UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING MARCH 30,2013

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA


In the week ending March 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 385,000, an increase of 28,000 from the previous week's unrevised figure of 357,000. The 4-week moving average was 354,250, an increase of 11,250 from the previous week's unrevised average of 343,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.4 percent for the week ending March 23, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 23 was 3,063,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,071,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,067,250, a decrease of 10,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 3,077,750.
UNADJUSTED DATA
The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 314,016 in the week ending March 30, a decrease of 1,596 from the previous week. There were 315,714 initial claims in the comparable week in 2012.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.6 percent during the week ending March 23, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,320,163, a decrease of 82,391 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,402,554. A year earlier, the rate was 2.9 percent and the volume was 3,636,712.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending March 16 was 5,288,614, a decrease of 167,165 from the previous week. There were 7,050,710 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2012.

Extended Benefits were available only in Alaska during the week ending March 16.

Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,109 in the week ending March 23, a decrease of 67 from the prior week. There were 2,335 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, an increase of 65 from the preceding week.

There were 20,240 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending March 16, a decrease of 113 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 38,662, an increase of 339 from the prior week.

States reported 1,799,625 persons claiming EUC (Emergency Unemployment Compensation) benefits for the week ending March 16, a decrease of 106,699 from the prior week. There were 2,815,108 persons claiming EUC in the comparable week in 2012. EUC weekly claims include first, second, third, and fourth tier activity.

The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ending March 16 were in Alaska (5.7), Puerto Rico (4.4), New Jersey (4.0), Rhode Island (4.0), Pennsylvania (3.9), Connecticut (3.8), Montana (3.8), Wisconsin (3.7), California (3.6), and Massachusetts (3.6).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending March 23 were in California (+8,712), Texas (+2,736), Kansas (+1,611), Arkansas (+1,542), and Pennsylvania (+1,448), while the largest decreases were in Virginia (-1,117), Massachusetts (-804), South Carolina (-602), Puerto Rico (-529), and North Carolina (-503).

ATTORNEY GENERAL HOLDER SPEAKS AT ANNUAL NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK CONVENTION

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Attorney General Eric Holder Speaks at the 15th Annual National Action Network Convention

New York ~ Thursday, April 4, 2013

Thank you, Reverend Sharpton – and thank you all for such a warm welcome. It’s a privilege to be included, once again, in this important Annual Convention. It’s a pleasure – as always – to be back home in New York City. And it’s an honor to join with so many good friends, committed partners, and current and future leaders in celebrating the memory – and extending the legacy – of one of our nation’s greatest champions for justice: the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I’d like to thank Martin Luther King III, Representative Rangel, Reverend Sharpton, Dr. Richardson, Vice President Hardy, Executive Director Mallory, and each of the National Action Network’s members and leaders – in addition to our distinguished Keepers of the Dream Award recipients – not only for your steadfast support, but for your prayers, over the last four years. Since becoming Attorney General in 2009, I’ve been proud to count you as allies in the Justice Department’s efforts to strengthen our nation and protect its most vulnerable citizens. I’m grateful for all you’ve done since this organization was founded – more than two decades ago – to help safeguard civil rights; to combat and prevent violent crime; to expand access to educational and job opportunities; and to protect that "most basic" right of American citizenship – the right to vote.

Especially tonight, as our nation marks the 45th anniversary of Dr. King’s tragic and untimely death, it’s fitting that we reflect upon how far this country has since traveled on the road to equality and opportunity. It’s appropriate that we celebrate the remarkable, once-unimaginable progress that so many of us have seen even within our lifetimes. But it’s also important to remind ourselves – and our fellow citizens – that this journey is far from over. And, for all the progress we’ve made, the road ahead still stretches beyond the horizon.

Four and a half decades ago – on what was to be the last night of Dr. King’s life – he stood before a religious gathering in Memphis, Tennessee, and laid out an optimistic but unvarnished vision of what this great country has always stood for – and what he knew it could become. It was a vision inspired by the patriots who, two centuries before, had set in motion the great American experiment – and began building the "more perfect Union" that to this day remains our common pursuit. It was a vision tarnished by the evils of slavery and segregation – only to be reclaimed by generations of brave Americans who risked, and too often gave, their lives to move this country closer to its founding ideals.

Above all, it was a vision of hope – put forward in a moment of doubt – that provided assurance of the brighter future Dr. King realized he might not live to see. In that final speech, he surveyed the challenges facing the Civil Rights Movement. He described threats that had been made against his own life. And he sounded a note of confidence in the face of a gathering storm: "We’ve got some difficult days ahead," he told the crowd that night. "But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop . . . . And I’ve seen the Promised Land."

The very next day, Dr. King’s life came to a violent end. And, although he was taken from us far too suddenly, and far too soon – he was only 39 years of age – in the decades since then, his vision has endured, and his message has been amplified by millions who continued to follow his example and to walk in his footsteps.

If he could be here with us tonight, I’m confident that Dr. King would be proud of the country he helped to recreate – and the great strides we’ve witnessed over the last 45 years. I’m sure he would be encouraged to see that his work goes on every day – in the advocacy of groups like this one, and the efforts of countless citizens – seemingly ordinary, but all truly extraordinary – who are still fighting to advance this righteous struggle.

At the same time, I know Dr. King would not yet be satisfied. And he would be the first to remind us that – although segregation is no longer the law of the land; although bigotry and discrimination are not as pervasive as they once were; and although a direct beneficiary of his legacy now sits in the Oval Office, and another humbly serves as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States – even today, in 2013, our struggle to bridge divisions, to eradicate violence, and to combat disparities and disenfranchisement remains far from over. And nowhere is this clearer than in the national debate about voting rights that has captured recent headlines from coast to coast.

At the center of this discussion is the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act – a signature achievement of the Civil Rights Movement – which, for nearly half a century, has served as an essential tool for preventing disenfranchisement in our elections. Under an important provision of this Act known as "Section 5," all or parts of 15 states with documented histories of discrimination are required to obtain approval, from either the Justice Department or a panel of federal judges, for any proposed changes in voting procedures or practices – including redistricting plans, and early voting procedures, and photo identification requirements – some of which may disproportionately impact young, poor, elderly, and minority voters. Since this "preclearance" process went into effect, almost five decades ago, it has prevented these "covered jurisdictions" from altering their voting practices until it has been determined that new proposals have neither a discriminatory purpose nor effect. There has long been a national consensus, a bipartisan consensus, that the Voting Rights Act was not only necessary, but good for our nation.

Since 2010, however, we’ve seen at least 10 lawsuits – more than in the first four decades of the statute’s existence – arguing that Section 5 is no longer constitutional, and that our nation has moved far beyond the challenges that prompted both its passage and its recent, bipartisan Congressional renewal. Let me be clear: while this country has indeed changed, and real progress has been made – we are not yet at the point where the most vital part of the Voting Rights Act can be described as unnecessary or a product of a flawed political process. That’s why today’s Justice Department has vigorously defended Section 5 as an indispensable – and constitutional – tool for eradicating discriminatory electoral processes.

