Monday, April 16, 2012
U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT DAILY PRESS BRIEFING
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Mark C. Toner
Deputy Spokesperson
Daily Press Briefing
Washington, DC
April 16, 2012
TRANSCRIPT:
MR. TONER: Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the State Department. Very briefly before getting to your questions, I did want to congratulate the people of Timor-Leste, the institutions of government, and civil society on the successful conduct of a peaceful and orderly presidential election on April 16. So far the information available to us suggests that the elections was free and fair. We understand that Timor-Leste electoral authorities are continuing to tabulate the official results of this second round e
Provisional results should be forthcoming in the next 24 hours or so, but clearly we congratulate the people of Timor-Leste. We strongly support the country in its efforts to strengthen democratic institutions and consolidate peace and security. And of course, this election constitutes a significant step in that process.
That’s all I have for the top. Matt.
QUESTION: Yeah. I wonder if we can start with Iran.
MR. TONER: Sure.
QUESTION: I realize that there’s been some comment about the results of the meeting on Saturday, including from the President yesterday. But I’m just wondering, what is it that the United States thinks was achieved?
MR. TONER: Well, I think going into this we were looking for, as the Secretary and others said, a sustained process. We’re already looking to a second meeting next month in Baghdad. I think this was – I don’t think anyone’s trying to characterize this as more than a beginning and a first step, if you will. We said that we want to Iran come up with some concrete proposals moving forward, and that if that were to happen, we would look at ways – Cathy Ashton’s statement said as much – to reciprocate. But we view this as a good, positive, initial first step.
QUESTION: She described it – Catherine Ashton described it as constructive and useful. But it seems to me that the only thing that resulted from it is an agreement to meet again. That’s a pretty low bar. We used to kind of make fun of results like that, where the only thing that you can say that they managed to accomplish was they agreed to meet each other again.
MR. TONER: Well, I don’t think anyone’s under any illusions that we were going to come away from this first meeting advancing the ball far down the field, to use a sports metaphor. We were looking for, as we’ve said all along, the beginning step of a sustained process.
QUESTION: Okay.
MR. TONER: Secretary and President have been very clear that there’s still time for diplomacy. But there is an urgency here, so we want to see it move forward.
QUESTION: All right. So the goal is to have a sustained process?
MR. TONER: Not – no. Ultimately the goal is to have Iran take concrete steps that obviously address the international community’s concerns about its nuclear program. But we recognize that that’s going to take time.
QUESTION: Can you describe for me where a sustained process has worked in the past to achieve the result that you were looking for? In particular, I think of the sustained processes that I’ve dealt with, and not a single one of them has ever achieved any success.
MR. TONER: Well, I would just – look, this is so apples and oranges to compare one negotiation to another --
QUESTION: No, I don’t know. I mean, if it’s the process --
MR. TONER: -- and one type of engagement to another. We did have a – our engagement and our sanctions – our two-track approach, if you will, to Burma has borne fruit, in the sense that Burma’s really opened up and taken steps. But it’s a completely different issue. Don’t really want to go down there. You asked me for a comparison.
QUESTION: Well, yeah, but except that you weren’t talking with the Burmese before. There wasn’t a sustained process at all. The only place you’ve had a sustained process is in the Middle East, and it’s gone absolutely nowhere. So I’m just wondering why you think that the immediate goal – not the end goal, but the immediate goal of getting a sustained – of establishing a sustained process, why you think that that’s the right way to go.
MR. TONER: Well, Matt, no one’s – by sustained process, no one’s trying to downplay the urgency and the need for concrete action.
QUESTION: All right. Well, the problem with --
MR. TONER: So we are moving to another step. This was a beginning meeting. We came away with looking towards Baghdad, but we’re obviously going to look for serious engagement and action on the part of the Iranians.
QUESTION: One last thing, then.
MR. TONER: Yeah, sure.
QUESTION: And that is that Prime Minister Netanyahu did not seem too pleased with this and he said basically you’ve given them another five weeks to keep enriching and to do whatever they want without any pressure at all. Why is he not right?
MR. TONER: Well, the President spoke to this yesterday. It’s – there’s no freebie for Iran.
QUESTION: The President gave --
MR. TONER: We’ve got the strongest sanctions in history against Iran right now, and they’re going to get stronger as we move into the summer. And there’s no sense that Iran’s getting some kind of freebie here.
QUESTION: Well, just – can you say – is it in fact correct that Iran will be able to, until the next meeting at least, continue to do whatever it wants?
MR. TONER: Again, Iran is – and we’ve seen --
QUESTION: Well, isn’t that right or not?
MR. TONER: No.
QUESTION: No?
MR. TONER: We’ve seen the effects that these sanctions are having on Iran. It’s strangling its economy. The rial has fallen in value. So the idea that they’re getting some kind of free pass is not true.
QUESTION: Well, the question is, what is there right now – why is Netanyahu wrong? Why does this not mean that Iran now has another five weeks to do whatever it wants?
MR. TONER: Again, because it’s not as though Iran were free and clear. They are operating under very difficult, if not crippling, international sanctions, and they are aware of that. So they have every motivation to engage constructively and come to the table with concrete proposals.
QUESTION: And why --
QUESTION: Were there any particular --
QUESTION: Why five weeks, not two weeks?
MR. TONER: I don’t know why that time frame. But they’re looking to Baghdad.
Yeah.
QUESTION: As a result of the Istanbul meeting, is Iran really closer to the U.S. or international position on the issue of, let’s say, uranium enrichment?
MR. TONER: Again, I’m not going to get into those specific discussions, and I’m not going to negotiate this from the podium. I think --
QUESTION: It is your understanding that they are closer, that they have actually moved towards the position of the United States and other international community members?
MR. TONER: I think that they came to the table serious. The talks focused on the nuclear issues of concern here, which has not always been the case in the past. But we’re very much at a beginning stage here. But we feel it was a foundation for next talks.
QUESTION: And that does give you reason to believe that Iran is headed in the right direction as far as coming clean on its nuclear program?
MR. TONER: I think we’re going to wait and see what they actually come to the table with in terms of proposals, and then we’ll be ready to --
QUESTION: So in five weeks, you could say we have another five weeks to meet, let’s say, this time somewhere else?
MR. TONER: I don’t think – I think the Secretary – the President was very clear there is a window that remains open, but that window is closing.
QUESTION: Thank you.
QUESTION: Mark, Tehran’s already asking for the West to start canceling the sanctions. Is that where it comes into place before the Baghdad meeting?
MR. TONER: No. We’re not there yet. Sanctions remain in place and – until we – no one’s talking about any sanctions being reversed or canceled at all.
Yeah. Go ahead.
QUESTION: On North Korea?
MR. TONER: I think – did you have another question, Shaun, or --
QUESTION: (Inaudible.)
MR. TONER: Okay. Do you want to switch? Are we done with Iran?
QUESTION: Just one Iran.
MR. TONER: Yeah. Sure.
QUESTION: Actually, a follow-up. If there will be a result on the – in negotiation in Baghdad. The sanction regime will be started on June 28th. There will be a change in the sanction regime if – I mean, according to the results of – Baghdad result, in Baghdad conference?
MR. TONER: I think you’re – that’s just a very speculative question. Let’s wait till we get to Baghdad and see.
QUESTION: No, I mean – and to understand the process.
MR. TONER: No. I mean, look, nobody’s talking about ending or suspending the sanctions regime that’s in place.
QUESTION: Except the Iranians.
MR. TONER: Except for the Iranians, but we’re definitely not there.
Yeah, go ahead. North Korea?
QUESTION: On North Korea, regarding North Korean missile launch, does the United States have any additional separate sanctions against North Korea?
MR. TONER: Does the U.S. have --
QUESTION: Any additional separate sanctions against North Korea?
MR. TONER: You mean aside from existing UN sanctions or --
QUESTION: Yeah, U.S. sanctions.
MR. TONER: I believe we do have, clearly, bilateral sanctions against North Korea. We’ve got very strong sanctions in place against North Korea, clearly. But you raise North Korea and I did want to note you’ve obviously all seen reports out of New York that the presidential statement was adopted earlier today that condemns North Korea’s recent attempt to launch a satellite. Ambassador Rice spoke to it more eloquently than I ever could, but she obviously stressed that this was an extremely quick response by the Security Council and a swift and unanimous adoption is what she said, and it’s very true.
QUESTION: Freezing of North Korean financial sanctions against North --
MR. TONER: I think what – again, what this presidential statement referred to is they’re going to refer it to the Sanctions Committee to look at ways that they can tighten – always when there’s sanctions in place – and we do this across the board whether it’s Iran or Syria or indeed North Korea – there’s always ways to look at how to tighten the implementation and strengthen the implementation of the sanctions. So I think that’s one of the things we’re looking at.
Go ahead.
QUESTION: North Korea told a State Department official that it will not accept IAEA inspections because those were based on the condition of nutritional assistance. So what is the U.S. view on this?
MR. TONER: I would just refer you to the IAEA. I don’t know. I haven’t seen any of those reports, so it’s really their response that matters here.
Go ahead, Shaun. Okay, Ros.
QUESTION: What’s the sense of whether or not North Korea might still be planning to launch any underground nuclear tests?
MR. TONER: I mean, others have spoken. I had mentioned on Friday there is very often a cycle or a pattern to these kinds of actions. It’s impossible, frankly, for us to say at this point, but we strongly, strongly discourage it from moving down that track.
QUESTION: I don’t know if you want to go down this road, but --
MR. TONER: (Inaudible) not. (Laughter.)
QUESTION: Not a good preface. But Kim Jong-un, he spoke for the first time in public. Any observations from – from – about the leadership transition, about how it’s going? Maybe give us --
MR. TONER: No. Honestly, it’s a pretty opaque system, so it’s really difficult to make any kind of judgments. He spoke about their further military industrialization, or however you want to term it. What we’ve said before is something I would just say again, which is North Korea needs to focus less on further militarization and more on meeting the needs and aspirations of its people.
QUESTION: Was this a speech his father could have given?
MR. TONER: No idea.
QUESTION: So U.S. options on the table for sanctions against North Korea?
MR. TONER: Yes. I mean, we’re always looking at – I’m not sure what the – you’re saying --
QUESTION: Any particular options do you have it? I mean, U.S. have --
MR. TONER: I mean, we’re always looking at ways to strengthen our sanctions regime, whether it’s bilateral or multilateral through the UN, especially in light of North Korea’s actions.
Yeah. Go ahead, Said.
QUESTION: Can we go to Syria?
QUESTION: No. Let’s stay here.
MR. TONER: Yeah. Sure.
QUESTION: Do – are there any plans to talk to the North Koreans, to tell them what, if anything, they could do to get – to revive the February 29th agreement? Is there anything that they can do to revive that?
MR. TONER: Well, I think it’s pretty clear with the satellite launch that they’ve dug themselves into a hole, if you will, of further isolation. They’ve walked away from the statements or the commitments that they made on Leap Day that you just mentioned. I’m not aware that there’s going to be any further engagement with the North Koreans moving forward. Nothing is certainly planned. The President said the other day that if they do come back and appear to engage or are willing to engage constructively, then we can move forward down that track. But again, we’ve not seen any indication that they’re going to do that.
QUESTION: You and numerous other officials have constantly been referring to North Korea and have used the phrase, “We’re not going to – we’ve seen that movie once; we’re not going to watch it again.”
MR. TONER: We have a lot of --
QUESTION: Yeah. Why are you willing --
MR. TONER: A lot of cliches flying around.
QUESTION: Why are you willing to watch the movie again still?
MR. TONER: Well, you were – you’re saying that we are, in fact, watching this movie again.
QUESTION: Well, I’m just wondering. I mean, if – are they irredeemable? And if they’re not irredeemable, why not? And how can you ever trust anything that they say again?
MR. TONER: It’s a fair question, Matt. I mean, and one I frankly can’t answer. I think all we can do is offer a different path, the opportunity for North Korea to engage constructively with the rest of the world. That opportunity is clearly in their interest. We can see it. They for some reason cannot. But they have to, again, cease, come in line with existing UN Security Council resolutions. That’s the bare minimum. They’ve been unable to do that.
QUESTION: The U.S. had essentially conceded that there was some sort of food emergency inside North Korea. Now, with this attempted missile launch and the suspension of the food aid, how serious does the U.S., does the World Food Program, judge what’s happening inside North Korea right now?
MR. TONER: I mean, I frankly don’t have the latest assessments in front of me. We are moving into the growing season, but really, I’d have to refer you to the experts in Rome or the World Food Program, who can give you a better judge of that. It’s unfortunate that we no longer can move forward with this program. Our hearts go out to the North Korean people who are suffering, but it’s clear that we can’t have any confidence that this program will be implemented in the way that we want to see it implemented.
QUESTION: Campbell mentioned that the trilateral meeting between U.S., Japan, and South Korea will happen sometime after --
MR. TONER: Yes.
QUESTION: -- next month. Is there any update as to where this will happen, or the when?
MR. TONER: I don’t know.
QUESTION: Okay.
MR. TONER: Just stay tuned, but no, I don’t have any further information.
Are we ready to move on from North Korea?
QUESTION: I think the North – North Korea doesn’t care about the sanctions against North Korea, the UN Resolution 1780 – 1718 or 1874, whatever. They don’t care about – they ignore their sanctions. How can, continually, North Koreans ignore it?
MR. TONER: Well, again, I mean, they – it’s their own – it’s – you’re saying that they simply ignore these existing resolutions --
QUESTION: Yes, sir.
