FEEDING THE MISSION IN AFGHANISTAN

FROM AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
Marine Corps Cpl. Peter Espinoza puts chicken into a range burner at Forward Operating Base Jackson, Afghanistan, April 2, 2012. Espinoza says he enjoys helping morale by providing hot, balanced meals to Marines. Espinoza and Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Thomas Nichols cook for more than 400 Marines daily. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Timothy Lenzo 



Face of Defense: Marines Feed Battalion, Fuel Mission
By Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Timothy Lenzo
Regimental Combat Team 6, 1st Marine Division
FORWARD OPERATING BASE JACKSON, Afghanistan, April 5, 2012 - The tent looks like all the others around here: tan canvas, zipper doors and Velcro all around. Marines pass by without giving it a second glance, heading to work, the gym or guard duty.


Inside the tent, it's hotter than the blazing Afghan sun. The strong aroma of grilled chicken and seasonings fills the room. The Marines work furiously, moving from tables to sinks to shelves and back again.


It's noon, five hours before dinner, but these Marines know it takes hours of preparation to feed more than 400 hungry Marines.
"In the hours beforehand, we are taking portion counts and making a complete menu," said Marine Corps Cpl. Peter Espinoza, food service chief, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment.


Espinoza, from Chicago, said it's especially important for Marines to get a balanced meal while in a deployed environment. Marines are patrolling and standing guard in Afghan heat. If they don't get the right nutrients they can go down from heat exhaustion and fatigue, he explained.


"They are working so hard out here, so I make sure they have a starch, a protein, vegetables and plenty of fluids," Espinoza said.


Tonight, the Marines are eating steak and chicken fajitas, with onions, peppers, rice and pita bread. Espinoza said the hot food is great for Marines who normally eat packaged, shelf-stable meals in the field.


"They come into the [mess] hall and see a vat full of hot food and their eyes light up," said Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Thomas Nichols, food service specialist. Nichols, from Williamsburg, Va., said he takes pride in knowing he's helping the morale of the troops. He knows they are hungry after a day of patrolling, he said, and is happy to help.
The adverse conditions here pose a challenge for food service specialists in keeping food sanitary.


"There is a lot of dust everywhere, and with the hot weather, you really have to keep hot things hot and cold things cold," Espinoza said.


Espinoza keeps his workstation organized to help sanitation. He keeps food separate and designates certain work areas inside the tent for specific tasks. He and Nichols improvise at times, using a makeshift grill or experimenting with desserts.


"We don't have the things we normally have back in [the States]," said Espinoza, whose family owns several restaurants in Chicago. "We have to work with what we have."
Nichols said that while the tools may be different in a deployment, the mission is not: to feed and fuel Marines.


After everyone eats and the mess hall quiets down, two Marines are left. Espinoza and Nichols stay after serving the other Marines to clean up and prepare for breakfast. They'll wake up early to have a hot breakfast ready for the Marines to start their day. They know they're contributing to the mission by providing the fuel behind the battalion.

U.S. ARMY DOES COLD WEATHER ENVIRONMENTS COMMUNICATIONS TESTING IN ALASKA

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Written on APRIL 7, 2012 AT 8:39 AM by GLENN.SELBY
Passing The Cold Weather Test
An operator wearing the Army-issued Extended Cold Weather Clothing Systems works with a Warfighter Information Network-Tactical, or WIN-T, Increment 2 Tactical Communications Node, Jan. 13, 2012, during the two-week WIN-T Increment 2 Cold Weather Natural Environments Testing at Fort Greely, Alaska. (U.S. Army photo)
By Amy Walker, PEO C3T

Even after being frozen overnight at negative 35-degree temperatures in the severe winter conditions of Alaska, the elements of the Army’s second-generation tactical communications network backbone were up and running.

Warfighter Information Network-Tactical, or WIN-T, Increment 2, successfully completed its Cold Weather Natural Environments Testing in January at Fort Greely, Alaska, receiving positive test results in the execution and in its recently released test report from the Army’s Aberdeen Test Center. The data will be used to support a Full-Rate Production, or FRP, decision for WIN-T Increment 2, with a successful FRP decision providing the green light for the network’s fielding in Fiscal Year 2013.

“This was a very successful test and all of the equipment performed as we would have expected in extreme arctic conditions,” said Lt. Col. Robert Collins, product manager for WIN-T Increments 2 and 3. “Whether in the desert or in adverse cold environments, WIN-T Increment 2 will provide the needed on-the-move tactical network communications for maneuver elements on the battlefield all the way down the company level.”

The cold weather test sets the stage for WIN-T Increment 2's formal operational test, which is the system’s final assessment prior to the full rate production decision.
This strenuous, three-week Initial Operational Test and Evaluation, knows as IOT&E, will take place in May at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., in conjunction with the Army’s Network Integration Evaluation, or NIE, 12.2. It will allow the Army to assess the suitability and effectiveness of the WIN-T Increment 2 system with an operational unit, while yielding feedback to make any needed doctrinal, material or training improvements before the system is fielded.

WIN-T Increment 2 is the centerpiece of Capability Set 13, the first integrated group of network technologies that will be fielded to up to eight brigade combat teams starting in fiscal year 2013. Capability Set 13 has taken shape through the NIEs, part of the Army’s Agile Process that integrates and will deliver new technologies to soldiers much more quickly than normal acquisition cycles allow.

Similar to a home Internet connection, WIN-T Increment 1 provides soldiers with high-speed, high-capacity voice, data and video communications to units at battalion level at-the-halt. WIN-T Increment 2 is a major upgrade and introduces numerous additional capabilities including an on-the-move communications network that reaches down to the company echelon for the first time.
Among the objectives of the WIN-T Increment 2 Cold Weather Natural Environments Testing, was an assessment and documentation of the impact of icing, high wind, safety, operation of equipment by soldiers in cold gear and other factors associated with extreme cold weather conditions. The team was also required to assess the impacts of extreme cold weather on transmission performance for line-of-sight and satellite links both at-the-halt and on-the-move. Procedures for the operation of the increment’s general configuration items, including raising and lowering antenna masts, also had to be validated.
“There are regions in the world that have these extreme cold weather environments, and it’s imperative for the soldier to know in advance some of the lessons that we have learned up in Alaska so they will be prepared for equipment set up and use when they are deployed,” said Tom Franey, WIN-T Increment 2 Reliability Test Lead. “Validating the technical manual procedures in these conditions is imperative to ensure that soldiers deployed to these extreme environments have the knowledge and information they need to operate the equipment and perform their missions successfully.”

For protection in extreme cold weather, soldiers are issued Extended Cold Weather Clothing Systems, or ECWCS. The test operators for the Cold Weather Natural Environments Testing were able to successfully execute all of the tests wearing this Army-issued equipment.

