U.S.-ICELAND RELATIONS

Photo:  Icelandic Coast Guard.  Credit:  Wikimedia.
FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
U.S. Relations With Iceland
Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
Fact Sheet
June 15, 2012
The United States was the first country to recognize Iceland's independence in 1944 following Danish rule, union with Denmark under a common king, and German and British occupation during World War II. Iceland is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) but has no standing military of its own. The United States and Iceland signed a bilateral defense agreement in 1951; it remains in force, although U.S. military forces are no longer permanently stationed in Iceland.

The U.S.-Icelandic relationship is founded on cooperation and mutual support. The two countries share a commitment to individual freedom, human rights, and democracy. U.S. policy aims to maintain close, cooperative relations with Iceland, both as a NATO ally and as a friend interested in the shared objectives of enhancing world peace; respect for human rights; economic development; arms control; and law enforcement cooperation, including the fight against terrorism, narcotics, and human trafficking. The United States and Iceland work together on a wide range of issues from enhancing peace and stability in Afghanistan, to harnessing new green energy sources, to ensuring peaceful cooperation in the Arctic.

U.S. Assistance to Iceland
The 1951 bilateral defense agreement stipulated that the U.S. would make arrangements for Iceland's defense on behalf of NATO and provided for basing rights for U.S. forces in Iceland. In 2006 the U.S. announced it would continue to provide for Iceland's defense but without permanently basing forces in the country. That year, Naval Air Station Keflavik closed and the two countries signed a technical agreement on base closure issues (e.g., facilities return, environmental cleanup, residual value) and a "joint understanding" on future bilateral security cooperation (focusing on defending Iceland and the North Atlantic region against emerging threats such as terrorism and trafficking). The United States also worked with local officials to mitigate the impact of job losses at the Air Station, notably by encouraging U.S. investment in industry and tourism development in the Keflavik area. Cooperative activities in the context of the new agreements have included joint search and rescue, disaster surveillance, and maritime interdiction training with U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard units; and U.S. deployments to support the NATO air surveillance mission in Iceland.

Bilateral Economic Relations
The United States seeks to strengthen bilateral economic and trade relations. Most of Iceland's exports go to the European Union (EU) and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries, followed by the United States and Japan. The U.S. is the largest foreign investor in Iceland, primarily in the aluminum sector. The United States and Iceland signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement in 2009.

Iceland's Membership in International Organizations
Iceland's ties with other Nordic states, the United States, and other NATO member states are particularly close. Iceland and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the United Nations, NATO, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Arctic Council, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization.

CORROSION MAY BE APPEALING BUT, IT IS ALSO VERY COSTLY

Photo:  Corrosion Credit: Wikimedia.
FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Combating Corrosion
Written on JUNE 22, 2012 AT 7:23 AM by JTOZER
Corrosion is a very real and expensive problem for DOD and the Navy.  Thanks to people like Keith Lucas, combating this problem is becoming easier.
U.S. Naval Research Laboratory materials research engineer Keith Lucas, of the Chemistry Division, is the recipient of the 2012 Department of the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award for comprehensive research in marine corrosion mitigation and effective cost-saving transfer to the U.S. Navy Fleet, increasing operational capabilities and useful life of both submarines and ships.

Re-preservation costs correlated to corrosion damage of U.S. Navy ships has been documented at nearly $3 billion annually, with shipboard tanks and voids being the leading contributor to this expense.

That’s a lot of money dedicated to keeping things shipshape and Bristol fashion.
“Early in his career Lucas and his co-inventors developed a paired reference electrode and instrumented sacrificial anode system and remote data logger that allows for remote assessment of the state of preservation of shipboard tanks and voids,” said Dr. Richard Colton, superintendent, NRL Chemistry Division. “This laid the foundation for the development of tank monitoring systems now being implemented in the surface combatant fleet.”

These systems are projected to provide an annual realized cost avoidance of nearly $10 million a year through the reduction of ballast tank opening, gas-freeing and manned entry for the purpose of tank coating inspections.

Starting in 1990, Lucas and his colleagues began two decades of scientific research in the field of cathodic protection modeling, leading the early efforts to establish mathematical principles and scaling laws for the physical scale modeling of marine vessels for the purpose of cathodic protection.

Lucas, together with colleagues, studied the effects of electrolytic chlorination on materials, environmental effects on metallic and non-metallic materials, principles of corrosion monitoring and detection, and the theory and practice of cathodic protection design.

His research showed that using Physical Scale Modeling (PSM) of ICCP it was possible to scale electrolytic path lengths to accurately and repeatedly simulate full-scale electrochemical systems.

The development of the PSM technique for ICCP design allowed for the simulation and optimization of full-scale cathodic protection systems while allowing for realistic cathodic current demand and distribution at practicable laboratory scales, allowing for the first time, an empirical approach to underwater hull corrosion control system design.

To date, eight United States Navy (USN) ship classes and three USN submarine classes have ICCP designed by this method. In addition, both the United Kingdom Navy and French Navy have active research programs based on these concepts.

Located on Fleming Key, adjacent to the island of Key West, Fla., the Chemistry Division’s Marine Corrosion Facility plays an important role in providing technical expertise to Naval Sea Systems Command and supports the command directly as a designated engineering agent (EA) for the Navy Materials/Corrosion/Coatings Technical Authority.
The facility is additionally designated by NAVSEA as the cathodic protection design agent for Navy ships and serves as EA in the areas of cathodic protection, coatings and corrosion control.

U.S.-IRELAND RELATIONS

Map Credit:  U.S. State Department
U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
U.S. Relations With Ireland
Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs
Fact Sheet
June 15, 2012
U.S. relations with Ireland have long been based on common ancestral ties and shared values, and emigration has been a foundation of the U.S.-Irish relationship. Besides regular dialogue on political and economic issues, the U.S. and Irish Governments have official exchanges in areas such as medical research and education. With Ireland's membership in the European Union (EU), discussions of EU trade and economic policies as well as other aspects of EU policy have also become key elements in the U.S.-Irish relationship.

Irish citizens have continued a common practice of taking temporary residence overseas for work or study, mainly in Australia, the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom (U.K.), and elsewhere in Europe. Along with an increased interest in long-term emigration, there has been a surge of interest in “mid-term” emigration for 3-5 years, which has been mirrored in Irish Government interest in a specialized extended-stay visa for mid-career professionals to live/work in the U.S. The U.S. J-1 visa program is popular means for Irish youths to work temporarily in the United States; a bilateral program expansion in 2008 that provides further opportunities for recent graduates to spend up to 1 year in the United States has been undersubscribed. A high priority of the Irish Government is the need to find a legal remedy for those Irish living out of status in the United States.

Regarding Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom, "Nationalist" and "Republican" groups seek a united Ireland that includes Northern Ireland, while "Unionists" and "Loyalists" want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom. U.S. priorities continue to be supporting the peace process and devolved political institutions in Northern Ireland and encouraging the implementation of the U.S.-brokered 1998 Belfast Agreement, also known as the Good Friday Agreement, and the 2006 St. Andrews Agreement.

U.S. Assistance to Ireland
The International Fund for Ireland (IFI), created in 1986, provides funding for projects to generate cross-community engagement and economic opportunity in Northern Ireland (the United Kingdom) and the border counties of Ireland. Since the IFI's establishment, the U.S. Government has contributed over $500 million, roughly half of total IFI funding. The other major donor to IFI is the European Union.

Bilateral Economic Relations
Economic and trade ties are an important facet of overall U.S.-Irish relations. U.S. exports to Ireland include electrical components and equipment, computers and peripherals, drugs and pharmaceuticals, and livestock feed. Irish exports to the United States include alcoholic beverages, chemicals and related products, electronic data processing equipment, electrical machinery, textiles and clothing, and glassware. U.S. firms year after year account for over half of Ireland's total exports.

