DOJ MONITORS OHIO ELECTIONS TO ENSURE VOTER'S RIGHTS

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Justice Department to Monitor Elections in Ohio

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that the Civil Rights Division will monitor elections today in Cuyahoga, Hamilton and Lorain Counties, Ohio.  The monitoring will ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Help America Vote Act of 2002.  The Voting Rights Act prohibits discrimination in the election process on the basis of race, color or membership in a minority language group.  The Help America Vote Act includes requirements regarding provisional ballots during elections for federal office.

Under the Voting Rights Act, the Justice Department is authorized to ask the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to send federal observers to jurisdictions that are certified by the attorney general or by a federal court order.  Federal observers will be assigned to monitor polling place activities in Cuyahoga and Lorain Counties based on court orders.  The observers will watch and record activities during voting hours at polling locations, and Civil Rights Division attorneys will coordinate the federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.

In addition, Justice Department personnel will monitor polling place activities in Hamilton County.  A Civil Rights Division attorney will coordinate federal activities and maintain contact with local election officials.

Each year, the Justice Department deploys hundreds of federal observers from OPM, as well as departmental staff, to monitor elections across the country.  To file complaints about discriminatory voting practices, including acts of harassment or intimidation, voters may call the Voting Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division at 1-800-253-3931."

The above excerpt is from the Justice Department website:

DHHS WARNING ABOUT BINGE DRINKING

The following excerpt is from the Department of Health and Human Services website:

“HHS HealthBeat (February 29, 2012)
On the binge
Researchers say about 1 in 6 adults binge drinks. For a man, this means five or more drinks in a session; for a woman, four or more. If you think that’s a lot for one time, the scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would agree.
The CDC’s Dafna Kanny says binge drinking is dangerous but has not gotten its full recognition as a health and social problem:
“There are short and long-term effects of binge drinking, such as motor vehicle crashes, risky sexual behaviors, and interpersonal violence. Over time, binge drinking increases the risk of other serious health problems, including cancers, heart disease and liver failure.”

A POW'S ADVISE: HOW TO HANDLE RETURNING HOME

The following excerpt is from a Department of Defense American Forces Press Release Service e-mail:

Face of Defense: Former POW Shares Reintegration Tips
By Bo Joyner
Air Force Reserve Command Public Affairs
“SAN DIEGO, March 2, 2012 - Having spent more than five years in prisoner-of-war camps during the Vietnam War, Lee Ellis knows how difficult it is to reconnect with family and friends after a long military separation.

Ellis shared his experiences and tips for reintegration with about 450 Air Force reservists and their family members here during a Feb. 25-26 Yellow Ribbon event.
"War damages you," Ellis, a retired Air Force colonel, told his audience. "It damages you mentally, emotionally, spiritually. Except for anger, I know I totally shut down emotionally while I was a POW. That works great during war, but it doesn't work when you get back home. You have to reconnect with your emotions when you get home."
Ellis said there were some challenges connecting with his family and friends until he was able to reconnect with his own emotions.

"I was not always easy to live with," he recalled. "I was controlling. I was hyper-vigilant. I was hyper-sensitive to criticism. And I was also dealing with feelings of guilt because a lot of my friends never made it home. It took a lot of time to get a handle on all of the things I was feeling and to reconnect with the people who were closest to me."
Ellis urged the reservists on hand, all of whom are either facing a deployment in the near future or are just returning from a deployment, to be patient when they begin the reintegration process.

"Don't expect perfection," he said. "It's going to take some time for things to be the same way they were before you left, but you will get there."
Ellis also encouraged the reservists and their family members to have a support system in place.

"The Navy SEALs have a saying that they never fight alone, and you shouldn't try to fight this battle alone," he said. "You need to have someone in your life you can tell anything to, someone who can help you deal with the emotions you are going to be feeling when you get home from your deployment or when your loved one gets home. And if you don't have someone like that, you need to know there are a lot of resources available right at your fingertips."

Like other Yellow Ribbon events held throughout the country each year, the event in San Diego was designed to let reservists and their family members know exactly what helping resources are at their disposal.

"Our main goal is to let our people know help is available and how to find it," said Mary Hill, the director of Air Force Reserve Command's Yellow Ribbon program. "We have chaplains, military family life consultants, psychological health advocates, [Veterans Administration] specialists and a host of other experts on hand at every Yellow Ribbon event to help reservists and their family members deal with any problems they may be experiencing.

"Things have changed quite a bit since Colonel Ellis came home from the Hanoi Hilton," she continued. "We're doing a lot more to try and take care of those who serve and those who support."

Ellis was 24 years old and flying his 53rd combat mission over enemy territory when his F-4C Phantom jet was taken down by enemy fire. He spent the next five-and-a-half years in various prisons, including the infamous Hanoi Hilton. He spent his first year in a 6 1/2-by-7-foot cell with three other prisoners, surviving on a diet of either pumpkin or cabbage soup and bread.

"We had a strategy for resistance based on the power of honor," Ellis said. That strategy, he said, revolved around being willing to take torture to resist, realizing that everyone can be broken, minimizing the enemy's net gain, bouncing back, and staying united through communications.

Ellis said he and his fellow POWs developed a tap code and a hand code so they could keep in touch with each other during long periods of separation.
"Communication was critical," he said. "Being able to communicate with the people in the adjoining cells helped us be more resilient and let us know we could get through most anything."

Ellis said another thing that helped tremendously during his confinement and in his reintegration into life back home was the fact that toward the end of his time as a POW he was moved into a large holding area with 55 other prisoners.

"During those last few months, the torture stopped, and we were grouped together," he said. "This gave us some time to decompress before we went home. Today, I don't think we get a lot of time to decompress, and it makes it a little harder to reintegrate into society."

After his return home from the Hanoi Hilton, Ellis went back to flying and assumed positions of leadership, including flying squadron commander. He was awarded two Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star with valor device, the Purple Heart and the POW Medal. He retired with 24 years of service.

Reservists who are facing a deployment or who have recently returned from a deployment are eligible to attend a Yellow Ribbon event. For more information, they should contact their unit's Yellow Ribbon representative.”

FEMA MOBILIZES FOR THE LATEST WEATHER DISASTERS

The following excerpt is from the FEMA website:

"WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) remains in close contact with emergency officials in states across the country impacted by the recent severe storms to ensure quick support to address any unmet needs as they are identified.  FEMA has deployed disaster assessment teams to work alongside state partners to evaluate the damage.  

“I commend local and state first responders for their diligent and tireless efforts to protect lives and provide immediate assistance in the aftermath of these storms. Our priority continues to be to support local efforts to protect residents and communities,” said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. “This week, FEMA has teams on the ground to support states, local governments and voluntary agencies in their efforts to assess the damages resulting from last week’s devastating storms.  FEMA also has teams providing support to emergency operations centers and is prepared to deploy additional teams and resources if needed by the states.”

