TRANSFORMING CYBER OPERATIONS INTO CLOUD COMPUTING

Photo Credit:  U.S. General Services Administration 

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Officials Discuss Cybernet Transformation EffortsBy Amaani Lyle
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28, 2012 - Defense officials gathered at the National Press Club yesterday discussed DOD efforts to transform its cyber operations into cloud computing technology that's envisioned to provide added agility, security and cost effectiveness.

Robert J. Carey, DOD's principal deputy chief information officer; Grant M. Schneider, Defense Intelligence Agency deputy director for information management and CIO; and Air Force Lt. Gen. Ronnie D. Hawkins Jr., Defense Information Systems Agency director, comprised the discussion panel at the 3rd Annual Billington Cybersecurity Summit here.

The discussion included presentation of the DOD's cloud computing strategy that transforms the department's redundant and costly current network applications silos to an end state that ideally fosters a more agile, secure, and cost effective service environment.

Cloud computing is a converged infrastructure that allows greater application set-up and speed with improved manageability and reduced maintenance, enabling technicians to more quickly adjust to and protect against threats, officials said. DISA has been named enterprise cloud service broker maintaining mission assurance and information interoperability within the strategy.

The speakers agreed that an enterprise cloud environment offers tangible benefits.

"There's a great recognition in the importance of this space in our business," Carey said. "Going to cloud computing is a product of consolidating and standardizing the infrastructure and [enables us to] really thrive off those savings."

Though developed in an era of fiscal constraint, the strategy also offers a roadmap to the creation of department core data centers, he said, and future budget cycles should include appropriate funding for ongoing cybersecurity growth and training.

"The resources are drawing down and drying up," Hawkins said of current budget concerns. "The true issue ... is that there is ... an initial start-up cost to get there."

Both a consumer and provider of infrastructure services across the intelligence community and DOD, Schneider examined what will likely be required in years to come in order to optimize cloud computing and data consolidation.

"As we drive towards more standardization and more normalization ... at a very tactical level [with] more interconnectivity ... doing it in ways that [are] generally headed in the same direction from enterprise architecture is absolutely critical," Schneider said.

Equally important are the people who will be implementing these strategies and methods, Hawkins said.

"[We've got to] look at standing up the right academic setting," Hawkins said. "We are trying to build that capability from a joint perspective within the cyber workforce."

In training, the overall goal is to teach people to react in what Carey calls "internet speed" with a sharper focus on skill sets rather than rank or professional origin.

"We're moving toward proficiency-based training," Carey said. "Training a defender like an attacker and an attacker like a defender is a really important skill set. It works in football and it'll work in this game too."

U.S. STUDENT LOAN DEFAULT RATES

 

Photo Credit:  U.S. DOD.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
First Official Three-Year Student Loan Default Rates Published

Department continues efforts to help students better manage their debt.
September 28, 2012
The U.S. Department of Education today released official FY 2010 two-year and official FY 2009 three-year federal student loan cohort default rates. This is the first time the Department has issued an official three-year rate, which was 13.4 percent nationally for the FY 2009 cohort, a slight decrease from the trial three-year rate of 13.8 percent for the FY 2008 cohort. For-profit institutions had the highest average three-year default rates at 22.7 percent, with public institutions following at 11 percent and private non-profit institutions at 7.5 percent.

"We continue to be concerned about default rates and want to ensure that all borrowers have the tools to manage their debt," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "In addition to helping borrowers, we will also hold schools accountable for ensuring their students are not saddled with unmanageable student loan debt."

The Department is in the process of switching from a two-year cohort default rate to a three-year measurement as required by the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008. The national two-year rate rose to 9.1 percent for the FY 2010 cohort, from 8.8 percent in FY 2009.

Congress included this provision in the law because there are more borrowers who default beyond the two-year window, and the three-year rate captures a more accurate picture of how many borrowers ultimately default on their federal student loans. In particular, for-profit colleges demonstrate a large increase in borrowers who defaulted during year three.

To help students access the tools and resources they need to avoid the negative consequences of defaulting on their student loans, the Department has redoubled its efforts to make borrowers aware of their student loan repayment options, including plans like Income-Based Repayment, which allows borrowers to cap their monthly student loan payments at 15 percent of their discretionary income. The Department also recently released an interactive financial aid counseling tool that helps borrowers with their college financing decisions, including information on flexible loan repayment options.

Calculation and breakdown of the rates
The two-year cohort default rates (CDRs) announced today represent a snapshot in time, with the FY 2010 cohort consisting of borrowers whose first loan repayments came due between Oct. 1, 2009, and Sept. 30, 2010, and who defaulted before Sept. 30, 2011. More than 4.1 million borrowers from nearly 6,000 schools entered repayment during this window, and almost 375,000 defaulted for an average of 9.1 percent.

The two-year CDR increased over last year’s rates for both the public and private non-profit sectors, rising from 7.2 percent to 8.3 percent for public institutions, and from 4.6 percent to 5.2 percent for private non-profit institutions. CDRs decreased for for-profit institutions from 15.0 percent to 12.9 percent, though the sector still has the highest average two-year rate.

The FY 2009 three-year rates announced today capture the cohort of borrowers whose loans entered repayment between Oct. 1, 2008, and Sept. 30, 2009, and who defaulted before Sept. 30, 2011. More than 3.6 million borrowers from over 5,900 schools entered repayment during this window of time, and approximately 489,000 of them defaulted.

Sector differences also exist when comparing the increase in the CDR from the two-year to the three-year rates for the FY 2009 cohort, with for-profit schools displaying the biggest jump in rates from year two to year three. The Department reported the two-year CDR for the FY 2009 cohort last year. The increases from the two-year to the three-year rates were 7.2 percent to 11 percent for public institutions, 4.6 percent to 7.5 percent for private non-profit institutions, and 15.0 to 22.7 percent at for-profit schools.

Sanctions
Two schools are subject to sanctions for having two-year default rates of 25 percent or more for three consecutive years: Centro de Estudios Multidisciplinarios in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Tidewater Tech in Norfolk, Va. As a result, these schools face the loss of eligibility in federal student aid programs, unless they bring successful appeals.

No sanctions will be applied to schools based on the three-year rates until three annual rates have been calculated. During this transition period, sanctions will continue to be based on the two-year CDR. However, any school with a three-year CDR of 30 percent or more must establish a default prevention task force and submit a default management plan to the Department. There were 218 schools that had three-year default rates over 30 percent, and 37 schools had three-year default rates in excess of 40 percent.

BP PRODUCTS NORTH AMERICA AGREES TO IMPROVE SPILL RESPONSE PREPAREDNESS AT OIL TERMINALS

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Thursday, September 27, 2012
BP Products North America to Improve Spill Response Preparedness at Oil Terminals Nationwide

Company Also Agrees to Pay $210,000 Penalty for Oil Spill Response Violations at Maryland Facility

BP Products North America, Inc. will pay a $210,000 penalty and implement an enhanced oil spill response program at its oil terminals nationwide, as well as a comprehensive compliance audit to resolve alleged violations of oil spill response regulations at its Curtis Bay Terminal in Maryland, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice announced today. The enhanced oil spill response program will help ensure that BP Product’s oil terminals are better prepared to respond to oil spills that could impact human health and the environment.

EPA alleged that BP Products violated federal regulations requiring oil storage facilities to conduct drills and exercises to respond to oil spills at its Curtis Bay Terminal. The civil penalty is EPA’s highest to date for violations of oil drills and exercises requirements where there was no discharge of oil.

"This agreement will help BP Products strengthen its spill response capabilities across the nation at 33 onshore oil terminals, implementing enhanced oil spill response measures, and requiring an independent auditor to evaluate a dozen high-risk onshore facilities for their readiness to respond to oil spills," said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice. "Taking these steps will help instill a culture of readiness and preparedness that will help protect many communities, and the natural resources upon which they rely, from future harm."

"Being prepared to respond to an oil spill can be the difference between dealing with a small, contained event or a full-blown environmental disaster," said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. "After twice failing to pass oil spill response exercises at its Curtis Bay facility, under the settlement, BP is required to put preventative measures into place at all of its terminals nationwide that will reduce the threat of oil spills and protect our nation’s valuable waterways. These measures also raise the bar for forward-looking companies seeking to ensure that their facilities are ready to respond quickly in the event of a spill."

Under the settlement filed today in federal court by the U.S. Department of Justice, BP Products will implement a first-of-its-kind program of spill prevention measures at its 33 non-refinery petroleum products terminals across the country.

As part of this program, the company will review and revise response plans for these facilities to ensure safeguards are tailored to the conditions at each facility. BP Products will also perform enhanced training, drills and exercises, exceeding regulatory requirements, and will repeat any failed drills and exercises within 90 days.

In addition, BP Products has agreed to an independent compliance audit of 12 of its marine and high-risk petroleum product terminal facilities. The audits will ensure that each audited facility is in compliance with spill response requirements, and to evaluate whether the facilities have resources to respond to major spills. The results of the compliance audits will also be incorporated into the enhanced spill prevention and response program being implemented at all of BP’s petroleum terminals.

EPA and the U.S. Coast Guard twice conducted unannounced government-initiated oil spill response exercises at the Curtis Bay Terminal. During these exercises, BP Products was required to demonstrate its response to a small scale discharge of fuel oil from the facility into Curtis Creek by being prepared to deploy 1,000 feet of oil containment boom within one hour and subsequently deploying the boom. On both occasions, the company did not complete the exercise in the allotted time and failed to adequately deploy the containment boom.

The Curtis Bay Terminal, which can store about 22 million gallons of oil, is located less than a quarter mile from Curtis Creek, a tributary of Curtis Bay, the Patapsco River and the Chesapeake Bay.

High-risk onshore facilities that store oil, such as the Curtis Bay Terminal, must have a plan for responding to oil spills that includes employee training, spill response equipment, and a "worst case" contingency plan for containing and cleaning up spills.

Based on the failed drills, EPA cited the company for failing to adequately implement a response plan, failing to identify sufficient spill response resources at the facility, and deficiencies in the facility’s training, drills and exercises program.

Weekly Address: It’s Time for Congress to Help Responsible Homeowners | The White House

Weekly Address: It’s Time for Congress to Help Responsible Homeowners | The White House

RECENT OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE PHOTOS

President Barack Obama talks on the phone with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, in the Oval Office, Sept. 28, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama and Burmese Opposition Leader Aung San Suu Kyi pet Bo, the Obama family dog, at the conclusion of their meeting in the Oval Office, Sept. 19, 2012. Danny Russel, Senior Director for Asian Affairs, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton watch at left. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

MILITARY RETIREMENT AND THE ROTH THRIFT SAVINGS PLAN

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Roth Contributions to Open to All Active-duty Troops

By Terri Moon Cronk
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28, 2012 - Beginning Oct. 1, 2012, active-duty members of the Army, Navy and Air Force will be able to contribute to the Roth Thrift Savings Plan as part of their investment planning, Defense Financing and Accounting Service officials said today.

The after-tax contributions will be electronically deducted from service members' pay accounts.

Active-duty service members also can start their Roth TSP contributions now through their online MyPay accounts, which offer the fastest, easiest and most secure method to manage both Roth and traditional TSP contributions. The second option open to service members is to submit a TSP-U-1 form to their finance office.

Active-duty Marines, Guardsmen, reservists and civilians paid by DFAS were able to begin making contributions to the program in June, officials said.

Additionally, the other branches of the National Guard and reserves will be able to make Roth TSP contributions by mid- to late 2013.

The timeline difference between active-duty and other service members resulted from an interim solution for reserve component members, which didn't meet Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board requirements, according to DFAS.

While work continues for options that will be available more quickly and satisfy the law and FRTIB requirements at the same time, the new schedule will allow time to make systems changes and electronic deductions that meet all requirements. DFAS officials said.

To begin making Roth TSP contributions, service members should determine how much of their pay is eligible. A Roth TSP worksheet can help make the calculations.

Military members are required to contribute an amount equaling 1 percent of their eligible pay to begin TSP contributions. For those who are not participating in traditional TSP investments, the initial Roth TSP election must meet this 1 percent requirement. The IRS maximum contribution to Roth TSP is $17,000 per year, DFAS officials said.

Military members can use pay earned in combat zones, and are excluded from federal taxes to contribute to Roth TSP.

U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY CARTER VISITS F-16 INTERNATIONAL TRAINING SCHOOL

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter, left foreground, shakes hands with multinational F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft training students while visiting the U.S. Air Force's 162nd Fighter Wing at the Air National Guard base at Tucson International Airport in Arizona, Sept. 26, 2012. DOD photo by Glenn Fawcett

Carter Visits F-16 International Training School
By Air Force Lt. Col. Christine Rhodes
162nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
TUSCON, Ariz., Sept. 27, 2012 - Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter visited the 162nd Fighter Wing at Tucson International Airport here yesterday to learn about international F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft pilot training.

The Arizona Air National Guard was one of several stops Carter made throughout the Tucson area.

"It was very good for our airmen to see a senior Department of Defense leader visit our installation," said Air Force Col. Mick McGuire, 162nd Fighter Wing commander. "Dr. Carter left with a strong understanding of our mission and the impact of our global training success."

Carter and his staff met with students and exchange pilots from Iraq, Singapore, Japan, Denmark, Poland, South Korea, Norway and the Netherlands.

Air Guardsmen here train more than 70 international student pilots per year, offering several training programs that range from initial F-16 training to qualify new pilots to an advanced weapons course, officials said.

The 162nd is the "face of the USAF to the world" providing the best-trained coalition warfighting partners for the U.S. Air Force, officials said. The wing has trained pilots from 28 countries that fly the F-16, while developing strategic partnerships and building strong international relationships based on performance, friendship and trust.

SECRETARY OF STATE CLINTON'S REMARKS AT MEETING WITH CENTRAL AMERICAN FOREIGN MINISTERS

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Remarks at her Meeting With Central American Foreign MinistersRemarks

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Waldorf Astoria Hotel
New York City
September 27, 2012
So I thank you all very much and I hope that you’ve had some lunch. I’m well aware that running around (inaudible) New York the week of the General Assembly, there’s hardly a moment to breathe, let alone to eat, so I hope you will not be in any way deterred from getting some nourishment.

I want to welcome all of you to our third Central American Citizen Security meeting. I’m pleased so many of our partners are here today to review our progress and discuss the path forward. We established this group because we all have an interest in enhancing stability and security across Central America. For the United States, this is very personal. These are our friends and our neighbors and our partners on so many important issues. We count a lot of our own people with origins from Central America. So we wanted to – and I particularly made it a priority – to do everything we could to deal with crime and violence and help people live safer and more prosperous lives.

Where governments have struggled to meet these challenges on their own, we want to build the partnerships that will allow us to do this better together. And since the Groups of Friends first met last June, we’ve seen real progress. In the first six months of this year, versus the first six months of 2011, homicide rates are down 10 percent in Guatemala, 25 percent in Honduras, and 26 percent in El Salvador. In some communities, we are told that the fear of violence is beginning to fade for the first time in many years.

Now, we have a lot more work to do, because still the rates of violence remain too high, rampant crime threatens to undermine citizens’ faith in their governments, and so we have to keep up the momentum. First, we need to double down on efforts that are making police more responsive and more effective. For instance, the United States has funded model police precinct programs in El Salvador and Guatemala. This program provides training and equipment to get local police more involved in their communities, to build trust between citizens and law enforcement, and to target the zones of impunity where criminals operate.

In these three precincts, homicide rates have declined even more than the national average – 35 percent, 40 percent, 50 percent. And we should expand this proven, successful program and other measures that have brought down crime and built up law enforcement, making it both more professional but also, frankly, more connected, more sensitive to the needs of the people in the communities.

Second, we should build on the success of violence prevention programs that target those who are most vulnerable to being recruited by criminal gangs, namely young people and marginalized populations. USAID is at work in 12 high crime areas in El Salvador partnering with civil society, municipal leaders, and businesses to provide education and vocational training for these at-risk groups. And in these communities, the feedback we are getting from residents is that they feel more confident making reports to local authorities, and crime rates have in fact gone down.

Third, we need to maintain the political will that has driven change from within Central American governments and societies themselves. Since last year, Honduras has passed a law permitting the extradition of drug traffickers, and we thank you. Costa Rica has strengthened its police forces and courts. Guatemala has ramped up its efforts to seize drugs and arrest criminals at the border with Mexico. Now we need to be sure that the new laws are enforced and that the new initiatives are given the resources they need to succeed.

Finally, we hope to keep strengthening partnership and collaboration. Donor countries such as ourselves need to continue to coordinate so we focus resources where they’re needed most without duplicating our efforts. Regional governments need to share effective practices and launch joint efforts, because crime, of course, doesn’t stop at borders, and we have to continue to work together.

For our part, the United States is committed to being a strong partner. Our Central American Regional Security Initiative is designed to help make streets safer, disrupt criminal networks, support the development of strong government institutions, bring services to at-risk communities, and promote greater collaboration among the region’s governments, not only within Central America but with Mexico, with Colombia, and beyond.

This year we are providing $135 million for these efforts, which brings our total in the last four years to nearly half a billion dollars. And we think, based on the evidence, this has been money well spent. We are very proud to be partnering with you, because our partnership is not simply about reducing crime. It is about building safe and stable communities that will allow entire societies to thrive and prosper.

So again, I want to thank all of you for your commitment to this effort. I look forward to hearing from people around this table who are on the front lines doing the hard work. And let me now turn to the Nicaraguan Foreign Minister – Minister Santos, welcome – to please provide an update on the efforts that have been made by Central American governments to reduce crime and violence and to engage the international community in supporting the region’s most pressing security challenges.

PROBLEM: A COMPLEX TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM IN THE MILITARY SUPPLY CHAIN

　

EUCOM Airmen, Marines support Turkey with earthquake relief

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Panelists Brainstorm to Buffer Against Supply Chain Threat

By Amaani Lyle
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Sept. 26, 2012 - Defense Department and National Security Agency officials met with members of academia and industry today to discuss managing and protecting an ever-more-global, commercial and financially complex supply chain.

As National Cyber Security Awareness month approaches in October, panelists framed dialogue at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies to explore how its significant investment in cyberspace supports global missions.

Brett Lambert, deputy assistant secretary of defense for manufacturing and industrial base, and Dennis Bartko, special assistant for cyber at NSA, were part of the panel.

The defense industrial base, Lambert said, comprises a diverse set of companies that provide products and services directly and indirectly to the military and NSA.

He added that the industrial base is not a monolithic entity. Rather, it includes companies that run the gamut from major companies to garage start-ups.

While some companies deal directly with the federal government, Lambert said, the vast majority of suppliers, subcontractors and providers are in a value chain that leads to those private contractors, often 10 to 15 times removed.

"Some products and services are sold by companies in the defense industrial base that are truly unique to defense applications, he said, "but most have substantial levels of nondefense demand or even [are] sold exclusively on commercial terms." Just as some suppliers may not realize their product is used in a military system, he added, DOD, in turn, may not realize it depends on a commercial component.

"For decades, the United States has commanded a decisive lead in the quality and quantity of the defense-related research and engineering conducted globally," Lambert said. He also noted the critical role the U.S. defense industrial base supply chain plays in equipping the military with superior and "technically vibrant" capabilities.

"We rely on our industrial supply chain to develop, build and ultimately maintain the goods and services upon which our warfighters' lives depend, as well as the lives of the citizens they defend," Lambert said.

However, DOD and NSA are concerned about protecting the valuable information that's contained within cyberspace, the experts said.

"Cyberspace is where our nation stores its treasure and its wealth -- our treasure being the intellectual property of our nation ... and our wealth, not being so much the money that we print or the coins that we mint, but the bits and databases that actually represent that," Bartko said.

The use of cyberspace, he added, has enhanced national security, economic competiveness, public safety and civil liberties, but challenges and threats remain and derive from various origins, tools and techniques.

Insider threats through cyber networks over remote access are one example of things that could jeopardize critical supply chains, Bartko said, and determining solutions requires a recognition and understanding of cyberspace's main attribute: convergence.

Media such as video, telephone systems, text messaging and email were separate before the advent of smartphones, tablets and similar devices, Barkto noted.

"Cyberspace was created from separate elements that were converging over time increasingly [and] became [what] we call the Internet and ... cyberspace," he said, resulting in a need for integration in buffering supply chains. And continual change also is critical, as information contained in cyberspace exponentially increases, Bartko said.

"We know that cyberspace is not going to be the same tomorrow as it is today," he said. "Our response needs to be highly agile."

U.S. POSITION ON FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING 9/28/2012

READOUT ON UN SECURITY COUNCIL P-5+1 MINISTERIAL

Map Credit:  CIA World Factbook.

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Background Briefing: Readout on the United Nations Security Council P-5+1 Ministerial
Special Briefing
Senior State Department Official

Waldorf Astoria Hotel
New York City
September 27, 2012
MODERATOR: Good evening, everybody. Thank you for your patience. As you know, the Secretary just completed a P-5+1 minus Iran ministers meeting. Here to give you a sense of that meeting is [Senior State Department Official], hereafter Senior State Department Official.

Take it away, [Senior State Department Official].

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Good afternoon, good evening. I’ve lost all sense of time. I’m sure you have as well.

We had a political directors meeting with High Representative Ashton for about 90 minutes prior to the ministers joining for a little over 30 minutes. And we had excellent consultations with our colleagues in both settings. And I would say the watch words for both were unity. The P-5+1 remains completely unified in wanting to get the Iranians to consider and to address the concerns of the international community, and that the P-5+1 is completely united in ensuring that Iran does not acquire a nuclear weapon.

In addition, the P-5+1 is unified in our dual-track approach. No one likes sanctions. We understand that sanctions sometimes not only hurt countries, but have an effect for people’s day-to-day lives. We’re quite well aware of that. But we believe that it is necessary for Iran to understand that there are consequences to their not addressing the concerns of the international community, and we believe that it also helps to create political space for the diplomacy, which is far and away the preferred way to deal with this issue. All of the ministers were unified in their belief that diplomacy is the much preferred way forward, and that we are committed to that dialogue and diplomacy, and to the dual-track approach which we have been pursuing.

We discussed how we will proceed forward in making sure that we have all of the right substance on the table. We expect there to be contact in the next instance between Cathy Ashton and Dr. Jalili to discuss the next steps forward. She had said she would call him after this P-5+1 consultation, both with political directors and ministers. She will do that. They will talk about what we discussed as possible next steps. We think we will do this – continue to do this in a step-by-step process, which will include some additional consultations among ourselves, then consultations with the Iranians. And I would suspect at some point, we will indeed return to P-5+1 political directors track for a fourth round.

But we are taking this step by step, and so I think unity is – was the key word today. There was complete unanimity among the ministers most importantly, and also a strong affirmation of the job that the High Representative has been doing in coordinating this effort and coordinating these talks and the way forward.

Finally, all of the ministers also agreed that we had to proceed on a basis that was credible. As the High Representative has said many times, as the President has said, as the Secretary of State has said, we will not have talks just for talks’ sakes. So these informal conversations with Iran are very important to gauge the seriousness of their ability to really engage with us, and to take the diplomatic track, which is much preferred from our perspective.

So that’s where we are, and I’m happy to answer your questions.

MODERATOR: Brad.

QUESTION: Yeah. Firstly, just – you said there would probably be another meeting at the – a fourth meeting at the political --

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: At some point, I’m sure there will be. I think we’ve got some work to do, some additional work to do first, so I would not expect that to happen immediately. But I would hope that we will get there in the not-too-distant future.

QUESTION: That’s a meeting that would include Iran, right?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yes.

QUESTION: Okay. And it’s not contingent on anything coming back from her discussions with Jalili?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Everything is step by step in this process, because we have to ensure that Iran is serious. We have to ensure that we aren’t going to have talks for talks’ sake. And we have some reason to believe that they will move to a point of seriousness, but we will test this out every step of the way.

QUESTION: And then, if I may – sorry, this is the last one – was there any mention by anyone about the redlines that Prime Minister Netanyahu has been speaking about in recent weeks?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I think we all heard the speech today, and we will continue to have our discussions. As the Prime Minister said, we consult very closely together. We are in discussions together. We are proceeding forward in both wanting to use diplomacy as the way ahead. And so that is how we are proceeding.

MODERATOR: Indira.

QUESTION: You mentioned that you were going to be going forward now with discussions with Iran about some of the ideas that you came up with today. So how are those ideas different from what you’ve already offered to Iran? Was there a new proposal that came out or was it a new idea?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: What we have on the table is very substantive, very fair, and begins to address the concerns of the international community, but is only a first step to many steps that will have to be taken for Iran to address our concerns. So we have always been in discussions about a range of steps that will be necessary by Iran. So we will continue to have those internal consultations.

QUESTION: But the original plan that you had told us about as offered --

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Stays on the – is on the – stays on the table.

QUESTION: -- that hasn’t been changed in any way?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: That has not been changed, no.

QUESTION: And what about the Meyer report that came out – I guess it was yesterday – saying that Iran, according to the IAEA, was willing to give up the 20 percent enrichment in exchange for dropping of all sanctions? Was there any discussion about that offer?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: We did not discuss that report, no.

QUESTION: Is that a nonstarter?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: I think we have said that in order for Iran to get the sanctions relief that it’s looking for, they would have to do considerably more than the initial proposal.

QUESTION: And last question: Was there a discussion today about new steps? Because Europe has talked about new sanctions that they are proposing. Did they discuss that in their meeting?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: We have – we all believe in a dual-track approach. As you note, the Europeans have been discussing additional sanctions. The President of the United States put out a new Executive Order recently. On Monday, we designated NIAC for their relationship as an agent or affiliate of the IRGC. The Congress passed additional legislation, which we are now implementing. So this dual track – the pressure track is going to continue.

QUESTION: So the Europeans didn’t tell you what they were coming up with?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: We’ve had a lot of discussions.

MODERATOR: Anne.

QUESTION: What gives you confidence that – or hope that they (inaudible) may be moving – the Iranians may be moving to a point of greater seriousness? What signs do you see that that’s happening, and what would you count as for your seriousness?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Well, I think that the High Representative, when she had her dinner with Dr. Jalili, I think indicated to the press that Iran wants and looks forward to additional dialogue to try to reach an agreement. But that discussion has to be, as I said, a credible one. And we have to make sure that the timetable that’s being used is not just being used to buy time for Iran to continue its nuclear program.

The President and the Secretary have been very clear that we are not sure that Iran has made the strategic decision to really make a credible deal with the P-5+1. But there are some signals, because they were willing to discuss 20 percent, because we did have some serious discussions, that we might find a basis to move forward. We are not there yet. And as the Secretary said, what they put on, proposed, on the table in response to our proposal was a nonstarter.

MODERATOR: Paul.

QUESTION: I haven’t heard Western officials talk about concern about ordinary Iranians as a result of the sanctions. Is there – was there more discussion of the possible impact on ordinary Iranians these days?

SENIOR STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Not in this particular meeting, Paul. I think that’s just a fact of life, that when the rial has lost its value, when oil sales have decreased as fundamentally as they have in Iran, that Iran is going to face a struggle. And what we are trying to do here is to lead the Iranian regime to a decision that in order to be able to have the prosperity that they want, ostensibly for their people, they need to address the concerns of the international community.

TWO FLORIDA MEN PLEAD GUILTY IN ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION CASE

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Thursday, September 27, 2012

Former Florida Fundraiser and Accountant Associate Plead Guilty for Illegal Campaign Contributions

WASHINGTON – Timothy F. Mobley, a real estate developer based in Tampa, Fla., and accountant Timothy F. Hohl pleaded guilty today in Jacksonville, Fla., federal court for their roles in illegal contributions to the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) and the campaign of an elected member of the U.S. Congress, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer.

Mobley, 60, pleaded guilty to one count each of making illegal conduit and illegal corporate contributions in violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). Hohl, 60, of Tampa, Fla., pleaded guilty to three counts of aiding and abetting those illegal contributions. Both defendants entered their guilty pleas before U.S. Magistrate Judge Joel B. Toomey.

During his guilty plea hearing, Mobley admitted that from March 2006 through October 2008, he made contributions to the campaign of an individual referred to in court documents as "Federal Elected Official A" that were above the limit established by FECA. Mobley admitted he disguised these contributions by recruiting and providing money to employees of his business entities and to one employee’s family member. He also admitted he used corporate funds to illegally reimburse the conduit contributions, and that he attempted to conceal reimbursements to various employees by characterizing them as legitimate bonus compensation or advances on bonus compensation. Mobley admitted that in all, he reimbursed a total of $10,000 to RPOF and $84,300 in contributions to the campaign of Federal Elected Official A.

During his guilty plea hearing, Hohl admitted that while working as an accountant to Mobley and Mobley’s business entities from 2006 through 2008, he aided and abetted Mobley’s scheme to make the illegal excessive contributions. Hohl admitted he did so by participating in the reimbursement of other individuals, seeking and accepting reimbursement for his own contributions, and seeking and accepting reimbursement for his wife’s contributions.

On the FECA count charging him with making illegal excessive contributions in the amount of $25,000 or more for the calendar year 2008, Mobley faces a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $632,000 fine. On the second FECA count, charging him with making illegal corporate contributions in the amount of $25,000 or more for the calendar year 2008, he faces a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Hohl pleaded guilty to three counts charging him with aiding and abetting Mobley’s reimbursement scheme in 2006, 2007 and 2008, respectively. The maximum potential penalty for each offense is one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys John P. Pearson and Eric G. Olshan of the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section. The case was investigated by the Jacksonville and Tampa Field Offices of the FBI. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida provided assistance.

U.S. Department of Defense Armed with Science Update: BIO-ENERGY

U.S. Department of Defense Armed with Science Update

MALE DNA IN THE FEMALE BRAIN

Credit:  Wikimedia.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Some Women's Brains Contain Male DNA: Study

Health implications are unclear, researchers say.

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Male DNA and cells are commonly found in some women's brains and most likely come from male fetuses, according to a small new study.

The medical implications of male DNA and male cells in women's brains are unknown. Previous studies of microchimerism -- the presence of genetic material and cells that were exchanged between fetuses and mothers during pregnancy -- have linked it to autoimmune diseases and cancer in both helpful and harmful ways.

Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle analyzed brain autopsy specimens from 59 women who died between the ages of 32 and 101. Male DNA was detected in 63 percent of the women and was distributed in various brain regions. The oldest woman with male DNA was 94.

Thirty-three of the 59 women in the study had Alzheimer's disease. These women had a somewhat lower prevalence of male DNA, which was present in lower concentrations in regions of the brain most affected by Alzheimer's.

Because of the small number of women in the study and their largely unknown pregnancy history, it is not possible to establish a link between Alzheimer's disease and levels of male DNA and cells from a fetus, the researchers said in a cancer center news release.

They also added that the study does not show an association between male microchimerism in women's brains and their health or risk of disease. Further research is needed to investigate this area.

The study was published Sept. 26 in the journal PLoS One.

G-8 DEAUVILLE PARTNERSHIP MEETING

U.S. SECRETARY PANETTA AND CANADIAN DEFENSE MINISTER MACKAY DISCUSS IRANIAN NUCLEAR AMBITIONS



U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, left, and Canadian Defense Minister Peter G. MacKay chat informally before they begin a meeting at the Pentagon, Sept. 28, 2012. DOD photo by Glenn Fawcett

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Panetta, McKay Share Concerns on Iran
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28, 2012 - U.S. policy toward Iran's nuclear capability "is not about containment, it's about prevention," Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said here today, in reference to what Western nations believe is Tehran's attempt to enrich enough uranium to acquire a nuclear weapon.

Panetta and Canadian National Defense Minister Peter G. MacKay spoke to the Pentagon press corps following a meeting during which they discussed bilateral relations, Western Hemisphere concerns, Afghanistan and the Middle East with a particular emphasis on Iran.

In their session with reporters, Panetta reiterated that it is U.S. policy that Iran not develop atomic weapons. Both stressed that they want the Iranian government to respond to diplomacy and international sanctions aimed at thwarting suspected efforts to develop a nuclear weapon.

Canada has deep concerns about the Iranian nuclear program and recently closed its embassy in Tehran. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen J. Harper has called Iran the most dangerous place on Earth, and spoke of the "clear and present danger" that Iran poses to the world during a speech to the United Nations.

There were questions at today's joint news conference about red lines for Iran regarding its alleged nuclear ambitions. "There have been a number of red lines placed already, and Iran has edged closer and stepped over those red lines on a number of occasions now, particularly when it comes to cooperation around the subject of inspections," MacKay said.

On Syria, Panetta said there were indications the Syrian military had moved some chemical weapons in recent weeks, but that the main bases with these armaments remain secure.

In their meeting, Panetta and MacKay also discussed the need for greater security collaboration across the Western Hemisphere, particularly for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. "We think that's a real potential for bringing countries together in a common effort," Panetta said. He hopes this will be part of the agenda at the Defense Ministerial of the Americas beginning next week in Uruguay.

Panetta thanked MacKay for Canada's steadfast support in Afghanistan where it has deployed about 500 troops who are training Afghan national security forces.

There is progress and there is hope" in Afghanistan, MacKay said.

"This is what we had always anticipated, is the eventual turnover of security responsibility will allow ... Afghanistan and hopefully the region, to spread that security and spread that hope," he said.

SECRETARY OF STATE CLINTON ANNOUNCES OVER ONE BILLION DOLLARS WILL BE SPENT ON FOOD SECUREITY

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Secretary Clinton Announces Pledge From Civil Society Partners to Invest Over One Billion Dollars in Food Security
Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
September 27, 2012
On the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, Secretary Clinton announced that members from InterAction have committed to spend over a billion dollars over the next three years to support food security and nutrition worldwide.

"Civil society organizations are crucial to our success, both in the public and private sector; they have long standing relationships in communities and valuable technical expertise, and they work every single day on their commitment to try to make this world a better place for all of us" remarked Secretary Clinton during an event focused on highlighting progress under Feed the Future, and the importance of civil society organizations as key partners in achieving common food security and nutrition goals in support of country-led priorities.

InterAction, an alliance of 198 U.S.-based civil society organizations, committed its members to spend over a billion dollars of private, non-government funds to improve food security and nutrition worldwide over the next three years. Of that, five U.S.-based organizations, World Vision, Heifer International, Catholic Relief Services, Save the Children and ChildFund International together committed to investing 900 million dollars to advance these goals. They will report progress annually at the time of the UN General Assembly meetings each September.