U.S. investment has been particularly important to the growth and modernization of Irish industry over the past 25 years, providing new technology, export capabilities, and employment opportunities. There are approximately 600 U.S. subsidiaries in Ireland that employ roughly 100,000 people and span activities from manufacturing of high-tech electronics, computer products, medical supplies, and pharmaceuticals to retailing, banking, finance, and other services. In more recent years, Ireland has also become an important research and development center for U.S. firms in Europe.

Ireland's Membership in International Organizations
Ireland and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the United Nations, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and World Trade Organization. Ireland is also a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Partnership for Peace program.

CHAIRMAN JOINT CHIEFS LOOKS TO FUTURE WITH BUDGET CONTRAINTS

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
Dempsey Looks to the Future in a Time of Budget Constraints
By Amaani Lyle
WASHINGTON, June 19, 2012 - As fiscal constraints reshape priorities, the military will become a leaner force but one still able to provide the nation's leaders with options, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said today.

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey told an audience at the National Press  Club here that he and other Defense Department officials will build the future force with a focus on balancing manpower with technology to meet mission requirements.  The force of the next decade, known as Joint Force 2020, must be postured to confront whatever challenges the United States faces, he told the forum.

"Ultimately we have to protect the nation from coercion" -- whether that's on the high seas, in cyberspace, or on land, Dempsey said. "We've got to be able to provide the nation's leader with options, so we can't afford to become a niche force."

The chairman noted the drawdown of troops from Afghanistan and also said about 120,000 personnel will transition out of the military in the next decade. This will prompt an important linkage between DOD and the Department of Veterans Affairs and other organizations that assist service members migrating into the private sector.

The drawdown from Afghanistan will enable the United States to direct greater attention to demographic, economic and military shifts in the Asia-Pacific region. Joint Force 2020 also takes into account the deepening partnerships in the Asia-Pacific region.

"Our presence there will help promote stability, while our absence will be the destabilizing influence," Dempsey said. "I want our partners to know that we've been in the Pacific ... but we're starting to re-engage in a more positive and proactive way."

Dempsey also confirmed the United States' commitment to improving strained relations in Pakistan.

"Pakistan is our most complex relationship ... but it's an important relationship."  He noted that U.S. officials remain committed to promoting peace in the region in the wake of roughly 44,000 civilian and 14,000 military deaths there since 9/11.

Whether serving in Central Asia, the Middle East, the Asia-Pacific region or other places around the world, Dempsey said those entering the military can expect more innovative professional development and training to confront modern threats.

"We've embarked on a campaign to renew and refresh our understanding of what it means to be in a profession – not in an occupation – but a profession," Dempsey said.
Despite budgetary constraints, the Defense Department must make sure it maintains a ready, competent force composed of people capable of performing future missions.
"We can't trade manpower for technology," Dempsey said. "We need to find that balance between investing in technology, investing in manpower and not become enamored of shiny objects

THE METEORITE OF MARS

FROM:  NASA
Metal on the Plains of Mars 
Image Credit: Mars Exploration Rover Mission, JPL, NASA
Explanation: What has the Opportunity rover found on Mars? While traversing a vast empty plain in 2005 in Meridiani Planum, one of Earth's rolling robots on Mars found a surprise when visiting the location of its own metallic heat shield discarded last year during descent. The surprise is the rock visible on the lower left, found to be made mostly of dense metals iron and nickel. The large cone-shaped object behind it -- and the flank piece on the right -- are parts of Opportunity's jettisoned heat shield. Smaller shield debris is also visible. Scientists do not think that the basketball-sized metal "Heat Shield Rock" originated on Mars, but rather is likely an ancient metallic meteorite. In hindsight, finding a meteorite in a vast empty dust plain on Mars might be considered similar to Earth meteorites found on the vast empty ice plains of Antarctica. The finding raises speculations about the general abundance of rocks on Mars that have fallen there from outer space.

NATIONAL CONTACT POINTS AND BUSINESS RESPONSIBILITY TO RESPECT HUMAN RIGHTS

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
The Contribution of National Contact Points in furthering the Responsibility of Business to Respect Human Rights
Remarks Gregory Maggio, Ph.D., U.S. OECD National Contact Point
National Contact Points and the Extractive Sector
London, United Kingdom
March 23, 2012

Introduction
Good afternoon. It is a pleasure to attend this important meeting in London, a city where I studied international law and worked several years ago.
Before getting into the details about where we see contributions of National Contact Points toward furthering implementation among businesses of the responsibility to respect human rights, I would first like to tell you something about the Office of the United States National Contact Point.

After that, I will discuss some State Department perspectives on the responsibility "to respect."

Lastly, I will offer some of our thoughts about opportunities available for National Contact Points to further the observance of this responsibility.

The Office of the U.S. National Contact Point and Extractive Industries
In line with the OECD's updating of the Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises in 2011, the U.S. Government undertook a simultaneous review to enhance the effectiveness of the U.S. National Contact Point. Key results of this effort were:
Creation of a new set of Procedures for the U.S. NCP's handling of specific instances;
Staffing of a two-person U.S. NCP Team, of which I am a member, that reports directly to the State Department's Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs;
AND
Establishment of a stakeholder advisory board comprised of representatives from business, labor, civil society and academia, to provide recommendations regarding the activities of the U.S. NCP. The Board held its first meeting a few days ago. You can find further information about all of this on the U.S. NCP's website.

Keeping in mind that our new NCP Team has been operating for only eight months, we have been receiving positive, constructive feedback about our outreach and other activities.

I'd like to note that matters concerning multinational enterprises in the extractive industry sector are playing a role in our portfolio. So far, our new NCP Team has been involved with nine specific instance submissions, three of which concern multinational enterprises engaged in extractives industry-related activities. In one of these cases,[1] the U.S. NCP has already concluded its involvement and released a public statement.

The State Department's View on the Responsibility of Business to Respect Human Rights
Now, let me provide an overview of State Department perspectives on the responsibility to respect in relation to the policies and operations of businesses and their stakeholders.
As we know, human rights law generally imposes obligations on States.
However, companies also have an important role to play in the context of the exercise and enjoyment of human rights.

Secretary Clinton's Economic Statecraft agenda recognizes that around the world "economic forces are transforming foreign policy realities" in ways beyond what might have been imagined only a few decades ago.

She also recently noted: “This administration understands that in the 21st century, governments are not the only major players. Corporations, NGOs, private citizens, and civil society groups shape events and developments across the globe. The United States Government wants to be your ally and your partner – so we are all working together to make human rights a reality in the places where you do business.”[2]

This need for governments and businesses to cooperate to address human rights and other issues is grounded in the facts of this increasingly integrated world, where more than one-third of the 100 largest economic actors today are private companies, not countries.
Extractive companies operate in some of the most complex environmentally, socially and politically sensitive locations, where governments may lack the capacity, disposition, or an adequate legal framework to enforce the law.

A key objective for National Contact Points is to offer opportunities to assist businesses to put into practice the responsibility to respect human rights, and to raise awareness about implementation of the Guidelines with business, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholders.

As we are well aware, this responsibility exists independently of States’ abilities or willingness to fulfill their own human rights obligations to their people.

John Ruggie’s development of the UN Guiding Principles on business and human rights constructed a roadmap for the way forward. Professor Ruggie's work was critical in building consensus around the responsibility of business to respect human rights.

My Government welcomes that the human rights chapter of the 2011 OECD Guidelines draws upon and is in line with the UN Guiding Principles.

The articulation of the responsibility to respect in the OECD Guidelines further affirms international recognition of the Guiding Principles, along with the Guidelines, as a widely accepted framework for how companies, governments and other stakeholders can cooperate to develop strategies and achieve solutions for furthering respect for human rights.

