2012 WARRIOR GAMES ARE UNDERWAY

FROM:  U.S. NAVY
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (May 2, 2012) Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Sonny Lemerande, right, races down the court during the wheelchair basketball competition between the Special Operations and the Navy/Coast Guard at the 2012 Warrior Games. More than 200 wounded, ill or injured service members from the U.S. and British armed forces are scheduled to compete in the Paralympics-style competition, May 1-5. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class David Danals/Released)

SEC CHARGES VOIP COMPANY AND ITS OWNERS WITH CONDUCTING A FRAUDULENT OFFERING TARGETING CHRISTIAN INVESTORS

FROM:  U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
April 30, 2012
On April 30, 2012, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed settled fraud charges against the owners of a Dallas-area Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) company, for running a fraudulent securities offering aimed at Christian investors, many of whom were affiliated with a Dallas-based private school. The Commission’s complaint, filed in Dallas federal court, alleges that Terry E. Wiese and Scott A. Wiese promised extreme returns – as much as 1,000% in a year – to entice investment in their company, Usee, Inc. Contrary to the Wieses’ claims, however, Usee had no business from which to generate any returns to investors. Instead, the Commission alleges that the Wieses wasted investor funds on poorly considered ventures or sent them to third parties about which they had little information. The Commission also alleges that the Wieses used investor funds for personal expenses and to make Ponzi payments to investors.

According to the complaint, the Wieses and Usee offered two forms of investment: stock and promissory notes. The Wieses promised returns to stock investors of up to 1,000% in the first year. Note investors were promised returns of up to 100% in 60 days. The Wieses also claimed that Usee would earn $26 billion in revenue by its fifth year of business, due to lucrative financing agreements it had arranged. According to the Commission, however, these claims were unfounded, since Usee had only nominal revenue and no financing arrangements.

The Commission alleges that the Wieses told investors that Usee was on the cusp of acquiring another VoIP company that owned valuable technology. In fact, Usee had contracted to acquire this company for $33 million, and sent the company $3 million of investor funds as a down payment. But, according the Commission, Usee and the Wieses never got close to securing funds to complete the acquisition and ultimately forfeited the funds to the other company, a fact never disclosed to investors.

Later, the Commission alleges, the Wieses released more than $1.5 million of investor funds to a company they knew nothing about, NFY Financial Consulting, PLLC. According to the SEC, NFY’s principals – Nail Yaldo and Jack Skrelja – told the Wieses the funds would be used as “proof of funds” to support unspecified “platform trading.” The Commission further alleges that, although they did little due diligence into NFY or its principals, the Wieses assured investors that the funds would be safeguarded in an escrow account and not released for any purpose. The Wieses, however, soon turned investor funds over to NFY without investors’ consent or knowledge.

The Commission has charged the Wieses and Usee with violations of Sections 5 and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Commission’s complaint seeks permanent injunctive relief, civil penalties and disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, with prejudgment interest. The Commission also seeks to bar the Wieses from serving as officers or directors of any public company.

To settle the Commission’s charges, the Wieses and Usee consented to permanent injunctions under Sections 5 and 17(a) of the Securities Act, Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. Defendants further agreed to disgorge nearly $5.8 million in ill-gotten gains, with prejudgment interest, and the Wieses agreed to pay civil penalties totaling $300,000. Defendants are also permanently enjoined from offering or selling securities issued by any company they own or control and the Wieses are further barred from serving as officers or directors of any public company. The defendants did not admit or deny the SEC’s allegations.

The SEC’s action also names NFY, Yaldo and Skrelja as relief defendants for purposes of recovering the funds released to NFY. The SEC has sought an asset freeze against these parties.

USDA HAS NEW SAFEGUARDS TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC FROM FOOD-BORN ILLNESS

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
USDA Announces New Safeguards to Protect Consumers from Foodborne Illness
WASHINGTON, May 2, 2012 - The U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced a series of prevention-based policy measures that will better protect consumers from foodborne illness in meat and poultry products. These measures will significantly improve the ability of both plants and USDA to trace contaminated food materials in the supply chain, to act against contaminated products sooner, and to establish the effectiveness of food safety systems.

"The additional safeguards we are announcing today will improve our ability to prevent foodborne illness by strengthening our food safety infrastructure," said USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. Elisabeth Hagen. "Together, these measures will provide us with more tools to protect our food supply, resulting in stronger public health protections for consumers."

The policy measures include the following: 
USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) intends to implement new traceback measures in order to control pathogens earlier and prevent them from triggering foodborne illnesses and outbreaks. FSIS is proposing to launch traceback investigations earlier and identify additional potentially contaminated product when the Agency finds E. coli O157:H7 through its routine sampling program. When FSIS receives an indication of contamination through presumptive positive test results for E. coli, the Agency will move quickly to identify the supplier of the product and any processors who received contaminated product from the supplier, once confirmation is received. This proposed change in policy gives FSIS the opportunity to better prevent contaminated product from reaching consumers. Learn more about the traceback proposed change in policy.

FSIS is implementing three provisions included in the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 Farm Bill). The new regulations, published as a Final Rule and directed by Congress, require establishments to prepare and maintain recall procedures, to notify FSIS within 24 hours that a meat or poultry product that could harm consumers has been shipped into commerce, and to document each reassessment of their hazard control and critical control point (HACCP) system food safety plans. Learn more about the Farm Bill provisions.

FSIS is announcing the availability of guidance to plants on the steps that are necessary to establish that their HACCP food safety systems will work as designed to control the food safety hazards that they confront. This process, called "validation," enables companies to ensure that their food safety systems are effective for preventing foodborne illness. This notice announces that the draft guidance document is available for comment. Learn more about HACCP validation draft guidance.


In the past two years, FSIS has announced several measures to safeguard the food supply, prevent foodborne illness, and improve consumers' knowledge about the food they eat. These initiatives support the three core principles developed by the President's Food Safety Working Group: prioritizing prevention; strengthening surveillance and enforcement; and improving response and recovery. Some of these actions include:

Performance standards for poultry establishments for continued reductions in the occurrence of pathogens. After two years of enforcing the new standards, FSIS estimates that approximately 5,000 illnesses will be prevented each year under the new Campylobacterstandards, and approximately 20,000 illnesses will be prevented under the revised Salmonella standards each year.

Zero tolerance policy for six Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) serogroups. Raw ground beef, its components, and tenderized steaks found to contain E. coli O26, O103, O45, O111, O121 or O145 will be prohibited from sale to consumers. USDA will launch a testing program to detect these dangerous pathogens and prevent them from reaching consumers.

Test and hold policy that will significantly reduce consumer exposure to unsafe meat products, should the policy become final, because products cannot be released into commerce until Agency test results for dangerous contaminants are known.

Labeling requirements that provide better information to consumers about their food by requiring nutrition information for single-ingredient raw meat and poultry products and ground or chopped products.

Public Health Information System, a modernized, comprehensive database about public health trends and food safety violations at the nearly 6,100 plants FSIS regulates.

POLAND'S CONSTITUTION DAY

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
On the Occasion of Poland's Constitution Day
Press Statement Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State Washington, DC
May 3, 2012
On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I am delighted to send best wishes to the people of Poland as you celebrate the 221st anniversary of your constitution this May 3.

Poland is a model of democratic transition and hope, inspiring countless advocates for freedom throughout the world. Through our NATO Alliance, nearly 2,500 Polish soldiers are serving in Afghanistan alongside soldiers from the United States and 48 other countries, all working toward the shared goal of defeating al-Qaida and strengthening the Afghan state so that Afghans can shape their own future. The United States is appreciative of the many areas of international cooperation that we share, and grateful for the role Poland plays as our protecting power in Syria.

As you celebrate Constitution Day, know that the United States continues to stand with you. We are committed to our enduring alliance and our shared values as we work together to bring peace and security throughout the globe. Best wishes for a happy Constitution Day and continued peace and prosperity in the year to come.

BIN LADEN LETTERS SHOW DESIRE TO ATTACK U.S.

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE

Bin Laden Letters Show Desire to Attack U.S. Targets

By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 3, 2012 – Osama bin Laden’s letters urged jihadist groups to stop domestic attacks that killed Muslim civilians and focus on the United States, “our desired goal,” says a study of declassified documents captured during last year’s U.S. raid on his compound in Pakistan.

