NOAA PREDICTS HURRICANE SEASON TO BE ABOUT NORMAL FOR 2012

FROM:  NOAA
Photo:  Irene in 2011 was a reminder that tropical systems can affect the Northeast and of the threat of inland flooding.
NOAA predicts a near-normal 2012 Atlantic hurricane season.  Anniversary of Hurricane Andrew underscores necessity to prepare every year
May 24, 2012
Conditions in the atmosphere and the ocean favor a near-normal hurricane season in the Atlantic Basin this season, NOAA announced today from Miami at its Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, and home to the Hurricane Research Division.

For the entire six-month season, which begins June 1, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center says there’s a 70 percent chance of nine to 15 named storms (with top winds of 39 mph or higher), of which four to eight will strengthen to a hurricane (with top winds of 74 mph or higher) and of those one to three will become major hurricanes (with top winds of 111 mph or higher, ranking Category 3, 4 or 5). Based on the period 1981-2010, an average season produces 12 named storms with six hurricanes, including three major hurricanes.
“NOAA’s outlook predicts a less active season compared to recent years,” said NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D. “But regardless of the outlook, it’s vital for anyone living or vacationing in hurricane-prone locations to be prepared. We have a stark reminder this year with the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Andrew.” Andrew, the Category 5 hurricane that devastated South Florida on August 24, 1992, was the first storm in a late-starting season that produced only six named storms.

Favoring storm development in 2012: the continuation of the overall conditions associated with the Atlantic high-activity era that began in 1995, in addition to near-average sea surface temperatures across much of the tropical Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, known as the Main Development Region. Two factors now in place that can limit storm development, if they persist, are: strong wind shear, which is hostile to hurricane formation in the Main Development Region, and cooler sea surface temperatures in the far eastern Atlantic.

“Another potentially competing climate factor would be El Niño if it develops by late summer to early fall. In that case, conditions could be less conducive for hurricane formation and intensification during the peak months (August-October) of the season, possibly shifting the activity toward the lower end of the predicted range,” said Gerry Bell, Ph.D., lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center.
"NOAA's improvement in monitoring and predicting hurricanes has been remarkable over the decades since Andrew, in large part because of our sustained commitment to research and better technology. But more work remains to unlock the secrets of hurricanes, especially in the area of rapid intensification and weakening of storms,” said Lubchenco. “We're stepping up to meet this challenge through our Hurricane Forecast Improvement Project, which has already demonstrated exciting early progress toward improving storm intensity forecasts."

Lubchenco added that more accurate forecasts about a storm's intensity at landfall and extending the forecast period beyond five days will help America become a more Weather-Ready Nation.

In a more immediate example of research supporting hurricane forecasting, NOAA this season is introducing enhancements to two of the computer models available to hurricane forecasters - the Hurricane Weather Research and Forecasting (HWRF) and the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) models. The HWRF model has been upgraded with a higher resolution and improved atmospheric physics. This latest version has demonstrated a 20 to 25 percent improvement in track forecasts and a 15 percent improvement in intensity forecasts relative to the previous version while also showing improvement in the representation of storm structure and size. Improvements to the GFDL model for 2012 include physics upgrades that are expected to reduce or eliminate a high bias in the model's intensity forecasts.

The seasonal outlook does not predict how many storms will hit land. Forecasts for individual storms and their impacts are provided by NOAA’s National Hurricane Center, which continuously monitors the tropics for storm development and tracking throughout the season using an array of tools including satellites, advance computer modeling, hurricane hunter aircraft, and land- and ocean-based observations sources such as radars and buoys.

Next week, May 27- June 2, is national Hurricane Preparedness Week. To help prepare residents of hurricane-prone areas, video and audio public service announcements featuring NOAA hurricane experts and the FEMA administrator are available in both English and Spanish.

“Every hurricane season we ask families, communities, and businesses to ensure they are prepared and visit www.ready.gov/hurricanes,” said Tim Manning, FEMA deputy administrator for protection and national preparedness. “Being prepared includes developing a family emergency plan, putting an emergency kit together or updating your existing kit, keeping important papers and valuables in a safe place, and getting involved to ensure your community is ready.”

NOAA’s outlook for the Eastern Pacific basin is for a near-normal hurricane season and the Central Pacific basin is expected to have a below-normal season. NOAA will issue an updated seasonal outlook for the Atlantic hurricane season in early August, just prior to the historical peak of the season.

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us onFacebook, Twitter and our other social media channels.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ASSISTANCE FORCE NEWS RELEASE IN AFGHANISTAN MAY 30, 2012

Photo:  Helicopter Flying Over Afghanistan.  Credit:  U.S. Air Force.

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE

Combined Force Kills Several Insurgents

From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan, May 30, 2012 - A combined Afghan and coalition security force killed several insurgents during an operation to detain a Taliban facilitator in the Sayyidabad district of Afghanistan's Wardak province today, military officials reported.

The Taliban facilitator works directly for the senior Taliban leader in Sayyidabad and also supplies weapons, ammunition and equipment to insurgents for attacks against Afghan and coalition troops, officials said.

As the combined force approached the leader's location, multiple insurgents fired on the troops from within a building, which was later determined to be a mosque. The security force returned fire, killing the insurgents. The Afghan troops entered the building to ensure no insurgents remained.

As the Afghan force cleared the area, they discovered one of the insurgents killed in the exchange had an unstable grenade rigged to his equipment. The Afghan troops requested a coalition explosives expert enter the building and defuse the grenade. The explosives expert rendered the grenade safe, removed it without incident, and departed the area as the Afghan forces finished clearing the building.

During the subsequent search, the Afghan forces recovered a machine gun, multiple AK-47 rifles and several grenades.

In other Afghanistan operations today:

-- A combined force detained a Taliban facilitator in the Washer district of Helmand province. The facilitator worked for Taliban leaders in the district and provided weapons, ammunition and equipment to insurgents for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He also performed investigations for the Taliban and attempted to intimidate Afghan civilians who supported the government of Afghanistan.

-- A combined force detained numerous suspected insurgents during a search for a Taliban leader in the Panjwa'i district of Kandahar province. The sought-after Taliban leader plans and coordinates attacks against Afghan government officials, as well as Afghan and coalition troops. He also coordinates the movement of insurgents and weapons into the Panjwa'i district.

-- In the Sabari district of Khost province, a combined force called in an airstrike that killed several insurgents, and it also seized AK-47 rifles, several magazines and multiple grenades, and detained numerous suspects during an operation to capture a Haqqani facilitator. The facilitator supplies weapons, ammunition, rockets and explosives to insurgents for attacks against Afghan and coalition troops throughout the district. As the security force approached the insurgent leader's location, several armed insurgents appeared. After ensuring no civilians were in the area, the security force called for a precision airstrike to engage the enemy fighters. Several insurgents were killed and a follow-on assessment determined that no civilians were harmed and no civilian property was damaged.

-- A combined force detained several suspects during an operation to capture a Haqqani facilitator in the Musahi district of Kabul province. The facilitator is involved in the preparations for an attack in Kabul City against Afghan officials and Afghan and coalition troops. He also coordinates the movement of explosives, weapons and equipment between Haqqani leaders and subordinate insurgents.

