45TH SPACE WING SUPPORTED SPACEX SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH

FROM:  U.S. AIR FORCE 

The 45th Space Wing supported Space Exploration Technologies to complete a successful launch of the SES-8 communications satellite Dec. 3, 2013, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The satellite will be released in a super synchronous transfer orbit stretching above its 22,300-mile-high operating post. (Courtesy Photo)

CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. (AFNS) --
The 45th Space Wing supported Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, to complete a successful launch of the SES-8 communications satellite here Dec. 3.

Airmen, Air Force civilians and contractors from the 45th Space Wing provided weather forecasts, launch and range operations, security, safety, medical and public affairs support. The wing also provided its vast network of radar, telemetry, optical and communications instrumentation to facilitate a safe launch.

"For the second time in a little more than two weeks, the 45th Space Wing and our mission partners have worked together to ensure another successful launch here on the Eastern Range," said Brig. Gen. Nina Armagno, the commander of the 45th Space Wing, who also served as the launch decision authority for this mission. "It's gratifying to see a varied, high-performing team like this come together time and time-again. We are truly grateful for the outstanding space team we have here on the space coast,"

Launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the payload flew on the Falcon 9 v1.1 configuration with upgraded Merlin 1D engines, stretched fuel tanks, and a payload fairing.

According to SES website, the launch of SES-8, which will be released in a super synchronous transfer orbit stretching above its 22,300-mile-high operating post, requires two burns of the Falcon 9 second stage. The first firing will place SES-8 in a low-altitude parking orbit, then the second burn is designed to inject the 7,055-pound craft in an oval-shaped orbit. The SES-8 will maneuver itself into a circular orbit 22,300 miles over the equator, sliding into position in the geostationary arc at 95 degrees east longitude.

The satellite features up to 33 Ku-band transponders (36 MHz equivalent). SES-8 will be co-located with NSS-6 at the orbital location of 95 degrees east to provide growth capacity over Asia-Pacific. The spacecraft's high performance beams will support the rapidly growing markets in South Asia and Indo-China, as well as provide expansion capacity for Direct to Home, Very small aperture satellite terminal and government applications.

NSF DISCUSSES THE FUTURE OF TRANSDERMAL ULTRASOUND DELIVERY OF MEDICATIONS

FROM:  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 
'Smuggling' drugs at the cellular level
Drexel researchers use ultrasound to deliver customized medication through the skin
December 5, 2013

Medicated adhesive patches have become a preferred method of delivery for everything from nicotine to hormones to motion sickness medication.

Drexel University researchers are trying to expand the possibilities of this system--called transdermal delivery--with the help of a cleverly designed delivery vehicle and an ultrasonic "push," or pressure from sound waves.

The advantage of transdermal drug delivery is the ability to regulate the release of medication into the bloodstream and promote a more direct interaction of the treatment with the affected area. But the challenge of this method is that the skin is very good at protecting the body from invaders--even the helpful kind.

Molecules of nicotine and medication currently delivered via adhesive patch are small enough to pass through the pores. To sneak a slightly larger package--say, insulin or arthritis medication--past the body's epidermal defenses requires a bit more biological trickery.

Steven P. Wrenn, of Drexel's College of Engineering, and Peter A. Lewin, from Drexel's School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, are driving forces behind this research. Their team is investigating the molecular architecture of human skin and certain promising drugs and compounds, as well as the mechanics of an ultrasound interface necessary to broaden the capabilities of transdermal drug delivery.

Their work is part of a larger trend: More and more, researchers are exploring advanced materials and manufacturing techniques for biomedical applications. New, high-precision technologies and more rapid, personalized fabrication methods allow engineers to design on smaller scales, such as those required to traverse the human body.

The package

The Drexel team is looking at a drug called Methotrexate (MTX) as an example of the cargo that could one day be transported into the body using an ultrasound "Band-Aid." MTX is used to treat arthritis and various types of cancer. It is typically taken orally, but after prolonged use it can become toxic to the liver. This side effect could be avoided if the drug were delivered transdermally, as afflicted cells would use up much of the medication before it could reach the liver.

It's not an ideal candidate for topical application, however, because its molecules are too large to easily pass through the pores of the skin. It is also easily dissolved in water, which means that, to be effective, it must be contained and protected until it reaches its destination.

The carrier

Wrenn's group is designing a vessel that can transport the medicine and penetrate the skin's first line of defense: the stratum corneum. This barrier is the body's equivalent of a brick wall built with dead skin cell bricks and a lipid mortar.

The group selected the liposome, a fabricated lipid sac filled with water, as the carrier. Liposomes are prime candidates for the job because they are made of the same lipid substrate as the stratum corneum's "mortar," so they can pass through the skin virtually unnoticed.

The team is also engineering the sacs so they're hearty enough to survive a transdermal push, but capable of being opened to release the medicine once inside the body.

The push and the pop

After coaxing the liposomes through the epidermis, the tunable ultrasound patch would "pop" them open to deliver the medicine.

But this interaction is where the real problem lies. The liposome, while a perfect craft for making a stealthy, transdermal entry is not rugged enough to withstand the intensity of ultrasound required to push it through the skin.

Wrenn's group devised a creative solution to this quandary by adding a bit of ballast to the liposome vessel, in the form of tiny gas-filled sacs called microbubbles.

Microbubbles respond to ultrasound in two ways that are key to making the liposome's transdermal voyage a success. First, they can be pushed by ultrasound at an intensity gentle enough to keep the liposome intact. So, nesting the microbubbles inside a liposome is analogous to raising the sail on a boat to catch the wind.

Secondly, when the intensity of the ultrasound is turned up a bit, it causes microbubbles to wobble like a spring and--if the intensity is high enough--pop. Wrenn's group has shown that these gas implosions in the vicinity of the liposome can rip it open, thus allowing disbursal of its contents.

A significant advantage of their approach over current transdermal delivery methods is that it could easily be customized to work for a broad array of drugs and other biological products.

The future

By combining these findings, the team suggests that a liposome laden with a payload of medicine and using microbubbles to sail an ultrasonic "wind" should be able to traverse the epidermis and enter the body. An adjustment to the ultrasound frequency could then pop the microbubbles and split open the liposome to release the medicine.

With a hefty amount of research on liposome architecture underway, the next step for the group will be to fine-tune the ultrasound patch delivery system and work toward a successful transdermal push.

Editor's Note: This Behind the Scenes article was first provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation.

-- Britt Faulstick, Drexel University

APP DEVELOPER CHARGED BY FTC WITH DECEIVING CONSUMERS REGARDING SHARING OF INFO

FROM:  FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 
Android Flashlight App Developer Settles FTC Charges It Deceived Consumers

'Brightest Flashlight' App Shared Users' Location, Device ID Without Consumers' Knowledge.

The creator of one of the most popular apps for Android mobile devices has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the free app, which allows a device to be used as a flashlight, deceived consumers about how their geolocation information would be shared with advertising networks and other third parties.

Goldenshores Technologies, LLC, managed by Erik M. Geidl, is the company behind the “Brightest Flashlight Free” app, which has been downloaded tens of millions of times by users of the Android operating system. The FTC’s complaint alleges that the company’s privacy policy deceptively failed to disclose that the app transmitted users’ precise location and unique device identifier to third parties, including advertising networks. In addition, the complaint alleges that the company deceived consumers by presenting them with an option to not share their information, even though it was shared automatically rendering the option meaningless.

“When consumers are given a real, informed choice, they can decide for themselves whether the benefit of a service is worth the information they must share to use it,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “But this flashlight app left them in the dark about how their information was going to be used.”

In its complaint, the FTC alleges that Goldenshores’ privacy policy told consumers that any information collected by the Brightest Flashlight app would be used by the company, and listed some categories of information that it might collect. The policy, however, did not mention that the information would also be sent to third parties, such as advertising networks.

Consumers also were presented with a false choice when they downloaded the app, according to the complaint. Upon first opening the app, they were shown the company’s End User License Agreement, which included information on data collection. At the bottom of the license agreement, consumers could click to “Accept” or “Refuse” the terms of the agreement. Even before a consumer had a chance to accept those terms, though, the application was already collecting and sending information to third parties – including location and the unique device identifier.

The settlement with the FTC prohibits the defendants from misrepresenting how consumers’ information is collected and shared and how much control consumers have over the way their information is used. The settlement also requires the defendants to provide a just-in-time disclosure that fully informs consumers when, how, and why their geolocation information is being collected, used and shared, and requires defendants to obtain consumers’ affirmative express consent before doing so.

The defendants also will be required to delete any personal information collected from consumers through the Brightest Flashlight app.

The Commission vote to accept the consent agreement package containing the proposed consent order for public comment was 4-0.