It should also be noted that the American Bar Association formally endorsed both the Protect, Respect and Remedy Framework articulated in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

Now I'd like to underscore a basic point: Complying with local law may not, on its own, suffice to ensure that companies avoid the full spectrum of human rights-related risks.
As the OECD Guidelines recognize:

"Respect for human rights is the global standard of expected conduct for enterprises, independently of States' abilities and/ or willingness to fulfill their human rights obligations and does not diminish those obligations.”[3]
Of course, realizing this objective can present formidable challenges for companies and their stakeholders, depending on the circumstances in which they are operating.

Due Diligence
As articulated in the UN Guiding Principles, and reiterated in the OECD Guidelines, a key means by which enterprises can conduct their operations in a manner directed at respect for human rights is to build human rights-based due diligence into their standard operations.

Assessing human rights impacts is not a one-off exercise. It is an ongoing process integrated throughout the business’s operational structure.

The UN Guiding Principles and the OECD Guidelines establish broad parameters, such as what a company should consider when undertaking human rights due diligence.

These texts can assist companies to see:
The importance of having the appropriate due diligence processes in place for their own on the ground circumstances, AND
What those processes should look like.
Many companies realize that the responsibility to respect human rights is important. However, they often don't know how to effectively incorporate and implement it in their actual operations. This is an ongoing challenge.

I'd like to briefly share some relevant points in the context of company efforts to implement this responsibility to respect:

The Due Diligence process should begin by taking proactive steps to learn how existing and planned activities impact human rights and identifying whose rights could reasonably be impacted. A key means for doing this is stakeholder engagement.
While there is substantial talk about stakeholder engagement, the concept is often perceived in terms of a transaction step, a box to check to meet a permit or other requirement or just a nice community relations exercise.

There is a need for greater appreciation for such engagement as an intrinsic feature of a company’s way of doing business, including in relation to all of its operations.
A company should also publicly announce a broad policy statement on human rights that permeates all levels of its operations that creates a strong internal incentive to conduct effective due diligence.

A company does not have to start from scratch to do this. A company's already existing labor rights, workplace safety, and grievance policies could be incorporated into a general human rights policy. The key is integrating human rights-based due diligence into the daily activities of the company's core operations as well as its other relationships. We believe that NCPs could play a much more active role in helping companies implement more effectively human rights due diligence, including how to undertake robust stakeholder engagement.

The US National Contact Point's Contribution
1) Now, what tools do National Contact Points have to contribute to the implementation by business of the responsibility to respect human rights? The Guidelines, as well as the Guidelines' supporting procedural guidance and commentary in implementation procedures provide NCPs with several means to undertake the NCP's mandate to further the effectiveness of the Guidelines. These include: Promotion and Awareness Raising and responding to inquiries from business and stakeholders about the Guidelines

2) Contributing to Resolution of Disputes in relation to an enterprise's observance of the Guidelines, through the Specific Instance process;
AND

3) The Proactive Agenda-- which is designed to provide a forum to bring business, civil society and other stakeholders together to consider new developments and emerging practices and to collaborate on identifying and responding to potential emerging risks.
I'll discuss each of these briefly.

It almost goes without saying that in executing their promotion and awareness-raising function NCPs have an ideal opportunity to provide businesses and stakeholders with information on the meaning of the responsibility to respect.

NCPs can use their promotion and awareness raising function to provide companies and stakeholders with information about available resources that can help companies figure out how to actually implement the responsibility to respect in light of their own industry sector, country and other operating circumstances.

Existing resources include various multi-stakeholder and other tools, such as:
the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights; OR
Luxor Protocol[4] designed to guide companies in countering trafficking in persons in relation to their direct activities and supply chains. There are also a number of other materials out there for you to consider
Additionally, government resources can help companies in addressing these issues. One of the U.S. NCP's functions is to be a key resource to help U.S.-based multinationals obtain information about human rights conditions, such as that contained in the State Department's annual country Human Rights Reports or through the services of our embassies abroad.

I’ll just briefly say that the Specific Instance process also has the potential to play a constructive role in fostering greater awareness and understanding among businesses and stakeholders in relation to concrete issue-based situations, about effective observance of the Guidelines.

Finally, the Proactive Agenda is a relatively new tool, which NCPs and stakeholders could find to be a creative and constructive avenue for substantially enhancing business' implementation of the responsibility to respect human rights.

The Proactive Agenda could:
provide companies and stakeholders with a unique, creative opportunity to meet, discuss and cooperate on identifying, analyzing and offering for consideration ideas for addressing basic implementation challenges;
AND
offer a safe space for all parties to meet and deliberate over options-- such as lessons learned, and best practices -- including from the concrete experiences of other companies and stakeholders-- regarding what has worked and what has not been successful.

The Proactive Agenda, along with the NCP's promotion and awareness-raising function, can also be a core repository of knowledge on new-thinking, and information sharing on cutting-edge research in relation to the experiences of existing mechanisms, such as the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman at the International Finance Corporation, that are also focused on fostering respect for human rights in their problem-solving and related work.

Companies here today- including my co-panelist from Rio Tinto - participate in the “Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights." For example, Rio Tinto's contributions to strengthening the Voluntary Principles and a related pilot project could be topics for stakeholder discussions in the context of the Proactive Agenda.


Conclusion
I hope that I've been able to provide you with some observations and thoughts for further consideration regarding ways in which National Contact Points can make valuable contributions to furthering the corporate responsibility to respect human rights. Thank you for your attention. I would be pleased to respond to any questions or comments you might have.

[1] This specific instance concerned the non-governmental organization Lead Education and Abatement Design Group Incorporated (LEAD) and the corporation Innospec.
[2] Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, remarks to the 11th Annual Plenary Meeting of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, State Department, March 2011
[3] 2011 OECD Guidelines, Chapter IV, Human Rights, para. 37.
[4] The Luxor Protocol: Implementation Guidelines to the Athens Ethical Principles Luxor

FORMER OFFICIAL OF AMERICA SAMOA SPECIAL SERVICES COMMISSION GETS PRISON TIME FOR CONSPIRACY TO STEAL GRANT FUNDS

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Former Executive Director of the American Samoa Special Services Commission Sentenced to 14 Months in Prison for Conspiracy to Steal More Than $325,000 in AmeriCorps Grant Funds

WASHINGTON – The former executive director of the American Samoa Special Services Commission (the Commission) was sentenced today in Washington, D.C., to 14 months in prison for conspiracy to steal more than $325,000 in AmeriCorps grant funds, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton for the District of Columbia sentenced Mine S. Pase to 14 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.  Judge Walton also ordered Pase to pay $325,408 in restitution.

On Nov. 18, 2011, Pase pleaded guilty to a one-count criminal information charging her with conspiracy to commit theft of federal funds.

According to court documents, between March 2001 and October 2010, Pase served as the Commission’s executive director.  As an agency of the American Samoa Government, the Commission established and administered four community-based programs that provided services for American Samoans, including youth literacy programs, youth computer training, environmental conservation activities and family counseling services.  The Commission and its programs relied exclusively on AmeriCorps grants from the Corporation for National and Community Service.  From approximately January 2007 through October 2010, the Corporation for National and Community Service awarded the Commission and its programs a total of $9.4 million in federal grant funds.

Pase admitted that she arranged for herself, her relatives, commissioners, and Commission staff to receive a total of $325,408 in federal funds to which they were not lawfully entitled.  These unlawful payments took the form of $109,532 in unlawful payments for purported business trips that Pase and others did not take; $78,889 in unlawful payments for vacation trips to Apia, Western Samoa; $89,313 in unlawful payments for meals; $19,665 in unlawful payments to Pase’s daughter under a bogus car lease agreement; and $28,009 in unlawful payments to Pase and her relatives for the use of damaged office space in which two of the Commission’s programs were housed.

