Thursday, October 2, 2014
COMPUTER SIMULATIONS, STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES INDICATE CALIFORNIA DROUGHT LIKELY LINKED TO CLIMATE CHANGE
FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Cause of California drought linked to climate change
Extreme atmospheric conditions responsible for drought more likely to occur in current global warming.
The atmospheric conditions associated with the unprecedented drought in California are very likely linked to human-caused climate change, researchers report
The result, published today in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, is one of the most comprehensive studies to investigate the link between climate change and California's ongoing drought.
"Our research finds that extreme atmospheric high pressure in this region--which is strongly linked to unusually low precipitation in California--is much more likely to occur today than prior to the emission of greenhouse gases that began during the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s," says Diffenbaugh.
The exceptional drought crippling California is by some measures the worst in state history.
Combined with unusually warm temperatures and stagnant air conditions, the lack of precipitation has triggered a dangerous increase in wildfires and incidents of air pollution across the state.
The water shortage could result in direct and indirect agricultural losses of at least $2.2 billion and lead to the loss of more than 17,000 seasonal and part-time jobs in 2014 alone.
Such effects have prompted a drought emergency in the state; the federal government has designated all 58 California counties as natural disaster areas.
"In the face of severe drought, decision-makers are facing tough choices about the allocation of water resources for urban, agricultural and other crucial needs," says Anjuli Bamzai, program director in the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences, which funded the research.
"This study places the current drought in historical perspective and provides valuable scientific information for dealing with this grave situation. "
Scientists agree that the immediate cause of the drought is a particularly tenacious "blocking ridge" over the northeastern Pacific--popularly known as the Ridiculously Resilient Ridge, or "Triple R"--that prevented winter storms from reaching California during the 2013 and 2014 rainy seasons.
Blocking ridges are regions of high atmospheric pressure that disrupt typical wind patterns in the atmosphere.
"Winds respond to the spatial distribution of atmospheric pressure," says Daniel Swain of Stanford, lead author of the paper.
"We have seen this amazingly persistent region of high pressure over the northeastern Pacific for many months, which has substantially altered atmospheric flow and kept California largely dry."
The Triple R was exceptional for both its size and longevity.
While it dissipated briefly during the summer months of 2013, it returned by fall 2013 and persisted through much of the winter, California's wet season.
"At its peak in January 2014, the Triple R extended from the subtropical Pacific between California and Hawaii to the coast of the Arctic Ocean north of Alaska," says Swain, who coined the term "ridiculously resilient ridge" to highlight the persistent nature of the blocking ridge.
Like a large boulder that has tumbled into a narrow stream, the Triple R diverted the flow of high-speed air currents known as the jet stream far to the north, causing Pacific storms to bypass not only California, but also Oregon and Washington.
As a result, rain and snow that would normally fall on the West Coast were instead re-routed to Alaska and as far north as the Arctic Circle.
An important question for scientists and decision-makers has been whether human-caused climate change has influenced the conditions responsible for California's drought.
Given the important role of the Triple R, Diffenbaugh and colleagues set out to measure the probability of such extreme ridging events.
The team first assessed the rarity of the Triple R in the context of the 20th century historical record.
Analyzing the period since 1948, for which comprehensive atmospheric data are available, the researchers found that the persistence and intensity of the Triple R in 2013 were unrivaled by any previous event.
To more directly address the question of whether climate change played a role in the probability of the 2013 event, the team collaborated with scientist Bala Rajaratnam, also of Stanford.
Rajaratnam applied advanced statistical techniques to a large suite of climate model simulations.
Using the Triple R as a benchmark, Rajaratnam compared geopotential heights--an atmospheric property related to pressure--between two sets of climate model experiments.
One set mirrored the present climate, in which the atmosphere is growing increasingly warmer due to human emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
In the other set of experiments, greenhouse gases were kept at a level similar to those that existed just prior to the Industrial Revolution.
The researchers found that the extreme heights of the Triple R in 2013 were at least three times as likely to occur in the present climate as in the preindustrial climate.
They also found that such extreme values are consistently tied to unusually low precipitation in California, and to the formation of atmospheric ridges over the northeastern Pacific.