The 59-page study titled “Letters from Abbottabad: Bin Laden Sidelined?” released online today, was written by a team of researchers the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point and supplemented with reviews and support from other experts.

The center is an independent, privately funded research and educational institution at the U.S. Military Academy that informs counterterrorism policy and strategy.

The end of the Abbottabad raid was the start of a massive analytical effort, retired Army Gen. John P. Abizaid, the center’s chairman, said in the report’s foreword, adding that experts from across the intelligence community worked to exploit the captured documents.

The letters total 175 pages in the original Arabic and 197 pages in the English translation. The earliest is dated September 2006 and the latest April 2011, the authors write, adding that some letters are incomplete or undated and not all attribute their authors or indicate an addressee.

Besides bin Laden, those who appear in the letters as authors or recipients include al-Qaida leaders Atiyyatullah and Abu Yahya al-Libi; Adam Yahya Gadahn, an American al-Qaida spokesman and media advisor; Mukhtar Abu al-Zubayr, leader of Somali militant group Harakat al-Shabab al-Mujahidin; Abu Basir, or Nasir al-Wuhayshi, leader of Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula; and Hakimullah Mahsud, leader of Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

“Bin Laden’s frustration with regional jihadi groups and his seeming inability to exercise control over their actions and public statements is the most compelling story to be told on the basis of the 17 declassified documents,” the report said.

Bin Laden’s public statements focused on Muslim enemies such as corrupt Muslim rulers and their Western “overseers,” the analysis said, but “the focus of his private letters is Muslims suffering at the hands of his jihadi ‘brothers.’”

The late al-Qaida chieftain also had been burdened by the incompetence of affiliate terror group, the report said, “including their lack of political acumen to win public support, their media campaigns and their poorly planned operations” that killed thousands of Muslims.

The failures of al-Qaida in Iraq worried bin Laden, who urged other groups not to repeat their mistakes. Gadahn advised al-Qaida to publicly dissociate itself from the group, the report says.

Bin Laden also worried about expansion plans of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, for example warning them not to declare an Islamic state in Yemen, and about indiscriminate attacks against Muslims by Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.

Such attacks “caused Atiyyatullah and Abu Yahya al-Libi to write to TTP leader Hakimullah Mahsud to express their displeasure with the group’s ‘ideology, methods and behavior,’” the report said.

The al-Qaida leaders “also threatened to take public measures ‘unless we see from you serious and immediate practical and clear steps towards reforming [your ways] and dissociating yourself from these vile mistakes [that violate Islamic Law],’” the report added.

Bin Laden withheld recognition of a February pledge of loyalty to al-Qaida by Somali rebel movement al-Shabab, the report said, fearing “that a formal merger with al-Qaida would prevent investment and foreign aid in Somalia.”

The documents released to the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point mentioned al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, the Taliban and Jaysh al-Islam, but the report says the discussions “are not substantive enough to inform an understanding of the relationship between al-Qaida’s senior leaders and these groups.”

Among the documents is an April 2011 letter from bin Laden responding to the Arab Spring, which he considered a “formidable event” in the modern history of Muslims.

“This letter,” the report says, “reflected his intended strategy of responding to the new political landscape that was emerging in the Middle East and North Africa.”

In the Arab world, bin Laden wanted al-Qaida to focus its efforts on media outreach and “guidance.” He believed that a media campaign should be launched to incite “people who have not yet revolted and exhort them to rebel against the rulers,” the report said.

But he also wanted to invest, the report said, in “educating and warning Muslim people from those [who might tempt them to settle for] half solutions, such as engaging in the secular political process by forming political parties.”

In Afghanistan, bin Laden wanted jihadis to continue the fight against the United States.

Bin Laden believed their efforts, the report said, “weakened the United States, enabling Muslims elsewhere to revolt against their rulers, no longer fearing that the United States would be in a powerful position to support these rulers.”

The documents show that al-Qaida’s relationship with Iran is one of “indirect and unpleasant negotiations over the release of detained jihadis and their families, including members of bin Laden’s family,” the report said, adding that discussion about Pakistan in the documents is “scarce and inconclusive.”
 

REMARKS TO AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE'S NATIONAL ENERGY COMMITTEE

Photo:  Wikimedia
FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Remarks to the American Jewish Committee's National Energy Committee
Report Robert F. Cekuta
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Economic, Energy and Business Affairs Washington, DC
May 2, 2012
Thank you, Henry, and let me thank the American Jewish Committee (AJC) very much as well for organizing this event and for offering this opportunity to talk with you about improving America’s energy security.

Since President Obama took office, U.S. domestic oil and gas production has increased each year. Our reliance on foreign oil has decreased, and that trend is expected to continue thanks in part to the historic fuel economy standards established by President Obama, effectively doubling the efficiency of the cars we drive and saving consumers thousands at the pump. In 2009, the United States produced 5.3 mmbd. Current U.S. crude production is 6.1mmbd, a figure which is equal to the production we saw at the close of 2011, when U.S. crude oil production reached its highest level since 2003. The 6.1 mmbd U.S. production figure is also an increase over 2010 levels by an estimated 120,000 barrels per day.

Another important fact: U.S. dependence on imported oil fell below 50% in 2010 for the first time in more than a decade. We have seen U.S. oil imports dropping since 2005, and net imports as a share of total consumption fell from 57 percent in 2008 to 45 percent in 2011 – the lowest level since 1995. Moreover, U.S. natural gas production grew by more than 7 percent in 2011 – the largest year-over-year volumetric increase in history – and easily eclipsed the previous production record set in 1973.

For my part this afternoon, I would like to sketch out steps which the United States is taking today to reduce these imports and to look at these steps as part of an overall effort to boost the United States’ energy security and economic well-being. After these remarks, I hope we can have some time for questions and discussions on this important foreign policy issue.

Let me first of all note something Secretary Clinton has said: “You can’t talk about our economy or foreign policy without talking about energy.”
Putting this statement into practice, the Secretary, as part of the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, established a Bureau of Energy Resources in October 2011. The Bureau is designed to unite U.S. diplomatic and programmatic efforts to build sustainable, transparent, and predictable international markets for conventional and unconventional hydrocarbons, civilian nuclear power, and electricity, to promote renewable energy, energy efficiency, and to increase access to energy and encourage good governance and transparency in the energy sector. All of these factors advance our national security interests, and those of our allies, advance our environmental goals, and advance a strong national and global economy.

The Bureau of Energy Resources takes a broad view of what is integral to U.S. and global energy security. Doing so means focusing on three areas. The first is what we have traditionally thought of as energy security, going back to the days of the Arab oil embargo and before: the flow of traditional hydrocarbons, in particular oil and gas. Hydrocarbons today still make up 85% of the world’s fuel resources. We continue to use our diplomacy to ensure that access to oil, gas, and coal is adequate, reliable, and affordable. However, we need to be aware even this

traditional aspect of energy security is changing as new markets and new technologies alter the traditional energy landscape. For example emerging market economies such as China and India are driving tremendous growth in the world’s demand for resources. New technologies – shale oil in North Dakota or the revolution in unconventional gas – and new producers, such as Brazil or countries in East and West Africa, are affecting the supply picture. The realities of climate change are also a factor.

The second focus of the Bureau of Energy Resources and its work to promote energy security is on the energy of the future. The focus here is on the opportunities that clean and renewable energy offer, whether to the United States and other established industrialized economies looking to advance their energy security and to meet the challenges posed by the realities of rising CO2 emissions and the concerns about climate change, or to other countries looking to develop or to cut their bills for imported oil.

The President has frequently cited the opportunities and benefits these technologies offer. American companies are world leaders in wind, solar, hydro, power transmission, efficient generation, and smart grids. The scale of this market is huge. The International Energy Agency estimates that the world will see $5.9 trillion – yes trillion with a “t” – in new investments in hydroelectric and other renewable power between 2011 and 2035. Those numbers come on top of the $2.8 trillion that will be invested in coal-, gas-, and oil-fired power plants around the world during those years, and $1.1 trillion in nuclear power. This shift to renewable power is market- driven and is unprecedented in history.

In this focus on the energy of the future, an important source will be boosting energy efficiency. Raising Fuel Economy Standards, for example, is part of this effort to use less energy, to use energy more wisely. Taken together, the Obama Administration’s standards for cars and light-duty trucks span model years 2011 to 2025 and represent the first meaningful update in over three decades. Under this program, average fuel efficiency will reach a performance equivalent of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025 and will save consumers $1.7 trillion at the pump over time – or roughly $8,200 per vehicle – and reduce oil consumption by 2.2 million barrels a day by 2025.

