U.S, RUSSIA TO BUILD ON SUCCESS OF VIGILANT EAGLE 13

A Russian air force Su-27 Sukhois intercepts a simulated hijacked aircraft entering Russian airspace Aug. 27, 2013, at Exercise Vigilant Eagle 13. This exercise is the fifth in a series of cooperative exercises that provide an opportunity for Russia, Canada, and United States military personnel to enhance their international partnership and to cooperatively detect, track, identify, and follow a hijacked aircraft as it proceeds across international boundaries. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jason Robertson 

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
NORAD, Russia Hope to Build on Vigilant Eagle 13 Successes
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2013 - Just concluding the most ambitious Vigilant Eagle exercise yet, senior military officials from the North American Aerospace Defense Command and the Russian Federation told reporters today they're ready to take the lessons learned to make next year's exercise even more challenging.
Canadian Maj. Gen. Andre Viens, NORAD's operations director, and Russian Gen. Maj. Dmitry Gomenkov, commander of the Eastern Military District of Russia's Air and Space Defense Brigade, declared the Vigilant Eagle 13 exercise a major success.
The exercise kicked off Aug. 26, with scenarios that required the United States, Canada and Russia to respond to simulated terrorist hijackings of commercial aircraft. Both NORAD, a binational command that includes the United States and Canada, and Russia had to scramble fighter jets and track and intercept the "hijacked aircraft."

Throughout the exercise series, the participants have developed tactics, techniques and procedures to effectively notify, coordinate, and conduct positive handoff of a hijacked aircraft flying through Russian, Canadian and American airspace, Viens told reporters during a teleconference today.

Vigilant Eagle 13 offered the opportunity to take principles proven in a simulated environment during last year's command post exercise, and to validate them during the third "live-fly" exercise since the exercise series began in 2008, Viens and Gomenkov reported.

This year's Vigilant Eagle was the first time Canadian fighter jets participated, with Canadian CF-18 Hornets and Russian Federation Su-27 Sukhois aircraft following and intercepting the "hijacked" aircraft, Gomenkov noted.

But the exercise delivered another first, with a visual fighter-to-fighter handoff of escort responsibilities in a live-fly situation as the "track of interest" moved from one country's airspace to another's.

"During previous Vigilant Eagle events, Russian or NORAD fighters would escort the simulated aircraft to a point in the sky where airborne or ground sensors would take over the monitoring of the hijacked aircraft," Viens explained. "Later on the route, the fighters of the other nation would intercept the hijacked aircraft and assume escort responsibilities for that track of interest.

"So at no time in the past did we exercise having the Russian, Canadian or American fighters all joining up together to have a positive handoff of escort responsibility on a track of interest," he said. "This is what we did for the first time this year."

That crucial step forward in the Vigilant Eagle series required extensive planning and coordination to ensure a safe, successful transfer, he said.

"We have never done this together in the past, and it went off without a hitch," Viens said. "What this has enabled us to do is have 100 percent control over an aircraft in trouble that is flying between Russian, American and Canadian airspace. Working together as partners in the air and on the ground, we were able to ensure the safety of the civilians in the aircraft, our collective citizens and the safe landing of the aircraft at its destination."

Gomenkov praised the professionalism of all three countries' militaries throughout the exercise planning and said he looks forward to seeing the Vigilant Eagle series continue to build in complexity.

Viens said he, too, sees opportunities to refine the tactics, techniques and procedures being advanced through the exercise, hinting that some new "curve balls" could be introduced in the future.

Planning for Vigilant Eagle 14 is scheduled to begin in November, Gomenkov said, noting that both Russia and NORAD will offer suggestions on how to build on this year's exercise.

Exercising together builds confidence and understanding that enables the United States, Canada and Russia to operate together more effectively, Viens said. "So clearly from a NORAD perspective, there is a great deal of interest to continue this tradition of Vigilant Eagle exercises to further promote cooperation – especially when it comes to air-space activities that require the attention of both Russia and NORAD," he said.

RISK MAKERS AND/OR TAKERS: PROPOSED RULE REVISION

FROM:  U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 
JOINT RELEASE
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 
Department of Housing and Urban Development 
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 
Federal Housing Finance Agency 
Office of Comptroller of the Currency 
Securities and Exchange Commission 

Six federal agencies issued a notice revising a proposed rule requiring sponsors of securitization transactions to retain risk in those transactions.  The new proposal revises a proposed rule the agencies issued in 2011 to implement the risk retention requirement in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

This proposal is being issued jointly by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. As provided under the statute, the Secretary of the Treasury, as Chairperson of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, played a coordinating role in the rulemaking. The rule would provide asset-backed securities (ABS) sponsors with several options to satisfy the risk retention requirements. The original proposal generally measured compliance with the risk retention requirements based on the par value of securities issued in a securitization transaction and included a so-called premium capture provision.  The agencies are now proposing that risk retention generally be based on fair value measurements without a premium capture provision.

