RUSSIA REPORTEDLY RESUPPLYING BASE IN SYRIA

Map Credit:  U.S. State Department Website:

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE

Russia Resupplying Base in Syria, DOD Spokesman Says

By Karen Parrish
WASHINGTON, June 19, 2012 - A Russian cargo ship reportedly carrying attack helicopters to Syria turned back today when its British insurer canceled coverage, but a Defense Department spokesman said three other Russian vessels will carry supplies and possibly troops to the Russian naval base at Tartus.


Russian military officials have said the supplies are intended for their own resupply and force protection, Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. John Kirby told reporters today.


Kirby said defense officials support Russia's decision to stop the cargo ship's voyage. "We ... don't want to see the Assad regime get arms and ammunition or any lethal support that they could use," he said.

In January 2011, Syrians began protesting against the government of Bashar Assad. The protests spread into a more general uprising, which United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in May had claimed some 10,000 lives. Russia, a Syrian ally, has threatened to veto any U.N. Security Council sanctions against Syria.


President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a joint statement yesterday calling for "moving forward on [a] political transition to a democratic, pluralistic political system" in Syria.


Kirby said political transition is "the right way forward."


"I think we can all agree that that's the right answer for Syria and for the Syrian people," he added.


International diplomatic and economic pressure "needs to continue to be applied to the Assad regime so that they will step down and do what's right for their own people," the spokesman added.


Kirby noted U.S. defense officials have repeatedly said providing lethal military aid to Assad's forces is "intolerable and unacceptable."


"We've been very clear with the entire international community, not just the Russians, about what our concerns are with respect to lethal aid and assistance going to the Assad regime," he added.


Pentagon Press Secretary George Little, who also spoke during today's briefing, said any disagreement over Syria between Russia and the United States hasn't affected the northern distribution network. The network, which Russia supports, has been the only means of ground transport for NATO supplies headed into Afghanistan since Pakistan closed ground cargo routes to NATO forces in November.


"It's an extremely complicated but essential network for our supplies in and out of Afghanistan," Little said. "I have heard no indication that the Russians are going to change their participation in that network and would reiterate our thanks to the government of Russia for supporting it."

"At the same time," Kirby said, "we've been very clear with them about our concerns about lethal support to the Syrian regime. It's not like we haven't been honest about what concerns us with these arms sales to Assad. We have been."


Kirby noted U.S. officials are working with the international community "as much and as aggressively as we can to make sure that Assad doesn't have at his disposal the means to kill his own people, or at least limit that ability as much as we can."

SALLY RIDE MAKES HISTORY ON JUNE 18, 1983

FROM:  NASA
Launching Into History
On June 18, 1983, a young physicist from California took her seat aboard the space shuttle and launched into history. On that date, Sally Ride became the first American woman in space as a mission specialist on STS-7. In this image, Ride monitors control panels from the pilot's chair on the flight deck.
SALLY RIDE ASTRONAUT Image Credit: NASA

POLISH AIR FORCE TAKES PART IN RED FLAG ALASKA

A Polish air force C-130 Hercules sits on the flight line during Red Flag-Alaska on Joint Base Elemendorf-Richardson, Alaska, June 13, 2012. A member of the Polish air force C-130 Hercules crew guides the aircraft to begin to taxi to the runway during Red Flag-Alaska on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, June 13, 2012. The goal of Red Flag-Alaska is to provide each aircrew with vital first missions to increase their chances of survival in combat environments. Photo From:  U.S. Force Web Site.

A Polish air force C-130 Hercules takes off during Red Flag-Alaska on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson June 13, 2012. A member of the Polish Air Force C-130 Hercules crew guides the aircraft to begin to taxi to the runway during Red Flag-Alaska on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson June 13, 2012. The goal of Red Flag-Alaska is to provide each aircrew with vital first missions to increase their chances of survival in combat environments. Photo From:  U.S. Force Web Site,

A member of the Polish Air Force C-130 Hercules crew guides the aircraft to begin to taxi to the runway during Red Flag-Alaska on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson June 13, 2012. The goal of Red Flag-Alaska is to provide each aircrew with vital first missions to increase their chances of survival in combat environments. Photo From:  U.S. Force Web Site.

ESA Portal - Czech Republic - CryoSat se vydává nad moře

ESA Portal - Czech Republic - CryoSat se vydává nad moře

SECRETARY OF STATE HILLARY CLINTON'S REMARKS ON TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Release of the 2012 Trafficking in Persons Report
Remarks Hillary Rodham Clinton
   Secretary of State Maria Otero
   Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Luis CdeBaca
   Ambassador-at-Large, Office To Monitor and Combat Trafficking in PersonsVincent Paraiso
Benjamin Franklin Room
Washington, DC
June 19, 2012
UNDER SECRETARY OTERO: Good afternoon, everyone. And welcome to the Department of State. It’s wonderful to have you all here. I want to especially welcome Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith for being here with us. Thank you for being here. (Applause.)

Every year, this event brings together committed leaders and activists from across the anti-trafficking movement, and the enthusiasm that’s surrounding this rollout shows us the momentum that we have built in the struggle against modern slavery.

I am Maria Otero. I am the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights. My office oversees the bureaus that help countries and governments create just societies, societies that are grounded in democratic principles that guarantee respect for human rights and that apply the rule of law. Whether we’re helping strengthen judicial systems or we’re denouncing human rights abuses or helping build strong law enforcement capacities or combating trafficking in persons, we’re aiming to help countries protect the individual citizens in their countries.

Trafficking challenges are one of the problems that we have. And it is also the one area that deals with one of our most fundamental values. That is the basic freedom and dignity of every individual. Trafficking also tears at the very fabric of society. It rips families apart. It devastates communities. It holds people back from becoming full participants in their own political processes in their own economies. And it challenges the ability of countries to build strong justice systems and transparent governments. That’s why fighting modern slavery is a priority for the United States. In that fight, we partner with governments around the world to improve and increase the prosecution of this crime, to prevent the crime from spreading, and to protect those individuals who are victimized by it.

While governments bear this responsibility of protecting their individual citizens, this fight depends on a broader partnership as well. Without the efforts of civil society, the faith community, the private sector, we would not be able to advance and we would not be able to see the advances that the report highlights. The report that we are issuing today guides our work. It represents the very best knowledge and information on the state of modern slavery in the world today. It shows the fruit of partnerships around the world. It shows the strides that we’ve made in protecting individuals, and it shows how far we yet still have to go to assure the basic human rights.

I want to thank everyone who has worked this last year to compile these reports, from the NGOs that submit this information to the governments that provide us with data, from the diplomats in our overseas missions, to the staff of the Office of Monitor and Combating Trafficking in Persons who are here today. And today really is the culmination of tireless work over many months that they have taken on. And for that reason, it is really my pleasure and my privilege to be able to introduce my colleague who runs that office and who has shepherded and given leadership to this process, our Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Luis CdeBaca. (Applause.)

AMBASSADOR CDEBACA: Thank you, Madam Under Secretary, for the introduction and for your leadership here at the State Department. Bringing so many different issues together under this label of civilian security over the last year has allowed room here in the State Department and across the U.S. Government for constructive collaborations, whether we’re dealing with human rights, migration, criminal justice, war crimes, counterterrorism, or, as today, human trafficking. Because building democracy, growing economies, unleashing the full potential of the individual, these things don’t just happen. They start with people.

Around the world in the last year, we’ve heard those people, their voices calling, calling out for democracy, for greater opportunity. We recognize that sound. It’s the sound of hope. And traffickers ensnare their victims by exploiting that hope, especially the hope of the vulnerable. “Come with me, I’ll help you start a modeling career. Pay me $10,000, I’ll get you that job. I love you. I’ll take care of you. Just do this for us.” As long as the Trafficking in Persons Report is needed, we will find in its pages account after account of traffickers peddling false hope.