“The operators wore these cold weather clothing systems so that we could document the human factor when they are operating the equipment, such as how they can use mittens and move around in the clothing system,” Franey said. “It was important for us to have the operators wear exactly what the soldiers would be wearing in the field.”

The cold weather testing included several on-the-move threads, at-the-halt deployments and storage of the communications equipment. At-the-halt tests were performed in low light conditions following a cold soak of the configuration items overnight at temperatures that measured below negative 35 degrees. The next day the operators were able to bring all of the equipment back up to its operating temperature by utilizing the Environmental Control Units, known as ECUs, inside each platform.

“Because a lot of this equipment is commercial-off-the-shelf, you really can’t operate it in negative 35 degrees, but the ECUs bring the equipment back up to operating temperatures,” said Franey. “That was successful and we able to get all of the equipment up and running.”

The PM deployed WIN-T Increment 2's main configuration items for the test including the Tactical Communications Node, or TCN, which is the centerpiece and hub of the WIN-T Increment 2 network; the Point of Presence, which will be installed on tactical combat platforms to enable mobile mission command by providing secret level on-the-move network connectivity; the Soldier Network Extension, which will be installed on tactical combat platforms to extend the network down to the company level; and the Vehicle Wireless Package, which extends the WIN-T network to command post vehicles moving in convoy with the TCN. It also provided the Tactical Relay Tower (TR-T), which provides extended range for the Highband Networking Radio; and the Satellite Transportable Terminal +, which provides satellite communications at-the-quick-halt.

Along with the other tests, the Cold Weather Natural Environments Testing team was also required to test the operation of this equipment in the dark, with Fort Greely having provided the perfect test bed since during the month of January it only sees about four to five hours of sunlight each day. The low light environment tests were needed to document and provide lessons-learned on equipment usage and set-up.

“The TR-T has a 30 meter stand-alone mast and in the dark it’s hard to see the top of that mast as it is going up,” Franey said. “Soldiers in the field are issued a special flashlight and in the dark we were able to successfully bring everything up from ground zero to operating.”

As the Army now makes final preparations for the IOT&E, and for the eventual fielding and training of WIN-T Increment 2, it will leverage knowledge gained during the cold weather test.

“There were several lessons-learned concerning the operation of the WIN-T Increment 2 equipment in this environment, and to soldiers deployed to these extreme cold conditions in some remote location of the world, having those insights and knowledge early is vital to program success and mission execution,” Collins said. “We are pleased with the favorable test results as we move closer to sending Increment 2 to the battlefield.”

VIOLATORS OF EPA LEAD RENOVATION, REPAIR AND PAINTING RULE GET FINED

FROM EPA
EPA Fines Violators of the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced three enforcement actions for violations of the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP) and other lead rules. The RRP rule requires the use of lead-safe work practices to ensure that common renovation activities like sanding, cutting and demolition, which can create hazardous lead dust, are conducted properly by trained and certified contractors or individuals. EPA finalized the RRP rule in 2008 and the rule took effect on April 22, 2010.

“Exposure to lead can cause serious health problems and affects our most vulnerable population, our children,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “By taking action to enforce lead rules we are protecting people’s health and ensuring that businesses that follow the rules have a level playing field.”

On March 21, 2012, Colin Wentworth, a rental property owner who was responsible for building operation and maintenance, agreed to pay $10,000 to resolve violations of the RRP rule. The complaint alleged that Mr. Wentworth’s workers violated the rule by improperly using power equipment to remove paint from the exterior surface of an 1850’s apartment building he owns in Rockland, Maine. The complaint also alleged that the workers had not received any training under the rule and that Mr. Wentworth had failed to apply for firm certification with the EPA. Because the lead dust had not been properly contained, residents were potentially exposed and the dust could have also contaminated the ground surrounding the apartment building. Two of the four units in the building were rented to recipients of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Section 8 vouchers and there were at least four children under the age of 18, including one under the age of six, living in the units. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) also responded to the alleged violations.

On March 20, 2012, Valiant Home Remodelers, a New Jersey window and siding company, agreed to pay $1,500 to resolve violations from failing to follow the RRP rule during a window and siding replacement project at a home in Edison, N.J. Valiant Home Remodelers failed to contain renovation dust, contain waste, and train workers on lead-safe work practices.

On February 21, 2012, Johnson Sash and Door, a home repair company located in Omaha, Neb., agreed to pay a $5,558 penalty for failing to provide the owners or occupants of housing built prior to 1978 with an EPA-approved lead hazard information pamphlet or to obtain a written acknowledgement prior to commencement of renovation activities at five homes. The complaint also alleged that Johnson failed to obtain initial certification prior to performing renovations at these residences.

As required by the law, a company or individual’s ability to pay a penalty is evaluated and penalties are adjusted accordingly.

These recent actions are part of EPA’s effort to ensure that contractors and individuals follow the RRP requirements and other lead rules to protect people’s health from exposure to lead. Lead exposure can cause a range of health effects, from behavioral problems and learning disabilities to seizures and death, putting young children at the greatest risk because their nervous systems are still developing.

CONTRACTOR SELECTED FOR NEW U.S. EMBASSY IN LONDON

FROM U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Early Contractor Involvement Selection Announced for New London Embassy
Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC
April 5, 2012
The Department of State’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) has selected B.L. Harbert International, LLC of Birmingham, Alabama for the New London Embassy (NLE) preconstruction and construction services contract.

Five firms – all of which submitted proposals – were invited to participate in the solicitation process, including Caddell Construction Company, joint venture Clark Construction/Foulger-Pratt, Hensel Phelps Construction Company, and Walsh Construction Company.

Working as one team, B.L. Harbert will collaborate with design competition winner Kieran Timberlake of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and OBO in the preconstruction design phase, and then proceed with the construction of the facility.

In the vanguard of OBO’s Design Excellence initiative, the NLE will advance the highest standards of design, landscape, and sustainability as a welcoming presence on the London cityscape while supporting our special relationship with the United Kingdom. Construction of the NLE is scheduled for completion in 2017.

About OBO:
Since 1999, as part of the Department’s Capital Security Construction Program, OBO has completed 88 new diplomatic facilities and has an additional 41 projects in design and construction. The program has successfully moved more than 27,000 people into new diplomatic facilities, furthering OBO’s mission to provide safe, secure, and functional facilities that represent the U.S. Government to the host nation and support our staff in achieving U.S. foreign policy objectives. These facilities should represent American values and the best in American architecture, engineering, technology, sustainability, art, culture, and construction execution.