"We've demonstrated with high statistical confidence that large-scale atmospheric conditions similar to those of the Triple R are far more likely to occur now than in the climate before we emitted large amounts of greenhouse gases," Rajaratnam says.
"In using these advanced statistical techniques to combine climate observations with model simulations, we've been able to better understand the ongoing drought in California," Diffenbaugh adds.
"This isn't a projection of 100 years in the future. This is an event that is more extreme than any in the observed record, and our research suggests that global warming is playing a role right now."
The research was also supported by the National Institutes of Health. Rajaratnam was also supported in part by DARPA, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the UPS fund.
-NSF-
Media Contacts
Cheryl Dybas, NSF,
DOJ SETTLES ALLEGED DISABILITY-BASED HOUSING DISCRIMINATION CASE AGAINST DEVELOPER
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Justice Department Settles Allegations of Disability-Based Housing Discrimination with West Virginia Developer
The Justice Department announced today that developer Douglas Pauley and entities affiliated with him have agreed to pay $110,000 and make approximately $1.7 million in retrofits required to remove accessibility barriers at 30 apartment complexes, involving more than 750 units in West Virginia. The parties’ agreement will settle the United States’ claims that defendants had violated the Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act by building the complexes with a variety of features that made them inaccessible to persons with disabilities. The United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia approved the settlement yesterday.
Under the terms of the agreement, Pauley, as General Partner of 30 limited liability partnerships, must take extensive actions to make the complexes accessible to persons with disabilities, including wheelchair users. These corrective actions include replacing excessively sloped portions of sidewalks, installing properly sloped curb ramps to allow persons with disabilities to access the sidewalks from the parking areas, replacing cabinets in bathrooms and kitchens to provide sufficient room for wheelchair users, and reducing door threshold heights. In addition, defendants will pay $100,000 to establish a settlement fund for the purpose of compensating individuals with disabilities who have been impacted by the accessibility violations and $10,000 as a civil penalty.
“The Fair Housing Act protects the rights of persons with disabilities to have equal opportunities to enjoy the housing of their choice,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Molly Moran for the Civil Rights Division. “And this comprehensive resolution will ensure equal access to persons with disabilities at 30 apartment complexes and will compensate those injured by the failure to provide accessible housing.”
“Housing is a fundamental human need, and it’s deeply unfair to deny persons with disabilities equal access to it,” said Booth Goodwin, United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia. “Thanks to this case, the developer will be required to devote nearly $2 million to correcting and compensating for the harm that he and his companies have caused. That’s an important victory for West Virginians with disabilities.”
Individuals who are entitled to share in the settlement fund will be identified through a process established in the settlement. Notices of the settlement and a list of subject properties will be published in the Charleston Gazette. Persons who believe they were subjected to unlawful discrimination at one of those properties either when they lived there or considered living there should contact the Justice Department toll-free at 1-800-896-7743 mailbox # 9993 or e-mail the Justice Department at fairhousing@usdoj.govEmail links icon.
The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin and disability.
POST-IT NOTE USER CHARGED BY SEC WITH INSIDER TRADING
FROM: U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged a Brooklyn man with facilitating a $5.6 million insider trading scheme that typically involved the passing of illegal tips via napkins or post-it notes at Grand Central Terminal.
Earlier this year, the SEC charged a stockbroker and a law firm managing clerk with insider trading and alleged they were connected by a mutual friend who served as a “middleman” in an effort to keep the two unlinked. In a separate complaint filed today in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, the SEC identifies Frank Tamayo as that middleman. The SEC alleges that Tamayo received material nonpublic information from Steven Metro about 13 impending corporate deals involving clients of the law firm where Metro worked. Tamayo then tipped his stockbroker Vladimir Eydelman, who used the confidential information to illegally trade for himself and for Tamayo and other customers. Tamayo allocated a portion of his ill-gotten profits for eventual payback to Metro for the inside information.
“As the middleman, Tamayo was the firewall between Metro and Eydelman. Metro had the information, Eydelman did the trading, and Tamayo kept them apart,” said Robert Cohen, Co-Deputy Chief of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Market Abuse Unit. “But they were wrong in believing that this would stop the SEC from detecting their scheme.”