And in operations yesterday, a combined force killed several Taliban fighters and seized multiple AK-47 rifles, grenades and IEDs during an operation to detain a Taliban leader in the Almar district of Faryab province. The leader plans and organizes roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces and is responsible for distributing funds to Taliban district commanders.

SELF-DESCRIBED LIBERTARIAN CONGRESSMAN RON PAUL ON EX-PATRIOT CAPITAL

Photo:  New York Stock Exchange 1939.  Credit:  Wikimedia. FROM:  CONGRESSMAN RON PAUL'S WEBSITE Capital Controls Have No Place in a Free Society

The characteristic mark of a tyrannical regime is that it eventually finds it necessary to erect walls to keep people from leaving.  This is why we should be troubled by the “Ex-PATRIOT Act,” an egregiously offensive bill recently introduced in the Senate.  Following a long line of recent legislation and regulations attempting to expropriate more and more wealth from hard-working Americans, this new bill spits in the face of overburdened taxpayers and tramples on the Constitution.  Current law already dictates that Americans with a net worth of over $2 million who expatriate must be assumed to have sold all their assets and must pay a corresponding punitive exit tax on those assumed sales.  The Ex-PATRIOT Act goes even further than current law by assessing a 30% capital gains tax on all future earnings of expatriates.  Not content just with this additional tax, the bill also grants the IRS the sole authority to determine whether individuals have expatriated for tax purposes and allows the IRS to bar those individuals from ever re-entering the United States.  Finally, the bill blatantly violates the ex post facto provisions of the U.S. Constitution by extending all of these provisions to anyone who has given up their U.S. citizenship within the past decade.   This bill, and other similar legislation, casts a chilling effect on saving, investment, and entrepreneurial activity.  The bill was introduced in response to news reports about one of the founders of Facebook who might save millions of dollars of taxes by renouncing his U.S. citizenship.  But in their blind envy towards successful entrepreneurs, the bill's sponsors ignore the fact that they will ensnare many ordinary middle-class Americans who work hard, save and invest wisely, and benefit from rising home values.  These Americans may easily find themselves pushing past the $2 million mark by the time they retire, especially as inflation continues to seriously accelerate.  If they wish to escape the Federal Reserve's inflation by emigrating to lower-cost countries so their dollars will go farther, as many Baby Boomers are starting to do, the federal government will penalize them, and continue to penalize them for the rest of their lives as long as they hold any money in the United States.  Unfortunately, the mere consideration of such legislation, even before it has passed, has made American banking customers a potential future headache for banks around the world.  They don't want to deal with the IRS any more than Americans do, and if American account holders become a Trojan horse for the IRS to insinuate themselves into their affairs, there may be more cost than benefit to extending banking services to Americans. We live under a federal government that has eviscerated our Fourth Amendment rights, that can detain U.S. citizens indefinitely based solely on the President's word, that assaults toddlers and grandmothers at airports in the name of security, and regulates virtually every aspect of our economic lives.  No wonder increasing numbers of Americans feel this government is engaged in outright warfare against its own citizens.  Every day the noose grows tighter, yet anyone who sees the writing on the wall and seeks to leave must pay exorbitant taxes just for the privilege of leaving, and increasingly the possibility looms of never fully breaking away from the government's tentacles no matter where they go.  Ultimately, the Ex-PATRIOT Act proposes to control people by controlling their capital, and it has no place in a free society.

DOJ ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT TO PROTECT VOTING RIGHTS OF MILITARY AND OVERSEAS VOTERS IN CALIFORNIA

Photo:  Justice and Humanity.  Credit:  Wikimedia.
FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Justice Department Announces Agreement to Protect Rights of Military and Overseas Voters in California
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement with California state officials to help ensure that military servicemembers, their family members and U.S. citizens living overseas have the opportunity to participate fully in California’s June 5, 2012, federal primary election.
 
The agreement was filed at the same time as a lawsuit brought under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA).  The Justice Department filed suit in response to the state’s failure to send absentee ballots to thousands of California’s eligible military and overseas voters for the June 5, 2012, federal primary election at least 45 days prior to the election, as required by UOCAVA.  The complaint also alleges that the state failed to ensure that ballots were sent by the voters’ preferred method of transmission (by mail or electronically), as required by federal law.

The agreement between the Justice Department and the California Secretary of State provides remedial options to afford affected military and overseas voters sufficient opportunity to receive, cast and return their ballots in time to be counted.  Under the agreement, affected voters will be notified of their options to receive and return their ballots by electronic or other expedited methods, and they will be offered the option of returning their ballots by express delivery at no cost to the voter.  The agreement recognizes the steps some counties already took to utilize express delivery for ballots that were not sent at least 45 days prior to the election.

“Members of our armed forces, their families and overseas citizens are entitled to a complete and meaningful opportunity to vote, and the Justice Department is committed to seeking full access to the ballot box for all voters – regardless of where they are on Election Day,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.  “The California Secretary of State worked cooperatively with the department and agreed to implement measures that will ensure California’s military and overseas voters will have the opportunity to fully participate in June’s primary election and future federal elections.”

“Our fine men and women in uniform make tremendous sacrifices serving our nation every day,” said Benjamin B. Wagner, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California.  “This agreement ensures that military voters, as well as U.S. citizens who are overseas, need not sacrifice their right to vote.”

UOCAVA requires states to allow uniformed service voters (serving both overseas and within the United States) and their families and overseas citizens to register to vote and to vote absentee for all elections for federal office.  In 2009, Congress enacted the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) Act, which made broad amendments to UOCAVA.  Among those changes was a requirement that states must transmit absentee ballots to voters covered under UOCAVA, by mail or electronically at the voter’s option, no later than 45 days before federal elections.  

The agreement, which must be approved by the U.S. District Court in Sacramento, Calif., also commits the California Secretary of State to closely monitor and certify California counties’ transmission of UOCAVA ballots, conduct training of county election officials before the 2012 general election, provide assistance to its counties when necessary, and report back to the United States about its UOCAVA compliance for the 2012 federal general election and the 2014 federal election cycle.  In addition, the agreement requires the California Secretary of State to take additional steps to ensure full compliance with UOCAVA in future federal elections, including investigating the cause of the late mailed ballots and then taking the actions necessary to prevent future violations.  The California Secretary of State must provide status reports to the Department of Justice on those efforts.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SUPPORTS INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE ON SYRIA

Photo Credit:  U.S. Department of Defense

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE

Pentagon Supports Diplomatic, Economic Pressure on Syria

By Cheryl Pellerin

WASHINGTON, May 29, 2012 - The Defense Department supports the U.S. policy of working with international partners to put diplomatic and economic pressure on Syria's government to help stem the humanitarian crisis there, the Pentagon's press secretary said here today.

George Little spoke with reporters at the Pentagon about the ongoing and destabilizing situation in Syria.

"What we're witnessing in Syria are atrocities undertaken by the [Bashar al-]Assad regime," he said. "That kind of violence by the regime needs to stop. We've been clear about that."