MR. TONER: And as long as they continue to do so, the door for further engagement will remain shut and they’ll remain under sanctions. And it’s clearly not in their interest, as I said to Matt. We can all see that, but they cannot. But we do remain ready to engage them. But again, at the bare minimum, they need to come in line with existing UN Security Council resolutions.
Yes, Said.
QUESTION: Can we go to Syria?
MR. TONER: Let’s go to Syria, then I’ll get over to you guys.
QUESTION: I just wanted to ask if you have any update on the conduct or the ability of the UN observers with a blue cap --
MR. TONER: Right. My understanding in terms of – that there are – there is an advance group of monitors there on the ground now, I believe six monitors. Obviously, the full complement, I think, is 31, so we’re looking at another 25 remaining in the next couple of days.
But overall, the news has not been good. We’ve seen sporadic fighting continuing in parts of Syria. I think we’ve all seen reports out of Homs that the government forces continue to shell parts of the city. So it’s very clear that Assad has not complied with the six points in terms of allowing democratic or peaceful demonstrations to take place, releasing political prisoners. There’s no movement on any of the other five points, and it appears that the fragile ceasefire is eroding as well.
QUESTION: Didn’t you say last week that --
QUESTION: So once it’s completely eroded, once it’s --
MR. TONER: I don’t know that you can say it’s completely eroded. I can say that the Syrian opposition --
QUESTION: No, no. I said “once,” once this happens, if you are saying that it’s eroding quickly, so we are going to get to a point where it is completely eroded. So what is the next step?
MR. TONER: Well, I do think that we’re looking at the advance team of monitors’ deployment as an important test of the Syrian Government’s intentions going forward. These individuals, as – sorry, but these individuals, as they get on the ground, as we’ve said, need to be out and have access to all parts of Syria.
QUESTION: Well, the regime has already suggested that it has the right to turn back any monitor whose nationality it has a problem with, and it also says that it’s going to put in whatever restrictions it feels are necessary on the team’s movements. Is that already a capitulation that they’re not going along with this? I mean, how effective can these monitors be if they’re already walking into these roadblocks?
MR. TONER: Well, I mean, clearly if they can’t get out to see the parts of the country that they need to see, then they’re not going to be very effective. So let’s let them get the full complement on the ground and look at it from there. But at the same time, we’re under no illusions that the Syrian Government has time and time again said it was complying with the Assad plan, with the peace plan set out by the Arab League, with the Turkish initiative, and has only used it to stall for time.
QUESTION: Mark?
MR. TONER: Yeah, sure.
QUESTION: I realize this is a UN operation, but since you are the president of the Security Council – not you personally, but the United States is the president of the Security Council this month – I figure you have something to do with it. Are 31 monitors enough to do the job? And who came up with this idea? Why not 33? Why not 37?
MR. TONER: I stopped short of that. I think that’s right and not a typo that I’m not – it’s not 30 monitors. I don’t know the answer to that.
QUESTION: Well still, who came up with it?
MR. TONER: I don’t know and I don’t – I mean, the Secretary has called for a robust mission --
QUESTION: Thirty-one?
MR. TONER: I think we’d like to see more monitors on the ground and going forward --
QUESTION: Can you ask --
MR. TONER: I’ll take the question behind the number.
QUESTION: I think it’s somewhere around like 250.
MR. TONER: Right.
QUESTION: Is that sufficient, in your view?
MR. TONER: I mean, again, we want to see as many – I think it’s a better number, certainly, than 30. But again, we’re going to let this mission move forward --
QUESTION: But --
MR. TONER: -- and we’re going to – again, the proof here is whether these individuals can actually get out and are not thwarted in their attempt to view different parts of Syria and really to be able to guarantee or to certify that the ceasefire is, in fact, in place.
QUESTION: How do you determine – how do you determine how many you need? Like you look at the Kosovo or the Balkans example back in the ‘90s and so on. How do you decide that we need X number of monitors in Syria or in the very – in Homs or Daraa and Deir al-Zour and so on? How do you decide that?
MR. TONER: That’s probably a better question for the UN, even though Matt correctly points out we’re the president of the Security Council. But I’d really have to refer you to the experts. I think what we’ve been on the record saying is we want as robust a mission as possible, so we would rather see more rather than fewer.
Yeah. Go ahead, Ros.
QUESTION: Where’s the deterrence effect in all this in terms of keeping the regime from continuing to attack people in areas where they feel that they need to be put down, for lack of a better expression?
MR. TONER: Well, again, I think the idea behind monitors is you can actually get them out into all areas of the country, then they do become a deterrence factor insofar as their eyes and ears on the ground bearing witness to what’s going on. The other deterrence factor is we’ve not let up, if you will, on the gas on increased sanctions, on increased political pressure. And that’s going to stay absolutely in place until we see Syria take – the Syrian Government take concrete steps to implement the Annan plan.
QUESTION: But isn’t that ascribing these monitors a level of moral authority that somehow the intrinsic dignity of the people themselves don’t seem to have on the regime?
MR. TONER: Not at all. Not at all. It’s simply providing, as we would with – we’ve advocated for as robust as possible an international media presence on the ground, because we recognize that these so-called impartial observers can add a measure of credibility to reports that we’re already well aware of that are happening, of the atrocities that are happening on the ground. And it’s one of the reasons why we’re trying to – out of the last Friends of Syria meeting, this group that – accountability group that’s going to take – that’s going to begin compiling evidence of these atrocities, because as we’ve said many times, the Syrian Government – those officials who have been – are implicit – or complicit, rather, in this – in the regime’s abuses are going to be held accountable.
QUESTION: There are some activists who have argued that sending in the monitors is all well and fine, but what they really need are weapons to fight back against the regime.
MR. TONER: Well look, as I noted earlier, it’s the – the Syrian opposition has courageously refrained, in large part, from engaging in this latest assault by the government’s forces, by Assad’s regime’s artillery shells. And that, I think, speaks to their commitment to a peaceful way forward.
QUESTION: I wanted to ask about Ambassador Ford. Is he in any way in touch with the internal opposition?
MR. TONER: Yes. He still maintains contact. He obviously has a Facebook page that’s still seen throughout Syria, and he uses that as a platform to show, as you’ve seen, satellite photos and other imagery --
QUESTION: So he only communicates --
MR. TONER: -- that shows some of the regime’s abuses.
QUESTION: -- through that medium, through Facebook?
MR. TONER: He can. And we’ve also got, obviously, other – I mean, as much as – clearly communication is an issue here. That’s some of the things we’ve talked about before. But he does remain in contact with members of the opposition.
QUESTION: How long will they stay this time – monitors in Syrian cities?
MR. TONER: You know what? I don’t – I apologize. I don’t have the – I mean, I think they’ll stay as long as they can to ensure that the Annan plan is indeed being implemented. I don’t have a timeframe.
QUESTION: Long way to go. So will there be any Americans within the group?
MR. TONER: Not that I’m aware of. We are obviously supporting this – supporting the mission financially, but we don’t expect to deploy U.S. monitors.
QUESTION: About the buffer zone, there’s some circles they discussed this buffer zone option on Syria in the – over the weekend, including the spokesman of Kofi Annan. Have you started to discuss with allies the buffer zone option in Syria?
MR. TONER: Again, we’ve been pretty clear that it’s – a buffer zone is a pretty complex undertaking, and there’s obviously – it’s not necessarily as easy as it sounds to implement. We talked about – I know the Turkish Government officials have made reference to some type of buffer zone. We’d certainly be willing to listen to any ideas that are on the table; but what we want to see, what we’ve been focused on, is a ceasefire and then humanitarian access to those areas that desperately need it.
QUESTION: Humanitarian corridor is an alternative to buffer zone for you?
MR. TONER: Again, I think we’re always willing to look at various alternatives while recognizing the difficulties inherent in some of these operations. And there are indeed serious challenges. But I think, as we said, our focus right now – we’ve got the Annan plan. Let’s see this ceasefire take hold, strengthen, and then we can get the kind of humanitarian access that’s needed to people --
QUESTION: So you’re expecting this idea from Turks or other neighborhood countries in the region?
MR. TONER: Yes. I mean, that – we certainly would be open to ideas.
QUESTION: And the last question about the refugees in Turkey. Have you offered any aid to Turkish Government for – to handle this refugee problem?
MR. TONER: You know what? I haven’t checked on that lately. I mean, I believe we have, as well as other international organizations. Turkey’s played just a remarkable leadership role in this crisis and especially with regard to hosting these refugees on Turkish soil. I’m not – I do know at the beginning of the crisis when refugees started crossing the border into Turkey that we had offered and Turkey had declined. I’m not sure where we’re at. I’ll take the question.
QUESTION: The Palestinian issue?
QUESTION: No.
MR. TONER: Yeah, sure.
QUESTION: One. Since no matter how imperfect or initial or preliminary this ceasefire is, if it really is even a ceasefire since fighting continues, does the Administration, despite that it was – in fact, that is was signed, is the Administration still planning to ramp up its aid to the Syrian opposition?
MR. TONER: You’re talking about the non-lethal?
QUESTION: Uh-huh.
MR. TONER: I think that’s moving forward, yes.
QUESTION: So that’s going to go ahead regardless of whether the ceasefire actually takes hold and --
MR. TONER: Right.
QUESTION: -- whether the regime agrees to all the steps in the Annan plan?
MR. TONER: Well again, right. I mean, this is a way to allow --
QUESTION: It’s going to continue no matter what the government does?
MR. TONER: My understanding is yes.
QUESTION: Okay.
MR. TONER: Because what we’re trying to do is build --
QUESTION: And then --
MR. TONER: Sorry, just to complete the thought. I mean, what we’re trying to do is help the peaceful opposition coalesce, to be able to communicate and coordinate themselves. And indeed, if they were looking down the road at some kind of democratic transition, that would be useful.
QUESTION: And then the second thing is: What’s your understanding about the next Friends of Syria meeting? Is there one scheduled?
MR. TONER: Yeah. I did check on that. I think we’re still obviously open to it, but we haven’t seen any announcements out of Paris. So we’ll wait and see how that develops, but certainly the Secretary remains ready to go.
QUESTION: One more on that. Ambassador Ford’s engagement with Syrian Government officials – how much has he had --
MR. TONER: I’m sorry. You said Syrian Government officials?
QUESTION: Right.
MR. TONER: I’m not aware that he’s had any contacts with Syrian Government officials. I’ll have to check. I don’t think so.
QUESTION: Can we go to the Palestinian issue?
MR. TONER: Sure. Go ahead. I’m sorry.
QUESTION: Mark, tomorrow the Palestinians are getting ready to hand in a much touted and talked about letter to the office of Prime Minister Netanyahu. And now my question to you (inaudible) from a report from Haaretz. They’re saying that initially the letter had a threat by Abbas that they will dissolve the Authority, but under a great deal of pressure from the Government of the United States, that he backed down. Could you confirm or deny that?
MR. TONER: I’m sorry. Can you just rewind there? I didn’t get all of it.
QUESTION: Did you exercise a great deal of pressure on Palestinian President – Authority Mahmoud Abbas to withdraw a clause in his letter that threatened to dissolve the Palestinian Authority?
MR. TONER: It’s --
QUESTION: Are you aware of the letter that I’m talking about?
MR. TONER: I’m not aware of the letter. We had a Quartet meeting here last week. You saw the statement. I can’t confirm any letter, and I’m certainly not going to get into the contents of any letter that I don’t know whether it exists.
QUESTION: Well, because this was also published --
MR. TONER: Yeah.
QUESTION: -- and the full text was --
MR. TONER: The full text of the letter?
QUESTION: -- published by the AFP, I mean, today. It would be a good thing to look at to see what is your response to some of the points that were made in the letter.
My second question on the Palestinian issue: Israel has blocked about 1,500 pro-Palestinian activists, mainly from Europe, to come to the West Bank – Bethlehem and Ramallah and other places. Do you have a position on this issue? Are you aware of it?
MR. TONER: You’re talking about the so-called “flytilla?”
QUESTION: Yeah. The international “flytime.” Yeah.
MR. TONER: Well, just to finish on the – speaking more broadly, I mean, obviously I can’t confirm there’s a letter. I can’t – I’m not – and if I was able to, I wouldn’t get into the contents.
QUESTION: Right.
MR. TONER: But we do – sorry, just to finish my thought – we do support direct communication between the parties. I mean, we think that’s in and of itself a good thing. In terms of the “flytilla,” I would just say Israel is a sovereign nation like any sovereign nation that has a right to control the flow of people and goods through its ports.
QUESTION: But you do agree that Area A, at least Area A in the Palestinian territory, which includes Bethlehem and Ramallah and so on, is basically a sovereign area. So they can conceivably go visit Palestinian territories, correct?
MR. TONER: You’ve heard our positions.
Go ahead, in the back.
QUESTION: Yeah. Hi, Mark. And with respect to Cartagena, did the Embassy there learn about the alleged conduct of Secret Service agents from the local authorities? And what steps did Embassy personnel take after learning that – those allegations?
MR. TONER: I’d – first of all, I’d have to refer you to the Secret Service for any details about the investigation into the incident. I don’t have details of how it came to light. But again, the President spoke to this yesterday in Cartagena, saying there’s an investigation underway. Let’s wait for all the details to emerge. I’m not sure, frankly, if the Embassy had any direct role.
QUESTION: Well, Congressman King – I mean, he’s quoted on the record saying that they were brought in by the police. But I’m wondering if that kicked off either an internal investigation within State or them calling the U.S. State Department to inform the status.
