FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks at the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee's 100th Anniversary Celebration
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
National Women in the Arts Museum
Washington, DC
December 9, 2013
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you. Thank you very, very much. I much appreciate your welcome. I will inform you that Winston Churchill once said the only reason people give a standing ovation is they desperately need an excuse to shift their underwear. (Laughter.) But I will believe that you had a much more noble goal. (Laughter.)
Stuart, thank you. Stu, you are a marvel. And I tell you, I’m honored to be introduced by Stu Eizenstat. He is a great, really one of our sort of unsung heroes and treasures in our country for the remarkable work that he has always done and – (applause). Absolutely. I got to know him pretty well. His pro bono work that he’s done for years to help Holocaust victims and their families be able to recover the assets that were taken from them during the horrors of World War II is one mark. But I’ve seen him in his roles at the White House with the Carter Administration, the Clinton Administration.
And I will never forget when I was in Kyoto working on the global climate change treaty, Stu came flying in, literally, I think from Switzerland, where he’d been negotiating to pick up the negotiation responsibilities, which had, frankly, not been thoroughly and properly prepared in an appropriate way. And he kind of picked up this negotiation at half capacity, and I was stunned by his negotiating skill, his ability, and he put together an agreement – it’s now a matter of history that we had a difficult Senate that never did what it should have done, but this guy did what he was supposed to do and he did it brilliantly. And we are lucky to have public servants like him, so I thank him again for his great work. (Applause.)
President Penny Blumenstein, thank you very much. She was telling me back there that nobody gets her name right. I told her I will. (Laughter.) But she says she’s called Bloomberg and Blumenthal and a whole bunch of things whenever she gets introduced. Alan Gill, thank you for your great stewardship as CEO. And to every single one of you, thank you for an extraordinary job as civic-minded, good citizens of our nation who recognize a global responsibility. It’s an honor for me to be to be here to help you mark 100 years of the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. And I said to Penny when I came in here, I said, “You don’t look 100 years old.” She said, “I feel it some days.” (Laughter.) So we thank her for her commitment to this effort. I know what it takes to do this.
Some of you may know that the bond between the State Department – and Stuart referred to this a little bit in his introduction of me. The bond between the State Department and the JDC has been a longtime association and it runs deep. Stu described to you how Henry Morgenthau had a profound impact on the startup and what happened, and it responded to the needs of Jews at that time who were locked in the struggle of the Ottoman Palestine and Eastern Europe. And ever since then, it has performed – you have performed – brilliantly.
Today, you work alongside the State Department, USAID, and Congress, and embassies on a worldwide basis – the 70 nations that Stuart mentioned a minute ago – is really quite extraordinary. We collaborate superbly on infrastructure programs that foster economic development and growth in communities in Africa, Europe, Middle East, and Latin America. We work side by side and provide humanitarian relief. And again, Stu talked for a moment about what happened. I am heading to the Philippines the day after tomorrow and to Vietnam, where we are engaged. But obviously, Typhoon Haiyan has left just stunning devastation across the Philippines, and your relief effort – JDC effort – in a short span of time has already contributed $1.4 million in aid to that effort.
We, the United States – I speak for President Obama, who as you all know has gone off to Nelson Mandela’s funeral – I gather tomorrow you will hear from the Vice President and then later from Jack Lew, Secretary Lew. But all of us are deeply, deeply grateful for the incredible sense of responsibility that is manifested in your generosity and in your commitment in order to make a difference around the world. You have provided relief to millions of people from every corner of the globe, all of whom are in desperate need of a helping hand. And part of the mission – and I should thank, actually, Chair Andrew Tisch, who – where did Andrew go? He’s sitting somewhere. Andrew, thank you for your great friendship to me and many years of involvement in this kind of thing.
But the ways in which all of you in the doing of this also support Jewish life around the world. Throughout history, of course, but particularly right now you are involved in ways that connect young Jewish men and women to their communities and that inspire them to address social challenges. The job training programs that you’re creating to address unemployment, the steps that you’re taking to alleviate hunger and poverty among the neediest Jews in the world, including in Israel, where despite the stunning growth and amazing prosperity that has been reached by so many, still sees about 25 percent of the country living under the poverty line. And the contributions that you continue to make to the Jewish community are changing lives everywhere.
I want to say a few words to you about another way in which hopefully we in the government are trying to also preserve and nurture Jewish life. And I’m talking about Jewish life in the state of Israel. I know this is not a political group in any way, but it would be a shameful omission if I didn’t honor the fact that everybody here obviously comes here with a passion for the preservation of life in Israel, and more importantly for the long term, the possibility of peace and of stability.
We are deeply committed to the security of Israel and of the well-being of the Jewish people by virtue of that. (Applause.) From the support that we’ve provided as a nation before I was in government, shortly after I’d come back from Vietnam, from the support we provided during the Yom Kippur War in 1973, to the hundreds of millions that we have contributed to help develop weapons systems like the Iron Dome as well as the military technology that we provide the Israelis with today, the United States has long viewed Israel’s security as absolutely fundamental to our own.
So when it comes to the range of issues that face the region today, there can be, in my judgment, no doubt – there should be no doubt – about where the United States stands. We stand squarely beside our Israeli friends and allies, and that bond is ironclad; it will never be broken. (Applause.)
This morning, I talked to Prime Minister Netanyahu. Bibi and I know each other really well now. We’ve known each other for about 25 years, maybe even 30. I knew him when he was in Cambridge, Massachusetts on an interval in politics that some of us have had occasionally. And I have visited with him many, many times, both when he was in office and out of office, and likewise for me. I just got back from what I think was my eighth trip to Israel since becoming Secretary of State, and I leave the day after tomorrow and I will be having dinner with Bibi again on Thursday night. So this is a commute, folks, nowadays. (Laughter.)
I want you to know that every single time that big blue and white plane that lugs me over there comes in for a landing at Ben Gurion Airport, I truly feel in my gut, for reasons of friendship as well as affiliation that Stu mentioned, how precious and how vulnerable and how real the security challenge of Israel is. It’s an extraordinary nation which, when you fly over it and you see what has been blooming out of a desert and built in this short span of time, is absolutely stunning. And when you compare GDPs and per capita incomes and other things to other nations that were in the same place in 1948 and 1950 and ’52 and see the differential today, it tells you a remarkable story of accomplishment and capacity.
I want to make it clear today that we are deeply committed going forward to honoring the bond and honoring those security needs. And I want to reiterate something that President Obama and I have said many times, and I underscored last week when I was in Israel and I underscored again two days ago when I spoke to the Saban Forum here in Washington. And that is: We will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon – not now, not ever. And I promise you that. (Applause.)
Now, I know that some people are apprehensive and wonder sort of have we somehow stumbled into something or created something where in fact the Iranians have pulled the wool over our eyes and we’re going to not know what they’re doing. Let me just say to you very simply: I’ve spent, as Stu said, almost 30 years in the Senate. I chaired the Foreign Relations Committee. I understand military and security issues. And I understand the fundamental basics of – as does the President and most of the people around us – what is necessary for a nation to prove it has a peaceful nuclear program. And I can’t stand here today and tell you that the Iranians are going to do what they need to do. But I do know that Israel is actually safer today than it was the day before we made the deal, because in this deal they have to destroy all of their 20 percent enriched uranium; they have to hold their 3.5 percent low enriched at the current level; they are not allowed to install any new centrifuges; they have to allow us daily inspection inside that secret mountaintop, Fordow; they have to allow us daily inspection in Natanz in the nuclear plant; they have to allow us regular inspection in the heavy water reactor that has the potential of plutonium; they are not allowed to install any further nuclear components into that construction site; they cannot test additional fuel; and we are allowed to go into the storage sites and manufacturing facilities of all of their centrifuge production facilities – all things we couldn’t do before we made this first step agreement.
Because of what we’ve done while we negotiate the final comprehensive agreement, which is what Bibi wanted in the first place, we will actually be setting their program backwards, expanding the amount of time that it might take if they were to try to break out. That means we have more time to respond, more time to know what is going on. That is why I can say to you in good conscience I believe Israel is safer today than it was before. Now, does that mean this will be successful in the long run? I don’t know. But here’s what else I do know: If we aren’t successful, if we get to the end of these six months and they don’t do the simple things you need to do to prove your program is peaceful, then we will have kept united the P5+1, we will have shown the global community our bona fides to attempt to give them an opportunity through diplomacy to do what they need to do, and we will not have taken any sanction off the table. We can ratchet them up when we want. We will go back to Congress, we will ratchet them up, we will ask for additional sanctions. And if needs be, if we cannot get this done on time, we will take no other option, military or otherwise, off the table. So I am confident that we are going to approach this with a view to making Israel more secure.
Let me also say to all of you there are other issues that go to Israel’s existential security, and none more so than the ticking time bomb of demographics in the region and the realities of the de-legitimization campaign that has been taking place for some period of time. I believe, as President Obama does, that Israel will be far more secure if we can also put to test the possibilities of the two-state solution. And so we will continue to attempt to do that despite the skepticism, despite the cynicism in some quarters, that that day can never come where you would actually achieve a two-state solution with two peoples living side by side in peace and security.
I believe, though, that it remains a possibility. And it seems to me that for all of you, for anyone who cares about the security of Israel – and all of you do – for anyone who cares about the future, as I know all of you do, and engaged in the activities you are here at the JDC, you must also believe that peace is possible. And as these tough but very critical negotiations continue, I hope that you will understand we will continue to consult, we will continue to work closely, we will do everything in our power to make sure that our friends in Israel are comfortable with the direction we’re moving in and are part of it.
And I talk to Bibi at least two or three times a week. We are hand in hand and mind in mind trying to figure out how to do this in a way that protects the security of Israel, that establishes the sovereignty and dignity of an independent and viable Palestinian state. If it was easy, it would’ve done a long time ago. It isn’t. But I think the effort is worth it.
And I know why it’s worth it. I spent a lot of time – when I first went to Israel in 1986, I spent an entire week, and I traveled everywhere. And this wonderful fellow by the name of Yadin Roman, who’s the publisher of Eretz Israel magazine, was my guide and took me around. And he was brilliant, and he knew the history of everything and told me all the details of everything I was seeing. And I went up to Kiryat Shmona, and I went down into a bomb shelter where kids had to run and side from the Katyusha rockets. And I visited all the different religious sites – Christian and Muslim and Jewish, obviously. Went to the Wailing Wall, left my note, which I’m still working on. And visited – tried to swim in the Dead Sea, cloaked in black mud, everything else. And climbed Masada, which is one of the most stirring things I’ve ever done in my life, because we had this huge debate on top of Masada. And Yadin provoked us, purposefully. And he gave us the whole history of Josephus Flavius and told us all the writings in this great contentious debate about had these Jews really died there, had they in fact been there at this moment, or did they escape because they didn’t find a whole lot of skeletons, and people were wondering what happened.
Well, we had this long debate. And I’ll tell you, even before that, I had this marvelous experience of flying a jet out of (inaudible) air base. I’m a pilot. I love to fly. And I persuaded this ace colonel from the war to take me up in a jet, and he got it cleared in Tel Aviv. Somehow they let me do it. And they won’t let me do it now, but it was fun then. And I remember taking off, and he said, “Okay, it’s your airplane the minute you get up in the air.” I went up above the air, and I remember he – I was turning, and he said, “Senator, you better turn faster; you’re going over Egypt.” And so I turned the airplane and came back. And we did some aerobatics, and I was doing a loop, and I went up – way up high and came down. And as you look, you put your head back and catch the horizon underneath you. And I looked, and I looked out and I could see all the way out in the Sinai, all the way down in the Gulf of Aqaba. I could see all the way over into Jordan. And I said to myself, “This is perfect. I’m looking at the Middle East the right way, upside down – (laughter) – and I can understand it now.”
But after the debate on Masada, we took a vote, and we all voted unanimously that it happened exactly the way it is recorded, that they had fought and died. And at the end, Yadin took us to the edge of the precipice. And there, where a lot of the air force, I understand, and other military are sworn in and take the oath, we yelled across the chasm, “Am Yisrael chai.” (Applause.) And the echo came back. And I will tell you, it was stunning to hear that echo. You sort of felt like you were listening to the souls of the past tell you Israel is going to survive. And that’s why, my friends, you have a Secretary of State who gets it, who understands this mission. And with your help and your support, we’ll get it done the right way.
Thank you. (Applause.)
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY'S REMARKS ON INTERNATIONAL ANTICORRUPTION DAY
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
International Anticorruption Day
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
December 9, 2013
The United States joins the international community today in saluting individuals, governments, businesses, civil society organizations, and international organizations dedicated to preventing and combating the scourge of corruption.
It is difficult to overstate the profoundly negative impact that corruption has on society. The abuse of entrusted power for private gain does violence to our values, our prosperity, and even our security.