According to court documents, Pase and her relatives personally received at least $123,236 of the $325,408 in stolen federal funds.

The case against Pase arose from the Corporation for National and Community Service’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) audit and investigation of the Commission.  As a result of the OIG’s audit and investigation, the Commission’s federal funding was terminated and the Commission shut down.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Edward J. Loya Jr. of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.  The case is being investigated by special agents of the Corporation for National and Community Service OIG, with assistance from special agents of the FBI-Honolulu Division, American Samoa Resident Agency.

SEC. OF DEFENSE PANETTA WELCOMES NEW UNDERSECRETARIES

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta welcomes three new undersecretaries of defense recently confirmed by the Senate in a ceremony at the Pentagon, June 22, 2012. They are: Frank Kendall, far left, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics; James N. Miller, second from left, undersecretary of defense for policy; and Erin C. Conaton, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo  



Panetta Welcomes Senate-confirmed Leaders to Pentagon
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
WASHINGTON, June 22, 2012 – Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta today formally welcomed three recently Senate-confirmed leaders to the Defense Department as undersecretaries of defense during a Pentagon ceremony.

Panetta introduced Frank Kendall, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, who was confirmed May 24; James N. Miller, undersecretary of defense for policy, confirmed May 25; and Erin C. Conaton, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, confirmed June 8.

“It’s a little odd, frankly, to have a ceremony welcoming these people into the Pentagon family,” Panetta said. “It’s a little bit like ‘Uncle’ Frank, ‘Uncle’ Jim [and] ‘Aunt’ Erin -- welcoming them to a family that they’re already part of. And they very much are a part of this family.”

Panetta noted all three undersecretaries had gone through the “gauntlet” of Senate confirmation and were rewarded with “some of the hardest, most challenging and most demanding jobs in government.”

“All three of these individuals that we’re honoring today have actually been working very hard, and for some time, in this department shaping our most important policies,” he said.
“From our new defense strategy to reforming the way we buy new equipment to managing all aspects of our Air Force, they are very much a part of the core team that I engage with every day,” the secretary said.

Panetta described the trio of defense leaders as people who help “talk through all the issues and challenges that we have to confront … to help run one of the largest bureaucracies in the world.”

“Very frankly, there is no way I could do this job without the team of people that work with me every day to help take on the challenges that we face,” the secretary said. “Every one of these individuals, and everyone who is part of my team, is very much a profile of service to the country.”

Panetta spoke of each undersecretary, beginning with Kendall. Panetta said Kendall has a “very important position in the Department of Defense.”

Kendall’s position, Panetta said, has the challenge of dealing with DOD regulations, different weapons systems, the requirements and rules imposed by Congress and elsewhere, negotiations with contractors across the country and other challenges relating to cost controls and cost management.

“Frank manages a $400 billion-a-year acquisition system that ensures that our troops have the best, most-advanced weapons, most-advanced technology in the world,” Panetta said.

“Jim Miller … is our new undersecretary for policy,” the secretary said. The position, he added, is a “very unique job, in part [because] you have to have big brain.”

Panetta said Miller’s job requires the skill sets of an academic, a negotiator, a politician, statesman and psychologist, among other traits.

“Jim brings to this position really a remarkable strategic insight into the challenges that we face,” he added.

Panetta described Conaton’s job as a “battlefield” position compared to the jobs of the previous two undersecretaries of defense he introduced.

“You are on the frontlines in the job of undersecretary for personnel and readiness,” Panetta said to Conaton. “You’re dealing with issues that confront people in this department from birth, through their career, to their death. It’s all dealt with in this shop.”

“It really does relate to the quality of life that our people have -- men and women in uniform -- and our civilian workforce,” Panetta added. “I know that in this position Erin will be an outstanding advocate for all of our volunteer force, our department civilians and their families.”

Panetta also praised Conaton’s tenacity, noting she’s a native of New Jersey. “When you come from New Jersey, you have a certain sense of fight that you have to have,” he said. “And she has that. She’s a proven leader and she’s a proven fighter.”

In addition to welcoming the three undersecretaries, Panetta expressed his personal gratitude to their families for their support. He also thanked Jo Ann Rooney, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness, who held Conaton’s position on an interim basis while she underwent the confirmation process.
The defense secretary acknowledged there has been “an awful lot of movement” in the department’s leadership in recent months.

“But we now have a full team in place,” Panetta said. “A team that I’m very confident will help us meet our responsibility to the men and women in uniform, and the men and women who are part of our civilian workforce.”

“This department is stronger, and I believe our country is safer, because of your talent, your dedication and your teamwork,” he said.

VIRGINA MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO PLOTTING SUICIDE BOMB ATTACK ON THE U.S. CAPITOL BUILDING

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Friday, June 22, 2012
Virginia Man Pleads Guilty in Plot to Carry out Suicide Bomb Attack on U.S. Capitol
Amine El Khalifi, a 29-year-old resident of Alexandria, Va., pleaded guilty today in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia in connection with his efforts to carry out a suicide bomb attack on the U.S. Capitol Building in February 2012 as part of what he intended to be a terrorist operation.

The guilty plea was announced by Neil H. MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; and James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office.

At a hearing today before U.S. District Court Judge James C. Cacheris, El Khalifi pleaded guilty to one count of attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction (specifically, a destructive device consisting of an improvised explosive device) against U.S. property, namely the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.  As part of the plea agreement, the United States and El Khalifi agree that a sentence within a range of 25 years to 30 years incarceration is the appropriate disposition of this case.   Sentencing has been scheduled for Sept. 14, 2012.

El Khalifi, an illegal immigrant from Morocco, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint on Feb. 17, 2012.  His arrest was the culmination of an undercover operation during which he was closely monitored by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF).  The explosives and firearm that he allegedly sought and attempted to use had been rendered inoperable by law enforcement and posed no threat to the public.

“Amine El Khalifi sought to bring down the U.S. Capitol and kill as many people as possible,” said U.S. Attorney MacBride. “He admitted today that he picked the targets, weapons, and means of the suicide attack while working with someone he believed was an Al Qaeda operative.”

“Amine El-Khalifi today admitted that he attempted to carry out a suicide attack on the U.S. Capitol as part of what he believed would be a terrorist operation,” said Assistant Attorney General Monaco.  “I thank all those responsible for ensuring that El Khalifi’s violent plans never came to fruition.”

“The FBI’s top priority is stopping terrorism, and we remain vigilant against those who attempt to commit violence against the United States,” said Assistant Director in Charge McJunkin.  “Today’s plea is the result of the hard work of dedicated Special Agents, analysts and prosecutors as well as officers from our partner law enforcement agencies that make up the Joint Terrorism Task Force.”

According to the statement of facts and other court documents filed in the case, in January 2011, a confidential human source reported to the FBI that El Khalifi met with other individuals at a residence in Arlington, Va., on Jan. 11, 2011.   During this meeting, one individual produced what appeared to be an AK-47, two revolvers and ammunition.   El Khalifi allegedly expressed agreement with a statement by this individual that the “war on terrorism” was a “war on Muslims” and said that the group needed to be ready for war.

According to court documents, El Khalifi sought to be associated with an armed extremist group, and on Dec 1, 2011, he was introduced by a man he knew as “Hussien” to an individual named “Yusuf,” who was, in reality, an undercover law enforcement officer.  Throughout December 2011 and January 2012, El Khalifi proposed to carry out a bombing attack.  His proposed targets included a building that contained U.S. military offices, as well as a synagogue, U.S. Army generals and a restaurant frequented by military officials.

During meetings with the undercover officer, El Khalifi handled an AK-47and indicated his desire to conduct an operation in which he would use a gun and kill people face-to-face.  He also selected a restaurant in Washington, D.C., for a bombing attack; handled an explosive as an example of what could be used in the attack; conducted surveillance to determine the best place and time for the bombing and purchased materials as part of the planned operation.