As many of you know, the Supreme Court recently heard a case challenging the constitutionality of this vital measure. As we await the Court’s decision, I want to assure you that – no matter the outcome – the Department of Justice will remain committed to the aggressive and appropriate enforcement of all voting and civil rights protections, including every part of the Voting Rights Act. And we are eager to work with elections administrators and elected leaders throughout the country to consider policies aimed at making more fair – and modernizing – our voting systems; ensuring that all eligible citizens have equal access to the ballot; and preventing and punishing fraudulent voting practices – however rare.

Long lines are unnecessary. Shortened voting periods are unwise and inconsistent with the historic ideal of expanded participation in the process. Recent proposed changes in how electoral votes are apportioned in specific states are blatantly partisan, unfair, divisive, and not worthy of our nation. Let me be clear again: we will not sit by and allow the slow unraveling of an electoral system that so many sacrificed so much to construct.

But I also recognize – as you do – that the Justice Department can’t do it all, and we’ll never be able make the progress we need on our own.

Fortunately, each of us has the power to stand up, and speak out, in defense of this fundamental right. All of us have the responsibility to strengthen the efforts that have been entrusted to us, and the legacy that inspired the National Action Network’s founding. And no one can afford to become complacent – particularly when it comes to protecting the rights, safety, and future, of America’s most vulnerable citizens: our children.

Last December – in Newtown, Connecticut – a horrific mass shooting brought into sharp focus the importance of doing just that. And it spurred legions of policymakers, community leaders, and ordinary citizens to try and address the epidemic of gun violence that afflicts too many neighborhoods every day – and that passes, too often unnoticed, in our cities’ streets.

Unfortunately, this phenomenon is anything but new. Since April 1999 – when two teenagers used guns and homemade bombs to kill a teacher, murder a dozen of their classmates, and wound 21 others at Columbine High School in Colorado – this country has witnessed no fewer than 47 mass shootings involving over 640 victims, more than half of whom were killed. A recent report by the New York County Lawyers’ Association showed that – in a majority of these incidents – the perpetrators used extended or high-capacity magazines.

In order to prevent future tragedies, earlier this year, I joined Vice President Biden and a number of my fellow Cabinet members to develop common-sense recommendations for keeping guns from falling into the wrong hands, keeping our young people safe, and keeping our neighborhoods and schools more secure. Contrary to what a few have said, this comprehensive plan – which President Obama announced in January – is consistent with the Second Amendment, and would not infringe – in any way – on the rights of responsible, law-abiding gun owners. And it has led the Administration to call on Congress to adopt legislation requiring "universal" background checks, so that a full background check is performed every time someone attempts to buy a gun; to impose tough new penalties on gun traffickers; and to ban high-capacity magazines and military-style assault weapons, updated and stronger than the law that was enacted in 1994.

I’m pleased to note that the Senate will vote on a number of promising gun violence reduction proposals in the coming weeks. And tonight, I’m proud to join the National Action Network and countless Americans in urging both houses of Congress to give each and every one of these measures the timely, individual consideration they deserve. Many have said that these will be "tough" votes, and I understand that the gun lobby will attack some who support reform. But progress is never easy, and taking risks to ensure change is almost always necessary. The American people must stand with and support those who will be with us on this critical issue. The collective voice of those who overwhelmingly support the proposed reforms must overcome the efforts of the well-financed few who stand for a violent and dangerous status quo. Those whose lives have been impacted by gun violence – the victims and the survivors – are depending on us.

In December, just days after the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, I traveled to Newtown. In what were without question the worst moments of my professional life, I walked the halls where those unspeakable acts took place. I met with the first responders and crime scene search officers who arrived at the school just after the first calls came in. And when these brave men and women asked me, with broken hearts and tear-streamed faces, to do whatever I could to prevent such a thing from happening again – I told them I would not rest until we had secured the common-sense changes that they and those 26 angels deserved.

I promised them I would never forget – just as I know you have not forgotten. On this, of all nights, let us dedicate ourselves, as Dr. King would expect us to do, to this new struggle.

In addition to calling for Congressional action, agencies across the Administration are implementing 23 executive actions that President Obama announced in order to provide federal and local officials with the resources and information needed to safeguard our citizens, to develop plans for making schools more secure, and to increase access to mental health services for those who need them. These efforts are currently under way, and I’m hopeful that they’ll help to prevent violence and save lives. But all of this is only the beginning.

More broadly, we must also move to improve our nation’s criminal justice system – and to promote public safety, deterrence, efficiency, and fairness at every level. We’re providing increased support for programs offering quality legal representation to those who cannot afford it, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s decision in Gideon v. Wainwright– a landmark ruling, handed down 50 years ago last month, which held that every defendant charged with a serious crime has the right to an attorney.

We’re also asking larger questions about the mechanisms of our criminal justice system as a whole – and, where appropriate, exploring ways to recalibrate this system and ensure that it’s as fair and effective as possible.

Already, this urgent need has driven the Administration to advocate – successfully – for the elimination of the unjust 100-to-1 sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. As we speak, it is propelling us to become both smarter and tougher on crime by facilitating more effective policing at the state and local levels; broadening the impact of innovative prevention, intervention, enforcement, and reentry programs; using intelligence-based strategies to target federal law enforcement resources and assistance to the areas where they’re most needed; and seeking new ways to help crime victims – especially victims of sexual assault – to make their lives whole again.

Our reform efforts are also driving us to engage allies like the Department of Education – and others – to confront the "school-to-prison pipeline" that transforms too many educational institutions from doorways of opportunity into gateways to the criminal justice system. They are informing essential programs like the Department’s Defending Childhood Initiative and the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention – which are helping to rally federal leaders, state officials, private organizations, and community groups to examine how we can better understand, address, and prevent youth exposure to violence – as victims or as witnesses. And these efforts are inspiring us to forge new partnerships like the Federal Interagency Reentry Council – a group I first convened in 2011, which brings together leaders from 20 federal agencies to address barriers that formerly incarcerated individuals face in rejoining their communities, to promote best practices, and to confront these and related issues as more than just criminal justice problems.

The sheer number of Americans contending with these challenges is staggering. Well over two million people are currently behind bars in this country. As a nation we are coldly efficient in our incarceration efforts. One in 28 children has a parent in prison. For African American children, this ratio is roughly 1 in 9. In total, approximately 700,000 people are released from state and federal prisons every year. Nine to 10 million more cycle through local jails. And 40 percent of former federal prisoners – along with more than 60 percent of former state prisoners – are rearrested or have their supervision revoked within three years after their release.

Now, there’s no question that incarceration has a role to play in our criminal justice system. But there’s also no denying that widespread incarceration at the federal, state, and local levels imposes a significant economic burden – totaling nearly $83 billion in 2009 alone – along with human and moral costs that are impossible to calculate. As a nation – and as a people – we pay a high price whenever our criminal justice policies fall short of fairly delivering outcomes that deter and punish crime, keep the American people safe, and ensure that those who pay their debts to society have the chance to become productive, law-abiding citizens.

