CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR ROLE IN HALF-BILLION DOLLAR FRAUD SCHEME

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Friday, November 30, 2012
New Jersey Man Sentenced to 54 Months in Prison for Half-Billion Dollar Fraud Scheme with Thousands of Victims Worldwide

A certified public accountant (CPA) and purported outside auditor for Provident Capital Indemnity Ltd. (PCI) was sentenced today in Richmond, Va., to 54 months in prison for his role in an approximately half-billion-dollar fraud scheme that affected more than 3,500 victims throughout the United States and abroad, announced U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil H. MacBride and Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Jorge Luis Castillo, 57, a resident of New Jersey, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney in the Eastern District of Virginia. In addition to his prison term, Castillo was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $43,582,699 in forfeiture.

Castillo pleaded guilty on Nov. 21, 2011, to one count of conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud. Castillo was a PCI employee prior to becoming PCI’s "outside auditor."

"As a licensed accountant, Mr. Castillo used his expertise to create fraudulent financial statements out of whole cloth," said U.S. Attorney MacBride. "Many elderly investors relied on Mr. Castillo’s credibility as an outside auditor before entrusting their life savings in this fraud scheme. Accountants and auditors are the gatekeepers of our financial system and are entrusted with the critical role of protecting the public from fraud. Today’s sentence will hopefully send a strong message to those in the accounting profession that they will be held responsible when they break that trust by facilitating or participating in fraud."

"Jorge Luis Castillo will spend 54 months in prison for trading on his qualifications as a CPA to facilitate a massive fraud scheme that harmed investors throughout the United States and abroad," said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. "Mr. Castillo’s prison sentence demonstrates the Justice Department’s commitment to holding accountable any fraudster who preys on innocent, unsuspecting investors."

According to court records, PCI was an insurance and reinsurance company registered in the Commonwealth of Dominica and doing business in Costa Rica. PCI sold financial guarantee bonds to companies selling life settlements, or securities backed by life settlements, to investors. PCI marketed these bonds to its clients as a way to alleviate the risk of insured beneficiaries living beyond their life expectancy. PCI’s clients, in turn, typically explained to their investors that the financial guarantee bonds ensured that the investors would receive their expected return on investment irrespective of whether the insured on the underlying life settlement lived beyond his or her life expectancy.

Castillo admitted that he conspired with Minor Vargas Calvo, 61, the president and majority owner of PCI, to prepare audited financial statements that falsely claimed that PCI had entered into reinsurance contracts with major reinsurance companies. These claims, which were supported by a letter from Castillo stating that he conducted an audit of PCI’s financial records, were used to assure PCI’s clients that the reinsurance companies were backstopping the majority of the risk that PCI had insured through its financial guarantee bonds.

Castillo further admitted that he never performed an audit of PCI’s financial statements and that, in fact, he personally created the statements he claimed to be independently auditing. He also admitted that he and others at PCI knew that the company never actually entered into reinsurance contracts with any major companies. Castillo also admitted that he and other conspirators provided the false financial statements and fraudulent independent auditors’ report to Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), which D&B relied on in compiling its commercial reports on PCI and issuing its 5A rating of PCI’s financial strength.

From 2004 through 2010, PCI sold at least $485 million of bonds to life settlement investment companies located in various countries, including the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, Canada and elsewhere. PCI’s clients, in turn, sold investment offerings backed by PCI’s bonds to thousands of investors around the world. Purchasers of PCI’s bonds were allegedly required to make up-front payments of six to 11 percent of the underlying settlement as "premium" payments to PCI before the company would issue the bonds. Court records state that Castillo received approximately $84,000 from his work as the purported outside auditor of PCI from 2004 through 2010.

Vargas, a citizen and resident of Costa Rica, was convicted on April 30, 2012, of one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, three counts of mail fraud, three counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering. On Oct. 23, 2012, he was sentenced to 60 years in prison. PCI pleaded guilty on April 18, 2012, to conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud, and was sentenced on Sept. 6, 2012, to one year of probation.

This investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and FBI, with assistance from the Virginia State Corporation Commission, the Texas State Securities Board and the New Jersey Bureau of Securities. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael S. Dry and Jessica Aber Brumberg of the Eastern District of Virginia and Assistant Chief Albert B. Stieglitz Jr. of the Justice Department Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) conducted a parallel investigation and in January 2011 filed a parallel civil enforcement action against PCI, Vargas and Castillo. The department thanks the SEC for its assistance in this matter.

The investigation has been coordinated by the Virginia Financial and Securities Fraud Task Force, an unprecedented partnership between criminal investigators and civil regulators to investigate and prosecute complex financial fraud cases in the nation and in Virginia specifically. The task force is an investigative arm of the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, an interagency national task force.

President Obama established the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants

RESEARCHERS WILL STUDY POSSIBLE OMEGA 3 BENEFITS IN REDUCING VETERAN SUICIDES

Photo:  Omega 3.  Credit:  U.S. DOD

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

December 2, 2012
by jtozer
DOD Funds Study of Omega 3 Benefit in Reducing Suicides

The defense department is funding a new study to determine if something as simple as drinking smoothies with high concentrations of the fatty acids found in fish oils can help to reduce suicides among veterans.

The study, to kick off in January, will assess the effect of Omega 3 fatty acids on 350 volunteer participants who have attempted suicide or are considered to be at risk of doing so, said Bernadette Marriott, a Medical University of South Carolina professor who is the study’s principal investigator.

The university is collaborating in the clinical trial with researchers from the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston, S.C., and the
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, part of the National Institutes of Health. Ron Acierno, director of the post-traumatic stress disorder clinic at the Charleston VA center, will partner with Marriott as an onsite collaborator.

The Military Operational Medicine Joint Program Committee is funding the study, and the
Army Medical Research and Materiel Command’s Congressional Directed Medical Research Programs Office will manage it.

The test subjects, to be recruited over the next three years from the Charleston VA center and the local veteran population, will drink two child-size juice boxes of commercially available, smoothie-type drinks each day for six months, Marriott said.

Half the veterans will receive about 4 grams of Omega 3 fatty acids in their drinks each day, said Joseph Hibbeln, acting chief of NIAA’s nutritional neurosciences section. This, he said, should elevate the concentration of Omega 3s in the experimental group’s blood to levels commonly found among populations of fish-eating countries such as Japan and Iceland.

The other half of the test subjects, the control group, will receive placebos.


Both groups will continue to receive the same mental health care services as before the study.

Meanwhile, researchers will evaluate them as they begin the study and periodically over its course to assess their depression and anxiety levels and performance on cognitive tests, Marriott said. They also will take blood samples to measure Omega 3 levels.

The investigators will have no idea until after the study which test subjects received Omega 3 doses and which were in the control, Marriott said.

Based on previous studies in both animals and humans, Marriott said she expects to see much higher Omega 3 levels in the experimental group, with corresponding improvements in their mood and performance levels.