MICHELLE OBAMA AT WALTER REED FISHER HOUSE

First Lady Michelle Obama greets 4-year-old Eun White at Fisher House No. 4 on the campus of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., April 4, 2012. DOD photo by Terri Moon Cronk

FROM AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
First Lady Visits Families at Walter Reed Fisher House
By Terri Moon Cronk
BETHESDA, Md., April 4, 2012 - The first ladies of the United States and the U.S. military helped to observe Easter and the Month of the Military Child here today by visiting children and their families at a Fisher House on the campus of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

Foundation donates homes built on the grounds of major military and Veterans Affairs Department medical centers. The homes give family members a comfortable place to stay to be close to a loved one during hospitalization for an unexpected illness, disease or injury.

Bearing treats for everyone in the group, First Lady Michelle Obama walked into a flurry of children's Easter craft-making, greeted by a large sign in a rainbow of colors that said, "Welcome Mrs. Obama." Deanie Dempsey, wife of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, also was on hand.

"It is always one of my favorite things to come visit Fisher House," Obama told the group of about 45 recovering service members, their spouses and children. "This house is a home away from home to so many of our military families. The work they do here is amazing. Every single house that I have visited is just like this -- the level of quality, the level of comfort, the staff is always is amazing."

The first lady told the group that staying at the Fisher House while their service member is an inpatient or recovering at Walter Reed is something they deserve.

"Our military families, our troops -- you all deserve this kind of high-level treatment for what you go through for this country, for what you sacrifice," she said. "This should be the kind of place that welcomes you in times like these. So we always are just thrilled to shine a light on the good work [of the Fisher House]."

Obama said she came to the Fisher House to visit the families who are staying at house No. 4 at the medical center, but that she didn't come empty-handed. She brought White House-baked Easter cookies for everyone. As a second surprise, the first lady brought each family tickets for April 9's 134th annual White House Easter Egg Roll.
"It's very exciting," she said of the egg roll amid applause. "It's going to be so much fun. ... We've got hula hooping, and we've got tennis, and we've got games. So come ready to play, OK?"

Obama then revealed what she called the "most important treat" of her visit.
"I brought one of my best friends in the whole world, my only son," she said. Then Bo, the Obamas' Portuguese water dog, emerged wearing bunny ears as the children squealed with delight.

"Do you guys want to see Bo?" she asked as she began making her way to each of five tables to visit with every child and family member in the room.
Every child gave the first lady a handmade Easter card, and she signed copies of Marc Brown's children's book, "Arthur Meets the President."

LUCAS THE ROBOT WITH THE HUMAN FACE

FROM DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ARMED WITH SCIENCE

Dr. Greg Trafton (left) and Lucas the Robot at the Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research (LASR)

Admittedly, the initial idea of a robot with a face conjures up memories of every single SciFi robot movie I’ve ever seen.  Usually involving humans fleeing in terror as the autonomous voice screams “kill, kill” while shooting  rockets out of a gun-arm.  Or overly negative and depressed, like Marvin the Paranoid Android.  Frankly, I’d take my chances with the later.  He’d be a downer, but at least he has no plans for world domination.

Despite my preconceived notions of the robotic overlord race that is sure to enslave (or depress) us all, my experience at the Navy’s new robotics lab was a little less dramatic.  What I discovered was not a legion of soldier robots, but a team of highly trained scientists prepared to explain how they’re working toward a goal of integrating robotics into military life.

The brand new Laboratory for Autonomous Systems Research (LASR), located at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) in Washington, D.C. is spearheading efforts to combine human interaction with robotic skill and capability.  The goal is to take the best of both worlds and find a way to make missions easier and more effective for service members.  This means everything from locating IEDs to fighting fires.

So how are they doing that?  It all starts in the lab, of course.

This complicated and scientific process involves running experiments on autonomous systems in different situations and different environments.  Luckily, LASR is equipped with different environmental rooms designed to provide just that.  Scientists who work at the lab can step into the desert for a quick sandstorm, then walk across the hall to the rainforest to run experiments.  All of this without having to set foot outside the Navy’s new robotics laboratory.

“It’s the first time that we have, under a single roof, a laboratory that captures all the domains in which our sailors, Marines and fellow DOD service members operate,” said Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder, chief of naval research. “Advancing robotics and autonomy are top priorities for the Office of Naval Research. We want to reduce the time it takes to deliver capability to our warfighters performing critical missions. This innovative facility bridges the gap between traditional laboratory research and in-the-field experimentation—saving us time and money.”

Several of the projects going on in this lab are working toward creating viable solutions for problems service members might actually face.  One of these is Damage Control for the 21st Century—a program to develop firefighting robots for use aboard Navy ships.

Meet Lucas.

Lucas is a computerized cognitive model robot.  This means he’s designed to act the way a person does, and reacts the way a person might.  He’s built with a trifecta of skills: mobile, dexterous and social capabilities.  This means that he’s able to assume people think differently (e.g. don’t always come to the same conclusions), and he understands human limitations.

This concept is known as the “theory of the mind”, as Dr. Greg Trafton explained.  Trafton, a roboticist at the Navy Center for Allied Research in Artificial Intelligence, Information Technology Division, NRL explained that Lucas was created to appear more human than robot so he could solve human problems in a more practical manner.  Basically, Trafton’s working to create robots that think.

Lucas “thinks” using computational theories to find out what a person might be thinking in certain situations.  Lucas – and his female counterpart, Octavia – can see and understand words, expressions, even hand gestures.

THE GHOST OF WHITE HOUSE EASTER PAST

On Monday April 9, 2012, the First Family will host the 134^th annual White House Easter Egg Roll. This year's theme is “Let's Go, Let's Play, Let's Move” and more than 35,000 people will be joining us on the South Lawn for games, stories, and, of course, the traditional egg roll on the Lawn.

THE WHITE HOUSE EASTER EGG ROLL STARTED IN 1878

UNDER DIRECTION OF PRESIDENT RUTHERFORD B. HAYES

                                   PICTURES FROM WHITE HOUSE PHOTO LIBRARY

WHITE HOUSE EASTER EGG ROLL 1898

EASTER 1903

EASTER 1920

EASTER 1922

EASTER 1923

ELEANOR ROOSEVELT POSES WITH SOME CHILDREN  ON EASTER 1939

EASTER 1953

EASTER 1963

EASTER 1966

EASTER 1982

EASTER 1994

EASTER 2002

PRESIDENT OBAMA AND FAMILY EASTER 2011

WOUNDED NAVY PETTY OFFICER RETURNS TO DUTY

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Chase Speed waits for the patrol order before departing friendly lines at Forward Operating Base Whitehouse, Afghanistan, during a March 30, 2012, operation. Speed was injured during a firefight when an enemy bullet went through his waistline, and after a two-week recovery period, he went back to the fight. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Albert J. Carls

Face of Defense: Wounded Corpsman Returns to Action
By Marine Corps Sgt. James Mercure
Regimental Combat Team 6, 1st Marine Division
FORWARD OPERATING BASE WHITEHOUSE, Afghanistan, April 6, 2012 - Navy Petty Officer Third Class Chase Speed still has the blood-soaked belt he was wearing when an insurgent put a bullet through it last year.

