Thursday, September 25, 2014
SOYUZ SPACECRAFT ROLLS OUT TO LAUNCH PAD
FROM: NASA
 |
| The sun rises as the Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft is rolled out by train to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Sept. 23, 2014. Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for Sept. 25 at 4:25 p.m. EDT (Sept. 26 at 2:25 a.m. Kazakh time) and will carry Expedition 41 Soyuz Commander Alexander Samokutyaev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), Flight Engineer Barry Wilmore of NASA, and Flight Engineer Elena Serova of Roscosmos into orbit to begin their five and a half month mission on the International Space Station. Image Credit-NASA-Joel Kowsky. |
U.K, CITIZEN PLEADS GUILTY TO SMUGGLING UNDOCUMENTED AFRICAN NATIONALS INTO THE U.S.
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Foreign National Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Undocumented African Nationals into the United States
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. of the District of Columbia and Special Agent in Charge Clark Settles of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations’ (HSI) Washington, D.C., Field Office made the announcement.
According to his plea agreement, Habtom Merhay, 47, who operated primarily from his residence in Dubai, orchestrated the unlawful smuggling of up to 99 undocumented African immigrants to the United States for profit. Specifically, Merhay admitted that in exchange for fees up to $14,000, he smuggled immigrants into the United States by providing fraudulent travel documents, purchasing airline tickets for travel to South and Central America, and then coordinating with a network of smugglers to facilitate the travel by air, land and water across Central America and Mexico and into the United States.
Merhay pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton of the District of Columbia, and is scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 16, 2014. Merhay was in the custody of Moroccan authorities between his arrest in Marrakech, Morocco, in August 2013 and extradition to the United States on April 25, 2014.
The investigation was led by HSI’s Washington, D.C., Field Office, with the support of the Human Smuggling Trafficking Center and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center. This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Jay Bauer of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Frederick Yette of the District of Columbia. The extradition was handled by Dan E. Stigall of the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs.
BARCLAYS CHARGED BY SEC WITH "SYSTEMIC COMPLIANCE FAILURES" REGARDING LEHMAN'S ADVISORY BUSINESS
FROM: U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
SEC Charges Barclays Capital with Systemic Compliance Failures After Acquiring Lehman’s Advisory Business
09/23/2014 12:00 PM EDT
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Barclays Capital Inc. with failing to maintain an adequate internal compliance system to ensure the firm did not run afoul of any federal securities laws after its wealth management business in the U.S. acquired the advisory business of Lehman Brothers in September 2008.
Investment advisers are required to adopt and implement written compliance policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent violations of the Investment Advisers Act and its rules. An SEC examination and subsequent investigation found that Barclays failed to enhance its compliance infrastructure to integrate and support the acquisition and rapid growth of the advisory business from Lehman. The deficiencies in its compliance systems contributed to other securities law violations by Barclays.
To settle the SEC’s case, Barclays agreed to pay a $15 million penalty and to undertake remedial measures, including engaging an independent compliance consultant to conduct an internal review.
“When a firm acquires an advisory business, it must devote the attention and resources necessary to build a robust compliance system,” said Julie M. Riewe, Co-Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit. “Barclays failed to establish this critical compliance foundation when it acquired Lehman’s advisory business, and as a result subjected its clients to a host of improper practices and inadequate disclosures.”
According to the SEC’s order instituting a settled administrative proceeding, Barclays failed to adopt and implement written policies and procedures and maintain certain required books and records to prevent the other violations. For instance, Barclays executed more than 1,500 principal transactions with its advisory client accounts without making the required written disclosures or obtaining client consent. Barclays also earned revenues and charged commissions and fees that were inconsistent with its disclosures for 2,785 advisory client accounts. Barclays also violated custody provisions of the Advisers Act, and underreported its assets under management by $754 million when it amended its Form ADV on March 31, 2011. The violations resulted in overcharges and client losses of approximately $472,000 and additional revenue to Barclays of more than $3.1 million. Barclays has since reimbursed or credited its affected clients approximately $3.8 million including interest.
The SEC’s order finds that Barclays violated Sections 204(a), 206(2), 206(3), 206(4), and 207 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and Advisers Act Rules 204-2, 206(4)-2 and 206(4)-7. In addition to the $15 million penalty, Barclays agreed to retain an independent compliance consultant to internally address the violations. Without admitting or denying the findings, Barclays agreed to be censured and must cease and desist from committing or causing any further such violations.
The SEC’s investigation was conducted by the SEC Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit and supervised by Valerie A. Szczepanik, and an examination of Barclays that led to the investigation was conducted by members of the New York Regional Office’s investment adviser and broker-dealer examination staff.
HHS ANNOUNCES 77 NEW HEALTH INSURERS WILL ENTER MARKETPLACE IN 2015
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
New Report: Health Insurance Marketplace will have 25 percent more issuers in 2015
77 new health insurance issuers means greater choice and competition for consumers
A report released by the Department of Health and Human Services shows that consumers will have more choices as they shop for quality, affordable coverage on the Health Insurance Marketplace in 2015, because there will be a net 25 percent increase in the number of issuers offering Marketplace coverage in 2015. In total, 77 new issuers will offer Marketplace coverage.
“When consumers have more choices, we all benefit,” said Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell. “In terms of affordability, access, and quality, today’s news is very encouraging. It’s a real sign that the Affordable Care Act is working.”
Today’s report examines preliminary data from 36 states run or fully supported by the federal government (Federal Marketplace) plus eight states operating State-based Marketplaces, and finds that a larger set of insurance issuers will offer plans in the Marketplaces in 2015. Specifically:
In the 44 states for which we have data, 77 issuers will be newly offering coverage in 2015.