The FTC will publish a description of the consent agreement package in the Federal Register shortly. The agreement will be subject to public comment for 30 days, beginning today and continuing through Jan. 6, 2014, after which the Commission will decide whether to make the proposed consent order final. Interested parties can submit written comments electronically or in paper form by following the instructions in the “Invitation To Comment” part of the “Supplementary Information” section. Comments can be submitted electronically via the Commission’s comment submission page. Comments in paper form should be mailed or delivered to: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-113 (Annex D), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. The FTC is requesting that any comment filed in paper form near the end of the public comment period be sent by courier or overnight service, if possible, because U.S. postal mail in the Washington area and at the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security precautions.

NOTE: The Commission issues an administrative complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. When the Commission issues a consent order on a final basis, it carries the force of law with respect to future actions. Each violation of such an order may result in a civil penalty of up to $16,000.

ANTIQUES DEALER SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR SMUGGLING ARTIFACTS MADE FROM RHINOCEROS HORNS

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Thursday, December 5, 2013
New York Antiques Dealer Sentenced to 37 Months in Prison for Wildlife Smuggling
Wang Smuggled Artifacts Carved from Rhinoceros Horns from New York to China.

Qiang Wang, aka Jeffrey Wang, a New York antiques dealer, was sentenced in federal court in Manhattan today to 37 months   in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to smuggle Asian artifacts made from rhinoceros horns and ivory and violate wildlife trafficking laws, announced Robert G. Dreher, the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice,   Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Dan Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Wang was arrested in February 2013 as part of “Operation Crash,” a nation-wide crackdown in the illegal trafficking in rhinoceros horns, for his role in smuggling “libation cups” carved from rhinoceros horns from New York to China.  Wang was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest of the Southern District of New York.

“Smuggling wildlife artifacts made from rhino horn and elephant ivory undermines the international conservation protections put in place to save these species from extinction ,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Dreher.   “This is an active and ongoing investigation that is designed to send a clear message to buyers and sellers that we will vigorousl y investigate and prosecute those who are involved in this devastating trade.”

“With his sentence today, Qiang Wang is held accountable for his role in feeding the flourishing black market for artifacts made from endangered species,” said U.S. Attorney Bharara.    “This Office will continue its work to prosecute those who contribute to the illegal wildlife trade, and to uphold the rules designed to protect wildlife.”

“ We’re reaching a tipping point, where the unprecedented slaughter of rhinos and elephants happening now threatens the viability of these iconic species’ wild populations in Africa,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe.   “.This slaughter is fueled by illegal trade, including that exposed by Operation Crash.   We will continue to work relentlessly across the United States government and with our international partners to crack down on poaching and wildlife trafficking.”

According to the information, plea agreement and statements made during court proceedings:

In China, there is a tradition dating back centuries of intricately carving rhinoceros horn cups.  Drinking from such a cup was believed by some to bring good health, and antique carvings are highly prized by collectors.  Libation cups and other ornamental carvings are particularly sought after in China and in other Asian countries, as well as in the United States.  The escalating value of such items has resulted in an increased demand for rhinoceros horn that has helped fuel a thriving black market, including fake antiques made from more recently hunted rhinoceros.

In pleading guilty, Wang admitted to participating in a conspiracy to smuggle objects carved from rhinoceros horn and elephant ivory out of the United States knowing that it was illegal to export such items without required permits.  Due to their dwindling populations, all rhinoceros and elephant species are protected under international trade agreements.  Wang falsely labeled the packages in order to conceal the true contents and did not declare them as required.   Special Agents with the U.S Fish & Wildlife Service executed a search of Wang’s apartment in Flushing, New York, and found documents showing Wang was involved in buying rhino horn and ivory artifacts and smuggling them to China.   Agents seized two ivory carvings, including one found hidden behind Wang’s bed that were forfeited as part of the sentence.   Numerous photographs of raw and carved rhinoceros horn, including approximately 10 different raw rhinoceros horns, were found on Wang’s computer and telephone consistent with a common practice of emailing or texting photographs of items for sale in order to receive instructions on whether to purchase the items and how much to pay.   According to prosecutors, Wang had told other dealers that he was seeking raw rhino horns to send to China.

In sentencing Wang , Judge Forrest said that his behavior helped “create and sustain a marketplace for goods made from endangered wildlife.” Judge Forrest also said that Wang’s conduct was “illegal and extremely troubling.”

In addition to the prison term, Judge Forrest ordered Wang, 34, of Flushing, N.Y., to forfeit certain ivory goods in his possession, and banned him from all future trade in elephant ivory and rhino horn. Wang was also sentenced to serve a term of three years of supervised release.

Rhinoceros are an herbivore species of prehistoric origin and one of the largest remaining mega-fauna on earth.   They have no known predators other than humans.   All species of rhinoceros are protected under United States and international law.  Since 1976, trade in rhinoceros horn has been regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a treaty signed by over 170 countries around the world to protect fish, wildlife and plants that are or may become imperiled due to the demands of international markets.

Operation Crash is a continuing investigation being conducted by the Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), in coordination with other federal and local law enforcement agencies including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.  A “crash” is the term for a herd of rhinoceros.  Operation Crash is an ongoing effort to detect, deter and prosecute those engaged in the illegal killing of rhinoceros and the unlawful trafficking of rhinoceros horns.

The investigation by was handled by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Attorney’s Office Complex Frauds Unit and the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section, with assistance from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation .   Assistant U.S. Attorney Janis M. Echenberg and Senior Counsel Richard A. Udell of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section are in charge of the prosecution.

NSF EMPLOYEE PLEADS GUILTY TO STEALING FROM GOVERNMENT

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Friday, December 6, 2013
Information Technology Specialist at National Science Foundation Pleads Guilty to Stealing $90,000 from Government

An information technology specialist working for the National Science Foundation (NSF) pleaded guilty late yesterday to theft of government property totaling more than $90,000, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia.

According to court records, James Troy Clark, 51, of Fredericksburg, Va., was responsible for purchasing information technology supplies and services for his office at NSF using government-issued purchase cards.   From 2010 through July 2013, Clark used these purchase cards to purchase items for his personal use and the personal use of others, including cellular telephones and the attendant monthly service charges for those phones; multiple laptop computers and tablets; thousands of dollars in movies, music, and other content from the Apple iTunes store; and numerous other electronic devices and accessories.

The total amount of purchases made by Clark for his and others’ personal use was approximately $94,493.   Clark faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison when he is sentenced on Feb. 21, 2014.

The case was investigated by National Science Foundation’s Office of Inspector General.   The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Kevin Driscoll and Menaka Kalaskar of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Mark D. Lytle of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE HAGEL VISITS TROOPS IN AFGHANISTAN

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
Hagel Brings Holiday Wishes, Listening Ear to Afghanistan
By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service

KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 8, 2013 – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spent a full day today with two sets of people he seldom sees in Washington: deployed U.S. troops and Afghan military leaders.

Hagel left Afghanistan’s capital this morning and flew south -- first to NATO International Security Assistance Force’s Regional Command Southwest, which includes Helmand and Nimroz provinces, and then to Regional Command South, which encompasses Kandahar, Zabul, Uruzgan and Daykundi provinces.
Hagel brought holiday wishes, thanks and reassurance to troops at both Camp Bastion in Helmand and at Kandahar Airfield. Both places, he noted in his talks, have consistently been combat hot spots during the long war here.

“I want you to know how much President Obama and our country appreciate what you’re doing,” he said in Helmand. “I know more than occasionally you wonder if anybody’s paying attention, whether anybody cares -- but we do. Our country cares. We do know what you’re doing, and we appreciate it very much.”
Hagel told the men and women in uniform standing in ranks before him in both hard-frame tents -- the “Camp Leatherneck town hall” in Helmand and the “fest tent” in Kandahar -- that they’ve made an astounding difference to Afghanistan’s fight against terrorism.

Warm weather and sandy terrain disguise the season down south, but both of the expansive, yet austere, bases the secretary visited today were decked with Christmas trees, lights and other holiday decorations amid the plywood and aluminum buildings that mark a U.S. outpost.

“I know this is a tough time, especially [with] the holiday season coming,” the secretary said. “You’re away from your families and your home, so I know it’s a particularly difficult. I want you to tell your families how much we appreciate their work, their sacrifices, and their service, as they support you.”
During both visits, service members asked Hagel about the military’s budget. He responded that he sees some hope for progress from Congress.

“There is some speculation in Washington that there may be a budget deal … when both the House and the Senate come back into session, which may well give us two years of budget certainty and reduce the current level of sequestration,” he said in Helmand.

The secretary noted that currently, the military faces a second sequestration cut of more than $50 billion this fiscal year, following a $32 billion reduction previously programmed into this fiscal year’s allocation.

No matter the cuts the military faces next fiscal year and beyond, Hagel said, the department’s leaders will prioritize people, readiness and combat power. “You will get everything you need to do your mission,” he said.