As required by the Dodd-Frank Act, the proposal would define “qualified residential mortgage” (QRM) and exempt securitizations of QRMs from risk retention.  The new proposal would define QRMs to have the same meaning as the term qualified mortgages as defined by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  The new proposal also requests comment on an alternative definition of QRM that would include certain underwriting standards in addition to the qualified mortgage criteria.

Similar to the original proposal, under the new proposal, securitizations of commercial loans, commercial mortgages, or automobile loans of low credit risk would not be subject to risk retention.  Further, the rule would recognize the full guarantee on payments of principal and interest provided by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for their residential mortgage-backed securities as meeting the risk retention requirements while Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are in conservatorship or receivership and have capital support from the U.S. government.  This provision also is unchanged from the original proposal.

The agencies are requesting comment on the revised proposed rule by Oct. 30, 2013.

MEDICAL TESTING COMPANY WILL PAY $3.57 MILLION TO RESOLVE FALSE CLAIMS ACT ALLEGATIONS

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Tuesday, August 27, 2013

MRI Diagnostic Testing Company, Imagimed LLC, and Its Former Owners and Chief Radiologist to Pay $3.57 Million to Resolve False Claims Act Allegations
New York-based Imagimed LLC, the company’s former owners, William B. Wolf III and Dr. Timothy J. Greenan, and the company’s former chief radiologist, Dr. Steven Winter, will pay $3.57 million to resolve allegations that they submitted to federal healthcare programs false claims for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) services, the Justice Department announced today.  Imagimed owns and operates fifteen MRI facilities, located primarily in New York state, under the name “Open MRI.”

 Allegedly, from July 1, 2001, through April 23, 2008, Imagimed, Greenan, Wolf and Winter submitted claims to Medicare, Medicaid and TRICARE for MRI scans performed with a contrast dye without the direct supervision of a qualified physician.  Since a potential adverse side effect of contrast dye is anaphylactic shock, federal regulations require that a physician supervise the administration of contrast dye when it is used for an MRI.  Also, allegedly, from July 1, 2005, to April 23, 2008, Imagimed, Greenan, Wolf and Winter submitted claims for services referred to Imagimed by physicians with whom Imagimed had improper financial relationships.  In exchange for these referrals, Imagimed entered into sham on-call arrangements, provided pre-authorization services without charge and provided various gifts to certain referring physicians, in violation of the Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute.

 “The Department of Justice is committed to guarding against abuse of federal healthcare programs,” said Stuart F. Delery, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division.  “We will help protect patients’ health by ensuring doctors who submit claims to federal healthcare programs follow proper safety precautions at all times.”

U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of New York, Richard S. Hartunian said: “This case is an example of our commitment to using all of the remedies available, including civil actions under the False Claims Act, to ensure patient safety and combat health care fraud.  Stripping away the profit motive for circumventing physician supervision requirements has both a remedial and a deterrent effect.  The settlement announced today advances our critical interest in both the integrity of our health care system and the safe delivery of medical services.”

The allegations resolved by the settlement were brought in a lawsuit filed under the False Claims Act’s whistleblower provisions, which permit private parties to sue for false claims on behalf of the government and to share in any recovery.  The whistleblower in this case, Dr. Patrick Lynch, was a local radiologist and will receive $565,500.

This settlement illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud and marks another achievement for the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) initiative, which was announced in May 2009 by Attorney General Eric Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.  The partnership between the two departments has focused efforts to reduce and prevent Medicare and Medicaid financial fraud through enhanced cooperation.  One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act.  Since January 2009, the Justice Department has recovered a total of more than $14.8 billion through False Claims Act cases, with more than $10.8 billion of that amount recovered in cases involving fraud against federal health care programs.

The investigation and settlement were the result of a coordinated effort among the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York; the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General.

The case is United States of America ex rel. Lynch v. Imagimed LLC, et al. (N.D. N.Y.).  The claims released by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

Government Assessment of the Syrian Government’s Use of Chemical Weapons on August 21, 2013 | The White House

Government Assessment of the Syrian Government’s Use of Chemical Weapons on August 21, 2013 | The White House

West Wing Week 8/30/13 or, "Because They Marched" | The White House

West Wing Week 8/30/13 or, "Because They Marched" | The White House

Cos'è l'ESA

Cos'è l'ESA

Andreas Mogensen to ISS

Andreas Mogensen to ISS

DOD ANNOUNCES RECRUIT AND RETENTION NUMBERS FOR FISCAL 2013, THROUGH JULY

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
DoD Announces Recruiting and Retention Numbers for Fiscal 2013, Through July 2013

           The Department of Defense announced today recruiting and retention statistics for the active and reserve components for fiscal 2013, through July.

           Active Component.

            Recruiting. All four active services met or exceeded their numerical accession goals for fiscal 2013, through July.

