FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Growing Engagement, Cooperation Mark Hagel's Second Asia Visit
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service
HONOLULU, Aug. 23, 2013 - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel arrived here yesterday on the first leg of a trip to the Asia-Pacific region to meet with counterparts and leaders from several countries and to attend a defense ministers meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN.
This is the secretary's second trip to the region since June.
Before visiting Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines in the days ahead, Hagel stopped at Marine Corps Base Hawaii-Kaneohe Bay here to thank 200 Marines and sailors for their service to the nation and to honor their part in President Barack Obama's strategic U.S. rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region.
"This rebalance is not only about our security interests in this area, it's about a partnership of prosperity for this region of the world -- over 6 billion global citizens today," the secretary said.
Threats that confront the world today are not unique to a region, a country, a religion or an ethnic group, he added. The threats are universal and they make alliances even more important than they have been in the past.
"You are all part of it," Hagel told the Marines and sailors. "You are at the front end, ... the cutting edge, ... and what you do and how you do it is particularly important as to how the world sees America and how they view our ... intentions."
On Aug. 25 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a senior defense official said, Hagel will meet with his recently appointed counterpart, Defense Hishammuddin Tun Hussein. Hagel first met with Hishammuddin in June at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. During the meeting, both leaders emphasized the importance of working bilaterally and multilaterally toward greater stability in Southeast Asia. They also discussed cyber issues and transnational threats.
"Malaysia-U.S. defense ties have dramatically improved over the last several years," the defense official said. "We're doing a lot more cooperative activity, [and] we're doing a lot more together. This is an opportunity for them to really touch base on the bilateral defense relationship and see where we're headed in the years ahead."
Hagel also will meet with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to discuss overall defense relations and regional issues, including Hagel's recent consultations with Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Chang Wanquan, "which I think will be of great interest throughout the region," the defense official said.
Later in the week, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Hagel will meet with his Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, whom the secretary also met with during the Shangri-La Dialogue. There, they reaffirmed the importance of deepening ties in support of the U.S.-Indonesia Comprehensive Partnership, an initiative of Presidents Barack Obama and Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono calling for closer ties between the two governments and societies.
In Singapore, the defense leaders also reviewed progress made in recent years to increase exercises, training and regular defense policy dialogues.
"With Indonesia, we also have a significant increase in defense cooperation over the last several years," the senior defense official said.
From Sept. 5 to Sept. 13, the United States and Indonesia will co-chair a counterterrorism ground exercise agreed upon by the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting plus eight countries, or ADMM Plus, the defense official said.
ASEAN was formed in 1967. Its 10 member states are Burma, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Defense ministers from these nations are attendees of the annual ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting, or ADMM. The ADMM-Plus is made up of the 10 ASEAN members and its eight dialogue partners: the United States, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, New Zealand and Russia.
In Jakarta, Hagel will meet with Yudhoyono, a respected leader with great influence in the region, the defense official said. "He's entering his last year in office," the official added, "so it's a nice opportunity to thank Indonesia for a lot of tremendous cooperation over the last several years."
The ADMM Plus meeting begins Aug. 28 in Brunei. This is only the second time the full 18-member ADMM Plus ministerial meeting will be held, and another senior defense official said it's important for the United States to be there for two reasons.
The first, he said, the forum is proving to be extremely action focused.
"The ADMM countries have three multilateral exercises this year, [and] one of our focuses in the rebalance to Asia is shifting from a history of almost [all] bilateral engagements to do more multilateral engagements, to do more with groups of countries to meet common challenges," he said. "ADMM is giving us a very good way to do that."
Brunei recently hosted a major humanitarian assistance-disaster response-military medicine exercise that included all 18 of the countries that will be at the ADMM Plus meeting, the official said, and will involve more than 3,000 personnel.
"We see those as part of the wave of the future -- how common challenges are going to be handled in this region," he explained. "So being at ADMM is an opportunity to continue focusing with this group of countries on doing those kinds of action-oriented [activities] on the defense side."
The second reason, the official said, is that ADMM offers a good opportunity to engage with partners all in one place.
"The secretary will be able to have bilateral engagements ... [and] he'll also see a few other of his ministerial counterparts for short side meetings," the official said.
After the ADMM Plus meeting, the secretary's final stop will be Manila in the Philippines.
There, Hagel will talk with President Benigno S. Aquino III, Defense Minister Voltaire Gazmin and Foreign Secretary Albert F. del Rosario about ongoing negotiations for a framework agreement that would allow U.S. forces to operate on Philippine military bases and in Philippine territory and waters to help build Philippine armed forces capacity in maritime security and maritime domain awareness.
"The negotiations just got underway a week ago and will be ongoing for some time," the defense official said.
Friday, August 23, 2013
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE HAGEL'S REMARKS AT MARINE CORPS BASE KANEOHE
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Presenter: Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Lieutenant General Terry Robling August 22, 2013
Remarks by Secretary Hagel at a Troop Event at Marine Corps Base Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii
Lt. Gen. Terry Robling: Good afternoon, Marines. I'm Lt. Gen. Terry Robling, the commander of Marine Corps Forces Pacific, and I'd like to welcome you here today.
Before we start, I'd like to recognize a few special guests. We got Senator Mazie Hirono and members of her staff here, Senator Brian Schatz and members of his staff here, Representative Colleen Hanabusa and members of her staff here, and representing Representative Tulsi Gabbard is Mike Miyagi and a member of his staff. So, thank you all for being here.
This is a very historic day for us. It's the first time we've been able to really meet and speak with our secretary of defense on Marine Corps Base Kaneohe. But before I introduce him to you, I'd like to introduce you to him. So when I call out your unit, I'd like you to shout out with an oorah. Where are my Marine Corps Base Hawaii Marines?
MARINES: Oorah!
LT. GEN. ROBLING: How about headquarters battalion?
MARINES: Oorah!
LT. GEN. ROBLING: combat logistics battalion?
MARINES: Oorah.
LT. GEN. ROBLING: That's it? combat logistics battalion?
MARINES: Oorah.
LT. GEN. ROBLING: First Battalion, 12th Marines?
MARINES: Oorah!
LT. GEN. ROBLING: There you go. Marine Corps Group 24?
MARINES: Oorah!
LT. GEN. ROBLING: First Battalion, Third Marines?
MARINES: Oorah!
LT. GEN. ROBLING: And, finally, where are my wounded warriors?
MARINES: Oorah!
LT. GEN. ROBLING: Okay, outstanding. Well, I'm very proud of all of you on this historic occasion, and this time I'd like you to join me in welcoming our 24th United States Secretary of Defense, the Honorable Chuck Hagel.
SECRETARY CHUCK HAGEL: Thank you, General. Oorah, Marines!
MARINES: Oorah!
SEC. HAGEL: Thank you for allowing me to first thank you and your families for what you're doing. And I want you to know how much we appreciate your service and your sacrifice to our country. I also want to acknowledge your congressional delegation, who is here today, who has already been announced. I want to thank them for their support. You have no stronger congressional delegation in Washington who supports you more than your delegation from Hawaii, and they are very helpful to all of us.
So, senators, congressmen, thank you very much. Appreciate it. Thank you.
I know something about you all. I know the kind of work you do. I know what you mean to our country, but I also know what you mean to our presence in this part of the world. You are at the front end. You are at the cutting-edge of security, of stability, of prosperity. That's a big task. That's a big responsibility. And we're very proud of what you're doing.
I want to particularly acknowledge the wounded warriors for your sacrifices and what you continue to do for our country.
I'm also much aware of the Lava Dogs, as they have made our country proud with -- with their outstanding performance in the exercises in Thailand and Korea. Thank you. The Marine Aircraft Group 24, your exceptional work -- all of you, every day, do so much for all of us. And I want to acknowledge that.
I'm on my way to the ASEAN Defense Ministers Plus, which will be held in Brunei later this week. I'm going to stop first in Malaysia and Indonesia and then Brunei for the ministers meeting and then to the Philippines and then go back -- back to Washington.
I'm going to try and reinforce much of what your leaders here in this part of the world, and particularly headquarters here, the general, all your commanders, Admiral Locklear, all of our institutions headquartered here in Hawaii are doing to promote our interests in stability and friendship and partnership in this part of the world.
You're all much aware of our rebalance that President Obama initiated a couple of years ago. And I wanted to talk directly to some of our friends in this area of the world about that. I had my first opportunity to directly assess and discuss our rebalancing when I was at the -- in Singapore at the Shangri-La Dialogue, with many of the ASEAN leaders, and other nations, like Russia, European allies, China, who -- some will be in Brunei.
But this rebalancing is not only about security. It is not only about our security interests in this area. It's about a partnership of prosperity for this region of the world. Over six billion global citizens today. We are all now a part of one market. And the threats that confront the world are not unique to a region, to a country, to a religion, to an ethnic group. These are universal threats, and alliances become even more important than they've been in the past.
That means coalitions of common interests, partnerships, recognizing that prosperity and a future for all people and freedom depends on many pillars of construction. Certainly, security is one. But it's not the only one.
So this is a partnership that we are working through and enhancing and strengthening in this part of the world. You are all part of that. As I said, you are at the front end of that. You are at the cutting edge of that. And what you do and how you do it is particularly important as to how the world sees America and how they view our interests.
But probably more important is how they view our intentions. And that's always important in dealing with people around the world. So, thank you again for what you do.
That's a little bit about what I'm doing out here, other than the congressional delegation, and Governor Abercrombie gave me a visa to come in for a day and 24 hours so I can swim tonight before dinner, and then go on further west. But it's always a pleasure being here.
And before I take your questions, I want to also thank the people of Hawaii. The people of Hawaii, who have hosted our installations and all of you, the magnificent and gracious hospitality and support they've given us all should be acknowledged, and I want to let the people of Hawaii know how much we all appreciate them for what they have done and what they continue to do for all of us.
Okay. General, I'd be glad to respond to questions or any advice that you have for me. I know Marines are very tentative and bashful, hardly ever say what they think.
Q: Yes, sir. Sergeant Jensen, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, Charlie Company. My question pertains to the transferring of the Montgomery G.I. Bill benefits to your dependents and whether or not that program will stick around due to all the financial constraints going on. And additionally, when that service member goes to apply to transfer those benefits to their dependents on the VA website, they're not allowed to do that without committing to another four years' obligation, even though they've already met the regulated terms. I'm just wondering if that's something that can be fixed on the website or not, sir.
SEC. HAGEL: Okay. Well, that's -- first of all, it's a VA website, did you say?
Q: Yes, sir.
SEC. HAGEL: I'll ask Secretary Shinseki about that, since I don't have anything to do with his website. But I was just with him twice this week. And as you know, Secretary Shinseki is a former chief staff of the United States Army and a great, great American and great leader and made many sacrifices in Vietnam. As a matter of fact, he and I served in the same division in Vietnam in the same year. I didn't know Shinseki then, but we've gotten to be good friends. I'll find out about the website.
Back to your bigger question. I was one of the four co-sponsors of that bill when I was in the United States Senate. And we passed that bill in 2008. It's a piece of legislation I'm very proud of. I had been involved in that effort for many years before we got it passed.
There was a very significant Marine and United States senator at the time who led the charge by the name of Jim Webb, who you all know wrote the first really defining book on Vietnam, won a Pulitzer Prize for it, who has been a good friend of mine for 30 years. He and I were the two Vietnam veterans that teamed up on that with two World War II veterans, John Warner, another tremendous leader for our country and former secretary of the Navy, and Frank Lautenberg from New Jersey, who just passed away a couple months ago.
So I know something about that bill, since I helped write it. That bill was intended to do exactly what you just asked in your first sentence, among other things. It needed to be brought up to date from the time the Montgomery Bill was passed, because when the Montgomery Bill was passed -- and that was appropriate, I thought, at the time -- I wasn't in the Congress -- but it was a different time. It was an all-volunteer service, and so on.
And, by the way, I used the G.I. Bill when I came back from Vietnam, used it, as did my brother.
So it was time to do that. And there were some clear intentions that we had that we wanted that we wrote it, and one was the transferability of benefits. Now, as to one of the specific parts of your question about our budget issues and sequester, in particular, which has forced us all to re-evaluate programs. And as you know, we've had to make some tough decisions and choices.
That bill, that law is one that we want to protect in every way we can, because we think it is -- is the right thing to do for our people. We've committed to do that for our people. And we think it enhances our people, it enhances our country. It's a smart investment in our country. It's a smart investment in you, in your families. Education can't be disconnected from security -- from the future of our country.
So we'll continue to do everything we can to protect every element and fund every part of that bill. And I'll check on the website. Thank you.
Q: Good afternoon, sir. Lance Corporal Stacey from CAS. My question is, due to the downsizing of the Marine Corps or military-wide, what is the challenges that you face as far as keeping the appearance to the public of our military polished?
SEC. HAGEL: I'm sorry. The last part -- of our military what?
Q: Just keeping -- as far as the public eye, keeping our military looking strong without any, I guess, lack of confidence?
SEC. HAGEL: Yes, I get it. Good question. Important question. In fact, that question is one that I deal with, as well as our leaders deal with every day, for the -- for the very reasons you asked, but the implications that were present in your questions on projecting -- are we projecting weakness and lack of confidence when we -- when we talk about the downsizing and the limitations of financial resources?
There is a balance to that, and you're exactly right as to how we tell the story. First, I think it's important that, as always, every leader -- no matter what area that you lead in -- you first have to be honest, and you have to be direct, and you must be clear with the situation. You couldn't be effective Marines without those things. First of all, you wouldn't follow a leader who was not clear, direct, honest, if for no other reason you wouldn't trust him. You would have no confidence in him.
So I start there in answering your question. We've got to be honest with the American people. We have to be honest with the Congress. The Congress has to know our best assessment as leaders of our national security institution, what and how our capacity, our capabilities would be affected with large cuts in our budget.
Second, can we do things better? Can we do things more effectively, more efficiently? It is a different world. We've just come out of one war in Iraq; we're winding down the second war in Afghanistan. Doesn't that mean that resources will be freed up? Yes. We've been through this kind of downsizing in the history of our country before, as we have unwound from Desert Storm and Vietnam and Korea and World War II and so on.
But we've made it very clear, as direct and honest and clear as we can be, whether it's the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dempsey, or your leaders here, or leaders all over the world in this institution, that even with these cuts -- and they are severe -- and they may be even more severe -- that there is no question, America has the most significant military capability in the world. There is no military close to this military.
And we have made it very clear to the American people, to our friends and allies, and to our adversaries that that is the case. And we are not without resources. We are not without capability. And you can measure that by any metric. You start with the strength of any institution, first, is your people. You are the best-trained, the smartest, the best-led, most professional military force this country's ever had, and that is not to minimize the service of every generation of military men and women who've served the United States of America. That's not to marginalize their service at all.
What I've just said is a fact. Our NCO Corps -- is a corps enlisted like no other armed force in the world has. No one is even close to having an enlisted NCO corps like we have in our institution. The technological superiority, every element of that, no one's even close to it. Even with our downsized budget, and projected to even more downsize, there's not a country in the world even close to our military budget. We have alliances which don't diminish our strength and our interests, but they enhance our strength in our alliances.
So when you look at the balance sheet here, we are going to be the best, most capable, strongest military force in the -- in the world for a long time to come. At the same time, as I said, we've got to be clear and direct with the reality of the consequences of continued significant budget cuts and how fast those budget cuts are coming, because they give us very little flexibility in the tough decisions that are going to have to be made.
Institutions as big as our Defense Department -- I don't know of one bigger in the world -- but any institution is constantly re-evaluating -- has to -- its effectiveness, its efficiency. How can you do it better? And there are different threats in the world.
I mean, 10 years ago, how many of us would have thought too much about cyber warfare as a threat? Cyber warfare represents one of the greatest threats to the security of America of any threat out there. Certainly, nuclear war is a clear and large and overwhelming threat, the damage a nuclear exchange could do.
But cyber is this quiet, insidious attack on our systems, our country. Without any nation firing a shot, invading us, sailing a ship against us, putting a bomber in the air against us, sending a missile against us, my point is, the threats are changing, the challenges are changing.
Ten years ago, yes, terrorism was a threat, but what's going on today in the Middle East, for example, what's going on in North Africa, elements of terrorism and the coordination of the coalition of terrorist groups is -- is now something we've never seen before. That's going to require different kinds of strategies and thinking.
And that doesn't mean we're going to not need our Army or our Marines or ground forces, for example. We'll always need those forces. But it's new strategic thinking, new strategic reviews. And we'll get there. We'll come out of this stronger and better than we went in. Thank you.