Having spent two years of my own life as a young prosecutor in Massachusetts, where I focused on white-collar and organized crime, this issue is especially personal. And it’s a responsibility I take seriously as someone who spent years in the Senate leading difficult, sensitive, and comprehensive investigations on everything from the Bank of Credit and Commerce International to illegal money laundering.
During my travels as Secretary of State, especially to countries that are in the midst of political transitions, I underscore the importance of fighting corruption and promoting good governance. I do so proudly, knowing that we strengthen our credibility and our foreign policy when we make these issues a priority in our relationships.
That’s why the United States and 167 other countries have ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the world’s broadest framework for tackling corruption.
That’s why we worked with the G8 Deauville Partnership with Arab Countries in Transition to launch the Arab Forum on Asset Recovery, which has helped to stimulate the return of more than $70 million in stolen assets to the transition countries in the Middle East.
And that’s why the United States is deeply committed to the mission of the Open Government Partnership, an innovative multi-stakeholder initiative of governments, civil society, and business.
On this International Anticorruption Day, we call on all governments to implement their commitments under the UN Convention Against Corruption and to afford civil society a meaningful role in anti-corruption and transparency efforts.
This is an issue that matters greatly to all of us, which makes even greater our shared responsibility to fight corruption and promote free, open societies anywhere and everywhere they are threatened.
International Anticorruption Day
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
December 9, 2013
The United States joins the international community today in saluting individuals, governments, businesses, civil society organizations, and international organizations dedicated to preventing and combating the scourge of corruption.
It is difficult to overstate the profoundly negative impact that corruption has on society. The abuse of entrusted power for private gain does violence to our values, our prosperity, and even our security.
Having spent two years of my own life as a young prosecutor in Massachusetts, where I focused on white-collar and organized crime, this issue is especially personal. And it’s a responsibility I take seriously as someone who spent years in the Senate leading difficult, sensitive, and comprehensive investigations on everything from the Bank of Credit and Commerce International to illegal money laundering.
During my travels as Secretary of State, especially to countries that are in the midst of political transitions, I underscore the importance of fighting corruption and promoting good governance. I do so proudly, knowing that we strengthen our credibility and our foreign policy when we make these issues a priority in our relationships.
That’s why the United States and 167 other countries have ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption, the world’s broadest framework for tackling corruption.
That’s why we worked with the G8 Deauville Partnership with Arab Countries in Transition to launch the Arab Forum on Asset Recovery, which has helped to stimulate the return of more than $70 million in stolen assets to the transition countries in the Middle East.
And that’s why the United States is deeply committed to the mission of the Open Government Partnership, an innovative multi-stakeholder initiative of governments, civil society, and business.
On this International Anticorruption Day, we call on all governments to implement their commitments under the UN Convention Against Corruption and to afford civil society a meaningful role in anti-corruption and transparency efforts.
This is an issue that matters greatly to all of us, which makes even greater our shared responsibility to fight corruption and promote free, open societies anywhere and everywhere they are threatened.
IRS ANNOUNCES INTEREST RATES WILL REMAIN THE SAME FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2014
FROM: U.S. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE
Interest Rates Remain the Same for the First Quarter of 2014
WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service today announced that interest rates will remain the same for the calendar quarter beginning Jan. 1, 2014. The rates will be:
three (3) percent for overpayments [two (2) percent in the case of a corporation];
three (3) percent for underpayments;
five (5) percent for large corporate underpayments; and
one-half (0.5) percent for the portion of a corporate overpayment exceeding $10,000.
Under the Internal Revenue Code, the rate of interest is determined on a quarterly basis. For taxpayers other than corporations, the overpayment and underpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points.
Generally, in the case of a corporation, the underpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points and the overpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 2 percentage points. The rate for large corporate underpayments is the federal short-term rate plus 5 percentage points. The rate on the portion of a corporate overpayment of tax exceeding $10,000 for a taxable period is the federal short-term rate plus one-half (0.5) of a percentage point.
The interest rates announced today are computed from the federal short-term rate determined during Oct. 2013 to take effect Nov. 1, 2013, based on daily compounding.
Interest Rates Remain the Same for the First Quarter of 2014
WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service today announced that interest rates will remain the same for the calendar quarter beginning Jan. 1, 2014. The rates will be:
three (3) percent for overpayments [two (2) percent in the case of a corporation];
three (3) percent for underpayments;
five (5) percent for large corporate underpayments; and
one-half (0.5) percent for the portion of a corporate overpayment exceeding $10,000.
Under the Internal Revenue Code, the rate of interest is determined on a quarterly basis. For taxpayers other than corporations, the overpayment and underpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points.
Generally, in the case of a corporation, the underpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points and the overpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 2 percentage points. The rate for large corporate underpayments is the federal short-term rate plus 5 percentage points. The rate on the portion of a corporate overpayment of tax exceeding $10,000 for a taxable period is the federal short-term rate plus one-half (0.5) of a percentage point.
The interest rates announced today are computed from the federal short-term rate determined during Oct. 2013 to take effect Nov. 1, 2013, based on daily compounding.
BUSINESSMAN SENTENCED TO PRISON TERM FOR ROLE IN CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD THE IRS
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Thursday, December 5, 2013
California Businessman Sentenced to Prison for Conspiring to Defraud the IRS
Gary Mach, of Palm Desert, Calif., was sentenced to 16 months in prison, two months of house arrest, and 18 months of probation and ordered to pay $270,725 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Justice Department and IRS announced today. Mach previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States on Aug. 18, 2013.
Court documents state that, beginning around January 2002 and continuing through December 2010, Mach failed to report substantial income he earned from CSPS, a pool-servicing business operated throughout Riverside County. Mach and others established fictitious trusts which they used to receive income and hold assets in an attempt to conceal the assets and income from the IRS.
According to court documents, Mach purported to operate a trust called “Quintessential,” and directed that his paychecks be made payable to Quintessential. He also opened a bank account in the name of Quintessential where he deposited CSPS proceeds. Mach admitted that he did not report to the IRS any of the income he earned from CSPS between 2002 and 2010, and used Quintessential to conceal income from the IRS. In furtherance of the conspiracy, Mach also attempted to impede an IRS summons issued to a bank for business account records. Mach closed his bank account after the bank complied with the IRS summons. As set forth in the plea agreement, Mach admitted that his total unreported income for the tax years 2002 through 2010 was $1,410,430, upon which the total tax due and owed to the IRS is $270,275.
Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally of the department’s Tax Division, commended the investigative efforts of the special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, Tax Division Trial Attorneys Sonia M. Owens and Mark L. Williams, who prosecuted the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sandra R. Brown and Paul Rochmes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, who assisted in the prosecution.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
California Businessman Sentenced to Prison for Conspiring to Defraud the IRS
Gary Mach, of Palm Desert, Calif., was sentenced to 16 months in prison, two months of house arrest, and 18 months of probation and ordered to pay $270,725 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the Justice Department and IRS announced today. Mach previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States on Aug. 18, 2013.
Court documents state that, beginning around January 2002 and continuing through December 2010, Mach failed to report substantial income he earned from CSPS, a pool-servicing business operated throughout Riverside County. Mach and others established fictitious trusts which they used to receive income and hold assets in an attempt to conceal the assets and income from the IRS.
According to court documents, Mach purported to operate a trust called “Quintessential,” and directed that his paychecks be made payable to Quintessential. He also opened a bank account in the name of Quintessential where he deposited CSPS proceeds. Mach admitted that he did not report to the IRS any of the income he earned from CSPS between 2002 and 2010, and used Quintessential to conceal income from the IRS. In furtherance of the conspiracy, Mach also attempted to impede an IRS summons issued to a bank for business account records. Mach closed his bank account after the bank complied with the IRS summons. As set forth in the plea agreement, Mach admitted that his total unreported income for the tax years 2002 through 2010 was $1,410,430, upon which the total tax due and owed to the IRS is $270,275.
Assistant Attorney General Kathryn Keneally of the department’s Tax Division, commended the investigative efforts of the special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who investigated the case, Tax Division Trial Attorneys Sonia M. Owens and Mark L. Williams, who prosecuted the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sandra R. Brown and Paul Rochmes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, who assisted in the prosecution.
STUDY LOOKS AT TOMATOES ON THE WILDSIDE TO EXAMINE BIODIVERSITY
(NRCS_Photo_Gallery)Natural+Resources+Conservation+Service,+part+of+the+United+States+Department+of+Agriculture,+taken+or+made+as+part+of+an+employee's+official+duties..jpg) |
| Supermarket Tomatoes. Credit: USDA-Wikimedia. |
Staple of recipe favorites--the tomato--reveals processes that maintain biodiversity
No hothouse plants: Study examines supermarket tomatoes' wild relatives, which live in Earth's most extreme environments
Tomatoes are in almost everything we eat, from salad and soup to chili and pizza. For some, tomato-based dishes are featured during the holiday season.
Most people don't realize, however, that there are more than a dozen wild tomato species, or that wild tomatoes grow in the deserts, rainforests and highlands of South America and on the Galapagos Islands.
These wild species don't have the big, bold fruits we're used to seeing in the supermarket, though. Wild tomato fruits are smaller, from the size of a pea to that of a large marble and are sometimes green and bitter when they're ripe.
But compared with their domesticated relatives, wild tomatoes are more diverse in many hidden and not-so-hidden ways.
Now scientists are using the genomes of wild tomatoes to study the processes that drive Earth's biodiversity.
Their goal is to learn how species cope with differences in climate and natural enemies, and what might happen in this time of environmental change.
Wild tomato genomes as a framework for understanding biodiversity
To study natural trait and genome diversity in wild tomatoes, scientists Leonie Moyle, David Haak and Matthew Hahn of Indiana University Bloomington received a grant from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Dimensions of Biodiversity program.
Dimensions of Biodiversity is part of NSF's Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability investment and is supported by NSF's Directorates for Biological Sciences and Geosciences.
Scientists funded through Dimensions of Biodiversity integrate genetic, taxonomic and functional approaches in their research.
"The resulting discoveries go beyond expanding our knowledge of the depth and breadth of life on Earth," says John Wingfield, NSF assistant director for Biological Sciences.
"They have the potential to revolutionize the way we manage agriculture, practice medicine, address global climate change and develop new technologies."
The award to Moyle's team funds sequencing of the complete set of all expressed genes (the transcriptome) in populations of wild tomato species.
"Variations within and between these wild tomato genomes can be compared by using the genome sequence of the domesticated tomato as a 'backbone,'"says Moyle.
By linking this genome-wide sequence data with information on wild tomato trait variation, the biologists hope to identify the genes responsible for adaptation to environmental change.
The research focuses on the role of drought and of defense against herbivores, or plant-eaters, in the diversity of wild tomatoes.
"These factors," says Haak, "capture two of the most important aspects of any plant's environment: climate and natural enemies."
Wild tomatoes: From hothouse to deep freeze
While domesticated tomatoes thrive only in agricultural irrigation, wild tomatoes live in some of the planet's most extreme environments.
They're among the few plants found in the driest place on Earth--the Atacama Desert in Chile. Other wild tomatoes blossom along the rocky, salty shores of the Galapagos Islands, and in the daily rains of Ecuador's rainforests.
But it's not just the climate in which they grow that varies among wild tomatoes.
The plants bristle with an array of natural defenses, from dense coverings of plant hairs to toxins deadly against insect attackers.
Measuring biodiversity in plant defenses
In a forthcoming paper in the journal Ecology, Haak, Moyle and colleagues document large differences in defenses among wild tomatoes.
They used bioassays--experiments in which living organisms are used to reveal the potency or concentration of a substance.
In this case, they fed leaf samples of different wild tomato species to tobacco hornworms.
The tobacco hornworm--also known as the tomato hornworm--is an enemy of both domesticated and wild tomatoes. It rapidly eats its way through the plants' leaves.
Each hornworm caterpillar was weighed before and after feeding to determine how much it had gained on a diet of wild tomato leaves.
Those tomatoes on which caterpillars gained little or no weight, says Haak, have more natural defenses than those on which the caterpillars gained weight.
In one wild tomato species, caterpillars lost significant weight; they refused to consume the plant's toxic leaves.
The researchers showed that the level of natural defense varies widely among wild tomato species.
"Although all wild tomatoes are closely related, these patterns of defense variation don't simply follow historical, evolutionary relationships," says Moyle. "The defense level of each wild tomato population is likely shaped by responses to local herbivores."
Linking biodiversity to genomics to understand environmental responses
Moyle and Haak are using DNA sequencing to look at the genes that are expressed differently in wild tomatoes with varying levels of natural defenses, and with differences in responses to drought.
Genes that are consistently up- or down-regulated in these conditions, says Moyle, can reveal the changes important for responding to and coping with environmental stresses.
"By linking data on DNA sequence variation, and on variation in gene expression, with wild tomatoes' responses to drought and natural enemies," she says, "we may find a powerful model for understanding the genetics of responses to environmental change."
The study could also uncover genetic variations helpful in improving domesticated tomatoes and their cultivated relatives, including potatoes and peppers.
