NSC SPOKESPERSON'S STATEMENT ON SEPARATIST ELECTIONS IN EASTERN UKRAINE

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 
November 03, 2014
Statement by NSC Spokesperson Bernadette Meehan on the Illegal Separatist Elections in Eastern Ukraine

The United States condemns the illegitimate, so-called “elections” held on Sunday by Russia-backed separatists in parts of Donetsk and Luhansk.  These sham elections contravened Ukraine’s constitution, the law on “special status,” and the most basic electoral norms.  Both Russia and its separatist proxies had agreed to honor Ukraine’s special status electoral law when they signed the Minsk Protocol of September 5.  They therefore violated the terms of that protocol with these so-called “elections” on November 2.   As we have said previously, the United States will not recognize the authority of any individuals claiming to represent parts of Donetsk and Luhansk on the basis of this illegal vote.

We are concerned by a Russian Foreign Ministry statement today that seeks to legitimizes these sham “elections.”  We also continue to be concerned by reports that Russia is once more moving its troops and military equipment to portions of the international border.  The Russia-Ukraine border remains unmonitored and outside of Ukrainian government control despite Russia’s commitment to facilitate the establishment of an effective international monitoring mission.  We are also concerned by OSCE reports that OSCE Special Monitoring Mission UAVs operating east of the control line have come under attack in recent days.  More broadly, Moscow’s continued failure to fulfill its obligations under the Minsk agreements calls into question its commitment to supporting a peaceful resolution to the conflict in parts of eastern Ukraine.

We call on Russia’s leaders to adhere to the commitments they made in Minsk to include the full withdrawal of foreign forces, the restoration of Ukrainian control of its sovereignty over the border with OSCE monitoring, and local elections in accordance with the special status law, which set these for December 7.  As we have said repeatedly, Russia has a choice.  If it supports the peace process and adheres to its Minsk commitments, the costs for Russia’s destabilizing actions against Ukraine will lessen.  Should Moscow continue to ignore the commitments that it made in Minsk and continue its destabilizing and dangerous actions, the costs to Russia will rise.

11/3/14: WHITE HOUSE PRESS BRIEFING

AG HOLDER DISPATCHES POLL MONITORS TO HELP PREVENT VOTER DISCRIMINATION

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

Monday, November 3, 2014

Ahead of Election Day, Attorney General Holder Dispatches Federal Poll Monitors to Aid in Efforts to Prevent Voter Discrimination

In an effort to reaffirm the Justice Department’s commitment and responsibility to protect eligible Americans from discrimination at the ballot box, Attorney General Eric Holder released a video today to announce that the Department of Justice will send federal monitors to 18 states across the country.  These monitors will be on the ground gathering information on numerous aspects of local election procedures including voter discrimination, resources for bilingual voters, and adequate services for individuals with disabilities.

“This year, as citizens across the country go to the polls on Election Day, I want the American people to know that the Justice Department will stand vigilant – working, in a fair and nonpartisan manner, to ensure that every voter can cast his or her ballot free of intimidation, discrimination, or obstruction,” said Attorney General Holder in a video message recorded for the Justice Department’s website.  “Over the last few months, leaders from the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division have received information from a wide variety of citizens and groups.  Based upon our independent and non-partisan consideration and expertise, we have dispatched federal monitors to polling places around the country – just as we do during every election season.”

The complete text of the Attorney General’s video message is below:

“One of the Justice Department’s most sacred responsibilities is ensuring access to the ballot box for every eligible American.  Over the last six years, my colleagues and I have taken robust action to safeguard this fundamental right: challenging unnecessarily restrictive proposals like certain voter ID laws; advocating for accessible polling places in remote and underserved communities; and fighting back against redistricting proposals and early voting limits that may prevent many Americans from making their voices heard.

“This year, as citizens across the country go to the polls on Election Day, I want the American people to know that the Justice Department will stand vigilant – working, in a fair and nonpartisan manner, to ensure that every voter can cast his or her ballot free of intimidation, discrimination, or obstruction.  Over the last few months, leaders from the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division have received information from a wide variety of citizens and groups.  Based upon our independent and non-partisan consideration and expertise, we have dispatched federal monitors to polling places around the country – just as we do during every election season.

“These officials will gather information on numerous aspects of local election procedures, including whether voters are treated differently depending on their race or color; whether jurisdictions are adequately serving individuals with disabilities; whether jurisdictions are complying with the provisional ballot requirements of the Help America Vote Act; and whether jurisdictions are complying with the Voting Rights Act’s requirement to provide bilingual election materials and assistance in areas of need.

“The integrity of our elections, and the ability of our citizens to access the franchise, are fundamental to who we are – both as a nation and as a people.  That’s why, last year, President Obama established a bipartisan Presidential Commission on Election Administration to recommend a series of steps to make it simpler to cast a ballot.  The Commission’s recommendations included expanding online voter registration and early balloting, updating electronic voting equipment, and making polling places more accessible.  The Commission also suggested that bilingual poll workers should be available at any polling place with a significant number of voters who do not speak English.

“These are promising – and necessary – reforms, and I call upon jurisdictions across the country to adopt them.  In the meantime, we must also ensure that the way we administer the laws currently on the books is appropriate, and lives up to our highest values.  Making it more difficult to vote with restrictive measures like burdensome voter ID laws is out of step with our history.