U.S. policy continues to focus, "with our international partners," Little added, "on applying diplomatic and economic pressure on the Assad regime to try to convince them that they are pursuing a reckless, inhumane and deplorable course of action."

Assad's troops massacred more than 100 Syrian men, women and children in the Houla region, north of the city of Homs, on May 25, U.S. and United Nations officials said.

The State Department today "called in Syrian charge d'affaires Zuheir Jabbour and informed him that he is no longer welcome in the United States and gave him 72 hours to depart," spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a briefing.

The action was taken, she said, in response to the "absolutely indefensible, vile, despicable massacre against innocent children, women, shot at point-blank range by regime thugs -- [called] the shabiha -- aided and abetted by the Iranians who were actually bragging about it over the weekend."

Nuland said the State Department is in consultation with U.S. allies and partners about what more can be done to pressure the Assad regime.

"This decision to kick out the charge was done in coordination with other countries," she said. "Australia, Canada, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Germany also took the same action today."

At the Pentagon briefing, Little said the focus remains on the diplomatic and economic track "but at the end of the day we in the Department of Defense have a responsibility to look at the full spectrum of options and to make them available if they're requested."

Little added, "We share the shock over the atrocities that we're seeing in Syria with our international partners. And we have an interest, of course, in stability in the region."

The United States has for decades played a key role in trying to provide peace, stability and security for that region, he said.

"When there is a crisis like this that erupts that has the potential to cause not just humanitarian disasters but also could cascade outside of Syria, potentially, that's a concern to countries of the region and to countries like the United States outside the region," Little said.

Defense Department officials have been in regular contact with international partners and countries in the region to express "our collective dismay at what's happening in Syria and to try to see if there are things we can do to bring pressure to bear on the Assad regime to stop what they're doing against their own people," the press secretary said.

"That's of course the prudent thing to do," Little added, "when you see a crisis like this in a very important region of the world."

U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE CLINTON MEETS WITH MIDDLE EAST DEMOCRACY ACTIVISTS

FROM:  U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Meeting With Visiting Middle East Democracy Activists
Remarks Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State Treaty Room
Washington, DC
May 29, 2012
SECRETARY CLINTON: Hello.

PARTICIPANT: Hello.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Welcome. Welcome. We are so pleased to have you here, and I know many of you were able to come to the Civil Society Dialogue.

PARTICIPANT: Yes.

SECRETARY CLINTON: And we just want to continue encouraging you, supporting you where we can in your efforts to stand up for democracy – real democracy – and the human rights of every human being, and to help advance the cause of progress and freedom every way that you are already doing so. And we’re very proud of what you are doing. And we know it’s not an easy path to be on, but history has, I think, shown time and time again that you are on the right side of history. So thank you, all.

PARTICIPANT: Thank you.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Lots of pictures and cameras. (Laughter.) That’s it? Good.
Well, I know too that you have been meeting with a lot of people. Has it been a good experience for you?

PARTICIPANT: Yes, it was a very good – yeah.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Good. And I hope that as part of your dialogue with all of our team, you’ll give us your very honest assessments about what we can do, what we should not do, what the best ways to try to support you are, what works, what doesn’t work, because we admire greatly not only what you’re doing, but what your countries are trying to do. And I often remind my own fellow Americans that it took us a long time to try to make sure we dealt with all of the issues – our Constitution enshrined slavery and we had to overcome that; it eliminated the right for women to vote and we had to overcome that.

So it’s not like we are telling you that it’s easy for us, because it’s been challenging. But we have the luxury of doing it during 200 years of history where the whole world was not watching everything you did and said. I mean, you are, in a way, in a much more challenging environment because of the media and technology that now has an opinion about everything and can be used for the betterment of human society or for the undermining of progress.

So we know how hard this is, just on the merits because of our own experience. And we know that it is even more challenging in today’s world. So we want to learn from you. We think we have some ideas to offer, some help to provide, but we really want to learn from you. So please take that invitation. Don’t be shy about that.

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE LEON PANNETTA COMMEMORATES 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE VIETNAM WAR

Photo Credits:  Wikimedia

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT DEFENSE

50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemorations Delivered by Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, DC, Monday, May 28, 2012

I'm honored to be here today with all of you as we begin the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of America's participation in the Vietnam War. Memorial Day is an appropriate opportunity for all Americans to come together, to pay tribute to all those who have fought and died for our country, across more than two hundred years, and on battlefields near and far.  America's sons and daughters have made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our liberties, to give all of us a better life.


At this hour, at this hallowed and haunting memorial, we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War – a war that occupies a central place in the American story.

Millions of Americans were sent across the Pacific to a little known place to fight in the service of the country they loved.

Not only at this hour, but at all times, we remember and carry in our hearts the more than 58,000 Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen whose names are inscribed on this dark wall for eternity.

For me personally, this is an especially moving moment.  As a member and later chairman of the Vietnam Era Veterans Caucus in the House of Representatives, I had the honor to work on the endowment of this memorial.  To see the names of soldiers that I served with inscribed on this wall.  To see the names of officers who went through ROTC with me at Santa Clara inscribed on this wall.  To know my good friend Everett Alvarez, a hero from this war and a classmate of mine, who served with great distinction in that war.
No memorial better reflects the pain of the sacrifices that were made.

Many more came home from that war to a country that failed to fully acknowledge their service and their sacrifice, and failed to give them the honor they so justly deserved.
That experience, that failure to thank those who were willing to put their lives on the line for this country, was burned into the soul of my generation.  For too many Vietnam veterans, the recognition of their bravery came too late.

The Vietnam generation, my generation – is graying now.   But this commemoration effort gives the country an opportunity, today and in the years ahead, to try and right the wrongs of the past, to remember those who served in this war and what they did for us, their service, and their sacrifice on our behalf.

Last week, I had the opportunity to join the President in paying tribute to a fallen member of that generation, Specialist Les Sabo, who posthumously received the Medal of Honor.
Les Sabo died in Vietnam saving his brothers-in-arms.  And it was those same brothers of his from the 101st Airborne Division who campaigned to re-open the Medal of Honor process for Les more than ten years ago.  The story of Les in many ways is the story of the Vietnam war.  We forgot, and now we finally remember.

Next week, as Secretary of Defense I will have the opportunity to travel to Vietnam to continue strengthening the growing ties our two countries have been re-establishing since in 1995.  We have come a long way since the war ended, and it was veterans of Vietnam who led the way for our two nations to begin the process of trying to heal the wounds of the war.

Today, Department of Defense personnel are working diligently to identify and locate the remains of fallen service members missing in action in Vietnam.  Let me assure you: this sacred mission will continue until all of our troops come home and are accounted for.

It reflects the determination of our military and our country to leave no man or woman behind, and to honor those who have honored us with their service, valor, and sacrifice.

During the last decade of war, another generation of warriors has answered the call to fight and sacrifice on foreign soil.  They have done all this country has asked them to do and more.

