MIAMI MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN $42 MILLION MEDICARE FRAUD SCHEME

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Miami Home Health Care Agency Owner Pleads Guilty in $42 Million Medicare Fraud Scheme

The owner and operator of a Miami health care agency pleaded guilty today for his participation in a $42 million home health Medicare fraud scheme, announced the Department of Justice, the FBI and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Eulises Escalona, 43, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Joan A. Lenard to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. In addition, as part of his plea agreement, Escalona agreed to forfeit to the government two residential properties and cash proceeds of the fraud contained in several bank accounts.

According to the court documents, Escalona was the owner of Willsand Home Health Inc., a Florida home health agency that purported to provide home health care and physical therapy services to eligible Medicare beneficiaries.

According to plea documents, Escalona conspired with patient recruiters for the purpose of billing the Medicare program for unnecessary home health care and therapy services. Escalona and his co-conspirators paid kickbacks and bribes to patient recruiters in return for these recruiters providing patients to Willsand Home Health, as well as prescriptions, Plans of Care (POCs) and certifications for medically unnecessary therapy and home health services for Medicare beneficiaries. Escalona and his co-conspirators would pay kickbacks and bribes directly to physicians in exchange for those physicians providing home health and therapy prescriptions, POCs and medical certifications to Escalona and his co-conspirators. Escalona used these prescriptions, POCs and medical certifications to fraudulently bill the Medicare program for home health care services, which Escalona knew was in violation of federal criminal laws.

According to plea documents, at Willsand Home Health, patient files for Medicare beneficiaries were falsified to make it appear that such beneficiaries qualified for home health care and therapy services when, in fact, many of the beneficiaries did not actually qualify for such services. Escalona knew that in many cases the patient files at Willsand Home Health were falsified.

From approximately January 2006 through November 2009, Escalona and his co-conspirators submitted approximately $42 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare and Medicare paid approximately $27 million on those claims.

The plea was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida; Jeffrey C. Mazanec, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI?s Miami Field Office; and Special Agent-in-Charge Christopher Dennis of the HHS Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Office of Investigations Miami Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Joseph S. Beemsterboer of the Criminal Division?s Fraud Section. The case was investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG, and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division?s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney?s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

NEWS FROM AFGHANISTAN AUGUST 3, 2012

Photo:  U.S. Navy

FROM:  DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Combined Force Arrests Taliban Financier

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON, Aug. 3, 2012 - An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Taliban financier in the Zurmat district of Afghanistan's Paktiya province today, military officials reported.

The financier extorted money and supplies from local villagers to fund Taliban operations, officials said. He also directed improvised explosive device attacks throughout the district.

Officials said the security force also detained multiple suspected insurgents and seized several firearms.

In other operations today:

-- A combined force detained two suspects during an operation to arrest a Taliban leader in the Chimtal district of Balkh province. The sought-after Taliban leader is responsible for conducting attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

-- In the Jani Khel district of Paktiya province, a combined force-directed airstrike killed several insurgents conducted an operation to find a group of armed insurgents. The airstrike did not injure any civilians or damage civilian property.

In Aug. 2 operations:

-- A combined force found and cleared an IED in Ghazni province's Qarah Bagh district.

-- In Ghazni province's Sayyidabad district, a combined force discovered a weapons cache containing IED-making materials.

-- A combined force found and cleared five IEDs in Khowst province's Sabari district.

-- In Khowst province, a combined force detained six insurgents in the Khowst district.

-- A combined force found and cleared an IED in Logar province's Pul-E Alam district.

-- A combined force detained five insurgents who were emplacing an IED in Logar province's Muhammad Aghah district.

-- In Nangarhar province, a combined force found and cleared one IED in the Bati Kot district and another in the Kuz Kunar district.

-- A combined force found and cleared an IED in Paktika province's Sar Rowzah district.

-- In Paktiya province's Jani Khel district, a coalition airstrike killed eight insurgents and wounded two others who were emplacing IEDs. The wounded insurgents received medical care and were transferred to a base for questioning.

-- A combined force found and cleared two IEDs in Wardak province's Sayyidabad district.

LABOR STATISTICS FOR JULY 2012

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Latest Numbers Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims: 365,000 as of July 28, 2012
Unemployment Rate: 8.3% in July 2012
Consumer Price Index: Unchanged in June 2012
Payroll Employment: +163,000 (p) in July 2012
Average Hourly Earnings: +$0.02(p) in July 2012
Producer Price Index: +0.1%(p) in June 2012

Employment Situation Summary Table A. Household data, seasonally adjustedHOUSEHOLD DATA
Summary table A. Household data, seasonally adjusted
[Numbers in thousands]

Category	July 2011	May 2012	June 2012	July 2012	Change from: June 2012- July 2012
Employment status
Civilian noninstitutional population	239,671	242,966	243,155	243,354	199
Civilian labor force	153,358	155,007	155,163	155,013	-150
Participation rate	64.0	63.8	63.8	63.7	-0.1
Employed	139,450	142,287	142,415	142,220	-195
Employment-population ratio	58.2	58.6	58.6	58.4	-0.2
Unemployed	13,908	12,720	12,749	12,794	45
Unemployment rate	9.1	8.2	8.2	8.3	0.1
Not in labor force	86,313	87,958	87,992	88,340	348
Unemployment rates
Total, 16 years and over	9.1	8.2	8.2	8.3	0.1
Adult men (20 years and over)	8.9	7.8	7.8	7.7	-0.1
Adult women (20 years and over)	7.9	7.4	7.4	7.5	0.1
Teenagers (16 to 19 years)	24.9	24.6	23.7	23.8	0.1
White	8.1	7.4	7.4	7.4	0.0
Black or African American	15.9	13.6	14.4	14.1	-0.3
Asian (not seasonally adjusted)	7.7	5.2	6.3	6.2	-
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity	11.3	11.0	11.0	10.3	-0.7
Total, 25 years and over	7.8	6.9	6.9	6.9	0.0
Less than a high school diploma	14.9	13.0	12.6	12.7	0.1
High school graduates, no college	9.3	8.1	8.4	8.7	0.3
Some college or associate degree	8.2	7.9	7.5	7.1	-0.4
Bachelor's degree and higher	4.3	3.9	4.1	4.1	0.0
Reason for unemployment
Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs	8,146	6,989	7,207	7,123	-84
Job leavers	936	891	936	878	-58
Reentrants	3,424	3,439	3,227	3,380	153
New entrants	1,274	1,367	1,331	1,311	-20
Duration of unemployment
Less than 5 weeks	2,675	2,580	2,810	2,711	-99
5 to 14 weeks	3,063	3,002	2,826	3,092	266
15 to 26 weeks	1,972	1,662	1,811	1,760	-51
27 weeks and over	6,162	5,411	5,370	5,185	-185
Employed persons at work part time
Part time for economic reasons	8,437	8,098	8,210	8,246	36
Slack work or business conditions	5,695	5,147	5,446	5,342	-104
Could only find part-time work	2,538	2,649	2,514	2,576	62
Part time for noneconomic reasons	18,280	19,393	18,829	18,866	37
Persons not in the labor force (not seasonally adjusted)
Marginally attached to the labor force	2,785	2,423	2,483	2,529	-
Discouraged workers	1,119	830	821	852	-
- Over-the-month changes are not displayed for not seasonally adjusted data. NOTE: Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Detail for the seasonally adjusted data shown in this table will not necessarily add to totals because of the independent seasonal adjustment of the various series. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