“So I call on election officials and poll workers around the country to consider, as they perform their duties, the importance of the responsibilities that they are working to fulfil.  I encourage every citizen of this country to remember the sacrifices made by generations of patriots to expand and ensure the franchise.  And I urge all eligible Americans – no matter their party affiliation or political views – to exercise their own sacred duty to cast a ballot, to make their voices heard, and to contribute to the direction of our great democracy.”

NSF FUNDS SIMULATIONS TO TRAIN STUDENTS IN CYBERSECURITY

FROM:  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 
Cybersecurity: It's about way more than countering hackers
Growing professionals in cybersecurity means supporting an interdisciplinary approach that develops sophisticated thinkers

It's tense in the situation room. A cyber attack on the electrical grid in New York City has plunged Manhattan into darkness on a day that happens to be the coldest in the year. Concurrently, the cellular phone network has been attacked, silencing smartphones and sowing confusion and panic. A foreign power has claimed responsibility for the attacks and says more are coming. Your job is to look at geopolitical factors, intelligence feeds, military movements and clues in cyberspace to predict what may be happening next. Your goal is to make a recommendation to the President.

This scenario is thankfully not real, but it is the kind of simulation planned for students in the cybersecurity program at California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB). With funding from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) CyberCorps®: Scholarships for Service (SFS) program, undergraduate and graduate students take an interdisciplinary approach to cybersecurity.

"We provide an environment where business students can work with engineers on drones, and students from political science can work on predictive modeling," said Principal Investigator (PI) Tony Coulson. "Our students can major in business, public administration, criminal justice, computer science, intelligence, all with cyber security as an option. We produce students who can problem-solve--people who can understand politics and finance as well as computer science."

Cybersecurity is a field that has received a lot of attention in recent years because of hacking episodes that have compromised networks, and in turn, the personal information of citizens who depend on a safe cyberspace to do such activities as banking and shopping. Following such a breach, attention is generally focused on identifying the hackers and their methods.

Among the options for students supported through San Bernardino's SFS program is being educated in cyber intelligence to deal proactively with cyber threats--to predict malicious behavior before it happens. Doing so draws not only on a background in computer and information science, but also on an understanding of human behavior and psychology and the political and economic environment. About 50 students have gone through the program, including completing internship requirements, and Coulson reports 100 percent placement with employers.

"The San Bernardino project is one of 166 active projects around the country fully or partly funded by SFS," said SFS Lead Program Director Victor Piotrowski. "Cybersecurity is a dynamic and evolving field, and the country needs talented people with the skills to protect U.S. interests around the world. Through SFS, we prepare students for high-paying careers in government, and increase the capacity of institutions to offer quality course work in this area."

A condition of students' receiving support through SFS is that they put their skills to work in a government agency for a period equal to the duration of their scholarship. Coulson says that after completing the program at CSUSB, students often have to choose from multiple offers. The program boasts having students placed in many areas of government.

"CSUSB students have a depth of skills and often pick their dream jobs," said Coulson, including a student who got a job at his first-choice agency--the National Archives.

San Bernardino is a poor community, and the good jobs available to SFS graduates can make a huge difference to them and their families. To promote their success in finding and keeping employment, the professional development offered to students goes beyond their academic work to include business etiquette, mentoring, how to succeed at an internship, and how to conduct oneself successfully in an office. The goal is to produce a graduate ready to be hired.

In addition to traditional essay-based projects, students have to complete a very hands-on final exam, requiring that they pick locks and use digital and biometric information to hack into a network. According to Coulson, they enjoy the challenge.

Along with running the SFS project, Coulson is co-PI on another NSF-supported project, CyberWatch West, funded through the Advanced Technological Education program (ATE).

"Despite Silicon Valley being on the West coast, and California having the largest population of community colleges in the country, there are very few cybersecurity programs here," said Coulson.

So CyberWatch West aims to help community colleges, K-12 schools and universities link together in 13 western states to develop faculty and students in cybersecurity. The project is a resource for faculty to identify curriculum pathways and outreach, find mentors and engage students in competitions, events and presentations.

"There's such a need in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas," said Coulson. There are something like 2,500 open positions, and we're graduating 200 kids."

Bringing together cybersecurity, law and digital forensics

Also responding to the need for a cybersecurity workforce prepared to deal with today's complex problems is an SFS project for undergraduates and graduate students at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). The project has graduated 25 students who are already working in government (reflecting another 100 percentage placement rate), and another 20 are set to graduate next May.

Since last year, this project offers scholarships to law students as well as engineering and computer science students. According to PI Roy Campbell, few lawyers understand cybersecurity and few computer scientists understand the legal framework involved in prosecuting and preventing cyber crimes.

The first law student to be accepted in the program, Whitney Merrill, is a recent law school graduate currently practicing as an attorney while completing her master's in computer science at UIUC. She found the combination of cybersecurity and law in the UIUC program to be valuable.

"The two fields are fiercely intertwined," said Merrill. "Understanding both fields allows me to better serve and advocate for my clients. Additionally, I hope to be able to help the two communities more effectively communicate with each other to create tools and a body of law that reflects accurately an understanding of both law and technology."

