and the will to change.  The undeniable truth is that the everyday educational experience for many students of color violates the principle of equity at the heart of the American promise.  It is our collective duty to change that,” Duncan said.

Among the key findings are:
African-American students, particularly males, are far more likely to be suspended or expelled from school than their peers.  Black students make up 18% of the students in the CRDC sample, but 35% of the students suspended once, and 39% of the students expelled.
Students learning English (ELL) were 6% of the CRDC high school enrollment, but made up 12% of students retained.
Only 29% of high-minority high schools offered Calculus, compared to 55% of schools with the lowest black and Hispanic enrollment.
Teachers in high-minority schools were paid $2,251 less per year than their colleagues in teaching in low-minority schools in the same district.
Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Russlynn Ali said that for the first time, this survey includes detailed discipline data, including in-school suspensions, referrals to law enforcement, and school-related arrests.

“These new data categories are a powerful tool to aid schools and districts in crafting policy, and can unleash the power of research to advance reform in schools,” Ali said.
Part II  of the CRDC also provides a clear, comparative picture of college and career readiness, school finance, teacher absenteeism, student harassment and bullying, student restraint and seclusion, and grade-level student retention.”

U.S. LEADERS RECALL DISASTER IN JAPAN ON ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF "3/11"

The following excerpt is from a Department of Defense American Forces Press Service e-mail:

"U.S. Leaders Recall Japan Disasters, Relief Efforts

By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 9, 2012 - President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta issued statements today marking the upcoming one-year anniversary of the "3/11" earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters that devastated Japan.

Obama said he and First Lady Michelle Obama join all Americans in honoring the memory of the 19,000 victims lost or missing. "We continue to be inspired by the Japanese people, who faced unimaginable loss with extraordinary fortitude," he said.

The 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck northeastern Japan in the afternoon of March 11, triggering a tsunami. The disasters killed an estimated 16,000 people and destroyed coastal villages, towns and cities in the Tohoku region. The earthquake damaged the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant, which suffered cooling system failures, fires and explosions continued through March 15.

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the disasters were the worst crisis his nation had faced since World War II. Some 3,000 Japanese people remain missing.

In today's statement, the president said the United States mobilized immediately to aid Japan in a relief effort named for the Japanese word for "friend."

"At the peak of Operation Tomodachi -- our single, largest bilateral military operation with Japan ever -- the Department of Defense had 24,000 personnel, 190 aircraft, and 24 Navy ships supporting humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts," Obama noted.

Japan's government has led rebuilding efforts over the past year, Obama said, while U.S. experts "continue to support Japan's ongoing efforts to deal with the challenges associated with Fukushima."

Obama said he and the first lady are grateful for the contributions American civilians and service members have made to Japan's recovery.

"On this day when our thoughts and prayers are with the Japanese people in remembrance of the hardship faced one year ago, let us also celebrate the recovery under way in Japan and pay tribute to Japan's unflagging dedication to bettering the lives of others throughout the world," the president said.

Biden, in his statement, recalled his visit to Japan five months after the disasters.

"The survivors I met in Natori and Sendai made clear to me that the disaster met its match in the resilience and fortitude of the Japanese people," the vice president said. "While struck by the scale of the devastation, I also witnessed remarkable and inspiring progress in rebuilding homes, schools, and workplaces."

In Sendai, Biden said, he visited an airport that had been flooded and later became a refugee center.

"A week after the tsunami, Japanese and American forces reopened a runway, allowing the arrival of hundreds of relief workers and more than two million tons of humanitarian supplies," he said. As Japan rebuilds, America will stand with its allies as long as it takes, Biden added.

"We join the Japanese people today in honoring the memories of those lost as they continue to work for a better future," he said.

Panetta also expressed admiration "for the strength and resilience of the Japanese people," adding that he too, in a visit last year, had seen their determination to rebuild their country even stronger than before.

"The U.S. military was proud to support the government of Japan in responding to this disaster, and the success of these efforts is a testament to the strength of our alliance," the secretary said.

The United States remains committed to helping Japan rebuild, Panetta said, and the U.S. military will continue to deepen its partnership with Japanese forces.

"Japan is more than just an ally," the secretary said. "It is also a great friend of America. Together we will continue to forge ahead to achieve peace, prosperity, and a better future for both of our countries."

Panetta thanked the thousands of Defense Department men and women who responded to Japan's disasters.

"Within moments of disaster striking, the United States armed forces, under the leadership of [Navy] Adm. Robert Willard, were fully mobilized to support the Japanese government in its response and recovery efforts," he said.

Willard commands U.S. Pacific Command, the nation's largest combatant command, and led U.S. relief efforts after the earthquake struck. Willard, who is retiring after a 39-year career, will hand that position over to Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III in a ceremony later today.

Panetta said the greatest service anyone can perform is to help fellow human beings in need.

"Together, Japanese and American forces helped those in need, and solidified the friendship between our two great nations for generations to come," the secretary said.