The Federal Marketplace states alone will have 57 more issuers in 2015; a 30 percent net increase over this year.
The eight State-based Marketplaces where data is already available will have a total of six more issuers in 2015, a ten percent net increase over this year.
Four of the 36 states in the Federal Marketplace will have at least double the number of issuers they had in 2014.
In total, 36 states of the 44 will have at least one new issuer next year. And some of the nation’s largest insurance companies will be offering coverage in more than a dozen new states, joining the hundreds of insurance companies already participating in the Marketplace.
The report’s findings are preliminary.
Today’s report demonstrates that the Marketplace is working to increase competition and lower costs for consumers. Previous estimates have found a correlation between greater competition and lower costs. Specifically, an increase of one issuer in a rating area is associated with a 4 percent decline in the second-lowest cost silver plan premium, on average. In 2014, consumers in regions with larger numbers of issuers were able to access a wider range of choices.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS AT SYRIA MINISTERIAL
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks at Syria Ministerial
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
UN Headquarters
New York City
September 24, 2014
SECRETARY KERRY: Philip, thank you very much and thank you for chairing, and I appreciate enormously everybody’s indulgence. I’m sorry to be late. Because the foreign fighters forum is still going on, the President asked me to chair for some of the prime ministers and heads of state still there, and I need to go back in a moment, so I am very grateful for everybody’s indulgence with respect to that. As we all know, the diplomatic speed dating of this week is challenging, to say the least.
I want to thank all of our cohosts this afternoon, Foreign Ministers Fabius, Steinmeier, Cavusoglu, and, of course, our good friend Saud al-Faisal. This is a critical discussion, obviously, at a critical time, with the transformation that’s taking place with our action with respect to ISIL. And I am delighted to join the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia in bringing together so many friends of the Syrian people. I also want to thank our steadfast partners in these efforts, Hadi al-Bahra and the Syrian Opposition Coalition. We’re delighted to welcome you all here today.
Let me make it clear to all those who are part of that effort that for all of the men and women who make up the moderate Syrian opposition, we stand behind you today. We have stood behind you in these last years. I know sometimes there’s been a greater desire for more, but we will continue to stand beside you as long as ISIL remains a threat and Assad remains in power.
And now with the determination of the President to go to Congress and the successful vote by Congress, we stand in a very different position. We are overtly engaged in training and arming. It has taken a while to get there, but we are there, and that is significant, particularly at this moment that we are taking action against ISIL.
For three years, it is the moderate opposition who have been fighting for Syria’s future – first against a merciless dictator, and then also against another enemy as well, a terrorist group so extreme that even al-Qaida came to sever ties with it.
With the recent grotesque murder of French citizen Herve Gourdel, the world was once again reminded of the sheer evil of ISIL. It shocks the world’s collective conscience and it insults our collective sense of humanity. It is against everything that this institution in which we gather stands for. So we stand by the French people in outrage at this barbarity, and we also share their resolve to rid the Earth of this menace. We will not stand by as ISIL and others who use fear and violence and oppression to achieve their goals continue to find safe haven anywhere, including in Syria.
And that’s why this week President Obama ordered America’s armed forces to begin airstrikes against ISIL targets within Syria’s borders. And it’s why we were joined in this effort by many of our partners and friends in the region and around the table here today: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar. It’s also why we’re moving forward with our mission to do this training and equipping of the Syrian opposition. And that will deepen our investment in the only fighters who have been fighting ISIL, who drove ISIL out of Idlib province, who have been standing up to ISIL in Aleppo, standing up to ISIL in Damascus suburbs, standing up to ISIL in other parts of Syria.
So today I’m happy to announce an additional $40 million in immediate assistance for the opposition, and this includes more than 15 million for communications equipment, vehicles, food, other essential items for the armed opposition, as well as more than 25 million to support the civilian opposition as it works to build the capacity of governing.
As President Obama has made clear, the United States is committed to defeating and ultimately to destroying ISIL wherever it exists. And I’m very pleased to say that already more than 50 nations have committed to joining us in this effort in one role or another. Not every nation has to engage in military activities. We have to stop foreign fighters. We have to cut off funding. We have to engage in humanitarian effort. We have to train, equip, advise. There’s a role for everybody, but no nation should stand back from its engagement and its effort to try to help.
And we’re also committed to eliminating the ISIL threat because we know that for these last years, even as there was a period of time when there was some lack of cohesion and unity in the support that was being given from various places which detracted from the coalition’s efforts, we also know that during that time the moderate Syrian opposition had to fight ISIL. And as more people are engaged and as ISIL grows weaker because we do take them on, then the Syrian opposition will also grow stronger and this dynamic will shift.
Bashar al-Assad wants you to believe that the Syrian people have two options only: support his murderous regime or face a Syria ruled by extremist thugs from groups like ISIL or al-Nusrah. It’s one or the other, according to Assad. But everybody in this room knows better. We know that the most viable alternative to extremism in Syria is not the dictator that attracted these terrorists in the first place. Extremists will never stop fighting as long as he is in power. So the alternative to extremists is not Assad; it’s moderate opposition; it’s the moderate Syrians who have been fighting for freedom and dignity for far too long. And it’s the brave men and women who share our tolerance and respect for diversity, our commitment to the rule of law, and our vision of a stable, prosperous, and inclusive democracy in Syria. The moderate opposition remains Syria’s best hope, and they’re the only option for Syria’s future that we are prepared to accept.
