FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
U.S. Department of Education Fines Corinthian Colleges $30 million for Misrepresentation
Action complements ongoing steps to protect students and consumers against predatory for-profit colleges
APRIL 14, 2015
The U.S. Department of Education took additional steps today to protect students and taxpayers and crack down on abuses within the for-profit sector by continuing its enforcement actions against Corinthian Colleges Inc. After a comprehensive review, the U.S. Department of Education has confirmed cases of misrepresentation of job placement rates to current and prospective students in Corinthian's Heald College system. The Department found 947 misstated placement rates and informed the company it is being fined about $30 million.
Specifically, the Department has determined that Heald College's inaccurate or incomplete disclosures were misleading to students; that they overstated the employment prospects of graduates of Heald's programs; and that current and prospective students of Heald could have relied upon that information as they were choosing whether to attend the school. Heald College provided the Department and its accreditors this inaccurate information as well.
The Department has also notified Corinthian it intends to deny Corinthian's pending applications to continue to participate in the Title IV federal student aid programs at its Heald Salinas and Stockton locations. Corinthian has 14 days to respond to the Department's notice, after which the Department will issue its final decision. Moreover, the Department has determined that Heald College is no longer allowed to enroll students and must prepare to help its current students either complete their education or continue it elsewhere.
The Obama Administration has led unprecedented efforts to protect consumers from predatory career colleges. It has established new gainful employment regulations to hold career training programs accountable and ensure that students are not saddled with debt they cannot repay. These regulations ensure that programs improve their outcomes for students – or risk losing access to federal student aid. Last year, the Department announced a new federal interagency task force to help ensure proper oversight of for-profit institutions, which will be led by Under Secretary Ted Mitchell.
"This should be a wake-up call for consumers across the country about the abuses that can exist within the for-profit college sector," U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said of the Department's enforcement action against Corinthian. "We will continue to hold the career college industry accountable and demand reform for the good of students and taxpayers. And we will need Congress to join us in that effort."
"Instead of providing clear and accurate information to help students choose which college to attend, Corinthian violated students' and taxpayers' trust," said Under Secretary Mitchell. "Their substantial misrepresentations evidence a blatant disregard not just for professional standards, but for students' futures. This is unacceptable, and we are holding them accountable."
As part of these ongoing efforts to ensure that career colleges prepare students for the workforce, institutions are required to provide accurate information about their graduates' job placement success and the types of employment their graduates obtained. The Department expects all institutions to adhere to the highest standard of care and diligence in following the requirements of participating in federal student aid programs to ensure colleges are always doing right by students and taxpayers.
After initial concerns about Corinthian Colleges' job placement rates were raised in January 2014, the Department has taken a series of steps to protect students and hold Corinthian accountable, including increasing the Department's financial oversight of Corinthian and requiring the company to sell or close all of its programs. The Department also mandated the establishment of an independent monitor – under the leadership of former U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald – to ensure Corinthian met its obligations to the Department, including proper, limited use of federal student aid dollars and providing valid information to students regarding their options during Corinthian's transition. The majority of Corinthian's campuses were sold to the nonprofit Zenith Education Group, which agreed to provide a number of new consumer protections, such as providing refund and withdrawal opportunities to students in poorly-performing programs, and has taken steps to strengthen programs and improve affordability, including by reducing tuition. The sale allowed most students to continue pursuing their career goals without disruption, and the Department and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have since worked to provide more than $480 million in loan forgiveness for borrowers who took out Corinthian's high-cost private student loans.
In its investigation of Corinthian Colleges, the Department found numerous causes for concern with practices throughout the Heald College system. Some examples include:
Heald paid temporary agencies to hire its graduates to work at temporary jobs on its own campuses – and counted these graduates as placed. For example, Heald paid companies to hire graduates for temporary positions as short as two days, asked them to perform tasks like moving computers and organizing cables, and then counted those graduates as "placed in field."
Heald College counted placements that were clearly out of the student's field of study as in-field placements. For example, one campus classified a 2011 graduate of an Accounting program as employed in the field based upon a food service job she started at Taco Bell in June 2006. Another campus counted a 2011 Business Administration graduate as placed in the field based upon a seasonal clerk position she obtained in Macy's Shipping and Receiving Department during November 2010, which the student stated ended prior to her graduation.
Heald College failed to disclose that it counted as "placed" those graduates whose employment began prior to graduation, and in some cases even prior to the graduate's attendance at Heald. The Department's analysis revealed that, according to Corinthian's own data for 2012 graduates, over one-third of the graduates reported to have been "placed in field" started their jobs prior to January 1, 2012, and over one-quarter started their jobs prior to January 1, 2011. And in follow-up interviews with some of those students, they told the Department that their jobs were not related to their field of study, nor had they received promotions or increased responsibilities or otherwise progressed in those jobs because of their Heald education.
In some of its disclosures, Heald failed to state that it had excluded students from its placement rate calculations who the college said had deferred employment for one reason or another. In one case, a criminal justice program claimed a placement rate of 100 percent, but it had classified almost 60 percent of the graduates as unavailable for employment. In another case, a medical assisting program claimed a placement rate of 100 percent based upon 51 graduates having been placed, but it had classified almost 43 percent, or 38 of the 89 total graduates of the program, as unavailable for employment.
Throughout this process, the Department has sought a wind down of Corinthian Colleges that protects students, safeguards the investment taxpayers have made in their success, and creates opportunities for students to finish what they started. In the coming days, the Department will provide more information to Corinthian's students to help answer questions about their federal student aid and their options. The Department is also working on a process to help federal student loan borrowers submit a defense to repayment of their federal student loans.
"We have kept students at the heart of every decision we have made about Corinthian, and we will continue to do so as we move forward," Under Secretary Mitchell said. "When our borrowers bring claims to us that their school committed fraud or other violations of state law against them, we will give them the relief that they are entitled to under federal law and regulations."
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
U.S. CYBER COMMANDER AND NSA CHIEF COMMENTS ON CYBER OPERATIONS
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Cybercom Chief Discusses Importance of Cyber Operations
By Jim Garamone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md., April 14, 2015 – Cyber is an operational domain, and military leaders are going to have to understand its importance and the opportunities and challenges of operating in the domain, Navy Adm. Michael S. Rogers said here today.
Rogers, the commander of U.S. Cyber Command, director of the National Security Agency, and chief of the Central Security Service, spoke at the Navy League’s 50th annual Sea-Air-Space Exposition. The admiral participated in a panel entitled, “Cyber, Electromagnetic War and Information Dominance.”
Rogers commented on the speed and growth of the cyber domain.
“The world around us is changing,” he said. “The spectrum and the network are converging. That represents vulnerability and opportunity. How do we set ourselves up to take advantage that opportunity while addressing that vulnerability?”
Cyber is an operational domain in which the U.S. military conducts many operations, “many of them like we do in any other operational domain,” Rogers said.
Understanding Cyber Culture
Getting traditional warfighters to understand the importance of cyber operations -- both defense and offense -- requires an understanding of culture and ethos that is more important than just technology, Rogers said.
“We have got to get beyond focusing just on the technical piece here,” Rogers said. “It’s about ethos. It’s about culture. It’s about warfighting. It’s about how do you operationalize a network on a warfighting platform, and what does that mean?”
He added, “It ain’t just a bumper sticker and it’s not just a slogan.”
In the cyber domain, the emphasis on operations will drive how to man, train and equip organizations, the admiral said. It also drives how the organization is structured, he added, and what operational concepts are deployed.
“It’s about how we are going to fight,” he said.
Capitalizing on Information Dominance
The Navy and the other services must put themselves in a position to capitalize on information dominance, the admiral said.
In June, the Navy will mark the 73rd anniversary of the Battle of Midway, said Rogers, noting that Midway changed the tide of World War II in the Pacific. An overmatched U.S. fleet sank four Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carriers in a desperate battle off the strategic island of Midway.
It was through signals intelligence, code-breaking and communications that then-Navy Adm. Chester Nimitz knew where to position the few U.S. aircraft carriers he had in the region to win the battle.
“As an information warfare officer, as an information dominance officer, I take great pride in the role and capability that our predecessors brought to really make a critical difference in an operational outcome,” Rogers said.
Looking forward, cyber warriors must be able to provide the intelligence to win those battles and more, Rogers said.
How much better it would be in the future, he posited, “if we could not only provide those operational commanders great situational and environmental awareness, but what if we could provide commanders the ability to attempt to bring non-kinetic fires to bear, to give commanders assured command and control, because opponents are going to be contesting our command and control?”
Rogers said he’s pleased with the progress the maritime services have made in regard to cyber and the spectrum. But more needs to be done, he added.
The services, he said, need to factor cyber into every decision.
“Now we are in a totally different operational world,” he said.
Cybercom Chief Discusses Importance of Cyber Operations
By Jim Garamone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md., April 14, 2015 – Cyber is an operational domain, and military leaders are going to have to understand its importance and the opportunities and challenges of operating in the domain, Navy Adm. Michael S. Rogers said here today.
Rogers, the commander of U.S. Cyber Command, director of the National Security Agency, and chief of the Central Security Service, spoke at the Navy League’s 50th annual Sea-Air-Space Exposition. The admiral participated in a panel entitled, “Cyber, Electromagnetic War and Information Dominance.”
Rogers commented on the speed and growth of the cyber domain.
“The world around us is changing,” he said. “The spectrum and the network are converging. That represents vulnerability and opportunity. How do we set ourselves up to take advantage that opportunity while addressing that vulnerability?”
Cyber is an operational domain in which the U.S. military conducts many operations, “many of them like we do in any other operational domain,” Rogers said.
Understanding Cyber Culture
Getting traditional warfighters to understand the importance of cyber operations -- both defense and offense -- requires an understanding of culture and ethos that is more important than just technology, Rogers said.
“We have got to get beyond focusing just on the technical piece here,” Rogers said. “It’s about ethos. It’s about culture. It’s about warfighting. It’s about how do you operationalize a network on a warfighting platform, and what does that mean?”
He added, “It ain’t just a bumper sticker and it’s not just a slogan.”
In the cyber domain, the emphasis on operations will drive how to man, train and equip organizations, the admiral said. It also drives how the organization is structured, he added, and what operational concepts are deployed.
“It’s about how we are going to fight,” he said.
Capitalizing on Information Dominance
The Navy and the other services must put themselves in a position to capitalize on information dominance, the admiral said.
In June, the Navy will mark the 73rd anniversary of the Battle of Midway, said Rogers, noting that Midway changed the tide of World War II in the Pacific. An overmatched U.S. fleet sank four Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carriers in a desperate battle off the strategic island of Midway.
It was through signals intelligence, code-breaking and communications that then-Navy Adm. Chester Nimitz knew where to position the few U.S. aircraft carriers he had in the region to win the battle.
“As an information warfare officer, as an information dominance officer, I take great pride in the role and capability that our predecessors brought to really make a critical difference in an operational outcome,” Rogers said.
Looking forward, cyber warriors must be able to provide the intelligence to win those battles and more, Rogers said.
How much better it would be in the future, he posited, “if we could not only provide those operational commanders great situational and environmental awareness, but what if we could provide commanders the ability to attempt to bring non-kinetic fires to bear, to give commanders assured command and control, because opponents are going to be contesting our command and control?”
Rogers said he’s pleased with the progress the maritime services have made in regard to cyber and the spectrum. But more needs to be done, he added.
The services, he said, need to factor cyber into every decision.
“Now we are in a totally different operational world,” he said.
SECRETARY KERRY'S PRESS STATEMENT ON RESCINDING CUBA'S TERRORISM DESIGNATION
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Recommendation to Rescind Cuba's Designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
April 14, 2015
In December 2014, as a critical component of establishing a new direction for U.S.–Cuba relations, the President directed the State Department to launch a review of Cuba’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism and provide a report to him within six months. Last week, the State Department submitted a report to the White House recommending, based on the facts and the statutory standard, that President Obama rescind Cuba’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.
This recommendation reflects the Department’s assessment that Cuba meets the criteria established by Congress for rescission. While the United States has had, and continues to have, significant concerns and disagreements with a wide range of Cuba’s policies and actions, these concerns and disagreements fall outside of the criteria for designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. This review focused on the narrow questions of whether Cuba provided any support for international terrorism during the previous six months, and whether Cuba has provided assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future, consistent with the statutory standard for rescission.
Circumstances have changed since 1982, when Cuba was originally designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism because of its efforts to promote armed revolution by forces in Latin America. Our Hemisphere, and the world, look very different today than they did 33 years ago. Our determination, pursuant to the facts, including corroborative assurances received from the Government of Cuba and the statutory standard, is that the time has come to rescind Cuba’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.
Recommendation to Rescind Cuba's Designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
April 14, 2015
In December 2014, as a critical component of establishing a new direction for U.S.–Cuba relations, the President directed the State Department to launch a review of Cuba’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism and provide a report to him within six months. Last week, the State Department submitted a report to the White House recommending, based on the facts and the statutory standard, that President Obama rescind Cuba’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.
This recommendation reflects the Department’s assessment that Cuba meets the criteria established by Congress for rescission. While the United States has had, and continues to have, significant concerns and disagreements with a wide range of Cuba’s policies and actions, these concerns and disagreements fall outside of the criteria for designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism. This review focused on the narrow questions of whether Cuba provided any support for international terrorism during the previous six months, and whether Cuba has provided assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future, consistent with the statutory standard for rescission.
Circumstances have changed since 1982, when Cuba was originally designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism because of its efforts to promote armed revolution by forces in Latin America. Our Hemisphere, and the world, look very different today than they did 33 years ago. Our determination, pursuant to the facts, including corroborative assurances received from the Government of Cuba and the statutory standard, is that the time has come to rescind Cuba’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism.
U.S., AFRICAN UNION TO LAUNCH AFRICAN CDC
FROM: U.S. CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
African Union and U.S. CDC Partner to Launch African CDC
The African CDC will be a public health institute supporting the whole continent of Africa
Washington, DC –A Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) signed today by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, M.B. Ch.B., chairperson of the African Union Commission, formalizes a collaboration between the African Union Commission and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in creating the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (African CDC).
“The West African Ebola epidemic reaffirmed the need for a public health institute to support African ministries of health and other health agencies in their efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to any disease outbreak,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “This memorandum solidifies the commitment by the United States to advance public health across Africa and global health security.”
The need for an African CDC was recognized at the African Union Special Summit on HIV and AIDS, TB, and Malaria in Abuja in July 2013. The concept has since moved through various stages of development, stakeholder review, and approval. The African CDC is slated to launch later this year with the establishment of an African Surveillance and Response Unit, which will include an Emergency Operations Center.
“The African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (African CDC) will help African countries effectively monitor public health, respond to public health emergencies, address complex health challenges, and build needed capacity,” Dr. Dlamini-Zuma said.
The African CDC Surveillance and Response Unit will provide technical expertise and response coordination during emergencies. Through the AU Support for Ebola Outbreak in West Africa (ASEOWA) mission, the African Union sent over 800 medical volunteers and public health responders to fight the Ebola epidemic in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone from September 2014 to February 2015. With the African CDC in place, these volunteers and others can be organized to form a deployable force ready to serve Member States during future health emergency responses on the continent.
About the African Union The African Union spearheads Africa’s development and integration in close collaboration with African Union Member States, the Regional Economic Communities and African citizens. The AU’s vision is to accelerate progress towards an integrated, prosperous and inclusive Africa, at peace with itself, playing a dynamic role in the continental and global arena, effectively driven by an accountable, efficient and responsive Commission
African Union and U.S. CDC Partner to Launch African CDC
The African CDC will be a public health institute supporting the whole continent of Africa
Washington, DC –A Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) signed today by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, M.B. Ch.B., chairperson of the African Union Commission, formalizes a collaboration between the African Union Commission and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in creating the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (African CDC).
“The West African Ebola epidemic reaffirmed the need for a public health institute to support African ministries of health and other health agencies in their efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to any disease outbreak,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “This memorandum solidifies the commitment by the United States to advance public health across Africa and global health security.”
The need for an African CDC was recognized at the African Union Special Summit on HIV and AIDS, TB, and Malaria in Abuja in July 2013. The concept has since moved through various stages of development, stakeholder review, and approval. The African CDC is slated to launch later this year with the establishment of an African Surveillance and Response Unit, which will include an Emergency Operations Center.
“The African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (African CDC) will help African countries effectively monitor public health, respond to public health emergencies, address complex health challenges, and build needed capacity,” Dr. Dlamini-Zuma said.
The African CDC Surveillance and Response Unit will provide technical expertise and response coordination during emergencies. Through the AU Support for Ebola Outbreak in West Africa (ASEOWA) mission, the African Union sent over 800 medical volunteers and public health responders to fight the Ebola epidemic in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone from September 2014 to February 2015. With the African CDC in place, these volunteers and others can be organized to form a deployable force ready to serve Member States during future health emergency responses on the continent.