In Kandahar, he told his audience they and all of America’s forces are the most talented and motivated, best-educated, best-trained, best-equipped and best-led military the world has ever seen. “That requires a commitment from the nation,” he said. “Are they willing to pay for that? Are they willing to pay for the best and the brightest?”

The secretary also discussed the stalled bilateral security agreement that is intended to set conditions for a follow-on mission when ISAF concludes at the end of 2014.

“I know this is a time of great uncertainty for you,” the secretary said, noting that the degree of U.S. and international involvement in Afghanistan in 2015 and beyond is unclear until that agreement is in place. Hagel said he knows that uncertainty leaves troops wondering, “Will we be here? How long will we be here?”

Those unknowns can make the troops’ jobs harder, he acknowledged. “I want to reassure you we will work through this,” he pledged.
“We are making huge investments here for the future of this country,” Hagel said. “Thank you for your continued focus on your jobs [and] what you’re doing for your country. It matters, [and] it will continue to matter.”

The secretary said the Afghan national security forces have been doing “a very good job of transitioning to their full capabilities and responsibilities.” Valid and important missions nonetheless remain for U.S. troops and coalition partners in sustaining the still-fragile Afghan forces, he said: countering terrorism and training, advising and assisting the Afghan forces.

“There is a role for our coalition partners and the United States here, but that depends on the people of Afghanistan,” the secretary said.

A senior defense official who accompanied Hagel on today’s travels told reporters also on the road with the secretary that the Afghan military commanders Hagel spoke with today all said they still want help in sustainment -- particularly, learning to manage maintenance: supply chains, ordering, distribution and scheduling.

The Afghan national security forces have developed remarkably rapidly over the summer fighting season and show significant improvement, the official said, “but they still have some needs.”

“Every Afghan the secretary spoke to was crystal clear,” the official said. “It’s time to sign the [bilateral security agreement].” And all Afghans who Hagel saw today similarly expressed confidence that their president, Hamid Karzai, will sign the agreement in a timely manner, he added.

“I certainly hope they’re right,” the senior official said, noting that planning any future contributions in the absence of that accord is extremely difficult for the United States and its allies.

Hagel, who will travel tomorrow to Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, wrapped up his remarks to troops at Helmand with a holiday wish.

“I hope Santa stops in Afghanistan,” he said. “I know you’ve all been good. We’re very proud of you, and we’re proud of your families.”

NASA | Alex Young Interview About Our Sun's Magnetic Flip

FORMER PRESIDENT WATER FREIGHT CARRIER COMPANY SENTENCED TO PRISON IN RATE FIXING CASE

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Friday, December 6, 2013

Former Sea Star Line President Sentenced to Serve Five Years in Prison for Role in Price-Fixing Conspiracy Involving Coastal Freight Services Between the Continental United States and Puerto Rico

The former president of Sea Star Line LLC, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based water freight carrier, was sentenced to serve five years in prison and to pay a $25,000 criminal fine for his participation in a conspiracy to fix rates and surcharges for freight transported by water between the continental United States and Puerto Rico, the Department of Justice announced today.

Frank Peake was sentenced today by Judge Daniel R. Dominguez in U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico in San Juan.  Peake’s two-week trial took place in January 2013.

“The sentence imposed today reflects the serious harm these conspirators inflicted on American consumers, both in the continental United States and in Puerto Rico,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.  “The Antitrust Division will continue to vigorously prosecute executives who collude to fix prices at the expense of consumers.”

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Peake and his co-conspirators conspired through meetings and other communications in the continental United States and Puerto Rico to fix, stabilize and maintain rates and surcharges for Puerto Rico freight services, to allocate customers of Puerto Rico freight services between and among the conspirators and to rig bids submitted to customers of Puerto Rico freight services.  Peake was involved in the conspiracy from at least late 2005 until at least April 2008.

As a result of the ongoing investigation, the three largest water freight carriers serving routes between the continental United States and Puerto Rico, including Peake’s former employer Sea Star, have pleaded guilty and been ordered to pay more than $46 million in criminal fines for their roles in the conspiracy.  Sea Star pleaded guilty on Dec. 20, 2011, and was sentenced by Judge Dominguez to pay a $14.2 million criminal fine.  Sea Star transports a variety of cargo shipments, such as heavy equipment, perishable food items, medicines and consumer goods, on scheduled ocean voyages between the continental United States and Puerto Rico.

Peake and five other individuals have been ordered to serve prison sentences ranging from seven months to five years.  Additionally, Thomas Farmer, the former vice president of price and yield management of Crowley Liner Services, was indicted in March 2013 for his role in the conspiracy and is scheduled to go to trial in May 2014.

This case is part of an ongoing investigation being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE HAGEL DISCUSSES WAY FORWARD IN THE MIDDLE EAST

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
Hagel Outlines U.S. Posture, Way Ahead in Middle East
By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service

MANAMA, Bahrain, Dec. 7, 2013 – In a speech before the Manama Dialogue security conference here today, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel emphasized the strength of America’s presence in the Middle East and called for closer cooperation with the Gulf states.

The six-month interim agreement aimed at preventing Iran from producing nuclear weapons reached in November between Iran and the five permanent member of the United Nations Security Council -- the United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom and France -- plus Germany, Hagel said, will not alter U.S. presence or determination in the region.

“It is only a first step,” he said. “But it could be an important step. It halts any further expansion of Iran’s nuclear program, begins to roll it back in important ways, and provides sweeping access to verify … Iran’s intentions.”
The Defense Department will not adjust its forces in the region or its military planning as a result of the interim agreement with Iran, the secretary said.
“We have bought time for meaningful negotiation, not for deception,” Hagel said. “All of us are clear-eyed … about the challenges that remain to achieving a comprehensive nuclear solution with Iran.”

He noted that in Syria, international pressure and the threat of U.S. military action created an opening for diplomacy with Russia. That led to a U.N. Security Council resolution and the involvement of the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons, which put inspectors on the ground in Syria to oversee the removal and destruction of the Assad regime’s chemical weapons.

“We remain on track to destroy Syria’s arsenal of chemical weapons,” the secretary said. “The United States is working closely with our key allies and the international community in this process and has offered its unique technical capabilities and technology to help dispose of these weapons. … Once the destruction is complete, a major chemical weapons threat will be eliminated. This will benefit the entire region and the world.”

Issues remain in Syria, Hagel said, but he vowed to work with regional partners to find a political settlement to the conflict.

“We must also confront the rise of violent extremist groups in Syria, and we must work together to ensure that our assistance to the opposition does not fall into the wrong hands,” he cautioned. The secretary noted that humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people remains a serious concern.

“The United States is the largest donor of humanitarian aid for displaced Syrians, and we will continue to support Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey as they provide refuge for victims of the conflict,” the secretary said. “The Syrian regime must also allow humanitarian assistance to reach the Syrian people.”

Hagel pointed out that the potent threat of U.S. military intervention helped to spur progress in resolving the nuclear and chemical weapons threats posed by Iran and Syria respectively, though each country continues to pose regional challenges.
The secretary set out the U.S. presence here: ground, air and sea forces number more than 35,000 U.S. troops in the Gulf area, he said, including “more than 10,000 forward-deployed soldiers in the region, along with heavy armor, artillery, and attack helicopters, to serve as a theater reserve and a bulwark against aggression.”

The secretary said the United States has deployed its most advanced aircraft, including F-22 fighters, throughout the region “to ensure that we can quickly respond to contingencies. Coupled with our unique munitions, no target is beyond our reach.”

The United States also employs its most advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets here to provide a continuous picture of activities in and around the Gulf, Hagel said.

“And we have fielded an array of missile defense capabilities -– including ballistic missile defense ships, Patriot [surface-to-air missile] batteries, and sophisticated radar,” he added.

To ensure freedom of navigation throughout the Gulf, the secretary said, the Navy routinely maintains a presence of more than 40 ships in the broader region, including a carrier strike group, and conducts a range of freedom-of-navigation operations.
“These operations include approximately 50 transits of the Strait of Hormuz over the past six months,” he noted.

The Navy has added five coastal patrol ships to U.S. 5th Fleet here this year, the secretary said, and has ramped up its minesweeping capabilities. DOD also will invest $580 million in a construction program to support expanding 5th Fleet capabilities, Hagel said.

“Yesterday, I visited the Navy’s new afloat forward staging base, the USS Ponce,” he said, calling the ship “a unique platform for special operations, as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, in areas where we do not have a permanent, fixed presence.”