No one has forgotten the fact that Assad had any number of opportunities to address the legitimate, peaceful grievances of his people. What started all of this in Syria was a follow-on to what started in Tunisia and what started in Egypt. It was young people who came out into the squares, into the streets, asking for jobs, for dignity, for a future. And they were met with violence. And when they were met with violence, their parents came out because they were shocked by what happened to their children. And then their parents were met with bullets and death. That was the beginning of this. People seem to forget that. This was not a religious-inspired event. This was an effort to have governance at its best.
So the regime chose to cling to power at all costs. The regime could have focused its military might on fighting terrorists as they began to gain influence, but it never chose to do that. It has been complicitous even with ISIL. They unleashed barrel bombs and chemical weapons on their own innocent civilians. And certainly the regime could have put the full force of law enforcement towards stopping foreign fighters from entering Syria and joining terrorist groups, but they never did that either. Instead, they were too busy imprisoning people and torturing peaceful activists.
The truth is there never has been a military solution to Syria’s civil war. The only way forward is and always has been and remains today a negotiated political solution ultimately. And despite more than three years of war and devastation in Syria, despite the exploitation of the crisis by ISIL and other extremists, and despite the immeasurable suffering that continues today, despite all of these horrible realities, as I look around and see the number of allies who have gathered here today, and as I think of the global coalition we have assembled of more than 50 countries committed to defeating ISIL, and as I consider the brave partners we have on the ground in Syria and in Iraq, I remain hopeful that a better future can be won.
So together, we can find a way forward as the Syrian people can choose their leadership, know peace, return to their homes, and hopefully, begin to lead lives with dignity and with a future. That’s our mission, and we are committed with our colleagues here at this dais and all of you in this room to seeing it through. Thank you, Philip.
OLDEST FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY CELEBRATES 225TH ANNIVERSARY
FROM: U.S. MARSHALS SERVICE
SMS Office of Public Affairs
U.S. Marshals Celebrate 225 Years of Service
Nation’s oldest federal law enforcement agency continues to build on its legendary origins and extraordinary reputation
“When President George Washington appointed the first 13 U.S. Marshals on Sept. 24, 1789, his pen marked the creation of an agency that has since played a role in virtually every facet of the nation’s federal judiciary during times of crisis and times of peace,” said U.S. Marshals Service Director Stacia Hylton.
“From upholding the law in our untamed western territories to tracking and apprehending the most notorious fugitives, the U.S. Marshals Service has been committed to answering the call of our great nation for justice,” said Hylton.
Some of those challenges to justice included responding to the Whiskey Rebellion under the command of President Washington in 1794; keeping the trains moving during the Pullman railroad strikes in 1894; enforcing court orders related to civil rights and the desegregation of the South during the 1960s, protecting witnesses who testified against organized crime, and securing all high-threat federal trials involving domestic and international terrorism such as the World Trade Center and Oklahoma City bombing trials, and most recently, the Boston Marathon bombing trial.
“As we mark 225 years of service, our men and women stand ready to continue that commitment,” said Hylton.
Today, the U.S. Marshals Service is a force of 5,400 deputies and civil servants who carry out operational and administrative duties as varied as apprehending fugitives, housing and transporting prisoners, protecting witnesses and federal judges, and managing and selling seized assets.
Most notably, the Marshals Service is the federal government’s primary agency for conducting fugitive investigations. Working with its law enforcement partners at the federal, state, and local levels, the Marshals apprehend more federal fugitives than all other federal law enforcement agencies combined. In fact, in fiscal year 2013 alone, the U.S. Marshals arrested more than 110,000 fugitives.
"With our fugitive task forces, state-of-the-art technology, and investigative expertise, we have made the idea of escaping justice nearly impossible. Every day our deputies track down the worst-of-the-worst criminal offenders,” said Hylton.
Other agency accomplishments include protecting the federal courts and facilities from more than 1,000 threats and inappropriate communications, daily managing the care and transport of nearly 60,000 prisoners, and combating major criminal activity by stripping criminals of their ill-gotten gains and distributing $200 million to victims of crime through the effective management and disposition of assets seized for forfeiture. In addition, through the enforcement of the Adam Walsh Act, the U.S. Marshals Service helps protect our communities and children from noncompliant sex offenders.
“As we mark this tremendous milestone of 225 years, I am honored to lead an organization made up of so many dedicated professionals, and I am proud of their commitment to and embodiment of our motto of justice, integrity and service,” said Hylton.
SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS WITH PERUVIAN AND FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTERS ON CLIMATE CHANGE
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Secretary's Remarks: Remarks With Peruvian Foreign Minister Gonzalo Gutierrez and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius at the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate Change Ministerial
Remarks With Peruvian Foreign Minister Gonzalo Gutierrez and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius at the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate Change Ministerial
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Marriott East Side
New York City
September 21, 2014
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, good afternoon, everybody. Thank you very, very much for joining us here at the Major Economies Forum. We’re deeply appreciative for so many ministers making the effort to be here. This is the first time we’ve had ministers like this at the Major Economies, so it’s significant. And I’m delighted to be here co-hosting with my friends, Foreign Minister of Peru Gonzalo Gutierrez, and of course, Laurent Fabius of France, and we’re very appreciative to all of you for taking part in this.
President Obama launched the Major Economies Forum in 2009, recognizing that the vast – not the vast majority – I mean, by far, almost all of the greenhouse gas emissions doing damage to the planet come from about 20 countries. And regrettably, the United States is number two. We’ve been surpassed by China now. But this is not good for anybody in the world, and we understand this.
