CLEAN AIR COOKING AND HEALTH IN AFRICA

Map:  Ghana.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook.

FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

Discovery
Cooking Up Clean Air in Africa
Reducing air pollution and meningitis risk in Ghana
They're little more than a pile of burning sticks with a stewpot atop them.

But these open fires or basic cookstoves have been linked to the premature deaths of 4 million people annually, many of them young children.

Three billion people around the world rely on wood, charcoal, agricultural waste, animal dung and coal for household cooking needs. They often burn these fuels inside their homes in poorly ventilated stoves or in open fires.

The resulting miasma exposes families to air pollution levels as much as 50 times greater than World Health Organization guidelines for clean air, setting the stage for heart and lung disease.

Household air pollution can also lead to pneumonia in children and low birth weight in infants.

Now researchers believe the smoke may be a contributing factor in bacterial meningitis outbreaks in countries such as Ghana, whose northern region is located in Africa's "meningitis belt."

An estimated 300 million people live in the meningitis belt, which includes part or all of The Gambia, Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Those exposed to indoor air pollution from cooking over open flames are nine times more likely to contract meningitis, studies show.

Meningitis, a potentially deadly disease, is an inflammation of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord. Most cases are caused by a viral infection, but bacterial and fungal infections are also culprits. Bacterial meningitis is the most dangerous form.

Outbreaks usually happen in the dry, dusty season, and end with the onset of the seasonal rains.

The dust and dryness may irritate sensitive human membranes, making victims vulnerable to infection. Cooking smoke may play a similar role, increasing susceptibility to meningitis.

"Smoke from cooking practices may irritate the lining of the mucosa, allowing bacteria to become invasive," says Christine Wiedinmyer of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo.

Links among cookstoves, air pollution and human health

Wiedinmyer and colleagues have been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Coupled Natural and Human Systems (CNH) Program to study the effects of cookstoves in northern Ghana.

CNH is part of NSF's Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability (SEES) investment, and is supported by NSF's Directorates for Geosciences; Biological Sciences; and Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences.

The study is breaking new ground by bringing together atmospheric scientists, engineers, statisticians and social scientists.

Researchers are analyzing the effects of smoke from traditional cooking methods on households, villages and entire regions--and whether introducing more modern cookstoves will help.

They hope their findings will reach across the African Sahel, the semi-arid zone between the Sahara Desert in the north and the savannas of Sudan in the south.

Integrating the physical, social and health sciences

"The adoption of more efficient cookstoves could lead to significant improvements in public health and environmental quality," says Sarah Ruth, a CNH program director at NSF, "but research has usually focused on the effects on individual households, local air quality, or the weather and climate system.

"By integrating the physical, social and health sciences, these scientists are providing a more complete analysis of the costs and benefits of improved cookstoves."

An overview of the research was presented at NSF in November, 2012, as part of a forum featuring NCAR research.

The results will provide critical information to policy-makers and health officials in countries where open-fire cooking or inefficient cooking practices are common.

"When you visit remote villages during the dry season," says Wiedinmyer, an atmospheric chemist, "there's a lot of smoke in the air from cooking and other burning practices.

"We need to understand how these pollutants are affecting public health and regional air quality and, in the bigger picture, climate."

To find out, the scientists are using a combination of local and regional air quality measurements; new instruments with specialized smartphone applications that are more mobile than traditional air quality sensors; and computer models of weather, air quality and climate.

"The project involves exploring new technologies to improve human health and well-being while also improving environmental quality," says Tom Baerwald, an NSF program director for CNH.

"By looking at this problem from social, cultural, economic, health and atmospheric science perspectives, these researchers are developing a framework that will help people in many other regions."

Scientists and local communities working together

The scientists are surveying villagers to obtain their views on possible connections between open-fire cooking and disease--and whether community members are willing to adopt different cooking methods.

Cooking fires are a major source of particulates, and of carbon monoxide and other gases that lead to smog.

The fires also emit heat-trapping gases such as carbon dioxide that, when mixed into the global atmosphere, can affect climate.

Widespread use of more efficient, or "clean," cookstoves--which can produce less smoke than open fires--may lower these toxic emissions.

"Newer, more efficient cookstoves could reduce disease and result in improved regional air quality," Wiedinmyer says.

To find out, the scientists are introducing upgraded cookstoves into randomly selected households across the Kassena-Nankana District of Ghana.

In addition to determining whether the clean cookstoves improve air quality and human health, the researchers are exploring the social and economic factors that encourage or discourage such cookstove use.

It takes a village

They're asking villagers for help.

"Community members will assist with measuring air quality and reporting disease," says social scientist Katie Dickinson of NCAR.

Dickinson, Wiedinmyer and others are working with townspeople to develop scenarios in which realistic changes in cooking practices interact with climate processes to improve air quality and reduce respiratory illness and bacterial meningitis.

"We hope this project will alleviate a major health problem," says Mary Hayden, a medical anthropologist at NCAR, "one that extends across the entire Sahel."

U.S.-INDIA RELATIONS



Map:  India.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook. 

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
President Obama has called India one of the defining partnerships of the 21st century, one which will be vital to U.S. strategic interests in Asia-Pacific and across the globe. Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama all visited India, underscoring the increasing importance of the bilateral relationship. Our relationship is rooted in common values, including the rule of law, respect for diversity, and democratic government. We have a shared interest in promoting global security, stability, and economic prosperity through trade, investment, and connectivity. The United States and India have a common interest in the free flow of global trade and commerce, including through the vital sea lanes of the Indian Ocean.

The U.S. supports India's critical role as a leader in maintaining regional stability. Security ties are robust and growing with bilateral defense and counterterrorism cooperation reaching unprecedented levels. The United States and India also look continue to develop their defense partnership through military sales and joint research, co-production and co-development efforts.

The U.S.-India Strategic Dialogue, launched in 2009, provides opportunities to strengthen collaboration in areas including energy, climate change, trade, education, and counterterrorism. The third annual meeting was held in June 2012. In 2012 alone, seven Cabinet-level officials made visits to India to deepen bilateral ties.

The strength of people to people linkages between the United States and India has come to define the indispensable relationship between our two countries. The increased cooperation of state and local officials to create ties has enhanced engagement in education. Additionally, state to state and city to city engagements have created new partnerships in business and the private sector and enhance our robust government to government engagement.

Bilateral Economic Relations

The United States is one of India's largest trade and investment partners. U.S.- India bilateral trade in goods and services has increased four and a half times over the last decade, to more than $86 billion in 2011. Bilateral trade between our two countries is up 40 percent since we began our Strategic Dialogue three years ago. The stock of Indian FDI in the United States has increased from $227 million in 2002 to almost $4.9 billion in 2011, supporting thousands of U.S. jobs.