As they have returned from overseas, America, with our Vietnam veterans front and center in the effort – has embraced this new greatest generation of service members, showing that we have learned perhaps the most important lesson to come out of the Vietnam war – the debt we owe to those who fight and who die for our freedoms.

The President and Mrs. Obama have done so much to encourage Americans to do more to recognize and support these great patriots, they have led the fight for the men and women who fought for our nation.

As this country faces tough economic times, we must do everything we can to ease the transition of the thousands of service members who come home from war to civilian life.  They fought for us.  The least we can do is fight for them.
It is now my honor to introduce one of those Soldiers who fought in Vietnam, Senator Chuck Hagel.  He led an infantry squad in Vietnam during the bloody fighting following the Tet Offensive.  Like millions of our generation, he demonstrated bravery, patriotism, and heroism on the battlefield, and he also demonstrated that patriotism and that patriotism and that heroism in the life of public service that has followed.

Chuck, we thank you for honoring us with your presence today, and thank you for your commitment to the United States of America.

LATE AFTERNOON ON MARS

FROM:  NASA

NASA's Mars Rover Opportunity catches its own late-afternoon shadow in this dramatically lit view eastward across Endeavour Crater on Mars. The rover used the panoramic camera (Pancam) between about 4:30 and 5:00 p.m. local Mars time to record images taken through different filters and combined into this mosaic view. Most of the component images were recorded during the 2,888th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's work on Mars (March 9, 2012). At that time, Opportunity was spending low-solar-energy weeks of the Martian winter at the Greeley Haven outcrop on the Cape York segment of Endeavour's western rim. In order to give the mosaic a rectangular aspect, some small parts of the edges of the mosaic and sky were filled in with parts of an image acquired earlier as part of a 360-degree panorama from the same location. Opportunity has been studying the western rim of Endeavour Crater since arriving there in August 2011. This crater spans 14 miles (22 kilometers) in diameter, or about the same area as the city of Seattle. This is more than 20 times wider than Victoria Crater, the largest impact crater that Opportunity had previously examined. The interior basin of Endeavour is in the upper half of this view. The mosaic combines about a dozen images taken through Pancam filters centered on wavelengths of 753 nanometers (near infrared), 535 nanometers (green) and 432 nanometers (violet). The view is presented in false color to make some differences between materials easier to see, such as the dark sandy ripples and dunes on the crater's distant floor. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/Arizona State Univ.

TWO ENERGY BUSINESSES TO PAY $1 MILLION FOR SPILLS IN THREE STATES

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Mid-America Pipeline Company and Enterprise Products Operating to Pay $1 Million for Spills in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska

WASHINGTON – Mid-America Pipeline Company LLC (MAPCO), and Enterprise Products Operating LLC, of Houston, have agreed to pay a civil penalty of more than $1 million to the United States to settle violations of the federal Clean Water Act related to three natural gasoline pipeline spills in Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska.

As part of a consent decree lodged today in U.S. District Court in Omaha, Neb., and in addition to paying the $1,042,000 civil penalty, the companies have agreed to undertake various measures aimed at reducing external threats to their pipeline, enhance their reporting of spills, and spend at least $200,000 to identify and prevent external threats to the pipeline involved in the spills.

MAPCO owns and Enterprise operates the 2,769-mile West Red Pipeline, which transports mixed natural gasoline products between Conway, Kan., and Pine Bend, Minn. The settlement resolves Clean Water Act violations related to three spills that occurred along the pipeline:

·      A March 29, 2007, rupture near Yutan, Neb., which caused the discharge of approximately 1,669 barrels of natural gasoline directly into an unnamed ditch and Otoe Creek.
·      An April 23, 2010, rupture near Niles, Kan., which caused the discharge of approximately 1,760 barrels of natural gasoline directly into an unnamed ditch, Cole Creek, Buckeye Creek and the Solomon River.
·      An Aug. 13, 2011, rupture near Onawa, Iowa, which caused the discharge of approximately 818 barrels of natural gasoline directly into the Missouri River.

“Pipeline ruptures and resulting spills can cause significant harm to the environment, so it is essential that pipeline owners and operators abide by federal laws intended to protect our land and waters,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the Department of Justice.  “This agreement will put into place important measures to prevent future spills and identify potential safety threats along MAPCO’s West Red Pipeline.”

“More than 20,000 miles of pipeline, carrying oil and petroleum products, cross the states of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska in EPA’s Region 7,” said Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Karl Brooks. “A frequent cause of pipeline breaks is the action of third parties during farming and excavation. This settlement requires the defendants to honor a schedule of pipeline inspections on the ground and from the air, and reach out to local agencies, contractors and excavators to make sure they are more fully aware of pipeline locations and depths.”

“This settlement requires proactive vigilance to ensure that our soil and waterways are protected from contaminants,” said Deborah R. Gilg, U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska.  “The agreement will result in safer pipeline operations and that will be good for Nebraska’s environment.”

In addition to the proactive inspections and outreach efforts, the settlement also requires MAPCO and Enterprise to spend $200,000 to relocate, cover, lower or replace pipeline segments; install new remote shutoff valves; install new physical protections such as fences or concrete barriers; and install other new equipment, structures or systems to prevent spills from reaching navigable waters.

EDUCATION: EIGHT MORE STATES GET NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND WAIVERS WAVIERS

Photo Credit:  Wikimedia 
FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Obama Administration Approves Eight More States for NCLB Waivers
19 States Approved So Far; 17 States and Washington, D.C., Currently Under Review; Other States Can Still Apply

MAY 29, 2012
The Obama administration approved eight additional states for flexibility from key provisions of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in exchange for state-developed plans to prepare all students for college and career, focus aid on the neediest students, and support effective teaching and leadership. Today's announcement brings the number of states with waivers to 19. Eighteen additional applications are still under review.

At an event in Hartford, Connecticut, with Gov. Dannel Malloy, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro and a host of local, state and federal officials, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced waivers for Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Rhode Island.

"These eight additional states are getting more flexibility with federal funds and relief from NCLB's one-size-fits-all federal mandates in order to develop locally-tailored solutions to meet their unique educational challenges," Duncan said.

Duncan pointed out that many of the new state-created accountability systems capture more students at risk, including low-income students, students with disabilities, and English learners, adding, "States must show they are protecting children in order to get flexibility. These states met that bar."

Connecticut's plan, for example, raises the number of schools accountable for the performance of students with disabilities from 276 to 683; free and reduced-price lunch students from 757 to 928; African American students from 280 to 414; Hispanic students from 356 to 548; and English learners from 97 to 209. States previously granted waivers include Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

GALAXY NGC 4980

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ARMED WITH SCIENCE
Written on MAY 27, 2012 AT 7:10 AM by JTOZER
A Spiral Galaxy in Hydra
This image from the NASA Hubble Space Telescope shows NGC 4980, a spiral galaxy in the southern constellation of Hydra. The shape of NGC 4980 appears slightly deformed, something which is often a sign of recent tidal interactions with another galaxy. In this galaxy’s case, however, this appears not to be the case as there are no other galaxies in its immediate vicinity.

