4 ISAF MEMBERS DIE IN AFGHANISTAN HELICOPTER CREASH

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE

Afghanistan Helicopter Crash Claims 4 Service Members

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON, April 20, 2012 - Four International Security Assistance Force service members died in a helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan yesterday, military officials reported.

The cause of the crash is under investigation, officials said.

In other Afghanistan news, the U.S. Army's 1st Infantry Division, known as the "Big Red One," took charge of military operations in eastern Afghanistan during a ceremony at Bagram Airfield yesterday, officials reported.

The division, which is home-based at Fort Riley, Kan., assumed command authority of Regional Command-East from the 1st Cavalry Division. The latter unit is returning to Fort Hood, Texas, after a successful year-long tour in Afghanistan.

Operating as Combined Joint Task Force-1, the 1st Infantry Division will command and control operations throughout RC-East, an area roughly the size of Virginia, including 14 provinces, 7.5 million Afghans and 450 kilometers of mountainous terrain along the border with Pakistan.

Army Maj. Gen. William C. Mayville, Jr., commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division and CJTF-1, provided remarks during the ceremony.

"Our mission over the next year is to maintain the momentum of this campaign, relentlessly pursuing insurgent networks, assisting Afghan efforts to assert sovereignty along the border, and accelerating the development" of Afghan national security forces, Mayville said.

Mayville's task force consists of more than 32,000 coalition troops, including five U.S. brigade combat teams as well as troops from nine NATO countries.

The division is appreciative of its partnership with Afghan security forces, Mayville said.

"The Afghan security forces are growing and maturing at a rapid rate," the general said. "Governance, combined with the growing security environment, has limited the Taliban's ability to exert their negative influence.

"Still, we know this is a tough fight," Mayville continued, "but it is a fight we will win, due to our strong partnership" with the Afghan security forces.

Mayville's team will work closely with civilian agencies. U.S. Ambassador Richard Olson, the coordinating director for development and economic affairs in Kabul, attended the ceremony and gave a brief interview about the future of the civilian-military partnership in RC-East.

"The model [civilian-military] integration here is unlike any we've seen before," Olson said. "The military's strides in security, along with its joint work with [Provincial Reconstruction Teams], have given us the ability to focus on governance and development here.

"We've contributed a lot to Afghanistan in the last 10 years," Olson added. "Now the challenge is to make sure the Afghan people have the capacity to continue these successes and projects after 2014."
 

FATHER-SON HEDGE FUND MANAGERS CHARGED WITH MISLEADING INVESTORS

FROM:  SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C., April 20, 2012 – The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a Boston-based father-son duo of hedge fund managers and their firms with securities fraud for misleading investors about their investment strategy and past performance.

The SEC’s investigation found that Gabriel and Marco Bitran raised millions of dollars for their hedge funds through GMB Capital Management LLC and GMB Capital Partners LLC by falsely telling investors they had a lengthy track record of success based on actual trades using real money. In truth, the Bitrans knew the track record was based on back-tested hypothetical simulations. The Bitrans also misled investors in certain hedge funds to believe they used quantitative optimal pricing models devised by Gabriel Bitran to invest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and other liquid securities. Instead, they merely invested the money almost entirely in other hedge funds. GMB Capital Management later provided false documents to SEC staff examining the firm’s claims in marketing materials of a successful track record.

The Bitrans agreed to be barred from the securities industry and pay a total of $4.8 million to settle the SEC’s charges.

“The Bitrans solicited investors by touting an impressive track record and a unique investment strategy, and they lied about both,” said David P. Bergers, Director of the SEC’s Boston Regional Office.

According to the SEC’s order instituting settled administrative proceedings, Gabriel Bitran founded GMB Capital Management in 2005 for the stated purpose of managing hedge funds using quantitative models he developed based on his academic optimal pricing research to trade primarily ETFs. He and his son Marco Bitran solicited potential investors with three primary selling points:
Very successful performance track records based on actual trades using real money from 1998 to the inception of the hedge funds.

