NSF SAYS BURIED NEW JERSEY SEAWALL SPARED COASTAL HOMES FROM SANDY

Hurricane Sandy Aftermath.  Credit:  FEMA

FROM:  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 
Long-Buried New Jersey Seawall Spared Coastal Homes From Hurricane Sandy's Wrath
Built in 1882, then hidden by drifting sands, seawall mitigated 2012 hurricane's effects
July 16, 2013

Picture two residential beach communities on the New Jersey shore: Bay Head and Mantoloking. They sit side-by-side in Ocean County on a narrow barrier island that separates the Atlantic Ocean and Barnegat Bay.

Before Hurricane Sandy landed on Oct. 29, 2012, a motorist traveling north would pass through Mantoloking into Bay Head. He or she would note few changes in residential development, dunes, beaches or shoreline.

The difference, however, was hidden under the sand.

A long-forgotten, 4,134-feet-long seawall buried beneath the beach helped Bay Head weather Sandy's record storm surges and large waves, says geoscientist Jennifer Irish of Virginia Tech.

The stone structure dates to 1882. Its reappearance in 2012 surprised many area residents, underscoring the difficulties transient communities have in planning for future threats along their shores, Irish says.

"It's amazing that a seawall built nearly 150 years ago, then naturally hidden under beach sands and forgotten, would have a major effect under the conditions in which it was originally designed to perform," says H. Richard Lane, program director in the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Earth Sciences.

NSF funded the research through a rapid response award following Hurricane Sandy.

"This finding should have major implications for coastal planning, as sea level rises and storms increase in intensity in response to global warming," says Lane.

The results, published online this week in the journal Coastal Engineering, illustrate the need for multi-levels of beach protection in coastal communities, Irish and colleagues say. Irish is the paper's lead author.

"Once we got to the site, we immediately saw the seawall," Irish says.

"The beach and dunes did their job to a certain point, then the seawall took over, providing significant dampening of the hurricane waves.

"It was the difference between houses that were flooded in Bay Head and houses that were reduced to piles of rubble in Mantoloking."

With recovery efforts underway and storms still circulating through the area, Irish and Robert Weiss, also a geoscientist at Virginia Tech, along with Patrick Lynett, a civil and environmental engineer at the University of Southern California, assessed the area, documenting high water marks, damage, overwash and breaches of the barrier island.

All oceanfront homes in the two boroughs were damaged, ranging from ground-floor flooding to complete destruction.

As measured by waterlines in the interiors of homes, flooding was similar in both boroughs.

The difference was the extent of the storm's effects.

In Mantoloking, an entire dune nearly vanished. Water washed over a barrier spit and opened three breaches of 541 feet, 194 feet and 115 feet, respectively, where the land was swept away.

In Bay Head, only the portion of the dune located seaward of the seawall was eroded. The section of dune behind the seawall received only minor local scouring.

Later, using Google Earth to evaluate aerial images taken two years before and immediately after Hurricane Sandy, the researchers looked at the area's houses.

They labeled a structure with a different roofline as damaged, one that no longer sits on its foundation as destroyed and the remaining houses as flooded.

The scientists classified 88 percent of the oceanfront homes in Bay Head as flooded, with just one oceanfront home destroyed.

In Mantoloking, more than half the oceanfront homes were classified as damaged or destroyed.

Despite the immense magnitude and duration of the storm, a relatively small coastal obstacle--the seawall--reduced potential wave loads by a factor of two.

The seawall was the difference between widespread destruction and minor structural effects, the researchers say.

"We are left with a clear, unintentional example," says Irish, "of the need for multiple levels of defense that include hard structures and beach nourishment to protect coastal communities."

Additional researchers include Wei Cheng and Stephanie Smallegan of Virginia Tech.

-NSF-

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IPHONE SPAMMER SETTLES FTC CHARGES

FROM:  FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 
'Free iPhone' Text Message Spammer Settles FTC Charges

An Internet marketer has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that he blasted consumers with millions of deceptive spam text messages.

Henry Nolan Kelly was the subject of one of a series of FTC complaints filed in March against those responsible for sending millions of spam text messages to consumers with false promises of free gift cards or expensive electronic devices.

The complaint against Kelly alleged that he sent more than 20 million unwanted text messages to consumers across the country, offering supposedly free iPhones and iPads to those who clicked on links in the messages. Those who clicked were instead taken to sites that requested substantial personal information and required an elaborate process – often involving other purchases or paid subscriptions – to be eligible for the “free” devices.

The stipulated final order against Kelly prohibits him from having any involvement with the sending of unsolicited or unwanted text messages to consumers. In addition, Kelly will be prohibited from misleading consumers about whether they have won gifts or prizes, whether a product is “free,” and from using text messages to do the same.

The order against Kelly also imposes a monetary judgment of $60,950, which is all of the money that he received in connection with the text message spamming scam. The financial judgment is suspended due to Kelly’s inability to pay. Kelly must also cooperate with the FTC in any future investigations.