At the request of the states, FEMA has deployed teams to support preliminary damage assessments in Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia.  FEMA teams deployed to Missouri last week, and completed joint damage assessments this past weekend.  These assessments are an important step in identifying the damages in impacted counties and will help the governor determine if additional federal support will be requested.   

FEMA’s regional administrators continue to be in touch with state and emergency management officials in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee.  FEMA has teams on the ground in hard hit areas and is prepared to deploy additional teams and resources, if needed by the states. Regional Administrator Phil May is on the ground in Kentucky, to meet with Emergency Management Director John W. Heltzel for updates on the state response efforts there.

FEMA has also proactively deployed liaisons to the Indiana and Kentucky Emergency Operations Centers to provide support to the states and to assist in coordination efforts as the states continue to respond to the recent storms.  Incident Management Assistance Teams are on site in Indiana and Kentucky, a Mobile Emergency Response Support team is on site in Kentucky and community relations teams have also been proactively deployed to Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia to assist with situational awareness following the storms in support of the state and governor, as requested. 

The U.S. Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Distress Helpline is available for those impacted by the storms.  Trained and resourced crisis counselors can be reached 24/7 from anywhere in the impacted region by calling 1-800-985-5990 or texting 'TalkWithUs' to 66746.  More information is available at www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/emres/tornado.html.

For more information on FEMA and the federal coordination in support of states’ response efforts for the recent storms, visitwww.fema.gov/blog.  

Follow FEMA online at blog.fema.gov, www.twitter.com/fema, www.facebook.com/fema, and www.youtube.com/fema.  Also, follow Administrator Craig Fugate's activities at www.twitter.com/craigatfema. 

The social media links provided are for reference only. FEMA does not endorse any non-government websites, companies or applications. 

FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards."

MSHA FINDS MASSEY ENERGY SAFETY VIOLATIONS CAUSED MINE EXPLOSION

The following excerpt is from the U.S. Department of Labor

MSHA internal review team releases report on agency's actions prior to UBB blast

“ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today released the results of its internal review of the agency's actions prior to the April 5, 2010, explosion that killed 29 miners at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County, W.Va. The internal review team, comprised of MSHA employees outside the district where the accident occurred, was charged with evaluating agency actions relative to the explosion and making recommendations to improve the agency's performance in order to better protect the nation's miners.

The team not only focused on MSHA enforcement and plan approval activities during the 18 months preceding the explosion, it looked much deeper. Where appropriate, it also evaluated the effectiveness of MSHA standards, regulations, policies and procedures in addressing the hazards that caused or contributed to the disaster.

"I directed my staff to conduct the most comprehensive internal review that has ever been done at MSHA, and I feel confident they have achieved that objective," said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. "Their final report is the culmination of nearly two years of a singularly focused effort, including interviews with nearly 90 current and former MSHA employees, and the examination of more than 12,500 pages of documents."

According to the accident investigation team's findings, which were released last December, Massey Energy, then-owner of UBB, violated widely recognized safety standards and failed to prevent or correct numerous hazards that ultimately caused the catastrophic explosion by using advance notice of inspections and intimidation of miners to hide violations from federal inspectors. Three independent reports corroborated MSHA's conclusions.

 

"While there was no evidence linking the actions of MSHA employees to this tragedy, we found instances where enforcement efforts at UBB were compromised because MSHA and District 4 did not follow established agency policies and procedures," said internal review team leader George Fesak.

The internal review team identified a number of shortcomings in the inspection and plan approval processes:

Due to inspectors' lack of MSHA experience, insufficient training, inadequate supervisory and managerial oversight, and deficiencies in the directives system, which disseminates written policies and procedures, District 4 personnel did not comply with all policies and procedures applicable to MSHA inspections, investigations and mine plan reviews.

Inspectors did not consistently identify deficiencies in the mine operator's program for cleaning up accumulations of loose coal, coal dust and float coal dust.

Inspectors did not use the operator examination books records effectively when determining the operator's negligence in allowing identified hazards to continue unabated.

Inspectors did not identify the extent of noncompliance with rock dust standards along belt conveyors.

Inspectors did not identify significant deficiencies in the operator's ventilation and roof control plans.

District 4 personnel did not intervene as Massey manipulated MSHA procedures to avoid complying with reduced standards for respirable coal mine dust and allowed the operator to significantly delay corrective action to reduce miners' exposures to unhealthy respirable dust concentrations after overexposures were identified.

A number of factors led to these shortcomings, according to the internal review team:

Lack of resources: Budgetary constraints prior to 2006 resulted in significant reductions in the inspection workforce and, despite district efforts to re-establish staffing levels, by the time of the explosion, the inspection and supervisory staff had not fully regained the level of experience it had lost.

Inspector experience: A newly-hired trainee needs approximately two years to complete classroom and on-the-job training to become a journeyman inspector. When new inspectors were hired after 2006, there were not enough experienced inspectors to mentor them or oversee their on-the-job training. Agency experience among lead UBB inspectors during the review period ranged from 13 to 52 months.

Management turnover: Between June 2003 and July 2004, four different MSHA personnel were temporarily assigned to the district manager position in District 4.

Supervisory and managerial oversight: Supervisors did not adequately review UBB inspection reports, identify significant deficiencies or recognize that some portions of the mine had not been inspected. The turnover of supervisors in the Mt. Hope field office, including untrained acting supervisors, contributed to the inadequate review of inspection reports.

"MSHA is responsible for its actions and will address each of the problems the team has specifically identified," said Main. "We take the deficiencies and recommendations outlined in this internal review extremely seriously. In fact, shortly after the tragedy at UBB, we began aggressively implementing a number of corrective actions, some of which directly address the internal review team's findings."

Corrective actions put in place after April 2010 include:

An emergency temporary standard, which became a final rule in June 2011, that increased the minimum combustible content of mine dust to at least 80 percent throughout a coal mine.

A strengthened potential pattern of violations program to hold mine operators more accountable for safety and health conditions.

Proposed rules that would revise the agency's existing regulation for pattern of violations, address the continuing risk of coal miners' exposure to respirable coal mine dust and require improved examination of work areas by underground coal mine operators.

Impact inspections that target mines with a history of noncompliance.

Program information bulletins on compliance with ventilation regulations, illegality of advance notification, the right of miners to make hazardous condition complaints and legal protections against discrimination.

The creation of District 12 to provide additional resources in conjunction with District 4 in southern West Virginia.

Mandatory and refresher training for field office supervisors and inspectors.

Upgrading computer systems and equipment at the National Air and Dust Laboratory in Mt. Hope, W.Va.

Creating top level oversight of special enforcement initiatives, including accountability audits, impact inspections, POV and flagrant violations, and a tool on all inspectors' laptop computers to flag potentially flagrant violations.