In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey today announced criminal charges against Tamayo. The U.S. Attorney previously brought criminal actions against Metro and Eydelman. Those criminal cases and the SEC’s civil case against Metro and Eydelman are pending.
According to the SEC’s complaint against Tamayo, the scheme was deliberately structured to avoid detection, enabling Eydelman and Tamayo to profit without connecting the trades to an insider source and also allowing Metro to share in the trading proceeds. For a five-year period, Metro repeatedly accessed confidential information in his law firm’s computer systems and met with Tamayo at bars and coffee shops in New York City to provide tips about firm clients ready to participate in a corporate transaction. Tamayo typically would then connect with Eydelman near the clock at the information booth at Grand Central, where he would show him a post-it note or napkin on which Tamayo wrote the stock ticker symbol of the company to be acquired. Tamayo then chewed up and sometimes even ate the post-it note or napkin to destroy evidence of the tip. Tamayo also conveyed to Eydelman the approximate transaction price and timing of the deal. After Eydelman returned to his office and gathered research about the target company, he would e-mail Tamayo supposed thoughts about why buying the stock made sense. Their intent was to create a paper trail of e-mails to make it appear they were making their trading decisions based on research and analysis rather than inside information.
The SEC’s complaint charges Tamayo with violations of Sections 10(b) and 14(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 and 14e-3 as well as Section 17(a) of the Securities Act of 1933.
The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Jason Burt and Carolyn Welshhans in the Market Abuse Unit with assistance from John Rymas, Mathew Wong, Daniel Koster, and Leigh Barrett. The case was supervised by Daniel M. Hawke, Chief of the Market Abuse Unit, and Mr. Cohen. The SEC’s litigation will be led by Stephan Schlegelmilch and Bridget Fitzpatrick. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and Options Regulatory Surveillance Authority.
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS WITH CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER WANG YI
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks With Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Before Their Meeting
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Ben Franklin Room
Washington, DC
October 1, 2014
SECRETARY KERRY: Good afternoon, everybody. It’s my distinct pleasure to welcome His Excellency, the foreign minister of China, Foreign Minister Wang Yi. I met with the foreign minister in July in Beijing for a very productive Strategic & Economic Dialogue. We spent two days together and President Xi opened up that meeting and closed the meeting. And we are very grateful for China’s significant commitment to that dialogue. And in addition, we had useful conversations in August during my trip to Burma for the ASEAN Regional Forum, and we had a chance to briefly talk in New York. Knowing that we were going to be meeting here, we held back on the length and breadth of that conversation.
But I’m very pleased that he has taken time to visit us here in Washington on the occasion of China’s National Day, and we congratulate you on that and welcome you here. And I’m pleased he’s taken time to come here and strengthen our relationship as part of the ongoing dialogue between us.
I want to emphasize that the United States welcomes the rise of a peaceful, prosperous, and stable China, and one that plays a responsible role in Asia and the world, and contributes to upholding the existing rules and the norms on economic and security issues. I take note that China is stepping up and contributing to this challenge of Ebola, and we are appreciative for China’s willingness to put both equipment and personnel on the line in order to help deal with this. We view that in very positive terms with respect to China’s important role in global leadership.
And that is why we are committed – that role and our interests together – in trying to find ways to cooperate on those issues of greatest consequence on a global basis while we manage some of the differences between us effectively. We want to show a new model of relations in which we broaden our cooperation on the common interests and constructively manage those differences so that we can be as effective as possible.
The foreign minister and I are both coming off of a very busy and very productive week in New York for the climate summit and the UN General Assembly. There I took pleasure in participating in President Obama’s meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli and I left those meetings encouraged, significantly encouraged, by his commitment on behalf of China to the dialogue with respect to climate change. And particularly, we talked about dealing with the mitigating of threats from global climate change and also to trying to work together as we develop the targets for next year’s conference in Paris. We also talked about containing Ebola as well as countering the challenge of radical extremism and terrorism, and particularly ISIL.
One of the issues that we’re going to discuss today, no doubt, is the situation in Hong Kong. And as China knows, we support universal suffrage in Hong Kong accordant with the Basic Law, and we believe in open society with the highest possible degree of autonomy and governed by rule of law is essential for Hong Kong’s stability and prosperity. And we have high hopes that the Hong Kong authorities will exercise restraint and respect for the protestors’ right to express their views peacefully.