Hibbeln has been a pioneer in linking Omega 3 deficiencies with depression and violent or impulsive disorders. For the past 20 years, he has advanced the theory that the brain, made up of fats and oils, depends on Omega 3 nutrients to operate properly and fully experience pleasure.

He uses the analogy of a tree that grows deep roots, a sturdy trunk and abundance of leaves only if it’s properly fertilized and gets the nutrients it needs.

The problem, he explained, is that the human body gets Omega 3s only through food and nutritional supplements. And the typical American diet is extremely low in Omega 3 fatty acids — with military populations consuming even fewer.

Exacerbating the problem, Hibbeln said, is that their diets tend to be high in Omega 6s, the oils commonly found in French fries, chips and other processed foods. Within red blood cells, Omega 6s are like "insurgents" who crowd out the few good-guy Omega 3s, he explained.

That double-whammy, he said, puts people at increased risk of suicide and other emotional distress.

Assessing the blood of 800 active-duty military members who committed suicide between 2002 and 2008, Hibbeln said all had "profoundly low levels of Omega 3 fatty acids, by evolutionary and world standards."

The suicide victims had particularly low levels of docosahexaenoic acid or DHA, an Omega 3 fatty acid concentrated in the brain. The levels were so low that, based on other studies, it could have elevated the service members’ risk of suicide by 75 percent, Hibbeln said.

But equally troubling was that the control group in that study, which consisted of 800 active-duty service members, had similarly low levels of Omega 3s in their blood.

Hibbeln recalled another era in military history when a nutritional deficiency caused an operational challenge. Only when the British navy began feeding lemons and limes — a great source of Vitamin C — to its sailors did they stop suffering from debilitating cases of scurvy.

Recognizing the potential benefits of Omega 3s, the
Army Natick Soldier Systems Center in Massachusetts, has started infusing them into combat rations. Natick food scientists already have started introducing them into lemon poppy seed cake and a salmon in alfredo sauce entree.

Hibbeln said he’s hoping the new study will show results like those in another he conducted that involved 49 patients who were admitted to an emergency room in Ireland for multiple episodes of "self harm." In that study, all the patients were sent home from the hospital without psychotherapy services, but half received 2 grams of Omega 3 fatty acids to take each day.

The results among that experimental group impressed even Hibbeln. "The active group had reduced their suicidal thinking by 45 percent," he said. "They reduced their depressive symptoms by 50 percent, reduced their perceptions of stress by 33 percent and increased their reports of a sense of happiness by 30 percent."
Hibbeln acknowledged that he doesn’t expect a smoothie drink or fish-oil capsule to be the end-all in solving the chronic suicide problem among military members and veterans.
"Low Omega 3 fatty acids or low levels of any one nutrient are never going to be the sole cause of suicide or depression," he said. "People are very complex, lives are complex and biology is complex. But when you kick the legs out of that fundamental nutrient, everything else gets worse and everything else gets magnified."

But Marriott said she sees the new study as a way to give new hope to military members and veterans struggling with depression and suicidal tendencies. "We’re very excited about this, and the prospect that such a small change could make a big difference that helps a lot of people," she said.

The findings could have far-reaching impact beyond the military, Marriott said, noting that suicide is the 10th largest cause of death in the United States.

"This study will have important ramifications, not just for veterans, but for all Americans," she said.

By Donna Miles

RECENT U.S. NAVY PHOTOS

FROM: U.S. NAVY
121120-N-ZZ999-006 VENTURA, Calif. (Nov. 20, 2012) An E-2C Hawkeye aircraft assigned to the Wallbangers of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 117 fly over the Pacific Ocean near Ventura, Calif. VAW-117 is a command and control and airborne early Warning Squadron dedicated to deliver time critical situational awareness to warfare commanders and coalition partners. (U.S. Navy photo by Command Master Chief Spike Call/Released)

121123-M-VZ265-062 CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait (Nov. 23, 2012) Marines assigned to Sniper Platoon, Weapons Company, Battalion Landing Team 3/5, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (15th MEU), practice Military Operations on Urban Terrain. The 15th MEU is deployed with the Peleliu Amphibious Ready Group as a U.S. Central Command theater reserve force, providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Timothy R. Childers/Released)

 

U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT CELEBRATES WILDLIFE CONSERVATION DAY WITH WORLDWIDE EVENTS

Photo:  African Elephant.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook.

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Department of State Marks Wildlife Conservation DayMedia Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
December 1, 2012

U.S. missions around the globe will mark Wildlife Conservation Day on December 4 with programs including speaking engagements at local schools, film presentations, roundtables, an appearance by Animal Planet’s Jeff Corwin at the U.S. Department of State, and a videotaped call to action by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

In Washington D.C., Jeff Corwin, host and executive producer of Animal Planet’s "The Jeff Corwin Experience," will speak at the Department of State’s Ralph Bunche Library at 11 a.m. on December 4. Mr. Corwin will be joined by Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Tara Sonenshine and Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Kerri-Ann Jones. Mr. Corwin will also lead two international webchats on Monday, December 3 and Tuesday, December 4.

International events include:

China: In Beijing, Under Secretary of State Robert Hormats will take part in a roundtable focused on wildlife protection. The U.S. consulate in Guangzhou has organized film presentations on wildlife trafficking to be shown in Fuzhou, Xiamen, and Guangzhou.

Kenya: In Nairobi, USAID will host a roundtable with Government of Kenya officials and civil society to discuss wildlife conservation issues.

India: The American Library in New Delhi will host a youth event on wildlife conservation and take questions via Facebook in addition to live streaming Jeff Corwin's webchat.

Kyrgyzstan: Embassy Bishkek will host a conference on snow leopards with local experts.

Thailand: Ambassador Kristie Kenney will participate in an anti-trafficking event at Bangkok’s international airport with government officials, USAID, the NGO FREELAND, and other partners.

Burundi: Embassy Bujumbura will host programs for elementary school children and distribute National Geographic’s conservation materials.

Nicaragua: Ambassador Phyllis Powers will tour a rescue center in Managua for trafficked animals, deliver remarks, and engage the press.

Central African Republic: Embassy Bangui will launch a new youth conservation group.

Russia: Embassy Moscow will conduct a panel discussion on the challenge of wildlife trafficking, with an emphasis on local efforts to protect tigers.

HISTORICAL SERVICE FACTS ABOUT THE USS ENTERPRISE

FROM:  U.S. NAVY

U.S. AMBASADOR TO NIGERIA LEADS TRADE DELEGATION TO U.S. TO PROMOTE TRADE

Map:  Nigeria.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook.