The firm’s use of Gabriel Bitran’s proprietary optimal pricing model to trade ETFs.
Gabriel Bitran’s involvement as founder and portfolio manager of the funds.
The SEC’s order states that over a period of three years, the Bitrans raised more than $500 million for eight hedge funds and various managed accounts while making these misrepresentations to investors. In order to market the hedge funds, GMB Management and the Bitrans created performance track records beginning in January 1998 showing double-digit annualized return without any down years. They distributed these track records to potential investors in marketing materials, and told investors that they were based on actual trading with real money using Gabriel Bitran’s optimal pricing models. In reality, the Bitrans knew their representations were false and the track records were based on hypothetical historical investments. For two of their hedge funds, they created track records showing annualized returns of 16.2 percent and 11.7 percent with no down years, and told investors the returns were based on actual trading when in fact they were based on hypothetical historical allocations to hedge fund managers.

According to the SEC’s order, investors were misled to believe their money was being invested according to Gabriel Bitran’s unique quant strategy when in reality certain GMB hedge funds were merely investing predominantly in other hedge funds without his involvement. For example, investors in two GMB hedge funds were told that Gabriel Bitran spent 80 percent of his time managing the funds and was involved in reviewing trades in the funds on a daily basis. However, he actually had no role in the management of either fund. Both funds experienced a series of losses at the end of 2008, and GMB eventually dissolved them. When a possible financial fraud at the Petters Group Worldwide was reported in late September 2008, the two hedge funds’ investments in a fund that was entirely invested in the Petters Group became illiquid. However, GMB did not disclose to investors that it had been impacted by the Petters fraud, instead sending investors a letter stating that “a swap instrument that the Fund entered into seeking to realize a higher return on a portion of its uninvested cash” had become illiquid because “one of the parties underlying the swap instrument is currently experiencing a credit and liquidity crisis, in conjunction with other alleged factors.” Furthermore, the two GMB funds suffered significant losses in hedge funds that had invested with Bernard Madoff. These investments in funds that ultimately invested with the Petters Group and Madoff were made contrary to what GMB investors were told.

According to the SEC’s order, during an SEC examination of GMB Capital Management, the firm produced a document that the Bitrans claimed was a real-time record of Gabriel Bitran’s trades since 1998. In fact, the document was false and created solely for the purpose of responding to the SEC staff’s request for the books and records that supported GMB’s performance claims.

The GMB entities and the Bitrans neither admitted nor denied the SEC’s findings in settling the charges. They agreed to pay disgorgement of $4.3 million. Gabriel and Marco Bitran also agreed to pay $250,000 each in penalties and be barred from the securities industry, and the GMB entities will be censured. The SEC’s order requires the Bitrans and the GMB entities to cease and desist from committing or causing any violations and any future violations of Section 17(a) of the Securities Act, Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder, and Sections 204, 206(1), 206(2) and 206(4) of the Advisers Act and Rules 204-2(a)(16) and 206(4)-8 thereunder.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Kerry Dakin, Kevin Kelcourse, and Kathleen Shields of the Boston Regional Office. Paul Prata, Elizabeth Ward, and Milton Pepin of the Boston Regional Office worked on the SEC’s examination. Stuart Jackson of the SEC’s Division of Risk, Strategy, and Financial Innovation assisted in the investigation.

NASA AMES RESEARCH CENTER NEWS AND FEATURES UPDATE: ALGAE BASED BIO-FUELS

NASA Ames Research Center News and Features Update

U.S TREASURY ON WALL STREET REFORM

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Wall Street Reform for U.S. Department of the Treasury
As prepared for delivery
NEW YORK – Good afternoon.  It is a privilege to address the International Section of the American Bar Association, and to be speaking about international regulatory reform. The subject matter is particularly timely given that the world’s finance ministers will gather in Washington, D.C. for the G-20 this weekend.

We have learned from recent events, including the financial crisis, that financial systems and markets around the world are more integrated than ever.  Therefore, financial reforms around the globe must be consistent and convergent.

I will touch on three key priorities that were agreed upon by the G-20 – capital, resolution, and OTC derivatives – as well as insurance regulation.
We are transitioning now from regulatory design to implementation.  We must acknowledge that the task is both difficult and complex. We must work together through the G-20 and the Financial Stability Board to make the new rules effective. We all share a common interest in a global financial system that is safe and resilient, and that supports growth.