 Army – 56,437 accessions, with a goal of 55,760; 101 percent
Navy – 32,692 accessions, with a goal of 32,692; 100 percent
Marine Corps – 24,785 accessions, with a goal of 24,743; 100 percent
Air Force – 21,969 accessions, with a goal of 21,969; 100 percent
           Retention. The Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps exhibited strong retention numbers for the 10th month of fiscal 2013. The Navy exhibited strong retention numbers in the mid-career and career categories. However, the Navy's achievement of 87 percent in the initial category is a result of reduced accessions from four to six years ago.


           Reserve Component.

           Recruiting. Five of the six reserve components met or exceeded their fiscal-year-to-date 2013 numerical accession goals. While the Army Reserve met its July goals, it remains 3,241 accessions short of its fiscal goal.

Army National Guard – 41,539 accessions, with a goal of 41,236; 101 percent
Army Reserve – 21,681 accessions, with a goal of 24,922; 87 percent
Navy Reserve – 4,667 accessions, with a goal of 4,656; 100 percent
Marine Corps Reserve – 8,050 accessions, with a goal of 7,950; 101 percent
Air National Guard – 8,605 accessions, with a goal of 8,605; 100 percent
Air Force Reserve – 6,307 accessions, with a goal of 5,201; 121 percent

           Attrition – All reserve components have met their attrition goals. Current trends are expected to continue. (This indicator lags due to data availability.)

PACIFIC REGION DEFENSE MINISTERS END JOINT MEETING IN BRUNEI

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
Defense Ministers End Brunei Meeting with Joint Declaration
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei, Aug. 29, 2013 - Eighteen defense ministers from nations throughout the Asia-Pacific region sat together after their meeting here today, each in turn signing a joint declaration that reaffirms their commitment to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and to working together peacefully and cooperatively for a better future.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was among them, having traveled here as part of an Asian trip -- his second in three months -- that also includes stops in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Yesterday, Hagel attended a meeting here of defense ministers from the 10 ASEAN member states of Burma, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. He also held bilateral meetings with counterparts from several other nations.

This morning, he attended the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus, made up of the 10 ASEAN defense ministers and eight dialogue partners: defense ministers from the United States, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, New Zealand and Russia.

This year, Russia's deputy defense minister, Anatoly Antonov, participated in the ADMM-Plus meeting.

"I see this second ministerial of the ADMM-Plus as a landmark event," Hagel said in remarks prepared for delivery during the meeting.

"In 2010, when then-Secretary [Robert M.] Gates joined you, our countries committed to making the ADMM-Plus action-oriented," Hagel said. "Under ASEAN leadership, we are well on our way, with three multinational field exercises this year -– a major accomplishment. I am proud that the United States has been a partner and participant all along the way."

After the signing of the Bandar Seri Begawan Joint Declaration, Mohammad Yasmin Bin Umar, chairman of this second meeting of the ADMM-Plus, discussed key outcomes. He said the group was pleased with its substantial achievement this year, especially the five ADMM-Plus expert working groups that have forged political cooperation among defense forces.

"This is evident with the first-of-its-kind ADMM-Plus humanitarian assistance/disaster relief and military medicine exercise held in Brunei Darussalam last June," he said. An upcoming exercise will be held on maritime security, counterterrorism and peacekeeping operations, he added, and the group decided last year that ADMM-Plus would begin meeting every two years rather than every three years.

Yasmin said the group reaffirmed the principle of ASEAN centrality, where ASEAN is the primary driving force in the ADMM-Plus processes.

"We also reaffirmed our relation to be guided by the fundamental principle enshrined in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation," he said, "especially reunification of the threat of the use of force and exercise of self-restraint."

The group recommitted to strengthen defense cooperation in promoting peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, he added, based on the enduring principle of equality, mutual respect, mutual benefit, and respect for international law.

"In doing so," Yasmin said, "we agreed to promote capacity building through greater engagement and interaction, enhance interoperability through training and joint exercises, and establish mechanisms for effective response."

He said the defense ministers also agreed to establish practical measures for reducing vulnerability to miscalculation and avoid misunderstanding and undesirable incidents at sea.

"We also agreed on the establishment of the ADMM-Plus Expert Working Group on Humanitarian Mine Action and on the transition process of the ADMM-Plus Expert Working Group on Co-chairmanship," Yasmin said. "Our senior official will develop a work plan and key milestones for the next cycle that begins in April 2014."

A new ADMM-Plus initiative will promote capacity building through a humanitarian aid/disaster relief tabletop exercise and mine action workshop, he said. And the group will reaffirm the direction of the ASEAN leader during the association's summit in May to promote synergy among regional mechanisms, including those of ADMM-Plus and the ASEAN Regional Forum.

The group also extensively discussed international and regional security and defense issues, and plans to meet again in Malaysia in 2015, he said.

In his remarks, Hagel said the ADMM-Plus is setting the right example with coordinated approaches to transnational and nontraditional threats.