The United States and India are negotiating a bilateral investment treaty as a key part of the effort to deepen the economic relationship, improve investor confidence, and support economic growth in both countries. India continues to move forward, albeit haltingly, with market-oriented economic reforms that began in 1991. Recent reforms have included an increasingly liberal foreign investment regime in many sectors.

On energy cooperation, the United States and India also share a strong commitment to work collaboratively in bilateral and multilateral fora to help ensure mutual energy security, combat global climate change, and support the development of low-carbon economies that will create opportunities and fuel job growth in both countries. The two countries consult regularly on the future of global oil and gas markets, expanding sustainable energy access to support jobs and economic growth in both countries, collaborating in research and technology, and increasing U.S. exports of clean energy technology.

U.S. exports to India include diamonds and gold, machinery, oil, and fertilizers. U.S. imports from India include diamonds, pharmaceutical products, oil, agricultural products, organic chemicals, and apparel. U.S. direct investment in India is led by the information, professional, scientific, and technical services, and manufacturing sectors. India direct investment in the U.S. is primarily concentrated in the professional, scientific, and technical services sector.

India's Membership in International Organizations

India and the United States share membership in a variety of international organizations, including the United Nations, G-20, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization. The United States supports a reformed UN Security Council that includes India as a permanent member. India is an ASEAN dialogue partner, an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development partner under its Enhanced Engagement program, and an observer to the Organization of American States. India is also a member and the current chair of the Indian Ocean Rim-Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC). In November 2012, the United States was admitted as a dialogue partner in the IOR-ARC with India’s support.

The Ganges River forms the largest tide-dominated delta in the world where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. This false-color satellite image vividly displays the large amount of sediment (violet), carried from as far away as the Himalayas, that precipitates when it abruptly encounters the sea. The delta is largely covered with a swamp forest known as the Sunderbans, which is home to the Royal Bengal Tiger. Image courtesy of USGS. Credit: CIA World Factbook.

FROM CIA WORLD FACTBOOK
The Indus Valley civilization, one of the world's oldest, flourished during the 3rd and 2nd millennia B.C. and extended into northwestern India. Aryan tribes from the northwest infiltrated onto the Indian subcontinent about 1500 B.C.; their merger with the earlier Dravidian inhabitants created the classical Indian culture. The Maurya Empire of the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C. - which reached its zenith under ASHOKA - united much of South Asia. The Golden Age ushered in by the Gupta dynasty (4th to 6th centuries A.D.) saw a flowering of Indian science, art, and culture. Islam spread across the subcontinent over a period of 700 years. In the 10th and 11th centuries, Turks and Afghans invaded India and established the Delhi Sultanate. In the early 16th century, the Emperor BABUR established the Mughal Dynasty which ruled India for more than three centuries. European explorers began establishing footholds in India during the 16th century. By the 19th century, Great Britain had become the dominant political power on the subcontinent. The British Indian Army played a vital role in both World Wars. Nonviolent resistance to British rule, led by Mohandas GANDHI and Jawaharlal NEHRU, eventually brought about independence in 1947. Communal violence led to the subcontinent's bloody partition, which resulted in the creation of two separate states, India and Pakistan. The two countries have fought three wars since independence, the last of which in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. India's nuclear weapons tests in 1998 caused Pakistan to conduct its own tests that same year. In November 2008, terrorists originating from Pakistan conducted a series of coordinated attacks in Mumbai, India's financial capital. In January 2011, India assumed a nonpermanent seat in the UN Security Council for the 2011-12 term. Despite pressing problems such as significant overpopulation, environmental degradation, extensive poverty, and widespread corruption, rapid economic development is fueling India's rise on the world stage.

CV-22 OSPREY AT WORK DURING OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM

FROM: U.S. AIR FORCE
U.S. Air Force CV-22 Osprey from the 8th Special Operations Squadron, Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Fla., prepares to take off on a night mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan on April 28, 2010. (U.S. Army photo)(Released)

A U.S. Air Force CV-22 Osprey from the 8th Special Operations Squadron, Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Fla., flies a night mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Afghanistan on April 28, 2010. (U.S. Army photo)(Released)

VIDEO OF JOHN GLENN'S HISTORIC 1962 ORBITAL FLIGHT

FROM: NASA

Archival films document John Glenn's historic Feb. 20, 1962 Mercury flight in his Friendship 7, in which he became the first American to orbit the Earth. Clips include boarding the capsule, splashdown and recovery, and receiving an award from President Kennedy

"Band of Brothers" descendent brings Vandenberg Airman lost family heirloom

"Band of Brothers" descendent brings Vandenberg Airman lost family heirloom

SYRIAN PRESIDENT ASAD'S SPEECH DRAWS CRITICISM FROM THE U.S.

Syria´s President Hafez al-Asad (sitting on the right side) signing the Federation of Arab Republics in Benghazi, Libya, on April 18, 1971 with President Anwar al-Sadat (sitting left) of Egypt and Colonel Muammar al-Qaddafi of Libya (sitting in the centre). The agreement never materialized into a federal union between the three Arab states. From: Wikimedia Commons.

Asad's Speech
Press Statement

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Victoria Nuland
Department Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
January 6, 2013

Bashar al-Asad’s speech today is yet another attempt by the regime to cling to power and does nothing to advance the Syrian people’s goal of a political transition. His initiative is detached from reality, undermines the efforts of Joint Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi, and would only allow the regime to further perpetuate its bloody oppression of the Syrian people.

For nearly two years, the Asad regime has brutalized its own people. Even today, as Asad speaks of dialogue, the regime is deliberately stoking sectarian tensions and continuing to kill its own people by attacking Sunni towns and villages in the mixed areas of Jabal Akrad and Jabal Turkmen in Lattakia province.

AsadBrahimi to build international unity behind it and to urge all parties in Syria to take meaningful steps toward its implementation.

U.S. SECRETARY OF LABOR SOLIS COMMENTS ON UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBERS

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LAOR
Statement of Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis on December employment numbers

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement on the December 2012 Employment Situation report released today:

"December's report marks 34 straight months of private sector job growth, which have added close to 5.8 million jobs. For nearly three years, steady gains have occurred across different sectors of the economy, and December finishes a strong year of consistent growth with average increases of about 160,000 private sector jobs per month in 2012.

"The economy continued to show signs of strength and resilience throughout a month of fiscal uncertainty. This week's bipartisan agreement extending tax cuts to protect 98 percent of families and 97 percent of small businesses from any income tax increase is an important step in the right direction, as is the extension of crucial Unemployment Insurance benefits that serve as a necessary lifeline for millions of Americans still struggling to find employment, as well as generate $2 in economic activity for each dollar spent.