MR. TONER: Well, as you know, I mean, very often there’s – in these advance groups that go down or go anywhere for a trip that there are many representatives of the United States there on the scene. I’m not sure what the Embassy’s precise role was, if any. I’ll have to take the question.
But in terms of the investigation, the President spoke to it. It needs to be fully played out. But he also spoke to the need for any American official who’s abroad to recognize the fact that they are representatives of the United States and conduct themselves appropriately.
QUESTION: And just last --
QUESTION: And was a message given to the employees of Diplomatic Security, just as a friendly reminder?
MR. TONER: I don’t know of any updated information. We certainly expect any U.S. diplomat overseas at all times to behave accordingly and behave appropriately, and to recognize that when they are overseas, they are seen as representatives of the United States.
QUESTION: I wasn’t aware that you had moved your Embassy from Bogota to Cartagena.
MR. TONER: I didn’t – did I – I didn’t mean to imply that.
QUESTION: There is a consulate in Cartagena, yeah?
MR. TONER: I believe so.
QUESTION: And would they have been the ones who were involved in this?
MR. TONER: That’s what I – I don’t know, Matt. I don’t know. I mean --
QUESTION: Or how much of the Embassy staff was up in Cartagena for --
MR. TONER: That’s what I was trying to get at is that, obviously, for a presidential visit --
QUESTION: Yeah. But there is a consulate --
MR. TONER: -- there would be a detail of Embassy staff as part of the advance team.
QUESTION: There is a consulate in Cartagena, yeah?
MR. TONER: I’ll check. I believe so.
QUESTION: On Turkey? Just one.
MR. TONER: Actually, maybe Patrick. No? No.
QUESTION: There is no embassy. There is no consulate in Cartagena.
MR. TONER: No consulate.
QUESTION: Why not?
MR. TONER: I have no idea.
QUESTION: Well, I mean, you’re opening them the middle of nowhere Brazil all of the sudden. Why not --
MR. TONER: I mean, very often consulates are based on reciprocity, so it probably has something to do with the number of consulates that we would have in any country would be based on the number of consulates and embassies that that country – given country would have in the United States. That’s often the way it works.
QUESTION: Okay. I --
MR. TONER: But you stumped me on Cartagena, so --
QUESTION: Colombia doesn’t --
MR. TONER: -- you can give me that smug smile. (Laughter.)
QUESTION: Colombia has fewer than two consulates in the United States? Somehow I find that hard to believe.
MR. TONER: I don’t know.
QUESTION: Different issue?
QUESTION: Can I follow on that, Mark?
MR. TONER: Sure. Yeah, go ahead. Finish.
QUESTION: Well, just that you’re aware, I’m sure, the Secretary was photographed out having fun in Cartagena. Does – what’s your comment? Some have criticized her for doing that in light of this scandal investigation, that she’s out appearing to be partying. Do you have any comment on that?
MR. TONER: I can confirm that she indeed did have a very good time and was just enjoying some of the nightlife in Cartagena with colleagues. And it’s a – it’s kind of a dog-bite-man story. There’s no – there’s nothing to it.
Yeah. Go ahead. Go ahead. Yeah, you had your hand raised.
QUESTION: On Argentina, it has been announced in the past couple of hours that the Argentinean Government is taking over the country’s top oil producer. It’s controlled by Spain. It’s a privately held company in Spain but there is also American investment in the company, and the Argentinean Government is taking over 51 percent of the company. The European Union has filed complaints, public complaints. And it has been said during the weekend that the American Government was planning to file a complaint against – in front of the World Trade Organization if this happens, so I wanted to ask you about that.
MR. TONER: And I’ll have to take the question. I’m not aware that – of the – in fact that – of the story, so I’ll have to look into that, and we’ll get back to you.
QUESTION: Okay. Thank you.
QUESTION: Egypt?
MR. TONER: Egypt.
QUESTION: I wonder if you have any comment on the panel striking out three candidates? Omar Suleiman, who fell short (inaudible) by 31 out of 30,000 – 31 votes out 30,000 addition – whatever – and Khairat el-Shater and Salah Abu Ismail. Do you have a comment on that?
MR. TONER: Well, this is obviously a very hot issue, if you will, in Egypt. We’ve been very clear all along, as this process moves forward through parliamentary elections, through the constitution writing, and now into the presidential race, our only concern is that this is a free and fair and transparent process, that it move forward in a way that meets the aspirations of the Egyptian people. But it’s not for us to comment on the political process itself.
QUESTION: Do you have a first-hand exposure as to the process that they have used to weed out applicants?
MR. TONER: I do not.
QUESTION: You don’t – I mean, the U.S. Government, I’m saying – that --
MR. TONER: You’re talking about --
QUESTION: I’m talking about the vetting process to who qualifies and who does not qualify as a candidate. Does the U.S. in any way through its nongovernment organizations or directly have an exposure or have a window onto this process?
MR. TONER: On to that vetting process or whatever? Yeah, I mean, look, they’ve come out publicly with their explanation for their decisions. Again, our interest is only seeing that this process move forward towards presidential elections in June in a way that’s perceived by the Egyptian people as free and fair and democratic. But in terms of a window onto their process, I don’t have anything particularly to add to that. And you mentioned NGOs, so I’ll just say we do believe that nongovernment organizations can play a very objective, but important, role in these kinds of political processes.
QUESTION: Thank you.
QUESTION: Different topic?
MR. TONER: Yeah, sure.
QUESTION: Sudan?
MR. TONER: Yeah.
QUESTION: I just wanted to see your assessment about how things stand right now. Obviously, there’s the reported incursion by the south (inaudible) area.
MR. TONER: Right.
QUESTION: And then following that, the parliament in Khartoum today declared that South Sudan is considered an enemy, an enemy state. What’s your assessment of how things stand now, and is there a risk of all-out war?
MR. TONER: Well, we strongly condemn the bombing by the Sudan armed forces of the UN Mission in South Sudan. They had a community support base in Mayom Unity State, which is located in South Sudan. And of course, we denounce the continued aerial bombardment by the Sudanese armed forces of South Sudan, which includes civilian areas. As we said last week, we strongly condemn the offensive military incursion into Sudan by the SPLA and the seizure of Heglig and we want to see South Sudan to withdraw its forces immediately and unconditionally from Heglig.
So I mean, we want to see bottom line an immediate and unconditional cessation of hostilities. South Sudan needs to withdraw from Heglig and Sudan needs to stop its aerial bombardments, and both sides need to get back to the AU mechanism for resolving these outstanding issues. The tensions are far too high, the fighting has to cease, and humanitarian access has to be granted.
QUESTION: Just one follow-up on that.
MR. TONER: And just a note – I’m sorry, just to – sorry. I do want to note that our Special Envoy, Princeton Lyman, did meet with South Sudan President Salva Kiir earlier today in Juba and they had a meaningful dialogue about how to deescalate the tensions.
QUESTION: When Sudan has their – during that meeting, were there any discussions about what might happen if they don’t withdraw from Heglig?
MR. TONER: Well, again, I mean, I think our very strong urging here is for both sides to recognize the fact that this is really a no-win situation and the only way to resolve these differences is to get back to the high-level implementation panel process overseen by the AU. I mean, that’s how you’re going to resolve these territorial issues, these border issues, as well as issues of equity in terms of resources.
Right now, both sides are losing as a result of this fighting.
QUESTION: But the U.S. is one of the primary funders of the new Government of South Sudan. So does the U.S. not have undue influence on --
MR. TONER: Well, again, what we’re trying to do here is to move forward. We’ve seen the CPA process stall or break down. We’ve seen a return to fighting. So we need to get both countries back on track.
QUESTION: That was the process I was thinking of earlier – the one that was a success.
MR. TONER: Well --
QUESTION: Yeah. Where’s it gotten you now?
MR. TONER: I mean, we’re still getting through it. But anyway.
QUESTION: Brief follow-up. President Kiir of the South, China has invited him to come to Beijing. China, of course, in the past has faced criticism, particularly on Capitol Hill, over its relationship to Khartoum. Do you have an assessment of the invitation? Is this a positive step? Is it – what role could the Chinese play in this?
MR. TONER: Well, obviously, we would want to see them convey the very same message in this regard, that it’s to no one’s gain to continue to fighting. Both sides need to step back and return to the table.
QUESTION: But you don’t think that the Chinese invitation has everything to do with the fact that they’re not getting any oil out of South Sudan because they’re not pumping any of it?
MR. TONER: Well, again, regardless of their motives, what’s important here is --
QUESTION: So you don’t care if the Chinese are acting purely out of self-interest here?
MR. TONER: What is important here is that – the fact that there is no agreement on sharing these resources is hurting both Sudan and South Sudan.
Yeah, in the back.
QUESTION: Yeah, on Pakistan?
MR. TONER: Yes.
QUESTION: Pakistani parliament has approved its recommendation to reset U.S.-Pakistan relation and looks like they’re willing to restore NATO supply line. But it seems like Islamabad is very clear about telling Washington first stop drone attacks, apology on NATO strike on November 24th. So what is your response on this? It seems like they are very clear about these conditions. So where we go from here now?
MR. TONER: Well, first of all, I think the parliamentary review process, while it has in fact left – parliament is still – has not been approved by the cabinet, I can, I think, confirm that Secretary Clinton spoke with Pakistani Foreign Minister Khar a few hours ago, and they did discuss next steps in the U.S.-Pakistani dialogue in light of the conclusion of this parliamentary review. They also, of course, discussed yesterday’s attacks in Afghanistan. But they did raise the parliamentary review process and our willingness to engage in a dialogue with Pakistan.
QUESTION: Speaking of Afghanistan, I know that the Secretary spoke with Ambassador Crocker on Sunday.
MR. TONER: Right.
QUESTION: And then we have this criticism from President Karzai that essentially it was NATO intelligence failures that led to this sustained attack. I thought the Afghans were in charge of security for Kabul.
MR. TONER: Well, first of all, you’re right that the Secretary did speak to Ambassador Crocker yesterday. Obviously, we condemn the terrible attacks that took place yesterday in Kabul. And we also offer our deepest condolences to all the victims and their families. And I think one of the positive stories, if you can term it that way, out of yesterday’s attacks is a quick response and professionalism of the Afghan security forces. I know General Allen noted that in his statement. They did respond quickly. They required, frankly, little or no ISAF support. So it really showed how far they’ve come in increasing their capabilities and their professionalism.
QUESTION: But doesn’t it beg the question that you have someone such as the Afghan president basically blaming the West for the second sort of attack of this nature in the last six months when he’s been insisting, “My people should be able to take control”?
MR. TONER: Well, again, I think the response of the Afghan security forces showed that they have made great strides in being able to respond to these kinds of attacks. Bottom line, Ros, is that intelligence is great. But you’re never going to be able to prevent every attack. And I think that the fact that they were able to respond so quickly, that they were able to minimize the casualties from this attack and basically thwart the Taliban’s actions very quickly and effectively speaks volumes.
QUESTION: But it does beg the question, though. I mean, these attacks took place in supposedly the safest area of Kabul, where the U.S. and other Western countries have their embassies.
MR. TONER: But again, also --
QUESTION: And for the amount of infiltration that’s alleged to have happened in the past week leading up to Sunday’s attack does raise some questions about whether or not the Afghans can be trusted to actually protect the foreign diplomats and others --
MR. TONER: Look --
QUESTION: -- who were there trying to work with them.
MR. TONER: Sure. I mean, there’s no place that’s immune to the type of attack that took place in Kabul. We’ve seen that in our own country. We can speak to the fact that a lone terrorist or a small group of terrorists hell-bent on violence can attack almost anywhere. What I think is important is that security forces are able to respond quickly, effectively, and to squelch it before it becomes something more deadly than it already has been.
QUESTION: Can I just go back to Pakistan for a moment?
MR. TONER: Yeah.
QUESTION: You mentioned that Secretary Clinton’s expressed willingness to discuss the issues with Foreign Minister Khar. What – how specific did it get? I mean, is – I mean, some of the demands that have been issued by the Pakistani parliament include an end to drone attacks, an apology. Did they get into the specifics? Did the Secretary say she’s willing talk about these --
MR. TONER: I can’t get into the specifics of whether they discussed the specifics. I think – look, our posture right now is we recognize that this has been a long and difficult road for Pakistan. It speaks, frankly, to the strength of the – of Pakistan’s democratic institutions that this parliamentary review has taken place, that the civilian government has taken the lead on this issue, has owned it, and has come up with a series of recommendations. I think it’s incumbent on us now to engage with them in a discussion about some of those recommendations.
QUESTION: On the Secretary’s call with Foreign Minister Khar, that was from Brazil?
MR. TONER: Yes.
QUESTION: Not from the plane?
MR. TONER: I don’t know, Matt. I’ll find out. I think it was from – no, it was from Brazil, because she’s on the ground in Brazil. Yeah. If that’s different, I’ll let you know. But I’m almost positive it was from Brazil.
QUESTION: And was there any other – was there anything else discussed, other than the attacks on Afghanistan and the parliamentary review?
MR. TONER: The parliamentary review and the attacks on Afghanistan.
QUESTION: That was it? What did the Secretary tell the foreign minister about what the U.S. thinks of the parliamentary review, other than that you respect it and think that the Pakistanis can --
MR. TONER: Well, again, I can’t get into the exact details of the conversation. Frankly, I didn’t get a readout.
QUESTION: Well, we went through this a little bit on Thursday so --
MR. TONER: Sure. What did we get in --
QUESTION: Is everything on – is everything that the Pakistanis raised something that you’re willing to talk about?
