Wednesday, October 1, 2014
DOD PHOTOS: U.S. PREPARES ARMOR ASSETS IN POLAND FOR OPERATION ATLANTIC RESOLVE
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
U.S. soldiers prepare to unload their armor assets from a rail line as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve near Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland, Sept. 28, 2014. U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. Benton Conque.
U.S. soldiers prepare to unload armor assets that have arrived near Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland, and will be used as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, Sept. 28, 2014. U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. Benton Conque.
U.S. CONGRATULATES PEOPLE OF NIGERIA ON THEIR INDEPENDENCE DAY
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Nigeria National Day Message
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
September 30, 2014
On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of Nigeria as you celebrate your Independence Day on October 1.
Our peoples enjoy an enduring partnership founded on shared values of democracy, security, and respect for human rights and the rule of law. The United States and Nigeria must continue working together to thwart destabilizing forces that would use violence to undo gains achieved to date through so much effort.
I was honored to speak with President Goodluck Jonathan at the United Nations General Assembly last week, and to welcome him to Washington, DC, this summer for the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit. We discussed how our two countries can deepen our partnership through trade and collaboration.
And weeks before, I shook hands with Beatrice Jedy-Agba—a courageous Nigerian woman who has devoted her life’s work to combatting human trafficking and bringing a peaceful, secure future to all Nigerians.
I wish all Nigerians a prosperous future on the 54th anniversary of your independence.
PAKISTANI INDICTED FOR SELLING SPYWARE APP FOR USE BY STALKERS/DOMESTIC ABUSERS
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Monday, September 29, 2014
Pakistani Man Indicted for Selling 'StealthGenie' Spyware App
A Pakistani man has been indicted in the Eastern District of Virginia for allegedly conspiring to advertise and sell StealthGenie, a spyware application (app) that could monitor calls, texts, videos and other communications on mobile phones without detection. This marks the first-ever criminal case concerning the advertisement and sale of a mobile device spyware app.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia and Assistant Director in Charge Andrew McCabe of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.
“Selling spyware is not just reprehensible, it’s a crime,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “Apps like StealthGenie are expressly designed for use by stalkers and domestic abusers who want to know every detail of a victim’s personal life – all without the victim’s knowledge. The Criminal Division is committed to cracking down on those who seek to profit from technology designed and used to commit brazen invasions of individual privacy.”
“StealthGenie has little use beyond invading a victim’s privacy” said U.S. Attorney Boente. “Advertising and selling spyware technology is a criminal offense, and such conduct will be aggressively pursued by this office and our law enforcement partners.”
“This application allegedly equips potential stalkers and criminals with a means to invade an individual’s confidential communications,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge McCabe. “They do this not by breaking into their homes or offices, but by physically installing spyware on unwitting victim’s phones and illegally tracking an individual’s every move. As technology continues to evolve, the FBI will investigate and bring to justice those who use illegal means to monitor and track individuals without their knowledge.”
According to allegations in the indictment, Hammad Akbar, 31, of Lahore, Pakistan, is the chief executive officer of InvoCode Pvt Ltd, the company that advertises and sells StealthGenie online. Akbar and his co-conspirators allegedly created the spyware, which could intercept communications to and from mobile phones, including Apple’s iPhone, Google’s Android, and Blackberry Limited’s Blackberry. StealthGenie was undetectable by most users and was advertised as being untraceable.
Akbar was charged in the indictment with conspiracy, sale of a surreptitious interception device, advertisement of a known interception device and advertising a device as a surreptitious interception device. He was arrested in Los Angeles on Sept. 27, 2014, and is expected to appear before a magistrate judge in the Central District of California later today.
StealthGenie was hosted at a data center in Ashburn, Virginia. On Sept. 26, 2014, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia issued a temporary restraining order authorizing the FBI to temporarily disable the website hosting StealthGenie.
The indictment alleges that StealthGenie’s capabilities included the following: it recorded all incoming/outgoing voice calls; it intercepted calls on the phone to be monitored while they take place; it allowed the purchaser to call the phone and activate it at any time to monitor all surrounding conversations within a 15-foot radius; and it allowed the purchaser to monitor the user’s incoming and outgoing e-mail messages and SMS messages, incoming voicemail messages, address book, calendar, photographs, and videos. All of these functions were enabled without the knowledge of the user of the phone.
Akbar and his co-conspirators allegedly programmed StealthGenie to synchronize communications intercepted by the app with the customer’s account so that the customer could review intercepted communications almost immediately from any computer with access to the Internet. To install the app, a purchaser needed to obtain physical control over the phone to be monitored for only a few minutes. The purchaser could then review communications intercepted from the monitored phone without ever again having physical control over the phone. Akbar and others alleged designed SteathGenie to be undetectable to users of the phone.
According to allegations in the indictment, the business plan for the development, sale and advertisement of StealthGenie stated that the target population for the marketing of the app was “[s]pousal cheat: Husband/Wife of (sic) boyfriend/girlfriend suspecting their other half of cheating or any other suspicious behaviour or if they just want to monitor them.” Language and testimonials on the StealthGenie website focused significantly on potential purchasers who did not have any ownership interest in the mobile phone to be monitored, including those suspecting a spouse or romantic partner of infidelity. The indictment alleges that Akbar and his co-conspirators fabricated the testimonials.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and prosecuted by Trial Attorneys William A. Hall Jr. and Peter V. Roman of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay V. Prabhu of the Eastern District of Virginia.