Merrill found the program challenging at first.

"But my interest and love for the subject matter made the challenging workload (29 credits last semester) enjoyable," she added. "Working towards a mastery in both fields has also helped me to spot legal issues where I would not have before."

Next summer Merrill will be working as a summer intern at the Federal Trade Commission in their Division of Privacy and Identity Protection. She graduates in December 2015.

With additional NSF support, a new related program in digital forensics at UIUC has the goal of building a curriculum that will teach students about cybersecurity in the context of the law enforcement, the judicial system, and privacy laws.

"Digital forensics is not the sort of area a computer scientist can just jump into," Campbell said. "It's not just malware or outcropping of hacking techniques. It has to be done in a deliberate way to produce evidence that would be acceptable to courts and other entities."

Co-PI Masooda Bashir says digital forensics gets to the heart of the multidisciplinary nature of cybersecurity.

"If you think about the amount of digital information that is being generated, exchanged, and stored daily you begin to understand the impact that the field of Digital Forensics is going to have in the coming years, " she said. "But Digital Forensics (DF) is not only a technical discipline, but a multidisciplinary profession that draws on a range of other fields, including law and courtroom procedure, forensic science, criminal justice and psychology."

She added, " I believe it is through integration of such relevant nontechnical disciplines into the DF education we can help students develop the comprehensive understanding that they will need in order to conduct examinations and analyses whose processes and findings are not just technically sound, but legal, ethical, admissible in court, and otherwise effective in achieving the desired real-world goal."

As the new program evolves, Masooda is drawing on her background as a computer scientist/psychologist to add the psychology of cybercrime to the curriculum. She's also working on a project examining cybersecurity competitions to understand their impact on the cybersecurity workforce and also to better understand the psychological factors and motivations of cyber security specialist and hackers.

Students with an interest in cybersecurity can start planning now

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management maintains a website where students can get information of SFS and the institutions that are participating in it. Meanwhile, PIs can update their project pages and agency officials can check resumes for students with the qualifications they need.

In the evolving field of cybersecurity, individuals with technical skills and knowledge of the social and legal context for what they do will continue to be highly desirable workers

SUN GLINTS OFF TITAN'S POLAR SEAS

FROM:  NASA 

This near-infrared, color mosaic from NASA's Cassini spacecraft shows the sun glinting off of Titan's north polar seas. While Cassini has captured, separately, views of the polar seas (see PIA17470) and the sun glinting off of them (see PIA12481 and PIA18433) in the past, this is the first time both have been seen together in the same view. The sunglint, also called a specular reflection, is the bright area near the 11 o'clock position at upper left. This mirror-like reflection, known as the specular point, is in the south of Titan's largest sea, Kraken Mare, just north of an island archipelago separating two separate parts of the sea. This particular sunglint was so bright as to saturate the detector of Cassini's Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS) instrument, which captures the view. It is also the sunglint seen with the highest observation elevation so far -- the sun was a full 40 degrees above the horizon as seen from Kraken Mare at this time -- much higher than the 22 degrees seen in PIA18433. Because it was so bright, this glint was visible through the haze at much lower wavelengths than before, down to 1.3 microns. The southern portion of Kraken Mare (the area surrounding the specular feature toward upper left) displays a "bathtub ring" -- a bright margin of evaporate deposits -- which indicates that the sea was larger at some point in the past and has become smaller due to evaporation. The deposits are material left behind after the methane & ethane liquid evaporates, somewhat akin to the saline crust on a salt flat. The highest resolution data from this flyby -- the area seen immediately to the right of the sunglint -- cover the labyrinth of channels that connect Kraken Mare to another large sea, Ligeia Mare. Ligeia Mare itself is partially covered in its northern reaches by a bright, arrow-shaped complex of clouds. The clouds are made of liquid methane droplets, and could be actively refilling the lakes with rainfall. The view was acquired during Cassini's August 21, 2014, flyby of Titan, also referred to as "T104" by the Cassini team. The view contains real color information, although it is not the natural color the human eye would see. Here, red in the image corresponds to 5.0 microns, green to 2.0 microns, and blue to 1.3 microns. These wavelengths correspond to atmospheric windows through which Titan's surface is visible. The unaided human eye would see nothing but haze, as in PIA12528. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The VIMS team is based at the University of Arizona in Tucson.  Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona/University of Idaho.

DOD VIDEO: NATIONAL GUARD RESPONDS TO LAVA FLOW

FTC ALLEGES GERBER FALSELY ADVERTISED GOOD START GENTLE FORMULA PRODUCTS

FROM:  U.S. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION 

FTC Charges Gerber with Falsely Advertising Its Good Start Gentle Formula Protects Infants from Developing Allergies

The Federal Trade Commission has charged Gerber Products Co., also doing business as Nestlé Nutrition, with deceptively advertising that feeding its Good Start Gentle formula to infants with a family history of allergies prevents or reduces the risk that they will develop allergies.

The agency also alleges that Gerber has falsely advertised Good Start Gentle’s health claims as FDA-approved. Through its federal court enforcement action, the Commission is seeking to prohibit Gerber from making the alleged false and unsubstantiated allergy-prevention claims.