Speed, a native of Orangeburg, S.C., was serving as a corpsman with Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, the day his platoon was inserted by helicopter into Jahazi, a small town that was a hotbed for insurgent activity.

"I saw guys watching us from the tree line and from a compound to our southeast. A fire-team element of military-age males went into the same compound so we knew our position was about to get attacked," Speed said. "Sure enough, we started to take fire from the compound, and our staff sergeant yelled to take cover, and then we began to engage them. As we were bounding to a different compound, I got hit and kept running another 50 meters. I got on the ground facing the enemy and kept firing to protect my guys."

Suffering from a deep laceration in his right hip, while consistently receiving automatic weapons fire from the insurgents, Speed heard his staff sergeant yell, "Corpsman up!"
"I half ran, half limped to the Marine we thought was in trouble," Speed said. "I checked him out, and he didn't have any apparent injuries, so we busted into a nearby compound. I told him, 'I think I got shot in the [butt].' We both laughed about that in the middle of the firefight."

Once inside the compound, Speed was able to check his wounds and begin to apply first aid.
"I looked down and saw I had an entrance wound near the base of my spine, and the exit wound was coming out of my right hip," he said. "Luckily, the bullet cauterized the wound, so there wasn't as much bleeding as there could have been."
After the Marines called for a medical evacuation for their 'Doc,' his right leg had gone numb. He could no longer walk without help.

"A sergeant had to help me get to the bird as it was coming in. I hadn't taken any of the meds I was carrying in case my Marines got hurt worse than me," Speed said. "So I was glad when the crew chief gave me something to dull the pain when I got on the helicopter."

After several operations and two weeks of recovery at Camp Bastion, 'Doc' Speed returned to his unit, which was still engaged in the fight.
"The day he got back he was still smiling and as happy-go-lucky as ever," said Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Gerald Brant Jr., an independent duty corpsmen who worked with Speed last year and during his current deployment. "It was like getting shot didn't affect him. He still went on patrols with his Marines and still kept up like nothing happened to him."
Throughout the whole ordeal, Speed has stayed positive, setting his sights on continuing his career in the Navy.

"Ever since I got injured, I've had more pride in the uniform and understand that if you get knocked down, you have to get right back up," the Purple Heart Medal recipient said. "I get sharp pains every now and then, but it doesn't slow me down a bit. I still keep up with my guys, and I keep pushing forward no matter what, because my Marines count on me, and I will be there for them."
Speed is serving as a corpsman with Police Advisor Team 2, 1st Bn., 8th Marines, and he said he plans on becoming a naval officer as a critical care nurse after returning from his current deployment.

18TH ANNIVERSARY OF 1994 RWANDAN GENOCIDE

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
18th Commemoration of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide
Press Statement Mark C. Toner
Acting Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC
April 6, 2012
The United States joins countries on April 7 throughout the world as we collectively remember the approximately 800,000 Rwandan men, women and children who, over the course of 100 days, were brutally murdered in Rwanda’s genocide 18 years ago. We offer heartfelt sympathies to the families of the victims and to the survivors who suffered through one of the most horrific events in history.

This is a solemn day of remembrance. We commemorate those who were lost, and we are also are inspired and encouraged by Rwandans’ relentless determination to move beyond this tragedy to rebuild their country and reestablish peace and hope for their children. Since the genocide, Rwanda has made remarkable strides in health, education and agriculture, and has done much to promote regional stability and good governance. Once a country steeped in violent conflict, Rwanda has emerged as an important contributor to the global economy, and to global peace as one of the largest and most effective peacekeepers in the world. Rwanda continues to deliver impressive results in economic growth and development, and the U.S-Rwanda Bilateral Investment Treaty that entered into force in January promises to further open avenues for investment, trade and ties between our countries.

As we honor the victims of the 1994 genocide, the United States affirms its commitment to continue to work together with the people and Government of Rwanda to ensure that freedom, justice and peace are respected and enjoyed by all.

FAILED CONSTRUCTION COMPANY MUST RESTORE EMPLOYEE RETIREMENT PLAN

FROM U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Judge orders defunct California construction company to restore nearly $520,000 to employee retirement plan following US Labor Department lawsuit
Explore General failed to remit workers’ fringe benefits
SAN FRANCISCO — Fresno-based Explore General Inc. and Jaime M. Gonzalez have been ordered to restore $519,601 to the company's 401(k) profit-sharing plan, according to the terms of a judgment and order entered in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.

The judgment and order resolve a lawsuit that was filed by the U.S. Department of Labor based on an investigation by its Employee Benefits Security Administration. The suit alleged that the defendants failed to pay required fringe benefits to the plan and breached their fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act by not administering the plan solely in the best interests of participants. At the time of the violations, Gonzalez was the owner and president of the company.

Chief Judge Anthony W. Ishii found that the now-defunct construction company was required to pay its workers an hourly prevailing wage rate, including a fringe benefit for each participant in the form of contributions to the retirement plan, when it was contracted to perform work on projects financed by government agencies. The company was paid in full by the agencies for its work, including fringe benefit amounts, and certified that it was sending the fringe benefits to the plan. However, the company failed to remit more than $300,000 to the plan, choosing instead to use the money for general operating expenses. In addition to that amount, the judge's order requires the company to restore lost earnings to the plan.

"Retirement savings are a vital part of ensuring a steady income after we leave the workforce, which is a key reason that Congress chose to give them special protections," said Phyllis C. Borzi, assistant secretary of labor for employee benefits security. "Unfortunately, the individuals entrusted with protecting this plan violated those safeguards."

CFTC CHARGES ROYAL BANK OF CANADA WITH WASH SALE SCHEME

FROM CFTC
CFTC Charges Royal Bank of Canada with Multi-Hundred Million Dollar Wash Sale Scheme
CFTC also charges that bank concealed material information from, and made material false statements to, a futures exchangeWashington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced the filing of a complaint in federal district court in New York charging theRoyal Bank of Canada (RBC), a Canadian bank and financial services firm doing business in New York, with conducting a multi-hundred million dollar wash sale scheme in connection with exchange-traded stock futures contracts. The CFTC’s complaint also alleges that RBC willfully concealed, and made false statements concerning, material aspects of its wash sale scheme from OneChicago, LLC (OneChicago), an electronic futures exchange, and CME Group, Inc. (CME Group), the entity that exercised the regulatory compliance function for OneChicago.