 
Statement of                            
John M. Galvin
Acting Commissioner
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Friday, August 3, 2012
　
Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 163,000 in July, and the
unemployment rate, at 8.3 percent, was essentially unchanged.
Thus far in 2012, job growth has averaged 151,000 per month,
about the same as the monthly average for 2011 (+153,000). In
July, employment rose in professional and business services, food
services and drinking places, and manufacturing.
    
Professional and business services employment increased by
49,000 over the month. Computer systems design added 7,000 jobs,
and employment in temporary help services continued to trend up
(+14,000).

In July, food services and drinking places added 29,000
jobs. Employment in this industry has grown by 292,000 over the
past 12 months.

Manufacturing employment rose by 25,000 in July. The motor
vehicles and parts industry had fewer seasonal layoffs than is
typical for July, contributing to a seasonally adjusted
employment increase of 13,000. Employment continued to trend up
in fabricated metal products (+5,000).

Health care employment continued to trend up in July
(+12,000). Over the past 2 months, job growth in health care
averaged 12,000 per month, compared with job gains averaging
28,000 per month during the 12 months ending in May.

Employment in utilities decreased by 8,000 in July,
reflecting a labor-management dispute. (In the establishment
survey, workers who are off payroll for the entire pay period
that includes the 12th of the month are not counted as employed.)

Average hourly earnings of all employees on private nonfarm
payrolls increased by 2 cents in July to $23.52. Over the past
12 months, average hourly earnings have risen by 1.7 percent.
From June 2011 to June 2012, the Consumer Price Index for All
Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased by 1.7 percent.

Turning now to data from the survey of households, the
Unemployment rate, at 8.3 percent, and the number of unemployed
persons, at 12.8 million, were essentially unchanged in July.
The labor force participation rate, at 63.7 percent, and the
employment-population ratio, at 58.4 percent, changed little over
the month. These indicators have shown little movement thus far
in 2012.

Among persons who were neither working nor looking for work
in July, 2.5 million were classified as marginally attached to
the labor force, down 256,000 from a year earlier. These
individuals had not looked for work in the 4 weeks prior to the
survey but wanted a job, were available for work, and had looked
for a job within the last 12 months. The number of discouraged
workers, a subset of the marginally attached, was 852,000 in
July, also down from a year earlier.
In summary, payroll employment rose in July (+163,000). The
unemployment rate, at 8.3 percent, was essentially unchanged.

CIVILIAN SKILLS A "FORCE MULTIPLIER" IN THE MILITARY SERVICE

Army Spc. Ed Lewis prepares to monitor a training site at the 2012 Combat Support Training Exercise on Fort McCoy, Wis., July 30, 2012. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Michael McDevitt
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Face of Defense: Reservist's Civilian Skills Benefit Unit Safety
By Army Spc. Phillip Scaringi
78th Training Division
FORT McCOY, Wis., Aug. 1, 2012 - The Army Reserve has a unique ability to integrate professional civilian skills that its citizen-soldiers have acquired and use them to assist the unit in completing its mission.

Reservists who bring their civilian skills to the Army Reserve are known as "force multipliers." Reserve units see it as imperative to recognize civilian job skills and use them as effectively as possible.

Spc. Ed Lewis is an Army Reserve soldier from Orange, N.Y., who serves with G Company, 3rd Battalion, 78th Training Division, based out of Horseheads, N.Y. He is mobilized here to support the unit's Combat Support Training Exercise, one of the largest annual training exercises conducted by the Army Reserve. Lewis, a supply specialist in the Army Reserve, works as a volunteer emergency medical technician and assistant fire chief back home. These civilian job skills on safety procedures and first aid made him a premier candidate to become a task force safety officer during the exercise.

Safety officers ensure soldiers comply with safety standards. Lewis keeps a watchful eye on all aspects of the training; from M16 rifle ranges and convoy operations to troop movement around the various training areas. Lewis and his team inform and direct soldiers to key locations such as medical and hydration stations, and they educate units on best safety practices while training in the field.

The importance of safety is a focus of all people in uniform. Having soldiers like Lewis working in this key role, allow units to prepare for war while minimizing hazards, officials here said.

WEST NILE VIRUS STRIKES EARLY THIS YEAR

050910-N-2653P-132 Naval Air Station (NAS) Joint Reserve Base (JRB) New Orleans, La. (Sept. 10, 2005) - Preventative Medicine Technician (PMT), Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Jonathan Wells, assigned to Forward Deployable Preventive Medicine Unit (FDPMU) East, removes a Light Trap provided by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) from a tent city area on board NAS JRB New Orleans. The FDPMU is assisting the CDC and the Louisiana Department of Public Health to eliminate vector-borne disease and other insect-related problems associated with Louisiana’s mosquito population. Diseases like West Nile Virus can be transmitted by mosquitoes, which thrive in wet ecological terrain like that inherent to Louisiana. U.S. Navy photo by Journalist 1st Class James Pinsky (RLEASED)

FROM: CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging people to take steps to prevent West Nile virus infections. Outbreaks of West Nile virus disease occur each summer in the United States. This year, some areas of the country are experiencing earlier and greater activity.

Thus far in 2012, 42 states have reported West Nile virus infections in people, birds, or mosquitoes. A total of 241 cases of West Nile virus disease, including four deaths, have been reported to CDC. This is the highest number of cases reported through the end of July since 2004. Almost 80 percent of the cases have been reported from three states, Texas, Mississippi, and Oklahoma.

West Nile virus is transmitted to people by infected mosquitoes. In the United States, most people are infected from June through September, and the number of these infections usually peaks in mid-August. Seasonal outbreaks often occur in local areas that can vary from year to year. Many factors impact when and where outbreaks occur, such as weather, numbers of mosquitoes that spread the virus, and human behavior.