"There is more work to do to ensure that the steady growth experienced in 2012 continues into the new year. Now is not the time to slow this recovery by failing to address our fiscal challenges and introducing further uncertainty into the economy. As we move forward to address our ongoing fiscal challenges, both spending cuts and continuing to ask the wealthy to do a little more will be part of a balanced approach.We must continue to grow our economy, create jobs and strengthen our middle class by making investments in training, education and infrastructure."

7 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT TAX DEAL

FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
The Seven Things You Need to Know About the Tax Deal

On the beginning of the New Year, Republicans and Democrats in the House of Representatives joined the Senate in passing the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012. That means middle-class families won't see an increase in their income tax rates. We've avoided the fiscal cliff.

On January 1st, President Obama described the agreement as, "one step in the broader effort to strengthen our economy and broaden opportunity for everybody."

"Under this law, more than 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of small businesses will not see their income taxes go up," he said. "Millions of families will continue to receive tax credits to help raise their kids and send them to college. Companies will continue to receive tax credits for the research that they do, the investments they make, and the clean energy jobs that they create. And 2 million Americans who are out of work but out there looking, pounding the pavement every day, are going to continue to receive unemployment benefits as long as they’re actively looking for a job."

We know that that a lot of people have questions about the deal, so we've pulled together some of the most important facts. Here are the seven things you need to know:

PET RESCUE AFTER HURRICANE SANDY

FROM: FEMA
Staten Island, N.Y., Dec. 28, 2012 -- FEMA partners, Guardians of Rescue, are providing assistance to residents and pet owners of Staten Island, NY, who were affected by Hurricane Sandy. Many pets are receiving veterinary care at Boulevard Veterinary Group in Staten Island, NY. Andre R. Aragon/FEMA

Girls in STEM: A New Generation of Women and Science | The White House

Girls in STEM: A New Generation of Women and Science | The White House

FLIGHT SURGEON FLIES

Air Force Col. Donald Majercik, state flight surgeon with the Vermont Air National Guard, surpassed 1,000 hours of flying time in the F-16 Fighting Falcon at the Burlington International Airport, South Burlington, Vt., Nov. 29, 2012. Majercik has served with the Vermont Air National Guard for more than 40 years. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Sarah Mattison

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Face of Defense: Flight Surgeon Notches 1,000 F-16 Hours
By Air Force Senior Airman Victoria Greenia
158th Fighter Wing

SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt., Jan. 4, 2013 - When back in August people began telling Air Force Col. Donald Majercik, a flight surgeon here at the Vermont Air National Guard, that he was 20 hours short of 1,000 flight hours he didn't think too much about it.

But as time marched closer to his February 2013 retirement, Majercik began to view the 1,000 hours as a goal.

"I wanted to do something special before I left the Guard," he said.

True to his word, Majercik hit the 1,000-hour milestone on Nov. 29, 2012. Returning from the blue skies with his long-time flying partner and friend, Air Force Lt. Col. Terry Moultroup, the flight surgeon met both his goal and an unexpected group of admirers.

While he had been in the air a coworker on the ground had contacted people, like Wing Commander Air Force Col. David Baczeweski, retired former Wing Commander Air Force Col. Phil Murdock, retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Richard Kinney, and many others. They all came to witness the auspicious moment of his return. Most importantly, Majercik's wife was standing in front of the crowd waving an American flag.

While Majercik said he was surprised by the welcome back, at the same time he was filled with a sense of accomplishment in the belief that he is the first flight surgeon to have completed 1,000 hours in an F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft.

It takes dedication to put that much time into flying.

"The 1,000 hours of flying time represents only a small fraction of the time that it takes to reach that goal," Majercik said. "Each hour of flying requires four to five hours of additional time and effort in order to accomplish that flight."

Flight surgeons are required to log flight hours as part of their aerospace medicine practice. Most, however, do not amass the overwhelming number of hours that Majercik has under his military belt, especially in an F-16.

Another interesting fact is that flight surgeons do not have to be pilots but Majercik is also an avid pilot in his civilian life so he often was able to fly the F-16, not just ride in it.

"We've been flying together for a long time," Moultroup said of Majercik. "I've been here since the early 1980s when we flew the F-4s, and I remember when he was the only flight surgeon the base had. He carried that responsibility all by himself for a long time."

Majercik joined the Vermont Air National Guard when he was an intern in surgery and the Vietnam War was in full swing. He knew it was likely he would be asked to serve in the military in one way or another, and was introduced to the National Guard by William Fagan, who was serving in the Vermont Army National Guard at the time.

For Majercik, the Vermont Air National Guard has given him an amazing legacy. And now he's given the VTANG a legacy as well.

"This achievement is important to the 158 Fighter Wing because it represents a milestone not reached by any other unit," he said. "Over the years, the base has set the benchmark for excellence in all of its endeavors. Its performance in inspections, in theater, and at home has been nothing short of outstanding. Throughout my career I have been privileged to be a part of this."

As his service in the military comes to a close, Majercik said he feels like he can leave knowing he's accomplished something few ever will.

But it isn't without sadness that he says goodbye to his brothers and sisters.

"The best thing about being a flight surgeon here for more than 40 years is all the wonderful people I've had the opportunity to know," Majercik said. "The second best thing is flying the F-16s. The future is bright for the 158th, and as time goes on, I hope to maintain close contact with all of those that are making it so strong. It has and always will be a significant part of my life."

DETROIT ADULT DAY CARE OWNER PLEADS GUILTY FOR ROLE IN PSYCHOTHERAPY FRAUD SCHEME

Photo:  Hart Plaza.  Credit:  Wikmedia Commons.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Thursday, January 3, 2013
Owner of Detroit Adult Day Care Centers Pleads Guilty in Connection with Medicare Psychotherapy Fraud Scheme

WASHINGTON – The owner of several Detroit-area adult day care centers pleaded guilty today for her role in a $13.2 million psychotherapy fraud scheme, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Barbara L. McQuade, Special Agent in Charge Robert D. Foley III of the FBI’s Detroit Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Lamont Pugh III of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Chicago Regional Office.

Beth Jenkins, 48, of Farmington Hills, Mich., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and five counts of health care fraud, before U.S. District Judge Stephen J. Murphy III in the Eastern District of Michigan.