“Parents trusted Gerber to tell the truth about the health benefits of its formula, and the company’s ads failed to live up to that trust,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Gerber didn’t have evidence to back up its claim that Good Start Gentle formula reduces the risk of babies developing their parents’ allergies.”

In its complaint, the FTC alleges that since 2011, Gerber has advertised its Good Start Gentle formula through advertisements that ran on television, in magazines, at point-of-sale displays, online, and in other promotional material. Good Start Gentle sells for about $24 for a 23.2-ounce package of powdered formula.

Good Start Gentle is made with partially hydrolyzed whey proteins (PHWP). Gerber claims that feeding babies this formula, instead of formula made with intact cow’s milk proteins, will prevent or reduce the risk that they will develop allergies. In its ads, Gerber promotes Good Start Gentle by saying, for example:

“You want your baby to have your imagination…Your smile…Your eyes…Not your allergies.”
Also, a sticker on the package states that Good Start Gentle Formula is the:

“1st & ONLY Routine Formula TO REDUCE THE RISK OF DEVELOPING ALLERGIES.”
The agency’s complaint charges that Gerber lacked the scientific substantiation to make these general allergy-prevention claims, in violation of the FTC Act.

In addition, according to the FTC, Gerber’s ads also misrepresent that Good Start Gentle has qualified or received approval for a Food and Drug Administration health claim. For example, some ads prominently featured a gold badge stating that Good Start Gentle is the “1st and Only” formula that “Meets FDA Qualified Health Claim.”

In 2009, Gerber petitioned the FDA for permission to make a claim connecting PWHP with the reduced risk of one type of allergy, atopic dermatitis, in infants. The FDA allowed Gerber to make the narrow claim but only if Gerber carefully qualified its statement to make it clear that there is “little scientific evidence” for the relationship.

The Commission vote authorizing staff to file the federal court complaint was 5-0. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey on October 29, 2014.

NOTE: The Commission files a 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. The case will be decided by the court.

OPERATION KINGDOM CONQUEROR SENDS 11 MEN TO PRISON FOR ROLES IN CHILD EXPLOITATION

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Eleven Men Sentenced to Prison in Connection with International Child Exploitation Enterprise

Eleven men have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in an international child pornography network operated online, which was targeted by state and federal investigators and prosecutors participating in Operation Kingdom Conqueror.

Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Michael W. Cotter of the District of Montana and Special Agent in Charge Mary Rook of the FBI’s Salt Lake City Division made the announcement.

According to court documents, in November 2009, an early participant in the conspiracy designed and created an online bulletin board that allowed members to exchange images, including child pornography.  As the conspiracy progressed, additional members contributed to the design and operations of the board.  Between Nov. 6, 2009, and March 19, 2012, members of the conspiracy used the online bulletin board to share pictures and videos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  During that same time period, the participants agreed to use the online bulletin board to solicit additional images of child pornography, which they would then share and broadcast on the Internet.  Thirteen defendants have been charged and convicted for their participation in this child pornography network.

The following defendants pleaded guilty in April 2014 to conspiracy to advertise child pornography and were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy of the District of Montana:

Tony Bronson, 53, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced to serve 224 months on Oct. 28, 2014.

Charles Crosby, 43, of Trenton, New Jersey, was sentenced to serve 210 months in prison on Oct. 23, 2014.

Steve Humiston, 57, of Tacoma, Washington, was sentenced to serve 210 months in prison and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine on Oct. 23, 2014.

John Johnson, 58, of Locust Grove, Virginia, was sentenced to serve 180 months in prison on Oct. 22, 2014.

Robert Krise, 66, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, was sentenced to serve 180 months in prison on Oct. 22, 2014.

Scott Long, 53, of Portland, Oregon, was sentenced to serve 200 months in prison on Oct. 21, 2014.

Ian Nosek, 42, of Charlottesville, Virginia, was sentenced to serve 216 months in prison on Oct. 23, 2014.

Phillip Morris, 42, of Jeffersonville, Indiana, was sentenced to serve 216 months in prison on Oct. 22, 2014.

Joseph Purificato, 23, of Mount Vernon, Missouri, was sentenced to serve 180 months in prison on Oct. 28, 2014.

Paul Wencewicz, 48, of Polson, Montana, was sentenced to serve 200 months in prison on Oct. 21, 2014.

Jeffrey Woolley, 53, of Nicholasville, Kentucky, was sentenced to serve 180 months in prison and ordered to pay a $5000 fine on Oct. 28, 2014.

All of the defendants were ordered to forfeit their computers and storage devices. Purificato received a 10-year term of supervised release following his prison sentence.  All other defendants received lifetime terms of supervised release.  All defendants are required to pay $29,859 restitution.

Two additional defendants, Joshua Peterson, 45, of Prescott, Arizona, and Steven Grovo, 35, of Shirley, Massachusetts, were found guilty of participating in a child exploitation enterprise and a conspiracy to advertise child pornography on Oct. 9, 2014.  Both men are scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 22, 2015, in Missoula, Montana.

The investigation, referred to as Operation Kingdom Conqueror, is an ongoing cooperative effort between the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, FBI, Montana Department of Criminal Investigations, Helena and Polson Police Departments, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, Montana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the States of Jersey Police Department, Isle of Jersey.