Since the tragedy at Upper Big Branch, one former UBB security director was convicted of lying to federal investigators and ordering the destruction of evidence. Another former employee was sentenced to jail time after he was convicted of faking a mine foreman's license and lying to federal investigators. And on Feb. 22, 2012, a UBB mine superintendent was charged in a criminal information for conspiracy to defraud the United States by engaging in a conspiracy to give advance notification of mine inspections, falsify examination record books and alter the mine's ventilation system before federal inspectors were able to inspect underground.”

FDIC NOW HAS GUIDE ON CREDIT, DEBIT AND, PREPAID CARDS

The following excerpt is from the FDIC website:

“FDIC Announces a Quick Guide for Consumers on Credit, Debit and Prepaid Cards
Other Services Also Highlighted for National Consumer Protection Week
In observance of National Consumer Protection Week 2012 (NCPW), the FDIC has issued a guide to help consumers understand the differences between debit, credit and prepaid cards. The guide is intended to help consumers, who routinely use cards to pay for goods and services but who don't always understand the differences in how these cards work or the applicable consumer protections. The quick guide and an accompanying list of 10 things to know about credit, debit and prepaid cards can be found at www.fdic.gov/ncpw.
"The FDIC is committed to consumer education so that households can make informed financial decisions," said Acting Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg. "FDIC.gov is a great place to learn about matters of interest to consumers, and we are pleased now to offer this guide that consumers can refer to when choosing or using a payment card."
Also in connection with NCPW 2012, which is March 4-10, the special Web page above features other FDIC resources for consumers on a variety of topics:
"EDIE," the FDIC's Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator: An online calculator that assists consumers and businesses in determining their deposit insurance coverage for each FDIC-insured bank where they have deposit accounts. EDIE also provides a printable report showing whether those deposits are fully protected or if some exceed the federal limits.
Bank Find: The FDIC's online directory that consumers can use to locate an FDIC-insured institution, learn what happened to a bank that changed names or no longer exists, and more
Customer Assistance Form: An easy-to-use form to submit a question to the FDIC or a complaint regarding a financial institution. Consumers with questions or concerns can also call the FDIC toll-free at 1-877-ASK-FDIC, which is 1-877-275-3342.
Small Business Web Page: Useful information for small business owners, especially regarding access to loans, plus an online form to ask the FDIC a question or register a concern.
Money Smart: A financial education curriculum concentrating on the development of consumers' financial skills and positive banking relationships.
Foreclosure Prevention Toolkit: A Web page that provides easy access to helpful information for homeowners on avoiding foreclosure and foreclosure "rescue" scams.
FDIC Consumer News: The FDIC's quarterly publication for consumers offers information and tips on credit cards, bank accounts, loans, scams, money management, and much more. Consumers can also listen to articles anywhere, anytime online or by downloading them to an MP3 player.
Consumer Alerts: Warnings about financial frauds and scams.
Your Guide to Preventing and Managing Overdraft Fees: An FDIC brochure providing information and advice on overdraft fees."

USDA SECRETARY VILSACK ANNOUNCES NEW CONSERVATION PROGRAM

The following excerpt is from a U.S. Department of Agriculture e-mail:


"Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces New Conservation Reserve Program Initiative to Restore Grasslands, Wetlands and Wildlife

WASHINGTON, March 2, 2012-Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the opportunity for producers to enroll a total of 1 million acres of land in a new Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) initiative to preserve grasslands and wetlands. Vilsack will highlight the announcement later today at the Interior Department during the White House Growing America's Outdoor Heritage and Economy conference, which emphasizes the link between conservation and strong local economies through tourism, outdoor recreation, and healthy lands, waters and wildlife. The conference has attracted boaters, hunters, anglers, farmers, ranchers, land conservationists, historic preservationists, outdoor recreationists, small business owners, local governments, tribal leaders and others from across the 50 United States to discuss ways to spur and support successful conservation projects around the nation.

USDA's CRP has a 25-year legacy of successfully protecting the nation's natural resources through voluntary participation, while providing significant economic and environmental benefits to rural communities across the United States. Under the Obama Administration, USDA has enrolled more than 8 million acres in CRP. The goal of the new CRP grasslands and wetlands initiative is to increase enrollment of environmentally sensitive land through targeted signups. USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA), which administers CRP, will set aside acres within the 32-million acre program for specific enrollments that benefit duck nesting habitat, upland birds, wetlands, pollinators and wildlife.

"By focusing 1 million acres of CRP on grasslands and wetlands, this initiative will have enormous benefits for farmers, sportsmen, and all Americans," said Vilsack. "CRP is one of our nation's most valuable and vital conservation efforts, ensuring cleaner air and water, preventing soil erosion, and enhancing economic opportunity in rural America by supporting recreation and tourism. With high crop prices, this approach to target our most sensitive lands is essential if we want to maintain the substantial benefits of CRP while ensuring that productive farm lands continue to produce the food and fiber Americans and the world needs."

Rather than wait for a general sign-up (the process under which most CRP acres are enrolled), producers whose land meet eligibility criteria can enroll directly in this "continuous" category at any time. Some of the changes brought on by the expansion will take place immediately and some will be initiated in the coming months. Changes include:

New Continuous Pollinator Practice – 100,000 additional acres

A new continuous practice to permit producers to develop pollinator habitat for many pollinator species.

Increase Acreage for Wetland Restoration – 200,000 additional acres

Two practices will expand that are designed to restore wetlands that are both within a 100-year floodplain and outside of a100-year floodplain. Last year's floods were a strong reminder of the value of wetlands in absorbing storm water and slowing run-off.

Restoration of Critical Grassland Ecosystems

This initiative targets areas that can restore important habitats to protect threatened and/or endangered species, candidate species, or species of significant social/economic importance. The restoration work would be done through the following existing practices and sub-initiatives:
Increase Acreage for SAFE – 400,000 additional acres

SAFE practices provide the flexibility to meet the specific needs of high-value wildlife species in a participating state or region through higher-quality habitat. SAFE projects would be developed at the state and local level.

Increase Acreage for Duck Nesting Habitat – 150,000 additional acres

Restores wetlands and develops nesting habitat in areas deemed as the most critical waterfowl areas. Currently, there are 175,000 acres enrolled in this practice.

Increase Acreage for Upland Bird Habitat Buffers – 150,000 additional acres

Provides extremely valuable habitat for upland birds such as quail and pheasants. Currently, there are 244,000 acres enrolled in this initiative.

Provide Greater Incentives for Continuous CRP

To encourage producers to sign up their most environmentally valuable acres FSA will increase the Signing Incentive Payments (SIPs) to $150 per acre from the current level of $100 per acre. The incentive is offered on most continuous practices and will include wetland restorations, pollinators and upland bird habitat.