Jenkins admitted that she and others conspired to defraud Medicare through Quality Recreation & Rehabilitation LLC (QRR) and Procare Rehabilitation Inc., two adult day care centers she owned and operated with alleged co-conspirators. According to court documents, Jenkins and her alleged co-conspirators owned and operated several Detroit-area adult foster care homes (AFCs) that housed severely mentally-disabled Medicare recipients. Court documents allege that Medicare beneficiaries living at AFCs, some of which were owned and operated by Jenkins and her alleged co-conspirators, were transported to QRR and Procare by Jenkins and others. According to court documents, Jenkins and her alleged co-conspirators used the AFC residents’ Medicare information to bill Medicare for group and individual psychotherapy that was never provided.

From 2004 through 2011, Jenkins and her alleged co-conspirators submitted more than 185,000 claims to Medicare totaling more than $13.2 million for group and individual psychotherapy that was not provided. According to court documents, Medicare paid $4,777,792 on these claims.

At sentencing, scheduled for April 19, 2013, Jenkins faces a maximum penalty of 60 years in prison and a $1,500,000 fine.

Jenkins’s co-defendants, Dr. Alphonso Berry and Marcus Jenkins, Beth Jenkins’s husband, are scheduled for trial on Jan. 8, 2013. They are presumed innocent until proven guilty at trial.

This case is being prosecuted by William G. Kanellis and Tarek Helou of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section. It 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 Eastern District of Michigan.

Since its inception in March 2007, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, now operating in nine cities across the country, has charged more than 1,480 defendants who have collectively billed the Medicare program for more than $4.8 billion. In addition, HHS’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, is taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

DOD TARGETS HUMAN TRAFFICKING

FROM: U.S. AIR FORCE

DOD heightens training, prevention to target human trafficking
By Amaani Lyle
American Forces Press Service
1/2/2013 - WAWSHINGTON (AFNS) -- To spark awareness and vigilance against a growing global human rights crisis, President Barack Obama has proclaimed January as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

Linda Dixon, the Defense Department's program manager for combating trafficking in persons, told the Pentagon Channel and American Forces Press Service in a recent interview that DOD has strengthened training modules and reporting avenues to combat trafficking in persons, a criminal enterprise that generates roughly $32 billion per year worldwide.

"That's the second-largest source of revenue for criminal enterprises, and it's growing," Dixon said. "Trafficking is a zero-tolerance policy; it's not only immoral, but it is illegal."

The United Nations International Labor organization estimates more than 12 million human trafficking victims worldwide, with an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 new victims each year.

Some victims are Americans, Dixon said, but most victims come from elsewhere.

"Source countries are usually areas that are poverty-stricken," she said, "but trafficking is everywhere."

The Trafficking Victim Protection Act defines trafficking in persons as the use of force, fraud or coercion to compel a person to provide labor or services or commercial sex.

The crime, Dixon explained, can run the gamut of exploitation, and includes elements of recruiting, harboring, transportation, providing or obtaining a person for the purpose of exploitation.

State Department officials said the three most common forms of trafficking are labor trafficking, sex trafficking and child soldiering.

Child soldiering entails the unlawful recruitment of minors who, as young as age 7, are sexually and physically abused and forced to commit atrocities in more than 57 armed conflicts worldwide, according to State Department officials.

DOD's demand-reduction and prevention program is a mechanism to report violations and thwart offenses, Dixon said.

In addition to a general awareness training module, she added, the program also includes law enforcement, contractor and leadership-specific training modules.

"We have put together training modules ... (and) a clause in our contracts to prohibit contractors from being involved in trafficking," Dixon said. "All of the agencies have a (trafficking in persons) point of contact -- the services, the combatant commands (and) defense agencies."

Indicators include heavily guarded areas where workers appear intimidated or are being escorted from a facility to their home, or who lack personal documents such as passports or other identification, Dixon explained.

"You should report it to your local authorities; report it through your chain of command," Dixon said.

If DOD personnel are involved in trafficking offenses, she added, the inspector general investigates the type and scope of the offense to determine a course of action.

Noting that 2013 marks the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, Dixon said the year will feature summits, events and conferences to sharpen awareness and eradicate trafficking.

"In DOD, we're charged with making sure that we protect our country's security, and trafficking in persons is a threat to that security," she said.

Dixon said great strides have been made at the highest level to stop this modern-day slavery and restore human dignity.

"There's an education process that's taking place, not only with people in general, but with our law enforcement, to recognize it, understand and know that it is a chargeable offense," Dixon said. "It is a danger to our troops. It's a danger to national security."

RECENT U.S. NAVY PHOTOS

FROM: U.S. NAVY
The guided-missile destroyer USS Gonzalez (DDG 66) departs Naval Station Norfolk. Gonzalez deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility to participate in anti-piracy and maritime security operations. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kayla Jo Finley (Released) 130104-N-YF783-073

130103-N-DH124-007 SAN DIEGO (Jan. 3, 2013) The guided-missile cruiser USS Antietam (CG 54) departs San Diego to conduct a hull swap with guided-missile cruiser USS Cowpens (CG 53) in Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan. Antietam helps provide deterrence, promote peace and security, preserve freedom of the seas, and humanitarian/disaster response within the U.S. 3rd Fleet's 50-million square mile area of responsibility in the Eastern Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Rosalie Garcia/Released)

U.S.-ANDORRA RELATIONS



Map:  Andorra.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook.

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
The United States established diplomatic relations with Andorra in 1995, following Andorra's 1993 adoption of a constitution establishing the country as a sovereign parliamentary democracy. It retains as its heads of state two co-princes -- the Bishop of Urgell (Spain) and the French president.

The United States and Andorra enjoy excellent relations based on common values including the promotion of democracy and human rights.

Since 2000, Andorra has participated in the Fulbright Exchange Program. The two countries have also signed a Bilateral Work Agreement for dependents of members of diplomatic missions and consular posts assigned to official duty in the respective countries and will soon conclude an agreement on the sharing of confiscated proceeds and instrumentalities of crimes.

Andorra supports U.S. foreign policy positions and objectives, such as voting for U.S. candidates to international organizations.

The U.S. Ambassador to Spain is also accredited as Ambassador to Andorra. The U.S. Consul General based in Barcelona is responsible for the day-to-day management of relations with Andorra. She travels regularly to Andorra to carry out diplomatic demarches, represent U.S. interests, and administer consular services.

U.S. Assistance to Andorra

The United States provides no development assistance to Andorra.

Bilateral Economic Relations

The United States has no significant trade or investment with Andorra. The new investment law approved in mid- 2012 opens the country to foreign investment and this foreign investors will be able for the first time to gain full ownership of a business. The investment climate in the country has changed significantly with this new legislation liberalizing the Andorran economy.

Andorra participates in the Visa Waiver Program, which allows nationals of participating countries to travel to the United States for certain business or tourism purposes for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a visa.