So these are the economies that are in the best position to be able to address the global threat of climate change and whose partnership is absolutely essential in order to do so. Today, as I said, is the first time ever that foreign ministers have met under this forum, and it’s obviously not going to be the last because it’s increasingly clear that climate change has impacts not only on the environment but for our economies and for global security interests as well.
Today, we can see climate refugees. We see people fighting over water in some places. There are huge challenges to food security and challenges to the ecosystem, our fisheries and otherwise. The acidification of the ocean is a challenge for all of us.
And when you accrue all of this, while we are confronting ISIL and we are confronting terrorism and we are confronting Ebola and other things, those are immediate. This also has an immediacy that people need to come to understand, but it has even greater longer-term consequences that can cost hundreds of billions, trillions of dollars, lives, and the security of the world.
So that’s why we’ve invited all of you here today, and that’s why I’m so pleased that so many of you have recognized the urgency at hand and you’ve made it a priority to be here. I know this is obviously a very busy week for all of us, and there’s a long list of important issues for all of us to focus on while we’re here at the General Assembly, but the grave threat that climate change poses warrants a prominent position on that list. I can remember being in Rio at the Earth Summit in 1992. I can remember a voluntary commitment, which we all know didn’t work. I was in Kyoto. Many of you were there. We all understand the road we’ve traveled. But it hasn’t gotten the job done. So the Major Economies obviously understand that if we collectively elevate the important issue of global action to address this threat, we will succeed.
And unlike many of the challenges that we face, when it comes to climate change we know exactly what it takes to get the job done. There’s no mystery to this. The solution to climate change is energy policy. If we make the right choices about how we build buildings, how we transport people, what we do with respect to providing electricity and power to our countries, this problem gets solved. And every one of our countries has the technologies today to be able to do this. The policies aren’t complicated. It’s getting the political will to make the decisions to do what we know we have to do about it. It’s as simple as that, and that is true all over the world.
So that’s where our focus needs to be. We’re going to have a chance to finalize a program and approach to this at the Climate Conference in Paris next year. We’re grateful to France for its efforts already to help countries begin to target that. It’s only 16 months away, and as foreign ministers we have a key role in the coming months to raise the importance of this issue – excuse me – and to help all of our countries to focus on the targets that we need to put forward in order to deal with it.
So again, a profound thank you to all of you for being here. I turn now to Foreign Minister Gonzalo Gutierrez for his words of welcome.
FOREIGN MINISTER GUTIERREZ: Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary of State, distinguished ministers and delegates. We in Peru welcome the timely initiative of the Secretary of State John Kerry to convene a foreign ministers meeting to discuss some of the global implications of climate change. Many of our countries are already experiencing unprecedented weather events that cause destruction and cripple communications, production, transport infrastructure, and above all, taking away precious human lives.
We in Peru are watching helplessly how the largest tropical glaciers on Earth continue melting away, depriving large coastal population and future agricultural developments of valuable water reserves. In the higher parts of the Andean region, unusual freezing temperatures are having a tragic impact on vulnerable population, food production, and different areas of the human life.
Response to these radical changes of nature is not always possible or efficient. This is why adaptation – we think it’s a key pillar in the climate change agenda, one that requires vast mobilization of cooperation, resources, and human qualification. Governments and business will have a chance this week to look closer at the opportunities to work together in innovative investment oriented towards low-carbon economies. We expect announcements that will bolster – booster confidence and ambition in the process that can lead to a substantial outcome in the COP 20 in Lima.
This, as a basis to conclude a new climate agreement in 2015 in Paris only – and let me stress only – if we are able to create a concrete basis for agreement in the Lima COP, there will be a solid basis for a comprehensive understanding in Paris. We expect significant announcements that major economies at this stage may do in order to expect a productive and significant outcome next year.
I thank you very much again for your invitation and I hope we all may have a very fruitful discussion today.
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you, Gonzalo, very much. And now, Laurent Fabius.
FOREIGN MINISTER FABIUS: I will speak French. That’s for the earphones.
(Via interpreter) Dear John, thank you very much for this initiative of yours, which does not surprise us on your part since before you even were Secretary of State of the United States, you have always been interested in climate questions, the environment. You are an expert.
And I also tell my Peruvian colleague how happy I am to be sitting next to him, all the more since, as he said himself but in another way, the more the Lima results will be good, the less work we’ll have to do in Paris. If we end the thing in Lima, I invite all of you in Paris for two weeks – only in nightclubs. (Laughter.)
Two or three quick remarks. First remark: I think it’s the first time that foreign affair ministers gather in order to talk about this topic. And it’s not only because John is Secretary of State; it is not only because we all have the secret wish to take the job of our environment colleagues; it is much more, because we all understood that this question was a major question for the balance of the world. Of course, there are technical details in the discussions that we’re going to have, but before all, as my colleague said very well, it is a question of political will – political will. And we are here, we as foreign affair ministers, in order to try to express this political will. And I’m certain that we’ll make it number one.
Number two, in our work we keep talking about climate change, and sometimes we talk about global warming. As far as I’m concerned, I like to talk about climate disruption – climate disruption because it is not a question that is limited, it is a question that’s going to last 50 years, it is a question that is major and that is of today’s importance. So I think that if we want to succeed in Lima, in Paris, we must show two things: number one, that it is a question for right now; and then, that it is a question which needs solutions, of course, with some constraints, but also can give us some extremely positive fallout. And I think we have to be positive in the results; we have to have positive results around new growth, job creation, because this is how we’re going to convince people who are still reluctant.