MR. TONER: I’m not going to say that we’re going to address every issue on that list. I think, as I said, our posture regarding this review is that we’re willing to listen to the concerns and try to address them as best we can.
QUESTION: Are you willing to listen to their concerns on every issue?
MR. TONER: And again, I know where you’re leaning or getting at on this, and I can’t talk about that.
QUESTION: I’m leaning towards nothing, really.
MR. TONER: Okay. I mean, I think we’re willing to listen, to hear them out on --
QUESTION: So nothing is off the table, right?
MR. TONER: -- all the issues that are – I think we’re willing to listen and to hear them out on all the issues that were raised in this review that are of concern to them. Yes.
QUESTION: Okay. So nothing is off the table?
MR. TONER: Okay. If that --
QUESTION: Anything that they want to talk about, you’ll talk about?
MR. TONER: No, I think we said that it’s in the parliamentary review. I don’t think we’re going to ask them about --
QUESTION: No, that’s what I mean. Anything in the – no, I’m not expecting you to raise some issue that’s unrelated or them to raise some issue like, I don’t know, Canada about – but everything that they have in the review --
MR. TONER: I think we’re --
QUESTION: -- you’re willing to talk --
MR. TONER: I think we’re willing to listen to their concerns that were raised in the parliamentary review. However, I’m not going to --
QUESTION: Are you willing to do anything about them?
MR. TONER: Again, I think we’re going to listen to them and we’re going to engage in them as any bilateral relationship would, and talk about – talk through these issues.
QUESTION: Is it problematic when the Pakistani parliament publicly – and the cabinet start debating and talking about something that you’re not allowed to talk about because it’s classified; yet everybody and their mother is aware that it’s going on, and it happens virtually every day?
MR. TONER: It’s not problematic, because I’m not going to address it.
Go ahead.
QUESTION: Ambassador Sherry Rehman just returned from Islamabad. Is she going to meet some State Department official to present those recommendation?
MR. TONER: I’m sorry. Ambassador?
QUESTION: Sherry Rehman, the Pakistan ambassador.
MR. TONER: Oh, sure. Okay.
QUESTION: She’s just --
MR. TONER: Right. I don’t know, frankly. I don’t know if she has any meetings planned. I’ll look into it.
QUESTION: Are any U.S. diplomats traveling to Pakistan or anybody --
MR. TONER: Nothing to announce. That it? Thanks, guys.
NAVY'S ENERGY DASHBOARD TO HELP REDUCE FUEL CONSUMPTION
FROM: U.S. NAVY
Navy photo by Cmdr. Jane Campbell
Energy Dashboard to Help Fleet Reduce Fuel Consumption
From Naval Sea Systems Command Office of Corporate Communications
WASHINGTON (NNS) -- Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) installed the Energy Dashboard proof-of-concept system in USS Kidd (DDG 100), April 2.
Energy Dashboard is one of several shipboard energy efficiency initiatives that provides Sailors with a real-time assessment of energy usage and recommended actions to reduce fuel and electrical power consumption.
"Energy Dashboard is similar to the systems in today's newer vehicles that show drivers their instantaneous miles per gallon, allowing drivers to modify their driving behaviors to maximize fuel efficiency," said Glen Sturtevant, Team Ships director for Science and Technology. "Energy Dashboard ties into other shipboard computer software systems to tell Sailors the same thing about their ship."
In addition to Kidd, NAVSEA has installed the Energy Dashboard on board USS Truxtun (DDG 103), USS Sampson (DDG 102) and USS James E. Williams (DDG 95). USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108) will receive the system by August.
Energy Dashboard uses the existing Integrated Condition Assessment System to collect data from shipboard equipment, calculate and display instantaneous and daily energy consumption rates.
"Energy Dashboard will raise shipboard situational awareness of how certain engineering plant line-ups and equipment affect fuel consumption rates, and will build ownership in energy conservation efforts by showing how the actions instantly and dramatically affect consumption rates," said Bob Steele, director, Fleet Readiness Engineering Office.
Energy Dashboard is anticipated to be fielded in all surface ships by 2017.
U.S.-GEORGIA STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Meeting of the U.S.-Georgia Strategic Partnership Commission's Democracy Working Group
Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC
April 16, 2012
Today at the State Department, Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip H. Gordon, Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Eric Rubin, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Thomas Melia participated in the U.S.-Georgia Strategic Partnership Commission’s Democracy Working Group, along with Georgian National Security Advisor George Bokeria and Deputy Foreign Minister Sergi Kapanadze. Discussions focused on recognizing Georgia’s reform achievements to date and efforts to further strengthen democratic institutions and electoral processes, media freedom, rule of law, and judicial independence. Georgia will hold parliamentary elections this fall and presidential elections in 2013.
The U.S.-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership was signed by then-U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Grigol Vashadze in Washington, DC, on January 9, 2009. The first meeting of the Strategic Partnership Commission, held in Washington, DC, on June 22, 2009, launched four bilateral working groups on priority areas identified in the Charter: democracy; defense and security; economic, trade, and energy issues; and people-to-people and cultural exchanges. Senior-level U.S. and Georgian policymakers have led subsequent meetings of each of these working groups to review commitments, update activities, and establish future objectives. Secretary Clinton co-chaired a meeting of the Strategic Partnership Commission on October 6, 2010, in Washington, DC.
Meeting of the U.S.-Georgia Strategic Partnership Commission's Democracy Working Group
Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC
April 16, 2012
Today at the State Department, Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip H. Gordon, Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Eric Rubin, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Thomas Melia participated in the U.S.-Georgia Strategic Partnership Commission’s Democracy Working Group, along with Georgian National Security Advisor George Bokeria and Deputy Foreign Minister Sergi Kapanadze. Discussions focused on recognizing Georgia’s reform achievements to date and efforts to further strengthen democratic institutions and electoral processes, media freedom, rule of law, and judicial independence. Georgia will hold parliamentary elections this fall and presidential elections in 2013.
The U.S.-Georgia Charter on Strategic Partnership was signed by then-U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia Grigol Vashadze in Washington, DC, on January 9, 2009. The first meeting of the Strategic Partnership Commission, held in Washington, DC, on June 22, 2009, launched four bilateral working groups on priority areas identified in the Charter: democracy; defense and security; economic, trade, and energy issues; and people-to-people and cultural exchanges. Senior-level U.S. and Georgian policymakers have led subsequent meetings of each of these working groups to review commitments, update activities, and establish future objectives. Secretary Clinton co-chaired a meeting of the Strategic Partnership Commission on October 6, 2010, in Washington, DC.
PRESIDENT OBAMA AT THE CEO SUMMIT OF THE AMERICAS PANEL DISCUSSION
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
President Barack Obama participates in the CEO Summit of the Americas panel discussion at the Hilton Hotel, Cartagena, Colombia, April 14, 2012. President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff and President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos took part. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
April 14, 2012
Remarks by President Obama at CEO Summit of the Americas
Gran Salon Bolivar
Hilton Hotel
Cartagena, Colombia
10:43 A.M. COT
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, first of all, I want to thank President Santos and the people of Colombia for the extraordinary hospitality in the beautiful city of Cartagena. We're having a wonderful time. And usually when I take these summit trips, part of my job is to scout out where I may want to bring Michelle back later for vacation. So we'll make sure to come back sometime in the near future. (Applause.)
I want to acknowledge Luis Moreno of IDB, as well as Luis Villegas of the National Business Association of Colombia, for helping to set this up, and everybody who's participating.
As President Rousseff indicated, obviously we've gone through some very challenging times. These last three years have been as difficult for the world economy as anything that we've seen in our lifetimes. And it is both a result of globalization and it is also a result of shifts in technology. The days when we could think of each of our economies in isolation, those days are long gone. What happens in Wall Street has an impact in Rio. What happens in Bogota has an impact in Beijing.
And so I think the challenge for all of our countries, and certainly the challenge for this hemisphere, is how do we make sure that that globalization and that integration is benefiting a broad base of people, that economic growth is sustainable and robust, and that it is also giving opportunity to a growing, wider circle of people, and giving businesses opportunities to thrive and create new products and new services and enjoy this global marketplace.
Now, I think the good news is this hemisphere is very well positioned in this global economy. It is remarkable to see the changes that have been taking place in a relatively short period of time in Latin and Central America and in the Caribbean. When you look at the extraordinary growth that's taken place in Brazil, first under President Lula and now under President Rousseff, when you think about the enormous progress that's been made here in Colombia under President Santos and his predecessor, what you see is that a lot of the old arguments on the left and the right no longer apply.
And what people are asking is, what works? How do we think in practical terms about delivering prosperity, training our people so that they can compete in the global economy? How do we create rule of law that allows businesses to invest with some sense of security and transparency? How do we invest in science and technology? How do we make sure that we have open and free trade at the same time as we're making sure that the benefits of free trade are distributed both between nations but also within nations?
And the good news is I think that, through various international organizations and organizations here within the hemisphere, we've seen enormous progress. Trade between the United States and Latin, Central -- South America, Central America and the Caribbean has expanded 46 percent since I came into office -- 46 percent.
Before I came to Cartagena, I stopped in Tampa, Florida, which is the largest port in Florida. And they are booming and expanding. And the reason is, is because of the enormous expansion of trade and commerce with this region. It's creating jobs in Florida, and it's creating jobs in Colombia, and it's creating jobs in Brazil and throughout the region. Businesses are seeing that if they have an outstanding product or an outstanding service, they don’t have to restrict themselves to one market, they now have a regional market and ultimately a global market in which they can sell their goods and succeed.
A couple of things that I think will help further facilitate this productive integration: Number one, the free trade agreement that we've negotiated between Colombia and the United States is an example of a free trade agreement that benefits both sides. It's a win-win. It has high standards -- (applause) -- it's a high-standards agreement. It's not a race to the bottom, but rather it says each country is abiding by everything from strong rules around labor and the environment to intellectual property protection. And so I have confidence that as we implement this plan, what we're going to see is extraordinary opportunities for both U.S. and Colombian businesses.
So trade agreements of the sort that we have negotiated, thanks to the leadership of President Santos and his administration, I think point the way to the future.
In addition, I think there is the capacity for us to cooperate on problems that all countries face, and I'll take just one example -- the issue of energy. All of us recognize that if we're going to continue to grow our economies effectively, then we're going to have to adapt to the fact that fossil fuels are a finite resource and demand is going up much faster than supply. There are also, obviously, significant environmental concerns that we have to deal with. So for us to cooperate on something like joint electrification and electric grid integration, so that a country like Brazil, that is doing outstanding work in biofuels or hydro-energy, has the ability to export that energy but also teach best practices to countries within the region, create new markets for clean energy throughout the region -- which benefits those customers who need electricity but also benefit those countries that are top producers of energy -- that's another example of the kind of progress that we can make together.
On the education front, every country in the region recognizes that if we're going to compete with Asia, if we're going to compete with Europe, we've got to up our game. We have to make sure that we've got the best-trained workers in the world, we've got the best education system in the world. And so the work that President Rousseff and I are doing together to try to significantly expand educational exchanges and send young people who are studying science and engineering and computer science to the United States to study if they're Brazilian, down to Brazil to study best practices in clean energy in Brazil -- there's enormous opportunity for us to work together to train our young people so that this hemisphere is filled with outstanding entrepreneurs and workers, and allows us to compete more effectively.
So there are a number of areas where I think cooperation is proceeding. Sometimes it's not flashy. I think that oftentimes in the press the attention in summits like this ends up focusing on where are the controversies. Sometimes those controversies date back to before I was born. (Laughter.) And sometimes I feel as if in some of these discussions or at least the press reports we're caught in a time warp, going back to the 1950s and gunboat diplomacy and Yanquis and the Cold War, and this and that and the other. That's not the world we live in today.
And my hope is, is that we all recognize this enormous opportunity that we've got. And I know the business leaders who are here today, they understand it; they understand that we're in a new world, and we have to think in new ways.
Last point I want to make -- I think when you think about the extraordinary success in Brazil, the success in Colombia, a big piece of that is governance. You can't, I believe, have, over the long term, successful economies if you don't have some basic principles that are being followed: democracy and rule of law, human rights being observed, freedom of expression. And I think -- and also personal security, the capacity for people to feel as if they work hard then they're able to achieve, and they have motivation to start a business and to know that their own work will pay off.
And I just want to compliment both Brazil and Colombia, coming from different political traditions, but part of the reason why you've seen sustained growth is governments have worked effectively in each country. And I think that when we look at how we're going to integrate further and take advantage of increased opportunity in the future, it's very important for us not to ignore how important it is to have a clean, transparent, open government that is working on behalf of its people.
And that's important to business as well. The days when a business feels good working in a place where people are being oppressed -- ultimately that's an unstable environment for you to do business. You do business well when you know that it's a well-functioning society and that there's a legitimate government in place that is going to be looking out for its people.
So I just want to thank both of my outstanding partners here. They're true leaders in the region. And I can speak, I think, for the United States to say that we've never been more excited about the prospects of working as equal partners with our brothers and sisters in Latin America and the Caribbean, because that's going to be the key to our success. (Applause.)
* * * *
MR. MATTHEWS: President Santos, I guess there are some issues in America -- we have a very large Hispanic population. Ten percent of our electorate is going to be Hispanic in background. We are the second-largest Spanish-speaking country in the world after Mexico. People have dual languages in the United States, of course, but there is so much Spanish speaking. You have the chance to sit next to President Obama now. Do you want to ask him about the ways you think the United States could help your country in the drug war?
