RESPONSE TO COORDINATED ATTACKS IN AFGHANISTAN

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE

Afghan Forces Respond to Coordinated Attacks

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force and ISAF Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON, April 16, 2012 - Afghan forces responded to a series of attacks in the Afghan capital of Kabul and in a few outlying provinces yesterday, military officials reported.

The Taliban called the attacks, which were concentrated in three clusters around the city, the start of their "spring offensive.

Consisting primarily of rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms fire, the attacks were largely ineffective, International Security Assistance Force officials said. Afghan crisis response units, along with Afghan police and army forces, deployed to repel the attacks.

The Afghan forces took light casualties while killing or capturing many of the suicide attackers in a matter of hours, officials said.

Afghanistan's national security directorate announced that two would-be suicide bombers were captured alive before they were able to reach their intended targets.

ISAF quick-reaction forces were prepared to respond, if required, but were not needed, officials said.

In operations today around Afghanistan:

-- An Afghan and coalition security force captured a Haqqani network facilitator in the Khost district of Afghanistan's Khost province. The facilitator coordinated the delivery of weapons, vehicles and equipment to insurgents in the region. The security force also detained two other insurgents and seized two assault rifles.

-- A combined force captured a Taliban facilitator, detained two additional insurgents and seized a 9 mm pistol, an assault rifle and a roadside-bomb pressure plate in the Jagori district of Ghazni province. The facilitator coordinated the movement of weapons, mortars and explosives.

In operations yesterday:

-- A combined force killed two insurgents, detained several otherss and seized an assault rifle during a search for a senior Taliban leader in the Pashtun Kot district of Faryab province. The leader is the head Taliban commissioner in the province, responsible for several kidnappings, suicide attacks, roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

-- A combined force killed an insurgent leader along with several other insurgents and seized rocket-propelled grenade rounds, blasting caps and a mortar tube with mortar rounds during a search for a Taliban leader in the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province. The insurgent leader killed in the operation had directed attacks against Afghan and coalition forces and provided insurgents with weapons, ammunition and equipment.

-- An Afghan-led force captured a Taliban leader and detained several suspects in the Baghlan-e Jadid district of Baghlan province. The leader directed roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

-- A combined force detained several suspects while searching for a Taliban leader in the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand province. The leader oversees Taliban operations in the province's Marjah district, including roadside-bomb and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He also attempts to impose Taliban law on Afghan civilians.

-- A combined airstrike killed several insurgents and destroyed a machine gun in the Nerkh district of Wardak province.

-- A combined force detained several suspects and seized an artillery round and a mortar round during a search for a Taliban leader in Ghazni's Khugyani district. The leader supervises roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He also targets local Afghan officials and attempts to impose Taliban law on Afghan civilians.

-- An Afghan-led force detained several suspects and seized a military uniform, a grenade and 100 rounds of small-arms ammunition during a search for a Haqqani leader in Khost's Sabari district. The leader coordinates roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He also supplies weapons and ammunition to insurgents.

In April 14 operations:

-- A combined force killed an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan terrorist group leader who directed attacks against Afghan and coalition forces, along with another insurgent, in the Rustaq district of Takhar province. The security force also seized weapons and grenades.

-- A combined force captured a Taliban leader and two suspects in Helmand's Nahr-e Saraj. The leader directed roadside-bomb and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces in the Nahr-e Saraj and Sangin districts. He is also suspected in the assassination plot of an Afghan security forces commander.

-- A combined airstrike killed a Taliban leader and four other insurgents in the Muhammad Aghah district of Logar province. The leader planned and conducted roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. The security force also detained several other insurgents and seized two assault rifles.

-- A combined force captured a Haqqani facilitator and detained two other insurgents in Khost's Bak district. The facilitator coordinated suicide attacks and roadside bombings against Afghan and coalition forces in the area. He also is suspected of transporting suicide bombers for attacks across the country.

-- In the Sayyidabad district of Wardak province, a combined force captured a Taliban leader, detained another insurgent and seized an assault rifle and a grenade. The leader supervised the construction and placement of roadside bombs used to attack Afghan and coalition forces. He also facilitated the movement of Taliban fighters from Pakistan into Afghanistan.