"This research on tomatoes' wild relatives offers insights into the huge reservoir of genetic information available to ensure our future food security," says Simon Malcomber, lead NSF program director for Dimensions of Biodiversity.
"Tomatoes are one of the most widely consumed foods around the world," he says. "Studies such as this provide important information that could be used to improve herbivore resistance in crop cultivars."
Next time you're in the supermarket, tomatoes are worth a closer look. These common plants may offer a glimpse of our global food security, and of Earth's environmental future.
-- Cheryl Dybas, NSF
Investigators
David Haak
Leonie Moyle
Matthew Hahn
Related Institutions/Organizations
Indiana University
Related Programs
Dimensions of Biodiversity
Monday, December 9, 2013
SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY'S COMMENTS ON LIU XIAOBO
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Fifth Anniversary of Liu Xiaobo's Detention
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
December 9, 2013
Yesterday marked the fifth anniversary of Nobel laureate and writer Liu Xiaobo’s detention. The United States is deeply concerned that Chinese authorities continue to imprison Liu Xiaobo, as well as other activists, such as Xu Zhiyong, for peacefully exercising their universal right to freedom of expression. Equally concerning is the nearly three-year politically motivated house arrest of Liu Xiaobo’s wife, Liu Xia.
We note that the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has determined Liu Xiaobo’s ongoing imprisonment and Liu Xia’s house arrest to be in contravention of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
We strongly urge Chinese authorities to release Liu Xiaobo, to end Liu Xia’s house arrest, and to guarantee to Liu Xiaobo and his family members all internationally recognized human rights protections and freedoms.
As the United States builds a constructive relationship with China, U.S. leaders will continue to raise concerns related to respect for the rule of law, human rights, religious freedom, and democratic principles with their Chinese counterparts. We continue to believe that respect for international human rights is critical to China’s growth, prosperity, and long-term stability.
Fifth Anniversary of Liu Xiaobo's Detention
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
December 9, 2013
Yesterday marked the fifth anniversary of Nobel laureate and writer Liu Xiaobo’s detention. The United States is deeply concerned that Chinese authorities continue to imprison Liu Xiaobo, as well as other activists, such as Xu Zhiyong, for peacefully exercising their universal right to freedom of expression. Equally concerning is the nearly three-year politically motivated house arrest of Liu Xiaobo’s wife, Liu Xia.
We note that the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has determined Liu Xiaobo’s ongoing imprisonment and Liu Xia’s house arrest to be in contravention of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
We strongly urge Chinese authorities to release Liu Xiaobo, to end Liu Xia’s house arrest, and to guarantee to Liu Xiaobo and his family members all internationally recognized human rights protections and freedoms.
As the United States builds a constructive relationship with China, U.S. leaders will continue to raise concerns related to respect for the rule of law, human rights, religious freedom, and democratic principles with their Chinese counterparts. We continue to believe that respect for international human rights is critical to China’s growth, prosperity, and long-term stability.
TOYS DONATED AND PROCESSED DURING ANNUAL RANDY OLER MEMORIAL OPERATION TOY DROP
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Dawn breaks as paratroopers line up to donate toys and win a coveted seat in the 16th Annual Randy Oler Memorial Operation Toy Drop, at Green Ramp on Pope Army Airfield, Fort Bragg, N.C., Dec. 6, 2013. The first phase of Toy Drop includes donating an unwrapped toy to receive a ticket. Tickets are raffled, and the winner secures a seat for an airborne operation on Sicily Drop Zone. Last year, Operation Toy Drop collected more than 12,000 toys, which were donated to charities and organizations across North Carolina. U.S. Army photo by Timothy L. Hale - Download Hi-Res.
Soldiers prepare to process thousands of donated toys during the 16th Annual Randy Oler Memorial Operation Toy Drop, at the Green Ramp on Pope Army Airfield, Fort Bragg, N.C., Dec. 6, 2013. U.S. Army photo by Timothy L. Hale.
U.S. DEFENSE CONTRACTS FOR DECEMBER 9, 2013
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
CONTRACTS
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Physio-Control Inc., Redmond, Wash., has been awarded a maximum $46,011,356 modification (P00012) exercising the third one-year option period on a five-year base contract (SPM200-07-D-8261) with five one-year option periods for defibrillators, related components, and accessories. This is a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is Washington with a Dec. 7, 2014 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.
NAVY
Raytheon Co., Tucson, Ariz., is being awarded a $35,019,637 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-10-C-5432) to exercise an option to accomplish fiscal 2014 design agent engineering services for the MK-31 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) Guided-Missile Weapon System (GMWS) improvement program support, guided-missile round pack support, and guided-missile launching system support. The RAM MK-31 GMWS is a cooperative development and production program conducted jointly by the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany under Memoranda of Understanding. The support is required to maintain current weapon system capability, as well as resolve issues through design, systems, software maintenance, reliability, maintainability, quality assurance and logistics engineering services. Work will be performed in Tucson, Ariz., and is expected to be completed by September 2014. Fiscal 2014 weapons procurement Navy; fiscal 2014 research, development, test and evaluation; fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Navy and German funding in the amount of $8,246,505 will be obligated at the time of contract award. Contract funds in the amount of $733,035 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-10-C-5432).
Raytheon Co., Integrated Defense Systems, Sudbury, Mass., is being awarded a $29,521,981 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-13-C-5115) to exercise options for the production of the AN/SPY-1D(V) radar transmitter group, missile fire control system MK 99 and site support for DDG 119. Raytheon will also be responsible for related technical services to facilitate system testing, shipyard installation, and other requirements. Work will be performed in Andover, Mass. (78.3 percent); Sudbury, Mass. (19.3 percent); Moorestown, N.J. (0.9 percent); Norfolk, Va. (0.5 percent); and Canada (1 percent) and is expected to be completed by June 2017. Fiscal 2013 ship conversion, Navy contract funds in the amount of $29,521,981 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
Sechan Electronics Inc.*, Lititz, Pa., is being awarded a $17,212,201 firm-fixed-priced, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the procurement of the Target Detecting Device (TDD) MK 71 Mod 1 to support the Quickstrike Mine Improvement program. This contract will require the fabrication, assembly, integration, testing and delivering of the hardware components which constitute TDD MK 71 Mod 1. TDD MK 71 Mod 1 has been developed and fielded for use in the air-delivered Quickstrike mine shape MK 65, and is also planned for use in two additional mines: Mine MK 62 and Mine MK 63. Work will be performed in Lititz, Pa., and is expected to be completed by December 2018. Fiscal 2013 weapons procurement, Navy contract funds in the amount of $3,071,600 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online and the Federal Business Opportunities websites, with one offer received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City Division, Panama City, Fla., is the contracting activity (N61331-14-D-0001).
Air Cruisers Co., LLC, Township, N.J., is being awarded a five year $16,970,294 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the long term repair of four different sized life rafts that comprise the Multi-Place Life Raft (MPLR) Program. The MPLR is a critical safety/critical application item designed to save and sustain the lives of Navy and Marine Corps air crewmen in the event of ejection or aircraft abandonment at sea. Work will be performed in Liberty, Miss., and work is expected to be completed December 2018. Fiscal 2013 Navy working capital funds in the amount of $2,252,626 will be obligated at the time of award, and will not expire before the end of the current fiscal year. The contract was not competitively procured in accordance FAR 6.302-1. The NAVSUP Weapons System Support, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (N00383-14-D-002P).
AIR FORCE
Diversitech Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, has been awarded a $7,499,501 modification (P00011) for an existing indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (FA8601-11-D-0001) for civil engineering facility and equipment support (FA8601-11-D-0001) extending the ordering period for one year. This requirement provides routine maintenance and repair work for 7,352 pieces of equipment that support the mission of the Air Force Institute of Technology, Air Force Research Laboratory, National Air and Space Intelligence Center, and others. Work will be performed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2014. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance and eesearch and development funds will be obligated on individual task orders. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center/PZIO, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity.
ARMY
Luhr Bros., Inc., Columbia, Ill., was awarded a $7,000,000 contract modification (P00001) to exercise option year one on contract W912QR-13-D-0032 for the leasing of a dredge, plant attendant, and on-shore disposal equipment for channel maintenance dredging on the Ohio River and Ohio River pooled tributaries and the upper Mississippi River 0.0-185.00. Funding and the work performance site will be determined with each order. Estimated completion date is Dec. 31, 2014. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Ky., is the contracting activity.
*Small Business
CONTRACTS
DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY
Physio-Control Inc., Redmond, Wash., has been awarded a maximum $46,011,356 modification (P00012) exercising the third one-year option period on a five-year base contract (SPM200-07-D-8261) with five one-year option periods for defibrillators, related components, and accessories. This is a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is Washington with a Dec. 7, 2014 performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pa.
NAVY
Raytheon Co., Tucson, Ariz., is being awarded a $35,019,637 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-10-C-5432) to exercise an option to accomplish fiscal 2014 design agent engineering services for the MK-31 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM) Guided-Missile Weapon System (GMWS) improvement program support, guided-missile round pack support, and guided-missile launching system support. The RAM MK-31 GMWS is a cooperative development and production program conducted jointly by the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany under Memoranda of Understanding. The support is required to maintain current weapon system capability, as well as resolve issues through design, systems, software maintenance, reliability, maintainability, quality assurance and logistics engineering services. Work will be performed in Tucson, Ariz., and is expected to be completed by September 2014. Fiscal 2014 weapons procurement Navy; fiscal 2014 research, development, test and evaluation; fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance, Navy and German funding in the amount of $8,246,505 will be obligated at the time of contract award. Contract funds in the amount of $733,035 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity (N00024-10-C-5432).
Raytheon Co., Integrated Defense Systems, Sudbury, Mass., is being awarded a $29,521,981 modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-13-C-5115) to exercise options for the production of the AN/SPY-1D(V) radar transmitter group, missile fire control system MK 99 and site support for DDG 119. Raytheon will also be responsible for related technical services to facilitate system testing, shipyard installation, and other requirements. Work will be performed in Andover, Mass. (78.3 percent); Sudbury, Mass. (19.3 percent); Moorestown, N.J. (0.9 percent); Norfolk, Va. (0.5 percent); and Canada (1 percent) and is expected to be completed by June 2017. Fiscal 2013 ship conversion, Navy contract funds in the amount of $29,521,981 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.
Sechan Electronics Inc.*, Lititz, Pa., is being awarded a $17,212,201 firm-fixed-priced, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the procurement of the Target Detecting Device (TDD) MK 71 Mod 1 to support the Quickstrike Mine Improvement program. This contract will require the fabrication, assembly, integration, testing and delivering of the hardware components which constitute TDD MK 71 Mod 1. TDD MK 71 Mod 1 has been developed and fielded for use in the air-delivered Quickstrike mine shape MK 65, and is also planned for use in two additional mines: Mine MK 62 and Mine MK 63. Work will be performed in Lititz, Pa., and is expected to be completed by December 2018. Fiscal 2013 weapons procurement, Navy contract funds in the amount of $3,071,600 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online and the Federal Business Opportunities websites, with one offer received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City Division, Panama City, Fla., is the contracting activity (N61331-14-D-0001).
Air Cruisers Co., LLC, Township, N.J., is being awarded a five year $16,970,294 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the long term repair of four different sized life rafts that comprise the Multi-Place Life Raft (MPLR) Program. The MPLR is a critical safety/critical application item designed to save and sustain the lives of Navy and Marine Corps air crewmen in the event of ejection or aircraft abandonment at sea. Work will be performed in Liberty, Miss., and work is expected to be completed December 2018. Fiscal 2013 Navy working capital funds in the amount of $2,252,626 will be obligated at the time of award, and will not expire before the end of the current fiscal year. The contract was not competitively procured in accordance FAR 6.302-1. The NAVSUP Weapons System Support, Philadelphia, Pa., is the contracting activity (N00383-14-D-002P).
AIR FORCE
Diversitech Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, has been awarded a $7,499,501 modification (P00011) for an existing indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract (FA8601-11-D-0001) for civil engineering facility and equipment support (FA8601-11-D-0001) extending the ordering period for one year. This requirement provides routine maintenance and repair work for 7,352 pieces of equipment that support the mission of the Air Force Institute of Technology, Air Force Research Laboratory, National Air and Space Intelligence Center, and others. Work will be performed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2014. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance and eesearch and development funds will be obligated on individual task orders. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center/PZIO, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity.
ARMY
Luhr Bros., Inc., Columbia, Ill., was awarded a $7,000,000 contract modification (P00001) to exercise option year one on contract W912QR-13-D-0032 for the leasing of a dredge, plant attendant, and on-shore disposal equipment for channel maintenance dredging on the Ohio River and Ohio River pooled tributaries and the upper Mississippi River 0.0-185.00. Funding and the work performance site will be determined with each order. Estimated completion date is Dec. 31, 2014. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Ky., is the contracting activity.