"It is not clear why we are seeing more activity than in recent years," said Marc Fischer, M.D., M.P.H., medical epidemiologist with CDC’s Arboviral Diseases Branch. "Regardless of the reasons for the increase, people should be aware of the West Nile virus activity in their area and take action to protect themselves and their family."

The best way to prevent West Nile virus disease is to avoid mosquito bites:
Use insect repellents when you go outdoors.
Wear long sleeves and pants during dawn and dusk.
Install or repair screens on windows and doors. Use air conditioning, if you have it.
Empty standing water from items outside your home such as flowerpots, buckets, and kiddie pools.
Approximately 1 in 5 people who are infected with West Nile virus will develop symptoms such as fever, headache, body aches, joint pains, vomiting, diarrhea, or rash. Less than 1 percent will develop a serious neurologic illness such as encephalitis or meningitis (inflammation of the brain or surrounding tissues). About 10 percent of people who develop neurologic infection due to West Nile virus will die. People over 50 years of age and those with certain medical conditions, such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease, and organ transplants, are at greater risk for serious illness.

There are no medications to treat, or vaccines to prevent, West Nile virus infection. People with milder illnesses typically recover on their own, although symptoms may last for several weeks. In more severe cases, patients often need to be hospitalized to receive supportive treatment, such as intravenous fluids, pain medication, and nursing care. Anyone who has symptoms that cause concern should contact a health care provider.

U.S. PROPOSALS AND THE WORLD TELCOM CONFERENCE

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Fast Facts on United States Submitting Initial Proposals To World Telecom Conference
Fact Sheet
Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs
August 1, 2012
On August 3, 2012, the United States will submit its first group of proposals to the World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT), which will be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, December 3-14, 2012.

Convened by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations expert agency for telecommunications, the WCIT will review and potentially revise the treaty-level International Telecommunications Regulations (ITRs). The ITRs govern the arrangements for exchanging international telecommunications traffic among countries. They have not been revised since 1988, and in the intervening years, there have been significant changes in the global telecommunications sector, including liberalization of markets, the rise of competition and the advent of new technologies and services, including packet switching and international mobile roaming.

Responding to the ITU’s call for proposals for the conference, the U.S. WICT Head of Delegation, led by Ambassador Terry Kramer, is submitting a first round of proposals. These initial proposals reflect the U.S. belief that the ITRs should remain a high-level treaty that establishes an international framework for market-driven development of telecommunications networks and services.

"The ITRs have served well as a foundation for growth in the international market," Ambassador Kramer said. "We want to preserve the flexibility contained in the current ITRs, which has helped create the conditions for rapid evolution of telecommunications technologies and markets around the world."

The U.S. proposals include:
Minimal changes to the preamble of the ITRs;
Alignment of the definitions in the ITRs with those in the ITU Constitution and Convention, including no change to the definitions of telecommunications and international telecommunications service;
Maintaining the voluntary nature of compliance with ITU-T Recommendations;
Continuing to apply the ITRs only to recognized operating agencies or RoAs; i.e., the ITRs’ scope should not be expanded to address other operating agencies that are not involved in the provision of authorized or licensed international telecommunications services to the public; and
Revisions of Article 6 to affirm the role played by market competition and commercially negotiated agreements for exchanging international telecommunication traffic.
The U.S. will carefully monitor and study the proposals submitted by other countries. The U.S. is concerned that proposals by some other governments could lead to greater regulatory burdens being placed on the international telecom sector, or perhaps even extended to the Internet sector -- a result the U.S. would oppose.

"We will not support any effort to broaden the scope of the ITRs to facilitate any censorship of content or blocking the free flow of information and ideas," Ambassador Kramer said. "The United States also believes that the existing multi-stakeholder institutions, incorporating industry and civil society, have functioned effectively and will continue to ensure the health and growth of the Internet and all of its benefits."

The U.S. will formally constitute its official WCIT delegation in mid-September. It will be comprised of experts from U.S. government agencies and the private sector, including industry and civil society. This reflects the multi-stakeholder approach that has been a hallmark of Internet development and governance. Ambassador Kramer will carry out an extensive schedule of bilateral meetings with his counterparts from other nations around the world. Additional proposals will be submitted prior to the WCIT, as governments finalize their positions and proposals.

About Ambassador Terry KramerTerry Kramer received his appointment in late June 2012 as U.S. Head of Delegation for the World Conference on International Telecommunications 2012 (WCIT-12), which is being held by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Mr. Kramer will be accorded the personal rank of ambassador by President Obama to serve in this role.

Ambassador Kramer has had a 25-year career in international telecommunications. For 18 of those 25 years, he worked for Vodafone Group Plc/AirTouch Communications in a variety of roles, domestically and internationally. He has also spent several years leading and advising small, growing technology companies, serving as CEO at QComm International and as a board member of Fiber Tower, 724 Solutions, and Sonim Technologies.

In addition, Ambassador Kramer is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Harvard Business School and a lecturer and faculty advisor in the Global Access Program at UCLA's Anderson School of Business. He also sits on the Boards of Envivio Corp., the Harvard Business School, California Research Center, UCLA's Economics Department, the World Affairs Council of Northern California and Larkin Street Youth Center.

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50e succès d'affillée pour Ariane 5

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U.S. Department of Defense Armed with Science Update

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NLRB SEEKS ABOUT $2.6 MILLION FOR STAGEHANDS FROM PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

FROM: NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
The National Labor Relations Board has issued a second complaint against the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach alleging violations of federal labor law in a dispute that dates back more than a decade.

NLRB attorneys also on Monday issued a Compliance Specification that calculates the Center owes about $2.6 million in back pay and benefit contributions, plus interest that continues to accrue, to several hundred members of the stagehands’ union who were unlawfully denied employment.

The Board ruled in September 2007 that the theatrical venue violated federal labor law by failing to bargain to impasse with its union, IATSE, by unilaterally changing wages and conditions of employment, and by refusing to use the union’s hiring hall in more than 700 productions staged since charges were filed in 2001. The Board’s order was enforced by the DC Circuit Court in 2008.

The Compliance Specification (in case 06-CA-036484) calculates the amount that carpenters, electricians, and other skilled laborers would have earned had the Center used the hiring hall, as required by a collective bargaining agreement between the employer and union.

The agreement had expired and the parties were bargaining for a renewal when the Center declared negotiations had reached impasse, fired six union employees and declared it would hire a set of non-union core employees to perform work previously performed by union members.