-- A combined force detained two suspects while searching for a Taliban leader in the Zurmat district of Paktia province. The leader coordinates roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition security forces. He also attempts to impose Taliban law on Afghan civilians in the area.

In April 13 operations:

-- A combined force found and destroyed about 2,400 pounds of hashish in the Zharay district of Kandahar province.

-- A combined patrol found and destroyed 2,500 5.56 mm rounds, 50 .50-caliber rounds, three mortar tubes and two mortar base plates in the Shinkai district of Zabul province.

-- A coalition force found and destroyed seven makeshift bombs in the Zharay district of Kandahar province.

In other news, ISAF Commander Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen praised Afghan national security forces for a recent operation in the Kamdesh district of Nuristan province.

Afghan commando-led operations resulted in more than 32 enemy fighters killed, along with numerous equipment and fighting positions destroyed. The operation was conducted to deny insurgent safe havens and prevent insurgents from massing against Afghan forces in the area, officials said.

"This was yet another example of the successful transition we have been seeing throughout the past year, as the [Afghan forces] are planning, leading and executing very productive combat operations against the insurgency," Allen said. "We expect to see more of these types of successful [Afghan-led] operations as we progress further into the spring and summer."

The commando operations led to follow-on missions by Afghan soldiers and police, officials said.

DOL CITES BUSINESSES AFTER 6 DIE AND 2 INJURED IN GRAIN ELEVATOR EXPLOSION

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Bartlett Grain in Atchison, Kan., cited for willful and serious violations by US Labor Department after 6 die, 2 injured in grain elevator explosion
Contractor Kansas Grain Inspection Services also cited
ATCHISON, Kan. — Bartlett Grain Co. L.P. faces five willful and eight serious safety violations cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration following an October 2011 grain elevator explosion in Atchison that killed six workers and left two others hospitalized.

The willful violations include allowing grain dust — which is nine times as explosive as coal dust — to accumulate, using compressed air to remove dust without first shutting down ignition sources, jogging (repeatedly starting and stopping) inside bucket elevators to free legs choked by grain, using electrical equipment inappropriate for the working environment and failing to require employees to use fall protection when working from heights.

"The deaths of these six workers could have been prevented had the grain elevator's operators addressed hazards that are well known in this industry," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "Bartlett Grain's disregard for the law led to a catastrophic accident and heartbreaking tragedy for the workers who were injured or killed, their families and the agricultural community."

The serious violations involve a lack of proper preventive maintenance, certification and lubrication of grain handling equipment; inadequate emergency action plan training for employees and contractors; a lack of employee and contractor training on job hazards; and a housekeeping program that was deficient because it did not prevent grain dust accumulations.
The citations to Bartlett Grain, which is based in Kansas City, Mo., carry $406,000 in proposed fines.

Topeka-based Kansas Grain Inspection Services Inc., a contractor employed by Bartlett Grain, also is being cited for one willful violation involving a lack of fall protection for employees working on the top of rail cars; one serious violation, the lack of a hazard communication program; and one other-than-serious violation, not providing basic advisory information about respirators to employees. These violations carry total proposed penalties of $67,500.

"OSHA standards save lives, but only if companies comply with them," said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. "Bartlett Grain has shown what happens when basic safety standards are ignored, and this agency simply will not tolerate needless loss of life."

A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.

Over the past 35 years, there have been more than 500 explosions in grain handling facilities across the United States that have killed more than 180 people and injured more than 675. Grain dust is the main source of fuel for explosions in grain handling. This dust is highly combustible and can burn or explode if enough becomes airborne or accumulates on a surface and finds an ignition source (such as a hot bearing, overheated motor or misaligned conveyor belt, as well as heat or sparks from welding, cutting and brazing operations). OSHA standards require that both grain dust and ignition sources be controlled in grain elevators to prevent potentially deadly explosions.

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

WHEN GALAXIES COLLIDE, WHAT MATTERS

FROM:  NASA
Using a combination of powerful observatories in space and on the ground, astronomers have observed a violent collision between two galaxy clusters in which so-called normal matter has been wrenched apart from dark matter through a violent collision between two galaxy clusters.