* * * *
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Do you want me to respond?
MR. MATTHEWS: Yes, sir.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, this is a conversation that I've had with President Santos and others. Just as the world economy is integrated, so, unfortunately, the drug trade is integrated. And we can't look at the issue of supply in Latin America without also looking at the issue of demand in the United States. (Applause.)
And so whether it's working with President Santos or supporting the courageous work that President Calderón is doing in Mexico, I, personally, and my administration and I think the American people understand that the toll of narco-trafficking on the societies of Central America, Caribbean, and parts of South America are brutal, and undermining the capacity of those countries to protect their citizens, and eroding institutions and corrupting institutions in ways that are ultimately bad for everybody.
So this is part of the reason why we've invested, Chris, about $30 billion in prevention programs, drug treatment programs looking at the drug issue not just from a law enforcement and interdiction issue, but also from a public health perspective. This is why we've worked in unprecedented fashion in cooperation with countries like Mexico on not just drugs coming north, but also guns and cash going south.
This is one of the reasons why we have continued to invest in programs like Plan Colombia, but also now are working with Colombia, given their best practices around issues of citizen security, to have not just the United States but Colombia provide technical assistance and training to countries in Central America and the Caribbean in finding ways that they can duplicate some of the success that we've seen in Colombia.
So we're mindful of our responsibilities on this issue. And I think it is entirely legitimate to have a conversation about whether the laws in place are ones that are doing more harm than good in certain places.
I personally, and my administration's position, is that legalization is not the answer; that, in fact, if you think about how it would end up operating, that the capacity of a large-scale drug trade to dominate certain countries if they were allowed to operate legally without any constraint could be just as corrupting if not more corrupting then the status quo.
Nevertheless, I'm a big believer in looking at the evidence, having a debate. I think ultimately what we're going to find is, is that the way to solve this problem is both in the United States, us dealing with demand in a more effective way, but it's also going to be strengthening institutions at home.
You mentioned earlier, the biggest thing that's on everybody's minds -- whether it's the United States, Canada, Brazil, Colombia, Jamaica -- is, can I find a job that allows me to support my family and allows my children to advance and feel secure. And in those societies where you've got strong institutions, you've got strong business investment, you've got rule of law, you have a law enforcement infrastructure that is sound, and an economy that's growing -- that country is going to be like a healthy body that is more immune than countries that have weak institutions and high unemployment, in which kids see their only future as participating in the drug trade because nobody has actually trained them to get a job with Google, or Pepsi, or start their own small business.
And so I think that it's important for us not to think that if somehow we look at the drug issue in isolation, in the absence of dealing with some of these other challenges -- institutional challenges and barriers to growth and opportunity and the capacity for people to climb their way out of poverty, that we're going to be able to solve this problem. The drug issue in this region is, in some ways, a cause, but it's also, in some ways, an effect of some broader and underlying problems. And we as the United States have an obligation not only to get our own house in order but also to help countries in a partnership to try to see if we can move in a better direction. (Applause.)
* * * *
MR. MATTHEWS: Mr. President, do you want to respond? I think the question that seems to be apparent here in the last couple of days is, first of all, tremendous enthusiasm, a zeitgeist here that's almost unusual in the world for positive optimism about the development in this part of the world. It's not like it was -- just isn't the way it was we grew up with.
The challenge I think you just heard from the President of Brazil was the notion that Latin America is not interested in being our complementary economy anymore -- the agricultural end while we do the industrial end; they do the provision of raw materials and we do the finest and highest-level high-tech work. How do we either respond to Brazil's demand, really, to be partners and rivals -- they want to use our educational resources, they want to come north to learn how to compete with us -- right, Madam President? You want to be equals. You want to learn everything we know, and then take it back and shove it at us, right? (Laughter.) Isn't that it?
Well, anyway, that's the response -- I'd ask you for your response. (Laughter.)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Chris, I'm not sure you're characterizing what President Rousseff said -- (laughter) -- but this is what happens when you get some of our U.S. political commentators moderating a panel. (Laughter.) They try to stir up things that may not always be there. (Applause.) And Chris is good at it. He's one of the best. (Laughter.)
But, look, this is already happening. This is already happening. Brazil has changed, Colombia has changed -- and we welcome the change. The notion somehow that we see this as a problem is just not the case, because if we've got a strong, growing, prosperous middle class in Latin America, those are new customers for our businesses. (Applause.)
Brazil is growing and that opportunity is broad-based, then suddenly they're interested in buying iPads, and they're interested in buying Boeing airplanes and -- (laughter.)
PRESIDENT ROUSSEFF: Boeing -- Embraer. (Laughter and applause.)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: I was just trying to see how she'd respond to that. (Laughter.) But the point is, is that that's a market for us. So we in the United States should welcome not just growth, but broad-based growth, of the sort that President Rousseff described.
I'll give you just -- I said I was in Tampa. All those containers that are coming in, they have, in some cases, commodities coming from Latin America, but they also have finished products that are coming in from Latin America. We have commodities that are going into Latin America that we're sending back on those containers, as well as finished products. And so this is a two-way street.
When I came into office, one of my first decisions was to say that the G20 was not a temporary thing to respond to the world economic crisis; this should be the permanent forum for determining and coordinating direction in the world economy. And frankly, there were some folks who were members of the G8 who were upset with me about that determination, but realistically you can't coordinate world economic issues if you don't have China and Brazil and India and South Africa at the table -- and Mexico. That's not possible.
So the world has changed. I think the United States and U.S. businesses stand to benefit from those changes. But it does mean that we have to adapt to that competitive environment. And all the advantages that President Rousseff mentioned we have as the United States -- its flexibility, our scientific edge, our well-educated workforce, our top universities -- those are the things that we continue to have to build and get better at. And that's true for every country here.
Every one of the businesses here are going to be making determinations about where you locate based on the quality of the workforce, how much investment you have to make in training somebody to handle a million-dollar piece of equipment. Do you feel as if your intellectual property is going to be protected? Do you feel as if there's a good infrastructure to be able to get your products to market? And so I think this is a healthy competition that we should be encouraging.
And what I've said at the first summit that I came to, Summit of the Americas that I came to, was we do not believe there are junior partners and senior partners in this situation. We believe there are partners. And Brazil is in many ways ahead of us on something like biofuels; we should learn from them. And if we're going to be trying to mount a regional initiative, let's make sure that Brazil is taking the lead. It doesn’t have to be us in every situation.
Now, the flip side is -- and I'll close with this -- I think in Latin America, part of the change in mentality is also not always looking to the United States as the reason for everything that happens that goes wrong. (Applause.)
I was in an interview -- several interviews yesterday. These were actually with Spanish-speaking television stations that have broadcast back in the United States. And the first interviewer said, why hasn't the United States done more to promote democracy in the region, because you've done a lot in the Arab Spring but it seems as if you're not dealing with some of the problems here in Latin America. The next questioner said, why are you being so hard on Cuba and promoting democracy all the time? (Laughter and applause.) That’s an example, I think, of some of the challenges we face that are rooted in legitimate historical grievances. But it gets -- it becomes a habit.
When it comes to economic integration and exchanges, I am completely sympathetic to the fact that there are challenges around monetary policy in developed and less-developed countries. And Brazil, for example, has seen the Real appreciate in ways that had been hurtful. I would argue a lot of that has to do with the failure of some other countries to engage in rebalancing, not the United States. But having said that, I think there's not a country in Latin America who doesn’t want to see the United States grow rapidly because we're your major export market.
And so most of these issues end up being complicated issues. Typically, they involve both actions in the United States as well as actions in the other countries if we're going to optimize the kind of growth and prosperity and broad-based opportunity that both President Santos and President Rousseff have spoken about.
And the United States comes here and says: We're ready to do business. We are open to a partnership. We don’t expect to be able to dictate the terms of that partnership, we expect it to be a negotiation based on mutual interest and mutual respect. And I think we're all going to benefit as a consequence of that. (Applause.)
MR. MATTHEWS: Thank you very much, President Rousseff, President Santos, and my President, President Obama. Thank you. It's been an honor.
END
DR. KIM YONG KIM BECOMES NEW PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD BANK
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Dr. Jim Yong Kim Elected World Bank President
Press Statement
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
April 16, 2012
I am delighted that the World Bank Board of Directors has selected Dr. Jim Yong Kim to serve as president through a transparent and competitive process. Dr. Kim is an excellent selection to lead the World Bank forward, build consensus with donor and borrowing countries, and encourage the increasingly important leadership role of developing countries. He has demonstrated a deep commitment to solving some of the most pressing challenges we face. For over 25 years, he has worked to fight disease and hunger by pioneering innovative solutions and investing in people and communities. We look forward to working with Dr. Kim as he shapes an even stronger World Bank. Together, we will help develop economies, build partnerships, and alleviate poverty.
BELARUS RELEASES TWO POLITICAL PRISONERS
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Release of Political Prisoners in Belarus
Press Statement Mark C. Toner
Deputy Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC
April 16, 2012
The United States notes the release of former Belarusian presidential candidate Andrei Sannikau and his campaign manager Zmitser Bandarenka. This, coupled with previous releases, represents a significant step. We urge the Government of Belarus to immediately and unconditionally free all remaining political prisoners and ensure the full restoration of their civil and political rights. Enhanced respect for democracy and human rights remains central to improving relations between the United States and Belarus.
Release of Political Prisoners in Belarus
Press Statement Mark C. Toner
Deputy Spokesperson, Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC
April 16, 2012
The United States notes the release of former Belarusian presidential candidate Andrei Sannikau and his campaign manager Zmitser Bandarenka. This, coupled with previous releases, represents a significant step. We urge the Government of Belarus to immediately and unconditionally free all remaining political prisoners and ensure the full restoration of their civil and political rights. Enhanced respect for democracy and human rights remains central to improving relations between the United States and Belarus.
GSA'S ACTING ADMINISTRATOR DAN TANGHERLINI SPEAKS BEFORE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT/REFORM
FROM: U.S. GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
Statement of Acting Administrator Dan Tangherlini Before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
April 16, 2012
WASHINGTON – Today GSA Acting Administrator Dan Tangherlini will testify before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on the GSA Inspector General’s Report on the 2010 Western Regions Conference. Following is the statement that Acting Administrator Dan Tangherlini will submit for the record.
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Good afternoon Chairman Issa, Ranking Member Cummings, and Members of the Committee. My name is Daniel Tangherlini, and I am the Acting Administrator of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA).
I appreciate the opportunity to come before the committee today. First and foremost, I want to state my agreement with the President that the waste and abuse outlined in the Inspector General’s (IG) report is an outrage and completely antithetical to the goals and directives of this Administration. We have taken strong action against those officials who are responsible and will continue to do so where appropriate. We are taking steps to improve internal controls and oversight to ensure this never happens again. I look forward to working in partnership with this Committee to ensure there is full accountability for these activities so that we can begin to restore the trust of the American people.
At the same time I am committed to renewing GSA’s focus on its core mission: saving taxpayers’ money by efficiently procuring supplies, services, and real estate, and effectively disposing of unneeded government property. There is a powerful value proposition to a single agency dedicated to this work, especially in these fiscal times, and we need to ensure we get back to basics and conduct this work better than ever.
Promoting Efficiency and Reducing Costs –
The shocking activities and violations outlined in the IG report run counter to every goal of this Administration. The Administration makes cutting costs and improving the efficiency of the Federal government a top priority. On June 13, 2011, the President issued Executive Order (E.O.) 13576, “Delivering an Efficient, Effective, and Accountable Government.” This EO emphasized the importance of eliminating waste and improving efficiency, establishing the Government Accountability and Transparency Board to enhance transparency of Federal spending and advance efforts to detect and remediate fraud, waste, and abuse.
The President further established the goals of this Administration in E.O. 13589, “Promoting Efficient Spending,” which set clear reduction targets for travel, employee information technology devices, printing, executive fleets, promotional items, and other areas. The President’s FY 2013 budget request for GSA would achieve $49 million in savings under this EO, including $9.7 million in travel.
Holding Officials Responsible –
It is important that those responsible for the abuses outlined in the IG’s report be held accountable. We are taking aggressive action to address this issue and to ensure that such egregious actions will never occur again. We have taken a series of personnel actions, including the removal of two senior political appointees. We have also placed ten career employees on administrative leave, including five senior officials.
I intend to uphold the highest ethical standards at this agency and take any action that is necessary and appropriate. If we find any irregularities, I will immediately engage the Inspector General. As I indicated in my joint letter with GSA’s Inspector General, I intend to set a standard that complacency will not be tolerated, and waste, fraud, or abuse must be reported.
I believe this commitment is critical, not only because we owe it to the American taxpayers, but also because we owe it to the many GSA employees who conform to the highest ethical standards and deserve to be proud of the agency for which they work.
Taking Action –
I have taken a number of steps since I began my tenure on April 3, 2012 to ensure this never happens again. GSA has consolidated conference oversight in the new Office of Administrative Services, which is now responsible for:
Oversight of contracting for conference space, related activities, and amenities;
Review and approval of proposed conferences for relation to GSA mission;
Review and approval of any awards ceremonies where food is provided by the Federal government;
Review and approval of conference budgets as well as changes to those budgets;
Oversight and coordination with GSA conference/event planners and contracting officers on conference planning;
Review of travel and accommodations related to conference planning and execution;
Handling of procurement for all internal GSA conferences; and
Development of mandatory annual training for all employees regarding conference planning and attendance
Additionally, we have cancelled the 2012 Western Regions Conference as well as a number of other conferences that only or primarily involved internal staff. To date, I have cancelled 35 conferences*, saving taxpayers $995,686. As we put in place greater controls and oversight, we are reviewing each event to make sure that any travel is justified by a mission requirement.