But that’s not all that we find in the pages of this report because every year that passes, those false hopes are overtaken more and more by real hope; the real hope that the modern abolitionist movement provides. And just as trafficking takes many forms, the way that we fight slavery today, the way that we provide hope for those who have been exploited, is growing. It is growing more diverse and more innovative, and so are the people who are stepping up.

We see it in the private sector, where corporate leaders are using their business skills. They’re hearing from consumers who don’t want to buy things tainted by modern slavery. Leaders like CEO Tom Mazzetta. When he read a report about forced labor in the fishing industry, he wasn’t just shocked. He acted. He wrote two letters. The first was to the company he used, until that day, to source calamari. The second was an open letter to all of his customers telling them that his brand was his family, his family name, and he would not taint it or his customers with slavery in his supply chain. We’re inspired by his principled stand.

We see it among activists like Jada Pinkett Smith and her family, who have a unique platform from which to act. When her daughter Willow began asking about these types of subjects, she didn’t just explain it away as something that happens over there. She got to work. She’s launching a new website to serve as a resource for victims and survivors and is an information hub for those who seek to learn more about this crime. Jada, we thank you for your advocacy.

We see it in people’s day to day lives, like when Aram Kovach was watching CNN one day. He saw the story of a young boy castrated because he refused to take part in a begging ring. He wasn’t just horrified by the reality of modern slavery. Aram did something. He got in touch with the boy’s family and he paid for him to come to the United States for surgery. Mr. Kovach we’re moved by your compassion.

And if I can take a moment of personal privilege, we see it in the men and women who contribute to this report: our colleagues at embassies around the world, in our regional bureaus here in Washington, and especially the reports in political affairs team of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. We thank you all for your rigor, your commitment, and the zeal with which you attack this problem.

And we see it ultimately in the victims, the survivors, whether they choose to become activists or whether they choose to lead a life of quiet anonymity. When you log on to slaveryfootprint.org – and I hope you do – and it asks you how many slaves work for you, remember that those victims are not statistics. It’ll give you a number, but these people are not numbers. They are people with hopes, with dreams, with courage, and with names. Remember their names, names like Amina, Maria Elena, Joel, Ashley. It’s their courage that challenge us to deliver on this promise, this promise of freedom.

And it’s my pleasure to introduce someone who has never turned away from that challenge. From the start of this effort, when most people didn’t want to talk about modern slavery, to this day, when we recommit ourselves to the vision of a world without slavery, ladies and gentlemen, the Secretary of State. (Applause.)

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you. Thank you all very much. And I am delighted to see a standing room only crowd here in the Benjamin Franklin Room for this very important annual event. I welcome all of you here to the State Department. And I want to begin by thanking Ambassador CdeBaca and his team for all the hard work that goes into this report, and the passion that they bring to the fight against modern slavery. I would like, Lou, for you and your team to either stand or wave your hand if you’re already standing. Could we have everyone from – (applause) – thank you. I so appreciate what you do every day, not just when we roll out the report, and I’m very proud to be your colleague.

I also want to welcome our 10 TIP heroes, whose work is making a real difference. You will hear more about each one individually when we recognize them, but I want, personally, to thank them because they do remind us that one person’s commitment and passion, one person’s experience and the courage to share that experience with the world, can have a huge impact. And I am delighted to welcome all of our TIP heroes here today. Thank you. (Applause.)

And I will join Lou in thanking Jada Pinkett Smith and Will for being here, and through you, your daughter. Because, as Lou said, it was their daughter who brought this issue to Jada’s attention, and I am so pleased that she has taken on this cause. And we look forward to working with you.

In the United States today, we are celebrating what’s called Juneteenth. That’s freedom day, the date in 1865 when a Union officer stood on a balcony in Galveston, Texas and read General Order Number 3, which declared, “All slaves are free.” It was one of many moments in history when a courageous leader tipped the balance and made the world more free and more just. But the end of legal slavery in the United States and in other countries around the world has not, unfortunately, meant the end of slavery.

Today, it is estimated as many as 27 million people around the world are victims of modern slavery, what we sometimes call trafficking in persons. As Lou said, I’ve worked on this issue now for more than a dozen years. And when we started, we called it trafficking. And we were particularly concerned about what we saw as an explosion of the exploitation of people, most especially women, who were being quote, “trafficked” into the sex trade and other forms of servitude. But I think labeling this for what it is, slavery, has brought it to another dimension.

I mean, trafficking, when I first used to talk about it all those years ago, I think for a while people wondered whether I was talking about road safety – (laughter) – what we needed to do to improve transportation systems. But slavery, there is no mistaking what it is, what it means, what it does. And these victims of modern slavery are women and men, girls and boys. And their stories remind us of what kind of inhumane treatment we are still capable of as human beings. Some, yes, are lured to another country with false promises of a good job or opportunities for their families. Others can be exploited right where they grew up, where they now live. Whatever their background, they are living, breathing reminders that the work to eradicate slavery remains unfinished. The fact of slavery may have changed, but our commitment to ending it has not and the deeply unjust treatment that it provides has not either.

Now the United States is not alone in this fight. Many governments have rallied around what we call the three P’s of fighting modern slavery: prevention, prosecution, and protection. And this report, which is being issued today, gives a clear and honest assessment of where all of us are making progress on our commitments and where we are either standing still or even sliding backwards. It takes a hard look at every government in the world, including our own. Because when I became Secretary of State, I said, “When we are going to be issuing reports on human trafficking, on human rights that talk about other countries, we’re also going to be examining what we’re doing,” because I think it’s important that we hold ourselves to the same standard as everyone else.
Now, this year’s report tells us that we are making a lot of progress. Twenty-nine countries were upgraded from a lower tier to a higher one, which means that their governments are taking the right steps. This could mean enacting strong laws, stepping up their investigations and prosecutions, or simply laying out a roadmap of steps they will take to respond.

But this issue and the progress we’ve made are about much more than statistics on prosecutions and vulnerable populations. It’s about what is happening in the lives of the girls and women I recently met in Kolkata. I visited a few months ago and was able to meet with some extraordinary women and girls who were getting their lives back after suffering unspeakable abuses. One young girl, full of life, came up and asked me if I wanted to see her perform some karate moves. And I said, “Of course.” And the way she stood up so straight and confident, the pride and accomplishment in her eyes, was so inspiring. This was a child who’d been born in a brothel to a young mother who had been forced and sold into prostitution. But when her mother finally escaped and took her daughter with her, they were out of harm’s way and finally able to make choices for themselves.

Now I don’t know what’s going to happen to that young girl, whose image I see in my mind’s eye, in the years and decades ahead. But I do know that with a little help, her life can be so much better than her mother’s. And that’s what we need to be focused on, and it’s what we need to try to do for all victims and survivors.

That’s why in this year’s report, we are especially focused on that third P, victim protection. And in these pages, you’ll find a lot of proven practices and innovative approaches to protecting victims. This is a useful and specific guide for governments looking to scale up their own efforts. What kind of psychological support might a victim need? How should immigration laws work to protect migrant victims? How can labor inspectors learn to recognize the warning signs of traffickers? And what can you and all of us do to try to help?

When I met with the people who were working with victims in Kolkata, I met several young women from the United States who had been inspired by reading about and watching and going online and learning about what was happening in the efforts to rescue and protect victims. And they were there in Kolkata, working with organizations, NGOs, and the faith community, to do their part. So this is a moment for people to ask themselves not just what government can do to end modern slavery, but what can I do, what can we do together.