China, importantly, is hosting APEC this year, and their hosting of that meeting could not be more timely or more important to all of us. I know President Obama is personally looking forward to attending the APEC summit in November. We’re grateful to the Chinese for helping to arrange the dates in a way that worked for everybody’s schedule. And I think that the foreign minister and I in a few moments will discuss how we can make certain that that visit is a success, that it is as productive as possible, but also so that the APEC summit is the success that we all want it to be.
So Mr. Foreign Minister, I’m delighted you’re here, and I very much look forward to our conversation. Thank you.
FOREIGN MINISTER WANG: (Via interpreter) Secretary Kerry, friends from the press, today marks the 65th anniversary of the founding of new China. It’s our National Day. I want to share the joy of the Chinese people with you. I also want to thank Secretary Kerry for his best wishes. This is a regular visit to the United States by me; it is also a return visit for Secretary Kerry’s visit to China earlier this year.
More importantly, I’ve come to the United States to hold discussion with the U.S. side, to have strategic communication with the U.S. colleagues for President Obama’s trip to China for the APEC meeting and visit to China, particularly for the important consultations, talks between the two presidents. I want to say that the common interests between us are far greater than our differences. I agree with what Secretary Kerry said about the areas of cooperation. Indeed, we need cooperation. We can cooperate with each other. And there is an increasing list of areas of cooperation between us, and I believe the list can go on.
There is a very important common mission for the two countries; that is, as the largest developing country and largest developed country in the world, China and the United States need to work together to build a new model of major country relations featuring non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect, and win-win cooperation. This meets our common interests, meets the expectation of the international community. It is also in keeping with the trend of human progress.
We don’t think the process will be all smooth sailing. There will be various risks and challenges on the way. The China-U.S. relationship is just like a giant ship sailing on the sea. It requires that both sides work jointly to keep the ship on the right course, keep injecting the impetus for it to forge ahead; and at the same time, we also work jointly to properly handle hidden rocks and shoals. I believe we need to enhance mutual trust, strategic trust; reduce mutual strategic misgivings; and reduce our misjudgment. As long as we work jointly in that direction, we will be able to meet our goal. This is our common mission. It is also the responsibility that we need to jointly fulfill for the international community.
The endeavor for building this new model of major country relationship is an ongoing process that we are undertaking right at this moment. We are ready to work with the United States to enhance cooperation, properly manage our differences, and make unremitting efforts towards our common goal.
Secretary Kerry mentioned Hong Kong. The Chinese Government has very firmly and clearly stated its position. Hong Kong affairs are China’s internal affairs. All countries should respect China’s sovereignty. And this is also a basic principle governing international relations. I believe for any country, for any society, no one will allow those illegal acts that violate public order. That’s the situation in the United States, and that’s the same situation in Hong Kong. We believe that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region’s government has the capability to properly handle the current situation in accordance with the law.
And I am ready to have a full discussion with Secretary Kerry about those regional and international issues of mutual interest and also our strategic bilateral cooperation. I hope that more consensus can be reached through such dialogue. Thank you all.
U.S. DOD SAYS AIRSTRIKES CONTINUE IN IRAQ AND SYRIA
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
More Airstrikes Hit ISIL in Syria and Iraq
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
Separately, U.S. military forces and a partner nation used a mix of fighter and remotely piloted aircraft yesterday and today to conduct five airstrikes against ISIL in Iraq.
In Syria, three strikes near Kobani destroyed an ISIL armed vehicle, an ISIL artillery piece, and an ISIL tank. All aircraft departed the strike areas safely.
In Iraq, three strikes northwest of Mosul destroyed two ISIL armed vehicles, destroyed an ISIL occupied building, and struck two ISIL fighting positions. One strike in the vicinity of Haditha Dam destroyed an ISIL armed vehicle while another strike northwest of Baghdad destroyed two armed vehicles.
To conduct these strikes, the U.S. employed U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy fighter aircraft deployed to the U.S. Central Command area of operations. In addition, the United Kingdom also participated in the Iraq airstrikes. All aircraft departed the strike areas safely.
