Monday, August 4, 2014
U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT CONTRACTS FOR AUGUST 4, 2014
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
CONTRACTS
AIR FORCE
Northrop Grumman Technical Services Inc., Hill Air Force Base, Utah, has been awarded an $89,951,041 cost-plus-award-fee modification (P04011) to F42610-98-C-0001 for the ICBM Propulsion/Ground/Guidance programs. The contract modification provides for the exercise of option CLINs 8200, 8201 and 8203 for the sustainment of the Propulsion/Ground/Guidance systems of the ICBM weapon system under the ICBM partial bridge contract. Work will be performed at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, and work is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2015. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $77,636,588 are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center/PZBE, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity.
DRS ICAS, LLC, Dayton, Ohio, has been awarded a not-to-exceed $85,200,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to build and deliver up to 600 Air Force Tactical Receive System-Ruggedized Concord Intelligence Broadcast Receivers. Work will be performed at Dayton, Ohio and Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and initial delivery order is expected to be completed by Aug. 15, 2016. This is a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2012 aircraft procurement funds in the amount of $24,691,271 for the first task order are being obligated at time of award. The first delivery order is for 350 units which satisfies the minimum guaranteed amount. Air Combat Command Acquisition Management and Integration Center, Newport News, Virginia, is the contracting activity (FA8750-14-D-0001).
BAE Systems Technology Solutions & Service, Rockville Maryland, has been awarded a $44,283,973 fixed-price-incentive modification (P00428) on FA2517-06-C-8001 to exercise option year eight to manage, operate, maintain and logistically support Solid State Phased Array Radar Systems. Work will be performed at Beale Air Force Base, California; Cape Cod Air Force Station, Massachusetts; Clear Air Force Station, Alaska; Thule Air Base, Greenland, and Royal Air Force Fylingdales, United Kingdom, and is expected to be completed Aug. 31, 2015. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $44,283,973 are being obligated at time of award. 21st Contracting Squadron, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, is the contracting activity.
Veteran Corps of America, O’Fallon, Illinois, has been awarded a $10,070,960 firm-fixed-price contract for TruDefender FTX Handheld Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) for chemical identification. Contractor will provide rugged handheld FTIR chemical identification system, including one-year warranty, one-year support, on-site training (one four-hour course per instrument for up to 10 students; training must be accomplished no later than nine months after date of award). This also includes a two-year extension of warranty and support. Work will be performed at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, and is expected to be completed by Jan. 28, 2015. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and offers were solicited on FedBizOps; three offers were received. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $10,070,960 will be obligated at time of award. 772 Enterprise Sourcing Squadron/PKD, Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity (FA8051-14-P-0016).
Claro Company Inc., Piedmont, South Carolina, has been awarded a $6,896,162 firm-fixed-price construction contract for the repair of power lines on Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. Work will be performed at Shaw Air Force Base, and will be completed by June 10, 2016. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $6,896,162 are being obligated at time of award. The 20th Contracting Squadron, Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina, is the contracting activity (FA4803- 14-C-0007).
ARMY
Immediate Response Technologies,* Glenn Dale, Maryland, was awarded a $44,959,802 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to procure the C2A1 Canister filter component of the M40A1/M42 field and combat vehicle chemical biological mask which removes chemical agents, biological agents and radioactive particles from the air. Funding and work location will be determined with each order, with a completion date of Aug. 4, 2019. Bids were solicited via the Internet with two received. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-14-D-0097).
ASM Research, Inc., Fairfax, Virginia, was awarded a $20,745,764 modification (P00004) to W91WAW-12-D-0010 to exercise option year two for operation and maintenance of the Army Training Requirements and Resources System. Funding and work location will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 13, 2015. Army Contracting Command, Fort Knox, Kentucky, is the contracting activity.
Cliffdale Mfg. Inc.,* Chatsworth, California, was awarded a $8,520,000 firm-fixed-price contract for maintenance and overhaul of the actuator, elect (OH-58D), with a minimum of 100 to be completed, up to a maximum of 1,080; this is to include 180 for foreign military sales. This is a critical safety item. Funding and work location will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 3, 2019. Bids were solicited via the Internet with two received. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-14-D-0117).
Cubic Applications, Inc., San Diego, California, was awarded a $7,342,769 firm-fixed-price contract with options, for operating the Korea Battle Simulation Center. Work will be performed in the Republic of Korea with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2019. Bids were solicited via the Internet with three received. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $2,500,000 are being obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command, Yongsan Garrison, Republic of Korea, is the contracting activity (W91QVN-14-C-0033).