Finding another system that is further along in its evolution than the Bullet Cluster gives scientists valuable insight into a different phase of how galaxy clusters -- the largest known objects held together by gravity -- grow and change after major collisions.

Researchers used observations from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope as well as the Keck, Subaru and Kitt Peak Mayall telescopes to show that hot, X-ray bright gas in the Musket Ball Cluster has been clearly separated from dark matter and galaxies.

In this composite image, the hot gas observed with Chandra is colored red, and the galaxies in the optical image from Hubble appear as mostly white and yellow. The location of the majority of the matter in the cluster (dominated by dark matter) is colored blue. When the red and the blue regions overlap, the result is purple as seen in the image. The matter distribution is determined by using data from Subaru, Hubble and the Mayall telescope that reveal the effects of gravitational lensing, an effect predicted by Einstein where large masses can distort the light from distant objects.

In addition to the Bullet Cluster, five other similar examples of merging clusters with separation between normal and dark matter and varying levels of complexity, have previously been found. In these six systems, the collision is estimated to have occurred between 170 million and 250 million years earlier.

In the Musket Ball Cluster, the system is observed about 700 million years after the collision. Taking into account the uncertainties in the age estimate, the merger that has formed the Musket Ball Cluster is two to five times further along than in previously observed systems. Also, the relative speed of the two clusters that collided to form the Musket Ball cluster was lower than most of the other Bullet Cluster-like objects.

The special environment of galaxy clusters, including the effects of frequent collisions with other clusters or groups of galaxies and the presence of large amounts of hot, intergalactic gas, is likely to play an important role in the evolution of their member galaxies. However, it is still unclear whether cluster mergers trigger star formation, suppress it, or have little immediate effect. The Musket Ball Cluster holds promise for deciding between these alternatives.

The Musket Ball Cluster also allows an independent study of whether dark matter can interact with itself. This information is important for narrowing down the type of particle that may be responsible for dark matter. No evidence is reported for self-interaction in the Musket Ball Cluster, consistent with the results for the Bullet Cluster and the other similar clusters.

The Musket Ball Cluster is located about 5.2 billion light years away from Earth. A paper describing these results was led by Will Dawson from University of California, Davis and was published in the March 10, 2012 issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters. The other co-authors were David Wittman, M. James Jee and Perry Gee from UC Davis, Jack Hughes from Rutgers University in NJ, J. Anthony Tyson, Samuel Schmidt, Paul Thorman and Marusa Bradac from UC Davis, Satoshi Miyazaki from the Graduate University for Advanced Studies (GUAS) in Tokyo, Japan, Brian Lemaux from UC Davis, Yousuke Utsumi from GUAS and Vera Margoniner from California State University, Sacramento.

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls Chandra's science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass.

MAJOR ECONOMIES FORUM ON ENERGY AND CLIMATE SET FOR APRIL17, 2012 IN ROME

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate in Rome, Italy
Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC
April 13, 2012
Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern will lead U.S. participation in the 14th Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate in Rome, Italy, on April 17, 2012. Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs Michael Froman will serve as chair. The meeting will take place at the level of leaders’ representatives.

The Major Economies Forum, launched by President Obama in 2009, facilitates a candid dialogue among 17 developed and developing economies to support progress in meeting the climate change and clean energy challenge globally.

Members of the Major Economies Forum include: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In addition, representatives will attend from Singapore, Qatar, Colombia, and New Zealand.

Mr. Stern will conduct a press briefing via teleconference as the meeting concludes on April 17. Details and call-in numbers will be provided by Monday, April, 16.

BASICS ABOUT TORNADOES

FROM:  NOAA                                                          Waterspout (Tornado)  Credit:  NOAA 
What is a tornado? According to the Glossary of Meteorology (AMS 2000), a tornado is "a violently rotating column of air, pendant from a cumuliform cloud or underneath a cumuliform cloud, and often (but not always) visible as a funnel cloud." Literally, in order for a vortex to be classified as a tornado, it must be in contact with the ground and the cloud base.