From at least June 2007 to May 2010, RBC allegedly non-competitively traded hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of narrow based stock index futures (NBI) and single stock futures (SSF) contracts with two of its subsidiaries that RBC reported as “block” trades on OneChicago.  The CFTC’s complaint alleges that RBC’s NBI and SSF trading activity, which accounted for the majority of OneChicago’s volume during the relevant period, constituted unlawful non-competitive trades, wash sales and fictitious sales.

Specifically, according to the CFTC’s complaint, RBC’s NBI and SSF trades were not negotiated at arm’s length between the counterparties to the trades, as required by law, but were instead designed and controlled by a small group of senior RBC personnel acting on RBC’s behalf.  The trading scheme was allegedly designed as part of RBC’s strategy to realize lucrative Canadian tax benefits from holding certain public companies’ securities in its Canadian and offshore trading accounts.

Prior to each trade, RBC allegedly identified stocks in U.S. and Canadian companies that RBC believed would generate a tax benefit.  RBC and a subsidiary allegedly bought and sold these stocks, and also bought and sold NBI or SSF futures contracts written on the stocks opposite each other.  According to the complaint, RBC’s futures trading was conducted in a riskless manner that ensured that the positions, profits and losses of each RBC counterparty washed to zero, in disregard of the price discovery principles of the futures markets, which resulted in a financial and position nullity for RBC while allowing it to reap the tax benefits.

In addition, the CFTC’s complaint alleges that, from at least January 2005 to April 2010, RBC unlawfully concealed material information from, and made false statements to, CME Group concerning RBC’s SSF trading activity.  Specifically, the complaint alleges that when RBC purported to describe the trades to CME Group, RBC falsely stated that its SSF trading was conducted at arm’s length between the counterparties to the trades, and concealed the fact that the trading strategy was created and managed by a group of senior RBC personnel acting on RBC’s behalf.  In addition, the complaint alleges that RBC concealed from CME Group the fact that it had intentionally designed its stock futures trading strategy to exclude non RBC-affiliated parties from RBC’s futures trades.

“A fundamental purpose of the futures markets is to provide an arm’s-length mechanism for market participants to discover prices and shift risks associated with products traded in those markets,” said David Meister, the Director of the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement.  “As we allege, RBC not only designed and executed a wash sale scheme that undermined that purpose, it went a step further and misled the exchange into believing that its conduct was lawful.  Today’s action should make clear that the CFTC will not hesitate to bring charges against even the most sophisticated market participants who unlawfully exploit the futures markets for their own gain.”

In its continuing litigation, the CFTC seeks civil monetary penalties and a permanent injunction against further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and the CFTC’s Regulations, as charged.

The following CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members are responsible for this case: Susan Gradman, David Slovick, Lindsey Evans, Joseph Rosenberg, Joseph Patrick, Scott Williamson, Rosemary Hollinger and Richard Wagner.

FRANKLIN BANK CORP.'S FORMER CEO AND CFO CHARGED BY SEC WITH MISLEADING INVESTORS

FROM:  SEC
Commission Charges Texas Bank Holding Company’s CEO and CFO with Misleading Investors about Loan Quality and Financial Health during the Financial Crisis
The Commission announced that it charged Franklin Bank Corp.’s former chief executives for their involvement in a fraudulent scheme designed to conceal the deterioration of the bank’s loan portfolio and inflate its reported earnings during the financial crisis.

The SEC alleges that former Franklin CEO Anthony J. Nocella and CFO J. Russell McCann used aggressive loan modification programs during the third and fourth quarters of 2007 to hide the true amount of Franklin’s non-performing loans and artificially boost its net income and earnings.  The Houston-based bank holding company declared bankruptcy in 2008.

“Nocella and McCann used the loan modification scheme like a magic wand to change non-performing loans into performing assets,” said Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.  “Their disclosure and accounting tricks misled investors into believing that Franklin was outperforming other banks during the height of the financial crisis.”

David Woodcock, Director of the SEC’s Fort Worth Regional Office, added, “Franklin’s analysts and investors monitored the quality of the bank’s loan portfolio as a key indicator of its financial health.  But Nocella and McCann intentionally concealed the fact that the quality of the bank’s loan portfolio was rapidly deteriorating.”

According to the SEC’s complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas late Thursday, as Franklin’s holdings of delinquent and non-performing loans rose significantly in the summer of 2007, Nocella and McCann instituted three loan modification schemes that caused Franklin to classify such loans as performing.  By the end of September 2007, Nocella and McCann had used the loan modification programs to conceal more than $11 million in non-performing single family residential loans and $13.5 million in non-performing residential construction loans.

As a result of the loan modifications, Franklin overstated its third-quarter 2007 net income and earnings by 317% and 77% respectively, and reported that it earned $0.30 per share, of which $0.23 per share was directly attributable to the loan modifications.  On May 2, 2008, in a Form 8-K report filed with the SEC, Franklin acknowledged that the accounting for the loan modifications should be revised and that investors should no longer rely upon Franklin’s Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2007.
The SEC’s complaint seeks financial penalties, officer-and-director bars, and permanent injunctive relief against Nocella and McCann to enjoin them from future violations of the federal securities laws.  The complaint also seeks repayment of bonuses received by Nocella and McCann under Section 304 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002, which allows for “clawbacks” of bonuses received by executives if the company later must restate its earnings.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA CALLS REPUBLICAN BUDGET A "TROJAN HORSE"

FROM THE WHITE HOUSE
President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the Associated Press (AP) Luncheon at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C., April 3, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

The President believes this is a make or break moment for the middle class and those working to reach it.  That’s why he has put forward a blueprint for an economy built to last - one where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules.

Today at the Associated Press Luncheon, the President discussed how his vision differs with the radical vision laid out in the House Republican Budget:

“This Congressional Republican budget, however, is something different altogether.  It’s a Trojan Horse.  Disguised as deficit reduction plan, it’s really an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country.  It’s nothing but thinly-veiled Social Darwinism.  It’s antithetical to our entire history as a land of opportunity and upward mobility for everyone who’s willing to work for it – a place where prosperity doesn’t trickle down from the top, but grows outward from the heart of the middle class.  And by gutting the very things we need to grow an economy that’s built to last – education and training; research and development – it’s a prescription for decline.”