In its 2007 decision, the Board ordered the Center to offer reinstatement to the fired workers and return to bargaining for a new contract. Negotiations did resume, but the Center again declared impasse in 2011 and imposed essentially the same conditions as it had previously.

The complaint issued this week by the NLRB Regional Office in Tampa (case 12-CA-027075) alleges that in the fall of 2010, the Center declared impasse even though it had not bargained in good faith to impasse. The complaint also alleges that the Center unlawfully fired three employees and unlawfully insisted on employing a core crew rather than filling stagehand jobs through the hiring hall.

A hearing on the complaint and the compliance specification is scheduled to be held before an NLRB administrative law judge on October 29, 2012, in West Palm Beach.

COMPANY PLEADS GUILTY TO PRICE FIXING; WILL PAY $17 MILLION CRIMINAL FINE

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE ANTITRUST DIVISION
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Florida-Based Crowley Liner Services Inc. Pleads Guilty to Price Fixing on Freight Services Between U.S. and Puerto Rico

Company Sentenced to Pay $17 Million Criminal Fine

WASHINGTON – Jacksonville, Fla.-based Crowley Liner Services Inc. pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a $17 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices in the coastal water freight transportation industry, the Department of Justice announced today.

According to a one-count felony charge filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, Crowley Liner Services engaged in a conspiracy to fix base rates for water transportation of certain freight between the continental United States and Puerto Rico from as early as January 2006 until at least April 2008.

Crowley Liner Services transports a variety of cargo shipments, such as heavy equipment, cargo that would not fit into containers, used cars and liquids capable of being transported only in tanker containers, on scheduled ocean voyages between the United States and Puerto Rico.

According to the charges, Crowley Liner Services and co-conspirators carried out the conspiracy by agreeing during meetings and discussions to fix the base rates to be charged to non-government purchasers of water transportation of certain freight between the continental United States and Puerto Rico. The department said that Crowley Liner Services and co-conspirators also engaged in meetings for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing adherence to the agreed-upon rates and sold Puerto Rico freight services at collusive and noncompetitive rates.

"Including this sentencing, as a result of the Antitrust Division’s ongoing investigation, three freight companies have been sentenced to pay criminal fines totaling more than $45 million and five executives have been sentenced to serve prison time totaling more than 11 years," said Scott D. Hammond, Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Antitrust Division’s Criminal Enforcement Program. "By agreeing to fix prices for coastal shipping services to and from Puerto Rico, Crowley Liner Services and its co-conspirators thwarted the competitive process by forcing consumers to pay inflated rates for these services."


On Dec. 20, 2011, Sea Star Line LLC was sentenced to pay a $14.2 million criminal fine. On March 22, 2011, Horizon Lines LLC was sentenced to pay a $15 million criminal fine. Additionally, five shipping company executives—Gabriel Serra, Peter Baci, R. Kevin Gill, Gregory Glova and Alex G. Chisholm—have pleaded guilty. Frank Peake, the former president of Sea Star Line, was charged on Nov. 17, 2011, and is scheduled to stand trial on Jan. 14, 2013.

Crowley Liner Services pleaded guilty to price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum fine of $100 million for corporations. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

This case arose from an ongoing federal antitrust investigation into price fixing, bid rigging and other anticompetitive conduct in the coastal water freight transportation industry, which is being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section; the Baltimore Resident Agency of the Department of Defense’s Office of the Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS); and the Miami Field Office of the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG).

IN SEARCH OF MARTIANS

FROM:  NASA
Curiosity Bound for Mars
NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft, sealed inside its payload fairing atop the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, clears the tower at Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.The mission lifted off at 10:02 a.m. EST (7:02 a.m. PST), Nov. 26, beginning an eight-month interplanetary cruise to Mars.

The spacecraft's components include a car-sized rover, Curiosity, which has 10 science instruments designed to search for signs of life, including methane
Image credit: United Launch Alliance
Landing Aug. 5, 2012

DELTA IV LAUNCH EXPENDABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE PROGRAM

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. -- A Delta IV rocket lifts off from here Aug. 29. A Defense Satellite Communication System was placed into orbit by the rocket. It was the last of the system to be launched. (U.S. Air Force photo by Carleton Bailie)

　
FROM: AIR FORCE SPACE COMAND
AFSPC Milestone: First Delta IV Launch
Air Force Space Command Public Affairs

8/1/2012 - Peterson Air Force Base, Colo. -- As Air Force Space Command approaches its 30th Anniversary on 1 Sep, here is a significant milestone from the command's history...

On 1 November 2002, the first Delta IV was launched from Capt Canaveral AFS, Fla., placing a commercial communications satellite into geostationary transfer orbit. Boeing's Delta IV family of launch vehicles is designed for optimum performance for a wide range of flight profiles, and is capable of carrying payloads ranging from 9,327 lbs to 28,124 lbs to geosynchronous transfer orbit. The Delta IV Medium, Medium-Plus and Heavy configurations combine highly reliable, flight proven systems from Delta II and III, while incorporating the latest technology into a family of vehicles maximizing the use of common hardware.

The Delta IV is part of the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program, known as EELV, which is designed to improve our nation's access to space by making space launch vehicles more affordable and reliable. The program replaced the previous fleet of launch systems with two families of launch vehicles, each using common components and common infrastructure.

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OFFICIALS SAY SOURSE OF PHYSIOLOGICAL PROBLEMS IDENTIFIED

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

An F-22 Raptor from the Hawaii Air National Guard's 199th Fighter Squadron returns to a training mission after refueling March 27, 2012, over the Pacific Ocean. Air Force officials have determined the source of previously unexplained physiological incidents involving the fifth-generation fighter jet. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Michael Holzworth

Air Force Assures F-22 Readiness Following Extensive Testing


By Amaani Lyle
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1, 2012 - Following months of life support systems components testing in the F-22 Raptor fighter jet, officials have "determined with confidence" the source of previously unexplained physiological incidents, the director of operations for the Air Force's Air Combat Command said yesterday at a Pentagon news conference.

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta last week approved a gradual lifting of restrictions he placed on F-22 flights in May.

The combined medical disciplines of flight medicine, toxicology, physiology, human factors and occupational health have enabled the service to assemble "pieces of the mosaic" that reside in the cockpit, Maj. Gen. Charles W. Lyon, designated by Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley in January to lead an investigative task force, said at yesterday's news conference. The general pinpointed the upper pressure garment, oxygen delivery hoses, quick connection points and on occasion, the air filter canister, as root causes of previously unexplained physiological incidents in which some pilots complained of hypoxia-like symptoms.