"Pirates and terrorists, proliferators, diseases, natural disasters, and cyber criminals are not contained by national borders, and they will jeopardize all of our futures if we fail to act together," the secretary said.

"Working together develops regional capacity and the habits of cooperation we need to solve today's complex problems," he said. "Exercising together builds trust and understanding, and reduces the risk of conflict when disputes arise."

EXPORT-IMPORT BANK APPROVES $1.5 BILLION FINANCING FOR ENERGY EQUIPMENT TO MEXICO'S PEMEX

FROM:  U.S. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK 
Ex-Im Bank Approves $1.5 Billion to Finance Energy Equipment and Services to Mexico 
Financing Supports 6,800 U.S. Jobs

Washington, D.C. – The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has authorized $1.5 billion of export financing in a pair of transactions to support the export of U.S. goods and services to Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), Mexico's national oil and gas company.

For the second time, Pemex will issue Ex-Im Bank-guaranteed bonds in the capital markets to fund the transactions. In the event the funding cost is prohibitive, Pemex may exercise an option to seek Ex-Im Bank direct loans priced at Commercial Interest Reference Rates.

Ex-Im Bank’s financing will support approximately 6,800 U.S. jobs spread across about 10 states, according to bank estimates derived from Departments of Commerce and Labor data and methodology. The procurement includes oil and gas field drilling services, drilling platforms, equipment rentals, pumps, well-completion services, associated spare parts and chemicals, geophysical services and safety equipment.

“These two transactions will increase the flow of American exports to one of our neighbors and in the process support large- and small-business jobs across America,” said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. “It is clear that the ‘Made in America’ brand is valued now more than ever.”

Detcon Inc., a small-business that will benefit from the transaction, designs and manufactures a wide range of industrial grade fixed gas detectors, control systems, pipeline analyzers, and wireless technology. The company, which is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, employs about 90 people.

“Detcon is proud of its association with Pemex,” said Adam Markin, Detcon’s CEO. “Ex-Im Bank’s support of Pemex in this transaction is a large help to smaller U.S.-based companies like Detcon and to their jobs.”

Since 1998, Ex-Im Bank has approved approximately $13.5 billion in financing to support Pemex’s activities.

THE ARTIFICIAL SPIN GIVES A LOOK AT MAGNETIC CHARGED CRYSTALS

FROM:  LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY 
Magnetic charge crystals imaged in artificial spin ice

Potential data storage and computational advances could follow

LOS ALAMOS, N.M., August 28, 2013—A team of scientists has reported direct visualization of magnetic charge crystallization in an artificial spin ice material, a first in the study of a relatively new class of frustrated artificial magnetic materials-by-design known as “Artificial Spin Ice.” These charges are analogs to electrical charges with possible applications in magnetic memories and devices; in describing this class of materials, the new work demonstrates their utility.

Los Alamos National Laboratory staff scientist Cristiano Nisoli explained, “Magnetic technology generally concerns itself with manipulation of localized dipolar degrees of freedom,” he said. “The ability of building materials containing delocalized monopolar charges is very exciting with possible technological implications in data storage and computation.”

Honeycomb configuration helps disassemble magnetic islands

“The emergence of magnetic monopoles in spin ice systems is a particular case of what physicists call fractionalization, or deconfinement of quasi-particles that together are seen as comprising the fundamental unit of the system, in this case the north and south poles of a nanomagnet,” Nisoli said. “We have seen how arranging magnets in a honeycomb configuration allows for these charges to be sort of ‘stripped’ from the magnetic islands to which they belong and become relevant degrees of freedom.”

Nanoscale magnets prevent freezing

The unique properties of spin ice materials have fascinated scientists since they were first discovered in the late 1990s in naturally occurring rare earth titanites. The material is aptly named: the highly complex ordering of nanoscale magnets in spin ice obey the same rules that determine the positional ordering of hydrogen and oxygen atoms in frozen water ice. Both have “spin”—degrees of freedom—with frustrated interactions that prevent complete freezing, even at absolute zero.

In 2006, an interdisciplinary team of physicists and materials scientists designed the first artificial spin ice, a two-dimensional array of magnetic nanoislands that are fabricated to interact in complex ways, depending on the chosen design of the array. The islands were lithographically printed onto a substrate, arranged in a square-lattice pattern, with the north and south poles of each nanomagnet meeting and interacting at their four-pronged vertices.

New annealing process allows polarity flip

Now the same research team has developed a new annealing protocol that allows the artificial material’s full potential for highly complex magnetic interactions to be realized. The new protocol was applied to two artificial spin ice materials, one configured in a square-lattice pattern, the other in a hexagonal-honeycomb pattern with three-pronged vertices.

In the honeycomb pattern, where three magnetic poles intersect, a net charge of north or south is forced at each vertex. The magnetic “monopole charge” at each vertex influences the magnetic “charge” of the surrounding vertices. The team was able to image the crystalline structure of the magnetic charges using magnetic force microscopy.