The Commission vote approving each of the stipulated final orders was 4-0. The stipulated judgment was entered by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on July 17, 2013.

NOTE: Stipulated orders have the force of law when signed and approved by the District Court judge. (FTC File No. X130041; the staff contact is Robin Rock, 404-656-1368.)

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them.

U.S.-ISRAELI LEADERS REAFFIRM MILITARY RELATIONSHIP

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 
Carter, Israeli Leaders Reaffirm Defense Relationship
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service

TEL AVIV, Israel, July 22, 2013 - During Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter's first official trip to Israel, he and senior security officials here reaffirmed that the U.S.-Israeli defense relationship has never been stronger and agreed to continuing close consultations on shared security interests.

Carter's visit this week, made to discuss a range of issues of mutual importance -- including the unfolding situations in Syria and Iran -- comes a month after Israeli Defense Minister Moshe "Boogie" Ya'alon's June visit to Washington, where he met with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. Hagel visited Israel in April.
The deputy secretary also met with Ya'alon, Israeli National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror and other senior officials. Director-General of the Ministry of Defense Udi Shani hosted an official dinner for Carter.

As part of the visit, Carter took a helicopter tour of some of Israel's security challenges, and received briefings and observed demonstrations of tactical capabilities in several areas near Tel Aviv, including the Mitkan Adam Army Base, an Israel Defense Force special training installation.

Among the elite training schools at the installation are the IDF Counterterrorism Warfare School, the IDF Snipers School, and the IDF Canine Unit, or Oketz Unit, whose logo is a winged dog head. The dogs of the unit are the special operations equivalents of canine assistants -- they climb, they crawl, they tiptoe across logs, they even fast-rope down from heights with their handlers, making no sound at all.

Israeli ground forces discussed their use of canine partners in a range of operations -- finding roadside bombs, hidden adversaries, and contraband smuggled in all kinds of vehicles -- and in performing many other kinds of jobs.

A couple of miles away, next to a rocky, shrub-covered hill, the sun beat down on a two-story building. Nearby is a narrow wooden structure built only for fast-roping. This remote part of Camp Adam has been scene of many canine and special operations training operations, and yesterday afternoon Carter watched as they showed him how they like to work.

Afterward, Carter spoke briefly to the troops before shaking their hands and presenting them with commemorative coins from his office.

"Protecting America means protecting Israel, and that's why we're here in the first place," he said. "But this is the fun part," he added, indicating the tactical demonstration area and the fit, skilled men and women in uniform, some with their dogs and some still dressed in garb that disguised them as boulders and bushes.

CORPORATION AND IT'S MAN SENTENCED FOR WETLANDS VIOLATIONS

FROM: U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY 
Florida Man and His Corporation Sentenced for Wetlands Violations in Panama City

WASHINGTON - Brian Raphael D’Isernia, 69, of Panama City Beach, Fla., and Lagoon Landing, LLC, a corporation controlled by D’Isernia, were sentenced today in federal court in the Northern District of Florida for illegal dredging and felony wetlands violations in Panama City. The two defendants were ordered to pay a criminal fine totaling $2.25 million dollars, the largest criminal fine assessed for wetlands-related violations in Florida history. D’Isernia was sentenced to pay a $100,000 criminal fine, while Lagoon Landing, LLC was sentenced to pay a $2.15 million criminal fine, a $1 million community service payment, and a term of three years probation.

D’Isernia pleaded guilty to knowingly violating the Rivers and Harbors Act. D’Isernia was charged with dredging an upland cut ship launching basin in Allanton and the channel connecting it to East Bay between December 2009 and February 2010 without obtaining a permit.

Lagoon Landing, LLC, pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Clean Water Act for knowingly discharging a pollutant into waters of the United States without a permit. Between 2005 and 2010, Lagoon Landing, through its agents and employees in conjunction with persons using tractors and other heavy equipment, altered and filled wetland areas of property it controlled in Allanton without obtaining a permit. The wetland areas were adjacent to and had a significant nexus to East Bay.

Lagoon Landing, LLC was also ordered to pay a $1 million community service payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, a charitable non-profit organization created by Congress. The foundation will use the money to fund projects for the conservation, protection, restoration and management of wetland, marine and coastal resources, with an emphasis on projects benefiting wetlands in and around St. Andrew Bay.

“The defendants adversely impacted wetlands, which play a critical role in maintaining water quality, providing habitat for fish and wildlife, reducing flood damage, and providing recreational opportunities for the public,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assistance. “The sentences show that EPA, in conjunction with its federal and state law enforcement partners, will vigorously investigate and seek prosecution for those who harm these essential natural resources.”

In a separate but related civil settlement, Northwest Florida Holdings, Inc., a Florida holding corporation controlled by D’Isernia, entered into an Administrative Compliance Order with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that will result in the restoration of approximately 58.63 acres of wetlands and upland buffers. The wetlands will be protected from future development by a conservation easement. The corporation also agreed to study the water quality in and around the Allanton and Nelson Street Shipyards; upgrade stormwater protection for the Allanton Shipyard; withdraw applications to convert the launching basin to a marina and create a Planned Unit Development at the Allanton Shipyard; and hire someone to oversee environmental compliance.