"As we completed end-to-end testing in the life support systems components, we are able to piece together the contributing factors for our previously unexplained incidents," Lyon said, crediting an "integrated, collaborative approach by government and industry" in helping the Air Force develop its findings. The task force, Lyon said, leveraged the investigative efforts of numerous safety investigation boards and the Air Force's Scientific Advisory Board to eliminate contamination as the root cause of the incidents.

Air Force officials used intensive altitude chamber and centrifuge protocols to isolate variables in the flight gear and cockpit connections, the general said. They also analyzed thousands of samples of gases, volatile and semi-volatile compounds, solids and liquids, and compared that data to occupational hazard standard levels.

"Managing risks to our F-22 force has always been pre-eminent as we work through this complex set of factors," Lyon said. "In the end, there is no 'smoking gun.'"

The fleet, grounded for five months last year, has flown nearly 8,000 sorties totaling more than 10,000 flight hours since its last reported unexplained incident in March, Lyon said.

In a recent update to Panetta that led to the decision to roll back the restrictions, Air Force officials said the service employed thorough, in-depth analysis to eliminate contamination as a contributing factor to its most recent incident and charted a path to eliminate all significant contributing factors today and in the future.

"We left no stone unturned in the investigative process," Lyon said, adding that the service will continue to move forward with enhancements and fixes as NASA primes to conduct an independent investigation.

The Air Force's investigative process also involved canvassing the F-22 communities to gauge pilot, maintainer and family member confidence in the aircraft's safety, Lyon said.

"I recently visited our F-22 bases, and I can tell you, their confidence is high," he said, noting that no hybrid high-altitude flight operations and high-maneuverability aircraft could be completely immune to such incidents. "There's no other aircraft our pilots would rather fly in the service of our nation," he added.

Panetta has authorized the deployment of a squadron of F-22 aircraft to Kadena Air Base, Japan, under altitude restrictions using the northern Pacific transit route. Upon completion of that mission, the Air Force likely will approve most long-duration flights, service officials said.

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING JULY 28, 2012

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA In the week ending July 28 the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 365,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 357,000. The 4-week moving average was 365,500, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average of 368,250.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6 percent for the week ending July 21, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending July 21 was 3,272,000, a decrease of 19,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,291,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,298,500, a decrease of 11,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,310,000.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 310,492 in the week ending July 28, a decrease of 30,083 from the previous week. There were 341,103 initial claims in the comparable week in 2011.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.5 percent during the week ending July 21, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,239,615, a decrease of 97,192 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.9 percent and the volume was 3,680,729.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending July 14 was 5,964,553, a decrease of 69,672 from the previous week.

Extended benefits were only available in Idaho during the week ending July 14,

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,333 in the week ending July 21, a decrease of 325 from the prior week. There were 2,513 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 263 from the preceding week.

There were 17,979 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending July 14, an increase of 1,004 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 39,198, an increase of 152 from the prior week.

States reported 2,532,828 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending July 14, a decrease of 23,628 from the prior week. There were 3,184,621 claimants in the comparable week in 2011. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending July 14 were in the Virgin Islands (4.8), Puerto Rico (4.3), Pennsylvania (4.1), New Jersey (3.8), Alaska (3.7), Connecticut (3.7), California (3.6), Rhode Island (3.5), New York (3.2), and Nevada (3.2).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending July 21 were in Kentucky (+4,073), Vermont (+236), Puerto Rico (+48), the Virgin Islands (+14), and South Dakota (+10), while the largest decreases were in California (-32,107), New York (-15,615), North Carolina (-12,448), Georgia (-7,923), and Alabama (-5,122).

ESA Portal - Spain - El lecho agrietado de la cuenca Ladon

ESA Portal - Spain - El lecho agrietado de la cuenca Ladon

U.S.-ERITREA RELATIONS

 FROM:  US. STATE DEPARTMENTThe United States established diplomatic relations with Eritrea in 1993, following its independence and separation from Ethiopia. The United States supported Eritrea's independence, but U.S.-Eritrea relations became strained as a result of the 2001 government crackdown against political dissidents and others, the closure of the independent press, and limits on civil liberties, which has persisted to this day. Eritrea's authoritarian regime is controlled entirely by the president, who heads the sole political party; that party has ruled the country since 1991. Elections have not taken place since then. Regionally, Eritrea has had military confrontations with Ethiopia and Djibouti over border disputes It has also been cited by the UN for destabilizing activities in the broader Horn of Africa.

U.S. interests in Eritrea include encouraging Eritrea to contribute to regional stability, reconciling ongoing disputes with Ethiopia and Djibouti, urging progress toward a democratic political culture, citing and addresses human rights issues, and promoting economic reform.

U.S. Assistance to EritreaAt the Eritrean Government's request, the United States no longer provides bilateral assistance to Eritrea. The U.S. has no military-to-military cooperation with Eritrea.

Bilateral Economic RelationsEritrea's Government and ruling party control the economy. The United States and Eritrea have very little bilateral trade. Eritrea is a member of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, which has a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement with the United States.

Eritrea's Membership in International OrganizationsEritrea and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank.

Bilateral RepresentationThere currently is no U.S. Ambassador to Eritrea; the U.S. Chargé d'Affaires is Sue Bremner.

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE PANETTA PLEDGES HELP TO JORDAN FOR SYRIAN REFUGEES

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Panetta Pledges Help to Jordan for Syrian RefugeesBy Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2, 2012 - Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta today pledged to explore ways to continue U.S. help in providing humanitarian aid to those affected by violence in Syria.

A meeting between Panetta and King Abdullah in Amman, Jordan, focused on regional security challenges, most notably Syria and recent refugee flows into Jordan, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said.

"They talked not only about how to deal with the current crisis that is being fueled by the intolerable acts of the Assad regime," Little said in a written statement, "but also the prospects for political transition in a post-Assad Syria."

Panetta and King Abdullah agreed that strong international pressure must be sustained to make it clear that Syrian leader Bashar Assad must go, and that the Syrian people deserve to determine their own future, the press secretary said.

Panetta also reiterated the U.S. commitment to its strategic relationship with Jordan and to the strong defense relationship between the two countries, Little added.

SEC CHARGED A BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB EXECUTIVE WITH INSIDER TRADING

FROM: U.S. SECURITES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C., Aug. 2, 2012

– The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged an executive at Bristol-Myers Squibb with insider trading on confidential information about companies being targeted for potential acquisitions. His illegal trading took place as recently as just weeks ago.