We have also begun review of employee relocations at government expense, and will require all future relocations to be approved centrally by both the Chief People Officer and the Chief Financial Officer.
To strengthen internal controls, we are bringing in all Public Buildings Service regional budgets under the direct authority of GSA’s Chief Financial Officer. The autonomy of regional budget allocations is, in part, what led to this gross misuse of taxpayer funds on both the regional conference and the employee rewards program known as “Hats Off.” The additional approvals and centralized oversight are intended to mitigate the risk of these problems.
In response to concerns over spending on employee rewards programs, I have eliminated the “Hats Off” store that was operating in the Pacific Rim Region, as well as all similar GSA programs.
I am moving aggressively to recapture wasted taxpayer funds. As a first step, on April 13th, I directed that letters be sent to Bob Peck, Jeff Neely, and Robert Shepard demanding reimbursement for private, in-room receptions at the Western Regions Conference. I will pursue other fund recovery opportunities.
I am engaged in a top to bottom review of this agency. I will continue to pursue every initiative necessary to ensure this never happens again and to restore the trust of American taxpayers.
Conclusion –
The unacceptable and inappropriate activities at the Western Regions Conference stand in direct contradiction to the express goals of this agency and the Administration, and I am committed to ensuring that we take whatever steps are necessary to hold those responsible accountable and to make sure that this never happens again. At the same time, I believe that the need for a high quality GSA is more acute today than in any time in its history. We need to refocus this agency and get back to the basics: streamlining the administrative work of the Federal government to save taxpayers money.
I look forward to working with this Committee moving forward and I welcome the opportunity to answer any questions. Thank you.
*A conference is “a symposium, seminar, workshop, or other organized or formal meeting lasting portions of 1 or more days where people assemble to exchange information and views or explore or clarify a defined subject, problem or area of knowledge.”
KOA KAI 12-2 EXERCISE
FROM: U.S. NAVYPACIFIC OCEAN (April 4, 2012) Boatswain's Mate Seaman Gerald Dekle guides a Sikorsky S-61N twin-engine helicopter as it lands aboard the guided-missile destroyer USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60) during maritime exercise Koa Kai 12-2. Koa Kai is a semi-annual exercise in the waters around Hawaii designed to prepare independently deploying ships in multiple warfare areas and provide training in a multi-ship environment. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel Barker/Released)
UN PRESIDENTIAL STATEMENT ON NORTH KOREAN MISSILE LAUNCH
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Fact Sheet: UN Security Council Presidential Statement on North Korea Launch
New York, NY April 16, 2012
The UN Security Council has swiftly and unanimously adopted a Presidential Statement (PRST) to "strongly condemn" North Korea's recent attempt to launch a satellite.
The Security Council underscored that any such launch -- no matter whether it's called a satellite or space launch -- is a "serious violation" of Security Council resolutions. The Council also deplored that this launch has caused grave security concerns in the region.
The Security Council demanded that North Korea not proceed with any further launches using ballistic missile technology and that North Korea comply with its obligations under previous Security Council resolutions by suspending all activities related to its ballistic missile program and reestablish a moratorium on missile launches.
To ensure that there are consequences for North Korea's actions, the Council also provided for new sanctions:
· The Security Council directed its North Korea Sanctions Committee to designate new, additional North Korean companies that will be subject to an asset freeze.
· The Committee will also identify additional sensitive nuclear and ballistic missile technology that will be banned for transfer to and from North Korea.
· To tighten enforcement of existing UN sanctions, the Security Council also directed the Sanctions Committee to update public information about already-designated individuals and entities (e.g., new aliases or front companies), as well as to update control lists of technology already banned for transfer to and from North Korea.
· The Committee will also update an annual work plan that will enhance its ability to monitor and improve sanctions implementation.
If the Committee does not complete these actions within fifteen days, then the Security Council will do so within an additional five days.
This Council also demanded that North Korea comply immediately with its obligations under previous Security Council resolutions, including that it abandon its nuclear programs, cease all related activities and not conduct any further launch, nuclear test or any further provocations.
Critically, the Security Council made clear that there will be consequences to future North Korean launches or nuclear tests. If North Korea chooses to again defy the international community, then the Council has expressed its determination to take action accordingly.
This PRST is a stronger response than the Council's reaction to North Korea's last such launch in April 2009. It includes a stronger condemnation of the launch as a violation and explicitly includes sanctions (as in 2009), tightens further existing sanctions (which 2009 did not) and threatens additional action should the North Korea conduct another launch or nuclear test. This PRST was also adopted with unprecedented speed.
SEC CLOSES DOWN PONZI SCHEME THAT TARGETED PERSIAN-JEWISH COMMUNITY IN LOS ANGELES CA
FROM: SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
SEC Shuts Down Ponzi Scheme Targeting Persian-Jewish Community in Los Angeles
04/13/2012 03:30 PM EDT
Washington, D.C., April 13, 2012 –The Securities and Exchange Commission today obtained an emergency court order to halt an ongoing Ponzi scheme that targeted members of the Persian-Jewish community in Los Angeles.
The SEC alleges that for the past two years, Shervin Neman raised more than $7.5 million from investors by claiming to be a hedge fund manager. Neman told investors that his purported hedge fund – Neman Financial L.P. – invested in foreclosed residential properties that would be quickly flipped for profit as well as in Facebook shares obtained in private transactions and other highly anticipated initial public offerings including Groupon, LinkedIn, and Angie’s List. Although Neman promised investors exorbitant returns resulting from his investing acumen and access to pre-IPO shares of well-known companies, what they actually received was simply other investors’ money in hallmark Ponzi scheme fashion.
“Neman deceived members of his own community to raise money in this fraudulent Ponzi scheme,” said Michele Wein Layne, Associate Regional Director of the SEC’s Los Angeles Office. “By exploiting investors’ trust in him, Neman was continually able to raise more money to pay back existing investors and finance an extravagant lifestyle.”
The Honorable Jacqueline H. Nguyen for the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California granted the SEC’s request for a temporary restraining order and asset freeze against Neman and the entities he controlled.
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FDA WEBSITE ARTICLE ON COLOR ADDITIVES AND COSMETICS
FROM: U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION
Color Additives and Cosmetics
February 3, 2006; Updated April 29, 2007
Color additives are subject to a strict system of approval under U.S. law [Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), sec. 721; 21 U.S.C. 379e]. Except in the case of coal-tar hair dyes, failure to meet U.S. color additive requirements causes a cosmetic to be adulterated [FD&C Act, sec. 601(e); 21 U.S. Code 361(e)]. Color additive violations are a common reason for detaining imported cosmetic products offered for entry into this country.
Some Basic Requirements
If your product (except coal-tar hair dyes) contains a color additive, by law [FD&C Act, Sec. 721; 21 U.S.C. 379e; 21 CFR Parts 70 and 80] you must adhere to requirements for:
Approval. All color additives used in cosmetics (or any other FDA-regulated product) must be approved by FDA. There must be a regulation specifically addressing a substance's use as a color additive, specifications, and restrictions.
Certification. In addition to approval, a number of color additives must be batch certified by FDA if they are to be used in cosmetics (or any other FDA-regulated product) marketed in the U.S.
Identity and specifications. All color additives must meet the requirements for identity and specifications stated in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
Use and restrictions. Color additives may be used only for the intended uses stated in the regulations that pertain to them. The regulations also specify other restrictions for certain colors, such as the maximum permissible concentration in the finished product.
How are color additives categorized?
The FD&C Act Section 721(c) [21 U.S. C. 379e(c)] and color additive regulations [21 CFR Parts 70 and 80] separate approved color additives into two main categories: those subject to certification (sometimes called "certifiable") and those exempt from certification. In addition, the regulations refer to other classifications, such as straight colors and lakes.
Colors subject to certification. These color additives are derived primarily from petroleum and are sometimes known as "coal-tar dyes" or "synthetic-organic" colors. (NOTE: Coal-tar colors are materials consisting of one or more substances that either are made from coal-tar or can be derived from intermediates of the same identity as coal-tar intermediates. They may also include diluents or substrata. (See Federal Register, May 9, 1939, page 1922.) Today, most are made from petroleum.)
Except in the case of coal-tar hair dyes, these colors must not be used unless FDA has certified that the batch in question has passed analysis of its composition and purity in FDA's own labs. If the batch is not FDA-certified, don't use it.
These certified colors generally have three-part names. The names include a prefix FD&C, D&C, or External D&C; a color; and a number. An example is "FD&C Yellow No. 5." Certified colors also may be identified in cosmetic ingredient declarations by color and number alone, without a prefix (such as "Yellow 5").
Colors exempt from certification. These color additives are obtained primarily from mineral, plant, or animal sources. They are not subject to batch certification requirements. However, they still are considered artificial colors, and when used in cosmetics or other FDA-regulated products, they must comply with the identity, specifications, uses, restrictions, and labeling requirements stated in the regulations [21 CFR 73].
Straight color. "Straight color" refers to any color additive listed in 21 CFR 73, 74, and 81 [21 CFR 70.3(j)].
Lake. A lake is a straight color extended on a substratum by adsorption, coprecipitation, or chemical combination that does not include any combination of ingredients made by a simple mixing process [21 CFR 70.3(l)]. Because lakes are not soluble in water, they often are used when it is important to keep a color from "bleeding," as in lipstick. In some cases, special restrictions apply to their use. As with any color additive, it is important to check the Summary of Color Additives Listed for Use in the United States in Foods, Drugs, Cosmetics and Medical Devices and the regulations themselves [21 CFR 82, Subparts B and C] to be sure you are using lakes only for their approved uses.
How can I guard against color additive violations?
Several precautions can help you avoid color additive violations that will cause your cosmetic to be adulterated:
Do not confuse certified colors with their uncertified counterparts. For example, FD&C Yellow No. 5 is the certified form of tartrazine, and is approved for use in cosmetics generally. But tartrazine, which has not undergone FDA analysis and received FDA certification, must not be substituted for or identified in an ingredient declaration as FD&C Yellow No. 5.
Do not confuse certified colors with colors identified only by a Colour Index (CI) number, or by the E number sometimes used in European color identification. You must not use a color subject to certification unless FDA has certified the batch in question [FD&C Act, sec. 721(a)(1)(A). A CI or E number does not indicate FDA certification.
When purchasing color additives subject to certification, check the label. If the lot is certified, the color's label must state the legal name for the color (such as "FD&C Yellow No. 5"), or, if it is a mixture, the name of each ingredient; the FDA lot certification number; and the color's uses and restrictions as stated in the CFR [21 CFR 70.25).
Check the Summary of Color Additives on FDA's Web site. Although this table is not a substitute for the regulations, it is an easy-to-use reference that introduces you to FDA-approved color additives and directs you to the regulations addressing specific color additives.
Become familiar with the regulations themselves. The color additive regulations are in 21 CFR Parts 70 through 82. Specific color additives are addressed in Parts 73, 74, and 82. The color additive regulations are posted on FDA's Web site. To purchase printed copies of the CFR by credit card, call the Government Printing Office at (202) 512-1800, Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time. To pay by check, write to the Superintendent of Documents, Attn: New Orders, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954. Contact the Government Printing Office directly for current costs.
Confirm the status of color additives before use. There may be changes in color additive approvals and changes in the uses and restrictions that apply to a color additive. Such changes may affect colors subject to certification as well as colors exempt from certification. To stay current with the regulations, you can check the latest edition of the CFR and FDA Dockets.
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When purchasing colors subject to certification, confirm that the manufacturer has requested certification. For example, you can choose a manufacturer from FDA's list of companies that have requested color certification within the past two years. If the company that appears on the color additive label is not on this list, you may contact FDA at to determine whether the company has in fact requested certification of its color additives.
Must I match colors with intended use?
Yes. No matter whether a particular color is subject to certification or exempt from certification, U.S. law prohibits its use in cosmetics (or any other FDA-regulated product) unless it is approved specifically for the intended use [FD&C Act, sec. 721(a)(1)(A); 21 U.S.C. 379e(a)(1)(A)].
The regulations also restrict intended use as follows:
Eye-area use: You may not use a color additive in the area of the eye unless the regulation for that additive specifically permits such use [21 CFR 70.5(a)]. The "area of the eye" includes "the area enclosed within the circumference of the supra-orbital ridge and the infra-orbital ridge, including the eyebrow, the skin below the eyebrow, the eyelids and the eyelashes, and conjunctival sac of the eye, the eyeball, and the soft areolar tissue that lies within the perimeter of the infra-orbital ridge" [21 CFR 70.3(s)]. Although there are color additives approved for use in products such as mascara and eyebrow pencils, none is approved for dyeing the eyebrows or eyelashes.
Externally applied cosmetics: This term does not apply to the lips or any body surface covered by mucous membrane. For instance, if a color additive is approved for use in externally applied cosmetics, you may not use it in products such as lipsticks unless the regulation specifically permits this use [21 CFR 70.3 (v)].
Injection: No color additive may be used in injections unless its listing in the regulations specifically provides for such use. This includes injection into the skin for tattooing or permanent makeup. The fact that a color additive is listed for any other use does not mean that it may be used for injections [21 CFR 70.5(b)]. There are no color additives listed in the regulations as approved for injections.
What about special effects and novelty use?