In a second separate but related civil settlement, Northwest Florida Holdings, Inc. entered into a consent order with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and agreed to conduct stormwater corrective actions and water quality studies at the Allanton Shipyard. The corporation will pay a $9,750 civil fine to the Ecosystem Management and Restoration Trust Fund, and $94,718.25 in severed dredge materials fees to the Florida Internal Improvement Trust Fund.

In a third separate but related civil settlement, Bay Fabrication, Inc., a corporation controlled by D’Isernia, entered into a consent order with FDEP and agreed to conduct stormwater corrective actions and water quality studies at the Nelson Street Shipyard. The corporation will pay a $6,000 civil fine to the Ecosystem Management and Restoration Trust Fund, and $76,923 in severed dredge materials fees to the Florida Internal Improvement Trust Fund.

In a fourth separate but related civil settlement, Peninsula Holdings, LLC, a corporation controlled by D’Isernia, entered into a Consent Order with FDEP and agreed to conduct stormwater improvements at property it owns located at 2500 Nelson Street, Panama City, Florida 32401. The corporation will pay a $1,500 civil fine to the Ecosystem Management and Restoration Trust Fund.

In a fifth separate but related civil settlement, D’Isernia and his wife Miriam D’Isernia, entered into a consent order with FDEP to remove unauthorized fill materials from property located in Panama City Beach, Fla. Brian and Miriam D’Isernia will pay a $250 civil fine to the Ecosystem Management and Restoration Trust Fund.

These cases were investigated by the EPA Criminal Investigation Division and the Coast Guard Investigative Service, in partnership with EPA Region 4, the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Coast Guard Station Panama City, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and FDEP. These cases were prosecuted by the Honorable Randall J. Hensel, Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SHEEN SOURCE IDENTIFIED

Oil Sheen.  Credit:  NOAA

FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

Study Identifies Source of Oil Sheens Near Deepwater Horizon Site

A chemical analysis indicates that the source of oil sheens recently found floating at the ocean's surface near the site of the Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon oil spill is pockets of oil trapped within the wreckage of the sunken rig.


First reported to the U.S. Coast Guard by multinational oil and gas company BP in September 2012, the oil sheens raised public concern that the Macondo well, which was capped in July 2010, might be leaking.

However, both the Macondo well and the natural oil seeps common to the Gulf of Mexico were confidently ruled out, according to researchers from the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).

The results are published this week in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

"Silver linings in the dark cloud of the Deepwater Horizon spill are very hard to come by," says Don Rice, program director in the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Ocean Sciences, which funded the research.

"Among the precious few are the lessons we've learned about the marine biogeochemistry of petroleum mixtures. This team has demonstrated convincingly that we can also use what we have learned for forensic purposes."

The researchers used a recently patented method to fingerprint the chemical makeup of the oil sheens, and to estimate the location of the source based on the extent to which gasoline-like compounds evaporated from the sheens.

"The results demonstrate a recently developed geochemical analytical method and may have real-world implications in environmental management strategies for future contamination incidents," says Deborah Aruguete, program director in NSF's Division of Earth Sciences, which co-funded the research.

Because every oil sample contains chemical clues pointing to the reservoir it came from, scientists can compare it to other samples to determine if they share a common source.

"This appears to be a slow leak from the wreckage of the rig, not another catastrophic discharge from a deep oil reservoir," says geochemist David Valentine of UCSB.

"Continued oil discharge to the Gulf of Mexico from the wreckage of the Deepwater Horizon rig is not a good thing, but there is some comfort that the amount of leakage is limited to the pockets of oil trapped within the wreckage of the rig."

Valentine and WHOI's Chris Reddy have worked on Deepwater Horizon for much of the last three years, investigating a wide range of problems, including the composition of the oil, detection of subsurface plumes, the biodegradation of the oil, the fate of the dispersants and the chemical transition from floating oil slicks to sunken tar balls.

"Because of our ongoing funding from NSF, we were prepared to interrogate the source of mysterious oil sheens in the Gulf of Mexico," said Valentine.

"We've been exploring new ways to do this for several years in the context of natural seeps, and this event provided us an opportunity to apply our fundamental advances to a real-world problem."

The scientists analyzed 14 sheen samples skimmed from the sea surface during two trips to the Gulf of Mexico.

Using comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography, a technique developed in Reddy's lab, the researchers first confirmed that the sheens contained oil from the Macondo well.

But the sheen samples also contained trace amounts of olefins, industrial chemicals used in drilling operations. The presence of olefins provided a fingerprint for the sheens the scientists could compare to the samples they had analyzed during the last three years.

Olefins are not found in crude oil and their uniform distribution in the sheens indicated that the Macondo well was unlikely to be the source.

The team surmised that the sheens must be coming from equipment exposed to olefins during drilling operations.

