Tuesday 13 August 2013
WISCONSIN GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER TO VISIT SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
Posted on 20:44 by Unknown
WISCONSIN GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER TO VISIT SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
By Shelby Sebens, Northwest Watchdog, August 13, 2013
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, known for his landmark legislation Act 10 that stripped collective bargaining for most of the state’s public unions, will be taking his message to Seattle.
Walker will be in Seattle on Sept. 5 to speak at the Washington Policy Center’s awards dinner, according to a press release from the conservative, free-market think tank. He will be touting his new book, “Unintimidated: A Governor’s Story and a Nation’s Challenge,” which chronicles his push against unions in the state.
Scott Walker ‘writing’ his ticket to 2016? - Kevin Cirilli - POLITICO.com
While the dinner is sold out, not everyone will be welcoming Walker with open arms.
The Stand, a newsletter for the Washington State Labor Council, quotes Phil Neuenfeldt, president of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, as calling Act 10 “reckless policy” and saying it “cripples workers’ rights on the job.”
Washington Policy Center officials said they are not surprised.
Their concern is understandable. Wisconsin unions suffered dramatic declines when Walker’s worker rights policy removed the fear of being fired for employees who declined to give part of their paychecks to one of the state’s 'Soviet Unionized Extortionist' mob bosses. Naturally, Russian communist money launderers don’t want Washington state workers to get the same idea.
Union membership has been on the decline since Act 10 passed and the unions have felt the sting, according to Wisconsin Reporter.
The awards dinner will be at the Sheraton ballroom in Seattle and tickets are still available for the Eastern Washington dinner.
Contact Shelby Sebens at Shelby@NorthwestWatchdog.org
By Shelby Sebens, Northwest Watchdog, August 13, 2013
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, known for his landmark legislation Act 10 that stripped collective bargaining for most of the state’s public unions, will be taking his message to Seattle.
Walker will be in Seattle on Sept. 5 to speak at the Washington Policy Center’s awards dinner, according to a press release from the conservative, free-market think tank. He will be touting his new book, “Unintimidated: A Governor’s Story and a Nation’s Challenge,” which chronicles his push against unions in the state.
Scott Walker ‘writing’ his ticket to 2016? - Kevin Cirilli - POLITICO.com
While the dinner is sold out, not everyone will be welcoming Walker with open arms.
The Stand, a newsletter for the Washington State Labor Council, quotes Phil Neuenfeldt, president of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, as calling Act 10 “reckless policy” and saying it “cripples workers’ rights on the job.”
Washington Policy Center officials said they are not surprised.
Their concern is understandable. Wisconsin unions suffered dramatic declines when Walker’s worker rights policy removed the fear of being fired for employees who declined to give part of their paychecks to one of the state’s 'Soviet Unionized Extortionist' mob bosses. Naturally, Russian communist money launderers don’t want Washington state workers to get the same idea.
Union membership has been on the decline since Act 10 passed and the unions have felt the sting, according to Wisconsin Reporter.
The awards dinner will be at the Sheraton ballroom in Seattle and tickets are still available for the Eastern Washington dinner.
Contact Shelby Sebens at Shelby@NorthwestWatchdog.org
U.S.A. ARMED SERVICES SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRMAN MICHAEL ROGERS (R-AL) - U.S.A. MISSILE DEFENSE MODERNIZATION NEEDED
Posted on 20:21 by Unknown
U.S.A. ARMED SERVICES SUBCOMMITTEE CHAIRMAN MICHAEL ROGERS (R-AL) - U.S.A. MISSILE DEFENSE MODERNIZATION NEEDED
By Bill Gertz, August 13, 2013, Washington Free Beacon
Armed Services Subcommittee Chair: Missile Defense Modernization Needed
The Obama administration has cut $6 billion from U.S. missile defense programs at a time when missile threats are growing, chairman of the House Armed Services subcommittee on strategic forces said Tuesday.
Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Ala.) also said in a speech that missile defense shortfalls likely contributed to the recent test failure of a long-range missile interceptor. He called for stepping up investment in strategic defenses.
“We must move out on aggressive development of next-generation missile defense capabilities, like space and directed energy,” Rogers said in a speech before the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville.
The Washington Free Beacon obtained a copy of his prepared remarks.
Rogers warned that missile threats are increasing as the U.S. defense budget is facing severe challenges.
Currently, the continental United States and overseas allies are protected against missile attack by 30 deployed long-range Ground Based Interceptors, 32 Navy ships armed with over 100 SM-3 IA interceptors, and two dozen advanced SM-3 IB interceptors, dozens of Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors, and eight X-band missile defense radars deployed abroad.
“But this is not the time to stand still or regress as we have done in some respects lately: We continue to be challenged by increasing threats, budget scarcity, and the resulting test failures,” Rogers said.
Critics of missile defense who argue that the technology does not work or that it costs too much have been proven wrong by foreign nations that are buying U.S. missile defenses, Rogers said.
Israel also deployed its Iron Dome defense, developed with U.S. assistance, that countered numerous missile and rocket attacks on the Jewish state.
On budget cuts, Rogers noted that $487 billion was cut by the administration before the sequester cuts totaling $55 billion last year and another $55 billion in cuts set for fiscal 2014, which begins Oct. 1.
According to Rogers, Obama cut $1.16 billion from missile defense—a 10 percent reduction—in his first budget as president and continued the reductions.
“Over four fiscal years, this underfunding adds up to almost $6 billion less than President Bush planned for missile defense; this represents a 16 percent reduction,” Rogers said.
“With regard to the nation’s only national missile defense program, it’s been cut in half in almost ten years.”
A missile defense interceptor test failure July 5 was the first time the system had been tested in five years. The delay and failure appear to have been the result of the spending cuts, Rogers said.
“Has anyone in this room ever kept a car in the garage for five years and then pulled it out one day and expected to go for a cross-country drive?” he said. “Of course not. Unfortunately, that’s what we’ve done with our only homeland defense system.”
Rogers called Iran’s missiles a “rising threat” based on recent advances by Tehran in space launch and longer-range ballistic missile developments.
Gen. Charles H. Jacoby, commander of the Colorado-based U.S. Northern Command, recently stated that “we should consider that Iran has a capability within the next few years of flight testing ICBM capable technologies” and that “the Iranians are intent on developing an ICBM.”
“Therefore, it’s not a question of if we recommit ourselves to missile defense. We must,” Rogers said.
To solve the problems, homeland missile defenses must be fixed by adding more resources and conducting another flight test this year of the Ground Based Interceptor, he said.
Other programs canceled by the Obama administration include a missile defense space sensor system, a next generation Aegis missile, the Airborne Laser, an airborne sensor system, and a next generation missile defense interceptor kill vehicle.
Rogers said he recently wrote to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, along with two Republican senators, to express concerns that “a decision, or a gamble if you like, had been made to cut off and slowly strangle our homeland missile defense system.”
The administration “lost this gamble” and now realizes that homeland defenses are needed, Rogers said
“But, between 2009 and 2013, we lost time while our adversaries continued their threatening work,” Rogers said. “As a consequence, we have lost time, and in missile defense, time is defense.”
Rogers called for immediately beginning work on a next-generation Ground Based Interceptor and moving ahead in building an East Coast Missile Defense base in addition to current bases in Alaska and California.
The East Coast site will provide “an added layer of missile defense coverage to the Eastern Third of the United States, just as the Poland-based Third Site would have done and the Poland-based Aegis Ashore battery would have done with the block IIB missile,” Rogers said.
Additionally, space sensors and directed energy weapons are needed to meet the challenges posed by decoy warheads designed to thwart missile defense sensors, he said, including the Airborne Laser that was killed in 2009. The laser, onboard a Boeing 747, successfully knocked out two test missiles in a demonstration.
“We must move out on aggressive development of next-generation missile defense capabilities, like space and directed energy,” Rogers said.
While cutting missile defenses, the Obama administration launched a new plan called the European Phased Adaptive Approach, designed to protect the United States and Europe from an Iranian missile attack.
A recent military intelligence report said Iran will have a missile capable of hitting the United States by 2015.
Still, the administration has yet to provide Congress with a budget estimate for the European missile defense plan that includes bases in Poland and Romania.
And in March, the Pentagon canceled the final phase of the program that included a new interceptor that is the only element of the system capable of defending the U.S. homeland.
Rogers says he is worried that cuts and program delays will make the European missile defense system unaffordable.
Without the fourth phase that was canceled in March, “I fear there is now a choice between defending ourselves and defending our allies.”
Rogers predicted that unless funding levels are increased in the next two years, the administration would be forced to tell the Europeans for the third time since 2009 that the United States is changing its missile defense plans there.
“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want the administration to pull the rug out from under the Poles and Romanians yet again,” he said. “But I don’t see how we avoid it without a significant infusion of resources into our missile defense system.”
Rogers noted that President George W. Bush paved the way for missile defenses by abandoning the 1974 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty with Moscow. The pact limited strategic defenses of both the United States and the then-Soviet Union.
Quoting a former defense secretary, Rogers said the problem with treaties with Russia is that “we build, they build. We stop, they build.”
“It’s one of those historical ironies that the Russians, who scream the loudest about our missile defenses, like to ignore, and like us to ignore, that they keep on building them,” he said, noting Moscow’s expansion and modernization of its missile defenses that included nuclear-armed interceptors around Moscow.
China also opposes U.S. missile defenses but recently conducted a test of its missile defense system, he said.
By Bill Gertz, August 13, 2013, Washington Free Beacon
Armed Services Subcommittee Chair: Missile Defense Modernization Needed
The Obama administration has cut $6 billion from U.S. missile defense programs at a time when missile threats are growing, chairman of the House Armed Services subcommittee on strategic forces said Tuesday.
Rep. Mike Rogers (R., Ala.) also said in a speech that missile defense shortfalls likely contributed to the recent test failure of a long-range missile interceptor. He called for stepping up investment in strategic defenses.
“We must move out on aggressive development of next-generation missile defense capabilities, like space and directed energy,” Rogers said in a speech before the Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville.
The Washington Free Beacon obtained a copy of his prepared remarks.
Rogers warned that missile threats are increasing as the U.S. defense budget is facing severe challenges.
Currently, the continental United States and overseas allies are protected against missile attack by 30 deployed long-range Ground Based Interceptors, 32 Navy ships armed with over 100 SM-3 IA interceptors, and two dozen advanced SM-3 IB interceptors, dozens of Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) interceptors, and eight X-band missile defense radars deployed abroad.
“But this is not the time to stand still or regress as we have done in some respects lately: We continue to be challenged by increasing threats, budget scarcity, and the resulting test failures,” Rogers said.
Critics of missile defense who argue that the technology does not work or that it costs too much have been proven wrong by foreign nations that are buying U.S. missile defenses, Rogers said.
Israel also deployed its Iron Dome defense, developed with U.S. assistance, that countered numerous missile and rocket attacks on the Jewish state.
On budget cuts, Rogers noted that $487 billion was cut by the administration before the sequester cuts totaling $55 billion last year and another $55 billion in cuts set for fiscal 2014, which begins Oct. 1.
According to Rogers, Obama cut $1.16 billion from missile defense—a 10 percent reduction—in his first budget as president and continued the reductions.
“Over four fiscal years, this underfunding adds up to almost $6 billion less than President Bush planned for missile defense; this represents a 16 percent reduction,” Rogers said.
“With regard to the nation’s only national missile defense program, it’s been cut in half in almost ten years.”
A missile defense interceptor test failure July 5 was the first time the system had been tested in five years. The delay and failure appear to have been the result of the spending cuts, Rogers said.
“Has anyone in this room ever kept a car in the garage for five years and then pulled it out one day and expected to go for a cross-country drive?” he said. “Of course not. Unfortunately, that’s what we’ve done with our only homeland defense system.”
Rogers called Iran’s missiles a “rising threat” based on recent advances by Tehran in space launch and longer-range ballistic missile developments.
Gen. Charles H. Jacoby, commander of the Colorado-based U.S. Northern Command, recently stated that “we should consider that Iran has a capability within the next few years of flight testing ICBM capable technologies” and that “the Iranians are intent on developing an ICBM.”
“Therefore, it’s not a question of if we recommit ourselves to missile defense. We must,” Rogers said.
To solve the problems, homeland missile defenses must be fixed by adding more resources and conducting another flight test this year of the Ground Based Interceptor, he said.
Other programs canceled by the Obama administration include a missile defense space sensor system, a next generation Aegis missile, the Airborne Laser, an airborne sensor system, and a next generation missile defense interceptor kill vehicle.
Rogers said he recently wrote to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, along with two Republican senators, to express concerns that “a decision, or a gamble if you like, had been made to cut off and slowly strangle our homeland missile defense system.”
The administration “lost this gamble” and now realizes that homeland defenses are needed, Rogers said
“But, between 2009 and 2013, we lost time while our adversaries continued their threatening work,” Rogers said. “As a consequence, we have lost time, and in missile defense, time is defense.”
Rogers called for immediately beginning work on a next-generation Ground Based Interceptor and moving ahead in building an East Coast Missile Defense base in addition to current bases in Alaska and California.
The East Coast site will provide “an added layer of missile defense coverage to the Eastern Third of the United States, just as the Poland-based Third Site would have done and the Poland-based Aegis Ashore battery would have done with the block IIB missile,” Rogers said.
Additionally, space sensors and directed energy weapons are needed to meet the challenges posed by decoy warheads designed to thwart missile defense sensors, he said, including the Airborne Laser that was killed in 2009. The laser, onboard a Boeing 747, successfully knocked out two test missiles in a demonstration.
“We must move out on aggressive development of next-generation missile defense capabilities, like space and directed energy,” Rogers said.
While cutting missile defenses, the Obama administration launched a new plan called the European Phased Adaptive Approach, designed to protect the United States and Europe from an Iranian missile attack.
A recent military intelligence report said Iran will have a missile capable of hitting the United States by 2015.
Still, the administration has yet to provide Congress with a budget estimate for the European missile defense plan that includes bases in Poland and Romania.
And in March, the Pentagon canceled the final phase of the program that included a new interceptor that is the only element of the system capable of defending the U.S. homeland.
Rogers says he is worried that cuts and program delays will make the European missile defense system unaffordable.
Without the fourth phase that was canceled in March, “I fear there is now a choice between defending ourselves and defending our allies.”
Rogers predicted that unless funding levels are increased in the next two years, the administration would be forced to tell the Europeans for the third time since 2009 that the United States is changing its missile defense plans there.
“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want the administration to pull the rug out from under the Poles and Romanians yet again,” he said. “But I don’t see how we avoid it without a significant infusion of resources into our missile defense system.”
Rogers noted that President George W. Bush paved the way for missile defenses by abandoning the 1974 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty with Moscow. The pact limited strategic defenses of both the United States and the then-Soviet Union.
Quoting a former defense secretary, Rogers said the problem with treaties with Russia is that “we build, they build. We stop, they build.”
“It’s one of those historical ironies that the Russians, who scream the loudest about our missile defenses, like to ignore, and like us to ignore, that they keep on building them,” he said, noting Moscow’s expansion and modernization of its missile defenses that included nuclear-armed interceptors around Moscow.
China also opposes U.S. missile defenses but recently conducted a test of its missile defense system, he said.
U.S.S. RONALD REAGAN CONDUCTS CHANGE-OF-COMMAND CEREMONY - U.S.A. CAPTAIN CHRISTOPHER E. BOLT REPLACING U.S.A. CAPTAIN THOMAS W. BURKE
Posted on 19:54 by Unknown
U.S.S. RONALD REAGAN CONDUCTS CHANGE-OF-COMMAND CEREMONY - U.S.A. CAPTAIN CHRISTOPHER E. BOLT REPLACING U.S.A. CAPTAIN THOMAS W. BURKE
By eCoronado.com, August 13, 2013
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PHOTO:
http://api.ning.com/files/TRVQsruyIfMXSr8G6dBdkcVOS9*-e4zrxyT5FTycHYfnXf3RvuCo5VRXd1TCC6201n9uU-rReBbQSTStbLyu7JDXqmns-LlO/130813NHT107082.jpg?width=750
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SAN DIEGO (August 13, 2013) Official party members salute during the change of command ceremony for the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76). Capt. Christopher Bolt relieved Capt. Thom Burke as the ship’s commanding officer. Ronald Reagan is currently moored and homeported at Naval Base Coronado. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Terry Godette/Released)
USS Ronald Reagan Conducts Change of Command
By MC3 Terry Godette, USS RONALD REAGAN Public Affairs
San Diego – Capt. Christopher E. Bolt relieved Capt. Thom W. Burke as commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) during a change of command ceremony Aug. 13.
Burke assumed command of Reagan in July 2010. While on deployment in 2011, he successfully led the ship and her crew as they performed humanitarian relief efforts following a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan.
During Reagan’s Docked Planned Incremental Availability in 2012, Burke led the ship through more than 600,000 man-days of work by Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility employees, ship's force Sailors and contractors.
Burke will be reporting to Commander, Naval Air Forces to await further assignment.
“What this ship and crew have been able to achieve over the last three years has been amazing. I am humbled and blessed to have been a part of this team, and it’s been, hands down, the defining tour of my naval career,” Burke said. “There are more challenges ahead for this ship, but I know of no more qualified officer than Chris Bolt to take the helm. He takes over a proud ship with a great reputation, and the future is bright.”
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PHOTO:
http://api.ning.com/files/TRVQsruyIfMvMxC4f1pFG3QBG0ZwjUZhe1hHZbmDGd6pWWkitmEQhz0wmshz6bF5ZzO3qI9q3OCUpu2jgqMDnhkuV6nNKY4Y/130813NHT107118.jpg?width=750
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SAN DIEGO (August 13, 2013) Rear Adm. Patrick Hall, commander of Carrier Strike Group Nine, presents Capt. Thom Burke with the Legion of Merit award during the change of command ceremony for the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76). Burke was relieved by Capt. Christopher Bolt as the ship’s commanding officer. Ronald Reagan is currently moored and homeported at Naval Base Coronado. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Terry Godette/Released)
The Commander of Carrier Strike Group 9, Rear Adm. Patrick Hall, served as the guest speaker for the ceremony. Hall spoke about Burke’s strong leadership and impact upon the crew.
“If you ask Capt. Burke why the USS Ronald Reagan has been so successful, he would immediately tell you that it is because of its Sailors. While that statement is true, it does not capture the contribution that Thom made to that effort. His strong and decisive leadership gave vision and direction to his Sailor's actions, and there should be no underestimation of that
impact,” said Hall. “Thom is a phenomenal ship's captain, aviator, and shipmate, and I have no doubt that success will follow him in his ensuing tours. Chris, you have an outstanding reputation as an aviator and ship's captain yourself, and Ronald Reagan is lucky to have you taking over the watch. I know you will do both her and her crew proud."
Under Burke’s command, Reagan earned the 2011 Secretary of the Navy and Chief of Naval Operations Afloat Safety awards, which were both major firsts for the ship. He also led the crew to the best Maintenance and Material Management inspection for a nuclear powered aircraft carrier in five years.
Bolt assumes command of Reagan after serving as the Senior Military Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration/ Department of Defense Chief Information Officer since May 2011.
"I am honored to be taking over the helm of USS Ronald Reagan. The ship and her crew have had considerable success under Capt. Burke's command; I hope to continue that tradition and keep improving the team that he has already created,” Bolt said. “It will be difficult to live up to our reputation as ‘America’s Flagship’. This phrase means we have to be the best – and that can only be achieved through dedication and a steady strain of deliberate training. In today’s Navy, with the wide array of possible missions, we have to work harder and smarter.