Ultimately, this report reminds us of the human cost of this crime. Traffickers prey on the hopes and dreams of those seeking a better life. And our goal should be to put those hopes and dreams back within reach, whether it’s getting a good job to send money home to support a family, trying to get an education for oneself or one’s children, or simply pursuing new opportunities that might lead to a better life. We need to ensure that all survivors have that opportunity to move past what they endured and to make the most of their potential.

I’m very pleased that every year we have the chance to honor people who have made such a contribution in this modern struggle against modern slavery. And I’m also pleased that this is a high priority for President Obama and the Obama Administration. It’s something that is not just political and not just a policy, but very personal and very deep. You might have seen over the weekend a long story about Mrs. Obama’s roots going back to the time of our own period of slavery and the family that nurtured her, which has roots in the fields and the houses of a time when Americans owned slaves.

So as we recommit ourselves to end modern slavery, we should take a moment to reflect on how far we have come, here in our country and around the world, but how much farther we still have to go to find a way to free those 27 million victims and to ensure that there are no longer any victims in the future.
Thank you all very much. (Applause.)

AMBASSADOR CDEBACA: We are joined today by 10 amazing individuals representative of thousands of more amazing individuals who work so hard to do their part in this fight. And I’d ask that the TIP heroes from this side of the stage come over and join us starting with –

SECRETARY CLINTON: Stand over here?

AMBASSADOR CDEBACA: I think we’re going to do it right over here. Starting with Marcelo Colombo. Marcelo Colombo from Argentina, in recognition of his profound influence on efforts to investigate and prosecute human trafficking cases and take a bold stance against corruption and official complicity. Marcelo Colombo. (Applause.)
In recognition of her extraordinary commitment to uncovering human trafficking cases, her innovative strategy to raise public awareness in spite of limited resources, and a proactive approach to providing protection services to victims in Aruba, Jeannette Richardson-Baars (Applause.)

In recognition of her ambitious efforts to strengthen legislative and criminal justice responses to trafficking in Southeast Asia and her substantial contribution to identify the core elements of a comprehensive anti-trafficking model from Australia, Anne Gallagher. (Applause.)

In recognition of his amazing courage to escape slavery and his remarkable activism to end human trafficking, raising awareness of labor exploitation in the fishing industry of Southeast Asia, Vannak Anan Prum. (Applause.)

In recognition of his unwavering efforts in the face of threats and acts of violence against him and his family to provide aid to trafficking victims in the Republic of the Congo, Raimi Vincent Paraiso. (Applause.)

In recognition of his dedication to victim protection and support and his tireless work to enlist new partners in anti-trafficking efforts in Greece, Phil Hyldgaard. (Applause.)
For her compassion and courage in bringing attention to the suffering of the human trafficking victims in the Sinai and her groundbreaking projects that identify these abuses, Sister Azezet Habtezghi Kidane. (Applause.)

For her ongoing and exemplary leadership to increase engagement and strengthen commitments to fight trafficking in the OSCE region, Judge Maria Grazia Giammarinaro. (Applause.)

In recognition of her courageous advocacy on behalf of vulnerable people and her pioneering work to outlaw slavery once and for all in Mauritania, a country in which she was the first woman lawyer, Fatimata M’Baye. (Applause.)

The founder of International Justice Mission, an internationally recognized human rights organization, for his work to preserve rule of law around the globe, Gary Haugen. (Applause.)

UNDER SECRETARY OTERO: If I could ask Vincent to please come to the podium and speak on behalf of the TIP heroes, please. (Applause.)

MR. PARAISO: Bonjour. (Via interpreter) Madam Secretary, honorable under secretaries, honorable ambassadors, heads of diplomatic missions, distinguished guests. On behalf of my organization, Alto-Afrique Enfants, and of all the heroes here that I have the honor to represent, I would like to thank the United States Government for honoring us with this award at this unforgettable moment.

The phenomenon of human trafficking has reached alarming proportions around the world. My country, the Republic of Congo, and many others represented at this meeting are unfortunately not spared from this crime. Therefore, the international community cannot remain silent against this evil and must continue to respond relentlessly. I would also like to thank the U.S. embassies in our respective countries for their advocacy and dialogue with host country governments in the fight against this phenomenon.

In my career as a medical doctor, the numerous traumatic injuries I have seen inflicted and cured on child victims of trafficking led me to stand as a pillar of support for hundreds of children. These child victims of trafficking have been identified, rescued, protected, and sometimes supported by our organization in the Republic of the Congo. This work has led to several kidnapping and assassination attempts against me by potential traffickers. But it has also filled me with joy and happiness when, for instance, I heard a Senegalese teenager who I rescued tell me, “You are my father.”

I have the honor to represent Alto-Afrique Enfants, and we will continue the fight against traffickers with passion. As for its commitments to the fight and trafficking and forced labor, Alto will continue to work jointly with the government, UNICEF, and other international and national organizations. This is a problem that must be resolved through a joint effort. Human trafficking is a human rights violation.

An approach grounded in human rights in the prevention of and the fight against trafficking has several requirements in both law and practice. Most of all, victims’ rights must be fully respected and they must be clearly identified. Finally, these victims are entitled to justice, reparations, and should be treated with close attention, as they are vulnerable. Perseverance and collaboration will lead us to success, meaning the eradication of this phenomenon.

Madam Secretary, distinguished guests, ladies, and gentlemen, I would like to conclude by stating that I hope we can work together to build a better future for all children of the world. Thank you. (Applause.)

UNDER SECRETARY OTERO: Merci beaucoup, Vincent. C’est magnifique. C’est tres magnifique. (Laughter.) Your words are inspiring and your leadership in this struggle is also inspiring. You and all the TIP heroes are once again reminding us that the individual actions of each human being has tremendous impact and that we are all responsible for playing a role in eradicating this horrible crime that continues to persist in our societies.

I want to thank you all for joining this event today. The commitment, the passion, the responsibility that all of you take on and that is represented in this room, once again reminds us that we are not only moving in the right direction, but that we are going to make this goal be within our reach. So thank you very much for being here with us today. Thank you, Madam Secretary. (Applause.)

STATE DEPARTMENT FACT SHEET REGARDING U.S.-RUSSIA COOPERATION ON HEALTH

Photo:  Mosquito Bed Nets Handed Out By U.S. Air Force.  Credit:  Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. James Brock   
FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
U.S. - Russia Cooperation on Health
Fact Sheet
Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
June 18, 2012
The United States and Russia continue to expand and advance their cooperation in health through the Bilateral Presidential Commission Health Working Group under the leadership of Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Veronika Skvortsova, Minister of Health of the Russian Federation. The Health Working Group fosters joint work on health challenges facing citizens of both countries and on improving global health, promotes collaboration between U.S. and Russian researchers in the areas of public health and medical science, and facilitates cooperation and exchanges between stakeholders in the United States and Russia.

Protocol of Intent on Disease Prevention and Control
On April 24, 2012, Dr. Thomas Frieden, Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Dr. Gennady Onishenko, Director of the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-being of the Russian Federation (Rospotrebnadzor), signed a Protocol of Intent on cooperation in prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases. The Protocol will support collaborative activities under the Bilateral Presidential Commission Health Working Group in the areas of healthy lifestyles and combating infectious disease.

The Protocol reflects a long history of scientific cooperation between the United States and Russia. Under the Protocol, the participants intend to continue their existing cooperation in the area of infectious diseases, particularly influenza and smallpox, through joint research projects on the strains of influenza circulating in both countries and related to the development of medical countermeasures for smallpox, including vaccines and antiviral drugs. Bilateral cooperation will include exchanging information, such as surveillance data; promoting joint research projects; conducting periodic consultations; and providing technical assistance and training to build capacity in the surveillance of communicable and non-communicable diseases. Our countries will also exchange surveillance data related to foodborne disease and collaborate on the most effective ways to prevent HIV and tuberculosis infection, particularly among the most at-risk groups.