*Small Business
U.S. TO PROVIDE MILITARY AIRLIFT SUPPORT IN THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT FRENCH REQUEST
U.S. Responds to French Request for Airlift Support
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2013 – In response to a request from France, the U.S. military will provide airlift support to enable African forces to deploy promptly to prevent the further spread of sectarian violence in the Central African Republic, Assistant Pentagon Press Secretary Carl Woog said in a statement released today.
Woog’s statement reads as follows:
Last evening in Kabul, Secretary Hagel spoke with French Minister of Defense Yves Le Drian about the security situation in the Central African Republic (CAR), where, under the authority of a UN Security Council Resolution, French forces are assisting the African Union-led international support mission to provide humanitarian assistance and establish an environment that supports a political transition to a democratically elected government.
Minister Le Drian requested limited assistance from the United States military to support this international effort. In the near term, France has requested airlift support to enable African forces to deploy promptly to prevent the further spread of sectarian violence in the Central African Republic.
In response to this request, Secretary Hagel has directed U.S. AFRICOM to begin transporting forces from Burundi to the Central African Republic, in coordination with France.
The United States is joining the international community in this effort because of our belief that immediate action is required to avert a humanitarian and human rights catastrophe in the Central African Republic, and because of our interest in peace and security in the region. We continue to work to identify additional resources that might be available to help address further requests for assistance to support the international community’s efforts in CAR.
U.S. Responds to French Request for Airlift Support
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2013 – In response to a request from France, the U.S. military will provide airlift support to enable African forces to deploy promptly to prevent the further spread of sectarian violence in the Central African Republic, Assistant Pentagon Press Secretary Carl Woog said in a statement released today.
Woog’s statement reads as follows:
Last evening in Kabul, Secretary Hagel spoke with French Minister of Defense Yves Le Drian about the security situation in the Central African Republic (CAR), where, under the authority of a UN Security Council Resolution, French forces are assisting the African Union-led international support mission to provide humanitarian assistance and establish an environment that supports a political transition to a democratically elected government.
Minister Le Drian requested limited assistance from the United States military to support this international effort. In the near term, France has requested airlift support to enable African forces to deploy promptly to prevent the further spread of sectarian violence in the Central African Republic.
In response to this request, Secretary Hagel has directed U.S. AFRICOM to begin transporting forces from Burundi to the Central African Republic, in coordination with France.
The United States is joining the international community in this effort because of our belief that immediate action is required to avert a humanitarian and human rights catastrophe in the Central African Republic, and because of our interest in peace and security in the region. We continue to work to identify additional resources that might be available to help address further requests for assistance to support the international community’s efforts in CAR.
LABOR SECRETARY PEREZ MAKES COMMENTS ON NOVEMBER EMPLOYMENT NUMBERS
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Statement of Labor Secretary Perez on November employment numbers
WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez issued the following statement about the November 2013 Employment Situation report released today:
"The American economy continues its broad and steady job growth heading into the New Year, adding 203,000 jobs in November. The unemployment rate dropped to 7.0 percent, and American manufacturing remained strong with the addition of 27,000 new jobs.
"The November employment report continues the 45-month trend of private-sector job growth, with 8.1 million new jobs created over that time. In the last 12 months alone, American businesses have added 2.3 million new private-sector jobs. This puts the American economy in a strong position heading into the December holiday season.
"But despite broad-based job growth, the November report reminds us that far too many American families are still struggling to get by. The rate of unemployment for the long-term unemployed remains higher than at any point prior to the Great Recession. As the president underscored earlier this week, growing inequality and a lack of upward mobility has jeopardized middle-class America's basic bargain — that if you work hard, you have a chance to get ahead. This point was underscored by a report released this week highlighting that if Congress fails to act, 1.3 million workers and their families will lose Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits immediately.
"The progress made since the depths of the recession in 2010 is a testament to the resilience of the American economy and the American people. But we can and should be doing more. We must invest in infrastructure, pass comprehensive immigration reform, extend the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program and raise the minimum wage. Current job growth is happening in spite of Congress, not because of it. It's time Congress does its part to accelerate job growth and give more Americans the chance to climb ladders of opportunity."
Statement of Labor Secretary Perez on November employment numbers
WASHINGTON — Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez issued the following statement about the November 2013 Employment Situation report released today:
"The American economy continues its broad and steady job growth heading into the New Year, adding 203,000 jobs in November. The unemployment rate dropped to 7.0 percent, and American manufacturing remained strong with the addition of 27,000 new jobs.
"The November employment report continues the 45-month trend of private-sector job growth, with 8.1 million new jobs created over that time. In the last 12 months alone, American businesses have added 2.3 million new private-sector jobs. This puts the American economy in a strong position heading into the December holiday season.
"But despite broad-based job growth, the November report reminds us that far too many American families are still struggling to get by. The rate of unemployment for the long-term unemployed remains higher than at any point prior to the Great Recession. As the president underscored earlier this week, growing inequality and a lack of upward mobility has jeopardized middle-class America's basic bargain — that if you work hard, you have a chance to get ahead. This point was underscored by a report released this week highlighting that if Congress fails to act, 1.3 million workers and their families will lose Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits immediately.
"The progress made since the depths of the recession in 2010 is a testament to the resilience of the American economy and the American people. But we can and should be doing more. We must invest in infrastructure, pass comprehensive immigration reform, extend the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program and raise the minimum wage. Current job growth is happening in spite of Congress, not because of it. It's time Congress does its part to accelerate job growth and give more Americans the chance to climb ladders of opportunity."
45TH SPACE WING SUPPORTED SPACEX SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH
The 45th Space Wing supported Space Exploration Technologies to complete a successful launch of the SES-8 communications satellite Dec. 3, 2013, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The satellite will be released in a super synchronous transfer orbit stretching above its 22,300-mile-high operating post. (Courtesy Photo)
CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. (AFNS) --
The 45th Space Wing supported Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, to complete a successful launch of the SES-8 communications satellite here Dec. 3.
Airmen, Air Force civilians and contractors from the 45th Space Wing provided weather forecasts, launch and range operations, security, safety, medical and public affairs support. The wing also provided its vast network of radar, telemetry, optical and communications instrumentation to facilitate a safe launch.
"For the second time in a little more than two weeks, the 45th Space Wing and our mission partners have worked together to ensure another successful launch here on the Eastern Range," said Brig. Gen. Nina Armagno, the commander of the 45th Space Wing, who also served as the launch decision authority for this mission. "It's gratifying to see a varied, high-performing team like this come together time and time-again. We are truly grateful for the outstanding space team we have here on the space coast,"
Launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the payload flew on the Falcon 9 v1.1 configuration with upgraded Merlin 1D engines, stretched fuel tanks, and a payload fairing.
According to SES website, the launch of SES-8, which will be released in a super synchronous transfer orbit stretching above its 22,300-mile-high operating post, requires two burns of the Falcon 9 second stage. The first firing will place SES-8 in a low-altitude parking orbit, then the second burn is designed to inject the 7,055-pound craft in an oval-shaped orbit. The SES-8 will maneuver itself into a circular orbit 22,300 miles over the equator, sliding into position in the geostationary arc at 95 degrees east longitude.
The satellite features up to 33 Ku-band transponders (36 MHz equivalent). SES-8 will be co-located with NSS-6 at the orbital location of 95 degrees east to provide growth capacity over Asia-Pacific. The spacecraft's high performance beams will support the rapidly growing markets in South Asia and Indo-China, as well as provide expansion capacity for Direct to Home, Very small aperture satellite terminal and government applications.
NSF DISCUSSES THE FUTURE OF TRANSDERMAL ULTRASOUND DELIVERY OF MEDICATIONS
FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
'Smuggling' drugs at the cellular level
Drexel researchers use ultrasound to deliver customized medication through the skin
December 5, 2013
Medicated adhesive patches have become a preferred method of delivery for everything from nicotine to hormones to motion sickness medication.
Drexel University researchers are trying to expand the possibilities of this system--called transdermal delivery--with the help of a cleverly designed delivery vehicle and an ultrasonic "push," or pressure from sound waves.
The advantage of transdermal drug delivery is the ability to regulate the release of medication into the bloodstream and promote a more direct interaction of the treatment with the affected area. But the challenge of this method is that the skin is very good at protecting the body from invaders--even the helpful kind.
Molecules of nicotine and medication currently delivered via adhesive patch are small enough to pass through the pores. To sneak a slightly larger package--say, insulin or arthritis medication--past the body's epidermal defenses requires a bit more biological trickery.
Steven P. Wrenn, of Drexel's College of Engineering, and Peter A. Lewin, from Drexel's School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, are driving forces behind this research. Their team is investigating the molecular architecture of human skin and certain promising drugs and compounds, as well as the mechanics of an ultrasound interface necessary to broaden the capabilities of transdermal drug delivery.
Their work is part of a larger trend: More and more, researchers are exploring advanced materials and manufacturing techniques for biomedical applications. New, high-precision technologies and more rapid, personalized fabrication methods allow engineers to design on smaller scales, such as those required to traverse the human body.
The package
The Drexel team is looking at a drug called Methotrexate (MTX) as an example of the cargo that could one day be transported into the body using an ultrasound "Band-Aid." MTX is used to treat arthritis and various types of cancer. It is typically taken orally, but after prolonged use it can become toxic to the liver. This side effect could be avoided if the drug were delivered transdermally, as afflicted cells would use up much of the medication before it could reach the liver.
It's not an ideal candidate for topical application, however, because its molecules are too large to easily pass through the pores of the skin. It is also easily dissolved in water, which means that, to be effective, it must be contained and protected until it reaches its destination.
The carrier
Wrenn's group is designing a vessel that can transport the medicine and penetrate the skin's first line of defense: the stratum corneum. This barrier is the body's equivalent of a brick wall built with dead skin cell bricks and a lipid mortar.
The group selected the liposome, a fabricated lipid sac filled with water, as the carrier. Liposomes are prime candidates for the job because they are made of the same lipid substrate as the stratum corneum's "mortar," so they can pass through the skin virtually unnoticed.
The team is also engineering the sacs so they're hearty enough to survive a transdermal push, but capable of being opened to release the medicine once inside the body.
The push and the pop
After coaxing the liposomes through the epidermis, the tunable ultrasound patch would "pop" them open to deliver the medicine.
But this interaction is where the real problem lies. The liposome, while a perfect craft for making a stealthy, transdermal entry is not rugged enough to withstand the intensity of ultrasound required to push it through the skin.
Wrenn's group devised a creative solution to this quandary by adding a bit of ballast to the liposome vessel, in the form of tiny gas-filled sacs called microbubbles.
Microbubbles respond to ultrasound in two ways that are key to making the liposome's transdermal voyage a success. First, they can be pushed by ultrasound at an intensity gentle enough to keep the liposome intact. So, nesting the microbubbles inside a liposome is analogous to raising the sail on a boat to catch the wind.
Secondly, when the intensity of the ultrasound is turned up a bit, it causes microbubbles to wobble like a spring and--if the intensity is high enough--pop. Wrenn's group has shown that these gas implosions in the vicinity of the liposome can rip it open, thus allowing disbursal of its contents.
A significant advantage of their approach over current transdermal delivery methods is that it could easily be customized to work for a broad array of drugs and other biological products.
The future
By combining these findings, the team suggests that a liposome laden with a payload of medicine and using microbubbles to sail an ultrasonic "wind" should be able to traverse the epidermis and enter the body. An adjustment to the ultrasound frequency could then pop the microbubbles and split open the liposome to release the medicine.
With a hefty amount of research on liposome architecture underway, the next step for the group will be to fine-tune the ultrasound patch delivery system and work toward a successful transdermal push.
Editor's Note: This Behind the Scenes article was first provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation.
-- Britt Faulstick, Drexel University
'Smuggling' drugs at the cellular level
Drexel researchers use ultrasound to deliver customized medication through the skin
December 5, 2013
Medicated adhesive patches have become a preferred method of delivery for everything from nicotine to hormones to motion sickness medication.
Drexel University researchers are trying to expand the possibilities of this system--called transdermal delivery--with the help of a cleverly designed delivery vehicle and an ultrasonic "push," or pressure from sound waves.
The advantage of transdermal drug delivery is the ability to regulate the release of medication into the bloodstream and promote a more direct interaction of the treatment with the affected area. But the challenge of this method is that the skin is very good at protecting the body from invaders--even the helpful kind.
Molecules of nicotine and medication currently delivered via adhesive patch are small enough to pass through the pores. To sneak a slightly larger package--say, insulin or arthritis medication--past the body's epidermal defenses requires a bit more biological trickery.
Steven P. Wrenn, of Drexel's College of Engineering, and Peter A. Lewin, from Drexel's School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, are driving forces behind this research. Their team is investigating the molecular architecture of human skin and certain promising drugs and compounds, as well as the mechanics of an ultrasound interface necessary to broaden the capabilities of transdermal drug delivery.
Their work is part of a larger trend: More and more, researchers are exploring advanced materials and manufacturing techniques for biomedical applications. New, high-precision technologies and more rapid, personalized fabrication methods allow engineers to design on smaller scales, such as those required to traverse the human body.