“Every ship in the Navy, but especially the aircraft carrier, has two strategic responsibilities: 1) maintain this national asset so that it remains fully combat ready for the full 50-year lifespan, and 2) develop this crew as the future generation of the U.S. Navy. The most junior Sailors within our crew today are tomorrow’s leadership. We have to train them to be the senior officers and Chief Petty Officers of the future. At a more tactical level, my goal is for this crew to be the best in operating the complex systems of this great warship. We must be perfect in the basics, the blocking and tackling, of operations, and with reduced steaming time, we will need to work even harder to develop those very perishable skills.”
Ronald Reagan was commissioned in July 2003, making it the ninth nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The ship is named for the 40th U.S. president, and its motto, “Peace through Strength” was a recurring theme during the Reagan presidency.
For more news from USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) and the Ronald Reagan Strike Group, visit the ship’s official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ussronaldreagan.
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Captain Thom W. Burke
CAPT Burke was born in Royal Oak, Michigan in 1961. He received a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Michigan in 1984, and a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard University in 1996.
Commissioned through Aviation Officer Candidate School in 1985, he began his fleet career as a pilot flying SH-3H Sea Kings in Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron FOUR (HS-4) aboard USS CARL VINSON. HS-4 completed two deployments to the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans during his tour, which was highlighted by his participation in two open ocean rescues. In 1993 CAPT Burke transitioned to the SH-60F and HH-60H model aircraft while assigned to HS-6 aboard USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN. HS-6 completed two deployments including operations in Somalia and the Arabian Gulf. In 1997 he was assigned to HS-8 aboard USS NIMITZ in Carrier Air Wing NINE as Operations Officer and Squadron Weapons and Tactics Instructor. During their Arabian Gulf deployment, HS-8 provided helicopter support to Joint Special Operations Forces in theater as part of Operation SOUTHERN WATCH. In September 2002 CAPT Burke reported to HS-8 as Executive Officer and assumed command on June 15th 2003. During this tour HS-8 completed an eight month deployment to the Western Pacific in support of the Global War on Terrorism.
Shore tours include assignment as an intern at the Joint Staff serving in the Persian Gulf Branch of J-5 during Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM, and Aide to Commander Naval Base San Francisco and Commander Logistics Group ONE. Additionally, he served on the Joint Staff as the J-5 desk officer for Central Asia and Afghanistan prior to and during Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.
He completed Nuclear Power training in June 2006 and then served as the first Executive Officer of USS GEORGE H. W. BUSH from August 2006 to April 2008. In July 2008, he took command of USS BLUE RIDGE moored in Yokosuka, Japan, and served as CO until Nov 2009, earning the Battle “E” during his tour.
CAPT Burke’s personal awards include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Commendation Medals, Navy Commendation Medals, Joint Achievement Medal, and Navy Achievement Medals. Additionally, he was selected as the Naval Helicopter Association “Aircrew of the Year” in 1994 for an open ocean rescue of a Canadian teenager 500 miles off the coast of Oregon.
Captain Christopher E. Bolt
A native of Springfield, Virginia, Captain Bolt graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1987 earning a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. His initial flight training in Pensacola, Florida, included carrier qualification aboard USS LEXINGTON, CV-16, in 1988.
As an aircraft commander and instructor pilot in the E-2C Hawkeye and C-2A Greyhound, CAPT Bolt has flown with multiple VAW and VRC squadrons on both coasts and Japan and completed 9 deployments. He has accumulated more than 5500 flight hours in multiple aircraft types including the E-2, C-2, and F-14. He has successfully piloted more than 600 arrested landings on a combined total of fourteen aircraft carriers. He participated in Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt and was also forward deployed to Manama, Bahrain.
In addition to being a fleet E-2C pilot, Captain Bolt was a Landing Signals Officer (CAG LSO) where he regularly flew the F-14A on deployment. He later became the Officer in Charge of the U.S. Navy’s Landing Signals Officer School at NAS Oceana, Virginia. He earned a Master’s degree in Strategic Studies at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island and graduated with distinction in June 2002. After graduation, he reported to VAW-120 in Norfolk as the Executive Officer.
Captain Bolt served as the XO and then commanded the Liberty Bells of VAW-115 flying from the deck of USS Kitty Hawk, home-ported in Yokosuka, Japan, from October 2003 to April 2006. While in command, CAPT Bolt was selected for the Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Training pipeline in Charleston, S.C. He completed Naval Nuclear Officer training at the Office of Naval Reactors in Washington, D.C. in September 2007. CAPT Bolt served as Executive Officer, USS Nimitz CVN-68, from December 2007 to November 2009.
Captain Bolt commanded USS Dubuque, LPD-8, from February 2010 to April 2011 where he deployed to the 5th Fleet AOR. As part of CTF-151, his crew and embarked Marines captured nine Somali pirates aboard the Motor Vessel Magellan Star whereby freeing the international crew of eleven sailors.
He served as the Senior Military Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration (ASD NII)/DoD Chief Information Officer from May 2011 to March 2013.
Captain Bolt’s personal awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medals, Strike Flight Air Medals, Navy Commendation Medals (one with combat “V”), and Navy Achievement Medal.
TIM DONNELLY FOR GOVERNOR - CALIFORNIA 2014: FIGHTING TO SAVE CALIFORNIA * YES, THERE IS HOPE!
Posted on 19:47 by Unknown
TIM DONNELLY FOR GOVERNOR - CALIFORNIA 2014: FIGHTING TO SAVE CALIFORNIA * YES, THERE IS HOPE!
“I believe the Constitution was meant to serve as a set of handcuffs for the government. We ought to throw the government up against a wall and cuff ‘em. That’s what they need.” California Assemblyman and Gubernatorial Candidate Tim Donnelly
This month California Assemblyman and candidate for the office of Governor of California, Tim Donnelly, spoke to the Tri-City Tea Party in Vista, CA. Donnelly fired up the group with his hopeful, heartfelt, honest and insightful message. He spoke of overzealous, out of control Child Protective Services (CPS) workers that raided a family’s home for simply seeking a second medical opinion for their baby. Contrast that with the travesty of the death of young Gabriel Fernandez who CPS had documentation was abused and yet didn’t intercede before little Gabriel was killed at the hand of his abuser. Donnelly is keying in on and doing something about fixing the problems in California that resonate with its citizens.
Assemblyman Donnelly spoke of the problem of putting up insincere candidates that don’t address what matters to citizens: “Too often, the party that’s supposed to represent our values and our principles puts up candidates that don’t.”
Tim’s words reminded me of hearing Pat Caddell speak of consultants that run campaigns primarily for the purpose of making money, not for the goal of winning and not for, as Tim points out, standing on principle. On this issue Assemblyman Donnelly said, “I believe that we can win this and I don’t believe that we ought to go out with any other intention than to win the election, but the WAY that we win it matters. And when we involve a huge number of people, when we do a grassroots campaign, when we stand up and organize on issues and principles, then all of a sudden everybody knows what you’re going to do when you’re in office. You communicate that to them. You telegraph that to them. You make them promises, but you have to follow through.”
“I believe the Constitution was meant to serve as a set of handcuffs for the government. We ought to throw the government up against a wall and cuff ‘em. That’s what they need.” California Assemblyman and Gubernatorial Candidate Tim Donnelly
This month California Assemblyman and candidate for the office of Governor of California, Tim Donnelly, spoke to the Tri-City Tea Party in Vista, CA. Donnelly fired up the group with his hopeful, heartfelt, honest and insightful message. He spoke of overzealous, out of control Child Protective Services (CPS) workers that raided a family’s home for simply seeking a second medical opinion for their baby. Contrast that with the travesty of the death of young Gabriel Fernandez who CPS had documentation was abused and yet didn’t intercede before little Gabriel was killed at the hand of his abuser. Donnelly is keying in on and doing something about fixing the problems in California that resonate with its citizens.
Assemblyman Donnelly spoke of the problem of putting up insincere candidates that don’t address what matters to citizens: “Too often, the party that’s supposed to represent our values and our principles puts up candidates that don’t.”
Tim’s words reminded me of hearing Pat Caddell speak of consultants that run campaigns primarily for the purpose of making money, not for the goal of winning and not for, as Tim points out, standing on principle. On this issue Assemblyman Donnelly said, “I believe that we can win this and I don’t believe that we ought to go out with any other intention than to win the election, but the WAY that we win it matters. And when we involve a huge number of people, when we do a grassroots campaign, when we stand up and organize on issues and principles, then all of a sudden everybody knows what you’re going to do when you’re in office. You communicate that to them. You telegraph that to them. You make them promises, but you have to follow through.”
MOODY'S DOWNGRADES DEBT RATINGS FOR 7 ILLINOIS PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES
Posted on 18:47 by Unknown
MOODY'S DOWNGRADES DEBT RATINGS FOR 7 ILLINOIS PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES
BY SANDRA GUY, Technology/Higher Education Reporter, Aug 13, 2013
Bond-rating agency Moody’s has downgraded debt ratings for seven of Illinois’ eight public universities. And Moody’s said the state’s fiscal and pension woes may cause further declines in the next 12 to 24 months.
The universities rely heavily on funding from Illinois, which in June slid to Moody’s lowest bond rating in the nation and the lowest in Illinois’ history because of its underfunded pensions and record of slow payments of appropriated funds, Moody’s spokesman David Jacobson said Tuesday.
The universities involved in the downgrade, which Moody’s issued on Friday, are the University of Illinois; Eastern Illinois University; Governors State University; Illinois State University; Northeastern Illinois University; Southern Illinois University, and Western Illinois University. Moody’s issued no change in Northern Illinois’ A3 rating.
None of the universities’ ratings is in junk-bond territory, so for now, the impact is limited and none is at risk of default. Indeed, the University of Illinois’ Aa3 rating is three notches higher than the state’s rating, and it boasts strong student demand and a growing balance sheet, Jacobson said.
But Jacobson said the state’s lack of a pension fix and continued slow payments keep the ratings under pressure because the state itself may suffer another downgrade.
The universities’ ratings, their Moody’s-rated debt totals, and their dependence on state funds are as follows:
◆ University of Illinois: Downgrade to Aa3 from Aa2; $1.56 billion of debt; more than 30 percent of fiscal year 2012 operating revenues came from the state.
◆ Eastern Illinois: Downgraded to Baa1 from A3; $121 million of debt; 41 percent of fiscal year 2012 operating revenues came from the state.
◆ Governors State: Downgraded to Baa1 from A3; $23 million in debt; 46 percent of fiscal year 2012 operating revenues came from the state.
◆ Illinois State: Downgraded to A3 from A2; $132 million of debt; 38 percent of operating revenues from the state.
◆ Northeastern Illinois: Downgraded to Baa1 from A3; $63 million of debt; 46 percent from the state.
◆ Southern Illinois: Downgraded to A3 from A2; $318 million of debt; 40.8 percent from the state.
◆ Western Illinois: Downgraded to Baa1 from A2; $27 million of debt; 41 percent from the state.
University representatives said Tuesday they are disappointed but remain hopeful the state will resolve its fiscal woes.
“The immediate impact from the downgrade on our finances is limited because the majority of the institution’s debt is a fixed-interest rate that will not be affected,” the University of Illinois said in a statement. “The impact of the change will be measured when the U of I sells bonds in the future, such as for the hospital and Assembly Hall, depending on market conditions at the time of each sale.”
Email: sguy@suntimes.com
Twitter: @sandraguy
BY SANDRA GUY, Technology/Higher Education Reporter, Aug 13, 2013
Bond-rating agency Moody’s has downgraded debt ratings for seven of Illinois’ eight public universities. And Moody’s said the state’s fiscal and pension woes may cause further declines in the next 12 to 24 months.
The universities rely heavily on funding from Illinois, which in June slid to Moody’s lowest bond rating in the nation and the lowest in Illinois’ history because of its underfunded pensions and record of slow payments of appropriated funds, Moody’s spokesman David Jacobson said Tuesday.
The universities involved in the downgrade, which Moody’s issued on Friday, are the University of Illinois; Eastern Illinois University; Governors State University; Illinois State University; Northeastern Illinois University; Southern Illinois University, and Western Illinois University. Moody’s issued no change in Northern Illinois’ A3 rating.
None of the universities’ ratings is in junk-bond territory, so for now, the impact is limited and none is at risk of default. Indeed, the University of Illinois’ Aa3 rating is three notches higher than the state’s rating, and it boasts strong student demand and a growing balance sheet, Jacobson said.
But Jacobson said the state’s lack of a pension fix and continued slow payments keep the ratings under pressure because the state itself may suffer another downgrade.
The universities’ ratings, their Moody’s-rated debt totals, and their dependence on state funds are as follows:
◆ University of Illinois: Downgrade to Aa3 from Aa2; $1.56 billion of debt; more than 30 percent of fiscal year 2012 operating revenues came from the state.
◆ Eastern Illinois: Downgraded to Baa1 from A3; $121 million of debt; 41 percent of fiscal year 2012 operating revenues came from the state.
◆ Governors State: Downgraded to Baa1 from A3; $23 million in debt; 46 percent of fiscal year 2012 operating revenues came from the state.
◆ Illinois State: Downgraded to A3 from A2; $132 million of debt; 38 percent of operating revenues from the state.
◆ Northeastern Illinois: Downgraded to Baa1 from A3; $63 million of debt; 46 percent from the state.
◆ Southern Illinois: Downgraded to A3 from A2; $318 million of debt; 40.8 percent from the state.
◆ Western Illinois: Downgraded to Baa1 from A2; $27 million of debt; 41 percent from the state.
University representatives said Tuesday they are disappointed but remain hopeful the state will resolve its fiscal woes.
“The immediate impact from the downgrade on our finances is limited because the majority of the institution’s debt is a fixed-interest rate that will not be affected,” the University of Illinois said in a statement. “The impact of the change will be measured when the U of I sells bonds in the future, such as for the hospital and Assembly Hall, depending on market conditions at the time of each sale.”
Email: sguy@suntimes.com
Twitter: @sandraguy
FOUR CANADIANS & FIVE AMERICANS WERE INDICTED BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN LARGEST PENNY STOCK FRAUD IN HISTORY
Posted on 18:30 by Unknown
FOUR CANADIANS & FIVE AMERICANS WERE INDICTED BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN LARGEST PENNY STOCK FRAUD IN HISTORY
PAOLA LORIGGIO, ADRIAN HUMPHREYS, 13/08/13, National Post
Former Toronto resident Sandy Winick figured he was on to a good thing with his scam raking in millions of dollars from investors, U.S. authorities allege, telling a colleague his scheme was better than another: “That deal is obviously a pump-and-dump. We know enough to be subtle.”
His business partner, Kolt Curry, another Canadian, allegedly boasted: “The money is good, it’s easy. It’s easy money. Definitely easy money, and it’s good money.”
And for awhile, they were right.
On Tuesday, however, they were two of four Canadians indicted in the United States, alongside five Americans, charged with running the largest international penny stock and advance fee frauds in history.
Mr. Winick, 55, was named as the mastermind behind the two related schemes that U.S. prosecutors allege bilked victims in 35 countries out of more than $140-million.
Despite being named as the kingpin, Mr. Winick was not among those taken into custody. He is considered a fugitive and believed to be in Bangkok, Thailand, where he has been living after stints in China, Vietnam, and the United States.
Also missing when U.S. authorities moved against the men was Gregory Curry, 63, another Canadian also believed to be in Thailand. Gregory and Kolt Curry are father and son.
Shortly before 9 a.m. Tuesday, Canadians Kolt Curry, 38, was arrested by the FBI in Garden City, New York, and Gregory Ellis, 46, was arrested in Toronto on behalf of U.S. authorities. Mr. Ellis was expected to have been in New York at the time of the arrests but now faces a U.S. extradition request.
“Where others saw citizens of the world, the defendants saw a pool of potential marks,” said Loretta Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, when announcing the arrests.
“They cheated, lied and swindled investors into buying billions of shares of worthless stock, then turned around and used a second scam to cheat those investors again. But today, the defendants were the marks, and it was law enforcement that ran the table.”
"They cheated, lied and swindled investors into buying billions of shares of worthless stock, then turned around and used a second scam to cheat those investors again. But today, the defendants were the marks, and it was law enforcement that ran the table."
According to prosecutors, Mr. Winick concocted schemes to hit a wide pool of victims — and then to hit them again by taking more money with promises of reimbursing their initial losses.
First came a pump-and-dump.
The men are accused of taking control of huge quantities of worthless stock in 11 publicly traded companies.
The companies had little or nothing of value but their investment potential was “pumped up” through illegal sales campaigns: false press releases, announcements of non-existent business ventures and mergers, bogus statements circulated in social media and stock promoters and brokers bribed to talk up the stocks, authorities allege.
Once the stock price was artificially inflated, the accused traded billions of shares that they owned or controlled, duping unsuspecting investors to buy them before they were found to be worthless. The scheme generated more than $120-million, authorities say.
The accused men used throw-away cell phones in a bid to avoid detection, although agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation intercepted some of their calls, according to documents filed in court.
Orchestrated by Mr. Winick, the pump-and-dump was carried out by the five American defendants. The second phase of the fraud was the domain of the four Canadians, prosecutors allege.
The Canadians set up so-called boiler rooms, which are high-pressure call centres, in at least four countries, including Canada.
They contacted the pump-and-dump victims and talked them into turning over more money in a bid to recover some of the money they had lost. Some were told they had to pay money to remove restrictions placed on the sale of their stock; others were coaxed into paying money for a lawsuit to recover losses.
Another $20-million was swindled in the follow-up fraud, authorities say.
The men were in the midst of setting up another call centre in Brooklyn to target more American investors, authorities allege.
In an intercepted phone call during the investigation, prosecutors allege that Kolt Curry enthused: “I tell you what man… hitting the Americans would be like taking money from a baby.”
He then boasted: “I had a guy send me a million dollars over one phone call… I guess in the industry they coin it as a smash and grab.”
The global nature of the scheme was met by an international law enforcement effort to topple it, Ms. Lynch said.
U.S. authorities worked with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Toronto police as well agencies in Britain, Thailand and China.
“The criminals behind this scheme were shameless in heartlessly defrauding hundreds of victims out of their savings and retirement accounts for their own enrichment,” said James Spero, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations.
"The criminals behind this scheme were shameless in heartlessly defrauding hundreds of victims out of their savings and retirement accounts for their own enrichment."
The men face charges of securities fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy and false personation of a U.S. officer, and face more than 20 years in prison if convicted.
Three of the Canadians, Mr. Winick and Gregory and Kolt Curry, have run into investment regulation problems in the past. The trio has a hearing scheduled for next month before the Ontario Securities Commission.
They are accused in Ontario of misrepresentation to investors, illegal distribution and the unregistered trading of securities.
Mr. Winick also faced securities reprimands in China and Vietnam but remains undaunted, prosecutors said.
In a 2012 intercepted telephone call, he said he could keep operating under false names and shell corporations regardless of regulatory bans. And just two months ago, he bragged of bribing Thai officials to release him from jail when he was last arrested, prosecutors allege.
National Post
PAOLA LORIGGIO, ADRIAN HUMPHREYS, 13/08/13, National Post
Former Toronto resident Sandy Winick figured he was on to a good thing with his scam raking in millions of dollars from investors, U.S. authorities allege, telling a colleague his scheme was better than another: “That deal is obviously a pump-and-dump. We know enough to be subtle.”