No matter how exotic or novel the color additive or its intended use, it is subject to the same regulations as the more everyday colors and products. The following items are a sampling of some out-of-the-ordinary color additives. This list is not exhaustive. Rather, it is intended to show how the regulations apply to such colors:
Color-changing pigments: Colors that change in response to such factors as change in pH or exposure to oxygen or temperature are subject to the same regulations as all other color additives.
Composite pigments: Color additives used in combination to achieve variable effects, such as those found in pearlescent products, are subject to the same regulations as all other color additives. Some color additives, when used in combination, may form new pigments, which may not be approved for the intended use. An example is a "holographic" glitter, consisting of aluminum, an approved color additive, bonded to an etched plastic film.
Fluorescent colors: Only the following fluorescent colors are approved for use in cosmetics, and there are limits on their intended uses: D&C Orange No. 5, No. 10, and No. 11; and D&C Red No. 21, No. 22, No. 27, and No. 28 [21 CFR 74.2254, 74.2260, 74.2261, 74.2321, 74.2322, 74.2327, and 74.2328].
Glow-in-the-dark colors: Luminescent zinc sulfide is the only approved glow-in-the-dark color additive [21 CFR 73.2995].
Halloween makeup: These products are considered cosmetics [FD&C Act, sec. 201(i); 21 U.S.C. 321(i)] and are therefore subject to the same regulations as other cosmetics, including the same restrictions on color additives.
Liquid crystal colors: These additives, which produce color motifs in a product through diffraction, are unapproved color additives. Their use in cosmetics is therefore illegal [FD&C Act, sec. 601(e); 21 U.S.C. 361(e)].
Tattoo pigments: As noted above, no color additives are approved for injection into the skin, as in tattoos and permanent makeup.
Theatrical makeup: Like Halloween makeup, these products are considered cosmetics [FD&C Act, sec. 201(i); 21 U.S.C. 321(i)] and are therefore subject to the same regulations as other cosmetics, including the same restrictions on color additives.
RESPONSE TO COORDINATED ATTACKS IN AFGHANISTAN
FROM: AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
Afghan Forces Respond to Coordinated Attacks
Compiled from International Security Assistance Force and ISAF Joint Command News Releases
WASHINGTON, April 16, 2012 - Afghan forces responded to a series of attacks in the Afghan capital of Kabul and in a few outlying provinces yesterday, military officials reported.
The Taliban called the attacks, which were concentrated in three clusters around the city, the start of their "spring offensive.
Consisting primarily of rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms fire, the attacks were largely ineffective, International Security Assistance Force officials said. Afghan crisis response units, along with Afghan police and army forces, deployed to repel the attacks.
The Afghan forces took light casualties while killing or capturing many of the suicide attackers in a matter of hours, officials said.
Afghanistan's national security directorate announced that two would-be suicide bombers were captured alive before they were able to reach their intended targets.
ISAF quick-reaction forces were prepared to respond, if required, but were not needed, officials said.
ISAF quick-reaction forces were prepared to respond, if required, but were not needed, officials said.
In operations today around Afghanistan:
-- An Afghan and coalition security force captured a Haqqani network facilitator in the Khost district of Afghanistan's Khost province. The facilitator coordinated the delivery of weapons, vehicles and equipment to insurgents in the region. The security force also detained two other insurgents and seized two assault rifles.
-- A combined force captured a Taliban facilitator, detained two additional insurgents and seized a 9 mm pistol, an assault rifle and a roadside-bomb pressure plate in the Jagori district of Ghazni province. The facilitator coordinated the movement of weapons, mortars and explosives.
-- A combined force captured a Taliban facilitator, detained two additional insurgents and seized a 9 mm pistol, an assault rifle and a roadside-bomb pressure plate in the Jagori district of Ghazni province. The facilitator coordinated the movement of weapons, mortars and explosives.
In operations yesterday:
-- A combined force killed two insurgents, detained several otherss and seized an assault rifle during a search for a senior Taliban leader in the Pashtun Kot district of Faryab province. The leader is the head Taliban commissioner in the province, responsible for several kidnappings, suicide attacks, roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.
-- A combined force killed an insurgent leader along with several other insurgents and seized rocket-propelled grenade rounds, blasting caps and a mortar tube with mortar rounds during a search for a Taliban leader in the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province. The insurgent leader killed in the operation had directed attacks against Afghan and coalition forces and provided insurgents with weapons, ammunition and equipment.
-- An Afghan-led force captured a Taliban leader and detained several suspects in the Baghlan-e Jadid district of Baghlan province. The leader directed roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.
-- A combined force detained several suspects while searching for a Taliban leader in the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand province. The leader oversees Taliban operations in the province's Marjah district, including roadside-bomb and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He also attempts to impose Taliban law on Afghan civilians.
-- A combined force killed an insurgent leader along with several other insurgents and seized rocket-propelled grenade rounds, blasting caps and a mortar tube with mortar rounds during a search for a Taliban leader in the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province. The insurgent leader killed in the operation had directed attacks against Afghan and coalition forces and provided insurgents with weapons, ammunition and equipment.
-- An Afghan-led force captured a Taliban leader and detained several suspects in the Baghlan-e Jadid district of Baghlan province. The leader directed roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.
-- A combined force detained several suspects while searching for a Taliban leader in the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand province. The leader oversees Taliban operations in the province's Marjah district, including roadside-bomb and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He also attempts to impose Taliban law on Afghan civilians.
-- A combined airstrike killed several insurgents and destroyed a machine gun in the Nerkh district of Wardak province.
-- A combined force detained several suspects and seized an artillery round and a mortar round during a search for a Taliban leader in Ghazni's Khugyani district. The leader supervises roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He also targets local Afghan officials and attempts to impose Taliban law on Afghan civilians.
-- An Afghan-led force detained several suspects and seized a military uniform, a grenade and 100 rounds of small-arms ammunition during a search for a Haqqani leader in Khost's Sabari district. The leader coordinates roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He also supplies weapons and ammunition to insurgents.
-- A combined force detained several suspects and seized an artillery round and a mortar round during a search for a Taliban leader in Ghazni's Khugyani district. The leader supervises roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He also targets local Afghan officials and attempts to impose Taliban law on Afghan civilians.
-- An Afghan-led force detained several suspects and seized a military uniform, a grenade and 100 rounds of small-arms ammunition during a search for a Haqqani leader in Khost's Sabari district. The leader coordinates roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He also supplies weapons and ammunition to insurgents.
In April 14 operations:
-- A combined force killed an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan terrorist group leader who directed attacks against Afghan and coalition forces, along with another insurgent, in the Rustaq district of Takhar province. The security force also seized weapons and grenades.
-- A combined force captured a Taliban leader and two suspects in Helmand's Nahr-e Saraj. The leader directed roadside-bomb and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces in the Nahr-e Saraj and Sangin districts. He is also suspected in the assassination plot of an Afghan security forces commander.
-- A combined airstrike killed a Taliban leader and four other insurgents in the Muhammad Aghah district of Logar province. The leader planned and conducted roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. The security force also detained several other insurgents and seized two assault rifles.
-- A combined force captured a Haqqani facilitator and detained two other insurgents in Khost's Bak district. The facilitator coordinated suicide attacks and roadside bombings against Afghan and coalition forces in the area. He also is suspected of transporting suicide bombers for attacks across the country.
-- A combined force captured a Taliban leader and two suspects in Helmand's Nahr-e Saraj. The leader directed roadside-bomb and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces in the Nahr-e Saraj and Sangin districts. He is also suspected in the assassination plot of an Afghan security forces commander.
-- A combined airstrike killed a Taliban leader and four other insurgents in the Muhammad Aghah district of Logar province. The leader planned and conducted roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. The security force also detained several other insurgents and seized two assault rifles.
-- A combined force captured a Haqqani facilitator and detained two other insurgents in Khost's Bak district. The facilitator coordinated suicide attacks and roadside bombings against Afghan and coalition forces in the area. He also is suspected of transporting suicide bombers for attacks across the country.
-- In the Sayyidabad district of Wardak province, a combined force captured a Taliban leader, detained another insurgent and seized an assault rifle and a grenade. The leader supervised the construction and placement of roadside bombs used to attack Afghan and coalition forces. He also facilitated the movement of Taliban fighters from Pakistan into Afghanistan.
-- A combined force detained two suspects while searching for a Taliban leader in the Zurmat district of Paktia province. The leader coordinates roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition security forces. He also attempts to impose Taliban law on Afghan civilians in the area.
-- A combined force detained two suspects while searching for a Taliban leader in the Zurmat district of Paktia province. The leader coordinates roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition security forces. He also attempts to impose Taliban law on Afghan civilians in the area.
In April 13 operations:
-- A combined force found and destroyed about 2,400 pounds of hashish in the Zharay district of Kandahar province.
-- A combined patrol found and destroyed 2,500 5.56 mm rounds, 50 .50-caliber rounds, three mortar tubes and two mortar base plates in the Shinkai district of Zabul province.
-- A coalition force found and destroyed seven makeshift bombs in the Zharay district of Kandahar province.
-- A combined patrol found and destroyed 2,500 5.56 mm rounds, 50 .50-caliber rounds, three mortar tubes and two mortar base plates in the Shinkai district of Zabul province.
-- A coalition force found and destroyed seven makeshift bombs in the Zharay district of Kandahar province.
In other news, ISAF Commander Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen praised Afghan national security forces for a recent operation in the Kamdesh district of Nuristan province.
Afghan commando-led operations resulted in more than 32 enemy fighters killed, along with numerous equipment and fighting positions destroyed. The operation was conducted to deny insurgent safe havens and prevent insurgents from massing against Afghan forces in the area, officials said.
"This was yet another example of the successful transition we have been seeing throughout the past year, as the [Afghan forces] are planning, leading and executing very productive combat operations against the insurgency," Allen said. "We expect to see more of these types of successful [Afghan-led] operations as we progress further into the spring and summer."
The commando operations led to follow-on missions by Afghan soldiers and police, officials said.
DOL CITES BUSINESSES AFTER 6 DIE AND 2 INJURED IN GRAIN ELEVATOR EXPLOSION
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Bartlett Grain in Atchison, Kan., cited for willful and serious violations by US Labor Department after 6 die, 2 injured in grain elevator explosion
Contractor Kansas Grain Inspection Services also cited
ATCHISON, Kan. — Bartlett Grain Co. L.P. faces five willful and eight serious safety violations cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration following an October 2011 grain elevator explosion in Atchison that killed six workers and left two others hospitalized.
The willful violations include allowing grain dust — which is nine times as explosive as coal dust — to accumulate, using compressed air to remove dust without first shutting down ignition sources, jogging (repeatedly starting and stopping) inside bucket elevators to free legs choked by grain, using electrical equipment inappropriate for the working environment and failing to require employees to use fall protection when working from heights.
"The deaths of these six workers could have been prevented had the grain elevator's operators addressed hazards that are well known in this industry," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "Bartlett Grain's disregard for the law led to a catastrophic accident and heartbreaking tragedy for the workers who were injured or killed, their families and the agricultural community."
The serious violations involve a lack of proper preventive maintenance, certification and lubrication of grain handling equipment; inadequate emergency action plan training for employees and contractors; a lack of employee and contractor training on job hazards; and a housekeeping program that was deficient because it did not prevent grain dust accumulations.
The citations to Bartlett Grain, which is based in Kansas City, Mo., carry $406,000 in proposed fines.
Topeka-based Kansas Grain Inspection Services Inc., a contractor employed by Bartlett Grain, also is being cited for one willful violation involving a lack of fall protection for employees working on the top of rail cars; one serious violation, the lack of a hazard communication program; and one other-than-serious violation, not providing basic advisory information about respirators to employees. These violations carry total proposed penalties of $67,500.
"OSHA standards save lives, but only if companies comply with them," said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. "Bartlett Grain has shown what happens when basic safety standards are ignored, and this agency simply will not tolerate needless loss of life."
A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.
Over the past 35 years, there have been more than 500 explosions in grain handling facilities across the United States that have killed more than 180 people and injured more than 675. Grain dust is the main source of fuel for explosions in grain handling. This dust is highly combustible and can burn or explode if enough becomes airborne or accumulates on a surface and finds an ignition source (such as a hot bearing, overheated motor or misaligned conveyor belt, as well as heat or sparks from welding, cutting and brazing operations). OSHA standards require that both grain dust and ignition sources be controlled in grain elevators to prevent potentially deadly explosions.
Both companies have 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director in Wichita, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
WHEN GALAXIES COLLIDE, WHAT MATTERS
Using a combination of powerful observatories in space and on the ground, astronomers have observed a violent collision between two galaxy clusters in which so-called normal matter has been wrenched apart from dark matter through a violent collision between two galaxy clusters.
Finding another system that is further along in its evolution than the Bullet Cluster gives scientists valuable insight into a different phase of how galaxy clusters -- the largest known objects held together by gravity -- grow and change after major collisions.
Researchers used observations from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope as well as the Keck, Subaru and Kitt Peak Mayall telescopes to show that hot, X-ray bright gas in the Musket Ball Cluster has been clearly separated from dark matter and galaxies.
In this composite image, the hot gas observed with Chandra is colored red, and the galaxies in the optical image from Hubble appear as mostly white and yellow. The location of the majority of the matter in the cluster (dominated by dark matter) is colored blue. When the red and the blue regions overlap, the result is purple as seen in the image. The matter distribution is determined by using data from Subaru, Hubble and the Mayall telescope that reveal the effects of gravitational lensing, an effect predicted by Einstein where large masses can distort the light from distant objects.