University of Illinois physicist Peter Schiffer, who led the team, explained, “Nanomagnets are so small that their behavior becomes relatively simple. We can arrange the magnets in a particular lattice pattern—square or honeycomb—and they interact in a way that we can predict and control.”

Schiffer added, “The challenge—you have to get the nanomagnets to flip their north and south poles to show how they interact. It’s hard to force them to show the effects of interaction, since they get stuck in one particular arrangement.”

The research team’s new annealing protocol—heating the material to a high temperature where their magnetic polarity is suppressed (here, about 550 degrees Celsius) —allows the nanomagnets to flip their polarity and freely interact. As the material cools, the nanomagnets are ordered according to the interactions of their poles at the vertices.

Engineered material allows study that’s impossible in natural crystals

The collective thermal behavior of the arrays is studied through statistical mechanics, a branch of fundamental physics. As theorized, the monopole charge of each vertex was found to contribute to the order of the entire system in a manner analogous to the interactions of electric charges at the atomic scale during water ice crystal growth.

An advantage of artificial spin ice is that it can be designed in different topologies, and examined subsequently to see the effects of those topologies. That allows physicists to explore a wide range of possible behaviors that are not accessible in natural crystals.

“This work demonstrates a direction in condensed matter physics that is quite opposite to what has been done in the last six decades or so,” said Nisoli. “Instead of imagining an emergent theoretical description to model the behavior of a nature-given material and validating it indirectly, we engineer materials of desired emergent properties that can be visualized directly.”

The team’s research, led by Schiffer, also of the University of Illinois’ Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, has published its findings in the Aug. 29 issue of the journal Nature. The theoretical work for this research was performed at Los Alamos National Laboratory under Nisoli and LANL Oppenheimer Fellow Gia-Wei Chern, and at Penn State University under Vincent Crespi and Paul Lammert. The synthesis of the magnetic materials and the high temperature treatment was performed at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science under Chris Leighton. The magnetic measurements and lithography were performed at Penn State University and the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory by graduate students Sheng Zhang and Ian Gilbert under the direction of Schiffer.

This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS REPORT FOR WEEK ENDING AUGUST 24, 2013

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

          SEASONALLY ADJUSTED DATA

In the week ending August 24, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 331,000, a decrease of 6,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 337,000. The 4-week moving average was 331,250, an increase of 750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 330,500.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.3 percent for the week ending August 17, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending August 17 was 2,989,000, a decrease of 14,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 3,003,000. The 4-week moving average was 2,996,250, an increase of 9,500 from the preceding week's revised average of 2,986,750.

UNADJUSTED DATA

The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 277,359 in the week ending August 24, a decrease of 2,959 from the previous week. There were 312,542 initial claims in the comparable week in 2012.

The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.2 percent during the week ending August 17, unchanged from the prior week's unrevised rate. The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,821,658, a decrease of 58,419 from the preceding week's revised level of 2,880,077. A year earlier, the rate was 2.4 percent and the volume was 3,117,558.

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending August 10 was 4,467,574, an increase of 28,918 from the previous week. There were 5,530,828 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2012.

No state was triggered "on" the Extended Benefits program during the week ending August 10.

Initial claims for UI benefits filed by former Federal civilian employees totaled 1,104 in the week ending August 17, a decrease of 333 from the prior week. There were 2,164 initial claims filed by newly discharged veterans, a decrease of 197 from the preceding week.

There were 21,083 former Federal civilian employees claiming UI benefits for the week ending August 10, a decrease of 125 from the previous week. Newly discharged veterans claiming benefits totaled 33,778, an increase of 543 from the prior week.

States reported 1,511,619 persons claiming Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) benefits for the week ending August 10, an increase of 10,551 from the prior week. There were 2,273,317 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 August 17 were in Puerto Rico (4.7), New Jersey (3.6), Alaska (3.4), Connecticut (3.4), California (3.3), Pennsylvania (3.2), New Mexico (3.1), Virgin Islands (3.1), Nevada (2.8), and Rhode Island (2.8).

The largest increases in initial claims for the week ending August 17 were in California (+5,867), Missouri (+1,757), New Jersey (+677), Kansas (+460), and New York (+445), while the largest decreases were in North Carolina (-1,017), Pennsylvania (-899), Maryland (-722), Washington (-720), and Florida (-601).

SECRETARY HAGEL DISCUSSES SYRIA WITH GERMAN DEFENSE MINISTER

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
Hagel Discusses Syria With German Defense Minister
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2013 - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spoke by phone with German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere to discuss the ongoing violence in Syria, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said.

Hagel is in Brunei, where he is attending a meeting of Association of Southeast Asian Nations defense ministers.

In a statement summarizing the call, Little said Hagel pledged to continue consultations with de Maiziere on the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

"They discussed the need for the international community to consider responses to this tragic development in Syria," the press secretary said, "and noted that the use of chemical weapons violates core tenets of international law."