His business partner, Kolt Curry, another Canadian, allegedly boasted: “The money is good, it’s easy. It’s easy money. Definitely easy money, and it’s good money.”
And for awhile, they were right.
On Tuesday, however, they were two of four Canadians indicted in the United States, alongside five Americans, charged with running the largest international penny stock and advance fee frauds in history.
Mr. Winick, 55, was named as the mastermind behind the two related schemes that U.S. prosecutors allege bilked victims in 35 countries out of more than $140-million.
Despite being named as the kingpin, Mr. Winick was not among those taken into custody. He is considered a fugitive and believed to be in Bangkok, Thailand, where he has been living after stints in China, Vietnam, and the United States.
Also missing when U.S. authorities moved against the men was Gregory Curry, 63, another Canadian also believed to be in Thailand. Gregory and Kolt Curry are father and son.
Shortly before 9 a.m. Tuesday, Canadians Kolt Curry, 38, was arrested by the FBI in Garden City, New York, and Gregory Ellis, 46, was arrested in Toronto on behalf of U.S. authorities. Mr. Ellis was expected to have been in New York at the time of the arrests but now faces a U.S. extradition request.
“Where others saw citizens of the world, the defendants saw a pool of potential marks,” said Loretta Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, when announcing the arrests.
“They cheated, lied and swindled investors into buying billions of shares of worthless stock, then turned around and used a second scam to cheat those investors again. But today, the defendants were the marks, and it was law enforcement that ran the table.”
"They cheated, lied and swindled investors into buying billions of shares of worthless stock, then turned around and used a second scam to cheat those investors again. But today, the defendants were the marks, and it was law enforcement that ran the table."
According to prosecutors, Mr. Winick concocted schemes to hit a wide pool of victims — and then to hit them again by taking more money with promises of reimbursing their initial losses.
First came a pump-and-dump.
The men are accused of taking control of huge quantities of worthless stock in 11 publicly traded companies.
The companies had little or nothing of value but their investment potential was “pumped up” through illegal sales campaigns: false press releases, announcements of non-existent business ventures and mergers, bogus statements circulated in social media and stock promoters and brokers bribed to talk up the stocks, authorities allege.
Once the stock price was artificially inflated, the accused traded billions of shares that they owned or controlled, duping unsuspecting investors to buy them before they were found to be worthless. The scheme generated more than $120-million, authorities say.
The accused men used throw-away cell phones in a bid to avoid detection, although agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation intercepted some of their calls, according to documents filed in court.
Orchestrated by Mr. Winick, the pump-and-dump was carried out by the five American defendants. The second phase of the fraud was the domain of the four Canadians, prosecutors allege.
The Canadians set up so-called boiler rooms, which are high-pressure call centres, in at least four countries, including Canada.
They contacted the pump-and-dump victims and talked them into turning over more money in a bid to recover some of the money they had lost. Some were told they had to pay money to remove restrictions placed on the sale of their stock; others were coaxed into paying money for a lawsuit to recover losses.
Another $20-million was swindled in the follow-up fraud, authorities say.
The men were in the midst of setting up another call centre in Brooklyn to target more American investors, authorities allege.
In an intercepted phone call during the investigation, prosecutors allege that Kolt Curry enthused: “I tell you what man… hitting the Americans would be like taking money from a baby.”
He then boasted: “I had a guy send me a million dollars over one phone call… I guess in the industry they coin it as a smash and grab.”
The global nature of the scheme was met by an international law enforcement effort to topple it, Ms. Lynch said.
U.S. authorities worked with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Toronto police as well agencies in Britain, Thailand and China.
“The criminals behind this scheme were shameless in heartlessly defrauding hundreds of victims out of their savings and retirement accounts for their own enrichment,” said James Spero, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations.
"The criminals behind this scheme were shameless in heartlessly defrauding hundreds of victims out of their savings and retirement accounts for their own enrichment."
The men face charges of securities fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy and false personation of a U.S. officer, and face more than 20 years in prison if convicted.
Three of the Canadians, Mr. Winick and Gregory and Kolt Curry, have run into investment regulation problems in the past. The trio has a hearing scheduled for next month before the Ontario Securities Commission.
They are accused in Ontario of misrepresentation to investors, illegal distribution and the unregistered trading of securities.
Mr. Winick also faced securities reprimands in China and Vietnam but remains undaunted, prosecutors said.
In a 2012 intercepted telephone call, he said he could keep operating under false names and shell corporations regardless of regulatory bans. And just two months ago, he bragged of bribing Thai officials to release him from jail when he was last arrested, prosecutors allege.
National Post
CHINA'S RARE-EARTH PRODUCERS FACE A SERIES OF SETBACKS
Posted on 18:21 by Unknown
CHINA'S RARE-EARTH PRODUCERS FACE A SERIES OF SETBACKS
13 AUGUST, 2013, drivesncontrols.com
It appears that Chinese attempts to restrict its exports of rare-earth materials and to raise their prices may have backfired. Exports last year were more than 40% down on their peak levels, prices have dropped, some producers have gone out of business, and illegal mines and smugglers are thriving.
In addition, a group of Chinese rare-earth companies are in a legal dispute with Hitachi Metals over patents covering neodymium-iron-boron magnets.
Rare-earth materials are a key ingredient of high-power permanent magnets used in high-efficiency motors and many other applications. In recent years, China has dominated the global production of these materials, accounting for around 95% of the world’s supply. In 2009, it raised prices of some of the materials nine-fold, cut back on production, and blocked supplies to Japan following a dispute between the two countries.
China’s output of rare earths has fallen from 129,405 tonnes in 2009, to 76,029 tonnes last year. At the same time, mining of rare earths has been revived in countries including Australia and the US, and recent reports suggest that there are substantial untapped reserves of the materials in other nations including Greenland, Vietnam, Brazil, Mongolia and Afghanistan. According to one report, Greenland alone could satisfy a quarter of global demand for rare earths for 50 years.
As these new sources of the materials come on stream over the next few years, China’s stranglehold on the market will loosen. According to one Chinese industry source, quoted in a recent article in China Daily, China’s share of the global market is expected fall from 95% to 73% by the end of 2015.
Rare-earth prices have been falling and, according to the article, profits in the Chinese rare-earth industry plummeted by 32.1% last year. Several producers have dropped out of the market. At the same time, users of rare-earth materials have been trying to reduce their dependency on the materials by, for example, turning to alternative motor technologies.
A further problem is the illegal production of rare-earths in China, which is estimated to have reached 40,000 tonnes of ore last year. In the past two years, the Chinese government has closed down 14 illegal rare-earth mines and uncovered a similar number of smuggling operations. The government has recently launched a crackdown to tackle the illegal exploration, production and distribution of rare-earth materials, and to regulate rare-earth recycling companies.
In a separate development, 12 Chinese rare-earth companies have formed an alliance to sue Japan’s Hitachi Metals in China and the US over rare-earth magnet patents that the Chinese regard as being invalid. They are also accusing Hitachi of infringing patents held by Chinese companies.
The dispute centres on magnets made from neodymium-iron-boron (NeFeB) compounds that represent more than half of the use of rare-earth materials. In August 2012, Hitachi asked the US to stop the sale of these magnets if they did not hold patent licences. Although three Chinese companies have subsequently agreed to buy licences from Hitachi, others say that Hitachi no longer has a right to the patents, one of which expired in 2003. Another is due to expire in 2014, but Hitachi has extended its expiration to 2029, which the Chinese companies regard as being invalid.
According to another report in China Daily, many Chinese manufacturers of products incorporating NeFeB magnets can not export them because they do not have licences from Hitachi Metals. Out of around 200 companies producing about 80,000 tonnes of NeFeB magnets in China each year, only eight have patent licences from Hitachi. The Chinese producers say that Hitachi will not sell its patent rights and accuse it of setting up trade barriers.
Meanwhile, there has been better news for China’s rare-earth materials producers in recent months, with exports growing each month since February. During April, exports were 600% higher than a year before.
13 AUGUST, 2013, drivesncontrols.com
It appears that Chinese attempts to restrict its exports of rare-earth materials and to raise their prices may have backfired. Exports last year were more than 40% down on their peak levels, prices have dropped, some producers have gone out of business, and illegal mines and smugglers are thriving.
In addition, a group of Chinese rare-earth companies are in a legal dispute with Hitachi Metals over patents covering neodymium-iron-boron magnets.
Rare-earth materials are a key ingredient of high-power permanent magnets used in high-efficiency motors and many other applications. In recent years, China has dominated the global production of these materials, accounting for around 95% of the world’s supply. In 2009, it raised prices of some of the materials nine-fold, cut back on production, and blocked supplies to Japan following a dispute between the two countries.
China’s output of rare earths has fallen from 129,405 tonnes in 2009, to 76,029 tonnes last year. At the same time, mining of rare earths has been revived in countries including Australia and the US, and recent reports suggest that there are substantial untapped reserves of the materials in other nations including Greenland, Vietnam, Brazil, Mongolia and Afghanistan. According to one report, Greenland alone could satisfy a quarter of global demand for rare earths for 50 years.
As these new sources of the materials come on stream over the next few years, China’s stranglehold on the market will loosen. According to one Chinese industry source, quoted in a recent article in China Daily, China’s share of the global market is expected fall from 95% to 73% by the end of 2015.
Rare-earth prices have been falling and, according to the article, profits in the Chinese rare-earth industry plummeted by 32.1% last year. Several producers have dropped out of the market. At the same time, users of rare-earth materials have been trying to reduce their dependency on the materials by, for example, turning to alternative motor technologies.
A further problem is the illegal production of rare-earths in China, which is estimated to have reached 40,000 tonnes of ore last year. In the past two years, the Chinese government has closed down 14 illegal rare-earth mines and uncovered a similar number of smuggling operations. The government has recently launched a crackdown to tackle the illegal exploration, production and distribution of rare-earth materials, and to regulate rare-earth recycling companies.
In a separate development, 12 Chinese rare-earth companies have formed an alliance to sue Japan’s Hitachi Metals in China and the US over rare-earth magnet patents that the Chinese regard as being invalid. They are also accusing Hitachi of infringing patents held by Chinese companies.
The dispute centres on magnets made from neodymium-iron-boron (NeFeB) compounds that represent more than half of the use of rare-earth materials. In August 2012, Hitachi asked the US to stop the sale of these magnets if they did not hold patent licences. Although three Chinese companies have subsequently agreed to buy licences from Hitachi, others say that Hitachi no longer has a right to the patents, one of which expired in 2003. Another is due to expire in 2014, but Hitachi has extended its expiration to 2029, which the Chinese companies regard as being invalid.
According to another report in China Daily, many Chinese manufacturers of products incorporating NeFeB magnets can not export them because they do not have licences from Hitachi Metals. Out of around 200 companies producing about 80,000 tonnes of NeFeB magnets in China each year, only eight have patent licences from Hitachi. The Chinese producers say that Hitachi will not sell its patent rights and accuse it of setting up trade barriers.
Meanwhile, there has been better news for China’s rare-earth materials producers in recent months, with exports growing each month since February. During April, exports were 600% higher than a year before.
CFTC CHARGES FLORIDA-BASED WORTH GROUP, INC. & ITS PRINCIPALS, ANDREW WILSHIRE & EUGENIA MILDNER, IN MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR FRAUDULANT PRECIOUS METALS SCHEME
Posted on 17:56 by Unknown
CFTC CHARGES FLORIDA-BASED WORTH GROUP, INC. & ITS PRINCIPALS, ANDREW WILSHIRE & EUGENIA MILDNER, IN MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR FRAUDULANT PRECIOUS METALS SCHEME
August 13, 2013
CFTC alleges that Defendants, who took in more than $73 million, defrauded customers in connection with precious metals transactions and engaged in illegal off-exchange commodity transactions
Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that on August 13, 2013, it filed a civil injunctive enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Worth Group Inc. (Worth), as well as its owner, Andrew Wilshire, and its sole officer and director, Eugenia Mildner, all of Jupiter, Florida. The CFTC’s Complaint charges that Defendants defrauded retail precious metals customers and engaged in illegal, off-exchange retail commodity transactions from July 16, 2011, through the present.
According to the Complaint, Worth purported to sell physical metal, including gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, on afully-paid basis, as well as on a financed basis, to hundreds of retail customers located throughout the United States. The Complaint alleges that Worth falsely represented to customers that, within 28 days of a customer’s purchase, Worth would deliver metal either to the customers directly or to a depository that would hold the metal for the customer. The Complaint alleges that pursuant to the scheme, Worth took in over $73 million in customer funds between July 18, 2011, and December 31, 2012.
As alleged, in connection withfully-paid transactions, customers paid the full purchase price to Worth for metals, having been told that Worth would deliver metal in return. The Complaint alleges that from at least August 15, 2011, through November 8, 2012, however, Worth did not actually deliver metal to most customers. Instead, rather than deliver actual metal, Worth’s typical practice after receiving customer money was to purchase metals derivatives in accounts owned by Worth. These derivatives purportedly “covered”customer transactions, but, contrary to Worth’s representations to customers, did not involve the purchase, transfer, or physical delivery of precious metals to Worth, let alone to its retail customers.
Retail customers engaging in financed transactions with Worth were told that they were borrowing money to purchase precious metals. Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank), a financed transaction such as that conducted by Worth is an illegal off-exchange transaction unless it results in actual delivery of metal within 28 days. The Complaint alleges that Worth often failed to make such delivery on a timely basis. Worth thus defrauded its customers and subjected them to undisclosed exposure to Worth’s credit, as they were left with only Worth’s commitment to deliver metal rather than the promised metal itself.
The Complaint further alleges that as persons controlling Worth’s precious metals operations, Wilshire and Mildner are liable for Worth’s violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and a CFTC Regulation.
In its continuing litigation against Defendants, the CFTC seeks preliminary and permanent civil injunctions in addition to other remedial relief, including restitution, civil monetary penalties, and disgorgement of ill-gotten gains.
This is the third action the CFTC has brought against entities and individuals who purport to buy precious metals and transfer ownership of those metals to customers, when insufficient metal, or no metal at all, is in fact purchased and delivered (see CFTC Press Releases 6447-12 and 6655-13).
David Meister, the CFTC’s Enforcement Director, stated: “The rules of the new Dodd-Frank law are simple: Companies and individuals who purport to sell precious metals to the retail public, and who say they are supplying real metal, must actually deliver real metal. As today’s case shows, along with previously filed Complaints against Hunter Wise Commodities, LLC and AmeriFirst Management, LLC, we will not hesitate to pursue wrongdoers who say they are providing investments in real precious metals to the American public when in fact they are providing nothing of the sort.”
The CFTC thanks the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority for its assistance in this matter.
The CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members responsible for this matter are Theodore Z. Polley III, Melissa Glasbrenner, William P. Janulis, Scott Williamson, Rosemary Hollinger, and Richard B. Wagner.
CFTC’s Precious Metals Fraud Advisory
In January 2012, the CFTC issued a Precious Metals Consumer Fraud Advisory to alert customers to precious metals fraud. The Advisory states that the CFTC had seen an increase in the number of companies offering customers the opportunity to buy or invest in precious metals. The CFTC’s Advisory specifically warns that companies often fail to purchase any physical metals for their customers, instead simply keeping the customer’s funds. The Advisory further cautions customers that leveraged commodity transactions are unlawful unless executed on a regulated exchange.
August 13, 2013
CFTC alleges that Defendants, who took in more than $73 million, defrauded customers in connection with precious metals transactions and engaged in illegal off-exchange commodity transactions
Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that on August 13, 2013, it filed a civil injunctive enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Worth Group Inc. (Worth), as well as its owner, Andrew Wilshire, and its sole officer and director, Eugenia Mildner, all of Jupiter, Florida. The CFTC’s Complaint charges that Defendants defrauded retail precious metals customers and engaged in illegal, off-exchange retail commodity transactions from July 16, 2011, through the present.
According to the Complaint, Worth purported to sell physical metal, including gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, on afully-paid basis, as well as on a financed basis, to hundreds of retail customers located throughout the United States. The Complaint alleges that Worth falsely represented to customers that, within 28 days of a customer’s purchase, Worth would deliver metal either to the customers directly or to a depository that would hold the metal for the customer. The Complaint alleges that pursuant to the scheme, Worth took in over $73 million in customer funds between July 18, 2011, and December 31, 2012.
As alleged, in connection withfully-paid transactions, customers paid the full purchase price to Worth for metals, having been told that Worth would deliver metal in return. The Complaint alleges that from at least August 15, 2011, through November 8, 2012, however, Worth did not actually deliver metal to most customers. Instead, rather than deliver actual metal, Worth’s typical practice after receiving customer money was to purchase metals derivatives in accounts owned by Worth. These derivatives purportedly “covered”customer transactions, but, contrary to Worth’s representations to customers, did not involve the purchase, transfer, or physical delivery of precious metals to Worth, let alone to its retail customers.
Retail customers engaging in financed transactions with Worth were told that they were borrowing money to purchase precious metals. Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank), a financed transaction such as that conducted by Worth is an illegal off-exchange transaction unless it results in actual delivery of metal within 28 days. The Complaint alleges that Worth often failed to make such delivery on a timely basis. Worth thus defrauded its customers and subjected them to undisclosed exposure to Worth’s credit, as they were left with only Worth’s commitment to deliver metal rather than the promised metal itself.
The Complaint further alleges that as persons controlling Worth’s precious metals operations, Wilshire and Mildner are liable for Worth’s violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and a CFTC Regulation.
In its continuing litigation against Defendants, the CFTC seeks preliminary and permanent civil injunctions in addition to other remedial relief, including restitution, civil monetary penalties, and disgorgement of ill-gotten gains.
This is the third action the CFTC has brought against entities and individuals who purport to buy precious metals and transfer ownership of those metals to customers, when insufficient metal, or no metal at all, is in fact purchased and delivered (see CFTC Press Releases 6447-12 and 6655-13).
David Meister, the CFTC’s Enforcement Director, stated: “The rules of the new Dodd-Frank law are simple: Companies and individuals who purport to sell precious metals to the retail public, and who say they are supplying real metal, must actually deliver real metal. As today’s case shows, along with previously filed Complaints against Hunter Wise Commodities, LLC and AmeriFirst Management, LLC, we will not hesitate to pursue wrongdoers who say they are providing investments in real precious metals to the American public when in fact they are providing nothing of the sort.”
The CFTC thanks the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority for its assistance in this matter.
The CFTC Division of Enforcement staff members responsible for this matter are Theodore Z. Polley III, Melissa Glasbrenner, William P. Janulis, Scott Williamson, Rosemary Hollinger, and Richard B. Wagner.
CFTC’s Precious Metals Fraud Advisory
In January 2012, the CFTC issued a Precious Metals Consumer Fraud Advisory to alert customers to precious metals fraud. The Advisory states that the CFTC had seen an increase in the number of companies offering customers the opportunity to buy or invest in precious metals. The CFTC’s Advisory specifically warns that companies often fail to purchase any physical metals for their customers, instead simply keeping the customer’s funds. The Advisory further cautions customers that leveraged commodity transactions are unlawful unless executed on a regulated exchange.
U.S.A. FEDERAL JUDGE ALLOWS OKLAHOMA STATE'S CHALLENGE TO OBAMA'S HEALTH-CARE LAW TO PROCEED
Posted on 17:23 by Unknown
U.S.A. FEDERAL JUDGE ALLOWS OKLAHOMA STATE'S CHALLENGE TO OBAMA'S HEALTH-CARE LAW TO PROCEED
By Andrew Harris, August 13, 2013, Bloomberg
Oklahoma won court approval to proceed with a federal lawsuit challenging tax aspects of President Barack Obama ’s 2010 health-care legislation.