About the African Union The African Union spearheads Africa’s development and integration in close collaboration with African Union Member States, the Regional Economic Communities and African citizens. The AU’s vision is to accelerate progress towards an integrated, prosperous and inclusive Africa, at peace with itself, playing a dynamic role in the continental and global arena, effectively driven by an accountable, efficient and responsive Commission
ARMY LETHALITY CHIEF PREDICTS FUTURE OF MILITARY ROBOTICS
FROM: U.S. ARMY
WASHINGTON (April 10, 2015) -- Doctrine drives training and modernization, and new doctrine to be released in January 2016, will provide impetus for growth in the rapidly-evolving field of robotics, Lt. Col. Matt Dooley predicted.
Dooley, chief of the lethality branch at the Army Capabilities Integration Center, discussed the future of robotics in the Army during the National Defense Industrial Association-sponsored Ground Robotics Capabilities Conference and Exhibition, here, April 8.
Dooley said the new doctrine, "U.S. Army Robotics and Autonomous Systems Strategy," will drive science and technology investments, inform acquisition decisions, further the integration of robots throughout the force and codify the path forward.
Currently, there are references to manned-unmanned teaming and science and technology investments in Army Training and Doctrine Command, or TRADOC, Pamphlet 525-3-1, also called the "Army Operating Concept." But those references are in the appendix of that document. Right now, there is no single Army doctrinal manual devoted wholly to robotics.
Robotics consists of both ground and air vehicles, but Dooley's focus at the panel discussion was the ground aspects.
While the sky is full of unmanned air vehicles, Dooley said, squads have yet to see a similar number of systems in use on the ground, although there are some being used for explosive ordnance disposal and improvised explosive device, or IED, clearing operations.
Systems that a squad might find useful, he said, are those that can carry supplies, locate targets, and carry out surveillance and reconnaissance operations.
Dooley stressed, however, that no work is being done to give unmanned ground systems autonomous authority to engage targets.
War is essentially a human endeavor, he said, and the trigger-puller will be the Soldier. Besides that, Department of Defense, or DoD, Directive 3000.09 prohibits robots from using lethal force. The directive reads, in part: "Human-supervised autonomous weapon systems may be used to select and engage targets, with the exception of selecting humans as targets."
That restriction does not negate the tremendous capabilities robots bring to the battlefield, Dooley said.
ROBOTIC ANTI-ARMOR SYSTEM PREVIEW
Dooley was carrying a draft of the doctrine, which is being reviewed by various stakeholders - so he could not go into any detail about what is in it. But he did provide overall themes.
Robotic Anti-Armor System, or RAS, will tie robotics in with future expeditionary maneuver capabilities that will enable mutual support and mission command across extended distances, where forces are widely dispersed, he said.
Robotics will help Soldiers make contact with the enemy under conditions favorable to Soldiers, while presenting multiple dilemmas to the enemy. The human will always be in the loop when deciding to use lethal force, he said.
The new doctrinal manual will also cover the value of robots in force protection, he said, which brings up a critical question. What cost will the Army and the United States be willing to pay to develop robotics systems that can demonstrably save lives? It is "a morale and ethical decision" that will have to be made, he said.
Dooley explained that very expensive widgets can be added to robotics that would increase force protection, but a cost and a capabilities curve will need to be drawn to determine just how much Soldier protection the nation is willing to pay for.
Safeguards will also need to be built into such systems, he said, citing the DoD guidance which reads: "Semi-autonomous weapon systems that are onboard or integrated with unmanned platforms must be designed such that, in the event of degraded or lost communications, the system does not autonomously select and engage individual targets or specific target groups that have not been previously selected by an authorized human operator."
PRICKLY QUESTION
With the floor open for questions, a representative from industry asked why the Army would consider spending limited resources to develop robotics capabilities that will likely end up "flawed." Additionally, he said, the Army has already been successful using contractors to drive supply convoys, so there is not likely a need for autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles.
"The Army will need to articulate what levels [of protection] we get from our investments," Dooley said, and demonstrate that such autonomous robotics systems are not "pie-in-the-sky" investments.
Retired Army Lt. Col. Joe Bell, also on the panel, said "there's an urgent need to reduce risk [to Soldiers] today," not 10 years hence. "That's our No. 1 motivator."
Bell, now involved in the commercial defense industry, laid out a business model for robotics, saying it can cost $200,000 to armor some vehicles, not including storing and maintaining the armor kits. That would have to be factored into the cost-benefit analysis of using an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle.
A semi-autonomous system used in a leader-follower configuration would also save lives, because if the vehicle hit a mine or took enemy fire, no one would be killed.
Bell said if current technology were applied to a leader-follower system, as few as two Soldiers could convoy four to eight trucks.
Although there would be fewer Soldiers for the enemy to target, that also brings up the problem of less firepower. This issue could be addressed, he said, through mission command, meaning the commander would need to closely monitor the situation and have backup tactics, techniques and procedures in place to handle the unexpected.
Jim Parker, another panelist, argued against the notion that robotics is too expensive or not ready for development.
He said the Army is already making robotics work. At Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, for instance, autonomous vehicles are being tested to shuttle visitors and personnel around the installations.
Parker said that such incremental improvements will serve as building blocks toward the ultimate goal of off-road, difficult-weather and terrain negotiation. Parker is the associate director for Ground Vehicle Robotics, Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center.
WASHINGTON (April 10, 2015) -- Doctrine drives training and modernization, and new doctrine to be released in January 2016, will provide impetus for growth in the rapidly-evolving field of robotics, Lt. Col. Matt Dooley predicted.
Dooley, chief of the lethality branch at the Army Capabilities Integration Center, discussed the future of robotics in the Army during the National Defense Industrial Association-sponsored Ground Robotics Capabilities Conference and Exhibition, here, April 8.
Dooley said the new doctrine, "U.S. Army Robotics and Autonomous Systems Strategy," will drive science and technology investments, inform acquisition decisions, further the integration of robots throughout the force and codify the path forward.
Currently, there are references to manned-unmanned teaming and science and technology investments in Army Training and Doctrine Command, or TRADOC, Pamphlet 525-3-1, also called the "Army Operating Concept." But those references are in the appendix of that document. Right now, there is no single Army doctrinal manual devoted wholly to robotics.
Robotics consists of both ground and air vehicles, but Dooley's focus at the panel discussion was the ground aspects.
While the sky is full of unmanned air vehicles, Dooley said, squads have yet to see a similar number of systems in use on the ground, although there are some being used for explosive ordnance disposal and improvised explosive device, or IED, clearing operations.
Systems that a squad might find useful, he said, are those that can carry supplies, locate targets, and carry out surveillance and reconnaissance operations.
Dooley stressed, however, that no work is being done to give unmanned ground systems autonomous authority to engage targets.
War is essentially a human endeavor, he said, and the trigger-puller will be the Soldier. Besides that, Department of Defense, or DoD, Directive 3000.09 prohibits robots from using lethal force. The directive reads, in part: "Human-supervised autonomous weapon systems may be used to select and engage targets, with the exception of selecting humans as targets."
That restriction does not negate the tremendous capabilities robots bring to the battlefield, Dooley said.
ROBOTIC ANTI-ARMOR SYSTEM PREVIEW
Dooley was carrying a draft of the doctrine, which is being reviewed by various stakeholders - so he could not go into any detail about what is in it. But he did provide overall themes.
Robotic Anti-Armor System, or RAS, will tie robotics in with future expeditionary maneuver capabilities that will enable mutual support and mission command across extended distances, where forces are widely dispersed, he said.
Robotics will help Soldiers make contact with the enemy under conditions favorable to Soldiers, while presenting multiple dilemmas to the enemy. The human will always be in the loop when deciding to use lethal force, he said.
The new doctrinal manual will also cover the value of robots in force protection, he said, which brings up a critical question. What cost will the Army and the United States be willing to pay to develop robotics systems that can demonstrably save lives? It is "a morale and ethical decision" that will have to be made, he said.
Dooley explained that very expensive widgets can be added to robotics that would increase force protection, but a cost and a capabilities curve will need to be drawn to determine just how much Soldier protection the nation is willing to pay for.
Safeguards will also need to be built into such systems, he said, citing the DoD guidance which reads: "Semi-autonomous weapon systems that are onboard or integrated with unmanned platforms must be designed such that, in the event of degraded or lost communications, the system does not autonomously select and engage individual targets or specific target groups that have not been previously selected by an authorized human operator."
PRICKLY QUESTION
With the floor open for questions, a representative from industry asked why the Army would consider spending limited resources to develop robotics capabilities that will likely end up "flawed." Additionally, he said, the Army has already been successful using contractors to drive supply convoys, so there is not likely a need for autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles.
"The Army will need to articulate what levels [of protection] we get from our investments," Dooley said, and demonstrate that such autonomous robotics systems are not "pie-in-the-sky" investments.
Retired Army Lt. Col. Joe Bell, also on the panel, said "there's an urgent need to reduce risk [to Soldiers] today," not 10 years hence. "That's our No. 1 motivator."
Bell, now involved in the commercial defense industry, laid out a business model for robotics, saying it can cost $200,000 to armor some vehicles, not including storing and maintaining the armor kits. That would have to be factored into the cost-benefit analysis of using an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle.
A semi-autonomous system used in a leader-follower configuration would also save lives, because if the vehicle hit a mine or took enemy fire, no one would be killed.
Bell said if current technology were applied to a leader-follower system, as few as two Soldiers could convoy four to eight trucks.
Although there would be fewer Soldiers for the enemy to target, that also brings up the problem of less firepower. This issue could be addressed, he said, through mission command, meaning the commander would need to closely monitor the situation and have backup tactics, techniques and procedures in place to handle the unexpected.
Jim Parker, another panelist, argued against the notion that robotics is too expensive or not ready for development.
He said the Army is already making robotics work. At Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, for instance, autonomous vehicles are being tested to shuttle visitors and personnel around the installations.
Parker said that such incremental improvements will serve as building blocks toward the ultimate goal of off-road, difficult-weather and terrain negotiation. Parker is the associate director for Ground Vehicle Robotics, Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center.
INTERNATIONAL LOTTERY FRAUDSTER WHO TARGETED SENIOR CITIZENS, PLEADS GUILTY
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Friday, April 10, 2015
First Jamaican Man Extradited to the United States in Connection with International Lottery Scheme Pleads Guilty
A Jamaican man pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida in Fort Lauderdale to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the Justice Department announced today.
Damion Bryan Barrett, 28, was extradited from Jamaica in February based on charges that he committed fraud as part of an international lottery scheme against elderly victims in the United States. The prosecution is part of the United States’ ongoing crackdown on fraudulent international lottery schemes.
“Scammers in foreign countries preying on elderly victims in the United States are not immune from prosecution in the United States,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This case demonstrates that we will bring those responsible to justice, wherever they may seek to hide.”
“The protection of the most vulnerable members of our society, including the elderly, is one of the top priorities of the Department of Justice and of our office, and this case again shows that an international border is no defense for those who defraud our senior citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida. “Regardless of where the criminals may be located, we will work together with our domestic and international law enforcement partners to bring them to the United States to hold them accountable for their crimes. In particular, we thank the Jamaican authorities for their cooperation and assistance in our continuing efforts to stamp out these long-running lottery schemes that target older Americans.”
Barrett was indicted by a federal grand jury in Fort Lauderdale on Aug. 9, 2012, and was arrested in Jamaica in January based on the United States’ request that he be extradited. On Feb. 12, Barrett was the first Jamaican to be extradited to the United States based on charges that he committed fraud as part of an international lottery scheme.
As part of his guilty plea, Barrett acknowledged that had the case gone to trial, the United States would have proved beyond a reasonable doubt that from 2008 through 2012, Barrett was a member of a conspiracy in which elderly victims were informed that they had won a large amount of money in a lottery and were induced to pay bogus fees in advance of receiving their purported lottery winnings. Barrett also admitted that the United States would have proved that he knew the claims of lottery winnings were completely fabricated and that he and his co-conspirators kept the victims’ money for their own benefit without paying any lottery winnings. Barrett also admitted that the United States would have proved that in an effort to convince the victims that the lottery winnings were real, the conspirators sent the victims communications discussing their purported lottery winnings, which falsely claimed to be from a genuine sweepstakes company and from federal agencies including the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Reserve. In fact, these communications were not from a genuine sweepstakes company or from agencies of the United States.
At his June 19 sentencing, Barrett faces a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and mandatory restitution. Barrett’s co-defendant, Oneike Barnett, 29, pleaded guilty on Feb. 28, 2014, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On April 29, 2014, U.S. District Court Judge William J. Zloch sentenced Barnett to serve 60 months in prison and five years of supervised release, and to pay $94,456 in restitution for his role in this case.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mizer and U.S. Attorney Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Marshals Service. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Kathryn Drenning of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertha R. Mitrani of the Southern District of Florida.
Friday, April 10, 2015
First Jamaican Man Extradited to the United States in Connection with International Lottery Scheme Pleads Guilty
A Jamaican man pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida in Fort Lauderdale to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the Justice Department announced today.
Damion Bryan Barrett, 28, was extradited from Jamaica in February based on charges that he committed fraud as part of an international lottery scheme against elderly victims in the United States. The prosecution is part of the United States’ ongoing crackdown on fraudulent international lottery schemes.
“Scammers in foreign countries preying on elderly victims in the United States are not immune from prosecution in the United States,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “This case demonstrates that we will bring those responsible to justice, wherever they may seek to hide.”
“The protection of the most vulnerable members of our society, including the elderly, is one of the top priorities of the Department of Justice and of our office, and this case again shows that an international border is no defense for those who defraud our senior citizens,” said U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer of the Southern District of Florida. “Regardless of where the criminals may be located, we will work together with our domestic and international law enforcement partners to bring them to the United States to hold them accountable for their crimes. In particular, we thank the Jamaican authorities for their cooperation and assistance in our continuing efforts to stamp out these long-running lottery schemes that target older Americans.”
Barrett was indicted by a federal grand jury in Fort Lauderdale on Aug. 9, 2012, and was arrested in Jamaica in January based on the United States’ request that he be extradited. On Feb. 12, Barrett was the first Jamaican to be extradited to the United States based on charges that he committed fraud as part of an international lottery scheme.
As part of his guilty plea, Barrett acknowledged that had the case gone to trial, the United States would have proved beyond a reasonable doubt that from 2008 through 2012, Barrett was a member of a conspiracy in which elderly victims were informed that they had won a large amount of money in a lottery and were induced to pay bogus fees in advance of receiving their purported lottery winnings. Barrett also admitted that the United States would have proved that he knew the claims of lottery winnings were completely fabricated and that he and his co-conspirators kept the victims’ money for their own benefit without paying any lottery winnings. Barrett also admitted that the United States would have proved that in an effort to convince the victims that the lottery winnings were real, the conspirators sent the victims communications discussing their purported lottery winnings, which falsely claimed to be from a genuine sweepstakes company and from federal agencies including the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Reserve. In fact, these communications were not from a genuine sweepstakes company or from agencies of the United States.
At his June 19 sentencing, Barrett faces a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and mandatory restitution. Barrett’s co-defendant, Oneike Barnett, 29, pleaded guilty on Feb. 28, 2014, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. On April 29, 2014, U.S. District Court Judge William J. Zloch sentenced Barnett to serve 60 months in prison and five years of supervised release, and to pay $94,456 in restitution for his role in this case.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Mizer and U.S. Attorney Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Marshals Service. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Kathryn Drenning of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertha R. Mitrani of the Southern District of Florida.
TWO CARDIOVASCULAR TESTING LABS SETTLE FALSE CLAIMS ACCUSATIONS AND WILL PAY $48.5 MILLION
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Two Cardiovascular Disease Testing Laboratories to Pay $48.5 Million to Settle Claims of Paying Kickbacks and Conducting Unnecessary Testing
United States Sues Two Other Companies and Three Individuals for Similar Violations
Cardiovascular testing disease laboratories Health Diagnostics Laboratory Inc. (HDL), of Richmond, Virginia, and Singulex Inc., of Alameda, California, have agreed to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by paying remuneration to physicians in exchange for patient referrals and billing federal health care programs for medically unnecessary testing, the Department of Justice announced today. Under the settlements, which stem from three related whistleblower actions filed under the federal False Claims Act, HDL will pay $47 million and Singulex will pay $1.5 million. The government also intervened in the lawsuits as to similar allegations against another laboratory, Berkeley HeartLab Inc.; a marketing company, BlueWave Healthcare Consultants Inc., and its owners, Floyd Calhoun Dent and J. Bradley Johnson; and former CEO Latonya Mallory of HDL.