The Importance of Reform
Let me begin by retreading familiar ground: the financial crisis revealed that the risks facing our system can be correlated and crosscutting, and that they can affect multiple firms, markets, and countries simultaneously. The crisis laid bare the fundamental weaknesses of the previous financial regulatory infrastructure.
To preserve financial stability, it became essential to establish a regulatory structure that could properly assess the financial system as a whole, not simply its component parts – a regulatory structure in which the failure of one firm, or problems in one corner of the system, would not risk bringing down the entire financial system.  It was important to establish a modern regulatory framework that could keep pace with financial sector innovations, restore market discipline, and safeguard financial stability in both the United States and abroad.  The United States has played a leading role in this global financial reform by enacting the Dodd-Frank Act.

Some have argued that these new rules and standards put U.S. financial firms at a competitive disadvantage.  While we must always work towards having a level competitive playing field, I believe such arguments are misplaced.
First, by moving quickly, we in the United States have been able to lead from a position of strength in setting the international reform agenda.

Second, there is already evidence that our actions – both the immediate response to the crisis and permanent reforms under the Dodd-Frank Act – have bolstered the recovery of the U.S. financial system.  Bank balance sheets are stronger. Tier 1 common equity at large bank holding companies has increased by more than 70 percent or by $560 billion since the first quarter of 2009. Additionally, at the four largest bank holding companies, for example, reliance on short-term wholesale financial debt has decreased from a peak of 36 percent of total assets in 2007 to 20 percent at the end of 2011. The firms’ liquidity positions are more robust and their funding sources are more reliable. Firms have significantly reduced leverage. Recent stress tests showed that the bank holding companies are better able to withstand significant shocks.

Third, I believe that consumers, investors, and businesses feel more secure when they deal with financial institutions that are well-regulated and transparent, because these attributes engender trust. Trust is essential for the financial system to perform its most basic functions, including credit intermediation. For many years, investors from all over the world have trusted the U.S. financial system. Regulation that is both strong and sensible is essential to continue that trust.

Over the past three years, we have made substantial progress in restoring this trust to our financial system and thereby improving financial stability. Long-term economic growth and credit intermediation are only sustainable under a model in which there is confidence in financial stability.

International Coordination
All of this being said, it is nevertheless important to remember that financial systems are interconnected and that risks both transcend and migrate across national borders. Therefore, we must work towards building a system where there is broad global agreement on the basic rules of the road.

Global coordination is important not only for maintaining a level playing field, but also for promoting financial stability.  We can ill afford the risk of regulatory arbitrage.  If riskier activities migrate unchecked to jurisdictions with inadequate rules and supervision, the threats that will emerge will have implications not just for the host country, but for the global financial system. The financial crisis exposed the failure of weak regulation.

Europe has taken important steps toward reform.  The EU is working through its most extensive financial services reform.   It has proposed or adopted around thirty reform measures, including almost all of the key measures agreed to by the G-20.  The United States and the EU are aligned on the fundamental goals of regulatory reform, and are united by a shared view that it is necessary to complete at an international level the work that is underway.  Treasury and U.S. regulatory agencies have worked closely with our counterparts in the European Commission and the European Supervisory Agencies to align our regulations more closely.

It is unlikely that we and our European counterparts will attain perfect alignment.  But most of the differences between us are technical, not matters of principle.  While we must work diligently to resolve our technical differences, we should not let them overshadow our shared commitment to reform. We must also see to it that other regions follow through on implementing reforms, particularly Asia, given the importance of financial centers like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo. The global financial system will continue to strengthen as a result of our efforts. Backtracking on reforms is not an option.

G-20 and the Joint Reform Agenda
The G-20 has been, and will continue to be, a key vehicle for coordinating our reform efforts. Since the first meetings of the G-20, and especially since the Pittsburgh meetings during the height of the financial crisis in 2009, the Group has worked to increase the strength and effectiveness of the international regulatory framework through a comprehensive agenda for reform. This agenda has been reaffirmed and further developed at each subsequent Summit.  The Financial Stability Forum, which was expanded and strengthened as the Financial Stability Board (FSB) in 2009, has also played a key role in this process, with support from the global standard-setting bodies.

This year in the G-20, the United States is emphasizing progress on implementation in three key areas: capital, resolution, and OTC derivatives.  Let me now turn to discussing these three priorities as well as international coordination around insurance, which will also be an area of focus in the coming year.