In both Russia and the United States, non-communicable diseases like cancer and cardiovascular disease present great threats to health. Reducing tobacco use is vital to improving health and lowering the burden of non-communicable disease. Under the Protocol, the United States will share best practices with Russia for monitoring tobacco use and related indicators. This monitoring provides data to help design and implement efforts to inform the public about the dangers of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke, as well as the benefits of smoking cessation and a tobacco-free lifestyle.

Cooperation in the Global Fight to End Malaria
Building on existing activities in the field of global health, the United States and Russia have agreed to cooperate in the global fight against malaria. This cooperation, under the auspices of the Health Working Group, will entail training and capacity building, evaluation, operational research, advocacy, and resource mobilization in support of national malaria control plans in countries in Africa and the Asia Pacific region. The United States and Russia will also explore joint participation or co-leadership on malaria control issues in international and national forums such as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Global Roll Back Malaria Partnership, and regional or global health meetings.

The United States and Russia exchanged letters of intent on global malaria control cooperation and will sign a Protocol of Intent in 2012. The President’s Malaria Initiative, an interagency effort led by the U.S. Agency for International Development and implemented together with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will coordinate efforts on behalf of the United States. For Russia, the Ministry of Health and the E.I. Martsinovsky Institute of Medical Parasitology and Tropical Medicine of the Moscow State Medical University will serve as coordinators.

An estimated 300 to 500 million people annually become ill with malaria, and about 800,000 die. Malaria is a leading cause of death of young children in Africa, and the threat posed by drug-resistant forms of the disease is growing. U.S.-Russia cooperation on malaria will save children, improve maternal health, reduce suffering, and promote economic development in countries that are still burdened with this disease.

SOUTHCOM COMMANDER SAYS EVENTS IN SOUTH AMERICAN NATIONS AFFECT NATIONAL SECURITY

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE 
Marines attached to a Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force guard an extraction point in the marshes of Santo Tomas, Guatemala, Dec. 6, 2011, as a part of Amphibious-Southern Partnership Station 2012, an annual deployment of U.S. military teams to the U.S. Southern Command region. Partnership is a cornerstone of U.S. military engagement in the Southern Command area of responsibility. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Isaiah Sellers III.  



Regional Challenges Drive Southcom's Agenda
By Donna Miles
MIAMI, June 18, 2012 - Air Force Gen. Douglas M. Fraser, commander of U.S. Southern Command, regularly tells members of Congress, audiences around the region and members of his command that events in South America, Central America and the Caribbean affect U.S. national security.

"The hemisphere is our shared home," Fraser noted in his Command Strategy 2020 "Partnership for the Americas" document issued in July.

"We are all Americans" in the region, he added.

While a mere glance at a map underscores the obvious physical connection among the hemisphere's nations, Fraser cited other bonds that cross economic, cultural, ideological and security lines.

"Latin America and the Caribbean are vitally important to the security and future of the United States," he said. "The nations of the region are inextricably linked, and we face common challenges to our security and stability."

With globalization unfolding at lightning speed over the past decade, transforming commerce, culture, trade and technology, it's had a profound impact on security as well, the general noted in his 2012 Southcom posture statement, released in March.

Fraser said he's particularly concerned about "the parallel globalization of organized crime, violence, murder and kidnapping related to illicit trafficking."

He noted that in many parts of the hemisphere, particularly in Central America, transnational organized crime has evolved to become a "volatile and potentially destabilizing threat to both citizen and regional security."

These sophisticated networks operate across national borders and dividing lines for U.S. geographic combatant commands, demanding an unprecedented level of cooperation among those attempting to counter them -- regionally, nationally and across U.S. agencies, he said.

"The challenge for United States Southern Command is to find creative ways to enhance the interagency, public-private and partner-nation cooperation as we plan, train and operate with regional military to address the predominant security concerns in the region," Fraser said.

Fraser recognized other persistent challenges facing the region, including poverty, crime, corruption, institutional weakness, illicit trafficking and terrorism. "These challenges complicate our collective efforts to secure the hemisphere," he stated in his 2020 command strategy. "At the same time, security helps provide the very means to address these issues."

He cited the vulnerability of much of Latin America and the Caribbean to humanitarian crises, mass migrations and natural disasters.

Southcom works closely with partner nations to strengthen their humanitarian assistance and disaster relief capabilities, Fraser told the House Armed Services Committee in May. "And we remain ready to respond should our assistance be requested," he added.

Meanwhile, Southcom watches for potential geopolitical turbulence that could affect U.S. citizens and military personnel in the region, he said in his posture statement. He cited Cuba, Haiti, Bolivia and Venezuela as areas of particular interest.

Frasier noted the yet-to-be-seen long-term effects of Cuba's market reforms under Raul Castro's leadership. Haiti, while making slow but steady progress, remains vulnerable to natural disasters and economic hardship, the general said.

Meanwhile, he added, public demonstrations in Bolivia related to low wages, high food prices and energy shortages are likely to continue until the Bolivian government addresses these issues. And in Venezuela, Fraser recognized continuing uncertainty about President Hugo Chavez' health, as well as continued economic instability and escalating violence that he said place increasing demands on that country's government.

Adding to the list of concerns, Fraser pointed to Hezbollah supporters operating throughout South America and the fact that the region has become home to a small number of violent extremist organizations.

"We remain vigilant for the potential radicalization of homegrown extremists," he said. Fraser noted that Sunni extremists, while small in number, are actively involved in radicalization efforts.

Jamaica's Shaykh Abdullah al-Faisal, for example, was convicted in the United Kingdom for inciting terrorism, he said. Al-Qaida senior operative Adnan el-Shukrijumah has held valid passports for the United States as well as Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago, where he has family and associates. And despite recent convictions in the 2007 plot to attack the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, one of the alleged co-conspirators remains at large in Guyana.

Meanwhile, Fraser noted, Iran represents a troublesome influence in the region, attempting to circumvent international sanctions through ties with Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua and Cuba. "We take Iranian activity in the hemisphere seriously, and we monitor its activities closely," he said.

In presenting his command priorities, Fraser emphasized four major objectives:

-- Strengthen regional partnerships;
-- Increase partner capability;
-- Confront regional challenges; and
-- Support humanitarian and disaster response, as required.

Fraser called partnership-building "the cornerstone of our strategic approach." It ensures the forward defense of the United States, he said, by promoting capable regional militaries that share in the responsibility of hemispheric security and stability.

"What we focus on in the region is building partner capacity and security cooperation, collaboratively, with willing nations," Navy Vice Adm. Joseph D. Kernan, Southcom's military deputy commander, told American Forces Press Service at the command's headquarters here. "We endeavor to plan extensively with them, ensuring that our efforts to help build their security in ways they believe are helpful to them."

These efforts are coordinated closely with the State Department and with full respect for each partner nation's sovereignty, Kernan said.

"We truly want to be the security partner of choice," said Army Maj. Gen. Gerald W. Ketchum, director of the command's theater engagement directorate, who oversees many of the programs designed to build those partnerships. "And as we work to build them, we want those partnerships to be enduring."

In establishing new ties and strengthening existing ones, Kernan said, Southcom is demonstrating the deep U.S. commitment to the region.

"We have to pursue a persistent, welcomed presence with countries in the region," he said. "That is what builds lasting relations and mutual respect. We need to be able to stand alongside our partners and talk about collectively addressing common security problems."

Fraser said efforts to strengthen and enhance partner nations' ability to respond to domestic and regional threats -- individually and collectively -- will pay off in long-term security for the region.