On Jan. 7, 2012, “Hussien” informed El Khalifi that he was an al-Qaeda operative.  El Khalifi discussed the possibility that his planned bombing of the restaurant would be followed by a second attack against a military installation to be conducted by others who El Khalifi believed to be associated with al-Qaeda.

On Jan. 15, 2012, El Khalifi stated that he had modified his plans for his attack.   Rather than conduct an attack on a restaurant, he wanted to conduct a suicide attack at the U.S. Capitol Building.  That same day at a quarry in West Virginia, as a demonstration of the effects of the proposed bomb operation, El Khalifi dialed a cell phone number that he believed would detonate a bomb placed in the quarry.  The test bomb detonated, and El Khalifi expressed a desire for a larger explosion in his attack.  He also selected Feb. 17, 2012, as the day of the operation.

Over the next month, El Khalifi traveled to the U.S. Capitol Building several times to conduct surveillance, choosing the spot where he would be dropped off to enter the building, the specific time for the attack and the method he would use to avoid law enforcement attention.   El Khalifi also asked Hussien to remotely detonate the bomb he would be wearing on the day of the attack if El Khalifi encountered problems with security officers, and to provide El Khalifi with a gun that he could use during the attack to shoot any officers who might attempt to stop him.

On Feb. 17, 2012, El Khalifi traveled to a parking garage near the U.S. Capitol Building.   El Khalifi took possession of a MAC-10 automatic weapon and put on a vest containing what he believed to be a functioning bomb.   Unbeknownst to El Khalifi, both the weapon and the bomb had been rendered inoperable by law enforcement.   El Khalifi walked alone from the vehicle toward the U.S. Capitol, where he intended to shoot people and detonate the bomb.   El Khalifi was arrested and taken into custody before exiting the parking garage.

This investigation is being conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office.  The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gordon Kromberg and Michael Ben’Ary of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, as well as Trial Attorneys Joseph Kaster and Courtney Sullivan from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

MARS ROCKS

FROM:  NASA

This enhanced-color image from March 2012 of a region of Mars near Nili Fossae shows part of the ejecta from an impact crater and contains some of the best exposures of ancient bedrock on Mars.

The impact broke up already diverse rocks types and mixed them together to create this wild jumble of colors, each representing a different type of rock.
This image was taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter's HiRISE camera.
Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona

PENNSYLVANIA RESIDENT AND MEMBER OF INTERNET GROUP "IMAGINE" PLEADS GUILTY

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Friday, June 22, 2012
Pennsylvania Member of the Internet Piracy Group “Imagine” Pleads Guilty to Copyright Infringement Conspiracy

A Pennsylvania man pleaded guilty today to conspiring to willfully reproduce and distribute tens of thousands of infringing copies of copyrighted works without permission, including infringing copies of movies before they were commercially released on DVD, Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil H. MacBride and Special Agent in Charge John P. Torres of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) in Washington, D.C., announced today.

Willie O. Lambert, 57, of Pittston, Pa., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement.  The plea was entered before U.S. District Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen in the Eastern District of Virginia.  Lambert faces up to five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release.

Lambert was indicted on April 18, 2012, along with three other leading members of the IMAGiNE Group, an organized online piracy group seeking to become the premier group to first release Internet copies of new movies only showing in theaters.  A co-defendant, Sean M. Lovelady, entered a guilty plea to the same charge on May 8, 2012.

According to court documents, Lambert and his co-conspirators sought to illegally obtain and disseminate digital copies of copyrighted motion pictures showing in theaters.  Lambert admitted that he went to movie theaters and secretly used receivers and recording devices to capture the audio sound tracks of copyrighted movies (referred to as “capping”).  After obtaining, editing and filtering audio sound tracks and uploading them to servers utilized by the IMAGiNE Group, Lambert used and attempted to use software to synchronize the audio file with an illegally obtained video file of a movie to create a completed movie file suitable for sharing over the Internet among members of the IMAGiNE Group and others.  Mr. Lambert also admitted that the IMAGiNE group’s conduct resulted in a readily provable and reasonably foreseeable infringement amount of more than $400,000.

The investigation of the case and the arrests were conducted by agents with ICE-HSI.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Krask of the Eastern District of Virginia and Senior Counsel John H. Zacharia of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.  Significant assistance was provided by the CCIPS Cyber Crime Lab and the Office of International Affairs in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

This case is part of efforts being undertaken by the Department of Justice Task Force on Intellectual Property (IP Task Force) to stop the theft of intellectual property.  Attorney General Eric Holder created the IP Task Force to combat the growing number of domestic and international intellectual property crimes, protect the health and safety of American consumers, and safeguard the nation’s economic security against those who seek to profit illegally from American creativity, innovation and hard work.  The IP Task Force seeks to strengthen intellectual property rights protection through heightened criminal and civil enforcement, greater coordination among federal, state and local law enforcement partners, and increased focus on international enforcement efforts, including reinforcing relationships with key foreign partners and U.S. industry leaders.

 This investigation was supported by the HSI-led National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) in Washington.  The IPR Center is one of the U.S. government’s key weapons in the fight against criminal counterfeiting and piracy.  As a task force, the IPR Center uses the expertise of its 20 member agencies to share information, develop initiatives, coordinate enforcement actions and conduct investigations related to IP theft.  Through this strategic interagency partnership, the IPR Center protects the public's health and safety, the U.S. economy and our war fighters.

MODERN COMBAT TRAINING: INSTRUCTING THE INSTRUCTORS

FROM:  U.S. AIR FORCE
Lt. Col. Tim Thurston attempts to pin down Staff Sgt. Mark Velasquez during a grappling drill at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, June 12, 2012. Soldiers taught the Modern Army Combatives Program course to instructors from Air Force Basic Military Training and the security forces technical training school in an effort to improve combatives training at Lackland. Thurston is the commander of the 322nd Training Squadron and Velasquez is a security forces technical training instructor with the 343rd TRS. (U.S. Air Force photo/Alan Boedeker) 
AF instructors learn modern Army combatives skills 
by Mike Joseph
Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland Public Affairs

6/22/2012 - JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas (AFNS) -- After spending five days in a joint combatives "train the trainer" course, Air Force participants gained a valuable benefit in becoming certified to teach both Modern Army Combatives and Basic Air Force Combatives:

"Confidence," said Lt. Col. Tim Thurston, the 322nd Training Squadron commander -- This was a reaction echoed by others who participated in the Modern Army Combatives Program Level I course last week here.

Instilling self-assurance in those who teach combatives in Air Force Basic Military Training and security forces technical training was a top priority for the course instructors. They anticipate self-confidence to become a byproduct of the technique teaching process.

"It's all about confidence -- that's the end goal," said Tech. Sgt. William Rider, of the 319th TRS, who oversees the basic training combatives program. "We have a limited (three-hour)combatives program right now in BMT. We're establishing an expanded program in the future so when Airmen go to technical school or a base with a combatives program, they already have the knowledge of basic body positioning and grappling."

Army Staff Sgt. Torrey Spence, the Army III Corps combatives program assistant NCO in charge at Fort Hood, Texas, was one of two Army instructors who taught the course. He, too, emphasized the self-confidence Airmen will gain when the newly certified instructors begin implementing the program.

"The main thing we stress about the basic combatives course, whether it's Air Force or Army, is the Airman or Soldier has to have confidence to do these techniques," Spence said. "This course gives them that. We call it reality-based training -- train like you fight.

"Along with the confidence, it builds the warrior ethos," he said. "The definition of a warrior is the willingness to go the distance in a fight. We want every Airman or Soldier to have that."

A majority of the 17 participants in the course were military training instructors as basic training prepares to expand its combatives course.