“Health care providers that attempt to profit by providing illegal inducements will be held accountable,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to advocate for the appropriate use of Medicare funds and the proper care of our senior citizens.”
As alleged in the lawsuits, HDL, Singulex and Berkeley induced physicians to refer patients to them for blood tests by paying them processing and handling fees of between $10 and $17 per referral and by routinely waiving patient co-pays and deductibles. In addition, HDL and Singulex allegedly conspired with BlueWave to offer these inducements on behalf of HDL and Singulex. As a result, physicians allegedly referred patients to HDL, Singulex and Berkeley for medically unnecessary tests, which were then billed to federal health care programs, including Medicare.
The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering, paying, soliciting or receiving remuneration to induce referrals of items or services covered by federally funded programs. The Anti-Kickback Statute is intended to ensure that a physician’s medical judgment is not compromised by improper financial incentives and is instead based on the best interests of the patient.
“The District of South Carolina has more than doubled its resources allocated to the pursuit of fraud, including matters brought to our attention by whistleblowers,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles of the District of South Carolina. “Whistleblower actions are a critical tool for holding health care providers accountable for fraudulent and abusive practices not only in South Carolina but nationwide.”
“When health care companies pursue profits by paying kickbacks to doctors, they undermine a patient’s ability to trust that medical decisions are being made for scientific reasons, not financial ones,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent H. Cohen Jr. of the District of Columbia. “Those kickbacks also harm the taxpayer because they drive up the cost of federal health care programs with medically unnecessary tests. This significant settlement shows our determination to work with whistleblowers and our federal partners to defend the integrity of the health care system from illegal agreements that hurt patients and taxpayers.”
As part of the settlements, HDL and Singulex have agreed to enter into separate corporate integrity agreements with the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). Those agreements provide for procedures and reviews to be put in place to avoid and promptly detect conduct similar to that which gave rise to these settlements.
“Today’s announcement that DOJ has settled in part and intervened in part in these whistleblower actions reflects the commitment by DOJ, our agency and our other law enforcement partners to ferret out alleged improper Medicare billings by health care companies that are looking to increase their profits at the expense of taxpayers,” said Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson of the HHS-OIG Atlanta Regional Office.
The lawsuits were filed by Dr. Michael Mayes, Scarlett Lutz, Kayla Webster and Chris Reidel under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act. Under the act, private citizens can bring suit on behalf of the government for false claims and share in any recovery. The whistleblowers’ share of the settlements has yet to be determined. The act also permits the United States to intervene in and take over a whistleblower suit, as it has done in part in the three actions. The United States advised the court that it would be filing its own complaint against the corporate and individual defendants against whom it has intervened within 120 days.
Two of the lawsuits separately allege that the former CEO Phillipe Goix of Singulex and Quest Diagnostics Inc., parent of Berkeley, are liable for the scheme; the government declined to intervene in the allegations against Goix and Quest.
The government’s actions illustrate its emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $23.9 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $15.2 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
These matters were investigated by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, the U.S. Attorney’s Offices of the District of South Carolina, the District of Columbia and the Middle District of North Carolina, HHS-OIG, the FBI, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s Office of Inspector General, and the Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General Defense Criminal Investigative Service.
The cases are captioned United States ex rel. Mayes v. Berkeley HeartLab Inc., et al., Case No. 9:11-CV-01593-RMG (D.S.C.); United States ex rel. Riedel v. Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:11-CV-02308 (D.D.C.); and United States, et al. ex rel. Lutz, et al. v. Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc., et al., Case No. 9:14-CV-0230-RMG (D.S.C.). The claims settled by these agreements and asserted against these companies and individuals are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Two Cardiovascular Disease Testing Laboratories to Pay $48.5 Million to Settle Claims of Paying Kickbacks and Conducting Unnecessary Testing
United States Sues Two Other Companies and Three Individuals for Similar Violations
Cardiovascular testing disease laboratories Health Diagnostics Laboratory Inc. (HDL), of Richmond, Virginia, and Singulex Inc., of Alameda, California, have agreed to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by paying remuneration to physicians in exchange for patient referrals and billing federal health care programs for medically unnecessary testing, the Department of Justice announced today. Under the settlements, which stem from three related whistleblower actions filed under the federal False Claims Act, HDL will pay $47 million and Singulex will pay $1.5 million. The government also intervened in the lawsuits as to similar allegations against another laboratory, Berkeley HeartLab Inc.; a marketing company, BlueWave Healthcare Consultants Inc., and its owners, Floyd Calhoun Dent and J. Bradley Johnson; and former CEO Latonya Mallory of HDL.
“Health care providers that attempt to profit by providing illegal inducements will be held accountable,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to advocate for the appropriate use of Medicare funds and the proper care of our senior citizens.”
As alleged in the lawsuits, HDL, Singulex and Berkeley induced physicians to refer patients to them for blood tests by paying them processing and handling fees of between $10 and $17 per referral and by routinely waiving patient co-pays and deductibles. In addition, HDL and Singulex allegedly conspired with BlueWave to offer these inducements on behalf of HDL and Singulex. As a result, physicians allegedly referred patients to HDL, Singulex and Berkeley for medically unnecessary tests, which were then billed to federal health care programs, including Medicare.
The Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering, paying, soliciting or receiving remuneration to induce referrals of items or services covered by federally funded programs. The Anti-Kickback Statute is intended to ensure that a physician’s medical judgment is not compromised by improper financial incentives and is instead based on the best interests of the patient.
“The District of South Carolina has more than doubled its resources allocated to the pursuit of fraud, including matters brought to our attention by whistleblowers,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles of the District of South Carolina. “Whistleblower actions are a critical tool for holding health care providers accountable for fraudulent and abusive practices not only in South Carolina but nationwide.”
“When health care companies pursue profits by paying kickbacks to doctors, they undermine a patient’s ability to trust that medical decisions are being made for scientific reasons, not financial ones,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Vincent H. Cohen Jr. of the District of Columbia. “Those kickbacks also harm the taxpayer because they drive up the cost of federal health care programs with medically unnecessary tests. This significant settlement shows our determination to work with whistleblowers and our federal partners to defend the integrity of the health care system from illegal agreements that hurt patients and taxpayers.”
As part of the settlements, HDL and Singulex have agreed to enter into separate corporate integrity agreements with the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). Those agreements provide for procedures and reviews to be put in place to avoid and promptly detect conduct similar to that which gave rise to these settlements.
“Today’s announcement that DOJ has settled in part and intervened in part in these whistleblower actions reflects the commitment by DOJ, our agency and our other law enforcement partners to ferret out alleged improper Medicare billings by health care companies that are looking to increase their profits at the expense of taxpayers,” said Special Agent in Charge Derrick L. Jackson of the HHS-OIG Atlanta Regional Office.
The lawsuits were filed by Dr. Michael Mayes, Scarlett Lutz, Kayla Webster and Chris Reidel under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act. Under the act, private citizens can bring suit on behalf of the government for false claims and share in any recovery. The whistleblowers’ share of the settlements has yet to be determined. The act also permits the United States to intervene in and take over a whistleblower suit, as it has done in part in the three actions. The United States advised the court that it would be filing its own complaint against the corporate and individual defendants against whom it has intervened within 120 days.
Two of the lawsuits separately allege that the former CEO Phillipe Goix of Singulex and Quest Diagnostics Inc., parent of Berkeley, are liable for the scheme; the government declined to intervene in the allegations against Goix and Quest.
The government’s actions illustrate its emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $23.9 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $15.2 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.
These matters were investigated by the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, the U.S. Attorney’s Offices of the District of South Carolina, the District of Columbia and the Middle District of North Carolina, HHS-OIG, the FBI, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s Office of Inspector General, and the Department of Defense’s Office of Inspector General Defense Criminal Investigative Service.
The cases are captioned United States ex rel. Mayes v. Berkeley HeartLab Inc., et al., Case No. 9:11-CV-01593-RMG (D.S.C.); United States ex rel. Riedel v. Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:11-CV-02308 (D.D.C.); and United States, et al. ex rel. Lutz, et al. v. Health Diagnostic Laboratory, Inc., et al., Case No. 9:14-CV-0230-RMG (D.S.C.). The claims settled by these agreements and asserted against these companies and individuals are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
COURT ORDERS TEMPORARY HALT TO COMPANY COERCING PEOPLE TO PAY DEBTS THEY DON'T OWE
FROM: U.S. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
FTC, Illinois Attorney General Halt Chicago Area Operation Charged With Illegally Pressuring Consumers to Pay ‘Phantom’ Debts
The Federal Trade Commission and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office have obtained a court order temporarily halting a fake debt collection scam located in Aurora, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. The defendants are charged with illegally using threats and intimidation tactics to coerce consumers to pay payday loan debts they either did not owe, or did not owe to the defendants.
The FTC’s case against K.I.P., LLC, Charles Dickey, and Chantelle Dickey is the agency’s seventh ‘phantom’ debt collector matter.
“This company scared and tricked people into paying debts they didn’t owe,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Working with terrific partners like the Illinois Attorney General, we will keep going after phantom debt scams like this one and shutting them down.”
“The defendants have threatened and intimidated their way into stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from unsuspecting people all across the country,” Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said. “Between our two offices, we have hundreds of complaints. It is clear they must be stopped.”
According to the complaint, since at least 2010, the defendants used a host of business names to target consumers who obtained or applied for payday or other short-term loans, pressuring them into paying debts that they either did not owe or that the defendants had no authority to collect.
Often armed with sensitive financial information, the defendants would call consumers and demand immediate payment for payday loans that were supposedly delinquent. To pressure consumers to pay, the defendants threatened that they would:
Garnish consumers’ wages;
Suspend or revoke their drivers’ licenses;
Have them arrested or imprisoned; or
File a lawsuit against them.
In response to the defendants’ repeated calls and alleged threats, many consumers paid the debts, even though they may not have owed them, because they believed the defendants would follow through on their threats or they simply wanted to end the harassing phone calls.
The complaint also charges the defendants with failing to provide consumers with a notice containing: 1) the amount of the debt; 2) the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed; 3) a statement that unless the consumer disputes the debt, it will be assumed to be valid; 4) a statement that if the consumer does dispute the debt in writing, the defendants will verify the debt is correct; and 5) a statement that upon the consumer’s written request, the defendants will provide the consumer with the name and address of the original creditor if different from the current creditor.
Finally, the complaint charges that the defendants: called consumers at work when they knew such calls were prohibited by consumers’ employers; harassed and abused consumers; used obscene or profane language; and called consumers repeatedly with the intent of annoying or abusing them.
The complaint also alleges that the defendants violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and the Illinois Collection Agency Act, and that the defendants are not licensed debt collectors as required by Illinois law.
Defendants named in the case include: K.I.P., LLC; Charles Dickey, individually and as an owner, member, or managing member of K.I.P., LLC, and also doing business as (d/b/a) Ezell Williams and Associates, Corp.; Ezell Williams, LLC; Excel Receivables, Corp.; Second Chance Financial Credit, Corp.; Second Chance Financial, LLC; Payday Loan Recovery Group, LLC; Payday Loan Recovery Group; Payday Loan Recovery; International Recovery Services, LLC; International Recovery Services; and D&R Recovery. The complaint also names Chantelle Dickey, also known as Chantelle Rudd and Chantelle Williams, as an individual and as a manager of K.I.P.
The FTC and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office appreciate the Aurora Police Department, North Aurora Police Department, Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Chicago Division for their valuable assistance with this matter.
FTC, Illinois Attorney General Halt Chicago Area Operation Charged With Illegally Pressuring Consumers to Pay ‘Phantom’ Debts
The Federal Trade Commission and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office have obtained a court order temporarily halting a fake debt collection scam located in Aurora, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. The defendants are charged with illegally using threats and intimidation tactics to coerce consumers to pay payday loan debts they either did not owe, or did not owe to the defendants.
The FTC’s case against K.I.P., LLC, Charles Dickey, and Chantelle Dickey is the agency’s seventh ‘phantom’ debt collector matter.
“This company scared and tricked people into paying debts they didn’t owe,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Working with terrific partners like the Illinois Attorney General, we will keep going after phantom debt scams like this one and shutting them down.”
“The defendants have threatened and intimidated their way into stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from unsuspecting people all across the country,” Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said. “Between our two offices, we have hundreds of complaints. It is clear they must be stopped.”
According to the complaint, since at least 2010, the defendants used a host of business names to target consumers who obtained or applied for payday or other short-term loans, pressuring them into paying debts that they either did not owe or that the defendants had no authority to collect.
Often armed with sensitive financial information, the defendants would call consumers and demand immediate payment for payday loans that were supposedly delinquent. To pressure consumers to pay, the defendants threatened that they would:
Garnish consumers’ wages;
Suspend or revoke their drivers’ licenses;
Have them arrested or imprisoned; or
File a lawsuit against them.
In response to the defendants’ repeated calls and alleged threats, many consumers paid the debts, even though they may not have owed them, because they believed the defendants would follow through on their threats or they simply wanted to end the harassing phone calls.
The complaint also charges the defendants with failing to provide consumers with a notice containing: 1) the amount of the debt; 2) the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed; 3) a statement that unless the consumer disputes the debt, it will be assumed to be valid; 4) a statement that if the consumer does dispute the debt in writing, the defendants will verify the debt is correct; and 5) a statement that upon the consumer’s written request, the defendants will provide the consumer with the name and address of the original creditor if different from the current creditor.
Finally, the complaint charges that the defendants: called consumers at work when they knew such calls were prohibited by consumers’ employers; harassed and abused consumers; used obscene or profane language; and called consumers repeatedly with the intent of annoying or abusing them.
The complaint also alleges that the defendants violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and the Illinois Collection Agency Act, and that the defendants are not licensed debt collectors as required by Illinois law.
Defendants named in the case include: K.I.P., LLC; Charles Dickey, individually and as an owner, member, or managing member of K.I.P., LLC, and also doing business as (d/b/a) Ezell Williams and Associates, Corp.; Ezell Williams, LLC; Excel Receivables, Corp.; Second Chance Financial Credit, Corp.; Second Chance Financial, LLC; Payday Loan Recovery Group, LLC; Payday Loan Recovery Group; Payday Loan Recovery; International Recovery Services, LLC; International Recovery Services; and D&R Recovery. The complaint also names Chantelle Dickey, also known as Chantelle Rudd and Chantelle Williams, as an individual and as a manager of K.I.P.
The FTC and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office appreciate the Aurora Police Department, North Aurora Police Department, Better Business Bureau of Chicago and Northern Illinois, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Chicago Division for their valuable assistance with this matter.
FIRED DENTAL ASSISTANT TO RECEIVE $85,000 IN CASE INVOLVING DISPOSAL OF CONTAMINATED NEEDLES
FROM: U.S. LABOR DEPARTMENT
Court orders dentist to pay $85K to employee fired for safety complaint
Assistant raised dangers of used needles as Dr. N. Terry Fayad allegedly sought cost savings
BOSTON, Mass. — It began when Massachusetts dentist Dr. N. Terry Fayad changed his practice's procedure for disposing of contaminated needles. He told those in his Beverly-based office to first remove the protective caps before dropping them into sharps disposal containers, allegedly to fill the containers with more used needles and reduce the frequency and cost of their disposal.
Concerned that she and her co-workers could be exposed to needle stick injuries and the risk of infection from bloodborne pathogens such as hepatitis and HIV, a dental assistant raised the issue with Fayad. When he dismissed her concern, she filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. After an OSHA inspector visited on Nov. 23, 2010, Dr. Fayad fired her later that day.
A whistleblower investigation followed and, in September 2011, the Department of Labor sued Fayad in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. In its complaint, the department charged that the dentist violated the anti-retaliation provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The suit eventually went to trial before U.S. District Judge George A. O'Toole.
Judge O'Toole has ruled in favor of the department and ordered Fayad's practice, N. Terry Fayad, D.M.D., P.C., to pay the worker $51,644.80 in back wages and ordered both Fayad and the practice to pay her $33,450.26 in compensatory damages. The judge found that the employee's firing by Fayad shortly after OSHA began its inspection was retaliatory and a violation of section 11(c) of the OSH Act.
"This worker suffered needless financial and emotional distress because Dr. Fayad chose to disregard a clear and important principle: Employees have the right to contact OSHA and raise workplace health and safety concerns with their employer without fear of termination or retaliation," said Greg Baxter, OSHA's acting regional administrator for New England. "Employers must pay attention to this verdict. It makes it clear that there will be legal and financial consequences if you retaliate against your employees in this manner."