Andorra's Membership in International Organizations

Andorra and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the United Nations and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe; as well as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and the World Health Organization (WHO). Andorra also is an observer to the World Trade Organization. A member of the Council of Europe, from November 2012 to May 2013, Andorra will chair its Committee of Ministers.

Since 1991, Andorra has had a special agreement with the European Union




Locator Map:  Andorra.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM CIA WORLD FACTBOOK
For 715 years, from 1278 to 1993, Andorrans lived under a unique co-principality, ruled by French and Spanish leaders (from 1607 onward, the French chief of state and the Spanish bishop of Seu d'Urgell). In 1993, this feudal system was modified with the titular heads of state retained, but the government transformed into a parliamentary democracy. For decades Andorra enjoyed its status as a small refuge of fiscal and banking freedom and benefitted from Spanish and French tourists attracted to the country's duty-free shopping. The situation has changed in recent years as Andorra started to tax foreign investment and other sectors. Tourism accounts for over 80% of Andorra's gross domestic product.

MARTIAL THERMAL TIDES

FROM: NASA

Thermal Tides at Mars

This diagram illustrates Mars' "thermal tides," a weather phenomenon responsible for large, daily variations in pressure at the Martian surface. Sunlight heats the surface and atmosphere on the day side of the planet, causing air to expand upwards. At higher levels in the atmosphere, this bulge of air then expands outward, to the sides, in order to equalize the pressure around it, as shown by the red arrows. Air flows out of the bulge, lowering the pressure of air felt at the surface below the bulge. The result is a deeper atmosphere, but one that is less dense and has a lower pressure at the surface, than that on the night side of the planet. As Mars rotates beneath the sun, this bulge moves across the planet each day, from east to west. A fixed observer, such as NASA's Curiosity rover, measures a decrease in pressure during the day, followed by an increase in pressure at night. The precise timing of the increase and decrease are affected by the time it takes the atmosphere to respond to the sunlight, as well as a number of other factors including the shape of the planet's surface and the amount of dust in the atmosphere.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Ashima Research/SWRI

Navy Commemorates Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Jan. 21

Navy Commemorates Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Jan. 21

Jason Dunham Sailors' New Year's Resolution: Quit Tobacco

Jason Dunham Sailors' New Year's Resolution: Quit Tobacco

MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO CONSPIRACY TO SMUGGLE UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANTS FROM INDIA

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Friday, January 4, 2013

Foreign National Pleads Guilty in Houston to Human Smuggling Charges

WASHINGTON – A foreign national pleaded guilty today to federal human smuggling charges for his role in a scheme to smuggle undocumented migrants from India into the United States, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson for the Southern District of Texas; and Special Agent in Charge Brian M. Moskowitz of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Houston

Fabiano Augusto Amorim, 28, a Brazilian national, pleaded guilty today at a hearing before U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein Jr. in Houston, to one count of conspiracy to bring undocumented migrants into the United States for profit and to one count of unlawfully bringing two undocumented migrants into the United States for profit.

On June 6, 2012, Amorim was charged by indictment, along with four other individuals, with one count of conspiracy to smuggle undocumented migrants into the United States and six human smuggling counts related to five incidents in which Amorim helped smuggle undocumented migrants into the United States. Based on Amorim’s guilty plea, the government will dismiss the remaining human smuggling counts against him at sentencing.

At the plea hearing and in related court documents, Amorim admitted that between January 2011 and April 2012, he conspired with his co-defendants to bring undocumented migrants to the United States, and to encourage and induce undocumented migrants to come to the United States unlawfully. According to court documents, Amorim and his co-conspirators devised the scheme to profit financially.

In support of the conspiracy, Amorim and other conspirators recruited individuals in India who were willing to pay up to $60,000 to be smuggled into the United States. For their smuggling operations, Amorim and his co-conspirators used a network of alleged conspirators in South America, Central America, the Caribbean and the United States, including the state of Texas. Using this network, Amorim and his co-conspirators transported groups of undocumented migrants from locations within India through South America, Central America and the Caribbean and then into the United States by various means, including by air travel, automobiles, water craft and foot. Many of these smuggling events, including five of the incidents described in the indictment, involved illegal entry into the United States via the border between the United States and Mexico near McAllen and Laredo, Texas.

At sentencing, which is scheduled for April 5, 2013, Amorim faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000. Amorim currently is serving a 36-month sentence in federal prison for participating in a separate conspiracy to smuggle undocumented migrants from Brazil and Peru into the United States via a maritime route from the Bahamas into southern Florida.

Amorim’s co-conspirator Maria Adela De Luna pleaded guilty on Nov. 9, 2012, to one count of conspiracy to harbor undocumented migrants in the United States. Co-conspirator Kaushik Jayantibhai Thakkar pleaded guilty on Dec. 3, 2012, to one count of conspiracy to bring undocumented migrants into the United States for profit and to one count of unlawfully bringing two undocumented migrants into the United States for profit.

The investigation was conducted by agents with ICE-HSI in McAllen and Houston, with the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Alien Smuggling Interdiction Unit. This case is being prosecuted jointly by Trial Attorney Stephen Curran of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leo J. Leo III and Casey MacDonald of the Southern District of Texas.

The investigation was conducted under the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) program, a joint partnership between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and HSI. The ECT program focuses on human smuggling networks that may present particular national security or public safety risks, or present grave humanitarian concerns. ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence and prosecutorial resources. ECT coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities.

ION THRUSTER WORLD RECORD

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
by jtozer
Saturday Space Sight: Ion Thruster Sets World Record

While the Dawn spacecraftis visiting the asteroids Vesta and Ceres, NASA Glenn has been developing the next generation of ion thrusters for future missions. NASA's Evolutionar Xeon Thruster (NEXT) Project has developed a 7-kilowatt ion thruster that can provide the capabilities needed in the future.

An ion thruster produces small levels of thrust relative to chemical thrusters, but does so at higher specific impulse (or higher exhaust velocities), which means that an ion thruster has a fuel efficiency of 10-12 times greater than a chemical thruster.

The higher the rocket’s specific impulse (fuel efficiency), the farther the spacecraft can go with a given amount of fuel.

Given that an ion thruster produces small levels of thrust relative to chemical thrusters, it needs to operate in excess of 10,000 hours to slowly accelerate the spacecraft to speeds necessary to reach the asteroid belt or beyond.

The NEXT ion thruster has been operated for over 43,000 hours, which for rocket scientists means that the thruster has processed over 770 kilograms of xenon propellant and can provide 30 million-newton-seconds of total impulse to the spacecraft. This demonstrated performance permits future science spacecraft to travel to varied destinations, such as extended tours of multi-asteroids, comets, and outer planets and their moons.