Capital
The crisis showed that financial institutions were not sufficiently capitalized to withstand significant market pressures.  To maintain financial stability, taxpayers in countries across the globe had to provide capital support to financial institutions in order to prevent their failure.  There was little question that, going forward, banks needed to be more resilient, with better quality capital buffers.  

The international regulatory community acted with dispatch and urgency to achieve consensus on Basel 2.5 and Basel III capital standards.  The new Basel capital standards provide a uniform definition of capital across jurisdictions, and it requires banks to hold significantly more and higher-quality capital.  The reforms to the Basel Capital Standards also establish a mandatory leverage ratio and a liquidity coverage ratio.
More work remains with respect to the Basel Capital Standards.  International agreement on standards must be followed with implementation by G-20 members.  Moreover, important debates continue around issues such as liquidity run-off ratios and measurement of capital deductions. The Basel Committee is now working toward more consistent measurement of risk-weighted assets across jurisdictions.

While these points are relatively technical, it is important that the new rules be consistent not only in principle, but also in practice. Consistent cross-border application of capital standards is important to maintaining a level playing field.

Resolution
Strengthening cross-border resolution regimes is complicated.  But it is a critically important topic.

The U.S. experience with Lehman Brothers showed the potentially devastating consequences to financial stability of the disorderly bankruptcy of a financial firm. Thus, the Dodd-Frank Act provides for orderly resolution of financial companies, including non-bank financial institutions. The FDIC and Federal Reserve have already adopted a number of rules pursuant to these new authorities, including a “living wills” rule that requires large bank holding companies and designated nonbank financial companies to prepare resolution plans.  The largest bank holding companies will submit the first living wills in July.
The goal of international convergence was furthered this year when the G-20 endorsed the “Key Attributes of Effective Resolution Regimes for Financial Institutions.”   This new international standard addresses such critical issues as the scope and independence of the resolution authority, the essential powers and authorities that a resolution authority must possess, and how jurisdictions can facilitate cross-border cooperation in resolutions of significant financial institutions. The Key Attributes provide guidelines for how jurisdictions should develop recovery and resolution plans for specific institutions and for assessing the resolvability of their institutions.  This new international standard also sets forth the elements that countries should include in their resolution regimes while avoiding severe systemic consequences or taxpayer loss.

Therefore, much progress has already been made and even more will be completed by the end of this year: cross-border crisis management groups for the largest firms have been established, additional cross-border cooperation agreements will be put in place, and recovery and resolution plans are being developed.

Derivatives
The crisis also showed that we did not have a sufficient understanding of derivatives, which are an important means of interconnection between firms.  The flaws attendant to this area of financial transactions were many: poor access to useful data such that, at critical times, neither supervisors nor counterparties knew who owed what to whom; poor risk management such that firms were not able to satisfy their contractual obligations with respect to collateral; and a generally fragmented and opaque market. It is common ground that the lack of oversight in the derivatives markets exacerbated the financial crisis.
The Dodd-Frank Act creates a comprehensive framework of regulation for the OTC derivatives markets.  The elements of this framework include regulation of dealers, mandatory clearing, trading, and transparency.  The framework established under the Dodd-Frank Act is consistent with that of the G-20.  The CFTC and SEC are well into their rule-making process.  Once again, the United States and the EU have closely cooperated in this area, and have adopted parallel approaches to important issues such as central clearing, trading platforms, and reporting to trade repositories.

While the reforms set forth a framework for on-exchange-traded derivatives, it is also important for us to make progress on establishing a global regime for margin for bespoke, un-cleared derivatives transactions.  Both the United States and the EU support international work on global margin standards for trades that are not cleared through a central counterparty. Margin requirements are critical to promoting the safety and soundness of the dealers, and thereby lower risk in the financial system.
While we have made some progress, there is still much work to be done on derivatives, including completing the implementation efforts and meeting agreed G-20 timetables.

Insurance
Finally, I would like to turn to insurance regulation.  Important strides have been made in this area. The Dodd-Frank Act created and placed within the Treasury Department the Federal Insurance Office (FIO). While FIO is not a regulator, it has broad responsibilities to monitor all aspects of the insurance industry and is the first federal office in this sector. Among its duties, FIO is charged with coordinating federal efforts and developing federal policy on prudential aspects of international insurance matters, including representing the United States in the International Association of Insurance Supervisors, or IAIS. Notably, FIO recently joined the Executive Committee of the IAIS.