"The OSH Act gives employees both a right to a safe and healthy workplace, and a right to voice concerns about workplace conditions, without fear of adverse consequences," said Michael Felsen, the department's New England regional solicitor of labor. "This case demonstrates the Labor Department will pursue legal remedies aggressively when employers fire workers or try to intimidate them into silence when they assert those rights."
The court also entered an injunction against Fayad, his P.C., and their agents and employees, preventing them from violating the anti-retaliation provisions of the OSH Act, and directing the defendants to post a notice to their employees stating that they will not in any way discriminate against employees for activities protected by the Act.
The case was tried on the Secretary's behalf by Senior Trial Attorney Kelly Lawson and Trial Attorney Nathan Goldstein of the department's regional Office of the Solicitor in Boston.
OSHA's health inspection resulted in the Fayad practice being cited for violations of OSHA's bloodborne pathogen and hazard communication standards. The violations were corrected and he paid a fine of $11,000 in 2012.
OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of the OSH Act and 21 other statutes protecting employees who report violations of various airline, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health care reform, nuclear, pipeline, worker safety, public transportation agency, maritime and securities laws.
Employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who raise various protected concerns or provide protected information to the employer or to the government. Employees who believe that they suffered retaliation for engaging in protected conduct may file a complaint with the secretary of labor to request an investigation by OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program.
Court orders dentist to pay $85K to employee fired for safety complaint
Assistant raised dangers of used needles as Dr. N. Terry Fayad allegedly sought cost savings
BOSTON, Mass. — It began when Massachusetts dentist Dr. N. Terry Fayad changed his practice's procedure for disposing of contaminated needles. He told those in his Beverly-based office to first remove the protective caps before dropping them into sharps disposal containers, allegedly to fill the containers with more used needles and reduce the frequency and cost of their disposal.
Concerned that she and her co-workers could be exposed to needle stick injuries and the risk of infection from bloodborne pathogens such as hepatitis and HIV, a dental assistant raised the issue with Fayad. When he dismissed her concern, she filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. After an OSHA inspector visited on Nov. 23, 2010, Dr. Fayad fired her later that day.
A whistleblower investigation followed and, in September 2011, the Department of Labor sued Fayad in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. In its complaint, the department charged that the dentist violated the anti-retaliation provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. The suit eventually went to trial before U.S. District Judge George A. O'Toole.
Judge O'Toole has ruled in favor of the department and ordered Fayad's practice, N. Terry Fayad, D.M.D., P.C., to pay the worker $51,644.80 in back wages and ordered both Fayad and the practice to pay her $33,450.26 in compensatory damages. The judge found that the employee's firing by Fayad shortly after OSHA began its inspection was retaliatory and a violation of section 11(c) of the OSH Act.
"This worker suffered needless financial and emotional distress because Dr. Fayad chose to disregard a clear and important principle: Employees have the right to contact OSHA and raise workplace health and safety concerns with their employer without fear of termination or retaliation," said Greg Baxter, OSHA's acting regional administrator for New England. "Employers must pay attention to this verdict. It makes it clear that there will be legal and financial consequences if you retaliate against your employees in this manner."
"The OSH Act gives employees both a right to a safe and healthy workplace, and a right to voice concerns about workplace conditions, without fear of adverse consequences," said Michael Felsen, the department's New England regional solicitor of labor. "This case demonstrates the Labor Department will pursue legal remedies aggressively when employers fire workers or try to intimidate them into silence when they assert those rights."
The court also entered an injunction against Fayad, his P.C., and their agents and employees, preventing them from violating the anti-retaliation provisions of the OSH Act, and directing the defendants to post a notice to their employees stating that they will not in any way discriminate against employees for activities protected by the Act.
The case was tried on the Secretary's behalf by Senior Trial Attorney Kelly Lawson and Trial Attorney Nathan Goldstein of the department's regional Office of the Solicitor in Boston.
OSHA's health inspection resulted in the Fayad practice being cited for violations of OSHA's bloodborne pathogen and hazard communication standards. The violations were corrected and he paid a fine of $11,000 in 2012.
OSHA enforces the whistleblower provisions of the OSH Act and 21 other statutes protecting employees who report violations of various airline, commercial motor carrier, consumer product, environmental, financial reform, food safety, health care reform, nuclear, pipeline, worker safety, public transportation agency, maritime and securities laws.
Employers are prohibited from retaliating against employees who raise various protected concerns or provide protected information to the employer or to the government. Employees who believe that they suffered retaliation for engaging in protected conduct may file a complaint with the secretary of labor to request an investigation by OSHA's Whistleblower Protection Program.
Monday, April 13, 2015
PRESIDENT OBAMA ASKS SENATE TO CONSENT TO RATIFY PROTOCOL AMENDING CONVENTION BETWEEN U.S. AND JAPAN
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
April 13, 2015
Message to Congress -- Protocol Amending the Convention between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Japan
TO THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES:
I transmit herewith, for the advice and consent of the Senate to its ratification, the Protocol Amending the Convention between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Japan for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and a related agreement entered into by an exchange of notes (together the "proposed Protocol"), both signed on January 24, 2013, at Washington, together with correcting notes exchanged March 9 and March 29, 2013. I also transmit for the information of the Senate the report of the Department of State, which includes an overview of the proposed Protocol.
The proposed Protocol was negotiated to bring U.S.-Japan tax treaty relations into closer conformity with current U.S. tax treaty policy. For example, the proposed Protocol provides for an exemption from source-country withholding tax on all cross-border payments of interest, and updates the provisions of the existing Convention with respect to the mutual agreement procedure by incorporating mandatory arbitration of certain cases that the competent authorities of the United States and Japan have been unable to resolve after a reasonable period of time.
I recommend that the Senate give early and favorableconsideration to the proposed Protocol and give its advice and consent to its ratification.
BARACK OBAMA
April 13, 2015
Message to Congress -- Protocol Amending the Convention between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Japan
TO THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES:
I transmit herewith, for the advice and consent of the Senate to its ratification, the Protocol Amending the Convention between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Japan for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and a related agreement entered into by an exchange of notes (together the "proposed Protocol"), both signed on January 24, 2013, at Washington, together with correcting notes exchanged March 9 and March 29, 2013. I also transmit for the information of the Senate the report of the Department of State, which includes an overview of the proposed Protocol.
The proposed Protocol was negotiated to bring U.S.-Japan tax treaty relations into closer conformity with current U.S. tax treaty policy. For example, the proposed Protocol provides for an exemption from source-country withholding tax on all cross-border payments of interest, and updates the provisions of the existing Convention with respect to the mutual agreement procedure by incorporating mandatory arbitration of certain cases that the competent authorities of the United States and Japan have been unable to resolve after a reasonable period of time.
I recommend that the Senate give early and favorableconsideration to the proposed Protocol and give its advice and consent to its ratification.
BARACK OBAMA
DOD EXPLAINS EVOLUTION OF 'USE OF FORCE LAW' TO COVER MULTIPLE MILITARY OPERATIONS
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
General Counsel Charts Use of Force Law’s Evolution
By Jim Garamone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, April 13, 2015 – Though the very idea of law sounds immutable and concrete, the law evolves as circumstances change, the Defense Department’s general counsel told the American Society of International Law here April 10.
Stephen W. Preston updated the group on the latest thinking behind the legal framework for military options and on how that thinking has changed.
Preston explained the history behind the authorization for the use of military force that allowed operations against al-Qaida in 2001. The AUMF, as it is commonly abbreviated, was not a traditional declaration of war against a state, he said.
“We had been attacked, instead, by a terrorist organization,” he said. “Yes, the Taliban had allowed [Osama] bin Laden and his organization to operate with impunity within Afghanistan. But it was not Afghanistan that had launched the attack. It was bin Laden and his terrorist organization.
“The authorization for the use of military force that Congress passed aimed to give the president all the statutory authority he needed to fight back against bin Laden, his organization and those who supported him, including the Taliban,” Preston added.
Associated Forces
Congress, the executive branch and the courts agreed in 2011 that the 2001 AUMF covered associated forces, too: al-Qaida, the Taliban and certain other terrorist or insurgent groups in Afghanistan; al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen; and individuals who are part of al-Qaida in Somalia and Libya, the general counsel said.
“In addition, over the past year, we have conducted military operations under the 2001 AUMF against the Nusrah Front and, specifically, those members of al-Qaida referred to as the Khorasan Group in Syria,” he added. “We have also resumed such operations against the group we fought in Iraq when it was known as al-Qaida in Iraq, which is now known as [the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant].”
Putting groups into this category is done only at the highest levels of the U.S. government, Preston said.
He stressed that American actions against ISIL are consistent with international and domestic law. ISIL grew out of al-Qaida in Iraq, and Americans and American interests have been targets of the terror group since 2004, he said.
ISIL’s recent split from al-Qaida does not change the situation in respect to law, Preston told the group. ISIL considers itself to be the true inheritor of bin Laden’s legacy and groups that have pledged loyalty to ISIL, he explained, adding that this alone covers the group under the 2001 AUMF.
Authorization for Force in Iraq
Preston stressed that the president’s authority to fight ISIL is further reinforced by the 2002 authorization for the use of military force against Iraq. “That AUMF authorized the use of force to, among other things, ‘defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq,’” he said.
Though the AUMF was directed against Saddam Hussein’s regime, “the statute … has always been understood to authorize the use of force for the related purposes of helping to establish a stable, democratic Iraq and addressing terrorist threats emanating from Iraq,” he said.
For current operations in Iraq, he noted, the Iraqi government requested American help against ISIL. “In Syria, the United States is using force against ISIL in the collective self-defense of Iraq and U.S. national self-defense, and it has notified the U.N. Security Council that it is taking these actions in Syria consistent with Article 51 of the U.N. Charter,” he said. Article 51 allows for self-defense actions.
Though the NATO combat mission in Afghanistan ended in December, the 2001 AUMF remains valid, Preston said.
“Although our presence in that country has been reduced and our mission there is more limited, the fact is that active hostilities continue,” he said. “As a matter of international law, the United States remains in a state of armed conflict against the Taliban, al-Qaida and associated forces, and the 2001 AUMF continues to stand as statutory authority to use military force.”
The roughly 10,000 U.S. service members in Afghanistan have two missions, Preston told the group. The first -- a NATO mission -- is to continue training Afghan security forces. The second is a counterterrorism mission aimed at the remnants of al-Qaida and to prevent an al-Qaida resurgence or external plotting against the homeland or U.S. targets abroad, the general counsel said.
“The use of force by the U.S. military in Afghanistan is now limited to circumstances in which using force is necessary to execute those two missions or to protect our personnel,” he said.
Adapting Law to the ISIL Fight
Preston then turned to current discussions over an AUMF aimed directly at ISIL. President Barack Obama wants ultimately to repeal the 2001 AUMF and to tailor its authorities to better fit the current fight and the strategy going forward, he said. In February, the president submitted draft legislation authorizing use of “the armed forces of the United States as the president determines to be necessary and appropriate against ISIL or associated persons or forces.”
“This raises the question: If the president already has the authority needed to take action against ISIL, why is he seeking a new authorization?” the general counsel asked. “Most obviously and importantly, as the president has said, the world needs to know we are united behind the effort against ISIL, and the men and women of our military deserve our clear and unified support. Enacting the president’s proposed AUMF will show our fighting forces, the American people, our foreign partners and the enemy that the president and Congress are united in their resolve to degrade and defeat ISIL.”
General Counsel Charts Use of Force Law’s Evolution
By Jim Garamone
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, April 13, 2015 – Though the very idea of law sounds immutable and concrete, the law evolves as circumstances change, the Defense Department’s general counsel told the American Society of International Law here April 10.
Stephen W. Preston updated the group on the latest thinking behind the legal framework for military options and on how that thinking has changed.
Preston explained the history behind the authorization for the use of military force that allowed operations against al-Qaida in 2001. The AUMF, as it is commonly abbreviated, was not a traditional declaration of war against a state, he said.
“We had been attacked, instead, by a terrorist organization,” he said. “Yes, the Taliban had allowed [Osama] bin Laden and his organization to operate with impunity within Afghanistan. But it was not Afghanistan that had launched the attack. It was bin Laden and his terrorist organization.
“The authorization for the use of military force that Congress passed aimed to give the president all the statutory authority he needed to fight back against bin Laden, his organization and those who supported him, including the Taliban,” Preston added.
Associated Forces
Congress, the executive branch and the courts agreed in 2011 that the 2001 AUMF covered associated forces, too: al-Qaida, the Taliban and certain other terrorist or insurgent groups in Afghanistan; al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen; and individuals who are part of al-Qaida in Somalia and Libya, the general counsel said.
“In addition, over the past year, we have conducted military operations under the 2001 AUMF against the Nusrah Front and, specifically, those members of al-Qaida referred to as the Khorasan Group in Syria,” he added. “We have also resumed such operations against the group we fought in Iraq when it was known as al-Qaida in Iraq, which is now known as [the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant].”
Putting groups into this category is done only at the highest levels of the U.S. government, Preston said.
He stressed that American actions against ISIL are consistent with international and domestic law. ISIL grew out of al-Qaida in Iraq, and Americans and American interests have been targets of the terror group since 2004, he said.
ISIL’s recent split from al-Qaida does not change the situation in respect to law, Preston told the group. ISIL considers itself to be the true inheritor of bin Laden’s legacy and groups that have pledged loyalty to ISIL, he explained, adding that this alone covers the group under the 2001 AUMF.
Authorization for Force in Iraq
Preston stressed that the president’s authority to fight ISIL is further reinforced by the 2002 authorization for the use of military force against Iraq. “That AUMF authorized the use of force to, among other things, ‘defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq,’” he said.
Though the AUMF was directed against Saddam Hussein’s regime, “the statute … has always been understood to authorize the use of force for the related purposes of helping to establish a stable, democratic Iraq and addressing terrorist threats emanating from Iraq,” he said.
For current operations in Iraq, he noted, the Iraqi government requested American help against ISIL. “In Syria, the United States is using force against ISIL in the collective self-defense of Iraq and U.S. national self-defense, and it has notified the U.N. Security Council that it is taking these actions in Syria consistent with Article 51 of the U.N. Charter,” he said. Article 51 allows for self-defense actions.
Though the NATO combat mission in Afghanistan ended in December, the 2001 AUMF remains valid, Preston said.
“Although our presence in that country has been reduced and our mission there is more limited, the fact is that active hostilities continue,” he said. “As a matter of international law, the United States remains in a state of armed conflict against the Taliban, al-Qaida and associated forces, and the 2001 AUMF continues to stand as statutory authority to use military force.”
The roughly 10,000 U.S. service members in Afghanistan have two missions, Preston told the group. The first -- a NATO mission -- is to continue training Afghan security forces. The second is a counterterrorism mission aimed at the remnants of al-Qaida and to prevent an al-Qaida resurgence or external plotting against the homeland or U.S. targets abroad, the general counsel said.
“The use of force by the U.S. military in Afghanistan is now limited to circumstances in which using force is necessary to execute those two missions or to protect our personnel,” he said.
Adapting Law to the ISIL Fight
Preston then turned to current discussions over an AUMF aimed directly at ISIL. President Barack Obama wants ultimately to repeal the 2001 AUMF and to tailor its authorities to better fit the current fight and the strategy going forward, he said. In February, the president submitted draft legislation authorizing use of “the armed forces of the United States as the president determines to be necessary and appropriate against ISIL or associated persons or forces.”
“This raises the question: If the president already has the authority needed to take action against ISIL, why is he seeking a new authorization?” the general counsel asked. “Most obviously and importantly, as the president has said, the world needs to know we are united behind the effort against ISIL, and the men and women of our military deserve our clear and unified support. Enacting the president’s proposed AUMF will show our fighting forces, the American people, our foreign partners and the enemy that the president and Congress are united in their resolve to degrade and defeat ISIL.”
SPACE FOR RESEACH EXPANDS AT ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS
FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Research space at academic institutions increased by 4.7 percent in fiscal 2013
Biological and biomedical sciences constitute largest share of research space
Research-performing colleges and universities increased their science and engineering research space 4.7 percent between fiscal 2011 and fiscal 2013, according to a new report from the NSF National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics.
The report details that total research space increased 9.6 million net assignable square feet over this period, from 202.2 million to 211.8 million. The biological and biomedical sciences, along with agricultural and natural resources science, accounted for two-thirds of that total growth.
Biological and biomedical sciences constituted the largest share of research space in fiscal 2013, at 27 percent--just slightly more than they held in 2011.
Net gains in research space for individual fields included the following:
Engineering, 5.7 percent
Physical sciences, 3.7 percent
Health and clinical sciences, 3.5 percent
Mathematics and statistics, 13.3 percent
Net research space in the computer and information sciences fields declined by 14 percent over the two-year period.