Weather scientists haven't found it so simple in practice, however, to classify and define tornadoes. For example, the difference is unclear between an strong mesocyclone (parent thunderstorm   circulation) on the ground, and a large, weak tornado. There is also disagreement as to whether  separate touchdowns of the same funnel constitute separate tornadoes. It is well-known that a tornado may not have a visible funnel. Also, at what wind speed of the cloud-to-ground vortex does a tornado begin? How close must two or more different tornadic circulations become to qualify as a one multiple-vortex tornado, instead of separate tornadoes? There are no firm answers.

                                        Waterspout (Tornado) Credit:  U.S. Geological Survey  

How do tornadoes form? The classic answer--"warm moist Gulf air meets cold Canadian air and dry air from the Rockies"--is a gross oversimplification. Many thunderstorms form under those conditions (near warm fronts, cold fronts and drylines respectively), which never even come close to producing tornadoes. Even when the large-scale environment is extremely favorable for tornadic thunderstorms, as in an SPC "High Risk" outlook, not every thunderstorm spawns a tornado. The truth is that we don't fully understand. The most destructive and deadly tornadoes occur from supercells--which are rotating thunderstorms with a well-defined radar circulation called a mesocyclone. [Supercells can also produce damaging hail, severe non-tornadic winds, unusually frequent lightning, and flash floods.] Tornado formation is believed to be dictated mainly by things which happen on the storm scale, in and around the mesocyclone. Recent theories and results from the VORTEX program suggest that once a mesocyclone is underway, tornado development is related to the temperature differences across the edge of downdraft air wrapping around the mesocyclone (the occlusion downdraft). Mathematical modeling studies of tornado formation also indicate that it can happen without such temperature patterns; and in fact, very little temperature variation was observed near some of the most destructive tornadoes in history on 3 May 1999. .

What direction do tornadoes come from? Does the region of the US play a role in path direction? Tornadoes can appear from any direction. Most move from southwest to northeast, or west to east. Some tornadoes have changed direction amid path, or even backtracked. [A tornado can double back suddenly, for example, when its bottom is hit by outflow winds from a thunderstorm's core.] Some areas of the US tend to have more paths from a specific direction, such as northwest in Minnesota or southeast in coastal south Texas. This is because of an increased frequency of certain tornado-producing weather patterns (say, hurricanes in south Texas, or northwest-flow weather systems in the upper Midwest).

How long does a tornado last? Tornadoes can last from several seconds to more than an hour. The longest-lived tornado in history is really unknown, because so many of the long-lived tornadoes reported from the early-mid 1900s and before are believed to be tornado series instead. Most tornadoes last less than 10 minutes.

How close to a tornado does the barometer drop? And how far does it drop ? It varies. A barometer can start dropping many hours or even days in advance of a tornado if there is low pressure on a broad scale moving into the area. Strong pressure falls will often happen as the mesocyclone.

What is a waterspout?
A waterspout is a tornado over water--usually meaning non-supercell tornadoes over water. Waterspouts are common along the southeast U. S. coast--especially off southern Florida and the Keys--and can happen over seas, bays and lakes worldwide. Although waterspouts are always tornadoes by definition; they don't officially count in tornado records unless they hit land. They are smaller and weaker than the most intense Great Plains tornadoes, but still can be quite dangerous. Waterspouts can overturn boats, damage larger ships, do significant damage when hitting land, and kill people. The National Weather Service will often issue special marine warnings when waterspouts are likely or have been sighted over coastal waters, or tornado warnings when waterspouts can move inland.

ESA - HERSCHEL -THE DARK HEART OF A COSMIC COLLISION

ESA - Herschel - The dark heart of a cosmic collision

TENNESSEE BASED HEALTHCARE COMPANY SETTLES FALSE CLAIMS TO MEDICARE CASE

FROM:  JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Friday, April 13, 2012
Ammed Direct Llc to Pay $18 Million to United States and Tennessee to Resolve False Claims Allegations
AmMed Direct LLC has agreed to pay the United States and the state of Tennessee $18 million plus interest to settle allegations that it submitted false claims to Medicare and Tennessee Medicaid (TennCare), the Justice Department announced today.   Under the agreement, AmMed will pay $17,560,997 to the United States and $439,003 to Tennessee.