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA BECOME FIRST EUROPEAN PARTNER IN GPOI TO ACHIEVE FULL TRAINING CAPABILITY
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
September 29, 2014
The United States congratulates Bosnia and Herzegovina for becoming the first European partner in the U.S. Department of State-led Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) to achieve the significant milestone of Full Training Capability, establishing the country’s certified self-sufficiency to train peacekeeping personnel for UN and regional peace operations. In doing so, Bosnia and Herzegovina demonstrates its commitment to promoting international peace and security by helping meet the growing global demand for military and civilian personnel needed to stabilize post-conflict countries around the world.
Bosnia and Herzegovina was among the founding partners of GPOI, an initiative started in 2005 to train military and police units to serve in both UN-led and regional peacekeeping missions, supply essential non-lethal equipment, and refurbish peacekeeping training facilities. In addition to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s contribution of military personnel to UN peacekeeping missions in Africa, as well as to coalition operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, its GPOI-supported Peace Support Operations Training Center has helped train military, police, and civilian personnel from 48 countries in accordance with the current UN standards. We applaud Bosnia and Herzegovina’s continued national investment in peacekeeping and look forward to building on our GPOI partnership to save lives and help set the stage for post-conflict recovery around the world.
To date, GPOI, administered by the Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, has helped train more than 270,000 peacekeepers from among its 69 partner nations and organizations; supported 52 national and regional peace operations training centers and three regional headquarters worldwide; and facilitated the deployment of more than 197,000 personnel from 38 countries serving in 29 peacekeeping operations around the world.
PRODUCING ALOGORITHMS THAT ANALYSE HUMAN LANGUAGE
FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Growing field of natural language processing works at the interface of computers and language
Researcher's algorithm design produces valuable tools for translation, text mining, question answering and more
This ultimately could be among the potential benefits of natural language processing, a field that works at the interface of computers and language. The goal of this growing field, which dates back to the 1950s, is to enable computers to glean meaning from language through the use of automated algorithms that process linguistic data from text.
"Imagine a computer program that reads text and interprets it to do something useful, but not the way you and I would do," says Noah Smith, an associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science. "This program could read text that people don't like to read, or don't have time to read."
Smith designs algorithms that analyze human language, research that produces valuable software tools for translation, text mining, question answering, information extraction as well as "scientific discovery wherever text serves as data," he says, for example in sociolinguistics, political science or economics.
The National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded scientist specifically is studying computational models for natural language parsing and semantic analysis, that is, to "take a sentence and try to figure out what it means," Smith says. "Doing this could help with certain tasks that people cannot do easily, such as extracting information out of very large collections, and would rather delegate it to a computer that will perform consistently and without getting tired."
It's kind of like the automated equivalent of the sentence diagramming that many of today's adults engaged in during elementary school. "Our programs analyze sentences into deeper linguistic structures," Smith says.
To be sure, these programs have a long way to go before attaining human-like reading and comprehension skills, he says. However, "humans are not always perfect at these things," he says. "People do have cognitive limitations, or limitations on memory, or they get distracted. Computer programs have complementary strengths.
"The public perception of this artificial intelligence branch of computer science is often colored by fears that robots might replace us," he adds. "We are, in fact, trying to make tools that will make life easier and less tedious for people."
Smith is conducting his research under an NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award, which he received in 2011. The award supports junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organization.
Smith also has applied his methods to problems like measuring public opinion as expressed in social media messages, and in understanding the underlying ecosystems of companies by scrutinizing their press releases. The latter could benefit economists who study companies, specifically how companies interact with government or with each other.
As for social media, "text exists in a larger social context," he says. "People don't create language purely because they feel like it. Social media, like Twitter and Facebook, are intended to be read by people we know, but often there is a much larger conversation that goes on. The advent of these platforms allows us to observe more of these interactions, and hopefully to develop statistical methods to better understand what people mean when they write or talk."
Educational activities as part of the grant include the development of new exercises and a competitive project within the undergraduate course on natural language processing. In past years, Smith has written problems for the Computational Linguistics Olympiad, a high school competition. Smith also is committed to tutoring and mentoring the graduate students he advises. His group calls itself "Noah's ARK."
"A lot of them interact with each other, including the junior doctoral students who can learn from the more senior ones," he says. "I try to promote opportunities for them to see all parts of my job, and work with me on not just research, but on service and teaching at the university and beyond."
Finally, his research group makes its software publicly available, not just for students in the classroom, but "so it can be used by other researchers and startup companies, as well as by regular people who want to try their hand at natural language processing," he says.
-- Marlene Cimons, National Science Foundation
Investigators
Noah Smith
Related Institutions/Organizations
Carnegie-Mellon University
400,000 CLAIM CHECKS MAILED TO VICTIMS OF ALLEGED FREE-TRIAL WEIGHT-LOSS SCAM
FROM: U.S. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
FTC Mails More Than 400,000 Claim Forms to Possible Victims of Alleged LeanSpa Scam
The Federal Trade Commission, through an administrator, is mailing 449,044 claim forms to consumers who may have lost money after buying LeanSpa, a supplement whose marketers allegedly made deceptive weight loss claims. The claim forms are intended to help determine which consumers are eligible for refunds.
The FTC and the state of Connecticut sued the marketers of LeanSpa in December 2011, charging that they used fake websites to promote acai berry and “colon cleanse” weight-loss products, and that they falsely told consumers that they could receive free trials by paying a nominal cost for shipping and handling. In reality, consumers ended up paying $79.95 for the trial, and for recurring monthly shipments of the product that were hard to cancel. The defendants settled the complaint in January 2014, agreeing to stop making the claims and surrender assets valued at approximately $5.7 to $7 million for consumer refunds.