In addition to the Bullet Cluster, five other similar examples of merging clusters with separation between normal and dark matter and varying levels of complexity, have previously been found. In these six systems, the collision is estimated to have occurred between 170 million and 250 million years earlier.
In the Musket Ball Cluster, the system is observed about 700 million years after the collision. Taking into account the uncertainties in the age estimate, the merger that has formed the Musket Ball Cluster is two to five times further along than in previously observed systems. Also, the relative speed of the two clusters that collided to form the Musket Ball cluster was lower than most of the other Bullet Cluster-like objects.
The special environment of galaxy clusters, including the effects of frequent collisions with other clusters or groups of galaxies and the presence of large amounts of hot, intergalactic gas, is likely to play an important role in the evolution of their member galaxies. However, it is still unclear whether cluster mergers trigger star formation, suppress it, or have little immediate effect. The Musket Ball Cluster holds promise for deciding between these alternatives.
The Musket Ball Cluster also allows an independent study of whether dark matter can interact with itself. This information is important for narrowing down the type of particle that may be responsible for dark matter. No evidence is reported for self-interaction in the Musket Ball Cluster, consistent with the results for the Bullet Cluster and the other similar clusters.
The Musket Ball Cluster is located about 5.2 billion light years away from Earth. A paper describing these results was led by Will Dawson from University of California, Davis and was published in the March 10, 2012 issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters. The other co-authors were David Wittman, M. James Jee and Perry Gee from UC Davis, Jack Hughes from Rutgers University in NJ, J. Anthony Tyson, Samuel Schmidt, Paul Thorman and Marusa Bradac from UC Davis, Satoshi Miyazaki from the Graduate University for Advanced Studies (GUAS) in Tokyo, Japan, Brian Lemaux from UC Davis, Yousuke Utsumi from GUAS and Vera Margoniner from California State University, Sacramento.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Chandra program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory controls Chandra's science and flight operations from Cambridge, Mass.
MAJOR ECONOMIES FORUM ON ENERGY AND CLIMATE SET FOR APRIL17, 2012 IN ROME
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate in Rome, Italy
Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC
April 13, 2012
Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern will lead U.S. participation in the 14th Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate in Rome, Italy, on April 17, 2012. Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs Michael Froman will serve as chair. The meeting will take place at the level of leaders’ representatives.
The Major Economies Forum, launched by President Obama in 2009, facilitates a candid dialogue among 17 developed and developing economies to support progress in meeting the climate change and clean energy challenge globally.
Members of the Major Economies Forum include: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In addition, representatives will attend from Singapore, Qatar, Colombia, and New Zealand.
Mr. Stern will conduct a press briefing via teleconference as the meeting concludes on April 17. Details and call-in numbers will be provided by Monday, April, 16.
BASICS ABOUT TORNADOES
FROM: NOAA Waterspout (Tornado) Credit: NOAA
What is a tornado? According to the Glossary of Meteorology (AMS 2000), a tornado is "a violently rotating column of air, pendant from a cumuliform cloud or underneath a cumuliform cloud, and often (but not always) visible as a funnel cloud." Literally, in order for a vortex to be classified as a tornado, it must be in contact with the ground and the cloud base.
Weather scientists haven't found it so simple in practice, however, to classify and define tornadoes. For example, the difference is unclear between an strong mesocyclone (parent thunderstorm circulation) on the ground, and a large, weak tornado. There is also disagreement as to whether separate touchdowns of the same funnel constitute separate tornadoes. It is well-known that a tornado may not have a visible funnel. Also, at what wind speed of the cloud-to-ground vortex does a tornado begin? How close must two or more different tornadic circulations become to qualify as a one multiple-vortex tornado, instead of separate tornadoes? There are no firm answers.
Waterspout (Tornado) Credit: U.S. Geological Survey
How do tornadoes form? The classic answer--"warm moist Gulf air meets cold Canadian air and dry air from the Rockies"--is a gross oversimplification. Many thunderstorms form under those conditions (near warm fronts, cold fronts and drylines respectively), which never even come close to producing tornadoes. Even when the large-scale environment is extremely favorable for tornadic thunderstorms, as in an SPC "High Risk" outlook, not every thunderstorm spawns a tornado. The truth is that we don't fully understand. The most destructive and deadly tornadoes occur from supercells--which are rotating thunderstorms with a well-defined radar circulation called a mesocyclone. [Supercells can also produce damaging hail, severe non-tornadic winds, unusually frequent lightning, and flash floods.] Tornado formation is believed to be dictated mainly by things which happen on the storm scale, in and around the mesocyclone. Recent theories and results from the VORTEX program suggest that once a mesocyclone is underway, tornado development is related to the temperature differences across the edge of downdraft air wrapping around the mesocyclone (the occlusion downdraft). Mathematical modeling studies of tornado formation also indicate that it can happen without such temperature patterns; and in fact, very little temperature variation was observed near some of the most destructive tornadoes in history on 3 May 1999. .
What direction do tornadoes come from? Does the region of the US play a role in path direction? Tornadoes can appear from any direction. Most move from southwest to northeast, or west to east. Some tornadoes have changed direction amid path, or even backtracked. [A tornado can double back suddenly, for example, when its bottom is hit by outflow winds from a thunderstorm's core.] Some areas of the US tend to have more paths from a specific direction, such as northwest in Minnesota or southeast in coastal south Texas. This is because of an increased frequency of certain tornado-producing weather patterns (say, hurricanes in south Texas, or northwest-flow weather systems in the upper Midwest).
How long does a tornado last? Tornadoes can last from several seconds to more than an hour. The longest-lived tornado in history is really unknown, because so many of the long-lived tornadoes reported from the early-mid 1900s and before are believed to be tornado series instead. Most tornadoes last less than 10 minutes.
How close to a tornado does the barometer drop? And how far does it drop ? It varies. A barometer can start dropping many hours or even days in advance of a tornado if there is low pressure on a broad scale moving into the area. Strong pressure falls will often happen as the mesocyclone.
What is a waterspout?
A waterspout is a tornado over water--usually meaning non-supercell tornadoes over water. Waterspouts are common along the southeast U. S. coast--especially off southern Florida and the Keys--and can happen over seas, bays and lakes worldwide. Although waterspouts are always tornadoes by definition; they don't officially count in tornado records unless they hit land. They are smaller and weaker than the most intense Great Plains tornadoes, but still can be quite dangerous. Waterspouts can overturn boats, damage larger ships, do significant damage when hitting land, and kill people. The National Weather Service will often issue special marine warnings when waterspouts are likely or have been sighted over coastal waters, or tornado warnings when waterspouts can move inland.
What is a tornado? According to the Glossary of Meteorology (AMS 2000), a tornado is "a violently rotating column of air, pendant from a cumuliform cloud or underneath a cumuliform cloud, and often (but not always) visible as a funnel cloud." Literally, in order for a vortex to be classified as a tornado, it must be in contact with the ground and the cloud base.Weather scientists haven't found it so simple in practice, however, to classify and define tornadoes. For example, the difference is unclear between an strong mesocyclone (parent thunderstorm circulation) on the ground, and a large, weak tornado. There is also disagreement as to whether separate touchdowns of the same funnel constitute separate tornadoes. It is well-known that a tornado may not have a visible funnel. Also, at what wind speed of the cloud-to-ground vortex does a tornado begin? How close must two or more different tornadic circulations become to qualify as a one multiple-vortex tornado, instead of separate tornadoes? There are no firm answers.
How do tornadoes form? The classic answer--"warm moist Gulf air meets cold Canadian air and dry air from the Rockies"--is a gross oversimplification. Many thunderstorms form under those conditions (near warm fronts, cold fronts and drylines respectively), which never even come close to producing tornadoes. Even when the large-scale environment is extremely favorable for tornadic thunderstorms, as in an SPC "High Risk" outlook, not every thunderstorm spawns a tornado. The truth is that we don't fully understand. The most destructive and deadly tornadoes occur from supercells--which are rotating thunderstorms with a well-defined radar circulation called a mesocyclone. [Supercells can also produce damaging hail, severe non-tornadic winds, unusually frequent lightning, and flash floods.] Tornado formation is believed to be dictated mainly by things which happen on the storm scale, in and around the mesocyclone. Recent theories and results from the VORTEX program suggest that once a mesocyclone is underway, tornado development is related to the temperature differences across the edge of downdraft air wrapping around the mesocyclone (the occlusion downdraft). Mathematical modeling studies of tornado formation also indicate that it can happen without such temperature patterns; and in fact, very little temperature variation was observed near some of the most destructive tornadoes in history on 3 May 1999. .
What direction do tornadoes come from? Does the region of the US play a role in path direction? Tornadoes can appear from any direction. Most move from southwest to northeast, or west to east. Some tornadoes have changed direction amid path, or even backtracked. [A tornado can double back suddenly, for example, when its bottom is hit by outflow winds from a thunderstorm's core.] Some areas of the US tend to have more paths from a specific direction, such as northwest in Minnesota or southeast in coastal south Texas. This is because of an increased frequency of certain tornado-producing weather patterns (say, hurricanes in south Texas, or northwest-flow weather systems in the upper Midwest).
How long does a tornado last? Tornadoes can last from several seconds to more than an hour. The longest-lived tornado in history is really unknown, because so many of the long-lived tornadoes reported from the early-mid 1900s and before are believed to be tornado series instead. Most tornadoes last less than 10 minutes.
How close to a tornado does the barometer drop? And how far does it drop ? It varies. A barometer can start dropping many hours or even days in advance of a tornado if there is low pressure on a broad scale moving into the area. Strong pressure falls will often happen as the mesocyclone.
What is a waterspout?
A waterspout is a tornado over water--usually meaning non-supercell tornadoes over water. Waterspouts are common along the southeast U. S. coast--especially off southern Florida and the Keys--and can happen over seas, bays and lakes worldwide. Although waterspouts are always tornadoes by definition; they don't officially count in tornado records unless they hit land. They are smaller and weaker than the most intense Great Plains tornadoes, but still can be quite dangerous. Waterspouts can overturn boats, damage larger ships, do significant damage when hitting land, and kill people. The National Weather Service will often issue special marine warnings when waterspouts are likely or have been sighted over coastal waters, or tornado warnings when waterspouts can move inland.
TENNESSEE BASED HEALTHCARE COMPANY SETTLES FALSE CLAIMS TO MEDICARE CASE
FROM: JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Friday, April 13, 2012
Ammed Direct Llc to Pay $18 Million to United States and Tennessee to Resolve False Claims Allegations
AmMed Direct LLC has agreed to pay the United States and the state of Tennessee $18 million plus interest to settle allegations that it submitted false claims to Medicare and Tennessee Medicaid (TennCare), the Justice Department announced today. Under the agreement, AmMed will pay $17,560,997 to the United States and $439,003 to Tennessee.
The United States and Tennessee allege that, from September 2008 through January 2010, the Antioch, Tenn.-based company submitted false claims to Medicare and TennCare for diabetes testing supplies, vacuum erection devices and heating pads. The United States and Tennessee asserted that AmMed widely advertised free cookbooks in order to induce Medicare beneficiaries to contact AmMed or its hired telemarketing firm. Once AmMed confirmed that a beneficiary was covered by Medicare, AmMed representatives improperly attempted to sell the beneficiary supplies that would be paid for by Medicare. Medicare rules prohibit medical businesses from making unsolicited telephone contact with beneficiaries to sell them their products, unless specific exceptions apply.
The United States and Tennessee further alleged that, as a result of AmMed’s improper marketing, many Medicare beneficiaries who called AmMed to receive the advertised free cookbooks returned their diabetic supplies to AmMed. AmMed, however, failed to timely refund the money to Medicare or TennCare. Rather, AmMed allowed the unpaid refunds to accrue from September 2006 until January 2010. Prior to learning of the United States’ and Tennessee’s investigation, AmMed disclosed to the Medicare Administrative Contractors its failure to refund monies for returned supplies and began paying the refunds to Medicare and TennCare.
“Government health care programs have in place important rules that prohibit suppliers from improperly contacting beneficiaries regarding their products,” said Stuart F. Delery, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that companies that bill government health care programs abide by those rules.”
“Enforcement of the False Claims Act remains a top priority of this office,” said Jerry E. Martin, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee. “All Medicare providers must comply with Medicare rules for reimbursement. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee will continue to devote the resources necessary to vigorously protect taxpayers’ interests and aggressively pursue fraud and abuse.”
“We are grateful for the hard work and cooperation of our state and federal agencies in this case,” said Tennessee Attorney General Bob Cooper. “Working to stop healthcare fraud is a major priority for all of us because ultimately everyone pays for this kind of theft.”
The allegations arose from a lawsuit brought under the qui tam, or whistleblower, provisions of the False Claims Act, which permit private citizens with knowledge of false claims against the government to bring an action on behalf of the United States and to share in any recovery. The qui tam action was filed in 2009 in federal district court in Nashville, Tenn., by former AmMed Direct employee Bryan McNeese. The relator will receive approximately $2.88 million as his share of the settlement proceeds.
This resolution is part of the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and another step for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced by Attorney General Eric Holder and Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in May 2009. The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation. One of the most powerful tools in that effort is the False Claims Act, which the Justice Department has used to recover more than $6.7 billion since January 2009 in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs. The Justice Department’s total recoveries in False Claims Act cases since January 2009 are over $9 billion.
The case was investigated by the Department of Health and Human Services- Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee and the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. The Justice Department’s Civil Division monitored the investigation.
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