The United States and Tennessee allege that, from September 2008 through January 2010, the Antioch, Tenn.-based company submitted false claims to Medicare and TennCare for diabetes testing supplies, vacuum erection devices and heating pads.   The United States and Tennessee asserted that AmMed widely advertised free cookbooks in order to induce Medicare beneficiaries to contact AmMed or its hired telemarketing firm.   Once AmMed confirmed that a beneficiary was covered by Medicare, AmMed representatives improperly attempted to sell the beneficiary supplies that would be paid for by Medicare.   Medicare rules prohibit medical businesses from making unsolicited telephone contact with beneficiaries to sell them their products, unless specific exceptions apply.

The United States and Tennessee further alleged that, as a result of AmMed’s improper marketing, many Medicare beneficiaries who called AmMed to receive the advertised free cookbooks returned their diabetic supplies to AmMed.   AmMed, however, failed to timely refund the money to Medicare or TennCare.   Rather, AmMed allowed the unpaid refunds to accrue from September 2006 until January 2010.   Prior to learning of the United States’ and Tennessee’s investigation, AmMed disclosed to the Medicare Administrative Contractors its failure to refund monies for returned supplies and began paying the refunds to Medicare and TennCare.

“Government health care programs have in place important rules that prohibit suppliers from improperly contacting beneficiaries regarding their products,” said Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division.   “The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that companies that bill government health care programs abide by those rules.”

 “Enforcement of the False Claims Act remains a top priority of this office,” said Jerry E. Martin, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.   “All Medicare providers must comply with Medicare rules for reimbursement.   The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee will continue to devote the resources necessary to vigorously protect taxpayers’ interests and aggressively pursue fraud and abuse.”

 “We are grateful for the hard work and cooperation of our state and federal agencies in this case,” said Tennessee Attorney General Bob Cooper. “Working to stop healthcare fraud is a major priority for all of us because ultimately everyone pays for this kind of theft.”

The allegations arose from a lawsuit brought under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private citizens with knowledge of false claims against the government to bring an action on behalf of the United States and to share in any recovery.   The qui tam action was filed in 2009 in federal district court in Nashville, Tenn., by former AmMed Direct employee Bryan McNeese.   The relator will receive approximately $2.88 million as his share of the settlement proceeds.

This resolution is part of the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and another step for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced by Attorney General Eric Holder and Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in May 2009.   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 that effort is the False Claims Act, which the Justice Department has used to recover more than $6.7 billion since January 2009 in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.   The Justice Department’s total recoveries in False Claims Act cases since January 2009 are over $9 billion.

The case was investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services- Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee and the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office.   The Justice Department’s Civil Division monitored the investigation.

LOOKING FOR BLACK HOLES CALLED BLAZARS

FROM:  NASA
WASHINGTON -- Astronomers are actively hunting a class of supermassive
black holes throughout the universe called blazars thanks to data
collected by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). The
mission has revealed more than 200 blazars and has the potential to
find thousands more.

Blazars are among the most energetic objects in the universe. They
consist of supermassive black holes actively "feeding," or pulling
matter onto them, at the cores of giant galaxies. As the matter is
dragged toward the supermassive hole, some of the energy is released
in the form of jets traveling at nearly the speed of light. Blazars
are unique because their jets are pointed directly at us.

"Blazars are extremely rare because it's not too often that a
supermassive black hole's jet happens to point towards Earth," said
Franceso Massaro of the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and
Cosmology near Palo Alto, Calif., and principal investigator of the
research, published in a series of papers in the Astrophysical
Journal. "We came up with a crazy idea to use WISE's infrared
observations, which are typically associated with lower-energy
phenomena, to spot high-energy blazars, and it worked better than we
hoped."

The findings ultimately will help researchers understand the extreme
physics behind super-fast jets and the evolution of supermassive
black holes in the early universe.