"The occurrence of these man-made olefins in all our sheen samples points to a single main source, which contains both Macondo oil and lesser amounts of the drilling fluids that harbor the olefins," said Valentine.

"This pointed us to the wreckage of the rig, which was known to have both, as the most likely source for the sheens."

The researchers compared the sheen samples to other field samples, some of which they expected would contain olefins and some they thought would not.

The reference samples included two pieces of debris from the Deepwater Horizon found floating in May 2010, as well as oil collected by BP in October 2012, during an inspection of the 80-ton cofferdam that had been abandoned at the seafloor after its use in a failed attempt to cover the Macondo well in 2010.

The team's gas chromatography analysis of BP's cofferdam samples definitively showed that it was not the sole source of the leak as there were no olefins present.

Prior to the analysis the cofferdam had become the prime suspect as the source when BP found small amounts of oil leaking from its top.

BP scientists acquired oil samples from this leak point before sealing the leak, thinking they had resolved the problem. However, the sheens on the sea surface persisted, and the lack of olefins pointed to another source entirely.

When Valentine and Reddy compared the chemical makeup of the sheens with debris found floating in 2010, they found a match. That debris, which came from the rig itself, was coated with oil and was contaminated by drilling mud olefins.

"The ability to fingerprint synthetic hydrocarbons allowed us to crack this case," Valentine said. "We were able to exclude a number of suspects and match the olefin fingerprint in the new oil slicks to that of the wreckage from the sunken rig."

The chemical analysis also told researchers which sheens had surfaced more recently than others, allowing them to reconstruct a trajectory for local ocean currents that pointed back to the oil's source.

By looking for sheens that showed the least amount of evaporation, they determined that oil surfaced closer to Deepwater Horizon wreckage than to the cofferdam site.

To explain how the oil might be trapped and released from the wreckage, the scientists point out that when the Deepwater Horizon rig sank, it was holding tanks containing hundreds of barrels of a mixture of drilling mud and oil.

Over time, corrosive seawater can create small holes through which oil can slowly escape to the surface. The researchers suspect that the containers on the rig holding trapped oil may be the source of the recent oil sheen.

In addition to Valentine and Reddy, the research team consisted of Christoph Aeppli and Robert Nelson of WHOI, and Matthias Kellermann of UCSB.

The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and a Swiss National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship also funded the research.

-NSF-

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U.S. STATEMENT ON FACTORY SAFETY IN BANGLADESH

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 
Statement by the U.S. Government on Labor Rights and Factory Safety in Bangladesh

WASHINGTON — The following is a joint statement from the Department of Labor, Office of the United States Trade Representative, and the State Department:
Today, the United States is outlining next steps in a longstanding effort to address in a meaningful way worker safety problems in Bangladesh — the severity of which were exemplified in the tragedies of the November 2012 Tazreen Fashions factory fire and the April 2013 Rana Plaza building collapse — and, more broadly, the ability of Bangladeshi workers to exercise their full range of labor rights.

On June 27, 2013, President Obama announced his decision to suspend Bangladesh's trade benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) in view of insufficient progress by the Government of Bangladesh in affording Bangladeshi workers internationally recognized worker rights. That decision followed an extensive, interagency review under the GSP program of worker rights and worker safety in Bangladesh during which the U.S. Government encouraged the Government of Bangladesh to implement needed reforms. At the time of the announcement, the Administration provided the Government of Bangladesh with an action plan which, if implemented, could provide a basis for the President to consider the reinstatement of GSP trade benefits.

Today, the Administration is making this action plan public as a means to reinforce and support the efforts of all international stakeholders to promote improved worker rights and worker safety in Bangladesh. On the basis of this action plan, the United States looks forward to continuing to work with Bangladesh on the actions it needs to take in relation to potential reinstatement of GSP benefits.
The United States is also pleased to associate itself with the July 8, 2013 European Union (EU)-Bangladesh-International Labor Organization (ILO) Sustainability Compact for continuous improvements in labour rights and factory safety in the ready-made garment and knitwear industry in Bangladesh (Compact). The United States looks forward to working as a full partner with the EU, Bangladesh, and the ILO to implement the goals of the Compact, many of which are broadly consistent with the GSP action plan we are releasing today. At the same time, the United States will pursue additional concrete actions required under the GSP action plan, such as increasing sanctions for labor violations sufficient to deter future misconduct, publicly reporting on the outcome of union registration applications, establishing an effective complaint mechanism for labor violations, and ending violence and harassment of labor activists and unions.
In addition to these complementary, government-to-government efforts, the Administration recognizes the importance of efforts by retailers and brands to ensure that the factories from which they source are compliant with all fire and safety standards in Bangladesh. We urge the retailers and brands to take steps needed to help advance changes in the Bangladeshi garment sector and to work together and with other stakeholders to ensure that their efforts are coordinated and sustained.

The Administration looks forward to continuing its engagement with the Government of Bangladesh and all stakeholders in order to effect positive change for Bangladeshi workers and to help ensure that the recent tragedies we have witnessed do not recur.