Public doctorate-granting institutions accounted for 70.9 percent of science and engineering research space in fiscal 2013, with their private counterparts accounting for 24.4 percent.
New construction for science and engineering research space fell by 17.3 percent when comparing projects started in fiscal 2012-2013 with those started in fiscal 2010-2011. The decrease follows a decade-long trend of decline in new construction for research. But the survey also found that academic institutions are more accurately estimating the amount of research space construction they'll start in upcoming years.
Data for the report were gathered from 588 academic institutions through the Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities. The survey collects data on the amount, construction, repair, renovation and funding of research facilities.
-NSF-
Media Contacts
Rob Margetta, NSF,
Program Contacts
Michael T. Gibbons, NSF
Research space at academic institutions increased by 4.7 percent in fiscal 2013
Biological and biomedical sciences constitute largest share of research space
Research-performing colleges and universities increased their science and engineering research space 4.7 percent between fiscal 2011 and fiscal 2013, according to a new report from the NSF National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics.
The report details that total research space increased 9.6 million net assignable square feet over this period, from 202.2 million to 211.8 million. The biological and biomedical sciences, along with agricultural and natural resources science, accounted for two-thirds of that total growth.
Biological and biomedical sciences constituted the largest share of research space in fiscal 2013, at 27 percent--just slightly more than they held in 2011.
Net gains in research space for individual fields included the following:
Engineering, 5.7 percent
Physical sciences, 3.7 percent
Health and clinical sciences, 3.5 percent
Mathematics and statistics, 13.3 percent
Net research space in the computer and information sciences fields declined by 14 percent over the two-year period.
Public doctorate-granting institutions accounted for 70.9 percent of science and engineering research space in fiscal 2013, with their private counterparts accounting for 24.4 percent.
New construction for science and engineering research space fell by 17.3 percent when comparing projects started in fiscal 2012-2013 with those started in fiscal 2010-2011. The decrease follows a decade-long trend of decline in new construction for research. But the survey also found that academic institutions are more accurately estimating the amount of research space construction they'll start in upcoming years.
Data for the report were gathered from 588 academic institutions through the Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities. The survey collects data on the amount, construction, repair, renovation and funding of research facilities.
-NSF-
Media Contacts
Rob Margetta, NSF,
Program Contacts
Michael T. Gibbons, NSF
LABOR DEPARTMENT SAYS SUPPORT OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING VICTIMS IS EXPANDING
FROM: U.S. LABOR DEPARTMENT
US Labor Department expands its support of victims
of human trafficking and other crimes
Department will begin to certify 'T' visas and expand 'U' visa certifications
SEATTLE — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez today announced that the labor department's Wage and Hour Division will begin to exercise its authority to certify applications for trafficking victims seeking "T" visas. The division will also certify "U" visa requests when it detects three additional qualifying criminal activities in the course of its workplace investigations: extortion, forced labor, and fraud in foreign labor contracting. The announcement was made at a roundtable on new American integration in Seattle hosted by OneAmerica.
"The Labor Department is taking important steps to provide more support for workers who have been exploited significantly because of their immigrant status," said Perez. "These actions will protect workers, and help law enforcement protect our communities and public safety."
These efforts build on the work the department began 2011, when it started to certify U visa applications for victims of five qualifying crimes found in its workplace investigations: involuntary servitude, peonage, trafficking, obstruction of justice and witness tampering. By expanding its U visa certifications to include extortion, forced labor, and fraud in foreign labor contracting and by completing T visa certifications, the department is providing additional support to workers it believes are victims of the relevant crimes and are willing to cooperate with law enforcement.
The Wage and Hour Division enforces several critical federal workplace laws, including the federal minimum wage and overtime laws. Many Wage and Hour investigations take place in industries that employ vulnerable workers so the division is often the first federal agency to make contact with these workers and detect workplace exploitation. Such activities may then be referred to the other appropriate authorities.
These efforts will assist significantly the victims of these crimes who qualify, and who are seeking immigration relief from the Department of Homeland Security and access to the range of victim services they need to recover and rebuild their lives.
US Labor Department expands its support of victims
of human trafficking and other crimes
Department will begin to certify 'T' visas and expand 'U' visa certifications
SEATTLE — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez today announced that the labor department's Wage and Hour Division will begin to exercise its authority to certify applications for trafficking victims seeking "T" visas. The division will also certify "U" visa requests when it detects three additional qualifying criminal activities in the course of its workplace investigations: extortion, forced labor, and fraud in foreign labor contracting. The announcement was made at a roundtable on new American integration in Seattle hosted by OneAmerica.
"The Labor Department is taking important steps to provide more support for workers who have been exploited significantly because of their immigrant status," said Perez. "These actions will protect workers, and help law enforcement protect our communities and public safety."
These efforts build on the work the department began 2011, when it started to certify U visa applications for victims of five qualifying crimes found in its workplace investigations: involuntary servitude, peonage, trafficking, obstruction of justice and witness tampering. By expanding its U visa certifications to include extortion, forced labor, and fraud in foreign labor contracting and by completing T visa certifications, the department is providing additional support to workers it believes are victims of the relevant crimes and are willing to cooperate with law enforcement.
The Wage and Hour Division enforces several critical federal workplace laws, including the federal minimum wage and overtime laws. Many Wage and Hour investigations take place in industries that employ vulnerable workers so the division is often the first federal agency to make contact with these workers and detect workplace exploitation. Such activities may then be referred to the other appropriate authorities.
These efforts will assist significantly the victims of these crimes who qualify, and who are seeking immigration relief from the Department of Homeland Security and access to the range of victim services they need to recover and rebuild their lives.
CYBERCRIME RING MEMBER RECEIVES 150 MONTH PRISON TERM
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Member of Organized Cybercrime Ring Sentenced to 150 Months in Prison for Selling Stolen and Counterfeit Credit Cards
A member of the identity theft and credit card fraud ring known as “Carder.su” was sentenced today to 150 months in federal prison for selling stolen and counterfeit credit cards over the Internet. He was further ordered to pay $50.8 million in restitution.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden of the District of Nevada and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Michael Harris of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations’ (ICE-HSI) Las Vegas Field Office made the announcement. U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon of the District of Nevada imposed the sentence.
“Criminal cyber organizations like Carder.su threaten not just U.S. citizens but people in every corner of the globe,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “Managers in Russia seamlessly ran their criminal enterprise online using, among others, a counterfeit card vendor from New Jersey, with whom they communicated through screen name aliases. The success in this case was achieved through equally seamless cooperation with our foreign law enforcement partners and effective use of the RICO statute. As more countries work with us to fight these organizations, we will continue to evolve to meet this growing threat.”
“Mr. Smith’s crimes were very serious and justify a lengthy prison sentence,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “He admitted that he caused a loss of seven to $20 million involving over 250 victims, and that he obstructed justice when he fled to Jamaica while released on bond awaiting trial. We are working closely with our international, federal, state and local law enforcement partners to make sure that the perpetrators of these sorts of crimes are prosecuted no matter where in the world they commit their crimes or attempt to flee.”
“As this sentence demonstrates, cyber-criminals who purposely harm innocent Americans and compromise our financial system and global commerce will be aggressively pursued, investigated and prosecuted,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Harris. “These criminals may believe they can escape detection by fleeing the country and hiding behind their computer screens, but as this case shows, cyberspace is not a refuge from justice.”
Jermaine Smith, aka “SirCharlie57,” aka “Fairbusinessman,” 34, of East Orange, New Jersey, pleaded guilty in October 2014 to one count of participating in a racketeer influenced corrupt organization.
During his guilty plea, Smith admitted that in May 2009 he became associated with the Carder.su organization, a criminal enterprise whose members trafficked in compromised credit card account data and counterfeit identifications, and committed money laundering, narcotics trafficking, and various types of computer crime. Specifically, Smith admitted that he operated as a vendor on the organization’s websites, using the “SirCharlie57” and “Fairbusinessman” nicknames. While acting as a vendor under those online monikers, Smith sold counterfeit credit cards to an undercover special agent. Those counterfeit credit cards were successfully processed for fingerprints, identifying Smith as the true user of the online screennames. In addition to the sale of the counterfeit credit cards, Smith admitted that he possessed over 2,150 stolen credit and debit card account numbers.
While on pretrial release in this case, Smith removed an electronic monitoring device from his person and fled to Jamaica. He was arrested four months later and returned to Nevada.
Fifty-six individuals were charged in four separate indictments in Operation Open Market, which targeted the Carder.su organization. To date, 26 individuals have been convicted and the rest are either fugitives or are pending trial.
The cases were investigated by ICE-HSI and the U.S. Secret Service, and are being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Jonathan Ophardt of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly M. Frayn and Andrew W. Duncan of the District of Nevada.
This prosecution is in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Member of Organized Cybercrime Ring Sentenced to 150 Months in Prison for Selling Stolen and Counterfeit Credit Cards
A member of the identity theft and credit card fraud ring known as “Carder.su” was sentenced today to 150 months in federal prison for selling stolen and counterfeit credit cards over the Internet. He was further ordered to pay $50.8 million in restitution.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden of the District of Nevada and Assistant Special Agent in Charge Michael Harris of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations’ (ICE-HSI) Las Vegas Field Office made the announcement. U.S. District Judge Andrew P. Gordon of the District of Nevada imposed the sentence.
“Criminal cyber organizations like Carder.su threaten not just U.S. citizens but people in every corner of the globe,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “Managers in Russia seamlessly ran their criminal enterprise online using, among others, a counterfeit card vendor from New Jersey, with whom they communicated through screen name aliases. The success in this case was achieved through equally seamless cooperation with our foreign law enforcement partners and effective use of the RICO statute. As more countries work with us to fight these organizations, we will continue to evolve to meet this growing threat.”
“Mr. Smith’s crimes were very serious and justify a lengthy prison sentence,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “He admitted that he caused a loss of seven to $20 million involving over 250 victims, and that he obstructed justice when he fled to Jamaica while released on bond awaiting trial. We are working closely with our international, federal, state and local law enforcement partners to make sure that the perpetrators of these sorts of crimes are prosecuted no matter where in the world they commit their crimes or attempt to flee.”
“As this sentence demonstrates, cyber-criminals who purposely harm innocent Americans and compromise our financial system and global commerce will be aggressively pursued, investigated and prosecuted,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Harris. “These criminals may believe they can escape detection by fleeing the country and hiding behind their computer screens, but as this case shows, cyberspace is not a refuge from justice.”
Jermaine Smith, aka “SirCharlie57,” aka “Fairbusinessman,” 34, of East Orange, New Jersey, pleaded guilty in October 2014 to one count of participating in a racketeer influenced corrupt organization.
During his guilty plea, Smith admitted that in May 2009 he became associated with the Carder.su organization, a criminal enterprise whose members trafficked in compromised credit card account data and counterfeit identifications, and committed money laundering, narcotics trafficking, and various types of computer crime. Specifically, Smith admitted that he operated as a vendor on the organization’s websites, using the “SirCharlie57” and “Fairbusinessman” nicknames. While acting as a vendor under those online monikers, Smith sold counterfeit credit cards to an undercover special agent. Those counterfeit credit cards were successfully processed for fingerprints, identifying Smith as the true user of the online screennames. In addition to the sale of the counterfeit credit cards, Smith admitted that he possessed over 2,150 stolen credit and debit card account numbers.
While on pretrial release in this case, Smith removed an electronic monitoring device from his person and fled to Jamaica. He was arrested four months later and returned to Nevada.
Fifty-six individuals were charged in four separate indictments in Operation Open Market, which targeted the Carder.su organization. To date, 26 individuals have been convicted and the rest are either fugitives or are pending trial.
The cases were investigated by ICE-HSI and the U.S. Secret Service, and are being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Jonathan Ophardt of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly M. Frayn and Andrew W. Duncan of the District of Nevada.
This prosecution is in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.
EX-IM BANK GUARANTEES S $22.4 MILLION LOAN FINANCING SALE OF HELICOPTERS FOR COLOMBIA'S OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY
FROM: U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK
Ex-Im Bank Approves Financing for Sale of American-Made Helicopters for Use in Colombia’s Offshore Oil and Gas Industry
Transaction will support an estimated 200 aerospace-related jobs in Pennsylvania
Washington, D.C. – The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has approved a $22.4 million loan guarantee to finance the export of U.S.-made AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters to North Pole Investments in Panama for leasing and use in Colombia’s offshore oil and gas industry. The lender is Apple Bank for Savings of New York, N.Y.
According to Ex-Im Bank estimates derived from Departments of Commerce and Labor data and methodology, the Bank’s financing will support an estimated 200 jobs at AgustaWestland’s manufacturing and operations facility in Philadelphia, Pa., and in the company’s U.S. supply chain.
Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg made the announcement today while participating as a member of the U.S. government delegation to the Summit of the Americas conference being held in Panama City.
“We are pleased to finance the exports of these quality, American-made helicopters because of the jobs in Philadelphia that will be sustained as a result,” said Chairman Hochberg. “This transaction will empower AgustaWestland to continue to grow in Latin America while maintaining good-paying aerospace jobs here at home.”
Ex-Im Bank plans to co-finance this asset-backed transaction with Italy's export-credit agency, Servizi Assicurativi del Commercio Estero, S.p.A. (SACE), which is anticipated to provide a guarantee for a portion of the financing covering foreign content. The majority of the export is the U.S. content, which consists of manufacturing activities, assembly, customization, avionics and instrumentation.
North Pole Investments is an aviation lessor headquartered in Panama City. The company leases aircraft mainly to Helistar S.A.S., a civil charter services operator based in Colombia. The AW139 helicopters being financed will be leased to Helistar and will be deployed for offshore oil and gas crew transport in the Colombian Caribbean continental shelf.
AgustaWestland’s manufacturing and operations facility in Philadelphia employs nearly 600 U.S. aerospace and administrative support workers. In February 2008, the company opened a second AW139 assembly line in Philadelphia to meet the growing demand for its helicopters, particularly in expanding markets in the Western Hemisphere.
The transaction is Ex-Im Bank’s fourth financing of exports of U.S.-made AgustaWestland helicopters to Latin America. In August 2009, the Bank assisted in financing the export of AW139 helicopters to the government of Trinidad and Tobago for use in search and rescue operations. In December 2012 and in July 2013, the Bank approved loan guarantees financing AW139 helicopters for export to Omni Taxi Aéreo to meet its transportation contracts with the oil and gas industry in Brazil.
Ex-Im Bank Approves Financing for Sale of American-Made Helicopters for Use in Colombia’s Offshore Oil and Gas Industry
Transaction will support an estimated 200 aerospace-related jobs in Pennsylvania
Washington, D.C. – The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has approved a $22.4 million loan guarantee to finance the export of U.S.-made AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters to North Pole Investments in Panama for leasing and use in Colombia’s offshore oil and gas industry. The lender is Apple Bank for Savings of New York, N.Y.
According to Ex-Im Bank estimates derived from Departments of Commerce and Labor data and methodology, the Bank’s financing will support an estimated 200 jobs at AgustaWestland’s manufacturing and operations facility in Philadelphia, Pa., and in the company’s U.S. supply chain.
Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg made the announcement today while participating as a member of the U.S. government delegation to the Summit of the Americas conference being held in Panama City.
“We are pleased to finance the exports of these quality, American-made helicopters because of the jobs in Philadelphia that will be sustained as a result,” said Chairman Hochberg. “This transaction will empower AgustaWestland to continue to grow in Latin America while maintaining good-paying aerospace jobs here at home.”
Ex-Im Bank plans to co-finance this asset-backed transaction with Italy's export-credit agency, Servizi Assicurativi del Commercio Estero, S.p.A. (SACE), which is anticipated to provide a guarantee for a portion of the financing covering foreign content. The majority of the export is the U.S. content, which consists of manufacturing activities, assembly, customization, avionics and instrumentation.
North Pole Investments is an aviation lessor headquartered in Panama City. The company leases aircraft mainly to Helistar S.A.S., a civil charter services operator based in Colombia. The AW139 helicopters being financed will be leased to Helistar and will be deployed for offshore oil and gas crew transport in the Colombian Caribbean continental shelf.
AgustaWestland’s manufacturing and operations facility in Philadelphia employs nearly 600 U.S. aerospace and administrative support workers. In February 2008, the company opened a second AW139 assembly line in Philadelphia to meet the growing demand for its helicopters, particularly in expanding markets in the Western Hemisphere.
The transaction is Ex-Im Bank’s fourth financing of exports of U.S.-made AgustaWestland helicopters to Latin America. In August 2009, the Bank assisted in financing the export of AW139 helicopters to the government of Trinidad and Tobago for use in search and rescue operations. In December 2012 and in July 2013, the Bank approved loan guarantees financing AW139 helicopters for export to Omni Taxi Aéreo to meet its transportation contracts with the oil and gas industry in Brazil.