WISE surveyed the entire celestial sky in infrared light in 2010,
creating a catalog of hundreds of millions of objects of all types.
Its first batch of data was released to the larger astronomy
community in April 2011 and the full-sky data were released last
month.

Massaro and his team used the first batch of data, covering more than
one-half the sky, to test their idea that WISE could identify
blazars. Astronomers often use infrared data to look for the weak
heat signatures of cooler objects. Blazars are not cool; they are
scorching hot and glow with the highest-energy type of light, called
gamma rays. However, they also give off a specific infrared signature
when particles in their jets are accelerated to almost the speed of
light.

One of the reasons the team wants to find new blazars is to help
identify mysterious spots in the sky sizzling with high-energy gamma
rays, many of which are suspected to be blazars. NASA's Fermi mission
has identified hundreds of these spots, but other telescopes are
needed to narrow in on the source of the gamma rays.

Sifting through the early WISE catalog, the astronomers looked for the
infrared signatures of blazars at the locations of more than 300
gamma-ray sources that remain mysterious. The researchers were able
to show that a little more than half of the sources are most likely
blazars.

"This is a significant step toward unveiling the mystery of the many
bright gamma-ray sources that are still of unknown origin," said
Raffaele D'Abrusco, a co-author of the papers from Harvard
Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Mass. "WISE's
infrared vision is actually helping us understand what's happening in
the gamma-ray sky."

The team also used WISE images to identify more than 50 additional
blazar candidates and observed more than 1,000 previously discovered
blazars. According to Massaro, the new technique, when applied
directly to WISE's full-sky catalog, has the potential to uncover
thousands more.

"We had no idea when we were building WISE that it would turn out to
yield a blazar gold mine," said Peter Eisenhardt, WISE project
scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena,
Calif., who is not associated with the new studies. "That's the
beauty of an all-sky survey. You can explore the nature of just about
any phenomenon in the universe."  
                                               

THE FINAL FLIGHT OF THE SPACE SHUTTLES WILL BE ON THIS AIRCRAFT

FROM:  NASA
The Shuttle Carrier Aircraft glides down the runway of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The aircraft, known as an SCA, arrived at 5:35 p.m. EDT to prepare for shuttle Discovery’s ferry flight to the Washington Dulles International Airport in Sterling, Va., on April 17. This SCA, designated NASA 905, is a modified Boeing 747 jet airliner, originally manufactured for commercial use. One of two SCAs employed over the course of the Space Shuttle Program, NASA 905 is assigned to the remaining ferry missions, delivering the shuttles to their permanent public display sites. NASA 911 was decommissioned at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center in California in February. Discovery will be placed on permanent public display in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. Image Credit: NASA/Frankie Martin

FIRST LADY MICHELLE OBAMA GIVES CREDIT TO MILITARY KIDS

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
Military Kids Make Parents' Service Possible, First Lady Says
By Lisa Daniel
WASHINGTON, April 13, 2012 - First Lady Michelle Obama highlighted the shared sacrifices of military children while meeting with the teenage daughters of service members yesterday in Jacksonville, Fla.

"On behalf of myself and my husband, I want to tell you all truly how proud we are of you," Obama told hundreds of high school girls, along with some of their parents, who greeted her at Naval Air Station Jacksonville. "We are so proud of you.  We are inspired by you, and we are grateful for everything that you do for this country every single day."

Obama made the stop as part of the first anniversary this week of the "Joining Forces" campaign she started with Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, last year to help civilian Americans support military families.

"When we talk about how our men and women in uniform sacrifice so much and serve this country so bravely, we're not just talking about your parents," Obama said. "We are talking about all of you.  We're talking about our military kids and our military families, because we know that when your parents are called to serve, you all serve right alongside them.

The first lady recognized the girls for their frequent forced relocations and dealing with deployed parents.

"When your parents get that call to pick up and move halfway across the country, you pick up and move right alongside them," she said. "And then, just when you finally get settled in, just when you're feeling comfortable and make friends and start fitting in, what happens?  That call comes again, right?"

"It can't be easy," she said, "... to keep your spirits up through all those missed holidays, and missed birthdays, and times when you would give anything in the world to have them back home."