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

U.S. Ambassador Terence McCulley Leads Nigerian Delegations to New Orleans and Orlando and Promotes Trade with Africa

Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
November 30, 2012

U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria Ambassador Terence P. McCulley will promote business opportunities between Nigeria and America on a two-week, four-city tour in the United States December 2-14, 2012. The tour is part of the "Doing Business in Africa" (DBIA) campaign, launched by the Acting Secretary of Commerce Dr. Rebecca Blank on November 28th which helps American businesses identify opportunities for United States commercial and trade relationships in Africa. On June 14, 2012, President Obama issued the U.S. "Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa," under which the United States will pursue four objectives in the region: strengthening democratic institutions; spurring economic growth, trade and investment; advancing peace and security; and promoting opportunity and development. As part of spurring economic growth, trade, and investment, the Strategy specifically calls for the development of a "Doing Business in Africa" campaign. This campaign will leverage the federal government’s trade promotion, financing, and strategic communications capabilities to help U.S. businesses identify and seize opportunities in Africa, and to help them overcome any challenges they face to establishing business relationships with Africa.

On December 5, the Ambassador will lead a substantial Nigerian delegation to New Orleans to attend business meetings and attend the International Workboat Show – the largest commercial marine tradeshow in North America - plus conduct site visits to companies and educational institutions. The Ambassador will also participate in a Tulane Energy Institute Round Table.

In Orlando on December 11, the Ambassador is leading a large private and public sector delegation to Power-Gen International. Power-Gen International offers the delegation the opportunity to join over 20,000 attendees from 92 countries to do business with the over 1,200 exhibiting companies.

While in the United States, Ambassador McCulley will also meet with business, academic, and diaspora representatives in Houston and Atlanta.

 

NEW JERSEY ONE MONTH AFTER HURRICANE SANDY

Sandy Hook, N.J., Nov. 28, 2012 -- Many roads were severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy in the National Park, which is at the top of New Jersey's shoreline. FEMA is working with state and local officials to assist residents who were affected by Hurricane Sandy. Photo by Liz Roll-FEMA

FROM: U.S. FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY

New Jersey Recovery: One Month Later
November 30, 2012

LINCROFT, N.J. – On the evening of October 29, Hurricane Sandy made landfall along the New Jersey coast resulting in the most damaging disaster in state history. Since then, Federal funds obligated to assist the residents and communities in the state have totaled more than $730 million

The federal effort deployed to assist the state included 18 agencies with more than 2,600 personnel. In addition, under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), 12 states have deployed

440 personnel and equipment to support New Jersey. This includes law enforcement teams providing security and emergency medical services supporting sheltering and other life support needs.

The New Jersey National Guard responded with a force of over 2,200 Guardsmen to support response efforts throughout the state. For New Jersey, it was the largest mobilization of National Guardsmen to a domestic emergency and the largest humanitarian effort the state has orchestrated. The Guard rescued more than 7,000 residents and their pets, operated three fuel distribution points, transported and delivered tens of thousands of basic needs commodities to armories within communities impacted by the storm and provided approximately 250 hours of helicopter lift support to civilian authorities.

Even before Sandy made landfall, FEMA positioned food, water and blankets and deployed experts from several federal agencies to New Jersey, including the U.S. Coast Guard and other components of the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Energy, and Housing and Urban Development to provide resources and guidance to the state. Together, critical life-saving needs were provided in the immediate aftermath: emergency medical care, search and rescue, power generators in critical facilities, fuel for first responders.

FEMA also has issued 235 mission assignments to support disaster response and recovery needs, totaling nearly $250 million in projected assistance. This includes federal operational support (support among federal agencies) totaling $67.8 million, technical assistance support (federal support to the state) of $11.2 million such as the expertise brought to New Jersey to support assessment of critical infrastructure throughout the state, and direct federal assistance of nearly $170.0 million.

Immediately following Hurricane Sandy’s landfall, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), working with FEMA and local and state authorities, identified critical locations that needed temporary emergency power. They installed 102 emergency generators between Oct. 31 and Nov. 19 to provide life-saving power to 9-1-1 centers, police and fire stations and medical facilities; life-sustaining facilities such as shelters, water and wastewater treatment and pumping facilities; and other municipal facilities required to reinstitute local command and control and post-event recovery.

FEMA and local and state authorities turned to USACE for its extensive experience removing debris following natural disasters, assigning a debris management technical assistance mission in New Jersey Nov. 6. USACE placed debris subject matter experts in Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic, Bergen, Hudson, Essex, Middlesex and Union counties working with FEMA, state, county and local authorities to assess the quantities and types of debris and recommend courses of action for its removal. Quantities of various types of debris are still being calculated but are estimated to total around 6.2 million cubic yards, or enough debris to fill the MetLife stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

The U.S. Fire Service provided 26 chainsaw teams totaling 520 personnel to assist with tree removal in neighborhoods throughout the state. They also provided four Incident Management Teams who assisted the state Fire Marshal with fire coordination and fire planning response.

President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan, Acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank, Deputy National Security Advisor John O. Brennan, Deputy Transportation Secretary John Pocari, FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Commander Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick have toured damaged New Jersey communities and met with local leaders and emergency responders to view recovery efforts while vowing to bring all available resources to bear to support state and local partners in assisting survivors in the 21 counties designated for assistance.

"FEMA and the entire federal family have been our partners from the beginning," said State Coordinating Officer Lt. Jeff Mottley. "They anticipated many of our needs and when there were challenges, they quickly offered solutions."

"Getting survivors the assistance they need has been our top priority from the beginning," said Federal Coordinating Officer Michael J. Hall. "When families and businesses begin to recover, whole communities begin to recover. The faster we can get recovery dollars into the hands of survivors and reimburse communities for disaster expenses, the faster they will move forward in their healing."

In the first 30 days, FEMA provided $286 million to assist individuals and families repair damaged homes, find temporary housing and assist with expenses such as medical and dental bills. More than 46,000 New Jersey families have benefitted from that assistance so far.

Restoring power to over 2.6 million homes, businesses and government customers represented a critical priority. The Department of Energy worked closely with the state Board of Public Utilities to coordinate the power restoration. Demonstrating a true whole community response, over 23,000 utility professionals came together from New Jersey’s utility companies and, through mutual aid agreements with companies across the country, worked to restore service across the state.

To meet a critical need at a critical time, nearly 3,000 families have taken advantage of the Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program by lodging in 340 hotels during the first four-week period.

Helping disaster survivors who were displaced from their homes due to damage or power loss find safe and secure shelter is a key priority of the response. At peak of sheltering operations, 107 shelters were open with 4,370 people. Through efforts across federal, state, local, private sector and voluntary agencies, the last of the shelters closed on November 21.

The U.S. Small Business Administration has opened 10 Business Recovery Centers in the state to provide one-on-one help to business owners seeking disaster assistance and has approved more than $21 million in disaster loans to both individuals and businesses.

The first FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers opened just days after the storm passed and continue to assist survivors at more than 36 locations where nearly 25,000 residents have been offered assistance and information about their recovery.

More than 650 FEMA community relations specialists have met with more than 86,000 storm survivors while going door-to-door. In total, nearly 150,000 homes were visited delivering information vital to disaster survivor’s recovery.

Even as Sandy was making its way up the east coast, FEMA and the Department of Defense established Incident Support Bases at Westover, Mass. and Lakehurst, New Jersey to position supplies and other resources close to areas in the hurricane’s path. Following the storm, more than 1.7 million meals and 2.6 million snacks have been served to survivors and first responders.