FIO’s establishment coincides with the rapid internationalization of the insurance sector and work ongoing in various international regulatory bodies that will affect U.S.-based companies operating around the world. FIO’s international priorities include the IAIS initiative to create a common framework for the supervision of internationally active insurance groups, or ComFrame. FIO is also engaged in the IAIS work stream to develop a methodology that will identify globally significant insurance institutions, an assignment given to the IAIS by the Financial Stability Board. Finally, FIO is leading an insurance dialogue between the United States and the EU that aims to establish a platform for insurers based on both sides of the Atlantic to compete fairly and on a level playing field.

Conclusion
We must continue to work with our partners in the G-20 and the Financial Stability Board to ensure a consistent international financial reform agenda.  It is not enough to mitigate risk within the United States.  Reform must be global in nature.

But, financial reform cannot just respond to events of the past.  It must be forward-looking and it must help lay the foundations for sustainable growth.  Financial reform, embodied by responsible and robust regulation, is critical to establishing and maintaining confidence.  Confidence is critical for long-term financial stability and growth.
Our past experience confirms our current judgment.  In the decades following the Great Depression, the United States set the highest standards for disclosure and investor protection, the strongest protections for depositors, and sophisticated market rules. We did not lower our standards even when others might have.  Financial regulation became a source of strength for our financial system and led to a period of significant growth and prosperity.

Today, as our predecessors did in the wake of the Great Depression, we also have the opportunity to restore trust in the global financial system through a smart regulatory framework that could support sustainable economic expansion.
Thank you.

How Do You Land on Mars?

How Do You Land on Mars?

Discovered on Titan a distant cousin of an ephemeral lake in Namibia

Descubierto en Titán un primo lejano de un lago efímero de Namibia

USO CONTINUES TO ENTERTAIN MILITARY PERSONNEL

PHOTO:  WIKIMEDIA
Date1 May 1986
 Bob Hope and Elizabeth Taylor perform in a United Service Organization (USO) show aboard the training aircraft carrier USS Lexington (AVT 16) stationed at Naval Air Station, Pensacola during the celebration of the 75th anniversary of naval aviation. 


FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
USO Spring Tour Thrills Wounded Warriors, Base-wide Crowd
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
American Forces Press Service
SOUTHWEST ASIA, April 17, 2012 – The USO’s spring tour, lead by the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs and his “Vice Squad,” continued to entertain service members overseas as its fourth stop brought morale and high spirits to wounded warriors and other troops serving here today.                                                     

“We are here to see you and thank you so much for coming out to see us,” Navy Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr. told an enthusiastic audience. “This is the opportunity for some really fantastic people who have come out to do this USO tour, some real terrific celebrities – people who love our country and who loves soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines, to come out here and thank you all for what you're doing for your country.”
Following a brief visit and show on the USS Enterprise as it patrolled the seas, the Vice Squad arrived here to an excited, base-wide crowd who were treated to barbecue and other refreshments.

Service members listened to a short monologue from each USO celebrity before a short performance and photo opportunities with comedian/actor Anthony Anderson; Major League Baseball pitcher Randy “Big Unit” Johnson; performer Jason “Wee-Man” Acuna, actor and pitchman Dennis Haysbert; Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders Allyson Traylor, Brittany Evans and Kelsi Reich; and American Idol contestants Diana DeGarmo and Ace Young.

Before the show, the vice chairman celebrated those who sacrificed for the nation and recognized a special group attending the USO show.

“You are the people who have volunteered to come out here,” Winnefeld noted. “You've deployed away from your wonderful families, serving your country, doing the right thing and supporting our troops on the ground.

“And by the way, can we get a round of applause for our eight wounded warriors we've got here tonight?” he added. “Thank you guys – we're with you all the way.”
Winnefeld also recognized the USO for their years of commitment to the military dating back to the Vietnam War era.

“I want you to know, the USO has been doing this for a long time – many, many decades,” he said. “It goes all the way back to Bob Hope and Vietnam and a lot of giving, wonderful people over the years.”

“And I want to thank the USO folks for setting this tour up for us,” Winnefeld said. “This is a remarkable audience and it's going to be a really unique evening for us to have a chance to meet you [all].”