NAVY
Physical Optics Corp.*, Torrance, California, is being awarded $10,449,470 for cost-plus-fixed-fee delivery order 0006 against a previously issued Basic Ordering Agreement (N68335-12-G-0045) for a Phase III Small Business Innovation Research effort for the design, testing, and delivery of data transfer units and ground encryption devices in support of the F/A-18 E/F and EA-18G . This effort includes 14 non flight-worthy (NFW) data transfer units, seven flight-worthy (FW) DTUs, 21 mission NFW removable memory devices, 25 NFW maintenance RMDs, 17 FW mission RMDs, 15 FW maintenance RMDs, nine ground encryption devices, and the required cabling and software. Work will be performed in Torrance, California, and is expected to be completed in December 2015. Fiscal 2014 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $10,449,470 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity.
I. E. Pacific Inc.*, San Diego, California, is being awarded $7,877,000 for firm-fixed-price task order 0018 under a previously awarded multiple award construction contract (N62473-09-D-1657) for design and construction of an H-60 trainer facility at Naval Base Coronado. The facility will house two tactical operational flight trainers and two Naval Aircrew Training Systems. The building will include a high-bay space, a classified vault, instructor workstations, a student library, student break room, restricted access, Non-Secure Internet Protocol Router Network, Secret Internet Protocol Router Network, mechanical systems and hydraulic pump room. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed by February 2016. Fiscal 2014 military construction (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $7,877,000 are being obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Four proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity.
*Small Business
REMARKS BY SECRETARY KERRY, LIBYAN PRIME MINISTER THINNI
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks With Prime Minister of Libya Abdullah al-Thinni Before Their Meeting
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Treaty Room
Washington, DC
August 4, 2014
SECRETARY KERRY: Good morning. I’m very pleased to welcome the Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni here in Washington.
This is a very critical time in Libya. We are very much encouraging all Libyans to respect the recent election of the Council of Representatives and to support the work of the constitutional defining assembly and to reject the use of violence.
Libya’s challenges can really only be solved by Libyans themselves, but we are committed to stand by them as they engage in the difficult work of doing so. We believe that Libya is filled with possibilities, even at this difficult moment. And we intend to work very, very closely with our Libyan friends in an effort to try to help to build the capacity of the government to be able to restore stability to this country.
As we announced on July 26th, we have had to temporarily – and I emphasize temporarily – relocate our personnel out of the Embassy in Tripoli because of the fighting going on around them, not directly at it, but around it. And we wanted to make sure we were providing for the security of our personnel, who are temporarily operating from other places.
Above all, we want the recent elections that took place in Libya to be respected, and that means the legitimate Council of Representatives needs to be seated and the government needs to be able to move on with its work. We are committed to continuing to support the Libyan people, to work with the Libyan Government, and to return our people to Tripoli as soon as the security situation allows.
So thank you very much, Mr. Prime Minister, for being with us today. I look forward to our conversation.
PRIME MINISTER AL-THINNI: (Via interpreter) Thank you very much. In the name of God, the merciful and the compassionate, I seize the opportunity of my presence here in Washington and the commencement of the first U.S.-Africa Summit, particularly the economic forum, to express my high regard for the efforts that President Obama himself and the U.S. Government and the people, the U.S. people, have extended to provide indefinite and limitless support to Libya.
And I would also like to thank the U.S. President, President Obama and the American people for the special role that they have played before the liberation of Libya and specifically for President Obama’s move to freeze the assets of al-Qadhafi and the former – and his former elite allied with him.
And I also highly value the role that President Obama played in – with the affair of the Libyan oil tanker, which oil was trying to be – some parties were trying to seize it, and when he also issued instructions to stop it, and this has ensured that Libya became a secure place and nobody could advance threats against it. And as a result, the Libyan Government has managed to solve the crisis of the oil. And today, we have four oil ports that are able to export oil inside of the security situation in that region.
And we also ask the United States to stand by the Libyan people and parliament and its government so that it can overcome this very difficult period that it’s experiencing. And particularly by pressuring the various warring parties, which have really destroyed the infrastructure of the city of Tripoli. And these parties have engaged in aggression against the country’s airports, against civilians. They have killed and terrorized innocent civilians.
I also ask the U.S. to provide – to support us in our effort to bring up our institutions, particularly the army and the police, so that weapons are only in the hands of elements of these two institutions.
And I would like to assure everybody that despite all the challenges and problems and armed conflict that Libya is experiencing, we hope that, with the assistance of our friends, particularly the U.S., we’ll be able to overcome this critical stage and lay the foundations of a democratic system and the peaceful transition of power.
We also urge the Libyan parliament to take very strong and solid resolutions that would enable the Libyan state and the apparatuses the state to be strong so that it can also overcome this very critical stage. And thank you very much for this meeting.
Thank you very much.
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you very much.
This is a very critical time in Libya. We are very much encouraging all Libyans to respect the recent election of the Council of Representatives and to support the work of the constitutional defining assembly and to reject the use of violence.
Libya’s challenges can really only be solved by Libyans themselves, but we are committed to stand by them as they engage in the difficult work of doing so. We believe that Libya is filled with possibilities, even at this difficult moment. And we intend to work very, very closely with our Libyan friends in an effort to try to help to build the capacity of the government to be able to restore stability to this country.