TOM MALINOWSKI MAKES REMARKS ON ISIL ABUSES AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
04/09/2015 03:16 PM EDT
ISIL's Abuses Against Women and Girls in Iraq and Syria
Remarks
Tom Malinowski
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
Swiss Ambassador's Residence
Washington, DC
March 16, 2015
As prepared for delivery
Thank you to our host, Ambassador Dahinden, for holding this very important series of discussions. And to Vital Voices for their partnership in fighting violence against women around the world. Women and girls often suffer the most egregious forms of violence in war. We’ve seen this in the Congo, in Colombia, in Sudan, and we’re seeing it now in Iraq and Syria. The Islamic State, or Daesh as the group is called in the region, has kidnapped thousands of women and girls, some as young as 10 They’ve been separated from their families, sold as sex slaves or forcibly married to Daesh’s fighters.
In my bureau, Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), we began receiving reports about captive women and girls almost immediately after Daesh’s early-August advance at Mt. Sinjar. Representatives of the Yezidi community in the United States contacted us to share the terrible stories of suffering they were hearing from relatives trapped on the mountain, communicating via mobile phones they were sometimes able to charge using car batteries. As the crisis on Sinjar unfolded, my staff organized meetings with high-level officials at the State Department and the White House for representatives of the Yezidi community in the United States and we heard firsthand their stories and requests for assistance. They talked about hearing children crying for water in the background of phone calls with relatives. One woman described how she had heard a woman being raped by Daesh fighters in the background of a call with another woman.
On August 7, in addition to authorizing operations to protect U.S. personnel, President Obama authorized a humanitarian effort to help save thousands of Iraqi civilians who were trapped on Mount Sinjar without food and water, facing almost certain death. Detailed information—and even GPS coordinates—provided by the Yezidi community in the U.S. on where the people were sheltered on Mount Sinjar helped inform decisions about where to drop aid. Targeted airstrikes helped protect the evacuation route as people were escaping. Our contacts in the Yezidi community also provided us information about where Daesh fighters were advancing or firing on evacuees as they escaped, and we shared this information immediately with the military. During that week, most civilians were able to evacuate from Mount Sinjar
But not everyone in the surrounding area was able to flee. Several thousand women and girls remain captive. We regularly receive blood-chilling reports of girls distributed to fighters as rewards for their commitment, sold in markets in the cities as sex slaves, or held in houses in small groups where they are raped by a daily rotation of Daesh fighters. We have learned that Daesh trafficked hundreds if not thousands of Yezidi women to Syria for its fighters there. We heard reports that a few dozen Christian women and a few hundred Shia women who had been unable to flee, were taken to a similar fate . Just in the last few weeks, an unknown number of women and girls were abducted as part of the roughly 300 Assyrian Christians taken captive from their villages along the Khabour River in northeast Syria. But Daesh’s predatory approach to women isn’t limited to minorities. Local Sunni women in Raqqa have reportedly been pressured into marrying Daesh fighters against their will, and they are subject to the same abusive practices as the others.
Violence of this sort sows terror; it is a war crime, but it is not merely a by-product of war. Daesh uses rape and sexual abuse as a deliberate military strategy. They target women as tools of war, brutalizing them in order to destabilize and destroy communities—to take away their honor and disrupt their ability to reproduce themselves in the next generation. It’s a matter of total possession, total annihilation of a community.
I emphasize this to say that the defeat of Daesh and the defense of human rights, especially the rights of women, go hand-in-hand. We will restore human rights by defeating Daesh, but the reverse is also true: we will defeat Daesh in part by defending the rights of its intended victims. The protection of women in Iraq isn’t just the endpoint; it’s the way we will win; it is a moral imperative and it is a strategic imperative.
I traveled to Iraq in February and I had the opportunity while I was there to meet with survivors, women who had managed to escape Daesh. I had the opportunity—but I chose not to. It seemed to me unnecessary to compound their suffering by asking them to recount it yet again for the benefit of yet another foreign official. Instead I met with senior leaders in the central government and in the Kurdish regional government to make sure they understood that the protection of women is an extremely high priority for us as we plan the liberation of their land from these terrorists. We talked about the challenge of saving women held captive and the need to make sure that it is part of our military strategy moving forward.
Because while we work to destroy Daesh, we are also planning for the day of liberation—to make sure that when these communities are liberated, we find where Iraqi and Syrian women are being held and we have a support system in place to help them heal. We have heard heartening stories of families welcoming their wives and daughters home, but in many cases, there is tremendous stigma and shame associated with sexual assault. Some women have become pregnant as a result of the rapes. Some have been overwhelmed by what happened and taken their own lives. All have been traumatized. Yet, resources for critically-needed services in the aftermath of violence are often scarce, and access is obstructed. Last March, the State Department joined with Vital Voices and the Avon Foundation to launch the Gender-Based Violence Emergency Response and Protection Initiative (GBVI), a public-private partnership that provides medical, psychological, and social support as well as shelter and legal assistance. This support is delivered through reproductive healthcare efforts, the creation of women-friendly spaces, mobile clinics, and outreach workers. In Iraq thus far, the initiative has supported more than 50 Yezidi women and girls who escaped captivity.
We also need to look long-term, to the establishment of a rights-respecting society in which women are not just protected but empowered. I gave a speech in Erbil that was broadcast live on state television in northern Iraq, and I was very clear about this: There is a direct connection between the protection of women and their participation in civil life and governance. When we increase the involvement of women in decision-making roles, we decrease opportunities for the violation of their basic human rights. Kurdish women are on the battlefield, risking their lives to defend themselves and their communities from Daesh. If they take up positions of influence and responsibility during times of war, they must be able to take them up during times of peace too. In Iraq, the U.S. Government is providing training for tens of thousands of Iraqi students on rights awareness, violence prevention, and advocacy initiatives to promote legislation on gender equality. And in a related vein, we support campaigns to educate on the dangers of early and forced marriage across the region.
We entered this conflict first and foremost because Daesh threatens our security. But we will conclude it by saving human lives and by ensuring that women and girls can lead lives of dignity in their families, in their communities, and in their government.
04/09/2015 03:16 PM EDT
ISIL's Abuses Against Women and Girls in Iraq and Syria
Remarks
Tom Malinowski
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
Swiss Ambassador's Residence
Washington, DC
March 16, 2015
As prepared for delivery
Thank you to our host, Ambassador Dahinden, for holding this very important series of discussions. And to Vital Voices for their partnership in fighting violence against women around the world. Women and girls often suffer the most egregious forms of violence in war. We’ve seen this in the Congo, in Colombia, in Sudan, and we’re seeing it now in Iraq and Syria. The Islamic State, or Daesh as the group is called in the region, has kidnapped thousands of women and girls, some as young as 10 They’ve been separated from their families, sold as sex slaves or forcibly married to Daesh’s fighters.
In my bureau, Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), we began receiving reports about captive women and girls almost immediately after Daesh’s early-August advance at Mt. Sinjar. Representatives of the Yezidi community in the United States contacted us to share the terrible stories of suffering they were hearing from relatives trapped on the mountain, communicating via mobile phones they were sometimes able to charge using car batteries. As the crisis on Sinjar unfolded, my staff organized meetings with high-level officials at the State Department and the White House for representatives of the Yezidi community in the United States and we heard firsthand their stories and requests for assistance. They talked about hearing children crying for water in the background of phone calls with relatives. One woman described how she had heard a woman being raped by Daesh fighters in the background of a call with another woman.
On August 7, in addition to authorizing operations to protect U.S. personnel, President Obama authorized a humanitarian effort to help save thousands of Iraqi civilians who were trapped on Mount Sinjar without food and water, facing almost certain death. Detailed information—and even GPS coordinates—provided by the Yezidi community in the U.S. on where the people were sheltered on Mount Sinjar helped inform decisions about where to drop aid. Targeted airstrikes helped protect the evacuation route as people were escaping. Our contacts in the Yezidi community also provided us information about where Daesh fighters were advancing or firing on evacuees as they escaped, and we shared this information immediately with the military. During that week, most civilians were able to evacuate from Mount Sinjar
But not everyone in the surrounding area was able to flee. Several thousand women and girls remain captive. We regularly receive blood-chilling reports of girls distributed to fighters as rewards for their commitment, sold in markets in the cities as sex slaves, or held in houses in small groups where they are raped by a daily rotation of Daesh fighters. We have learned that Daesh trafficked hundreds if not thousands of Yezidi women to Syria for its fighters there. We heard reports that a few dozen Christian women and a few hundred Shia women who had been unable to flee, were taken to a similar fate . Just in the last few weeks, an unknown number of women and girls were abducted as part of the roughly 300 Assyrian Christians taken captive from their villages along the Khabour River in northeast Syria. But Daesh’s predatory approach to women isn’t limited to minorities. Local Sunni women in Raqqa have reportedly been pressured into marrying Daesh fighters against their will, and they are subject to the same abusive practices as the others.
Violence of this sort sows terror; it is a war crime, but it is not merely a by-product of war. Daesh uses rape and sexual abuse as a deliberate military strategy. They target women as tools of war, brutalizing them in order to destabilize and destroy communities—to take away their honor and disrupt their ability to reproduce themselves in the next generation. It’s a matter of total possession, total annihilation of a community.
I emphasize this to say that the defeat of Daesh and the defense of human rights, especially the rights of women, go hand-in-hand. We will restore human rights by defeating Daesh, but the reverse is also true: we will defeat Daesh in part by defending the rights of its intended victims. The protection of women in Iraq isn’t just the endpoint; it’s the way we will win; it is a moral imperative and it is a strategic imperative.
I traveled to Iraq in February and I had the opportunity while I was there to meet with survivors, women who had managed to escape Daesh. I had the opportunity—but I chose not to. It seemed to me unnecessary to compound their suffering by asking them to recount it yet again for the benefit of yet another foreign official. Instead I met with senior leaders in the central government and in the Kurdish regional government to make sure they understood that the protection of women is an extremely high priority for us as we plan the liberation of their land from these terrorists. We talked about the challenge of saving women held captive and the need to make sure that it is part of our military strategy moving forward.
Because while we work to destroy Daesh, we are also planning for the day of liberation—to make sure that when these communities are liberated, we find where Iraqi and Syrian women are being held and we have a support system in place to help them heal. We have heard heartening stories of families welcoming their wives and daughters home, but in many cases, there is tremendous stigma and shame associated with sexual assault. Some women have become pregnant as a result of the rapes. Some have been overwhelmed by what happened and taken their own lives. All have been traumatized. Yet, resources for critically-needed services in the aftermath of violence are often scarce, and access is obstructed. Last March, the State Department joined with Vital Voices and the Avon Foundation to launch the Gender-Based Violence Emergency Response and Protection Initiative (GBVI), a public-private partnership that provides medical, psychological, and social support as well as shelter and legal assistance. This support is delivered through reproductive healthcare efforts, the creation of women-friendly spaces, mobile clinics, and outreach workers. In Iraq thus far, the initiative has supported more than 50 Yezidi women and girls who escaped captivity.
We also need to look long-term, to the establishment of a rights-respecting society in which women are not just protected but empowered. I gave a speech in Erbil that was broadcast live on state television in northern Iraq, and I was very clear about this: There is a direct connection between the protection of women and their participation in civil life and governance. When we increase the involvement of women in decision-making roles, we decrease opportunities for the violation of their basic human rights. Kurdish women are on the battlefield, risking their lives to defend themselves and their communities from Daesh. If they take up positions of influence and responsibility during times of war, they must be able to take them up during times of peace too. In Iraq, the U.S. Government is providing training for tens of thousands of Iraqi students on rights awareness, violence prevention, and advocacy initiatives to promote legislation on gender equality. And in a related vein, we support campaigns to educate on the dangers of early and forced marriage across the region.
We entered this conflict first and foremost because Daesh threatens our security. But we will conclude it by saving human lives and by ensuring that women and girls can lead lives of dignity in their families, in their communities, and in their government.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
AIRSTRIKES CONTINUING IN IRAQ, SYRIA
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Military Airstrikes Continue in Iraq, Syria
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
SOUTHWEST ASIA, April 11, 2015 – U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.
Officials reported details of the latest strikes, which took place between 8 a.m. yesterday and 8 a.m. today, local time, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.
Airstrikes in Syria
Bomber, fighter and attack aircraft conducted eight airstrikes in Syria:
— Near Kobani, six airstrikes struck a tactical ISIL unit and destroyed four ISIL fighting positions and three ISIL vehicles.
-- Near Al Hasakah, two airstrikes struck a large and a tactical ISIL unit and destroyed four vehicles.
Airstrikes in Iraq
Fighter, attack and remotely piloted aircraft conducted nine airstrikes in Iraq, approved by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense:
-- Near Mosul, two airstrikes struck one ISIL tactical unit and one ISIL rocket fire team and destroyed one excavator.
-- Near Bayji, two airstrikes destroyed seven ISIL excavators and one ISIL vehicle.
-- Near Sinjar, an airstrike struck one tactical unit, destroyed three buildings and three fighting positions.
-- Near Hit, an airstrike struck a checkpoint.
-- Near Asad, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and a fighting position.
-- Near Huwayjah, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
-- Near Bayji, an airstrike destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
Part of Operation Inherent Resolve
The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, the region, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.
Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Syria include the United States, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Military Airstrikes Continue in Iraq, Syria
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
SOUTHWEST ASIA, April 11, 2015 – U.S. and coalition military forces have continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria and Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials reported today.
Officials reported details of the latest strikes, which took place between 8 a.m. yesterday and 8 a.m. today, local time, noting that assessments of results are based on initial reports.
Airstrikes in Syria
Bomber, fighter and attack aircraft conducted eight airstrikes in Syria:
— Near Kobani, six airstrikes struck a tactical ISIL unit and destroyed four ISIL fighting positions and three ISIL vehicles.
-- Near Al Hasakah, two airstrikes struck a large and a tactical ISIL unit and destroyed four vehicles.
Airstrikes in Iraq
Fighter, attack and remotely piloted aircraft conducted nine airstrikes in Iraq, approved by the Iraqi Ministry of Defense:
-- Near Mosul, two airstrikes struck one ISIL tactical unit and one ISIL rocket fire team and destroyed one excavator.
-- Near Bayji, two airstrikes destroyed seven ISIL excavators and one ISIL vehicle.
-- Near Sinjar, an airstrike struck one tactical unit, destroyed three buildings and three fighting positions.
-- Near Hit, an airstrike struck a checkpoint.
-- Near Asad, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit and a fighting position.
-- Near Huwayjah, an airstrike struck an ISIL tactical unit.
-- Near Bayji, an airstrike destroyed an ISIL vehicle.
Part of Operation Inherent Resolve
The strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to eliminate the ISIL terrorist group and the threat they pose to Iraq, Syria, the region, and the wider international community. The destruction of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to project terror and conduct operations, officials said.
Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Iraq include the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Coalition nations conducting airstrikes in Syria include the United States, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS WITH MOROCCAN FOREIGN MINISTER MEZOUAR
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks With Moroccan Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
April 9, 2015
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, good morning, everybody. I’m very pleased to welcome my friend, the Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar, and his delegation for the third session of the Strategic Dialogue between the United States and Morocco.
A year ago, the foreign minister hosted me and my delegation in Morocco, in Rabat, and we had a wonderful, wonderful visit there. As everybody knows, Moroccans have an extraordinarily rich culture that is shown in many ways, and I’m happy to say one of the ways is in treating guests to a delicious meal that is actually seven or eight meals disguised as one. Their hospitality is truly spectacular. And I very, very much hope to work with our superb representative in Rabat, Ambassador Dwight Bush, in order to see if I can have a chance to visit again, which we have talked about, and which I very much hope to do.
The U.S.-Moroccan Dialogue is grounded in a very longstanding friendship, and it’s real. It extends back to 1777, when Morocco recognized the independence of the United States. And we have initiated this particular dialogue because we feel that our leaders want to make certain that people understand that we have to do much more than just celebrate our history, we have to build the future. And that’s what we’re working on doing. By working together, we can help shape a future in which our citizens will be safer, they’ll be more prosperous, and where builders, not destroyers, will be strengthened and be the people who really define and write the history and meet the expectations of our people.
There can be no question that our meeting today is timely. The amount of time that we have to talk literally flew by, and we scratched the surface of many of the challenges that we face. And I thank my friend, Salaheddine, for his wisdom, for the breadth of his vision that he brings to the table in the challenges – in meeting the challenges that we face together.