Q: Good afternoon, sir. Lance Corporal Wasser, HMLA-367. Last month, you gave a speech at the Pentagon on the topic of sequestration. And in your speech, you brought up ideas that you had on making major military cuts to all the branches. So to go off of basically all of what you just said, how soon are -- do you expect us to be reaching the goal of the cuts that you've been talking about, sir?
SEC. HAGEL: Well, I think reductions, realignments, all that go into what we just went through in a 90-day exercise, which I noted in that speech, the Strategic Choices and Management Review, which gave us some sense of what the realities are, based on three budget options, how that would then direct our choices, how that would direct our cuts, how that would direct reductions and consolidations, as we prepare for our budget year, as we move into the fall, as we present to the Congress a new budget early next year, as well as the quadrennial review, which is mandated by Congress every four years to essentially red team and put in a group of experienced, respected experts to come in and take a look at what we're doing, how we're doing it, and come up with suggestions and ideas as we move forward.
And I just met with the group this week, as a matter of fact, and present that to the Congress and to me and to our leaders. It all flows right into the same intersection. To answer your question, we're making consolidations and reductions now. Part of that is as a result of what the Congress mandated over the last couple of years on reduction of forces. We are bringing our force structure down with Marines, with Army. That's not new.
What is new is the abruptness and the steepness that we'll be forced to make those reductions if we're not allowed to bring this down year after year and give us some time to strategically plan for it. So we're making the reductions now. We're making some decisions now. They'll continue to be made as we -- as we flow out.
One of the other biggest problems we have is the uncertainty of what our resource base is going to be. I don't have to ask the members of Congress for clarification on this. They are as frustrated, I suspect, as I am in our leaders. We don't know what kind of budget we're going to get next year. Is sequestration going to play out, which is now the law of the land? That means another $52 billion to $54 billion cut in the next fiscal year for us, if that continues. So we have to plan for that. That is the law of the land, unless something changes.
Will there be an adjustment made by a budget -- a new budget agreement by the Congress and the president before that occurs? I don't know. Will we have a continuing resolution based on the numbers for this fiscal year? Next fiscal year begins in about six weeks, October 1st. I don't know.
You can't turn an enterprise like the Defense Department, as big as this is, around in a -- in a year or two or three months or four months. So that uncertainty is -- is as big a problem for us as anything else.
We're not whining about it. It's -- it's what it is. And what the Strategic Choice Management Review was all about when I directed that a few months ago, let's get on with it. These are the realities. Life's tough. I wish I controlled more things than I do. So do you. But I don't.
And so I'm living in a world of reality. I'm not living in a world like you all, either. You're not living in any -- any world but what is the real world, not the world that you wish it would be, not the world that you hope it would be, or not the world that maybe you think will be. It's the world of what it is.
So we have to plan for that. And I -- and I think this is going to make you stronger. I have tremendous faith in our people, in our culture, in the commitment of all of you, and people all over the world to our values and who we are as a people and as a nation. So we'll come out of this stronger than we went in.
Q: Thank you, sir.
STAFF: One more.
SEC. HAGEL: One more question? Okay.
Q: Good afternoon, sir. Sergeant Okimsy, Headquarters Battalion. My question was actually going to pertain to sequestration and cutbacks, but now I ask about, what does the future look like in retirement in the military since there are talks of changes to that?
SEC. HAGEL: Well, thank you. You see, that's the advantage of being a former senator -- and no offense, Senators -- is that when you get one question, you take the opportunity and you just answer six or seven, whether you're asked or not. So I'm glad I was able to answer part of that question that you had.
But the future for retirement, there's no question that -- not unlike our entitlement programs in the United States, Social Security and Medicare -- they are unsustainable with the path they're on, for the reasons I suspect most of you know. Now, that doesn't mean that we're going to cut off retirement benefits, but if we address those adjustments that are going to be required out into the future, just like in Social Security or Medicare, if we make some adjustments now and we're smart, then we can adjust what we need to adjust and assure that the benefits that you've earned that we've promised are going to be there.
For all of you, when you retire, your benefits should not be impacted by whatever tough choices that we're going to have to make, but there are things we can do now with TRICARE. Health care benefits for retirees, for example, are -- are the biggest part of the increases that are growing year by year by year, not unlike in the civilian world. So how do we adjust to that and assure those benefits? The people have earned them, and we've committed to them. We're do it. They're going to be there.
But we're going to have to adjust and make some changes on how we come at it in the out-years on the formulas used. They won't hurt anybody. You can make these kinds of things whether it's in Social Security -- I had introduced over the years in Social Security bills on just a cost-of-living allowance. If you just take that for Social Security, for example, and you make some adjustments there, it's astounding how many billions of dollars you save over the course of just a few years, if you make just a tiny adjustment there, take one index or another.
Now, I'm not going to play games with you on saying that your benefits are going to increase. They're probably not going to increase. But you're not going to be hurt. You're not going to be hurt.
Okay. Thank you very much.
STAFF: Thank you very much.
STAFF: Thank you.
SEC. HAGEL: Thank you.
All right, now -- first of all, I want you to know I want to get a picture taken with each of you, but you don't have to have your picture taken with me. It might -- it might hurt your reputation. So if you want a picture taken with me, it would be my honor. And we'll line up over here. Thank you. Semper Fi, Marines. Thank you.
MARINES: Oorah!
Presenter: Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Lieutenant General Terry Robling August 22, 2013
Remarks by Secretary Hagel at a Troop Event at Marine Corps Base Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii
Lt. Gen. Terry Robling: Good afternoon, Marines. I'm Lt. Gen. Terry Robling, the commander of Marine Corps Forces Pacific, and I'd like to welcome you here today.
Before we start, I'd like to recognize a few special guests. We got Senator Mazie Hirono and members of her staff here, Senator Brian Schatz and members of his staff here, Representative Colleen Hanabusa and members of her staff here, and representing Representative Tulsi Gabbard is Mike Miyagi and a member of his staff. So, thank you all for being here.
This is a very historic day for us. It's the first time we've been able to really meet and speak with our secretary of defense on Marine Corps Base Kaneohe. But before I introduce him to you, I'd like to introduce you to him. So when I call out your unit, I'd like you to shout out with an oorah. Where are my Marine Corps Base Hawaii Marines?
MARINES: Oorah!
LT. GEN. ROBLING: How about headquarters battalion?
MARINES: Oorah!
LT. GEN. ROBLING: combat logistics battalion?
MARINES: Oorah.
LT. GEN. ROBLING: That's it? combat logistics battalion?
MARINES: Oorah.
LT. GEN. ROBLING: First Battalion, 12th Marines?
MARINES: Oorah!
LT. GEN. ROBLING: There you go. Marine Corps Group 24?
MARINES: Oorah!
LT. GEN. ROBLING: First Battalion, Third Marines?
MARINES: Oorah!
LT. GEN. ROBLING: And, finally, where are my wounded warriors?
MARINES: Oorah!
LT. GEN. ROBLING: Okay, outstanding. Well, I'm very proud of all of you on this historic occasion, and this time I'd like you to join me in welcoming our 24th United States Secretary of Defense, the Honorable Chuck Hagel.
SECRETARY CHUCK HAGEL: Thank you, General. Oorah, Marines!
MARINES: Oorah!
SEC. HAGEL: Thank you for allowing me to first thank you and your families for what you're doing. And I want you to know how much we appreciate your service and your sacrifice to our country. I also want to acknowledge your congressional delegation, who is here today, who has already been announced. I want to thank them for their support. You have no stronger congressional delegation in Washington who supports you more than your delegation from Hawaii, and they are very helpful to all of us.
So, senators, congressmen, thank you very much. Appreciate it. Thank you.
I know something about you all. I know the kind of work you do. I know what you mean to our country, but I also know what you mean to our presence in this part of the world. You are at the front end. You are at the cutting-edge of security, of stability, of prosperity. That's a big task. That's a big responsibility. And we're very proud of what you're doing.
I want to particularly acknowledge the wounded warriors for your sacrifices and what you continue to do for our country.
I'm also much aware of the Lava Dogs, as they have made our country proud with -- with their outstanding performance in the exercises in Thailand and Korea. Thank you. The Marine Aircraft Group 24, your exceptional work -- all of you, every day, do so much for all of us. And I want to acknowledge that.
I'm on my way to the ASEAN Defense Ministers Plus, which will be held in Brunei later this week. I'm going to stop first in Malaysia and Indonesia and then Brunei for the ministers meeting and then to the Philippines and then go back -- back to Washington.
I'm going to try and reinforce much of what your leaders here in this part of the world, and particularly headquarters here, the general, all your commanders, Admiral Locklear, all of our institutions headquartered here in Hawaii are doing to promote our interests in stability and friendship and partnership in this part of the world.
You're all much aware of our rebalance that President Obama initiated a couple of years ago. And I wanted to talk directly to some of our friends in this area of the world about that. I had my first opportunity to directly assess and discuss our rebalancing when I was at the -- in Singapore at the Shangri-La Dialogue, with many of the ASEAN leaders, and other nations, like Russia, European allies, China, who -- some will be in Brunei.
But this rebalancing is not only about security. It is not only about our security interests in this area. It's about a partnership of prosperity for this region of the world. Over six billion global citizens today. We are all now a part of one market. And the threats that confront the world are not unique to a region, to a country, to a religion, to an ethnic group. These are universal threats, and alliances become even more important than they've been in the past.
That means coalitions of common interests, partnerships, recognizing that prosperity and a future for all people and freedom depends on many pillars of construction. Certainly, security is one. But it's not the only one.
So this is a partnership that we are working through and enhancing and strengthening in this part of the world. You are all part of that. As I said, you are at the front end of that. You are at the cutting edge of that. And what you do and how you do it is particularly important as to how the world sees America and how they view our interests.
But probably more important is how they view our intentions. And that's always important in dealing with people around the world. So, thank you again for what you do.
That's a little bit about what I'm doing out here, other than the congressional delegation, and Governor Abercrombie gave me a visa to come in for a day and 24 hours so I can swim tonight before dinner, and then go on further west. But it's always a pleasure being here.
And before I take your questions, I want to also thank the people of Hawaii. The people of Hawaii, who have hosted our installations and all of you, the magnificent and gracious hospitality and support they've given us all should be acknowledged, and I want to let the people of Hawaii know how much we all appreciate them for what they have done and what they continue to do for all of us.
Okay. General, I'd be glad to respond to questions or any advice that you have for me. I know Marines are very tentative and bashful, hardly ever say what they think.
Q: Yes, sir. Sergeant Jensen, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, Charlie Company. My question pertains to the transferring of the Montgomery G.I. Bill benefits to your dependents and whether or not that program will stick around due to all the financial constraints going on. And additionally, when that service member goes to apply to transfer those benefits to their dependents on the VA website, they're not allowed to do that without committing to another four years' obligation, even though they've already met the regulated terms. I'm just wondering if that's something that can be fixed on the website or not, sir.
SEC. HAGEL: Okay. Well, that's -- first of all, it's a VA website, did you say?
Q: Yes, sir.
SEC. HAGEL: I'll ask Secretary Shinseki about that, since I don't have anything to do with his website. But I was just with him twice this week. And as you know, Secretary Shinseki is a former chief staff of the United States Army and a great, great American and great leader and made many sacrifices in Vietnam. As a matter of fact, he and I served in the same division in Vietnam in the same year. I didn't know Shinseki then, but we've gotten to be good friends. I'll find out about the website.
Back to your bigger question. I was one of the four co-sponsors of that bill when I was in the United States Senate. And we passed that bill in 2008. It's a piece of legislation I'm very proud of. I had been involved in that effort for many years before we got it passed.
There was a very significant Marine and United States senator at the time who led the charge by the name of Jim Webb, who you all know wrote the first really defining book on Vietnam, won a Pulitzer Prize for it, who has been a good friend of mine for 30 years. He and I were the two Vietnam veterans that teamed up on that with two World War II veterans, John Warner, another tremendous leader for our country and former secretary of the Navy, and Frank Lautenberg from New Jersey, who just passed away a couple months ago.
So I know something about that bill, since I helped write it. That bill was intended to do exactly what you just asked in your first sentence, among other things. It needed to be brought up to date from the time the Montgomery Bill was passed, because when the Montgomery Bill was passed -- and that was appropriate, I thought, at the time -- I wasn't in the Congress -- but it was a different time. It was an all-volunteer service, and so on.
And, by the way, I used the G.I. Bill when I came back from Vietnam, used it, as did my brother.
So it was time to do that. And there were some clear intentions that we had that we wanted that we wrote it, and one was the transferability of benefits. Now, as to one of the specific parts of your question about our budget issues and sequester, in particular, which has forced us all to re-evaluate programs. And as you know, we've had to make some tough decisions and choices.
That bill, that law is one that we want to protect in every way we can, because we think it is -- is the right thing to do for our people. We've committed to do that for our people. And we think it enhances our people, it enhances our country. It's a smart investment in our country. It's a smart investment in you, in your families. Education can't be disconnected from security -- from the future of our country.
So we'll continue to do everything we can to protect every element and fund every part of that bill. And I'll check on the website. Thank you.
Q: Good afternoon, sir. Lance Corporal Stacey from CAS. My question is, due to the downsizing of the Marine Corps or military-wide, what is the challenges that you face as far as keeping the appearance to the public of our military polished?
SEC. HAGEL: I'm sorry. The last part -- of our military what?
Q: Just keeping -- as far as the public eye, keeping our military looking strong without any, I guess, lack of confidence?
SEC. HAGEL: Yes, I get it. Good question. Important question. In fact, that question is one that I deal with, as well as our leaders deal with every day, for the -- for the very reasons you asked, but the implications that were present in your questions on projecting -- are we projecting weakness and lack of confidence when we -- when we talk about the downsizing and the limitations of financial resources?
There is a balance to that, and you're exactly right as to how we tell the story. First, I think it's important that, as always, every leader -- no matter what area that you lead in -- you first have to be honest, and you have to be direct, and you must be clear with the situation. You couldn't be effective Marines without those things. First of all, you wouldn't follow a leader who was not clear, direct, honest, if for no other reason you wouldn't trust him. You would have no confidence in him.
So I start there in answering your question. We've got to be honest with the American people. We have to be honest with the Congress. The Congress has to know our best assessment as leaders of our national security institution, what and how our capacity, our capabilities would be affected with large cuts in our budget.
Second, can we do things better? Can we do things more effectively, more efficiently? It is a different world. We've just come out of one war in Iraq; we're winding down the second war in Afghanistan. Doesn't that mean that resources will be freed up? Yes. We've been through this kind of downsizing in the history of our country before, as we have unwound from Desert Storm and Vietnam and Korea and World War II and so on.
But we've made it very clear, as direct and honest and clear as we can be, whether it's the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dempsey, or your leaders here, or leaders all over the world in this institution, that even with these cuts -- and they are severe -- and they may be even more severe -- that there is no question, America has the most significant military capability in the world. There is no military close to this military.
And we have made it very clear to the American people, to our friends and allies, and to our adversaries that that is the case. And we are not without resources. We are not without capability. And you can measure that by any metric. You start with the strength of any institution, first, is your people. You are the best-trained, the smartest, the best-led, most professional military force this country's ever had, and that is not to minimize the service of every generation of military men and women who've served the United States of America. That's not to marginalize their service at all.
What I've just said is a fact. Our NCO Corps -- is a corps enlisted like no other armed force in the world has. No one is even close to having an enlisted NCO corps like we have in our institution. The technological superiority, every element of that, no one's even close to it. Even with our downsized budget, and projected to even more downsize, there's not a country in the world even close to our military budget. We have alliances which don't diminish our strength and our interests, but they enhance our strength in our alliances.
So when you look at the balance sheet here, we are going to be the best, most capable, strongest military force in the -- in the world for a long time to come. At the same time, as I said, we've got to be clear and direct with the reality of the consequences of continued significant budget cuts and how fast those budget cuts are coming, because they give us very little flexibility in the tough decisions that are going to have to be made.
Institutions as big as our Defense Department -- I don't know of one bigger in the world -- but any institution is constantly re-evaluating -- has to -- its effectiveness, its efficiency. How can you do it better? And there are different threats in the world.
I mean, 10 years ago, how many of us would have thought too much about cyber warfare as a threat? Cyber warfare represents one of the greatest threats to the security of America of any threat out there. Certainly, nuclear war is a clear and large and overwhelming threat, the damage a nuclear exchange could do.
But cyber is this quiet, insidious attack on our systems, our country. Without any nation firing a shot, invading us, sailing a ship against us, putting a bomber in the air against us, sending a missile against us, my point is, the threats are changing, the challenges are changing.