Trial Attorney Maureen C. Cain of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee L. Peterson of the District of Montana prosecuted the case.

This case was initiated under the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative which was launched in 2006 to combat the proliferation of technology-facilitated crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children.  Through a network of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and advocacy organizations, Project Safe Childhood attempts to protect children by investigating and prosecuting offenders involved in child sexual exploitation.  It is implemented through partnerships including the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force.  The ICAC Task Force Program was created to assist state and local law enforcement agencies by enhancing their investigative response to technology facilitated crimes against children.

NSC SPOKESPERSONS STATEMENT MEETING WITH YEZIDI LEADERS ON ISIL

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE  

October 31, 2014

Statement by NSC Spokesperson Bernadette Meehan on Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Benjamin Rhodes’ Meeting with Yezidi Leaders

Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes met today at the White House with Baba Sheikh Khurto Hajji Ismail – the leader of the Yezidi Supreme Religious Council – and other leaders of the Iraqi Yezidi community to discuss the ongoing threat to the community from ISIL and to provide an update on coalition efforts to counter ISIL in Iraq. Mr. Rhodes condemned ISIL’s ongoing attacks on the Yezidi community and other religious minorities in northern Iraq, including Christians, Turkmen, and Shabak, as well as their perpetration of bombings in Shi’a areas and massacre of Sunnis. On behalf of the President, he offered condolences for those who lost their lives in the violence of the past few months in Ninawa province and elsewhere.

Mr. Rhodes thanked the participants for relaying the latest information on the humanitarian situation of the thousands of Yezidi refugees who fled during the ISIL assault on Mount Sinjar over the summer. As part of the military campaign, Mr. Rhodes noted that the coalition had conducted airstrikes against ISIL positions around Mount Sinjar in recent days. He underscored that ISIL’s continued acts of abuse, kidnapping, torture, forced conversion, horrific violence against women and girls, and murder only further serve to highlight the group’s inhumanity and reinforce the international community’s resolve to counter this common threat. Mr. Rhodes urged all Iraqis, including Iraqi Security Forces, Kurdish Peshmerga, tribes, and minority and vulnerable communities to work together to counter the common ISIL enemy. He also discussed plans by the Iraqi Government to develop a National Guard in which communities could help provide for their own security.

Mr. Rhodes reiterated the United States’ commitment to the safety and security of the Yezidi community within a unified and pluralistic Iraq. He noted the recent positive steps in the formation of an Iraqi government under the leadership of Prime Minister Abadi and stressed continued U.S. support for the development of a national program in Iraq that addresses the interests and desires of all its communities. He pledged continued humanitarian assistance for those who have been displaced inside Iraq, including the Yezidi population, and expressed our determination to provide support for Yezidi women and girls who have faced terrible abuse from ISIL.

U.S. CONGRATULATES PEOPLE OF DOMINICA ON THEIR INDEPENDENCE DAY

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Dominica's Independence Day

Press Statement

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Washington, DC

October 31, 2014

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of Dominica on the 36th anniversary of your independence on November 3.

As the first country in the Americas to elect a female prime minister, you remain a symbol of gender equality for the region and the world.

The United States shares a cooperative relationship with Dominica through the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative and the U.S. Caribbean Basin Initiative, which grants duty-free entry into the United States for many goods. Our mutual interests in promoting trade and educational opportunities through USAID and the Peace Corps will continue to unite us in the future.

I wish you the best during your Independence Day celebrations.

WHITE HOUSE READOUT: PRESIDENT OBAMA CALLS SERVICE MEMBERS IN W. AFRICA

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 
November 01, 2014
Readout of the President's Call with U.S. Service Members in West Africa

The President spoke by phone on Saturday afternoon with U.S. service members in Liberia and Senegal taking part in Operation United Assistance, the U.S. military mission to contain the Ebola outbreak at its source. The President, on behalf of the American people, offered his profound gratitude to the dedicated men and women providing logistics support, engineering expertise, construction services, and other elements needed to bring the epidemic under control. The President underscored that the civilian-led, whole of government strategy to tackle Ebola on the frontlines is the most effective way to prevent further spread of the disease and protect the American people from additional cases at home. He concluded the call by noting that, while we must not relent in this campaign, initial signs of progress in Liberia were a testament to the skill and determination of these service members and their civilian counterparts. Their service embodies American leadership at its finest.

SEC. KERRY'S PRESS STATEMENT ON CLIMATE CHANGE REPORT

FROM:  THE STATE DEPARTMENT 
Release of the Synthesis Report of the Fifth Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
November 2, 2014

This report is another canary in the coal mine.

Greenhouse gas emissions from human activity are higher than ever, and we're seeing more and more extreme weather and climate events, whether it's storm surges, devastating heat waves, and torrential rain, across the globe. It's not a coincidence. With this report, we have yet another round of authoritative, peer-reviewed science to prove it.

The bottom line is that our planet is warming due to human actions, the damage is already visible, and the challenge requires ambitious, decisive and immediate action.

We can't prevent a large scale disaster if we don't heed this kind of hard science. The longer we are stuck in a debate over ideology and politics, the more the costs of inaction grow and grow. Those who choose to ignore or dispute the science so clearly laid out in this report do so at great risk for all of us and for our kids and grandkids.