Two last words. Today, a certain number of us have walked and marched in the streets of New York, and I’m told that there were other meetings in the world. I was there. I was with Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-General of the UN. I was with Al Gore and other VIPs. And I think that it shows that people are now much more aware in all our countries of how important this topic is. And this coming week, at the initiative of Ban Ki-moon, is going to strengthen even more this new awareness. And I think in our countries we have to lean on this new awareness in order to obtain the results that are necessary in the Lima conference and in the Paris conference.
And lastly, in Warsaw – it was my first conference; I’m less of a veteran than some of you – I got in touch with different delegations. And I didn’t ask them what needs to be done in order to succeed. What I asked them was what should not be done. And I’ve had very interesting answers. One of the conclusions I drew was the following: If, in the past, we have had a few disappointments, it’s because we believed that at the very last minute, when the biggest political leaders were going to come, thanks to them, they’re going to solve all the problems.
No. Things must be prepared in a way that’s both ambitious and humble, ahead of time. That’s the reason why it’s so important to see each other right now. The UN week must be positive. In Lima, things must go forward, and then in many, many other meetings. So we have to be very ambitious and very modest. And my role, because France is going to chair the conference and the president of the republic has asked me to chair it as minister of foreign affairs, my role will be to listen to all of you and to try not really to push the French solutions. Let’s not be arrogant. But I’ll have the role of facilitator, so I’m very optimistic because I have all of your support. Thank you very much.
SECRETARY KERRY: Thank you, Laurent, very, very much. We appreciate your words and leadership, and we very much look forward to the Paris conference, to Lima first and then to Paris, and really a year of decision.
FTC HALTS ABUSIVE DEBT COLLECTION COMPANY FROM THREATENING CUSTOMERS WITH ARREST
FROM: U.S. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
FTC Stops Abusive Debt Collection Operation That Threatened Consumers with Legal Action and Arrest for Not Paying ‘Phantom’ Debts
The Federal Trade Commission has halted the abusive debt collection practices of an operation that used fictitious names and threatened consumers into paying debts they may not have owed.
Under settlements with the FTC and a default judgment by the court, Pinnacle Payment Services, LLC and its principals have been barred from debt collection activities and are subject to a $9,384,628 judgment, which has been suspended for most of the defendants, due their inability to pay.
“The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is designed to ensure that debt collectors do not use abusive tactics to coerce consumers into making payments,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “In this case, Pinnacle threatened many consumers by telling them their bank accounts would be closed, their wages garnished, they would face felony fraud charges, or they would be arrested if they failed to pay the phantom debts. This is unacceptable, and the Commission will act swiftly to stop such flagrant law violations.”
According to an FTC complaint filed in 2013, the Pinnacle defendants, operating out of Atlanta and Cleveland, used fictitious business names that implied an affiliation with a law firm or a law enforcement agency, such as Global Legal Services, Allied Litigation Group, and Dockets Liens & Seizures. Using robocalls and voice messages that threatened legal action and arrest unless consumers responded within a few days, the defendants collected millions of dollars in payment for phantom debts – debts many of the consumers contacted did not owe. Their illegal practices generated nearly 3,000 complaints to the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel database.
Based on their alleged violations of the FTC Act and the FDCPA, on October 24, 2013, the U.S. District Court in Atlanta temporarily stopped the alleged illegal conduct, pending final resolution.
The settlements with the corporate defendants and individual defendants Dorian Wills, Lisa Jeter, Nichole Anderson, Hope Wilson, Demarra Massey, and Angela Triplett and the default judgment against Tobias Boyland ban the defendants from debt collection activities, including helping anyone else engage in debt collection or selling debts. They also are prohibited from making misrepresentations related to the provision of any financial products or services, and must destroy all consumer information they have on file.
The settlements with each defendant except Massey require them, jointly and severally, to pay judgments of $9,384,628, which represents the total consumer injury caused by their allegedly illegal conduct. The settlement with Massey includes a judgment of $1,558,657, which reflects the consumer injury caused during her tenure with the operation. Under the settlements, the monetary judgments against Jeter, Wilson, Anderson, Triplett, and Massey will be partially suspended due to their inability to pay.
The actions announced today settle the FTC’s charges against all of the defendants in this matter. The Commission vote approving each proposed stipulated order was 5-0.
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S REMARKS WITH PRIME MINISTER ABADI OF IRAQ
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE PRESIDENT OBAMA
September 24, 2014
Remarks by President Obama and Prime Minister Abadi of the Republic of Iraq After Bilateral Meeting
United Nations Building
New York City, New York
12:05 P.M. EDT
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, I want to thank Prime Minister Abadi and his delegation for the opportunity to meet here this morning.
As I’ve said previously, the United States and Iraq have a strategic relationship that is important to both countries. We believe in a vision of an Iraq that is inclusive, in which Sunni, Shia, Kurd are all able to come together to peacefully iron out their differences and to achieve prosperity and peace for all the people of the country.
Obviously, Iraq is under enormous threat at the moment from the organization that calls itself ISIL. And as I’ve discussed today and for many weeks now, we consider ISIL to be a threat not only to Iraq, but to the region, to the world, and to the United States.
We are committed to working in support of Iraq regaining territory that ISIL has currently taken over, and making sure that an inclusive Iraqi government is able to control its territory and push ISIL back. In doing that, we are coordinating closely in our military campaign. And the airstrikes and air support that we’re able to provide, as well as the training and assistance, I think will be critical in partnership with Iraqi forces on the ground.
One of the things I’m very impressed with, however, is the fact that Prime Minister Abadi understands that in order for Iraq to succeed it’s not just a matter of a military campaign; it’s also the need for political outreach to all factions within the country. And I’ve been very impressed with Prime Minister Abadi’s vision.