The SEC alleges that Robert D. Ramnarine, who lives in East Brunswick, N.J., made more than $300,000 in illegal profits by misusing nonpublic information he obtained while helping Bristol-Myers Squibb evaluate whether to acquire three other pharmaceutical companies. He used multiple personal brokerage accounts to illegally trade in stock options of these potential target companies. Prior to some trading, Ramnarine conducted Internet research from his Bristol computer to determine whether he could be detected by regulators. He searched for such phrases as "can stock option be traced to purchaser" and "illegal insider trading options trace" and viewed such articles as "Ways to Avoid Insider Trading." Ramnarine even viewed a press release on the SEC’s website announcing an enforcement action arising from illegal trading in call options in advance of an acquisition announcement.

"Ramnarine tried to educate himself about how the SEC investigates insider trading so he could avoid detection, but apparently he ignored countless successful SEC enforcement actions against similarly ill-motivated individuals who paid a heavy price for their illegal trading," said Daniel M. Hawke, Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Market Abuse Unit. "Executives at pharmaceutical companies or in any industry should know better than to abuse confidential, market-moving information, and our charges against Ramnarine should serve notice that when you violate insider trading laws, no matter how you scheme, you will be caught."

The SEC is seeking a court order to freeze Ramnarine’s brokerage account assets. In a parallel criminal action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced the arrest of Ramnarine today.

According to the SEC’s complaint filed in federal court in New Jersey, Ramnarine is an executive in the treasury department at Bristol-Myers Squibb. He conducted his insider trading schemes from August 2010 to July 2012, illegally trading in stock options of Pharmasset Inc., Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc., and ZymoGenetics Inc. in advance of announcements that those companies would be acquired.

The SEC alleges that just as Bristol was finalizing its agreement with ZymoGenetics in late August 2010, Ramnarine started to buy out-of-the-money call options. A call option is a security that derives its value from the underlying common stock of the issuer and gives the purchaser the right to buy the underlying stock at a specific price within a specified period of time. Typically, investors will purchase call options when they believe the stock of the underlying securities is going up. Ramnarine made $30,551 in illegal profits by trading ZymoGenetics call options in advance of a Sept. 7, 2010 public announcement that Bristol-Myers Squibb was acquiring ZymoGenetics.

The SEC further alleges that in advance of a Nov. 21, 2011 announcement that Pharmasset would be acquired by Gilead Sciences Inc., Ramnarine bought Pharmasset call options based on material, nonpublic information that he obtained from participating in Bristol-Myers Squibb’s evaluation of a possible acquisition of Pharmasset. This was part of an auction process conducted by Pharmasset and its investment bankers during the weeks before the Gilead-Pharmasset announcement. Ramnarine made $225,026 in illegal profits when he sold the calls immediately after the public announcement of Pharmasset’s sale.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Ramnarine very recently sold or "wrote" put options and purchased call options in advance of a June 29, 2012 announcement by Bristol-Myers Squibb that it would acquire Amylin. A put option is a security that derives its value from the underlying common stock. When investors sell or "write" puts, they obligate themselves to sell the underlying security at a certain price before the expiration date. Investors usually write puts when they believe the price of the underlying stock price is moving up. Ramnarine’s trades were based on material nonpublic information that he obtained by working on financing and capital structure matters as part of Bristol’s due diligence process leading up to the acquisition announcement. Ramnarine made $55,784 in illegal profits by trading Amylin put and call options in advance of the public announcement.

The SEC alleges that Ramnarine violated Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Sections 10(b) and (14)(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5 and 14e-3 thereunder. The SEC is seeking disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest, a financial penalty, an officer-and-director bar, a permanent injunction, and an order freezing the assets in Ramnarine’s brokerage accounts.

The SEC’s investigation, which is continuing, has been conducted by Market Abuse Unit staff Mary P. Hansen, Paul T. Chryssikos, and John S. Rymas in the Philadelphia Regional Office. Supervising the investigation are Daniel M. Hawke, Deputy Unit Chief Sanjay Wadhwa, and Elaine C. Greenberg, Associate Regional Director in the Philadelphia office. G. Jeffrey Boujoukos and John V. Donnelly are handling the litigation.

The SEC has coordinated its action with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, and also appreciates the assistance of the Options Regulatory Surveillance Authority and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

ISAF NEWS FROM AFGHANISTAN AUGUST 2, 2012

Photo Credit:  U.S. Air Force.
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Combined Force Detains Several Suspected InsurgentsCompiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2, 2012 - An Afghan and coalition security force conducted an operation to arrest a Taliban leader in the Andar district of Afghanistan's Ghazni province today, military officials reported.

The Taliban leader controls several mid-level fighters and is directly involved in planning insurgent attacks, officials said.

During the operation, officials said, the security force detained several suspected insurgents.

In operations yesterday:

-- A combined force arrested a senior Taliban explosives expert, detained two suspects and seized multiple explosive devices in the Pul-e Khurmi district of Baghlan province. The explosives expert constructed several improvised explosive devices used in attacks targeting Afghan officials and Afghan and coalition convoys. He also constructed multiple suicide vests he planned to use in attacks against Afghan forces.

-- A combined force detained five insurgents while investigating a weapons cache in Ghazni province's Andar district. The cache contained small arms, ammunition and a grenade.

-- A combined force found and cleared an IED in Ghazni province's Khwaia Omari district.

-- In Khost province's Sabari district, a combined force detained an insurgent while investigating an IED. The IED was cleared and the suspect was transferred to a base for questioning.

-- A combined force killed six insurgents in Kunar province's Nari and Ghaziabad districts.

-- In Logar province, a combined force found and cleared three IEDs in the Pul-E Alam district and three IEDs in the Muhammad Aghah district.

-- In Nangarhar province, a combined force found and cleared an IED in the Jalalabad district and another in the Chapahar district.

-- In Paktika province's Mota Khan district, a combined force found and cleared an IED.

-- A combined force detained an insurgent in Paktika province's Bermal district

U.S.-JORDAN RELATIONS

Map Credit:  U.S. State Department
FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENTThe United States deeply values its long history of cooperation and friendship with Jordan, with which it established diplomatic relations in 1949. The United States appreciates the special leadership role that Jordan plays in advancing peace and moderation in the region. The United States and Jordan share the mutual goals of a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace in the Middle East and an end to violent extremism that threatens the security of Jordan, the region, and the entire globe. The peace process and Jordan's opposition to terrorism parallel and indirectly assist wider U.S. interests. U.S. policy seeks to reinforce Jordan's commitment to peace, stability, and moderation. Through economic and military assistance and through close political cooperation, the United States has helped Jordan maintain its stability and prosperity. The United States encourages Jordanian efforts to implement reforms that will secure a better future for the Jordanian people.