NASA VIDEO: DEVELOPMENT OF SMALL ATOMIC CLOCK ESSENTIAL TO DEEP SPACE EXPLORATION

BACK TO 1999 AND THE CHANDRA X-RAY OBSERVATORY

FROM:  NASA 

This Chandra X-ray Observatory image of the Hydra A galaxy cluster was taken on Oct. 30, 1999, with the Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) in an observation that lasted about six hours. Hydra A is a galaxy cluster that is 840 million light years from Earth. The cluster gets its name from the strong radio source, Hydra A, that originates in a galaxy near the center of the cluster. Optical observations show a few hundred galaxies in the cluster.

Chandra X-ray observations reveal a large cloud of hot gas that extends throughout the cluster. The gas cloud is several million light years across and has a temperature of about 40 million degrees in the outer parts decreasing to about 35 million degrees in the inner region.

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory was launched into space fifteen years ago aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia. Since its deployment on July 23, 1999, Chandra has helped revolutionize our understanding of the universe through its unrivaled X-ray vision. Chandra, one of NASA's current "Great Observatories," along with the Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope, is specially designed to detect X-ray emission from hot and energetic regions of the universe. Image Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO.

DOJ ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT WITH CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE ON USE OF FORCE REFORMS FOR POLICE

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Friday, October 31, 2014

Justice Department Reaches Agreement with the City of Albuquerque to Implement Sweeping Reforms On Use of Force By the Albuquerque Police Department

The Justice Department today announced it has reached a comprehensive settlement agreement with the city of Albuquerque that will bring wide-ranging reforms to the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) and its use of force against civilians.  The Justice Department and the city have agreed to enter into a court-enforceable settlement agreement that will overhaul the way in which APD handles use of force by its officers following a year-long investigation into the department’s practices and letter of findings released by the Justice Department in April 2014.  Once the Albuquerque City Council considers the settlement agreement in a special session scheduled for the week of Nov. 3, the Justice Department and the city will file the settlement agreement with the United States District Court for approval and entry as an order.

"The overwhelming majority of our nation’s law enforcement officials perform their duties with exceptional courage, integrity, and professionalism—risking their lives every day to keep their communities safe,” said Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.  “But whenever a pattern of troubling conduct is uncovered, or that high standard is not met, the Department of Justice must and will take action.  The far-reaching agreement we have secured in this case will transform the culture and practices of the Albuquerque Police Department.  And I am confident that, with the cooperation of city leaders and brave law enforcement officials, we will take significant steps to restore trust with local citizens and build for Albuquerque’s residents the stronger, safer, and more secure communities that all Americans deserve.“

In addition to use of force practices, The Justice Department’s investigation found that officers routinely use deadly force and less lethal force in an unreasonable manner and that systemic deficiencies in policies, training, supervision, and oversight contributed to the pattern or practice.  Following the release of the investigative findings, the Justice Department engaged in extensive community outreach to solicit feedback and recommendations on reform from a wide variety of stakeholders, including police officers, community leaders, mental health advocates, family members, and other Albuquerque residents.  The feedback played a critical role in tailoring the settlement agreement to the unique needs of the Albuquerque community and APD.

“Today’s landmark settlement agreement will begin the process of restoring trust and cooperation between the Albuquerque community and law enforcement,” said Vanita Gupta, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.  “Constitutional policing is key to building trust between police departments and the communities they serve, and trust is of course key to ensuring public and officer safety.  The settlement agreement provides a blue print for sustainable reform that will foster continued collaboration and participation from the community.  We thank Mayor Berry, Chief Eden, and all of the individuals who came forward to share their experiences concerning APD to make this historic settlement agreement possible.”

“We are extremely proud of our community and police department for coming together in a time of serious challenges to the city to offer their advice and recommendations on a path forward,” said Damon P. Martinez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico.  “Reform will not take place overnight and it will take time to heal our community, but we are well on our way.  Through the settlement agreement reached today, the city agrees to implement fundamental reforms in a transparent manner that will ensure that force is used in accordance with constitutional rights and that promotes greater trust among the hard working men and women of the Albuquerque Police Department and the residents they are sworn to protect.”

Under the settlement agreement, the city and APD will implement comprehensive reforms in nine substantive areas.  An independent monitoring team will be selected jointly and will oversee the reforms, which are expected to be implemented within four years.  The areas covered by the settlement agreement are:

Use of force: including requiring supervisors to report to the scene of uses of force; providing medical care to subjects of force immediately after an incident; improving the quality of force investigations; developing a force review board to detect and correct patterns and trends, and utilizing surrounding law enforcement agencies as part of a multi-agency task force to investigate officer-involves shootings to provide greater objectivity and accountability;

Specialized units: including measures that require clearly defined missions and duties for specialized tactical and investigative units; ensuring that officers are sufficiently trained to save lives in high-risk situations; and dismantling APD’s repeat offender project to restore its core mission as an investigative, rather than tactical, unit;

Crisis intervention: including establishing a mental health response advisory committee; providing behavioral health training to all officers, police dispatchers, and 9-1-1 operators; and maintaining groups of specially-trained first responders, detectives, and mental health professionals that provide crisis intervention and ongoing support to individuals with serious mental illness or who are chronically homeless;