Ten years ago, yes, terrorism was a threat, but what's going on today in the Middle East, for example, what's going on in North Africa, elements of terrorism and the coordination of the coalition of terrorist groups is -- is now something we've never seen before. That's going to require different kinds of strategies and thinking.
And that doesn't mean we're going to not need our Army or our Marines or ground forces, for example. We'll always need those forces. But it's new strategic thinking, new strategic reviews. And we'll get there. We'll come out of this stronger and better than we went in. Thank you.
Q: Good afternoon, sir. Lance Corporal Wasser, HMLA-367. Last month, you gave a speech at the Pentagon on the topic of sequestration. And in your speech, you brought up ideas that you had on making major military cuts to all the branches. So to go off of basically all of what you just said, how soon are -- do you expect us to be reaching the goal of the cuts that you've been talking about, sir?
SEC. HAGEL: Well, I think reductions, realignments, all that go into what we just went through in a 90-day exercise, which I noted in that speech, the Strategic Choices and Management Review, which gave us some sense of what the realities are, based on three budget options, how that would then direct our choices, how that would direct our cuts, how that would direct reductions and consolidations, as we prepare for our budget year, as we move into the fall, as we present to the Congress a new budget early next year, as well as the quadrennial review, which is mandated by Congress every four years to essentially red team and put in a group of experienced, respected experts to come in and take a look at what we're doing, how we're doing it, and come up with suggestions and ideas as we move forward.
And I just met with the group this week, as a matter of fact, and present that to the Congress and to me and to our leaders. It all flows right into the same intersection. To answer your question, we're making consolidations and reductions now. Part of that is as a result of what the Congress mandated over the last couple of years on reduction of forces. We are bringing our force structure down with Marines, with Army. That's not new.
What is new is the abruptness and the steepness that we'll be forced to make those reductions if we're not allowed to bring this down year after year and give us some time to strategically plan for it. So we're making the reductions now. We're making some decisions now. They'll continue to be made as we -- as we flow out.
One of the other biggest problems we have is the uncertainty of what our resource base is going to be. I don't have to ask the members of Congress for clarification on this. They are as frustrated, I suspect, as I am in our leaders. We don't know what kind of budget we're going to get next year. Is sequestration going to play out, which is now the law of the land? That means another $52 billion to $54 billion cut in the next fiscal year for us, if that continues. So we have to plan for that. That is the law of the land, unless something changes.
Will there be an adjustment made by a budget -- a new budget agreement by the Congress and the president before that occurs? I don't know. Will we have a continuing resolution based on the numbers for this fiscal year? Next fiscal year begins in about six weeks, October 1st. I don't know.
You can't turn an enterprise like the Defense Department, as big as this is, around in a -- in a year or two or three months or four months. So that uncertainty is -- is as big a problem for us as anything else.
We're not whining about it. It's -- it's what it is. And what the Strategic Choice Management Review was all about when I directed that a few months ago, let's get on with it. These are the realities. Life's tough. I wish I controlled more things than I do. So do you. But I don't.
And so I'm living in a world of reality. I'm not living in a world like you all, either. You're not living in any -- any world but what is the real world, not the world that you wish it would be, not the world that you hope it would be, or not the world that maybe you think will be. It's the world of what it is.
So we have to plan for that. And I -- and I think this is going to make you stronger. I have tremendous faith in our people, in our culture, in the commitment of all of you, and people all over the world to our values and who we are as a people and as a nation. So we'll come out of this stronger than we went in.
Q: Thank you, sir.
STAFF: One more.
SEC. HAGEL: One more question? Okay.
Q: Good afternoon, sir. Sergeant Okimsy, Headquarters Battalion. My question was actually going to pertain to sequestration and cutbacks, but now I ask about, what does the future look like in retirement in the military since there are talks of changes to that?
SEC. HAGEL: Well, thank you. You see, that's the advantage of being a former senator -- and no offense, Senators -- is that when you get one question, you take the opportunity and you just answer six or seven, whether you're asked or not. So I'm glad I was able to answer part of that question that you had.
But the future for retirement, there's no question that -- not unlike our entitlement programs in the United States, Social Security and Medicare -- they are unsustainable with the path they're on, for the reasons I suspect most of you know. Now, that doesn't mean that we're going to cut off retirement benefits, but if we address those adjustments that are going to be required out into the future, just like in Social Security or Medicare, if we make some adjustments now and we're smart, then we can adjust what we need to adjust and assure that the benefits that you've earned that we've promised are going to be there.
For all of you, when you retire, your benefits should not be impacted by whatever tough choices that we're going to have to make, but there are things we can do now with TRICARE. Health care benefits for retirees, for example, are -- are the biggest part of the increases that are growing year by year by year, not unlike in the civilian world. So how do we adjust to that and assure those benefits? The people have earned them, and we've committed to them. We're do it. They're going to be there.
But we're going to have to adjust and make some changes on how we come at it in the out-years on the formulas used. They won't hurt anybody. You can make these kinds of things whether it's in Social Security -- I had introduced over the years in Social Security bills on just a cost-of-living allowance. If you just take that for Social Security, for example, and you make some adjustments there, it's astounding how many billions of dollars you save over the course of just a few years, if you make just a tiny adjustment there, take one index or another.
Now, I'm not going to play games with you on saying that your benefits are going to increase. They're probably not going to increase. But you're not going to be hurt. You're not going to be hurt.
Okay. Thank you very much.
STAFF: Thank you very much.
STAFF: Thank you.
SEC. HAGEL: Thank you.
All right, now -- first of all, I want you to know I want to get a picture taken with each of you, but you don't have to have your picture taken with me. It might -- it might hurt your reputation. So if you want a picture taken with me, it would be my honor. And we'll line up over here. Thank you. Semper Fi, Marines. Thank you.
MARINES: Oorah!
PRECIOUS METALS TRADING COMPANY RECEIVES $2.2 MILLION JUDGEMENT FOR ROLE IN FRAUD SCHEME
FROM: COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
August 22 2013
Federal Court Enters $2.2 Million Default Judgment Order against Florida-based Global Precious Metals Trading Company and its Owner, Michael Ghaemi, for Operating a Fraudulent Off-Exchange Precious Metals Scheme
Defendants Misappropriated over $800,000 of Customer Funds, Virtually All of the Customer Funds Solicited and Accepted to Purchase Precious Metals
Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced that it obtained a federal court default judgment Order against Global Precious Metals Trading Company, LLC (GPMT) of Coral Gables, Florida, and its principal Michael Ghaemi of Miami, Florida, charged with running a fraudulent precious metals scheme and misappropriating customers’ funds (see CFTC Press Release 6587-13, May 13, 2013).
The Order, entered by Federal District Judge Ursula Ungaro on August 12, 2013, requires GPMT and Ghaemi to pay a $1.26 million civil monetary penalty, $736,979 in restitution, and to disgorge $186,860 in ill-gotten gains. The Order also imposes permanent trading and registration bans against them and prohibits them from violating the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations, as charged.
The Order finds that, from at least July 16, 2011 to August 2012, GPMT and Ghaemi illegally solicited and accepted approximately $800,000 from nine U.S. retail customers to purchase physical precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, on a financed basis, and defrauded the customers in connection with the precious metals transactions.
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 expanded the CFTC’s jurisdiction over transactions like these and requires that such transactions be executed on or subject to the rules of a board of trade, exchange, or commodity market. This new requirement took effect on July 16, 2011. According to the Order, the financed precious metals transactions offered by GPMT and Ghaemi were off-exchange and therefore illegal.
The Order further finds that GPMT and Ghaemi defrauded their retail customers by claiming to sell actual physical metals, making loans to customers to purchase those physical metals, and arranging for storage of the physical precious metals, when, in fact, they did not purchase or store precious metals, even as they charged customers interest on their loans and storage fees.
The Order further finds that GPMT and Ghaemi misappropriated virtually all of their customers’ funds and lost virtually all of those funds to either personal or other unauthorized use of the funds or through speculative margin trading in an account at a London brokerage. As a result, customers were left with no precious metals and with only a fraction of their funds having been returned to them, according to the Order.
The CFTC thanks the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority for its assistance in this matter.
CFTC Division of Enforcement Staff responsible for this case are Camille Arnold, Heather Johnson, Joseph Konizeski, Scott Williamson, Rosemary Hollinger, and Richard Wagner.
CFTC’s Precious Metals Fraud Advisory and Enforcement Actions
In January 2012, the CFTC issued a Precious Metals Consumer Fraud Advisory to alert customers to precious metals fraud. The Advisory states that the CFTC had seen an increase in the number of companies offering customers the opportunity to buy or invest in precious metals. The Advisory specifically warns that companies often fail to purchase any physical metals for their customers, instead simply keeping the customer’s funds. The CFTC’s Advisory further cautions customers that leveraged commodity transactions are unlawful unless executed on a regulated exchange.
In recent months, the CFTC has brought several actions against entities and individuals who purport to buy precious metals and transfer ownership of those metals to customers, when insufficient metal, or no metal at all, is in fact purchased and delivered
August 22 2013
Federal Court Enters $2.2 Million Default Judgment Order against Florida-based Global Precious Metals Trading Company and its Owner, Michael Ghaemi, for Operating a Fraudulent Off-Exchange Precious Metals Scheme
Defendants Misappropriated over $800,000 of Customer Funds, Virtually All of the Customer Funds Solicited and Accepted to Purchase Precious Metals
Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced that it obtained a federal court default judgment Order against Global Precious Metals Trading Company, LLC (GPMT) of Coral Gables, Florida, and its principal Michael Ghaemi of Miami, Florida, charged with running a fraudulent precious metals scheme and misappropriating customers’ funds (see CFTC Press Release 6587-13, May 13, 2013).
The Order, entered by Federal District Judge Ursula Ungaro on August 12, 2013, requires GPMT and Ghaemi to pay a $1.26 million civil monetary penalty, $736,979 in restitution, and to disgorge $186,860 in ill-gotten gains. The Order also imposes permanent trading and registration bans against them and prohibits them from violating the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and CFTC regulations, as charged.
The Order finds that, from at least July 16, 2011 to August 2012, GPMT and Ghaemi illegally solicited and accepted approximately $800,000 from nine U.S. retail customers to purchase physical precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, on a financed basis, and defrauded the customers in connection with the precious metals transactions.
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 expanded the CFTC’s jurisdiction over transactions like these and requires that such transactions be executed on or subject to the rules of a board of trade, exchange, or commodity market. This new requirement took effect on July 16, 2011. According to the Order, the financed precious metals transactions offered by GPMT and Ghaemi were off-exchange and therefore illegal.
The Order further finds that GPMT and Ghaemi defrauded their retail customers by claiming to sell actual physical metals, making loans to customers to purchase those physical metals, and arranging for storage of the physical precious metals, when, in fact, they did not purchase or store precious metals, even as they charged customers interest on their loans and storage fees.
The Order further finds that GPMT and Ghaemi misappropriated virtually all of their customers’ funds and lost virtually all of those funds to either personal or other unauthorized use of the funds or through speculative margin trading in an account at a London brokerage. As a result, customers were left with no precious metals and with only a fraction of their funds having been returned to them, according to the Order.
The CFTC thanks the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority for its assistance in this matter.
CFTC Division of Enforcement Staff responsible for this case are Camille Arnold, Heather Johnson, Joseph Konizeski, Scott Williamson, Rosemary Hollinger, and Richard Wagner.
CFTC’s Precious Metals Fraud Advisory and Enforcement Actions
In January 2012, the CFTC issued a Precious Metals Consumer Fraud Advisory to alert customers to precious metals fraud. The Advisory states that the CFTC had seen an increase in the number of companies offering customers the opportunity to buy or invest in precious metals. The Advisory specifically warns that companies often fail to purchase any physical metals for their customers, instead simply keeping the customer’s funds. The CFTC’s Advisory further cautions customers that leveraged commodity transactions are unlawful unless executed on a regulated exchange.
In recent months, the CFTC has brought several actions against entities and individuals who purport to buy precious metals and transfer ownership of those metals to customers, when insufficient metal, or no metal at all, is in fact purchased and delivered
DEFENSE SECRETARY HAGEL AND GEORGIAN DEFENSE MINISTER ALASANIA MEET AT PENTAGON
FROM; U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Hagel, Georgian Defense Minister Meet at Pentagon
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 22, 2013 - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel met at the Pentagon yesterday with Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Alasania, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said.
"Secretary Hagel praised Georgia's efforts to enhance civilian oversight of the armed forces, as these actions are a strong example of democratic progress through defense reform," he said.
Hagel expressed U.S. support for Georgia's Euro-Atlantic integration efforts, Little said, and highlighted its holding fair elections and continuing to consolidate democratic gains as effective measures to advance those efforts.
The two leaders agreed to continue to broaden U.S.-Georgian defense cooperation, he added.
Hagel, Georgian Defense Minister Meet at Pentagon
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 22, 2013 - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel met at the Pentagon yesterday with Georgian Defense Minister Irakli Alasania, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said.
"Secretary Hagel praised Georgia's efforts to enhance civilian oversight of the armed forces, as these actions are a strong example of democratic progress through defense reform," he said.
Hagel expressed U.S. support for Georgia's Euro-Atlantic integration efforts, Little said, and highlighted its holding fair elections and continuing to consolidate democratic gains as effective measures to advance those efforts.
The two leaders agreed to continue to broaden U.S.-Georgian defense cooperation, he added.
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING AUGUST 17, 2013
FROM: U.S. LABOR DEPARTMENT
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending August 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 336,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 323,000. The 4-week moving average was 330,500, a decrease of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average of 332,750.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3 percent for the week ending August 10, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending August 10 was 2,999,000, an increase of 29,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,970,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,985,750, a decrease of 1,000 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,986,750.
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 279,026 in the week ending August 17, a decrease of 3,997 from the previous week. There were 311,857 initial claims in the comparable week in 2012.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent during the week ending August 10, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,876,094, an increase of 16,087 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,860,007. A year earlier, the rate was 2.5 percent and the volume was 3,167,174.
The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending August 3 was 4,438,656, a decrease of 148,207 from the previous week. There were 5,594,498 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2012.
No state was triggered "on" the Extended Benefits program the week ending August 3.
Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,437 in the week ending August 10, a decrease of 276 from the prior week. There were 2,361 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 126 from the preceding week.
There were 21,208 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending August 3, a decrease of 622 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 33,235, a decrease of 1,235 from the prior week.
States reported 1,501,068 persons claiming Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) benefits for the week ending August 3, a decrease of 51,842 from the prior week. There were 2,326,635 persons claiming EUC in the comparable week in 2012. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending August 10 were in Puerto Rico (5.0), New Jersey (3.6), Alaska (3.5), Connecticut (3.4), New Mexico (3.2), Pennsylvania (3.2), California (3.0), Nevada (2.8), Rhode Island (2.8), and Virgin Islands (2.8).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending August 10 were in South Carolina (+907), New York (+762), Oregon (+685), Mississippi (+419), and Indiana (+400), while the largest decreases were in California (-4,105), Ohio (-1,554), Texas (-894), Florida (-881), and Georgia (-712).
SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA
In the week ending August 17, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 336,000, an increase of 13,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 323,000. The 4-week moving average was 330,500, a decrease of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average of 332,750.
The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3 percent for the week ending August 10, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending August 10 was 2,999,000, an increase of 29,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,970,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,985,750, a decrease of 1,000 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,986,750.
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 279,026 in the week ending August 17, a decrease of 3,997 from the previous week. There were 311,857 initial claims in the comparable week in 2012.
The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent during the week ending August 10, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,876,094, an increase of 16,087 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,860,007. A year earlier, the rate was 2.5 percent and the volume was 3,167,174.
The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending August 3 was 4,438,656, a decrease of 148,207 from the previous week. There were 5,594,498 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2012.
No state was triggered "on" the Extended Benefits program the week ending August 3.
Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,437 in the week ending August 10, a decrease of 276 from the prior week. There were 2,361 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 126 from the preceding week.
There were 21,208 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending August 3, a decrease of 622 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 33,235, a decrease of 1,235 from the prior week.
States reported 1,501,068 persons claiming Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) benefits for the week ending August 3, a decrease of 51,842 from the prior week. There were 2,326,635 persons claiming EUC in the comparable week in 2012. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.
The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending August 10 were in Puerto Rico (5.0), New Jersey (3.6), Alaska (3.5), Connecticut (3.4), New Mexico (3.2), Pennsylvania (3.2), California (3.0), Nevada (2.8), Rhode Island (2.8), and Virgin Islands (2.8).