This is why – as we look toward the future – we must promote public safety and deterrence while at the same time ensuring efficiency and fairness. I am concerned by a troubling report released by the United States Sentencing Commission in February, which indicates that – in recent years – black male offenders have received sentences that are nearly 20 percent longer than those imposed on white males convicted of similar crimes. The Department of Justice is determined to continue working alongside Congressional leaders, judges, law enforcement officials, and independent groups – like the American Bar Association – to study the unintended collateral consequences of certain convictions; to address unwarranted sentencing disparities; and – where appropriate – to explore ways to give judges more flexibility in determining certain sentences. Too many people go to too many prisons for far too long for no good law enforcement reason. It is time to ask ourselves some fundamental questions about our criminal justice system. Statutes passed by legislatures that mandate sentences, irrespective of the unique facts of an individual case, too often bear no relation to the conduct at issue, breed disrespect for the system, and are ultimately counterproductive. It is time to examine our systems and determine what truly works. We need to ensure that incarceration is used to punish, to rehabilitate, and to deter – and not simply to warehouse and forget.

I remain hopeful about what my colleagues and I will be able to achieve in the months and years ahead – as long as we can count on the strong support, and steadfast partnership, of leaders like all of you. As I look around this crowd – of friends, allies, and distinguished award recipients and despite the frustrations of the moment, and the obstacles ahead, I can’t help but feel confident in our ability to move forward together – and to build upon the legacy of the icon who was taken from us 45 years ago tonight.

Dr. King was a singular figure in our history, and his impact on the world we live in today would be difficult to overstate. But the struggle that came to define his life was anything but unique.

This struggle is reflected in the stories of selflessness – and sacrifice – that are woven throughout our history. These stories remind us that this nation was built, and it continues to be improved, by generations of Americans – young and old, from all backgrounds and walks of life – like those in this room tonight. Ultimately, these stories – and the legacy of progress that is our common inheritance – are founded on a hope as old as our Republic, and as contemporary as this new century: that – here and now – we have the power not merely to overcome --- but to come together and to confront the challenges of our time. We have the strength to bear one another up, and push one another forward, in our continuing march down the road to equality and justice. And we have the solemn responsibility – and the rare opportunity – not just to maintain a steady course, but to help realize the vision of a King whose example still guides us; whose words still inspire us; and whose dream will someday lead us to walk – together – into the Promised Land.

May God continue to bless our journey. And may God continue to bless the United States of America.

U.S. BATTLE TANKS LEAVE EUROPE

 

German railway loadmasters with the Theater Logistics Support Center Europe control an Abrams main battle tank as it is loaded onto a rail car at the TLSCE railhead, March 19, 2013. The tank was among the 22 of the last U.S. battle tanks to leave Germany. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Alexander Burnett

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Command Assists Departure of Battle Tanks From Europe
By Army Staff Sgt. Alexander A. Burnett
21st Theater Sustainment Command

KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany, April 4, 2013 - The last 22 Abrams main battle tanks assigned to U.S. Army Europe armored combat units began the final portion of their journey back to the United States at the 21st Theater Sustainment Command's Theater Logistics Support Center Europe railhead here March 18, ending a 69-year history of U.S. tanks in Germany.

The tanks arrived at the railhead in the early hours of March 18, and the members of TLSC-E had 24 hours to get them ready to move. Host-nation civilians worked 12-hour shifts to get each tank inventoried, marked, secured and fastened. Each step in securing the tanks was crucial for the trip.

"These tanks must be meticulously accounted for and secured to their rail cars," said Jurgen Mohrhardt, the railhead branch manager for the Supply Activity Europe, TLSC-E and a native of Schopp, Germany. "We are here to ensure these tanks are properly retrograded and accounted for. We want them to make it back safely to the United States. ... The team here did an amazing job getting them ready to move."

To ensure the physical security of the tanks on their journey, six military police soldiers from the 21st TSC's 18th Military Police Brigade accompanied the train to the port of Bremerhaven, Germany.

At Bremerhaven, the 22 tanks were loaded onto a vessel called The Honor of Arc, an American roll-on, roll-off vessel that allows vehicles to drive onto the deck, as opposed to loading them with a crane. Charleston, S.C., was the destination of the tanks and four of the military police escort detail.

"It is an honor to be one of the soldiers escorting the last battle tanks out of Germany," said Army Sgt. Jeremy Jordan, a military police noncommissioned officer assigned to the 529th Military Police Company and a native of Houston. "As these tanks sail back to the U.S., we are closing a chapter in history."

The U.S. Army first brought tanks to the European continent during World War II in 1944, beginning in France with D-Day. By September 1944, the first tanks from 5th Armored Division had pushed forward into Germany. After World War II, the majority of the Sherman tanks used were sent back to the United States.

During the Korean War, a new surge of U.S. tanks arrived in Germany to act as a defense force to protect Western Europe from the Soviet threat. Tanks remained in Germany throughout the years to deploy in support of missions in the Middle East. At its peak, Germany was home to 20 U.S. armored divisions, which amounts to about 6,000 tanks.

"There have been tanks in Germany since 1944, and now there are none," said Andrew M. Morris, the U.S. Army Europe historian and native of Boulder, Colo. "For most of that time, the U.S. was a tank-heavy army. This marks the end of an era, both for the armored history in Germany and the U.S. military."

"Moving these last 22 tanks symbolizes a change in warfighting methodology," said Ingrid Boger, the TLSC-E public affairs officer. "This is the end of a long tradition and history of having battle tanks in Germany."

The last tank to be loaded onto the vessel was the "Casa Loca" -- "The Crazy House." As the single-metric-ton war machine climbed the ramp onto the vessel, it signified the end of an era in Germany, Morris said.

"It's a major change in orientation from being a heavy force oriented on the defense of Western Europe to a deployable expeditionary force able to go anywhere," he added.

EXPORT-IMPORT BANK ENTERS PARTNERSHIIP WITH STATE OF ILLINOIS TO BOOST JOBS

FROM: U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK
Ex-Im Bank Partners With Illinois Trade Center Network, Multiplies Access to Export Financing

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has entered a new marketing partnership with the state of Illinois in order to help Illinois businesses boost export sales and jobs. Ex-Im Bank’s City/State Partnership with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) gives thousands of exporters, especially small businesses, access to information about the Bank’s resources.

The partnership is expected to accelerate export business and job growth by connecting Bank products and services to a statewide network of Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) and International Trade Centers (ITCs), where entrepreneurs meet export finance counselors and learn how to grow their businesses.

"Ex-Im Bank has a lot to offer Illinois businesses that want to grow their exports, and this partnership will put Ex-Im’s financing benefits on display for them," said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. "Owners of small and medium-size businesses already come to Illinois export centers to improve their understanding of export trade; now they will find Ex-Im Bank resources in the same place. There they can learn about Express Insurance and other cost-effective tools the Bank offers. We trust this new connection will support increased sales and job growth in Illinois."

Ex-Im Bank’s City/State Partnership with international trade educators and business experts in Illinois aims to build upon existing successes there. Twelve International Trade Centers are associated with SBDCs located in Illinois, mostly on university campuses. Although a correlation between ITC services and increased exports remains to be proved, the ITCs uniquely focus expertise upon how export businesses start, grow, and gain profits. Export sales growth from Illinois over the past four years has exceeded the national average, increasing by 63 percent compared to the nation’s average 47 percent. In 2012, direct exports accounted for ten percent of the Gross State Product.

"We are committed to helping our small and medium-sized businesses in Illinois gain access to capital to expand to markets outside the U.S.," said Adam Pollet, DCEO director. "Small businesses are driving economic growth in Illinois and this partnership with Ex-Im Bank will give small businesses the additional support they need to export globally."