SOLDIER SENTENCED FOR ROLE IN MILITARY RECRUITING REFERRAL BONUS SCHEME

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Friday, January 4, 2013
U.S. Soldier Sentenced in Texas to 18 Months in Prison for His Role in Fraudulent Military Recruiting Referral Bonus Scheme

WASHINGTON ? A member of the U.S. military was sentenced today to serve 18 months in prison for his participation in a conspiracy to obtain approximately $244,000 in fraudulent recruiting referral bonuses from various U.S. military components and their contractor, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department?s Criminal Division.

U.S. Army Specialist Richard Garcia, 29, of Kirby, Texas, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Fred Biery in the Western District of Texas. In addition to his prison term, Judge Biery sentenced Garcia to serve three years of supervised release and ordered Garcia to pay $244,000 in restitution, jointly and severally with co-conspirators.

On July 26, 2012, Garcia pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

According to court documents, Garcia enlisted in the U.S. Army in approximately November 2005.

According to court documents, between 2005 and 2008, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Army Reserves and the National Guard Bureau entered into contracts with Document and Packaging Broker Inc. (Docupak) to administer recruiting bonus programs designed to offer monetary incentives to soldiers who referred others to join the U.S. military. In addition, the Army managed its own recruiting bonus programs, which offered bonuses to soldiers who referred other individuals to join the Army or the Army Reserves after registering online as recruiting assistants (RA) or sponsors. Through these recruiting programs, a participating soldier could receive up to $2,000 in bonus payments for every person he referred to serve in the U.S. military.

Garcia admitted that he participated in a fraud scheme whereby active duty and civilian contract recruiters provided RAs and sponsors with the names and Social Security numbers of ?walk-in? soldiers ? or persons who decided to join the military without being referred by anyone. Using this information, the RAs and sponsors claimed credit for referring these potential soldiers to join the military, when in fact they did not refer them. As part of the fraud scheme, the RAs and sponsors split the bonus payments with the recruiters and others who provided the potential soldiers? personal identifying information.

According to court documents, Garcia and his co-conspirators received at least $244,000 in fraudulent recruiting referral bonuses in total. Garcia and a co-conspirator personally received a total of approximately $13,000 in fraudulent recruiting referral bonuses by using Garcia?s RA account to claim that Garcia was responsible for referring certain potential soldiers to the U.S. Army, when in fact he had not referred those soldiers.

This case arose from an investigation concerning allegations that former and current soldiers and military and civilian contract recruiters in the San Antonio area engaged in a wide-ranging scheme to obtain fraudulent recruiting referral bonuses. To date, 10 individuals have been charged, all of whom have pleaded guilty. The investigation is ongoing.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Edward J. Loya Jr., Brian A. Lichter and Sean F. Mulryne of the Criminal Division?s Public Integrity Section. The case is being investigated by agents from the San Antonio Fraud Resident Agency of the Major Procurement Fraud Unit, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division.

'CAMP HOPE' FOR WOUNDED VETERANS

 

The entrance to Camp Hope, founded by William "Mike" White and his wife, Galia, to honor their fallen son, Marine Pfc. Christopher Neal White, welcomes wounded warriors to the camp's healing experience. U.S. Army photo by Michael William Petersen

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Parents Honor Son's Memory Through Camp Hope
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill., Jan. 3, 2013 - With a simple idea and their fallen Marine son's Servicemembers Group Life Insurance check, a retired soldier and his wife are honoring his memory through a program that's bringing new hope and self-confidence to wounded warriors.

William "Mike" White, an equipment operator at the Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command here, remembers as if it were yesterday the dreaded knock on the door as he and his wife, Galia, learned that their son, Marine Pfc. Christopher Neal White, had been killed. The young White, an avid outdoorsman who grew up in rural Kentucky, died in Iraq's Anbar province two days after Father's Day, 2006.

Heartbroken and guilt-ridden that he had convinced his wife to allow their son to join the military, White struggled to find meaning in their personal tragedy. "I had to take a negative and make it a positive. It had to be done," he said.

Alone on a hunting trip -- an endeavor he and his son had often shared -- White came up with the inspiration for Camp Hope.

"I wanted to start a place for our wounded guys, to teach them that even if they have one arm or one leg or no arms or no legs or they're blind, that they could still get out and enjoy the outdoors," he said. "Little did I know it was going to lead to where we are today."

The Whites used Christopher's SGLI payment to buy Chris Neal Farm, a 170-acre retreat in southeast Missouri, and home of Camp Hope.

Five years later, Camp Hope is exceeding everything the senior White could have imagined. Hundreds of combat-wounded warriors from across the United States have flocked there to participate in everything Christopher White loved: skeet shooting, hunting, fishing, hiking, exploring the great outdoors and relaxing around an ever-burning fire pit.

The idea, White explained, is to allow wounded warriors to experience the healing powers of nature as they focus on what they can do, instead of what they cannot.

through private and corporate donations and a legion of volunteers, Camp Hope provides a supportive, loving environment and a renewed sense of community to wounded warriors, White explained.

"We are really not doing anything special other than offering them a place and an opportunity to be able to get back and talk with other folks whose boots have been in the same dirt," he said.

White is the first to admit that he had no grand plan when he and his wife founded Camp Hope. "Everything that has happened has pretty much been an accident," he said. "You can't plan some of the things that have happened. There is no way. It just happens."

But the healing effect, he said, is undeniable.

"There is a magic thing about Camp Hope. I can't explain it. I really can't," White said. "All I know is that it does things for the good for people. It gives a lot of hope to a lot of people. It changes their attitude when they are there."

Army Sgt. Bobby Lee Lisek, a severely wounded warrior who attended the very first gathering at Camp Hope, said he was amazed at the transformation within himself.

"Camp Hope is the greatest place ever. They don't hold you or hold you back. They don't say, 'No you can't.' There is no limit to what you can do here," he said.

Admitting to White that he'd been struggling with suicidal thoughts before arriving at Camp Hope, Lisek said, "I don't know where I'd be today if I didn't have somewhere to go like Camp hope. I'm just at peace here."

So much at peace, in fact, that Lisek volunteers his time regularly as a hunting guide, helping other visitors to Camp Hope experience the same kind of transformation he did.

Army Capt. Joe Bogart, another Camp Hope veteran, said the experience gave him a renewed sense of independence. "I got part of my old self back," he said. "I healed in ways I didn't know I needed to."

For Army Spc. Adam Berkemeier, the healing came through taking on new challenges. "They push me to do more because they know I am capable of more," he said.

For Army Staff Sgt. Jonathan Kinnamore, who called his visit to Camp Hope "one of the best experiences I've had in years," healing came through camaraderie with fellow wounded warriors.