F

NASA SELECTS SCIENCE INSTRUMENT UPGRADE FOR FLYING OBSERVATORY

WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected a science instrument upgrade to the
Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) airborne
observatory. The instrument, the High-resolution Airborne Wideband
Camera (HAWC), will provide a sensitive, versatile and reliable
imaging capability to the SOFIA user community. The upgrade involves
two proposals that will allow the observatory to measure the
structure and strength of magnetic fields in diverse objects
throughout the universe, such as star-forming clouds and galaxies.
This will help astronomers better understand how stars, planets and
galaxies form and evolve.

SOFIA is a highly modified Boeing 747SP aircraft that carries a
telescope with a 100-inch (2.5-meter) diameter reflecting mirror that
conducts astronomy research not possible with ground-based
telescopes. By operating in the stratosphere at altitudes up to
45,000 feet, SOFIA can make observations above the water vapor in
Earth's lower atmosphere.

"SOFIA has the ability to become a world-class airborne observatory
that complements the Hubble, Spitzer and Herschel space telescopes,"
said John Grunsfeld, NASA's Science Mission Directorate associate
administrator. "This upgrade will greatly broaden SOFIA's
capabilities."

Last August, the agency released an Announcement of Opportunity for
SOFIA second-generation instrument investigations and received 11
proposals. The selected proposals were judged to have the best
science value and feasible development plans.

The selected proposals are:

-- The High-resolution Airborne Wideband Camera Polarization
(HAWC-Pol), Charles Dowell, principal investigator, NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. This investigation upgrades
the HAWC instrument to include the capability to make polarimetric
observations at far-infrared wavelengths. The investigation's main
goals are to measure the magnetic field in the interstellar medium,
star forming regions and the center of the Milky Way.

-- HAWC++, Johannes Staguhn, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. This
investigation will provide a sensitive, large-format detector array
to the HAWC-Pol investigation, increasing its observing efficiency
and providing a broader range of targets.

SOFIA is a joint project of NASA and the German Aerospace Center and
is based and managed at NASA's Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in
Palmdale, Calif. NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field,
Calif., manages the SOFIA science and mission operations in
cooperation with the Universities Space Research Association,
headquartered in Columbia, Md., and the German SOFIA Institute at the
University of Stuttgart.

SECRETARY OF LABOR SPEAKS ON EQUAL PAY FOR WOMEN

FROM: DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Statement by Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis on Equal Pay Day

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today issued the following statement regarding Equal Pay Day:

"It has been nearly half a century since the Equal Pay Act was signed to abolish wage discrimination on the basis of sex. In that time, women from all walks of life have demonstrated extraordinary leadership, patriotism, scientific and artistic vision, and great personal sacrifice — both at home and in the workplace. Still, women continue to earn less than men. As a nation, we continue to work toward the fundamental promise of equal pay for equal work.

"Today, on Equal Pay Day, we reflect on the challenges that millions of women — particularly those of color, single mothers and women with disabilities — continue to face in securing the pay they deserve.

"Women now make up nearly half of the nation's workforce, and 60 percent of all women work full time. In almost two-thirds of families led by single mothers or two parents, mothers are either the primary or co-breadwinner. Pay equity is not simply a question of fairness; it is an economic imperative with serious implications not just for women, but for their families, their communities and our nation. Moreover, when women start at a disadvantage, they stay there.

"Next year will mark the 100th anniversary of the Department of Labor. We will recognize the achievements of our past and look to a future committed to increasing incomes and education, eliminating wage and income inequality, and putting more women on a path into the middle class.

"Closing the pay gap requires closing the information gap. For more than 90 years, our Women's Bureau has been instrumental in this important effort for women, most recently by hosting a series of dialogues across the country to make sure women are educated about their worth and empowered to advocate for it. We're also working with researchers, experts and the brightest minds in the field of Web technology to create new tools that will make useful information about wages readily accessible to workers.

"Additionally, for more than 45 years now, our Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has been building a strong record of identifying and eliminating gender-based discrimination for federal contractors. Last year, this office successfully resolved 134 cases of employment discrimination affecting women and minorities, resulting in more than $12 million in remedies for victims of discrimination.