"Col. (Glenn) Palmer's) intent is to have a realistic and safe combatives program," Rider said, referring the 737th Training Group commander. "He wants something for Airmen because we teach warrior ethos and because of the joint mission. We'd like a program in place to give them physical conditioning and the grappling experience, which creates unnatural and uncomfortable positions."

The Army program teaches how to control the range between fighters, gain and maintain a dominant body position, and to finish the fight when a dominant body position has been established. Participants were taught hand-to-hand techniques to create space and engage with a primary weapon, how to maintain space and employ a secondary weapon, and how to achieve a dominant clinch position.

"After taking this course, you not only have confidence in your teammates, you have self-confidence to defend yourself," Thurston said. "We are the best fighting force in the world because we believe we are. What we've learned in this training, we can pass down. It will make us a better fighting force."

Staff Sgt. Jesse Armstrong, one of three 343rd TRS instructors who took the course, said it will be beneficial to students in security forces technical training.

"It gives me the confidence to know I'm teaching students the right way, to help them not just learn the moves, but if it happens to them they will know how to react," Armstrong said. "It's given me a boost of confidence to know I can go into a hand-to-hand fight and win or come out on top.

"By starting this training at tech school, I think, as it spreads out, it's going to help every security forces squadron," she said.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES SAY MUCH OF KALAMAZOO RIVER AND MORROW LAKE ARE NOW OPEN FOR RECREATION

FROM:  ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Kalamazoo River and Morrow Lake to Open 
MARSHALL, Mich. June 21 -- Local, state and federal agencies responding to the Enbridge oil spill announced today that an additional 34 miles of the Kalamazoo River and the entire 2 miles of Morrow Lake are now open for recreational use.

Part of the area referred to as the Morrow Lake Delta is still closed. The closed portion will be identified by buoys. Those using the river should follow buoy restrictions for their own safety and the safety of workers still conducting cleanup.

Boaters will have to portage between a canoe launch on the delta and the River Oaks boat launch.

The newly opened portion stretches from Saylor’s Landing near 15 Mile Road and the Kalamazoo River in Calhoun County to Morrow Lake. This follows the April 18 opening of a nearly three-mile portion from Perrin Dam in Marshall to Saylor’s Landing, a new river access site near 15 Mile Road and the Kalamazoo River.

"The long wait to open most of the oil-damaged Kalamazoo River is now over -- just in time for summer," said Susan Hedman, EPA Region 5 Administrator. "EPA will remain in the Marshall area until the cleanup is completed."

“I am pleased that we are finally able to open a larger stretch of the river for people to use,” said James Rutherford, Calhoun County Public Health Director. “We know that people have been eager to get back and start using the river again.”

Linda Vail, director of the Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services Department, agreed.

“People want to use the river and riverside parks for recreation,” Vail said. “We want to make sure that they have a safe place to have fun.”

People could see sheen or flecks of oil in the river, even after this new portion is open. Sheen appears as a filmy or rainbow-like substance floating on the water surface.

Not all sheen is caused by oil. There are two general sources of sheen – petroleum-based and natural. On the Kalamazoo River, some sheen may come from the Enbridge oil spill, while some sheen may be caused by traditional sources such as motorboats and gasoline or motor oil that is washed away from parking lots and into the river system.

Natural sheen can occur by decomposition of vegetation. According to the U.S. Geologic Survey, oil-like films and rock coatings are often made by bacteria reacting to iron and manganese in the water. Both types of sheen appear similar floating on water.

According to recent Public Health Assessments, the Michigan Department of Community Health has concluded that contact with the submerged oil will not cause long-term health effects. At the same time, contact with the submerged oil may cause temporary effects, such as skin irritation.

Both county health departments and the Michigan Department of Community Health don’t expect any long-term health effects from people touching residual oil on the river or in the sediment, but there could be temporary effects such as skin irritation.

The health agencies recommend washing skin and clothes with plain soap and water as soon as possible after coming in contact with oil. Stations with cleaning wipes have been set up near kiosks at launch stations to clean skin and boating equipment.

Enbridge will continue to perform oil recovery, even after openings occur, under the direction of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

People may encounter ongoing work activities at some locations along the river. They should use caution when involved in recreation around these work zones. They should obey all buoys and signage, and use only marked, public areas for accessing the river, and stay off private property.

While the cleanup is in its final stages, EPA and MDEQ are committed to remaining on-site as long as necessary to protect human health and the environment.

The river was closed from Perrin Dam in Calhoun County to the Morrow Lake Dam in Kalamazoo
County in July 2010, after an Enbridge pipeline ruptured discharging oil into Talmadge Creek and the Kalamazoo River. Enbridge has estimated that it discharged 843,444 gallons of oil during this pipeline spill.  The cause of the pipeline rupture is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.

SECRETARY OF STATE CLINTON SPEAKS ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development Plenary
Remarks Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
June 22, 2012
SECRETARY CLINTON: Good morning. To President Rousseff, the Brazilian Government, the Brazilian people for hosting us, to Secretary General Ban, Secretary General Sha: Thank you for convening this conference. And thanks to all of you representing governments, civil society, the private sector, young people, men, women, and children everywhere.

Brazil has done the world a great service by hosting us all here. This can be a fractious time. But thanks to Brazil’s deft and effective leadership, we have coalesced around an outcome document that marks a real advance for sustainable development. We know this is one of the most pressing matters of our time, because how we grow together over the long term isn’t a question for only some countries. It is a question for all countries. And here in Rio, thanks to Brazil, we are at the center of our shared efforts to find answers.

I want to thank the President of Samoa for his remarks and the reminder that we meet at a critical moment. For some countries and some people around the world, this is not just a matter for long-term planning, but for immediate, pressing action. And we know that voices are being raised demanding expanded opportunities and a greater role in the decisions that affect the lives of us all. We have the potential to answer that call. Hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of extreme poverty in just the past generation, laying the groundwork for even more progress. We are working together to end chronic hunger, an area where Brazil has shown particularly strong leadership. I believe we can end preventable child deaths and chart a path towards an AIDS-free generation.

In short, this is a time for us to be pragmatic, but also optimistic. A more prosperous future is within our reach, a future where all people benefit from sustainable development no matter who they are or where they live. But let’s be honest. We know what is possible. We know what we could do. But we also know that future is not guaranteed, because the resources that we all depend upon – fresh water, thriving oceans, arable land, a stable climate – are under increasing pressure.  And that is why, in the 21st century, the only viable development is sustainable development. The only way to deliver lasting progress for everyone is by preserving our resources and protecting our common environment.

So we have come together, here in Rio, to identify practical ways we can all promote sustainable development. And while our views may differ sometimes, I believe we agree on some fundamental principles. We cannot be boxed in by the orthodoxies of the past. We should and must make decisions based on research and scientific evidence about what works. And above all, we need fresh, agile, action-oriented partnerships that can produce results year after year after year.

So while the outcome document adopted here contains many important principles and proposals, the most compelling products of this conference are the examples of new thinking that can lead to models for future action. It should be said of Rio that people left here thinking, as the late Steve Jobs put it, not just big, but different.

We should be thinking different about harnessing the power of the market. Remember in the 1960s, official development assistance accounted for 70 percent of the capital flows to developing nations, but today it amounts to only 13 percent, while at the same time, development budgets have actually increased. Why is that? Well, you know very well. Because while continuing to provide assistance, the private sector investments, using targeted resources and smart policies, have catalyzed more balanced, inclusive, sustainable growth.

The United States has taken this idea to heart. And earlier today, I helped launch a partnership between the United States and African nations that will use $20 million in U.S. Government funding to unlock hundreds of millions of dollars in private financing for clean energy projects in Africa and beyond. It’s part of our contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All initiative, which has secured significant private sector investments for sustainable energy. And we hope to see even more coming out of Rio.