U.S. District Judge Ronald A. White in Muskogee, Oklahoma, yesterday denied the federal government’s request for complete dismissal of a lawsuit first filed in 2011 over the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
While White tossed claims that the act’s mandatory minimum-coverage provision exceeded Congress’ powers and that a related Internal Revenue Service rule is unconstitutional as applied to Oklahoma employees, he said the U.S. must defend three counts arising from that same IRS rule.
“Oklahoma challenged implementation of the Affordable Care Act after the IRS finalized a rule that would allow the federal government to punish ‘large employers’ including local government with millions of dollars of tax penalties in states without health care exchanges, which is not allowed under the health care law,” state Attorney General Scott Pruitt said in a statement yesterday.
Allison W. Price, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Justice Department, declined to comment immediately on the court’s ruling.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the legislation last year as a valid use of Congress’s tax powers.
Insurance Exchanges The Obama health-care law called for the states to create marketplace-type insurance exchanges, through which coverage could be obtained from a variety of insurers.
It also contained a provision penalizing large employers who don’t offer coverage to full-time workers and offering tax credits to people who enroll in a health-care plan through an exchange.
The federal government reserved the right to create an exchange if a state didn’t do so.
Oklahoma was one of those states. It also amended its own constitution in 2010 to bar rules or laws compelling people to participate in a health-care system.
IRS Regulation While the Obama health-care law treats states differently, depending on whether they establish an exchange or leave it up to the U.S., the accompanying IRS regulation eliminates that distinction. Oklahoma contends the regulation wasn’t authorized by Congress.
White ruled that the state, as a large employer itself, has standing to pursue two of the four IRS-related claims, and he allowed another federal constitutional claim to proceed.
Oklahoma didn’t have standing to press a claim based on the amendment to its own constitution as that right was granted to individuals, not the state, the judge said. He also rejected the state’s argument that the IRS rule didn’t apply to state workers.
“Congress provided a choice for Oklahoma and other states in implementation of the health care law and the IRS is attempting to take that away,” Pruitt, the state’s attorney general, said in his statement.
The case is State of Oklahoma v. Sebelius, 11-cv-00030, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Oklahoma (Muskogee).
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Harris in the Chicago federal courthouse at
aharris16@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net
By Andrew Harris, August 13, 2013, Bloomberg
Oklahoma won court approval to proceed with a federal lawsuit challenging tax aspects of President Barack Obama ’s 2010 health-care legislation.
U.S. District Judge Ronald A. White in Muskogee, Oklahoma, yesterday denied the federal government’s request for complete dismissal of a lawsuit first filed in 2011 over the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
While White tossed claims that the act’s mandatory minimum-coverage provision exceeded Congress’ powers and that a related Internal Revenue Service rule is unconstitutional as applied to Oklahoma employees, he said the U.S. must defend three counts arising from that same IRS rule.
“Oklahoma challenged implementation of the Affordable Care Act after the IRS finalized a rule that would allow the federal government to punish ‘large employers’ including local government with millions of dollars of tax penalties in states without health care exchanges, which is not allowed under the health care law,” state Attorney General Scott Pruitt said in a statement yesterday.
Allison W. Price, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Justice Department, declined to comment immediately on the court’s ruling.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the legislation last year as a valid use of Congress’s tax powers.
Insurance Exchanges The Obama health-care law called for the states to create marketplace-type insurance exchanges, through which coverage could be obtained from a variety of insurers.
It also contained a provision penalizing large employers who don’t offer coverage to full-time workers and offering tax credits to people who enroll in a health-care plan through an exchange.
The federal government reserved the right to create an exchange if a state didn’t do so.
Oklahoma was one of those states. It also amended its own constitution in 2010 to bar rules or laws compelling people to participate in a health-care system.
IRS Regulation While the Obama health-care law treats states differently, depending on whether they establish an exchange or leave it up to the U.S., the accompanying IRS regulation eliminates that distinction. Oklahoma contends the regulation wasn’t authorized by Congress.
White ruled that the state, as a large employer itself, has standing to pursue two of the four IRS-related claims, and he allowed another federal constitutional claim to proceed.
Oklahoma didn’t have standing to press a claim based on the amendment to its own constitution as that right was granted to individuals, not the state, the judge said. He also rejected the state’s argument that the IRS rule didn’t apply to state workers.
“Congress provided a choice for Oklahoma and other states in implementation of the health care law and the IRS is attempting to take that away,” Pruitt, the state’s attorney general, said in his statement.
The case is State of Oklahoma v. Sebelius, 11-cv-00030, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Oklahoma (Muskogee).
To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Harris in the Chicago federal courthouse at
aharris16@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net
NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL CANDIDATE JOE LHOTA TALKS AT ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY'S ANNUAL STATEN ISLAND GOLF OUTING
Posted on 17:19 by Unknown
NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL CANDIDATE JOE LHOTA TALKS AT ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY'S ANNUAL STATEN ISLAND GOLF OUTING
By Kiawana Rich/Staten Island Advance on August 13, 2013
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The St. John's University's 34th annual Staten Island golf outing honored three notable alumni and included a visit by Republican mayoral candidate Joe Lhota.
The event, held inside the Richmond County Country Club, recognized Joseph Borrino, Daniel Rubino and Richmond County District Attorney Daniel Donovan.
During his visit, Lhota briefly spoke to the Advance about his plans for the borough should be become mayor. Lhota, who noted that as a deputy mayor for Rudolph Guiliani he was instrumental in devising a plan to close the Fresh Kills Landfill, said there is plenty he would do here.
Lhota said he is in support of providing more service for Islanders on the Staten Island Ferry and is also in support of having the city take over all the MTA's bridges and tunnels and "stop abusing Staten Islanders with their fares and tolls and increases overall."
Additionally, Lhota said he would evaluate the property tax assessment process. He added he felt the New York Wheel and Empire Outlets "will create jobs more opportunities for more tourists to come across from Manhattan to Staten Island."
IN COLORADO RECALL ELECTION, REACH OUT TO OVERSEAS U.S.A. VOTERS
Posted on 17:15 by Unknown
IN COLORADO RECALL ELECTION, REACH OUT TO OVERSEAS U.S.A. VOTERS
By The Denver Post Editorial Board, 08/13/2013
The recall elections against two Colorado lawmakers won't take place until Sept. 10, but regardless of the outcomes, we know U.S. military personnel and taxpayers are likely to be losers.
And while officials can't do much to protect taxpayers at this point, they must do everything in their power to ensure that overseas voters aren't disenfranchised — which is now a real possibility.
We don't quarrel with the decision Monday by Denver District Judge Denver McGahey that the Libertarian Party should have until Aug. 26 to gather enough signatures to put its candidates on the recall ballots. But it does mean the recall elections against Democratic state Sens. John Morse of Colorado Springs and Angela Giron of Pueblo almost certainly cannot be conducted by all-mail ballots.
And if Libertarians place candidates on the ballot, election clerks in El Paso and Pueblo counties would have to send out new ballots to military and overseas voters who had already been sent ballots with no Libertarians.
There are ways to handle this electronically, but for some military voters, who are in dangerous forward deployments in combat zones, e-mail and fax machines may be non-existent.
Relying only on mail delivery, it may be nearly impossible for some of these voters to receive their new ballots and then mail them back in time to be counted in the election. And that's even with an eight-day post-election period in which clerks can accept these ballots.
Aside from the possible disenfranchisement of some voters, the printing of new ballots, along with the fact that the counties now have to open vote centers in place of just mailing ballots to voters, means the price of these recall elections just got jacked up.
In El Paso County, Clerk and Recorder Wayne Williams told us the cost would increase from the original $152,000 to $240,000.
That's unfortunate, but it can't be the main focus of concern. Assuming McGahey's ruling withstands appeal, it's far more important for the clerks to gear up to reach out to as many overseas voters as quickly as possible.
By The Denver Post Editorial Board, 08/13/2013
The recall elections against two Colorado lawmakers won't take place until Sept. 10, but regardless of the outcomes, we know U.S. military personnel and taxpayers are likely to be losers.
And while officials can't do much to protect taxpayers at this point, they must do everything in their power to ensure that overseas voters aren't disenfranchised — which is now a real possibility.
We don't quarrel with the decision Monday by Denver District Judge Denver McGahey that the Libertarian Party should have until Aug. 26 to gather enough signatures to put its candidates on the recall ballots. But it does mean the recall elections against Democratic state Sens. John Morse of Colorado Springs and Angela Giron of Pueblo almost certainly cannot be conducted by all-mail ballots.
And if Libertarians place candidates on the ballot, election clerks in El Paso and Pueblo counties would have to send out new ballots to military and overseas voters who had already been sent ballots with no Libertarians.
There are ways to handle this electronically, but for some military voters, who are in dangerous forward deployments in combat zones, e-mail and fax machines may be non-existent.
Relying only on mail delivery, it may be nearly impossible for some of these voters to receive their new ballots and then mail them back in time to be counted in the election. And that's even with an eight-day post-election period in which clerks can accept these ballots.
Aside from the possible disenfranchisement of some voters, the printing of new ballots, along with the fact that the counties now have to open vote centers in place of just mailing ballots to voters, means the price of these recall elections just got jacked up.
In El Paso County, Clerk and Recorder Wayne Williams told us the cost would increase from the original $152,000 to $240,000.
That's unfortunate, but it can't be the main focus of concern. Assuming McGahey's ruling withstands appeal, it's far more important for the clerks to gear up to reach out to as many overseas voters as quickly as possible.
SAN DIEGO MAYOR BOB FILNER FIGHTS RECALL: WHAT'S HIS STRATEGY?
Posted on 17:14 by Unknown
SAN DIEGO MAYOR BOB FILNER FIGHTS RECALL: WHAT'S HIS STRATEGY?
By David Cook, Staff writer / August 13, 2013
In a statement challenging the recall effort, San Diego Mayor Bob Filner did not address accusations of sexual misconduct lodged against him by 14 women. Instead, he repeated promises of better city services.
San Diego Mayor Bob Filner issued a statement late Monday challenging a recall effort aimed at ousting him from office, after more than a dozen women claimed he had made unwanted sexual advances.
Under San Diego’s municipal code, Mr. Filner had until midnight to offer a written response to recall organizers, who then are required to publish his statement in a newspaper. In a release issued through his lawyers, Filner did not address the accusations of sexual misconduct lodged against him by 14 women, including his former communications director, Irene McCormack Jackson. Instead, he said, "Now is not the time to go backwards," and he repeated promises of better city services that he had stressed during his mayoral campaign.
Michael Pallamary, a leader of the recall effort, told the Associated Press, "Mayor Filner obviously believes his policy initiatives excuse his being a sexual predator." He added, "San Diegans want a mayor who doesn't grope and demean women."
The mayor has not been seen in public since July 26, when he said he would undergo two weeks of treatment for what he admitted was inappropriate conduct involving women. He said his therapy would begin Aug. 5 and that he would return to work Aug. 19. But last Friday, the mayor’s attorneys at the law firm Payne & Fears said his intensive therapy would end on Aug. 10 and that he would continue counseling on an outpatient basis.
There has been intense pressure on the former congressman, San Diego’s first Democratic leader in 20 years, to step down. All nine members of the city council have called on him to leave office, eight months into his four-year term. A group of about 75 protesters gathered outside City Hall on Monday, chanting “Bob must go!” as part of a self-described “Bob Filner Not Welcome Back” rally, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) of California sent an open letter to Filner on Friday saying, “To avoid hurting your victims and the people of San Diego more than you already have, you should step down immediately.”
Adding to Filner’s woes, the Union-Tribune reported that billing statements from the mayor’s official credit card, obtained under the California Public Records Act, showed several apparent meal expenses at a local hotel where his bodyguards have told investigators he took women.
One theory for why Filner has resisted resigning, reported by the U-T, is that he may be in the process of negotiating an agreement with law-enforcement officials over alleged sexual misconduct and other alleged improper dealings with developers.
Complaints from women continue to come in, according to Talking Points Memo, which said that three members of the Sheriff’s Department have been assigned to deal with phone calls from a telephone hot line where accusers can report possible criminal conduct.
To succeed in triggering a recall election, Filner’s opponents need to gather 101,597 signatures over a 39-day period. Signature collection can begin as early as Sunday.
By David Cook, Staff writer / August 13, 2013
In a statement challenging the recall effort, San Diego Mayor Bob Filner did not address accusations of sexual misconduct lodged against him by 14 women. Instead, he repeated promises of better city services.
San Diego Mayor Bob Filner issued a statement late Monday challenging a recall effort aimed at ousting him from office, after more than a dozen women claimed he had made unwanted sexual advances.
Under San Diego’s municipal code, Mr. Filner had until midnight to offer a written response to recall organizers, who then are required to publish his statement in a newspaper. In a release issued through his lawyers, Filner did not address the accusations of sexual misconduct lodged against him by 14 women, including his former communications director, Irene McCormack Jackson. Instead, he said, "Now is not the time to go backwards," and he repeated promises of better city services that he had stressed during his mayoral campaign.
Michael Pallamary, a leader of the recall effort, told the Associated Press, "Mayor Filner obviously believes his policy initiatives excuse his being a sexual predator." He added, "San Diegans want a mayor who doesn't grope and demean women."
The mayor has not been seen in public since July 26, when he said he would undergo two weeks of treatment for what he admitted was inappropriate conduct involving women. He said his therapy would begin Aug. 5 and that he would return to work Aug. 19. But last Friday, the mayor’s attorneys at the law firm Payne & Fears said his intensive therapy would end on Aug. 10 and that he would continue counseling on an outpatient basis.
There has been intense pressure on the former congressman, San Diego’s first Democratic leader in 20 years, to step down. All nine members of the city council have called on him to leave office, eight months into his four-year term. A group of about 75 protesters gathered outside City Hall on Monday, chanting “Bob must go!” as part of a self-described “Bob Filner Not Welcome Back” rally, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) of California sent an open letter to Filner on Friday saying, “To avoid hurting your victims and the people of San Diego more than you already have, you should step down immediately.”
Adding to Filner’s woes, the Union-Tribune reported that billing statements from the mayor’s official credit card, obtained under the California Public Records Act, showed several apparent meal expenses at a local hotel where his bodyguards have told investigators he took women.
One theory for why Filner has resisted resigning, reported by the U-T, is that he may be in the process of negotiating an agreement with law-enforcement officials over alleged sexual misconduct and other alleged improper dealings with developers.
Complaints from women continue to come in, according to Talking Points Memo, which said that three members of the Sheriff’s Department have been assigned to deal with phone calls from a telephone hot line where accusers can report possible criminal conduct.
To succeed in triggering a recall election, Filner’s opponents need to gather 101,597 signatures over a 39-day period. Signature collection can begin as early as Sunday.
SILVER MUST GO!
Posted on 17:09 by Unknown
SILVER MUST GO!
Too many sexual harassment coverups in the Assembly
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS 08/08/23
Sheldon Silver has had enough second chances for mishandling sexual harassment cases.
Arrogant stonewalling under the leadership of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has verged into an unlawful coverup that must bring the end of his reign.
Silver’s longtime top laywer — a key figure in concealing Vito Lopez’s sexual harassment —reportedly defied a subpoena to conceal harassment by yet another Assembly member.
The speaker insists he knew nothing of William Collins’ coverup within a coverup. Take that denial for what it’s worth. At the least, on Silver’s watch, under a culture he fostered, his office deceived a duly authorized investigation.
Remember that it was Silver and his team who failed to properly investigate sexual harassment charges against Lopez in the first place. Instead, they conspired with the once-powerful Brooklyn Democrat to quietly settle the case — using $103,080 of taxpayers’ money while enabling Lopez to victimize yet more young female staffers.
When these facts came out last year, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics launched a probe and hit the Assembly with multiple subpoenas — including a demand for records of any sexual harassment cases not involving Lopez.
Despite Silver’s promise of full cooperation, however, the thousands of pages produced by the Assembly included nary a mention of a 2009 incident involving Assemblyman Micah Kellner —which only came to light last month, after JCOPE had closed the books on Lopez.
As with Lopez, Silver’s Assembly chose to bury the Kellner case rather than refer it the Ethics Committee. Nor, when JCOPE came calling, did they share his 15 pages’ worth of inappropriate computer messages to a female staffer.
The excuse is that the case was not technically covered by the subpoena because the victim never filed a formal complaint. Which is absurd, since everyone, including Silver, now recognizes the case as worthy of inquiry.
Whatever Collins did or did not do, the buck ultimately stops with Silver. Silver presides over a shop where hiding dirt and protecting the powerful is business as usual — and one of the ways that the speaker maintains leverage over his members. That culture has now led someone on Silver’s team to defy an ethics panel that Silver himself helped to establish.
Silver further rigged JCOPE so that his appointees could secretly veto investigations of him and his members — which is how he dodged formal charges in the original Lopez probe.
Assembly Democrats love to posture as champions of women and voted this year to impose tough sexual harassment requirements on private employers.
Yet they have stuck with Silver even as he has been repeatedly caught tolerating mistreatment of female staffers and covering up for perpetrators. Only by finally removing Silver as their speaker can they live down that shame.
Too many sexual harassment coverups in the Assembly
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS 08/08/23
Sheldon Silver has had enough second chances for mishandling sexual harassment cases.
Arrogant stonewalling under the leadership of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has verged into an unlawful coverup that must bring the end of his reign.
Silver’s longtime top laywer — a key figure in concealing Vito Lopez’s sexual harassment —reportedly defied a subpoena to conceal harassment by yet another Assembly member.
The speaker insists he knew nothing of William Collins’ coverup within a coverup. Take that denial for what it’s worth. At the least, on Silver’s watch, under a culture he fostered, his office deceived a duly authorized investigation.
Remember that it was Silver and his team who failed to properly investigate sexual harassment charges against Lopez in the first place. Instead, they conspired with the once-powerful Brooklyn Democrat to quietly settle the case — using $103,080 of taxpayers’ money while enabling Lopez to victimize yet more young female staffers.
When these facts came out last year, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics launched a probe and hit the Assembly with multiple subpoenas — including a demand for records of any sexual harassment cases not involving Lopez.
Despite Silver’s promise of full cooperation, however, the thousands of pages produced by the Assembly included nary a mention of a 2009 incident involving Assemblyman Micah Kellner —which only came to light last month, after JCOPE had closed the books on Lopez.
As with Lopez, Silver’s Assembly chose to bury the Kellner case rather than refer it the Ethics Committee. Nor, when JCOPE came calling, did they share his 15 pages’ worth of inappropriate computer messages to a female staffer.
The excuse is that the case was not technically covered by the subpoena because the victim never filed a formal complaint. Which is absurd, since everyone, including Silver, now recognizes the case as worthy of inquiry.
Whatever Collins did or did not do, the buck ultimately stops with Silver. Silver presides over a shop where hiding dirt and protecting the powerful is business as usual — and one of the ways that the speaker maintains leverage over his members. That culture has now led someone on Silver’s team to defy an ethics panel that Silver himself helped to establish.
Silver further rigged JCOPE so that his appointees could secretly veto investigations of him and his members — which is how he dodged formal charges in the original Lopez probe.
Assembly Democrats love to posture as champions of women and voted this year to impose tough sexual harassment requirements on private employers.