Obama, who distributed $250 department store gift cards to the girls, acknowledged that, for many, there will be an empty seat at their high school graduation, and moms and dads who aren't home to see them off to the prom.

Yet military kids often are leaders in their schools and communities who excel academically while taking on extra responsibilities at home, she said.

"Many of you have had to put on a brave face for maybe a younger brother or sister, even when you were worried," Obama said. "You've had to reassure your parents that you were OK, even when sometimes you weren't.

"You've done all of this because, ultimately, you understand that your parents are part of something far bigger than themselves," she said. "You know that they protect and defend the freedoms that every single one of us holds dear. You know that their service keeps this country safe every single day.  And you all are a vital part of that work.

"By working so hard ..., you give your parents the peace of mind they need to focus on their mission," she said. "With your service, you make their service possible.  And for that, we can't thank you enough."

EXPORT-IMPORT BANK ANNUAL CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS

FROM:  EXPORT-IMPORT BANK
Export-Import Bank Annual Conference Highlights U.S. Export Growth, Need for Financing
New Export Data Announced, President Clinton Calls for Ex-Im’s Reauthorization

Washington, D.C. – The significance of U.S. export growth to America’s economy and the need for continued availability of export financing were key themes highlighted at the 37th annual conference of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank), held in Washington, D.C., April 12-13.

Ex-Im Bank announced new trade figures showing that U.S. exports reached more than $181.2 billion in February 2012, according to data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Commerce Department. Over the last 12 months, exports totaled more than $2.1 trillion – nearly 35.5 percent above the level of exports in 2009.

U.S. exports have been growing at an annualized rate of 15 percent, the growth rate required to meet President Obama’s goal of doubling U.S. exports by 2015.

Ex-Im’s two-day conference, entitled “Ex-Im Bank –Your Competitive Edge,” drew more than 1,200 participants from 40 countries and featured keynote speeches and panel presentations by world business, finance and political leaders.

President Bill Clinton, founder of the William J. Clinton Foundation and the 42nd president of the United States, gave the keynote address on Thursday, April 12, focusing on the critical role of trade in global development. He also called for Ex-Im’s congressional reauthorization and an increase in the Bank’s exposure cap.

“If America wants to lead the world in shared prosperity, a key component must be to increase employment in the tradable sector,” said President Clinton, who also addressed Ex-Im’s annual conference in 1993 while in office. “There is a whole raft of studies that show that Americans who work in the tradable sector of the economy are not only likely to get jobs with higher starting pay but also pay that increases with the growth of the companies.”

The former president also commented on the role of Ex-Im Bank in helping U.S. exporters compete with foreign companies supported by their governments. “As a practical matter, when you are on a field in a competition, you either meet the competition or you get beat. Unilateral disarmament is not a very good recipe for success,” Clinton noted. “If you are here from the USA, I urge you to ask the Congress to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank at the higher level.”

Conference presenters on Friday, April 13, included Commerce Secretary John Bryson, Mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel and Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University.

Ex-Im Bank Chairman Fred P. Hochberg told conference attendees that Ex-Im Bank and the U.S. Maritime Administration have worked out a new agreement that will make it easier for U.S. exporters benefiting from the Bank’s buyer financing for large transactions to meet U.S.-flagged shipping requirements.

Ex-Im Bank also announced its initial transaction under Global Credit Express, the Bank’s first direct loan product for small businesses. The pilot program features a 12-month line of credit up to $500,000 for eligible exporters. Last week, the Bank approved a $200,000 loan to JCA International Corp., in Carlsbad, Calif., a small-business importer and exporter of frozen fruits and vegetables.

In addition, a new special "Business Speed Networking" session brought together foreign buyers and American sellers for one-on-one introductory meetings aimed to facilitate deal-making.
About Ex-Im Bank:

Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that helps create and maintain U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. In the past five years, Ex-Im Bank has earned for U.S. taxpayers $1.9 billion above the cost of operations. The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees, export-credit insurance and financing to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and services.

Navy News Service - Eye on the Fleet Current Collection

Navy News Service - Eye on the Fleet Current Collection