The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending August 10 were in South Carolina (+907), New York (+762), Oregon (+685), Mississippi (+419), and Indiana (+400), while the largest decreases were in California (-4,105), Ohio (-1,554), Texas (-894), Florida (-881), and Georgia (-712).
CONSTRUCTION COMPANY OWNER PLEADS GUILTY TO NOT PAYING PAYROLL TAXES
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
New York Maintenance and Construction Company Owner Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to Failing to Pay Payroll Taxes
Kathryn Keneally, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division, announced today the guilty plea of Thomas Nastasi III, 46, of Mt. Kisco, N.Y., to one count of willful failure to pay the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) the payroll taxes of his company, Nastasi Maintenance & Construction LLC. Nastasi pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe in the Southern District of New York.
According to the previously filed indictment and statements made during Nastasi’s guilty plea, from 2001 through 2011, Thomas Nastasi III owned and operated several Manhattan construction and maintenance companies, including Nastasi Maintenance & Construction. As the president of the companies, Nastasi was responsible for withholding payroll taxes from his employees and paying them over to the IRS. Those taxes included the employees’ income taxes, Social Security, and Medicare taxes. Nastasi accumulated over $1.7 million in payroll taxes that were owed but never paid to the IRS. Those taxes included the employer’s portion of Social Security and Medicare taxes for his employees.
Court documents and statements also established that instead of paying the companies’ payroll taxes to the IRS, Nastasi used company funds to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal expenses, for items including boat-related expenses and cigars. Nastasi also made false statements to the IRS in the course of its attempts to obtain delinquent tax returns and collect the corporate and personal taxes owed by Nastasi and his companies.
“Employers who use taxes withheld from their employees’ paychecks to fund their own lavish lifestyles instead of paying over the funds to the government show a blatant disregard not only for the law, but also for all honest taxpayers who work hard and play by the rules,” said Assistant Attorney General Kathy Keneally. “Business owners who commit these crimes not only face jail time, but also must repay the stolen taxes, with interest and penalties.”
“Business owners who misdirect employment taxes to their own personal ends are stealing from their employees and all taxpayers’ futures,” said Richard Weber, Chief of IRS Criminal Investigation. “Thomas Nastasi III funded an extravagant lifestyle with his ill-gotten gains, including $67,000 spent on cigars. When investigated, he made false statements in an attempt to obstruct our special agents. IRS Criminal Investigation vigorously pursues anyone who collects taxes and fails to timely remit those taxes.”
Sentencing is set for Dec.19, 2013, at 2:30 p.m. before Judge Paul Gardephe.
Assistant Attorney General Keneally thanked special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York for their efforts in this case.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
New York Maintenance and Construction Company Owner Pleads Guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to Failing to Pay Payroll Taxes
Kathryn Keneally, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division, announced today the guilty plea of Thomas Nastasi III, 46, of Mt. Kisco, N.Y., to one count of willful failure to pay the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) the payroll taxes of his company, Nastasi Maintenance & Construction LLC. Nastasi pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe in the Southern District of New York.
According to the previously filed indictment and statements made during Nastasi’s guilty plea, from 2001 through 2011, Thomas Nastasi III owned and operated several Manhattan construction and maintenance companies, including Nastasi Maintenance & Construction. As the president of the companies, Nastasi was responsible for withholding payroll taxes from his employees and paying them over to the IRS. Those taxes included the employees’ income taxes, Social Security, and Medicare taxes. Nastasi accumulated over $1.7 million in payroll taxes that were owed but never paid to the IRS. Those taxes included the employer’s portion of Social Security and Medicare taxes for his employees.
Court documents and statements also established that instead of paying the companies’ payroll taxes to the IRS, Nastasi used company funds to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal expenses, for items including boat-related expenses and cigars. Nastasi also made false statements to the IRS in the course of its attempts to obtain delinquent tax returns and collect the corporate and personal taxes owed by Nastasi and his companies.
“Employers who use taxes withheld from their employees’ paychecks to fund their own lavish lifestyles instead of paying over the funds to the government show a blatant disregard not only for the law, but also for all honest taxpayers who work hard and play by the rules,” said Assistant Attorney General Kathy Keneally. “Business owners who commit these crimes not only face jail time, but also must repay the stolen taxes, with interest and penalties.”
“Business owners who misdirect employment taxes to their own personal ends are stealing from their employees and all taxpayers’ futures,” said Richard Weber, Chief of IRS Criminal Investigation. “Thomas Nastasi III funded an extravagant lifestyle with his ill-gotten gains, including $67,000 spent on cigars. When investigated, he made false statements in an attempt to obstruct our special agents. IRS Criminal Investigation vigorously pursues anyone who collects taxes and fails to timely remit those taxes.”
Sentencing is set for Dec.19, 2013, at 2:30 p.m. before Judge Paul Gardephe.
Assistant Attorney General Keneally thanked special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York for their efforts in this case.
NATURE AND INNOVATIVE MATERIALS
FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Inspired by nature: textured materials to aid industry and military
Innovation Corps team developed metals and plastic that repel water, capture sunlight and prevent ice build-up
The lotus leaf has a unique microscopic texture and wax-like coating that enables it to easily repel water. Taking his inspiration from nature, a University of Virginia professor has figured out a way to make metals and plastics that can do virtually the same thing.
Mool Gupta, Langley Distinguished Professor in the university's department of electrical and computer engineering, and director of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Lasers and Plasmas, has developed a method using high-powered lasers and nanotechnology to create a similar texture that repels water, captures sunlight and prevents the buildup of ice.
These textured materials can be used over large areas and potentially could have important applications in products where ice poses a danger, for example, in aviation, the automobile industry, the military, in protecting communication towers, blades that generate wind energy, bridges, roofs, ships, satellite dishes, and even snowboards.
In commercial and military aviation, for example, these materials could improve airline safety by making current de-icing procedures, which include scraping and applying chemicals, such as glycol, to the wings, unnecessary.
For residents in the frigid northeast, many of whom rely on satellite systems, "it could mean they won't lose their signal, and they won't have to go outside with a hammer and chisel and break off the ice," Gupta says.
The materials' ability to trap sunlight also could enhance the performance of solar cells.
Gupta and his research team first made a piece of textured metal that serves as a mold to mass-produce many pieces of plastic with the same micro-texture. The replication process is similar to the one used in manufacturing compact discs. The difference, of course, is that the CD master mold contains specific information, like a voice, whereas, "in our case we are not writing any information, we are creating a micro-texture," Gupta says.
"You create one piece of metal that has the texture," Gupta adds. "For multiple pieces of plastic with the texture, you use the one master made of metal to stamp out multiple pieces. Thus, whatever features are in your master are replicated in the special plastic. Once we create that texture, if you put a drop of water on the texture, the water rolls down and doesn't stick to it, just like a lotus leaf. We have created a human-made structure that repels water, just like the lotus leaf."
The process of making the metal with the special texture works like this: the scientists take high-powered lasers, with energy beams 20 million times higher than that of a laser pointer, for example, and focus the beams on a metal surface. The metal absorbs the laser light and heats to a melting temperature of about 1200 degrees Centigrade, or higher, a process that rearranges the surface material to form a microtexture.
"All of this happens in less than 0.1 millionth of a second," Gupta says. "The microtexture is self-organized. By scanning the focused laser beam, we achieve a large area of microtexture. The produced microtexture is used as a stamper to replicate microtexture in polymers. The stamper can be used many, many times, allowing a low cost manufacturing process. The generated microtextured polymer surface shows very high water repellency."
In the fall of 2011, Gupta was among the first group of scientists to receive a $50,000 NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) award, which supports a set of activities and programs that prepare scientists and engineers to extend their focus beyond the laboratory into the commercial world.
Such results may be translated through I-Corps into technologies with near-term benefits for the economy and society. It is a public-private partnership program that teaches grantees to identify valuable product opportunities that can emerge from academic research, and offers entrepreneurship training to faculty and student participants.
The other project members are Paul Caffrey, a doctoral candidate under Gupta's supervision, and Martin Skelly of Charleston, S.C., a veteran of banking in the former Soviet Union who serves as business mentor and is involved in new business investments.
The team participated in a three-day entrepreneurship workshop at Stanford University run by entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley. "We are still pursuing the commercial potential," Gupta says. "The idea is to look at what market can use this technology, how big the market is, and how long it will take to get into it."
-- Marlene Cimons, National Science Foundation
Inspired by nature: textured materials to aid industry and military
Innovation Corps team developed metals and plastic that repel water, capture sunlight and prevent ice build-up
The lotus leaf has a unique microscopic texture and wax-like coating that enables it to easily repel water. Taking his inspiration from nature, a University of Virginia professor has figured out a way to make metals and plastics that can do virtually the same thing.
Mool Gupta, Langley Distinguished Professor in the university's department of electrical and computer engineering, and director of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Lasers and Plasmas, has developed a method using high-powered lasers and nanotechnology to create a similar texture that repels water, captures sunlight and prevents the buildup of ice.
These textured materials can be used over large areas and potentially could have important applications in products where ice poses a danger, for example, in aviation, the automobile industry, the military, in protecting communication towers, blades that generate wind energy, bridges, roofs, ships, satellite dishes, and even snowboards.
In commercial and military aviation, for example, these materials could improve airline safety by making current de-icing procedures, which include scraping and applying chemicals, such as glycol, to the wings, unnecessary.
For residents in the frigid northeast, many of whom rely on satellite systems, "it could mean they won't lose their signal, and they won't have to go outside with a hammer and chisel and break off the ice," Gupta says.
The materials' ability to trap sunlight also could enhance the performance of solar cells.
Gupta and his research team first made a piece of textured metal that serves as a mold to mass-produce many pieces of plastic with the same micro-texture. The replication process is similar to the one used in manufacturing compact discs. The difference, of course, is that the CD master mold contains specific information, like a voice, whereas, "in our case we are not writing any information, we are creating a micro-texture," Gupta says.
"You create one piece of metal that has the texture," Gupta adds. "For multiple pieces of plastic with the texture, you use the one master made of metal to stamp out multiple pieces. Thus, whatever features are in your master are replicated in the special plastic. Once we create that texture, if you put a drop of water on the texture, the water rolls down and doesn't stick to it, just like a lotus leaf. We have created a human-made structure that repels water, just like the lotus leaf."
The process of making the metal with the special texture works like this: the scientists take high-powered lasers, with energy beams 20 million times higher than that of a laser pointer, for example, and focus the beams on a metal surface. The metal absorbs the laser light and heats to a melting temperature of about 1200 degrees Centigrade, or higher, a process that rearranges the surface material to form a microtexture.
"All of this happens in less than 0.1 millionth of a second," Gupta says. "The microtexture is self-organized. By scanning the focused laser beam, we achieve a large area of microtexture. The produced microtexture is used as a stamper to replicate microtexture in polymers. The stamper can be used many, many times, allowing a low cost manufacturing process. The generated microtextured polymer surface shows very high water repellency."
In the fall of 2011, Gupta was among the first group of scientists to receive a $50,000 NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) award, which supports a set of activities and programs that prepare scientists and engineers to extend their focus beyond the laboratory into the commercial world.
Such results may be translated through I-Corps into technologies with near-term benefits for the economy and society. It is a public-private partnership program that teaches grantees to identify valuable product opportunities that can emerge from academic research, and offers entrepreneurship training to faculty and student participants.
The other project members are Paul Caffrey, a doctoral candidate under Gupta's supervision, and Martin Skelly of Charleston, S.C., a veteran of banking in the former Soviet Union who serves as business mentor and is involved in new business investments.
The team participated in a three-day entrepreneurship workshop at Stanford University run by entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley. "We are still pursuing the commercial potential," Gupta says. "The idea is to look at what market can use this technology, how big the market is, and how long it will take to get into it."
-- Marlene Cimons, National Science Foundation
Thursday, August 22, 2013
4 HIZBALLAH LEADERS DESIGNATED BY U.S. TREASURY FOR TERRORISTS ROLES
FROM: U.S. TREASURY DEPARTMENT
Action Targets Hizballah’s Leadership Responsible for Operations Outside of Lebanon
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated four members of Hizballah’s leadership responsible for operations throughout the Middle East, further exposing Hizballah’s pernicious activities that reach beyond the borders of Lebanon. These designations include senior members of Hizballah responsible for activities ranging from assisting fighters from Iraq to support the Assad regime in Syria, to making payments to various factions within Yemen, and to military leaders responsible for terrorist operations in Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Cyprus, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and Iraq.
Belying Hizballah’s claim to be a domestic Lebanese “resistance” organization, its expansive global network seeks to extend its malign influence, and the influence of Hizballah’s patron Iran, throughout the Middle East and beyond. The Treasury Department will continue to combat Hizballah’s terrorist activity inside and outside Lebanon with all available tools and will continue to work with partners around the world to make it clear that Hizballah’s militant and extremist activities should not be tolerated by any nation.
“Whether ferrying foreign fighters to the front lines of the Syrian civil war or inserting clandestine operatives in Europe, the Middle East, and elsewhere, Hizballah remains a significant global terrorist threat,” said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen. “So long as Hizballah spreads instability, conducts terrorist attacks and engages in criminal and illicit activities around the world, we will continue to sanction Hizballah’s operatives, leaders and businesses, wherever they may be found.”
The individuals sanctioned today were designated pursuant to Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists and their supporters for acting for, or on behalf of Hizballah. U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with the individuals designated today, and any assets of those designees subject to U.S. jurisdiction are frozen.
Khalil Harb
In the years prior to Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, Khalil Harb served as the deputy commander for Hizballah’s central military unit’s southern Lebanon region from 1988 to 1992, and as the commander for this region from 1992 to 1994. From 1994 to 1997, Harb served as the commander of Hizballah’s central military operations. By 2000, Harb supervised Hizballah military operations inside Israel, Jordan, Cyprus, and Turkey.
In late November 2000, Harb was given responsibility for overseeing work of the Islamic Resistance, including assisting with the smuggling of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives from Syria into the West Bank via Jordan. By late 2003, Harb was head of the Syrian/Jordan/Israel/Egypt operations unit, which was subordinate to Hizballah’s Islamic Jihad council.
In March 2006, Harb served as Hizballah’s chief of military liaison with the Palestinian factions and Iran, dealing almost exclusively with Palestinians and Iranians inside and outside the territories. Prior to this posting, Harb had served as Hizballah’s chief of military special operations. During the summer of 2006, Harb was given command of a Hizballah special operations unit in southern Lebanon, which engaged the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in July 2006, at the Lebanese-Israeli border where IDF Special Forces entered Lebanon. In early 2007, Khalil Harb was chief of Hizballah’s Unit 1800, also known as Hizballah’s Nun Unit, the Hizballah entity responsible for supporting Palestinian militants and conducting Hizballah operations in the countries surrounding Israel, and he travelled to Iran for meetings regarding coordination between Hizballah, Iran, and the Palestinians.
In February 2010, Harb, serving as the leader of the Palestinian activities for Hizballah, planned unspecified attacks against Israeli officials in Israel, in retaliation for the assassination of former Hizballah External Security Organization (ESO) chief Imad Mughniyah. By mid-May 2010, Hizballah created a new position for Harb as “advisor to the Secretary General,” which provided Harb oversight of Hizballah Unit 1800, which he previously commanded.
As of 2012, Harb was responsible for Hizballah’s Yemen activities and was involved in the political side of Hizballah’s Yemen portfolio. Harb also served as commander of a Lebanon-based Hizballah special unit that focused on Israel. Since the summer of 2012, Harb has been involved in the movement of large amounts of currency to Yemen, through Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E., and in late 2012, Harb advised the leader of a Yemeni political party that the party’s monthly Hizballah funding of $50,000 was ready for pick up.
Muhammad Kawtharani
As the individual in charge of Hizballah's Iraq activities, Kawtharani has worked on behalf of Hizballah's leadership to promote the group's interests in Iraq, including Hizballah efforts to provide training, funding, political, and logistical support to Iraqi Shi'a insurgent groups. A member of Hizballah's Political Council, Kawtharani also helped secure the release from Iraqi custody of Hizballah operative Ali Musa Daqduq, a senior Hizballah commander designated by the Treasury Department in November 2012 who was responsible for numerous attacks against Coalition Force in Iraq, including planning a January 20, 2007 attack on the Karbala Joint Provincial Coordination Center that resulted in the deaths of five U.S. soldiers.
Over the last year, Kawtharani has assisted in getting fighters to Syria to support the Assad regime.