"I am proud of the steps we've taken to close the pay gap. But I recognize that we still have so much work to do. This Equal Pay Day, while progress has been made, let us all renew our commitment to advancing the progress of working women and their families. Let us continue to pursue pay equity with both passion and determination."

ORION SPACECRAFT TESTED BY PUSHING OUT THE DOOR

FROM:  NASA
A test model of the Orion spacecraft with its parachutes was tested the skies high above the U.S. Army’s Proving Grounds in Yuma, Ariz. on Feb. 29, 2012. This particular drop test examined the wake -- or the disturbance of the air flow behind Orion -- that is caused by the spacecraft. The U.S. Space Launch System, or SLS, will provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond Earth orbit and the Orion capsule is a major part of this program. The Orion spacecraft will replace the space shuttle as NASA's vehicle for human space exploration and is designed to accommodate four to six astronauts traveling into space. It also will supplement commercial and international partner transportation services to the International Space Station. Designed to be flexible for crew or cargo missions, SLS will continue America's journey of discovery from the unique vantage point of space. Image Credit: NASA

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LEON PANETTA REMEMBERS THE HOLOCAUST

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Holocaust Remembrance Day Observance
As Delivered by Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta, The Pentagon Auditorium, Washington D.C., Thursday, April 19, 2012
Thank you Secretary Mabus.
Minister Barak, distinguished guests, members of the DoD family:  Thank you all for taking the time to come together on this day of remembrance of one of the most painful and horrific chapters in the history of the Jewish people and, more importantly, in the history of the world.

Today we pause to remember and honor six million souls who were murdered not because of anything they had done, but because of who they were.  They will always be in our memory, they will always be in our prayers, and they will always be in our hearts.

We also honor those who survived, who endured unimaginable pain and suffering.  They saw their family; mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, other family members and friends taken from them.  They bore witness to evil and to tragedy, but in their strength we all find inspiration to fight against the intolerance and indifference that allowed this to happen.

Today we also celebrate the en
during strength of the Jewish people, who overcame this tragedy and built a strong and vibrant Jewish state in Israel.  They have flourished there, they have flourished here in America, and indeed across the world, and that too is an inspiration to all of us.

In my faith, the resurrection from the dead is fundamental to our hope and to our faith.  In the Jewish faith, resurrection from tragedy is fundamental to their hope and to their faith.
I just had the opportunity to meet with my friend Ehud Barak, and we are deeply honored that he was able to join us here today in this observance.  Ehud, thank you for changing your schedule so that you could be here with us, we understand that you have tight schedule and that you'll have to depart a little early today.

Ehud's life has been a living tribute to the memory of the Holocaust, and to the memory of his two grandparents who were murdered at the Treblinka death camp.
Ehud has helped build and strengthen the state of Israel, rising to be a highly decorated soldier, Prime Minister, and now Defense Minister.

Ehud, I am proud to be your partner, and I am proud to be your friend, and to work with you in continuing to strengthen the U.S.-Israel defense relationship.

It is an honor for me to be able to participate in this event with all of you.  Today the world comes together to mark Yom Ha'Shoah – Holocaust Remembrance Day.

It was my privilege to have served in the U.S. House of Representatives when we passed a law recognizing the days surrounding Yom Ha'Shoah as a national civic commemoration, a law that also established the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

I believed it was important then when I cast that vote, and it is important today, to mark these days of remembrance, because through commemorations like this, large and small, within families at home, we send a strong message that we will never forget, and that we will never allow this to happen again.

That solemn responsibility is shared by us as human beings, by us as Americans, and by us as men and women of the Department of Defense, who could be asked, when the time comes, to act, to make sure that it never happens again.

For the United States Armed Services, these events are not a distant memory.  Our modern military was forged in the crucible of World War II.  It was forged in the fight against Nazi tyranny.  To defeat Hitler we mobilized all of the strength that we could muster, and in that effort we witnessed many of our finest hours as a military and indeed, as a country.

Today we carry forward the proud legacy of men and women of the United States Army who played a vital role in liberating the camps at Buchenwald, Dora-Mittelbau, Flossenbürg, Dachau, and Mauthausen.
American forces not only brought freedom to the survivors of Nazi horrors, they also made sure that in its aftermath the world would know what had happened.
In the days after Allied forces captured the first concentration camps, General Eisenhower, General Patton and General Bradley themselves inspected a camp, and learned and saw atrocities that had occurred.  They were, in Eisenhower's words, atrocities "beyond the American mind to comprehend."