The Department of Health and Human Services deployed hundreds of personnel, including five Disaster Medical Assistance Teams and three Public Health Strike Teams to support hospitals and shelters in New Jersey. In total they were able to assist more than 750 people with medical needs.

FEMA also has teamed with the private sector network of business, industry, academia, trade associations, and other non-governmental organizations as equal partners in assisting with Sandy recovery.

The storm impact on New Jersey was historic in its severity. Storm surge impacts of up to 11 feet battered the coastline and wave heights of more than 14 feet were recorded. Peak wind gusts of 88 mph were clocked in Essex County. The devastating effects of Hurricane Sandy affected, damaged or destroyed more than 122,000 structures throughout all 21 counties.

OREGON NATIONAL GUARD AND VIETNAM SIGN PARTNERSHIP PACT

Army Maj. Gen. Raymond F. Rees, adjutant general of the Oregon National Guard, and Vietnam Lt. Gen. Tran Quang Khue, vice chairman of the National Committee for Search and Rescue, congratulate each other following the official signing ceremony for the State Partnership Program between Oregon and Vietnam on Nov. 27, 2012. Photo by U.S. Embassy in Hanoi.

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Oregon Army National Guard
SALEM, Ore., Nov. 30, 2012 - The Oregon National Guard signed a pact with Vietnam as part of the State Partnership Program during a Nov. 27 ceremony in Hanoi.

Army Maj. Gen. Raymond F. Rees, adjutant general of the Oregon National Guard, signed the agreement with Vietnam Lt. Gen. Tran Quang Khue, vice chairman of the National Committee for Search and Rescue.

U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam David Shear; Oregon Army National Guard Brig. Gen. Todd Plimpton, assistant adjutant general (Army); Oregon Air National Guard Col. Mark Crosby, Oregon's State Partnership Program director, and other officials were on hand for the signing at the Ministry of Defense Guest House.

The agreement comes as the United States begins ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. Events and commemorations to honor era veterans and casualties are scheduled in both countries through 2025.

The State Partnership Program reflects an evolving international affairs mission for the National Guard, emphasizing its unique state-federal and civil-military characteristics to interact with both the active and reserve forces of foreign nations, interagency partners, and international non-governmental organizations.

State partners participate in a broad range of security cooperation activities to include homeland defense/security, disaster response/mitigation, consequence/crisis management, interagency cooperation, border/port/aviation security, combat medical, fellowship-style internships, and bilateral familiarization events that lead to training and exercise opportunities.

The State Partnership Program currently supports 65 partnerships between states and nations.

The Oregon National Guard is also partnered with Bangladesh.

U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK BACKS ETHIOPIAN BONDS TO BOLSTER BOEING 787 SALES

Map:  Ethiopia.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook. 

FROM: U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK
Ex-Im Backs Bonds Issued by Ethiopian Airlines for Export of U.S Aircraft
Washington, D.C. – The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) is backing bonds issued by Ethiopian Airlines of Addis Ababa to finance the export of four of ten Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft to Ethiopia.

Ethiopian Airlines obtained competitive interest rates on its bonds.

"This good news illustrates that the capital markets are yet another funding source available to facilitate U.S. exports and support American jobs," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. "We are proud that Ethiopian Airlines, one of our longstanding partners, has benefitted from this new financing program, and we hope that it will be the first of many African buyers of U.S.-manufactured goods and services to do so."

"The combination of high-quality, high-technology U.S.-manufactured Boeing aircraft, along with Ethiopian Airlines’ business model and management team and Ex-Im Bank-supported financing, is enabling Ethiopian Airlines to successfully connect Africa and its people and products to the world," added Bob Morin, Ex-Im Bank’s vice president for transportation.


Ex-Im Bank authorized the final commitment for the purchase of the Dreamliners in May, and Boeing delivered the first aircraft to Ethiopian Airlines at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the main terminal of Washington Dulles International Airport here August 15. Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) co-financed the transaction.


The Boeing 787 aircraft delivered to Ethiopian Airlines is the first of its kind to be delivered to any airline outside of Japan, and it is the first one to be financed by Ex-Im Bank.

"We are lucky enough to secure such lowest coupons at our first entry into this market. It is a result of good understanding, dedication and effort among Ethiopian Airlines and our partners, Ex-Im Bank and JPMorgan," said Kassim Geresu, Ethiopian Airlines’ chief financial officer. "We were all closely working together over several months to close the financing deal and achieve such attractive rates. I thank all involved from ET, JPMorgan and Ex-Im Bank for such fruitful work. As part of our cost leader ship strategy and the ongoing efforts to make our airline competitive and cost efficient, it is my belief that the bond financing arrangement is also contributing to take us to a better position."

Ex-Im Bank has worked with Ethiopian Airlines since 2002 to support its ongoing fleet renewal and expansion program.

In FY 2012, Ex-Im Bank authorized a record $1.52 billion to support U.S. export sales to buyers in Sub-Saharan Africa.

LEGAL BACKGROUND FOR WAR AGAINST AL-QAIDA

Emergency response vehicles line the area around the Pentagon, and smoke clouds the horizon shortly after a terrorist attack Sept. 11, 2001. President George W. Bush announced a war on terrorism and initiated homeland-defense efforts, including Operation Noble Eagle, which involved combat air patrols within the United States.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Johnson Gives Legal Background for War Against al-Qaida
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2012 - The United States remains in an armed conflict with al-Qaida, but it is important that the fight against the terrorist group is done in a lawful manner that does not compromise American values, Jeh C. Johnson told the Oxford Union in England today.

The group invited Johnson, the Defense Department's general counsel, to discuss the implications of the fight against al-Qaida -- a conflict that Britain has been involved in as well since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.

Al-Qaida planned and executed the attacks that killed 3,000 people from their base in Afghanistan. The United States has taken the fight directly to the terrorists, "the result of which is that the core of al-Qaeda is today degraded, disorganized and on the run," Johnson said. "Osama bin Laden is dead. Many other leaders and terrorist operatives of al-Qaida are dead or captured; those left in al-Qaida's core struggle to communicate, issue orders, and recruit."

But, the group remains a danger. While the international coalition has degraded al-Qaida's capabilities, it has decentralized, and relies much more on affiliates. The most dangerous of these are al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula based in Yemen and al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, which operates in northern and western Africa. In Yemen, the United States works with the government there in counterterrorism operations.

But the question for some is whether all of these actions are legal. Taking on al-Qaida is not like declaring war on a sovereign nation. It is an amorphous terror group that operates worldwide. Some have asked what is the legal basis for armed conflict against such a group?

"The United States government is in an armed conflict against al-Qaeda and associated forces, to which the laws of armed conflict apply," Johnson said. "One week after 9/11, our Congress authorized our President 'to use all necessary and appropriate force' against those nations, organizations and individuals responsible for 9/11."

Then-President George W. Bush, and now President Barack Obama have acted militarily based on that authorization ever since. The Supreme Court also endorsed this justification in 2006.