The purpose of the City/State Partners program is to ensure that the Bank’s export finance programs are more accessible to small and medium-sized business through the help of local, state, and regional economic development and business support organizations. Each City/State Partner pledges to make financing assistance and entrepreneurial services available to local businesses in order to create, promote, and expand enterprises that export. Partners – whether governmental entities or non-profit organizations - explicitly recognize exporters as key supporters of U.S. jobs. Ex-Im Bank in turn provides its Partners with free marketing and training materials, qualified finance experts to speak at Partners’ events, assistance with outreach and counseling, and access to a network of lenders, insurance brokers, and U.S. Government export resources.

Through its City/State Partnership with Illinois, Ex-Im Bank offers to Illinois enterprises expanded access to products such as its Global Credit Express, which helps exporters acquire low-cost working capital up to $500,000, as well as Express Insurance, which simplifies small business access to export credit risk insurance on their foreign accounts receivable. The Bank has designed an array of low-cost loans, guarantees, export credit insurance, and supply-chain financing structures to enable both small and large businesses to export globally without fear of nonpayment.

Besides its new IL DCEO-SBDC-ITC Partnership, the Bank cooperates with two other City/State Partners in Illinois: Global Midwest Alliance LLC, and the Chicago Trade Accelerator, organized by World Business Chicago. The Trade Accelerator was inaugurated February 18 in a joint announcement by Ex-Im Bank Chairman Fred Hochberg and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel.

ABOUT EX-IM BANK:

Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that helps to create and maintain U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing at no cost to American taxpayers. In the past five years (from Fiscal Year 2008), Ex-Im Bank has earned for U.S. taxpayers nearly $1.6 billion above the cost of operations. The Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms, including working capital guarantees, export-credit insurance and financing to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and services.

Ex-Im Bank approved a total of $35.8 billion in authorizations in FY 2012 – an all-time Ex-Im record. This total includes more than $6.1 billion directly supporting small-business export sales – also an Ex-Im record. The Bank's authorizations in FY 2012 are supporting an estimated $50 billion in U.S. export sales and about 255,000 American jobs in communities across the country.

LOW, THIN CLOUDS AND THE RECORD BREAKING MELTING OF THE GREENLAND ICE SHEET

Photo:  Greenland Ice Sheet.  Credit:  Wikimedia Commons.

FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

Thin, Low Arctic Clouds Played an Important Role in Widespread 2012 Greenland Ice Sheet Melt

Clouds over the central Greenland Ice Sheet last July were "just right" for driving surface temperatures there above the melting point, according to a new study by scientists funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The study, published in the April 4 edition of the journal Nature, found that thin, low-lying clouds allowed the sun's energy to pass through and warm the surface of the ice, while at the same time trapping heat near the surface of the ice cap. This combination played a significant role in last summer's record-breaking melt.

"It's kind of like the story of Goldilocks," said Von P. Walden, a co-author of the paper and principal investigator for the NSF-funded Integrated Characterization of Energy, Clouds, atmospheric State, and Precipitation at Summit (ICECAPS) project.

"If the sky had no clouds on July 11th, it would have been too clear and cold to melt the surface. But if the clouds were too thick, it also would have been too cloudy and cold. The thin, liquid-water clouds were just right for melting the surface snow," he said.

ICECAPS is part of NSF's developing Arctic Observing Network (AON), which encompasses physical, biological and human observations--including indigenous knowledge--of the land, ocean and atmosphere. Data from the AON will enable the interagency, U.S. government initiative--the Study of Environmental Arctic Change--to get a handle on a wide-ranging series of significant and rapid changes occurring in the Arctic.

"Clouds are still one of the greatest uncertainties in climate models. Even though the current climate models are generally correct, we need better measurements to improve them," said Walden, a professor in the geography department at the University of Idaho. "We're doing this to avoid future surprises, and we need to expand our knowledge of the details of how the climate operates."

The new findings, Walden added, not only have important implications for the study of the climate in the Arctic, but also provided a measure of "ground-truthing" for evidence found in ice cores--cylinders of ice drilled out of the ice sheet--that similar melting events have occurred in the past. According to ice-core records, the last time the surface at Summit experienced any degree of melting was in 1889, but it is not known whether this extended across the entire ice sheet.

Matthew Shupe, an ICECAPS investigator and a research meteorologist with NOAA's Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado and the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory added, "to understand the region's future, you'll need to understand its clouds. Our finding has implications for the fate of ice throughout the Arctic."

Scientists around the world are trying to understand how quickly Greenland is warming because ice melt there contributes to sea level rise globally. The Greenland Ice Sheet is second only to Antarctica in ice volume. In July, more than 97 percent of the Greenland Ice Sheet surface experienced some degree of melting, including at NSF‘s Summit Station, high atop the ice sheet, where the ICECAPS experiment is located.

To investigate whether clouds contributed to, or counteracted, the surface warming that melted the ice, the authors modeled the near-surface conditions. The model was based on observations from a suite of sophisticated atmospheric sensors operated as part of the ICECAPS experiment.

"The July 2012 ice melt was triggered by an influx of unusually warm air sweeping in from North America, but that was only one factor," said David Turner, research meteorologist with the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory and one of the lead investigators. "In our paper, we show that low-lying clouds containing a low amount of condensed water were instrumental in pushing surface air temperatures up above freezing and causing the surface ice to melt."

Clouds can cool the surface by reflecting solar energy back into space, and can warm it by radiating heat energy back down to the surface. The balance of those two processes depends on many factors, including wind speed, turbulence, humidity and cloud "thickness," or liquid water content.

In certain conditions, these clouds can be thin enough to allow some solar radiation to pass through, while still "trapping" infrared radiation at ground level. That is exactly what happened last July: the clouds were just right for maximum surface warming. Thicker clouds would have reflected away more solar radiation; thinner ones couldn't have trapped as much heat, and in either of those cases, there would have been less surface warming.

The researchers also found these thin, low-lying liquid clouds occur 30 to 50 percent of the time in summer, both over Greenland and across the Arctic. Current climate models tend to underestimate their occurrence in the Arctic, which limits those models' ability to predict how clouds and their warming or cooling effects may respond to climate change.

"The cloud properties and atmospheric processes observed with the Summit Station instrument array provide a unique dataset to answer the large range of scientific questions we want to address," said Turner. "Clouds play a big role in the surface mass and energy budgets over the Greenland Ice Sheet. Melting of the world's major ice sheets can significantly impact human and environmental conditions via its contribution to sea-level rise."

Better understanding of clouds also improves climate models.

"Our results may help to explain some of the difficulties that current global climate models have in simulating the Arctic surface energy budget, including the contributions of clouds," said Ralf Bennartz, lead author for the study and an ICECAPS investigator at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

"Above all, this study highlights the importance of continuous and detailed ground-based observations over the Greenland Ice Sheet and elsewhere. Only such detailed observations will lead to a better understanding of the processes that drive Arctic climate."