The strikes were conducted as part of the President's comprehensive strategy to degrade and destroy ISIL. The destruction and degradation of ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq further limits the terrorist group's ability to lead, control, project power and conduct operations.
PRESIDENT OBAMA AND PRIME MINSITER NETANYAHU OF ISRAEL MAKE REMARKS BEFORE MEETING
FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE
October 01, 2014
Remarks by President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel Before Bilateral Meeting
Oval Office
11:23 A.M. EDT
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, it’s good once again to welcome the Prime Minister of Israel, Bibi Netanyahu. Obviously, he’s no stranger to the White House. I think I’ve met with Bibi more than any world leader during my tenure as President.
We meet at a challenging time. Israel is obviously in a very turbulent neighborhood, and this gives us an opportunity once again to reaffirm the unbreakable bond between the United States and Israel, and our ironclad commitment to making sure that Israel is secure.
Throughout the summer, obviously all of us were deeply concerned about the situation in Gaza. I think the American people should be very proud of the contributions that we made to the Iron Dome program to protect the lives of Israelis at a time when rockets were pouring into Israel on a regular basis. I think we also recognize that we have to find ways to change the status quo so that both Israeli citizens are safe in their own homes and schoolchildren in their schools from the possibility of rocket fire, but also that we don’t have the tragedy of Palestinian children being killed as well.
And so we’ll discuss extensively both the situation of rebuilding Gaza but also how can we find a more sustainable peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
Our agenda will be broader than that, obviously. I’ll debrief Bibi on the work that we’re doing to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL, and the broader agenda that I discussed at the United Nations, which is mobilizing a coalition not only for military action, but also to bring about a shift in Arab states and Muslim countries that isolate the cancer of violent extremism that is so pernicious and ultimately has killed more Muslims than anything else.
And we’ll also have an opportunity to discuss the progress that’s being made with respect to dealing with Iran’s nuclear program, which obviously has been a high priority for not only Israel, but also the United States and the world community.
So we have a lot to talk about, and I appreciate very much the Prime Minister coming. It’s challenging I think for an Israeli Prime Minister to have to work so hard during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, but I know that the Prime Minister’s utmost priority is making sure that his country is safe during these difficult times. And we’re glad that the United States can be a partner in that process.
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU: Mr. President, first I want to thank you. I want to thank you for the unflinching support you gave Israel during our difficult days and difficult summer we had -- expressed in so many ways, but also in an additional installment of support for Iron Dome, which has saved so many lives, saved many lives across the border. And I thank you for that, and for the continuous bond of friendship that is so strong between Israel and the United States.
I also want to thank you for this opportunity to meet with you and to discuss the enormous challenges facing the United States and Israel in the Middle East. There’s definitely a new Middle East. I think it poses new dangers, but it also presents new opportunities.
As for the dangers, Israel fully supports your effort and your leadership to defeat ISIS. We think everybody should support this. And even more critical is our shared goal of preventing Iran from becoming a military nuclear power.
As you know, Mr. President, Iran seeks a deal that would lift the tough sanctions that you’ve worked so hard to put in place, and leave it as a threshold nuclear power. I fervently hope that under your leadership that would not happen.
Equally, I think that there are opportunities. And the opportunities, as you just expressed, is something that is changing in the Middle East, because out of the new situation, there emerges a commonality of interests between Israel and leading Arab states. And I think that we should work very hard together to seize on those common interests and build a positive program to advance a more secure, more prosperous and a more peaceful Middle East.
I remain committed to a vision of peace of two states for two peoples based on mutual recognition and rock solid security arrangements on the ground. And I believe we should make use of the new opportunities, think outside the box, see how we can recruit the Arab countries to advance this very hopeful agenda. And I look forward to our discussions on these and many other matters.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you very much, everybody.
END
11:29 A.M. EDT
U.S. CONGRATULATES THE PEOPLE OF GUINEA ON THEIR INDEPENDENCE DAY
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Guinea's National Day
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
October 1, 2014
On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of Guinea as you commemorate 56 years of independence on October 2.