The image was produced as part of a research program into the nature of galactic bulges, the bright, dense, elliptical centers of galaxies. Classical bulges are relatively disordered, with stars orbiting the galactic center in all directions. In contrast, in galaxies with so-called pseudobulges, or disc-type bulges, the movement of the spiral arms is preserved right to the center of the galaxy.

Although the spiral structure is relatively subtle in this image, scientists have shown that NGC 4980 has a disc-type bulge, and its rotating spiral structure extends to the very center of the galaxy.

A galaxies’ bright arms are the location of new star formation in spiral galaxies, and NGC 4980 is no exception. The galaxy’s arms are traced out by blue pockets of extremely hot newborn stars are visible across much of its disc. This sets it apart from the reddish galaxies visible in the background, which are distant elliptical galaxies made up of much older, and hence redder, stars.

This image is composed of exposures taken in visible and infrared light by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. The image is approximately 3.3 by 1.5 arcminutes in size.

HEDGE FUND ADVISER CHARGED WITH DECEPTION REGARDING EXECUTIVE "SKIN IN THE GAME"

Photo:  Miami Beach.  Credit:  Wikimedia.
FROM:  U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C., May 29, 2012 – The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a Miami-based hedge fund adviser for deceiving investors about whether its executives had personally invested in a Latin America-focused hedge fund.

The SEC’s investigation found that Quantek Asset Management LLC made various misrepresentations about fund managers having “skin in the game” along with investors in the $1 billion Quantek Opportunity Fund. In fact, Quantek’s executives never invested their own money in the fund. The SEC’s investigation also found that Quantek misled investors about the investment process of the funds it managed as well as certain related-party transactions involving its lead executive Javier Guerra and its former parent company Bulltick Capital Markets Holdings LP.

Bulltick, Guerra, and former Quantek operations director Ralph Patino are charged along with Quantek in the SEC’s enforcement action. They agreed to pay more than $3.1 million in total disgorgement and penalties to settle the charges, and Guerra and Patino agreed to securities industry bars.

“When making an investment decision, private fund investors are entitled to the unvarnished truth about material information such as management’s skin in the game or the adviser’s handling of related-party transactions,” said Bruce Karpati, Co-Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit. “Quantek’s investors deserved better than the misleading information they received in marketing materials, side letters, and other fund documents.”

According to the SEC’s order instituting settled administrative proceedings, fund investors frequently inquire about the extent of the manager’s personal investment during their due diligence process, and many require it in fund selection. Quantek, particularly Patino, misrepresented to investors from 2006 to 2008 that management had skin in the game. These misstatements were made when responding to specific questions posed in due diligence questionnaires that were used to market the funds to new investors. Quantek made similar misrepresentations in side letter agreements executed by Guerra with two sought-after institutional investors.

The SEC’s order also found that Quantek misled investors about certain related-party loans made by the fund to affiliates of Guerra and Bulltick. Because the fund permitted related-party transactions with Bulltick and other Quantek affiliates, investors were wary of deals that were not properly disclosed. In 2006 and 2007, Quantek caused the fund to make related-party loans to affiliates of Guerra and Bulltick that were not properly documented or secured at the outset. Quantek and Bulltick employees later re-created the missing related-party loan documents, but misstated key terms of the loans and backdated the materials to give the appearance that the loans had been sufficiently documented and secured at all times. Quantek and Guerra provided this misleading loan information to the fund’s investors.

“The related-party transactions were problematic to begin with, and the false deal documents left investors in the dark about the adviser’s conflicts of interest,” said Scott Weisman, Assistant Director in the SEC Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit.

According to the SEC’s order, Quantek also repeatedly failed to follow the robust investment approval process it had described to investors in the fund. Quantek concealed this deficiency by providing investors with backdated and misleading investment approval memoranda signed by Guerra and other Quantek principals.

Quantek, Guerra, Bulltick, and Patino settled the charges without admitting or denying the findings. Quantek and Guerra agreed jointly to pay more than $2.2 million in disgorgement and pre-judgment interest, and to pay financial penalties of $375,000 and $150,000 respectively. Bulltick agreed to pay a penalty of $300,000, and Patino agreed to a penalty of $50,000. Guerra consented to a five-year securities industry bar, and Patino consented to a securities industry bar of one year. Quantek and Bulltick agreed to censures. They all consented to orders that they cease and desist from committing or causing violations of certain antifraud, compliance, and recordkeeping provisions of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and the Securities Act of 1933.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Matthew Rossi in the Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit under the supervision of Mr. Weisman.

G-20 MEETING IN GUADALAJARA, MEXICO TO DISCUSS LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
The G20 Labor and Employment Ministers in Guadalajara, Mexico Photo Credit: U.S. Department of Labor.  
May 17-18, 2012 — Guadalajara, Mexico
Making a World of Difference
Labor and employment ministers from the G20 countries met in Guadalajara, Mexico for their third annual summit. The U.S. Department of Labor hosted the historic first meeting in 2010. For two days, the ministers discussed how to achieve quality employment for more of the world's population, explored ways to create employment opportunities for young people and examined the prospects for employment in emerging high growth sectors. Mexican President Felipe Calderon joined the meeting for the concluding session at which Secretary Solis, speaking on behalf of all the G20 ministers, said, "The crisis our young people face also threatens our national social protection floors and has a damaging effect on all workers." The ministers' conclusions noted that employment rates have not yet returned to pre-crisis levels and that in some countries unemployment and the number of people in informal and precarious jobs continues to require ongoing attention. They noted the need to promote employment policies for youth and other vulnerable groups, agreed that green growth may be a source of job creation, and that the creation of quality jobs would contribute to poverty reduction and social inclusion.

They also called upon the G20 leaders to strengthen the relationship between labor and finance ministers to address links between growth and employment. While in Mexico, Solis participated in a bilateral meeting with Brazil's Labor Minister Carlos Brizola Neto. The two signed a memorandum of understanding that strengthens collaboration on employment discrimination, collective bargaining, safety and health, child labor, forced labor and other issues.

G20 Labour and Employment Ministers' Conclusions
Since our last meeting in Paris in September 2011, the global economy has shown a modest recovery. Nonetheless, in most countries, this moderate growth is not reflected in employment rates, which have not yet returned to pre-crisis levels. In some of our countries, the rate of unemployment and the number of people in informal and precarious jobs continues to require ongoing attention. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), there is still a global deficit of around 50 million compared to the situation before 2008.

As stated by our Leaders in Cannes, “employment must be at the heart of the actions and policies to restore growth and confidence that we undertake under the Framework for strong, sustainable and balanced growth.” In Pittsburgh, they agreed to put quality jobs at the heart of the recovery. We fully reaffirm that commitment and we emphasize that the creation of quality employment is more crucial than ever.

At the meetings in Washington, D.C., in April 2010, and Paris in September 2011, we agreed on the importance of promoting policy actions that allow overcoming the social and employment effects of the crisis. In Paris, we stressed the importance of improving active employment policies, particularly for youth and other vulnerable groups; strengthening social protection by establishing nationally determined social protection floors; promoting effective application of social and labour rights; and strengthening the coherence of economic and social policies. These objectives, which are mutually reinforcing, remain high priorities as they are the basis for promoting a strong, sustainable and balanced growth.