Yet they have stuck with Silver even as he has been repeatedly caught tolerating mistreatment of female staffers and covering up for perpetrators. Only by finally removing Silver as their speaker can they live down that shame.
NATURALIZED-U.S. CITIZEN FROM INDIA & A KENYAN WERE ORDERED HELD BY U.S.A. FEDERAL JUDGE IN FLORIDA ON TERRORISM CHARGES
Posted on 16:19 by Unknown
NATURALIZED-U.S. CITIZEN FROM INDIA & A KENYAN WERE ORDERED HELD BY U.S.A. FEDERAL JUDGE IN FLORIDA ON TERRORISM CHARGES
Tuesday, August 13, 2013 By Curt Anderson, The Associated Press
MIAMI - Two men accused of providing thousands of dollars and recruiting fighters for terrorist organizations overseas pleaded not guilty Tuesday at a hearing where prosecutors revealed the case against them was built largely by an undercover FBI agent posing on the Internet as a terror finance middleman.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ricardo Del Toro said at a bail hearing that the agent, known only as an "Online Covert Employee," actually used brother and sister personas in an Internet chat room to make contact with Gufran Ahmed Kauser Mohammed, a naturalized U.S. citizen from India who relocated in 2011 to Saudi Arabia. Mohammed was interested in using the FBI undercover agent to help finance al-Qaida and affiliated terror groups in Syria and East Africa, authorities say.
In July 2012, for example, Mohammed told the FBI agent in the chat room that he wanted one of his wire transfers "to fund an al-Qaida terrorist attack on United States citizens or the United Nations," Del Toro said. No specific targets were named.
The other suspect, 25-year-old Mohamed Hussein Said, is a Kenyan involved with al-Shabaab, an African terror organization currently attempting to replace Somalia's government with one that observes strict Islamic law, Del Toro said. Said, who had never travelled to the U.S. until his arrest, identified terrorist fighters for a Syrian offshoot of al-Qaida and received more than $11,000 from Mohammed for the al-Shabaab organization, court documents show.
In one of the online chats, Said in February said he had one recruit "who would be willing to conduct a martyrdom operation within the United States and be like one of the 19," the indictment says. Del Toro said Said was referring to the 19 hijackers in the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
The two men never met in person until their arrests earlier this month in Saudi Arabia. Del Toro said the FBI undercover agent posed as Mohammed on the Internet to convince Said to travel from Mombassa, Kenya, to Saudi Arabia. The men were taken into custody by the Saudis, turned over to the FBI and immediately flown to Miami to face the terror support charges.
The undercover online FBI agent worked out of the Miami office and many of Mohammed's wire transfers actually wound up here. All told, Mohammed attempted to send more than $25,000 to fund al-Qaida and the affiliates, according to the indictment.
U.S. Magistrate Judge John J. O'Sullivan ordered both men held without bail until trial. Mohammed's attorney, Vince Farina, said his client had a computer science master's degree from UCLA and had brothers living in both California and Texas, as well as parents in California. Farina did not provide their names.
"He's never been arrested prior to this indictment," Farina said. "There are many questions about how this case came about."
Said's attorney, Silvia Pinera-Vazquez, questioned how the FBI could be so sure her client was the one at the computer during Internet chats with the FBI undercover agent, since no one actually saw him doing so. According to the FBI, most of the wire transfers from Mohammed were picked up by Said's wife.
Still, Pinera-Vazquez said, "there was no face-to-face. There could be a huge identity issue in this case."
Del Toro, however, said prosecutors and the FBI have recordings, transcripts of the Internet chats and other records to back up the charges. Said also provided the FBI undercover agent with copies of passports of some of the terror recruits, he added.
"The evidence against these defendants is overwhelming," he said.
If convicted, Said and Mohammed each face up to 15 years in federal prison on each of the 15 charges, or a possible maximum of 225 years behind bars.
_____
Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Miamicurt
Tuesday, August 13, 2013 By Curt Anderson, The Associated Press
MIAMI - Two men accused of providing thousands of dollars and recruiting fighters for terrorist organizations overseas pleaded not guilty Tuesday at a hearing where prosecutors revealed the case against them was built largely by an undercover FBI agent posing on the Internet as a terror finance middleman.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ricardo Del Toro said at a bail hearing that the agent, known only as an "Online Covert Employee," actually used brother and sister personas in an Internet chat room to make contact with Gufran Ahmed Kauser Mohammed, a naturalized U.S. citizen from India who relocated in 2011 to Saudi Arabia. Mohammed was interested in using the FBI undercover agent to help finance al-Qaida and affiliated terror groups in Syria and East Africa, authorities say.
In July 2012, for example, Mohammed told the FBI agent in the chat room that he wanted one of his wire transfers "to fund an al-Qaida terrorist attack on United States citizens or the United Nations," Del Toro said. No specific targets were named.
The other suspect, 25-year-old Mohamed Hussein Said, is a Kenyan involved with al-Shabaab, an African terror organization currently attempting to replace Somalia's government with one that observes strict Islamic law, Del Toro said. Said, who had never travelled to the U.S. until his arrest, identified terrorist fighters for a Syrian offshoot of al-Qaida and received more than $11,000 from Mohammed for the al-Shabaab organization, court documents show.
In one of the online chats, Said in February said he had one recruit "who would be willing to conduct a martyrdom operation within the United States and be like one of the 19," the indictment says. Del Toro said Said was referring to the 19 hijackers in the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
The two men never met in person until their arrests earlier this month in Saudi Arabia. Del Toro said the FBI undercover agent posed as Mohammed on the Internet to convince Said to travel from Mombassa, Kenya, to Saudi Arabia. The men were taken into custody by the Saudis, turned over to the FBI and immediately flown to Miami to face the terror support charges.
The undercover online FBI agent worked out of the Miami office and many of Mohammed's wire transfers actually wound up here. All told, Mohammed attempted to send more than $25,000 to fund al-Qaida and the affiliates, according to the indictment.
U.S. Magistrate Judge John J. O'Sullivan ordered both men held without bail until trial. Mohammed's attorney, Vince Farina, said his client had a computer science master's degree from UCLA and had brothers living in both California and Texas, as well as parents in California. Farina did not provide their names.
"He's never been arrested prior to this indictment," Farina said. "There are many questions about how this case came about."
Said's attorney, Silvia Pinera-Vazquez, questioned how the FBI could be so sure her client was the one at the computer during Internet chats with the FBI undercover agent, since no one actually saw him doing so. According to the FBI, most of the wire transfers from Mohammed were picked up by Said's wife.
Still, Pinera-Vazquez said, "there was no face-to-face. There could be a huge identity issue in this case."
Del Toro, however, said prosecutors and the FBI have recordings, transcripts of the Internet chats and other records to back up the charges. Said also provided the FBI undercover agent with copies of passports of some of the terror recruits, he added.
"The evidence against these defendants is overwhelming," he said.
If convicted, Said and Mohammed each face up to 15 years in federal prison on each of the 15 charges, or a possible maximum of 225 years behind bars.
_____
Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Miamicurt
TOWNHALL.COM * CARTOON * AUGUST 13, 2013
Posted on 13:39 by Unknown
http://media.townhall.com/Townhall/Car/b/aria_c11142420130813120100.jpg
VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL NOMINEE KEN CUCCINELLI TO UNVEIL K - 12 EDUCATION PLAN
Posted on 13:39 by Unknown
VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL NOMINEE KEN CUCCINELLI TO UNVEIL K - 12 EDUCATION PLAN
By Fredrick Kunkle, August 13, 2013, Washington Post
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II unveiled a 12-point education plan on Tuesday that would push for charter schools, offer voucher-like scholarships for preschoolers and empower a majority of parents to close down, convert or overhaul their children’s failing school, according to an outline of his K-12 education plan.
The Republican gubernatorial candidate wants to double the number of female students who focus on science and technology, widen the use of virtual schooling and expand on the commonwealth’s nearly two-year-old law that gives tax credits to donors who provide voucher-like scholarships for low-income students to attend private schools. Cuccinelli also would seek two amendments to Virginia’s constitution, including one that would clear the way for government funds to flow to religious schools.
Cuccinelli, who is the GOP’s gubernatorial nominee, unveiled his education policies Tuesday in Richmond during a campaign stop at the Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School for Government and International Studies. Several of his proposals are intended to address the achievement gap among some minority students and chronically underperforming schools in jurisdictions such as Petersburg and Norfolk.
“Try telling folks in Petersburg, where 30 percent of students fail the reading test for Virginia’s SOL’s [standardized tests], that Virginia’s education system is one of the best in the world,” Cuccinelli told a group of students and educators gathered at the school. “Just 59 percent of Petersburg students graduate on time versus 82 percent in the rest of Virginia. That kind of disparity is something that concerns me on behalf of just those children and on behalf of Virginia.”
Cuccinelli is running against former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe in a governor’s race that has attracted national attention, not only because of the lack of other competitive matchups but because of its occasionally caustic tone.
The package of reforms contained in Cuccinelli’s K-12 education plan include several that have gained in popularity in recent years, especially among conservatives, though the efficacy of some of the initiatives has been disputed. The proposals — organized around principles of “empowerment,” “opportunity” and “accountability” — would generally push Virginia in the direction of so-called school choice and private or community-based solutions to the problem of public education.
The idea of allowing parents to mount a petition to close or dramatically remake their children’s failing school, for example — known as a trigger law — has caught on among an unlikely coalition of progressives and conservatives seeking to reform the nation’s schools.
Backers say a parent takeover is a radical but necessary step to turn around chronically poor-performing schools. But opponents believe trigger laws could backfire when well-meaning but untrained people take on the complexities of running a school and could open the way to abuses by private charter school companies hoping to take over public schools.
Cuccinelli’s educational platform includes establishing a new panel to consist of academics, parents, principals, leaders, educators and students — whose acronym, the plan says, would make it the APPLES Commission — that would review Virginia’s Standards of Learning system and search for ways to strengthen the curriculum and testing. The plan says the committee would operate under the Virginia Board of Education to formulate recommendations by Nov. 1, 2014, for the General Assembly. Among its aims would be to find ways to emphasize problem-solving and cognitive abilities in testing more than memorization.
Cuccinelli’s plan calls for using tax credits to create scholarships for preschoolers from low-income families to attend private preschools, including those sponsored by religious organizations. The plan notes that the Virginia Preschool Initiative already provides assistance for low-income families through matching funds to localities. But, the plan says, many localities fail to come up with the matching funds because of a lack of money or facilities.
Cuccinelli’s plan also urges creating an A-to-F ranking system for colleges that offer education programs to train teachers and revising teacher requirements.
His proposed constitutional amendments both aim to broaden the cause of school choice.
The first would remove a provision in the state constitution that bans government aid to sectarian schools. Known as the Blaine Amendment, the measure first appeared about a century ago when the country’s Protestant majority sought to block government support for Catholic schools. It ultimately became law in nearly 40 states. Cuccinelli’s K-12 education plan says that despite a June 2000 decision by U.S. Supreme Court that found school choice programs to be constitutional, the Blaine Amendment in Virginia’s constitution restricts the state’s ability to craft broad-based school choice programs.
The second proposed amendment would address what Cuccinelli’s plan says is “one of the most useless charter school laws in the country.” Although such schools are permitted under existing law, they must be approved by the district.
Cuccinelli’s proposed amendment would give the state Board of Education the power to establish charter schools. Cuccinelli’s proposal is similar to a measure sponsored by Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) that was narrowly defeated this year in the Virginia Senate. Obenshain is running to succeed Cuccinelli as attorney general.
“This creates a conflict of interest as school districts do not want competition,” the plan says. “It’s like Pepsi having to get permission from the Board of Directors of Coca-Cola to sell a new product.”
Laura Vozzella contributed to this report.
By Fredrick Kunkle, August 13, 2013, Washington Post
Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II unveiled a 12-point education plan on Tuesday that would push for charter schools, offer voucher-like scholarships for preschoolers and empower a majority of parents to close down, convert or overhaul their children’s failing school, according to an outline of his K-12 education plan.
The Republican gubernatorial candidate wants to double the number of female students who focus on science and technology, widen the use of virtual schooling and expand on the commonwealth’s nearly two-year-old law that gives tax credits to donors who provide voucher-like scholarships for low-income students to attend private schools. Cuccinelli also would seek two amendments to Virginia’s constitution, including one that would clear the way for government funds to flow to religious schools.
Cuccinelli, who is the GOP’s gubernatorial nominee, unveiled his education policies Tuesday in Richmond during a campaign stop at the Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School for Government and International Studies. Several of his proposals are intended to address the achievement gap among some minority students and chronically underperforming schools in jurisdictions such as Petersburg and Norfolk.
“Try telling folks in Petersburg, where 30 percent of students fail the reading test for Virginia’s SOL’s [standardized tests], that Virginia’s education system is one of the best in the world,” Cuccinelli told a group of students and educators gathered at the school. “Just 59 percent of Petersburg students graduate on time versus 82 percent in the rest of Virginia. That kind of disparity is something that concerns me on behalf of just those children and on behalf of Virginia.”
Cuccinelli is running against former Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe in a governor’s race that has attracted national attention, not only because of the lack of other competitive matchups but because of its occasionally caustic tone.
The package of reforms contained in Cuccinelli’s K-12 education plan include several that have gained in popularity in recent years, especially among conservatives, though the efficacy of some of the initiatives has been disputed. The proposals — organized around principles of “empowerment,” “opportunity” and “accountability” — would generally push Virginia in the direction of so-called school choice and private or community-based solutions to the problem of public education.
The idea of allowing parents to mount a petition to close or dramatically remake their children’s failing school, for example — known as a trigger law — has caught on among an unlikely coalition of progressives and conservatives seeking to reform the nation’s schools.
Backers say a parent takeover is a radical but necessary step to turn around chronically poor-performing schools. But opponents believe trigger laws could backfire when well-meaning but untrained people take on the complexities of running a school and could open the way to abuses by private charter school companies hoping to take over public schools.
Cuccinelli’s educational platform includes establishing a new panel to consist of academics, parents, principals, leaders, educators and students — whose acronym, the plan says, would make it the APPLES Commission — that would review Virginia’s Standards of Learning system and search for ways to strengthen the curriculum and testing. The plan says the committee would operate under the Virginia Board of Education to formulate recommendations by Nov. 1, 2014, for the General Assembly. Among its aims would be to find ways to emphasize problem-solving and cognitive abilities in testing more than memorization.
Cuccinelli’s plan calls for using tax credits to create scholarships for preschoolers from low-income families to attend private preschools, including those sponsored by religious organizations. The plan notes that the Virginia Preschool Initiative already provides assistance for low-income families through matching funds to localities. But, the plan says, many localities fail to come up with the matching funds because of a lack of money or facilities.
Cuccinelli’s plan also urges creating an A-to-F ranking system for colleges that offer education programs to train teachers and revising teacher requirements.
His proposed constitutional amendments both aim to broaden the cause of school choice.
The first would remove a provision in the state constitution that bans government aid to sectarian schools. Known as the Blaine Amendment, the measure first appeared about a century ago when the country’s Protestant majority sought to block government support for Catholic schools. It ultimately became law in nearly 40 states. Cuccinelli’s K-12 education plan says that despite a June 2000 decision by U.S. Supreme Court that found school choice programs to be constitutional, the Blaine Amendment in Virginia’s constitution restricts the state’s ability to craft broad-based school choice programs.
The second proposed amendment would address what Cuccinelli’s plan says is “one of the most useless charter school laws in the country.” Although such schools are permitted under existing law, they must be approved by the district.
Cuccinelli’s proposed amendment would give the state Board of Education the power to establish charter schools. Cuccinelli’s proposal is similar to a measure sponsored by Sen. Mark Obenshain (R-Harrisonburg) that was narrowly defeated this year in the Virginia Senate. Obenshain is running to succeed Cuccinelli as attorney general.
“This creates a conflict of interest as school districts do not want competition,” the plan says. “It’s like Pepsi having to get permission from the Board of Directors of Coca-Cola to sell a new product.”
Laura Vozzella contributed to this report.
BROKEN INTERNATIONAL TERRORIST TEAMSTERS' LEASE PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON RAHM EMANUEL ALLY JOHN COLI
Posted on 12:56 by Unknown
BROKEN INTERNATIONAL TERRORIST TEAMSTERS' LEASE PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON RAHM EMANUEL ALLY JOHN COLI
By DAN MIHALOPOULOS, Staff Reporter, dmihalopoulos@suntimes.com, Aug 13, 2013 09:31AM
Barely a year into a 15-year deal, a union representing more than 12,000 government employees in the Chicago area broke the lease on its headquarters in Des Plaines and moved to new quarters in Park Ridge.
Teamsters Local 700’s actions have prompted a lawsuit against the union by its old landlords, who are claiming damages “in the millions of dollars.”
But the move gave John Coli, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s biggest ally in organized labor, plenty of reason to smile.
Local 700’s new home: an office building that just weeks earlier had been bought by the pension fund for another arm of the Teamsters, Local 727, long headed by Coli. He was an early, outspoken and generous supporter of Emanuel’s 2011 campaign for mayor, even as other union leaders opposed Emanuel or watched the race from the sidelines.
Coli’s sister, Susan Fosco, is property manager for the office building at 1300 W. Higgins Rd. in Park Ridge, a job she landed a few months after a company owned by the Local 727 pension plan bought the building, U.S. Department of Labor records show.
The pension plan — which is administered by Coli’s brother William Coli — paid $7.4 million to buy the Park Ridge property in February 2010. At the time, a spokesman for Coli said the office building would become a new, suburban version of the “Teamsters City” office complex on Chicago’s West Side.
More than three years later, the Park Ridge building is home to only Locals 700 and 727 and Teamsters Joint Council 25, an umbrella group for union members in the Chicago area that Coli also leads. According to a commercial real-estate web site, a total of 31,316 square feet of office space remains unrented in the 95,600-square-foot building.
Before moving there, Local 700 had been at 1550 Mount Prospect Rd. in Des Plaines under a rent-to-own contract. The Teamsters had an option to buy the building for $2.15 million after renting the space for five years for more than $16,000 a month. If the union decided not to buy the building, it would see its rent double for the next 10 years.
That deal was signed by leaders of Teamster Local 726, which at that time represented the roughly 2,000 Teamsters union members who work for the city of Chicago. They moved in at the start of 2009. A few months later, the Teamsters international in Washington, D.C., placed Local 726 in trusteeship, citing “a pattern of financial malpractices” and removing the union’s elected leaders.
Among the trustees appointed to oversee the local was Coli protégé Becky Strzechowski, who had worked for Coli’s Local 727 for 22 years, starting as a clerk and rising to vice president and business manager.
Strzechowski told the union’s Des Plaines landlords that the headquarters in Des Plaines “did not fit into Local 726’s long-term plans,” and the Teamsters stopped paying the rent and moved out, according to court records.
The Des Plaines property’s investors soon stopped making payments on a $1.4 million bank loan they’d taken out after signing the deal with the Teamsters, and the bank that made the loan foreclosed on the building. The bank has intervened in the lawsuit against the Teamsters, staking its claim to whatever money the landlords’ lawsuit against the union might bring.
Local 726 ended up being merged with Local 714 to create Local 700, one of the country’s largest Teamsters locals.
Labor contracts that Local 726 and Local 714 had negotiated with City Hall, Cook County, the state of Illinois and dozens of other governments remained in force after the merger of the unions.
But lawyers for the new Local 700 said the union didn’t have to abide by the terms of the lease for the Des Plaines property that Local 726 leaders signed.