But, for the United States, this is a new kind of conflict. It is an unconventional fight against an unconventional enemy.

"Given its unconventional nature, President Obama -- himself a lawyer and a good one -- has insisted that our efforts in pursuit of this enemy stay firmly rooted in conventional legal principles," Johnson said. "For, in our efforts to destroy and dismantle al-Qaida, we cannot dismantle our laws and our values, too."

He added that the United States is "not at war with an idea, a religion or a tactic. We are at war with an organized, armed group -- a group determined to kill innocent civilians."

The nation is also in conflict with groups that aid al-Qaida.

"We have publicly stated that our goal in this conflict is to 'disrupt, dismantle, and ensure a lasting defeat of al-Qaeda and violent extremist affiliates," Johnson said. "Some legal scholars and commentators in our country brand the detention by the military of members of al-Qaida as 'indefinite detention without charges.' Some refer to targeted lethal force against known, identified individual members of al-Qaeda as 'extrajudicial killing.'"

Johnson countered, by pointing out that "viewed within the context of conventional armed conflict -- as they should be -- capture, detention and lethal force are traditional practices as old as armies."

He added, "We employ weapons of war against al-Qaida, but in a manner consistent with the law of war. We employ lethal force, but in a manner consistent with the law of war principles of proportionality, necessity and distinction."

The armed conflict is now in its twelfth year. How will it end?

"It is an unconventional conflict, against an unconventional enemy, and will not end in conventional terms," Johnson said.

Every defense secretary since 9/11 has said the war against terrorism will not conclude with a formal surrender such as the ceremony that took place on the deck of the USS Missouri that ended World War II.

"We cannot and should not expect al-Qaida and its associated forces to all surrender, all lay down their weapons in an open field or to sign a peace treaty with us," Johnson said. "They are terrorist organizations. Nor can we expect to capture or kill every last terrorist who claims an affiliation with al-Qaida."

Al Qaida's "radical and absurd goals" include global domination through a violent Islamic caliphate, terrorizing the United States and other western nations so they retreat from the world stage as well as the destruction of Israel.

"There is no compromise or political bargain that can be struck with those who pursue such aims," Johnson said.

The general counsel believes there will come a tipping point when so many al-Qaida leaders and operatives have been killed or captured that the group and its affiliates can no longer attempt to launch a strategic attack against the United States.

"At that point, we must be able to say to ourselves that our efforts should no longer be considered an 'armed conflict' against al-Qaida and its affiliates; rather, a counterterrorism effort against individuals who are the scattered remnants of al-Qaida," he said.

US Navy Videos: USS ENTERPRISE INACTIVATION CEREMONY

US Navy Videos

MESSENGER SHOWS EVIDENCE OF WATER ICE ON MERCURY

After its first Mercury solar day (176 Earth days) in orbit, MESSENGER has nearly completed two of its main global imaging campaigns: a monochrome map at 250 m/pixel and an eight-color, 1-km/pixel color map. Apart from small gaps, which will be filled in during the next solar day, these global maps now provide uniform lighting conditions ideal for assessing the form of Mercury’s surface features as well as the color and compositional variations across the planet. The orthographic views seen here, centered at 75° E longitude, are each mosaics of thousands of individual images. At right, images taken through the wide-angle camera filters at 1000, 750, and 430 nm wavelength are displayed in red, green, and blue, respectively. Image Credit-NASA-Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory-Carnegie Institution of Washington

FROM: NASA

NASA Spacecraft Finds New Evidence for Water Ice on Mercury
WASHINGTON -- A NASA spacecraft studying Mercury has provided compelling support for the long-held hypothesis the planet harbors abundant water ice and other frozen volatile materials within its permanently shadowed polar craters.

The new information comes from NASA's MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft. Its onboard instruments have been studying Mercury in unprecedented detail since its historic arrival there in March 2011. Scientists are seeing clearly for the first time a chapter in the story of how the inner planets, including Earth, acquired their water and some of the chemical building blocks for life.

"The new data indicate the water ice in Mercury's polar regions, if spread over an area the size of Washington, D.C., would be more than 2 miles thick," said David Lawrence, a MESSENGER participating scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Md., and lead author of one of three papers describing the findings. The papers were published online in Thursday's edition of Science Express.

Spacecraft instruments completed the first measurements of excess hydrogen at Mercury's north pole, made the first measurements of the reflectivity of Mercury's polar deposits at near-infrared wavelengths, and enabled the first detailed models of the surface and near-surface temperatures of Mercury's north polar regions.

Given its proximity to the sun, Mercury would seem to be an unlikely place to find ice. However, the tilt of Mercury's rotational axis is less than 1 degree, and as a result, there are pockets at the planet's poles that never see sunlight.

Scientists suggested decades ago there might be water ice and other frozen volatiles trapped at Mercury's poles. The idea received a boost in 1991 when the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico detected radar-bright patches at Mercury's poles. Many of these patches corresponded to the locations of large impact craters mapped by NASA's Mariner 10 spacecraft in the 1970s. However, because Mariner saw less than 50 percent of the planet, planetary scientists lacked a complete diagram of the poles to compare with the radar images.

Images from the spacecraft taken in 2011 and earlier this year confirmed all radar-bright features at Mercury's north and south poles lie within shadowed regions on the planet's surface. These findings are consistent with the water ice hypothesis.

The new observations from MESSENGER support the idea that ice is the major constituent of Mercury's north polar deposits. These measurements also reveal ice is exposed at the surface in the coldest of those deposits, but buried beneath unusually dark material across most of the deposits. In the areas where ice is buried, temperatures at the surface are slightly too warm for ice to be stable.

MESSENGER's neutron spectrometer provides a measure of average hydrogen concentrations within Mercury's radar-bright regions. Water ice concentrations are derived from the hydrogen measurements.

"We estimate from our neutron measurements the water ice lies beneath a layer that has much less hydrogen. The surface layer is between 10 and 20 centimeters [4-8 inches] thick," Lawrence said.

Additional data from detailed topography maps compiled by the spacecraft corroborate the radar results and neutron measurements of Mercury's polar region. In a second paper by Gregory Neumann of NASA's Goddard Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., measurements of the shadowed north polar regions reveal irregular dark and bright deposits at near-infrared wavelength near Mercury's north pole.
"Nobody had seen these dark regions on Mercury before, so they were mysterious at first," Neumann said.

The spacecraft recorded dark patches with diminished reflectance, consistent with the theory that ice in those areas is covered by a thermally insulating layer. Neumann suggests impacts of comets or volatile-rich asteroids could have provided both the dark and bright deposits, a finding corroborated in a third paper led by David Paige of the University of California at Los Angeles.

"The dark material is likely a mix of complex organic compounds delivered to Mercury by the impacts of comets and volatile-rich asteroids, the same objects that likely delivered water to the innermost planet," Paige said.

This dark insulating material is a new wrinkle to the story, according to MESSENGER principal investigator Sean Solomon of Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, N.Y.