Recently, USDA announced two additional CRP sign-ups: a four-week general sign-up beginning on March 12 and ending on April 6; and a continuous sign-up for Highly Erodible Cropland beginning this summer, which seeks to protect the nation's most environmentally sensitive lands. The Highly Erodible Cropland initiative permits landowners to enroll up to 750,000 acres of land with an Erodibility Index (EI) of 20 or greater.

Currently, about 30 million acres are enrolled in CRP. Contracts on an estimated 6.5 million acres will expire on Sept. 30, 2012.

Over the past 25 years, farmers, ranchers, conservationists, hunters, fishermen and other outdoor enthusiasts have made CRP the largest and one of the most important in USDA's conservation portfolio. CRP is a voluntary program available to agricultural producers to help them use environmentally sensitive land for conservation benefits. Producers enrolled in CRP plant long-term, resource-conserving covers to improve the quality of water, control soil erosion and develop wildlife habitat. In return, USDA provides participants with rental payments and cost-share assistance. Contract duration is between 10 and 15 years. Producers with expiring contracts and producers with environmentally sensitive land are encouraged to evaluate their options under CRP. Producers also are encouraged to look into CRP's other enrollment opportunities offered on a continuous, non-competitive, signup basis.

Highlights of CRP include:
CRP prevents the erosion of 325 million tons of soil each year, or enough soil to fill 19.5 million dump trucks; CRP has restored more than two million acres of wetlands and two million acres of riparian buffers; Each year, CRP keeps more than 600 million pounds of nitrogen and more than 100 million pounds of phosphorous from flowing into our nation's streams, rivers, and lakes; CRP provides $1.8 billion annually to landowners-dollars that make their way into local economies, supporting small businesses and creating jobs; and CRP is the largest private lands carbon sequestration program in the country. By placing vulnerable cropland into conservation, CRP sequesters carbon in plants and soil, and reduces both fuel and fertilizer usage. In 2010, CRP resulted in carbon sequestration equal to taking almost 10 million cars off the road.

As part of President Obama's America's Great Outdoors Initiative, the Administration is opening up recreational access to lands and waters, supporting the creation of urban parks and trails, increasing youth employment in conservation jobs and making historic investments in large landscapes such as the Everglades. The initiative is empowering locally-led conservation and outdoor recreation efforts, from supporting the working landscapes of the Dakota Grasslands and the Flint Hills in Kansas, to designating the Fort Monroe National Monument in Virginia, to countless other success stories across the country.

In 2011, USDA enrolled a record number of acres of private working lands in conservation programs, working with more than 500,000 farmers and ranchers to implement conservation practices that clean the air we breathe, filter the water we drink, and prevent soil erosion. Moreover, the Obama Administration, with Agriculture Secretary Vilsack's leadership, has worked tirelessly to strengthen rural America, implement the Farm Bill, maintain a strong farm safety net, and create opportunities for America's farmers and ranchers. U.S. agriculture is currently experiencing one of its most productive periods in American history thanks to the productivity, resiliency, and resourcefulness of our producers.

HUSBAND/WIFE INSIDER TRADING PAIR RECEIVE UNFAVORABLE SUMMARY JUDGEMENT

The following excerpt is from the SEC website:

March 1, 2012
“On Wednesday, February 29, 2012, United States District Judge James R. Nowlin of the Western District of Texas, Austin Division, entered summary judgment against Austin residents Marleen Jantzen, a former assistant to an executive at Dell, Inc., and husband John Jantzen, a Commission-registered securities broker. The Commission previously charged the Jantzens with insider trading in connection with a September 21, 2009 public announcement that Dell would acquire Perot Systems, Corp. in a tender offer transaction.
The Court found that both Jantzens insider traded in violation of Sections 10(b) and 14(e) of the Exchange Act, and Rules 10b-5 and 14e-3(a) thereunder, and that Marleen Jantzen also violated Exchange Act Rule 14e-3(d). The Court enjoined the Jantzens from future violations of those provisions and ordered them to pay disgorgement of $26,920.50, representing profits gained as a result of the illegal insider trading, plus prejudgment interest. The Court deferred a final ruling on the Commission’s request for monetary penalties, pending submission of further briefing by the parties.

In granting this relief, the Court specifically found that “Marleen tipped John and took unprecedented and persistent action to ensure that they were able to maximize their informational advantage.” The Court also found that the evidence showed “a high degree of scienter, particularly with regard to John, who as a licensed securities broker certainly knew what he was doing.”

The Commission’s complaint, filed on October 5, 2010, alleged that Marleen Jantzen learned through an internal Dell email material, nonpublic information regarding Dell’s impending tender offer for the shares of Perot Systems, Inc., and thereafter tipped her husband to the inside information. The Court found that on September 18, 2009, the last trading day before the tender offer announcement, Marleen Jantzen made a highly unusual cash transfer to the couples’ joint brokerage account. Within minutes of this transfer, John Jantzen bought Perot Systems call options and stock and Dell securities in the joint account—in total, purchasing 500 shares of Perot Systems common stock and 24 Perot Systems call option contracts.

On September 21, 2009, Dell and Perot Systems jointly announced the tender offer for Perot Systems’ shares. The stock price immediately rose from $17.91 to $29.56, or approximately 65% from the prior day’s closing price. When John Jantzen cashed out that day, the couple reaped one-day trading profits of $26,920.50“.

HANNAH ROSENTHAL AND FARAH PANDITH TRAVEL TO U.K., GREECE AND, ALBANIA TO COMBAT HATE

The following excerpt is from a State Department e-mail:

“Special Envoy to Combat anti-Semitism Rosenthal and Special Representative to Muslim Communities Pandith to Travel to United Kingdom, Greece, and Albania

Media NoteOffice of the SpokespersonWashington, DC
March 5, 2012
Special Envoy to Combat and Monitor Anti-Semitism Hannah Rosenthal and Special Representative to Muslim Communities Farah Pandith will be in London on Monday, March 5 along with nine British NGOs to launch 2012 Hours Against Hate during the “Reclaiming London Together” conference sponsored by the Faiths Forum for London and the Fayre Share Organization. This initiative has been awarded two Inspire marks by the London 2012 Olympic Committee.

Following that, Special Envoy Rosenthal and Special Representative Pandith will be in Greece March 6 -7 for meetings with the Hellenic Olympic Committee to discuss their involvement in 2012 Hours Against Hate. Special Envoy Rosenthal and Special Representative Pandith will conclude their trip in Albania March 8-9 to encourage the government and civil society to adopt 2012 Hours Against Hate.”