One of our main concerns is the creation of quality jobs. Quality employment can contribute to a more stable growth that helps individuals overcome poverty and become more socially included, as well as improving income distribution. Governments, workers and employers acting together through social dialogue can make an essential contribution to these goals.

Promoting quality employment is one of the major challenges facing G20 economies. The complex labour market situation in most of our economies has severely impacted some segments of the population, particularly youth and other vulnerable groups. Unemployment rates among young women and men are twice the overall unemployment rate and in some countries even higher. The sense of urgency was shared during our meeting in Paris in September 2011 and confirmed by our Leaders in Cannes who agreed to create a G20 intergovernmental Task Force on Employment, which, since its inception in December 2011, has been identifying strategies for youth employment based on best practices and policy responses.

Finding ways out of the jobs crisis requires us to identify innovative initiatives, particularly in growing areas. We should explore the potential of green growth, in the context of sustainable development, as a means to foster the creation of quality jobs, inclusive economic growth and the sustainable use of natural resources.

In our meeting in Guadalajara, we discussed policies to create quality employment, successful strategies to promote youth employment and options to generate jobs linked to green growth. Even though many challenges are shared among countries, the priorities for action must reflect different national contexts and realities. From our dialogue, we present the following conclusions:

I. Creation of quality employment and decent work
The crisis has had diverse effects for the G20 economies. Our role as Labour and Employment Ministers responding to the crisis is crucial to promote the creation of more quality jobs within the formal sector, with decent wages and social security coverage. Our role is also to protect workers' rights while fostering policies and programmes that allow workers to acquire the skills required in the labour market to give them access to employment opportunities.

Decent work expresses the hopes of our populations for a better future and plays a significant role in improving their living standards. Creating the conditions to provide those who enter the labour market with decent work will lay the foundations of a more equal society in which people better share the benefits of globalisation. Therefore, we reaffirm our commitment to continue encouraging employment, social protection, social dialogue and full respect of the fundamental principles and rights at work.

As Ministers, we shall continue supporting and implementing policies that foster job opportunities, provide training, enhance skills and increase employability. These activities lead to greater productivity thereby contributing to strengthening economic development, attracting investment and increasing social cohesion.

Promoting equal opportunities in the labour market is a key pillar for shared growth and development. Therefore, we will continue to promote policies that increase people's employability, match skills with market needs, improve public employment services, integrate gender perspectives in policies and programmes, and fight any kind of discrimination in workplaces.

Social protection systems play an important role as automatic stabilisers in the crisis. At the meeting in Paris, we agreed to develop "nationally defined social protection floors with a view to achieving strong, sustainable and balanced economic growth and social cohesion." In this sense, and within our responsibilities and resources, we will contribute to developing policies that improve our social security systems, to reach an appropriate balance between efficient active labour market measures and effective social protection. We will also encourage better cooperation with the G20 Development Working Group to assist developing countries in capacity building for implementing nationally determined social protection floors. In this perspective we welcome the efforts of coordination, cooperation and knowledge sharing among international organizations, which are in line with our conclusions in Paris. In consequence of our recommendations made in Paris, we welcome the cooperation that has taken place between ILO and IMF, in collaboration with other international organisations, on sustainability of social protection floors and encourage its continuation. We look forward to the possible adoption of an ILO recommendation on social protection floors during the upcoming International Labour Conference in June 2012.

In view of the large share of employment in informal activities in some of our countries and the consequent low productivity and quality of employment, we should design and implement policies directed at increasing participation in the formal labour market. We should also devise ways to improve the conditions of workers in the informal sector. Those countries should make social protection policies more effective, while expanding their coverage to include previously excluded workers, particularly those in the informal economy. These measures should also help transition from the informal to the formal sector.

As our Leaders pointed out in Cannes, "actions to address immediate risks to recovery must be complemented by sustained, broad-based reforms to boost confidence, raise global output and create jobs." Structural reforms should maintain employment as a priority, especially for youth and other vulnerable groups. These should also be a mechanism to promote gradual access from the informal to the formal labour market, that is, jobs with social security and fair and dignified income. They should also be based upon increasing the efficient functioning of labour market institutions. Structural reforms should contribute to tackling labour market segmentation and the informal sector. They can also promote the increase of production and income.

The implementation of structural reforms must not affect core workers' rights and must ensure full respect for the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work as set out in the 1998 ILO Declaration. In this sense, we reaffirm our commitment to respect, promote and realize those principles. In addition, we support the 2008 Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalisation and the Global Jobs Pact.

It is necessary to continue promoting coherence between social, economic, financial, environmental and all other policies at the national and international levels, so that they are efficient and have an impact on the creation of quality employment. It is also important to strengthen coherence among international organisations. In this regard, we reiterate our support for the consultation of multilateral organisations with an employment and social mandate, when appropriate, to assess the social impact of economic policies advocated by other international organisations. We welcome the development of multilateral cooperation, including South-South cooperation, to assist countries that request it to tackle multifaceted problems.

We welcome the contribution and input of worker and employer organisations to the G20 Labour and Employment process. As stated in the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalisation, social dialogue within and across borders is relevant to achieving solutions and building up social cohesion and the rule of law. In this regard, we will continue holding regular consultations with our social partners as part of the process of the G20 Employment and Labour Ministers' Meetings.

II. Promotion of Youth Employment
In the current economic context, young people are at very high risk of remaining unemployed or underemployed for long periods. The longer they remain in this situation, the harder it is for them to find a job, acquire or retain skills. This could have a long-lasting effect on our youth, potentially undermining their ability to fully integrate into the economy and thereby affecting both the individual and our societies. Given the importance of these issues, we will renew our efforts to address them.

We agree to strengthen our commitment to our youth by promoting the improvement of employability, equal opportunities, entrepreneurship and job creation for youth, providing them with skills and training matching labour market needs. We will strengthen, as appropriate, social protection mechanisms combined with active labour market policies to assist youth.

We acknowledge the work of the G20 Task Force on Employment in sharing our experiences and identifying suitable policy actions on youth employment. We will take its recommendations (see annex) into account in our policy development, adapting them according to our national circumstances and needs. We will particularly:

Intensify our national efforts on tackling youth unemployment, where necessary, on one or more measures from a body of policy orientations and common experiences seen in the G20 Task Force on Employment.
Promote, and when necessary, strengthen quality apprenticeship systems that ensure high level of instruction and adequate remuneration and avoid taking advantage of lower salaries.

Consider programmes that have proven effective in allowing a successful school-to-work transition.
Promote internships, on-the-job training, apprenticeships and professional experience.
Foster sharing of experience in the design and implementation of apprenticeship programmes and explore ways to identify common principles across the G20 countries by facilitating a dialogue among our social partners who have presented us a shared sense of the importance of apprenticeships.

Continue to cooperate with other Ministries and other stakeholders, where appropriate, to provide career guidance, education and to facilitate skills acquisition with a strong focus on developing work experience and promoting decent work.