The President’s approach to reducing our deficit is a balanced approach that asks the wealthiest to pay their fair share, achieves significant health savings and enacts sensible spending cuts while making the investments we need to have a strong middle class.
Take a look at how the President’s approach and the Congressional Republican policies stack up side by side:

Side by Side - The President’s Budget vs. Republican Budget
It’s a test of fairness.  The Congressional Republican budget gives every millionaire and billionaire a tax cut of at least $150,000 paid for by ending Medicare as we know it and gutting programs that help the middle class and our economy.  This graphic shows just what that $150,000 means to those programs our economic recovery depends on:

The House Republican Budget – The Budget Fails the Test of Balance, Fairness, and Shared Responsibility
By standing by massive tax cuts we can’t afford paid for by the middle class and seniors, the Republican establishment has rubber stamped the economic policies of the past that caused the financial crisis in the first place.   Just take a look at how much the Republican policies of the past added to our deficit:

 Changes in Deficit Projections Since January 2001
At this critical moment for our economy and the middle class, the President will continue to stand by a policy of fairness that reflects our core values as a nation.
Dan Pfeiffer is the White House Communications Director

OSHA TO EMPHASIZE NURSING AND RESIDENTIAL CARE FACILITIES

FROM U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

US Labor Department’s OSHA announces new National Emphasis Program for Nursing and Residential Care Facilities

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced a new National Emphasis Program for Nursing and Residential Care Facilities to protect workers from serious safety and health hazards that are common in medical industries. OSHA develops national emphasis programs to focus outreach efforts and inspections on specific hazards in an industry for a three-year period. Through this NEP, OSHA will target nursing homes and residential care facilities in an effort to reduce occupational illnesses and injuries.

In 2010, according to the department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, nursing and residential care facilities experienced one of the highest rates of lost workdays due to injuries and illnesses of all major American industries. The incidence rate for cases involving days away from work in the nursing and residential care sector was 2.3 times higher than that of all private industry as a whole, despite the availability of feasible controls to address hazards. The data further indicate that an overwhelming proportion of the injuries within this sector were attributed to overexertion as well as to slips, trips and falls. Taken together, these two categories accounted for 62.5 percent of cases involving days away from work within this industry in 2010. For this NEP, OSHA will target facilities with a days-away-from-work rate of 10 or higher per 100 full-time workers.

"These are people who have dedicated their lives to caring for our loved ones when they are not well. It is not acceptable that they continue to get hurt at such high rates," said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. "Our new emphasis program for inspecting these facilities will strengthen protections for society's caretakers."

Health care workers face numerous serious safety and health hazards, and the NEP will provide guidance to OSHA compliance staff on the policies and procedures for targeting and conducting inspections specifically focused on the hazards associated with nursing and residential care. These hazards include exposure to blood and other potentially infectious material; exposure to other communicable diseases such as tuberculosis; ergonomic stressors related to lifting patients; workplace violence; and slips, trips and falls. Workers also may be exposed to hazardous chemicals and drugs.

AIR FORCE SECRETARY DONLEY SAYS AIR FORCE VIEWED AS "LEAP AHEAD" ORGANIZATION

AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE

Air Force to Continue Legacy of Innovation, Donley Says

By Jim Garamone

WASHINGTON, April 5, 2012 - More than any other military service, people have viewed the U.S. Air Force as an innovative and "leap ahead" organization, the service's top civilian leader said here today.

The pieces are in place to continue that legacy, Air Force Secretary Michael B. Donley told the Defense Writers Group.

Even before the Air Force became a separate service, strategists looked on aviation as a game changer, Donley said. Often the reach exceeded the grasp, but in the long run most of the strategies have proven correct, he added.

In World War I, the use of aviation underwent hothouse growth as a way to leap over the morass of the trenches. In World War II, bombing offensives and control of the air were prerequisites for successful military operations. That war also saw the agility that air transport provided ground and sea forces.

In 1947, the Air Force became a separate service, but took with it the legacy of innovation, Donley said. Intercontinental missiles, globe-spanning bombers, air-to-air refueling, heavy airlift, early warning radars, computers, space operations and drones are just a few of the leap-ahead technologies that airmen adapted and developed.

Now, with fifth-generation fighters, unmanned aerial vehicles, B-2 bombers and more, the service is well-prepared for the future, Donley said. "We're planning for and building those capabilities," he said. "Clearly, we will be fielding a modern tanker [and] a fifth-generation joint strike fighter in numbers."

With the F-22, the United States is the only nation that has fielded a fifth-generation fighter, the Air Force secretary said. "We'll be delivering the F-35 [joint strike fighter] in numbers by the end of the teens," he said.

Innovation is an important theme for the Air Force as budgets become tighter, Donley told the defense writers. "Modernization is an overhanging requirement," he said, "and we have to be in a position to fund when those programs mature and they are ready for production."

All budget decisions keep in mind the F-35, the new tanker aircraft, the next-generation bomber and space-based capabilities to ensure the Air Force can get more capable over time, he said. Also growing are capabilities in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets, space-based opportunities and cyber capabilities, Donley told the group.

The Air Force is looking at other "leap ahead" technologies, Donley said, but he declined to discuss them, noting that the Air Force developed the U-2 spy plane and F-117 stealth fighter in secret.

Modernization of bombers, fighters and mobility forces is one side of the coin, but the Air Force may make its greatest contribution in information management, Donley said.

"A lot of our capabilities are involved with moving information and maintaining advantages in our ability to collect it, to move it and to exploit it for operational purposes," he said. "We've all lived this communications revolution of the past 25 years, and that's where those new innovations and capabilities are finding themselves. It's not just on the platforms of the tanker or bomber or fighter."

The Air Force is on a good path for mobility, bomber and fighter forces, Donley said. The capabilities are built around the communications revolution, he added, and "those are very important capabilities for the joint force moving forward."
 

FORMER CIA AGENT INDICTED FOR OUTING ANOTHER OFFICER AND OTHER CHARGES

FROM DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Former CIA Officer John Kiriakou Indicted for Allegedly Disclosing Classified Information, Including Covert Officer’s Identity, to Journalists and Lying to CIA’s Publications Board
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Former CIA officer John Kiriakou was indicted today for allegedly repeatedly disclosing classified information to journalists, including the name of a covert CIA officer and information revealing the role of another CIA employee in classified activities, Justice Department officials announced.  Kiriakou was charged in a five-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia, after he was initially charged in a criminal complaint and arrested in January 2012.

The indictment charges Kiriakou with one count of violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act for allegedly illegally disclosing the identity of a covert officer and with three counts of violating the Espionage Act for allegedly illegally disclosing national defense information to individuals not authorized to receive it.   The indictment also charges him with one count of making false statements for allegedly lying to the Publications Review Board of the CIA in an unsuccessful attempt to trick the CIA into allowing him to include classified information in a book he was seeking to publish.

Kiriakou, 47, of Arlington, Va., was a CIA intelligence officer between 1990 and 2004, serving at headquarters and in various classified overseas assignments.   He remains free on bond and is expected to be arraigned on April 13, 2012, in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va.
         