"We envision a hemisphere characterized by nations working together to address the emerging security challenges of the coming decade," he said.

SUBSIDIARY OF NESTLE SA CITED BY OSHA FOR SAFETY VIOLATIONS AFTER WORKER CRUSHED TO DEATH

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
US Labor Department’s OSHA cites Tribe Mediterranean Foods for safety violations following death of a worker in Taunton, Mass.
Employees lacked necessary training to prevent ‘needless and avoidable loss of life’

BRAINTREE, Mass. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Tribe Mediterranean Foods, a subsidiary of Nestle SA that manufactures Tribe brand hummus products, for 18 alleged violations of workplace safety standards following the death of a worker at its Taunton production plant. OSHA's South Boston Area Office opened an inspection on Dec. 16, 2011, after a contract employee who was cleaning and sanitizing a machine used in the hummus manufacturing process was caught, pulled into the machine and crushed to death between two rotating augers.

OSHA's investigation found that Tribe Mediterranean Foods had not trained the deceased worker and six other workers who cleaned plant machinery on hazardous energy control or "lockout/tagout" procedures. These are the procedures employers must put into effect and train workers to follow to shut down machines and lock out their power sources before cleaning or performing maintenance on them. The purpose of lockout/tagout procedures is to ensure that the machines are not operating, and cannot unexpectedly activate and harm workers. OSHA requires that employers train workers so that they understand the purpose of the energy control procedures, and have the knowledge and skills required to safely utilize them.

"The employer knew it needed to train these workers so they could protect themselves against just this type of hazard but failed to do so. The result was a needless and avoidable loss of life," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. "In this case, Tribe Mediterranean Foods' knowledge and continuous disregard for an obvious and deadly hazard was so pronounced that we are issuing seven willful citations for lack of training, one for each untrained worker exposed to the hazard."
When there is a particularly egregious lack of compliance and exposure to hazards, OSHA can issue citations on a per-instance basis, in this case, representing one willful violation for each untrained employee exposed to a hazard.

OSHA has issued Tribe Mediterranean Foods citations for two additional willful violations, one for failing to adequately train maintenance workers to recognize hazardous energy sources, and one for failing to develop and utilize lockout/tagout procedures. A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.
Citations for three repeat violations have been issued for failing to conduct periodic inspections of the energy control procedures, inadequate guarding of rotating blades on blending tanks, and an exposed chain and sprocket on a conveyor. A repeat violation can be cited when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. OSHA cited Tribe Mediterranean Foods, doing business as FoodTech International Inc., in October 2009, for similar hazards at its New Haven, Conn., plant.
Finally, Tribe Mediterranean Foods has been issued citations covering six serious violations for electrical, slipping, fall, pallet jack and additional machine guarding hazards. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

The citations can be viewed at Http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/TribeMediterraneanFoodsIncorporated_315145953_0612_12.pdf.
Tribe Mediterranean Foods, which faces a total of $702,300 in proposed fines, has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet with OSHA or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Due to the willful and repeat violations and the nature of the hazards, OSHA has placed Tribe Mediterranean Foods in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which mandates targeted follow-up inspections to ensure compliance with the law. The program focuses on recalcitrant employers that endanger workers by committing certain willful, repeat or failure-to-abate violations.
.
Tribe Mediterranean Foods is a subsidiary of Tivall 1993 LTD, which is owned by Osem Investments Limited, a subsidiary of Nestle SA. The Osem Group of companies produces and distributes certified-kosher food products in Israel, Europe and the United States. In addition to Osem and Migdanot Habayit products, the company imports, markets and distributes throughout the United States products from Wissotzki, Matzot Rishon, Matzot Karmel, Einat, Couscous Maison, Milos, Progress, Tempo, Beit Hashita, Beigel & Beigel, Manamim, Creative and Menora Candles.

The workers' compensation carrier insuring Tribe Mediterranean Foods through parent company OSEM Foods is Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance.

ESA Portal - United Kingdom - ESA tests self-steering rover in ‘Mars’ desert

ESA Portal - United Kingdom - ESA tests self-steering rover in ‘Mars’ desert

U.S. AND VIETNAMESE COOPERATE TO RESTORE CLINIC

FROM:  U.S. AIR FORCE
An Airman (right) participates in Pacific Angel-Vietnam in Nghe An Province, Vietnam, while restoring the Xuan Lam Medical Clinic alongside, Vietnam People's Armed Forces members June 10, 2012. Officially in its fifth year, PACANGEL is a joint and combined humanitarian assistance mission led by 13th Air Force. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Lauren Main)  






U.S., Vietnamese militaries collaborate on clinic restoration
by Senior Airman Lauren Main
Pacific Angel - Vietnam 12 Public Affairs

6/18/2012 - NGHE AN PROVINCE, VIETNAM (AFNS) -- Airmen and Soldiers from around the Pacific have worked to restore the Xuan Lam Medical Clinic in Nghe An Province, Vietnam, since the start of Operation Pacific Angel 12 here beginning June 10.

The restoration is one part of PACANGEL-Vietnam 12, an eight-day engagement designed to strengthen partnerships between Pacific host nation countries and the U.S.

Since the beginning of the project, U.S. engineers have been working tirelessly alongside members of the Vietnamese military and local contractors. Also, residents of the district contribute by lending a helping-hand.

Despite the sweltering heat and humidity, the team kept pace.

"We're on schedule, but there's a lot of finishing touches to be made," said Master Sgt. Brad Robison, a PACANGEL-Vietnam 12 engineering planner assigned to the 647th Civil Engineering Squadron at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii. "We want to make sure we leave them (residents of Nam Dam district) with the best possible end result."

To date, the team installed a new roof, laid tile for all five examining rooms and completed a portion of the exterior cosmetic painting. Now, the team is working on leveling the grounds of the clinic to create a slope that slants away from the facility to ensure rainwater and waste runs away from the structure.

Despite the staunch deadlines and heat, the team spent the afternoon working side-by-side with the Vietnamese military, contractors and local residents to lay the concrete in front of the clinic.

"It's a community effort," said Robison. "It's not just Vietnamese military and contractors (we're) supporting, it's the people that are going to use this clinic. It's really cool; you can see (the community) takes pride in the effort, and they're glad to help."

Officially in its fifth year, Pacific Angel is a joint humanitarian assistance engagement led by the 13th Air Force. The engagement supports U.S. Pacific Command's capacity-building efforts by partnering with other governments, non-governmental agencies and militaries in the Asia-Pacific region to provide medical, dental, optometry and engineering assistance to their citizens.

Previous PACANGEL engagements were conducted in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam, in September 2009 and Can Tho, Vietnam, in May 2010.

POWER PLANT SERVICES COMPANY RESOLVES FOREIGN CORRUPT PRACTICES ALLEGATIONS

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Monday, June 18, 2012
Data Systems & Solutions LLC Resolves Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Violations and Agrees to Pay $8.82 Million Criminal Penalty
Data Systems & Solutions LLC (DS&S), a company based in Reston, Va., that provides design, installation, maintenance and other services at nuclear and fossil fuel power plants, has agreed to pay an $8.82 million criminal penalty to resolve violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil H. MacBride.

The department filed a two-count criminal information today in the Eastern District of Virginia charging DS&S with conspiring to violate, and violating, the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions.

According to court documents, DS&S paid bribes to officials employed by the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, a state-owned nuclear power plant in Lithuania, to secure contracts to perform services for the plant.   To disguise the scheme, the bribes were funneled through several subcontractors located in the United States and abroad.   The subcontractors, in turn, made repeated payments to high-level officials at Ignalina via check or wire transfer.