-NSF-

CDC SAYS 20% OF TEEN BIRTHS ARE REPEAT BIRTHS

FROM: CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION
New CDC Vital Signs: Nearly 20 percent of teen births are repeat births
Repeat births can be prevented

Nearly one in five teen births is a repeat birth, according to a Vital Signs report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although teen births have fallen over the past 20 years, the number of repeat births remains high and there are substantial racial/ethnic and geographic differences.
Repeat births: A repeat birth is a second (or more) pregnancy resulting in a live birth before the age of 20. More than 365,000 teens, ages 15-19 years, gave birth in 2010, and almost 67,000 (18.3 percent) of those were repeat births.
Racial disparities: Repeat teen births were highest among American Indian/Alaska Natives (21.6 percent), Hispanics (20.9 percent), and non-Hispanic blacks (20.4 percent), and lowest among non-Hispanic whites (14.8 percent).
Geographic disparities: Repeat teen births ranged from 22 percent in Texas to 10 percent in New Hampshire. Data show that although nearly 91 percent of teen mothers who were sexually active used some form of contraception in the postpartum period, only 22 percent used contraceptives considered to be "most effective" (that is, where the risk is less than one pregnancy per 100 users in a year.)
There are things that can be done to prevent repeat teen births. Health care providers, parents, guardians, and caregivers can talk to both male and female teens about avoiding pregnancy by not having sex and can discuss with sexually active teens the most effective types of birth control to prevent repeat teen pregnancy.

RECENT U.S. NAVY PHOTOS

FROM: U.S. NAVY
130402-N-XQ474-080 NORTH ARABIAN SEA (April 2, 2013) Sailors use an aircraft elevator to transport mail from the flight deck to the hangar bay aboard the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69). Dwight D. Eisenhower is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility promoting maritime security operations, theater security cooperation efforts and support missions as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Andrew Schneider/Released)

130403-N-IC228-012 FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. (April 3, 2013) The Navy's only MZ-3A manned airship launches from the Fernandina Beach Municipal Airport for a flight demonstration for U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, from Florida. The airship is visiting U.S. 4th Fleet headquarters for a capabilities demonstration as a potential search and detect platform for counter transnational organized crime operations in South and Central America and the Caribbean Sea. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt Cmdr. Corey Barker/Released)

 

ISAF NEWS FROM AFGHANISTAN FOR APRIL 4, 2013



Afghan border policemen deploy a heavy machine gun while setting up a new checkpoint in the Spin Boldak district of Afghanistan's Kandahar province, March 25, 2013. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Shane Hamann

 
　
FROM: DPEARTMENT OF DEFENSED
Afghan, Coalition Troops Arrest Taliban Facilitator
From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan, April 4, 2013 - A combined Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Taliban facilitator in the Dand district of Afghanistan's Kandahar province today, military officials reported.

The facilitator is believed to have arranged transportation of weapons and improvised explosive devices throughout the province for use in attacks against Afghan and coalition forces, officials said. He also allegedly has ordered executions and kidnappings of Afghan civilians working with government officials.

Also today, a combined force in Wardak province's Sayyidabad district detained several insurgents during a search for a Taliban leader who is believed to direct attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He also is an expert in the construction and use of IEDs and has directed acquisition and distribution of weapons to insurgents.

In Jowzjan province's Shibirghan district yesterday, a combined force killed an insurgent during a search for a Taliban facilitator responsible for providing financial aid throughout multiple provinces, collecting taxes for the Taliban, overseeing a network of Taliban tax collectors and coordinating financial matters with other Taliban leaders. He also is involved in providing weapons for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

TREASURY LIFTS SANCTIONS ON COLOMBIAN SOCCER TEAM FORMERLY TIED TO CALI CARTEL

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced today the removal of the Colombian professional soccer team America de Cali (also known as Corporacion Deportiva America) from the list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List). Treasury designated the America de Cali team on June 8, 1999, pursuant to Executive Order 12978 of 1995, "Blocking Assets and Prohibiting Transactions with Significant Narcotics Traffickers," because it was under the ownership or control of Cali Cartel leaders Miguel and Gilberto Rodriguez Orejuela and other designated individuals. Because that is no longer the case, the Treasury Department today is delisting America de Cali and U.S. persons will now be allowed to enter into financial transactions with the ownership of the team and any assets that they may have had in the U.S. are now unblocked.

"Today’s lifting of the designation of America de Cali is a testament to the enormous efforts made in recent years by both the team and the Colombian government to completely break with the criminal influences that have overshadowed the team in the past," said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen. "As we continue our work with the Colombian government to combat the threat of narcotics trafficking, we will use our authorities to target those responsible for illicit behavior just as we will lift sanctions in cases where there has been a concrete change in behavior."

The soccer team’s corporate entity recently completed a transparent process of restructuring and bankruptcy procedures under the oversight of the Colombian government that included a vigorous due diligence process on all prospective shareholders and corporate officers. The results of this process demonstrated that America de Cali has cut its ties with designated parties, allowing Treasury to proceed with removing the team from the SDN List.

The removal of America de Cali from the SDN List demonstrates that entities may be, and regularly are, removed from the SDN List when circumstances warrant. A designated party may petition Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for the removal of its name from the SDN List. In general, proof of changes in circumstances and behavior is key to OFAC removing a person or entity from the SDN List.

THE ALGAE BLOOM OF DOOM

Lake Erie , Photo by Lynn Betts, USDA/Wikipedia Commons

FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Exxtreme Algae Blooms: The New Normal?
A 2011 record-breaking algae bloom in Lake Erie was triggered by long-term agricultural practices coupled with extreme precipitation, followed by weak lake circulation and warm temperatures, scientists have discovered.

The researchers also predict that, unless agricultural policies change, the lake will continue to experience extreme blooms.

"The factors that led to this explosion of algal blooms are all related to humans and our interaction with the environment," says Bruce Hamilton, program director at the National Science Foundation (NSF), which funded the research through its Water, Sustainability and Climate (WSC) Program.

WSC is part of NSF's Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability (SEES) initiative.

"Population growth, changes in agricultural practices and climate change are all part of the equation," says Hamilton. "These findings show us where we need to focus our attention in the future."

Results of the research are published in this week's online early edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Algae overtakes a lake in Iowa.  Credit:  Wikimedia Commons.

"The 'perfect storm' of weather events and agricultural practices that occurred in 2011 is unfortunately consistent with ongoing trends," says Anna Michalak, the paper's lead author and a scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Science's Department of Global Ecology, located at Stanford University.

"That means that more huge algal blooms can be expected in the future, unless a scientifically-guided management plan is implemented for the region."

Freshwater algal blooms may result when high amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen are added to the water, usually as runoff from fertilizer.

These excess nutrients encourage unusual growth of algae and aquatic plants.

When the plants and algae die, decomposers in the water that feed on them use up oxygen, which can drop to levels too low for aquatic life to thrive.

At first the Lake Erie algae were almost entirely Microcystis, an organism that produces a liver toxin and can cause skin irritation.

The scientists combined sampling and satellite-based observations of the lake with computer simulations to track the bloom.

It began in the lake's Western region in mid-July and covered an area of 230 square miles.

At its peak in October, the bloom had expanded to more than 1,930 square miles. Its peak intensity was more than three times greater than any other bloom on record.

The researchers looked at numerous factors that could have contributed to the bloom, including land-use, agricultural practices, runoff, wind, temperature, precipitation and circulation.

They found that three agriculture management practices in the area can lead to increased nutrient runoff: autumn fertilization, broadcast fertilization (uniform distribution of fertilizer over the whole cropped field), and reduced tillage.

These practices have increased in the region over the last decade.

Conditions in the fall of 2010 were ideal for harvesting and preparing fields and increasing fertilizer application for spring planting.