In an interview yesterday with "BBC World News," Hagel said most U.S. allies, most U.S. partners and most of the international community have little doubt that the most basic international humanitarian standard was violated by the Syrian regime in using chemical weapons against its own people.

"The deeper we get into this, it seems to me it's clearer and clearer that the government of Syria was responsible," he added.

The secretary also said the Defense Department has complied with President Barack Obama's request for options.

"We have moved assets in place to be able to fulfill and comply with whatever option the president wishes to take," he said. "We are ready to go."

(Cheryl Pellerin of American Forces Press Service contributed to this report.)

THE RIM FIRE IN CALIFORNIA

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=81919&src=eoa-iotd

CALIFORNIA RIM FIRE

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=81930&src=eoa-iotd

THIS IS NATIONAL LABOR RIGHTS WEEK

FROM:  U.S. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
NLRB and National Labor Rights Week: Working to Fulfill the Promise of the National Labor Relations Act

August 25 through August 31 is National Labor Rights Week.  Throughout the country, staff members working in regional offices of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) are meeting with immigrant workers, community groups, employees and employers to discuss the rights guaranteed by the National Labor Relations Act.

“We are placing a particular emphasis on educating Mexican workers employed in the United States by partnering with Mexican consulates in many communities,” said NLRB Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce.  “Along with other federal labor agencies, including the Department of Labor and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, we are participating in events designed to ensure that Mexican employers and workers in the United States understand their rights and obligations under American law.”

“Since its passage in 1935, the National Labor Relations Act has promised generations of workers the right to join together, with or without a union, to seek improvements and a voice in their working lives,” notes Acting NLRB General Counsel Lafe Solomon.  “But that promise can only be fulfilled if individuals understand and are able to exercise their rights under the law.”

Among the events taking place this week:

In California, NLRB Regional Directors will attend the Los Angeles and San Francisco Mexican Consulates’ opening celebration for Labor Rights Week, representatives will hold briefings on the NLRB for the Los Angeles consulate’s professional staff, and attorneys will participate in a telethon designed to provide callers with information on their rights and the agencies best suited for assisting them; in San Francisco, staff will participate in outreach programs hosted by the consulate.

In Illinois,  the Regional Director signed a Local Agreement with the Consul General of Mexico in Chicago as part of the opening ceremonies for Labor Rights Week, while Regional staff will participate in numerous events throughout the week at the consulate and throughout the community;

In New Jersey, the Regional office is participating in the Mexican Consulate’s New Brunswick Labor Week events, scheduled for August 27 and 29;

In Raleigh, North Carolina, attorneys from the Regional office will participate in a presentation at the Mexican Consulate, including an overview of the rights of employers and employees under the NLRA;

In Oregon, NLRB staff will pass out literature and meet with the public at booths in The Dalles, Portland and Woodburn;

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, attorneys from the Regional office will participate in a briefing sponsored by the Mexican Consulate, highlighting the work of the NLRB and responding to questions;

In Texas, Regional staff are participating in events planned in Dallas, Houston and San Antonio;

In Washington State, representatives from the NLRB Seattle office will discuss employee and employer rights and obligations at a booth located in Centro de la Raza.

“These activities around the country build on the letter of agreement I signed last month with Mexican Ambassador Eduardo Medina-Mora Icaza,” Acting General Counsel Solomon said.  “We are committed to working together to provide outreach, education, and training on the rights of workers under the National Labor Relations Act.”

“All of this week’s activities will help to guarantee the right of workers to engage in protected-concerted activity to improve their working conditions without fear of discrimination, harassment or retaliation,” Chairman Pearce said.

SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY'S STATEMENT ON U.S. CITIZENS DETAINED OR MISSING IN IRAN

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 
U.S. Citizens Detained or Missing in Iran
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
August 28, 2013

The United States respectfully asks the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to work cooperatively with us in our efforts to help U.S. citizens Robert Levinson, Amir Hekmati, and Saeed Abedini to return to their families after lengthy detentions.

Mr. Levinson went missing from Kish Island, Iran, in March 2007. Mr. Levinson is not only a husband, but a caring father to seven children. His family has endured with courage and quiet dignity the pain of spending so many important family milestones without him there. They shouldn’t have to endure additional worry about his whereabouts and well being. We call again on the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to uphold its offer to help find Mr. Levinson and return him safely to his family.

The United States is also deeply concerned about the fate of dual U.S. citizens Amir Hekmati and Saeed Abedini. Tomorrow marks the two-year anniversary of Mr. Hekmati’s detention in Iran on false espionage charges. On September 26, Mr. Abedini will have spent a year in detention in Iran. He was sentenced to eight years in prison on charges related to his religious beliefs.

President Rouhani has shared in his speeches and interviews over the past few months his hope and vision to improve the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s relationship with the world.

We urge the Iranian Government to release Mr. Hekmati and Mr. Abedini and to help us locate Mr. Levinson so that they may be reunited with their families as safely and as soon as possible.