Hagel said during this trip, he also will meet with U.S. service members stationed at the Combined Air Operations Center in Qatar, “where we have representatives from our [Gulf Cooperation Council] partners training and working together.”
Hagel called for closer multilateral coordination among council members, the Persian Gulf states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

He offered three avenues the United States would like to pursue toward that end:
-- A unified focus on missile defense through the regional Air and Air Defense Chiefs’ Conference, which meets several times a year;
-- Making the Gulf Cooperation Council as an entity eligible for the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program; and

-- Convening a regular forum, beginning within six months, where U.S. and Gulf defense leaders come together annually to assess progress and threats in regional security.

These measures constitute “a natural next step in improving U.S.-GCC collaboration,” Hagel said, adding that foreign military sales “will enable the GCC to acquire critical military capabilities, including items for ballistic missile defense, maritime security and counter-terrorism.”

The secretary noted that during his last trip to the region, in April, “we finalized agreements worth nearly $11 billion that will provide access to high-end capabilities including F-15s, F-16s and advanced munitions such as standoff weapons.” These capabilities are the most advanced the United States has ever provided to the region, he said.

“We will continue to ensure that all of our allies and partners in the region – including both Israel and the Gulf States – have these advanced weapons,” the secretary pledged.

In the future, Hagel said, the Defense Department will place even more emphasis on building the capacity of regional partners to complement the strong, proven and enduring U.S. military presence in the region.

“Nations are stronger, not weaker, when they work together against common threats,” the secretary said. “Closer cooperation between the GCC and the United States is in all of our countries’ interests.”

This year’s Manama Dialogue, the ninth of its kind, drew hundreds of delegates from more than 20 countries. Other speakers at the gathering included representatives from Bahrain, the United Kingdom, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Egypt, Iraq, India, Qatar, Canada and Norway.

Yesterday, Hagel met here with Saudi Arabian Deputy Defense Minister Prince Salman bin Sultan to discuss regional issues, including Iran, Egypt and Syria. Assistant Pentagon Press Secretary Carl Woog said the secretary underscored in that meeting the strength of the bilateral relationship and noted that defense partnership is key in maintaining the long-standing ties between the two countries. Hagel said the United States remains committed to regional security and stability, a shared objective with Saudi Arabia, Woog reported.

The secretary indicated U.S.-Saudi defense cooperation is essential to maintaining the two nations’ shared priorities. He highlighted the Saudi purchase of F-15SA aircraft and advanced weapons as an example of future of improved interoperability and coordination between both militaries, Woog said. The defense secretary will visit Saudi Arabia on Dec. 9.

Hagel also met yesterday at the Safria Palace here with King Hamad al Khalifa of Bahrain.

Hagel and the king discussed the long history of the –U.S.-Bahrain bilateral relationship, Woog said. The secretary emphasized U.S. commitment to Gulf security, and the two exchanged views on shared regional security challenges, including Iran and the signed joint plan of action between the P5+1 and Iran.
The meeting included significant discussion of reform in Bahrain and the importance of political inclusiveness for long-term stability. The secretary thanked the king for hosting the U.S. 5th Fleet and for Bahrain’s ongoing security cooperation, Woog said.

FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE ISSUES FOOD SAFETY TIPS TO VICTIMS OF SEVERE STORMS

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
USDA Food Safety Tips for Areas Affected by Severe Storms

WASHINGTON, December 6, 2013—The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing food safety recommendations for those affected by the weather system moving across the Rockies to the Ohio Valley. Power outages that result from weather emergencies compromise the safety of stored food, but there are steps that can minimize food waste and the risk of foodborne illness.
Steps to follow if the power goes out:

Keep appliance thermometers in both the refrigerator and the freezer to ensure temperatures remain food safe during a power outage. Safe temperatures are 40°F or lower in the refrigerator, 0°F or lower in the freezer.

Freeze water in one-quart plastic storage bags or small containers prior to a storm. These containers are small enough to fit in around the food in the refrigerator and freezer to help keep food cold. Remember, water expands when it freezes so don’t overfill the containers.

Freeze refrigerated items, such as leftovers, milk and fresh meat and poultry that you may not need immediately—this helps keep them at a safe temperature longer.
Know where you can get dry ice or block ice.

Have coolers on hand to keep refrigerator food cold if the power will be out for more than four hours.

Group foods together in the freezer—this ‘igloo’ effect helps the food stay cold longer.
Avoid putting food outside in ice or snow, because it attracts wild animals or could thaw when the sun comes out.
Keep a few days’ worth of ready-to-eat foods that do not require cooking or cooling.

Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible.
A refrigerator will keep food cold for about 4 hours if the door is kept closed.
A full freezer will hold its temperature for about 48 hours (24 hours if half-full).
Place meat and poultry to one side of the freezer or on a tray to prevent cross contamination of thawing juices.

Use dry or block ice to keep the refrigerator as cold as possible during an extended power outage. Fifty pounds of dry ice should keep a fully-stocked 18-cubic-feet freezer cold for two days.
Steps to follow after a weather emergency:

Check the temperature inside of your refrigerator and freezer. Discard any perishable food (such as meat, poultry, seafood, eggs or leftovers) that has been above 40°F for two hours or more.

Check each item separately. Throw out any food that has an unusual odor, color or texture or feels warm to the touch.

Check frozen food for ice crystals. The food in your freezer that partially or completely thawed may be safely refrozen if it still contains ice crystals or is 40°F or below.

Never taste a food to decide if it’s safe.
When in doubt, throw it out.

WHITE HOUSE PRESS BRIEFING ON U.S.-CHINA ECONOMIC RELATIONS

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE
Press Briefing by Senior Administration Officials on the Fact Sheet on Strengthening U.S.-China Economic Relations
Aboard Air Force Two
En Route Seoul, South Korea

6:33 P.M. (Local)

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  This is SAOs, so everyone knows -- SAOs.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Okay.  Well, I mean, I think you heard the Vice President talk about the importance of the relationship on a whole variety of dimensions.  We’ve been talking a lot about the security dimensions during his visit, but of course a very important piece of the agenda is on economic and trade issues.  And maybe you’ve heard the Vice President talk about how we have a stake in each other’s success, about the need for practical cooperation that helps demonstrate to the American people and also to the Chinese people that this relationship is working, that this kind of a visit is generating and advancing the kind of cooperation that we’re trying to do across the board, but especially in the economic and trade space.

And in the course of this visit and during the Vice President’s meetings, we’re working on a number of issues on energy, on climate, on food and drug safety.  Coming out of these discussions, coming out of some discussions on the sidelines of the visit, we reached agreement on a number of things that my colleague will be able to outline in detail both what they are and the significance of them as you see in the fact sheet.

But I guess the sort of broader point or just the sort of context-setting point is that we’ve been talking a lot on this visit about the ADIZ issue, about some of the security issues in the relationship, but I just sort of want to make the broader point that this is -- that this set of issues is actually a very big piece of business here.  And we are constantly trying to use visits like this to advance our agenda on a whole number of aspects.  And the economic and trade one is the way that we used part of the Vice President’s time, but also in some of the discussions leading up to this visit.

And this will continue past the visit.  We have our Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade, which is where we have our top economic and trade negotiators getting together in just a week or so.  So they’re going to continue that.  And the Vice President talked about some things with his Chinese counterparts that they’re going to be able to continue to work on over the course of the coming days and weeks.

So why don’t I turn to my colleague to talk a little bit about what we are announcing today.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Hi.  So just to start off on the climate side obviously is the two largest emitters -- we have a special responsibility and opportunity working together.  And today, we reaffirmed the agreements on the HFCs that the two presidents had reached in Sunnylands originally, and expanded in St. Petersburg.  We also reached agreement that China would work with us to design and then implement much more aggressive emissions controls and standards for vehicles -- low-sulfur fuel and vehicle emissions, known as the China VI standards, which is the first time that they’ve committed to that.

We also reached agreement that there would be effort and resources devoted on both sides to the work of the energy -- the climate -- sorry, the climate working group that was set up, as my colleague mentioned, at the S&ED.  And there were five areas in that to be looked at by that working group.  And it was agreed today that we would make significant progress, concrete progress by the next S&ED, which is in the summer of 2014.  So it’s really giving a push forward to that work.

We also agreed to work together in the UNFCCC negotiations and to work in close cooperation and leader-level discussions.  And we’re, as you know, moving towards the 2015 COP in Paris of the UNFCCC, so this is going to be a very important period going forward in the multilateral -- in those multilateral negotiations.

On energy transparency, China agreed today to make important steps towards greater transparency by providing more complete and more frequent data releases on their energy situation -- production, consumption and stocks -- and to have stronger cooperation with this process called JODI, J-O-D-I, which is the Joint Organizations Data Initiative.

Secondly, we reached agreement to information -- to cooperate basically on the management of strategic petroleum reserves with annual meetings and information exchanges.  We also -- China agreed to participate in a peer review of fossil-fuel subsidies, which is the next step in the implementation of the G20 commitment to phase out, and they reaffirmed the commitment to phase out inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies.  This is all consistent with their move towards better pricing of energy.