Events in Africa and in the Middle East have presented all of us with a new mix of challenge. It’s different than it has been. It’s fast moving. There’s more sectarianism than any of us want, many times disguised in religion – not representing real religion but disguised in ways that are calculated to affect the minds of people and, unfortunately, set them on a course of violence and destruction.
Our delegations really look forward to reviewing today all of the aspects of this regional situation that we face together. There’s no one country that’s going to solve this. It’s going to take all of us working effectively together and it’s also going to take time. But we know that we have a very firm foundation on which to build.
Morocco is a major non-NATO ally of the United States and is the only country in Africa with which we have a free trade agreement, for example. It has successfully completed a productive compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation and it recently hosted a well-attended Global Entrepreneurial Summit. And in July, it will serve as a venue for an important international meeting on climate change.
So Morocco is doing more than its fair share of contributing to the global dialogue on the issues of the day. And today our working groups are going to focus on four areas, including security cooperation. And here, my government commends Morocco for serving as co-chair of the Global Counterterrorism Forum’s campaign to prevent the recruitment of foreign terrorist fighters. Morocco is also a member of the anti-Daesh coalition. And since that coalition came together, it is a fact that Daesh has been pushed back significantly, and the result of that is that it is becoming increasingly dependent on its ability to be able to attract foreign fighters. And that means that we have to redouble our own efforts to persuade – and if necessary, prevent – young people from making the fatal mistake of signing up. And Morocco is a leader in our efforts to do that.
Also this year, Morocco will host African Lion, which is an annual military exercise that will continue next month. It includes several of our European and African partners. And in this era, it is essential that our armed forces experience working together, so that if a humanitarian or any other kind of emergency arises, we will be able to respond effectively before it is too late. Interoperability is a critical concept in the context of today’s challenges.
Other security-related topics that we’ll be covering today include the unrest in Libya, where we spent a fair amount of time talking a few minutes ago, where Morocco has supported and hosted UN negotiations and is undertaking a major leadership role in helping to find a path forward. And I was encouraged today in the comments of the foreign minister about the approach that is unfolding over the course of these next weeks.
Morocco is also taking steps to reform its justice sector, to professionalize its police force, to promote the rule of law, and strengthen its border security and its counterterrorist capabilities. The United States strongly backs all of these initiatives, and we will do everything that we can to be helpful as Morocco pursues success in each of those sectors.
A second area of discussion today concerns our growing economic and energy ties. Our free trade agreement is now almost a decade old, and it has already yielded very positive results for both sides. But we want to do better; we want to do more. We know we can. And so we’re going to talk this morning about how to ensure that the free trade agreement benefits grow in a balanced and more expansive way.
We’ll also talk about increasing our business-to-business contacts, intensifying two-way investment, and Morocco’s plan to generate at least 40 percent of its electricity from renewable sources of energy.
In Morocco, as elsewhere, young people are the key to the future. The average age in Morocco is increasing now, but unemployment rates for those people who are 15 to 24 years old and not in school still remain high. It’s a challenge. It’s a challenge everywhere, by the way. And we hope that the government’s efforts to grow the economy, coupled with a $38 million agreement through USAID, will provide the nation’s youth with the confidence and the skills that they need to make the critical leap from school to paycheck, to a good job for the long-term future.
A third focus of our dialogue concerns the value of education and people-to-people contacts. Morocco has embarked on a program of comprehensive education reforms, designed to lift the standards and provide greater opportunity to young people, to women and girls particularly. And here again, the United States is helping through a $25 million USAID grant to improve achievement at the primary school level. We’re also excited about the J. Christopher Stevens Virtual Exchange Initiative that was launched by the United States and Moroccan students this spring.
Our fourth area for discussion will highlight public institutions and civil society. The international turbulence of recent years shows how absolutely vital it is to be able to provide a peaceful outlet for political expression and to maintain governing structures that are sustained by the full support of their national populations. Morocco has the potential to be a model – the model, if you will.
But as we know from our own experience in the United States, building resilient and robust democratic institutions is a long-term job. We’re still working at it. We have our own challenges, and we know that. And so we talk with appropriate humility about any other country’s challenge, but we’re all in this together and we all have to draw from each other’s experiences and work together. Accordingly, we welcome Morocco’s effort to strengthen political parties and to give space to civil society in advance of the national elections.
We also respect His Majesty King Mohammed VI’s spiritual authority as a faith leader and his consistent and vocal opposition to any use of religion to justify violence against innocent persons.
In closing, let me just say that the foreign minister and I and our teams have a lot to discuss, as you can tell. And I very much look forward to having this discussion over the course of the day in the warmth and friendship that really does define this relationship. So I’m very pleased to yield my – the floor to my colleague and my friend, Foreign Minister Mezouar. Thank you. (Applause.)
FOREIGN MINISTER MEZOUAR: (Via interpreter.) Thank you, John, and dear friend. First of all, I would like to thank you for your kind words, for your hospitality, and for making your teams available. They worked hard. I would like to congratulate them.
And as you said, dear friend, we are two friendly countries and we have been longstanding friends, and this friendship in our context today is a fundamental basis to move ahead. It’s the fundamental basis that will allow us to face the transformations of today’s worlds with all of its complexities. And I think that our meeting of today as part of the strategic dialogue is the best message that we could convey together to say there aren’t just problems, but there’s also some progress being made. Humanity advances via crises, but also thanks to ability to ensure that progress may also be made.
I applaud – I salute the excellent relationship that we share, and this relationship that allows us doing meetings such as this one, but also doing very brief meetings that this relationship allows us to deal very quickly on the various topics, because you have the same assessments, the same analyses, but above all, we are members of the same bloc, the bloc of freedom, the camp of peace, that of democracy – the bloc of universal values, the bloc that defends the most disenfranchised, and also the bloc of solidarity. I think that these are the values that we share, and they allow us to always work with great peace of mind, to work together on the fundamental topics.
We met a year ago in Morocco, and of course, we were delighted to host you. Yes indeed, we shared some good meals, but we shared other meals, and namely our shared vision of what we wanted to be, of what we wanted to do. Morocco is a country, as you observed – is a country which is moving ahead. It’s a country which has built its model – its model of development, which is based on values, on institutions which are solid and strong. This is a country which has a history, and this history makes it stronger. This history helps us also via the reforms process that are continuing. Reforms never stop and they can never stop, because the world is moving. Societies are moving, are changing. And since the world and societies are moving and changing, well, reforms must also continue to move and change just like a society must continue to move and advance.
So Morocco does indeed appear to be this harbor of peace in a disrupted, disturbed, and ailing region of the world. We share our experiences with others, we provide our contribution, we engaged in the fight against ignorance, against extremism, because there is no war of religions, there’s no war of civilizations, but there’s a fight against ignorance. And that means that what we are engaged in together has meaning, because it’s the world as we see it, it’s societies as we perceive them, which are the engines of our actions, which are the engines of our relationships.
So I’m happy that today, once again, of the opportunity of this third strategic dialogue, that we’re able to notice that our relationship is vivacious. The advantages of these meetings that allows us to be constantly creative. They allow us to be constantly – say to yourselves we must ensure that this exceptional relationship, that this quality of relationship, it has to be supplied, it has to be complete – constantly fed, supplied; otherwise it will stagnate and it will regress.
So we are engaged in a virtuous, positive logic between our two countries. And here I would like to pay greater tribute to Ambassador Bush, who is doing a wonderful job. And also I would like to pay tribute to your teams at the State Department, who are also doing wonderful work to bring people together, to come up with imaginative things to create. I wish – would be remiss if I failed to pay tribute to our own ambassador, who is also working hard to ensure that constantly this exceptional relationship be preserved, sustained.
We talked about problems in our region. Here I would like to say two or three messages. The first message about Libya: Libya, as you know, the dialogue is taking place in Morocco, in serenity, in a state – atmosphere of responsibility. The Libyan people want peace; they want stability. The various components of the dialogue have been determined. There is a real awareness. The Libyans are capable of making peace. The Libyans are capable of getting along and the Libyans are capable of building a future within a framework of stability, as part of a modern society, an open society, with institutions that will allow them to deploy their wonderful energy. They do have that energy that will allow them to move ahead in the construction of their country, but also in the construction of the region.
Libyans need to be supported. We are engaged in a phase where the fundamental principles of the agreement have been accepted. Today, we must give this momentum and we must say and affirm that they are capable of making peace. They are capable of moving towards a political solution that will help them to overcome the difficulties that they have today.
So this is an opportunity to applaud the efforts of Bernardino Leon, who is working with great tact, with great engagement, but also applaud the various factions, the various protagonists who are engaged in the dialogue. And I am convinced that next week’s meeting will make it possible to move towards a definitive solution.
And why – I would also like to mention Yemen. We must, above all, understand that it is no longer possible to allow that in countries affected by this type of instability that legitimacy be swept aside by anyone. We must bring order back and respect. There was a dialogue and this dialogue was supposed to lead to the organization of a national unity government that would lead to new elections and representation. When units or factions start believing that, given they have a few militaries or some assets, they can destabilize states, the message that has to be retained is that – that has to be conveyed that this is fundamental. It has to be firm. It is no longer allowed that any minority, that any faction, should be able to destabilize the foundations of a state, because destabilizing the foundations of a state will bring us back to situations of insecurity, instability, always difficult to solve and which generally profit – benefit to those who know but we never think about.
So Morocco is determined, vis-a-vis values and principles. Morocco is engaged in the fight against extremism but also engaged in the fight against any type of destabilization which would lead to anarchy. So Morocco is engaged in the commission and it’s also engaged in this coalition for Yemen on the basis of values but also based on a value – on a vision of the dynamic to which the Middle East region must join, generally speaking.
I would also wish to emphasize the fact that the fight against extremism and the determination with which the coalition is acting is starting to produce results. These results are encouraging. This also encourages the Government of Iraq, which is responsible – its officials and its army – to come up with a solution that will make it possible to eradicate all forms of extremism and to fight against terrorism. So these are all – as many actions of the international community. And thanks to your leadership, dear friend, and we are all determined towards this action.
But I would also bring your attention to another aspect that should not be overlooked, that should not be forgotten. I would like to applaud your tenacity on the Israeli-Palestinian issue and on peace in this region. With determination, you led difficult negotiations. I think that this process is not over. With – this process must continue. The statement of Mr. Netanyahu is placing the international community in front of its real responsibilities, but we must never forget that peace in the Middle East will never take place as long as peace and stability in that region of the world, and especially as part of Israeli-Palestinian conflict has not been achieved.
His Majesty, the King is engaged via the committee accords to constantly provide this indispensable support to the Palestinians and particularly to the holy sites. These sites have to be protected. This is part of the heritage of humanity. They have to be protected for mankind. And Morocco, which is also engaged in this process of resumption of the dialogue, of discussion with the Quartet that had been designed by the Arab League, which had its meeting last Monday, in order to explain that we need a resumption of the process and the dialogue on the basis of engagements of the international community on behalf of the solution of two states, as it was defined – namely, the process that you have conducted yourself. Morocco will host the Summit of the Arab League next year in Morocco, and some very important topics will be on the agenda. And of course, Morocco is engaged in peace and in the rapprochement and the dialogue. This is fundamental because this period, this timeframe that we’re experiencing is sensitive, it’s explosive, and Morocco, thanks to the momentum, His Majesty, the King, is assuming the role of leadership, which is its own.
Morocco is also progressing on some various issues. You talked about them. There are two topics about which we have made some real progress – the issue of women, first of all, which was a struggle, a momentum. And thanks to His Majesty, there was this momentum. And this liberation that was conducted created for this amazing energy and skills in Morocco, and also the issue of youth. And this is an issue, of course, that we have not been working just since today. Morocco has always integrated – as part of its vision of development of society and of economic and social development, we integrate the training and the education of the youth as part of a strategy of development which is our own, and this is yielding good results, but we must continue to work even harder.
And this was part of the Global Entrepreneurial Summit that we were – had the pleasure of hosting, and you had the – gave us the honor of attending this. And this was a wonderful opportunity to show the amazing pool of talent that Morocco has in terms of creativity, of unyielding all of this power, and these means that will allow the youth to take its role and play its responsibility in the development of society. And of course, Morocco remains available to provide this expertise, this experience, as part of the upcoming summit which will take place in Nairobi, I believe, in July.
So Morocco is advancing with great serenity. Reforms are important, but in greater serenity they are done, the better it is. And it is acknowledged, appropriated by society. It is acknowledged by the political forces and the components of society. Morocco is advancing. We know we have to conduct reforms. We are conducting reforms and we’re expanding the field of liberation and of energies, and that makes the strength of our country. The strength of our country comes on the fact that we are liberating energies, and we have a leadership, because this leadership is modern. This leadership is progressive. This leadership is democratic. This leadership believes in human values.
His Majesty plays this role of leadership, but also, given the fact that we were able to build for more than a half century a momentum of political diversity and of political dialogue and of political representation, which this all allows us, indeed, to manage our differences with political alternative, with a democracy, with serenity and responsibility – and all of these things are things that we share with you, because the world also needs examples. Our relationship is an example because it is serene, it is responsible, because it looks to the future. And we all – Morocco is also an example that we share with other countries. And the stability of the region is fundamental. Previously, we mentioned the issue of the Sahara – Moroccan Sahara, and we emphasized on the fact that Morocco is a country that always looks to the future to build the future. Morocco provided concrete responses and concrete solutions via the autonomy proposal. This proposal is a proposal which moves towards integration but also towards the facilitation of the construction of the Maghreb space, and this on behalf of the populations, on behalf of the various countries.
So Morocco is a player that always looks at things positively. We have turned the page of the 25th century – we’re on the 21st century, and the 21st century has its own logic, and this logic says we must always be in a positive momentum, provide positive contributions, seek solutions, overcome the static systems of history which disrupt populations, which disrupt relations between countries. So Morocco wants to move ahead.
And we would like to thank you for the role that you play, the – your engagement on behalf of this virtuous dynamic that we want to move towards in this region with respect to the resolution of a problem which has been invented for 40 years, and which affects our territorial integrity. So these always many subjects which are important that we share, but I – once again, I would like to say I do know that you have a plane to catch. I would like to thank you for your friendship, for your availability towards Morocco. We’ll have – we have opportunities to meet once in a while in always various different locations, but these are very special moments, and we wanted to share them intensely with you on behalf of our relationship, on behalf of the friendship which unites our people here. I would like to pay tribute to the entire team which is here today, the three groups which are working, which are – the four groups, pardon me – four groups which are moving ahead with determination to provide content and to strengthen the economic component that is a momentum that has its own progression.
I would just like to conclude with one point which is important to us and that we share with you – Africa. Africa is the continent that we have to invest in. Morocco is engaging, it’s providing its experience, its expertise. We are providing our investments. We are providing human development. Morocco is providing this dimension of religious moderation which is fundamental today as part of the relationship and the stability and the stabilization of societies. We are engaged and will continue to be engaged.
When His Majesty, the King met President Obama, decided that this would be a thrust of the partnership between our countries, will provide it with more and more contact by engaging ourselves. We do know that the issue of energy is important, therefore our shared expertise should help towards, move in this dimension the issue of food security and the stabilization of populations, human development – really just development, but also investments. Morocco is the first investor, African investor in west – in Central Africa. So we are the largest African investor, which means that Morocco is engaged in this dynamic of development stabilization of Africa, which is a wonderful continent, which is a continent which has huge potential, and also needs to know that it has friends and friends that are – have wanted well, and since – we have good wishes for this continent and we’ll continue to work towards that.
Thank you once again, dear John. Thank you to all of you. (Applause.)
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you very much, Salaheddine, very eloquent comments. And I want the record to show that even when he was being serious, he was talking about (inaudible). (Laughter.) Thank you. (Applause.)
FOREIGN MINISTER MEZOUAR: Thank you. (Applause.)
QUESTION: Can we get (inaudible)? Will Cuba be removed from the state sponsors of terror list?
SECRETARY KERRY: I can’t, I’m sorry. I can’t. I’ve got to run now.
Remarks With Moroccan Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
April 9, 2015
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, good morning, everybody. I’m very pleased to welcome my friend, the Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar, and his delegation for the third session of the Strategic Dialogue between the United States and Morocco.
A year ago, the foreign minister hosted me and my delegation in Morocco, in Rabat, and we had a wonderful, wonderful visit there. As everybody knows, Moroccans have an extraordinarily rich culture that is shown in many ways, and I’m happy to say one of the ways is in treating guests to a delicious meal that is actually seven or eight meals disguised as one. Their hospitality is truly spectacular. And I very, very much hope to work with our superb representative in Rabat, Ambassador Dwight Bush, in order to see if I can have a chance to visit again, which we have talked about, and which I very much hope to do.