You also see the power of the market in the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, which aims to help 100 million families adopt clean cookstoves and fuels by 2020. By supporting consumer research and creating incentives for manufacturers, we’re helping to create a market for stoves that people will pay for and use, while at the same time preventing health problems in women and children, and cleaning the air of black soot.

Now in addition to tapping into the private sector, we should be thinking different about new types of partnerships to solve problems that might otherwise seem insurmountable. Here in Rio, the United States launched joint efforts on everything from deforestation and water to solid waste. We’re also leading Feed the Future, a global effort to improve food security that is helping food producers adapt to climate change even as they reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions.

And earlier this year, I was privileged to host six countries in the United Nations Environment Program as we launched the Climate and Clean Air Coalition. The goal is to reduce short-lived climate pollutants that cause more than 30 percent of current global warming, as well as millions of premature deaths and extensive crop losses. We know we have to keep working together on CO2, but we think that our Climate and Clean Air Coalition, to which many more countries are joining, and we welcome you, can take targeted action and produce results with respect to methane and black soot and HFCs.

We also have to be thinking different about development in our cities. That is, after all, where most of the world’s population lives today, where most of the growth is and will take place, and where innovative ideas are being put into action. Under the Joint Initiative on Urban Sustainability that President Rousseff and President Obama kicked off last year, we are bringing political officials from every level – from state, county, local, municipalities – together along with industry leaders and developers to find creative ways to generate sustainable economic growth. If, as I heard earlier today, that 70 percent of the structures that will be needed in 30 years to house, to provide economic opportunities for the world’s population have yet to be built, then we have a tremendous opportunity we cannot waste. 

And finally, the only prosperous, sustainable economy is an inclusive economy. That means we should think different about how we recognize the needs of workers in the informal economy, how we unleash the talent and energy of young people, and how we act on the compelling evidence most recently published by the World Bank that women are essential drivers of sustainable development.　 I applaud the bold call to action issued here in Rio by UN Women, and likewise the Rio+20 outcome document devotes a strong section to expanding opportunities for women.

And while I am very pleased that this year’s outcome document endorses sexual and reproductive health and universal access to family planning, to reach our goals in sustainable development we also have to ensure women’s reproductive rights. Women must be empowered to make decisions about whether and when to have children. And the United States will continue – (applause) – the United States will continue to work to ensure that those rights are respected in international agreements.

Now none of this is an abstract discussion. There is just too much at stake, too much still to be done. And many of you visited the U.S. Center here in Rio and saw practical solutions related to some of the work I’ve discussed and other goals we hold in common. We believe solutions require action by all of us. Governments, yes; let’s do our part. Let’s do more than our part. Let’s pave the way for more clean energy investments, take on the entrenched political and economic interests that stand in the way of clean energy,
technology, and sources being used in nations around the world. Let’s use the private sector, particularly the consumer goods companies, as they have agreed to do, to make sure they have sustainable supply chains, the right kind of packaging and marketing that puts the least amount of burden on the earth we share.

Let’s bring in the nonprofits, the civil society organizations, faith groups, individuals, all of us, committed to realizing the sustainable development goals that we have embraced. We know that we will be judged not by what we say nor even by what we intend to do, but by whether we deliver results for people alive today, and whether we keep faith with future generations. I’m very honored to be here with all of you, and I pledge my country’s, the Obama Administration’s, and my own personal efforts to continue our work together. We simply cannot afford to fail.

Thank you all very much. (Applause.)

THE BLUE ANGELS FLY IN DELTA FORMATION OVER SUGARLOAF, SOUTH CAROLINA

FROM:  U.S. NAVY
The U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels, fly in the Delta formation over Sugarloaf, S.C. The Blue Angels were en-route to Latrobe, Penn., to perform at the Westmoreland County Air Show June 23-24. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Rachel McMarr (Released) 120620-N-DI587-368

NATURAL DISASTERS AND U.S. SOUTHERN COMMAND

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
U.S. Marines depart a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter as it prepares to depart from a landing zone in Leogane, Haiti, Jan. 25, 2010. The Marines established a humanitarian aid area for Haitian earthquake victims at a missionary compound. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Bobbie A. Curtis  

Southcom, Partners Prepare to Respond to Natural Disasters
By Donna Miles
MIAMI , June 22, 2012 - Putting lessons learned from the 2010 earthquake response in Haiti into practice, U.S. Southern Command has entered this year's hurricane season ready to provide timely, effective aid should another disaster strike the region, command officials reported.

"We remain deliberately prepared," Southcom commander Air Force Gen. Douglas M. Fraser reported to Congress in the lead-up to hurricane season, which kicked off this month.

"As we look at the hurricane season, we prepared for that, not only within our own headquarters, but with our partners in the region," Fraser said.

Southcom's area of responsibility, which includes Central and South America and the Caribbean, is no stranger to natural disasters. The largest earthquake recorded worldwide in the 20th century occurred in 1960 in Valdivia, Chile. Mount Pelee's 1902 eruption in Martinique caused more than 30,000 deaths, and the 1985 Nevada del Ruiz eruption and mudslide in Colombia killed 25,000 people. Major flooding in northern Venezuela in 1999 left more than 20,000 dead.

Haiti has been tormented throughout its history with cyclones, hurricanes, tropical storms, torrential rains, floods and earthquakes. Haiti's 7.0-magnitude earthquake in January 2010 left thousands dead and hundreds of thousands homeless. That disaster sparked the Southcom-led Operation Unified Response mission in support of the U.S. Agency for International Development's Office of Foreign Disaster Relief.

At the peak of that mission, Joint Task Force-Haiti included 22,000 service members -- 7,000 land-based and the rest operating aboard 33 Navy and Coast Guard vessels, 262 fixed-wing aircraft and 57 helicopters. They reopened the heavily damaged international airport at Port-au-Prince, repaired port facilities and delivered 2.6 million bottles of water, 2.9 million food rations, 17 million pounds of bulk food and 149,000 pounds of medical supplies into Haiti.

The task force also provided one of the largest medical outreach efforts in history, with humanitarian and engineering support continuing long after the six-month disaster response in Haiti concluded.

The mission proved to be a "tremendous learning experience" for Southcom that underscored the importance of close interagency and non-governmental cooperation, Army Maj. Gen. Gerald W. Ketchum, Southcom's director of theater engagement, told American Forces Press Service at the organization's headquarters here.
The response effort led to revisions in the command's disaster response plan, increases in its disaster-response capabilities and expanded disaster-preparedness outreach across the region, Ketchum reported.

Coincidentally, the Southcom headquarters was getting a demonstration of a new computer-networking tool to promote collaboration in the event of a natural disaster the very day Haiti's earthquake hit. The All Partners Access Network, initially introduced at U.S. Pacific Command, provides a standardized platform for coordinating efforts between the various interagency, non-governmental organization, international and military responders. The scenario being used to demonstrate the APAN system was a notional hurricane hitting Haiti and taking out its emergency response command-and-control capabilities.

But based on real-life events, the Southcom staff quickly took the demonstration live and hundreds of organizations began using APAN to coordinate a faster and more efficient relief response that saved lives. Southcom is now using the system as part of an improved framework for military support to civilian-led disaster relief operations, Fraser noted in his command's 2012 posture statement.

Meanwhile, Southcom is collaborating with regional partners to increase their ability to prepare for and respond to natural disasters. Fraser described a three-part effort through Southcom's humanitarian assistance program, disaster preparedness projects and annual humanitarian assistance exercises.

Last year, those efforts included building disaster-response warehouses, wells, potable water systems and emergency operations centers, he said. In fiscal year 2011, Southcom also conducted 169 projects designed to increase disaster preparedness in Central America, South America and the Caribbean.

In addition, the command supports the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, a regional effort to increase disaster resilience and response capabilities among the 18 Caribbean nations involved.