The United States shares a long and productive relationship with Guinea and recognizes the progress that the people of Guinea have made promoting democracy and shared economic prosperity. We look forward to continuing our close partnership in the areas of health, women’s rights, agricultural development, good governance, transparency in the mining sector, and regional stability.
On this joyous holiday, I send best wishes for a peaceful and prosperous future.
DOD PHOTOS: U.S. PREPARES ARMOR ASSETS IN POLAND FOR OPERATION ATLANTIC RESOLVE
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
U.S. soldiers prepare to unload their armor assets from a rail line as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve near Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland, Sept. 28, 2014. U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. Benton Conque.
U.S. soldiers prepare to unload armor assets that have arrived near Drawsko Pomorskie, Poland, and will be used as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, Sept. 28, 2014. U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. Benton Conque.
U.S. CONGRATULATES PEOPLE OF NIGERIA ON THEIR INDEPENDENCE DAY
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Nigeria National Day Message
Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
September 30, 2014
On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of Nigeria as you celebrate your Independence Day on October 1.
Our peoples enjoy an enduring partnership founded on shared values of democracy, security, and respect for human rights and the rule of law. The United States and Nigeria must continue working together to thwart destabilizing forces that would use violence to undo gains achieved to date through so much effort.
I was honored to speak with President Goodluck Jonathan at the United Nations General Assembly last week, and to welcome him to Washington, DC, this summer for the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit. We discussed how our two countries can deepen our partnership through trade and collaboration.
And weeks before, I shook hands with Beatrice Jedy-Agba—a courageous Nigerian woman who has devoted her life’s work to combatting human trafficking and bringing a peaceful, secure future to all Nigerians.
I wish all Nigerians a prosperous future on the 54th anniversary of your independence.
PAKISTANI INDICTED FOR SELLING SPYWARE APP FOR USE BY STALKERS/DOMESTIC ABUSERS
FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Monday, September 29, 2014
Pakistani Man Indicted for Selling 'StealthGenie' Spyware App
A Pakistani man has been indicted in the Eastern District of Virginia for allegedly conspiring to advertise and sell StealthGenie, a spyware application (app) that could monitor calls, texts, videos and other communications on mobile phones without detection. This marks the first-ever criminal case concerning the advertisement and sale of a mobile device spyware app.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia and Assistant Director in Charge Andrew McCabe of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.
“Selling spyware is not just reprehensible, it’s a crime,” said Assistant Attorney General Caldwell. “Apps like StealthGenie are expressly designed for use by stalkers and domestic abusers who want to know every detail of a victim’s personal life – all without the victim’s knowledge. The Criminal Division is committed to cracking down on those who seek to profit from technology designed and used to commit brazen invasions of individual privacy.”
“StealthGenie has little use beyond invading a victim’s privacy” said U.S. Attorney Boente. “Advertising and selling spyware technology is a criminal offense, and such conduct will be aggressively pursued by this office and our law enforcement partners.”
“This application allegedly equips potential stalkers and criminals with a means to invade an individual’s confidential communications,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge McCabe. “They do this not by breaking into their homes or offices, but by physically installing spyware on unwitting victim’s phones and illegally tracking an individual’s every move. As technology continues to evolve, the FBI will investigate and bring to justice those who use illegal means to monitor and track individuals without their knowledge.”
According to allegations in the indictment, Hammad Akbar, 31, of Lahore, Pakistan, is the chief executive officer of InvoCode Pvt Ltd, the company that advertises and sells StealthGenie online. Akbar and his co-conspirators allegedly created the spyware, which could intercept communications to and from mobile phones, including Apple’s iPhone, Google’s Android, and Blackberry Limited’s Blackberry. StealthGenie was undetectable by most users and was advertised as being untraceable.
Akbar was charged in the indictment with conspiracy, sale of a surreptitious interception device, advertisement of a known interception device and advertising a device as a surreptitious interception device. He was arrested in Los Angeles on Sept. 27, 2014, and is expected to appear before a magistrate judge in the Central District of California later today.
StealthGenie was hosted at a data center in Ashburn, Virginia. On Sept. 26, 2014, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia issued a temporary restraining order authorizing the FBI to temporarily disable the website hosting StealthGenie.