Bangladesh Action Plan 2013

The United States Government encourages the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) to take significant actions to provide a basis for reinstating Bangladesh’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) benefits, including by implementing commitments under the "National Tripartite Plan of Action on Fire Safety and Structural Integrity" and taking the following actions:

Government Inspections for Labor, Fire and Building Standards

Develop, in consultation with the International Labor Organization (ILO), and implement in line with already agreed targets, a plan to increase the number of government labor, fire and building inspectors, improve their training, establish clear procedures for independent and credible inspections, and expand the resources at their disposal to conduct effective inspections in the readymade garment (RMG), knitwear, and shrimp sectors, including within Export Processing Zones (EPZs).

Increase fines and other sanctions, including loss of import and export licenses, applied for failure to comply with labor, fire, or building standards to levels sufficient to deter future violations.

Develop, in consultation with the ILO, and implement in line with already agreed targets, a plan to assess the structural building and fire safety of all active RMG/knitwear factories and initiate remedial actions, close or relocate inadequate factories, where appropriate.

Create a publicly accessible database/matrix of all RMG/knitwear factories as a platform for reporting labor, fire, and building inspections, including information on the factories and locations, violations identified, fines and sanctions administered, factories closed or relocated, violations remediated, and the names of the lead inspectors.

Establish directly or in consultation with civil society an effective complaint mechanism, including a hotline, for workers to confidentially and anonymously report fire, building safety, and worker rights violations.

Ready Made Garments (RMG)/Knitwear Sector

Enact and implement, in consultation with the ILO, labor law reforms to address key concerns related to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
Continue to expeditiously register unions that present applications that meet administrative requirements, and ensure protection of unions and their members from anti-union discrimination and reprisal.

Publicly report information on the status and final outcomes of individual union registration applications, including the time taken to process the applications and the basis for denial if relevant, and information on collective bargaining agreements concluded.

Register non-governmental labor organizations that meet administrative requirements, including the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity (BCWS) and Social Activities for the Environment (SAFE).  Drop or expeditiously resolve pending criminal charges against labor activists to ensure workers and their supporters do not face harassment or intimidation.  Advance a transparent investigation into the murder of Aminul Islam and report on the findings of this investigation.

Publicly report on the database/matrix identified above on anti-union discrimination or other unfair labor practice complaints received and labor inspections completed, including information on factories and locations, status of investigations, violations identified, fines and sanctions levied, remediation of violations, and the names of the lead inspectors.

Develop and implement mechanisms, including a training program for industrial police officers who oversee the RMG sector on workers’ freedom of association and assembly, in coordination with the ILO, to prevent harassment, intimidation and violence against labor activists and unions.

Export Processing Zones

Repeal or commit to a timeline for expeditiously bringing the EPZ law into conformity with international standards so that workers within EPZ factories enjoy the same freedom of association and collective bargaining rights as other workers in the country. Create a government-working group and begin the repeal or overhaul of the EPZ law, in coordination with the ILO.

Issue regulations that, until the EPZ law has been repealed or overhauled, will ensure the protection of EPZ workers’ freedom of association, including by prohibiting "blacklisting" and other forms of exclusion from the zones for labor activities.

Issue regulations that, until the EPZ law is repealed or overhauled, will ensure transparency in the enforcement of the existing EPZ law and that require the same inspection standards and procedures as in the rest of the RMG sector.

Shrimp Processing Sector

Actively support ILO and other worker-employer initiatives in the shrimp sector, such as the March 2013 Memorandum of Agreement, to ensure the strengthening of freedom of association, including addressing anti-union discrimination and unfair labor practices.

Publicly report on anti-union discrimination or other unfair labor practice complaints received and labor inspections completed, including information on factories and locations, status of investigations, violations identified, fines and sanctions levied, remediation of violations, and the names of the lead inspectors.

U.S. COMMANDER OF JOINT CHIEFS MEETS WITH GERMAN COMMANDERS

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 
Dempsey Praises Afghan Campaign Plan, Meets German Commanders
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan, July 21, 2013 - The clarity of the International Security Assistance Force campaign in Afghanistan is impressive, the top U.S. military leader said here today, and that is a tribute to leaders at all levels.

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met with U.S. and allied personnel at the German-led headquarters of Regional Command-North here today.

German army Maj. Gen. Jorg Vollmer escorted Dempsey and U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Mark Milley, commander of ISAF Joint Command, as they visited the base.

Following a lunch meeting with German and American troops, the chairman told them they are united in a common purpose and are on track to accomplish the mission. There are 2,000 U.S. troops and 8,000 service members from 17 NATO and partner nations in Regional Command-North.

Vollmer briefed Dempsey on the situation throughout the northern Afghan provinces of Badakhshan, Baghlan, Balkh, Faryab, Jowzjan, Kunduz, Samangan, Sar-e Pul and Takhar. "It's a chance for me to learn what's going well and what's not," the chairman said during his lunch with the troops. It was Dempsey's first visit to the regional command since 2007, he said.