The package
The Drexel team is looking at a drug called Methotrexate (MTX) as an example of the cargo that could one day be transported into the body using an ultrasound "Band-Aid." MTX is used to treat arthritis and various types of cancer. It is typically taken orally, but after prolonged use it can become toxic to the liver. This side effect could be avoided if the drug were delivered transdermally, as afflicted cells would use up much of the medication before it could reach the liver.
It's not an ideal candidate for topical application, however, because its molecules are too large to easily pass through the pores of the skin. It is also easily dissolved in water, which means that, to be effective, it must be contained and protected until it reaches its destination.
The carrier
Wrenn's group is designing a vessel that can transport the medicine and penetrate the skin's first line of defense: the stratum corneum. This barrier is the body's equivalent of a brick wall built with dead skin cell bricks and a lipid mortar.
The group selected the liposome, a fabricated lipid sac filled with water, as the carrier. Liposomes are prime candidates for the job because they are made of the same lipid substrate as the stratum corneum's "mortar," so they can pass through the skin virtually unnoticed.
The team is also engineering the sacs so they're hearty enough to survive a transdermal push, but capable of being opened to release the medicine once inside the body.
The push and the pop
After coaxing the liposomes through the epidermis, the tunable ultrasound patch would "pop" them open to deliver the medicine.
But this interaction is where the real problem lies. The liposome, while a perfect craft for making a stealthy, transdermal entry is not rugged enough to withstand the intensity of ultrasound required to push it through the skin.
Wrenn's group devised a creative solution to this quandary by adding a bit of ballast to the liposome vessel, in the form of tiny gas-filled sacs called microbubbles.
Microbubbles respond to ultrasound in two ways that are key to making the liposome's transdermal voyage a success. First, they can be pushed by ultrasound at an intensity gentle enough to keep the liposome intact. So, nesting the microbubbles inside a liposome is analogous to raising the sail on a boat to catch the wind.
Secondly, when the intensity of the ultrasound is turned up a bit, it causes microbubbles to wobble like a spring and--if the intensity is high enough--pop. Wrenn's group has shown that these gas implosions in the vicinity of the liposome can rip it open, thus allowing disbursal of its contents.
A significant advantage of their approach over current transdermal delivery methods is that it could easily be customized to work for a broad array of drugs and other biological products.
The future
By combining these findings, the team suggests that a liposome laden with a payload of medicine and using microbubbles to sail an ultrasonic "wind" should be able to traverse the epidermis and enter the body. An adjustment to the ultrasound frequency could then pop the microbubbles and split open the liposome to release the medicine.
With a hefty amount of research on liposome architecture underway, the next step for the group will be to fine-tune the ultrasound patch delivery system and work toward a successful transdermal push.
Editor's Note: This Behind the Scenes article was first provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation.
-- Britt Faulstick, Drexel University
APP DEVELOPER CHARGED BY FTC WITH DECEIVING CONSUMERS REGARDING SHARING OF INFO
FROM: FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Android Flashlight App Developer Settles FTC Charges It Deceived Consumers
'Brightest Flashlight' App Shared Users' Location, Device ID Without Consumers' Knowledge.
The creator of one of the most popular apps for Android mobile devices has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the free app, which allows a device to be used as a flashlight, deceived consumers about how their geolocation information would be shared with advertising networks and other third parties.
Goldenshores Technologies, LLC, managed by Erik M. Geidl, is the company behind the “Brightest Flashlight Free” app, which has been downloaded tens of millions of times by users of the Android operating system. The FTC’s complaint alleges that the company’s privacy policy deceptively failed to disclose that the app transmitted users’ precise location and unique device identifier to third parties, including advertising networks. In addition, the complaint alleges that the company deceived consumers by presenting them with an option to not share their information, even though it was shared automatically rendering the option meaningless.
“When consumers are given a real, informed choice, they can decide for themselves whether the benefit of a service is worth the information they must share to use it,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “But this flashlight app left them in the dark about how their information was going to be used.”
In its complaint, the FTC alleges that Goldenshores’ privacy policy told consumers that any information collected by the Brightest Flashlight app would be used by the company, and listed some categories of information that it might collect. The policy, however, did not mention that the information would also be sent to third parties, such as advertising networks.
Consumers also were presented with a false choice when they downloaded the app, according to the complaint. Upon first opening the app, they were shown the company’s End User License Agreement, which included information on data collection. At the bottom of the license agreement, consumers could click to “Accept” or “Refuse” the terms of the agreement. Even before a consumer had a chance to accept those terms, though, the application was already collecting and sending information to third parties – including location and the unique device identifier.
The settlement with the FTC prohibits the defendants from misrepresenting how consumers’ information is collected and shared and how much control consumers have over the way their information is used. The settlement also requires the defendants to provide a just-in-time disclosure that fully informs consumers when, how, and why their geolocation information is being collected, used and shared, and requires defendants to obtain consumers’ affirmative express consent before doing so.
The defendants also will be required to delete any personal information collected from consumers through the Brightest Flashlight app.
The Commission vote to accept the consent agreement package containing the proposed consent order for public comment was 4-0.
The FTC will publish a description of the consent agreement package in the Federal Register shortly. The agreement will be subject to public comment for 30 days, beginning today and continuing through Jan. 6, 2014, after which the Commission will decide whether to make the proposed consent order final. Interested parties can submit written comments electronically or in paper form by following the instructions in the “Invitation To Comment” part of the “Supplementary Information” section. Comments can be submitted electronically via the Commission’s comment submission page. Comments in paper form should be mailed or delivered to: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-113 (Annex D), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. The FTC is requesting that any comment filed in paper form near the end of the public comment period be sent by courier or overnight service, if possible, because U.S. postal mail in the Washington area and at the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security precautions.
NOTE: The Commission issues an administrative complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. When the Commission issues a consent order on a final basis, it carries the force of law with respect to future actions. Each violation of such an order may result in a civil penalty of up to $16,000.
Android Flashlight App Developer Settles FTC Charges It Deceived Consumers
'Brightest Flashlight' App Shared Users' Location, Device ID Without Consumers' Knowledge.
The creator of one of the most popular apps for Android mobile devices has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the free app, which allows a device to be used as a flashlight, deceived consumers about how their geolocation information would be shared with advertising networks and other third parties.
Goldenshores Technologies, LLC, managed by Erik M. Geidl, is the company behind the “Brightest Flashlight Free” app, which has been downloaded tens of millions of times by users of the Android operating system. The FTC’s complaint alleges that the company’s privacy policy deceptively failed to disclose that the app transmitted users’ precise location and unique device identifier to third parties, including advertising networks. In addition, the complaint alleges that the company deceived consumers by presenting them with an option to not share their information, even though it was shared automatically rendering the option meaningless.
“When consumers are given a real, informed choice, they can decide for themselves whether the benefit of a service is worth the information they must share to use it,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “But this flashlight app left them in the dark about how their information was going to be used.”
In its complaint, the FTC alleges that Goldenshores’ privacy policy told consumers that any information collected by the Brightest Flashlight app would be used by the company, and listed some categories of information that it might collect. The policy, however, did not mention that the information would also be sent to third parties, such as advertising networks.
Consumers also were presented with a false choice when they downloaded the app, according to the complaint. Upon first opening the app, they were shown the company’s End User License Agreement, which included information on data collection. At the bottom of the license agreement, consumers could click to “Accept” or “Refuse” the terms of the agreement. Even before a consumer had a chance to accept those terms, though, the application was already collecting and sending information to third parties – including location and the unique device identifier.
The settlement with the FTC prohibits the defendants from misrepresenting how consumers’ information is collected and shared and how much control consumers have over the way their information is used. The settlement also requires the defendants to provide a just-in-time disclosure that fully informs consumers when, how, and why their geolocation information is being collected, used and shared, and requires defendants to obtain consumers’ affirmative express consent before doing so.
The defendants also will be required to delete any personal information collected from consumers through the Brightest Flashlight app.
The Commission vote to accept the consent agreement package containing the proposed consent order for public comment was 4-0.
The FTC will publish a description of the consent agreement package in the Federal Register shortly. The agreement will be subject to public comment for 30 days, beginning today and continuing through Jan. 6, 2014, after which the Commission will decide whether to make the proposed consent order final. Interested parties can submit written comments electronically or in paper form by following the instructions in the “Invitation To Comment” part of the “Supplementary Information” section. Comments can be submitted electronically via the Commission’s comment submission page. Comments in paper form should be mailed or delivered to: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, Room H-113 (Annex D), 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. The FTC is requesting that any comment filed in paper form near the end of the public comment period be sent by courier or overnight service, if possible, because U.S. postal mail in the Washington area and at the Commission is subject to delay due to heightened security precautions.
NOTE: The Commission issues an administrative complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. When the Commission issues a consent order on a final basis, it carries the force of law with respect to future actions. Each violation of such an order may result in a civil penalty of up to $16,000.
ANTIQUES DEALER SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR SMUGGLING ARTIFACTS MADE FROM RHINOCEROS HORNS
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Thursday, December 5, 2013
New York Antiques Dealer Sentenced to 37 Months in Prison for Wildlife Smuggling
Wang Smuggled Artifacts Carved from Rhinoceros Horns from New York to China.
Qiang Wang, aka Jeffrey Wang, a New York antiques dealer, was sentenced in federal court in Manhattan today to 37 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to smuggle Asian artifacts made from rhinoceros horns and ivory and violate wildlife trafficking laws, announced Robert G. Dreher, the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice, Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Dan Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Wang was arrested in February 2013 as part of “Operation Crash,” a nation-wide crackdown in the illegal trafficking in rhinoceros horns, for his role in smuggling “libation cups” carved from rhinoceros horns from New York to China. Wang was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest of the Southern District of New York.
“Smuggling wildlife artifacts made from rhino horn and elephant ivory undermines the international conservation protections put in place to save these species from extinction ,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Dreher. “This is an active and ongoing investigation that is designed to send a clear message to buyers and sellers that we will vigorousl y investigate and prosecute those who are involved in this devastating trade.”
“With his sentence today, Qiang Wang is held accountable for his role in feeding the flourishing black market for artifacts made from endangered species,” said U.S. Attorney Bharara. “This Office will continue its work to prosecute those who contribute to the illegal wildlife trade, and to uphold the rules designed to protect wildlife.”
“ We’re reaching a tipping point, where the unprecedented slaughter of rhinos and elephants happening now threatens the viability of these iconic species’ wild populations in Africa,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe. “.This slaughter is fueled by illegal trade, including that exposed by Operation Crash. We will continue to work relentlessly across the United States government and with our international partners to crack down on poaching and wildlife trafficking.”
According to the information, plea agreement and statements made during court proceedings:
In China, there is a tradition dating back centuries of intricately carving rhinoceros horn cups. Drinking from such a cup was believed by some to bring good health, and antique carvings are highly prized by collectors. Libation cups and other ornamental carvings are particularly sought after in China and in other Asian countries, as well as in the United States. The escalating value of such items has resulted in an increased demand for rhinoceros horn that has helped fuel a thriving black market, including fake antiques made from more recently hunted rhinoceros.
In pleading guilty, Wang admitted to participating in a conspiracy to smuggle objects carved from rhinoceros horn and elephant ivory out of the United States knowing that it was illegal to export such items without required permits. Due to their dwindling populations, all rhinoceros and elephant species are protected under international trade agreements. Wang falsely labeled the packages in order to conceal the true contents and did not declare them as required. Special Agents with the U.S Fish & Wildlife Service executed a search of Wang’s apartment in Flushing, New York, and found documents showing Wang was involved in buying rhino horn and ivory artifacts and smuggling them to China. Agents seized two ivory carvings, including one found hidden behind Wang’s bed that were forfeited as part of the sentence. Numerous photographs of raw and carved rhinoceros horn, including approximately 10 different raw rhinoceros horns, were found on Wang’s computer and telephone consistent with a common practice of emailing or texting photographs of items for sale in order to receive instructions on whether to purchase the items and how much to pay. According to prosecutors, Wang had told other dealers that he was seeking raw rhino horns to send to China.
In sentencing Wang , Judge Forrest said that his behavior helped “create and sustain a marketplace for goods made from endangered wildlife.” Judge Forrest also said that Wang’s conduct was “illegal and extremely troubling.”
In addition to the prison term, Judge Forrest ordered Wang, 34, of Flushing, N.Y., to forfeit certain ivory goods in his possession, and banned him from all future trade in elephant ivory and rhino horn. Wang was also sentenced to serve a term of three years of supervised release.
Rhinoceros are an herbivore species of prehistoric origin and one of the largest remaining mega-fauna on earth. They have no known predators other than humans. All species of rhinoceros are protected under United States and international law. Since 1976, trade in rhinoceros horn has been regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a treaty signed by over 170 countries around the world to protect fish, wildlife and plants that are or may become imperiled due to the demands of international markets.