There is a third focus in addition to the energy world that we have long known and the energy world of the future – that is the access to energy for the 1.3 billion people around the world today who do not have it. We are already seeing the effects of expanding access in those who only a few years ago had no access to energy in Brazil, China, India, or the other rapidly industrializing economies have had on global energy markets and the expectations regarding supply and demand.

Energy is an essential component for development. We often forget this, but we can see this in how and where factories and businesses first developed in the United States. The first textile and other mills were established along the Merrimack and other rivers of the Northeast because they were the source for powering machinery in the late 18th/early 19th centuries. The need for energy is core today for manufacturing, commerce, and our daily lives, but in today’s world, energy is also essential for providing health care – cold trains for vaccines or basic diagnostic equipment cannot work without electricity – or for the communications sector and how this shapes even the most basic of human activities. Think about the use of cellphones in countries around the world for fishermen to identify which port to put in with the fish they have caught or where the best markets are for their produce. But a country being a source for energy, for oil and gas, can also bring challenges, especially when the proceeds from the oil and gas sector are not used for the benefit of a country’s population.

The energy sector all too often provides great opportunities for mismanagement and corruption, and has fueled bad behavior in too many countries to name. The United States continues to be a leader in transparency, accountability, and good governance in the energy sector, and in promotion of these important values around the world. As Secretary Clinton underscored in recent testimony, the State Department will use its full diplomatic capabilities to encourage transparency in the extractive industries around the world.
To that end, as part of our overall efforts to focus attention on good governance in this sector, we have significantly increased our engagement on one critical aspect of good governance – transparency. In March I joined the EITI board on behalf of the U.S. government, elevating our engagement with that institution. The EITI has come so far in just a few short years of existence, and is quickly becoming the global standard for transparency in the extractive sector. It is providing a means for people in the countries that have signed up to see how much money their governments have earned from oil or other extractive industries. With this knowledge, the people in these countries can hold authorities accountable, and they can utilize the resulting transparency to help fight and prevent corruption.

President Obama announced last year the United States would pursue becoming an EITI compliant country, the second industrialized country after Norway to do so. However, as you also know, EITI is not the only extractive sector transparency effort the United States is undertaking. The Cardin-Lugar Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act requires companies that file reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to disclose payments they make to foreign governments in the extractives sector. When the final rules are issued, we will work closely with our embassies around the world to explain to companies and governments how this law will be implemented and what it means for them. We will also engage with the European Union and others who we hope will consider similar rules. Our goal is to create a common platform for transparency across the globe.

The State Department is also working hard to help countries that are developing their energy sectors do so safely, responsibly, and accountably in all aspects. Better technology, innovative approaches, and changing economics have brought the potential for oil and gas development to new countries and regions of the world. This expansion has the potential to bring tremendous benefit to those countries, as well as to global energy markets. In order to compete in the global economy, countries – or rather the companies, entrepreneurs, academics, NGOs and governments of those countries – must understand the resources they have and how they can be exploited responsibly to the maximum benefit of their population. The State Department’s Energy Governance and Capacity Initiative (EGCI) works with emerging conventional oil and gas producers by providing technical advice and engagement on a range of

issues related to energy sector management, including legal and regulatory reform, technical capacity development, and revenue management.
This initiative supports a broad range of U.S. foreign policy objectives, including ensuring the security of global oil and gas supplies, supporting clean energy goals by maximizing the efficiency of oil and gas resource development, furthering political and economic stability in developing countries, promoting democracy and human rights, and combating corruption.

Thus, the State Department and the U.S. government as a whole is pursuing what President Obama has repeatedly stated is necessary: an all-of-the-above approach to American energy security. This all-of-the-above strategy aims at reducing our reliance on foreign oil, saving families and businesses money at the pump, and positioning the United States as the global leader in clean energy.

The United States will keep relying on responsibly produced oil and gas in the near future, but over the long term, the Obama administration is committed to a policy that allows us to transition from oil towards cleaner alternatives and energy efficiency. While there are no silver bullets for meeting our energy needs, we’ll continue to build on the progress we’ve made over the past three years. Through a sustained, all-of-the-above approach to American energy we will continue to reduce our reliance on foreign oil, and create an economy that is sound and sustainable.

The Administration has made the largest investment in clean energy in history and the United States has nearly doubled renewable energy generation since 2008. Last year, according to industry experts, the United States reclaimed the title as the world’s leading investor in clean energy technologies. Through initiatives such as the 1603 Treasury program, which partially reimburses the cost of renewable energy installations, and the Production Tax Credit (PTC), which provides a tax credit for the production of utility-scale renewable energy production, more specifically providing an income tax credit of 2.2 cents per kilowatt-hour for the production of electricity from utility-scale turbines and 1.0 cent per kilowatt-hour for bioenergy, geothermal, and efficiency upgrades to existing facilities during the first 10 years of operation, the Administration has dedicated itself to encouraging the growing clean energy economy. In addition to these tax programs, the Department of Interior has worked to make public lands accessible for renewable energy projects as well as working to improve the safety and reliability of offshore oil and gas production.

It is important to note as well that building on the $4.5 billion in Recovery Act investments in smart grid technology demonstrations and deployment, the Administration published a smart grid policy framework in June 2011 and has invested more than $150 million in smart meters, grid sensors, control systems, and other smart grid technologies in rural America.

Moreover, since October 2009, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have completed energy upgrades in more than one million homes. The Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program alone has

completed energy efficiency upgrades in approximately 860,000 homes across the country. On average, these upgrades save American families more than $400 on their heating and cooling bills in the first year alone.

Let me conclude by saying that the goals and initiatives I have discussed are all part of the U.S. government’s goals of increasing global energy security and promoting economic prosperity. The steps are not just for governments; citizens and the private sector have essential roles in building a secure energy future as well. In some cases, the steps may seem mind boggling. As I noted earlier, the IEA forecasts that the world will see $5.9 trillion in new investments in hydroelectric and other renewable power, $2.8 trillion in coal, gas and oil-fired plants, and $1.1 trillion in nuclear power between 2011 and 2025. But let me also note, there are important steps we can take that do not have such huge price tags. Investing in technologies such as energy-saving light bulbs and other appliances can also help in our efforts. So can investments in new, more energy efficient technologies. The bottom-line is that energy security remains an important and basic concern, something we can all take steps to help achieve.
Thank you very much.

U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT WORKS TO CUT ENERGY COSTS

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
DOD Facilities Drive Technology for Secure Power

By Cheryl Pellerin
WASHINGTON, May 1, 2012 - As the nation's top energy user, the Defense Department is pushing commercialization of the technology it needs to lower costs and keep its facilities secure, the deputy undersecretary of defense for installations and environment said here today.

Dorothy Robyn addressed an audience of military, federal and industry experts at the Military Smart Grids and Microgrids Conference in Arlington, Va.
Robyn manages and oversees permanent military installations worldwide and manages installation programs that involve energy, the environment, safety and occupational health.
In fiscal 2011, the cost of electricity spent to power 300,000 buildings on Defense Department installations -- barracks, data centers, offices and hospitals -- and to operate 160,000 vehicles was $4 billion a year.
"We also account for a disproportionate share of the department's greenhouse gases," Robyn said.

And such U.S. military installations depend almost entirely on a commercial electric grid that experts say is vulnerable to disruption.
"In 2008 the Defense Science Board called us out and said, 'Your critical missions are at risk because of the potential for disruption to the grid,'" Robyn said.
Today the strategy for bolstering DOD facility energy security and innovation, she added, includes reducing demand for traditional energy, expanding the supply of renewable and other forms of on-base energy, focusing directly on base security, and leveraging advanced technology.

In the area of advanced technology, Robyn said DOD is uniquely positioned to overcome barriers to commercialization for some of the most potentially groundbreaking energy innovations. Among these are smart grids and microgrids.
A smart grid is an electrical grid whose capabilities are boosted by computer technology to monitor and regulate the energy that utilities generate and distribute to consumers.
When it becomes fully functional over the next decade in the United States, the automated grid will be able to communicate with consumers, remotely sense and fix problems on its own network, and save users money by better managing energy use, and by integrating power from wind, solar, biomass and other renewable energy sources.
Microgrids and minigrids are smaller, less-automated versions of smart-grid technology. They interconnect small, modular electricity-generation sources to low-voltage distribution systems, and some can be powered by a combination of petroleum-fueled generators, solar, wind and other sources.