So in 2010, the landlords sued. The case is still pending. In January, a judge rejected the Teamsters’ bid to dismiss the lawsuit but dropped the joint council as defendants. The remaining defendants include the Teamsters international and its leader, James Hoffa.
Neither Coli — who was paid more than $338,000 last year as an official of three Teamsters groups — nor Strzechowski responded to requests for comment. Reached Friday, Coli’s sister would say only, “I’m just the building manager.”
Strzechowski has been president of Local 700 since August 2012. She was paid more than $284,000 by Local 700 in 2011, the most recent available public records show, and she made another $66,000 last year as a Teamsters international union vice president.
Teamsters groups contributed more than $105,000 to Emanuel’s campaign fund in June, state campaign-finance records show.
And Local 700 gave $25,000 to the New York-based American Friends of the Yitzhak Rabin Center in 2011, Labor Department records show. That group honored Coli and Emanuel in June 2012 at a Chicago Hilton and Towers gala that collected more than $650,000 for the Rabin Center, a library and research center in Israel.
Email: dmihalopoulos@suntimes.com
Twitter: @dmihalopoulos
By DAN MIHALOPOULOS, Staff Reporter, dmihalopoulos@suntimes.com, Aug 13, 2013 09:31AM
Barely a year into a 15-year deal, a union representing more than 12,000 government employees in the Chicago area broke the lease on its headquarters in Des Plaines and moved to new quarters in Park Ridge.
Teamsters Local 700’s actions have prompted a lawsuit against the union by its old landlords, who are claiming damages “in the millions of dollars.”
But the move gave John Coli, Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s biggest ally in organized labor, plenty of reason to smile.
Local 700’s new home: an office building that just weeks earlier had been bought by the pension fund for another arm of the Teamsters, Local 727, long headed by Coli. He was an early, outspoken and generous supporter of Emanuel’s 2011 campaign for mayor, even as other union leaders opposed Emanuel or watched the race from the sidelines.
Coli’s sister, Susan Fosco, is property manager for the office building at 1300 W. Higgins Rd. in Park Ridge, a job she landed a few months after a company owned by the Local 727 pension plan bought the building, U.S. Department of Labor records show.
The pension plan — which is administered by Coli’s brother William Coli — paid $7.4 million to buy the Park Ridge property in February 2010. At the time, a spokesman for Coli said the office building would become a new, suburban version of the “Teamsters City” office complex on Chicago’s West Side.
More than three years later, the Park Ridge building is home to only Locals 700 and 727 and Teamsters Joint Council 25, an umbrella group for union members in the Chicago area that Coli also leads. According to a commercial real-estate web site, a total of 31,316 square feet of office space remains unrented in the 95,600-square-foot building.
Before moving there, Local 700 had been at 1550 Mount Prospect Rd. in Des Plaines under a rent-to-own contract. The Teamsters had an option to buy the building for $2.15 million after renting the space for five years for more than $16,000 a month. If the union decided not to buy the building, it would see its rent double for the next 10 years.
That deal was signed by leaders of Teamster Local 726, which at that time represented the roughly 2,000 Teamsters union members who work for the city of Chicago. They moved in at the start of 2009. A few months later, the Teamsters international in Washington, D.C., placed Local 726 in trusteeship, citing “a pattern of financial malpractices” and removing the union’s elected leaders.
Among the trustees appointed to oversee the local was Coli protégé Becky Strzechowski, who had worked for Coli’s Local 727 for 22 years, starting as a clerk and rising to vice president and business manager.
Strzechowski told the union’s Des Plaines landlords that the headquarters in Des Plaines “did not fit into Local 726’s long-term plans,” and the Teamsters stopped paying the rent and moved out, according to court records.
The Des Plaines property’s investors soon stopped making payments on a $1.4 million bank loan they’d taken out after signing the deal with the Teamsters, and the bank that made the loan foreclosed on the building. The bank has intervened in the lawsuit against the Teamsters, staking its claim to whatever money the landlords’ lawsuit against the union might bring.
Local 726 ended up being merged with Local 714 to create Local 700, one of the country’s largest Teamsters locals.
Labor contracts that Local 726 and Local 714 had negotiated with City Hall, Cook County, the state of Illinois and dozens of other governments remained in force after the merger of the unions.
But lawyers for the new Local 700 said the union didn’t have to abide by the terms of the lease for the Des Plaines property that Local 726 leaders signed.
So in 2010, the landlords sued. The case is still pending. In January, a judge rejected the Teamsters’ bid to dismiss the lawsuit but dropped the joint council as defendants. The remaining defendants include the Teamsters international and its leader, James Hoffa.
Neither Coli — who was paid more than $338,000 last year as an official of three Teamsters groups — nor Strzechowski responded to requests for comment. Reached Friday, Coli’s sister would say only, “I’m just the building manager.”
Strzechowski has been president of Local 700 since August 2012. She was paid more than $284,000 by Local 700 in 2011, the most recent available public records show, and she made another $66,000 last year as a Teamsters international union vice president.
Teamsters groups contributed more than $105,000 to Emanuel’s campaign fund in June, state campaign-finance records show.
And Local 700 gave $25,000 to the New York-based American Friends of the Yitzhak Rabin Center in 2011, Labor Department records show. That group honored Coli and Emanuel in June 2012 at a Chicago Hilton and Towers gala that collected more than $650,000 for the Rabin Center, a library and research center in Israel.
Email: dmihalopoulos@suntimes.com
Twitter: @dmihalopoulos
EQUAL JUSTICE? WHY HASN'T BOB MCDONNELL BEEN INDICTED? ~~~ BY LAUREN VICTORIA BURKE, POLITIC365
Posted on 12:37 by Unknown
READ ARTICLE HERE:
http://politic365.com/2013/08/09/equal-justice-why-hasnt-bob-mcdonnell-been-indicted/
http://politic365.com/2013/08/09/equal-justice-why-hasnt-bob-mcdonnell-been-indicted/
CHINESE ESPIONAGE AGENTS PAINT PITCH-BLACK PICTURE IN PANGANG CASE ... AND, MCDONNELL & MCAULIFFE ASSIST THEM.
Posted on 12:25 by Unknown
CHINESE ESPIONAGE AGENTS PAINT PITCH-BLACK PICTURE IN PANGANG CASE ... AND, MCDONNELL & MCAULIFFE ASSIST THEM.
Friday, 09 August, 2013, Associated Press in Beijing
Industrial espionage case against mainland firm Pangang points to high-level official involvement in theft of DuPont secrets, US prosecutors say.
US prosecutors say Pangang Group aimed high. The Chinese state-owned company wanted a better process to make titanium dioxide, a white pigment used in paint, toothpaste and Oreo cookie fillings. So it paid spies to steal it from industry giant DuPont.
Pangang was indicted last year on United States charges of industrial spying and a retired DuPont scientist pleaded guilty to selling secrets. Prosecutors say another defendant was encouraged by a Chinese leader to "make contributions" to the country - rare evidence of high-level official involvement. Then the case stalled while prosecutors tried to force Pangang to answer the charges in a US court.
DuPont says it has asked Chinese authorities to block use of its stolen secrets. There is no indication they have acted.
The US chemical producer is far from alone. China's reputation as a global centre for industrial spying is well-established, but experts say the scale is growing. While more victims take action abroad, DuPont's experience illustrates the legal dead-ends and official inaction on the mainland that stymie even the biggest global companies and foreign prosecutors. Chinese companies accused of using stolen secrets face few consequences.
That is no accident, intelligence experts say. They say Beijing has carried on a quiet but relentless campaign since the 1970s to acquire technology through its spy agencies and Chinese companies, scientists and students abroad.
Possible losses due to intellectual property theft traced to China have multiplied since the 1990s. Then, companies complained about copying of movies, software and designer clothes. Today, thieves target technologies that form the heart of multibillion-dollar industries. In the case of titanium dioxide, the global market is worth US$17 billion a year.
A report in May by a panel that included a former US director of national intelligence, Dennis Blair, said China accounts for 50 to 80 per cent of theft of US intellectual property. Companies surveyed by the US International Trade Commission estimated they lost US$48.2 billion in 2009 in potential sales and licence payments to Chinese infringement.
"There is no question that the PRC government encourages these extralegal transfers," said William Hannas, James Mulvenon and Anna Puglisi, authors of Chinese Industrial Espionage: Technology Acquisition and Military Modernisation.
Companies are becoming more vulnerable as they expand production and research in China to get closer to its market or in response to taxes and other policies that prod them to shift operations to the mainland.
Companies are "increasingly worried about trade secrets and technology being compromised in China," said Tadashi Kageyama, head of security firm Kroll Advisory Services for Asia.
Victims often are reluctant to talk about losses. But the DuPont case gives an unusually detailed look into how US prosecutors allege one Chinese state company stole technology and might be using it with impunity.
Pangang, three subsidiaries and one of its employees were charged in February last year in federal court in San Francisco with conspiracy to commit economic espionage and attempted economic espionage. Pangang, in Sichuan province, is controlled by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.
Other defendants include a Malaysian-born American of Chinese ancestry, who is alleged to have obtained details of DuPont manufacturing processes from former employees, and two retired DuPont scientists.
Titanium dioxide, also known as TiO2, was one of a series of technologies Beijing tried to obtain to supply its booming industries in plastics and other goods that require the pigment.
Other companies also make TiO2 but DuPont's process is regarded as more efficient and profitable. US prosecutors said Chinese leaders deemed it an "economic priority" but DuPont declined to sell or licence it to Chinese companies.
The case offers rare evidence of possible involvement by a Chinese leader in encouraging technology theft. Prosecutors cite a letter written by one defendant, Malaysian-born Walter Liew, about meeting at a 1991 banquet with Luo Gan, then a secretary-general of the State Council. Luo would later serve in the the Politburo standing committee until his retirement last year.
Liew wrote that Luo "gave directives so that I would better understand China and continue to make contributions to her". Two days later, the letter said, he received a list of high-priority tasks and titanium dioxide was "one of the more important projects."
Liew later denied he met Luo and other officials at that time, according to court documents. But prosecutors argued he would have told the truth in his letter because it was written to Chinese executives who could verify its accuracy.
Luo did not respond to a letter sent to him through the State Council's press office.
Pangang Group has yet to enter a plea because efforts to force it to answer the charges have stalled.
The company did not respond to questions about the case sent by fax, email and registered letter to its headquarters.
The Justice Ministry did not respond to a written request for comment about whether it was taking any action.
Friday, 09 August, 2013, Associated Press in Beijing
Industrial espionage case against mainland firm Pangang points to high-level official involvement in theft of DuPont secrets, US prosecutors say.
US prosecutors say Pangang Group aimed high. The Chinese state-owned company wanted a better process to make titanium dioxide, a white pigment used in paint, toothpaste and Oreo cookie fillings. So it paid spies to steal it from industry giant DuPont.
Pangang was indicted last year on United States charges of industrial spying and a retired DuPont scientist pleaded guilty to selling secrets. Prosecutors say another defendant was encouraged by a Chinese leader to "make contributions" to the country - rare evidence of high-level official involvement. Then the case stalled while prosecutors tried to force Pangang to answer the charges in a US court.
DuPont says it has asked Chinese authorities to block use of its stolen secrets. There is no indication they have acted.
The US chemical producer is far from alone. China's reputation as a global centre for industrial spying is well-established, but experts say the scale is growing. While more victims take action abroad, DuPont's experience illustrates the legal dead-ends and official inaction on the mainland that stymie even the biggest global companies and foreign prosecutors. Chinese companies accused of using stolen secrets face few consequences.
That is no accident, intelligence experts say. They say Beijing has carried on a quiet but relentless campaign since the 1970s to acquire technology through its spy agencies and Chinese companies, scientists and students abroad.
Possible losses due to intellectual property theft traced to China have multiplied since the 1990s. Then, companies complained about copying of movies, software and designer clothes. Today, thieves target technologies that form the heart of multibillion-dollar industries. In the case of titanium dioxide, the global market is worth US$17 billion a year.
A report in May by a panel that included a former US director of national intelligence, Dennis Blair, said China accounts for 50 to 80 per cent of theft of US intellectual property. Companies surveyed by the US International Trade Commission estimated they lost US$48.2 billion in 2009 in potential sales and licence payments to Chinese infringement.
"There is no question that the PRC government encourages these extralegal transfers," said William Hannas, James Mulvenon and Anna Puglisi, authors of Chinese Industrial Espionage: Technology Acquisition and Military Modernisation.
Companies are becoming more vulnerable as they expand production and research in China to get closer to its market or in response to taxes and other policies that prod them to shift operations to the mainland.
Companies are "increasingly worried about trade secrets and technology being compromised in China," said Tadashi Kageyama, head of security firm Kroll Advisory Services for Asia.
Victims often are reluctant to talk about losses. But the DuPont case gives an unusually detailed look into how US prosecutors allege one Chinese state company stole technology and might be using it with impunity.
Pangang, three subsidiaries and one of its employees were charged in February last year in federal court in San Francisco with conspiracy to commit economic espionage and attempted economic espionage. Pangang, in Sichuan province, is controlled by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.
Other defendants include a Malaysian-born American of Chinese ancestry, who is alleged to have obtained details of DuPont manufacturing processes from former employees, and two retired DuPont scientists.
Titanium dioxide, also known as TiO2, was one of a series of technologies Beijing tried to obtain to supply its booming industries in plastics and other goods that require the pigment.
Other companies also make TiO2 but DuPont's process is regarded as more efficient and profitable. US prosecutors said Chinese leaders deemed it an "economic priority" but DuPont declined to sell or licence it to Chinese companies.
The case offers rare evidence of possible involvement by a Chinese leader in encouraging technology theft. Prosecutors cite a letter written by one defendant, Malaysian-born Walter Liew, about meeting at a 1991 banquet with Luo Gan, then a secretary-general of the State Council. Luo would later serve in the the Politburo standing committee until his retirement last year.
Liew wrote that Luo "gave directives so that I would better understand China and continue to make contributions to her". Two days later, the letter said, he received a list of high-priority tasks and titanium dioxide was "one of the more important projects."
Liew later denied he met Luo and other officials at that time, according to court documents. But prosecutors argued he would have told the truth in his letter because it was written to Chinese executives who could verify its accuracy.
Luo did not respond to a letter sent to him through the State Council's press office.
Pangang Group has yet to enter a plea because efforts to force it to answer the charges have stalled.
The company did not respond to questions about the case sent by fax, email and registered letter to its headquarters.
The Justice Ministry did not respond to a written request for comment about whether it was taking any action.
CHINESE FIRMS, JUST LIKE THE ONES VA GOV. BOB MCDONNELL & TERRY MCAULIFFE RECEIVE ILLEGAL "GIFTS" FROM, PAY INSIDERS TO "KILL" AMERICAN CITIZENS' COMPANIES
Posted on 12:19 by Unknown
CHINESE FIRMS, JUST LIKE THE ONES VA GOV. BOB MCDONNELL & TERRY MCAULIFFE RECEIVE ILLEGAL "GIFTS" FROM, PAY INSIDERS TO "KILL" AMERICAN CITIZENS' COMPANIES
By Carl Sears and Michael Isikoff NBC News, 08/06/13
A Chinese energy firm offered big money and access to women to entice an engineer at a U.S. company to launch a cyber raid on his employer, stealing sensitive computer codes and “thereby cheating (the firm) … out of more than $800 million,” according to newly unsealed court documents and internal messages and emails obtained by NBC News.
Federal prosecutors call the alleged cyber theft from American Superconductor (AMSC) in Devens, Mass., one of the most brazen cases yet of Chinese economic espionage in the United States. The techniques the Chinese used to rob the company of three quarters of its revenue, half its workforce, and more than $1 billion in market value were straight out of a “spy novel,” the firm's CEO said in an interview with NBC News.
"They were out to kill my company," said Daniel McGahn. “We thought we were playing by the Chinese rules. We didn't anticipate outright theft as part of their business model."
American Superconductor had developed advanced computer software that regulates the flow of electricity from wind turbines. Its biggest customer was Sinovel, the world's second-largest wind energy supplier (behind Denmark's Vestas).
But in March 2011, Sinovel abruptly cut American Superconductor off — refusing to pay for contracted shipments -- after the Chinese firm obtained source codes for the software from one of American Superconductor’s own employees, according to criminal charges filed against Sinovel by federal prosecutors.
Sinovel, along with two of its executives and the former American Superconductor engineer, were recently indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of trade theft and wire fraud.
The company, which has denied wrongdoing in the past, declined to comment when contacted by NBC News through its lawyer.
Dejan Karabasevic, the former employee who allegedly stole the software while serving as American Superconductor’s chief engineer in its Austria office, has pleaded guilty to stealing the trade secrets in an Austrian court and was sentenced in 2011 to a year in jail. His lawyer declined comment.
The Skype messages and emails obtained by NBC News show how Sinovel allegedly pulled off the alleged heist.
The Chinese firm enticed Karabesic to download American Superconductor’s encrypted source codes onto a thumb drive and then send them by email to Sinovel executives in China, according to prosecutors. As inducements, the emails and Skype messages show, it offered Karabasevic a $1.7 million contract, an apartment in Beijing and access to women -- as well as payments wired into the bank account of a girlfriend who was a Vietnamese flight attendant.
"All girls need money. I need girls. Sinovel needs me," read one of Karabasevic’s messages to a Sinovel executive in China.
In others, the Sinovel executive praised and encouraged Karabasevic.
"Best man. like Superman...haha," one executive said via a Skype instant message. "Yes, superman," replied Karabasevic.
"If you succeed, Sinovel can separate from AMSC (American Superconductor)," Karabasevic said.
"And I need your strong help. Haha," a Sinovel executive replied.
The FBI says it later discovered stolen software operating in a Sinovel wind turbine just 40 miles from AMSC's headquarters. The turbine had been sold to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, which paid with $4.7 million in federal stimulus funds.
The cyber theft -- and the loss of Sinovel’s business -- devastated American Superconductor’s business, causing its stock price to plummet and forcing the company to lay off half of its workforce of 900 employees, McGhan said.
In filing the charges against Sinovel, John W. Vandreuil, the U.S. attorney in Madison, Wisc., called Sinovel’s attack on American Superconductor "nothing short of attempted corporate homicide.”
U.S. officials say the Sinovel case is a prime example of Chinese looting of U.S. technology that is draining up to $300 billion a year from the American economy and costing millions of jobs, according to a report by the Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property published in May. The report concluded "that national industrial policy goals in China encourage IP theft, and an extraordinary number of Chinese in business and government entities are engaged in this practice."
"It ruins market value. It destroys jobs. And one thing we know from the Sinovel case is that American companies by and large have had enough," said former U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, who co-chaired the commission.
"We've got to have some tools that actually provide the teeth to go beyond just the jawboning," Huntsman told NBC News. "We've got to have real leverage on the table and that would come down to denying China access to the U.S. market, which is ultimately what they want for their companies and for their dollars that they want to invest."
Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, added, "We are no longer going to play nice about what we know is as basic as highway robbery. … There ought to be a consequence for it. We can't continue to let them believe that they can steal this property and then go ahead and compete against U.S. companies at a price point that our companies can't compete with."
American Superconductor -- now one-third its former size -- is determined to rebuild and ultimately be repaid for its losses. It is now seeking compensation in Chinese courts. "At some point, you have to draw the line and say, 'Enough is enough,'” said McGahn, the CEO. “Fortunately, we've been able to survive. I don't want to see other companies go through what we've gone through."
NBC News researcher Alex Hosenball contributed to this story.