As we announced on July 26th, we have had to temporarily – and I emphasize temporarily – relocate our personnel out of the Embassy in Tripoli because of the fighting going on around them, not directly at it, but around it. And we wanted to make sure we were providing for the security of our personnel, who are temporarily operating from other places.
Above all, we want the recent elections that took place in Libya to be respected, and that means the legitimate Council of Representatives needs to be seated and the government needs to be able to move on with its work. We are committed to continuing to support the Libyan people, to work with the Libyan Government, and to return our people to Tripoli as soon as the security situation allows.
So thank you very much, Mr. Prime Minister, for being with us today. I look forward to our conversation.
PRIME MINISTER AL-THINNI: (Via interpreter) Thank you very much. In the name of God, the merciful and the compassionate, I seize the opportunity of my presence here in Washington and the commencement of the first U.S.-Africa Summit, particularly the economic forum, to express my high regard for the efforts that President Obama himself and the U.S. Government and the people, the U.S. people, have extended to provide indefinite and limitless support to Libya.
And I would also like to thank the U.S. President, President Obama and the American people for the special role that they have played before the liberation of Libya and specifically for President Obama’s move to freeze the assets of al-Qadhafi and the former – and his former elite allied with him.
And I also highly value the role that President Obama played in – with the affair of the Libyan oil tanker, which oil was trying to be – some parties were trying to seize it, and when he also issued instructions to stop it, and this has ensured that Libya became a secure place and nobody could advance threats against it. And as a result, the Libyan Government has managed to solve the crisis of the oil. And today, we have four oil ports that are able to export oil inside of the security situation in that region.
And we also ask the United States to stand by the Libyan people and parliament and its government so that it can overcome this very difficult period that it’s experiencing. And particularly by pressuring the various warring parties, which have really destroyed the infrastructure of the city of Tripoli. And these parties have engaged in aggression against the country’s airports, against civilians. They have killed and terrorized innocent civilians.
I also ask the U.S. to provide – to support us in our effort to bring up our institutions, particularly the army and the police, so that weapons are only in the hands of elements of these two institutions.
And I would like to assure everybody that despite all the challenges and problems and armed conflict that Libya is experiencing, we hope that, with the assistance of our friends, particularly the U.S., we’ll be able to overcome this critical stage and lay the foundations of a democratic system and the peaceful transition of power.
We also urge the Libyan parliament to take very strong and solid resolutions that would enable the Libyan state and the apparatuses the state to be strong so that it can also overcome this very critical stage. And thank you very much for this meeting.
Thank you very much.
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you very much.
NSF ARTICLE ON THE SPREAD OF FIRE ANTS
FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Border crossing: 10 things to know about invasive fire ants on the march
Are fire ants using natural corridors to advance the front?
Fire ants. Crossing the border from South America, they're on the march northward. How does habitat--in particular, corridors that connect one place with another--help the ants spread?
To find out, the National Science Foundation (NSF) talked with ecologist and program director Doug Levey of its Division of Environmental Biology, and researcher Julian Resasco, now of the University of Colorado, Boulder (formerly at the University of Florida, Gainesville).
This week Resasco, Levey and colleagues published a paper in the journal Ecology reporting new findings on habitat corridors and fire ants. They conducted their NSF-funded study in an experimental forest in South Carolina, at the USDA Forest Service - Savannah River site.
1. Where did fire ants come from, and where are they found now?
(Resasco) Fire ants are native to South America, where they're found from Western Amazonia to northeastern Argentina. Fire ants were accidentally introduced by humans to the southeastern U.S. almost a century ago. Now they're established in parts of the Caribbean, China, Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.
2. Why are fire ants a problem?
(Resasco) Fire ants are very aggressive, have painful stings, and can occur at high densities. They can displace native ants and other kinds of small animals, including reptiles, birds, and mammals. Because they have a broad diet that includes plants, they're a major economic problem in agriculture. The USDA estimates that fire ant control, property damage from the ants, and medical treatment from stings cost several billion dollars each year.
3. How do fire ants disperse?
(Resasco) Fire ants disperse during mating flights, also called nuptial flights, when winged, unmated queens and males emerge from nests to find mates. (Mated queens dig a small hole to lay their eggs, in the hope of establishing new colonies.)
There are two social forms of fire ants, and they disperse very differently. In the monogyne social form (named for having a single egg-laying queen), mated queens fly high in the air and establish new colonies--often miles away from their original colonies. In the polygyne social form (named for multiple egg-laying queens), mated queens disperse poorly, establishing new nests near their original colonies. Fire ants can also be accidentally transported over long distances by human commerce and travel.
4. Why are some types of fire ants worse than others?
(Resasco) Because polygyne fire ants establish new colonies near existing ones and are non-territorial, their densities are much higher than the densities of monogyne fire ants, which are spaced more widely apart because their colonies are territorial. The higher densities of polygyne fire ants make their effects greater.