NATO and partner nations are heavily involved with training and advising Afghan National Army forces, Afghan uniformed police and Afghan local police. Dempsey, Milley and Vollmer discussed operations through the end of 2014, which is when the NATO mission in Afghanistan expires, and the retrograde movement out of the country.

Officials speaking on background said one theme of the meeting involved the Afghan elections and the retrograde movement of NATO and allied personnel and equipment from the country.

The U.S. will maintain more than 60,000 troops in Afghanistan through this year's fighting season. That number will drop to 34,000 by February 2014, and will remain there through Afghanistan's national elections, scheduled for April 5.

U.S. forces will make up a bit more than half of the NATO and partner forces in Afghanistan for the election. And NATO has agreed to keep the number of troops in Afghanistan at 60,000 for 90 days after the election.

If Afghan officials move the elections to later in the year, it would become difficult for the U.S., NATO and partner nations to meet the retrograde timeline, the official said. "There is physics involved with this," the official added.

All NATO and partner nations are anticipating the U.S.-Afghanistan Bilateral Security Agreement, officials said. The agreement will provide the basis for the follow-on mission, which NATO has named Resolute Support. Once the United States and Afghan leaders ink a pact, which will include legal protections for American service members, NATO will follow suit.

This will mean the number of NATO personnel training and advising Afghan forces will be known and make the retrograde movement somewhat easier, officials said.

Following his meetings, Dempsey moved to gatherings with American, German and Swedish soldiers and airmen.

Mazar-i-Sharif now hosts U.S. Air Force personnel involved with flying and maintaining KC-135 Stratotanker refueling aircraft. They are part of a group based at the Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan.

"Since I've become chairman I've learned so much about what things make our military the most agile military in the world," Dempsey told the airmen.

"Among those is our ability to establish air bridges for that global reach that literally no one else has." The chairman thanked the airmen for their service, commitment and sacrifices, and asked that they pass his thanks on to their families as well.

Dempsey also met with American and Swedish medevac crews and toured a German HH-90 medevac helicopter. A planned aerial tour to other bases around the area had to be scrubbed because of dust and high winds.

Dempsey will continue his meetings in country tomorrow.

UNDERSECRETARY WRIGHT HONORS TWO WOUNDED WARRIORS WITH PURPLE HEARTS

From left: Army Command Sgt. Maj. Marshall Huffman, Southern Regional Medical Command; SRMC Commander Army Maj. Gen. Jimmie Keenan; Army Sgt. Anthony Ayers; Army Spc. Joseph Contreras; and Acting Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Jessica L. (Garfola) Wright, pose after the Purple Heart ceremony held at the Warrior and Family Support Center near Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, July 17, 2013. Wright presented the soldiers their medals at the ceremony. U.S. Army photo by by Rebekah Almquist

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Wright Visits, Honors Wounded Warriors in San Antonio

By Maria Gallegos
Brooke Army Medical Center

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas, July 19, 2013 - Acting Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Jessica L. (Garfola) Wright honored two soldiers who'd earned the Purple Heart medal and visited with other wounded warriors, families and staff at Brooke Army Medical Center here July 17.

Wright, who yesterday was nominated by President Barack Obama to become the permanent undersecretary for personnel and readiness, presented Army Sgt. Anthony Ayers and Army Spc. Joseph Contreras with their Purple Heart medals and certificates, while Army Maj. Gen. Jimmie Keenan, commander of Southern Regional Medical Command, was the host for the ceremony.

Wright, a retired military veteran with 35 years of service and the mother of a deployed soldier, voiced her admiration for the Purple Heart warriors at the ceremony.

"It's clearly an honor to be here. I am humbled because I am a former soldier and a mom of a soldier ... I am humbled to be here in your presence. Thank you very much for everything you have done," Wright said.

"The fact that you have given your time and energy and yourself to preserve this intangible gift of freedom that we in the United States enjoy every day -- thank you very much for that," she added.

Ayers, an infantryman, was conducting a combined dismounted patrol in Afghanistan on May 14 when he was struck by an improvised explosive device. Serving as a tank crewman, Contreras was conducting a mounted patrol in Afghanistan when his vehicle was struck by an IED on Aug. 4, 2011.

Contreras dedicated his Purple Heart medal to his grandfather, who was a World War II veteran.

"I know he would be proud of me right now if he was here," Contreras said.

Wright saluted all service members who've earned the Purple Heart.

"We owe them the honor, we owe them the dedication and the respect -- not just today but every day of their lives," she said.

Wright said she understands the apprehension that family members feel when a loved one is deployed. But, she said, the U.S. military provides the best medical care, equipment and technology in the world to support its service members.

"As a soldier, I have gone over [to Afghanistan] myself and sent a lot of people over there," Wright told the reporter. "But as a mom, your heart goes -- and so my son is there and there's not a moment in the day that I'm not thinking about him and his safety."