Support youth entrepreneurship, which might include the provision of advice, financial support, mentoring and the facilitation of mobility of young entrepreneurs.

Explore voluntary technical cooperation programmes based on best practices that can be conducted by G20 countries in conjunction with countries seeking to address youth employment. These may be conducted on a bilateral basis, and where appropriate, together with international organisations.

Request, as appropriate, that the ILO, OECD, and other international organisations work with our national institutions, taking into account our specific contexts and diversity, to analyse qualitative and quantitative data to better understand the situation of young people in G20 countries and inform policy development.
Work with the ILO, OECD, other international organisations, and social partners to support the implementation of our national initiatives for youth employment.

III. Inclusive green growth as quality employment generator, in the context of sustainable development
Transition to greener economies, in the context of sustainable development, may open opportunities to reduce social inequalities and generate decent work. The transformation to new technologies will lead to the creation of new occupations and may change skills requirements for existing jobs. A successful and fair transition to these new technologies will require better labour market information, the adaptation of training systems and new ways to improve the skills of workers, according to national realities and contexts. Hence, high-level cooperation among Ministries, across different levels of government and agencies and with social partners is needed to foster the creation of quality employment linked to inclusive green growth, harmonizing it with economic policy.

Active labour market policies should react to the changing labour market by providing access to effective job search services, adequate labour market information and training opportunities. Public employment services and other partners should play an important role by linking supply and demand, disseminating information on training opportunities, and providing an overview of the skills required to help workers benefit from green growth. An equitable transition that provides decent work, with a particular emphasis on occupational health and safety, for those who might be affected by measures resulting from efforts to implement green growth, should be considered.

Governments should encourage firms to adapt their productive and organisational processes to meet the needs of inclusive green growth. Particular attention is needed to ensure that small and medium enterprises, as the most important source of new and existing jobs, are part of green growth, by training and up-skilling processes of their workers, among other actions. Where appropriate, transfer of green technology in proper ways could be considered among companies as well as countries.

Green growth should be inclusive and contribute to poverty eradication and sustainable development. Social dialogue should contribute to promoting the greening of workplaces, work organisations and production methods.

We look forward to the results of the forthcoming United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20, encouraging long-term sustainable development and the creation of quality jobs, especially for youth and other vulnerable groups.

IV. The way forward
We will present to the consideration of our Leaders the proposals and initiatives contained in these Conclusions. In summary, we believe that economic growth should be based on quality employment, that is, jobs in the formal sector, with social security, dignified income and full protection of labour rights. Particularly, we emphasize the need to promote policies that generate employment for youth and other vulnerable groups, and facilitate the school-to-work transition to ensure the long-term sustainability of our economies. We agree that inclusive green growth, in the context of sustainable development, may be a source of job creation, decent work and will require policies to facilitate the acquisition of new skills. Finally, we agree that quality employment contributes to poverty reduction and social inclusion.

We reaffirm the importance of policy coherence between growth and employment, and between macroeconomic and employment policies at the national and international levels. Therefore, we recommend our Leaders strengthen the cooperation between G20 Finance and Labour and Employment Ministers on the links between growth and employment. In this regard, we welcome the upcoming report from international organisations on how the G20 Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth can contribute to job creation.

We will ask our Leaders to take note that the current implications of high youth unemployment go beyond the immediate circumstance of youth: the current high levels of youth unemployment and underemployment in many countries impact the sustainability of our nationally determined social protection floors, and affect the speed of skill acquisition needed to sustain high productivity-led growth.

We will bring our Leaders' attention to the work accomplished by the G20 Task Force on Employment, namely with respect to the sharing of best practices, measures to improve the skills required to meet the needs of the labour market, the importance of adequate orientation tools for youth, and ideas to enhance nationally determined social protection floors.

Given the contribution made by the G20 Task Force on Employment in the last semester, we instruct it to continue exploring issues related to youth employment as it finalizes its present mandate in November 2012. We also instruct it to update its findings and the forum on best practices. We recommend that our Leaders support its extension for one more year, and consider that its focus should be decided under the leadership of the Russian Presidency in order to provide input for the Ministerial meeting to be held in 2013.

We appreciate the work done by the ILO and the OECD, with inputs from other international organizations, with respect to the links between the G20 Framework for strong, sustainable and balanced growth and job creation. In addition, we recognize the valuable assistance that the ILO and the OECD provided in the preparation of our meeting and invite them to continue their support for our work.

We acknowledge the importance of inclusive, diverse and constructive social dialogue during the Mexican Presidency of the G20. In this regard, we welcome the meetings of L20 and B20 that are taking place in 2012.

We also agree to hold our next meeting in 2013 under the Presidency of the Russian Federation. We thank the Mexican Presidency for its leadership and guidance. We welcome this, and we look forward to working constructively with Russia.

ARMED FORCES NEWS FROM AFGHANISTAN

Photo:  Flying Over Afghanistan.  Credit:  U.S. Air Force.
FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
Combined Force Kills 2 Insurgents in Firefight
Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases
WASHINGTON, May 29, 2012 - A combined force killed two insurgents and seized several AK-47 rifles and some ammunition magazines during a search for a Haqqani leader in the Gomal district of Afghanistan's Paktika province today, military officials reported.

The sought-after insurgent leader conducts roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces in the Sarobi district, officials said. He also coordinates the movement of insurgents and weapons throughout the region.

Two armed insurgents fired on the Afghan and coalition troops as they approached the insurgents' suspected location. The security force returned fire, killing the insurgents. A post-incident assessment confirmed that no civilians were harmed during the operation.

Also today, a combined force detained one suspect and seized a rocket-propelled grenade launcher with rockets, several grenades, sniper ammunition and illegal narcotics during a search for a Taliban leader in the Khugyani district of Nangarhar province. The Taliban leader plans and coordinates roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition troops. He also provides other insurgents with weapons, ammunition and improvised explosive devices.

In Afghanistan operations yesterday:
-- Two International Security Assistance Force service members died following a helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan. The cause of the crash is under investigation. Initial reporting indicates there was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the crash.

-- An ISAF aircraft crashed during routine operations in eastern Afghanistan. There were no fatalities reported. The aircrew and passengers were safely transported to a nearby ISAF installation for evaluation. ISAF is investigating the cause of the crash. Initial reporting indicates that there was no enemy activity in the area.

-- An Afghan-led, coalition-supported force detained a Taliban leader and two other suspected insurgents in the Panjwa'i district of Kandahar province. The leader coordinated suicide bombings and attacks against Afghan forces and civilians and coalition troops. He also supervised the construction of suicide vests and other explosive devices and distributed them to insurgents under his control.

-- In the Baghlan-e Jadid district of Baghlan province, a combined force searched for a Taliban leader. The leader plans and conducts roadside bombings, indirect-fire attacks and other operations against Afghan and coalition troops. He also builds IEDs.

-- A combined force called in an airstrike that killed one insurgent during a search for an al-Qaida leader in the Dangam district of Kunar province. The leader facilitates the movement of weapons, equipment and insurgents. He also procures and transports supplies for insurgents throughout the province.