5. What is a habitat corridor and why is it useful in conservation?
(Levey) Corridors are strips of habitat that join otherwise isolated patches of the same habitat type. They're important because they facilitate movement of plants and animals from one patch to another. By linking small populations to each other, corridors create larger populations that are more resistant to extinction.
6. Do habitat corridors help fire ants colonize new areas?
(Resasco) Yes, but in one situation. In areas already dominated by the polygyne form, we found that patches of habitat connected by corridors had higher fire ant densities than did unconnected patches. In areas dominated by the monogyne form, however, corridors had no effect on fire ant densities. This difference is likely because monogyne queens can easily colonize isolated patches. Polygyne queens, having more limited dispersal, appear to benefit from the connectivity that corridors provide.
7. Could habitat corridors help other invasive species disperse?
(Resasco) There is no evidence that habitat corridors assist in the spread of other invasive species. We think this is because invasive species are usually already good dispersers--the best example is the monogyne form of fire ants.
8. Can we figure out in advance when corridors will help species invade?
(Levey) We think the best way to predict which species will benefit from corridors is by considering their natural ability to disperse. Species that regularly disperse long distances, or are easily able to travel through or above hostile habitats, are unlikely to respond to the presence of corridors. Species that are poor dispersers and tightly linked to a particular type of habitat are most likely to depend on corridors when traveling from one patch to another.
9. Overall, are corridors beneficial or detrimental?
(Resasco) The balance of evidence strongly suggests that corridors are beneficial for conservation. Many studies have shown positive effects of corridors on dispersal and species diversity. The evidence of negative effects is much weaker. The more we understand about how corridors work, the better we can make informed decisions to maximize positive effects and minimize negative ones.
10. What surprised you the most in this study?
(Resasco) The age of habitat patches seemed to be important in determining whether corridors facilitated dispersal by polygyne fire ants. We only saw a corridor effect in the most recently created patches. We hope to determine whether this effect is transient, or if higher densities of polygyne fire ants and lower diversity of native ants persist in patches connected by corridors.
-- Cheryl Dybas, NSF
U.S. MILITARY ARE HELPING IN THE FIGHT AGAINST EBOLA OUTBREAK
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Military Responders Help Battle Ebola Outbreak
By Terri Moon Cronk and Cheryl Pellerin
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
Army Col. (Dr.) James Cummings, director of the Global Emerging Infections Surveillance and Response System, or GEIS, a division of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, said the battle against the virus since the outbreak began in West Africa in March focuses on trying to stop disease transmission.
At the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, or CDC, in Atlanta, Director Dr. Tom Frieden has announced that the health agency has raised the travel advisory to Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone where he said the Ebola outbreak is worsening, to Level 3 -- a warning to avoid unnecessary travel to those countries.
CDC already has disease detectives and other staff in those countries to track the epidemic, advise embassies, coordinate with the World Health Organization, or WHO, strengthen ministries of health, and improve case finding, contact tracing, infection control and health communication.
Over the next 30 days, in what Frieden described as a surge, CDC will send another 50 disease-control specialists into the three countries to help establish emergency operations centers and develop structured ways to address the outbreak.
“They will also help strengthen laboratory networks so testing for the disease can be done rapidly,” the director said.
For travelers in and out of the three West African countries, CDC experts will strengthen country capacity to monitor those who may have been exposed to Ebola, and each country in the region has committed to doing this, Frieden said.
“It's not easy to do,” he added, “but we will have experts from our division that do airport screening and try to ensure that people who shouldn't be traveling aren't traveling.”
Frieden said CDC has spoken with air carriers that service the West African region.
“We understand they will continue to fly, which is very important to continue to support the response and maintain essential functions in the country,” he explained.
CDC gives information to travelers to the region and health care providers in the United States who might care for people returning from the infected area. Frieden said that includes medical consultation and testing for patients who may have Ebola.
Frieden said that in the United States, “we are confident that we will not have significant spread of Ebola, even if we were to have a patient with Ebola here. We work actively to educate American health care workers on how to isolate patients and how to protect themselves against infection.”
In fact, he added, “any advanced hospital in the U.S., any hospital with an intensive care unit has the capacity to isolate patients. There is nothing particularly special about the isolation of an Ebola patient, other than it's really important to do it right. So ensuring that there is meticulous care of patients with suspected or … confirmed Ebola is what's critically important.”
The Ebola virus has no known cure and up to a 90 percent fatality rate and only supportive care can be offered to patients diagnosed with the disease while researchers work to find a vaccine.
DoD researchers think the viral disease originated in rural populations that prepare and eat meat from Ebola-carrying gorillas and monkeys.
The virus is passed among animals or people through body fluids. Only a person who is infected and is showing signs of illness can pass the disease to others.
Health care workers and home caretakers who have direct patient contact and those who prepare bodies for burial also are at risk, the infectious disease doctor said.