By Carl Sears and Michael Isikoff NBC News, 08/06/13
A Chinese energy firm offered big money and access to women to entice an engineer at a U.S. company to launch a cyber raid on his employer, stealing sensitive computer codes and “thereby cheating (the firm) … out of more than $800 million,” according to newly unsealed court documents and internal messages and emails obtained by NBC News.
Federal prosecutors call the alleged cyber theft from American Superconductor (AMSC) in Devens, Mass., one of the most brazen cases yet of Chinese economic espionage in the United States. The techniques the Chinese used to rob the company of three quarters of its revenue, half its workforce, and more than $1 billion in market value were straight out of a “spy novel,” the firm's CEO said in an interview with NBC News.
"They were out to kill my company," said Daniel McGahn. “We thought we were playing by the Chinese rules. We didn't anticipate outright theft as part of their business model."
American Superconductor had developed advanced computer software that regulates the flow of electricity from wind turbines. Its biggest customer was Sinovel, the world's second-largest wind energy supplier (behind Denmark's Vestas).
But in March 2011, Sinovel abruptly cut American Superconductor off — refusing to pay for contracted shipments -- after the Chinese firm obtained source codes for the software from one of American Superconductor’s own employees, according to criminal charges filed against Sinovel by federal prosecutors.
Sinovel, along with two of its executives and the former American Superconductor engineer, were recently indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of trade theft and wire fraud.
The company, which has denied wrongdoing in the past, declined to comment when contacted by NBC News through its lawyer.
Dejan Karabasevic, the former employee who allegedly stole the software while serving as American Superconductor’s chief engineer in its Austria office, has pleaded guilty to stealing the trade secrets in an Austrian court and was sentenced in 2011 to a year in jail. His lawyer declined comment.
The Skype messages and emails obtained by NBC News show how Sinovel allegedly pulled off the alleged heist.
The Chinese firm enticed Karabesic to download American Superconductor’s encrypted source codes onto a thumb drive and then send them by email to Sinovel executives in China, according to prosecutors. As inducements, the emails and Skype messages show, it offered Karabasevic a $1.7 million contract, an apartment in Beijing and access to women -- as well as payments wired into the bank account of a girlfriend who was a Vietnamese flight attendant.
"All girls need money. I need girls. Sinovel needs me," read one of Karabasevic’s messages to a Sinovel executive in China.
In others, the Sinovel executive praised and encouraged Karabasevic.
"Best man. like Superman...haha," one executive said via a Skype instant message. "Yes, superman," replied Karabasevic.
"If you succeed, Sinovel can separate from AMSC (American Superconductor)," Karabasevic said.
"And I need your strong help. Haha," a Sinovel executive replied.
The FBI says it later discovered stolen software operating in a Sinovel wind turbine just 40 miles from AMSC's headquarters. The turbine had been sold to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, which paid with $4.7 million in federal stimulus funds.
The cyber theft -- and the loss of Sinovel’s business -- devastated American Superconductor’s business, causing its stock price to plummet and forcing the company to lay off half of its workforce of 900 employees, McGhan said.
In filing the charges against Sinovel, John W. Vandreuil, the U.S. attorney in Madison, Wisc., called Sinovel’s attack on American Superconductor "nothing short of attempted corporate homicide.”
U.S. officials say the Sinovel case is a prime example of Chinese looting of U.S. technology that is draining up to $300 billion a year from the American economy and costing millions of jobs, according to a report by the Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property published in May. The report concluded "that national industrial policy goals in China encourage IP theft, and an extraordinary number of Chinese in business and government entities are engaged in this practice."
"It ruins market value. It destroys jobs. And one thing we know from the Sinovel case is that American companies by and large have had enough," said former U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, who co-chaired the commission.
"We've got to have some tools that actually provide the teeth to go beyond just the jawboning," Huntsman told NBC News. "We've got to have real leverage on the table and that would come down to denying China access to the U.S. market, which is ultimately what they want for their companies and for their dollars that they want to invest."
Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, added, "We are no longer going to play nice about what we know is as basic as highway robbery. … There ought to be a consequence for it. We can't continue to let them believe that they can steal this property and then go ahead and compete against U.S. companies at a price point that our companies can't compete with."
American Superconductor -- now one-third its former size -- is determined to rebuild and ultimately be repaid for its losses. It is now seeking compensation in Chinese courts. "At some point, you have to draw the line and say, 'Enough is enough,'” said McGahn, the CEO. “Fortunately, we've been able to survive. I don't want to see other companies go through what we've gone through."
NBC News researcher Alex Hosenball contributed to this story.
VIRGINIA GOV. BOB MCDONNELL & TERRY MCAULIFFE'S NATIONAL SECURITY THREATS & CHINESE EXPORT/SHIPPING VIOLATIONS PERSIST IN LIGHT OF CONTINUING INVESTIGATIONS INTO SMITHFIELD FOODS ACQUISITION BY THE CHINESE
Posted on 12:10 by Unknown
VIRGINIA GOV. BOB MCDONNELL & TERRY MCAULIFFE'S NATIONAL SECURITY THREATS & CHINESE EXPORT/SHIPPING VIOLATIONS PERSIST IN LIGHT OF CONTINUING INVESTIGATIONS INTO SMITHFIELD FOODS ACQUISITION BY THE CHINESE
By Michael Welles Shapiro, mwshapiro@dailypress.com, 08/13/13
CHESAPEAKE — In town to talk about policy achievements and new business for the state, Gov. Bob McDonnell was nevertheless peppered with questions about a gift scandal that has cast a cloud over the end of his term.
The governor visited a Virginia Beach bakery Tuesday morning, spoke at a Portsmouth community college and was preparing to announce an exporting contract worth around $100 million between Perdue AgriBusiness' Chesapeake terminal and a Chinese firm as part of an 20-plus-city statewide tour to turn the narrative of his final months in office back to public policy.
Still, during a call-in talk radio show in Norfolk before those events, McDonnell reminded listeners he has apologized. "The public trust had been somewhat undermined," he acknowledged, by a series of revelations that a wealthy campaign donor gave high-dollar gifts to McDonnell family members and tens of thousands of dollars' worth of loans to a real estate company he co-owns with his sister.
He told reporters outside Sugar Plum Café later that the donor, Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams, and his company had received no preferential treatment or state money as a result of the gifts and loans, which have been returned and repaid.
Though Williams or Star Scientific employees were granted audiences with members of McDonnell's administration, McDonnell insisted that those meetings were hardly out of the ordinary.
Three meetings were mentioned in a report put together by Anthony F. Troy, a former attorney general who was appointed by Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to represent McDonnell in legal matters related to a state inquiry into the gifts.
"Governors listen to people, whether a person's a contributor … or a food bank," he said. "Nobody receives special treatment."
Perdue deal
McDonnell was scheduled to finish his Hampton Roads swing with a big international trade deal that will push 8 million bushels of soybeans through a private Port of Virginia shipping terminal to China.
An aide said the deal was negotiated during a recent trade trip to China and, assuming the current $12-a-bushel price for soybeans holds, it will be worth roughly $96 million.
The deal, which covers the 2013-2014 harvest, is between Perdue and a Chinese company called the Jiusan Oils & Grains Industries Group Co.
It takes four giant Panamax-size ships to carry 8 million bushels of soybeans, the aide said.
By Michael Welles Shapiro, mwshapiro@dailypress.com, 08/13/13
CHESAPEAKE — In town to talk about policy achievements and new business for the state, Gov. Bob McDonnell was nevertheless peppered with questions about a gift scandal that has cast a cloud over the end of his term.
The governor visited a Virginia Beach bakery Tuesday morning, spoke at a Portsmouth community college and was preparing to announce an exporting contract worth around $100 million between Perdue AgriBusiness' Chesapeake terminal and a Chinese firm as part of an 20-plus-city statewide tour to turn the narrative of his final months in office back to public policy.
Still, during a call-in talk radio show in Norfolk before those events, McDonnell reminded listeners he has apologized. "The public trust had been somewhat undermined," he acknowledged, by a series of revelations that a wealthy campaign donor gave high-dollar gifts to McDonnell family members and tens of thousands of dollars' worth of loans to a real estate company he co-owns with his sister.
He told reporters outside Sugar Plum Café later that the donor, Star Scientific CEO Jonnie Williams, and his company had received no preferential treatment or state money as a result of the gifts and loans, which have been returned and repaid.
Though Williams or Star Scientific employees were granted audiences with members of McDonnell's administration, McDonnell insisted that those meetings were hardly out of the ordinary.
Three meetings were mentioned in a report put together by Anthony F. Troy, a former attorney general who was appointed by Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to represent McDonnell in legal matters related to a state inquiry into the gifts.
"Governors listen to people, whether a person's a contributor … or a food bank," he said. "Nobody receives special treatment."
Perdue deal
McDonnell was scheduled to finish his Hampton Roads swing with a big international trade deal that will push 8 million bushels of soybeans through a private Port of Virginia shipping terminal to China.
An aide said the deal was negotiated during a recent trade trip to China and, assuming the current $12-a-bushel price for soybeans holds, it will be worth roughly $96 million.
The deal, which covers the 2013-2014 harvest, is between Perdue and a Chinese company called the Jiusan Oils & Grains Industries Group Co.
It takes four giant Panamax-size ships to carry 8 million bushels of soybeans, the aide said.
NRA OPENS NEW NATIONAL MUSEUM IN MISSOURI SHOWING THOUSANDS OF FIREARMS
Posted on 11:33 by Unknown
ILLINOIS STATE RIFLE ASSOCIATION TURNS FOCUS ON BLOOMBERG & ILLINOIS MAYORS
Posted on 11:21 by Unknown
ILLINOIS STATE RIFLE ASSOCIATION TURNS FOCUS ON BLOOMBERG & ILLINOIS MAYORS
August 13, 2013, ILLINOIS REVIEW
State Rifle Association turns focus on Bloomberg and Illinois mayors - Illinois Review
The Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) is taking on Illinois suburban and small town mayors that are members of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's "Mayors Against Illegal Guns" (MAIG). As part of ISRA's new constituent information campaign, it has delivered thousands of information packets to firearm owners residing in communities whose mayors belong to MAIG.
Along with informing recipients that their mayors are members of Bloomberg's MAIG, it explains the organization's mission, which it says is the spread New York style gun control across the United States. The packets instruct gun owners to contact their mayors and encourage them to follow the lead of their colleagues by quitting their membership in the MAIG organization.
"Every mayor wants to reduce violent crime in his or her jurisdiction," said ISRA Executive Director, Richard Pearson. "Bloomberg and his organizers preyed upon that desire by establishing a gun control organization having a title that is cynically misleading to those newly introduced to MAIG. Peering just slightly beneath the surface reveals that the MAIG agenda extends well beyond combating illegal arms trafficking. In fact, the MAIG agenda is peppered with extremist schemes that, if implemented, would render civilian firearm ownership too impractical and too expensive for most citizens to even consider."
"Although most Illinois MAIG members serve communities with high rates of firearm ownership, it is easy to see how the misleading name could bamboozle well-meaning mayors into joining Bloomberg's organization," continued Pearson. "When constituents begin telling these mayors about the true purpose of MAIG, I'm sure the membership rolls will shrink even further. I honestly don't see many of these mayors sticking with an organization that claims that the Boston Marathon bombers are victims of 'gun violence.' I really don't think that many of these mayors will want to be seen affiliated with an organization that claims that a citizen does not have a right to shoot an attacker armed with an axe."
"This information program is just a first step," said Pearson. "The ISRA will make sure that gun owners continue to prod mayors to give up membership in MAIG –even if it means that this effort carries over into re-election campaigns."
August 13, 2013, ILLINOIS REVIEW
State Rifle Association turns focus on Bloomberg and Illinois mayors - Illinois Review
The Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) is taking on Illinois suburban and small town mayors that are members of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's "Mayors Against Illegal Guns" (MAIG). As part of ISRA's new constituent information campaign, it has delivered thousands of information packets to firearm owners residing in communities whose mayors belong to MAIG.
Along with informing recipients that their mayors are members of Bloomberg's MAIG, it explains the organization's mission, which it says is the spread New York style gun control across the United States. The packets instruct gun owners to contact their mayors and encourage them to follow the lead of their colleagues by quitting their membership in the MAIG organization.
"Every mayor wants to reduce violent crime in his or her jurisdiction," said ISRA Executive Director, Richard Pearson. "Bloomberg and his organizers preyed upon that desire by establishing a gun control organization having a title that is cynically misleading to those newly introduced to MAIG. Peering just slightly beneath the surface reveals that the MAIG agenda extends well beyond combating illegal arms trafficking. In fact, the MAIG agenda is peppered with extremist schemes that, if implemented, would render civilian firearm ownership too impractical and too expensive for most citizens to even consider."
"Although most Illinois MAIG members serve communities with high rates of firearm ownership, it is easy to see how the misleading name could bamboozle well-meaning mayors into joining Bloomberg's organization," continued Pearson. "When constituents begin telling these mayors about the true purpose of MAIG, I'm sure the membership rolls will shrink even further. I honestly don't see many of these mayors sticking with an organization that claims that the Boston Marathon bombers are victims of 'gun violence.' I really don't think that many of these mayors will want to be seen affiliated with an organization that claims that a citizen does not have a right to shoot an attacker armed with an axe."
"This information program is just a first step," said Pearson. "The ISRA will make sure that gun owners continue to prod mayors to give up membership in MAIG –even if it means that this effort carries over into re-election campaigns."
U.S.A. AIR FORCE APPEALS COURT OVERTURNS DEATH SENTENCE FOR ONLY U.S.A. AIRMAN ON DEATH ROW
Posted on 11:10 by Unknown
U.S.A. AIR FORCE APPEALS COURT OVERTURNS DEATH SENTENCE FOR ONLY U.S.A. AIRMAN ON DEATH ROW
August 13, 2013
Savannah, Georgia --- An Air Force appeals court has overturned the death sentence of the only U.S. airman awaiting execution on the military's death row.
The Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals ruled defense attorneys for Senior Airman Andrew P. Witt failed to present critical mitigating evidence during his 2005 court-martial. It says Witt must be re-sentenced, but upheld his premeditated murder conviction in the 2004 stabbings of a fellow airman and his wife at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia.
Appeals judges ruled on Friday that Witt's lawyers ignored evidence that a head injury Witt suffered in a motorcycle crash may have affected his behavior. They also never interviewed a sheriff's deputy who says Witt broke down sobbing with remorse during a pretrial hearing.
The Air Force could appeal to a higher military court.
August 13, 2013
Savannah, Georgia --- An Air Force appeals court has overturned the death sentence of the only U.S. airman awaiting execution on the military's death row.
The Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals ruled defense attorneys for Senior Airman Andrew P. Witt failed to present critical mitigating evidence during his 2005 court-martial. It says Witt must be re-sentenced, but upheld his premeditated murder conviction in the 2004 stabbings of a fellow airman and his wife at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia.
Appeals judges ruled on Friday that Witt's lawyers ignored evidence that a head injury Witt suffered in a motorcycle crash may have affected his behavior. They also never interviewed a sheriff's deputy who says Witt broke down sobbing with remorse during a pretrial hearing.
The Air Force could appeal to a higher military court.
U.S.A. FEDERAL JUDGE IN FLORIDA RULES IN FAVOR OF PROCEEDING WITH MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR WHISTLEBLOWER RETALIATION FCA LAWSUIT AGAINST MIAMI-DADE COUNTY TRANSIT DEPARTMENT
Posted on 11:06 by Unknown
U.S.A. FEDERAL JUDGE IN FLORIDA RULES IN FAVOR OF PROCEEDING WITH MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR WHISTLEBLOWER RETALIATION FCA LAWSUIT AGAINST MIAMI-DADE COUNTY TRANSIT DEPARTMENT
August 13, 2013
A Florida federal judge on Monday denied Miami-Dade County and its transit department's motion to dismiss a former employee's whistleblower case claiming violations of the False Claims Act on federal grants worth hundreds of millions of dollars as well as retaliation against her.
August 13, 2013
A Florida federal judge on Monday denied Miami-Dade County and its transit department's motion to dismiss a former employee's whistleblower case claiming violations of the False Claims Act on federal grants worth hundreds of millions of dollars as well as retaliation against her.
CHICAGO-BASED AMERICAN MEDICAL NEWS WILL CEASE PUBLICATION
Posted on 11:03 by Unknown
ILLINOIS STATE JUDICIAL INQUIRY BOARD'S REGULATOR FILES COMPLAINT AGAINST SUSPENDED COOK COUNTY JUDGE CYNTHIA BRIM
Posted on 09:58 by Unknown
ILLINOIS STATE JUDICIAL INQUIRY BOARD'S REGULATOR FILES COMPLAINT AGAINST SUSPENDED COOK COUNTY JUDGE CYNTHIA BRIM
By Steve Schmadeke, Tribune, August 13, 2013
The state's judicial inquiry board filed a complaint today against a Cook County judge who was found not guilty by reason of insanity on battery charges last year.
Judge Cynthia Brim, who was assigned to the south suburban Markham courthouse, is charged with violating the state's code of judicial conduct by failing to respect and comply with the law and maintain order and decorum in her court proceedings. The board also alleges that Brim is "mentally unable to perform her duties unless she receives regular treatment."
Brim, who has been diagnosed with bipolar mood disorder with psychotic features, was charged in March 2012 with misdemeanor battery for shoving a deputy outside the Daley Center, a day after going on a lengthy tirade while on the bench in the Markham courthouse. She has been on what amounts to a paid suspension ever since.
While hearing a traffic call at the Markham courthouse on March 8, 2012, Brim stopped her work, sat silently for a few minutes and then told those in court that her grandmother had been raped by a white man, that the South Holland and Evergreen Park police departments were targeting blacks and Hispanics and that "justice is all about if you're black or white," according to the complaint.
The next day, she read a newspaper story about a Cook County judge who was using lots of sick leave and decided to complain to the judicial board, which disciplines judges, about what she viewed as an unfair story, according to evidence presented at her battery trial.
But she took the wrong bus and ended up on 47th Street, so she decided to make a "march for justice" up to the board's Loop offices. After walking more than five miles, she at some point went to her attorney's building but got off at the wrong floor and refused to leave a different attorney's offices.
That attorney later filed a complaint with the Judicial Inquiry Board.
Brim also went to the Daley Center. After standing in the lobby for about 15 minutes, she asked deputies if any keys had been left at the security station that day, officers testified.
She then left with a set of keys and returned a few minutes later, throwing her own keys on the floor as a protest against the unjust judicial system. Deputy Nicholas Leone testified that he noticed Brim's set included special security keys for opening courtrooms and judge's chambers in the building.
"I wanted to know why a civilian had those keys," Leone said.
Brim was walking east on Randolph Street and ignored requests from Deputy Herbert Edwards to stop, he testified.
Edwards said he finally stepped in front of her and stood his ground before she reached Dearborn Street. She then shoved him, he testified. The judge was taken to the lockup in the Daley Center's basement.
DuPage County Judge Liam Brennan &ndash who was brought in to hear the case – found Brim not guilty by reason of insanity in February.
sschmadeke@tribune.com
By Steve Schmadeke, Tribune, August 13, 2013
The state's judicial inquiry board filed a complaint today against a Cook County judge who was found not guilty by reason of insanity on battery charges last year.
Judge Cynthia Brim, who was assigned to the south suburban Markham courthouse, is charged with violating the state's code of judicial conduct by failing to respect and comply with the law and maintain order and decorum in her court proceedings. The board also alleges that Brim is "mentally unable to perform her duties unless she receives regular treatment."