These men belong at home with those who love them and miss them.

INTERNATIONAL SENIOR MILITARY GATHER TO LEARN USE OF NONLETHAL WEAPONS TO PUT DOWN CIVIL UNREST

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Aug. 27, 2013 - Senior military leaders from 22 nations, most in the Asia-Pacific region, are gathered in Mongolia this week to learn about nonlethal weapons and how their forces can more effectively use them, when circumstances require, such as to maintain order during low-intensity conflict or civil unrest.

The two-day leadership seminar, sponsored by U.S. Marine Forces Pacific, began yesterday with demonstrations of nonlethal tactics, techniques and procedures at a training area about 30 miles west of Ulaanbaatar, the Mongolian capital, Marine Corps Col. Brad Bartelt, the senior U.S. seminar representative, told American Forces Press Service.

The session continues through tomorrow in the capital city, with participants discussing how they might apply the principles demonstrated.

The leadership seminar is the second phase of a two-part program conducted to promote awareness of nonlethal weapons and increase interoperability among those that use them, Bartelt said.

The training kicked off Aug. 17 with a bilateral field training exercise between U.S. and Mongolian forces at Mongolia's Five Hills Training Area. Fifteen 15 nonlethal weapons instructors from the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force's 3rd Law Enforcement Battalion conducted hands-on training for more than 150 members of the Mongolian armed forces and general police, Bartelt reported.

Together, they rehearsed nonlethal tactics and procedures such as control holds and pressure-point techniques. They also got hands-on training with various nonlethal weapons systems, including oleoresin capsicum, or "pepper spray," the X26 Taser, 40-millimeter sponge and "stingball" grenades and nonlethal shotgun rounds.

"The extensive, tactical-level training that took place during the FTX greatly increased the nonlethal proficiency of both the U.S. Marines who led the training, as well as the Mongolian personnel who might have been exposed to these nonlethal procedures for the first time," Bartelt said.

Marine Corps Sgt. Ben Eberle, a combat correspondent who witnessed the training, said he was impressed how quickly the Mongolians absorbed on the information covered. "Show them once, and they had it," he said. "And it's all even more impressive since everyone communicated with each other through interpreters."

Each experienced firsthand how it feels to be hit with a nonlethal weapon, designed to intimidate or inflict pain or discomfort rather than to kill. "No matter what language we speak, everyone runs through the [observer-controller] course in pain, and everyone takes a stun from a Taser the same way," Eberle said. "Just because it's nonlethal doesn't mean it's pain-free. I think whoever said friends are made through hardship hit the nail right on the head."

The training could prove valuable for the Mongolian armed forces, a major contributor to peacekeeping operations around the world, Bartelt said. The Mongolians have deployed in support of U.N. peacekeeping missions in South Sudan, Sierra Leon and the Balkans, and continue to augment the coalition in Afghanistan, he noted.

In many instances during these missions, nonlethal weapons can be valuable additions to ground commanders, he said.

"There are times when lethal force is not the best option," Bartelt said. "For example, the effective use of nonlethal weapons can prove extremely valuable during rescue missions, situations in which civilians are used to mask a military attack, as well as riots and cases of civil disturbance during humanitarian assistance-disaster relief operations."

Nonlethal weapons are designed to incapacitate equipment and people, minimizing fatalities and permanent injury and collateral property damage, Bartelt said. "Being able to use them effectively greatly increases the options a commander has while operating in the full spectrum of conflict," he said.

As the Defense Department's executive agent for nonlethal weapons and devices, the Marine Corps frequently leads related training, not only within the U.S. military, but also with partner nations.

Since 2002, Marine Corps Forces Pacific has sponsored the executive seminar series 12 times with partners throughout the region. This year's exercise is the third to be hosted by Mongolia, and New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Malaysia have hosted previous sessions.

The training, Bartelt said, promotes closer partnership across the region, a pillar of the U.S. military rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific as nations work together to confront common challenges.

Recognizing that nonlethal capabilities and procedures vary significantly across nations, Bartelt called the exercise an opportunity to increase interoperability with partners "in the event we ever find ourselves side by side in a situation where we need to put this training to use."

MAN THREATENS SYNAGOGUE CHARGED WITH CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Monday, August 26, 2013
Man Who Threatened Synagogue in Fargo, North Dakota, Charged with Civil Rights Violation

Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Jocelyn Samuels and U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota Timothy Q. Purdon announced that Dominique Jason Flanigan was arraigned today on civil rights and threats charges.

Flanigan was indicted under seal by a grand jury on Dec. 12, 2012, for threatening a synagogue in Fargo, N.D.   The two-count indictment charges Flanigan with issuing a threatening interstate communication and with interfering with a federally protected activity.   The indictment was unsealed prior to his arraignment.

The indictment alleges that, on Jan. 4, 2011, Flanigan called Temple Beth El in Fargo, and left a voice mail message threatening the employees of the synagogue.   The indictment charges that this threat intimidated and interfered with Temple Beth El employees because of their religion.