Policies and training: including developing clear and comprehensive policies on use of force, preventing retaliation, supporting officers who report misconduct, and improving the field training program to ensure that officers develop the necessary technical and practical skills required to use force in a lawful and effective manner;

Internal and civilian complaint investigations: including measures to eliminate arbitrary deadlines for the submission of civilian complaints; standards for conducting objective, thorough, and timely investigations; steps to ensure that the disciplinary system is fair and consistent; and protocols to protect officers’ rights against self-incrimination;

Staffing and supervision: including completing a staffing and resource study to determine the appropriate allocation of resources; holding supervisors accountable for close and effective supervision; and providing guidance on the effective use of on-body recording systems to promote accountability and strengthen public trust;

Recruitment and promotions: including developing a strategic recruitment plan that includes clear goals, objectives, and action steps for attracting qualified applicants from a broad cross section of the community and ensuring that fair and consistent promotion practices are implemented;

Officer assistance and support: including measures to ensure that APD personnel have ready access to mental health services and that supervisors are trained in making referrals in a manner that minimizes stigma; and

Community engagement and oversight: including measures to strengthen the city’s civilian oversight process; public information programs that keep members of the public informed of APD’s progress toward reform; requirements on fostering community policing at all levels of APD; and establishing community policing councils throughout the city to ensure that meaningful feedback is obtained from the community.

The independent monitoring team will oversee the implementation of reforms, provide technical assistance, and report on the city’s compliance through periodic and public reports.  The monitoring team will have access to all documents, personnel, facilities and information related to the settlement agreement and will engage with officers and community members on an ongoing basis.  The monitoring team will also be responsible for conducting outcome assessments to determine whether the goals of the settlement agreement are being met through compliance indicators and objective measures.  The settlement agreement requires two years of sustained compliance with the agreement before the agreement may be terminated.

NSF ARTICLE: TESTING FOR PATHOGENS

FROM:  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Testing for pathogens

Innovation Corps researchers focus on medical applications rather than food safety in response to customer needs

When Sunny Shah and his research colleagues at the University of Notre Dame developed a new diagnostic tool for detecting the presence of bacteria, viruses and other pathogens, they assumed that the food industry would be the perfect market.

It made sense, particularly amid ongoing concerns over food safety. The test could identify, among other things, E. coli 0157, which has caused a number of deadly outbreaks in the United States, as well as the bacterium responsible for brucellosis, a disease caused by eating undercooked meat or unpasteurized dairy products.

Their test was accurate and inexpensive. It just wasn't fast enough.

"Even though we could provide a cheaper test than what is already available, they said they would be willing to pay more for a faster test," Shah says, referring to his conversations with representatives from food processing plants, health agencies and food testing labs. "They said we needed to produce results within two hours, not two days, because they wouldn't be able to ship anything out, and had to pay for refrigeration, while waiting for test results."

So the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded scientist switched his focus--he likes to call it a "pivot"--from food safety to medical applications. In addition to food-borne bacteria, the test also can recognize the virus that causes Dengue fever, potentially valuable for surveillance activities both here and abroad, and human papillomavirus (HPV), which is linked to cervical and oral cancers.

Shah, who also is assistant director for the ESTEEM graduate program, which exposes those with STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) backgrounds to business and entrepreneurial courses, received $50,000 in 2013 from NSF's Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program. I-Corps helps scientists assess how, and whether, they can translate their promising discoveries into viable commercial products.

The award supports a set of activities and programs that prepare scientists and engineers to extend their focus beyond the laboratory into the commercial world, with the idea of providing near-term benefits for the economy and society.

It is a public-private partnership program that teaches grantees to identify valuable product opportunities that can emerge from academic research, and offers entrepreneurship training to student participants.

Although things did not turn out as originally planned in this case, Shah's experience nevertheless actually embodies the I-Corps philosophy, since one of its major goals is to mentor scientists in ways that allow them to evaluate the commercial potential of their discoveries, and send them in different directions if necessary to ensure their research ends up in the best possible place to do the most good at an affordable price.

"It doesn't matter what we, as researchers, think is the value of our technology," Shah says. "It's what the customer thinks that is important and the only way to identify this customer need is by getting out and interviewing them."

NSF also earlier supported the research that developed the test in 2011. Shah's research colleagues on this project include Hsueh-Chia Chang, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, Satyajyoti Senapati, research assistant professor, and Zdenek Slouka, postdoctoral associate in the Chang group. For the I-Corps grant, Kerry Wilson, managing director of Springboard Engineers, played the role of the business mentor, while Shah was the entrepreneurial lead

The test uses a biochip that can detect the DNA or RNA of a particular pathogen.

"Every pathogen has a unique biomarker, and what we do is put a probe on our biochip that captures that biomarker," Shah says. "If the sample has that particular pathogen, then its biomarker will bind to this probe and give us a signal. There are changes in the electrical properties, so it gives us a visual electrical signal that can easily be translated into a target present/absent signal."

Each chip is programmed for a specific pathogen, "but in the future we hope to develop what we call a multiplex biochip that can detect numerous pathogens all on the same device," Shah adds.

The plan now is to develop the tool for future use by dentists to test their patients during office visits for early detection of HPV-related oral cancer before there are visible signs of disease.