From 1949 to 1967, Jordan administered the West Bank. Since the 1967 war between Israel and several Arab states, when Israel took control of this territory, the United States has considered the West Bank to be territory occupied by Israel. The United States believes that the final status of the West Bank can be determined only through negotiations among the concerned parties based on UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338.

U.S. Assistance to JordanThe United States has worked with Jordan to improve the lives of Jordanian citizens. Assistance programs contribute to a strong bilateral relationship centered on a stable, reform-oriented Jordan. Development assistance has resulted in improved health indicators, road and water networks, hundreds of schools built, thousands of Jordanians in various fields educated and trained in the U.S., and grants and loans for U.S. agricultural commodities. Current focus areas include education, access to water, resource management and conservation, energy, youth and poverty alleviation programs, maternal/child health, energy, governance, macroeconomic policy, workforce development, and competitiveness. A strong U.S. military assistance program is designed to meet Jordan's legitimate defense needs, including preservation of border integrity and regional stability through the provision of materiel and training.

In 2008, the U.S. and Jordan signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) to provide assistance to Jordan over a 5-year period, subject to the appropriation and availability of funds for this purpose. The MOU also reinforces the commitment to broaden cooperation and dialogue in a variety of areas. In 2011, a Millennium Challenge Corporation compact for Jordan entered into force that aims to increase income and reduce poverty in Zarqa Governorate. The compact seeks to increase water supplies available to households and businesses and improve the efficiency of water delivery, extend wastewater collection, and expand wastewater treatment.

Bilateral Economic RelationsQualifying Industrial Zones established by the U.S. Congress allow products to enter the United States duty-free if manufactured in Israel, Jordan, Egypt, or the West Bank and Gaza. The U.S.-Jordan free trade agreement has expanded the trade relationship by reducing barriers for services, providing cutting-edge protection for intellectual property, ensuring regulatory transparency, and requiring effective labor and environmental enforcement. The United States and Jordan have an "open skies" civil aviation agreement; a bilateral investment treaty; a science and technology cooperation agreement; and a memorandum of understanding on nuclear energy cooperation. Such agreements bolster efforts to help diversify Jordan's economy and promote growth.

Jordan's Membership in International OrganizationsJordan and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization. Jordan also is a Partner for Cooperation with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

U.S. SKEET SHOOTER WINS GOLD

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program rifle shooter Sgt. Vincent Hancock won the Olympic gold medal in men's skeet after competing at the Royal Artillery Barracks in London during the 2012 Summer Olympics, July 31, 2012. He is the first skeet shooter to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in the sport; he earned a gold medal in the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. The 23-year-old Hancock is assigned to the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit. U.S. Army photo by Tim Hipps




Army Installation Management Command
LONDON, July 31, 2012 – In double record-setting fashion, Army Sgt. Vincent Hancock became the first shotgun shooter to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in men’s skeet at the Royal Artillery Barracks here today.

Hancock, 23, a soldier in the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit from Eatonton, Ga., eclipsed his own records set at the 2008 Beijing Games for both qualification (123) and total (148) scores. He struck gold in China with a qualification score of 121 and total of 145.

Hancock prevailed by two shots over silver medalist Anders Golding (146) of Denmark and by four shots over Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiya (144), who secured the bronze medal by winning a shoot-off against Russia’s Valeriy Shomin.

EU EMISSIONS TRADING SYSTEM MEETING

Photo Credit:  Wikimedia 

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
Preview of the EU Emissions Trading System Meeting Special Briefing
Senior Administration Official
Via Teleconference
Washington, DC
July 30, 2012

MODERATOR: Hi, folks. It’s [Moderator]. I’m sorry for the late notification for the call. We’ve been getting a couple of inquiries on ETS, and we have for you today [Senior Administration Official]. The ground rules for the call are we’re going to do this on background, attributable to a Senior Administration Official. There will be a time for a few questions before [Senior Administration Official] has to leave, but with that I will turn it over to [Senior Administration Official].

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thanks, [Moderator]. I have just a few quick comments, really intended to be a response to various inquiries that we’ve been getting on this subject. So the – we’re on the subject of the EU’s Emission Trading Scheme as it applies to foreign air carriers. We are hosting a meeting – it’ll be at the Department of Transportation – tomorrow and in the morning of Wednesday with 16 countries that are all significant aviation players and are not within the EU. So these are non-EU countries that are significant aviation countries.

The – all of the countries who are part of this meeting – and this certainly goes for us – are opposed to the EU’s application of its Emission Trading Scheme to foreign carriers. We oppose on both policy and legal grounds. And that’s been made clear now for quite a long time. There have – there were – or there have been two previous meetings of countries opposed to the application of the ETS to foreign carriers. Those were in Moscow and Delhi, where – and in those cases, there were statements put out asserting that opposition.

The purpose of this meeting is different. I would not regard this as a third in the line of the Moscow and Delhi meetings. The purpose of this meeting is really to try to explore whether there might be a basis for a global solution to addressing greenhouse gas emissions from aviation and a global solution that would include the EU and would set aside or would include the setting aside of the ETS as applied to foreign carriers.

This is going to be an informal set of discussions, I think very much of an exploratory character, where we will be talking with our counterparts about those issues. And we don’t anticipate any deliverable, per se, coming out of the meeting, but we do anticipate, again, having that kind of exploratory discussion to see if we can get on a path that could lead to a global solution that would then be considered in ICAO, the International Civil Aviation Organization, which is the multilateral body that properly deals with international aviation, and go from there.

So that’s the purpose of the meeting. That’s the background. And I’m happy to take a few questions.

OPERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to ask a question, please press * followed by the 1. You will hear a tone indicating that you’ve been placed in queue. You may remove yourself from queue at any time by pressing the # key. Again, for questions press *1. And one moment please for our first question.

All right. Our first question comes from the line of Julia Pyper – please go ahead – with ClimateWire.

QUESTION: Hi there. Thanks very much for taking – for having this call. I understand there’s some potential of discussing a plan that would not override the EUS* policy until 2020, and – but then would put in place a global policy, and the U.S. was maybe going to start proposing a cap on airline emissions from 2005 levels starting at the 2020 timeframe. Is that something that is in on the table right now?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, I wouldn’t say exactly like that. The – there – if you go back to the last assembly resolution from ICAO, which is from 2010, there was an agreement to an aspirational goal of trying to limit emissions, I think starting in 2020, at 2020 levels. So that was a – that was in the nature of an aspirational and collective goal, if you will. And I would expect that goals of that sort will be part of the conversation that we have in our meeting, or at least it’s quite liable to be, since our view is the starting place for discussion ought to be what countries already agreed to in ICAO in 2010. These ICAO assemblies happen every three years, so the next one’s 2013.