An indictment is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lynn C. Jordheim and Megan A. Healy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of North Dakota and Trial Attorney Dana Mulhauser of the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division

RED SKY AT NIGHT

FROM:  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

Is it a bird, a plane, a UFO? It's a...red sprite
Strange lights in the sky studied by atmospheric scientists
Is it a bird, is it a plane, is it a UFO? Strange lights in the sky are being closely watched by atmospheric scientists.

Dubbed red sprites by researchers, these dancing fairies-of-the-clouds are sometimes glimpsed as blood-red bursts of light in the shape of jellyfish.

At other times, they appear as trumpet-shaped blue emissions, called blue jets. Like the most elusive of nymphs, however, red sprites and blue jets come out on only one occasion: during severe thunderstorms.

Although sporadically reported for years by airline pilots, only in the past decade or two has there been enough evidence to convince atmospheric scientists to investigate the phenomenon.

What's that in the skies?

Now baffled researchers asking "What in the world is this?" may have found answers.

Above a thunderstorm's black clouds, sprites appear as bursts of red light flashing far into Earth's atmosphere, according to scientist Hans Nielsen of the University of Alaska at Fairbanks.

The brief flashes look like glowing jellyfish, with red bells and purple tentacles. In a single night, a large thunderstorm system can emit up to one hundred sprites.

Into the wild blue--or red--yonder

Nielsen, Jason Ahrns, also of the University of Alaska at Fairbanks, Matthew McHarg of the U.S. Air Force Academy and researchers from Fort Lewis College teamed up this summer to study sprites.

They used the National Science Foundation (NSF)/National Center for Atmospheric Research Gulfstream-V aircraft, a high-flying plane capable of reaching altitudes of 50,000 feet, to conduct their research. Their project is funded by NSF.

Sprites are similar to lightning, say Nielsen and McHarg, in that they are electrical discharges from the atmosphere.

But while sprites mimic lightning "in some ways," says McHarg, "they're different in others. Lightning happens below and within clouds, at altitudes of two to five miles. Sprites occur far above the clouds, at about 50 miles up--10 times higher than lightning."

They're also huge, he says, reaching 30 miles high.

"Red sprites don't last very long, though, about one-one thousandth of a second. That's 300 times quicker than the time it takes us to blink!"

Blue jets, which weren't directly part of the scientists' study, stick around longer than red sprites, originate at the tops of storm clouds, and shoot up to an altitude less than half that of red sprites. Blue jets are narrower than red sprites, and fan out like trumpet-shaped flowers in blue or purple hues.

"This field of research is fast evolving, and is important for understanding the global electric circuit," says Anne-Marie Schmoltner, program director in NSF's Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences, which supports the research. "The red sprite airborne field campaign this summer provided observations at unprecedented time resolutions."

What makes thunderstorms' celestial lights

Atmospheric researchers have developed theories to try to explain these celestial lights.

Red sprites may happen at the time of positively charged cloud-to-ground lightning strikes, which make up about ten percent of all lightning and are many times more powerful than more common, negatively charged lightning.

The flashes may be akin to giant electric sparks.

After a powerful ground strike, the electric field above a thunderstorm may become strengthened to the point that it causes an "electrical breakdown," an overload that weakens the atmosphere's resistance to electric current flow. The result is an immense red spark, or sprite, in the atmosphere.

Although still something of a mystery, red sprites have helped solve other long-standing questions.

Scientists have found that red sprites create some of the low-frequency radio bursts picked up for years by instruments around the world, but whose source was unknown.

Large bursts of gamma rays, emanating from Earth rather than space, originate during thunderstorms, although their exact relationship to red sprites remains unclear.

Researchers now wonder whether red sprites (and blue jets) might affect the atmosphere in important ways.

For example, sprites and jets might alter the chemical composition of the upper atmosphere. Though brief, they could set off lasting charges.

Sprites' deep red color is caused by the light emitted from nitrogen molecules in the atmosphere, says McHarg. Red sprites may turn out to be important to atmospheric chemistry and global climate by changing concentrations of nitric oxides high in the atmosphere.

The researchers are using a technique called high-speed spectroscopy to study sprites' different colors to determine the amount of energy the sprites carry, and to find out more about their chemical composition.

How to see a sprite

Can thunderstorm-watchers on the ground glimpse red sprites and blue jets with the naked eye? Yes, if they know where to look.

Viewers must be able to see a distant thunderstorm with no clouds in the way, in an area without city lights. Then they must look above the storm, not at the lightning within the clouds.

It's likely, say the scientists, that if watchers wait long enough, they'll see a red sprite. Blue jets are more elusive. The best viewing would probably come from a plane flying very high, and located miles and miles away from a thunderstorm.

With its rubber tires, a car may be the safest vehicle from which to hunt for ephemeral sprites of the thunderclouds.