"I had forgotten how to socialize," he said. "It was good to be able to sit around the fire pit and talk with people who had been in the same place I had been in and who knew what was going on, what I'm going through. It helped me relax for the first time in a long time."

The Whites' work at Camp Hope has received national recognition. In 2010, the Army honored White with its prestigious Spirit of Hope Award, and the National AMVETS Ladies' Auxiliary presented him its Humanitarian of the Year award.

Veterans groups and individual and corporate sponsors have stepped up their support as volunteers or donors, covering all costs for veterans to participate and even sponsoring special trips to Alaska and other destinations.

The camp has become such a success that White hopes to open a second Camp Hope, near Pennsylvania's Allegheny National Forest to reach more wounded warriors. Once it's operational, White said he plans to rely on wounded warriors who have attended the camp themselves to run its day-to-day operations.

He even envisioned it creating a ripple effect, with Camp Hopes scattered around the country to help wounded warriors heal.

White said the calls he regularly receives from parents and spouses, thanking him for the difference Camp Hope has made in their loved ones' lives, is the driving force that keeps him motivated to drive on.

"That's our payday," he said. "That's what makes us continue to do what we do."

Six years after his son's death, White still gets choked up when he talks about the enthusiastic young boy who loved the outdoors and dreamed of becoming a Marine. Making things right after losing him would be impossible, he admitted.

"But now that we know we've been able to help some of these young folks coming back, even saving some of them from committing suicide or hurting themselves, it makes it a little bit easier to accept," he said. "Camp Hope is all about Helping Other People Excel. And as it honors Christopher's memory, that's exactly what it does for these wounded warriors."

Weekly Address: Working Together in the New Year to Grow Our Economy and Shrink Our Deficits | The White House

Weekly Address: Working Together in the New Year to Grow Our Economy and Shrink Our Deficits | The White House

FITNESS BUSINESS CITED FOR FAILURE TO PROVIDE PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT TO EMPLOYEES

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

US Labor Department's OSHA cites Xsport Fitness in Libertyville, Ill.,
for failing to provide workers with personal protective equipment

LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Capital Fitness Inc., which operates as Xsport Fitness in Libertyville, Ill., with four repeat safety violations for failing to provide personal protective equipment to employees working with hazardous chemicals. The complaint inspection in November resulted in proposed penalties totaling $60,000.

"Xsport Fitness has a responsibility to know the hazards that exist in their workplace and to provide employees with appropriate personal protective equipment," said Diane Turek, OSHA's area director at the Chicago North office in Des Plaines. "Employers who are cited for repeat violations demonstrate a lack of commitment to employee safety and health."

The repeat violations were cited for failing to provide eye, face and hand protection for workers using liquid and other hazardous chemicals, develop and implement a written hazard communication program, provide material safety data sheets for hazardous chemicals in use and train workers and provide them with information regarding hazardous chemicals in their work area. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. Similar violations were cited in May 2012 at the Fullerton Avenue facility in Chicago.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

AFL-CIO AND FLORIDA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER RESOLVE BACKPAY ISSUES

FROM: U.S. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD

Settlement ends long-running dispute at Florida performing arts center

NLRB Regional Director Margaret J. Diaz today approved the resolution of all pending litigation in a long-running dispute between the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. in West Palm Beach, FL, and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, AFL-CIO, Local 500.

The resolution provides for approximately $2.2 million in backpay to 248 employees who were unlawfully denied employment over more than a decade. The money is to be paid in two installments, the first of which is due by January 15, 2013 and the second of which is due by January 15, 2014.

In addition, the parties signed a collective-bargaining agreement, effective December 21, 2012 through June 30, 2017, under which the entertainment venue recognizes the union as the bargaining agent for stagehands working on Kravis productions, and agrees to obtain workers through the Local 500 hiring hall. The contract also reinstates three department heads whose positions had been eliminated.

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. In July, the NLRB issued a compliance specification setting the backpay amount due to carpenters, electricians and other skilled laborers at $2.6 million.

The center had taken certain other steps to comply with the Board Order in 2009.

In addition to their agreement resolving the compliance matter, Kravis Center and the Union entered into a separate agreement requiring Kravis Center to remedy allegations of additional unfair labor practices committed in 2011 and 2012 that had been set forth in a complaint issued in July. In turn, the NLRB approved the union’s withdrawal of charges in the cases covered by the complaint, conditioned on the terms of the agreement being carried out.

ASSISTANCE TO NEW YORK STATE SANDY SURVIVIORS EXCEEDS $1.2 BILLION

 

Staten Island, N.Y., Dec. 20, 2012 -- This home on Staten Island was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. The home will be removed because it is blocking street access. FEMA's Public Assistance Program allows for debris removal from public property to eliminate health and safety hazards. Andrea Booher/FEMA

FROM: U.S. FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY

Assistance to New York State Sandy Survivors Tops $1.2 Billion
Release date:
January 4, 2013
Release Number:
NR-125

NEW YORK —More than $1.2 billion in federal disaster assistance has been approved for survivors of Hurricane Sandy in New York.

While there is still much work to be done, this money has contributed significantly to the recovery effort. FEMA’s priority is to get people back into their neighborhoods as soon as possible.

"This money will help families who have been affected by Hurricane Sandy start their recovery," said Federal Coordinating Officer Michael F. Byrne. "Working with the SBA, FEMA is helping families get the money they need to repair their homes, find temporary housing and replace essential items lost in the storm.

FEMA continues to reach out to all 13 counties designated for Individual Assistance, focusing on the hardest-hit areas. Assistance to residents in affected counties includes:
Bronx $2.2 million
Kings $180.7 million
Nassau $269.2 million
New York $12.2 million
Queens $211.3 million
Richmond $84.8 million
Suffolk $61.4 million
FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration have approved more than $1.2 billion for Hurricane Sandy survivors. FEMA has approved nearly $827 million for individuals and households, including nearly $736 million for housing assistance and more than $91 million in assistance for other needs.
SBA has approved nearly $378 million in disaster loans to homeowners and renters and more than $25 million in disaster businesses loans. The SBA has staff members at every
FEMA/State Disaster Recovery Center and 19 Business Recovery Centers in the New York area to provide one-on-one help to business owners seeking disaster assistance.
More than 260,000 New Yorkers have contacted FEMA for information or registered for assistance, including more than 141,000 who have applied through the online application site at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or on their smartphone at m.fema.gov.
23 Disaster Recovery Centers are open in the affected areas. These include mobile sites as well as fixed sites, and to date more than 117,000 survivors have been assisted at Disaster Recovery Centers in New York.
58 inspectors are currently in the field. To date 169,031 home inspections have been completed, making a 99.4 percent completion rate.
13 New York counties are designated for both Individual Assistance and Public Assistance. These are Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester. Greene County has been designated for Public Assistance only.
Public Assistance funds are also flowing; so far, more than $323 million has been obligated to the state to help replenish dollars spent to protect New Yorkers before, during and after the storm. The FEMA PA program reimburses state and local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations 75 percent of costs for
disaster-related expenses associated with emergency protective measures, debris removal, and the repair and restoration of damaged infrastructure. In order to qualify, damage must be a direct result of Hurricane Sandy.