“We had a large footprint in Africa,” Cummings said of DoD’s response to the first Ebola cases reported in 1976 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire. Since that time, DoD has answered numerous calls for assistance from WHO, nongovernmental organizations and ministries of heath and defense, he explained.
DoD personnel provide a wide array of support to the Ebola-stricken African nations, from logistical help to guides for clinical management of the virus, Cummings said.
“DoD personnel bring a level of excellence second to none, working in response to host nations and WHO in the most-affected countries of Sierra Leone and Liberia,” he said.
Sunday, August 3, 2014
U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SAYS ISIL LAUNCHES SERIES OF OFFENSIVES AGAINST CIVILIANS
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
ISIL Attacks in Ninewa Province
Press Statement
Jen Psaki
Department Spokesperson
Washington, DC
August 3, 2014
The United States is actively monitoring the situation in the Sinjar and Tal Afar districts of Ninewa Province where the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has launched a series of offensives against civilian populations, including in the town of Sinjar. We are gravely concerned for the safety of civilians in these areas, including the vulnerable minority communities who for years have been targeted by ISIL and its progenitor, al-Qa’ida in Iraq (AQI). We deeply regret the displacement of innocent civilians and mourn the loss of life from recent fighting, including from the ranks of courageous Kurdish Peshmerga units who have been fighting to defend these areas.
The United States is supporting the Iraqi Security Forces and Peshmerga Forces working to defend these areas against ISIL. Our Joint Operations Centers in Erbil and in Baghdad are sharing information with ISF and Peshmerga commanders. Ambassador Beecroft has met this morning with the President of Iraq, Fuad Massum, and the Deputy UN Special Representative for Iraq, Gyorgy Busztin, to discuss a coordinated approach to the humanitarian situation. We urge all Iraqi authorities, civil society, and international partners to work with the United Nations to deliver lifesaving humanitarian assistance.
The ISIL assault over the past 48 hours on territories along the border of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and focusing on towns and villages populated by vulnerable minorities, demonstrates once again that this terrorist organization is a dire threat to all Iraqis, the entire region, and the international community. We will continue to facilitate coordination between authorities in Baghdad and Erbil and provide direct assistance wherever possible. We further call on all Iraqi leaders to move swiftly pursuant to their constitutional timeline to form a new government that can help pull the country together and harness national resources against this common enemy.
The United States is supporting the Iraqi Security Forces and Peshmerga Forces working to defend these areas against ISIL. Our Joint Operations Centers in Erbil and in Baghdad are sharing information with ISF and Peshmerga commanders. Ambassador Beecroft has met this morning with the President of Iraq, Fuad Massum, and the Deputy UN Special Representative for Iraq, Gyorgy Busztin, to discuss a coordinated approach to the humanitarian situation. We urge all Iraqi authorities, civil society, and international partners to work with the United Nations to deliver lifesaving humanitarian assistance.
The ISIL assault over the past 48 hours on territories along the border of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and focusing on towns and villages populated by vulnerable minorities, demonstrates once again that this terrorist organization is a dire threat to all Iraqis, the entire region, and the international community. We will continue to facilitate coordination between authorities in Baghdad and Erbil and provide direct assistance wherever possible. We further call on all Iraqi leaders to move swiftly pursuant to their constitutional timeline to form a new government that can help pull the country together and harness national resources against this common enemy.
U.S. PRESS STATEMENT ON TERRORIST ATTACK ON LEBANESE ARMED FORCES AND ISF
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Terrorist Attack on the Lebanese Armed Forces and Internal Security Forces
Press Statement
Jen Psaki
Department Spokesperson
Washington, DC
August 2, 2014
The United States strongly condemns the al Nusra Front’s attack today on the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) in Arsal, where reportedly at least seven soldiers were killed and some Internal Security Forces (ISF) members were briefly held hostage. We extend our deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims’ families and wish a full recovery to those who were wounded.
As the violence spills over to Syria’s neighbors, including from violent extremists, we urge all parties in Lebanon to respect the Lebanese government’s policy of dissociation from regional conflicts, as stated in the Baabda Declaration.
The United States is committed to Lebanon’s security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. We will continue our strong support for Lebanon’s state institutions, including the LAF and the ISF, as they work to preserve and protect a stable, sovereign, and secure Lebanon.
As the violence spills over to Syria’s neighbors, including from violent extremists, we urge all parties in Lebanon to respect the Lebanese government’s policy of dissociation from regional conflicts, as stated in the Baabda Declaration.
The United States is committed to Lebanon’s security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. We will continue our strong support for Lebanon’s state institutions, including the LAF and the ISF, as they work to preserve and protect a stable, sovereign, and secure Lebanon.
CEO, COMPANIES TO PAY PENALTY $70 MILLION FOR INVESTMENT FRAUD
FROM: U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it has obtained a final judgment in federal court in Tennessee requiring a Richmond, Va.-based financial services holding company, a subsidiary brokerage firm, and their CEO to pay nearly $70 million as the outcome of a trial that found them liable for fraud.