Following the ceremony, Wright visited with other wounded warriors, their families and staff at the Warrior Transition Battalion, the Center for the Intrepid, Fisher House, the Burn Center and the Emergency Department at San Antonio Military Medical Center. She thanked the warriors, families and staff for their dedication and offered encouragement and gratitude for their service to the nation.

"We couldn't do it without these people who give their time and energy. All of you are truly a gift from God," Wright said.

Wright is the deputy senior policy advisor to the secretary of defense on recruitment, career development and pay and benefits for 1.4 million active duty military personnel, 1.3 million Guard and Reserve personnel, 680,000 Department of Defense civilians, and she is responsible for overseeing the overall state of military readiness.



 

LANL RESEARCHES SCEINTIFIC WEB LINK REFERENCING

FROM: LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY

Enabling time travel for the scholarly web

Banishing the dreaded Internet search where 30 percent of research paper hyperlinks fail to connect

LOS ALAMOS, N.M., July 16, 2013—An international team of information scientists has begun a two-year study to investigate how web links in scientific and other academic articles fail to lead to the resources being referenced.


This is the focus of the Hiberlink project in which the team from Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of Edinburgh will assess the extent of "reference rot" using a vast corpus of online scholarly work. It is funded by a grant of $500,000 (£310,000) from the US-based Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, coordinated by EDINA, the designated online services center at the University of Edinburg, which serves the needs of universities and colleges across the UK.

"Increasingly, scientific papers contain links to web pages containing, for example, project descriptions, demonstrations, and software. But, as we all know, web pages change or disappear," said Herbert Van de Sompel, the Los Alamos principal investigator on the project. "Currently, there is no archival infrastructure to safeguard such pages and hence revisiting them some time after they were linked from a paper is many times impossible. The result is a broken scholarly record."

Increasingly, web-based scholarship includes links that point to resources needed or created in research activity, including software, datasets, websites, presentations, blogs, videos etc. as well as scientific workflows and ontologies. These referenced resources often evolve over time, unlike traditional scholarly articles. The reference-rot problem occurs whenever the original version of a linked resource is not available anymore.
The problem has two aspects. First, the http:// link that references a resource may no longer function. Second, the content at the end of the link may have evolved and may even have become dramatically different from when originally referenced. So when eventually a researcher revisits an online scholarly work and double-checks referenced resources to confirm evidence or establish context, the original online information may have changed or even ceased to exist.

The Hiberlink project builds directly upon a pilot study from Los Alamos, powered by their Memento "Time Travel for the Web" technology that confirmed that as much as 30 percent of the http:// links in a selection of 400,000 arXiv.org papers did not function and that 65 percent of the remaining links referred to a resource that was not archived, and hence in danger of disappearing without a trace.


Using the text mining and information extracting tools by the Language Technology Group (LTG) at the University of Edinburgh School of Informatics, the project will examine a vast body of scholarly publications in order to assess which links still work as intended and what web content has been successfully archived and therefore preserved for use by future researchers and students.

The ultimate goal for the Hiberlink project is to identify practical solutions to the reference-rot problem, and to develop approaches that can be integrated easily in the publication process. The project leaders plan to work with academic publishers and other web-based publication venues to ensure more effective preservation of web-based resources so to increase the prospect of continued access for future generations of researchers, students and their teachers.

DHS S&T Directorate Snapshots: Smart scavenging— Technology foraging at DHS

DHS S&T Directorate Snapshots: Smart scavenging— Technology foraging at DHS

North Carolina-based Fighter Squadron Resumes Flying

North Carolina-based Fighter Squadron Resumes Flying

OKLAHOMA GETS $4.5 MILLION FOR DEBRIS REMOVAL AND PROTECTIVE MEASURES

FROM: FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY
MORE THAN $4.5 MILLION APPROVED FOR DEBRIS REMOVAL AND EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE MEASURES IN OKLAHOMA

Release date:
July 17, 2013
Release Number:
DR 4117 NR017

OKLAHOMA CITY – More than $4.5 million has already been approved in federal funding for debris clearance and emergency protective measures in Oklahoma following the severe storms, tornadoes, straight-line winds and flooding that occurred from May 18 – June 2, 2013.

Of the total, $4.1 million covers eligible debris removal costs under a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance Alternative Procedures Pilot Program. The accelerated debris removal program was initiated in Oklahoma following the devastating spring storms.

Under the pilot program, debris removed within 30 days of May 18, the start of the incident period, is reimbursed at 85 percent. State and local funds will cover the remaining 15 percent of the cost-share. The program funds expenses such as debris removal and debris recycling.

A fundamental element of the pilot program is the provision of financial incentives for applicants for accomplishing timely removal of debris and for developing a pre-incident debris management plan. Additional funding for debris removal costs will be forthcoming as eligible applicants continue to define debris plans and formulate costs.

"Debris removal after disasters of this magnitude can be a daunting task. Oklahoma appreciates the opportunity to be part of this pilot program," said State Coordinating Officer and Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management Deputy Director Michelann Ooten.

"Anytime we can test a pilot program and provide financial incentives at the same time is a win-win for all," said Federal Coordinating Officer Sandy Coachman.