That is – that – those should not be taken to mean, because it does not at all mean, that the notion would be we accept the ETS until 2020 and then it changes. That’s completely not in the cards and that’s not the contemplation. I think that if there’s going to be a kind of global deal and a global solution that might be – that would be desirable within ICAO, again, it would – it has to be global by definition, it would have to include the EU. And part of the overall, as we see it, would need to be that it – that the – that such an arrangement or such a solution would lead to the setting aside in the near term, not down the road, of the application of the ETS.

QUESTION: Can I have a quick follow-up? And I’m wondering if you guys have singled out any particular market mechanisms you’d like to discuss as part of a global strategy.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No. There is a conversation going on right now. There’s been technical conversations and experts from various countries meeting all during this year, and it may have – it may well have begun before this year, but – on the subject of potential market measures. But there’s, I think, far from any agreement on whether there will be any kind of measure, whether that is an offsetting measure or something else at a global level, and there’s also a conversation within ICAO about how regions or countries might use measures. But those are – I would think it’s fair to describe those as happening at a technical expert level and not at all clear whether or if there will be buy-in by countries at a higher level.

QUESTION: Okay. Thanks very much.

MODERATOR: And our next question comes from the line of Jo Biddle, representing AFP. Please go ahead.

QUESTION: Hello. Good afternoon. Thank you for taking this call. I wanted to check with you. Are you just opposed to the ETS for aviation emissions? That being the case –

PARTICIPANT: Hold that question one second. Thanks. Could you repeat it, please?

QUESTION: Okay. Sorry. Okay. I’ll repeat the question. Can I just check that this is about ETS covering aviation emissions and not a whole plethora of other emissions that – such as power stations (inaudible)?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely, yes.

QUESTION: Okay. And then can I ask you why you and these fellow countries opposed to the ETS covering the aviation industry?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, we’re not opposed to the ETS covering the European aviation industry. The opposition is to the ETS applying to foreign carriers. And I think there are both legal issues under the Chicago Convention, which is the governing treaty, and from the point of view of the U.S. under the bilateral U.S.-EU Air Transport Agreement. And I’m not the legal expert to go into the ins and outs of the legal concerns, but there are very real legal concerns. There are also policy concerns, and I think that we – we think that it’s just – it’s a bad idea.

It’s essentially we agree with the objective. We would say it’s the wrong way to pursue the right objective. The unilateral imposition of the ETS is creating huge antagonism all around the world to – countries are – have a lot of support and allegiance to multilateral process. There is a multilateral institution, ICAO, that handles aviation, including aviation emissions. So there’s a – there is – whatever chance for progress – and there was – there are a number of areas in which ICAO has been trying to pursue progress – whatever chance there is of that basically grinds to a halt when you’ve got countries just angry and unwilling to deal with the EU in light of this kind of unilateral step.

Another concern is that there’s no – if the EU can go and impose their own system around the world in this way, there’s nothing to say that five or ten or twenty other countries wouldn’t do the same thing, and I think that creates a risk which is very much a concern, I think, of airlines around the world, that you end up with a kind of patchwork system of different mechanisms, different taxes, and different kinds of policies applied rather than an overall global policy, which in a situation like international aviation, which is, of course, is inherently and almost uniquely global, it’s just a bad idea. So we think it’s a bad idea for a number of reasons. We think it is a perfectly honorable objective, and not only an honorable objective, but one that we share. But it’s not a right way to go about it.

Let me just say one word about the sharing of objectives. I don’t say that lightly at all. The United States is doing a ton in this area. In the decade from 2000 to 2010, our air traffic and our air freight went up by about 15 percent while our emissions went down by about 12 percent.

And there’s some piece of that that has to do with the economy, but there is a lot that has to do with much better technology in terms of engines and airframes, much better operations, air traffic control and other things like that. But we also are the world leader in biofuels, which hasn’t had a big impact yet, but it’s probably going to have the biggest impact of anything over time.

So we have a very aggressive system, which I think has probably produced results far in excess of anything that’s happened in Europe yet. So we are really not opposed to this policy. We endorse the policy of reducing emissions, just not this way.

QUESTION: And if I could have a follow-up. If – supposing you manage to come to some kind of solution that you believe could be applied globally, do you have indications from the EU side that they would accept this?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, that’s premature. I mean, I think we’re just – we’re starting – we’re meeting to start this conversation tomorrow with this set of countries and to see where people are at and what capacity there is to move in this direction. I think a conversation with the EU – might or might not – but might be something that happens down the road, but no, we don’t – there’s nothing concrete to talk to the EU about yet in terms of what the specific elements of a program would be.

OPERATOR: We have time for one final question today and that will come from the line of Bart Jansen with USA Today. Please go ahead.

QUESTION:  Yes, thanks much for having the call. In terms of that antagonism – I guess the House has already voted to ignore this EU policy; a Senate committee is going to be voting tomorrow – I wondered if you’d have any idea about what kind of timeframe you’d be looking at this group to try to have something to take to ICAO. Or are you just looking toward the end of the year, or are you looking toward March 1st, or can you say anything about a timeframe?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yeah, thanks for the question. We don’t really have a timeframe. There are various points in the calendar ahead that may or may not turn out to be relevant. But the – under the EU’s directive as it exists right now, airlines around the world are supposed to surrender the allowances, the emission allowances that they’re supposed to purchase, by the end of April – April 30th of 2013.

That doesn’t – I mean, I think that we don’t – I tell you that as a – as simply a fact on the calendar, not as a timeframe that I think is in any sense controlling here, because I think if this process were to get going, it will probably take some time. Whether it fits within that timeframe, I have no idea. I think that it would be – if anything were to be productive in this regard, I think it is quite likely that there would need to be a strong signal from the EU indicating a willingness to postpone or suspend or whatever its process. But that is a point on the calendar.

Another point on the calendar is the September 2013 meeting of the ICAO Assembly. So that is the first ICAO Assembly meeting since the 2010 meeting. That’s another point on the calendar. Again, whether the things we’re talking about fall into those kinds of timeframes, we don’t know yet, but those are – I would at least say those are relevant points to keep in mind.

QUESTION: Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Okay. Thanks very much, everybody.

MODERATOR: Thanks, everyone. I just want to remind you that the call was on background, attributable to a Senior Administration Official. If you have any questions, please call the Press Office. Thank you.