"For more than 20 years, the jury has been deliberating whether the planet closest to the sun hosts abundant water ice in its permanently shadowed polar regions," Solomon said. "MESSENGER now has supplied a unanimous affirmative verdict."

MESSENGER was designed and built by APL. The lab manages and operates the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The mission is part of NASA's Discovery Program, managed for the directorate by the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

RECENT U.S. NAVY PHOTOS

FROM: U.S. NAVY
E-2C Hawkeye aircraft assigned to the Wallbangers of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 117 fly over the Pacific Ocean near Ventura, Calif. VAW-117 is a command and control and airborne early Warning Squadron dedicated to deliver time critical situational awareness to warfare commanders and coalition partners. U.S. Navy photo by Command Master Chief Spike Call (Released) 121120-N-ZZ999-004

Chinese sailors render honors to Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) the Honorable Ray Mabus during a visit to the People's Liberation Army Navy hospital ship Peace Ark (866). Mabus is visiting China to discuss the United States' new defense strategy, deepening our military-to-military engagements, rebalancing toward the Pacific and fostering a positive, cooperative and comprehensive relationship with China. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Sam Shavers (Released) 121129-N-AC887-001

 

Remarks at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy 2012 Saban Forum Opening Gala Dinner

Remarks at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy 2012 Saban Forum Opening Gala Dinner

LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC'S NATIONAL DAY

Map:  Laos.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook.

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Lao People's Democratic Republic's National Day
Press Statement
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
November 30, 2012

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I am delighted to send best wishes to the people of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic on your National Day this December 2.

This year marks 57 years of diplomatic relations between the United States and Laos, and my visit in July affirmed the growing relationship between our two countries. The United States remains committed to working with the Lao Government and other partners to increase access to healthcare, build on our food security initiative, promote economic development, and reduce the impact of unexploded ordnance and accounting for the remains of U.S. military service members.

We congratulate Laos on its accession to the World Trade Organization, a milestone for your economic reforms that will serve you well for new investment opportunities. Laos has taken significant strides to become a more prominent member of the international community, including through its leadership in the Lower Mekong Initiative, and the United States welcomes the opportunity to strengthen our partnership even more.

I wish all Laotians continued peace, prosperity, and happiness in the coming year.

Map:  Laos:  Credit:  CIA World Factbook.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM CIA WORLD FACTBOOK
Modern-day Laos has its roots in the ancient Lao kingdom of Lan Xang, established in the 14th Century under King FA NGUM. For 300 years Lan Xang had influence reaching into present-day Cambodia and Thailand, as well as over all of what is now Laos. After centuries of gradual decline, Laos came under the domination of Siam (Thailand) from the late 18th century until the late 19th century when it became part of French Indochina. The Franco-Siamese Treaty of 1907 defined the current Lao border with Thailand. In 1975, the Communist Pathet Lao took control of the government ending a six-century-old monarchy and instituting a strict socialist regime closely aligned to Vietnam. A gradual, limited return to private enterprise and the liberalization of foreign investment laws began in 1988. Laos became a member of ASEAN in 1997.

U.S. STATEMENT ON NORTH KOREA'S ANNOUNCEMENT OF SATELLITE LAUNCH

Photo:  Korean War Era.  Credit:  U.S. Marine Corps. 

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

North Korean Announcement of a Launch December 10-22, 2012
Press Statement
Victoria Nuland
Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
November 30, 2012


A North Korean "satellite" launch would be a highly provocative act that threatens peace and security in the region. Any North Korean launch using ballistic missile technology is in direct violation of UN Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) 1718 and 1874.

The UN Security Council Presidential Statement adopted unanimously on April 16, 2012 strongly condemned North Korea's April 13 launch and expressed its determination to take action accordingly in the event of a further launch. We call on North Korea to comply fully with its obligations under all relevant UNSCRs.

Devoting scarce resources to the development of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles will only further isolate and impoverish North Korea. The path to security for North Korea lies in investing in its people and abiding by its commitments and international obligations.

The United States is consulting closely with its Six-Party and other key allies and partners on next steps.

U.S. SECURITY STRATEGY WHEN MONEY IS TIGHT

Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter delivers remarks at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy in Durham, N.C., Nov. 29, 2012. DOD photo by Glenn Fawcett
　

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Carter Outlines U.S. Security Strategy in Tight-budget Era
By Amaani Lyle
American Forces Press Service

DURHAM, N.C., Nov. 30, 2012 - In a speech at Duke University here yesterday, Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter outlined new security strategies and challenges that he said will define the nation's future in a post-war era of fiscal constraint.

Carter said the need to keep the department's "fiscal house in order" after more than a decade of war and under the threat of sequestration has spurred an approach of rebalancing and innovation as the Defense Department pivots to the Asia-Pacific region.

"We in the Department of Defense ... are at a moment of great strategic consequence and great strategic transition; we're at the confluence of two great forces," Carter said. "After almost 12 years of unrelenting and uninterrupted war ... in two particular places, Iraq and Afghanistan -- that era is coming to an end."

While Carter acknowledged the war in Afghanistan persists, he expressed confidence in the strategy's probability of success as U.S. forces draw down and Afghan security forces maintain stability.

"... The principal requirement [is] to ensure the country is no longer a danger to the U.S.," he said.

Looking forward, Carter said, military leadership determined that U.S. forces must be leaner, more agile, ready, and technologically advanced.

"We wanted to take ... steps to make the most effective use of our force in the era after Iraq and Afghanistan," he said.

The new concept of readiness, according to Carter, involves preserving and building on the strength of the all-volunteer active duty, Guard and Reserve force developed during the last decade.

"We wanted to retain [the force] and we wanted to respect it [with] no sudden changes as the war came to an end," he said.

Carter said he also aims to shift the weight of intellectual effort to future challenges by continuing to invest in special operations forces, electronic warfare, and space and cyber technology.

These investment areas, he explained, will be best leveraged in the Asia-Pacific region, where a considerable amount of the U.S. future security and economic interests lie.

Carter noted the unique history of the region that he said never had NATO nor "any structure to heal the wounds of World War II and yet it has had peace and stability for 70 years."

Because he credits sustained American military presence in the region with the long span of peace, Carter said his goal as the U.S. pivots to the Pacific is simple.

"We want to 'keep on keepin' on' with what that region has: an environment of peace and stability in which the countries of the region -- all of them -- can continue to enjoy economic prosperity," Carter said.

As partnerships with Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and Australia continue to blossom, Carter said he urges broadening the U.S. military strategy to one of national strategy including economic engagement, long-standing principles of self-governance, and free, open access to commerce.

"That environment is not a birthright," Carter said. "It's something that results in important measure from the continued pivotal presence of the U.S. military in that region."

The U.S. will continue to work with new security partners such as India, Philippines, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations collective, and China while setting priorities for the kinds of capabilities that are relevant for the Asia-Pacific region, Carter said.

"... We can enhance our Asia-Pacific region posture ... because of the end of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars which frees up capacity," he added.