A series of strong storms the following spring caused large amounts of phosphorus to flow into the lake.

In May alone rainfall was more than 6.5 inches, a level more than 75 percent above the prior 20-year average for the month.

This onslaught resulted in one of the largest spring phosphorus loads since 1975, when intensive monitoring began.

Lake Erie was not unusually calm and warm before the bloom. But after the bloom began, warmer water and weaker currents encouraged a more productive bloom than in prior years.

The longer period of weak circulation and warmer temperatures helped incubate the bloom and allowed the Microcystis to remain near the top of the water column. That had the added effect of preventing the nutrients from being flushed out of the system.

The researchers' data did not support the idea that land-use and crop choices contributed to the increase in nutrient run-off that fueled the bloom.

To determine the likelihood of future mega-blooms, the scientists analyzed climate model simulations under both past and future climate conditions.

They found that severe storms become more likely in the future, with a 50 percent increase in the frequency of precipitation events of .80 inch or more of rain.

Stronger storms, with greater than 1.2 inch of rain, could be twice as frequent.

The researchers believe that future calm conditions with weak lake circulation after a bloom's onset are also likely to continue, since current trends show decreasing wind speeds across the United States.

That would result in longer-lasting blooms and decreased mixing in the water column.

"Although future strong storms may be part of the new normal," says Michalak, "better management practices could be implemented to provide some relief to the problem."

The research was also supported by the NOAA Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research and the Lake Erie Protection Fund.

-NSF-

DOD SAYS RECRUITING ON TRACK

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Recruiting Remains on Track in Latest Statistics
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, April 3, 2013 - All four active services met or exceeded their numerical accession goals for fiscal year 2013 through February, Defense Department officials announced yesterday.

Here are the recruiting numbers for each service over the first five months of fiscal 2013, which began Oct. 1 and runs through September:

-- Army: 26,978 accessions, 101 percent of its goal of 26,795;

-- Navy: 14,007 accessions, 100 percent of its goal of 14,007;

-- Marine Corps: 11,131 accessions, 100 percent of its goal of 11,112; and

-- Air Force: 11,874 accessions, 100 percent of its goal of 11,874.

The Army, Air Force and Marine Corps exhibited strong fiscal 2013 retention numbers through February, officials said. The Navy had strong retention in the mid-career and career categories, and its 88 percent retention rate in the initial category is a result of the transition from a downsizing posture to a stabilizing posture, they added.

Five of the six reserve components met or exceeded their fiscal 2013 recruiting goals through February. The Army Reserve finished 1,410 accessions short of its goal.

Here are the reserve component numbers:

-- Army National Guard: 21,186 accessions, 103 percent of its goal of 20,664;

-- Army Reserve: 10,531 accessions, 88 percent of its goal of 11,941;

-- Navy Reserve: 2,237 accessions, 100 percent of its goal of 2,237;

-- Marine Corps Reserve: 3,894 accessions, 101 percent of its goal of 3,853;

-- Air National Guard: 3,960 accessions, 100 percent of its goal of 3,960; and

-- Air Force Reserve: 3,085 accessions, 100 percent of its goal of 3,085.

All reserve components met their fiscal year attrition goals through January, and current trends are expected to continue, officials said. This indicator lags behind recruiting statistics by a month due to data availability, they added.

THE ALASKAN MOUNTAINS PHOTO FROM NASA

FROM: NASA
Alaskan Mountains Seen During IceBridge Transit
Alaskan mountains seen from high altitude aboard the NASA P-3B during the IceBridge transit flight from Thule to Fairbanks on March 21, 2013.

NASA's Operation IceBridge is an airborne science mission to study Earth's polar ice. Image Credit: NASA/Goddard/Christy Hansen

FORMER POLICE DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEE ARRESTED FOR IMPERSONATING A U.S. MARSHAL

FROM: U.S. MARSHALS SERVICE
Pretend U.S. Marshal Caught by Real U.S. Marshals Task Force

Memphis, TN -- A man alleged to have represented himself falsely as a deputy U.S. marshal was arrested today by the U.S. Marshal’s Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force.

Averick Nickson was indicted Thursday by a federal grand jury for falsely assuming the identity of a deputy U.S. marshal. Nickson had on at least two occasions allegedly identified himself to law enforcement officers as an employee of the U.S. Marshals Service. On one occasion he reportedly did so to avoid the possible issuance of a speeding ticket.

Nickson was arrested at his home in Memphis. During the execution of the warrant a sizable amount of police equipment was found, including but not limited to guns, tactical vests, badges and identification cards, and radios. His personal car was also equipped with emergency lights.

Nickson is a former employee of the Dresden, TN Police Department and the Weakly County Sheriff’s Office. He was transported to the federal building downtown without incident where he had his initial court appearance.

The U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force is a multi-agency task force with divisions in Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. The Western Tennessee Division of the GCRFTF has offices in Memphis and Jackson, and its membership is primarily composed of Deputy U.S. Marshals, Shelby County Sheriff’s Deputies, Madison County Sheriff’s Deputies, Jackson Police Officers, and the Tennessee Department of Corrections Special Agents. The primary mission of the Task Force is to arrest violent offenders and sexual predators

SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY ANNOUNCES WAR CRIMES REWARD PROGRAM

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Secretary Kerry on Bringing War Criminals to Justice Through Expansion of the War Crimes Rewards Program
Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
April 3, 2013

Secretary of State John Kerry today announced the expansion of the State Department’s War Crimes Rewards Program, implementing legislation that then-Senator Kerry authored and passed last year as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, the last piece of Kerry legislation to be signed into law by President Obama.

Below is the text of a contribution by Secretary of State John Kerry that appeared in the Huffington Post on April 3, 2013.

Begin text:

More Work to Bring War Criminals to Justice

Imagine for a moment that you are a child growing up in central Africa. Instead of sleeping at home with your family each night, you take shelter with dozens of other children. You hope you'll find safety in numbers. You pray that you will not be pulled out of your bed and abducted in the night by an armed militia -- conscripted into a life of violence, forced to brutalize your own family members, used as a sex slave, condemned to a life on the run from the authorities.

It's a living nightmare -- but thanks in part to last year's Kony video about the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), it's a reality that millions of Americans now know that for almost twenty years has tormented and terrorized children across Uganda, the DRC, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan.

It has to stop.

Last April at this exact time, I came to the Huffington Post and I talked directly with you about some common sense steps we could take to help end the horror of thugs like Kony. I was chairing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and introducing new legislation which I asked you to help pass into law. You responded -- we mobilized the grassroots -- Congress moved quickly -- and the very last piece of legislation I passed as a Senator was the bill we'd talked about right here. As I was awaiting confirmation to become Secretary of State, the bill came to President Obama's desk and he signed it into law.

So the last piece of legislation I passed as a Senator is one of the first I'm now ready to deploy on an issue we care about deeply. Today I return to Huffington Post to announce the new steps the State Department is taking in order to tighten the screws on murderers like Kony -- and you should know you helped to make it happen.

Today, I am announcing a new weapon in our fight. Through the expansion of the War Crimes Rewards Program, the Department of State is offering up to $5 million for information that leads to the arrest, transfer, and conviction of the top three leaders of the LRA: Joseph Kony, Okot Odhiambo, and Dominic Ongwen. All three are charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Kony and his cronies have eluded capture for years. The LRA is broken down into small bands of rebels, scattered throughout dense jungle, hidden by dense canopy, controlling territory through tactics of fear and intimidation. We know they will not be easy to find.