Brim, who has been diagnosed with bipolar mood disorder with psychotic features, was charged in March 2012 with misdemeanor battery for shoving a deputy outside the Daley Center, a day after going on a lengthy tirade while on the bench in the Markham courthouse. She has been on what amounts to a paid suspension ever since.
While hearing a traffic call at the Markham courthouse on March 8, 2012, Brim stopped her work, sat silently for a few minutes and then told those in court that her grandmother had been raped by a white man, that the South Holland and Evergreen Park police departments were targeting blacks and Hispanics and that "justice is all about if you're black or white," according to the complaint.
The next day, she read a newspaper story about a Cook County judge who was using lots of sick leave and decided to complain to the judicial board, which disciplines judges, about what she viewed as an unfair story, according to evidence presented at her battery trial.
But she took the wrong bus and ended up on 47th Street, so she decided to make a "march for justice" up to the board's Loop offices. After walking more than five miles, she at some point went to her attorney's building but got off at the wrong floor and refused to leave a different attorney's offices.
That attorney later filed a complaint with the Judicial Inquiry Board.
Brim also went to the Daley Center. After standing in the lobby for about 15 minutes, she asked deputies if any keys had been left at the security station that day, officers testified.
She then left with a set of keys and returned a few minutes later, throwing her own keys on the floor as a protest against the unjust judicial system. Deputy Nicholas Leone testified that he noticed Brim's set included special security keys for opening courtrooms and judge's chambers in the building.
"I wanted to know why a civilian had those keys," Leone said.
Brim was walking east on Randolph Street and ignored requests from Deputy Herbert Edwards to stop, he testified.
Edwards said he finally stepped in front of her and stood his ground before she reached Dearborn Street. She then shoved him, he testified. The judge was taken to the lockup in the Daley Center's basement.
DuPage County Judge Liam Brennan &ndash who was brought in to hear the case – found Brim not guilty by reason of insanity in February.
sschmadeke@tribune.com
CANADA TO SHUT DOWN CHICAGO-BASED RAIL FIRM INVOLVED IN QUEBEC TOWN DISASTER
Posted on 09:05 by Unknown
CANADA TO SHUT DOWN CHICAGO-BASED RAIL FIRM INVOLVED IN QUEBEC TOWN DISASTER
August 13, 2013
OTTAWA (Reuters) - The rail firm involved in a tanker train disaster that killed 47 people in a Quebec town last month will be shut down because it does not have enough insurance to cover clean-up costs and other damages, a Canadian government agency said on Tuesday.
The Canadian Transportation Agency said it would suspend the operating license of Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway (MMA) and its Canadian subsidiary from August 20 to give the firms "time to arrange for the orderly cessation of their operations in Canada".
MMA filed for bankruptcy protection in Canada and the United States last week in the wake of the July 6 derailment and crash of a runaway train laden with oil. The resulting explosions and wall of fire obliterated the center of lakeside Lac-Megantic.
In the filing, the company said its insurance covered liabilities up to C$25 million ($24.2 million), far too little to cover clean-up costs that could exceed C$200 million.
The CTA - an independent government body that acts as an economic regulator - said it had contacted MMA and its Canadian MMAC subsidiary to ensure they continued to hold adequate third party liability insurance. But the agency was not satisfied with the response, said Geoff Hare, CTA's chief executive officer.
"It would not be prudent, given the risks associated with rail operations, to permit MMA and MMAC to continue to operate without adequate insurance coverage," Hare said in a statement.
A spokeswoman for MMA Chairman Ed Burkhardt said he was unaware of the agency's move.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Janet Guttsman, Jackie Frank and Paul Simao)
August 13, 2013
OTTAWA (Reuters) - The rail firm involved in a tanker train disaster that killed 47 people in a Quebec town last month will be shut down because it does not have enough insurance to cover clean-up costs and other damages, a Canadian government agency said on Tuesday.
The Canadian Transportation Agency said it would suspend the operating license of Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway (MMA) and its Canadian subsidiary from August 20 to give the firms "time to arrange for the orderly cessation of their operations in Canada".
MMA filed for bankruptcy protection in Canada and the United States last week in the wake of the July 6 derailment and crash of a runaway train laden with oil. The resulting explosions and wall of fire obliterated the center of lakeside Lac-Megantic.
In the filing, the company said its insurance covered liabilities up to C$25 million ($24.2 million), far too little to cover clean-up costs that could exceed C$200 million.
The CTA - an independent government body that acts as an economic regulator - said it had contacted MMA and its Canadian MMAC subsidiary to ensure they continued to hold adequate third party liability insurance. But the agency was not satisfied with the response, said Geoff Hare, CTA's chief executive officer.
"It would not be prudent, given the risks associated with rail operations, to permit MMA and MMAC to continue to operate without adequate insurance coverage," Hare said in a statement.
A spokeswoman for MMA Chairman Ed Burkhardt said he was unaware of the agency's move.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Janet Guttsman, Jackie Frank and Paul Simao)
U.S.A. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FILES ANTI-TRUST LAWSUIT CHALLENGING PROPOSED MERGER BETWEEN US AIRWAYS & AMERICAN AIRLINES
Posted on 08:50 by Unknown
U.S.A. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE FILES ANTI-TRUST LAWSUIT CHALLENGING PROPOSED MERGER BETWEEN US AIRWAYS & AMERICAN AIRLINES
August 13, 2013
Merger Would Result in U.S. Consumers Paying Higher Airfares and Receiving Less Service; Lawsuit Seeks to Maintain Competition in the Airline Industry
The Department of Justice, six state attorneys general and the District of Columbia filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today challenging the proposed $11 billion merger between US Airways Group Inc. and American Airlines’ parent corporation, AMR Corp. The department said that the merger, which would result in the creation of the world’s largest airline, would substantially lessen competition for commercial air travel in local markets throughout the United States and result in passengers paying higher airfares and receiving less service.
The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, along with the attorneys general, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which seeks to prevent the companies from merging and to preserve the existing head-to-head competition between the firms that the transaction would eliminate. The participating attorneys general are: Texas, where American Airlines is headquartered; Arizona, where US Airways is headquartered; Florida; the District of Columbia; Pennsylvania; Tennessee; and Virginia.
“Airline travel is vital to millions of American consumers who fly regularly for either business or pleasure,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “By challenging this merger, the Department of Justice is saying that the American people deserve better. This transaction would result in consumers paying the price – in higher airfares, higher fees and fewer choices. Today’s action proves our determination to fight for the best interests of consumers by ensuring robust competition in the marketplace.”
Last year, business and leisure airline travelers spent more than $70 billion on airfare for travel throughout the United States. In recent years, major airlines have, in tandem, raised fares, imposed new and higher fees and reduced service, the department said.
“The department sued to block this merger because it would eliminate competition between US Airways and American and put consumers at risk of higher prices and reduced service,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “If this merger goes forward, even a small increase in the price of airline tickets, checked bags or flight change fees would result in hundreds of millions of dollars of harm to American consumers. Both airlines have stated they can succeed on a standalone basis and consumers deserve the benefit of that continuing competitive dynamic.”
American and US Airways compete directly on more than a thousand routes where one or both offer connecting service, representing tens of billions of dollars in annual revenues. They engage in head-to-head competition with nonstop service on routes worth about $2 billion in annual route-wide revenues. Eliminating this head-to-head competition would give the merged airline the incentive and ability to raise airfares, the department said in its complaint.
According to the department’s complaint, the vast majority of domestic airline routes are already highly concentrated. The merger would create the largest airline in the world and result in four airlines controlling more than 80 percent of the United States commercial air travel market.
The merger would also entrench the merged airline as the dominant carrier at Washington Reagan National Airport, with control of 69 percent of the take-off and landing slots. The merged airline would have a monopoly on 63 percent of the nonstop routes served out of Reagan National airport. As a result, Washington, D.C., area passengers would likely see higher prices and fewer choices if the merger is allowed, the department said in its complaint. Blocking the merger will preserve current competition and service, including flights that US Airways currently offers from Washington’s Reagan National Airport.
The complaint also describes how, in recent years, the major airlines have succeeded in raising prices, imposing new fees and reducing service. The complaint quotes several public statements by senior US Airways executives directly attributing this trend to a reduction in the number of competitors in the U.S. market:
· President Scott Kirby said, “Three successful fare increases – [we are] able to pass along to customers because of consolidation.” · At an industry conference in 2012, Kirby said, “Consolidation has also…allowed the industry to do things like ancillary revenues…. That is a structural permanent change to the industry and one that’s impossible to overstate the benefit from it.” · As US Airways CEO Parker stated in February 2013, combining US Airways and American would be “ the last major piece needed to fully rationalize the industry.” · A US Airways document said that capacity reductions have “enabled” fare increases.
“The merger of these two important competitors will just make things worse –exacerbating current airline industry trends toward reduced service, increasing fares and increasing passenger fees,” added Baer.
As the complaint describes, absent the merger, US Airways and American will continue to provide important competitive constraints on each other and on other airlines. Today, US Airways competes vigorously for price-conscious travelers by offering discounts of up to 40 percent for connecting flights on other airlines’ nonstop routes under its Advantage Fares program. The other legacy airlines – American, Delta and United – routinely match the nonstop fares where they offer connecting service in order to avoid inciting costly fare wars. The Advantage Fares strategy has been successful for US Airways because its network is different from the networks of the larger carriers. If the proposed merger is completed, the combined airline’s network will look more like the existing American, Delta and United networks, and as a result, the Advantage Fares program will likely be eliminated, resulting in higher prices and less services for consumers. An internal analysis at American in October 2012, concluded, “The [Advantage Fares] program would have to be eliminated in a merger with American, as American’s large, nonstop markets would now be susceptible to reactionary pricing from Delta and United.” And, another American executive said that same month, “The industry will force alignment to a single approach–one that aligns with the large legacy carriers as it is revenue maximizing.” By ending the Advantage Fares program, the merger would eliminate lower fares for millions of consumers, the department said.
The complaint also alleges that the merger is likely to result in higher ancillary fees, such as fees charged for checked bags and flight changes. In recent years, the airlines have introduced fees for those services, which were previously included in the price of a ticket. These fees have become huge profit centers for the airlines. In 2012, domestic airlines generated more than $6 billion in fees from checked bags and flight changes alone. The legacy carriers often match each other when one introduces or increases a fee, and if others do not match the initiating carrier tends to withdraw the change. By reducing the number of airlines, the merger will likely make it easier for the remaining carriers to coordinate fee increases, resulting in higher fees for consumers.
The department also said that the merger will make coordination easier among the legacy carriers. Although low-cost carriers such as Southwest and JetBlue offer consumers many benefits, they fly to fewer locations and are unlikely to be able to constrain the coordinated behavior among those carriers.
American Airlines is currently operating in bankruptcy. Absent the merger, American is likely to exit bankruptcy as a vigorous competitor, with strong incentives to grow to better compete with Delta and United, the department said. American recently made the largest aircraft order in industry history, and its post-bankruptcy standalone plan called for increasing both the number of flights and the number of destinations served by those flights at each of its hubs.
The department’s complaint describes US Airways executives’ fear of American’s standalone growth plan as “industry destabilizing.” The complaint states that US Airways worries that American’s growth plan would cause “others” to react “with their own enhanced growth plans…,” and that the resulting effect would increase competitive pressures throughout the industry. The department said the merger will allow US Airways’ management to abandon these aggressive growth plans and continue the industry’s current trend toward higher prices and less service.
The department’s complaint states that executives of both airlines have repeatedly said that they do not need the merger to succeed. The complaint states that US Airways’ CEO observed in December 2011, that “A[merican] is not going away, they will be stronger post-bankruptcy because they will have less debt and reduced labor costs.” US Airways’ executive vice president wrote in July 2012, that, “There is NO question about AMR’s ability to survive on a standalone basis.” And, as recently as January 2013, American’s management presented plans that would increase the destinations it serves in the United States and the frequency of its flights, and would position American to compete independently as a profitable airline with aggressive plans for growth.
AMR is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Fort Worth, Texas. AMR is the parent company of American Airlines. Last year American flew more than 80 million passengers to more than 250 destinations worldwide and took in more than $24 billion in revenue. In November 2011, American filed for bankruptcy reorganization.
US Airways is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Tempe, Ariz. Last year US Airways flew more than 50 million passengers to more than 200 destinations worldwide and took in more than $13 billion in revenue.
August 13, 2013
Merger Would Result in U.S. Consumers Paying Higher Airfares and Receiving Less Service; Lawsuit Seeks to Maintain Competition in the Airline Industry
The Department of Justice, six state attorneys general and the District of Columbia filed a civil antitrust lawsuit today challenging the proposed $11 billion merger between US Airways Group Inc. and American Airlines’ parent corporation, AMR Corp. The department said that the merger, which would result in the creation of the world’s largest airline, would substantially lessen competition for commercial air travel in local markets throughout the United States and result in passengers paying higher airfares and receiving less service.
The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, along with the attorneys general, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, which seeks to prevent the companies from merging and to preserve the existing head-to-head competition between the firms that the transaction would eliminate. The participating attorneys general are: Texas, where American Airlines is headquartered; Arizona, where US Airways is headquartered; Florida; the District of Columbia; Pennsylvania; Tennessee; and Virginia.
“Airline travel is vital to millions of American consumers who fly regularly for either business or pleasure,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “By challenging this merger, the Department of Justice is saying that the American people deserve better. This transaction would result in consumers paying the price – in higher airfares, higher fees and fewer choices. Today’s action proves our determination to fight for the best interests of consumers by ensuring robust competition in the marketplace.”
Last year, business and leisure airline travelers spent more than $70 billion on airfare for travel throughout the United States. In recent years, major airlines have, in tandem, raised fares, imposed new and higher fees and reduced service, the department said.
“The department sued to block this merger because it would eliminate competition between US Airways and American and put consumers at risk of higher prices and reduced service,” said Bill Baer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. “If this merger goes forward, even a small increase in the price of airline tickets, checked bags or flight change fees would result in hundreds of millions of dollars of harm to American consumers. Both airlines have stated they can succeed on a standalone basis and consumers deserve the benefit of that continuing competitive dynamic.”
American and US Airways compete directly on more than a thousand routes where one or both offer connecting service, representing tens of billions of dollars in annual revenues. They engage in head-to-head competition with nonstop service on routes worth about $2 billion in annual route-wide revenues. Eliminating this head-to-head competition would give the merged airline the incentive and ability to raise airfares, the department said in its complaint.
According to the department’s complaint, the vast majority of domestic airline routes are already highly concentrated. The merger would create the largest airline in the world and result in four airlines controlling more than 80 percent of the United States commercial air travel market.
The merger would also entrench the merged airline as the dominant carrier at Washington Reagan National Airport, with control of 69 percent of the take-off and landing slots. The merged airline would have a monopoly on 63 percent of the nonstop routes served out of Reagan National airport. As a result, Washington, D.C., area passengers would likely see higher prices and fewer choices if the merger is allowed, the department said in its complaint. Blocking the merger will preserve current competition and service, including flights that US Airways currently offers from Washington’s Reagan National Airport.
The complaint also describes how, in recent years, the major airlines have succeeded in raising prices, imposing new fees and reducing service. The complaint quotes several public statements by senior US Airways executives directly attributing this trend to a reduction in the number of competitors in the U.S. market:
· President Scott Kirby said, “Three successful fare increases – [we are] able to pass along to customers because of consolidation.” · At an industry conference in 2012, Kirby said, “Consolidation has also…allowed the industry to do things like ancillary revenues…. That is a structural permanent change to the industry and one that’s impossible to overstate the benefit from it.” · As US Airways CEO Parker stated in February 2013, combining US Airways and American would be “ the last major piece needed to fully rationalize the industry.” · A US Airways document said that capacity reductions have “enabled” fare increases.
“The merger of these two important competitors will just make things worse –exacerbating current airline industry trends toward reduced service, increasing fares and increasing passenger fees,” added Baer.
As the complaint describes, absent the merger, US Airways and American will continue to provide important competitive constraints on each other and on other airlines. Today, US Airways competes vigorously for price-conscious travelers by offering discounts of up to 40 percent for connecting flights on other airlines’ nonstop routes under its Advantage Fares program. The other legacy airlines – American, Delta and United – routinely match the nonstop fares where they offer connecting service in order to avoid inciting costly fare wars. The Advantage Fares strategy has been successful for US Airways because its network is different from the networks of the larger carriers. If the proposed merger is completed, the combined airline’s network will look more like the existing American, Delta and United networks, and as a result, the Advantage Fares program will likely be eliminated, resulting in higher prices and less services for consumers. An internal analysis at American in October 2012, concluded, “The [Advantage Fares] program would have to be eliminated in a merger with American, as American’s large, nonstop markets would now be susceptible to reactionary pricing from Delta and United.” And, another American executive said that same month, “The industry will force alignment to a single approach–one that aligns with the large legacy carriers as it is revenue maximizing.” By ending the Advantage Fares program, the merger would eliminate lower fares for millions of consumers, the department said.
The complaint also alleges that the merger is likely to result in higher ancillary fees, such as fees charged for checked bags and flight changes. In recent years, the airlines have introduced fees for those services, which were previously included in the price of a ticket. These fees have become huge profit centers for the airlines. In 2012, domestic airlines generated more than $6 billion in fees from checked bags and flight changes alone. The legacy carriers often match each other when one introduces or increases a fee, and if others do not match the initiating carrier tends to withdraw the change. By reducing the number of airlines, the merger will likely make it easier for the remaining carriers to coordinate fee increases, resulting in higher fees for consumers.
The department also said that the merger will make coordination easier among the legacy carriers. Although low-cost carriers such as Southwest and JetBlue offer consumers many benefits, they fly to fewer locations and are unlikely to be able to constrain the coordinated behavior among those carriers.
American Airlines is currently operating in bankruptcy. Absent the merger, American is likely to exit bankruptcy as a vigorous competitor, with strong incentives to grow to better compete with Delta and United, the department said. American recently made the largest aircraft order in industry history, and its post-bankruptcy standalone plan called for increasing both the number of flights and the number of destinations served by those flights at each of its hubs.
The department’s complaint describes US Airways executives’ fear of American’s standalone growth plan as “industry destabilizing.” The complaint states that US Airways worries that American’s growth plan would cause “others” to react “with their own enhanced growth plans…,” and that the resulting effect would increase competitive pressures throughout the industry. The department said the merger will allow US Airways’ management to abandon these aggressive growth plans and continue the industry’s current trend toward higher prices and less service.
The department’s complaint states that executives of both airlines have repeatedly said that they do not need the merger to succeed. The complaint states that US Airways’ CEO observed in December 2011, that “A[merican] is not going away, they will be stronger post-bankruptcy because they will have less debt and reduced labor costs.” US Airways’ executive vice president wrote in July 2012, that, “There is NO question about AMR’s ability to survive on a standalone basis.” And, as recently as January 2013, American’s management presented plans that would increase the destinations it serves in the United States and the frequency of its flights, and would position American to compete independently as a profitable airline with aggressive plans for growth.
AMR is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Fort Worth, Texas. AMR is the parent company of American Airlines. Last year American flew more than 80 million passengers to more than 250 destinations worldwide and took in more than $24 billion in revenue. In November 2011, American filed for bankruptcy reorganization.
US Airways is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Tempe, Ariz. Last year US Airways flew more than 50 million passengers to more than 200 destinations worldwide and took in more than $13 billion in revenue.
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