A new project Southcom sponsored in the wake of the Haiti earthquake involves forward-staged kits that provide disaster-response teams with essential services, including potable water, hybrid renewable power, communications and situational awareness.
"Past experience has demonstrated that one of the biggest challenges in providing an effective response is the ability to accurately assess the situation on the ground after communications go down and transportation infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed," Fraser noted in his commander's blog.

Pre-positioned Expeditionary Assistance Kits, or PEAKS, developed in partnership with the National Defense University, "enable decision makers to gain a better understanding of how best to deploy relief efforts," he said.

The kits underwent a joint capability technology demonstration last year at Soto Cono Air Base in Honduras, less than a year after the program's inception, Fraser noted. Joint Task Force Bravo in Honduras, Southcom's main expeditionary organization, and members of Honduras' military and civil-relief agencies, put the kits to the test under realistic field conditions.

Meanwhile, Fraser emphasized the importance of training to ensure the Southcom staff is prepared to support USAID, the lead federal agency for international disaster response, if called upon. This includes a joint operations course it hosts, with classes presented by USAID.

"This recurring training guarantees that when disaster strikes, U.S. Southern Command is ready to assist," Fraser said.

And to ensure regional nations are as prepared as possible for disasters when they occur, many Southcom-sponsored exercises incorporate disaster-response scenarios or training activities that enhance capabilities and cooperation, Ambassador Carmen Martinez, Southcom's civilian deputy to the commander, explained.
The Fuerzas Aliadas Humanitarias annual exercise series, sponsored by Southcom and executed by U.S. Army South, helps bring together regional militaries, civilian disaster management agencies and first responders to train in disaster relief and recovery efforts. The 2011 exercise, held in Trinidad and Tobago and Guatemala, included 640 participants from 27 nations to practice the national and international response to an imaginary earthquake.

Martinez credited these efforts with building partner-nation capability, noting that no U.S. military forces were called on during last year's hurricane season to provide support.

"I think that is the direct result of the constant training and exercising and assisting of these nations, that they were able to take care of things themselves," she said. "And I think that's a real tribute to the host nations. But it is also a tribute to the programs that U.S. Southern Command has conducted in the region."

EMPLOYEES OR SUPERVISORS? NURSES WIN RIGHT TO LABOR REPRESENTATION

FROM:  NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD 
In a published opinion that issued on Wednesday, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals enforced a Board Order finding that a Michigan long-term care and rehabilitation center unlawfully refused to bargain with a unit of charge nurses.  In doing so, the Court affirmed the Board's conclusion that the nurses were not supervisors under the Act.


The 43 charge nurses at Fountain View of Monroe had been represented by a union since 2003. However, when their collective bargaining agreement expired in 2009, the employer challenged their ability to be represented by a union, claiming that under the Board’s decision in Oakwood Healthcare, 348 NLRB 686 (2006), the charge nurses were supervisors and were not eligible to be represented by a union.  The Board rejected that argument and ordered the employer to bargain. The order was appealed to the Sixth Circuit.


In a detailed and fact-intensive opinion, the Court rejected the employer's arguments and found that substantial evidence supported the Board's analysis of the status of the charge nurses and its finding that they are in fact employees under the Act.

U.S.-JAPANESE OFFICIALS DISCUSS PROBLEMS WITH OSPREY

Photo:  Osprey Aircraft In Flight.  Credit:  U.S. Air Force

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE

U.S., Japanese Officials Discuss Osprey Issues

WASHINGTON, June 22, 2012 - Defense Department officials today held a director-level meeting at the Pentagon with officials from the Japanese Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide an update on MV-22 and CV-22 Osprey aircraft issues, according to Pentagon Press Secretary George Little.


Today's meeting, Little said, was led by Christopher Johnstone, Director for Northeast Asia, Office of the Secretary of Defense (Policy) and Air Force Brig. Gen. Terrence O'Shaughnessy, Deputy Director for Politico-Military Affairs for Asia, the Joint Staff. The meeting also included representatives from the U.S. Marine Corps and other U.S. Air Force members who provided updates on the status of the investigations into recent mishaps involving Osprey aircraft, Little said.


Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon yesterday, Little described the meeting as an effort to address concerns about the aircraft by the governor of Okinawa. DOD is planning to deploy the MV-22 -- the Marine Corps variant of the Osprey -- to the Asia-Pacific region.


The CV-22 Osprey is the Air Force's special operations variant. The tilt-rotor Osprey can fly like an airplane and land like a helicopter.


The Department of Defense takes the inquiries made by the Japanese government very seriously and provided relevant information to the extent currently possible, and will continue to do so, Little said.


The Osprey is a highly capable aircraft with an excellent operational safety record, which includes more than five years of worldwide deployments and 140,000 flight hours, he said.

LOUISIANA RESIDENT GETS FINE AND TIME ON FIRST EVER ALLIGATOR POACHING PRISON SENTENCE

Photo Credit:  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Wikimedia
FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Friday, June 22, 2012
Louisiana Hunting Outfitter Sentenced to Prison for First Felony Conviction for Illegally Hunting Protected Alligators

WASHINGTON – Gregory K. Dupont, 38, of Plaquemine, La., was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Baton Rouge, La., to serve six months in prison, to be followed by four months in a half-way house and two years of supervised release.  Dupont was also ordered to pay a $3,000 fine.  Dupont’s sentencing, handed down by U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson late Thursday, was the first ever felony conviction and prison sentence resulting from the illegal hunting of American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis), in violation of the Lacey Act, the Endangered Species Act, and Louisiana law.

Dupont has owned and operated Louisiana Hunters Inc., a hunting outfitting company, since 2001.  His clients hired him to take them on alligator hunts in Louisiana, and they included out-of-state residents who were required to hunt with a licensed resident alligator hunter.  Dupont took some of the out-of-state clients to hunt alligators on property where he was not authorized to hunt.  On Feb.10, 2012, Dupont pleaded guilty to selling American alligators by providing outfitting and guiding services, knowing the alligators to have been taken illegally, on a hunt in September 2006.

In 1967, American alligators were listed as an endangered species because the total population size in the United States reached drastically low numbers due to severe poaching and overharvesting.  The conservation effect of this protected status and of the Lacey Act, the Endangered Species Act, and regulations promulgated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the state of Louisiana led to the recovery of the size of the American alligator population in the United States, and American alligators were down-listed to threatened status in 1987.  The success of the American alligator conservation program is second only to that of the Bald Eagle.

Because American alligators remain federally protected, alligator hunting is regulated by federal and state rules and regulations, which require, among other things, the tagging of all harvested alligators.  The integrity of the tagging system is crucial to Louisiana’s alligator management program because it enables the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to monitor harvest areas, alligator size and the number of alligators taken.  This system depends in significant part upon the honesty and self-regulation of Louisiana’s licensed hunters for its continued success.

In Louisiana, an allotted number of alligator hide tags are issued to licensed hunters.  Each tag may be used for one alligator only, and Louisiana law requires alligator hunters to hunt only on property for which hide tags are issued.  The areas where alligator hunting is permitted are determined on a yearly basis by wildlife biologists, whose decisions are based on the need to maintain a healthy alligator population.  If hunters poach alligators from areas for which they do not have tags, then the integrity of the entire alligator management system is undermined, thereby threatening Louisiana’s alligator population and alligator industry, which is a significant component of Louisiana’s economy.

According to court documents, Dupont, in violation of law, guided his clients to places in Louisiana, regardless of whether he had tags for the areas, where he hoped his clients would kill trophy-sized alligators so that they would pay him a trophy fee in addition to the guiding fees.

The case was prosecuted by Shennie Patel and Susan L. Park of the Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice, with assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana.  The case was investigated by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Law Enforcement Division and by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement.