NEWS FROM AFGHANISTAN FOR DECEMBER 7, 2012

Logar Province, Afghanistan.  Credit:  U.S. Department Of Defense.

FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Combined Force Arrests Haqqani Leader
From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 7, 2012 - An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Haqqani leader during an operation in the Mota Khan district of Afghanistan's Paktika province today, military officials reported.

The arrested Haqqani leader planned and conducted improvised explosive device attacks and was involved in organizing the Oct. 20 kidnapping of five Afghan soldiers, officials said.

The security force also detained three other suspected insurgents and seized IED-making materials and multiple firearms, officials said.

In other Afghanistan operations today:

-- In the Lashkar Gah district of Helmand province, a combined force arrested a Taliban leader who oversaw a group of insurgents responsible for conducting IED attacks in the central Nad 'Ali district. The security force also detained two other suspects.

-- In the Kandahar district of Kandahar province, a combined force arrested a Taliban leader and one other suspect. The detained Taliban leader was responsible for transporting and distributing homemade explosives and IED-making components to insurgents.

-- A combined force arrested a Taliban leader and detained one other suspect in the Pul-e 'Alam district of Logar province. The arrested Taliban leader operated in Logar province's Khoshi district and facilitated the acquisition and distribution of weapons in the Khoshi and Plu-e 'Alam districts. He also oversaw the training of suicide bombers and provided support to Taliban insurgents traveling through the province.

-- A combined force killed three insurgents, detained multiple suspects and seized numerous weapons, grenades and ammunition during a search for a Taliban facilitator in the Sherzad district of Nangarhar province.

-- A combined force arrested a Haqqani leader, detained one other suspect and seized numerous weapons in the Khost district of Khost province. The detained Haqqani leader was responsible for overseeing attacks and coordinating IED emplacement in Khost City. He also facilitated the movement of IED-making materials and weapons to insurgents.

REMOTE-CONTROLED AIRCRAFT: THE COST OF THEIR MISSION

Lance Brady of the US Bureau of Land Management launches a USGS Raven aircraft June 21, 2012 at Glines Dam/Lake Mills on the Elwha River in Olympic National Park, Wash. Dr. Doug Clark of the Bureau of Reclamation, in background, looks on. USGS, Reclamation, BLM and other agencies are cooperating on science missions to study hydrology, sedimentation, revegetation and other issues relating to the removal of two dams on the Elwha

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Written on November 29, 2012 by jtozer
Remote-Controlled Aircraft Work Hard for Science

Remote sensing technologies on airborne scientific missions have added new depth and dimension to scientific observation. Yet they come at a cost – literally. Flying data-gathering missions for scientists, land managers, and hazard-mitigation agencies can cost upward of $30,000 an hour.

The U.S. Geological Survey is leading a federal initiative to make this high-quality science less costly, more accessible, and more environmentally friendly by using unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) developed for the U.S. military to survey remote areas, monitor wildlife populations, and gather data on potential hazards on federal lands throughout the United States.

The science missions yield peaceful civilian uses for past-generation military technology. A roadmap adopted by the Department of the Interior (DOI) in 2010 tasks the USGS with developing certification, pilot training and proof-of-concept UAS missions through 2014 for its own USGS science centers and on behalf of federal agencies including the Office of Surface Mining (OSM), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Forest Service. DOI’s Office of Aviation Services (OAS) is charged with developing aircraft airworthiness and operator certification, including training.

USGS scientists and pilots are now monitoring feral animals and invasive vegetation in Hawaii,shoreline erosion on the Missouri River on behalf of the Lower Brule Sioux people in South Dakota, spotting underground mine fires in West Virginia, and tracking the population density of sandhill cranes in Colorado. The missions save several thousands of dollars over equivalent human missions and are far safer than low-flying conventional aircraft.

Based in Denver, the USGS Unmanned Aircraft Systems Project Office has conducted missions all over the United States. The planes and their operators are subject to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and DOIOAS rules and regulations.
"The best pilots are the ones who grew up playing video games," says UAS project manager Mike Hutt.
The USGS fleet includes several 4.5-lb battery-powered, hand-launched AeroVironment Ravens as well as T-Hawk Honeywell helicopters, which run on only a few ounces of fuel. Each type of craft can fly for roughly an hour. Initially used with their military-issue forward-looking and downward-looking analog cameras, the systems have been modified by USGS to take advantage of low-cost technology such as digital cameras, while a range of sensors are being evaluated for specific scientific missions.

Carbon dioxide sensors can be used in climate-change studies, while synthetic aperture radar would allow the

craft to fly in low-visibility conditions and provide change detection over a study area. Thermal sensors are used to monitor lakes that aren’t recharging at their historic rates.

"Are there underground ruptures drying-up springs or other changes affecting the hydrology? Fish and wildlife biologists are interested in these temperature changes. Rivers change temperature when vegetation on either side of banks is cleared, and this changes habitat," Hutt said.

The initial USGS mission in March 2011 studied the annual north-south migration of endangered sandhill cranes from Arizona through Colorado to Montana and Wyoming. The cranes fly north in the first part of February and spend much of each spring in Colorado’s San Luis Valley at the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge. Thermal cameras capturing images of the cranes at roost were used to determine population trends in collaboration with the FWS.

"Because the Raven is small and quiet, it could fly low enough – 75 feet – to photograph the birds without disturbing them. Moreover, the mission cost only one-tenth of a conventional airborne survey – $3,000 as opposed to $30,000 an hour," Hutt said.

Since then, USGS scientists have returned to track the cranes’ migration, and have flown Ravens on scientific missions all over the United States. On behalf of the OSM, they flew Ravens over surface mines near Charleston, W.Va., to inspect and monitor reclamation efforts. On remote reaches of the Elwha River in Washington state, the Ravens have monitored changes in vegetation and sediment after the two dams were removed from Olympic National Park. They have flown near Red Rocks Lake, Mont., where a thermal camera onboard a Raven was used to locate underwater springs that could help fish survive the winter. UAS missions have surveyed invasive weeds in south central Idaho. In September-October, the aircraft surveyed the Pitkin County coal basin in Colorado, and the San Simon watershed in Arizona, all on behalf of the BLM.

Future projects include surveys of gulls in the Farallon Islands off San Francisco; an Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site in New Castle, Del.; and climate change studies on the Colorado Front Range and in the Pacific Ocean at Palmyra Island.

The Denver-based UAS office is not the only USGS initiative to develop new uses for unmanned aircraft. In far northern California’s remote Surprise Valley, USGS geophysicists are teaming with NASA-Ames Research Center to map underground faults and fractures with the SIERRA aircraft, which is larger and has a longer range than the Raven or T-Hawk. By 2013, the USGS-NASA cooperators aim to develop payload-driven instrumentation for SIERRA that can make higher-level cognitive assessments based on real-time data, allowing the aircraft to plan and perform a complete survey mission without human intervention.

By Barbara Wilcox

LIGHTNING AND TERRESTIAL GAMMA-RAY FLASHES

FROM:  NASA
Fermi's GBM Finds Radio Bursts from TGFs

Lightning in the clouds is directly linked to events that produce some of the highest-energy light naturally made on Earth: terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs). An instrument aboard NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope was recently fine-tuned to better catch TGFs, and this allowed scientists to discover that TGFs emit radio waves, too.

Credit-NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

PRESIDENT OBAMA PROCLAIMS NATIONAL PEARL HARBOR REMEMBRANCE DAY

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

President Proclaims National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2012 - "Today, we pay solemn tribute to America's sons and daughters who made the ultimate sacrifice at Oahu. As we do, let us also reaffirm that their legacy will always burn bright -- whether in the memory of those who knew them, the spirit of service that guides our men and women in uniform today, or the heart of the country they kept strong and free," President Barak Obama said in his proclamation issued today declaring Dec. 7 as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

The proclamation reads:

"On December 7, 1941, our Nation suffered one of the most devastating attacks ever to befall the American people. In less than 2 hours, the bombs that rained on Pearl Harbor robbed thousands of men, women, and children of their lives; in little more than a day, our country was thrust into the greatest conflict the world had ever known. We mark this anniversary by honoring the patriots who perished more than seven decades ago, extending our thoughts and prayers to the loved ones they left behind, and showing our gratitude to a generation of service members who carried our Nation through some of the 20th century's darkest moments.

"In his address to the Congress, President Franklin D. Roosevelt affirmed that "with confidence in our Armed Forces -- with the unbounding determination of our people -- we will gain the inevitable triumph." Millions stood up and shipped out to meet that call to service, fighting heroically on Europe's distant shores and pressing island by island across the Pacific. Millions more carried out the fight in factories and shipyards here at home, building the arsenal of democracy that propelled America to the victory President Roosevelt foresaw. On every front, we faced down impossible odds -- and out of the ashes of conflict, America rose more prepared than ever to meet the challenges of the day, sure that there was no trial we could not overcome.

"Today, we pay solemn tribute to America's sons and daughters who made the ultimate sacrifice at Oahu. As we do, let us also reaffirm that their legacy will always burn bright -- whether in the memory of those who knew them, the spirit of service that guides our men and women in uniform today, or the heart of the country they kept strong and free.

"The Congress, by Public Law 103-308, as amended, has designated December 7 of each year as "National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

"NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim December 7, 2012, as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. I encourage all Americans to observe this solemn day of remembrance and to honor our military, past and present, with appropriate ceremonies and activities. I urge all Federal agencies and interested organizations, groups, and individuals to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff this December 7 in honor of those American patriots who died as a result of their service at Pearl Harbor."

VA AND DEFENSE SECRETARIES WANT INTEGRATED SUPPORT SYSTEM

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, right, holds a joint press conference with Veteran Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki at the Veterans Affairs Building in Washington, D.C., Dec. 6, 2012. Panetta and Shinseki met before the press conference to discuss ways to help facilitate veteran disability claims and other issues. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Secretaries Seek Integrated Military, Veteran Support System
By Terri Moon Cronk
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2012 - The secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs are partnering to build an integrated military and veteran support system, Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta said at a joint DOD-VA press conference at the Veterans Affairs Department here today.

Calling their departments' collaboration "a national security issue in many ways," Panetta said the agreements between DOD and VA "go to the heart of taking care of the people who fight for us, and ensure that we can recruit the very best force possible."

He added that if service members, veterans and their families are to get the kind of "seamless experience they deserve," the jobs of the secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs are to "make clear that there has got to be good cooperation" at all levels.

"Our close partnership has never been more important than it is today," Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki said of his meeting with Panetta.

Based on guidance from President Barack Obama, the two departments are working on a revamped Transition Assistance Program, a joint electronic medical records system, joint acquisitions decisions, better access to mental health programs, and disability claims, among other issues, the secretaries said.

"Today, our veterans wait too long for the benefits they deserve and that's why, together, we're streamlining our processes ... between our departments," Shinseki said.

Overall, the DOD and VA collaboration for building an integrated support system is not about turf, but about serving the nation's veterans.

"I'm very encouraged that the level of collaboration between our two departments is better than it ever has been in the past," Panetta said.

"Yet we still have to reach much deeper," he said. "We owe it to [service members and veterans] to give them the tools to put their lives back together and pursue their goals, whether it's getting a good education, the best health care, excelling in a new career, serving in our government, or starting a business.

"Today, we discussed a number of steps to try to get our departments to work together in a further enhanced DOD-VA collaboration," Panetta continued. "In particular, our discussion focused on a redesigned Transition Assistance Program. The VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 mandated that all service members participate in TAP to prepare them for life after the military."

Shinseki said his department's support of DOD's revamped TAP, a presidential initiative, will create a "seamless and productive program that provides a warm hand-off from service member to new veteran status, to ensure all who have served are prepared to transition to civilian life and have access to the VA benefits and services they've earned."

Panetta said the new TAP is progressing well.

"We've got a large number of individuals in the military, and as we transition in these next few years in terms of our force structure we will have a lot of people going into this system," the defense secretary said. "I'm delighted to report we are very satisfied with the requirements of the VOW Act having been fully tested in terms of effectiveness at all 206 installations [it] is ready to go. We're on track to implement additional tracks for service members interested in education, technical training and entrepreneurship by October 2013."

Disability claims will also become more streamlined as the two departments work together, Panetta said.

"DOD has agreed in principle to conduct more detailed exit physicals for departing service members who are not immediately filing a VA disability claim," he said. "That helps expedite the process so that we don't have to go far back to their past to try to determine whether that claim is valid or not."

With this information sharing, VA will have the health information it needs from DOD to more quickly process a claim, Panetta explained.

"Today, Secretary Shinseki and I agreed to develop a joint DOD-VA plan for accelerating the program to try to integrate our health care systems. We want to meet or beat the schedule we've established as targets," the defense secretary said. "We've asked for the plan to be presented to us by early January. We've got to do everything we can to move this on a more expeditious path."

Improved mental health service access is expected to be presented to the president as a joint recommendation by the two departments by the end of February 2013, he said.

Panetta expressed his concern over the rate of suicide among military members and veterans.

"It's a terrible challenge that we are dealing with, and we have got to do everything we can between DOD and the VA to ensure our systems are equipped to give our people the help they need to deal with these unique circumstances," he said.

Panetta applauded the work of health care professionals who treat service members, veterans and families, and also recognized warfighters.

"America's men and women in uniform put their lives on the line every day to keep this country safe. We owe it to those who fight for us to fight for them," the defense secretary said. "Programs to help our warriors were developed out of the best intentions but too often they fall victim to red tape, bureaucracy and intransigence.

"We, as secretaries of Defense and Veterans Affairs, deeply believe that we can and we will do better," he continued, "and we will accept nothing less than the best services that we can provide for those who serve this country."

U.S. DOD OFFICIAL TELLS CONGRESS NORTHERN MALI HAS BECOME A TERRORIST HAVEN

Map:  Mali.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook. 

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Dory: Northern Mali a Terrorist Safe Haven
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2012 – Northern Mali has become a terrorist haven, and DOD will continue to work with local African nations and regional organizations to isolate and degrade the threat emanating from the area, a senior defense official told Congress today.

Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and its affiliates are using northern Mali as a safe haven, Amanda J. Dory, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for African affairs, said during testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The terror groups have established administrative centers and training bases in the area, Dory said.

"Our approach is to support Mali’s neighbors, to isolate the terrorist threat and to enable [the Economic Community of West African States] and others to degrade AQIM while working to restore Malian sovereignty," she said.

DOD and interagency partners are working closely together to help this local and regional effort, Dory said.

In late March, the Malian military launched a coup against the government. Regional nations and the U.S. initially imposed sanctions against the military junta. While local nations have recognized the interim government, the United States has not. The U.S. military cannot legally provide aid to any government deposed by a military coup.

Northern Mali is a center for illicit trafficking networks that include drugs, people and now extremism, Dory said.

"Beyond the obvious threat to Mali’s citizens and its neighbors, the growing terrorist presence in Mali also threatens U.S. citizens and interests in the region, to include the ability to attack embassies and conduct kidnapping operations," she said.

ECOWAS will lead the military intervention in Northern Mali, and that regional group will work closely with the African Union, Dory said.

The Department of Defense, through U.S. Africa Command, is actively supporting the military planning effort, she said.

"This is very much an African-led process," Dory said. "Our efforts are aimed at making our partners more capable of combating the terrorist threat in their territories, and providing better security for their people."

American assistance includes training and equipping African forces preparing to deploy to northern Mali, advice and additional planning support, Dory said.

U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE PANETTA MAKES COMMENTS ON SYRIA AND SEQUESTRATION

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta poses for photos with the U.S. Naval Academy Midshipmen cheerleaders and band during a pep rally held in the halls of the Pentagon, Dec. 6, 2012. DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Panetta Discusses Syria Situation, Sequestration
By Terri Moon Cronk
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2012 - Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta today repeated the U.S. government's growing concern that Syrian forces loyal to President Bashar Assad may be preparing to use chemical weapons on their own people.

Without getting into specific intelligence, Panetta told reporters at a news conference at the Department of Veterans Affairs there is no question that "as the opposition advances, in particular in Damascus, that the [Assad] regime might very well consider the use of chemical weapons." He added that what the U.S. knows "raises series concerns that this is being considered."

Panetta's comments came three days after President Barack Obama warned the Assad regime that there would be consequences for such a move, and that Assad himself would be held accountable.

Today, Panetta expanded on that warning.

"The president has made very clear that the Assad regime ought not to make the mistake of thinking that somehow it can use chemical weapons on its own people and get away with that. The whole world is watching," the defense secretary said.

Panetta said he would not comment on the consequences if Assad were to use weapons of mass destruction.

"But I think it's fair enough to say that the use of those weapons would cross a red line for us," he added.

The warnings to the Assad regime come as reports suggest opposition forces are closing in on Damascus and that the nearly two-year-old civil war is increasingly threatening Assad's inner circle.

On another matter, Panetta was asked today about the impact of sequestration on defense programs, should it occur.

"There is no question that if sequestration happens, it will impact those who are coming home [from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan]," he said. "It's going to impact on what we're going to be able to provide them."

Panetta compared the automatic budget cuts triggered by sequestration to a "meat-axe approach."

If implemented, sequestration would "have a serious impact in terms of those [service members] coming home, the programs that serve them, the support system that we have not only for them, but for their families," he added.

"It's for that reason, obviously, that our continuing hope is that the leadership in this country comes together and finds an agreement that avoids this deficit cliff that we're hanging on," Panetta said.

Tsunami Information Statement

Tsunami Information Statement

FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF NASPSO CONVICTED FOR THEFT OF UNION TREASURY AND PENSION FUNDS

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

WASHINGTON – The founder and president of the National Association of Special Police and Security Officers (NASPSO) – which represents private security guards assigned to protect federal buildings in the metropolitan Washington area – was convicted yesterday in Washington federal court, following a jury trial, of 18 counts related to his theft of union treasury and pension funds, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.

Caleb Gray-Burriss, 62, of Washington, was convicted on six counts of mail fraud, seven counts of theft from a labor organization, one count each of obstruction of justice and criminal contempt, and three counts of union recordkeeping offenses. Joining in the announcement of the verdict were Marc I. Machiz, Director of the Philadelphia Regional Office of the Employee Benefits Security Administration of the Department of Labor; Michael S. Barcus, Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Regional Office of the Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Labor Racketeering and Fraud Investigations; and District Director Mark Wheeler, of the Department of Labor’s Washington District Office of the Office of Labor-Management Standards.

In June 2010, Mr. Gray-Burriss was charged with four counts of mail fraud in connection with his operation of a pension plan for members of NASPSO. A grand jury returned two superseding indictments in April 2011 and August 2012, which also charged offenses committed by Gray-Burriss while he was released on bail.

According to the evidence at trial, from approximately June 2004 through February 2011, Gray-Burriss wrote numerous checks to himself or to other third parties from the NASPSO pension plan checking account. The evidence also showed that Gray-Burriss spent more than $100,000 of the pension plan funds in this way, while falsely maintaining it was an operational fund that he was properly administering and that was providing benefits to the beneficiaries. The evidence further showed that Gray-Burriss committed criminal contempt of a court order addressing his prior misappropriation of pension and health plan funds after Gray-Burriss resumed his scheme in 2009 to defraud employers and NASPSO members of pension funds.

In addition, the evidence presented at trial showed that Gray-Burriss, while an officer and employee of NASPSO, stole over $150,000 in NASPSO funds consisting of cash withdrawals to himself, unauthorized salary increases and bonuses to himself and another person, fraudulently drawn checks to himself – purportedly for employment taxes on behalf of NASPSO – and unlawfully used NASPSO funds to pay his personal fines in a civil lawsuit.

The jury also found that Gray-Burriss committed obstruction of justice by destroying or concealing NASPSO financial records during a grand jury investigation; failing to file required annual reports on behalf of NASPSO, falsifying those reports, and failing to maintain properly the records of NASPSO.

At sentencing, which is currently scheduled for Feb. 28, 2013, Gray-Burris faces a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of the mail fraud counts, five years in prison and a $10,000 fine on each of the theft from a labor organization and conspiracy counts; five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the criminal contempt count; 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the obstruction count, and a year in prison and a $10,000 fine for the recordkeeping offenses.

The investigation was conducted by agents and investigators of the U.S. Department of Labor. Trial Attorney Vincent J. Falvo of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section and Trial Attorney Tracee Plowell, of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section prosecuted the case.

WEEKLY UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE CLAIMS FOR WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 1, 2012

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending December 1, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 370,000, a decrease of 25,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 395,000. The 4-week moving average was 408,000, an increase of 2,250 from the previous week's revised average of 405,750.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.5 percent for the week ending November 24, a decrease of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending November 24 was 3,205,000, a decrease of 100,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,305,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,309,000, an increase of 7,750 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,301,250.
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 498,619 in the week ending December 1, an increase of 139,678 from the previous week. There were 528,793 initial claims in the comparable week in 2011.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6 percent during the week ending November 24, an increase of 0.4 percentage point from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,301,200, an increase of 465,529 from the preceding week. A year earlier, the rate was 2.9 percent and the volume was 3,696,154.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending November 17 was 4,959,240, a decrease of 224,722 from the previous week. There were 6,575,150 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2011.

Extended Benefits were only available in New York during the week ending November 17.

Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,627 in the week ending November 24, an increase of 2 from the prior week. There were 1,863 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 522 from the preceding week.

There were 18,845 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending November 17, an increase of 242 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 36,889, a decrease of 2,436 from the prior week.

States reported 2,008,608 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending November 17, a decrease of 110,446 from the prior week. There were 2,794,284 persons claiming EUC in the comparable week in 2011. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending November 10 were in Alaska (5.7), New Jersey (3.9), Puerto Rico (3.6), Pennsylvania (3.3), Connecticut (3.1), Oregon (3.1), Nevada (2.9), Montana (2.8), and New York (2.8).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending November 24 were in Wisconsin (+5,876), Oregon (+2,328), Ohio (+2,252), Washington (+2,107), and Iowa (+1,262), while the largest decreases were in New Jersey (-23,966), California (-7,053), New York (-6,682), Texas (-6,425) and North Carolina (-2,609).

FIRST QUALIFIED FEMALE SUBMARINE OFFICERS RECEIVE DOLPHINS

121205-N-LP168-011 BANGOR, Wash. (Dec. 5, 2012) Lt. j.g. Jennifer Noonan, assigned to the Blue crew of the ballistic missile submarine USS Maine (SSBN 741), receives her submarine warfare officer device from former shipmate Lt. Jason Brethauer during a ceremony at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. Noonan is one of three Sailors to become the first female unrestricted line officers to qualify in submarines. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Ahron

FROM: U.S. NAVY

From Commander, Submarine Forces Public Affairs
NORFOLK (NNS) -- Three Sailors assigned to USS Maine (SSBN 741) and USS Wyoming (SSBN 742) became the first female unrestricted line officers to qualify in submarines Dec. 5.

Lt. j.g. Marquette Leveque, a native of Fort Collins, Colo., assigned to the Gold Crew of Wyoming, and Lt. j.g. Amber Cowan and Lt. j.g. Jennifer Noonan of Maine's Blue Crew received their submarine "dolphins" during separate ceremonies at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ga., and Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, Wash.

In order to receive their dolphins, Leveque, Cowan and Noonan were required to qualify as Officer of the Deck and Engineering Officer of the Watch, perform damage control functions, and demonstrate satisfactory qualities of leadership.

Cowan, a native of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Noonan, who hails from Boston, joined two other Blue Crew officers - Lt. j.g. James Barclay and Lt. j.g. John Schaeffer - in receiving their dolphins. Cowan was pinned by her husband, Naval Flight Officer Lt. Adam Cowan. Noonan chose a former Maine shipmate and mentor, Lt. Jason Brethauer, to pin her dolphins. Schaeffer decided to have Lt. Joe Westfall, a current shipmate from the Blue Crew, conduct his pinning. The Commanding officer of Maine's Blue Crew, Cmdr. William Johnson, pinned Barclay.

"I am honored to participate in today's ceremony honoring these four fine officers who have proven themselves over the past year," said Johnson. "They are truly worthy to join in the great legacy of submariners that have gone before us as 'qualified in submarines.'"

In Kings Bay, Leveque, along with fellow Gold Crew officer Lt. j.g. Kyle E. McFadden, participated in a ceremony presided by Cmdr. Christopher Nash, commanding officer of Wyoming's Gold Crew. Leveque was pinned by her husband, Lt. j.g. Luke Leveque, a qualified submariner onboard the ballistic missile submarine USS Maryland (SSBN 738). McFadden was pinned at the ceremony by Nash.

"Today was a very special occasion. It was special because two talented young officers earned the right to lead the next generation of submarine sailors in the most capable Navy the world has ever known. It was also special because these young leaders fully represent the future of our nation's technical talent," said Nash.

Leveque, Cowan and Noonan are three of 24 women - 17 line officers and seven supply officers - assigned to Maine, Wyoming, USS Ohio (SSGN 726) and USS Georgia (SSGN 729). Maine and Ohio are homeported in Bangor, while Wyoming and Georgia are homeported in Kings Bay.

"I am honored to be joining the long tradition of the submarine force by earning my dolphins and excited for the journey to come. I could not have accomplished this without the help of the wardroom and crew of the USS Wyoming," said Leveque.

Leveque, Cowan and Noonan have each completed strategic deterrent patrols aboard their respective submarines.

"Qualifying is a huge accomplishment for any submariner, and it feels no different for me," said Noonan. "I am thrilled to finally be a member of this elite community. I'm particularly grateful to my crew, officers and enlisted, for supporting me and holding me to the same standards as those who have gone before me. I look forward to being able to fully contribute to the crew now that I'm a qualified submarine officer."

"Qualification in Submarines is more of a personal achievement," said Cowan. "It requires understanding of the many facets of submarine life and has you perform so many skills that when I take a step back and look at everything that I have done and what this qualification means I will do, it is pretty amazing. I see it as that point where I have demonstrated the knowledge and the instinct to perform safely and smartly in all areas of the ship and its missions. Ultimately, it is a monumental mark of the confidence my command and crew has in me. And earning that respect and acceptance is a feeling that I will hold with me for my entire life."

Prior to reporting to their boats beginning in November 2011, Leveque, Cowan, Noonan and the other women assigned to Ohio, Maine, Wyoming and Georgia graduated from the Submarine Officer Basic Course in Groton, Conn. In addition, the submarine line officers under instruction graduated from the Naval Nuclear Power School at Charleston, S.C., and underwent naval nuclear prototype training.

U.S. LABOR DEPARTMENT SUES FRUIT AND VEGITABLE GROWERS FOR NOT PAYING FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE

Photo Credit:   Wikimedia Commons.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

US Labor Department sues Sabana Grande fruit and vegetable growers for not paying workers minimum wage

Suit seeks back wages, liquidated damages from Bananera Fabre, Finca La Platas

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The U.S. Department of Labor has filed a lawsuit against agricultural employers Jose V. Fabre Laboy, doing business as Bananera Fabre, and his son, Jose V. Fabre Santiago, doing business as Finca La Plata, for failing to pay their workers the minimum wage as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. The defendants cultivate and package bananas, tomatoes, and other fruits and vegetables for wholesale at contiguous locations on Rte. 117 in Sabana Grande.

An investigation by the department's Wage and Hour Division found that the defendants willfully and repeatedly violated the law. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, but the defendants paid many employees only $6.25 or $6.50 per hour. The division estimates that a total of $191,402 is owed to 174 employees between the two employers.

"These agricultural employers willfully and repeatedly violated the law, and they continue to withhold payments of unpaid wages due to their employees," said Jose R. Vazquez, the director of the division's district office in Guaynabo, which conducted the investigation. "We will not tolerate these actions and, as demonstrated by the filing of this lawsuit, the Labor Department will use all enforcement tools available to recover workers' wages and hold accountable employers who demonstrate a clear disregard for the law."

The department's Regional Office of the Solicitor filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico in San Juan. The suit asks the court to order the defendants to pay the full amount of back wages due plus an equal amount in liquidated damages to the affected workers. The suit also seeks to permanently prohibit the defendants from future violations of the FLSA.

Fabre Laboy has been the subject of several Wage and Hour Division investigations in the past. As a result of the most recent prior inspection, Fabre Laboy paid $38,098 in back wages as well as $6,381 in civil money penalties.

The FLSA requires that covered, nonexempt employees be paid at least the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour as well as time and one-half their regular rates for every hour they work beyond 40 per week. The law also requires employers to maintain accurate records of employees' wages, hours and other conditions of employment, and prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who exercise their rights under the law.

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION NEWS FOR DECEMBER 6, 2012

FROM:  NASA

NASA DROUGHT TRACKING SYSTEM VIDEO

FROM:  NASA

Plant Stress Indicates Drought

Farmers across America rely on early drought warning systems to manage their crops. Americans everywhere rely on those farmers to provide food. A new drought tracking system called ESI helps by monitoring the evaporation of water from land surfaces. FROM-NASA

 





 
 

U.S.-IRAQ DEFENSE COOPERATION MEMO OF UNDERSTANDING SIGNED

U.S. Army soldiers from Charlie Company, 67th Signal Battalion stationed at Fort Gordon, Ga., board a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at Sather Air Base in Iraq on July 10, 2010. The aircraft is from the 817th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron out of Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, and deployed from Charleston Air Force Base, S.C. Charlie Company is redeploying to their home unit as part of the drawdown to 50,000 troops in Iraq by August 31, 2010. DoD photo by Senior Airman Perry Aston, U.S. Air Force. (Released)
　

FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT, U.S.-IRAQ RELATIONS,

U.S., Iraq Sign Defense Cooperation Memo of Understanding

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2012 - American and Iraqi officials signed a memorandum of understanding today in Baghdad that will make it easier for the two countries to work together.

The memo was one result of the Defense and Security Joint Coordination Committee that met yesterday and today in the Iraqi capital.

Undersecretary of Defense for Policy James N. Miller, acting Iraqi Defense Minister Saadoun al-Dlimi and acting Undersecretary of State for International Security Rose Gottemoeller participated in the meeting.

The committee discussed efforts to strengthen security cooperation between the two nations, officials said. This includes enhancing Iraq's security capabilities and modernizing Iraqi forces. Officials looked at the U.S. foreign military sales program. Iraq is buying F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft and M-1 Abrams tanks from the United States, among other programs. These procurements include spare parts, training, maintenance help and other considerations.

The officials also discussed regional issues and the ongoing conflict in neighboring Syria, defense officials said.

The memorandum of understanding -- signed by Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Dlimi -- covers the range of U.S.-Iraqi defense cooperation and covers the next five years. This includes high-level military-to-military visits, professional military education cooperation, counterterrorism cooperation and the development of defense intelligence capabilities.

The two nations committed to joint exercises including exchanges of information dealing with humanitarian and peacekeeping operations, officials said.

 

U.S. ADM. LOCKLEAR III WANTS "COLLABORATION, NOT CONFRONTATION"

Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, briefs the media on Asia security issues at the Pentagon, Dec. 6, 2012. DOD photo by Glenn Fawcett

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Pacific Command Seeks Collaboration, not Confrontation
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2012 - The United States would like China to be a constructive influence on the world stage, and the U.S. Pacific Command is stressing cooperation and collaboration, not confrontation, in the region, Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III said here today.

The admiral, the commander of U.S. Pacific Command, said the command is moving forward on the U.S. move to rebalance forces to the Pacific.

"The rebalance draws on the strengths of the entire U.S. government, including policy, diplomacy, trade and, of course, security," Locklear said during a Pentagon news conference.

The rebalance is not aimed at any one nation or region, the admiral said. The strategy underscores that the United States is and will remain a Pacific power.

Locklear stressed that rebalancing is not so much about equipment or troops -- although they play a part -- but about relationships. Rebalancing to the Pacific came from the defense strategic guidance released in January. Pacom's mission is to strengthen relationships in the region, adjust U.S. military posture and presence, and employ new concepts, capabilities and capacities.

This will "ensure that we continue to effectively and efficiently contribute to the stability and security of the Asia-Pacific as we protect U.S. national interest," the admiral said. "The keys to success will be innovative access agreements, greatly increased exercises, rotational presence increases and efficient force posture initiatives that will maximize the dollars that we are given to spend."

China is increasingly asserting itself in the region, but the admiral said he has good relations with Chinese leaders. China has undergone a power transfer and the Peoples' Liberation Army has new commanders.

There are territorial disputes between China and other nations in the South China Sea and the East China Sea. Locklear reiterated the U.S. position on these disputes. He said America does not take sides but does want to see issues resolved peacefully.

"We call on all the parties there, including the Chinese, to ensure that, as they approach these problems, that they do so in a way that avoids conflict, that avoids miscalculation, that uses the vehicles available today through diplomacy and through those legal forums that allow them to get to reasonable solutions on these without resorting to coercion or conflict," the admiral said.

In addition to asserting what it believes is its role in the region, China has also embarked on an effort to modernize its military. The latest indicator was the landing of a naval variant of the J-15 jet on Beijing's first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning.

"If I were China and I was in the economic position that China is in and I was in a position of where I have to look after my global security interests, I would consider building an aircraft carrier, and I might consider building several aircraft carriers," Locklear said.

It's not so much having such a military capability, but what China does with it that concerns the admiral.

Aircraft carriers have a role in maintaining the peace. "If the issue is that [the Chinese] are not part of that global security environment, then I think we have to be concerned about [Chinese aircraft carriers]," Locklear said.

India is another rising world power and Pacom is working closely with the government there to cement the military relationship between the world's two largest democracies.

"We very much support India taking a leadership in the security issues in and around the Indian Ocean," the admiral said. "We are looking for opportunities to participate and interoperate with them where we can."

U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE CLINTON SPEAKS AT THE OSCE MINISTERIAL COUNCIL FIRST PLENARY SESSION

Dublin Castle was the seat of British rule in Ireland for seven centuries until 1922; it is now used mainly for Irish and EU governmental purposes. The Record Tower dates to A.D. 1208. From: CIA World Factbook.

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Intervention at the OSCE Ministerial Council First Plenary Session

Remarks
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Royal Dublin Society
Dublin, Ireland
December 6, 2012

Thank you very much and thanks to Foreign Minister Gilmore and the Republic of Ireland for hosting us today. We applaud your work as chair in office of the OSCE, to reaffirm this organization's core principles and strengthen its capacities to promote peace and security, champion democracy, and defend universal human rights and dignity. And we join with all members in welcoming Mongolia as the newest participating state.

As we approach the 40th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, it is important to remember that those accords and this organization that sprang from them affirmed an inextricable link between the security of states and the security of citizens. They codified universal rights and freedoms that belong to all citizens, and those commitments empowered and encouraged dissidents to work for change. In the years that followed, the shipyard workers of Solidarity, reformers in Hungary, demonstrators in Prague all seized on the fundamental rights defined at Helsinki and they held their governments to account for not living up to the standards to which they had agreed. We are the inheritors and the guardians of that legacy.

This year alone, the OSCE sent observer missions to monitor 17 different elections, including in my own country. In May the OSCE's efforts to help dual national Kosovo Serbs vote in Serbia's elections helped ensure a largely free, fair, and peaceful process. When High Representative Ashton and I visited the Balkans in October, we heard about what a difference that made. The OSCE also supported a successful election and a peaceful transfer of power in Georgia. It is, as we have already heard, deeply engaged on Nagorno-Karabakh, Transnistria, and Georgia. And throughout the region, the OSCE continues to advance a comprehensive approach to security that makes a difference in people's lives.

But I see a growing concern for the future of this organization and the values it has always championed. More than 20 years after the end of the Cold War, the work of creating a Europe that is whole, free, and at peace remains unfinished. I just met with a group of the Civil Society Solidarity Platform leaders from a number of member states. They talked to me about the growing challenges and dangers that they are facing, about new restrictions on human rights from governments, new pressures on journalists, new assaults on NGOs. And I urge all of us to pay attention to their concerns.

For example, in Belarus, the Government continues to systematically repress human rights, detain political prisoners, and intimidate journalists. In Ukraine, the elections in October were a step backwards for democracy, and we remain deeply concerned about the selective prosecution of opposition leaders. In Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan, there are examples of the restrictions of the freedom of expression online and offline as well as the freedom of religion. In the Caucasus, we see constraints on judicial independence, attacks on journalists, and elections that are not always free and fair.

And we have seen in Russia restrictions on civil society including proposed legislation that would require many NGOs and journalists to register as foreign agents if they receive funding from abroad. There are unfortunately signs of democratic backsliding in Hungary and challenges to constitutional processes in Romania and the ugly specter of anti-Semitism, xenophobia, discrimination against immigrants, Roma, LGBT persons, and other vulnerable populations persists.

So it is worth reminding ourselves that every participating state, including the United States, has room for improvement. The work of building a democracy and protecting human rights is never done, and one of the strengths of the OSCE has been that it provides a forum for discussing this challenge and making progress together. But there is even trouble here. This organization operates by consensus, so it cannot function when even a single state blocks progress. Forty-seven states have cosponsored the draft declaration on fundamental freedoms in the digital age, yet its path forward is blocked. The same goes for measures on media freedom, freedom of assembly and association, and military transparency.

The OSCE must avoid institutional changes that would weaken it and undermine our fundamental commitments limiting the participation of NGOs in our discussions, offering amendments and vetoing proposals to respond quickly to conflicts and crises, trying to exert greater central control over the field offices and field workers to curb their efforts on human rights, suspending implementation of treaties and agreements so there is less military transparency in Europe than a decade ago. These are not the way to progress in the 21st century.

The United States remains committed to the goal of a Europe that is whole, free, and at peace and to the OSCE whose principles are sound. We welcome any and all efforts to strengthen this organization, but that means empowering the institutions we already have to function free from interference, not curtailing them. And it means implementing the commitments we have made to one another and to our citizens, not undermining them. So as we approach the 40th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, this is a time for the OSCE to once again take up the mantle of leadership, to push forward the frontiers of human rights and dignity, and to reaffirm the values and principles that have guided this organization ever since its founding. Thank you.

U.S. WAITS AND WATCHES FOR NORTH KOREAN ROCKET LAUNCH

Map:  North Korea.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
U.S. Monitors Possible North Korean Rocket Launch
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2012 - U.S. Pacific Command has moved ships into place to monitor a possible North Korean rocket launch, Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III said here today.

North Korean officials have threatened to launch a satellite-tipped rocket into space sometime this month. Locklear, Pacom's commander, said such a move would violate United Nations Security Council resolutions.

"We encourage the leadership in North Korea to consider what they are doing here and the implications on the overall security environment on the Korean Peninsula, as well as in Asia," Locklear said during a Pentagon news conference.

The move would be similar to what the nation would do to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile. North Korea has been pursuing nuclear technology in defiance of the international community and has claimed to have carried out several tests of nuclear devices. Launching the rocket could show that North Korea has a delivery system for a nuclear weapon.

"And this ... would be very destabilizing ... not only to the region but to the international security environment," Locklear said.

The possible rocket launch would counter what has been a series of positive steps North Korea has made.

"There have been ... a number of signs that might lead you to believe that the new regime leadership is going to take a more ... rational approach to how they deal with their own economy and how they deal with their own people, and how they deal internationally," Locklear said. "There's been a feeling that there might be some hope there."

Locklear's priority -- like that of all U.S. commanders -- is the defense of the United States. As such, he is watching North Korean preparations carefully and talking with friends and allies in the region.

The command has moved U.S. Navy ships in place to achieve optimal monitoring of the threatened launch. This is also important because Pacom has a homeland defense mission for Guam, the Marianas islands and other states in Oceana.

NEWS FROM AFGHANISTAN FOR DECEMBER 6, 2012

Photo:  Afghanistan Market.  Credit:  CIA World Factbook.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Combined Force Arrests Taliban Leader

From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release
KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 6, 2012 - An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Taliban leader who was responsible for acquiring and distributing weapons and explosives to insurgents during an operation in the Dahanah-ye Ghori district of Afghanistan's Baghlan province today, military officials reported.

The combined force also detained several other suspects and seized a number of improvised explosive device-making components, officials said.

In other Afghanistan operations today:

-- A combined force arrested a Taliban leader in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province. The leader directed the activities of a group of insurgents in Uruzgan province, and was involved in the planning and execution of direct-fire and improvised-explosive-device attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. The security force also detained two other suspects.

-- In the Maidan Shahr district of Wardak province, a combined force detained one suspect during a search for a district-level Taliban leader who oversees IED operations in Maidan Shahr.

And yesterday, a combined force killed the Taliban leader, Akhbar, and several other insurgents in the Dara-e Pech district of Kunar province. Akhbar had coordinated the movement of insurgents and was responsible for supplying money and equipment to insurgents for use in attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

Joint Press Conference with Secretary Panetta and Secretary Shinseki at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, D.C.

Joint Press Conference with Secretary Panetta and Secretary Shinseki at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, D.C.