The SEC’s complaint filed against AIC Inc., Community Bankers Securities LLC, and Nicholas D. Skaltsounis alleged that they conducted an offering fraud while selling AIC promissory notes and stock to numerous investors across multiple states, many of whom were elderly or unsophisticated brokerage customers. They misrepresented and omitted material information about the investments when pitching them to investors, including the safety and risk associated with the investments, the rates of return, and how the proceeds would be used by AIC. In reality, AIC and its subsidiaries were never profitable, and Skaltsounis and the companies used money raised from new investors to pay back principal and returns to existing investors.
“The very significant penalties in this case reinforce the message that we’re prepared to aggressively pursue companies and individuals, and when necessary take them to trial, in order to hold them accountable when they aren’t truthful with investors,” said Andrew Ceresney, director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.
A jury returned a verdict in the SEC’s favor in October 2013 after a nearly three-week trial in the Knoxville division of U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee. Chief Judge Thomas A. Varlan issued the final judgments today that include the following monetary sanctions:
AIC: disgorgement of $6,647,540, prejudgment interest of $969,262.10, and a penalty of $27.95 million for a total of $35,566,802.10.
Community Bankers Securities: disgorgement of $2,830,946 plus prejudgment interest of $412,773.53 and a penalty of $27.95 million for a total of $31,193,719.53.
Skaltsounis: disgorgement of $948,389.13 plus prejudgment interest of $138,282.35 and a penalty of $1.505 million for a total of $2,591,671.48.
The court also imposed permanent injunctions against AIC, Community Bankers Securities, and Skaltsounis for future violations of Sections 5(a), 5(c), and 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 as well as Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5.
The trial team on this case consisted of trial attorneys Michael J. Rinaldi, John V. Donnelly III, G. Jeffrey Boujoukos, and Scott A. Thompson and trial paralegal Nichelle Pridgen, who work in the agency’s Philadelphia Regional Office.
LOS ALAMOS HAS IT'S LASER TECH SELECTED BY NASA FOR MARS 2020 MISSION
FROM: LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY
Los Alamos Laser Selected for 2020 Mars Mission
New ‘SuperCam’ instrument adds capabilities to successful ChemCam
“We are extremely excited to be going to Mars again,” said Los Alamos National Laboratory planetary scientist Roger Wiens, Principal Investigator of the newly selected SuperCam team and current principal investigator of the Curiosity Rover’s ChemCam Team. “More importantly for the mission, I know SuperCam is the very best remote sensor that NASA can have aboard.”
SuperCam builds upon the successful capabilities demonstrated aboard the Curiosity Rover during NASA’s current Mars Mission. SuperCam will allow researchers to sample rocks and other targets from a distance using a laser. In addition to harnessing Los-Alamos developed Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) technology—which can determine the elemental composition of the target from more than 20 feet away—SuperCam adds another spectrum to its laser for Raman and time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy: A technique partially refined at Los Alamos and the University of Hawaii that provides the molecular makeup of a target, therefore allowing geologists to determine mineralogy and search for organic materials. The enhancements provided by these two institutions include the successful demonstration of performing these measurements at long distances and in miniaturization of the instrumentation.
SuperCam also will add color to its high-resolution visible imaging capability as well as visible and infrared spectroscopy. The updates make SuperCam the perfect instrument to provide fine-scale mineralogy, chemistry, organic detection, and color images, with the added bonus of being able to dust off a surface via laser blasts.
The new instrument will occupy a similar volume on the upcoming rover as the ChemCam instrument does aboard Curiosity and will weigh nearly the same as well.
In addition, Los Alamos will build the detector electronics for the Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) instrument.
SHERLOC is a spectrometer that will provide fine-scale imaging and use an ultraviolet (UV) laser to determine fine-scale mineralogy and detect organic compounds. SHERLOC will be the first UV Raman spectrometer to fly to the surface of Mars and will provide complementary measurements with other instruments in the payload. Tony Nelson of Los Alamos’s Space Electronics and Signal Processing Group will lead the efforts in constructing the electronics. Los Alamos laser scientists Sam Clegg of Los Alamos’s Physical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy Group and Wiens are part of the SHERLOC instrument science team.
SuperCam is a continuing effort between Los Alamos and the IRAP research institution in Toulouse France, and the French Space Agency (CNES), with additional collaboration from the University of Hawaii and the University of Valladolid (UVA) in Spain.
According to NASA, agency managers made the instrument selections for the upcoming mission out of 58 proposals received in January from researchers and engineers worldwide. Proposals received were twice the usual number submitted for instrument competitions in the recent past.
The Mars 2020 mission will be based on the design of the highly successful Mars Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, which landed almost two years ago, and currently is operating on Mars. The new rover will carry more sophisticated, upgraded hardware and new instruments to conduct geological assessments of the rover's landing site, determine the potential habitability of the environment, and directly search for signs of ancient Martian life.