"I am something of a cheerleader for microgrids, because they solve a huge problem we have -- namely the energy security of our bases," Robyn said.

But also, she added, "because I have spent much of my career working in the economics of network industries, primarily transportation and telecom, and I've seen what disruptive technology and competition have done in those sectors, and I think we're due for that in the utility sector."

Impediments to such emerging technologies, Robyn said, include a highly fragmented building industry, high costs for first users of new technology, and a lack of operational testing that deters potential technology adopters.
DOD is uniquely positioned to help overcome these barriers, the deputy undersecretary added.

"The key to this is using our installations as a testbed for next-generation energy technology, pre-commercial technology that we think has promise on our installations," Robyn said.

"We think that we have a role to play here in being a first user. It's a role that is justified by the huge infrastructure that we have -- 300,000 buildings. We look at risk differently," she added.

"If we try 10 things out and seven of them work and three don't, ... we can deploy those so broadly as to make it profitable," Robyn said. "So that's what we're doing."
Robyn's team is working on advanced technology in three areas -- smart and secure installation energy management, efficient integrated buildings, and onsite power generation.

The flagship project, she said, is in development at Twentynine Palms Marine Base, the nation's largest, in California. The smart microgrid there is capable of "islanding" about a third of the base's total load and meets DOD cyber security criteria. In islanding, a distributed generator continues to power a location even when there is no electrical grid power from the utility.

Electrochromic windows are an example of emerging technology for efficient integrated buildings. These windows can be darkened or lightened electronically, controlling the amount of daylight and solar heat gain through the windows of buildings and vehicles.

Robyn's team is putting these windows on three sides of a building at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in Southern California and will systematically collect performance data.
"This is a great example of the role we can play in reducing risk," Robyn said.
Historically, the Energy Department has invested in this technology, but the windows are still very expensive, she noted. "And architecture and engineering firms are understandably reluctant to incorporate them into a new building without rigorous data on their performance," she said.

Collecting data from the test bed building at Miramar, she added, can help to jumpstart the market.

Many more demonstration projects are under way at DOD facilities around the country, and some are beginning to show results despite challenges that include collecting high-quality data on building energy consumption and performance and getting successfully test bed technologies widely deployed.

"I didn't list any [challenges] having to do with microgrids," Robyn said. "I feel like there is tremendous momentum there, and I don't see the kinds of [comparable] impediments."

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, USAID AND WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Highlights of the U.S. Department of State and USAID's Efforts to Support Press and Media Freedom
Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC
May 3, 2012
On World Press Freedom Day—and every day—the United States honors and supports media freedom at home and abroad. Press freedom is a key element of the freedom of expression, which is a foundation for other universal human rights. In 2011, the United States hosted the international World Press Freedom Day activities in Washington, D.C. This year, Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations Esther Brimmer is leading the U.S. delegation to a World Press Freedom conference in Tunisia, May 2-6; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Kathy Fitzpatrick of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor will also attend.

As a part of its "Free the Press" campaign, the Department of State is documenting on www.HumanRights.govemblematic cases of journalists living and working under threat and duress because of their efforts to exercise the freedom of expression. We call on all governments to protect the universal human right to freedom of expression.

Advancing media freedom is a regular part of U.S. diplomatic work. We advocate for freedom of expression and raise media freedom issues, including specific cases, in bilateral discussions with other governments and in multilateral bodies, including but not limited to the UN Human Rights Council, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the Organization of American States. At the OSCE, for example, the United States has been a leading voice for freedom of expression and the defense of journalists, and championed a Ministerial Declaration to support fundamental freedoms in the Digital Age.

The Department of State reports on the state of media freedom around the world—and threats to journalists—through the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. USAID's Media Sustainability Index measures the media environment in countries in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Eurasia.
With support from Congress, the Department of State and USAID fund foreign assistance and exchange programs that support a free press and Internet freedom.

Foreign assistance supports the development of local and independent print, TV, radio, and online media; advocacy for legal and regulatory reform in support of media freedom and the free flow of information; general and issue-specific journalism training, including for women, youth, and marginalized groups; and security training and emergency assistance for journalists and bloggers. Since 2009, we have allocated approximately $300 million for such programs.

The Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists has welcomed more than 900 rising international journalists to the United States since 2006. According to a recent report evaluating media exchanges from 2001-2006, the 1,600 journalists and media professionals who participated in various Department of State exchange programs engage in activities that promote greater press freedom once they return home, such as advocating for freedom of information; protecting journalists’ rights, and adopting new professional and ethical standards. For more information, please consult the full report or executive summary.

PENTAGON FORCE PROTECTION AGENCY TURNS TEN YEARS OLD

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE 
Photo:  U.S. Navy
Agency Marks Decade of Protecting Pentagon
By Jim Garamone
WASHINGTON, May 2, 2012 - The Pentagon is a symbol of American military might, and that makes it a target that must be protected, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said here today during a 10th anniversary celebration of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency.

The organization grew from the ashes of Sept. 11, 2001, when 184 people died in the terror attack on the building.

The agency secures the Pentagon and 116 other properties that make up the Pentagon reservation. "We cannot do what we do without you," Panetta told the organization's men and women at today's observance.

"I see a lot of you every day, and I know that wherever you're stationed, I always feel a lot better knowing that you are there protecting this building," he said.

Panetta noted that the observance was taking place a year and a day after 9/11's architect was killed. "Just yesterday, the nation marked one year since the operation that successfully took down Osama bin Laden," he said. "It was a day that I hope Americans take the time to thank the very dedicated intelligence and military professionals who planned and executed that raid that delivered justice to al-Qaida's leader."

Panetta was CIA director during the operation. "I have to tell you, to this day that it was a remarkable experience and one of the greatest memories in 40 years that I've been in Washington," he said. "Having the opportunity to work with the intelligence professionals, to work with Adm. Bill McRaven (then chief of the Joint Special Operations Command), to work with the SEALs in that operation was incredible. This was because of the professionalism and great dedication involved with that mission. It was the kind of stuff that makes you proud to be an American."

The men and women of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency play a vital role in ensuring the people who work at the Pentagon can accomplish their mission, Panetta said. "Your mission of protecting those that protect America is critical," he said. "Frankly, we could not do our jobs without you. It allows the roughly 23,000 employees here at the Pentagon to focus on their jobs, because they all know that there are dedicated men and women who put their lives on the line every day to protect us."

The agency grew from the Federal Protective Service and the Defense Protective Service, said Agency Director Steven Calvery. Following 9/11, the agency took a different turn, and its ranks now include law enforcement officers, physical security personnel, investigators and technicians trained to handle terrorist attacks, explosives or weapons of mass destruction. The agency provides vital protection across the board for the Pentagon.

And the building needs that protection, "because the Pentagon is much more than just an extremely large, odd-shaped building," Panetta said. "The Pentagon is a symbol. It is an unmistakable symbol of United States military power."

In the 10 years since its founding, the agency has faced down many challenges. In 2010, two officers, Jeffrey Amos and Marvin Carraway, were wounded as they shot a lone gunman who tried to break into the building. "Who knows how many casualties would have resulted if he had gained entry?" Panetta said. "Thankfully, he was stopped by the swift reaction of our brave police officers."

Officer James Feltis was another agency officer who displayed selfless service. In January 2005, he spotted a car coming the wrong way up an exit ramp, and without considering the risks, stepped out of his booth to try to stop the car. The vehicle, which had been carjacked by an armed robber, gained speed and struck Feltis, who died a month later of his injuries. He is the lone agency officer to die in the line of duty. His widow, Mary, attended the 10th anniversary celebration.

"You and your family will always be part of our defense family," Panetta told her.
Panetta thanked all members of the agency for their support and professionalism. Jonathan H. Cofer, the agency's deputy director, joined Officer Michael Marker and K-9 Officer Duke in surprising Panetta by making the secretary's dog Bravo an honorary member of the Pentagon's K-9 corps.