The claim forms will be mailed to consumers by Rust Consulting, Inc., an administrator working for the FTC. Consumers receiving forms will have 60 days to submit their claims online or by mail, following the instructions on the form. Consumers who lost money after buying LeanSpa, but do not receive a claim form, can still submit a complaint with the FTC using the FTC’s Complaint Assistant or toll-free number below.
Consumers with additional questions about the LeanSpa case or the claim form process can call the administrator toll-free number at 1-866-621-4156 or visit the FTC’s LeanSpa case web page. Using this information, the FTC will determine which consumers are eligible for refunds and how much they should receive. No refund checks are being mailed at this time.
The FTC urges consumers to carefully evaluate advertising claims for weight-loss products. For more information on how to avoid weight-loss scams, see the agency’s guidance for consumers of products and services advertised for Weight Loss & Fitness. The FTC also has guidance for media outlets on spotting false weight-loss claims in advertising.
The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
U.S. CONGRATULATES PEOPLE OF THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS ON THEIR NATIONAL DAY
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
On the Occasion of the Republic of Cyprus National Day
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
September 30, 2014
On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of the Republic of Cyprus as you celebrate your national day on October 1.
Fifty-four years after Cyprus’s independence, the bond between our two countries remains strong. In New York City last week, I had the opportunity to meet with President Anastasiades and Foreign Minister Kasoulides to discuss our shared challenges. We will continue to work closely together on initiatives to counter terrorism and promote regional security.
The strong partnership between our two countries is also reflected in the growing economic, cultural, and educational exchanges between our citizens. We look forward to deepening our commercial and people-to-people ties for the benefit of both Cypriots and Americans.
I remain fully committed to supporting efforts to reunify the island as a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation. I am hopeful that this goal can be achieved soon, so that all Cypriots may live in greater peace and prosperity.
I send warmest wishes on this important day.
U.S. SENDS BEST WISHES TO PEOPLE OF BOTSWANA ON THEIR INDEPENDENCE DAY
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Botswana National Day
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
September 30, 2014
On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I send best wishes to the people of Botswana as you celebrate 48 years of independence on September 30.
The United States and Botswana are natural partners. Ours is a relationship built on the shared values of democracy, justice, equality, and the fundamental rights of all people. Together we are taking our partnership to the next level by investing in Botswana’s greatest natural resource of all—its people.
The Young African Leaders Initiative is lifting up Botswana’s youth. Our commitment to combatting HIV/AIDS through PEPFAR is healing the sick. And the listing of the Okavango Delta as the 1000th UNESCO World Heritage Site is raising the global profile of environmental issues.
It is with an eye to a shared, bright future that we work together as Americans and Batswana to strengthen the relationship between our governments and between our people.
I send warm wishes to the people of Botswana for continued peace and prosperity.
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S STATEMENT ON SIGNING OF AGREEMENTS IN AFGHANISTAN
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE PRESIDENT
September 30, 2014
Statement by the President on the Signing of the Bilateral Security Agreement and NATO Status of Forces Agreement in Afghanistan
Today we mark an historic day in the U.S.-Afghan partnership that will help advance our shared interests and the long-term security of Afghanistan. After nearly two years of hard work by negotiating teams on both sides, earlier today in Kabul the United States and the new Afghan Government of National Unity signed a Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA). This agreement represents an invitation from the Afghan Government to strengthen the relationship we have built over the past 13 years and provides our military service members the necessary legal framework to carry out two critical missions after 2014: targeting the remnants of Al Qaeda and training, advising, and assisting Afghan National Security Forces. The signing of the BSA also reflects the implementation of the Strategic Partnership Agreement our two governments signed in May 2012.
Today, Afghan and NATO officials also signed the NATO Status of Forces Agreement, giving forces from Allied and partner countries the legal protections necessary to carry out the NATO Resolute Support mission when ISAF comes to an end later this year.
These agreements follow an historic Afghan election in which the Afghan people exercised their right to vote and ushered in the first peaceful democratic transfer of power in their nation’s history. The BSA reflects our continued commitment to support the new Afghan Unity Government, and we look forward to working with this new government to cement an enduring partnership that strengthens Afghan sovereignty, stability, unity, and prosperity, and that contributes to our shared goal of defeating Al Qaeda and its extremist affiliates.
This day was only possible because of the extraordinary service of our men and woman in uniform who continue to sacrifice so much in Afghanistan on behalf of our security and the Afghan people. The American people are eternally grateful for their efforts.
WILLIAM J. BURNS MAKES REMARKS AT SAMUEL L. LEWIS MEMORIAL SYMPOSIUM
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks at the Samuel L. Lewis Memorial Symposium
Remarks
William J. Burns
Deputy Secretary of State
Washington, DC
September 29, 2014
I can’t tell how both touched and honored I am by that, Dennis, and I also happened to notice that the photo on the plaque reminds me of the time in our lives when neither of us had any gray hair. It’s always an honor to be here at The Washington Institute but it’s a special honor to be introduced by Dennis Ross, someone for whom I’ve had great respect over many years. I’ve learned an enormous amount from you about what it is to be a diplomat and what it is to pursue our country’s interests and our country’s values, and how to do it with integrity and decency. So thank you very, very much.