Scientists will use the Mars 2020 rover to identify and select a collection of rock and soil samples that will be stored for potential return to Earth by a future mission. The Mars 2020 mission is responsive to the science objectives recommended by the National Research Council's 2011 Planetary Science Decadal Survey.
The Mars 2020 rover also will help advance knowledge of how future human explorers could use natural resources available on the surface of the Red Planet. An ability to live off the Martian land would transform future exploration of the planet. Designers of future human expeditions can use this mission to understand the hazards posed by Martian dust and demonstrate technology to process carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to produce oxygen. These experiments will help engineers learn how to use Martian resources to produce oxygen for human respiration and potentially oxidizer for rocket fuel.
FTC STAFF REPORT ON MOBILE SHOPPING APPS FINDS DISCLOSURES LACKING
FROM: U.S. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
Staff Report on Mobile Shopping Apps Found Disclosures to Consumers Are Lacking
Many Apps Fail to Provide Information On Payment Dispute Mechanisms, Privacy
The report, “What’s the Deal? An FTC Study on Mobile Shopping Apps,” looked at some of the most popular apps used by consumers to comparison shop, collect and redeem deals and discounts, and pay in-store with their mobile devices. The report builds on the findings of the Commission’s 2012 workshop on mobile payments and the report from that workshop, which raised concerns about consumers’ potential financial liability – as well as the privacy and security of their data – when using mobile payment services.
In this new report, FTC staff surveyed a total of 121 different shopping apps across the Google Play and Apple App Stores. The survey included 47 price comparison apps, which let consumers compare prices on a particular item in real-time; 50 “deal” apps, which provide consumers with coupons or discounts; and 45 in-store purchase apps, which enable consumers to use their phones to pay for goods they purchase in physical stores. Several apps were found in more than one category.
“As mobile apps become more central to the shopping experience, it’s important that consumers have meaningful information about how those apps work before they download them,” said Jessica Rich, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Consumers should not be left in the dark about their potential liability for erroneous or unauthorized charges or about the way shopping apps handle their data.”
The report makes a number of recommendations to companies that provide mobile shopping apps to consumers:
1. Apps should make clear consumers’ rights and liability limits for unauthorized, fraudulent, or erroneous transactions.
The staff report found that, prior to download, the apps reviewed frequently failed to give consumers information about the dispute procedures and consumers’ potential liability in the event something goes wrong with a payment made through the app.
The report recommends that the developers of in-store purchase apps provide clear dispute resolution and liability limits information to consumers, particularly when using a stored value method to process payments, as transactions made using this method may lack the legal protections afforded by credit or debit card transactions.
2. Apps should more clearly describe how they collect, use, and share consumer data.
Privacy considerations are important in mobile commerce apps, the report notes, as the data collected is potentially sensitive. The report finds that a majority of the shopping apps across all three categories had privacy policies disclosing that the apps collected a wide array of information, ranging from consumers’ names and addresses to detailed information on consumers’ purchases, their Social Security numbers, and data provided about the consumers by third parties.
The report finds that the reviewed apps’ privacy disclosures often used vague language, reserving broad rights to collect, use, and share consumers’ information. While almost all of the apps stated that they share personal data, 29 percent of price comparison apps, 17 percent of deal apps, and 33 percent of in-store purchase apps reserved the right to share users’ personal data without restriction, thus making it difficult for consumers to make informed decisions about whether to use the apps based on privacy considerations.
The report recommends that shopping apps clearly describe how they collect, use, and share consumer data. Making that information available will allow consumers to evaluate and compare apps based on how the apps handle their information.
3. Companies should ensure that their data security promises translate into sound data security practices.
The report also recommends that companies, whose apps promise consumer safeguards for their data, follow through on those promises. Specifically, the report recognizes that technology advances found in smartphones can offer the potential for increased data security and encourages all companies to provide strong protections for the data they collect.
Beyond recommendations for companies, the report also urges consumers to closely examine the apps’ stated policies on issues like dispute resolution and liability limits, as well as privacy and data security and evaluate them in choosing which apps to use. The report also notes that when apps do not provide that information, consumers should consider using alternative apps, or in the case of missing dispute resolution policies, limit the dollar amount used to fund stored value accounts.
The report is part of the Commission’s work to ensure that consumers are fully protected in the growing mobile space, which has included workshops and other initiatives to study cutting edge issues in this area, along with a number of law enforcement cases.
The Commission vote to issue the staff report was 5-0.
MAN ACCUSED OF MURDERING U.S. BORDER PATROL AGENT BRIAN TERRY EXTRADITED TO U.S. FROM MEXICO
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Defendant Extradited to Face Charges in Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry Murder Case
Ivan Soto-Barraza, who is charged with the first degree murder of United States Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, was extradited to the United States from Mexico today, announced Attorney General Eric Holder and U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy of the Southern District of California.