Since he took over the prime-ministership, he has reached out systematically to all the peoples of Iraq. He has articulated a vision of reform and a commitment to moving forward with many of the laws that had previously stalled but offer the potential of unleashing energy and entrepreneurship inside of Iraq.
And so, in addition to the military campaign in which we’re going to be coordinating, I want to say directly to the Prime Minister that we fully support his political vision, and we are also encouraged by his willingness to reach out and work with other countries in the region who are going to be very important in supporting our overall effort to defeat ISIL.
The last point I would make: I think that the Prime Minister recognizes this is not something that is going to be easy and it is not going to happen overnight. But after talking with the Prime Minister, I’m confident that he’s the right person to help work with a broad-based coalition of like-minded Iraqis and that they will be successful.
And my main message to the Prime Minister is that although we cannot do this for you, we can be a strong partner, and we are fully committed to your success. We wish you Godspeed. And we are grateful for your willingness to take on this leadership mantle at such a critical time in your country’s history.
PRIME MINISTER ABADI: (As interpreted.) In the name of God, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful, I would like to thank President Obama for allowing for this opportunity for Iraq to explain its points of view towards the confrontation that is happening in Iraq and in which Iraq is at the forefront of the confrontation against the forces of ISIL.
The Iraqi people have confronted this very brutal, ruthless attack on the Iraqi territory with bravery, and I am very proud to say that I am the commander of the Iraqi armed forces. Our armed forces have also offered a lot of sacrifices when they confronted the Daesh attack. And I can say today that in many of the areas we are now turning around the ground.
Today, I am also proud to say that our people are brave, and the popular effort on the ground has been of utmost importance. I am keen to protect our brave people on the ground, and I am proud of the sacrifices and protect them and protect all that they have been doing to protect their communities on the ground, their religious sites, and to stand a firm stance against the terrorist attacks that targeted the minorities, and targeted and killed children, men and women.
In my discussion with President Obama, I emphasized the importance of the respect of the sovereignty of Iraq and the territorial integrity of Iraq. And as a Prime Minister of Iraq, I reaffirmed the importance for all forces that want to help Iraq to respect the sovereignty of Iraq and its territorial integrity. I am very thankful for President Obama and all the allies, all who are helping, for maintaining and respecting the territorial integrity of Iraq and its sovereignty.
Finally, one of the requests that I have put forth for President Obama is the importance of equipping and arming the Iraqi army and to provide the Iraqi armed forces with weapons. As you know, our armed forces are in dire need for equipment and for weapons, mostly because we lost a lot of the equipment and the weapons in our confrontation and our fight against ISIL, and specifically when the ISIL groups came through the borders from Syria, many of the weapons were destroyed. Some of the weapons fell in the hand of ISIL. Therefore, I am very thankful for President Obama that he promised that weapons and supplies would be delivered to Iraq as soon as possible so Iraq can defeat ISIL and Iraq can overcome this crisis.
We are keen in Iraq to promote further the strategic relationship between our two countries, a strategic relationship that is based on mutual respect within the Strategic Framework Agreement that was signed between the two governments back in 2008. I am pleased to say that President Obama has promised to reinvigorate the Strategic Framework Agreement not only to put the focus on the military and security aspect of that agreement, but also on all other levels -- scientific, educational, economic, cultural and academic, social and other aspects of our relationship.
Mr. President, I thank you for all your support and all the promises that you have given us. And I hope to see that these promises will be concretely fulfilled on the ground as soon as possible.
Thank you.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you very much, everybody.
DOJ SETTLES IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT CLAIMS AGAINST AIR CARRIER
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Justice Department Settles Immigration-Related Employment Discrimination Claim Against Major Airline
The Justice Department announced today that it reached an agreement with United Continental Holdings Inc. resolving a claim that divisions of the company previously operating as Continental Airlines discriminated against individuals because of citizenship status in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
The department’s investigation was initiated based on a telephone call to the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices’s (OSC) hotline. The department found that the company requested lawful permanent resident employees, but not U.S. citizen employees, to complete additional Forms I-9 and provide additional proof of employment eligibility after hire even though the law prohibits this practice. The INA’s anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from placing additional documentary burdens on work-authorized employees during the employment eligibility verification process based on their citizenship status.
“The INA’s anti-discrimination provision protects individuals from being singled out for unnecessary and unauthorized employment reverification based on their citizenship or immigration status,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Molly Moran for the Civil Rights Division. “We commend Continental’s willingness to resolve the issues uncovered during the department’s investigation.”
Under the settlement agreement, Continental will pay $215,000 to the United States, create a $55,000 back pay fund to compensate individuals who may have lost wages due to the company’s practices, and undergo training on the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The company will also be subject to departmental monitoring of its employment eligibility reverification practices for a period of two years.
The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices within the Justice Department is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. Among other things, the statute prohibits citizenship status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; retaliation; and intimidation.
SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS REGARDING HUMAN RIGHTS IN NORTH KOREA
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks at Event on Human Rights in the D.P.R.K.
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Waldorf-Astoria
New York City, DC
September 23, 2014
Thank you very much, Ambassador King, and I want to thank Assistant Secretary Tom Malinowski for bringing us together today with Danny Russel. And I’m particularly grateful to our fellow ministers and diplomatic corps for being here today, and particularly grateful to my colleagues, the Foreign Minister of Japan, the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea, for being here to share in this, and Prince Zeid also, whose leadership is so important on it.