Muhammad Yusuf Ahmad Mansur
Muhammad Yusuf Ahmad Mansur (Mansur), a member of Hizballah since at least 1986, once served in a Hizballah military unit operating in south Lebanon. Around 2004, Mansur was transferred to Hizballah’s Unit 1800. Mansur was subsequently dispatched to Egypt to work with Unit 1800 under Muhammad Qabalan, and in 2008, the cell escalated its operations to target tourist destinations in Egypt. Mansur served as the Egypt-based cell leader. By early 2009, Egyptian authorities had disrupted the Hizballah cell and arrested and detained Mansur and dozens of other individuals for planning to carry out terrorist operations against Israeli and other tourists in Egypt. Hizballah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in November 2009 publicly acknowledged that Mansur was a Hizballah member involved in transporting arms and equipment to Palestinian militants. In April 2010, an Egyptian court sentenced Mansur to 15 years for his involvement in the cell, which was subordinate to Hizballah’s Unit 1800. However, in late January 2011, the imprisoned members of the Hizballah cell escaped and Mansur returned to Lebanon. In February 2011, Mansur appeared on Lebanese television with Hizballah officials at a Hizballah rally in Beirut.
Muhammad Qabalan
Hizballah terrorist cell leader Muhammad Qabalan (Qabalan) once served as the head of a Hizballah infantry platoon. In 2008, Qabalan, as a leader in Hizballah’s Unit 1800, was serving as the Lebanon-based head of the Hizballah Egypt-based terrorist cell targeting tourist destinations in Egypt and was coordinating the cell’s activities from Lebanon. In April 2010, an Egyptian court sentenced Qabalan in absentia to life imprisonment for his involvement in the cell, which was subordinate to Hizballah’s Unit 1800. As of late 2011, Qabalan worked in a separate Hizballah covert unit operating in the Middle East.
Action Targets Hizballah’s Leadership Responsible for Operations Outside of Lebanon
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated four members of Hizballah’s leadership responsible for operations throughout the Middle East, further exposing Hizballah’s pernicious activities that reach beyond the borders of Lebanon. These designations include senior members of Hizballah responsible for activities ranging from assisting fighters from Iraq to support the Assad regime in Syria, to making payments to various factions within Yemen, and to military leaders responsible for terrorist operations in Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Cyprus, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and Iraq.
Belying Hizballah’s claim to be a domestic Lebanese “resistance” organization, its expansive global network seeks to extend its malign influence, and the influence of Hizballah’s patron Iran, throughout the Middle East and beyond. The Treasury Department will continue to combat Hizballah’s terrorist activity inside and outside Lebanon with all available tools and will continue to work with partners around the world to make it clear that Hizballah’s militant and extremist activities should not be tolerated by any nation.
“Whether ferrying foreign fighters to the front lines of the Syrian civil war or inserting clandestine operatives in Europe, the Middle East, and elsewhere, Hizballah remains a significant global terrorist threat,” said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen. “So long as Hizballah spreads instability, conducts terrorist attacks and engages in criminal and illicit activities around the world, we will continue to sanction Hizballah’s operatives, leaders and businesses, wherever they may be found.”
The individuals sanctioned today were designated pursuant to Executive Order 13224, which targets terrorists and their supporters for acting for, or on behalf of Hizballah. U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with the individuals designated today, and any assets of those designees subject to U.S. jurisdiction are frozen.
Khalil Harb
In the years prior to Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000, Khalil Harb served as the deputy commander for Hizballah’s central military unit’s southern Lebanon region from 1988 to 1992, and as the commander for this region from 1992 to 1994. From 1994 to 1997, Harb served as the commander of Hizballah’s central military operations. By 2000, Harb supervised Hizballah military operations inside Israel, Jordan, Cyprus, and Turkey.
In late November 2000, Harb was given responsibility for overseeing work of the Islamic Resistance, including assisting with the smuggling of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad operatives from Syria into the West Bank via Jordan. By late 2003, Harb was head of the Syrian/Jordan/Israel/Egypt operations unit, which was subordinate to Hizballah’s Islamic Jihad council.
In March 2006, Harb served as Hizballah’s chief of military liaison with the Palestinian factions and Iran, dealing almost exclusively with Palestinians and Iranians inside and outside the territories. Prior to this posting, Harb had served as Hizballah’s chief of military special operations. During the summer of 2006, Harb was given command of a Hizballah special operations unit in southern Lebanon, which engaged the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in July 2006, at the Lebanese-Israeli border where IDF Special Forces entered Lebanon. In early 2007, Khalil Harb was chief of Hizballah’s Unit 1800, also known as Hizballah’s Nun Unit, the Hizballah entity responsible for supporting Palestinian militants and conducting Hizballah operations in the countries surrounding Israel, and he travelled to Iran for meetings regarding coordination between Hizballah, Iran, and the Palestinians.
In February 2010, Harb, serving as the leader of the Palestinian activities for Hizballah, planned unspecified attacks against Israeli officials in Israel, in retaliation for the assassination of former Hizballah External Security Organization (ESO) chief Imad Mughniyah. By mid-May 2010, Hizballah created a new position for Harb as “advisor to the Secretary General,” which provided Harb oversight of Hizballah Unit 1800, which he previously commanded.
As of 2012, Harb was responsible for Hizballah’s Yemen activities and was involved in the political side of Hizballah’s Yemen portfolio. Harb also served as commander of a Lebanon-based Hizballah special unit that focused on Israel. Since the summer of 2012, Harb has been involved in the movement of large amounts of currency to Yemen, through Saudi Arabia and the U.A.E., and in late 2012, Harb advised the leader of a Yemeni political party that the party’s monthly Hizballah funding of $50,000 was ready for pick up.
Muhammad Kawtharani
As the individual in charge of Hizballah's Iraq activities, Kawtharani has worked on behalf of Hizballah's leadership to promote the group's interests in Iraq, including Hizballah efforts to provide training, funding, political, and logistical support to Iraqi Shi'a insurgent groups. A member of Hizballah's Political Council, Kawtharani also helped secure the release from Iraqi custody of Hizballah operative Ali Musa Daqduq, a senior Hizballah commander designated by the Treasury Department in November 2012 who was responsible for numerous attacks against Coalition Force in Iraq, including planning a January 20, 2007 attack on the Karbala Joint Provincial Coordination Center that resulted in the deaths of five U.S. soldiers.
Over the last year, Kawtharani has assisted in getting fighters to Syria to support the Assad regime.
Muhammad Yusuf Ahmad Mansur
Muhammad Yusuf Ahmad Mansur (Mansur), a member of Hizballah since at least 1986, once served in a Hizballah military unit operating in south Lebanon. Around 2004, Mansur was transferred to Hizballah’s Unit 1800. Mansur was subsequently dispatched to Egypt to work with Unit 1800 under Muhammad Qabalan, and in 2008, the cell escalated its operations to target tourist destinations in Egypt. Mansur served as the Egypt-based cell leader. By early 2009, Egyptian authorities had disrupted the Hizballah cell and arrested and detained Mansur and dozens of other individuals for planning to carry out terrorist operations against Israeli and other tourists in Egypt. Hizballah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in November 2009 publicly acknowledged that Mansur was a Hizballah member involved in transporting arms and equipment to Palestinian militants. In April 2010, an Egyptian court sentenced Mansur to 15 years for his involvement in the cell, which was subordinate to Hizballah’s Unit 1800. However, in late January 2011, the imprisoned members of the Hizballah cell escaped and Mansur returned to Lebanon. In February 2011, Mansur appeared on Lebanese television with Hizballah officials at a Hizballah rally in Beirut.
Muhammad Qabalan
Hizballah terrorist cell leader Muhammad Qabalan (Qabalan) once served as the head of a Hizballah infantry platoon. In 2008, Qabalan, as a leader in Hizballah’s Unit 1800, was serving as the Lebanon-based head of the Hizballah Egypt-based terrorist cell targeting tourist destinations in Egypt and was coordinating the cell’s activities from Lebanon. In April 2010, an Egyptian court sentenced Qabalan in absentia to life imprisonment for his involvement in the cell, which was subordinate to Hizballah’s Unit 1800. As of late 2011, Qabalan worked in a separate Hizballah covert unit operating in the Middle East.
JUSTICE AND ENGINEERING FIRM SETTLE ACCESSIBILITY LAWSUIT
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Justice Department Settles Fair Housing Lawsuit with Multi/Tech Engineering Services Inc.
The Justice Department announced that Multi/Tech Engineering Services Inc., an engineering firm based in Salem, Ore., has agreed to pay more than $60,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that it had violated the Fair Housing Act by designing Gateway Village Apartments with steps and other features that made it inaccessible to people with disabilities.
“Steps, narrow doors and other accessibility barriers prevent people with disabilities from exercising the same rights to obtain housing of their choice that other people enjoy” said Acting Assistant General for the Civil Rights Division Jocelyn Samuels. “We will hold builders and designers accountable and those who fail to follow the law will face enforcement action.”
This settlement will assist in compensating victims of discrimination and in removing accessibility barriers at Gateway Village, a 275 unit apartment complex in Salem. In May 2013, the Justice Department and the Fair Housing Council of Oregon (FHCO) also reached a settlement with the developers of the property to resolve the rest of the lawsuit, filed in September 2011. The settlement must still be approved by the court.
Under the terms of the parties’ agreement, Multi/Tech will pay $32,000 to a settlement fund to compensate individuals with disabilities who were impacted by the accessibility violations. Multi/Tech will also contribute $21,000 to the corrective actions already being undertaken by the developer according to the prior settlement agreement to make Gateway Village accessible to people with disabilities. These corrective actions include removing steps from sidewalks, widening interior doorways, reducing threshold heights, replacing excessively sloped portions of sidewalks and installing properly sloped curb ramps to allow people with disabilities to access the sidewalks from the parking areas. In addition, Multi/Tech will pay $7,902.70 in damages to the FHCO, the plaintiff-intervenor, whose investigation revealed the accessibility violations.
“The right to accessible housing is a fundamental protection afforded by law,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon Amanda Marshall. “I am committed to working with the Fair Housing Council of Oregon, and our federal, state and local partners to ensure that those who design and construct housing units make them accessible to people with disabilities in compliance with the Fair Housing Act.”
The lawsuit arose as a result of a complaint filed by FHCO with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). After HUD investigated the complaint, it issued a charge of discrimination and referred the matter to the Justice Department.
“For more than two decades the law has required that newly-built multifamily housing provide equal access to people with disabilities,” said Bryan Greene, HUD’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “Throughout that time, HUD and the Department of Justice have educated builders, design professionals and others on those requirements, most recently through guidance issued this past April. Where those efforts fail, our agencies will gain compliance through enforcement of the law."
Individuals who are entitled to share in the settlement fund will be identified through a process established in the settlement. Those who believe they were subjected to unlawful discrimination at Gateway Village, either when they lived there or when they considered living there, should contact the Justice Department toll-free at 1-800-896-7743 mailbox # 9993, or e-mail the Justice Department at fairhousing@usdoj.gov .
The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin and disability. Among other things, the Fair Housing Act requires that newly constructed multifamily housing with four or more units contain certain accessibility features so that the housing is accessible to and usable by people with disabilities.
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Justice Department Settles Fair Housing Lawsuit with Multi/Tech Engineering Services Inc.
The Justice Department announced that Multi/Tech Engineering Services Inc., an engineering firm based in Salem, Ore., has agreed to pay more than $60,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that it had violated the Fair Housing Act by designing Gateway Village Apartments with steps and other features that made it inaccessible to people with disabilities.
“Steps, narrow doors and other accessibility barriers prevent people with disabilities from exercising the same rights to obtain housing of their choice that other people enjoy” said Acting Assistant General for the Civil Rights Division Jocelyn Samuels. “We will hold builders and designers accountable and those who fail to follow the law will face enforcement action.”
This settlement will assist in compensating victims of discrimination and in removing accessibility barriers at Gateway Village, a 275 unit apartment complex in Salem. In May 2013, the Justice Department and the Fair Housing Council of Oregon (FHCO) also reached a settlement with the developers of the property to resolve the rest of the lawsuit, filed in September 2011. The settlement must still be approved by the court.
Under the terms of the parties’ agreement, Multi/Tech will pay $32,000 to a settlement fund to compensate individuals with disabilities who were impacted by the accessibility violations. Multi/Tech will also contribute $21,000 to the corrective actions already being undertaken by the developer according to the prior settlement agreement to make Gateway Village accessible to people with disabilities. These corrective actions include removing steps from sidewalks, widening interior doorways, reducing threshold heights, replacing excessively sloped portions of sidewalks and installing properly sloped curb ramps to allow people with disabilities to access the sidewalks from the parking areas. In addition, Multi/Tech will pay $7,902.70 in damages to the FHCO, the plaintiff-intervenor, whose investigation revealed the accessibility violations.
“The right to accessible housing is a fundamental protection afforded by law,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon Amanda Marshall. “I am committed to working with the Fair Housing Council of Oregon, and our federal, state and local partners to ensure that those who design and construct housing units make them accessible to people with disabilities in compliance with the Fair Housing Act.”
The lawsuit arose as a result of a complaint filed by FHCO with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). After HUD investigated the complaint, it issued a charge of discrimination and referred the matter to the Justice Department.
“For more than two decades the law has required that newly-built multifamily housing provide equal access to people with disabilities,” said Bryan Greene, HUD’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “Throughout that time, HUD and the Department of Justice have educated builders, design professionals and others on those requirements, most recently through guidance issued this past April. Where those efforts fail, our agencies will gain compliance through enforcement of the law."
Individuals who are entitled to share in the settlement fund will be identified through a process established in the settlement. Those who believe they were subjected to unlawful discrimination at Gateway Village, either when they lived there or when they considered living there, should contact the Justice Department toll-free at 1-800-896-7743 mailbox # 9993, or e-mail the Justice Department at fairhousing@usdoj.gov .
The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin and disability. Among other things, the Fair Housing Act requires that newly constructed multifamily housing with four or more units contain certain accessibility features so that the housing is accessible to and usable by people with disabilities.
READOUT OF DEFENSE SECRETARY HAGEL'S MEETING WITH DENMARK'S MINISTER OF DEFENSE
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Readout of Secretary Hagel's Meeting With Denmark's Minister of Defence Nicolai Wammen
Pentagon Press Secretary George Little provided the following readout:
"Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Danish Minister of Defence Nicolai Wammen met Wednesday at the Pentagon, reaffirming the two countries' strong defense relationship based upon shared approaches to defense and security issues, and pledging to continue to deepen military cooperation.
"The two leaders highlighted the long friendship between the two nations' armed forces, as well as present-day cooperation in North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)-led operations in Afghanistan, off the Horn of Africa, and cyber defense. Secretary Hagel and Minister Wammen also discussed the ongoing violence in Syria and the situation in Egypt.
"The leaders also discussed the developments in Afghanistan's national security forces' capability to address the country's own security challenges and the role of NATO post-2014. Hagel and Wammen underscored their belief that the United States and Denmark should work to maintain and increase interoperability and implement lessons learned from operations in Afghanistan. They both agreed on the importance of exploring new approaches to bilateral and multinational cooperation for the benefit of both nations and of NATO as a whole.
"Hagel and Wammen discussed exchanging lessons learned in defense materiel and logistics. They also discussed opportunities to cooperate on veterans' initiatives. Hagel and Wammen agreed on the inauguration of annual policy-level staff discussions that would develop plans for cooperation in more detail.
"Secretary Hagel expressed appreciation for Denmark's close partnership, and Minister Wammen invited Secretary Hagel to visit Denmark at his earliest convenience."
Readout of Secretary Hagel's Meeting With Denmark's Minister of Defence Nicolai Wammen
Pentagon Press Secretary George Little provided the following readout:
"Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Danish Minister of Defence Nicolai Wammen met Wednesday at the Pentagon, reaffirming the two countries' strong defense relationship based upon shared approaches to defense and security issues, and pledging to continue to deepen military cooperation.
"The two leaders highlighted the long friendship between the two nations' armed forces, as well as present-day cooperation in North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)-led operations in Afghanistan, off the Horn of Africa, and cyber defense. Secretary Hagel and Minister Wammen also discussed the ongoing violence in Syria and the situation in Egypt.
"The leaders also discussed the developments in Afghanistan's national security forces' capability to address the country's own security challenges and the role of NATO post-2014. Hagel and Wammen underscored their belief that the United States and Denmark should work to maintain and increase interoperability and implement lessons learned from operations in Afghanistan. They both agreed on the importance of exploring new approaches to bilateral and multinational cooperation for the benefit of both nations and of NATO as a whole.