I’m also deeply honored to join all of you in celebrating the wonderful life and career of Sam Lewis, one of our country’s most admired diplomats and peacemakers. From post-war Naples to the 1973 Afghanistan coup and from Camp David to Oslo, Sam lived a life of significance and adventure that most diplomats could only dream of. And with Sallie, he lived a life of friendship and romance that would make Woody Allen weep. His Texan charm, candor, courage, and common sense earned him the respect of countless leaders – both abroad and here at home. He was as comfortable going jaw to jaw with counterparts in the negotiation room as he was going cheek to cheek with sharks on his many scuba dives off the coast of the Sinai. He was a man who didn’t just know where he – and the country he loved – needed to go. He knew how to get there, how to lead, and how to get things done.
Sam once called the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel – an historic achievement in which he played an indispensable part – “a mountain peak in a sea of sand.” The same could be said about Sam’s own extraordinary career. Generations of American diplomats have tried to learn from his example, follow in his footsteps, and scale the diplomatic peaks he conquered so skillfully over the years. None of us have been terribly successful. But all of us learned a great deal along the way – about our profession, about the Middle East, and about the promise of American leadership.
Through Sam’s remarkable journey and my own checkered thirty-three year career in the Foreign Service, I have learned that the Middle East is a place where pessimists seldom lack for either company or validation, where skeptics hardly ever seem wrong. It is a place where American policymakers often learn humility the hard way… a place where you can most easily see the wisdom in Winston Churchill’s famous comment that what he liked most about Americans was that they usually did the right thing in the end; they just liked to exhaust all the alternatives first.
I’ve learned that stability is not a static phenomenon, and that regimes which do not offer their citizens a sense of political dignity and economic possibility ultimately become brittle and break. I’ve learned that change in the Middle East is rarely neat or linear, but often messy and cruel, and deeply unpredictable in its second and third order consequences. I’ve learned not to underestimate the depth of mistrust of American motives that animates so many people in the region, and I’ve learned that we often get far more credit than we deserve for complicated conspiracies. I’ve learned that, with all its stubborn dysfunction, the Middle East is a place where people and leaders are capable of great things… and that American diplomacy, with all of its own occasional dysfunction, can make a real and enduring difference.
During this incredible moment of testing in the region, we miss Sam’s judgment and good counsel more than ever. If Sam were with us, I suspect he would be the first to say that we cannot afford to neglect what’s at stake. And he would urge us not to neglect our responsibility to help shape, within the limits of our influence, the great generational struggle between moderation and extremism that is unfolding across the Middle East today.
A Changing Middle East
Nothing embodies that struggle in starker terms than the threat posed by ISIL. ISIL is obviously not the only source of disorder in the Middle East today. But it is one of the most immediate, and most poisonous. And it is the most dramatic symptom of the layers of change unleashed by the second Arab Awakening – within, among, and beyond Arab states.
Within a number of states, we’ve seen the collapse of a half-century old political order. Societies that for far too long had known far too little freedom, far too little opportunity, and far too little dignity began to erupt. But what also spilled out, in addition to the thirst of individual citizens for dignity, were all the demons of sectarian and communal tension that authoritarian rulers had fueled and forcefully suppressed.
That dynamic in turn helped set off new uncertainties and frictions among states in the region, as political rivalries, sectarian troubles and old Sunni-Shia passions spilled across borders still not firmly rooted nearly a century after their post-World War One formation.
Meanwhile, beyond Arab states, violent extremist groups were quick to try to fill emerging vacuums and take advantage of post-revolutionary chaos.
ISIL took advantage of all these developments – state collapse, proliferation of weapons, regional rivalries, and sectarian polarization – to prosper and grow. But more broadly, what all of these layers of change add up to is the most significant transition in the Arab world since the revolutions of the 1950’s. And what they have laid bare is the long-term question of whether an “Arab center”, as my friend and former Jordanian Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher has described it, can eventually replace the old order… gradually establishing democratic institutions to manage sectarian differences and provide an outlet for political pluralism and individual dignity… or whether hardliners and extremists of one stripe or another will prove more resilient. The United States has a powerful stake in that very complex competition, and in shaping a careful strategy for enhancing the long-term chances for a new, moderate order which best protects our interests and reflects our values.
A Global Coalition to Counter ISIL
As all of you know very well, there is no shortage of obstacles to a moderate order in the Middle East today. An arc of instability, complicated transitions, and stagnating economies runs nearly uninterrupted from the Maghreb to the Levant and the Gulf. Iran’s nuclear program continues to loom large as we near the November 24 deadline for a comprehensive deal. And if we needed any reminder, this summer’s tragic conflict in Gaza underscored just how unsustainable and combustible the status quo between Palestinians and Israelis remains.
We are seized with all of these challenges. I know Dennis and I will have the opportunity to touch on a number of them in our conversation. But let me just make a couple of points up front about what I’m sure is on everyone’s mind this afternoon: the challenge posed by ISIL and our strategy to degrade and ultimately defeat it.
First, it’s important to keep perspective. ISIL is not ten feet tall – it has no state partner and its most impressive achievement to date has been to unite the entire region – and the world – against it. But it poses a serious challenge that demands a serious response. If left unchecked, ISIL would control more territory, amass more resources, attract more foreign fighters, further destabilize an already deeply unstable region, and over time, pose a growing threat.
Second, as President Obama and Secretary Kerry have made clear, this is not America’s fight alone. A successful strategy to counter ISIL – and indeed to strengthen the forces of moderation in the region – cannot be about us. It has to be about the people and governments in the region and the choices they make. This is why President Obama made the formation of a united and inclusive Iraqi government an essential prerequisite to going on the offensive against ISIL. It’s why he has insisted that we help our partners on the ground secure their own country’s future. And it’s why he has placed so much focus on building and leading a broad-based coalition of states who have a stake in this fight and the means to provide practical support.