STOCK PRICE MANIPULATION: A STORY OF EXECUTIVE INNOVATION

Photo:  NYSE.  Credit:  Wikimedia Commons. 

FROM: SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

SEC OBTAINS JUDGEMENTS AGAINST FORMER SPONGETECH EXECUTIVES MICHAEL E. METTER AND STEVEN Y. MOSKOWITZ

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that on December 18, 2012 and June 12, 2012, the Honorable Judge Dora L. Irizarry, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York, entered Judgments against, respectively, Michael E. Metter ("Metter"), the former Chief Executive Office of Spongetech Delivery Systems, Inc. ("Spongetech"), and Steven Y. Moskowitz ("Moskowitz"), Spongetech’s former Chief Financial Officer. The judgments permanently enjoin Metter and Moskowitz from violating antifraud and securities registration provisions of the federal securities laws, as well as reporting, recordkeeping, and internal controls provisions. The Judgments also bar Metter and Moskowitz from serving as an officer or director of a public company, bar them from engaging in any offering of penny stock, and order them to pay penalties and disgorgement in amounts to be determined by the court, upon motion by the Commission. On September 20, 2012, the Commission instituted a settled administrative proceeding suspending Moskowitz from appearing or practicing before the Commission as an accountant.

The Commission’s complaint, filed on May 5, 2010, alleged that Metter, Moskowitz, Spongetech, and others engaged in a scheme to increase demand illegally for, and profit from, the unregistered sale of publicly-traded Spongetech stock by, among other things, "pumping" up demand for the stock through false public statements about non-existent customers, fictitious sales orders, and phony revenue. They also repeatedly and fraudulently understated the number of Spongetech’s outstanding shares in press releases and public filings. The purpose of flooding the market with false public information was to fraudulently inflate the price for Spongetech shares so the defendants and others could then "dump" the shares by illegally selling them to the public through affiliated entities in unregistered transactions. Among other things, the complaint further alleged that Spongetech, at the direction of Metter and Moskowitz, filed periodic reports with the Commission that contained materially false and misleading statements and materially overstated revenues, created materially false purchase orders, invoices, and other documents, and failed to ensure that Spongetech maintained accurate books and records or implemented effective internal controls. Metter and Moskowitz consented to the entry of the Judgments without admitting or denying the allegations of the Commission’s complaint.

The Commission previously obtained judgments against other defendants in this action. On November 10, 2011, the court entered a judgment by consent against Spongetech. The judgment imposed full injunctive relief and ordered Spongetech to pay penalties and disgorgement in amounts to be determined by the court, upon motion by the Commission.

On March 6, 2012, the court entered final judgments against RM Enterprises International, Inc. ("RM Enterprises"), a Spongetech affiliate, and George Speranza, a stock promoter. The final judgments imposed full injunctive relief against both, ordered Speranza to pay penalties, disgorgement, and prejudgment interest totaling $135,883.40, and barred Speranza from participating in any penny stock offering. The court deferred ruling on monetary remedies against RM Enterprises until the claims against other defendants are resolved.

Status of the Commission’s Spongetech Litigation

On March 14, 2011, the court issued an order granting the SEC’s motion for preliminary injunctions against six defendants, and granted the SEC’s requests for asset freezes against Metter, Moskowitz, and RM Enterprises. An asset freeze was not entered against Spongetech because the company filed for bankruptcy in July 2010, and has since been controlled by a court-appointed bankruptcy trustee. The asset freezes entered against Metter, Moskowitz, and RM, as subsequently modified by the court, remain in effect, as does the preliminary injunction entered against defendant Joel Pensley.

On March 27, 2012, the court granted the Commission’s motion to add BusinessTalkRadio.net, Inc. ("BTR") and Blue Star Media Group, Inc. ("Blue Star") as relief defendants. The amended complaint alleges that in 2009, RM Enterprises transferred illicit proceeds from the Spongetech fraud to satisfy a judgment that had been entered against Metter, these entities, and others.

The Commission’s action remains pending against BTR, Blue Star, and two of Spongetech’s former attorneys, Pensley and Jack Halperin, who are charged with violating the antifraud provisions by authoring false and misleading opinion letters to improperly remove the restrictions on trading shares of Spongetech stock.

On December 19, 2011, in a separate action, the court entered a Final Judgment permanently enjoining Myron Weiner from violating the securities registration provisions in connection with his purchase and sale of Spongetech’s stock, imposing a one-year penny stock bar, and ordered him to pay disgorgement and penalties totaling over $1.3 million. SEC v. Myron Weiner, Civil Action No. 11-CV-5731 (E.D.N.Y.). [See Litigation Release No. 22168 (Nov. 23, 2011), Litigation Release No. 22206 (Dec. 21, 2011)].

The Parallel Criminal Action

On May 5, 2010, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York (USAO-EDNY) arrested Metter and Moskowitz, who were indicted for conspiracy to commit securities fraud and obstruction of justice, securities fraud, obstruction of justice, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and perjury. On October 14, 2010, the USAO-EDNY filed a superseding indictment against Speranza and four former Spongetech employees – Andrew Tepfer, Seymour Eisenberg, Thomas Cavanagh, and Frank Nicolois – on charges including securities fraud, obstruction of justice, money laundering, structuring, and contempt.

All of the criminal defendants have entered guilty pleas, with the exception of Metter. Moskowitz pleaded guilty to securities fraud and is awaiting sentencing. Speranza pleaded guilty to perjury for giving false testimony during the SEC’s investigation, and was sentenced to five years of probation. Cavanagh and Nicolois pleaded guilty to structuring transactions to avoid federal currency transaction reporting requirements, and were sentenced to 24 months and 16 months in prison, respectively, followed by three years of supervised release. Eisenberg and Tepfer also have pleaded guilty to securities fraud and await sentencing.

The Commission’s investigation is continuing, and is being conducted by Uta von Eckartsberg, Charles Davis, Scott Stanley, and Alexander Koch. The SEC’s lead trial counsel in the pending civil action is Paul Kisslinger.