SCIENTISTS TO STUDY THUNDERSTORM INFLUENCE ON AIR AT HIGH ALTITUDES

Photo:  Lightning Strike View From USS Lincoln, U.S. Navy 
FROM:  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Scientists Across U.S. Launch Study of Thunderstorm Effects on Upper Atmosphere
May 1, 2012
Scientists are targeting thunderstorms in Alabama, Colorado and Oklahoma this spring to discover what happens when clouds suck air many miles into the atmosphere from Earth's surface.

The Deep Convective Clouds & Chemistry (DC3) Experiment, which begins in mid-May, will explore the influence of thunderstorms on air just beneath the stratosphere, a region that influences Earth's climate and weather patterns.
Scientists will use three research aircraft, mobile radars, lightning mapping arrays and other tools to pull together a comprehensive picture.
"We tend to associate thunderstorms with heavy rain and lightning, but they also shake things up at the top of the cloud level," says National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) scientist Chris Cantrell, a DC3 principal investigator.
"Their effects high in the atmosphere in turn have effects on climate that last long after the storm dissipates."

While past field projects have focused on thunderstorm details with only some chemistry information, or on chemistry with limited data on storms, DC3 is the first to take a comprehensive look at both chemistry and thunderstorm details, including air movement, cloud physics and electrical activity.

The scientists leading the project are from NCAR, Penn State University, Colorado State University, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with involvement by more than 100 researchers from 26 organizations.
Funding for DC3 is from the National Science Foundation (NSF), NOAA and NASA.
One of the key goals of DC3 is exploring the role of thunderstorms in forming upper-atmosphere ozone, a greenhouse gas that has a strong warming effect high in the atmosphere.

"The internal structure of thunderstorms and the lightning that accompanies them differs considerably across the country," says Brad Smull, director of NSF's physical and dynamic meteorology program. "That in turn affects the chemical processes inside these storms."

When thunderstorms form, air near the ground has nowhere to go but up, says NCAR scientist Mary Barth, a principal investigator on the project. "Suddenly you have an airmass at high altitude that's full of chemicals that can produce ozone."

Ozone in the upper atmosphere plays an important role in climate change by trapping significant amounts of energy from the sun.

However, ozone is difficult to track because, unlike most greenhouse gases, it is not directly emitted by either pollution sources or natural processes.
Instead, sunlight triggers interactions between pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and other gases, and those reactions create ozone.

These interactions are well understood at the Earth's surface, but have not been measured at the top of the troposphere, the lowest layer of the atmosphere just below the stratosphere.

Updrafts in thunderstorm clouds range from about 20 to 100 miles per hour, so air arrives at the top of the troposphere, about 6 to10 miles up, with its pollutants relatively intact.
The polluted airmasses don't keep rising indefinitely because of the barrier between the troposphere and stratosphere, called the tropopause.

"In the mid-latitudes, the tropopause is like a wall," says Barth. "The air bumps into it and spreads out."

The DC3 scientists will fly through these plumes to collect data as a storm is underway.
They'll fly again the next day to find the same air mass, using its distinctive chemical signature to see how it has changed over time.
Pollution isn't the only source of nitrogen oxides, the ozone precursor. Lightning strikes also produce nitrogen oxides.

"We are pretty sure lightning is the largest natural source of nitric oxide," says NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory scientist Don MacGorman. "It is important to know the naturally occurring contribution."

The DC3 investigators are looking at three widely separated sites in northern Alabama, northeastern Colorado, and central Oklahoma to west Texas.
All three sites have existing weather instrumentation on the ground, including dual-Doppler research radars, lightning mapping arrays, and balloon launches to measure the state of the atmosphere from the ground to the stratosphere.

Scientists at each of the sites will combine data from radars with Doppler capabilities (for wind information) and polarimetric capabilities (for wind and cloud particle information) with lightning mapping arrays.

The results will improve understanding of how storms produce lightning, and of how to use lightning mapping data to improve storm forecasts and warnings.

The three research aircraft will be based at Salina Municipal Airport, Kan., a location central to all three study areas. Each day, they will fly to whichever area has the most promising forecast for thunderstorms suitable for study.

The NSF/NCAR Gulfstream V research aircraft will do the bulk of the high-altitude measurements.

Simultaneously, a NASA DC-8 will fly as low as 1,000 feet above the ground, measuring air flowing into the clouds at their bases as well as the chemistry of surrounding air.
The third research aircraft, a Dassault Falcon 20E operated by the German space agency will join DC3 for three weeks and fly especially close to storm cores at high altitudes.
The multiple sites will enable the scientists to study different types of atmospheric environments.

Alabama has more trees and thus more natural emissions; the Colorado site is sometimes downwind of Denver's pollution; the Oklahoma and west Texas site may offer clean air.
"The more different regions we can study, the more we can understand how thunderstorms affect our climate," Barth says.

Alex Pszenny, NSF program director for atmospheric chemistry, adds: "The simultaneous chemistry measurements from three of the world's most sophisticated research aircraft--combined with data from state-of-the-art radar and lightning sensor technology--will give DC3 scientists the opportunity to make major advances in understanding these chemical processes."

SAILORS PREVIEW MOVIE "BATTLESHIP"

FROM:  U.S. NAVY
Photo:  USS Missouri from U.S. Navy
JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam Sailors Preview 'Battleship'
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Mark Logico, Commander, Navy Region Hawaii Public Affairs

PEARL HARBOR (NNS) -- More than 450 Sailors, and their friends and families, attended the advance screening of Universal Studio's "Battleship" at Sharkey Theater on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, April 28.
Filming for the movie in Hawaii began in 2010 when hundreds of Hawaii-based Sailors, veterans and Navy ships played parts in the movie. The movie featured the capabilities of U.S. Navy destroyers and WWII veterans. In January 2010, even the Battleship Missouri Memorial sailed out to sea for some initial filming.

"We don't put enough attention with our elders, in particular our veterans," said Peter Berg, the director of the movie. "By far my favorite moment on Battleship is getting to meet these veterans. Some of those guys are in their 90s, and they would come on board with the energy of a 20 year old. They had all these stories. They were having the best time. They get to be on their ship. That was, by far, my career highlight."

The cast of Battleship, including Peter Berg, Taylor Kitsch, Brooklyn Decker, Alexander Skarsgard, and Rihanna, were all at Sharkey Theater to greet the audience.

"There was a time when Hollywood didn't see eye-to-eye with the military, and I really think that time is no more," said Berg. "I think that Soldiers feel it. Soldiers are coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan to a different reception then they did when they came back from Vietnam, and I think that's great. I'm just glad to be able to do my part to pay respect."

The movie also featured Col. Gregory Gadson, the Director of the U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program, who is a Wounded Warrior himself. Gadson, who lost both his legs because of an improvised explosive device in 2007, practically played himself as Lt. Col. Mick Canales fighting aliens in the movie.

"I like to say that fighting aliens is no different than fighting a human," said Gadson. "If you're fighting for your life, you're going to do whatever it takes to win."

Gadson said he hopes the movie would also help all warriors, wounded or otherwise, and let them know that life can go on.

"You've got to put behind you what's happened in the past," said Gadson. "When you have an opportunity to learn and to go through hard experiences, you can come out the other side and live a productive life."

To prepare for her role in the movie, Rhianna enlisted the help of Gunner's Mate 2nd Class Jacquelyn Carrizosa, assigned aboard USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) during the filming in 2010.

"She really helped me out," said Rihanna. "I paid attention to her, everything about the way she dressed, the way she walked, her mannerisms, how she spoke, how collected she was. That was very crucial to me playing this part. She was a pretty girl but very, very tough. Her demeanor was so quiet and sweet, and then you see her put on this uniform and she walks on the set, she's a whole different beast. She helps me as a friend but when she gets in her element she's very intimidating."

During the filming, Rihanna and the rest of the cast interacted with many of the Sailors in Hawaii so the actors could better understand their roles in the movie.

"I was exposed to a lot of things that I didn't know about the Navy, just seeing their demeanor, where you lived, where you stayed," said Rihanna. "I heard about how long you guys stayed at sea without your family. It really was an awakening for me. It made me appreciate what you guys do so much more."

The film opens officially in U.S. theaters on May 18. The movie is based on a board game of the same name. It is about how a fleet of ships is forced to fight an armada of alien ships.