But we know that rewards have a proven track record of generating tips that help authorities find fugitives and hold them accountable -- just look at the example of criminals and butchers from conflicts in Sierra Leone, the former Yugoslavia, and Rwanda, all brought to justice in part through the use of rewards.

Of course, Joseph Kony and the LRA are not the only fugitive criminals we are targeting in Africa. So today I'm also announcing a $5 million reward for Sylvestre Mudacumura, who has committed and ordered brutal attacks on civilians as the military commander the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR). Several individuals accused of carrying out the 1994 Rwandan genocide belong to the FDLR.

Nineteen years after nearly one million Rwandans were killed in the 1994 genocide, nine of the men wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda for allegedly planning, organizing, and carrying out the genocide remain free. Today, I also want to remind people around the world that the United States government still offers rewards of up to $5 million leading to the arrest of these fugitives. Their names are Felicien Kabuga, Protais Mpiranya, Augustin Bizimana, Fulgence Kayishema, Pheneas Munyarugarama, Aloys Ndimbati, Ladislas Ntaganzwa, Charles Ryandikayo, and Charles Sikubwabo.

I know coming forward takes guts, particularly when we are asking for information about notorious criminals like Kony. Let me assure you that the security of our informants is a priority of the War Crimes Rewards Program. The United States does not announce the names of informants even when a reward payment has been made -- and we always make good on our payments. In the past three years alone, we have made 14 reward payments to individuals who have provided critical information.

Anyone with information can help bring these criminals to justice. Simply contact the U.S. government through any of our embassies or through our secure website.  Stephen Rapp, our Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues and his staff in the office of Global Criminal Justice are ready to receive and respond to tips.
To be clear, this is not a dead-or-alive bounty program. Information must lead to the secure arrest, transfer, or conviction of these people men in a court of law. We want these men to look into the eyes of their victims and answer for their actions.

Can it work? You bet it can. Two weeks ago, one of the most notorious and brutal rebels in the DRC voluntarily surrendered to our Embassy in Rwanda shortly after being named to the War Crimes Reward Programs list. Now Bosco Ntaganda is charged by the International Criminal Court with war crimes and crimes against humanity. I would have been announcing a reward for him today, but instead, he is sitting in a cell at The Hague. He realized it was better to face justice under the law than live on the run as a wanted man any longer.

I refuse to accept a world where those responsible for crimes of this magnitude live in impunity. We will keep working to hold them accountable and deliver justice to all the people they have hurt.

Nowhere will thugs and war criminals who terrorize children be safe -- not for long anyways.

And starting today, their lives on the run -- always looking over their shoulder -- include an even greater prize on their head.

Impunity is the enemy of peace. Accountability is essential to preventing atrocities from taking place in the future. We are putting all those who would violate these simple principles on notice: Your days are numbered.

Now, to all of you here who helped me push for action last April -- this April let's renew our commitment to bring every war criminal to justice. Onward.

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE HAGEL HOSTS KOREAN FOREIGN MINISTER YUN BYUNG-SE

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Hagel Hosts Korean Foreign Minister at Pentagon
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 3, 2013 - The U.S. commitment to its alliance with South Korea was the key topic in a Pentagon meeting today between Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and South Korea's new minister of foreign affairs, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said.

Hagel also congratulated Yun Byung-se on his appointment, Little said.

"The secretary expressed his gratitude to Minister Yun for hosting Deputy Secretary of Defense Ash Carter during his recent trip to South Korea and told the minister he is encouraged by the high level of consultation between both governments," the press secretary said in a statement released after the meeting.

Hagel reaffirmed to Yun that the enduring U.S. defense and extended deterrence commitments to South Korea will not change, "and that it is our duty to remain vigilant during this time of heightened tension on the Korean Peninsula," Little said.

"The two leaders discussed the importance of the recent U.N. Security Council resolutions that are designed to limit North Korea's progress on its nuclear and missile programs," he added. "While the Department of Defense remains focused on fulfilling security commitments, Secretary Hagel stated that diplomatic efforts are fundamental to encouraging North Korea to pursue the path of peace."

Hagel also thanked Yun for his friendship and his continued commitment to the South Korea-U.S. relationship and the defense of the Korean Peninsula, Little said.

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL'S REMARKS ON PROCTECTING SPACE FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS

Photo:  Watching Space.  Credit:  U.S. Airforce

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Protecting Space for Future Generations is in the Vital Interests of the Global Community
Space Security Conference 2013:
Panel on "Space Security Threats: Exploring Current Vulnerabilities in Outer Space" United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research
Remarks of Frank A. Rose,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Space and Defense Policy.

Geneva,
April 2, 2013

Introduction
Thank you, Theresa Hitchens, for your kind introduction. It is a pleasure to be participating with these distinguished speakers and attendees at this UNIDIR space security conference in Geneva. This is my third year of participating in this annual conference, and I welcome the opportunity to explore and discuss this year’s topic, "enhancing confidence, securing space stability."

In my talk today, I’d like to focus on the following three topics:

• The importance of space capabilities in today’s world
• The challenges created by an increasingly congested and contested space environment
• Opportunities for international cooperation to respond to these challenges

The Importance of Space Capabilities

For over five and a half decades, nations around the globe have derived increasing benefits from the peaceful use of outer space. Satellites contribute to increased transparency and stability among nations and provide a vital communications path for avoiding potential conflicts. The utilization of space has helped save lives by improving our warning of natural disasters and making recovery efforts faster and more effective. Space systems have created new markets and new tools to monitor climate change and support sustainable development. In short, space systems allow people and governments around the world to see with clarity, communicate with certainty, navigate with accuracy, and operate with assurance.

As one of many examples of how satellites contribute to maintaining international peace and security, it is worth recalling that this year marks the fiftieth anniversary of both the Limited Test Ban Treaty and the launch of the first nuclear detonation detection (NUDET) satellites, called "Vela." The first two U.S. Vela satellites were launched on October 16, 1963, six days after the "Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water" went into effect. These and other Vela satellites successfully monitored compliance with the Treaty and provided scientific data on natural sources of space radiation for over two decades.

Today, NUDET sensors on Global Positioning System (GPS) and other spacecraft provide a worldwide, highly durable capability to detect, locate, and report any nuclear detonations in the earth’s atmosphere or in near space in near-real time – contributing to crisis stability as well as to treaty monitoring.

Threats to Space Services

As more nations and non-state actors recognize these benefits and seek their own space or counterspace capabilities, we are faced with new challenges in the space domain.

Now there are approximately sixty nations and government consortia that own and operate satellites, in addition to numerous commercial and academic satellite operators. This increasing use — coupled with space debris resulting from past launches, space operations, orbital accidents, and testing of destructive ASATs which generated long-lived debris – has resulting in increased orbital congestion, complicating space operations for all those that seek to benefit from space. Another area of increasing congestion is the radiofrequency spectrum. As the demand for bandwidth increases and more transponders are placed in service, the greater the probability of radiofrequency interference and the strains on international processes to minimize that interference.