We are here today to really confront some of the most urgent issues of conscience, and policymaking is often marked by complicated decisions, by close calls. But some things remain crystal clear: Barbarity, inhumanity – I think you can call it evil – we all recognize still exist. And in the challenges that we’re facing in the Middle East right now, that has been underscored in the last days. We simply cannot be blind to these egregious affronts to human nature and we cannot accept it, and silence would be the greatest abuse of all.
What goes on inside North Korea – systematic repression, collective punishment, arbitrary execution, penal colonies, prison camps – these abuses are actually unfathomable to nearly the entire world, and they should have no place in the 21st century. North Korea’s leadership may act as if it is impervious to our concern, as if nothing that we say can penetrate its self-imposed isolation. And yet on some level, North Korea’s leaders do understand that their behavior brings shame upon their country in the eyes of the world. Why else would Pyongyang go to such extraordinary lengths to keep their prison camps secret? Why else would they refuse to allow access to the Red Cross, the UN, and the international NGOs, or dismiss out of hand horrific accounts provided by defectors as mere propaganda?
Well, in many ways now, the veil has been truly lifted. No longer can North Korea’s secrecy be seen as an excuse for silence or ignorance or inaction, because in 400 pages of excruciating detail and testimony from over 80 witnesses, the UN Commission of Inquiry’s report on the DPRK has laid bare what it rightly calls systematic, widespread, and grave violations of human rights. Thousands upon thousands of North Korea’s citizens are being robbed of their dignity and stripped of their humanity in penal colonies, if they are lucky enough to survive at all. Torture and forced abortions are routine. And the sentencing of Americans to labor camps without a trial – a fair trial – is as unjust as it is reprehensible.
So today, many nations come together with one voice. To the tens of thousands who are suffering in Yodok, Hwasong, Kaechon, and in prison camps across North Korea, we say, “You may be hidden, but we can see you. We know you’re there. Your captors can silence your voice and assault your dignity, but they cannot deny your basic humanity.” And we have someone with us today who you will meet shortly whose life story proves that to be true.
We should all ask ourselves if we who are free, we who have the extraordinary privilege of coming together in a way like this today, if we don’t stand with men and women suffering in anonymity in places like North Korea, then what do we stand for? And if we don’t give voice to the voiceless, then why even bother to speak about these issues?
So we say to the North Korean Government, all of us here today: You should close those camps. You should shut this evil system down. As the Commission of Inquiry report concludes, “The gravity, scale, and nature of these violations reveal a state that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world.” And the commission makes a set of clear recommendations to the DPRK Government. Some are as simple as acknowledging its abuses and holding those responsible to account. Others involve reforming the basic institutions of society.
The United States looks forward to working with the European Union, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and other nations on a strong UN resolution that carries these recommendations forward. And I want to thank High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid and former Justice of the High Court of Australia Mr. Michael Kirby, who chaired the commission. Let me also recognize the extraordinary work of the Australian Government. My friend, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who is here, for helping to ensure the UN report gets the attention that it deserves.
And finally, I want to thank my counterpart from the Republic of Korea, Minister Yun Byung-se, for his country’s commitment to host a High Commission Field Office that will serve as our eyes and ears to North Korea’s injustice. And of course, I thank the Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida for lending his strong, important voice to this cause.
But most of all, I want to thank Shin Dong-hyuk for being here with us today. Shin was born in a North Korean prison camp. At a young age, Shin was forced to watch executions, to eat frogs and rodents to survive, and to endure having part of a finger cut off as a punishment. He spent the first 23 years of his life living this way. And by recounting his experiences of brutality and humanity, he makes witnesses of us all.
But Shin is far more than a survivor of unconscionable cruelty. In his escape from such remarkable evil, from a nightmare that few of us could even imagine, he is also a source of inspiration and hope. There is no easy solution to this challenge, but none of us have a right to lose hope because the people in those camps don’t. We must stay persistent in standing up for our most fundamental values whenever and wherever they are threatened. That is the only way we can achieve the transformation that is imperative.
Shin, thank you for bearing witness to that truth and for being here with us today, and we look forward to hearing your comments. Thank you. (Applause.)
SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS REGARDING CULTURAL HERITAGE THREATS IN IRAQ, SYRIA
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Secretary's Remarks: Remarks at Threats to Cultural Heritage in Iraq and Syria Event
09/22/2014 09:50 PM EDT
Remarks at Threats to Cultural Heritage in Iraq and Syria Event
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York City
September 22, 2014
SECRETARY KERRY: Tom, thank you very, very much for hosting us all here at this rather remarkable gathering in this absolutely extraordinary location, for which we thank the Egyptians for their generosity and Augustus for his creativity. It’s a pretty special backdrop for anybody.
For decades – it’s a privilege for me to be able to be here with all of you, and particularly to break away from a day of dealing with the realities of the policies behind what is happening here, and very, very special for me to come to this museum – which I’ve had the pleasure of coming to as a civilian just to walk through and enjoy, as so many of you do – this remarkable institution that has given millions of people the opportunity to learn about our collective past and to share some of the finest examples of human achievement on the planet.
Later this evening, all of you will have a chance to see many of those achievements firsthand at the groundbreaking exhibition, “Assyria to Iberia at the Dawn of the Classical Age.” And Tom, we can’t thank you enough for your leadership. It’s extraordinary.
I also want to thank Emily Rafferty. Emily’s historic tenure as the president of the Met has made everybody in the country proud. Few people have done more or fought harder to make this museum and the treasures that it holds accessible to all of the public. That is an enduring conviction, and Emily will leave behind her an enduring legacy when she retires next year after an extraordinary four decades of service here. And I think everybody would join in saying thank you for that. (Applause.)