"The film is going to expose a lot of what the Navy does, and no one knows how these ships are fought and how the day-to-day stuff is," said Kitsch. "I love how we exposed a lot of that. You read about the sacrifice and what it means to wear the uniform, and I think that's what hit me the most. Not just meeting the Sailors and everyone, that's a part of it, but the families, the sacrifices that they make as well. That was probably the biggest one that I took away: how much sacrifice that is."

U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK SIGNS DEAL TO FACILITATE TRADE BETWEEN U.S. AND MONGOLIA

                                                        Map:  Central Intelligence Agency
FROM:  U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK
Ex-Im Bank, Development Bank of Mongolia Sign MOU to Facilitate Trade Partnership Between Countries
Ex-Im Chairman conducting first business development mission to Mongolia
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia: The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) and the Development Bank of Mongolia signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on May 1st to facilitate trade opportunities between the United States and Mongolia.

Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg and Development Bank Chaiman Bazarsuren Batjargal signed the agreement at the Government House of Mongolia.
“Mongolia has one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and there are enormous opportunities for U.S. businesses to help meet the country’s growing infrastructure needs,” said Fred P. Hochberg, chairman and president of Ex-Im Bank. “Signing this document represents a pledge of cooperation, and we look forward to working together on upcoming projects that benefit both of our countries.”

Chairman Hochberg is on a business-development mission in Mongolia to encourage sourcing of U.S. products and services for regional infrastructure projects. The Bank has historically had limited exposure in the country, however, several products are currently in the pipeline that will increase Ex-Im’s activity.
This is Hochberg’s first visit to Mongolia, and it is the first recorded visit of an Ex-Im Bank chairman to the country since the Bank was formed in 1934.

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

Ex-Im Bank approved $32.7 billion in total authorizations in FY 2011 -- an all-time Ex-Im record. This total includes more than $6 billion directly supporting small-business export sales -- also an Ex-Im record.

107 INDIVIDUALS CHARGED IN $452 MILLION MEDICARE FALSE BILLING SCHEMES

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Medicare Fraud Strike Force Charges 107 Individuals for Approximately $452 Million in False Billing

Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that a nationwide takedown by Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in seven cities has resulted in charges against 107 individuals, including doctors, nurses and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in Medicare fraud schemes involving approximately $452 million in false billing.

Attorney General Holder and Secretary Sebelius were joined in the announcement by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, FBI Deputy Director Sean Joyce, Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Gary Cantrell of the HHS Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) and Dr. Peter Budetti, Deputy Administrator for Program Integrity of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

This coordinated takedown involved the highest amount of false Medicare billings in a single takedown in strike force history.

HHS also suspended or took other administrative action against 52 providers following a data-driven analysis and credible allegations of fraud.  The new health care law, the Affordable Care Act, significantly increased HHS’s ability to suspend payments until an investigation is complete.

The joint Department of Justice and HHS Medicare Fraud Strike Force is a multi-agency team of federal, state and local investigators designed to combat Medicare fraud through the use of Medicare data analysis techniques.   More than 500 law enforcement agents from the FBI, HHS-Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), multiple Medicaid Fraud Control Units, and other state and local law enforcement agencies participated in the takedown.   In addition to making arrests, agents also executed 20 search warrants in connection with ongoing strike force investigations.

“The results we are announcing today are at the heart of an Administration-wide commitment to protecting American taxpayers from health care fraud, which can drive up costs and threaten the strength and integrity of our health care system,” said Attorney General Holder.   “We are determined to bring to justice those who violate our laws and defraud the Medicare program for personal gain.   As today’s takedown reflects, our ongoing fight against health care fraud has never been more coordinated and effective.”
“Today’s arrests send a strong message to criminals that the consequences of committing Medicare fraud are serious,” said HHS Secretary Sebelius.  “In addition to these arrests, we used new authority from the health care law to stop all future payments to 52 health care providers suspected of fraud before they are ever made.  Today’s actions are another example of how the Affordable Care Act is helping the Obama Administration fight fraud and strengthen the Medicare program.”

The defendants charged are accused of various health care fraud-related crimes, including conspiracy to commit health care fraud, health care fraud, violations of the anti-kickback statutes and money laundering.   The charges are based on a variety of alleged fraud schemes involving various medical treatments and services such as home health care, mental health services, psychotherapy, physical and occupational therapy, durable medical equipment (DME) and ambulance services.

According to court documents, the defendants allegedly participated in schemes to submit claims to Medicare for treatments that were medically unnecessary and oftentimes never provided.   In many cases, court documents allege that patient recruiters, Medicare beneficiaries and other co-conspirators were paid cash kickbacks in return for supplying beneficiary information to providers, so that the providers could submit fraudulent billing to Medicare for services that were medically unnecessary or never provided.  Collectively, the doctors, nurses, licensed medical professionals, health care company owners and others charged are accused of conspiring to submit a total of approximately $452 million in fraudulent billing.

“As charged in the indictments, these fraud schemes were committed by people up and down the chain of healthcare providers,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.   “Today’s operations mark the fourth in a series of historic Medicare fraud takedowns over the past two years.   These indictments remind us that Medicare is an attractive target for criminals.   But it should also remind those criminals that they risk prosecution and prison time every time they submit a false claim.”

“Health care fraud is not a victimless crime,” said FBI Deputy Director Joyce.  “Every person who pays for health care benefits, every business that pays higher insurance costs to cover their employees, every taxpayer who funds Medicare—all are victims.  The FBI will continue to work closely with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners to address health care vulnerabilities, fraud and abuse.  We will use every tool we have to ensure our health care dollars are used to care for the sick—not to line the pockets of criminals.”

“Today over 200 OIG Special Agents, Forensic Examiners and Analysts have deployed throughout the country to ensure that those responsible for committing Medicare fraud are held accountable,” said HHS-OIG Deputy Inspector General Cantrell.  “OIG is committed to the strike force model and will continue to use advanced data analytics along with traditional investigative methods to root out those who steal from our Medicare program.”

In Miami, a total of 59 defendants, including three nurses and two therapists, were charged today and yesterday for their participation in various fraud schemes involving a total of $137 million in false billings for home health care, mental health services, occupational and physical therapy, DME and HIV infusion.   Two of these 59 defendants were originally charged in April 2012 but were indicted on additional charges today.   In one case, 10 defendants were charged for participating in a fraud scheme at Health Care Solutions Network, which led to approximately $63 million in fraudulent billing for community mental health center (CMHC) services.   Court documents allege that therapists at Health Care Solutions Network were instructed to alter notes and other medical documents to justify CMHC services for beneficiaries who did not need the services.

Seven individuals were charged today in Baton Rouge, La., for participating in a fraud scheme involving $225 million in false claims for CMHC services.   The case represents the largest CMHC-related scheme ever prosecuted by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force.   According to court documents, the defendants recruited beneficiaries from nursing homes and homeless shelters, some of whom were drug addicted or mentally ill, and provided them with no services or medically inappropriate services.

In Houston, nine individuals, including one doctor and one nurse, were charged today with fraud schemes involving a total of $16.4 million in false billings for home health care and ambulance services.   According to court documents, the owners and operators of four different ambulance companies billed Medicare for ambulance rides that were medically unnecessary.

Eight defendants, including two doctors, were charged in Los Angeles for their roles in schemes to defraud Medicare of approximately $14 million.  In one case, two individuals allegedly billed Medicare for more than $8 million in fraudulent billing for DME.
In Detroit, 22 defendants, including four licensed social workers, were charged for their roles in fraud schemes involving approximately $58 million in false claims for medically unnecessary services, including home health, psychotherapy and infusion therapy.
In Tampa, Fla., a pharmacist was charged with illegal diversion of controlled substances.   One defendant was charged last week in Chicago for his alleged role in a scheme to submit approximately $1 million in false billing to Medicare for psychotherapy services.

The Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations are part of the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team (HEAT), a joint initiative announced in May 2009 between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce current anti-fraud laws around the country.

Since their inception in March 2007, strike force operations in nine locations have charged more than 1,330 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for more than $4 billion.

In addition, the HHS Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to increase accountability and decrease the presence of fraudulent providers.

The cases announced today are being prosecuted and investigated by Medicare Fraud Strike Force teams comprised of attorneys from the Fraud Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and from the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Southern District of Florida, the Eastern District of Michigan, the Southern District of Texas, the Central District of California, the Middle District of Louisiana, the Northern District of Illinois, and the Middle District of Florida, and agents from the FBI, HHS-OIG and state Medicaid Fraud Control Units.