The department also filed today a deferred prosecution agreement with DS&S.   Under the terms of the agreement, the department will defer prosecution of DS&S for two years.   In addition to the monetary penalty, DS&S agreed to cooperate with the department, to report periodically to the department concerning DS&S’s compliance efforts, and to continue to implement an enhanced compliance program and internal controls designed to prevent and detect FCPA violations.   If DS&S abides by the terms of the deferred prosecution agreement, the department will dismiss the criminal information when the agreement’s term expires.

The agreement acknowledges DS&S’s extraordinary cooperation, including conducting an extensive, thorough and swift internal investigation; providing to the department extensive information and evidence; and responding promptly and fully to the department’s requests.   In addition, DS&S has engaged in extensive remediation, including terminating the officers and employees responsible for the corrupt payments; instituting a more rigorous compliance program; enhancing its due diligence protocol for third-party agents and subcontractors; strengthening its ethics policies; providing FCPA training for all agents and subcontractors; and establishing heightened review of most foreign transactions.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Daniel S. Kahn of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Connolly from the Eastern District of Virginia.   The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the Department of Energy Office of Inspector General, and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation’s Washington D.C. Field Office.   The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance.

SPACE COMMAND BACKS NATO'S BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE DECLARATION

Launch of  Space-Based  Infrared Missile Defense System.   From:  U.S. Air Force.  

FROM:  U.S. AIR FORCE SPACE COMMAND
Air Force Space Command Supports NATO Ballistic Missile Defense Declaration at NATO Summit
by Al Burke
U.S. Air Forces Europe

6/18/2012 - Ramstein Air Base, Germany -- General Mark Welsh, U.S. Air Forces Europe commander and nominee to serve as the 20th Air Force Chief of Staff, praised Air Force Space Command and the Air Force Material Command's Electronic Systems Command Shared Early Warning System (SEWS) Program Office for playing a key role in support of President Obama's Ballistic Missile Defense Phased Adaptive Approach and NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen's declaration of an Interim Ballistic Missile Defense capability for NATO European territory.

The declaration was made on May 21, 2012 at the NATO Summit in Chicago, which included Heads of States from all 28 NATO nations.

AFSPC now provides NATO with a continuous enhanced Space-based early warning data feed to NATO partners in support of the BMD mission. NATO receives data from space-based sensors with the same accuracy and timeliness as US forces.

"The delivery of enhanced Shared Early Warning data to NATO supports both the passive and active defense pillars of European Ballistic Missile Defense." said Lt Gen Friedrich Ploeger, Deputy Commander NATO Air Command Ramstein.

"The ability to integrate U.S. Space Based Infrared sensors into the NATO BMD architecture provides NATO the earliest launch indications to support the BMD Engagement Sequence and to kick off the Consequence Management process."

"The focal point of Missile Defense in Europe is Ramstein Air Base where U.S. European Phased Adaptive Approach systems and AFSPC provided SEW+ data is integrated with NATO command and control systems," General Welsh said. "The combination of these capabilities is the foundation for US-NATO command and control."

The team's efforts ensured the SEW capability was delivered in time to support the April 2012 European Air and Missile Defense Exercise, which served as the operations validation event and facilitated the NATO declaration.

During this exercise, approximately 1,000 U.S. and NATO Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines from HQ European Command, service components and six NATO command locations used the space-based infrared data to execute the missile warning and ballistic missile defense mission.

"The integration of SEW data into active ballistic missile defense systems increases their performance by improving their ability to acquire ballistic missiles," said Lt. Col. Frank Samuelson, AMDEX co-director.

This new SEW data enhances NATO's ability to provide missile warning notification across the entire European command and control enterprise. In the future, the U.S. hopes to enhance this capability with engagement quality data from space using the planned Missile Defense Agency delivered and AFSPC- supported Precision Tracking Space System.

On September 17, 2009, President Obama announced the United States would make the European Phased Adaptive Approach the U.S.'s voluntary national contribution to NATO European missile defense. The EPAA leverages U.S. space-based infrared sensors and includes the AN/TPY-2 radar and Aegis BMD ships linked together by the Missile Defense Agency's command, control, battle management and communications system.

The U.S. will field the EPAA in four phases, adaptive to the growing threat. As the EPAA matures, NATO BMD capability will extend defensive coverage to all NATO European allies against longer range and more capable ballistic missiles. The final phases of EPAA also supports U.S. homeland defense.

"Lt. Col. Mike McNeil and Capt. Nick Braun, from the AFPSC Shared Early Warning Program Office, showed significant leadership and vision in supporting emerging NATO requirements and leading their team's delivery of the enhanced SEW capability to NATO in time to support Presidential-level objectives," General Welsh said.

"Mr. Joachim Rogl, Mr. Lee Iverson, Mr. Mike Best and Mr. George Borrelli warrant special recognition as the SEWS team boots on the ground who did the heavy lifting to deliver the space-based infrared capability from Peterson Air Force Base to the new NATO Air Component Command at Ramstein Air Base," he said.

ESA Portal - Czech Republic - Artemis pokračuje ve své misi

ESA Portal - Czech Republic - Artemis pokračuje ve své misi

U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT FACT SHEET: U.S.-RUSSIA COOPERATION ON AFGHANISTAN

Photo:  Mountains of Afghanistan .  Credit:  U.S. Air Force.

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
U.S.-Russia Cooperation on Afghanistan
Fact Sheet
Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
June 18, 2012
The United States recognizes Russia’s contribution to building a better future for the Afghan people. Our two countries have developed excellent cooperation that supports Afghan efforts to make Afghanistan a peaceful, stable, and economically self-sustaining country, free of terrorism and illegal narcotics. We recognize that significant further international support will be needed to achieve this goal.

We take note of the significant contribution to international security that has resulted from the arrangements between the United States and Russia – bilaterally and through NATO – to support ground and air transit into and out of Afghanistan. In accordance with these arrangements, over 2,200 flights, over 379,000 military personnel, and over 45,000 containers of cargo have been transported through Russia in support of operations in Afghanistan.

Russia and the United States continue to expand law-enforcement and counternarcotics cooperation with our Afghan law enforcement partners. We support a comprehensive approach to reduce the volume of narcotics grown in Afghanistan, including by providing farmers with alternatives to poppy cultivation and providing continued assistance for Afghan-led counternarcotics efforts. The United States also praises the work of the NATO-Russia Council counternarcotics program, which has trained more than 2,000 law-enforcement officers from Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan since 2006.
The United States and Russia continue to face a common threat from terrorism, including from al-Qa’ida and other groups operating in and around Afghanistan. We are working together to disrupt terrorists’ operational networks and undermine their access to financial resources.

Together with NATO, the United States and Russia have established the Helicopter Maintenance Trust Fund (HMTF) to support Afghanistan’s fleet of Russian-built Mi-17 and Mi-35 helicopters. In 2012, 30 Afghan helicopter technicians will travel to Russia for advanced maintenance training, which will enhance the capacity of the Afghan security forces to keep their fleet of helicopters mission-ready as they assume greater responsibility for Afghanistan’s security. Russia is working on Dari-language field manuals for these airframes, and Russian experts have provided technical assessments of the fleet to enable the Afghans to develop a sustainable maintenance plan.

CYBER WARFARE PART OF WEAPONS SCHOOL

Photo:  Missile Warning System.  Credit:  U.S. Navy.
FROM:  AIR FORCE SPACE COMMAND
Weapons school integrates cyber warfare
by 1st Lt. Ken Lustig
99th Air Base Wing Public Affairs

6/18/2012 - NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. (AFNS) -- Eight Air Force weapons officers completed the first cyber weapons instructor course at the U.S. Air Force Weapons School, 328th Weapons Squadron, June 16 here.