Operation Crash is a continuing investigation being conducted by the Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), in coordination with other federal and local law enforcement agencies including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. A “crash” is the term for a herd of rhinoceros. Operation Crash is an ongoing effort to detect, deter and prosecute those engaged in the illegal killing of rhinoceros and the unlawful trafficking of rhinoceros horns.
The investigation by was handled by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Attorney’s Office Complex Frauds Unit and the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section, with assistance from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation . Assistant U.S. Attorney Janis M. Echenberg and Senior Counsel Richard A. Udell of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section are in charge of the prosecution.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
New York Antiques Dealer Sentenced to 37 Months in Prison for Wildlife Smuggling
Wang Smuggled Artifacts Carved from Rhinoceros Horns from New York to China.
Qiang Wang, aka Jeffrey Wang, a New York antiques dealer, was sentenced in federal court in Manhattan today to 37 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for conspiracy to smuggle Asian artifacts made from rhinoceros horns and ivory and violate wildlife trafficking laws, announced Robert G. Dreher, the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice, Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Dan Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Wang was arrested in February 2013 as part of “Operation Crash,” a nation-wide crackdown in the illegal trafficking in rhinoceros horns, for his role in smuggling “libation cups” carved from rhinoceros horns from New York to China. Wang was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Katherine B. Forrest of the Southern District of New York.
“Smuggling wildlife artifacts made from rhino horn and elephant ivory undermines the international conservation protections put in place to save these species from extinction ,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Dreher. “This is an active and ongoing investigation that is designed to send a clear message to buyers and sellers that we will vigorousl y investigate and prosecute those who are involved in this devastating trade.”
“With his sentence today, Qiang Wang is held accountable for his role in feeding the flourishing black market for artifacts made from endangered species,” said U.S. Attorney Bharara. “This Office will continue its work to prosecute those who contribute to the illegal wildlife trade, and to uphold the rules designed to protect wildlife.”
“ We’re reaching a tipping point, where the unprecedented slaughter of rhinos and elephants happening now threatens the viability of these iconic species’ wild populations in Africa,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe. “.This slaughter is fueled by illegal trade, including that exposed by Operation Crash. We will continue to work relentlessly across the United States government and with our international partners to crack down on poaching and wildlife trafficking.”
According to the information, plea agreement and statements made during court proceedings:
In China, there is a tradition dating back centuries of intricately carving rhinoceros horn cups. Drinking from such a cup was believed by some to bring good health, and antique carvings are highly prized by collectors. Libation cups and other ornamental carvings are particularly sought after in China and in other Asian countries, as well as in the United States. The escalating value of such items has resulted in an increased demand for rhinoceros horn that has helped fuel a thriving black market, including fake antiques made from more recently hunted rhinoceros.
In pleading guilty, Wang admitted to participating in a conspiracy to smuggle objects carved from rhinoceros horn and elephant ivory out of the United States knowing that it was illegal to export such items without required permits. Due to their dwindling populations, all rhinoceros and elephant species are protected under international trade agreements. Wang falsely labeled the packages in order to conceal the true contents and did not declare them as required. Special Agents with the U.S Fish & Wildlife Service executed a search of Wang’s apartment in Flushing, New York, and found documents showing Wang was involved in buying rhino horn and ivory artifacts and smuggling them to China. Agents seized two ivory carvings, including one found hidden behind Wang’s bed that were forfeited as part of the sentence. Numerous photographs of raw and carved rhinoceros horn, including approximately 10 different raw rhinoceros horns, were found on Wang’s computer and telephone consistent with a common practice of emailing or texting photographs of items for sale in order to receive instructions on whether to purchase the items and how much to pay. According to prosecutors, Wang had told other dealers that he was seeking raw rhino horns to send to China.
In sentencing Wang , Judge Forrest said that his behavior helped “create and sustain a marketplace for goods made from endangered wildlife.” Judge Forrest also said that Wang’s conduct was “illegal and extremely troubling.”
In addition to the prison term, Judge Forrest ordered Wang, 34, of Flushing, N.Y., to forfeit certain ivory goods in his possession, and banned him from all future trade in elephant ivory and rhino horn. Wang was also sentenced to serve a term of three years of supervised release.
Rhinoceros are an herbivore species of prehistoric origin and one of the largest remaining mega-fauna on earth. They have no known predators other than humans. All species of rhinoceros are protected under United States and international law. Since 1976, trade in rhinoceros horn has been regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), a treaty signed by over 170 countries around the world to protect fish, wildlife and plants that are or may become imperiled due to the demands of international markets.
Operation Crash is a continuing investigation being conducted by the Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), in coordination with other federal and local law enforcement agencies including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. A “crash” is the term for a herd of rhinoceros. Operation Crash is an ongoing effort to detect, deter and prosecute those engaged in the illegal killing of rhinoceros and the unlawful trafficking of rhinoceros horns.
The investigation by was handled by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Attorney’s Office Complex Frauds Unit and the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section, with assistance from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation . Assistant U.S. Attorney Janis M. Echenberg and Senior Counsel Richard A. Udell of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section are in charge of the prosecution.
NSF EMPLOYEE PLEADS GUILTY TO STEALING FROM GOVERNMENT
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Friday, December 6, 2013
Information Technology Specialist at National Science Foundation Pleads Guilty to Stealing $90,000 from Government
An information technology specialist working for the National Science Foundation (NSF) pleaded guilty late yesterday to theft of government property totaling more than $90,000, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia.
According to court records, James Troy Clark, 51, of Fredericksburg, Va., was responsible for purchasing information technology supplies and services for his office at NSF using government-issued purchase cards. From 2010 through July 2013, Clark used these purchase cards to purchase items for his personal use and the personal use of others, including cellular telephones and the attendant monthly service charges for those phones; multiple laptop computers and tablets; thousands of dollars in movies, music, and other content from the Apple iTunes store; and numerous other electronic devices and accessories.
The total amount of purchases made by Clark for his and others’ personal use was approximately $94,493. Clark faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison when he is sentenced on Feb. 21, 2014.
The case was investigated by National Science Foundation’s Office of Inspector General. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Kevin Driscoll and Menaka Kalaskar of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Mark D. Lytle of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Friday, December 6, 2013
Information Technology Specialist at National Science Foundation Pleads Guilty to Stealing $90,000 from Government
An information technology specialist working for the National Science Foundation (NSF) pleaded guilty late yesterday to theft of government property totaling more than $90,000, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Acting U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia.
According to court records, James Troy Clark, 51, of Fredericksburg, Va., was responsible for purchasing information technology supplies and services for his office at NSF using government-issued purchase cards. From 2010 through July 2013, Clark used these purchase cards to purchase items for his personal use and the personal use of others, including cellular telephones and the attendant monthly service charges for those phones; multiple laptop computers and tablets; thousands of dollars in movies, music, and other content from the Apple iTunes store; and numerous other electronic devices and accessories.
The total amount of purchases made by Clark for his and others’ personal use was approximately $94,493. Clark faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison when he is sentenced on Feb. 21, 2014.
The case was investigated by National Science Foundation’s Office of Inspector General. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Kevin Driscoll and Menaka Kalaskar of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Mark D. Lytle of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE HAGEL VISITS TROOPS IN AFGHANISTAN
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Hagel Brings Holiday Wishes, Listening Ear to Afghanistan
By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service
KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 8, 2013 – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spent a full day today with two sets of people he seldom sees in Washington: deployed U.S. troops and Afghan military leaders.
Hagel left Afghanistan’s capital this morning and flew south -- first to NATO International Security Assistance Force’s Regional Command Southwest, which includes Helmand and Nimroz provinces, and then to Regional Command South, which encompasses Kandahar, Zabul, Uruzgan and Daykundi provinces.
Hagel brought holiday wishes, thanks and reassurance to troops at both Camp Bastion in Helmand and at Kandahar Airfield. Both places, he noted in his talks, have consistently been combat hot spots during the long war here.
“I want you to know how much President Obama and our country appreciate what you’re doing,” he said in Helmand. “I know more than occasionally you wonder if anybody’s paying attention, whether anybody cares -- but we do. Our country cares. We do know what you’re doing, and we appreciate it very much.”
Hagel told the men and women in uniform standing in ranks before him in both hard-frame tents -- the “Camp Leatherneck town hall” in Helmand and the “fest tent” in Kandahar -- that they’ve made an astounding difference to Afghanistan’s fight against terrorism.
Warm weather and sandy terrain disguise the season down south, but both of the expansive, yet austere, bases the secretary visited today were decked with Christmas trees, lights and other holiday decorations amid the plywood and aluminum buildings that mark a U.S. outpost.
“I know this is a tough time, especially [with] the holiday season coming,” the secretary said. “You’re away from your families and your home, so I know it’s a particularly difficult. I want you to tell your families how much we appreciate their work, their sacrifices, and their service, as they support you.”
During both visits, service members asked Hagel about the military’s budget. He responded that he sees some hope for progress from Congress.
“There is some speculation in Washington that there may be a budget deal … when both the House and the Senate come back into session, which may well give us two years of budget certainty and reduce the current level of sequestration,” he said in Helmand.
The secretary noted that currently, the military faces a second sequestration cut of more than $50 billion this fiscal year, following a $32 billion reduction previously programmed into this fiscal year’s allocation.
No matter the cuts the military faces next fiscal year and beyond, Hagel said, the department’s leaders will prioritize people, readiness and combat power. “You will get everything you need to do your mission,” he said.
In Kandahar, he told his audience they and all of America’s forces are the most talented and motivated, best-educated, best-trained, best-equipped and best-led military the world has ever seen. “That requires a commitment from the nation,” he said. “Are they willing to pay for that? Are they willing to pay for the best and the brightest?”
The secretary also discussed the stalled bilateral security agreement that is intended to set conditions for a follow-on mission when ISAF concludes at the end of 2014.
“I know this is a time of great uncertainty for you,” the secretary said, noting that the degree of U.S. and international involvement in Afghanistan in 2015 and beyond is unclear until that agreement is in place. Hagel said he knows that uncertainty leaves troops wondering, “Will we be here? How long will we be here?”
Those unknowns can make the troops’ jobs harder, he acknowledged. “I want to reassure you we will work through this,” he pledged.
“We are making huge investments here for the future of this country,” Hagel said. “Thank you for your continued focus on your jobs [and] what you’re doing for your country. It matters, [and] it will continue to matter.”
The secretary said the Afghan national security forces have been doing “a very good job of transitioning to their full capabilities and responsibilities.” Valid and important missions nonetheless remain for U.S. troops and coalition partners in sustaining the still-fragile Afghan forces, he said: countering terrorism and training, advising and assisting the Afghan forces.
“There is a role for our coalition partners and the United States here, but that depends on the people of Afghanistan,” the secretary said.
A senior defense official who accompanied Hagel on today’s travels told reporters also on the road with the secretary that the Afghan military commanders Hagel spoke with today all said they still want help in sustainment -- particularly, learning to manage maintenance: supply chains, ordering, distribution and scheduling.
The Afghan national security forces have developed remarkably rapidly over the summer fighting season and show significant improvement, the official said, “but they still have some needs.”
“Every Afghan the secretary spoke to was crystal clear,” the official said. “It’s time to sign the [bilateral security agreement].” And all Afghans who Hagel saw today similarly expressed confidence that their president, Hamid Karzai, will sign the agreement in a timely manner, he added.
“I certainly hope they’re right,” the senior official said, noting that planning any future contributions in the absence of that accord is extremely difficult for the United States and its allies.
Hagel, who will travel tomorrow to Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, wrapped up his remarks to troops at Helmand with a holiday wish.
“I hope Santa stops in Afghanistan,” he said. “I know you’ve all been good. We’re very proud of you, and we’re proud of your families.”
Hagel Brings Holiday Wishes, Listening Ear to Afghanistan
By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service
KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 8, 2013 – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel spent a full day today with two sets of people he seldom sees in Washington: deployed U.S. troops and Afghan military leaders.
Hagel left Afghanistan’s capital this morning and flew south -- first to NATO International Security Assistance Force’s Regional Command Southwest, which includes Helmand and Nimroz provinces, and then to Regional Command South, which encompasses Kandahar, Zabul, Uruzgan and Daykundi provinces.
Hagel brought holiday wishes, thanks and reassurance to troops at both Camp Bastion in Helmand and at Kandahar Airfield. Both places, he noted in his talks, have consistently been combat hot spots during the long war here.
“I want you to know how much President Obama and our country appreciate what you’re doing,” he said in Helmand. “I know more than occasionally you wonder if anybody’s paying attention, whether anybody cares -- but we do. Our country cares. We do know what you’re doing, and we appreciate it very much.”
Hagel told the men and women in uniform standing in ranks before him in both hard-frame tents -- the “Camp Leatherneck town hall” in Helmand and the “fest tent” in Kandahar -- that they’ve made an astounding difference to Afghanistan’s fight against terrorism.