And finally, on energy, they agreed -- China agreed to  -- we agreed to work with them to open up their shale gas to investment and development.

And then on the food and drug safety and innovation, we import a lot of food from China now and it’s important for both parties that this should be safe, and we have some FDA inspectors on the ground in China, but not enough.  And China today agreed to increase the number -- increase the visas supplied for these inspectors, and we’ll reach agreement in January 2014 on how that will be operationalized.  But I know that the FDA will be very pleased.

We also reached an important agreement on things called APIs, which are these bulk chemicals that can be used in drug manufacture.  And China agreed to begin to develop a framework for -- a regulatory framework for these chemical compounds.  And there will be more work on that, but it’s an important step forward in drug safety.

And then finally, on innovation, is this issue about patents for pharmaceuticals, that as technologies change, manufacturers want to add elements to patents.  And there was -- China affirmed that this kind of development of patents would be possible now, which supports drug innovation and will be an important win for our industry.

So that’s the main items in those buckets.

Q    Could I ask a very general question about TPP that just sort of interests me.  Did you get any sense from your conversations that the Chinese are viewing TPP less as a competing regional trade pact than as something that they might find attractive down the road?  In other words, has their sentiment toward TPP evolved?  Is there any evidence of that?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  We didn’t cover that in our discussions here.  There have been statements beforehand, in the recent past, about -- and I think you see in the region more interest, more openness to TPP, obviously with Korea’s announcement of interest and some other countries.  So I think that there’s some prospect that there’s more growing acceptance that TPP will be an open architecture agreement that will provide rules and standards for the whole region.

Q    Did you guys get into any of the issues, kind of escalating concerns about WTO disputes that both had with each other on trade enforcement?  That would be one.  And second, since this was a pretty large portfolio being laid out, did you guys consider the sort of old model of what Ron Brown or Al Gore used to do of bringing either business leaders on the trip or NGO leaders?  This is a very sizable portfolio, but the constituencies that often were part of these sorts of delegations weren’t on this trip.  Had that been part of any calculation?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Well, let me just say a couple of things about that.  I mean, first of all, the Vice President spoke to a large --

Q    (Inaudible.)

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  -- the AM Cham, the U.S.-China Business Council, two of the main business groups --

Q    But you didn’t have, like, the CEO of GE or the CEO of Mylan, or who all are going to benefit from a lot of these -- I mean, I’m not critiquing, I’m just wondering if it had  -- it’s not that important, but --

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Yes, I guess I would just say that, I mean, we didn’t -- you’ve seen the delegation that we had on this trip.  The focus of these three areas that we’re sort of working on really are sort of focused on regulatory and policy issues with China, and between China and the United States, that will obviously have an impact on our companies trying to do business in China, trying to improve this as --

Q    How about the WTO disputes?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  On that, I would say in the discussions that the Vice President had during this trip, he raised a whole range of economic concerns that we have, as well as talked about opportunities for economic cooperation.  So the kinds of issues we just made -- we reached agreement on, are the kinds of things that were talked about in the meetings.  He also raised a number of other issues and concerns that we have across a range of issues, many of which he talked about in his speech, so I won’t really repeat those.  But he talked about interest-rate liberalization, he talked about concerns we have around the WTO and some of the specific cases that we have concerns about.  He talked about some of the third plenum reforms that are suggesting things may be going in a positive direction, but the need to speed up implementations.

So that was a kind of type of issues that he was talking about in the economic area across the meetings over the last couple of days.

Q    Just on that point, because it interested me in the briefing last night, it sounded like Xi laid out this very ambitious agenda, but said a lot of this won’t really be feasible for 10 or 20 years, and the Vice President said, well, we need things that happen in the here and now.  Is that a question of selecting reforms that can be done immediately, or is he just simply saying to the President, you have to move faster, you can’t expect us to wait 10 or 20 years?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Well, I think there are a number of different areas that they talked about in terms of -- in the context of the third plenum reforms, both what Xi indicated he’s focused on, but also some of the longstanding concerns that we have that the Vice President raised and discussed in his meetings with Xi and other Chinese leaders about some of the areas of reform, the concerns that we have and what we’d like to see going forward.

In terms of the pace, obviously some of the issues on the agenda are large, structural changes that they’re trying to make in terms of rebalancing their economy that are pretty fundamental issues that are going to obviously take a long time to develop.  But I guess I’ll turn to my colleagues as well on this.

What we’ve laid out here is an example of the kinds of here-and-now issues that not only address specific concerns that we’re trying to resolve today, but also connect to the larger structural issues that they were discussing in these meetings.  So there’s kind of a linkage between the kinds of issues we’re raising, the kinds of issues we’re trying to resolve, the type of cooperation we’re seeking, and the larger reform agenda that the two leaders were discussing in their meetings.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  I agree with that.  And I think that I mentioned in the area of energy and climate, and the fossil-fuel subsidy review, and the vehicle-emission standards, part of that is support for the kind of shift in their economy that they’ve laid out and that they want to do, and there are areas where we can work together on that.

Q    To dovetail on Mark’s question, the Vice President talked in this trip about the third plenum reforms really being things that the United States would like to see.  At the same time, we’re not seeing the kind of commitment by China to make political reforms that the United States perhaps would like to see.  Does this administration think that the economic reforms can be carried out without political reforms happening at the same time?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Well, on that I would just point you to the Vice President’s speech today, where I think he actually spoke directly to that connection and that issue.  So I don’t want to go beyond what he said today, because I think he actually laid it out quite well.  He talked about the reform agenda, he talked about the kinds of things that have been laid out in the third plenum.

Q    But he didn’t talk about whether one can be done without the other.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Well, I don’t know.  I mean, I would go to what he said, because he actually -- I thought he spoke pretty directly.

Q    Another question is, during the debt ceiling debate, Chinese government and central bank authorities began to sort of publicly criticize U.S. policy and responsibilities over the reserve currency status of the dollar.  Did that kind of thing come up?  Or was that a momentary impulse during the debt ceiling debate, and given the spate of things that you guys work on, that Chinese economic authorities didn’t continue that complaint about the dollar and sort of responsible management of it?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  It didn’t come up.  I mean, there was general agreement that both economies were doing well, and there was notice that -- the Chinese noticed that our economy was growing, and unemployment was coming down, although of course we have more work to do.  So the other issue did not --

Q    (Inaudible) tone --

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Absolutely not.  Absolutely not.

Q    That’s interesting.  Thank you.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL:  Great.  Thanks.

CHEMCAM EXCEEDS 100.000 SHOTS ON MARS

Curiosity Heads To Mars.  Credit:  NASA

FROM:  LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY
Los Alamos’s ChemCam team fills scrapbook from Mars road trip

LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Dec. 5, 2013—The ChemCam laser instrument aboard NASA’s Curiosity rover fired its 100,000th shot recently, chronicling its adventures on Mars with a coffee-table-book’s worth of spectral data that might rival snapshots gathered during a long and satisfying family vacation here on Earth. ChemCam zaps rocks with a high-powered laser to determine their composition and carries a camera that can survey the Martian landscape.

“ChemCam has greatly exceeded our expectations,” said Roger Wiens, Los Alamos National Laboratory planetary scientist and Principal Investigator of the ChemCam Team. “The information we’ve gleaned from the instrument will continue to enhance our understanding of the Red Planet, and will nicely complement information from the other nine instruments aboard Curiosity as we continue our odyssey to Mount Sharp.”

Curiosity landed on Mars at the edge of Gale Crater near the base of Mount Sharp on Aug. 6, 2012. The rover is a rolling laboratory about the size of a small SUV that will roam the Martian landscape for at least another year in search of clues about the planet’s habitability. Using a suite of 10 instruments that can perform diverse and amazing tasks ranging from digging up and baking soil samples, to shooting rocks with pinpoint accuracy with a high-powered laser, Curiosity already has helped show scientists that Mars apparently once had a very wet history and still retains enough moisture in its dust and rocks to quench the thirst of future astronauts.

Curiosity’s laser instrument, ChemCam, fires a short laser burst that packs the wallop of nearly one million light bulbs into a single pinpoint of light to vaporize rock and dust. A camera aboard the instrument reads the spectral signature of the resultant flash and translates the information into the composition of whatever happened to be in ChemCam’s crosshairs at the moment. The instrument also has a camera that scientists have been using to survey the Martian landscape.

The ChemCam concept was developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory, but the instrument aboard Curiosity is a partnership between Los Alamos and the French national space agency, Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) and research agency, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS).

The U.S. operations center for the ChemCam team is located in downtown Los Alamos. Wiens said a teleprompter showing the latest slideshows from Mars will soon be erected in downtown Los Alamos for public viewing.