My third point is about the coalition and the comprehensive strategy it is pursuing. Beginning this month with the NATO summit in Wales and following meetings in Baghdad, Jeddah, Cairo, Paris, and last week at the UN General Assembly in New York, we’ve worked hard to build a coalition unified around shared goals, objectives, and actions. President Obama appointed John Allen – a retired four-star general and one of our nation’s finest public servants – to oversee this effort. And already, more than 50 countries from all corners of the globe have joined the coalition and we expect others to join in the weeks and months ahead.
Together, we will deny ISIL a safe-haven by continuing to conduct carefully targeted airstrikes against its leadership, and logistical and operational capabilities, and we will impede its ability to plan, prepare, and execute attacks. We’ve already conducted more than 200 such airstrikes in Iraq, and last week, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, and Qatar joined in strikes against ISIL targets in Syria. While we target ISIL from the air, we will strengthen the capacity of our partners to push back against ISIL on the ground. President Obama sent an additional 475 military advisors to Iraq this month to support Iraqi and Kurdish forces with training, intelligence, and equipment, and to help the Government of Iraq stand up National Guard Units to help Sunni communities push back against ISIL. We will also continue and step-up our support to the moderate Syrian opposition, including through the train and equip program recently authorized by bipartisan majorities in both chambers of Congress.
But this is far more than just a military effort.
We also need to cut off the flow of foreign terrorist fighters into and out of the region. ISIL has recruited thousands of foreign fighters to Iraq and Syria from nearly 80 countries, including over 100 Americans. These fighters pose an immediate threat to the region and a real and growing terrorism threat more broadly. Last week, the UN Security Council unanimously passed a binding resolution requiring countries to prevent and suppress funding, financing, recruiting, organizing, transporting, and equipping of foreign fighters. This resolution received the second most co-sponsors in the history of the United Nations.
Alongside this historic resolution, the coalition will press hard to accelerate global efforts to dry up ISIL’s funding, including by reducing ISIL’s revenue from oil and other plundered assets, extortion of local populations, kidnapping for ransom, and external donors.
We will also continue to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to states and societies carrying the heaviest burden from this conflict. Even before ISIL’s advance this spring, the scale and scope of the human tragedy in Syria was staggering – the world’s largest mass displacement in over three decades. ISIL’s campaign of terror has only exacerbated this tragedy, displacing over a million Iraqis and even more Syrians from their homes. The United States has been the single-largest contributor of humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people and the nations most directly affected by the refugee crisis, with nearly $3 billion in contributions since the start of the conflict. And we’ve led the way in preventing mass atrocities in Iraq. Together with our coalition partners, we will continue to assist populations in need, including vulnerable religious and ethnic minorities.
And we will continue to coordinate efforts to expose ISIL’s true nature and undercut its ideological appeal. Muslim leaders from Al-Azhar to Mecca have denounced ISIL and its false claim to be acting in the name of a great religion. We will work to amplify their efforts and to demonstrate, as President Obama said last week, that “the future belongs to those who build – not to those who destroy.”
All these steps are critical to success. But they will not have any sustainable effect on their own. There is no shortcut to getting at the roots of this moment of turbulence – the political paralysis that has failed to answer the region’s rising aspirations for dignity, political participation, and economic opportunity. Prime Minister Abadi and the new Iraqi government have outlined a bold and ambitious national program that has received broad cross-sectarian support. And it deserves international support as well. We will continue to engage diplomatically to find resolution to longstanding Sunni and Kurdish aspirations and to increase the stake of Iraq’s neighbors in its sovereignty and success. And we will continue to pursue a political transition in Syria to end this crisis once and for all.
Conclusion
If this sounds like a tall order, it is. But it is not impossible. ISIL’s advance can be blunted, and it can be rolled back – with people and leaderships in the region fully committed to working with us and our other international partners.
Sam Lewis knew as well as anyone how unforgiving the Middle East can be for American policymakers and diplomats. But he also knew that we can’t afford to pull back and retrench. There’s too much at issue right now. Together, we can degrade and defeat ISIL. Together, we can increase the odds that moderates across the region can succeed in the years ahead, that they can succeed in the great generational struggle to help open up space for pluralism and economic opportunity.
Sam would be the first to understand that we will not get every judgment right. But he also understood profoundly that we are far better off working persistently to help shape events, rather than wait for them to be shaped for us. Sam Lewis led a life of extraordinary significance in the service of our country, and all of us have been hugely honored to follow in his remarkable footsteps.
Thank you very much.
PEANUT COMPANY OFFICIALS AND BROKER CONVICTED BY JURY IN SALMONELLA-TAINTED PEANUTS CASE
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Friday, September 19, 2014
Peanut Corporation of America Former Officials and Broker Convicted on Criminal Charges Related to Salmonella-Tainted Peanut Products
Stewart Parnell, of Lynchburg, Virginia, and Michael Parnell, of Midlothian, Virginia, were convicted of conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, and the introduction of misbranded food into interstate commerce. Steward Parnell was also convicted of the introduction of adulterated food. Stewart Parnell and Mary Wilkerson, of Edison, Georgia, were also convicted of obstruction of justice. The convictions all arise from the unlawful sale of salmonella-tainted peanuts and peanut products.
Expert evidence at trial showed that tainted food led to an outbreak in 2009 with more than 700 reported cases of salmonella poisoning. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), based on epidemiological projections, that number translates to more than 22,000 total cases.