I also want to thank Professor Michael Danti for shining a light on what is without question a global, critical challenge. And I’m particularly glad that he hails from Boston and came down here tonight. Thank you. When it comes to elevating the fight to protect the cultural heritage of Iraq and Syria, Michael and his colleagues at the American Schools of Oriental Research are literally the gold standard. And Michael was the first American archeologist in more than half a century to gain access to the Zagros Mountains, and that’s the Iraqi Kurdistan Region along the Turkish and Iranian border. And he traveled to Syria for more than two decades, right up until the conflict erupted, researching Syria’s ancient heritage. And we are all profoundly grateful for his commitment. And I must say, in the last 29 years that I served in the United States Senate, I went to Damascus a number of times and to Syria, and I cringe at what is happening now, and particularly to an extraordinary place like Aleppo.
It’s my pleasure to be here with President Hadi al-Bahra, the – of the Iraqi opposition coalition – Syrian Opposition Coalition. It’s a long day. (Laughter.) Director-General Irina Bokova of UNESCO; Elizabeth Duggal, the chair of the U.S. Committee of the International Council of Museums; Bonnie Burnham, the president of the World Monuments Fund; and Dr. Zaki Aslan, the director of the International Center for the Study of Preservation’s Regional Conservation Center in Sharjah.
Now I’m going to pick up where Tom began, and I’m not going to mince words. We gather in the midst of one of the most tragic and one of the most outrageous assaults on our shared heritage that perhaps any of us have seen in a lifetime. Ancient treasures in Iraq and in Syria have now become the casualties of continuing warfare and looting. And no one group has done more to put our shared cultural heritage in the gun sights than ISIL.
ISIL is not only beheading individuals; it is tearing at the fabric of whole civilizations. It has no respect for life. It has no respect for religion. And it has no respect for culture, which for millions is actually the foundation of life. Far from hiding their destruction of churches and mosques, they broadcast these, purposefully and with pride, for all the world to see their act of depravity and for all of us to be intimidated and to perhaps back off from our values. For the proud people of Iraq and Syria – ancient civilizations, civilizations of great beauty, great accomplishment, of extraordinary history and intellectual achievement – the destruction of their heritage is a purposeful final insult, and another example of ISIL’s implacable evil. ISIL is stealing lives, yes, but it’s also stealing the soul of millions.
How shocking and historically shameful it would be if we did nothing while the forces of chaos rob the very cradle of our civilization. So many different traditions trace their roots back to this part of the world, as we all know. This is the first thing many of us learned in school. The looting of Apamea and Dura Europos, the devastation caused by fighting in the ancient UNESCO heritage city of Aleppo, the destruction of the Tomb of Jonah – these appalling acts aren’t just a tragedy for the Syrian and the Iraqi people. These acts of vandalism are a tragedy for all civilized people, and the civilized world must take a stand.
So what is really at stake here? When you walk around the exhibit and you see the limestone reliefs from Assyria or the Syro-Hittite sculptures, you get up close and personal reminders of the power of human creation. Each artifact tells a story – a human story, our story. But we also know this: When ISIL destroys dozens of shrines in Mosul or the historic lion statues in Raqqa, when Assad’s forces shell the Roman Temple of Bel in Palmyra or care more about regaining territory in Aleppo than protecting its ancient treasures, we are all bearing witness to cultural barbarism at its worst – ugly, savage, inexplicable, valueless barbarism. It’s not just that the forces of extremism threaten to take us back to the Stone Age. Extremists want to rob future generations of any connection to this past. That is profoundly what is at stake. And if you leave it unstopped, if you don’t stand up, we are all complicit.
I want you to know that President Obama and our Administration are laser-focused on protecting the cultural heritage of countries all around the world. That is why we’re funding a landmark effort with the American Schools of Oriental Research to document the condition of cultural heritage sites in Syria. And we’re providing additional support to extend this effort into Iraq. We’re also doubling down on our support for Iraqi conservation experts and providing them with critical training on emergency documentation and disaster preparedness and response at the Iraqi Institute for the Conservation of Antiquities and Heritage.
Through the National Science Foundation, we’re partnering with the American Association for the Advancement of Science on a project that uses geospatial technologies to track the destruction of the historical sites in Syria. They just released a big study that proves the destruction of these sites publicly. And this is yet another wakeup call, and those who deny the evidence or choose excuses over action are playing with fire as a consequence.
Our heritage is literally in peril in this moment, and we believe it is imperative that we act now. We do so knowing that our leadership, the leadership of the United States, can make a difference and that the fight to protect the cultural heritage of Iraq and Syria isn’t just about shared values. It’s about protecting a shared legacy. And that is the story that I want to leave you with this evening.
The Tomb of Jonah that I mentioned a moment ago was a sacred place in Mosul for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. It was a symbol of tolerance, and a powerful reminder of the traditions that we all share. In its perverse reality, ISIL saw the Tomb and the Nabi Younes Mosque that housed it – they saw it as a threat. So they ringed the mosque with explosives and literally turned it into dust. When he saw the destruction, a local man named Omar summed up the reaction in Mosul. He said, “We cried for it with our blood.”
Those are the stakes, and this is our world – our world: ISIS forces the people of Iraq and Syria to pay for their cultural heritage in blood. We are determined instead to help Iraqis and Syrians protect and preserve their heritage in peace. That’s our common responsibility. And that is why the cause of conscience and conviction in our cause for action in Iraq and Syria today is so important.
Thank you for being part of this tonight, this reminder of our values and this reminder of our connectedness, and reminder of our responsibility. Thank you. (Applause.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)