“Like those family slideshows from summer vacations along Route 66, people will be able to enjoy and experience the highlights of our trip,” Wiens said. “ChemCam was designed to fire one million shots, so we’ll have lots of stories to tell later on.”

AG HOLDER'S REMARKS AT CIVIL DIVISION AWARDS CEREMONY

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Attorney General Eric Holder Delivers Remarks at the Civil Division Awards Ceremony
~ Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Thank you, Stuart [Delery], for those kind words, and for your exceptional leadership as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division.  It’s a pleasure to share the stage with you today – as we come together to recognize so many dedicated colleagues; as we call attention to the progress that each of them has made possible; and as we thank them for their tireless work over the past year: in support of this Department, in pursuit of justice, and in service of the American people.

It’s a great privilege to join you in congratulating our 2013 Civil Division award recipients.  And it’s an honor to help welcome all of the proud family members, friends, and distinguished guests who have taken the time to be here in the Great Hall, and whose support – and sacrifices – have been essential to everything that our awardees have accomplished.  Make no mistake: every one of you shares in the recognitions that we are about to bestow.

From the robust enforcement of federal consumer protection laws, to record-setting recoveries under the False Claims Act, this year’s award recipients have secured billions of precious taxpayer dollars through affirmative litigation.  By enforcing regulations to ensure the safety of medicines and food products – and by administering essential public health programs – you have helped to protect the American people.  By taking on numerous cases concerning sensitive matters related to national security, you’ve fought to keep our nation both safe and strong.  And you’ve done it all in a time of unprecedented budgetary difficulties – while contending with the unnecessary cuts imposed by sequestration, and even the personal hardships brought on by a government shutdown.

Despite these obstacles, the award recipients before me – and your colleagues throughout the Civil Division – have achieved extraordinary results.  You’ve made your country, your Department – and this Attorney General – proud.  And you have risen to the most pressing challenges of our time, confronting some of the most significant and complex legal issues this Department has faced.

Many of your successes have been covered extensively by the press.  Others have received less public fanfare, but are no less critical to the operations of the federal government or the well-being of your fellow citizens.  From the attorneys and contractors who sift through endless document, record, and data collections in search of crucial evidence; to the paralegals and other support staff members who work late into the night to assist in emergency filings; to the technology experts who address daily concerns and keep this Division working smoothly – every part of this team is essential to its overall mission.  And every one of your contributions exemplifies the most rigorous standards of professionalism, reflects the highest integrity – and embodies the very best of what it means to be a public servant.

Of course, I recognize that this hasn’t been easy.  And I know you’ve been called upon, on many occasions, to spend long hours in the office, sacrificing time with family and friends in order to advance the critical work with which the American people have entrusted us.  So I want you to know how much President Obama and I value your extraordinary work ethic, your surpassing commitment to the mission we share, and your collective dedication to the ideals that have always defined the Department of Justice.  I consider it a tremendous honor to count each of you as a colleague – and to serve alongside you as we strive, in every case and circumstance, to fight for the interests of the United States – and to see that justice is done.

Before we begin our formal awards presentations, I’d like to take a moment to congratulate Frankie Free on receiving this year’s Stanley Rose Memorial Award, in recognition of his distinguished service to our country over the last 23 years.  Thank you, Frankie, for all that you do.

I’d also like to recognize Robert Kirshman and Mary Mason, the recipients of this year’s Michael Hertz Memorial Award, for their outstanding work.  Like many of you, I had the privilege of working with Mike Hertz during his nearly four-decade-long career here at the Department.  And although we lost him last year – far too soon – I am deeply gratified to know that the spirit of excellence that defined his work will live on not only in the award that bears his name, but in the efforts of all who continue the tradition of service he established.

It’s clear, as we come together today, that your work has in some ways never been more challenging. But it’s also never been more important.  That’s why, as we pause to reflect upon your successes – and to celebrate the achievements of the award recipients who have gone above and beyond the call of duty – we also must recommit ourselves to carrying this work into the future.  We must resolve to keep building on the momentum that each of you has set in motion.  And we must never stop reaching for, and working toward, the better and brighter future that all of our citizens deserve – a future founded on the enduring promise of equal justice for all.

I congratulate you, once again, on these prestigious and well-deserved awards.  I thank you for everything that you do.  And I urge you to keep up the great work.

NSF INVESTS IN 3-D PRINTING AND CUSTOM MANUFACTORING

FROM:  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 
3-D printing and custom manufacturing: from concept to classroom
Strategic investments from NSF help engineers revolutionize the manufacturing process.

Additive manufacturing, the technological innovation behind 3-D printing, has revolutionized the way we conceive of and build everything from electronic devices to jewelry to artificial organs.

It is not surprising that this field has enjoyed enormous economic returns, which are projected to grow over the coming decade. According to a recent industry report prepared by Wohlers Associates, 3-D printing contributed to more than $2.2 billion in global industry in 2012 and is poised to grow to more than $6 billion by 2017.

While both public and private investments contributed to the development of this technology, the National Science Foundation (NSF) provided early funding and continues to provide support for additive manufacturing, totaling approximately $200 million in 2005 adjusted dollars from more than 600 grants awarded from 1986-2012.

Although a wide range of programs across NSF have supported this endeavor, greater than two-thirds of the awards and more than half of the agency's total financial support for additive manufacturing was provided by NSF's Directorate for Engineering, which promotes fundamental and transformative engineering research and education through a broad range of programs and funding mechanisms.

"Additive manufacturing is a great example of how early NSF support for high-risk research can ultimately lead to large-scale changes in a major industry," says Steve McKnight, director of the Engineering Directorate's division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI).

What is additive manufacturing?

Compared to traditional manufacturing techniques, in which objects are carved out of a larger block of material or cast in molds and dies, additive manufacturing builds objects, layer by layer, according to precise design specifications.

Because there are no dies or molds to be cast, design changes can be made more quickly and at a lower cost than ever before, increasing the level of customization that individuals and businesses can achieve "in house."

"Additive manufacturing technologies have changed the way we think about the manufacturing process," says NSF Assistant Director for Engineering Pramod Khargonekar. "It has reduced the time, cost, and equipment and infrastructure needs that once prevented individuals and small businesses from creating truly customized items, and accelerated the speed at which new products can be brought to market."

Recognizing potential in risky ideas

The Engineering Directorate's Strategic Manufacturing (STRATMAN) Initiative, led by CMMI in the late 1980s and early 1990s, proved pivotal in establishing the foundational technologies of additive manufacturing.

Five awards, totaling nearly $3.5 million in 2005 dollars, were made under this initiative to additive manufacturing-related research projects. Two of the four patents identified as foundational for the field of additive manufacturing were associated with STRATMAN-funded projects.

"The STRATMAN came at an incredibly important time," says University of Texas at Austin mechanical engineer Joseph Beaman. "We had some of the IP [intellectual property] there, but we needed a way to get the basic engineering done to show that we could really make it work."

Beaman and then UT graduate student Carl Deckard were the first to demonstrate and commercialize a process known as selective laser sintering, in which a high powered laser is used to fuse small particles into precise 3-D shapes.

"The purpose of the STRATMAN Initiative was to provide critical early funding to radically new ideas with the potential to impact future manufacturing technology," says Bruce Kramer, the CMMI program officer who made the original award to Beaman. "The research that Joe and Carl did with the STRATMAN hit a home run by laying the foundation for one of the key additive manufacturing technologies in use today."

Setting goals for a fledgling field

In addition to contributing to transformative fundamental research, the Engineering Directorate has supported a number of workshops and conferences designed to establish roadmaps and benchmarks for the field as it evolves.

Together with support from agencies including the Department of Energy, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the Engineering Directorate has sponsored workshops on rapid prototyping, additive and subtractive manufacturing and has consistently provided support for student travel to additive manufacturing conferences.

A 2009 workshop sponsored by NSF and ONR intended to identify the future of freeform processing is widely recognized as having been critical in defining future research directions in the field.

Transitioning research to the marketplace

Initial investments by the Engineering Directorate's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program also were made to two key early firms in the additive manufacturing field including: DTM, acquired by 3D systems and founded by Carl Deckard, to develop the selective laser sintering process and Helisys, formerly Hydronetics and founded by Michael Feygin, to commercialize the sheet lamination process.

"The SBIR program helps scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs at early-stage start-ups mitigate risks, develop the technology into a marketable and scalable product and be better positioned in the marketplace," says Grace Wang, director of the Engineering Directorate's Industrial Innovation and Partnerships division.

While neither firm exists today, their contributions live on in the form of the universal industry standards they helped establish.

Preparing the next-generation workforce

Perhaps one of the greatest impacts additive manufacturing has had is in the realm of education and outreach. With the advent of desktop 3-D printers, students can experience the challenges and opportunities of manufacturing first-hand. The NSF-funded RapidTech Center at the University of California, Irvine, brings additive manufacturing to the classroom, engaging UCI students and students from a number of community college partners in the manufacturing process. Educational programs like RapidTech enhance engineering curriculum and boost interest in engineering as a profession.