The verdicts followed a seven-week trial in the Middle District of Georgia during which prosecutors presented the testimony of 45 witnesses and introduced 1,001 documents into evidence. Among those who testified were Samuel Lightsey and Daniel Kilgore, both of Blakely, Georgia, both former operations managers for PCA and both of whom earlier pleaded guilty to several crimes for their roles in the sale of the salmonella-tainted food by PCA.
“As this verdict confirms, the salmonella outbreak that caused nationwide panic five years ago was a direct result of the actions of these individuals,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “This verdict demonstrates that the Department of Justice will never waver in our pursuit of those who break our laws and compromise the safety of America’s food supply for financial gain. All Americans must be able to rely on the safety of the food they purchase. And any individual or company who puts the health of consumers at risk by criminally selling tainted food will be caught, prosecuted, and held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”
The government presented evidence at trial to establish that Stewart Parnell and Michael Parnell – with Lightsey and Kilgore – participated in several schemes by which they defrauded PCA customers and jeopardized the quality and purity of their peanut products. Specifically, the government presented evidence that defendants misled customers about the presence of salmonella in their products. For example, as the evidence demonstrated, the Parnells, Lightsey and Kilgore fabricated certificates of analysis (COAs) accompanying various shipments of peanut products. COAs are documents that summarize laboratory results, including test results concerning the presence or absence of pathogens in food. According to the evidence, on several occasions, the Parnells, Lightsey and Kilgore participated in a scheme to fabricate COAs that stated that the food at issue was free of pathogens when in fact there had been no testing of the food or tests had revealed the presence of pathogens.
The government also presented evidence that when FDA officials visited the plant to investigate the outbreak, Stewart Parnell, Lightsey and Wilkerson gave untrue or misleading answers to questions posed by those officials.
“We are gratified by the jury’s verdict,” said Joyce R. Branda, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division. “The jury delivered a powerful message that there will be serious consequences for criminals who put profit above the welfare of their customers and knowingly sell contaminated food. The Department of Justice will not hesitate to pursue any person whose criminal conduct risks the health of Americans and the safety of the nation’s food supply.”
“In this great country, we take for granted the safety of the food we feed our families,” said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Moore of the Middle District of Georgia. “We expect, and rightfully so, for food suppliers to follow the rules and regulations, and to never sacrifice public safety for profits. In this case, these defendants were willing to put tainted food onto the shelves of stores across the country. After this trial, it should be clear that individual accountability, not just corporate responsibility, for criminal conduct that puts public safety in jeopardy is now the norm in the eyes of the Department of Justice. And while the evidence over the last few weeks has focused on the criminal acts of these defendants, let’s not forget that there were real victims in this case who became ill and suffered greatly because making money, at least to the defendants, was more important than making sure that the peanut products they put into the marketplace were safe.”
Attorney General Holder, Acting Assistant Attorney General Branda and U.S. Attorney Moore thanked the jury for its service, and, especially, for its careful consideration of the evidence.
In all, the jury convicted Stewart Parnell of multiple counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, the sale of misbranded food, the sale of adulterated food, and obstruction; Michael Parnell of multiple counts of conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, and the sale of misbranded food; and Mary Wilkerson of one count of obstruction. The judge has not yet set a date for sentencing.
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Patrick Hearn and Mary M. Englehart of the Consumer Protection Branch of the Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Dasher of the Middle District of Georgia.
NSF FUNDS MUSCLE FARM RESEARCH
FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
How to grow mussels
Researchers optimize growing conditions and practices to improve mussel farming
Blue mussels, Mytilus edulis, live on northern Atlantic shores in the area between high and low tides.
Because many creatures--especially humans--enjoy eating blue mussels, farmers grow mussels using aquaculture, or aquatic farming. More than 650,000 pounds of blue mussels were cultured and harvested in Maine in 2012, according to the state's Department of Marine Resources.
Young mussels may be cultivated in the wild, or they may grow on ropes that are submerged in culture tanks, where they are protected from storms and predators. Once the mussels reach a certain size, they are moved into ocean pens to mature.
But practitioners often struggle in their efforts to increase the number, size and overall health of their mussels. Like many farmers, they turn to science and engineering to improve their harvest.
Beal, along with a team of National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded researchers at the University of Maine at Machias and the Downeast Institute, is investigating the growing conditions and practices that will reliably yield healthy and plentiful blue mussels.
"Our goal is to develop methods in the hatchery to create consistent quantities of seed-size mussel juveniles," Beal said. "At present, mussel farmers rely on wild settlement, which can be very spotty from year to year and from place to place." Maine's annual harvest of cultured blue mussels commonly varies by hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Young mussels go through several stages of development. After swimming for their first few weeks of life, mussel larvae adhere to an underwater surface such as a rope. They attach themselves using byssus threads, which are flexible strands of protein.
"A narrow range of seawater temperatures combined with relatively high salinities results in healthy, active juveniles," Beal said, "and different phytoplankton diets fed to the swimming larvae affect their ability to settle effectively onto substrates such as rope."
Beal's team plans to use what they learn about blue mussel development to optimize how many and how well larvae secure themselves to rope used in aquaculture. They are now conducting field studies to examine the effects of stocking densities on mussel growth and survival.
The researchers also are investigating exactly when to transition the young mussels into ocean pens, and where in the pens they grow best.
With better understanding of their cultivation, the researchers and their partner New DHC, an aquaculture company, hope to improve commercial prospects for sustainably grown blue mussels.
"A consistent seed supply also will allow aquaculturists to create business plans that project their annual production more realistically," Beal explained.