Therefore, Carter said, the U.S. will move more security assets into the region, such as the deployment of F-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft to Japan and an expanding rotational bomber presence on Guam.

Key defense investments that remain shielded from budget cuts include KC-46 tanker aircraft, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance technology and the Virginia Class submarine, which Carter said maintains "unrivaled undersea dominance." New training infrastructure involves joint, multi-lateral exercises designed to strengthen partnerships with nations in the Asia-Pacific region, he added.

"Partners are a force multiplier for us," Carter said. "We're not only emphasizing our existing alliances and partnerships, but [we're also] trying as hard as we can to build new ones."

It is for these reasons, he said, that the U.S. can and will find the military capacity and intellectual resources to support the strategic rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region.

But Carter shared a question he said is on the minds of many Americans: Can the U.S. accomplish these endeavors with the anticipated budget cuts?

As the DOD's strategic juncture in history and the current era of fiscal belt-tightening overlap, Carter described the defense strategy as an "an unprecedented process" in terms of the depth of presidential involvement.

Carter said President Barack Obama invested significant time and effort with defense leadership to develop strategic budgetary cuts.

Still, Carter explained, absent swift Congressional approval for follow-on measures to the Budget Control Act, sequestration could be "disastrous" for national defense.

"If it comes to pass, it will hollow out the force," he said.

In the meantime, Carter said he and other DOD officials remain resolute in the task of providing U.S. national security while being good stewards of taxpayer dollars.

"We hope that by being good strategists and sound managers, we can continue to defend the country and enjoy the trust of the people it's our responsibility to defend," Carter said.

World AIDS Day

World AIDS Day

MESSAGE FROM U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK CHAIRMAN

Fred Hochberg.  Chairman Of Export-Import Bank.

FROM: U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK
Message from the Chairman

Friends,

Recently the Export-Import Bank of the United States announced a fourth straight record-breaking year for export financing – over $35.7 billion in Exim authorizations for FY 2012. That is up by nearly 10 percent from last fiscal year and up 150 percent over the past four years. We not only did this at no cost to taxpayers, we delivered $1.1 billion in excess revenues to the Treasury.

But these numbers mean little without understanding the impact we've had on America's economic recovery. Our financing supported 255,000 export-related jobs last year – good jobs with high wages and a promising future for working families—and nearly 1 million jobs over the past 4 years. These quality jobs were in communities across the country in industries ranging from nuclear power plant machinery and services to solar panels.

Our financing for small businesses also reached a new record of $6.1 billion – supporting innovative entrepreneurs as they expand into overseas markets. By the end of FY 2012, 650 small businesses have used Exim financing this year for the first time; additionally, more than 1,730 small-business transactions were for loans under $500,000. And we've only just begun. Our support for women- and minority-owned small-business exporters, for instance, increased nearly 17 percent, setting a new record. Here at Ex-Im, we are always looking to partner with new exporters.

Export growth is contributing more and more to the nation's economy. Overall in 2011, U.S. exports accounted for $2.17 trillion of U.S. gross domestic product of $15.6 trillion – an all-time high. This underscores the success so far of President Obama's National Export Initiative – a coordinated effort to double U.S. exports by the end of 2014 – as we continue to make steady progress towards that goal.

Business people around the country are impressed when I tell them that we produced these results with a staff of only about 400. Not only that, we cut our approval times in half, simplified application forms, and launched a Total Enterprise Modernization program to streamline our systems. In FY 2012, 90% of all transactions were processed within 30 days and 98% were processed within 100 days. We are doing "Government at the Speed of Business" and expect even more productivity improvements in the year ahead. I invite you to read on for details about our successful fourth quarter and fiscal year.

32 MORE F-35 JETS WILL BE BUILT BY LOCKHEED MARTIN

Photo:  F-35.  Credit:  U.S. Air Force.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

DOD, Lockheed Martin Agree to More F-35s
By Claudette Roulo
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2012 – DOD and Lockheed Martin have reached an agreement in principle to manufacture 32 F-35 Lightning II joint strike fighter jets, Pentagon Press Secretary George E. Little said today.

The jets are part of Low-Rate Initial Production batch 5 -- the fifth production lot of the aircraft. Unit-cost data will be made available once the contracts are finalized and signed, Little said.

"Production costs are decreasing and I appreciate everyone’s commitment to this important negotiation process," said Navy Vice Adm. Dave Venlet, the F-35 program executive officer.

The agreement also covers the costs of manufacturing support equipment, flight test instrumentation and additional mission equipment, he added.

"It was a tough negotiation," Little said, "and we’re pleased that we’ve reached an agreement."

According to a news release from the F-35 program office, Lockheed Martin will produce 22 F-35A conventional take-off and landing variants for the Air Force, three F-35B short takeoff/vertical landing variants for the Marine Corps and seven F-35C carrier variants for the Navy.

Aircraft production was started in December 2011 under a previously authorized undefinitized contract action, the release said. Undefinitized contract actions authorize contractors to begin work before reaching a final agreement on contract terms.

The agreement sets the program to move forward according to improved business timelines, Little said. "It’s good for all nations that are partnered with us in this important effort for our future national security."

The United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Turkey, Israel and Singapore are partners or participants in the aircraft’s development program, and the Japanese government announced in December 2011 it will buy 42 of the fighters.

Weekly Address: Urging Congress to Extend the Middle Class Tax Cuts | The White House

Weekly Address: Urging Congress to Extend the Middle Class Tax Cuts | The White House

Bo Inspects the 2012 White House Holiday Decorations | The White House

Bo Inspects the 2012 White House Holiday Decorations | The White House

NASA VIDEO: 2012 HURRICANE SEASON RAINFALL

FROM:  NASA

2012 Hurricane Season Rainfall
This animation shows rainfall totals calculated by NASA's TRMM satellite from tropical cyclones that affected the western Atlantic Ocean area during the 2012 hurricane season. It begins on May 19, 2012 with the formation of Tropical Storm Alberto off the coast of South Carolina and progresses through the Hurricane Sandy on Oct. 29. The last storm of the season, Tony, was out of the view of this animation. Measurements appear in millimeters.

Credit-NASA-SSAI, Hal Pierce

U.S. SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCE MAKES REMARKS ON MODERNIZATION

Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley discusses the importance of modernization and the challenges ahead for the Air Force at the 2012 Aerospace and Defense Investor Conference in New York, Nov. 29.2012. U.S. Air Force photo-Dave Wilson

FROM:  U.S. AIR FORCE
SecAF declares 'Modernization can't wait' 11/30/2012 - NEW YORK CITY (AFNS) -- The Air Force's senior civilian addressed the importance of modernization and the challenges ahead for the Air Force at the 2012 Aerospace and Defense Investor Conference here Nov. 29.

"Among the most difficult challenges facing the Air Force is the need to modernize our aging aircraft inventory as the defense budget declines," said Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley. "New threats and technologies require new investments."