"The RapidTech Center has increased the number of students who transfer into UCI Engineering programs and improved current engineering student's performance," says Celeste Carter, a program director in NSF's Directorate for Education and Human Resources. "Programs like this are, and will continue to be, incredibly important in preparing the future engineering workforce."

Looking to the future

As part of the president's plan to catalyze manufacturing innovation, the National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute, recently rebranded as "America Makes," was launched in August 2012.

The institute, which was convened on the recommendation of experts from NSF, the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, represents a partnership that includes manufacturing firms, government agencies, universities, community colleges and non-profit organizations. The goal of the institute is to accelerate additive manufacturing innovation by bridging the gap between basic research and scalable technologies.

In addition to contributing oversight and management to the America Makes initiative, NSF has invested in programs designed to facilitate collaboration and engage NSF-sponsored researchers and educational programs in the institute's activities.

"We are only beginning to see what is now possible because of additive manufacturing," Khargonekar says. "The Engineering Directorate is proud to have been among the many public and private organizations to provide early and continued research support leading to this significant and impactful innovation."

ISON update on This Week @NASA (+playlist)

MAN SENTENCED TO 144 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR ROLE IN $270 MILLION INVESTMENT FRAUD SCHEME

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Friday, December 6, 2013
Virginia Man Sentenced for Conducting $270 Million Investment Fraud Scheme

The owner of a Virginia-based investment firm was sentenced today to serve 144 months in prison for orchestrating a $270 million stock loan scheme that defrauded his clients of more than $35 million.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, Acting United States Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia and Assistant Director in Charge Valerie Parlave of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee of the Eastern District of Virginia.

William Dean Chapman, 44, of Sterling, Va., pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud on May 23, 2013.   Chapman was the founder and owner of Alexander Capital Markets (ACM), whose primary business was to offer a financial product that provided customers with a purportedly fully hedged loan at an above-market rate of interest against a customer’s securities.   This served as collateral for the transaction for a percentage – typically between 85 percent and 90 percent – of the securities’ value.   For example, in exchange for a customer’s Apple stock, ACM would provide a cash loan to that customer worth 85 percent or 90 percent of the stock’s value.   After a period of time – between two and seven years, and typically three years – the customer could receive back their securities, or the equivalent cash value, if they repaid the balance of the loan plus accrued interest.   Alternatively, because the loans were non-recourse, the customer could walk away at the end of the redemption period having already received up to 90 percent of the value of their securities.

ACM’s customers were assured that ACM was engaged in hedging transactions such that ACM would be able to return the full value of the securities, or the cash equivalent, at the end of the contract period.   In reality, ACM simply sold the securities upon receipt, remitted up to 90 percent of the sales proceeds to its customers as the loan, and retained the remaining sales proceeds for itself and the parties who sold, marketed or facilitated the product.

Because ACM simply sold the securities upon receipt and no legitimate hedge existed, ACM could not return securities, or the cash equivalent, to the customers at the end of the redemption period unless it had sufficient funds to buy back the securities.   By in or about April 2008, ACM was functionally insolvent.   ACM did not have – and could not have expected to have – sufficient funds to cover its outstanding liabilities.   Nevertheless, Chapman continued to solicit new customers despite knowing that ACM would never be able to fulfill its financial obligations.

Over seven years, Chapman took in more than $270 million in stock, and 122 victims lost more than $35 million as a result of this scheme.   At the same time that ACM was amassing massive liabilities and failing to repay its existing clients, Chapman used his clients’ money to support a lavish lifestyle by purchasing a custom-built $3 million home in Great Falls, Va.; condominiums in the Turks & Caicos and Pompano Beach, Fla.; and a Lamborghini and Ferrari.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office.  The Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia recognize the substantial assistance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on this case.   Assistant United States Attorney Chad Golder and Trial Attorney Henry Van Dyck of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

MEASLES STILL A THREAT 50 YEARS AFTER MEASLES VACCINE APPROVED

FROM:  U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION 
Press Release Measles Still Threatens Health Security
On 50th Anniversary of Measles Vaccine, Spike in Imported Measles Cases

Fifty years after the approval of an extremely effective vaccine against measles, one of the world’s most contagious diseases, the virus still poses a threat to domestic and global health security.

On an average day, 430 children – 18 every hour – die of measles worldwide. In 2011, there were an estimated 158,000 measles deaths.

In an article published on December 5 by JAMA Pediatrics, CDC’s Mark J. Papania, M.D., M.P.H., and colleagues report that United States measles elimination, announced in 2000, has been sustained through 2011. Elimination is defined as absence of continuous disease transmission for greater than 12 months. Dr. Papania and colleagues warn, however, that international importation continues, and that American doctors should suspect measles in children with high fever and rash, “especially when associated with international travel or international visitors,” and should report suspected cases to the local health department. Before the U.S. vaccination program started in 1963, measles was a year-round threat in this country. Nearly every child became infected; each year 450 to 500 people died each year, 48,000 were hospitalized, 7,000 had seizures, and about 1,000 suffered permanent brain damage or deafness.

People infected abroad continue to spark outbreaks among pockets of unvaccinated people, including infants and young children. It is still a serious illness: 1 in 5 children with measles is hospitalized. Usually there are about 60 cases per year, but 2013 saw a spike in American communities – some 175 cases and counting – virtually all linked to people who brought the infection home after foreign travel.

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S WEEKLY ADDRESS FOR DECEMBER 7, 2013

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE

Weekly Address: Calling on Congress to Extend Unemployment Benefits this Holiday Season

WASHINGTON, DC—In this week’s address, President Obama said that before Congress leaves for vacation, they should extend unemployment benefits for 1.3 million hardworking Americans who will lose this lifeline at the end of the year. For families, unemployment benefits can mean the difference between hardship and catastrophe, and it is also one of the most effective ways to boost our economy. This holiday season, Congress should do the right thing for the American people and make it easier for our economy to keep growing and adding jobs.  

The audio of the address and video of the address will be available online atwww.whitehouse.gov at 6:00 a.m. ET, December 7, 2013.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
December 7, 2013

Hi, everybody.  The holiday season is a time for remembering the bonds we share, and our obligations to one another as human beings.

But right now, more than one million of our fellow Americans are poised to lose a vital economic lifeline just a few days after Christmas if Congress doesn’t do something about it.

Our top priority as a country should be restoring opportunity and broad-based economic growth for all Americans.  And yesterday, we learned that our businesses created about 200,000 jobs in the month of November.  That’s more than 8 million new jobs in the last 45 months.  And the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in five years.

But we need to do everything we can to help businesses create more good jobs that pay good wages even faster.  Because the hole that we’re still digging out of means that there are still millions of Americans looking for work – often because they’ve been laid off through no fault of their own. 

We also have to look out for the Americans working hard to get those jobs.  That’s why, as a country, we offer temporary unemployment insurance – so that job-seekers don’t fall into poverty, and so that when they get that job, they bounce back more quickly. 

For many families, it can be the difference between hardship and catastrophe.  It makes a difference for a mother who suddenly doesn’t know if she’ll be able to put food on the table for her kids.  It makes a difference for a father who lost his job and is looking for a new one.  Last year alone, it lifted 2.5 million people out of poverty, and cushioned the blow for many more.

But here’s the thing: if Members of Congress don’t act before they leave on their vacations, 1.3 million Americans will lose this lifeline.  These are people we know.  They’re our friends and neighbors; they sit next to us in church and volunteer in our communities; their kids play with our kids.  And they include 20,000 veterans who’ve served this country with honor. 

If Congress refuses to act, it won’t just hurt families already struggling – it will actually harm our economy.  Unemployment insurance is one of the most effective ways there is to boost our economy.  When people have money to spend on basic necessities, that means more customers for our businesses and, ultimately, more jobs.  And the evidence shows that unemployment insurance doesn’t stop people from trying hard to find work.

Just this week, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office predicted that allowing benefits to expire will be a drag on our economic growth next year.  A report by the Department of Labor and my Council of Economic Advisors estimated that it could cost businesses 240,000 jobs.  And without the ability to feed their families or pay the bills, many people currently looking for work could stop looking for good.

So extending unemployment insurance isn’t just the right thing to do for our families – it’s the smart thing to do for our economy.  And it shouldn’t be a partisan issue.  For decades, Congress has voted to offer relief to job-seekers – including when the unemployment rate was lower than it is today. 

But now that economic lifeline is in jeopardy.  All because Republicans in this Congress – which is on track to be the most unproductive in history – have so far refused to extend it.