PIONEER 10 SPACECRAFT CELEBRATES 49 YEARS IN SPACE

The picture (Left) and excerpt below are from the NASA-Ames Research Center website: 

“Ames Celebrates the 40th Anniversary of Pioneer 1002.29.12 Launched on March 2,1972, Pioneer 10 was the first spacecraft to travel through the Asteroid belt, and the first spacecraft to make direct observations and obtain close-up images of Jupiter. Famed as the most remote object ever made through most of its mission, Pioneer 10 traveled more than 8 billion miles through space in 25 years. (On Feb. 17, 1998, Voyager 1's heliocentric radial distance equaled Pioneer 10 at 69.4 AU and thereafter exceeded Pioneer 10 at the rate of 1.02 AU per year.)

Pioneer 10 made its closest encounter to Jupiter on Dec. 3, 1973, passing within 81,000 miles of the cloudtops. This historic event marked humans' first approach to Jupiter and opened the way for exploration of the outer solar system - for Voyager to tour the outer planets, for Ulysses to break out of the ecliptic, for Galileo to investigate Jupiter and its satellites, and for Cassini to go to Saturn and probe Titan. During its Jupiter encounter, Pioneer 10 imaged the planet and its moons, and took measurements of Jupiter's magnetosphere, radiation belts, magnetic field, atmosphere, and interior. These measurements of the intense radiation environment near Jupiter were crucial in designing the Voyager and Galileo spacecraft.

Pioneer 10 made valuable scientific investigations in the outer regions of our solar system until the end of its science mission on March 31,1997. Pioneer 10’s weak signal continued to be tracked by the Deep Space Network (DSN) as part of an advanced concept study of communication technology supporting NASA's future interstellar probe mission.

After more than 30 years, it appears the venerable Pioneer 10 spacecraft has sent its last signal to Earth. Pioneer's last, very weak signal was received Jan. 23, 2003. The power source on Pioneer 10 finally degraded to the point in 2003 where its signal to Earth dropped below the threshold for detection. NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) did not detect a signal during a contact attempt on Feb. 7, 2003. The previous three contacts, including the Jan. 23, 2003 signal, were very faint, with no telemetry received. The last time a Pioneer 10 contact returned telemetry data was April 27, 2002.

Pioneer 10 will continue to coast silently as a ghost ship through deep space into interstellar space, heading generally for the red star Aldebaran, which forms the eye of Taurus (The Bull). Aldebaran is about 68 light years away and it will take Pioneer more than 2 million years to reach it. “

FLORIDA MAN SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR TRAFFICKING IN ENDANGERED AND PROTECTED WILDLIFE SPECIES

The following excerpt is from the Department of Justice website:

"WASHINGTON – Enrique Gomez De Molina, 48, of Miami Beach, Fla., was sentenced in federal court in Miami today to 20 months in prison for illegal trafficking in endangered and protected wildlife, announced Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division at the Department of Justice; Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; and Luis J. Santiago, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement, Southeast Region.  De Molina was also sentenced to one year of supervised release to follow his prison term, a $6,000 fine and was ordered to forfeit all of the smuggled wildlife in his possession.

According to documents filed with the court, the defendant attempted to import wildlife species including skins of a Java kingfisher (Halcyon cyanoventris) and a collared kingfisher (Todiramphus chloris), one mounted lesser bird of paradise (Paradisaea minor), the skin of a juvenile hawk-eagle (Spizaetus sp.), the carcass remnant of a slow loris (Nycticebus coucang) and the carcass remnant of a lesser mouse deer (Tragulus javanicus), without proper declarations when imported into the United States and without the required permits.  In some cases, commercial transactions in listed species, such as the slow loris, are not allowed at all.

In order to protect certain species of wildlife against over-exploitation, the United States is a signatory to an international treaty known as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).  Appendix I of CITES includes species that are threatened with extinction and for which no trade is allowed for commercial purposes. Appendix II of CITES includes wildlife species which although not necessarily threatened with extinction now, may become so unless trade in specimens of such species is strictly regulated. Before importing a specimen of any animal protected under Appendix I of CITES from any foreign country, a valid foreign CITES export permit from the country of origin, or a CITES re-export certificate from a country of re-export, must be obtained as well as a valid “import permit” from the United States.  Before importing a specimen of any animal protected under Appendix II of CITES from any foreign country, a valid foreign export permit or re-export certificate must be obtained.  Federal law also prohibits the importation of fish or wildlife into the United States without proper declaration to both U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS).

According to the allegations contained in the information and a detailed factual statement in the court record, De Molina’s illegal wildlife trafficking activities extended from late 2009 through February 2011, and included numerous species and shipments, involving contacts in Bali, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Canada and China.  The joint factual statement describes the importation into the U.S. of the parts, skins and remains of species, including a king cobra, a pangolin, hornbills, birds of paradise, and the skulls of babirusa and orangutans. Despite the interception of two shipments in late 2009 that were ultimately forfeited by De Molina and abandoned, he continued to solicit protected wildlife from his suppliers via the Internet, and to select specific animals from photographs to be provided to him.  The parts or carcasses of the wildlife he selected would then be shipped to him without the permits or declarations required by law.  Some of the endangered and protected wildlife he selected was alive at the time it was photographed, including a wooly stork, a slow loris, and a hornbill, and later sent to him dead.
   
After receipt, De Molina would incorporate various parts and segments of the wildlife into taxidermy pieces at a studio in downtown Miami.  He offered these pieces through galleries and on the Internet for prices ranging up to $80,000.  In December 2010, pieces constructed by De Molina were exhibited during Art Basel week at the Scope Art Fair in Miami, resulting in at least one significant sale and the subsequent illegal export of the piece to the Canada.
 
“Mr. De Molina trafficked in highly endangered species in violation of the law, disguising commercial exploitation of endangered species as artwork,” said Ignacia S. Moreno, Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division.  “Today, Mr. De Molina has been held fully accountable for his illegal actions, which are prohibited by both U.S. and international law.”

“For years, DeMolina illegally imported parts and remains of endangered and threatened species, including a cobra, a pangolin, hornbills, and the skulls of babirusa and orangutans, and used them to create taxidermy pieces that he sold for as much as $80,000,” said U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer.  “Trafficking in endangered and threatened species, whether for personal profit or under the guise of art, is illegal.  Together with our law enforcement partners, we will strictly enforce the laws that protect our environment and our wildlife.”

“This case is an excellent example of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's commitment to investigate and interdict the commercialization of protected wildlife species,” said Luis J. Santiago, Special Agent in Charge of the FWS Office of Law Enforcement, Southeast Region. “The taxidermy work that Mr. De Molina considered artwork is nothing more than a shameful use of the world’s wildlife resources, by promoting the illegal take, and trafficking of protected species.”

 Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FWS, which brought the investigation to a successful conclusion.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Watts-FitzGerald and Trial Attorney Shennie Patel with the Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. "
     

PRESIDENT OBAMA DECLARES WASHINGTON STATE IN STATE OF DISASTER

The following excerpt is from the FEMA website:

“President Declares Disaster for Washington
Release Date: March 5, 2012
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that federal aid has been made available for the state of Washington to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area affected by a severe winter storm, flooding, landslides, and mudslides during the period of January 14-23, 2012.

Federal funding is available to state and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities damaged by the severe winter storm, flooding, landslides, and mudslides in the counties of Clallam, Grays Harbor, King, Klickitat, Lewis, Mason, Pierce, Skamania, Snohomish, Thurston, and Wahkiakum.
Federal funding is also available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

Michael L. Karl has been named Federal Coordinating Officer for federal recovery operations in the affected area.  Karl said additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments.”

WHITE HOUSE SAYS OIL IMPORTS DECLINING AND THE PRICE IS STILL RISING

The following excerpt and graph are from the White House website:

"America’s dependence on foreign oil has gone down every single year since President Obama took office. In 2010, we imported less than 50 percent of the oil our nation consumed—the first time that’s happened in 13 years—and the trend continued in 2011.

Despite all this, Americans are still paying more at the pump when we fill up because drilling for more oil here at home won’t affect the price of gas on its own. That's why we need an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy."

U.S. SAYS JUNCTIONAL TOURNIQUET READY TO SAVE LIVES ON THE BATTLEFIELD

The  picture and following excerpt is from the Department of Defense Armed with Science website:


"Dr. John F. Kragh, an orthopedic surgeon and researcher at the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research, applies the correct amount of pressure to the target area."

“By Steven Galvan, USAISR Public Affairs 

 FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas (Jan. 19, 2012) — Saving the lives of combat wounded is one of the main objectives at the U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Research on prehospital care devices like the tourniquet has proven to save lives in the battlefield wounds to the arms or legs, which was once the most common cause of preventable death.


Now, after almost two years of research on a device to prevent the most common cause of preventable death in the battlefield, the junctional tourniquet is ready for battlefield use.
“Exsanguination, or bleeding to death, from the body is now the most common cause of preventable death to wounded warriors on the battlefield,” said Dr. John F. Kragh, an orthopedic surgeon and researcher at U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research, or USAISR. “Groin hemorrhage is the most common type of junctional bleeding where regular tourniquets cannot work.”


Research on the effectiveness and type of battlefield truncal tourniquet began in 2009 after the Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care made it a research priority. Shortly after this, the Combat Casualty Care Research Program, of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, and USAISR headquarters requested candidate devices for the research.


The Combat Ready Clamp, or CRoC, which has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is manufactured by Combat Medical Systems in Fayetteville, N.C. This clamp was selected from a handful of junctional tourniquet prototypes from those submitted after the request for candidate devices.


“The CRoC is a vice-like tourniquet that can be placed over the groin and lower abdomen,” said Kragh. “A pressure ball is screwed down to press on the artery and to stop the bleeding.”


The USAISR is committed to optimizing combat casualty care by focusing on providing requirement-driven combat casualty care medical solutions and products for injured Soldiers, from self-aid through definitive care, across the full spectrum of military operations“.

U.S. MARSHALS NAB ACCUSED HUMAN TRAFFICKER

The following excerpt is from the U.S. Marshals Service:

“Albuquerque, NM - On February 29, 2012
 Deputies with the United States Marshals Service arrested accused human trafficking offender Rufus Byers. Byers has been wanted since December 2011 and was featured on last Friday's America's Most Wanted. Agents with the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office (NMAGO) and The United States Marshals Service worked closely to locate Byers.

Byers was initially arrested on December 5, 2011, posted bond, and was released from the Metropolitan Detention Center on December 9, 2011. He then fled New Mexico. Byers had been indicted and a bench warrant for his arrest was issued December 15, 2011. Byers is charged with one (1) count Human Trafficking; one (1) count Promoting Prostitution; and, one (1) count Accepting the Earnings of a Prostitute.

Agents with the NMAGO and the United States Marshals Service Developed information that Byers was possibly in Texas, and then referred the case to the Marshals Service’s Joint East Texas Fugitive (JETF) Task Force for investigation. Deputies and JETF Task Force Officers in Texas were able to locate and arrest Byers in Dallas, Texas on February 29, 2012.

United States Marshal for the District of New Mexico Conrad E. Candelaria "the Marshals Service is known for its effectiveness in pursuing violent fugitives, despite the rigors and challenges that might be faced and always mindful that with investigative perseverance the results are the arrests of dangerous fugitives that will no longer harm innocent members of our communities. The Marshals Service recognizes the extraordinary partnerships that are consistently relied upon and fortunately the District of New Mexico is partners with the New Mexico Attorney General's Office and testament of this great partnership is the arrest of this dangerous fugitive that will now have to answer to the many crimes committed".

DOCTOR IN DALLAS ARRESTED FOR ALLEGED MEDICARE FRAUD SCHEME

The following excerpt is from the Department of Justice website:

Tuesday, February 28, 2012
“WASHINGTON - A physician and the office manager of his medical practice, along with five owners of home health agencies, were arrested today on charges related to their alleged participation in a nearly $375 million health care fraud scheme involving fraudulent claims for home health services.

The arrests and charges were announced today by Deputy Attorney General James Cole and Health and Human Services (HHS) Deputy Secretary Bill Corr, along with Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Salda ñ a of the Northern District of Texas; HHS Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson; Special Agent in Charge Robert E. Casey   Jr. of the FBI’s Dallas Field Office; Dr. Peter Budetti, Deputy Administrator for Program Integrity for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS); and the Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU).

The indictment, filed in the Northern District of Texas and unsealed today, charges Jacques Roy, M.D., 54, of Rockwall, Texas; Cynthia Stiger, 49, of Dallas; Wilbert James Veasey Jr., 60, of Dallas; Cyprian Akamnonu, 63, of Cedar Hill, Texas; Patricia Akamnonu, RN, 48, of Cedar Hill; Teri Sivils, 44, of Midlothian, Texas; and Charity Eleda, RN, 51, of Rowlett, Texas, each with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud.   Roy also is charged with nine counts of substantive health care fraud, and Veasey, Patricia Akamnonu and Eleda are each charged with three counts of health care fraud.   Eleda also is charged with three counts of making false statements related to a Medicare claim .   All the defendants are expected to make their initial appearances at 2:00 p.m. CST today in federal court in Dallas.

In addition to the indictment, CMS announced the suspension of an additional 78 home health agencies (HHA) associated with Roy based on credible allegations of fraud against them.
                                           
Today’s enforcement actions are the result of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations, which are part of the Health Care Fraud Prevention & Enforcement Action Team (HEAT).   HEAT is a joint initiative announced in May 2009 between the Department of Justice and HHS to focus their efforts to prevent and deter fraud and enforce anti-fraud laws around the country.