In addition to the challenges resulting from space debris and radiofrequency interference, space is also becoming increasingly contested. From the U.S. perspective, concerns about threats were recently noted in an assessment issued last month by James Clapper, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence.

"Space systems and their supporting infrastructures enable a wide range of services, including communication; position, navigation, and timing; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; and meteorology, which provide vital national, military, civil, scientific, and economic benefits. Other nations recognize these benefits to the United States and seek to counter the US strategic advantage by pursuing capabilities to deny or destroy our access to space services. Threats to vital US space services will increase during the next decade as disruptive and destructive counterspace capabilities are developed."

Responding through International Cooperation

In response to these challenges, the United States continues to be guided by the principles and goals of the National Space Policy that was signed by President Obama in June 2010. The policy places increased emphasis on international cooperation to deal with the challenges of the 21st Century.

To address the hazards of an increasingly congested space environment, the United States has expanded efforts to share space situational awareness services, including notifications to government and commercial satellite operators of close approaches that could result in satellite collisions. These and other "best practices" can form the basis for the development of a set of guidelines for the long-term sustainability of space activities. Long-term sustainability of space activities is a topic being addressed by a working group of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, which will be discussed in greater detail by Dr. Peter Martinez, the working group chair, later today.

To address threats to space activities in the increasingly contested space environment, the United States continues to pursue a range of measures to strengthen stability in space. In doing so, we expect to increase the security and resilience of space capabilities, continue to conduct Space Security Dialogues with our friends and partners, and pursue transparency and confidence building measures, or TCBMs.

First, the United States will pursue efforts to increase assurance and resilience of mission-essential functions against disruption, degradation, and destruction. These efforts include expanded cooperation with the private sector, allies, and partners around the globe to maintain continuity of services, including efforts to enhance the security and resilience of space networks and supporting ground infrastructures. Related efforts seek to improve domestic and international coordination of responses to purposeful interference — which the United States considers an infringement of a nation’s rights.

Specific examples include discussions in trans-Atlantic fora, including the U.S.-European Union space security dialogue that I lead. They also include efforts by government and commercial satellite operators to improve information sharing for spaceflight safety and geolocation of intentional satellite communications uplink jamming, topics that will be addressed in greater detail in later sessions of this conference.

Second, the United States is pursuing bilateral Space Security Dialogues with traditional partners as well as with other established and emerging space-faring nations as part of its pursuit of TCBMs. The United States believes TCBMs should be pragmatic, voluntary, near-term actions that aim to increase trust and prevent misperceptions, miscalculations, and mistrust between nations. To overcome these dangers and risks requires, in part, building confidence between nations. This can be achieved with transparency, openness, and predictability through, for example, information-sharing.

In that vein, our Space Security Dialogues provide an opportunity for constructive exchanges on emerging threats to shared space interests, national security space policies and doctrine, and opportunities for further bilateral cooperation. In addition to the direct outcomes from these dialogues, bilateral exchanges themselves serve as important TCBMs which can be considered for adoption and implementation at a multilateral level. Given the complex and interrelated nature of space activities, the willingness of partners to engage in serious and substantive discussions in "whole of government" dialogues is what economists call a "leading indicator" of their commitment to multilateral discussions of space security.

With regard to the third area – multilateral TCBMs — you will be hearing later today from Ambassador Jacek Bylica and Victor Vasiliev on two of the most important efforts — an International Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities, or "Code," and the UN Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) study of outer space TCBMs. While I will defer to them for specific details on these efforts, I will note that the United States is a strong supporter of both activities, as well as other multilateral efforts in specific regions – such as a workshop on space security that commenced last December within the framework of the ASEAN Regional Forum.

In January 2012, then-Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced the U.S. decision to work with the European Union (EU) and other space-faring nations to develop an International Code of Conduct for Outer Space Activities. In announcing this decision, the United States noted that "[a] Code of Conduct will help maintain the long-term sustainability, safety, stability, and security of space by establishing guidelines for the responsible use of space."

As you will hear later today from Ambassador Bylica, the European Union is leading efforts to develop a text that would be open to participation by all States on a voluntary basis. The United States believes the EU’s latest draft is a useful foundation and constructive starting point for developing a consensus on an International Code. We look forward to participating in the open-ended consultative meeting that the EU and Ukraine will be convening in Kiev next month. These consultations, to which all UN member states will be invited, will provide an opportunity to address all elements of the draft Code. Along with our partners in the EU, the United States’ aim remains to find agreement on a text that is acceptable to all interested States and that can produce effective security benefits in a relatively short time.

Another multilateral effort to pursue TCBMs is the study by the UN Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on Outer Space TCBMs, on which I am privileged to serve as the United States Expert. Under the capable chairmanship of our distinguished colleague Victor Vasiliev of Russia, the GGE offers an opportunity to advance a range of voluntary and non-legally binding TCBMs in space that have the potential to mitigate dangers and risks to space security.

The GGE intends to develop a consensus report to the UN Secretary General that outlines a list of voluntary and pragmatic space TCBMs that States could adopt on a unilateral, bilateral, or multilateral basis. As part of its effort to draw upon as much expertise as possible, the GGE has welcomed written contributions from intergovernmental bodies, industry and private sector, civil society, and other UN Member States not already represented in the GGE. We believe the GGE serves as a real opportunity to move forward with pragmatic steps to strengthen stability in space.

Summary

In summary, the United States takes seriously the challenges of an increasingly congested and contested space environment and is pursuing a range of measures to increase assurance and resilience mission-essential functions and to strengthen stability in space, including through cooperation with the full range of space-faring nations. We are increasingly reliant on space, not only when disasters strike, but also for our day-to-day life. However, our ability to continue to use space for these benefits is at serious risk. Accidents or irresponsible acts against space systems would not only harm the space environment, but would also disrupt services on which the international community depends. As a result, we must take action now and pursue TCBMs in space, including the ones that I discussed today. These TCBMs will enhance the long-term sustainability, stability, safety, and security of the space environment. Protecting the space environment for future generations is in the vital interests of the entire global community.

U.S. State Department Daily Press Briefing - April 3, 2013

Daily Press Briefing - April 3, 2013

Detetives cósmicos

Detetives cósmicos

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE HAGEL CONGRATULATES NEW CHINESE DEFENSE MINISTER WANQUAN

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMET OF DEFENSE
Hagel Congratulates New Chinese Defense Minister
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 3, 2013 – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel offered best wishes to China’s new defense minister in a phone call yesterday, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said.

In a statement released after the call, Little said Hagel congratulated Gen. Chang Wanquan on his new position.

The leaders both expressed their intention to work together to continue to build a military-to-military relationship that serves the vision of both President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping, Little said.

"The secretary discussed the importance of focusing on areas of sustained dialogue, practical areas of cooperation, and risk-reducing measures," the press secretary added, and emphasized the growing threat to the United States and its allies posed by North Korea's aggressive pursuit of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

Hagel also expressed to Chang the importance of sustained U.S.-China dialogue and cooperation on these issues, he said.

Little noted that Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will visit China later this month, and said Hagel told Chang he looks forward to hearing the results of the visit.

The secretary also invited Chang to visit the United States later this year to continue senior-level military-to-military consultations, Little added.

Remarks by Secretary Hagel at the National Defense University, Ft. McNair, Washington, D.C

Remarks by Secretary Hagel at the National Defense University, Ft. McNair, Washington, D.C