The charges result from an investigation that was triggered by a classified defense filing in January 2009, which contained classified information the defense had not been given through official government channels, and, in part, by the discovery in the spring of 2009 of photographs of certain government employees and contractors in the materials of high-value detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.   The investigation revealed that, on multiple occasions, one of the journalists to whom Kiriakou is alleged to have illegally disclosed classified information, in turn, disclosed that information to a defense team investigator, and that this information was reflected in the classified defense filing and enabled the defense team to take or obtain surveillance photographs of government personnel.   There are no allegations of criminal activity by any members of the defense team for the Guantanamo Bay detainees.

The indictment alleges that Kiriakou made illegal disclosures about two CIA employees and their involvement in classified operations to two journalists on multiple occasions between 2007 and 2009.   In one case, by revealing an employee’s name as a CIA officer, Kiriakou allegedly disclosed classified information – as the employee was and remains covert (identified in the indictment as “Covert Officer A”).   In the second case, Kiriakou allegedly disclosed the name and contact information of another CIA employee, identified in the indictment as “Officer B,” whose participation in an operation to capture terrorism subject Abu Zubaydah in 2002 was then classified.   Kiriakou’s alleged disclosures occurred prior to a June 2008 front-page story inThe New York Times disclosing Officer B’s alleged role in the Abu Zubaydah operation.

The indictment was announced by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, who was appointed Special Attorney in 2010 to supervise the investigation.   He announced the charges with James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the Washington Field Office of the FBI.   Together, they thanked the CIA for its very substantial assistance in the investigation, as well as the Air Force Office of Special Investigations for its significant assistance.

The Justice Department’s National Security Division, working with the FBI, began the investigation.   To avoid the risk of encountering a conflict of interest because of the pending prosecutions of some of the high-value detainees, Mr. Fitzgerald was assigned to supervise the investigation conducted by a team of attorneys from the Southern District of New York, the Northern District of Illinois and the Counterespionage Section of the National Security Division who were not involved in pending prosecutions of the detainees.

The count charging violation of the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, as well as each count of violating the Espionage Act, carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, and making false statements carries a maximum prison term of five years.   Each count carries a maximum fine of $250,000.   If convicted, the court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal sentencing statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

An indictment contains only allegations and is not evidence of guilt.   The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The government is being represented in court by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Iris Lan (Southern District of New York) and Mark E. Schneider (Northern District of Illinois), and Trial Attorney Ryan Fayhee, of the Counterespionage Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.   Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Owings (Eastern District of Virginia) will assist in the matter under local court rules.

APRIL 7, 2012 IS WORLD HEALTH DAY

April 6, 2012

Statement from HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on World Health Day, April 7, 2012

This year’s World Health Day theme, “Good health adds life to years”, highlights the need to ensure that people are living well as they live longer. The world’s population is aging at an unprecedented rate. Within the next five years, the number of people over 65 years will outnumber children under age five for the first time in human history. By 2050, there will be more adults over 65 years than children under age 14. Societies that support the active participation of their older populations and promote their health and well-being will be better prepared to adapt to this changing world.

Global aging is a tremendous success story. Today, people are living decades longer and lead generally healthier lives than ever before because of the triumph of public health, medical advancement, and economic development over disease and injury. These gains aren’t only being seen in industrialized countries. The most rapid and dramatic demographic changes are happening in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in Asia, where over half of the world’s older population lives. Not only will developing countries have less time to prepare for aging populations, they will also need to address age-related challenges at lower levels of economic development than industrialized countries.

The right to the best possible health does not diminish as we age. With a longer life comes the increased likelihood of disabilities, chronic illnesses or cognitive impairments like Alzheimer’s disease, which may mean growing needs for long-term care and nursing support.

That’s why our department is working to make sure Americans and people around the world get the care they need to stay healthy as they age. The Affordable Care Act is making prevention benefits available and prescriptions more affordable for seniors and people with disabilities and will soon ensure that people, of all ages, with pre-existing conditions get coverage. The Administration on Aging helps communities, caregivers, and health care providers prepare for an aging society and works internationally to promote the dignity and independence of older people. The National Institute on Aging conducts research to discover what may contribute to healthy aging while addressing the disease and disability sometimes associated with growing older.

Meeting the changing needs of our population involves all sectors of society – that’s why the Departments of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Transportation are all part of the network of age-friendly communities recently launched by AARP, in affiliation with the World Health Organization. We can build healthy, vibrant communities by working across generations to promote aging in place, and engaging the skills and experience of our older populations.

At HHS, we are pleased to join the World Health Organization and people around the world in answering World Health Day's call to action, and to work closely with the international community to improve health and well-being for older populations at home and abroad.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE STATEMENT ON MISSISSIPPI RACIAL SEGREGATION CASE

FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
The following post appears courtesy of the Civil Rights Division
Last week, a federal court in Mississippi issued an order requiring the public school district in Cleveland, Miss., to end the racial segregation of students in its schools, and to eliminate racial disparities in the composition of faculty at schools across the District.

In May 2011, the Department of Justice asked the Court to find that the District had violated its desegregation obligations, noting that while the District had been governed by desegregation orders for more than 42 years, predominantly black schools located to the east of the railroad tracks that run through the District had never been desegregated.  The United States further asserted that the ratio of black and white faculty at numerous District schools reinforced the reputation of those schools in the community as “white” or “black” schools.

The court agreed with the Department of Justice that Eastside High School – one of only two high schools in the District – was formerly a segregated black school by law, and “has never been anything other than a racially identifiable African American school” since.  The court similarly determined that there was “no data” to indicate that D.M. Smith Middle School, one of the District’s two middle schools and also located on the east side of the railroad tracks, “was ever meaningfully desegregated.”  The court observed in its decision that these two predominantly black schools are only 1.2 miles away from a high school and middle school with a substantial population of white students located to the west of the railroad tracks.

With respect to the racial composition of faculty and staff, the court noted that school districts are prohibited from assigning to any individual school a ratio of black to white faculty and administrators that is so imbalanced as to support a perception that the school is a “black” or “white” school.  In this case, the court found that the ratio of black and white faculty at every school in the District deviated from the district-wide faculty ratio.
Accordingly, the court ordered the district to submit a proposed plan to desegregate Eastside High School and D.M. Smith Middle School, and to integrate the faculty at each of its schools, by May 15, 2012.  The United States will then have 30 days to review the plan and confer with the District to resolve any objections to the plan.  If no resolution is reached, the United States can file written objections to the District’s plan within 20 days.  

The violations identified by the court in this case are not unique to the Cleveland, Miss.,schools.  The Civil Rights Division continues to enforce desegregation orders in 200 school districts, many of which raise issues similar to those found in this case.  For example, the Division entered into a consent decree with the Valdosta, Georgia schools last month addressing that school district’s failure to desegregate the faculty at one of its schools.  In January, the federal district court for the Southern District of Mississippi approved another consent order between the United States and the Wayne County school district addressing concerns about classroom segregation and impermissible transfers by white students from majority-black to majority-white schools.