An indictment is merely a charge and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

USS INDEPENDENCE ARRIVES AT HOME PORT

The littoral combat ship USS Independence (LCS 2) arrives at homeport in San Diego. After two years of training off the coast of Florida, the ship's 23-day transit from Mayport, Fla., to San Diego marks the successful completion of testing of the mine countermeasures mission package to detect, localize, and destroy mines in a tactical environment. Independence also transited the Panama Canal and conducted a port visit and operations with the Mexican navy. U.S. Navy photo by Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist Robert Winkler

EXPLOSIVE ORDINANCE DISPOSAL MOBILE UNIT 2 IN TRAINING

FROM:  U.S. NAVY
Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Shane Tuck, assigned to the underwater photo team of Expeditionary Combat Camera, climbs a ladder into an SH60 Sea Hawk helicopter during cast and recovery training with Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit (EODMU) 2. Both units are deployed with Commander Task Group (CTG) 56.1, which provides maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the 5th Fleet area of responsibility. U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jayme Pastoric (Released)

BRIEFING ON ATROCITIES PREVENTION BOARD

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks at a Briefing to the Diplomatic Community on the Atrocities Prevention Board
Remarks Maria Otero
Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Dean Acheson Auditorium
Washington, DC
April 23, 2012
Good afternoon. I am Maria Otero, the Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights. It is my pleasure to welcome all of you here to the Department of State. I am glad to see that the topic of prevention of mass atrocities is one that draws so many ambassadors and other members of the diplomatic corps.

This morning at the Holocaust Museum, President Obama commemorated the Holocaust by officially launching the U.S. government’s new Atrocities Prevention Board or APB. The establishment of this Board reflects President Obama’s commitment to finding ways to make “never again” a reality in the 21st Century.

Last August, President Obama issued Presidential Study Directive Number 10 on Mass Atrocities. The very first line of that directive reads, “Preventing mass atrocities and genocide is a core national security interest and a core moral responsibility of the United States.”

To make sure we further that interest and fulfill that responsibility, the President directed the first-ever comprehensive study of the U.S. government’s atrocity-prevention capabilities. Today, President Obama approved nearly 50 recommendations from the Study to institutionalize the coordination of a whole-of-government approach to preventing mass atrocities. Among those recommendations are ideas that we hope will:
Allow us to see warning signs of atrocities earlier;
Help us develop a wider range of options to prevent atrocities sooner;
And allow us to act before the costs become too great.
The President also noted that it is important that we work with partners in the international community, with UN organizations, and with civil society in our effort to prevent atrocities. As one example, today at the White House, the Board met with activists and NGOs who have been responsible for campaigns to stop atrocities, such as those perpetrated by Joseph Kony and the LRA.

Following the President’s speech, the Atrocities Prevention Board met for the first time. The Board is comprised of a dozen U.S. federal government agencies and offices -- including the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, Treasury, Defense and USAID. It is chaired by Samantha Power, the President’s Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights. Secretary Clinton asked me to represent the State Department on the Board, allowing me to ensure that the Board has the benefit of the strengths of all the Offices and Bureaus in my new Under Secretariat for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights.

This includes not only the colleagues on the stage with me today, but also Bureaus handling population and refugee issues, democracy and human rights, narcotics and law enforcement and counter-terrorism. Leading roles in the State Department Task Force on Atrocity Prevention have also been played by our Bureau of International Organizations, the Office of our Legal Advisor, and our regional bureaus, all of whom have representatives here today. Together, we will work closely with our regional bureaus, drawing from their expertise, to ensure that the U.S. government recognizes and acts on early indicators of potential mass atrocities.

We will use new tools and improve old ones to prevent and respond to atrocities. The State Department and USAID are increasing the ability of the U.S. government to rapidly increase and deploy experts in protecting civilians to crisis areas. We will track lessons from atrocity-prevention and response, increase the capacity of the foreign service, armed services, and development professionals to engage in smart prevention.
And we will continue to encourage deep and broad support among our global partners, including international and regional organizations, to share the burdens of atrocity prevention and response.

The launch of the Atrocities Prevention Board is an important step but it is just the beginning of the hard work. Just because we have organized ourselves better to prevent and respond to atrocities does not mean that atrocities will not continue to happen. But we seek as part of this Study Directive to better understand, prevent, and respond to atrocities wherever they might happen in the world.

I will now introduce the other panelists. First, Ambassador Rick Barton is the Assistant Secretary of State for Conflict and Stabilization Operations. CSO has deployable civilian engagement teams that focus on the early stages of conflict in particular countries, including those in which risks for mass atrocities are evident. Ambassador Barton has a deep background in conflict prevention having worked in Rwanda, Bosnia, Guatemala, Nigeria, among many others.

Next we will hear from Stephen Rapp, the Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice. The office coordinates U.S. government support for existing international and hybrid courts that are trying persons responsible for mass atrocity crimes. The office also helps support domestic tribunals to investigate, judge, and deter atrocity crimes in every region of the globe. Before joining the State Department, Ambassador Rapp served as Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone as well as Chief of Prosecutions at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.

Finally, we will hear from Assistant Secretary Esther Brimmer, who leads the Bureau of International Organization Affairs. That bureau works on topics including human rights, peacekeeping, and humanitarian relief through the United Nations and other international organizations. Immediately prior to her appointment, Dr. Brimmer was Deputy Director and Director of Research at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at The Johns Hopkins University. Earlier in her career she served on the staff of the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict.

EPA TO SPEND $20 MILLION TO MONITOR UNREGULATED CONTAMINANTS

FROM:  ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
EPA to Work with Drinking Water Systems to Monitor Unregulated Contaminants
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today published a list of 28 chemicals and two viruses that approximately 6,000 public water systems will monitor from 2013 to 2015 as part of the agency’s unregulated contaminant monitoring program, which collects data for contaminants suspected to be present in drinking water, but that do not have health-based standards set under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

EPA will spend more than $20 million to support the monitoring, the majority of which will be devoted to assist small drinking water systems with conducting the monitoring. The data collected under the Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule 3 (UCMR 3) will inform EPA about the frequency and levels at which these contaminants are found in drinking water systems across the United States and help determine whether additional protections are needed to ensure safe drinking water for Americans. State participation in the monitoring is voluntary. EPA will fund small drinking water system costs for laboratory analyses, shipping and quality control.

The list of contaminants to be studied includes total chromium and hexavalent chromium, also known as chromium-6. Addressing hexavalent chromium in drinking water is a priority for EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. In January 2011, EPA issued guidance to all water systems on how to assess the prevalence of hexavalent chromium and in the March 2011 proposal for UCMR 3, EPA invited comments on whether the agency should include chromium in the final rule. Public comments received by EPA were strongly supportive of adding total chromium and hexavalent chromium for monitoring.

“The monitoring that will take place will provide EPA with invaluable information about what municipalities are seeing in their drinking water all across the country,” said EPA acting assistant administrator for Water Nancy Stoner. “The results of this multi-year monitoring effort will help inform EPA’s work to ensure Americans receive safe drinking water.”

EPA selected the contaminants by first reviewing the agency’s contaminant candidate list, which highlights priority contaminants that need additional research to support future drinking water protections. The contaminants on the list are known or anticipated to occur in public water systems. However, they are not addressed by existing national drinking water standards. Additional contaminants of concern were selected based on current occurrence research and health-risk factors.

EPA has standards for 91 contaminants in drinking water, and the Safe Drinking Water Act requires that EPA identify up to 30 additional unregulated contaminants for monitoring every five years.

AL QAEDA MEMBER CONVICTED OF PLOTTING ATTACK ON NEW YORK SUBWAYS AND OTHER TERRORIST ACTS

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Al Qaeda Operative Convicted by Jury in One of the Most Serious Terrorist Plots Against America since 9/11Defendant and Co-Plotters Came Within Days of Suicide Bombing of New York Subways Defendant Attempted Suicide Attack on Whitestone Expressway in Queens, New York

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Earlier today, following a four-week trial, Adis Medunjanin, 28, a Queens, N.Y., resident who joined al-Qaeda and plotted to commit a suicide terrorist attack, was found guilty of multiple federal terrorism offenses.  The defendant and his accomplices came within days of executing a plot to conduct coordinated suicide bombings in the New York City subway system in September 2009, as directed by senior al-Qaeda leaders in Pakistan.  When the plot was foiled, the defendant attempted to commit a terrorist attack by crashing his car on the Whitestone Expressway in New York in an effort to kill himself and others.