So this holiday season, let’s give our fellow Americans who are desperately looking for work the help they need to keep on looking.  Let’s make it easier for businesses to attract more customers, and our economy to grow.  And together, let’s keep doing everything we can to make this country a place where anyone who works hard has a chance to get ahead

Thanks, and have a great weekend.

SEC BRINGS CHARGES AGAINST ALLEGED PONZI SCHEMERS INVOLVED WITH OIL AND GAS PROJECTS

FROM:  U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges and an emergency asset freeze against the perpetrators of a Texas-based Ponzi scheme involving purported investments in oil and gas projects.

The SEC alleges that Robert A. Helms and Janniece S. Kaelin, who work out of an office in Austin, misled investors about their experience in the oil and gas industry while raising nearly $18 million for supposed purchases of oil and gas royalty interests.  Despite representations that nearly all of the money they raised would be used to make oil and gas investments, Helms and Kaelin actually used only a fraction of the offering proceeds for that purpose.  Instead, the vast majority of investor funds were used to make Ponzi payments and cover various personal and business expenses.

“Helms and Kaelin pretended to be in the oil and gas business when they were really in the business of fattening their own wallets,” said David R. Woodcock, director of the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office.  “They lied to investors about the use of offering proceeds, spent investor funds on personal expenses, and made Ponzi payments to give investors the false impression that they were earning returns in a profitable venture.”

The SEC’s complaint unsealed late yesterday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas also charges Deven Sellers of Arvada, Colo., and Roland Barrera of Costa Mesa, Calif., with illegally selling investments for Helms and Kaelin without being registered with the SEC.  They also allegedly misled investors about the sales commissions and referral fees they were receiving.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Helms and Kaelin began offering investments in 2011 through Vendetta Royalty Partners, a limited partnership that they control.  They have since attracted at least 80 investors in more than a dozen states while promising in offering documents that they would use more than 99 percent of the investment proceeds to acquire a lucrative portfolio of oil and gas royalty interests.  The offering documents were fraudulent as Helms and Kaelin invested only 10 percent of the proceeds, and the oil and gas projects in which they actually did invest generated only minuscule returns.

The SEC alleges that Helms and Kaelin directed Vendetta Royalty Partners to make approximately $5.9 million in so-called partnership income distributions to investors.  They used money from newer investors to make the distributions to earlier investors.  Helms and Kaelin created the illusion that Vendetta Royalty Partners was a profitable enterprise when, in fact, it was a fraudulent Ponzi scheme.  Some offering documents touted Helms to have extensive oil-and-gas experience, misrepresenting that he had “worked with various mineral companies over the last 10 years advising management on issues involving the acquisition and management of royalty interests, mineral properties and related legal and financial issues.”  In fact, Helms’s oil-and-gas experience came almost entirely from operating Vendetta Royalty Partners and its affiliated or predecessor companies.

The SEC alleges that Helms and Kaelin misled investors about other important matters besides their business background and industry reputation.  They failed to disclose the existence of litigation against them and companies they control.  They misrepresented the performance of the limited oil-and-gas royalty investments actually under their management.  And they failed to inform investors that Vendetta Royalty Partners was behind on its line of credit.  The company ultimately defaulted.

According to the SEC’s complaint, Helms and Kaelin along with Sellers and Barrera told potential investors that any commissions or finder’s fees would be small. However, Sellers and Barrera each received more than $200,000 in such fees on one investment alone. Sellers and Barrera regularly solicited investments without being registered as brokers.

At the SEC’s request, the court entered an order temporarily restraining the defendants from further violations of the federal securities laws, freezing their assets, prohibiting the destruction of documents, requiring them to provide an accounting, and authorizing expedited discovery.

The SEC’s complaint alleges that the defendants violated the antifraud provisions of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5.  The complaint further alleges that Sellers and Barrera acted as unregistered brokers in violation of Section 15(a) of the Exchange Act.  The complaint requests permanent injunctions and the disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus prejudgment interest and penalties.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Chris Davis, Carol Hahn, and Joann Harris of the Fort Worth Regional Office.  The SEC’s litigation will be led by Timothy McCole.  The SEC appreciates the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Secret Service, and Texas State Securities Board.

U.S. OFFICIAL'S REMARKS AT ANNUAL CARIBBEAN-UNITED STATES SECURITY COOPERATION DIALOGUE

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
Remarks at the 4th Annual Caribbean-United States Security Cooperation Dialogue
Remarks
William J. Burns
Deputy Secretary of State
Washington, DC
December 6, 2013

Good morning. We gather here this morning on a sorrowful note – mourning with the rest of the world the passing of a truly great man, Nelson Mandela. I ask that all of you join me in a moment of silence to honor Mr. Mandela, and all that he stood for. Thank you.

It is an honor to welcome you back to Washington. I want to thank all of you -- our Caribbean partners and international donors -- for your commitment to an initiative of great importance not only for the Caribbean, but indeed for the entire Western Hemisphere.

Last month, in a speech at the Organization of American States, Secretary Kerry declared that “the era of the Monroe Doctrine is over.” He explained that in this new era, the United States seeks a relationship of equals adhering “not to a doctrine, but to the decisions that we make as partners to advance the values and interests we share.”

The Caribbean Basin Security Initiative offers a vivid example of what that kind of partnership can yield. It is a partnership based on shared responsibility and mutual respect. It is a partnership based on shared approaches to shared challenges. And it is a partnership that is achieving results -- reducing illicit trafficking, increasing public safety, and promoting social justice. But as all of you know, our task is far from complete. There is still much that we can do to build an even more effective partnership. Let me say a few words about the progress we’ve made and how we might build on that progress in the coming year.

First, we are accelerating our efforts to prevent the trafficking of narcotics, weapons, and persons. In part due to progress in other parts of the Hemisphere, the Caribbean is seeing an increase in drug trafficking… an increase in the number of criminal gangs… an increase in the number of weapons… and an increase in violence that is undermining regional stability and economic growth.

In response, we are deepening regional law enforcement cooperation so that Caribbean nations can share fingerprint and other data about suspected criminals that lead to arrests and prosecutions. We are increasing our efforts to stop arms trafficking – destroying nearly 2,000 weapons and three tons of ammunition over the past three years. We are improving maritime security through expanded training exercises with a specific focus on counternarcotics missions. And we are increasing train and equip efforts to build the capacity of law enforcement agencies and security forces throughout the Caribbean. Indeed, thanks in part to the Initiative, drug seizures are up 40-percent in the Dominican Republic and almost 300-percent in Guyana.

But we can do more. The Regional Integrated Ballistic Information Network is operational, but is not fully integrated. We can accomplish that this upcoming year. We can also do a better job of detecting and interdicting threats before they make it to our shores by improving information sharing and our maritime domain awareness.

And with multiyear plans for the maintenance and sustainment of our maritime assets, we can be sure that we will have the means to address this threat not just today or tomorrow, but for many years to come.

Second, we are making strides in our effort to prevent and reduce crime and violence, disrupt and dismantle organized gangs, and improve border security. By pooling our resources and our knowledge, we are helping Caribbean states develop a stronger and more effective justice sector. For example, this past year, Jamaica’s Organized Crime and Anti-Corruption Task Force dismantled a major criminal syndicate, arrested more than 100 suspects, and seized hundreds of vehicles and computers and tens of millions of dollars. We are also making progress in implementing civil asset forfeiture legislation to make sure law enforcement and rule of law agencies have the resources they need to do their job. Indeed, this past September, under its newly passed law, Dominica had its first successful cash seizure.

But here too we can take decisive steps forward this year. We can do a better job of sharing biometric law enforcement data regionally, through efforts like the Advanced Fingerprinting Information System. And by making sure that all Initiative members have the proper legislative authorities for the seizure of assets by all states and investing them in a dedicated security fund, we can support law enforcement efforts in the years to come.

Finally, and most importantly, we are paying special attention to the safety and security of our citizens, especially the young people who represent our hopes and dreams for the future of the Caribbean. Our main approach is prevention – making sure that we offer opportunities and services to youth so they avoid entering the juvenile justice system. To date, more than 52,000 young people have participated in Initiative programs in education and workforce development across the Caribbean. They are learning critical life and job skills, contributing positively to their communities, and working together with law enforcement to help resolve local conflicts and reduce violence.

To succeed, we need to work more closely with the private sector and our community leaders to develop the employment skills of at-risk youth and to provide them with sufficient opportunities to apply those skills. And we can work together to make sure alternative sentencing for youth is a routine practice of courts throughout the Caribbean region. This too will require building stronger connections among law enforcement, civil society, and business leaders.

We came together this year committed to building a more effective partnership. I am confident that with continued political will, and sustained focus on implementation, our partnership will only grow stronger. And as it does, we can all be certain that we will be building a more peaceful and prosperous Caribbean Basin and contributing to a more peaceful and prosperous Western Hemisphere.

Thank you all very much.