"Usually dentists now just examine you visually for lesions, but this would be a sample swab that could give you advance warning," he says.

The test also might be useful as a diagnostic tool for food-borne disease after infection, that is, in testing an already ill patient's blood, he says.

The team recently received a National Institutes of Health grant to study a possible future surveillance role for the test in screening mosquitoes for the presence of Dengue Fever.

"This is not a huge problem for the United States, although there have been a number of cases in parts of Florida in recent years, but it is an issue in South America, Brazil and India, and other areas, " he says.

The impact of I-Corps allowed Shah to make the transition. "Knowing the market and the customer early is extremely important in the technology commercialization process," he says. The program helped him to "quickly assess a particular market to identify customer need and be ready to pivot from one market to another, if needed."

-- Marlene Cimons, National Science Foundation
Investigators
Sunny Shah
Li-Jing Cheng
Hsueh-Chia Chang
Satyajyoti Senapati
Related Institutions/Organizations
University of Notre Dame

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS REGARDING THE NEW EUROPEAN COMMISSION

FROM:  THE STATE DEPARTMENT 

The New European Commission

Press Statement

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Washington, DC

October 31, 2014

I look forward to collaborating with a new European Commission that will take office on November 1 under the leadership of President Jean-Claude Juncker.

He has assembled a talented group of European leaders for his new Commission, including old friends like incoming High Representative Federica Mogherini.

The United States and the European Union share a common past – one we honor a century after the start of the First World War. Today, we share a common vision for a Europe whole, free, and at peace.

Almost two decades ago, leaders of the United States and the European Union committed to work together to promote peace, stability, and democracy around the world. We agreed to respond to global challenges, together. And we agreed to expand world trade, bring our economies closer together, and build transatlantic bridges for people and ideas.

The issues we confront have changed over the years. But we have stayed true to our bedrock commitments. Today, we face serious threats to peace and stability from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, ISIL in the Middle East, and Russia’s actions in Ukraine. These are crises we will combat together. And we are negotiating an ambitious trade and investment partnership to bring our economies even closer.

After a decade of his remarkable leadership at the helm of this Commission, I thank outgoing Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. I am also grateful for High Representative Catherine Ashton’s partnership over the years.

As the new Commission takes office, I look forward to working closely with them to reinforce the ties that bind the United States and the European Union.

U.S. CONGRATULATES PEOPLE OF PANAMA ON THEIR FIESTAS PATRIAS CELEBRATIONS

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT 

Panama's Independence Day

Press Statement

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Washington, DC

October 31, 2014

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of Panama as you begin Fiestas Patrias celebrations on November 3.

The Republic of Panama has much to celebrate this year. You marked the 100-year anniversary of the Panama Canal. Your government created the Panama Bilingue initiative which will significantly increase educational exchanges between our two nations. And you inaugurated a new president after a spirited campaign.

I was honored to attend President Varela’s inauguration this July. I watched as thousands of Panamanians in Rommel Fernandez Stadium celebrated another peaceful transfer of power – the hallmark of a strong democracy. I visited Panama as a young Navy officer in 1969. To return to your country decades later and witness the great strides you have made in bringing prosperity to your people and building a lasting democracy is remarkable.

Alongside all Panamanians, the United States looks forward to the upcoming Summit of the Americas and the expansion of the Panama Canal. You have a pivotal role to play in helping further democratic ideals, advancing the role of civil society, protecting human rights, and expanding economic development for the benefit of all peoples of our hemisphere.

On this day of celebration, I send best wishes to all Panamanians. Felicidades!

NSC STATEMENT ON SEPARATIST ELECTIONS IN EASTERN UKRAINE

FROM:  THE WHITE HOUSE 

October 31, 2014

Statement by NSC Spokesperson Bernadette Meehan on Anticipated Separatist “Elections” in Eastern Ukraine

We deplore the intent of separatists in parts of eastern Ukraine to hold illegitimate so-called local “elections” on Sunday, November 2. If held, these “elections” would contravene Ukraine’s constitution and laws and the September 5 Minsk Protocol. As President Obama said on October 27, “the United States will not recognize any election held in separatist-held areas that does not comport with Ukrainian law and is not held with the express consent and under the authority of the Ukrainian government.” The only legitimate local election in eastern Ukraine will be held on December 7, as prescribed by the Special Status Law signed by President Poroshenko for parts of Donetsk and Luhansk, and in keeping with the Protocol that the separatists signed with Ukraine and Russia in Minsk, Belarus, on September 5.

As a signatory of the Minsk Protocol, we call on Russia to join the Secretary General of the United Nations, the European Union, the Council of Europe, and the international community in condemning the illegitimate vote planned for this weekend. The United States will not recognize any results announced from this so-called election, and we call on all members of the international community to do the same. We also caution Russia against using any such illegitimate vote as a pretext to insert additional troops and military equipment into Ukraine, particularly in light of recent indications that the Russian military is moving forces back to the border along separatist controlled areas of eastern Ukraine. We once more urge Russia and its separatist proxies to fulfill all of their commitments under the Minsk Protocol of September 5, and the Minsk Memorandum of September 19.

TIRCK-OR-TREAT WITH THE PRESIDENT AND FIRST LADY