Warm weather and sandy terrain disguise the season down south, but both of the expansive, yet austere, bases the secretary visited today were decked with Christmas trees, lights and other holiday decorations amid the plywood and aluminum buildings that mark a U.S. outpost.
“I know this is a tough time, especially [with] the holiday season coming,” the secretary said. “You’re away from your families and your home, so I know it’s a particularly difficult. I want you to tell your families how much we appreciate their work, their sacrifices, and their service, as they support you.”
During both visits, service members asked Hagel about the military’s budget. He responded that he sees some hope for progress from Congress.
“There is some speculation in Washington that there may be a budget deal … when both the House and the Senate come back into session, which may well give us two years of budget certainty and reduce the current level of sequestration,” he said in Helmand.
The secretary noted that currently, the military faces a second sequestration cut of more than $50 billion this fiscal year, following a $32 billion reduction previously programmed into this fiscal year’s allocation.
No matter the cuts the military faces next fiscal year and beyond, Hagel said, the department’s leaders will prioritize people, readiness and combat power. “You will get everything you need to do your mission,” he said.
In Kandahar, he told his audience they and all of America’s forces are the most talented and motivated, best-educated, best-trained, best-equipped and best-led military the world has ever seen. “That requires a commitment from the nation,” he said. “Are they willing to pay for that? Are they willing to pay for the best and the brightest?”
The secretary also discussed the stalled bilateral security agreement that is intended to set conditions for a follow-on mission when ISAF concludes at the end of 2014.
“I know this is a time of great uncertainty for you,” the secretary said, noting that the degree of U.S. and international involvement in Afghanistan in 2015 and beyond is unclear until that agreement is in place. Hagel said he knows that uncertainty leaves troops wondering, “Will we be here? How long will we be here?”
Those unknowns can make the troops’ jobs harder, he acknowledged. “I want to reassure you we will work through this,” he pledged.
“We are making huge investments here for the future of this country,” Hagel said. “Thank you for your continued focus on your jobs [and] what you’re doing for your country. It matters, [and] it will continue to matter.”
The secretary said the Afghan national security forces have been doing “a very good job of transitioning to their full capabilities and responsibilities.” Valid and important missions nonetheless remain for U.S. troops and coalition partners in sustaining the still-fragile Afghan forces, he said: countering terrorism and training, advising and assisting the Afghan forces.
“There is a role for our coalition partners and the United States here, but that depends on the people of Afghanistan,” the secretary said.
A senior defense official who accompanied Hagel on today’s travels told reporters also on the road with the secretary that the Afghan military commanders Hagel spoke with today all said they still want help in sustainment -- particularly, learning to manage maintenance: supply chains, ordering, distribution and scheduling.
The Afghan national security forces have developed remarkably rapidly over the summer fighting season and show significant improvement, the official said, “but they still have some needs.”
“Every Afghan the secretary spoke to was crystal clear,” the official said. “It’s time to sign the [bilateral security agreement].” And all Afghans who Hagel saw today similarly expressed confidence that their president, Hamid Karzai, will sign the agreement in a timely manner, he added.
“I certainly hope they’re right,” the senior official said, noting that planning any future contributions in the absence of that accord is extremely difficult for the United States and its allies.
Hagel, who will travel tomorrow to Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, wrapped up his remarks to troops at Helmand with a holiday wish.
“I hope Santa stops in Afghanistan,” he said. “I know you’ve all been good. We’re very proud of you, and we’re proud of your families.”
FORMER PRESIDENT WATER FREIGHT CARRIER COMPANY SENTENCED TO PRISON IN RATE FIXING CASE
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Friday, December 6, 2013
Former Sea Star Line President Sentenced to Serve Five Years in Prison for Role in Price-Fixing Conspiracy Involving Coastal Freight Services Between the Continental United States and Puerto Rico
The former president of Sea Star Line LLC, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based water freight carrier, was sentenced to serve five years in prison and to pay a $25,000 criminal fine for his participation in a conspiracy to fix rates and surcharges for freight transported by water between the continental United States and Puerto Rico, the Department of Justice announced today.
Frank Peake was sentenced today by Judge Daniel R. Dominguez in U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico in San Juan. Peake’s two-week trial took place in January 2013.
“The sentence imposed today reflects the serious harm these conspirators inflicted on American consumers, both in the continental United States and in Puerto Rico,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division will continue to vigorously prosecute executives who collude to fix prices at the expense of consumers.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Peake and his co-conspirators conspired through meetings and other communications in the continental United States and Puerto Rico to fix, stabilize and maintain rates and surcharges for Puerto Rico freight services, to allocate customers of Puerto Rico freight services between and among the conspirators and to rig bids submitted to customers of Puerto Rico freight services. Peake was involved in the conspiracy from at least late 2005 until at least April 2008.
As a result of the ongoing investigation, the three largest water freight carriers serving routes between the continental United States and Puerto Rico, including Peake’s former employer Sea Star, have pleaded guilty and been ordered to pay more than $46 million in criminal fines for their roles in the conspiracy. Sea Star pleaded guilty on Dec. 20, 2011, and was sentenced by Judge Dominguez to pay a $14.2 million criminal fine. Sea Star transports a variety of cargo shipments, such as heavy equipment, perishable food items, medicines and consumer goods, on scheduled ocean voyages between the continental United States and Puerto Rico.
Peake and five other individuals have been ordered to serve prison sentences ranging from seven months to five years. Additionally, Thomas Farmer, the former vice president of price and yield management of Crowley Liner Services, was indicted in March 2013 for his role in the conspiracy and is scheduled to go to trial in May 2014.
This case is part of an ongoing investigation being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.
Friday, December 6, 2013
Former Sea Star Line President Sentenced to Serve Five Years in Prison for Role in Price-Fixing Conspiracy Involving Coastal Freight Services Between the Continental United States and Puerto Rico
The former president of Sea Star Line LLC, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based water freight carrier, was sentenced to serve five years in prison and to pay a $25,000 criminal fine for his participation in a conspiracy to fix rates and surcharges for freight transported by water between the continental United States and Puerto Rico, the Department of Justice announced today.
Frank Peake was sentenced today by Judge Daniel R. Dominguez in U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico in San Juan. Peake’s two-week trial took place in January 2013.
“The sentence imposed today reflects the serious harm these conspirators inflicted on American consumers, both in the continental United States and in Puerto Rico,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division will continue to vigorously prosecute executives who collude to fix prices at the expense of consumers.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Peake and his co-conspirators conspired through meetings and other communications in the continental United States and Puerto Rico to fix, stabilize and maintain rates and surcharges for Puerto Rico freight services, to allocate customers of Puerto Rico freight services between and among the conspirators and to rig bids submitted to customers of Puerto Rico freight services. Peake was involved in the conspiracy from at least late 2005 until at least April 2008.
As a result of the ongoing investigation, the three largest water freight carriers serving routes between the continental United States and Puerto Rico, including Peake’s former employer Sea Star, have pleaded guilty and been ordered to pay more than $46 million in criminal fines for their roles in the conspiracy. Sea Star pleaded guilty on Dec. 20, 2011, and was sentenced by Judge Dominguez to pay a $14.2 million criminal fine. Sea Star transports a variety of cargo shipments, such as heavy equipment, perishable food items, medicines and consumer goods, on scheduled ocean voyages between the continental United States and Puerto Rico.
Peake and five other individuals have been ordered to serve prison sentences ranging from seven months to five years. Additionally, Thomas Farmer, the former vice president of price and yield management of Crowley Liner Services, was indicted in March 2013 for his role in the conspiracy and is scheduled to go to trial in May 2014.
This case is part of an ongoing investigation being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE HAGEL DISCUSSES WAY FORWARD IN THE MIDDLE EAST
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Hagel Outlines U.S. Posture, Way Ahead in Middle East
By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service
MANAMA, Bahrain, Dec. 7, 2013 – In a speech before the Manama Dialogue security conference here today, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel emphasized the strength of America’s presence in the Middle East and called for closer cooperation with the Gulf states.
The six-month interim agreement aimed at preventing Iran from producing nuclear weapons reached in November between Iran and the five permanent member of the United Nations Security Council -- the United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom and France -- plus Germany, Hagel said, will not alter U.S. presence or determination in the region.
“It is only a first step,” he said. “But it could be an important step. It halts any further expansion of Iran’s nuclear program, begins to roll it back in important ways, and provides sweeping access to verify … Iran’s intentions.”
The Defense Department will not adjust its forces in the region or its military planning as a result of the interim agreement with Iran, the secretary said.
“We have bought time for meaningful negotiation, not for deception,” Hagel said. “All of us are clear-eyed … about the challenges that remain to achieving a comprehensive nuclear solution with Iran.”
He noted that in Syria, international pressure and the threat of U.S. military action created an opening for diplomacy with Russia. That led to a U.N. Security Council resolution and the involvement of the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons, which put inspectors on the ground in Syria to oversee the removal and destruction of the Assad regime’s chemical weapons.
“We remain on track to destroy Syria’s arsenal of chemical weapons,” the secretary said. “The United States is working closely with our key allies and the international community in this process and has offered its unique technical capabilities and technology to help dispose of these weapons. … Once the destruction is complete, a major chemical weapons threat will be eliminated. This will benefit the entire region and the world.”
Issues remain in Syria, Hagel said, but he vowed to work with regional partners to find a political settlement to the conflict.
“We must also confront the rise of violent extremist groups in Syria, and we must work together to ensure that our assistance to the opposition does not fall into the wrong hands,” he cautioned. The secretary noted that humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people remains a serious concern.
“The United States is the largest donor of humanitarian aid for displaced Syrians, and we will continue to support Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey as they provide refuge for victims of the conflict,” the secretary said. “The Syrian regime must also allow humanitarian assistance to reach the Syrian people.”
Hagel pointed out that the potent threat of U.S. military intervention helped to spur progress in resolving the nuclear and chemical weapons threats posed by Iran and Syria respectively, though each country continues to pose regional challenges.
The secretary set out the U.S. presence here: ground, air and sea forces number more than 35,000 U.S. troops in the Gulf area, he said, including “more than 10,000 forward-deployed soldiers in the region, along with heavy armor, artillery, and attack helicopters, to serve as a theater reserve and a bulwark against aggression.”
The secretary said the United States has deployed its most advanced aircraft, including F-22 fighters, throughout the region “to ensure that we can quickly respond to contingencies. Coupled with our unique munitions, no target is beyond our reach.”
The United States also employs its most advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets here to provide a continuous picture of activities in and around the Gulf, Hagel said.
“And we have fielded an array of missile defense capabilities -– including ballistic missile defense ships, Patriot [surface-to-air missile] batteries, and sophisticated radar,” he added.
To ensure freedom of navigation throughout the Gulf, the secretary said, the Navy routinely maintains a presence of more than 40 ships in the broader region, including a carrier strike group, and conducts a range of freedom-of-navigation operations.
“These operations include approximately 50 transits of the Strait of Hormuz over the past six months,” he noted.
The Navy has added five coastal patrol ships to U.S. 5th Fleet here this year, the secretary said, and has ramped up its minesweeping capabilities. DOD also will invest $580 million in a construction program to support expanding 5th Fleet capabilities, Hagel said.
“Yesterday, I visited the Navy’s new afloat forward staging base, the USS Ponce,” he said, calling the ship “a unique platform for special operations, as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, in areas where we do not have a permanent, fixed presence.”
Hagel said during this trip, he also will meet with U.S. service members stationed at the Combined Air Operations Center in Qatar, “where we have representatives from our [Gulf Cooperation Council] partners training and working together.”
Hagel called for closer multilateral coordination among council members, the Persian Gulf states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
He offered three avenues the United States would like to pursue toward that end:
-- A unified focus on missile defense through the regional Air and Air Defense Chiefs’ Conference, which meets several times a year;
-- Making the Gulf Cooperation Council as an entity eligible for the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program; and
-- Convening a regular forum, beginning within six months, where U.S. and Gulf defense leaders come together annually to assess progress and threats in regional security.
These measures constitute “a natural next step in improving U.S.-GCC collaboration,” Hagel said, adding that foreign military sales “will enable the GCC to acquire critical military capabilities, including items for ballistic missile defense, maritime security and counter-terrorism.”
The secretary noted that during his last trip to the region, in April, “we finalized agreements worth nearly $11 billion that will provide access to high-end capabilities including F-15s, F-16s and advanced munitions such as standoff weapons.” These capabilities are the most advanced the United States has ever provided to the region, he said.
“We will continue to ensure that all of our allies and partners in the region – including both Israel and the Gulf States – have these advanced weapons,” the secretary pledged.
In the future, Hagel said, the Defense Department will place even more emphasis on building the capacity of regional partners to complement the strong, proven and enduring U.S. military presence in the region.
“Nations are stronger, not weaker, when they work together against common threats,” the secretary said. “Closer cooperation between the GCC and the United States is in all of our countries’ interests.”