In all of these cases, and in the many others like them, the Division has taken seriously its obligation to ensure that the last remnants of school segregation are eliminated “root and branch” from all of our public schools.  Enforcement of the court orders mandating the desegregation of school districts formerly segregated by law is a top priority of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
We will not waver in our commitment to ensure that each and every school district eliminates the vestiges of separate black and white schools.  We look forward to working collaboratively with the Cleveland School District and members of the community to implement the court’s order in a manner that fosters the continued growth and success of all students in the district.

U.S. LABOR SECRETARY MAKES REMARKS ON MARCH EMPLOYMENT NUMBERS

Statement by Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis on March employment numbers

WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis issued the following statement on the March 2012 Employment Situation report released today:

"Our nation's labor market added 121,000 private sector jobs in the month of March, while the unemployment rate fell to 8.2 percent.

"For 25 consecutive months, we've registered private sector job growth. Some months we are seeing tremendous job gains, while other months we are seeing more modest gains. But the trend line is clear: Our economy is growing, and our recovery is durable.

"Since this president took office, we've added more than 4 million jobs to an economy that was bleeding 800,000 a month under the last administration. That's a noteworthy achievement.

"We've added nearly half a million manufacturing jobs since February 2010. This week, major U.S. carmakers announced that their U.S. sales rose last month to the highest level in at least four years.  When President Obama took office, the U.S. auto industry was on the verge of collapse. Since he bet big on the American autoworker, the industry has seen a complete turnaround, adding more than 230,000 jobs since the summer of 2009.

"However, the fact that some Americans are still leaving the labor force shows that we cannot rest on our laurels and expect to coast our way back to prosperity. This administration continues to fight for programs that will support and train our youth and displaced workers. Our recovery will only be as lasting as our commitment to the American worker. Now that the country is on a steady path toward recovery, we need to invest in community colleges and job training programs that prepare our workers for 21st century jobs."

SCIENTISTS SAY GLOBAL WARMING AFFECTS AREAS OF SNOWFALL THE MOST

FROM:  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Scientists at the H.J. Andrews LTER site, one of 26 such NSF sites, study water resources.
Long-Term Ecological Research Reveals Causes and Consequences of Environmental Change
Photo Credit: NSF H.J. Andrews LTER Site

April 6, 2012
As global temperatures rise, the most threatened ecosystems are those that depend on a season of snow and ice, scientists from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network have found.
"The vulnerability of cool, wet areas to climate change is striking," says scientist Julia Jones of Oregon State University and the H.J. Andrews LTER site in Oregon.
Jones is the lead author of a paper in the April issue of the journal BioScience; the issue features results from more than 30 years of long-term ecological research.
In semi-arid regions like the Southwestern United States, mountain snowpacks are the dominant source of water for human consumption and irrigation.
Research by Jones and colleagues shows that as average temperatures increase in these snowy ecosystems, a significant amount of stream water is lost to the atmosphere.
The study involves more than thirty years of data from 19 forested watersheds across the country. All the study sites provide water to major agricultural areas and to medium and large cities.

But, like many long-term studies, this one revealed a surprise.
Water flow only decreased in the research sites with winter snow and ice.
"Streams in dry forested ecosystems seem more resilient to warming," says Jones. "These ecosystems conserve more water as the climate warms, keeping streamflow within expected bounds."

A range of factors can affect watersheds, from human influence past and present, to El Niño climate oscillations.

"Long-term records are finally long enough to begin to separate the effects of each," Jones says.

"This research shows both the vulnerability and resilience of headwater streams. Such nuanced insights are crucial to effective management of public water supplies."
Surprising and transformative results are common in the NSF LTER network, which comprises 26 sites in North America, Puerto Rico, the island of Moorea and Antarctica.
The network has amassed more than 30 years of data on environmental recovery and change.

In contrast to most such research, which spans only a few years, LTER studies are sustained over decades, documenting gradual changes and long-term variability that often cannot be revealed by short-term studies.

"Each additional year of LTER data helps us to better understand how ecosystems respond to environmental change," says Scott Collins, an ecologist at the University of New Mexico and principal investigator at the Sevilleta LTER site in New Mexico.
"Such understanding provides valuable information for federal agencies, land managers and legislators who want to develop responsible policies to deal with a rapidly changing world."

The results reveal that the LTER network's diversity of long-term research approaches--including detailed observations and experiments, environmental gradient studies and complex simulation models--can contribute to new solutions in an era of unprecedented environmental change.

"How can we evaluate the ability of natural ecosystems to sustain critical ecological processes and the human societies that depend on them?" asks Saran Twombly, NSF LTER program director.

"LTER research demonstrates the unique and powerful insights that emerge from long-term studies and the analysis of long-term data," she says. "The results reach beyond scientists to engage the public and decision-makers."

In addition to deciphering ecosystem-level clues, LTER research can identify the biological winners and losers in a changing climate.

"The cryosphere, or the part of the Earth affected by snow and ice, has been shrinking," says scientist Andrew Fountain of Portland State University in Oregon and the McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER site.

"Populations of microbes, plants and animals that depend on snow and ice will decrease if they are unable to migrate. But life that finds the cryosphere too hostile should expand."
In shallower snow, he explains, animals such as white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk and caribou expend less energy and can more easily escape predators.
"One species' loss can be another species' gain," says Fountain.
The retrospective look at the LTER network comes at a time when institutions charged with stewarding the nation's environmental health are increasingly being challenged to provide a basis for their decision-making.

An article by scientist Charles Driscoll of New York's Syracuse University and the Hubbard Brook LTER site in New Hampshire shows that LTER research has contributed to important decisions over the past decade, including state and regional forest and watershed management policies.

"LTER datasets and experiments help inform local- to national-scale decisions on climate change, pollution, fire, land conversion and other pressing environmental challenges," says Driscoll. "This creates a crucial bridge between the scientific community and society."
Demand for natural resources is increasing with the global human population, which the United Nations projects will reach at least nine billion by 2050.
Long-term ecosystem data can help researchers simulate a region's future based on a range of possible human actions.

"For example, how might forest ecosystems change if more people begin to use wood to heat their homes?" asks Jonathan Thompson of the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va., and the Harvard Forest LTER site in Massachusetts. Thompson is the lead author of a paper in the volume.

Each year, some 2,000 scientists and students carry out more than 200 large-scale LTER field experiments to find new answers.

The resulting datasets are freely and publicly available online.
"LTER sites are providing transformative information about the causes and consequences of climate and environmental changes to ecosystems," says David Garrison, NSF program director for coastal and ocean LTER sites.

"They are some of our best hopes for providing the sound scientific underpinnings needed to guide policy for the challenges of future environmental change."