-- A combined force detained a Haqqani leader and two other insurgents in the Jaji district of Paktiya province. The insurgent leader planned and directed roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

In May 27 operations:
-- A combined force called in an airstrike that killed Sakhr al-Taifi, an al-Qaida leader, and one additional al-Qaida terrorist in the Watahpur district of Kunar province. Sakhr al-Taifi, also known as Musthaq and Nasim, was al-Qaida's second-highest leader in Afghanistan, responsible for commanding foreign insurgents, in addition to directing attacks against coalition and Afghan forces. He frequently traveled between Afghanistan and Pakistan, carrying out commands from senior al-Qaida leadership. He also supplied weapons and equipment to insurgents operating in eastern Afghanistan and managed the illegal transport of insurgent fighters into Afghanistan. No civilians or property were harmed in the operation.

-- A combined force killed one insurgent during a firefight in the Tagab district of Kapisa province.

-- A combined force discovered IED-making materials in the Ab Band district of Ghazni province.

-- A combined force killed 16 insurgents and detained one suspect in the Musa Khel district of Khowst province.

-- A combined force detained several suspects during a search for a senior Taliban leader in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province. The sought-after insurgent is the senior Taliban leader in the Marjeh district and manages multiple insurgent cells in the area. He directs suicide bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition troops throughout the Marjeh and Nahr-e Saraj districts. He also coordinates with Taliban leaders to move suicide bombers and explosives into Afghanistan.

-- A combined force killed several insurgents during a search for a senior Taliban leader in the Aliabad district of Kunduz province. The leader is the senior Taliban insurgent in the district and controls multiple insurgent cells. He plans, coordinates, and conducts roadside bombings and other attacks against district government officials and Afghan and coalition forces.

-- In the Khwajah Sabz Posh district of Faryab province, a combined force detained several suspects while searching for an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan facilitator. The facilitator distributes funds, weapons and other equipment between IMU cells and manages the recruitment and movement of insurgents for attacks against Afghan and coalition troops.

-- In the Arghistan district of Kandahar province, a combined force detained several insurgents while searching for a Taliban leader. The insurgent leader conducts roadside bombings and indirect-fire attacks against Afghan and coalition troops in the Tarnek wa Jaldak district of Zabul province. He also provides weapons, ammunition and roadside bombs to insurgents.

-- An Afghan-led, coalition-supported force detained several suspects during a search for a Taliban leader in the Kandahar district of Kandahar province. The leader conducts roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces in the Daman and Shah Wali Kot districts. He also builds IEDs and distributes them to insurgents.

-- In the Sherzad district of Nangarhar province, an Afghan-led, coalition-supported force detained two suspects and seized one pistol during a search for a Taliban leader. The leader conducts roadside bombings and ambushes against Afghan and coalition forces in the Sherzad and Khugyani districts.

-- A combined force detained two suspects and seized one pistol and two grenades during a search for a Taliban leader in the Charkh district of Logar province. The leader conducts roadside bombings and ambushes against Afghan and coalition forces throughout the district.

In May 26 operations:
-- An Afghan-led, coalition-supported force detained one suspect and confiscated 10 rocket-propelled grenades, eight fuel cells, 50 machine gun rounds and a rifle in the Tarin Kot district of Uruzgan province.

-- A combined force killed two insurgents and detained two suspects during a search for a senior Taliban leader in the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province. The sought-after insurgent leader controls several Taliban commanders and coordinates their attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He is responsible for several roadside bombings along highways between Kandahar and Zabul provinces and for attacks against Afghan police forces.

-- In the Kandahar district of Kandahar province, an Afghan-led, coalition-supported force detained several suspects during a search for a Taliban facilitator. The facilitator operates in Kandahar and Farah provinces providing weapons, explosives and vehicles to insurgents.

-- An Afghan-led, coalition-supported force detained several suspects and seized multiple weapons while searching for a Haqqani leader in the Sabari district of Khost province. The leader conducts attacks against Afghan and coalition forces throughout the district. He also provides weapons, ammunition and equipment to insurgents.
-- In the Jalrayz district of Wardak province, an Afghan-led, coalition-supported force detained two suspects and seized multiple mortar rounds and one shotgun during a search for a Taliban leader. The leader conducts attacks against Afghan and coalition convoys traveling throughout the Maidan Shahr district in Wardak province. He also distributes weapons, ammunition and funds to insurgents.

In May 25 operations:
-- Combined forces found and destroyed 20 IEDs consisting of 365 pounds of homemade explosives, 16 pressure plates and 10 pounds of ammonium nitrate in the Zharay and Maiwand districts of Kandahar province.

In May 23 operations:
-- A combined force detained a bomb maker and several other insurgents and seized explosives, IED-making components and weapons in the Tarin Kowt district of Uruzgan province.

C-37A TWIN-ENGINE, TURBOFAN AIRCRAFT FOR WORLDWIDE AIR MISSIONS

FROM:  U.S. AIR FORCE.
The C-37A is a twin-engine, turbofan aircraft acquired to fill the worldwide special air missions for high-ranking government and Defense Department officials. There are nine C-37s in the Air Force inventory, of which one is assigned to the 86th Airlift Wing, 309th Airlift Squadron, at Chievres Air Base, Belgium, to support the U.S. Air Forces in Europe mission.

SENIOR AL-QAIDA LEADER KILLED IN KUNAR PROVINCE

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
Pentagon Press Secretary George Little conducts a press briefing at the Pentagon, May 29, 2012. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

ANSF, ISAF Counterparts Kill Senior al-Qaida Leader
By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, May 29, 2012 - Afghan National Security Forces and their International Security Assistance Force partners killed a senior al-Qaida leader in Kunar province May 27, a senior Defense Department spokesman told reporters at the Pentagon today.

"As a result of their efforts, alongside their coalition counterparts, they achieved a significant operational success in Kunar province ... with the death of Sakhr al-Taifi," Pentagon Press Secretary George Little told reporters.

Sakhr al-Taifi, al-Qaida's second-highest leader in Afghanistan, had commanded foreign insurgents and directed attacks against coalition and Afghan security forces, Little said.
"He frequently traveled between Afghanistan and Pakistan, carrying out commands from senior al-Qaida leadership," the press secretary said. "He also supplied weapons and equipment to insurgents in the east and managed transport of insurgent fighters into Afghanistan."

Little said security forces identified Sakhr al-Taifi and another al-Qaida terrorist in Kunar province's Watahpur district, and took careful steps to ensure no civilians were in the area before conducting a precision airstrike.

A follow-on assessment determined no civilians were harmed in this operation, he added.
"This operation is another example of our ongoing efforts to degrade and weaken al-Qaida's leadership," Little said, "and a reminder of the mission we are pursuing -- to ensure that Afghanistan, never again, becomes a safe haven for al-Qaida or its militant allies."

However, "despite the unprecedented pressure we have applied, al-Qaida remains a threat to our forces and to our homeland," he said. "And we will continue to pursue our goal of dismantling and ultimately defeating them."