The guilty verdict was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.

The government’s evidence in this and related cases established that in 2008, Medunjanin and his co-plotters, Najibullah Zazi and Zarein Ahmedzay, agreed to travel to Afghanistan to join the Taliban and kill U.S. military personnel abroad.  They arrived in Peshawar, Pakistan, in late August 2008, but Medunjanin and Ahmedzay were turned back at the Afghanistan border.  Within days, Medunjanin, Zazi and Ahmedzay met with an al-Qaeda facilitator in Peshawar and agreed to travel to Waziristan for terrorist training.  There, they met with al-Qaeda leaders Saleh al-Somali, then the head of al-Qaeda external operations, and Rashid Rauf, a high-ranking al-Qaeda operative, who explained that the three would be more useful to al-Qaeda and the jihad by returning to New York and conducting terrorist attacks.

In Waziristan, Medunjanin, Zazi and Ahmedzay received al-Qaeda training on how to use various types of high-powered weapons, including the AK-47, PK machine gun and rocket-propelled grenade launcher.  During the training, al-Qaeda leaders continued to encourage Medunjanin and his fellow plotters to return to the United States to conduct “martyrdom” operations and emphasized the need to hit well-known targets and maximize the number of casualties.  Medunjanin, Zazi and Ahmedzay agreed and discussed the timing of the attacks and possible target locations in Manhattan, including the subway system, Grand Central Station, the New York Stock Exchange, Times Square and movie theaters.

Upon their return to the United States, Medunjanin, Zazi and Ahmedzay met and agreed to carry out suicide bombings during the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, which fell in late August and September 2009.  Zazi would prepare the explosives, and all three would conduct coordinated suicide bombings.  In July and August 2009, Zazi purchased large quantities of component chemicals necessary to produce the explosive TATP (Triacetone Triperoxide) and twice checked into a hotel room near Denver to mix the chemicals.  Federal investigators later found bomb-making residue in the hotel room.

On Sept. 8, 2009, Zazi drove from Denver to New York, carrying operational detonator explosives and other materials necessary to build bombs.  However, shortly after arriving in New York, he learned that law enforcement was investigating the plotters’ activities.  The men discarded the explosives and other bomb-making materials, and Zazi traveled back to Denver, where he was arrested on Sept. 19, 2009.

On Jan. 7, 2010, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at Medunjanin’s residence.  Shortly thereafter, Medunjanin left his apartment and attempted to turn his car into a weapon of terror by crashing it into another car at high speed on the Whitestone Expressway.  Moments before impact, Medunjanin called 9-1-1, identified himself and left his message of martyrdom, shouting an al-Qaeda slogan:  “We love death more than you love your life.”
       
Today, Medunjanin was convicted of conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction, conspiring to commit murder of U.S. military personnel abroad, providing and conspiring to provide material support to al-Qaeda, receiving military training from al-Qaeda, conspiring and attempting to commit an act of terrorism transcending national boundaries, and using firearms and destructive devices in relation to these offenses.  When sentenced by U.S. District Judge John Gleeson on Sept. 7, 2012, Medunjanin faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison.  To date, seven defendants, including Medunjanin, Zazi and Ahmedzay, have been convicted in connection with the al-Qaeda New York City bombing plot and related charges.

“Adis Medunjanin was an active and willing participant in one of the most serious terrorist plots against the homeland since 9/11.  Were it not for the combined efforts of the law enforcement and intelligence communities, the suicide bomb attacks that he and others planned would have been devastating,” said Assistant Attorney General Monaco.  “I thank the many agents, analysts and prosecutors who helped bring about today’s result.  I also thank our counterparts in the United Kingdom for their assistance in this investigation and prosecution.”

“Justice was served today in Brooklyn, as a jury of New Yorkers convicted an al-Qaeda operative bent on terrorism, mass murder and destruction in the New York City subways,” said U.S. Attorney Lynch.  “Adis Medunjanin’s journey of radicalization led him from Flushing, Queens, to Peshawar, Pakistan, to the brink of a terrorist attack in New York City – and soon to a lifetime in federal prison.  As this case has proved, working against sophisticated terrorist organizations and against the clock, our law enforcement and intelligence agencies can detect, disrupt and destroy terrorist cells before they strike, saving countless innocent lives.”

U.S. Attorney Lynch expressed her gratitude and appreciation to the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force in New York and each of the federal, state and local law enforcement personnel who took part in the investigation, as well as to the law enforcement authorities in the United Kingdom and Norway who assisted with the case.

U.S.-PANAMA SIGN AGREEMENT ON ENVIRONMENTAL COOPERATION

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Signing of the U.S.-Panama Agreement on Environmental Cooperation
Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC
May 2, 2012
On May 2, the United States and Panama signed an Environmental Cooperation Agreement (ECA). The ECA will help ensure that trade and environmental policies work together to provide greater economic opportunities for businesses and workers in the United States and Panama. The ECA recognizes the U.S. and Panama’s commitment to expanding cooperation on environmental matters. As a complement to the U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement, the ECA establishes a framework for bilateral cooperation to protect the environment and promote sustainable development in concert with the U.S.-Panama trade and investment relationship.

The ECA provides for a new Environmental Cooperation Commission, which will help oversee the implementation of the agreement. This Commission will define a work program to establish specific goals, objectives, and areas for cooperation that are reflective of each country’s national environmental priorities.
Bilateral and regional environmental cooperation under the ECA will help ensure that:
Obligations under the Environment Chapter of the U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement are fulfilled;
Progress is made toward a level playing field on environmental rules for businesses in the United States and Panama; and Trade and environmental policies are mutually supportive.
Through environmental cooperation, the United States and Panama will advance the world’s transition to a green economy and a sustainable future.

AFGHAN FORCES CONTAIN TALIBAN ATTACK

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
Afghan Forces Contain Taliban Attack in Kabul
Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases
WASHINGTON, May 2, 2012 - Afghan security forces led a capable and quick response in containing a Taliban attack in Afghanistan's capital of Kabul today, military officials reported.

All of the attackers were killed, officials said. According to initial International Security Assistance Force reporting, a small group of insurgents attacked a private compound. The attack was unsuccessful in killing any ISAF personnel, but it resulted in Afghan civilian casualties, including children.

"This is another desperate attack by the Taliban, but again another noteworthy performance by Afghan security forces for taking the lead in putting down another desperate attack by insurgents," said German army Brig. Gen. Carsten Jacobson, ISAF spokesman. The insurgents' attack "resulted in the deaths of innocent Afghan civilians, with most of that being children from a nearby school," Jacobson added.
In operations around Afghanistan today:

-- An Afghan-led, coalition-supported force killed an insurgent, detained several suspects and seized assault rifles, magazines with ammunition, and multiple grenades and rocket-propelled grenades during a mission to capture a Taliban leader in the Baghlan-e Jadid district of Baghlan province.

-- A combined force detained a Taliban leader as well as multiple insurgents and confiscated bomb-making materials in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province. The insurgent 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 plans and coordinates roadside bombings, suicide attacks and other operations against Afghan and coalition forces. He also attempts to impose Taliban law on Afghan civilians in the Musa Qalah, Now Zad and Baghran districts.

-- A combined force captured a Taliban leader and another suspect in the Gelan district of Ghazni province. The insurgent leader conducted roadside-bomb attacks against Afghan civilians, Afghan security forces and coalition troops along Highway 1.

-- A combined force detained multiple suspects and seized a manual for constructing improvised explosive devices during an operation to capture a Haqqani network facilitator in the Muhammad Aghah district of Logar province. The facilitator provides weapons, ammunition and equipment to insurgents for attacks against Afghan officials, Afghan troops, and coalition forces in Kabul City.

-- A combined force detained multiple suspects and seized several weapons and a grenade during an operation to capture a Haqqani facilitator in the Sabari district of Khost province. The facilitator provides weapons, ammunition and IEDs to insurgents for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.
Yesterday, a combined force found and destroyed about 2,035 pounds of homemade explosive materials and multiple IED-making components in the Ab Band district of Ghazni province.