Eisenhower ordered every American soldier in the area who was not on the front lines to take the time to tour these camps, so that they could themselves see what they were fighting against, and why they were fighting.  These soldiers became not only liberators, but witnesses to one of the greatest atrocities in history.

The commitment of our forces to the survivors of Nazi atrocities did not end with liberation.  In the aftermath of war, we cared for survivors and we helped reunite families.  We provided physical nourishment, and we provided spiritual nourishment as well.

For example, upon learning that there was not a single complete edition of the Talmud in Germany, General Joseph McNarney, commander of the American zone of Occupied Germany, undertook an effort to print a Talmud for survivors.

And when American forces discovered enormous caches of looted cultural materials, they set about ensuring that these objects were treated with the greatest respect.
Ultimately, thanks to these efforts, millions of objects and sacred texts were returned to their rightful heirs or held in trust by Jewish successor organizations.

The leader of that effort, a U.S. Army Captain named Seymour Pomrenze, was a hero whose actions embodied the professionalism and dedication of the uniform he wore.
The contributions of American service members like Captain Pomrenze make all of us proud, and we remember them as we come together as a community today to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Though we will always know what good was done and that lives were saved, we must always remember that we were unable to save the six million Jews who perished under Hitler's cruel reign.

That is a burden that all of us must carry.  Not just the generation of World War II, but every generation must carry that burden.  It is one that we have turned into shared determination, a shared determination to ensure that this never happens again.

Today we renew that commitment.  That is what this day is truly all about.  We do so by coming together to bear witness, just as our service members did more than sixty-five years ago.  In a moment, we will be privileged to hear from Charlene Schiff, who has dedicated her life to making sure that the lives of those who perished in the Holocaust are never forgotten.

Charlene, it is our honor to be witnesses to your story.  And it is our honor to affirm to you that we will never stop fighting in the memory of those who perished – fighting for a better future, and fighting for a world safe from aggression, from tyranny and from injustice.

Out of the darkness that was the Holocaust comes the eternal hope that never again, never again, will we allow that to happen.  I would now like to invite Minister Barak and the Service Secretaries to join me and Charlene in lighting memorial candles.
These candles symbolize unity and hope, and our shared commitment to honor the memory of all those who perished in the Holocaust.

UNEMPLOYMENT DATA FOR WEEK ENDING APRIL 14, 2012

FROM:  DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT

          SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending April 14, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 386,000, a decrease of 2,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 388,000. The 4-week moving average was 374,750, an increase of 5,500 from the previous week's revised average of 369,250.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6 percent for the week ending April 7, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 2.6 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending April 7 was 3,297,000, an increase of 26,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,271,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,317,750, a decrease of 21,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,339,250.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 367,550 in the week ending April 14, a decrease of 22,916 from the previous week. There were 381,834 initial claims in the comparable week in 2011.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.7 percent during the week ending April 7, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate of 2.7 percent. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,432,102, a decrease of 37,981 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 3.1 percent and the volume was 3,893,218.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending March 31 was 6,765,080, a decrease of 187,807 from the previous week.

Extended benefits were available in Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin during the week ending March 31.

Initial claims for UI benefits by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,295 in the week ending April 7, an increase of 136 from the prior week. There were 2,564 initial claims by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 287 from the preceding week.

There were 21,384 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending March 31, a decrease of 1,684 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 40,306, a decrease of 1,254 from the prior week.

States reported 2,775,134 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending March 31, a decrease of 19,419 from the prior week. There were 3,527,093 claimants in the comparable week in 2011. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending March 31 were in Alaska (5.6), Oregon (4.3), Puerto Rico (4.3), California (3.8), New Jersey (3.8), Pennsylvania (3.8), Rhode Island (3.8), Idaho (3.7), Connecticut (3.6), Montana (3.6), and Wisconsin (3.6).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending April 7 were in Pennsylvania (+7,483), California (+6,587), Washington (+5,985), New Jersey (+5,735), and Indiana (+4,984), while the largest decreases were in Tennessee (-670), Vermont (-78), and North Dakota (-49).