Agent Terry was fatally shot on Dec. 14, 2010, when he and other Border Patrol agents encountered Soto-Barraza and others in a rural area north of Nogales, Arizona. Of six defendants charged so far, two have pleaded guilty and two are awaiting trial.
“This marks another step forward in our aggressive pursuit of those responsible for the murder of Agent Brian Terry, who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving his country,” said Attorney General Holder. "We will never stop seeking justice against those who do harm to our best and bravest."
“This extradition is another major development in the pursuit of justice for Agent Terry and his family,” said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy. “As we continue to make significant progress in this case, we are constantly motivated by the memory of Agent Terry and his sacrifice for our country.”
Soto-Barraza is scheduled to be arraigned in federal district court in Tucson, Arizona, on August 1, 2014. The indictment charges Soto-Barraza and others with first degree murder, second degree murder, conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery, attempted interference with commerce by robbery, use and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer. In addition to the murder of Agent Terry, the indictment alleges that the defendants assaulted Border Patrol Agents William Castano, Gabriel Fragoza and Timothy Keller, who were with Agent Terry during the firefight.
On July 20, 2012, in order to seek the public’s assistance, Department of Justice officials announced a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to the arrest of four fugitives: Jesus Rosario Favela-Astorga, Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes, Lionel Portillo-Meza and Soto-Barraza. Portillo-Meza was captured in Mexico in September 2012 and extradited to the U.S. from Mexico on June 17, 2014. Soto-Barraza was captured in Mexico in September 2013. Favela-Astorga and Osorio-Arellanes are fugitives.
A fifth defendant, Manuel Osorio-Arellanes, pleaded guilty to first degree murder and was sentenced to 30 years in prison in February 2014. A sixth defendant, Rito Osorio-Arellanes, who was in custody at the time of Agent Terry’s murder, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and was sentenced to eight years in prison in January 2013.
This case is being prosecuted in federal court in Tucson by attorneys from the Southern District of California, Special Attorneys Todd W. Robinson, David D. Leshner, and Fred Sheppard. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona is recused. This case is being investigated by the FBI. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided assistance with the extradition.
The public is reminded that an indictment is a formal charging document and defendants are presumed innocent until the government meets its burden in court of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Saturday, August 2, 2014
SECRETARY KERRY'S PRESS STATEMENT ON COMMEMORATION OF WWII GENOCIDE OF ROMA
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Statement in Commemoration of the World War II Genocide of Roma
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
August 1, 2014
We pause today to mourn and remember the hundreds of thousands of Romani men, women and children who were savagely and senselessly murdered by the Nazis during World War II.
On August 2, seventy years ago, Romani men, women, and children were taken from their quarters at Auschwitz-Birkenau and sent to the gas chambers. Over the course of a single night, the Nazis sent 2,879 Roma to their deaths. Entire families were lost.
Today, we remember the 23,000 Romani persons from 11 countries who were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau, and the 19,000 who perished. We remember the men, women, and children who died from inhumane medical experiments, and the many more who died from disease and starvation. And we remember that the appalling murder of Roma didn’t stop at the camp’s edge. In parts of Naziâoccupied territory, Roma were rounded up, shot at village outskirts, and dumped into mass graves.
Above all, we remember our common responsibility to stand strong against the cruel sting of bigotry and injustice. Racism against Roma persists even today, and racism anywhere is a threat to people everywhere. We must condemn all prejudice wherever it springs up, because we know that words of hatred too often become acts of hatred.
Teaching about Romani experiences during the Holocaust is critical in combating prejudice. We commend Germany’s efforts to remember the Romani victims of the Nazis, including the memorial unveiled in Berlin two years ago.
We can learn from our history, and, together, we can change its course for generations to come.
On August 2, seventy years ago, Romani men, women, and children were taken from their quarters at Auschwitz-Birkenau and sent to the gas chambers. Over the course of a single night, the Nazis sent 2,879 Roma to their deaths. Entire families were lost.
Today, we remember the 23,000 Romani persons from 11 countries who were sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau, and the 19,000 who perished. We remember the men, women, and children who died from inhumane medical experiments, and the many more who died from disease and starvation. And we remember that the appalling murder of Roma didn’t stop at the camp’s edge. In parts of Naziâoccupied territory, Roma were rounded up, shot at village outskirts, and dumped into mass graves.
Above all, we remember our common responsibility to stand strong against the cruel sting of bigotry and injustice. Racism against Roma persists even today, and racism anywhere is a threat to people everywhere. We must condemn all prejudice wherever it springs up, because we know that words of hatred too often become acts of hatred.
Teaching about Romani experiences during the Holocaust is critical in combating prejudice. We commend Germany’s efforts to remember the Romani victims of the Nazis, including the memorial unveiled in Berlin two years ago.
We can learn from our history, and, together, we can change its course for generations to come.
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