Meanwhile, an additional $380,000 has been approved for Emergency Protective Measures. These are actions taken by applicants before, during, and after a disaster to save lives, protect public health and safety, and prevent damage to improved public and private property.

'RACHEL ROBOCALL' ILLEGAL ROBOCALL CREDIT CARD SCHEME SETTLED BY FTC

FROM:  U.S. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 
FTC Settles ‘Rachel’ Robocall Enforcement Case

The Federal Trade Commission has settled with a set of defendants associated with the A+ Financial Center scheme.  They were charged in last year’s joint law enforcement sweep against five companies that made millions of illegal pre-recorded robocalls claiming to be from “Rachel” and “Cardholder Services” and pitching credit card interest rate reduction services.

In the five complaints announced in November 2012, the FTC charged the companies and their principals with misleading consumers about their services, calling phone numbers on the Do Not Call Registry, illegally collecting up-front fees, and making illegal robocalls. According to the FTC, the A+ Financial Center defendants told consumers that for an up-front fee of between $495 and $1,595, they would lower their credit card interest rate, often promising rates as low as six percent or even zero percent. But after collecting the fee, the defendants did little if anything to help consumers lower their credit card interest rates, or obtain the promised long-term savings.

In settling the FTC’s charges, the defendants are banned from making robocalls, continuing to pitch unsecured debt relief services, misrepresenting the attributes of any financial product or service, and engaging in abusive telemarketing practices such as calling numbers on the Do Not Call Registry. The order also prohibits the defendants from misrepresenting the attributes of any goods or services, and from misrepresenting their relationship with any bank, credit card issuer, credit reporting agency, other lender, or government entity. It also requires them to have reliable evidence to support any claims they make to consumers.

In addition, the proposed order prohibits the A+ defendants from disclosing or benefiting from their customer lists, and prohibits them from collecting or trying to collect money from any consumer who bought their service. Finally, it imposes a judgment of $9,238,155, which will be suspended after defendants transfer all of their assets (except $25,000), including a 2007 Mercedes Benz CL, a 1999 boat valued at approximately $17,000, and a 2002 boat worth about $45,000.

The case against A+ Financial Center, LLC was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against the following defendants: A+ Financial Center, LLC, also doing business as Accelerated Financial Centers, LLC; Accelerated Accounting Services LLC; Christopher L. Miano, individually and as the managing member of Accelerated Accounting Services LLC; and Dana M. Miano, individually and as the managing member of A+ Financial Center, LLC.

The Commission vote approving the proposed settlement was 4-0.

Information for Consumers

The FTC has tips for consumers, as well as two new consumer education videos explaining robocalls and describing what consumers should do when they receive one. See ftc.gov/robocalls for more information.

NOTE: Consent judgments have the force of law when approved and signed by the District Court judge.

The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them.

TOP U.S. MILITARY LEADERS TELL SENATORS COMMANDERS SHOULD HAVE PROSECUTION AUTHORITY IN SEXUAL ASSAULT CASES

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Commanders Should Retain Prosecution Authority, Leaders Say
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, July 18, 2013 - The nation's top military leaders told senators today that commanders should retain responsibility for prosecuting service members accused of sexual assault.

Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Navy Adm. James A. Winnefeld Jr., the vice chairman, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that taking that authority away could harm good order and discipline.

Dempsey and Winnefeld are under Senate consideration for second two-year terms in their posts.

Keeping commanders in the process ensures there is an active deterrent to the crime, Winnefeld said. "Somebody who is contemplating a sexual assault knows that they're going to be caught, that they're going to be prosecuted, and if they're prosecuted, they're going to be punished," he said. "It's our strong view that the commander is responsible for that."

Dempsey told the senators that Army officials have looked at the numbers on sexual assault prosecutions over the past two years and found 35 cases in which civilian district attorneys refused to take sexual assault cases to court.

"And the chain of command in the military insisted that the case be taken inside the military chain of command," he said.

Of those cases, 25 resulted in a court-martial conviction.

"That's a 71 percent conviction rate," the chairman said. The civilian rate is between 18 and 22 percent.

Dempsey stressed that this was done because commanders insisted on taking these cases. "I worry that if we turn this over to somebody else, whether it's a civilian DA or an entity in the military, that they're going to make the same kind of decisions that those civilian prosecutors make," he said.

Commanders must be responsible for ensuring the command climate does not tolerate sexual assault in any manner, Winnefeld said.

"It's about teaching people what a heinous crime this is," he added. "It's about reporting it if you see it. It's about intervening if you see it about to happen -- a whole host of measures that commanders must take to establish the climate inside their commands."

The Marine Corps also had examples similar to the Army, the admiral said. The Marine Corps went back to 2010 and found 28 cases in which civilian prosecutors declined to take the case.

"Of those, 16 of them, the Marine Corps was able to obtain a conviction of court-martial -- 57 percent," Winnefeld said. "So those are 16 perpetrators that are no longer walking the street and 16 victims who received justice who would not have received it otherwise."