“The conduct charged in this indictment represents the single largest fraud amount orchestrated by one doctor in the history of HEAT and our Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations,” said Deputy Attorney General Cole.   “Thanks to the historic partnerships we’ve built to combat health care fraud, we are sending a clear message:   If you victimize American taxpayers, we will track you down and prosecute you.”

“Thanks to our new fraud detection tools, we have greater abilities to identify the kind of sophisticated fraud scheme that previously could have escaped scrutiny,” said HHS Deputy Secretary Corr.  “Our aggressive Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations have enabled us to break up a significant alleged fraud operation and the fraud-fighting authorities in the Affordable Care Act have allowed us to stop further payments to providers connected to this scheme.  This case and our new detection tools are examples of our growing ability to stop Medicare fraud.”

According to the indictment, Dr. Roy owned and operated Medistat Group Associates P.A. in the Dallas area.  Medistat was an association of health care providers that primarily provided home health certifications and performed patient home visits.  Dr. Roy allegedly certified or directed the certification of more than 11,000 individual patients from more than 500 HHAs for home health services during the past five years.   Between January 2006 and November 2011, Medistat certified more Medicare beneficiaries for home health services and had more purported patients than any other medical practice in the United States.   These certifications allegedly resulted in more than $350 million being fraudulently billed to Medicare and more than $24 million being fraudulently billed to Medicaid by Medistat and HHAs.

“Today, the Medicare Fraud Strike Force is taking aim at the largest alleged home health fraud scheme ever committed,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer .  “According to the indictment, Dr. Roy and his co-conspirators, for years, ran a well-oiled fraudulent enterprise in the Dallas area, making millions by recruiting thousands of patients for unnecessary services, and billing Medicare for those services.  In Dallas, and the eight other Medicare Fraud Strike Force cities, the Criminal Division and our partners in the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices will continue to crack down on Medicare fraud, and hold accountable those stealing from the public fisc.”

“Fraud schemes, like the one we allege Dr. Roy executed, represent the next wave of Medicare and Medicaid crime that we face,” said U.S. Attorney Salda ñ a.   “As enforcement actions have ramped up, not only in the Dallas Metroplex, but in several other areas throughout the country, fraudsters are devising new ways to beat the system.  Rest assured, however, that with the tools and resources our district’s Medicare Care Fraud Strike Force provides, we will meet this challenge head-on and bring indictments against those who seek to defraud these critical programs, and you, the taxpayer.”

“Using sophisticated data analysis we can now target suspicious billing spikes,” said HHS Inspector General Levinson.   “In this case, our analysts discovered that in 2010, while 99 percent of physicians who certified patients for home health signed off on 104 or fewer people – Dr. Roy certified more than 5,000.”

 “The FBI views health care fraud as a severe crime problem,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Casey.   “It causes increased costs for consumers, tax payers and health insurance plans, and degrades the integrity of our health care system and legitimate patient care.   Today’s arrests by the Dallas Medicare Fraud Strike Force send a clear message to those persons who are not only defrauding our federal Medicare and Medicaid and private health insurance programs, but victimizing the elderly, the disadvantaged, and those who are at a vulnerable time in their lives due to legitimate health issues.   The FBI will continue to dedicate a substantial amount of expert resources to investigate these crimes.”

The indictment alleges that Dr. Roy used HHAs as recruiters so that Medistat could bill unnecessary home visits and medical services.  Dr. Roy and other Medistat physicians certified and recertified plans of care so that HHAs also were able to bill Medicare for home health services that were not medically necessary and not provided.   In addition, Dr. Roy allegedly performed unnecessary home visits and ordered unnecessary medical services.

According to the indictment, Medistat maintained a “485 Department,” named for the number of the Medicare form on which the plan of care was documented.   Dr. Roy allegedly instructed Medistat employees to complete the 485s by either signing his name by hand or by using his electronic signature on the document.

Three of the HHAs Dr. Roy used as part of the scheme were Apple of Your Eye Healthcare Services Inc., owned and operated by Stiger and Veasey; Ultimate Care Home Health Services Inc., owned and operated by Cyprian and Patricia Akamnonu; and Charry Home Care Services Inc., owned and operated by Eleda.  According to the indictment, Veasey, Akamnonu, Eleda and others recruited beneficiaries to be placed at their HHAs so that they could bill Medicare for the unnecessary and not provided services.  As part of her role in the scheme, Eleda allegedly visited The Bridge Homeless Shelter in Dallas to recruit homeless beneficiaries staying at the facility, paying recruiters $50 per beneficiary they found at The Bridge and directed to Eleda’s vehicle parked outside the shelter’s gates.

Apple allegedly submitted claims to Medicare from Jan. 1, 2006, through July 31, 2011, totaling $9,157,646 for home health services to Medicare beneficiaries that were medically unnecessary and not provided.   Dr. Roy or another Medistat physician certified the services.  From Jan. 1, 2006, to Aug. 31, 2011, Ultimate submitted claims for medically unnecessary home health services totaling $43,184,628.   Charry allegedly submitted fraudulent claims from Aug. 1, 2008, to June 30, 2011, totaling $468,858 in medically unnecessary and not provided home health services.

The indictment alleges that Sivils, as Medistat’s office manager, helped facilitate the fraud scheme by, among other actions, supervising the processing of thousands of plans of care that contained Dr. Roy’s electronic signature and other Medistat physicians’ signatures, permitting HHAs to bill Medicare for unnecessary home health services and accepting cash payments from Cyprian Akamnonu in exchange for ensuring plans of care contained Dr. Roy or another Medistat physician’s signature.

As outlined in the government’s request to the court to detain Dr. Roy, in June 2011, CMS suspended provider numbers for Dr. Roy and Medistat based on credible allegations of fraud, thus ensuring Dr. Roy did not receive payment from Medicare.   Immediately after the suspension, nearly all of Medistat’s employees started billing Medicare under the provider number for Medcare HouseCalls.   The court document alleges that Dr. Roy was in fact in charge of day-to-day operations at Medcare, and that Dr. Roy continued to certify patients for home health despite the suspension.

Each charged count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and substantive health care fraud carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.   Each false statement charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.   The indictment also seeks forfeiture of numerous items including funds in bank accounts, a sailboat, vehicles and multiple pieces of property.

An indictment is merely an allegation and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael C. Elliott, Mindy Sauter and John DeLaGarza of the Northern District of Texas and Trial Attorney Ben O’Neil and Deputy Chief Sam S. Sheldon of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.  The case was investigated by the FBI, HHS-OIG and MFCU and was brought as part of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force, supervised by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.

Since their inception in March 2007, Medicare Fraud Strike Force operations in nine locations have charged more than 1,190 defendants who collectively have falsely billed the Medicare program for more than $3.6 billion.”

CARTOON: THINKING INSIDE THE BOX

by LCB

BULLETPROOF UNDERWEAR IS A REALITY

The following excerpt is from the Department of Defense Armed with Science website:

"WASHINGTON (Feb. 22, 2012) — For dismounted soldiers patrolling Afghanistan roads, improvised explosive devices can be even more devastating than for those in armored vehicles, but a new line of protection may help.

“A few years ago, in certain areas of Afghanistan, we started to notice the dismounted improvised explosive device (known as IED) threat becoming more prevalent,” said Lt. Col. Frank J. Lozano, PEO Soldier protective equipment. “There were a lot of significant injuries, and very traumatic injuries occurring to soldiers in the lower extremity area. A lot of soldiers losing their lower leg below the knee. A lot of above-the-knee amputations, and a lot of high hip amputations.”

Soldiers who stepped on an IED might suffer injuries that required amputations which didn’t leave enough of a limb for a prosthetic leg, for instance. But those Soldiers were also suffering extensive damage to the perineum region, the part of the body that includes the anus and reproductive organs.

“It’s very traumatic, very heartbreaking, when soldiers go through those types of events, and they are very young, and then they come home and they are not able to have children,” said Lozano. “It’s one of the harsh realities of this type of warfare when you have dismounted IEDs.”

The Army wanted to do something to offer protection to soldiers. Taking a cue from British forces that had already found a material solution to the problem, the Army developed the Pelvic Protection System. The system includes two layers of protection for Soldiers, including the Tier I protective under-garment, called the “PUG,” and the Tier II protective outer-garment, called the “POG.”

“We wanted first to be able to protect the genital region so that soldiers going through those traumatic events would still be able to do things like have a family when they get home,” Lozano said.

Both components of the system are worn like shorts. The PUG is worn under a soldier’s ACU pants. It can be worn in place of underwear, or over the top of a Soldier’s underwear. Some soldiers have called them “Kevlar boxers” or “combat underpants” and it’s not far from the truth.

“It’s kind of like a bicycle shorts garment,” Lozano said. “It’s designed to be worn under the pants, close to the skin. You can wear it like you’d wear a normal piece of underwear.”

The PUG has a breathable, moisture-wicking material on the outer thighs. Along the inner thighs is knitted Kevlar to protect the fleshy inner parts of the thighs and the femoral artery. Over the groin, more knitted or woven Kevlar. “It’s not really very complicated,” Lozano said.

The colonel said that as a result of an IED blast, sand, dirt, and “manure that’s been in the ground for decades” is pulverized and can wind up embedded in a Soldier’s flesh.

“It can take 20 or 25 surgeries to go through and pick all that out,” he said. “If you don’t get it all, then that causes infections and it can lead to further amputations,” Lozano said.

The PUG is part of a system to prevent that from happening in the first place. The fabric used in the garment has also been tested to ensure that it won’t melt or drip when exposed to high heat.

“Since it’s so close to the skin, we don’t want to exacerbate any type of heat damage a Soldier might get in an IED blast,” Lozano explained.

The outer garment, the POG, provides even more protection for soldiers, and performs similar to the soft portions of the improved outer tactical vest. It “protects along a greater range of fragments,” Lozano said.

While soldiers can wear the undergarment on its own, Lozano said if Soldiers are going to wear the outer garment they should wear it in conjunction with the undergarment.

“Because the Tier II has more ballistic protection, it is a little more rigid,” he said. “If you wear the Tier I under the Tier II, it prevents chafing. It also provides the maximum amount of coverage together with the maximum amount of protection, without restricting your movement.”

Wear test and user evaluations have ensured that the tiered pelvic protection system is comfortable for soldiers to wear,” said Lozano said. “You might go through testing and think you’ve got a great design, but then you put it on a Soldier and tell him to road march for 20 miles and shoot and go through an obstacle course and find out, it’s a terrible design.”

He said that even if the protection is great, if it’s not comfortable, soldiers might not want to wear it.

Soldiers in theater who have worn the gear have reported back on their experience and have helped inform changes to the pelvic protection system, Lozano said. Early on, he said, there were reports of chafing and “poor thermal management,” for instance.

“We’ve worked with the Soldiers in theater to redesign the system; we’ve gone through a couple of design iterations,” Lozano said. “It’s taken a good six to nine months. We’re getting now to an optimized system where soldiers are seeing their feedback codified in a material solution and it’s more comfortable and breathable and Soldiers are more willing and apt to wear it.”

The Army first put the pelvic protection system into theater in June 2011. Now, the system has been fielded to some 15,000 soldiers. The typical issue includes three PUGs and one POG. Fielding is happening now for soldiers in theater and for Soldiers stateside."

JUSTICE SETTLES RESOLVES DISPUTE BETWEEN RESIDENTIAL LEASE COMPANY AND U.S. AIR FORCE MEMBERS

The following excerpt is from the Department of Justice website:

 March 1, 2012

"WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced that it had reached a settlement resolving allegations that Empirian Property Management Inc. refused to terminate residential leases entered into by active duty members of the U.S. Air Force assigned to Offutt Air Force Base in Sarpy County, Neb., after those servicemembers received permanent change of station orders.  The lawsuit alleged that Empirian, a Delaware corporation that manages over 30 apartment complexes nationwide, violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) by refusing to allow the servicemembers to terminate their leases early in order to comply with their military orders.

The SCRA provides certain protections to active duty servicemembers who must terminate residential leases to comply with military orders for a permanent change of station or for deployment.  The complaint, which was filed with the settlement, demonstrates the Justice Department’s ongoing commitment to enforcing the rights of our nation’s servicemembers.  Under the terms of the settlement, which must be approved by a federal court in Nebraska, Empirian must pay a total of $12,500 in damages to four identified servicemembers, and up to $20,000 to compensate any additional servicemembers harmed by Empirian’s actions.  Empirian is also prohibited from engaging in future violations of the SCRA.

“Our men and women in uniform make great sacrifices in order to protect our nation,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “When servicemembers move as a result of military orders, the law protects them from financial hardship.  The Civil Rights Division is strongly committed to protecting the rights of servicemembers through our enforcement of the SCRA.”

U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska, Deborah R. Gilg, said, “This settlement sends a strong message that the rights of our service personnel will be protected.  No service man or woman engaged in protecting all of us from harm should suffer financial damage from landlords who seek to thwart the protection our laws afford our service personnel.”

The Justice Department’s investigation of this matter originated with a referral to the Civil Rights Division from the Offutt Air Force Base Law Center.  Servicemembers who believe that their SCRA rights have been violated should contact the nearest Armed Forces Legal Assistance Program office.  Office locations may be found athttp://legalassistance.law.af.mil/content/locator.php.  Additional information about the Justice Department’s enforcement of the SCRA and other laws protecting servicemembers is available at www.servicemembers.gov.