Weapons officers are tactical experts trained in the art of battlespace dominance who instruct the Air Force's instructor corps and serve as advisers to military leaders at all levels.

The WIC students are primarily cyber warfare officers, but the course also accepts qualified applicants from the intelligence, space and missile and engineering career fields.

Although this cyber class is the school's first, Maj. Brent Wells, the director of operations for the cyber WIC, said the graduates' accomplishment will ultimately reduce the distinction between cyber and traditional operational specialties.

"Although we 'deep dive' into the cyber curriculum during the first phase of our academics, what we're really trying to get across to our students is this: You're not a cyber officer first, not an intel or space officer first -- you're a weapons officer, and your job is to provide advice and counsel to our leaders and be that expert on all Air Force capabilities," Wells said. "The purpose of this course is to refine these officers' cyber skills and round them out by teaching them to be expert instructors, problem solvers, leaders and tacticians, ultimately teaching them how to integrate the cyber piece with the entire spectrum of Air Force and joint capabilities."

To this end, all of the approximately 115 students from the USAFWS' 18 weapons squadrons - each specializing in one of 24 platforms (battle concepts or weapons systems), are brought together at regular intervals and must rely on each other for critical knowledge and coordinated planning. After the first third of the course the academics broaden to give all students a clear picture of how all of their capabilities are used in the Air Force and joint environments.

Wells said the addition of the cyber WIC is part of a bigger Air Force effort to further integrate and operationalize its cyber capabilities.

"In the past, we have often thought of cyber in terms of monitoring networks and responding to trouble tickets -- a maintenance mindset," he said. "But as our adversaries become increasingly effective and sophisticated at engaging in the cyber realm, it is clear that the cyber domain has become a key terrain of the battlefield, and we have to move beyond the old way of thinking."

Lt. Col. Bob Reeves, the commander of the 328th WPS, said the school's space course was created in 1996; it addressed, but did not deeply delve into, cyber operations. The new cyber WIC was created in part to help the Air Force take its cyber capability in new directions.

"We want our graduates to transform and inspire our nation's combat power, to bring the cyber piece to operational planning, but also to help build the cyber force to recognize that they are part of the overall picture and a capability we are providing to the combatant commander," Reeves said.

The lessons learned at weapons school are applied across the force.

"It is not enough just to train our weapons officers," Reeves said. "We are taking the lessons learned from our exercises and planning, and feeding that innovation into other exercises and even real-world operations where those techniques and tactics can be validated. We take what works and export it."

NASA : STUDY FINDS ANCIENT WARMING GREENED ANTARCTICA

Photo:  Antarctic Sea Ice.  Credit:  NASA
FROM: NASA 
WASHINGTON -- A new university-led study with NASA participation finds ancient Antarctica was much warmer and wetter than previously 
suspected. The climate was suitable to support substantial vegetation
-- including stunted trees -- along the edges of the frozen
continent.

The team of scientists involved in the study, published online June 17
in Nature Geoscience, was led by Sarah J. Feakins of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, and included researchers from 
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and Louisiana
State University in Baton Rouge.

By examining plant leaf wax remnants in sediment core samples taken
from beneath the Ross Ice Shelf, the research team found summer
temperatures along the Antarctic coast 15 to 20 million years ago
were 20 degrees Fahrenheit (11 degrees Celsius) warmer than today,
with temperatures reaching as high as 45 degrees Fahrenheit (7
degrees Celsius). Precipitation levels also were found to be several
times higher than today.

"The ultimate goal of the study was to better understand what the
future of climate change may look like," said Feakins, an assistant
professor of Earth sciences at the USC Dornsife College of Letters,
Arts and Sciences. "Just as history has a lot to teach us about the
future, so does past climate. This record shows us how much warmer
and wetter it can get around the Antarctic ice sheet as the climate
system heats up. This is some of the first evidence of just how much
warmer it was."

Scientists began to suspect that high-latitude temperatures during the
middle Miocene epoch were warmer than previously believed when
co-author Sophie Warny, assistant professor at LSU, discovered large
quantities of pollen and algae in sediment cores taken around
Antarctica. Fossils of plant life in Antarctica are difficult to come
by because the movement of the massive ice sheets covering the
landmass grinds and scrapes away the evidence.

"Marine sediment cores are ideal to look for clues of past vegetation,
as the fossils deposited are protected from ice sheet advances, but
these are technically very difficult to acquire in the Antarctic and
require international collaboration," said Warny.

Tipped off by the tiny pollen samples, Feakins opted to look at the
remnants of leaf wax taken from sediment cores for clues. Leaf wax
acts as a record of climate change by documenting the hydrogen
isotope ratios of the water the plant took up while it was alive.

"Ice cores can only go back about one million years," Feakins said.
"Sediment cores allow us to go into 'deep time.'"

Based upon a model originally developed to analyze hydrogen isotope
ratios in atmospheric water vapor data from NASA's Aura spacecraft,
co-author and JPL scientist Jung-Eun Lee created experiments to find
out just how much warmer and wetter climate may have been.

"When the planet heats up, the biggest changes are seen toward the
poles," Lee said. "The southward movement of rain bands associated
with a warmer climate in the high-latitude southern hemisphere made
the margins of Antarctica less like a polar desert, and more like
present-day Iceland."

The peak of this Antarctic greening occurred during the middle Miocene
period, between 16.4 and 15.7 million years ago. This was well after
the age of the dinosaurs, which became extinct 64 million years ago.
During the Miocene epoch, mostly modern-looking animals roamed Earth,
such as three-toed horses, deer, camel and various species of apes.
Modern humans did not appear until 200,000 years ago.

Warm conditions during the middle Miocene are thought to be associated
with carbon dioxide levels of around 400 to 600 parts per million
(ppm). In 2012, carbon dioxide levels have climbed to 393 ppm, the
highest they've been in the past several million years. At the
current rate of increase, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are on
track to reach middle Miocene levels by the end of this century.

High carbon dioxide levels during the middle Miocene epoch have been
documented in other studies through multiple lines of evidence,
including the number of microscopic pores on the surface of plant
leaves and geochemical evidence from soils and marine organisms.
While none of these 'proxies' is as reliable as the bubbles of gas
trapped in ice cores, they are the best evidence available this far
back in time. While scientists do not yet know precisely why carbon
dioxide was at these levels during the middle Miocene, high carbon
dioxide, together with the global warmth documented from many parts
of the world and now also from the Antarctic region, appear to
coincide during this period in Earth's history.

This research was funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation with
additional support from NASA. The California Institute of Technology
in Pasadena manages JPL for NASA.

PENTAGON OFFICIAL EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER POWER TRANSITION IN EGYPT

Map Credit:  U.S. State Department
FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
Officials Express Concern Over Egyptian Transition
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
WASHINGTON, June 18, 2012 - Millions of Egyptian people voted to elect a new president democratically, but the Egyptian military's last-minute amendments to the country's constitution concern the Defense Department, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said here today.

"We support the Egyptian people and their expectation that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces will transfer full power to a democratically elected civilian government, as the SCAF previously announced," Little said in a statement released to reporters."We have, and will continue, to urge the SCAF to relinquish power to civilian-elected authorities and to respect the universal rights of the Egyptian people and the rule of law," he added.

Little said the Defense Department is "deeply concerned" about the new amendments to Egypt's constitutional declaration and the timing of the announcement as polls closed for the presidential election.

"We believe Egypt's transition must continue and that Egypt is made stronger and more stable by a successful transition to democracy," he said. "Egypt has an enduring role as a security partner and leader in promoting regional stability, and we look forward to working with the new government on a host of issues."