The indictment alleges that StealthGenie’s capabilities included the following: it recorded all incoming/outgoing voice calls; it intercepted calls on the phone to be monitored while they take place; it allowed the purchaser to call the phone and activate it at any time to monitor all surrounding conversations within a 15-foot radius; and it allowed the purchaser to monitor the user’s incoming and outgoing e-mail messages and SMS messages, incoming voicemail messages, address book, calendar, photographs, and videos. All of these functions were enabled without the knowledge of the user of the phone.
Akbar and his co-conspirators allegedly programmed StealthGenie to synchronize communications intercepted by the app with the customer’s account so that the customer could review intercepted communications almost immediately from any computer with access to the Internet. To install the app, a purchaser needed to obtain physical control over the phone to be monitored for only a few minutes. The purchaser could then review communications intercepted from the monitored phone without ever again having physical control over the phone. Akbar and others alleged designed SteathGenie to be undetectable to users of the phone.
According to allegations in the indictment, the business plan for the development, sale and advertisement of StealthGenie stated that the target population for the marketing of the app was “[s]pousal cheat: Husband/Wife of (sic) boyfriend/girlfriend suspecting their other half of cheating or any other suspicious behaviour or if they just want to monitor them.” Language and testimonials on the StealthGenie website focused significantly on potential purchasers who did not have any ownership interest in the mobile phone to be monitored, including those suspecting a spouse or romantic partner of infidelity. The indictment alleges that Akbar and his co-conspirators fabricated the testimonials.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and prosecuted by Trial Attorneys William A. Hall Jr. and Peter V. Roman of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay V. Prabhu of the Eastern District of Virginia.
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA BECOME FIRST EUROPEAN PARTNER IN GPOI TO ACHIEVE FULL TRAINING CAPABILITY
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
September 29, 2014
The United States congratulates Bosnia and Herzegovina for becoming the first European partner in the U.S. Department of State-led Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) to achieve the significant milestone of Full Training Capability, establishing the country’s certified self-sufficiency to train peacekeeping personnel for UN and regional peace operations. In doing so, Bosnia and Herzegovina demonstrates its commitment to promoting international peace and security by helping meet the growing global demand for military and civilian personnel needed to stabilize post-conflict countries around the world.
Bosnia and Herzegovina was among the founding partners of GPOI, an initiative started in 2005 to train military and police units to serve in both UN-led and regional peacekeeping missions, supply essential non-lethal equipment, and refurbish peacekeeping training facilities. In addition to Bosnia and Herzegovina’s contribution of military personnel to UN peacekeeping missions in Africa, as well as to coalition operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, its GPOI-supported Peace Support Operations Training Center has helped train military, police, and civilian personnel from 48 countries in accordance with the current UN standards. We applaud Bosnia and Herzegovina’s continued national investment in peacekeeping and look forward to building on our GPOI partnership to save lives and help set the stage for post-conflict recovery around the world.
To date, GPOI, administered by the Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, has helped train more than 270,000 peacekeepers from among its 69 partner nations and organizations; supported 52 national and regional peace operations training centers and three regional headquarters worldwide; and facilitated the deployment of more than 197,000 personnel from 38 countries serving in 29 peacekeeping operations around the world.
PRODUCING ALOGORITHMS THAT ANALYSE HUMAN LANGUAGE
FROM: NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Growing field of natural language processing works at the interface of computers and language
Researcher's algorithm design produces valuable tools for translation, text mining, question answering and more
This ultimately could be among the potential benefits of natural language processing, a field that works at the interface of computers and language. The goal of this growing field, which dates back to the 1950s, is to enable computers to glean meaning from language through the use of automated algorithms that process linguistic data from text.
"Imagine a computer program that reads text and interprets it to do something useful, but not the way you and I would do," says Noah Smith, an associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science. "This program could read text that people don't like to read, or don't have time to read."
Smith designs algorithms that analyze human language, research that produces valuable software tools for translation, text mining, question answering, information extraction as well as "scientific discovery wherever text serves as data," he says, for example in sociolinguistics, political science or economics.