Donley conveyed the careful strategic choices made in crafting the service's budget, highlighting the importance of research, development, procurement and construction -- "investments in future capability."

He specifically addressed the need for modernization among fighter, tanker, bomber, space and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms as "high priority investments," while other important capabilities like a new trainer and joint surveillance and target attack radar system are not yet funded.

"The plans and resources available for modernization are not optimal, but we are making tough choices to keep them workable with the right priorities for the future," he said. "Further reductions in defense would make these choices even harder."

Among these choices is readiness, which the secretary stressed is one area the service is not willing to taking additional risk.

"We see readiness -- in personnel, training and materiel dimensions -- already frayed. We have made important efficiencies and we are programmed for more," he said. "There are few options for reducing the size of our forces and still being able to execute strategic guidance."

In line with defense guidance, the Air Force has set a clear picture of its investment spending and priorities -- priorities that the joint force and the American public depend on, Donley said. For example, the service's ten largest investment programs include four space systems critical for access to space, secure communications, missile warning, and navigation and timing.

"America's Air Force remains the most capable in the word, but modernization can't wait," Donley said. "These new threats and investment needs, like cyber and missile defense, are not theoretical possibilities for the future. They are here, now."

Amidst the challenges and emerging requirements involved with modernizing the service, Secretary Donley stressed the importance of balancing effectiveness and efficiency, containing program requirements and costs, and continuing to be responsible stewards of taxpayer resources to make it work.

The two-day conference featured speakers from industry and the Department of Defense, including remarks from Robert Hale, under secretary of defense and chief financial officer; and Frank Kendall, the under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics.

REPORT ON U.S.-PAKISTAN ECONOMIC AND FINANCE WORKING GROUP

 

Pakistan:  The Hunza Valley in the Northern Areas is believed to have served as the inspiration for the novel Lost Horizons. Credit: CIA World Factbook.

FROM:   U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
U.S.-Pakistan Economic and Finance Working Group
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
November 30, 2012　

Deputy Secretary of State Thomas R. Nides and Finance Minister of Pakistan Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh co-chaired the U.S.-Pakistan Economic and Finance Working Group in Washington, DC on November 30. The working group focused on expanding bilateral economic engagement, particularly in the areas of trade and investment.

Both sides committed to broadening private sector ties between their two countries. Deputy Secretary Nides highlighted the U.S. Government’s many initiatives in this area – including a Pakistan investment conference in London hosted by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in October, the launch of the Pakistan Private Investment Initiative, and a series of conferences and virtual meetings devoted to training and mentoring Pakistan’s entrepreneurs.

In other meetings, senior State Department officials and USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah also highlighted the positive results of ongoing civilian assistance programs in Pakistan, including significant contributions in sectors critical to economic growth – such as the addition of more than 400 MW of capacity to Pakistan’s power grid and the construction of over 650 km of roads to date. Both sides agreed that Pakistan’s prosperity is predicated on energy sector reform; the United States welcomed Pakistan’s commitment to undertake the reforms needed to attract greater investment.

The United States commended Pakistan’s recent efforts to expand economic cooperation with its neighbors. Both sides discussed ways to improve trade and transit with Afghanistan and the Central Asian republics, citing the importance of enhanced trade for the region’s stability and prosperity. The United States welcomed the Government of Pakistan’s plans to extend most-favored-nation status to India by the end of the year.

The U.S. delegation included senior representatives from the Department of State, USAID, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and the National Security Staff.

SEC SAYS "HOLD THE PICKLES, HOLD THE LETTUCE. INSIDER TRADING THAT UPSET US."

FROM:  U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C., Nov. 30, 2012 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced insider trading charges against a Brazilian ex-banker for his role in a scheme to illegally trade Burger King securities

The SEC alleges that Igor Cornelsen and his firm through which he made trades - Bainbridge Group - reaped illicit profits of more than $1.68 million by trading Burger King options based on confidential information ahead of the company's September 2010 announcement that it was being acquired by a New York private equity firm. Cornelsen is now a resident of the Bahamas with a home in South Florida after holding high-ranking positions at several banks in Brazil before his retirement. He sought inside information from his broker Waldyr Da Silva Prado Neto by sending him e-mails with such masked references as, "Is the sandwich deal going to happen?" Prado was stealing the inside information from another Wells Fargo brokerage customer involved in the Burger King deal.

Cornelsen and Bainbridge Group agreed to pay more than $5.1 million to settle the SEC's charges. The settlement is subject to court approval. The litigation continues against Prado, whose assets have been frozen by the court.

"Cornelsen shamelessly prodded Prado for details on 'the sandwich deal' and Prado happily obliged to satisfy his customer's appetite for inside information," said Daniel M. Hawke, Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division's Market Abuse Unit and Director of the Philadelphia Regional Office.

Sanjay Wadhwa, Deputy Chief of the Market Abuse Unit and Associate Director of the New York Regional Office, added, "Foreign investors who access the U.S. capital markets must play by the rules and not rig the market in their favor, otherwise they face getting caught by the SEC and paying a hefty price as Cornelsen is here."

According to the SEC's complaint filed today in federal court in Manhattan, Cornelsen became Prado's customer in 2008. On May 17, 2010, Prado sent Cornelsen an e-mail written in Portuguese that translates to, "Igor, if you are around call me at the hotel … I have some info … You have to hear this." Cornelsen called Prado at his hotel and they had a 10-minute conversation. Earlier that same day, Prado told a friend that he had knowledge of the impending Burger King deal. After talking with Prado, Cornelsen began trading out-of-the-money Burger King call options the very next day. Cornelsen had never previously traded Burger King securities.

The SEC alleges that Cornelsen continued trading Burger King options over that summer despite losing money in some instances. In August, Cornelsen sent Prado e-mails seeking assurances that 'the sandwich deal' was going to happen, and Prado responded with such statements as "Yes it's going to happen" and "Everything is 100% under control." Cornelsen then purchased additional Burger King call options. Cornelsen took steps to minimize his connection to Prado by purchasing the Burger King call options in accounts held at brokerage firms other than where Prado worked.

The SEC alleges that after the public announcement of the Burger King deal, Cornelsen e-mailed Prado to inquire about the acquisition price. Upon learning the new per share price that would yield him substantial illegal profits, Cornelsen e-mailed back, "Wow! What a day!"

The SEC's complaint charges Cornelsen and Bainbridge Group with violations of Sections 10(b) and 14(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5 and 14e-3. The proposed final judgment orders them to jointly and severally pay $1,681,090 in disgorgement and $136,620.96 in prejudgment interest. Cornelsen is ordered to pay a $3,362,180 penalty. They neither admit nor deny the SEC charges. The proposed final judgment also enjoins them from future violations of these provisions of the federal securities laws.

The SEC's investigation, which is continuing, has been conducted by Market Abuse Unit members Megan Bergstrom, David Brown, and Diana Tani in the Los Angeles office with assistance from Charles D. Riely in the New York office. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Comissão de Valores Mobliliários (Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil), the Options Regulatory Surveillance Authority (ORSA), and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).