"Hagel and Wammen discussed exchanging lessons learned in defense materiel and logistics. They also discussed opportunities to cooperate on veterans' initiatives. Hagel and Wammen agreed on the inauguration of annual policy-level staff discussions that would develop plans for cooperation in more detail.
"Secretary Hagel expressed appreciation for Denmark's close partnership, and Minister Wammen invited Secretary Hagel to visit Denmark at his earliest convenience."
HHS STATEMENT ON GOOD HEALTH FOR THOSE OVER 65
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Long healthy life?
From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.
A study indicates that how many of your remaining years will be healthy as a senior citizen varies according to who you are and where you live.
Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at national health data on the number of years after age 65 that people had good health. The CDC’s Man-Huei Chang:
“Across all of the states, healthy life expectancy was about 14 years, on the average.”
Mississippians averaged the fewest healthy years after they turned 65, and Hawaiians averaged the most. State by state, men consistently averaged fewer years than women. Blacks fairly consistently had fewer healthy years than whites.
Healthy living habits, such as not smoking, reduce the odds that people die early.
The study was in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Learn more at healthfinder.gov.
HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.
Long healthy life?
From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.
A study indicates that how many of your remaining years will be healthy as a senior citizen varies according to who you are and where you live.
Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at national health data on the number of years after age 65 that people had good health. The CDC’s Man-Huei Chang:
“Across all of the states, healthy life expectancy was about 14 years, on the average.”
Mississippians averaged the fewest healthy years after they turned 65, and Hawaiians averaged the most. State by state, men consistently averaged fewer years than women. Blacks fairly consistently had fewer healthy years than whites.
Healthy living habits, such as not smoking, reduce the odds that people die early.
The study was in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Learn more at healthfinder.gov.
HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.
DEFENSE SECRETARY HAGEL AND DANISH DEFENSE MINISTER WAMMEN MEET AT PENTAGON
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Hagel, Danish Defense Minister Discuss Continued Cooperation
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2013 - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Danish Defense Minister Nicolai Wammen met today at the Pentagon, reaffirming the two countries' strong defense relationship based upon shared approaches to defense and security issues, and pledging to continue to deepen military cooperation, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said.
"The two leaders highlighted the long friendship between the two nations' armed forces, as well as present-day cooperation in North Atlantic Treaty Organization-led operations in Afghanistan, off the Horn of Africa, and cyber defense," Little said in a statement summarizing the meeting.
"Secretary Hagel and Minister Wammen also discussed the ongoing violence in Syria and the situation in Egypt," Little added.
The two defense leaders also discussed the developments in the capability of Afghanistan's national security forces to address the country's own security challenges and the role of NATO in Afghanistan after the alliance's current mission ends there at the end of 2014, Little said.
Hagel and Wammen underscored their belief that the United States and Denmark should work to maintain and increase interoperability and implement lessons learned from operations in Afghanistan, the press secretary said.
"They both agreed on the importance of exploring new approaches to bilateral and multinational cooperation for the benefit of both nations and of NATO as a whole," he added.
In addition, they discussed exchanging lessons learned in defense materiel and logistics and opportunities to cooperate on veterans' initiatives, Little said. They also agreed on the inauguration of annual policy-level staff discussions that would develop plans for cooperation in more detail.
"Secretary Hagel expressed appreciation for Denmark's close partnership, and Minister Wammen invited Secretary Hagel to visit Denmark at his earliest convenience," Little said.
Hagel, Danish Defense Minister Discuss Continued Cooperation
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 21, 2013 - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Danish Defense Minister Nicolai Wammen met today at the Pentagon, reaffirming the two countries' strong defense relationship based upon shared approaches to defense and security issues, and pledging to continue to deepen military cooperation, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said.
"The two leaders highlighted the long friendship between the two nations' armed forces, as well as present-day cooperation in North Atlantic Treaty Organization-led operations in Afghanistan, off the Horn of Africa, and cyber defense," Little said in a statement summarizing the meeting.
"Secretary Hagel and Minister Wammen also discussed the ongoing violence in Syria and the situation in Egypt," Little added.
The two defense leaders also discussed the developments in the capability of Afghanistan's national security forces to address the country's own security challenges and the role of NATO in Afghanistan after the alliance's current mission ends there at the end of 2014, Little said.
Hagel and Wammen underscored their belief that the United States and Denmark should work to maintain and increase interoperability and implement lessons learned from operations in Afghanistan, the press secretary said.
"They both agreed on the importance of exploring new approaches to bilateral and multinational cooperation for the benefit of both nations and of NATO as a whole," he added.
In addition, they discussed exchanging lessons learned in defense materiel and logistics and opportunities to cooperate on veterans' initiatives, Little said. They also agreed on the inauguration of annual policy-level staff discussions that would develop plans for cooperation in more detail.
"Secretary Hagel expressed appreciation for Denmark's close partnership, and Minister Wammen invited Secretary Hagel to visit Denmark at his earliest convenience," Little said.
SEC ANNOUNCES SETTLEMENT WITH HARBINGER CAPITAL PARTNERS
FROM: U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that New York-based hedge fund adviser Philip A. Falcone and his advisory firm Harbinger Capital Partners have agreed to a settlement in which they must pay more than $18 million and admit wrongdoing. Falcone also agreed to be barred from the securities industry for at least five years.
The SEC filed enforcement actions in June 2012 alleging that Falcone improperly used $113 million in fund assets to pay his personal taxes, secretly favored certain customer redemption requests at the expense of other investors, and conducted an improper “short squeeze” in bonds issued by a Canadian manufacturing company. In the settlement papers filed in court today, Falcone and Harbinger admit to multiple acts of misconduct that harmed investors and interfered with the normal functioning of the securities markets.
“Falcone and Harbinger engaged in serious misconduct that harmed investors, and their admissions leave no doubt that they violated the federal securities laws,” said Andrew Ceresney, Co-Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “Falcone must now pay a heavy price for his misconduct by surrendering millions of dollars and being barred from the hedge fund industry.”
The settlement, which must be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, requires Falcone to pay $6,507,574 in disgorgement, $1,013,140 in prejudgment interest, and a $4 million penalty. The Harbinger entities are required to pay a $6.5 million penalty. Falcone has consented to the entry of a judgment barring him from association with any broker, dealer, investment adviser, municipal securities dealer, municipal advisor, transfer agent, or nationally recognized statistical rating organization with a right to reapply after five years. The bar will allow him to assist with the liquidation of his hedge funds under the supervision of an independent monitor.
Among the set of facts that Falcone and Harbinger admitted to in settlement papers filed with the court:
Falcone improperly borrowed $113.2 million from the Harbinger Capital Partners Special Situations Fund (SSF) at an interest rate less than SSF was paying to borrow money, to pay his personal tax obligation, at a time when Falcone had barred other SSF investors from making redemptions, and did not disclose the loan to investors for approximately five months.
Falcone and Harbinger granted favorable redemption and liquidity terms to certain large investors in HCP Fund I, and did not disclose certain of these arrangements to the fund’s board of directors and the other fund investors.
During the summer of 2006, Falcone heard rumors that a Financial Services Firm was shorting the bonds of the Canadian manufacturer, and encouraging its customers to do the same.
In September and October 2006, Falcone retaliated against the Financial Services Firm for shorting the bonds by causing the Harbinger funds to purchase all of the remaining outstanding bonds in the open market.
Falcone and the other Defendants then demanded that the Financial Services Firm settle its outstanding transactions in the bonds and deliver the bonds that it owed. Defendants did not disclose at the time that it would be virtually impossible for the Financial Services Firm to acquire any bonds to deliver, as nearly the entire supply was locked up in the Harbinger funds’ custodial account and the Harbinger funds were not offering them for sale.
Due to Falcone’s and the other Defendants’ improper interference with the normal interplay of supply and demand in the bonds, the bonds more than doubled in price during this period.
The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Conway T. Dodge, Jr., Robert C. Besse, Ken C. Joseph, Mark Salzberg, Brian Fitzpatrick, and David Stoelting. The SEC’s litigation was handled by Mr. Stoelting, Mr. Besse, Mr. Salzberg, Kevin McGrath, David J. Gottesman, and Bridget Fitzpatrick.
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that New York-based hedge fund adviser Philip A. Falcone and his advisory firm Harbinger Capital Partners have agreed to a settlement in which they must pay more than $18 million and admit wrongdoing. Falcone also agreed to be barred from the securities industry for at least five years.
The SEC filed enforcement actions in June 2012 alleging that Falcone improperly used $113 million in fund assets to pay his personal taxes, secretly favored certain customer redemption requests at the expense of other investors, and conducted an improper “short squeeze” in bonds issued by a Canadian manufacturing company. In the settlement papers filed in court today, Falcone and Harbinger admit to multiple acts of misconduct that harmed investors and interfered with the normal functioning of the securities markets.
“Falcone and Harbinger engaged in serious misconduct that harmed investors, and their admissions leave no doubt that they violated the federal securities laws,” said Andrew Ceresney, Co-Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “Falcone must now pay a heavy price for his misconduct by surrendering millions of dollars and being barred from the hedge fund industry.”
The settlement, which must be approved by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, requires Falcone to pay $6,507,574 in disgorgement, $1,013,140 in prejudgment interest, and a $4 million penalty. The Harbinger entities are required to pay a $6.5 million penalty. Falcone has consented to the entry of a judgment barring him from association with any broker, dealer, investment adviser, municipal securities dealer, municipal advisor, transfer agent, or nationally recognized statistical rating organization with a right to reapply after five years. The bar will allow him to assist with the liquidation of his hedge funds under the supervision of an independent monitor.
Among the set of facts that Falcone and Harbinger admitted to in settlement papers filed with the court:
Falcone improperly borrowed $113.2 million from the Harbinger Capital Partners Special Situations Fund (SSF) at an interest rate less than SSF was paying to borrow money, to pay his personal tax obligation, at a time when Falcone had barred other SSF investors from making redemptions, and did not disclose the loan to investors for approximately five months.
Falcone and Harbinger granted favorable redemption and liquidity terms to certain large investors in HCP Fund I, and did not disclose certain of these arrangements to the fund’s board of directors and the other fund investors.
During the summer of 2006, Falcone heard rumors that a Financial Services Firm was shorting the bonds of the Canadian manufacturer, and encouraging its customers to do the same.
In September and October 2006, Falcone retaliated against the Financial Services Firm for shorting the bonds by causing the Harbinger funds to purchase all of the remaining outstanding bonds in the open market.
Falcone and the other Defendants then demanded that the Financial Services Firm settle its outstanding transactions in the bonds and deliver the bonds that it owed. Defendants did not disclose at the time that it would be virtually impossible for the Financial Services Firm to acquire any bonds to deliver, as nearly the entire supply was locked up in the Harbinger funds’ custodial account and the Harbinger funds were not offering them for sale.
Due to Falcone’s and the other Defendants’ improper interference with the normal interplay of supply and demand in the bonds, the bonds more than doubled in price during this period.
The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Conway T. Dodge, Jr., Robert C. Besse, Ken C. Joseph, Mark Salzberg, Brian Fitzpatrick, and David Stoelting. The SEC’s litigation was handled by Mr. Stoelting, Mr. Besse, Mr. Salzberg, Kevin McGrath, David J. Gottesman, and Bridget Fitzpatrick.
READOUT OF SECRETARY HAGEL'S MEETING WITH GEORGIA'S MINISTER OF DEFENSE ALASANIA
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Readout of Secretary Hagel's Meeting With Georgia's Minister of Defense Irakli Alasania
Pentagon Press Secretary George Little provided the following readout:
"Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Georgian Minister of Defense Irakli Alasania met today at the Pentagon.
"Secretary Hagel acknowledged Georgia's continuing contribution to International Security Assistance Force, and thanked Minister Alasania for the sacrifices Georgia's soldiers and their families are making.
"Secretary Hagel praised Georgia's efforts to enhance civilian oversight of the armed forces, as these actions are a strong example of democratic progress through defense reform.
"Secretary Hagel expressed United States support for Georgia's Euro-Atlantic integration efforts, and highlighted its holding fair elections and continuing to consolidate democratic gains as effective measures to advance those efforts.
"The two leaders agreed to continue to broaden United States-Georgian defense cooperation."
Readout of Secretary Hagel's Meeting With Georgia's Minister of Defense Irakli Alasania
Pentagon Press Secretary George Little provided the following readout:
"Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Georgian Minister of Defense Irakli Alasania met today at the Pentagon.
"Secretary Hagel acknowledged Georgia's continuing contribution to International Security Assistance Force, and thanked Minister Alasania for the sacrifices Georgia's soldiers and their families are making.
"Secretary Hagel praised Georgia's efforts to enhance civilian oversight of the armed forces, as these actions are a strong example of democratic progress through defense reform.
"Secretary Hagel expressed United States support for Georgia's Euro-Atlantic integration efforts, and highlighted its holding fair elections and continuing to consolidate democratic gains as effective measures to advance those efforts.
"The two leaders agreed to continue to broaden United States-Georgian defense cooperation."
TEENS AND SMOKELESS TOBACCO
FROM: DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.
It’s bad for a teen to smoke, but smokeless is no good, either. Smokeless tobacco – things like dip, snuff and dissolvable – are also cancer-causers. And a study indicates about 1 in 20 middle school or high school students use smokeless. Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health saw that in national survey data.
The scientists also saw the power of peer pressure. Researcher Constantine Vardavas:
“Adolescents who had a friend that used smokeless tobacco were 10 times more likely to use smokeless tobacco themselves.”
For comparison, teens with a family member who used smokeless were only 3 times more likely to use it.
Nearly all of the smokeless users reported it’s easy to get the stuff.
The study in the journal Pediatrics was supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Learn more at healthfinder.gov.
HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.
Last revised: August 19, 2013
From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.
It’s bad for a teen to smoke, but smokeless is no good, either. Smokeless tobacco – things like dip, snuff and dissolvable – are also cancer-causers. And a study indicates about 1 in 20 middle school or high school students use smokeless. Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health saw that in national survey data.
The scientists also saw the power of peer pressure. Researcher Constantine Vardavas:
“Adolescents who had a friend that used smokeless tobacco were 10 times more likely to use smokeless tobacco themselves.”
For comparison, teens with a family member who used smokeless were only 3 times more likely to use it.
Nearly all of the smokeless users reported it’s easy to get the stuff.
The study in the journal Pediatrics was supported by the National Institutes of Health.
Learn more at healthfinder.gov.
HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.
Last revised: August 19, 2013
THE GREEN ICE SHEET MELT AND THE RAMIFICATIONS
FROM: LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORIES
Meltwater from Greenland’s ice sheet less severe for sea level rise than earlier feared, scientists say
LOS ALAMOS, N.M., August 19, 2013—The effects of increased melting on the future motion of and sea-level contribution from Greenland’s massive ice sheet are not quite as dire as previously thought, according to a new study from an international team of researchers.
In a paper published this month in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the team found that accelerating ice sheet movement from increasing meltwater lubrication is likely to have only a minor role in future sea-level rise, when compared with other factors like increased iceberg production and surface melting. Greenland’s ice sheet is the world’s second largest body of ice. A melt event impacting 97 percent of this ice sheet surface was detected in 2012.
“Scientists have been looking into this mechanism for about a decade now, as a means by which the Greenland ice sheet might decay faster than expected, therefore contributing more to future sea-level rise than when considering the increases in melting alone,” said co-author Stephen Price of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Climate Ocean and Sea Ice Modeling Project team.
The study used new models to test the hypothesis that, as the climate warms and melting of Greenland’s surface increases, so will the availability of meltwater, which lubricates the base of the ice sheet and causes glaciers to slide faster towards the sea.
“This study walks us back from those fears a bit, and argues that we have a better handle—relative to 5-10 years ago—on how much sea-level rise we can expect from Greenland during the next few centuries,” said Price.
While this study marks progress in understanding, it does not suggest that future sea-level impact from Greenland is of no concern; this and other recent studies estimate ~6 cm of sea-level rise from melting and an additional ~4-9 cm from potential interactions with warming oceans, for a total of ~10-15 cm of sea-level rise from Greenland by 2100.
In the current study, observations from fieldwork in Greenland were used to derive empirical models for the relationship between increased melting and increased ice speed. These were then incorporated into computer models of ice sheet flow, which revealed that by the year 2200 meltwater lubrication could add a maximum of 8 mm to sea-level rise—less than 5 percent of the projected total contribution from increased melting alone.
“The outstanding capabilities of Los Alamos and our partner national laboratories are critical to this new level of understanding,” said Alan Bishop, Principal Associate Director for Science, Technology and Engineering at Los Alamos.