The collaboration is supported by the NSF Partnerships for Innovation program, which stimulates regional innovation based on science and engineering discoveries.
In speaking of Beal, NSF program director Sally Nerlove said, "His life's work is of tremendous potential importance to the economy and the ethos of region, and, at the same time, his accomplishments track the evolution of the NSF Partnerships for Innovation program."
-- Cecile J. Gonzalez,
Investigators
Brian Beal
Susan White
David Markow
Stuart Swain
Kevin Athearn
Sandra Shumway
Christopher Davis
Sherrie Sprangers
Related Institutions/Organizations
U.S. OFFICIAL'S REMARKS ON MASS ATROCITIES
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
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U.S. Mission to the United Nations: Remarks at a High Level Meeting on Mass Atrocities
09/26/2014 04:27 PM EDT
Samantha Power
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
New York, NY
September 25, 2014
AS PREPARED
Thank you, Minister Fabius and Minister Meade, for your leadership in convening this meeting.
It is difficult to imagine a more important objective than preventing mass atrocities and genocide. The horrific atrocities of the Second World War galvanized the international community to create the United Nations.
If we are to prevent these atrocities, we must respond earlier, we must respond systematically, and we must respond together. States must do more than endorse statements about the responsibility to protect. States must take real action to prevent mass atrocities.
President Obama has declared that the prevention of mass atrocities and genocide is a “core national security interest and a core moral responsibility of the United States.”
To translate those words into deeds, President Obama has taken unprecedented steps to ensure that our government can anticipate mass atrocities – because we know that the sooner we act, the more options we have.
He has established a standing body - the Atrocities Prevention Board - to focus our government on the risk of mass atrocities, and develop options for responding to potential mass atrocities before they metastasize and slaughter begins.
We are constantly considering what tools can best be deployed to prevent them, or to stop them from occurring. Our diplomats have exerted pressure on capitals, regional bodies, and here at the UN. Our Treasury Department has applied targeted sanctions on perpetrators, and blocked the flow of money to abusive regimes. And in certain circumstances, our military has intervened to stop atrocities from occurring, as it recently did to halt the mass killing of those trapped on Mt. Sinjar.
At the international level, the Security Council has a special responsibility for the preservation of international peace and security, and none of us should take this responsibility lightly.
In recent months, the Council has shown that it can act responsibly, mobilizing attention, resources, and support to end horrific cycles of violence. In South Sudan, we have surged forces to enable UNMISS to respond to a deadly civil war that has already claimed over 10,000 lives. And in the Central African Republic, we have authorized a new peacekeeping mission to support French forces in curbing a wave of sectarian violence that has caused thousands of deaths and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
I would single out France for its leadership in helping prevent mass atrocities in Libya and helping halt them in Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, and the Central African Republic. And I would applaud Mexico for its announcement this week that it will deploy military personnel to UN peacekeeping operations for the first time in 60 years. Over time, this will prove a decision that helps prevent atrocities.
We have all seen how the irresponsible use of the veto by Security Council members can deprive this body, and the international community, of some of its most effective tools for preventing and responding to atrocities. In Syria, the Assad regime has committed widespread and systematic violations against its own people. Yet – in the face of some of the worst horrors in modern history – four vetoes by members of this Council stood in the way of holding its leaders accountable.
We can ask ourselves whether some 200,000 lives would have been lost in Syria if the Security Council had been able to come together. We can even ask whether ISIL – the monstrous terrorist movement the international community is uniting against – would have gained the foothold it has if we had been united.
The Security Council has the power to play a critical role in stopping atrocities. That power carries with it great responsibility. All five permanent members have a responsibility to respond with acute urgency in the face of mass atrocities that take the lives of innocents and that threaten international peace and security.
U.S. GOVERNMENT FACT SHEET ON GETTING AHEAD OF EPIDEMIC THREATS
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
September 26, 2014
FACT SHEET: Global Health Security Agenda: Getting Ahead of the Curve on Epidemic Threats
The Ebola epidemic in West Africa highlights the urgency for immediate action to establish global capacity to prevent, detect and rapidly respond to biological threats like Ebola. Beginning in his 2011 speech at the United Nations General Assembly, the President has called upon all countries to work together to prevent, detect, and respond to outbreaks before they become epidemics.
The Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) was launched on February 13, 2014 to advance a world safe and secure from infectious disease threats and to bring together nations from all over the world to make new, concrete commitments, and to elevate global health security as a national leaders-level priority. The G7 endorsed the GHSA in June 2014; and Finland and Indonesia hosted commitment development meetings to spur action in May and August.
On September 26, President Obama, National Security Advisor Rice, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Monaco, and Secretaries Kerry, Hagel, and Burwell will meet with Ministers and senior officials from 44 countries and leading international organizations to make specific commitments to implement the GHSA and to work toward a commitment to assist West Africa with needed global health security capacity within 3 years.
Commitments to Action
In 2014, countries developed 11 lines of effort in support of the GHSA – known as Action Packages. The Action Packages are designed to outline tangible, measurable steps required to prevent outbreaks, detect threats in real time, and rapidly respond to infectious disease threats —whether naturally occurring, the result of laboratory accidents, or an act of bioterrorism. The Action Packages include specific targets and indicators that can be used as a basis to measure how national, regional, and global capacities are developed and maintained over the long-term. Since February, countries have made over 100 new commitments to implement the 11 Action Packages. For its part, the United States has committed to assist at least 30 countries over five years to achieve the objectives of the GHSA and has placed a priority for our actions on combating antibiotic resistant bacteria, to improve biosafety and biosecurity on a global basis, and preventing bioterrorism.