Meeting today with reporters along with Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. John Kirby, the press secretary said Defense Department officials remain in close contact with the Egyptian military on the matter, noting that Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta spoke June 15 with Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, leader of Egypt's ruling council. "We plan to continue to maintain those close contacts and cooperation with the SCAF," Little said. "That being said, we need to see where things go."

Little said the U.S. and Egypt have maintained a very strong military-to-military relationship for many years.

"We want that to continue, ... [and] we're going to monitor events closely," he said. "It's very important to the entire U.S. government, and the U.S. military, that the SCAF take steps to promote a peaceful transition to democracy and a government in Egypt that is responsive to the Egyptian people."

Little said the United States has been clear about its position on Egypt's transition to a democratically elected government and that he believes the SCAF is fully aware of these concerns.

"We believe they've taken those concerns onboard, and there's time for all of this to be sorted out ... in the right way," he said.

Kirby said the Defense Department has enjoyed a strong military-to-military relationship and cooperation with the Egyptian military for more than three decades and still believes in maintaining that connection.

"Speaking from a purely military perspective, that relationship continues," he said. "It's been important."

Kirby said that while Egypt has been going through "a year of momentous change" that has altered the two nations' exercise regimen, the core of the relationship still remains.

"We've expressed our concerns about some of these recent decisions," Kirby said. "Our hope, and our expectation, is that they will facilitate a smooth, democratic transition in accordance with the constitution of their country. It's now up to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to do the things that the Egyptian people expect it to do," he added.

ESTONIAN PRIME MINISTER MEETS WITH MICHIGAN AIR NATIONAL GUARD

Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip shakes hands with Airmen from the Michigan Air National Guard at Amari Air Base, Estonia, June 15, 2012. The Airmen were at Amari for Saber Strike 2012, a multi-national exercise based in Estonia and Latvia. Lt. Col. William Henderson is behind the prime minister. (Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Dan Heaton)

Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip is briefed on the capabilities of a U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker by Lt. Col. Paul Beck, a pilot with the 171st Air Refueling Squadron. The aircraft was in Estonia for Saber Strike 2012, a multi-national exercise based in Estonia and Latvia. (Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Dan Heaton)

U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT CALLS FOR PEACEFUL, HUMANE CLOSURE OF CAMP ASHRAF IN IRAQ

Photo:  Justice and Humanity.  Credit:  Wikimedia. 
FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Concern about Camp Ashraf
Press Statement Victoria Nuland
Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC
June 18, 2012
The United States remains concerned about the situation at Camp Ashraf and urges the residents of Camp Ashraf to resume full cooperation immediately with the Iraqi Government and United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). The United States also urges the Iraqi Government to intensify its efforts to fulfill its commitments to provide for the safety, security, and humanitarian treatment of the residents.

With almost 2,000 former Camp Ashraf residents now relocated to Camp Hurriya, the peaceful closure of Camp Ashraf is achievable, but requires continued patience and practical engagement to be realized. Constructive offers must be met with a constructive spirit, and not with refusals or preconditions to engage in dialogue. Recent publicly-declared conditions for cooperation, including calls for the Department to inspect Camp Ashraf as a precondition for further relocations to Camp Hurriya, are an unnecessary distraction.

The United States has made clear that cooperation in the closure of Camp Ashraf, the Mujahedin-e Khalq’s (MEK's) main paramilitary base, is a key factor in determining whether the organization remains invested in its violent past or is committed to leaving that past behind. We fully support the path laid out by the United Nations for the peaceful closure of Camp Ashraf along with sustainable solutions for its former residents. The Camp residents and their leadership - both in Iraq and in Paris - should recognize this path as a safe and humane resolution to this situation. Only a peaceful implementation of the Iraqi government’s decision to close the Camp is acceptable, and the Iraqi government bears the responsibility for the security and humane treatment of the individuals at Camp Ashraf.

PRE-COLOMBIAN HUMANS AND THEIR EFFECTS UPON THE AMAZON BASIN

Photo:  Blue Parrot.  Credit:  Wikipedia.
FROM:  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Scientists Reconstruct Pre-Columbian Human Effects on the Amazon Basin
June 14, 2012
Small, shifting human populations existed in the Amazon before the arrival of Europeans, with little long-term effect on the forest.

That's the result of research led by Crystal McMichael and Mark Bush of the Florida Institute of Technology (FIT). The finding overturns the idea the Amazon was a cultural parkland in pre-Columbian times with large human populations that transformed vast tracts of the landscape.

The Amazon Basin is one of the highest biodiversity areas on Earth. Understanding how it was modified by humans in the past is important for conservation and for understanding the ecological processes in tropical rainforests.

McMichael, Bush and a team of researchers looked at how widespread human effects were in Amazonia before Europeans arrived. They published their results in this week's issue of the journal Science.

"The findings have major implications for how we understand the effect of the land-use change now occurring in Amazonia," said Alan Tessier, program director in the National Science Foundation's Division of Environmental Biology, which funded the research.
"Making the assumption that this system is resilient to deforestation, it turns out, isn't a position supported by historical evidence," Tessier said.

If the pre-Columbian Amazon was a highly altered landscape, then most of the Amazon's current biodiversity could have come from human effects.

The team retrieved 247 soil cores from 55 locations throughout the central and western Amazon, sampling sites that were likely disturbed by humans, such as river banks and other areas known from archaeological evidence to have been occupied by people.
They used markers in the cores to track the histories of fire, vegetation and human alterations of the soil.

The scientists conclude that people lived in small groups, with larger populations in the eastern Amazon--and most people lived near rivers.

They did not live in large settlements throughout the basin as was previously thought. Even sites of supposedly large settlements did not show evidence of high population densities and large-scale agriculture.

All the signs point to smaller, mobile populations before Europeans arrived. These small populations did not alter the forests substantially.

"The amazing biodiversity of the Amazon is not a by-product of past human disturbance," said McMichael. "We can't assume that these forests will be resilient to disturbance, because most of them have, at most, been lightly disturbed in the past.

"There is no parallel in western Amazonia for the scale of modern disturbance that accompanies industrial agriculture, road construction and the synergies of those disturbances with climate change."

Other co-authors of the paper are D.R. Piperno of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History; M.R. Silman of Wake Forest University; A.R. Zimmerman of the University of Florida; M.F. Raczka of FIT; and L.C. Lobato of the Federal University of Rondônia in Brazil.
-NSF-

AFGHANISTAN: INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ASSISTANCE FORCE PRESS RELEASE JUNE 18, 2012

Map Credit:  U.S. State Department

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE 

Combined Force Detains Taliban Leader in Helmand

From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release
KABUL, Afghanistan, June 18, 2012 - An Afghan and coalition security force in the Nad-e Ali district of Afghanistan's Helmand province detained one of the senior Taliban leaders for the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province yesterday, military officials reported.


The leader controlled several insurgent cells throughout southern Afghanistan and coordinated the construction and use of homemade explosives and bombs for attacks against coalition and Afghan forces.
The combined force also detained another suspected insurgent.


Also yesterday, an Afghan and coalition security force detained several suspected insurgents and seized assault rifles and bomb components during an operation to detain a Taliban leader in Kandahar's Panjwai district. The leader is responsible for multiple attacks against coalition forces in the region, and supplies insurgents with weapons, explosives and ammunition.
In June 16 operations:


-- A combined security force detained several suspected insurgents while searching for a Taliban leader in Ghazni province's Ghazni district who was directly involved in multiple attacks against coalition and Afghan forces in the region.


-- In the Jani Khel district of Paktia province, a combined force detained several suspected insurgents and seized ammunition and assault rifles while searching for a Haqqani network leader responsible for supplying, coordinating and directing attacks against Afghan and coalition troops throughout the Jani Khel and Tsamkani districts.