The National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded scientist specifically is studying computational models for natural language parsing and semantic analysis, that is, to "take a sentence and try to figure out what it means," Smith says. "Doing this could help with certain tasks that people cannot do easily, such as extracting information out of very large collections, and would rather delegate it to a computer that will perform consistently and without getting tired."
It's kind of like the automated equivalent of the sentence diagramming that many of today's adults engaged in during elementary school. "Our programs analyze sentences into deeper linguistic structures," Smith says.
To be sure, these programs have a long way to go before attaining human-like reading and comprehension skills, he says. However, "humans are not always perfect at these things," he says. "People do have cognitive limitations, or limitations on memory, or they get distracted. Computer programs have complementary strengths.
"The public perception of this artificial intelligence branch of computer science is often colored by fears that robots might replace us," he adds. "We are, in fact, trying to make tools that will make life easier and less tedious for people."
Smith is conducting his research under an NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award, which he received in 2011. The award supports junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organization.
Smith also has applied his methods to problems like measuring public opinion as expressed in social media messages, and in understanding the underlying ecosystems of companies by scrutinizing their press releases. The latter could benefit economists who study companies, specifically how companies interact with government or with each other.
As for social media, "text exists in a larger social context," he says. "People don't create language purely because they feel like it. Social media, like Twitter and Facebook, are intended to be read by people we know, but often there is a much larger conversation that goes on. The advent of these platforms allows us to observe more of these interactions, and hopefully to develop statistical methods to better understand what people mean when they write or talk."
Educational activities as part of the grant include the development of new exercises and a competitive project within the undergraduate course on natural language processing. In past years, Smith has written problems for the Computational Linguistics Olympiad, a high school competition. Smith also is committed to tutoring and mentoring the graduate students he advises. His group calls itself "Noah's ARK."
"A lot of them interact with each other, including the junior doctoral students who can learn from the more senior ones," he says. "I try to promote opportunities for them to see all parts of my job, and work with me on not just research, but on service and teaching at the university and beyond."
Finally, his research group makes its software publicly available, not just for students in the classroom, but "so it can be used by other researchers and startup companies, as well as by regular people who want to try their hand at natural language processing," he says.
-- Marlene Cimons, National Science Foundation
Investigators
Noah Smith
Related Institutions/Organizations
Carnegie-Mellon University
400,000 CLAIM CHECKS MAILED TO VICTIMS OF ALLEGED FREE-TRIAL WEIGHT-LOSS SCAM
FROM: U.S. FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
FTC Mails More Than 400,000 Claim Forms to Possible Victims of Alleged LeanSpa Scam
The Federal Trade Commission, through an administrator, is mailing 449,044 claim forms to consumers who may have lost money after buying LeanSpa, a supplement whose marketers allegedly made deceptive weight loss claims. The claim forms are intended to help determine which consumers are eligible for refunds.
The FTC and the state of Connecticut sued the marketers of LeanSpa in December 2011, charging that they used fake websites to promote acai berry and “colon cleanse” weight-loss products, and that they falsely told consumers that they could receive free trials by paying a nominal cost for shipping and handling. In reality, consumers ended up paying $79.95 for the trial, and for recurring monthly shipments of the product that were hard to cancel. The defendants settled the complaint in January 2014, agreeing to stop making the claims and surrender assets valued at approximately $5.7 to $7 million for consumer refunds.
The claim forms will be mailed to consumers by Rust Consulting, Inc., an administrator working for the FTC. Consumers receiving forms will have 60 days to submit their claims online or by mail, following the instructions on the form. Consumers who lost money after buying LeanSpa, but do not receive a claim form, can still submit a complaint with the FTC using the FTC’s Complaint Assistant or toll-free number below.
Consumers with additional questions about the LeanSpa case or the claim form process can call the administrator toll-free number at 1-866-621-4156 or visit the FTC’s LeanSpa case web page. Using this information, the FTC will determine which consumers are eligible for refunds and how much they should receive. No refund checks are being mailed at this time.
The FTC urges consumers to carefully evaluate advertising claims for weight-loss products. For more information on how to avoid weight-loss scams, see the agency’s guidance for consumers of products and services advertised for Weight Loss & Fitness. The FTC also has guidance for media outlets on spotting false weight-loss claims in advertising.
The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them.
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