Feed the Future is the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative. With a focus on smallholder farmers—women and men, and their children—Feed the Future supports partner countries in developing their agriculture sectors to spur broad-based economic growth and improve nutrition.

FEEDING A QUASAR

 

FROM: NASA/JPL

Quasar Drenched in Water Vapor

This artist's concept illustrates a quasar, or feeding black hole, similar to APM 08279+5255, where astronomers discovered huge amounts of water vapor. Gas and dust likely form a torus around the central black hole, with clouds of charged gas above and below. X-rays emerge from the very central region, while thermal infrared radiation is emitted by dust throughout most of the torus. While this figure shows the quasar's torus approximately edge-on, the torus around APM 08279+5255 is likely positioned face-on from our point of view.

WHERE WATER RAN ON MARS

FROM: NASA
Link to a Watery Past
In this image from NASA's Curiosity rover, a rock outcrop called Link pops out from a Martian surface that is elsewhere blanketed by reddish-brown dust. The fractured Link outcrop has blocks of exposed, clean surfaces. Rounded gravel fragments, or clasts, up to a couple inches (few centimeters) in size are in a matrix of white material. Many gravel-sized rocks have eroded out of the outcrop onto the surface, particularly in the left portion of the frame. The outcrop characteristics are consistent with a sedimentary conglomerate, or a rock that was formed by the deposition of water and is composed of many smaller rounded rocks cemented together. Water transport is the only process capable of producing the rounded shape of clasts of this size.

The Link outcrop was imaged with the 100-millimeter Mast Camera on Sept. 2, 2012, which was the 27th sol, or Martian day of operations.

The name Link is derived from a significant rock formation in the Northwest Territories of Canada, where there is also a lake with the same name.

Scientists enhanced the color in this version to show the Martian scene as it would appear under the lighting conditions we have on Earth, which helps in analyzing the terrain.

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS
　

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA's Curiosity rover mission has found evidence a stream once ran vigorously across the area on Mars where the rover is driving. There is earlier evidence for the presence of water on Mars, but this evidence -- images of rocks containing ancient streambed gravels -- is the first of its kind.

Scientists are studying the images of stones cemented into a layer of conglomerate rock. The sizes and shapes of stones offer clues to the speed and distance of a long-ago stream's flow.

"From the size of gravels it carried, we can interpret the water was moving about 3 feet per second, with a depth somewhere between ankle and hip deep," said Curiosity science co-investigator William Dietrich of the University of California, Berkeley. "Plenty of papers have been written about channels on Mars with many different hypotheses about the flows in them. This is the first time we're actually seeing water-transported gravel on Mars. This is a transition from speculation about the size of streambed material to direct observation of it."

The finding site lies between the north rim of Gale Crater and the base of Mount Sharp, a mountain inside the crater. Earlier imaging of the region from Mars orbit allows for additional interpretation of the gravel-bearing conglomerate. The imagery shows an alluvial fan of material washed down from the rim, streaked by many apparent channels, sitting uphill of the new finds.

The rounded shape of some stones in the conglomerate indicates long-distance transport from above the rim, where a channel named Peace Vallis feeds into the alluvial fan. The abundance of channels in the fan between the rim and conglomerate suggests flows continued or repeated over a long time, not just once or for a few years.

The discovery comes from examining two outcrops, called "Hottah" and "Link," with the telephoto capability of Curiosity's mast camera during the first 40 days after landing. Those observations followed up on earlier hints from another outcrop, which was exposed by thruster exhaust as Curiosity, the Mars Science Laboratory Project's rover, touched down.

"Hottah looks like someone jack-hammered up a slab of city sidewalk, but it's really a tilted block of an ancient streambed," said Mars Science Laboratory Project Scientist John Grotzinger of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

The gravels in conglomerates at both outcrops range in size from a grain of sand to a golf ball. Some are angular, but many are rounded.

"The shapes tell you they were transported and the sizes tell you they couldn't be transported by wind. They were transported by water flow," said Curiosity science co-investigator Rebecca Williams of the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Ariz.

The science team may use Curiosity to learn the elemental composition of the material, which holds the conglomerate together, revealing more characteristics of the wet environment that formed these deposits. The stones in the conglomerate provide a sampling from above the crater rim, so the team may also examine several of them to learn about broader regional geology.

The slope of Mount Sharp in Gale Crater remains the rover's main destination. Clay and sulfate minerals detected there from orbit can be good preservers of carbon-based organic chemicals that are potential ingredients for life.

"A long-flowing stream can be a habitable environment," said Grotzinger. "It is not our top choice as an environment for preservation of organics, though. We're still going to Mount Sharp, but this is insurance that we have already found our first potentially habitable environment."

During the two-year prime mission of the Mars Science Laboratory, researchers will use Curiosity's 10 instruments to investigate whether areas in Gale Crater have ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech, built Curiosity and manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.