Lead author Sarah Shannon, from the University of Bristol, said: “This is an important step forward in our understanding of the factors that control sea-level rise from the Greenland ice sheet. Our results show that meltwater-enhanced lubrication will have a minor contribution to future sea-level rise. Future mass loss will be governed by changes in surface meltwater runoff or iceberg calving.”
The U.S. computer modeling teams from Los Alamos, Sandia and Oak Ridge national laboratories conducted the experiments using DOE-developed ice sheet models on high-performance computers at Lawrence Berkeley and Oak Ridge national laboratories. Output from large-scale climate models was first used to predict future changes in surface melting as a result of climate warming. The ice sheet model experiments then quantified the importance of meltwater lubrication on mass loss from the ice sheet to the oceans, relative to the case of increased melting alone.
In fact, in some of the team’s simulations, meltwater’s lubricating effect had a negative impact on sea-level rise—in other words it could, in some cases, lead to a lowering of the sea-level rise that would come from increased melting alone. Previous studies on the effects of meltwater on ice speed generally assumed that increased meltwater always acts as a lubricant, speeding up ice flow. In this study the team allowed for the fact that, in some cases, increased meltwater can slow down the flow, in agreement with recent observations.
Regardless of whether more meltwater increased or decreased the speed of ice flow, the overall effect on sea level is small. While this study confirms that increased flow due to increased lubrication does move more ice from the interior of the ice sheet to the margins, it also confirms that some other process, such as increased iceberg calving or increased melting, is then required to move that build-up of ice from the margins to the ocean. In general, processes that might do this are slow.
The findings are part of research undertaken through the European-funded ice2sea program. This work was funded in part by the US Department of Energy’s Office of Science. Earlier research from the program has indicated that changes in surface melting of the ice sheet will be a major factor in sea-level rise contributions from Greenland. In 2007, the fourth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report highlighted ice-sheets as the most significant remaining uncertainty in projections of sea-level rise.
Meltwater from Greenland’s ice sheet less severe for sea level rise than earlier feared, scientists say
LOS ALAMOS, N.M., August 19, 2013—The effects of increased melting on the future motion of and sea-level contribution from Greenland’s massive ice sheet are not quite as dire as previously thought, according to a new study from an international team of researchers.
In a paper published this month in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the team found that accelerating ice sheet movement from increasing meltwater lubrication is likely to have only a minor role in future sea-level rise, when compared with other factors like increased iceberg production and surface melting. Greenland’s ice sheet is the world’s second largest body of ice. A melt event impacting 97 percent of this ice sheet surface was detected in 2012.
“Scientists have been looking into this mechanism for about a decade now, as a means by which the Greenland ice sheet might decay faster than expected, therefore contributing more to future sea-level rise than when considering the increases in melting alone,” said co-author Stephen Price of the Los Alamos National Laboratory Climate Ocean and Sea Ice Modeling Project team.
The study used new models to test the hypothesis that, as the climate warms and melting of Greenland’s surface increases, so will the availability of meltwater, which lubricates the base of the ice sheet and causes glaciers to slide faster towards the sea.
“This study walks us back from those fears a bit, and argues that we have a better handle—relative to 5-10 years ago—on how much sea-level rise we can expect from Greenland during the next few centuries,” said Price.
While this study marks progress in understanding, it does not suggest that future sea-level impact from Greenland is of no concern; this and other recent studies estimate ~6 cm of sea-level rise from melting and an additional ~4-9 cm from potential interactions with warming oceans, for a total of ~10-15 cm of sea-level rise from Greenland by 2100.
In the current study, observations from fieldwork in Greenland were used to derive empirical models for the relationship between increased melting and increased ice speed. These were then incorporated into computer models of ice sheet flow, which revealed that by the year 2200 meltwater lubrication could add a maximum of 8 mm to sea-level rise—less than 5 percent of the projected total contribution from increased melting alone.
“The outstanding capabilities of Los Alamos and our partner national laboratories are critical to this new level of understanding,” said Alan Bishop, Principal Associate Director for Science, Technology and Engineering at Los Alamos.
Lead author Sarah Shannon, from the University of Bristol, said: “This is an important step forward in our understanding of the factors that control sea-level rise from the Greenland ice sheet. Our results show that meltwater-enhanced lubrication will have a minor contribution to future sea-level rise. Future mass loss will be governed by changes in surface meltwater runoff or iceberg calving.”
The U.S. computer modeling teams from Los Alamos, Sandia and Oak Ridge national laboratories conducted the experiments using DOE-developed ice sheet models on high-performance computers at Lawrence Berkeley and Oak Ridge national laboratories. Output from large-scale climate models was first used to predict future changes in surface melting as a result of climate warming. The ice sheet model experiments then quantified the importance of meltwater lubrication on mass loss from the ice sheet to the oceans, relative to the case of increased melting alone.
In fact, in some of the team’s simulations, meltwater’s lubricating effect had a negative impact on sea-level rise—in other words it could, in some cases, lead to a lowering of the sea-level rise that would come from increased melting alone. Previous studies on the effects of meltwater on ice speed generally assumed that increased meltwater always acts as a lubricant, speeding up ice flow. In this study the team allowed for the fact that, in some cases, increased meltwater can slow down the flow, in agreement with recent observations.
Regardless of whether more meltwater increased or decreased the speed of ice flow, the overall effect on sea level is small. While this study confirms that increased flow due to increased lubrication does move more ice from the interior of the ice sheet to the margins, it also confirms that some other process, such as increased iceberg calving or increased melting, is then required to move that build-up of ice from the margins to the ocean. In general, processes that might do this are slow.
The findings are part of research undertaken through the European-funded ice2sea program. This work was funded in part by the US Department of Energy’s Office of Science. Earlier research from the program has indicated that changes in surface melting of the ice sheet will be a major factor in sea-level rise contributions from Greenland. In 2007, the fourth Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report highlighted ice-sheets as the most significant remaining uncertainty in projections of sea-level rise.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY CONGRATULATES MALI PRESIDENT KEITA ON HIS ELECTION
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Mali Presidential Elections
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
August 20, 2013
I join President Obama and all Americans in congratulating Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on his election as President of the Republic of Mali.
We also commend the interim government for securing a peaceful, inclusive, and orderly election, and applaud its efforts to improve the process and alleviate challenges throughout.
We urge Mali’s new government to build on these efforts in preparing for upcoming legislative elections – the next important milestone as Mali restores its democratic institutions.
The transparent and credible manner in which the election was conducted honors Mali’s democratic tradition, and reflects the progress that Mali has made over the past 18 months.
To ensure the best possibility of consolidating this progress, Mali’s new government must address the country’s most pressing challenges, including national reconciliation and security sector reform, which is why we particularly emphasize the importance of Malian civilian control and oversight of the military.
Mali Presidential Elections
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
August 20, 2013
I join President Obama and all Americans in congratulating Ibrahim Boubacar Keita on his election as President of the Republic of Mali.
We also commend the interim government for securing a peaceful, inclusive, and orderly election, and applaud its efforts to improve the process and alleviate challenges throughout.
We urge Mali’s new government to build on these efforts in preparing for upcoming legislative elections – the next important milestone as Mali restores its democratic institutions.
The transparent and credible manner in which the election was conducted honors Mali’s democratic tradition, and reflects the progress that Mali has made over the past 18 months.
To ensure the best possibility of consolidating this progress, Mali’s new government must address the country’s most pressing challenges, including national reconciliation and security sector reform, which is why we particularly emphasize the importance of Malian civilian control and oversight of the military.
READOUT OF SECRETARY HAGEL'S CALL TO ISRAELI DEFENSE MINISTER YA'ALON
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ISRAELI DEFENSE
Readout of Secretary Hagel's Call with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon
Pentagon Press Secretary George Little provided the following readout:
This morning Secretary Hagel spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Moshe Ya'alon to discuss a number of regional security issues. The call touched upon the ongoing violence in Syria -- including the recent claims of use of chemical weapons -- the situation in Egypt, and Iran. Secretary Hagel and Minister Ya'alon agreed to continue to maintain intensive dialogue on the multitude of challenges facing the United States and Israel.
Readout of Secretary Hagel's Call with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon
Pentagon Press Secretary George Little provided the following readout:
This morning Secretary Hagel spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Moshe Ya'alon to discuss a number of regional security issues. The call touched upon the ongoing violence in Syria -- including the recent claims of use of chemical weapons -- the situation in Egypt, and Iran. Secretary Hagel and Minister Ya'alon agreed to continue to maintain intensive dialogue on the multitude of challenges facing the United States and Israel.
TREASURY DESIGNATES VIOLENT DRUG TRAFFICKER PURSUANT TO KINGPIN ACT
FROM: U.S. TREASURY
Treasury Designates Guatemalan Trafficker Allied with Los Zetas
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated Jairo Estuardo Orellana Morales, a violent Guatemalan narcotics trafficker, as a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker (SDNT) pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act). Orellana Morales traffics cocaine through Guatemala on behalf of Los Zetas and has been implicated in several executions in Guatemala in support of his drug trafficking activities.
Orellana Morales is linked to Marta Julia Lorenzana Cordon, a member of the Lorenzana crime family, who was designated by Treasury pursuant to the Kingpin Act in November 2012. Today’s announcement is the latest in a series of efforts by the Treasury Department to thwart transnational drug cartels, such as Los Zetas, which are responsible for distributing significant amounts of cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine in the United States. President Obama identified Los Zetas as a significant foreign narcotics trafficker under the Kingpin Act in April 2009 and in July 2011, he named Los Zetas as a significant Transnational Criminal Organization in the Annex to Executive Order 13581 (Blocking Property of Transnational Criminal Organizations).
“Jairo Orellana Morales employs extreme violence in his efforts to traffic cocaine through Guatemala on behalf of Los Zetas,” said Treasury’s Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Adam J. Szubin. “OFAC will continue to deny Los Zetas and their Central American operatives access to the U.S. financial system.”
Today’s action prohibits U.S. persons from conducting financial or commercial transactions with Jairo Orellana Morales, and freezes any assets he may have under U.S. jurisdiction.
Internationally, OFAC has designated more than 1,300 businesses and individuals linked to 103 drug kingpins since June 2000. Penalties for violations of the Kingpin Act range from civil penalties of up to $1.075 million per violation to more severe criminal penalties. Criminal penalties for corporate officers may include up to 30 years in prison and fines of up to $5 million. Criminal fines for corporations may reach $10 million. Other individuals could face up to 10 years in prison and fines for criminal violation of the Kingpin Act pursuant to Title 18 of the United States Code.
Treasury Designates Guatemalan Trafficker Allied with Los Zetas
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today designated Jairo Estuardo Orellana Morales, a violent Guatemalan narcotics trafficker, as a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker (SDNT) pursuant to the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (Kingpin Act). Orellana Morales traffics cocaine through Guatemala on behalf of Los Zetas and has been implicated in several executions in Guatemala in support of his drug trafficking activities.
Orellana Morales is linked to Marta Julia Lorenzana Cordon, a member of the Lorenzana crime family, who was designated by Treasury pursuant to the Kingpin Act in November 2012. Today’s announcement is the latest in a series of efforts by the Treasury Department to thwart transnational drug cartels, such as Los Zetas, which are responsible for distributing significant amounts of cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine in the United States. President Obama identified Los Zetas as a significant foreign narcotics trafficker under the Kingpin Act in April 2009 and in July 2011, he named Los Zetas as a significant Transnational Criminal Organization in the Annex to Executive Order 13581 (Blocking Property of Transnational Criminal Organizations).
“Jairo Orellana Morales employs extreme violence in his efforts to traffic cocaine through Guatemala on behalf of Los Zetas,” said Treasury’s Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) Adam J. Szubin. “OFAC will continue to deny Los Zetas and their Central American operatives access to the U.S. financial system.”
Today’s action prohibits U.S. persons from conducting financial or commercial transactions with Jairo Orellana Morales, and freezes any assets he may have under U.S. jurisdiction.
Internationally, OFAC has designated more than 1,300 businesses and individuals linked to 103 drug kingpins since June 2000. Penalties for violations of the Kingpin Act range from civil penalties of up to $1.075 million per violation to more severe criminal penalties. Criminal penalties for corporate officers may include up to 30 years in prison and fines of up to $5 million. Criminal fines for corporations may reach $10 million. Other individuals could face up to 10 years in prison and fines for criminal violation of the Kingpin Act pursuant to Title 18 of the United States Code.
SUMMER WILDFIRE BATTLES RAGE ON THE HOMEFRONT
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
California National Guard Battles Several Wildfires
California National Guard
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Aug. 20, 2013 - Nearly a dozen aircraft and crews from the California Air and Army National Guard are battling wildfires across Northern California.
Currently, nine California Army National Guard helicopters and two California Air National Guard air tankers are working in coordination with CAL FIRE and U.S. Forest Service firefighting crews to battle the American, Swedes and Rim fires.
The aircraft have dropped more than 250,000 gallons of water or fire retardant since the first crews were activated Aug. 13.
National Guard units also are involved in fighting fires in Idaho, Nevada, Oregon and Utah.
"We train for this fight every year," said Army Maj. Gen. David S. Baldwin, the adjutant general of the California National Guard. "Our ongoing coordination with CAL FIRE and CAL OES ensures that the right people, with the right training, are in the right place when the lives and property of our fellow Californians are on the line."
Three UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters are battling the American Fire, two Black Hawks are assigned to fight the Rim Fire, and three helicopters -- two Black Hawks and one CH-47 Chinook – are engaged in battling the Swedes Fire. Meanwhile, one Black Hawk helicopter is staged in Redding, Calif., on call for medevac support.
Each Black Hawk is equipped with a 660-gallon water bucket, while the Chinook's bucket has a 2,000-gallon capacity. The medevac helicopter is equipped with a specialized crew and a hoist for extracting injured personnel from rugged terrain.
The helicopters have completed more than 229 drops, releasing about 111,500 gallons of water since their Aug. 17 activation.
The two C-130J air tankers are fighting the Rim fire. Both aircraft are equipped with the Modular Airborne Firefighting Systems II (MAFFS) and are capable of discharging 3,000 gallons of water or fire retardant along the leading edge of a fire in less than five seconds, saturating an area one-quarter of a mile long by 100 feet wide.
Since their activation Aug. 13, the air tankers have completed more than 53 drops, releasing about 142,000 gallons of retardant.
STATE DEPARTMENT UPDATE ON JOSEPH KONY AND THE LORD'S RESISTANCE ARMY
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Update from the Field: Counter-LRA
Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations
August 20, 2013
Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) have terrorized communities across four African nations for 25 years, killing 100,000, according to a UN report, and maiming thousands more. Along the way, the LRA has filled its ranks by abducting tens of thousands of children and forcing them to become soldiers and sex slaves.
In 2010, President Obama directed the Department of State, Department of Defense, and USAID to develop a strategy to help governments and communities end the LRA’s reign of terror. To advance that strategy, U.S. Special Forces were sent to advise and assist the regional militaries pursuing the LRA. At the same time, the State Department deployed experts from the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO), created by Secretary Clinton in November 2011 to prevent and respond to conflicts in key countries and regions.
Jon Gandomi is one of those diplomats. Gandomi, who has served as the Department’s field representative for LRA issues since June 2012, and his CSO colleagues helped build a network that includes local communities, U.S. Special Forces soldiers, Ugandan troops, UN officials, and NGOs working to end the LRA. Gandomi’s CSO predecessors were Jason Lewis-Berry, Scott Duncan, and Charlene Brown.
“An important part of the U.S. strategy is to encourage Kony’s soldiers, most of whom were kidnapped as children, to leave the LRA peacefully,” Gandomi says. “This approach has built unique partnerships among civil society leaders, communities, NGOs, and UN missions. All of us understand that most LRA members did not choose to be in the LRA and remain with them only because they fear retribution by Kony. If we can make it easier to defect, then we increase the chances of getting them home safely and weakening the LRA.”
The number of defections has increased noticeably over the past year, indicating that this unconventional approach is producing results. Since May 2012, scores of LRA members have defected or were released. NGOs believe that 15 percent of the LRA’s Ugandan male fighting force has defected in the last 18 months. The number of people killed by the LRA decreased by 66 percent from 2011 to 2012, and the Ugandan military has removed two of the LRA’s most senior and notorious commanders since 2012.
“We know from recent defectors that the LRA is at its weakest point in years and morale is at an all-time low,” Gandomi says. “The LRA is fighting for survival.” Gandomi has worked with U.S. Special Forces and local NGO partners to set up locations where it is safe for LRA members to defect. They advertise these locations through radio broadcasts, leaflet drops, and messages played on helicopter-mounted loudspeakers.
Gandomi says it’s hard for most Americans to appreciate how much the U.S. role in the counter-LRA mission means to people in central Africa. “All three of the countries where the LRA operates are among the world’s ten least-developed countries,” he notes. “The region is incredibly remote and has almost no infrastructure, security, or governance. The people who have lived the nightmare of the LRA are extremely grateful for the U.S. presence. They see it as a sign that their years of suffering and trauma at the hands of the LRA have finally been recognized by the international community.”
In addition to travelling with U.S. Special Forces within the region on a weekly basis, Gandomi also engages with local leaders, civil society, NGOs, and UN missions to deepen the coalition of partners working across borders to share information, lessons, and experiences. “The best ideas and innovations in the counter-LRA effort come from communities on the ground,” Gandomi says. “Oftentimes our job is simply to provide a larger platform and support the role they want to play.”
Supporting locally driven efforts is an approach CSO uses in other engagements around the world, but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy. “The most unpredictable part of the job is trying to plan around the weather,” Gandomi explains. “In the rainy season you could suddenly discover you’ll be spending the night at a remote field location because travel becomes impossible. You just have to settle in and enjoy being isolated from the rest of the world. During those times I really feel that it’s a privilege to be involved in this work,” Gandomi says. “The region’s challenges won’t suddenly vanish when Kony is captured, but we have a real chance at ending one of Africa’s longest-running conflicts, and the benefits would be significant.”
Update from the Field: Counter-LRA
Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations
August 20, 2013
Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) have terrorized communities across four African nations for 25 years, killing 100,000, according to a UN report, and maiming thousands more. Along the way, the LRA has filled its ranks by abducting tens of thousands of children and forcing them to become soldiers and sex slaves.
In 2010, President Obama directed the Department of State, Department of Defense, and USAID to develop a strategy to help governments and communities end the LRA’s reign of terror. To advance that strategy, U.S. Special Forces were sent to advise and assist the regional militaries pursuing the LRA. At the same time, the State Department deployed experts from the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations (CSO), created by Secretary Clinton in November 2011 to prevent and respond to conflicts in key countries and regions.
Jon Gandomi is one of those diplomats. Gandomi, who has served as the Department’s field representative for LRA issues since June 2012, and his CSO colleagues helped build a network that includes local communities, U.S. Special Forces soldiers, Ugandan troops, UN officials, and NGOs working to end the LRA. Gandomi’s CSO predecessors were Jason Lewis-Berry, Scott Duncan, and Charlene Brown.
“An important part of the U.S. strategy is to encourage Kony’s soldiers, most of whom were kidnapped as children, to leave the LRA peacefully,” Gandomi says. “This approach has built unique partnerships among civil society leaders, communities, NGOs, and UN missions. All of us understand that most LRA members did not choose to be in the LRA and remain with them only because they fear retribution by Kony. If we can make it easier to defect, then we increase the chances of getting them home safely and weakening the LRA.”
The number of defections has increased noticeably over the past year, indicating that this unconventional approach is producing results. Since May 2012, scores of LRA members have defected or were released. NGOs believe that 15 percent of the LRA’s Ugandan male fighting force has defected in the last 18 months. The number of people killed by the LRA decreased by 66 percent from 2011 to 2012, and the Ugandan military has removed two of the LRA’s most senior and notorious commanders since 2012.
“We know from recent defectors that the LRA is at its weakest point in years and morale is at an all-time low,” Gandomi says. “The LRA is fighting for survival.” Gandomi has worked with U.S. Special Forces and local NGO partners to set up locations where it is safe for LRA members to defect. They advertise these locations through radio broadcasts, leaflet drops, and messages played on helicopter-mounted loudspeakers.
Gandomi says it’s hard for most Americans to appreciate how much the U.S. role in the counter-LRA mission means to people in central Africa. “All three of the countries where the LRA operates are among the world’s ten least-developed countries,” he notes. “The region is incredibly remote and has almost no infrastructure, security, or governance. The people who have lived the nightmare of the LRA are extremely grateful for the U.S. presence. They see it as a sign that their years of suffering and trauma at the hands of the LRA have finally been recognized by the international community.”
In addition to travelling with U.S. Special Forces within the region on a weekly basis, Gandomi also engages with local leaders, civil society, NGOs, and UN missions to deepen the coalition of partners working across borders to share information, lessons, and experiences. “The best ideas and innovations in the counter-LRA effort come from communities on the ground,” Gandomi says. “Oftentimes our job is simply to provide a larger platform and support the role they want to play.”
Supporting locally driven efforts is an approach CSO uses in other engagements around the world, but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy. “The most unpredictable part of the job is trying to plan around the weather,” Gandomi explains. “In the rainy season you could suddenly discover you’ll be spending the night at a remote field location because travel becomes impossible. You just have to settle in and enjoy being isolated from the rest of the world. During those times I really feel that it’s a privilege to be involved in this work,” Gandomi says. “The region’s challenges won’t suddenly vanish when Kony is captured, but we have a real chance at ending one of Africa’s longest-running conflicts, and the benefits would be significant.”
U.S. LABOR DEPARTMENT COMBATS CHILD LABOR IN BURMA
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
US Department of Labor announces $5 million grant solicitation to combat child labor in Burma
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs today announced a $5 million solicitation for cooperative agreement applications to support Burma's efforts to reduce child labor.
The project(s) funded under this solicitation will develop pilot programs to remove or prevent children from exploitative labor and raise awareness in support of Burma's efforts to comply with international standards. Eligible applicants should propose research that yields much-needed credible, comprehensive data on the extent of child labor in Burma. The project will build the capacity of national and local organizations to advocate for a reduction of child labor and improve access to quality education and other relevant services for children and their families.
Applications must be submitted by Oct. 4, 2013, at 5 p.m. EDT electronically or as hard copies to the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Procurement Services, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Room S-4307, Washington, D.C. 20210, Attention: Brenda White.
All cooperative agreement awards will be made by Dec. 31, 2013. The solicitation for cooperative agreement application (SCA 13-15) is available online at http://www.dol.gov/ILAB/grants/main.htm and http://www.grants.gov.
Congress has appropriated funds for ILAB to support international technical cooperation projects to combat the worst forms of child labor as defined by the International Labor Organization Convention 182. ILAB grants address child labor through the provision of educational services for children and livelihood support for their households. ILAB also supports the collection of reliable data on child labor and helps strengthen the capacity of governments to address child labor in a sustainable way.
REPUBLIC STEEL FACES FINES FOR SAFETY VIOLATIONS
FROM: U.S. LABOR DEPARTMENT
Republic Steel faces fines of $1.1 million for 24 safety violations; company previously agreed to address hazards in 2012 OSHA settlement
CANTON, Ohio — Republic Steel has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 24 safety violations carrying fines of $1,138,500. Fifteen willful violations of OSHA's fall protection standards were found at the company's Canton steel manufacturing plant.
OSHA received a formal complaint from the United Steelworkers Union alleging inadequate fall protection and other unsafe practices exposing workers to various hazards in the plant's melt shop. During the inspection, opened in February 2013, OSHA discovered that two workers had been seriously injured in falls at the site in June and August of 2012.
"People working hard to provide for their families should not have worry each day whether they'll come home," said Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. "Republic Steel put their workers' lives in danger, and that kind of disregard for safety will not be tolerated."
The company has a history of failing to address fall hazards. In 2011, after an employee was seriously injured in a fall at the company's Lorain, Ohio, facility, OSHA issued willful citations to the company for fall hazards. In a settlement with OSHA in 2012, the company accepted three willful fall hazard violations at the Lorain plant and agreed to address fall protection at its plants, including the Canton plant.
"Republic Steel has a long history of OSHA violations and disregard for employee safety and health," said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. "It is unacceptable that Republic Steel has not taken more effective steps to improve safety at the Canton plant, particularly in light of a 2012 settlement aimed at exactly that. OSHA will remain diligent in its commitment to protect America's steel workers."
A total of 15 willful violations were cited for failing to provide fall protection in the Canton steel mill. Among the violations noted were lack of fall protection while working on the runway girders that were 66 feet above the ground and falls of 30 feet due to missing and damaged guardrails. Workers were also exposed to falls of up to 30 feet above the slag pit and falls of 20 feet above the electric arc furnace and molten steel ladle. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or plain indifference to employee safety and health.
One repeat violation was cited for failing to post danger signs or other effective means of indicating the existence and location of permit-required confined spaces in the melt shop. OSHA issues repeat violations if an employer previously was cited for the same or a similar violation of any standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. The same violation was cited in August 2009 at the company's facility in Blasdell, N.Y.
Additionally, eight serious violations include tripping hazards, the use of electrical panels not suitable for wet locations, lack of personal protective equipment for employees working around the furnace, failing to evaluate potential hazards in confined spaces that employees might need to enter such as furnaces and duct work, and failure to train workers on hazards and issue entry permits for those spaces. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
Republic Steel faces fines of $1.1 million for 24 safety violations; company previously agreed to address hazards in 2012 OSHA settlement
CANTON, Ohio — Republic Steel has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 24 safety violations carrying fines of $1,138,500. Fifteen willful violations of OSHA's fall protection standards were found at the company's Canton steel manufacturing plant.
OSHA received a formal complaint from the United Steelworkers Union alleging inadequate fall protection and other unsafe practices exposing workers to various hazards in the plant's melt shop. During the inspection, opened in February 2013, OSHA discovered that two workers had been seriously injured in falls at the site in June and August of 2012.
"People working hard to provide for their families should not have worry each day whether they'll come home," said Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. "Republic Steel put their workers' lives in danger, and that kind of disregard for safety will not be tolerated."
The company has a history of failing to address fall hazards. In 2011, after an employee was seriously injured in a fall at the company's Lorain, Ohio, facility, OSHA issued willful citations to the company for fall hazards. In a settlement with OSHA in 2012, the company accepted three willful fall hazard violations at the Lorain plant and agreed to address fall protection at its plants, including the Canton plant.
"Republic Steel has a long history of OSHA violations and disregard for employee safety and health," said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. "It is unacceptable that Republic Steel has not taken more effective steps to improve safety at the Canton plant, particularly in light of a 2012 settlement aimed at exactly that. OSHA will remain diligent in its commitment to protect America's steel workers."
A total of 15 willful violations were cited for failing to provide fall protection in the Canton steel mill. Among the violations noted were lack of fall protection while working on the runway girders that were 66 feet above the ground and falls of 30 feet due to missing and damaged guardrails. Workers were also exposed to falls of up to 30 feet above the slag pit and falls of 20 feet above the electric arc furnace and molten steel ladle. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or plain indifference to employee safety and health.
One repeat violation was cited for failing to post danger signs or other effective means of indicating the existence and location of permit-required confined spaces in the melt shop. OSHA issues repeat violations if an employer previously was cited for the same or a similar violation of any standard, regulation, rule or order at any other facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. The same violation was cited in August 2009 at the company's facility in Blasdell, N.Y.
Additionally, eight serious violations include tripping hazards, the use of electrical panels not suitable for wet locations, lack of personal protective equipment for employees working around the furnace, failing to evaluate potential hazards in confined spaces that employees might need to enter such as furnaces and duct work, and failure to train workers on hazards and issue entry permits for those spaces. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
CDC ESTIMATES NUMBER OF AMERICANS WITH LME DISEASE
FROM: CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
CDC provides estimate of Americans diagnosed with Lyme disease each year
Preliminary estimates released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that the number of Americans diagnosed with Lyme disease each year is around 300,000. The preliminary estimates were presented Sunday night in Boston at the 2013 International Conference on Lyme Borreliosis and Other Tick-Borne Diseases.External Web Site Icon
This early estimate is based on findings from three ongoing CDC studies that use different methods, but all aim to define the approximate number of people diagnosed with Lyme disease each year. The first project analyzes medical claims information for approximately 22 million insured people annually for six years, the second project is based on a survey of clinical laboratories and the third project analyzes self-reported Lyme disease cases from a survey of the general public.
Each year, more than 30,000 cases of Lyme disease are reported to CDC, making it the most commonly reported tick-borne illness in the United States. The new estimate suggests that the total number of people diagnosed with Lyme disease is roughly 10 times higher than the yearly reported number. This new estimate supports studies published in the 1990s indicating that the true number of cases is between 3- and 12-fold higher than the number of reported cases.
“We know that routine surveillance only gives us part of the picture, and that the true number of illnesses is much greater,” said Paul Mead, M.D., M.P.H, chief of epidemiology and surveillance for CDC’s Lyme disease program. “This new preliminary estimate confirms that Lyme disease is a tremendous public health problem in the United States, and clearly highlights the urgent need for prevention.”
CDC continues to analyze the data in the three studies to refine the estimates and better understand the overall burden of Lyme disease in the United States and will publish finalized estimates when the studies are complete. Efforts are also underway at CDC and by other researchers to identify novel methods to kill ticks and prevent illness in people.
“We know people can prevent tick bites through steps like using repellents and tick checks. Although these measures are effective, they aren’t fail-proof and people don’t always use them,” said Lyle R. Petersen, M.D., M.P.H, director of CDC’s Division of Vector-Borne Diseases. “We need to move to a broader approach to tick reduction, involving entire communities, to combat this public health problem.”
This community approach would involve homeowners trying to kill ticks in their own yards, and communities addressing a variety of issues. These issues include rodents that carry the Lyme disease bacteria, deer that play a key role in the ticks’ lifecycle, suburban planning, and the interaction between deer, rodents, ticks, and humans. All must be addressed to effectively fight Lyme disease.
Most Lyme disease cases reported to CDC through national surveillance are concentrated heavily in the Northeast and upper Midwest, with 96 percent of cases in 13 states. Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks. Typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans. If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system.
CDC recommends people take steps to help prevent Lyme disease and other tickborne diseases:
Wear repellent
Check for ticks daily
Shower soon after being outdoors
Call your doctor if you get a fever or rash
CDC provides estimate of Americans diagnosed with Lyme disease each year
Preliminary estimates released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that the number of Americans diagnosed with Lyme disease each year is around 300,000. The preliminary estimates were presented Sunday night in Boston at the 2013 International Conference on Lyme Borreliosis and Other Tick-Borne Diseases.External Web Site Icon
This early estimate is based on findings from three ongoing CDC studies that use different methods, but all aim to define the approximate number of people diagnosed with Lyme disease each year. The first project analyzes medical claims information for approximately 22 million insured people annually for six years, the second project is based on a survey of clinical laboratories and the third project analyzes self-reported Lyme disease cases from a survey of the general public.
Each year, more than 30,000 cases of Lyme disease are reported to CDC, making it the most commonly reported tick-borne illness in the United States. The new estimate suggests that the total number of people diagnosed with Lyme disease is roughly 10 times higher than the yearly reported number. This new estimate supports studies published in the 1990s indicating that the true number of cases is between 3- and 12-fold higher than the number of reported cases.
“We know that routine surveillance only gives us part of the picture, and that the true number of illnesses is much greater,” said Paul Mead, M.D., M.P.H, chief of epidemiology and surveillance for CDC’s Lyme disease program. “This new preliminary estimate confirms that Lyme disease is a tremendous public health problem in the United States, and clearly highlights the urgent need for prevention.”
CDC continues to analyze the data in the three studies to refine the estimates and better understand the overall burden of Lyme disease in the United States and will publish finalized estimates when the studies are complete. Efforts are also underway at CDC and by other researchers to identify novel methods to kill ticks and prevent illness in people.
“We know people can prevent tick bites through steps like using repellents and tick checks. Although these measures are effective, they aren’t fail-proof and people don’t always use them,” said Lyle R. Petersen, M.D., M.P.H, director of CDC’s Division of Vector-Borne Diseases. “We need to move to a broader approach to tick reduction, involving entire communities, to combat this public health problem.”
This community approach would involve homeowners trying to kill ticks in their own yards, and communities addressing a variety of issues. These issues include rodents that carry the Lyme disease bacteria, deer that play a key role in the ticks’ lifecycle, suburban planning, and the interaction between deer, rodents, ticks, and humans. All must be addressed to effectively fight Lyme disease.
Most Lyme disease cases reported to CDC through national surveillance are concentrated heavily in the Northeast and upper Midwest, with 96 percent of cases in 13 states. Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks. Typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans. If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system.
CDC recommends people take steps to help prevent Lyme disease and other tickborne diseases:
Wear repellent
Check for ticks daily
Shower soon after being outdoors
Call your doctor if you get a fever or rash
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)