Next Steps: Governance and Tracking
Going forward, 10 countries have agreed to serve on the GHSA Steering Group, which will be chaired by Finland starting in 2015, with representation from countries around the world, including: Canada, Chile, Finland, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Republic of Korea, and the United States. The Steering Group is charged with tracking progress, identifying challenges, and overseeing implementation for achieving the objectives of the GHSA in support of international standards set by the World Health Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the World Organization for Animal Health. This includes the implementation of internationally agreed standards for core capacities, such as the World Health Organization International Health Regulations, the World Organization for Animal Health Performance of Veterinary Services Pathway, and other global health security frameworks. To provide accountability and drive progress toward GHSA goals, an independent, objective and transparent assessment process will be needed. Independent evaluation conducted over the five-year course of the GHSA will help highlight gaps and needed course corrections to ensure that the GHSA targets are reached.
All nations share a responsibility to provide health security for our world and for accelerating action toward a world safe and secure from all infectious disease threats.
Participating Nations—Australia, Azerbaijan, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Guinea, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Liberia, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam, and Yemen.
U.S. OFFICIALS REMARK'S TO UN HIGH-LEVEL MEETING ON SOUTH SUDAN
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
UN General Assembly High-level Meeting on South Sudan
Thomas A. Shannon, Jr.
Counselor to the Department
New York, NY
September 25, 2014
AS DELIVERED
Madame Chair, Your Excellencies, Distinguished Attendees, I am very pleased to represent Secretary of State John Kerry at this very important gathering. There are many pressing issues facing the United Nations today and I applaud the organizers for giving visibility and attention to South Sudan where the political, security, and humanitarian aspects are having enormous regional and international consequences.
I would like to join Madame Chair in expressing our regret that President Kiir is not here with us today, and respectfully request that his excellency, the Foreign Minister of South Sudan, to express that regret to the President.
I recently traveled to Nairobi and Addis Ababa to discuss with our African friends a great many issues of mutual interest, including the events taking place in South Sudan. As many of you know, the political and humanitarian crisis is sure to worsen if fighting continues between the Government of South Sudan and opposition forces. The two are inextricably linked. As a result of the fighting, more than 40 percent of the population requires emergency humanitarian assistance. 1.7 million people have been forced from their homes, including nearly 100,000 individuals who are seeking refuge at UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) compounds in fear for their safety should they leave. The thousands of deaths in South Sudan that have occurred since the parties signed the Cessation of Hostilities agreement in January are deeply troubling, and unnecessary.
Resolving the conflict will require serious negotiations toward a political solution that honors the commitments made on May 9 and June 10 to implement the Cessation of Hostilities agreement and establish a transitional government of national unity. Despite IGAD’s efforts, we have yet to see the two factions come to an agreement on the substantive political issues.
If the talks in Bahir Dar do not result in the parties moving from finger pointing to real negotiations and concessions needed for peace, it is evident that greater external pressure will be needed. South Sudan’s neighbors and the international community need to speak with one voice and should not hesitate to use tools that will increase pressure on both parties. The purpose of these tools is to compel the government and opposition forces to shape and outline the tasks of a transitional government. Punitive measures, including multilateral targeted sanctions on individuals who have undermined peace and security in South Sudan, is one such instrument. The United States has acted accordingly by sanctioning on September 18 two South Sudanese individuals.
The humanitarian situation that we are witness to is a man-made catastrophe and a direct outgrowth of the intransigence of the Government of South Sudan and opposition forces. If security issues are not properly addressed, if the violence continues, and if humanitarian access remains hindered, a large-scale food insecurity crisis is unavoidable in 2015. The Government of South Sudan and opposition forces must cooperate fully with the humanitarian relief effort. They should stop arbitrary and needless obstruction and delays of humanitarian relief activities. We strongly condemn the attacks on IDPs and aid workers. Forced military recruitment of refugees, IDPs, humanitarian staff and especially of children must end immediately. While we welcome the reversal of policies that would have limited foreign aid workers and humanitarian access to critical infrastructure at Juba airport, these policies should never have been contemplated in the first place, especially not in the midst of the ongoing humanitarian disaster.
UNMISS has an important role to play on the ground, including in addressing the humanitarian crisis. It will be essential for the mission to be proactive in implementing the revised UN Security Council mandate as it relates to protecting civilians while building conditions to allow internally displaced persons (IDPs) to return home. The United States supports SRSG Løj’s efforts to manage and resource the mission in accordance with the mandate and to maintain active coordination with and force protection to the IGAD Monitoring and Verification Mechanism.
The United States is committed to the people of South Sudan and is the leading humanitarian assistance donor, having allocated more than $636 million in humanitarian assistance this fiscal year. We are grateful to our international partners, including members of the NGO community, for their contributions and efforts to address the crisis. Despite these combined efforts, additional resources will be needed to continue life-saving aid operations that are desperately needed. To date, the international community has contributed only about half of the $2.5 billion the United Nations is calling for to meet critical humanitarian needs of both South Sudanese who have been affected and those who have fled as refugees. We urge other donors to join us in seizing the moment and responding robustly to prevent the worst possible consequences. Our call also extends to the Government of South Sudan since the ultimate price is now being paid for by the South Sudanese people. It is high time the Government of South Sudan and opposition forces heed the call of neighbors and the international community to prevent needless suffering and to make peace. Such actions are emblematic of leadership and responsible governance that the people of South Sudan so desperately need.
Thank you very much, Madame Chair.
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