The U.S.-Moroccan Dialogue is grounded in a very longstanding friendship, and it’s real. It extends back to 1777, when Morocco recognized the independence of the United States. And we have initiated this particular dialogue because we feel that our leaders want to make certain that people understand that we have to do much more than just celebrate our history, we have to build the future. And that’s what we’re working on doing. By working together, we can help shape a future in which our citizens will be safer, they’ll be more prosperous, and where builders, not destroyers, will be strengthened and be the people who really define and write the history and meet the expectations of our people.
There can be no question that our meeting today is timely. The amount of time that we have to talk literally flew by, and we scratched the surface of many of the challenges that we face. And I thank my friend, Salaheddine, for his wisdom, for the breadth of his vision that he brings to the table in the challenges – in meeting the challenges that we face together.
Events in Africa and in the Middle East have presented all of us with a new mix of challenge. It’s different than it has been. It’s fast moving. There’s more sectarianism than any of us want, many times disguised in religion – not representing real religion but disguised in ways that are calculated to affect the minds of people and, unfortunately, set them on a course of violence and destruction.
Our delegations really look forward to reviewing today all of the aspects of this regional situation that we face together. There’s no one country that’s going to solve this. It’s going to take all of us working effectively together and it’s also going to take time. But we know that we have a very firm foundation on which to build.
Morocco is a major non-NATO ally of the United States and is the only country in Africa with which we have a free trade agreement, for example. It has successfully completed a productive compact with the Millennium Challenge Corporation and it recently hosted a well-attended Global Entrepreneurial Summit. And in July, it will serve as a venue for an important international meeting on climate change.
So Morocco is doing more than its fair share of contributing to the global dialogue on the issues of the day. And today our working groups are going to focus on four areas, including security cooperation. And here, my government commends Morocco for serving as co-chair of the Global Counterterrorism Forum’s campaign to prevent the recruitment of foreign terrorist fighters. Morocco is also a member of the anti-Daesh coalition. And since that coalition came together, it is a fact that Daesh has been pushed back significantly, and the result of that is that it is becoming increasingly dependent on its ability to be able to attract foreign fighters. And that means that we have to redouble our own efforts to persuade – and if necessary, prevent – young people from making the fatal mistake of signing up. And Morocco is a leader in our efforts to do that.
Also this year, Morocco will host African Lion, which is an annual military exercise that will continue next month. It includes several of our European and African partners. And in this era, it is essential that our armed forces experience working together, so that if a humanitarian or any other kind of emergency arises, we will be able to respond effectively before it is too late. Interoperability is a critical concept in the context of today’s challenges.
Other security-related topics that we’ll be covering today include the unrest in Libya, where we spent a fair amount of time talking a few minutes ago, where Morocco has supported and hosted UN negotiations and is undertaking a major leadership role in helping to find a path forward. And I was encouraged today in the comments of the foreign minister about the approach that is unfolding over the course of these next weeks.
Morocco is also taking steps to reform its justice sector, to professionalize its police force, to promote the rule of law, and strengthen its border security and its counterterrorist capabilities. The United States strongly backs all of these initiatives, and we will do everything that we can to be helpful as Morocco pursues success in each of those sectors.
A second area of discussion today concerns our growing economic and energy ties. Our free trade agreement is now almost a decade old, and it has already yielded very positive results for both sides. But we want to do better; we want to do more. We know we can. And so we’re going to talk this morning about how to ensure that the free trade agreement benefits grow in a balanced and more expansive way.
We’ll also talk about increasing our business-to-business contacts, intensifying two-way investment, and Morocco’s plan to generate at least 40 percent of its electricity from renewable sources of energy.
In Morocco, as elsewhere, young people are the key to the future. The average age in Morocco is increasing now, but unemployment rates for those people who are 15 to 24 years old and not in school still remain high. It’s a challenge. It’s a challenge everywhere, by the way. And we hope that the government’s efforts to grow the economy, coupled with a $38 million agreement through USAID, will provide the nation’s youth with the confidence and the skills that they need to make the critical leap from school to paycheck, to a good job for the long-term future.
A third focus of our dialogue concerns the value of education and people-to-people contacts. Morocco has embarked on a program of comprehensive education reforms, designed to lift the standards and provide greater opportunity to young people, to women and girls particularly. And here again, the United States is helping through a $25 million USAID grant to improve achievement at the primary school level. We’re also excited about the J. Christopher Stevens Virtual Exchange Initiative that was launched by the United States and Moroccan students this spring.
Our fourth area for discussion will highlight public institutions and civil society. The international turbulence of recent years shows how absolutely vital it is to be able to provide a peaceful outlet for political expression and to maintain governing structures that are sustained by the full support of their national populations. Morocco has the potential to be a model – the model, if you will.
But as we know from our own experience in the United States, building resilient and robust democratic institutions is a long-term job. We’re still working at it. We have our own challenges, and we know that. And so we talk with appropriate humility about any other country’s challenge, but we’re all in this together and we all have to draw from each other’s experiences and work together. Accordingly, we welcome Morocco’s effort to strengthen political parties and to give space to civil society in advance of the national elections.
We also respect His Majesty King Mohammed VI’s spiritual authority as a faith leader and his consistent and vocal opposition to any use of religion to justify violence against innocent persons.
In closing, let me just say that the foreign minister and I and our teams have a lot to discuss, as you can tell. And I very much look forward to having this discussion over the course of the day in the warmth and friendship that really does define this relationship. So I’m very pleased to yield my – the floor to my colleague and my friend, Foreign Minister Mezouar. Thank you. (Applause.)
FOREIGN MINISTER MEZOUAR: (Via interpreter.) Thank you, John, and dear friend. First of all, I would like to thank you for your kind words, for your hospitality, and for making your teams available. They worked hard. I would like to congratulate them.
And as you said, dear friend, we are two friendly countries and we have been longstanding friends, and this friendship in our context today is a fundamental basis to move ahead. It’s the fundamental basis that will allow us to face the transformations of today’s worlds with all of its complexities. And I think that our meeting of today as part of the strategic dialogue is the best message that we could convey together to say there aren’t just problems, but there’s also some progress being made. Humanity advances via crises, but also thanks to ability to ensure that progress may also be made.
I applaud – I salute the excellent relationship that we share, and this relationship that allows us doing meetings such as this one, but also doing very brief meetings that this relationship allows us to deal very quickly on the various topics, because you have the same assessments, the same analyses, but above all, we are members of the same bloc, the bloc of freedom, the camp of peace, that of democracy – the bloc of universal values, the bloc that defends the most disenfranchised, and also the bloc of solidarity. I think that these are the values that we share, and they allow us to always work with great peace of mind, to work together on the fundamental topics.
We met a year ago in Morocco, and of course, we were delighted to host you. Yes indeed, we shared some good meals, but we shared other meals, and namely our shared vision of what we wanted to be, of what we wanted to do. Morocco is a country, as you observed – is a country which is moving ahead. It’s a country which has built its model – its model of development, which is based on values, on institutions which are solid and strong. This is a country which has a history, and this history makes it stronger. This history helps us also via the reforms process that are continuing. Reforms never stop and they can never stop, because the world is moving. Societies are moving, are changing. And since the world and societies are moving and changing, well, reforms must also continue to move and change just like a society must continue to move and advance.
So Morocco does indeed appear to be this harbor of peace in a disrupted, disturbed, and ailing region of the world. We share our experiences with others, we provide our contribution, we engaged in the fight against ignorance, against extremism, because there is no war of religions, there’s no war of civilizations, but there’s a fight against ignorance. And that means that what we are engaged in together has meaning, because it’s the world as we see it, it’s societies as we perceive them, which are the engines of our actions, which are the engines of our relationships.
So I’m happy that today, once again, of the opportunity of this third strategic dialogue, that we’re able to notice that our relationship is vivacious. The advantages of these meetings that allows us to be constantly creative. They allow us to be constantly – say to yourselves we must ensure that this exceptional relationship, that this quality of relationship, it has to be supplied, it has to be complete – constantly fed, supplied; otherwise it will stagnate and it will regress.
So we are engaged in a virtuous, positive logic between our two countries. And here I would like to pay greater tribute to Ambassador Bush, who is doing a wonderful job. And also I would like to pay tribute to your teams at the State Department, who are also doing wonderful work to bring people together, to come up with imaginative things to create. I wish – would be remiss if I failed to pay tribute to our own ambassador, who is also working hard to ensure that constantly this exceptional relationship be preserved, sustained.
We talked about problems in our region. Here I would like to say two or three messages. The first message about Libya: Libya, as you know, the dialogue is taking place in Morocco, in serenity, in a state – atmosphere of responsibility. The Libyan people want peace; they want stability. The various components of the dialogue have been determined. There is a real awareness. The Libyans are capable of making peace. The Libyans are capable of getting along and the Libyans are capable of building a future within a framework of stability, as part of a modern society, an open society, with institutions that will allow them to deploy their wonderful energy. They do have that energy that will allow them to move ahead in the construction of their country, but also in the construction of the region.
Libyans need to be supported. We are engaged in a phase where the fundamental principles of the agreement have been accepted. Today, we must give this momentum and we must say and affirm that they are capable of making peace. They are capable of moving towards a political solution that will help them to overcome the difficulties that they have today.
So this is an opportunity to applaud the efforts of Bernardino Leon, who is working with great tact, with great engagement, but also applaud the various factions, the various protagonists who are engaged in the dialogue. And I am convinced that next week’s meeting will make it possible to move towards a definitive solution.
And why – I would also like to mention Yemen. We must, above all, understand that it is no longer possible to allow that in countries affected by this type of instability that legitimacy be swept aside by anyone. We must bring order back and respect. There was a dialogue and this dialogue was supposed to lead to the organization of a national unity government that would lead to new elections and representation. When units or factions start believing that, given they have a few militaries or some assets, they can destabilize states, the message that has to be retained is that – that has to be conveyed that this is fundamental. It has to be firm. It is no longer allowed that any minority, that any faction, should be able to destabilize the foundations of a state, because destabilizing the foundations of a state will bring us back to situations of insecurity, instability, always difficult to solve and which generally profit – benefit to those who know but we never think about.
So Morocco is determined, vis-a-vis values and principles. Morocco is engaged in the fight against extremism but also engaged in the fight against any type of destabilization which would lead to anarchy. So Morocco is engaged in the commission and it’s also engaged in this coalition for Yemen on the basis of values but also based on a value – on a vision of the dynamic to which the Middle East region must join, generally speaking.
I would also wish to emphasize the fact that the fight against extremism and the determination with which the coalition is acting is starting to produce results. These results are encouraging. This also encourages the Government of Iraq, which is responsible – its officials and its army – to come up with a solution that will make it possible to eradicate all forms of extremism and to fight against terrorism. So these are all – as many actions of the international community. And thanks to your leadership, dear friend, and we are all determined towards this action.
But I would also bring your attention to another aspect that should not be overlooked, that should not be forgotten. I would like to applaud your tenacity on the Israeli-Palestinian issue and on peace in this region. With determination, you led difficult negotiations. I think that this process is not over. With – this process must continue. The statement of Mr. Netanyahu is placing the international community in front of its real responsibilities, but we must never forget that peace in the Middle East will never take place as long as peace and stability in that region of the world, and especially as part of Israeli-Palestinian conflict has not been achieved.
His Majesty, the King is engaged via the committee accords to constantly provide this indispensable support to the Palestinians and particularly to the holy sites. These sites have to be protected. This is part of the heritage of humanity. They have to be protected for mankind. And Morocco, which is also engaged in this process of resumption of the dialogue, of discussion with the Quartet that had been designed by the Arab League, which had its meeting last Monday, in order to explain that we need a resumption of the process and the dialogue on the basis of engagements of the international community on behalf of the solution of two states, as it was defined – namely, the process that you have conducted yourself. Morocco will host the Summit of the Arab League next year in Morocco, and some very important topics will be on the agenda. And of course, Morocco is engaged in peace and in the rapprochement and the dialogue. This is fundamental because this period, this timeframe that we’re experiencing is sensitive, it’s explosive, and Morocco, thanks to the momentum, His Majesty, the King, is assuming the role of leadership, which is its own.
Morocco is also progressing on some various issues. You talked about them. There are two topics about which we have made some real progress – the issue of women, first of all, which was a struggle, a momentum. And thanks to His Majesty, there was this momentum. And this liberation that was conducted created for this amazing energy and skills in Morocco, and also the issue of youth. And this is an issue, of course, that we have not been working just since today. Morocco has always integrated – as part of its vision of development of society and of economic and social development, we integrate the training and the education of the youth as part of a strategy of development which is our own, and this is yielding good results, but we must continue to work even harder.
And this was part of the Global Entrepreneurial Summit that we were – had the pleasure of hosting, and you had the – gave us the honor of attending this. And this was a wonderful opportunity to show the amazing pool of talent that Morocco has in terms of creativity, of unyielding all of this power, and these means that will allow the youth to take its role and play its responsibility in the development of society. And of course, Morocco remains available to provide this expertise, this experience, as part of the upcoming summit which will take place in Nairobi, I believe, in July.
So Morocco is advancing with great serenity. Reforms are important, but in greater serenity they are done, the better it is. And it is acknowledged, appropriated by society. It is acknowledged by the political forces and the components of society. Morocco is advancing. We know we have to conduct reforms. We are conducting reforms and we’re expanding the field of liberation and of energies, and that makes the strength of our country. The strength of our country comes on the fact that we are liberating energies, and we have a leadership, because this leadership is modern. This leadership is progressive. This leadership is democratic. This leadership believes in human values.
His Majesty plays this role of leadership, but also, given the fact that we were able to build for more than a half century a momentum of political diversity and of political dialogue and of political representation, which this all allows us, indeed, to manage our differences with political alternative, with a democracy, with serenity and responsibility – and all of these things are things that we share with you, because the world also needs examples. Our relationship is an example because it is serene, it is responsible, because it looks to the future. And we all – Morocco is also an example that we share with other countries. And the stability of the region is fundamental. Previously, we mentioned the issue of the Sahara – Moroccan Sahara, and we emphasized on the fact that Morocco is a country that always looks to the future to build the future. Morocco provided concrete responses and concrete solutions via the autonomy proposal. This proposal is a proposal which moves towards integration but also towards the facilitation of the construction of the Maghreb space, and this on behalf of the populations, on behalf of the various countries.
So Morocco is a player that always looks at things positively. We have turned the page of the 25th century – we’re on the 21st century, and the 21st century has its own logic, and this logic says we must always be in a positive momentum, provide positive contributions, seek solutions, overcome the static systems of history which disrupt populations, which disrupt relations between countries. So Morocco wants to move ahead.
And we would like to thank you for the role that you play, the – your engagement on behalf of this virtuous dynamic that we want to move towards in this region with respect to the resolution of a problem which has been invented for 40 years, and which affects our territorial integrity. So these always many subjects which are important that we share, but I – once again, I would like to say I do know that you have a plane to catch. I would like to thank you for your friendship, for your availability towards Morocco. We’ll have – we have opportunities to meet once in a while in always various different locations, but these are very special moments, and we wanted to share them intensely with you on behalf of our relationship, on behalf of the friendship which unites our people here. I would like to pay tribute to the entire team which is here today, the three groups which are working, which are – the four groups, pardon me – four groups which are moving ahead with determination to provide content and to strengthen the economic component that is a momentum that has its own progression.
I would just like to conclude with one point which is important to us and that we share with you – Africa. Africa is the continent that we have to invest in. Morocco is engaging, it’s providing its experience, its expertise. We are providing our investments. We are providing human development. Morocco is providing this dimension of religious moderation which is fundamental today as part of the relationship and the stability and the stabilization of societies. We are engaged and will continue to be engaged.
When His Majesty, the King met President Obama, decided that this would be a thrust of the partnership between our countries, will provide it with more and more contact by engaging ourselves. We do know that the issue of energy is important, therefore our shared expertise should help towards, move in this dimension the issue of food security and the stabilization of populations, human development – really just development, but also investments. Morocco is the first investor, African investor in west – in Central Africa. So we are the largest African investor, which means that Morocco is engaged in this dynamic of development stabilization of Africa, which is a wonderful continent, which is a continent which has huge potential, and also needs to know that it has friends and friends that are – have wanted well, and since – we have good wishes for this continent and we’ll continue to work towards that.
Thank you once again, dear John. Thank you to all of you. (Applause.)
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you very much, Salaheddine, very eloquent comments. And I want the record to show that even when he was being serious, he was talking about (inaudible). (Laughter.) Thank you. (Applause.)
FOREIGN MINISTER MEZOUAR: Thank you. (Applause.)
QUESTION: Can we get (inaudible)? Will Cuba be removed from the state sponsors of terror list?
SECRETARY KERRY: I can’t, I’m sorry. I can’t. I’ve got to run now.
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