This year’s Manama Dialogue, the ninth of its kind, drew hundreds of delegates from more than 20 countries. Other speakers at the gathering included representatives from Bahrain, the United Kingdom, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Egypt, Iraq, India, Qatar, Canada and Norway.
Yesterday, Hagel met here with Saudi Arabian Deputy Defense Minister Prince Salman bin Sultan to discuss regional issues, including Iran, Egypt and Syria. Assistant Pentagon Press Secretary Carl Woog said the secretary underscored in that meeting the strength of the bilateral relationship and noted that defense partnership is key in maintaining the long-standing ties between the two countries. Hagel said the United States remains committed to regional security and stability, a shared objective with Saudi Arabia, Woog reported.
The secretary indicated U.S.-Saudi defense cooperation is essential to maintaining the two nations’ shared priorities. He highlighted the Saudi purchase of F-15SA aircraft and advanced weapons as an example of future of improved interoperability and coordination between both militaries, Woog said. The defense secretary will visit Saudi Arabia on Dec. 9.
Hagel also met yesterday at the Safria Palace here with King Hamad al Khalifa of Bahrain.
Hagel and the king discussed the long history of the –U.S.-Bahrain bilateral relationship, Woog said. The secretary emphasized U.S. commitment to Gulf security, and the two exchanged views on shared regional security challenges, including Iran and the signed joint plan of action between the P5+1 and Iran.
The meeting included significant discussion of reform in Bahrain and the importance of political inclusiveness for long-term stability. The secretary thanked the king for hosting the U.S. 5th Fleet and for Bahrain’s ongoing security cooperation, Woog said.
Hagel Outlines U.S. Posture, Way Ahead in Middle East
By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service
MANAMA, Bahrain, Dec. 7, 2013 – In a speech before the Manama Dialogue security conference here today, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel emphasized the strength of America’s presence in the Middle East and called for closer cooperation with the Gulf states.
The six-month interim agreement aimed at preventing Iran from producing nuclear weapons reached in November between Iran and the five permanent member of the United Nations Security Council -- the United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom and France -- plus Germany, Hagel said, will not alter U.S. presence or determination in the region.
“It is only a first step,” he said. “But it could be an important step. It halts any further expansion of Iran’s nuclear program, begins to roll it back in important ways, and provides sweeping access to verify … Iran’s intentions.”
The Defense Department will not adjust its forces in the region or its military planning as a result of the interim agreement with Iran, the secretary said.
“We have bought time for meaningful negotiation, not for deception,” Hagel said. “All of us are clear-eyed … about the challenges that remain to achieving a comprehensive nuclear solution with Iran.”
He noted that in Syria, international pressure and the threat of U.S. military action created an opening for diplomacy with Russia. That led to a U.N. Security Council resolution and the involvement of the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons, which put inspectors on the ground in Syria to oversee the removal and destruction of the Assad regime’s chemical weapons.
“We remain on track to destroy Syria’s arsenal of chemical weapons,” the secretary said. “The United States is working closely with our key allies and the international community in this process and has offered its unique technical capabilities and technology to help dispose of these weapons. … Once the destruction is complete, a major chemical weapons threat will be eliminated. This will benefit the entire region and the world.”
Issues remain in Syria, Hagel said, but he vowed to work with regional partners to find a political settlement to the conflict.
“We must also confront the rise of violent extremist groups in Syria, and we must work together to ensure that our assistance to the opposition does not fall into the wrong hands,” he cautioned. The secretary noted that humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people remains a serious concern.
“The United States is the largest donor of humanitarian aid for displaced Syrians, and we will continue to support Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey as they provide refuge for victims of the conflict,” the secretary said. “The Syrian regime must also allow humanitarian assistance to reach the Syrian people.”
Hagel pointed out that the potent threat of U.S. military intervention helped to spur progress in resolving the nuclear and chemical weapons threats posed by Iran and Syria respectively, though each country continues to pose regional challenges.
The secretary set out the U.S. presence here: ground, air and sea forces number more than 35,000 U.S. troops in the Gulf area, he said, including “more than 10,000 forward-deployed soldiers in the region, along with heavy armor, artillery, and attack helicopters, to serve as a theater reserve and a bulwark against aggression.”
The secretary said the United States has deployed its most advanced aircraft, including F-22 fighters, throughout the region “to ensure that we can quickly respond to contingencies. Coupled with our unique munitions, no target is beyond our reach.”
The United States also employs its most advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets here to provide a continuous picture of activities in and around the Gulf, Hagel said.
“And we have fielded an array of missile defense capabilities -– including ballistic missile defense ships, Patriot [surface-to-air missile] batteries, and sophisticated radar,” he added.
To ensure freedom of navigation throughout the Gulf, the secretary said, the Navy routinely maintains a presence of more than 40 ships in the broader region, including a carrier strike group, and conducts a range of freedom-of-navigation operations.
“These operations include approximately 50 transits of the Strait of Hormuz over the past six months,” he noted.
The Navy has added five coastal patrol ships to U.S. 5th Fleet here this year, the secretary said, and has ramped up its minesweeping capabilities. DOD also will invest $580 million in a construction program to support expanding 5th Fleet capabilities, Hagel said.
“Yesterday, I visited the Navy’s new afloat forward staging base, the USS Ponce,” he said, calling the ship “a unique platform for special operations, as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, in areas where we do not have a permanent, fixed presence.”
Hagel said during this trip, he also will meet with U.S. service members stationed at the Combined Air Operations Center in Qatar, “where we have representatives from our [Gulf Cooperation Council] partners training and working together.”
Hagel called for closer multilateral coordination among council members, the Persian Gulf states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
He offered three avenues the United States would like to pursue toward that end:
-- A unified focus on missile defense through the regional Air and Air Defense Chiefs’ Conference, which meets several times a year;
-- Making the Gulf Cooperation Council as an entity eligible for the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program; and
-- Convening a regular forum, beginning within six months, where U.S. and Gulf defense leaders come together annually to assess progress and threats in regional security.
These measures constitute “a natural next step in improving U.S.-GCC collaboration,” Hagel said, adding that foreign military sales “will enable the GCC to acquire critical military capabilities, including items for ballistic missile defense, maritime security and counter-terrorism.”
The secretary noted that during his last trip to the region, in April, “we finalized agreements worth nearly $11 billion that will provide access to high-end capabilities including F-15s, F-16s and advanced munitions such as standoff weapons.” These capabilities are the most advanced the United States has ever provided to the region, he said.
“We will continue to ensure that all of our allies and partners in the region – including both Israel and the Gulf States – have these advanced weapons,” the secretary pledged.
In the future, Hagel said, the Defense Department will place even more emphasis on building the capacity of regional partners to complement the strong, proven and enduring U.S. military presence in the region.
“Nations are stronger, not weaker, when they work together against common threats,” the secretary said. “Closer cooperation between the GCC and the United States is in all of our countries’ interests.”
This year’s Manama Dialogue, the ninth of its kind, drew hundreds of delegates from more than 20 countries. Other speakers at the gathering included representatives from Bahrain, the United Kingdom, the Gulf Cooperation Council, Egypt, Iraq, India, Qatar, Canada and Norway.
Yesterday, Hagel met here with Saudi Arabian Deputy Defense Minister Prince Salman bin Sultan to discuss regional issues, including Iran, Egypt and Syria. Assistant Pentagon Press Secretary Carl Woog said the secretary underscored in that meeting the strength of the bilateral relationship and noted that defense partnership is key in maintaining the long-standing ties between the two countries. Hagel said the United States remains committed to regional security and stability, a shared objective with Saudi Arabia, Woog reported.
The secretary indicated U.S.-Saudi defense cooperation is essential to maintaining the two nations’ shared priorities. He highlighted the Saudi purchase of F-15SA aircraft and advanced weapons as an example of future of improved interoperability and coordination between both militaries, Woog said. The defense secretary will visit Saudi Arabia on Dec. 9.
Hagel also met yesterday at the Safria Palace here with King Hamad al Khalifa of Bahrain.
Hagel and the king discussed the long history of the –U.S.-Bahrain bilateral relationship, Woog said. The secretary emphasized U.S. commitment to Gulf security, and the two exchanged views on shared regional security challenges, including Iran and the signed joint plan of action between the P5+1 and Iran.
The meeting included significant discussion of reform in Bahrain and the importance of political inclusiveness for long-term stability. The secretary thanked the king for hosting the U.S. 5th Fleet and for Bahrain’s ongoing security cooperation, Woog said.
FOOD SAFETY AND INSPECTION SERVICE ISSUES FOOD SAFETY TIPS TO VICTIMS OF SEVERE STORMS
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
USDA Food Safety Tips for Areas Affected by Severe Storms
WASHINGTON, December 6, 2013—The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing food safety recommendations for those affected by the weather system moving across the Rockies to the Ohio Valley. Power outages that result from weather emergencies compromise the safety of stored food, but there are steps that can minimize food waste and the risk of foodborne illness.
Steps to follow if the power goes out:
Keep appliance thermometers in both the refrigerator and the freezer to ensure temperatures remain food safe during a power outage. Safe temperatures are 40°F or lower in the refrigerator, 0°F or lower in the freezer.
Freeze water in one-quart plastic storage bags or small containers prior to a storm. These containers are small enough to fit in around the food in the refrigerator and freezer to help keep food cold. Remember, water expands when it freezes so don’t overfill the containers.
Freeze refrigerated items, such as leftovers, milk and fresh meat and poultry that you may not need immediately—this helps keep them at a safe temperature longer.
Know where you can get dry ice or block ice.
Have coolers on hand to keep refrigerator food cold if the power will be out for more than four hours.
Group foods together in the freezer—this ‘igloo’ effect helps the food stay cold longer.
Avoid putting food outside in ice or snow, because it attracts wild animals or could thaw when the sun comes out.
Keep a few days’ worth of ready-to-eat foods that do not require cooking or cooling.
Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible.
A refrigerator will keep food cold for about 4 hours if the door is kept closed.
A full freezer will hold its temperature for about 48 hours (24 hours if half-full).
Place meat and poultry to one side of the freezer or on a tray to prevent cross contamination of thawing juices.
Use dry or block ice to keep the refrigerator as cold as possible during an extended power outage. Fifty pounds of dry ice should keep a fully-stocked 18-cubic-feet freezer cold for two days.
Steps to follow after a weather emergency:
Check the temperature inside of your refrigerator and freezer. Discard any perishable food (such as meat, poultry, seafood, eggs or leftovers) that has been above 40°F for two hours or more.
Check each item separately. Throw out any food that has an unusual odor, color or texture or feels warm to the touch.
Check frozen food for ice crystals. The food in your freezer that partially or completely thawed may be safely refrozen if it still contains ice crystals or is 40°F or below.
Never taste a food to decide if it’s safe.
When in doubt, throw it out.
USDA Food Safety Tips for Areas Affected by Severe Storms
WASHINGTON, December 6, 2013—The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing food safety recommendations for those affected by the weather system moving across the Rockies to the Ohio Valley. Power outages that result from weather emergencies compromise the safety of stored food, but there are steps that can minimize food waste and the risk of foodborne illness.
Steps to follow if the power goes out:
Keep appliance thermometers in both the refrigerator and the freezer to ensure temperatures remain food safe during a power outage. Safe temperatures are 40°F or lower in the refrigerator, 0°F or lower in the freezer.
Freeze water in one-quart plastic storage bags or small containers prior to a storm. These containers are small enough to fit in around the food in the refrigerator and freezer to help keep food cold. Remember, water expands when it freezes so don’t overfill the containers.
Freeze refrigerated items, such as leftovers, milk and fresh meat and poultry that you may not need immediately—this helps keep them at a safe temperature longer.
Know where you can get dry ice or block ice.
Have coolers on hand to keep refrigerator food cold if the power will be out for more than four hours.
Group foods together in the freezer—this ‘igloo’ effect helps the food stay cold longer.
Avoid putting food outside in ice or snow, because it attracts wild animals or could thaw when the sun comes out.
Keep a few days’ worth of ready-to-eat foods that do not require cooking or cooling.
Keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible.
A refrigerator will keep food cold for about 4 hours if the door is kept closed.
A full freezer will hold its temperature for about 48 hours (24 hours if half-full).
Place meat and poultry to one side of the freezer or on a tray to prevent cross contamination of thawing juices.
Use dry or block ice to keep the refrigerator as cold as possible during an extended power outage. Fifty pounds of dry ice should keep a fully-stocked 18-cubic-feet freezer cold for two days.
Steps to follow after a weather emergency:
Check the temperature inside of your refrigerator and freezer. Discard any perishable food (such as meat, poultry, seafood, eggs or leftovers) that has been above 40°F for two hours or more.
Check each item separately. Throw out any food that has an unusual odor, color or texture or feels warm to the touch.
Check frozen food for ice crystals. The food in your freezer that partially or completely thawed may be safely refrozen if it still contains ice crystals or is 40°F or below.
Never taste a food to decide if it’s safe.
When in doubt, throw it out.
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